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So I made 3 cups chicken with 1/2 cup of soy sauce for 4 lbs of drumsticks and it came out wayyy too salty. Next time should I use 1/4th cup and then make up the rest of the volume with chicken stock or water?  IMG_6324 by stoevpan, on Flickr
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Jun 18, 2013 02:27
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squigadoo posted:Could someone please break down how to handle fresh rice noodles for soup and for frying? My family tells me conflicting information on how to separate the noodles and not make them stick. I also remember that none of them are capable of making chow fun without breaking the noodles. Pull them apart while they're hot. The restaurant sized packs come pre-oiled, I think, but I immerse the pack, still wrapped in plastic, into very hot (170F+) water for a 3 or 4 minutes, take them out, and let them rest until they're still very warm, about 125-135F. The plastic is then cut open and we spend a few minutes separating them by hand. No need for additional oil or taking them apart in water. And yea, stir frying that stuff is a huge PITA unless you are pro at wokking.
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Jun 18, 2013 04:51
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Peven Stan posted:So I made 3 cups chicken with 1/2 cup of soy sauce for 4 lbs of drumsticks and it came out wayyy too salty. Next time should I use 1/4th cup and then make up the rest of the volume with chicken stock or water? If I'm not making lo mein, I'm still not going all soy sauce, I'd probably add 1/2 soy, 1/2 oyster sauce in lieu of stock
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Jun 18, 2013 06:43
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Mach420 posted:I immerse the pack, still wrapped in plastic, into very hot (170F+) water for a 3 or 4 minutes Huh. Is that safe? I'd be concerned about plasticizers partying in and out of my noodles.
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Jun 18, 2013 08:55
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It's the closest we're gonna get to heavy metals in our food, for that authentic Chinese taste.
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Jun 18, 2013 09:12
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Bro Enlai posted:Huh. Is that safe? I'd be concerned about plasticizers partying in and out of my noodles. That's a good point. You could transfer the noodles to a boil safe bag like a Foodsaver or something. Just as long as the noodles neither absorb water or dry out while heating.
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Jun 18, 2013 16:06
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Sjurygg posted:Frying rice noodles is a way Chinese cooks measure each others mettle - it's difficult enough even with a well-seasoned wok, pro level skills and industrial-grade gas burners. GrAviTy84 posted:pre oiling noodles helps a ton. also you really really have to keep them moving in a well oiled wok otherwise they will stick at any given moment. Mach420 posted:Pull them apart while they're hot. The restaurant sized packs come pre-oiled, I think, but I immerse the pack, still wrapped in plastic, into very hot (170F+) water for a 3 or 4 minutes, take them out, and let them rest until they're still very warm, about 125-135F. The plastic is then cut open and we spend a few minutes separating them by hand. No need for additional oil or taking them apart in water. And yea, stir frying that stuff is a huge PITA unless you are pro at wokking. Thank you all. I'm not sure I'm going to try it now, since I don't have a wok. I was using a stainless steel pot before, and that seems like that was a huge mistake in and of itself. I'm tempted to buy a flat-bottomed wok now, but there's no more space in the storage area for more cookware. OR IS THERE. Bro Enlai posted:Huh. Is that safe? I'd be concerned about plasticizers partying in and out of my noodles. Pthalates leech out in heat, so I imagine that is not the safest. But on the other hand, you're undoubtedly drinking pthalates whenever you leave your water bottle out in the sun too. On this oil and wokking note, takeout is really oily so I'm trying to cook the food at home. The boyfriend cannot stomach oily foods (or food that is okay for me but makes him feel weird) without being ill later and while I am hardened by my childhood consumption of hole-in-the-wall products, I don't like the oil and am trying to cut back. What oils do you fry/cook with? I usually use canola, but I'm thinking of moving to grapeseed.
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Jun 18, 2013 16:59
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squigadoo posted:
Grapeseed, peanut, and I think safflower are good since they're among the highest temp smoke points. And wok cooking needs very high temperatures.
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Jun 18, 2013 20:18
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squigadoo posted:Could someone please break down how to handle fresh rice noodles for soup and for frying? My family tells me conflicting information on how to separate the noodles and not make them stick. I also remember that none of them are capable of making chow fun without breaking the noodles. Did you make sure they are soft when you buy them? Gently push down on the noodles, the softer they are, the fresher and easier to pull apart. I usually buy a pack when it's fresh, bring them home, separate the strands of noodles and then I can refrigerate them if I'm not using straight away. Also, using high heat with a non-stick wok helps alot without having to resort to a lot of oil.
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Jun 19, 2013 00:07
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high heat + nonstick is a really bad combination. Teflon starts to break down 392 F which isn't very hot at all. And PTFE/PFOA is really really really bad for you. Just put a bit more oil and use a carbon steel wok.
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Jun 19, 2013 00:13
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Peanut is my favorite wok oil because of the high smoke point and the nice little peanutty flavor tends to go well with a lot of things.
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Jun 19, 2013 01:35
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Just go with the carbon steel, it is really easy to season and food stops sticking when it is seasoned. With all the bickering about the best way to season things in this forum I thought it would be hard but its really not. Swirl some oil around, high heat for 5~10 minutes, let it rest, do it again in a day or two. Food stops sticking! Cooking non-acidic things just makes the seasoning stronger. Make sure you just clean it with a good scrub and water though, no soap. We've been conditioned to think soap=clean but soap isn't a disinfectant anyway and scrubbing+water will do the job just fine.
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Jun 19, 2013 03:51
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GrAviTy84 posted:high heat + nonstick is a really bad combination. Teflon starts to break down 392 F which isn't very hot at all. And PTFE/PFOA is really really really bad for you. Just put a bit more oil and use a carbon steel wok. Ah my mistake. My non-sticks are anodized surfaces. I had assumed all these time that Teflon has been eliminated from our cookware. Come to think of it, my mom has been cooking high heat with Teflon/non-stick since I was a kid. "Less oil = healthy" 
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Jun 19, 2013 08:08
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I am going to make Sichuan dry fried green beans. I found two recipes: http://appetiteforchina.com/recipes/sichuan-dried-fried-green-beans/ http://food52.com/recipes/20767-fuchsia-dunlop-s-sichuanese-dry-fried-green-beans They're pretty similar, which one would you go with/which is more authentic, if not both? I'm still looking for a 青椒炒牛肉 recipe too, I have plenty of Chinese results but nothing in English that I can actually read. I've found a couple things with bell peppers, but I've always seen it with spicy green ones. Grand Fromage fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Jun 25, 2013 |
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Jun 25, 2013 14:40
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Grand Fromage posted:I am going to make Sichuan dry fried green beans. I found two recipes: I like it when it has fermented black beans, a little bit of minced pork in it too. The pressed pickled mustard greens are a must add imo, I think they're called zhai ca (sp?).
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Jun 25, 2013 15:03
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Zha cai I can get. The person I'm cooking for doesn't eat pork, and I won't have any fermented beans in time. But I'll keep in mind for next time.
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Jun 25, 2013 15:05
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Grand Fromage posted:Zha cai I can get. The person I'm cooking for doesn't eat pork, and I won't have any fermented beans in time. But I'll keep in mind for next time. You could use ground beef as well. The beans are a must for the thing to be correct, IMO. Also that recipe is a wimpy-rear end laowai version. GROUND sichuan peppercorns? No way bro; liberally use whole peppercorns. I also feel like it's not enough garlic in either of those recipes, but one thing that has me enjoying living in Sichuan so much is they like to use garlic as overwhelmingly as I do.
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Jun 25, 2013 15:43
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Well, I'm asking because I have no idea, I love it but I've never made it. I usually up the peppers and garlic in any recipe since I'm insane that way.
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Jun 25, 2013 16:21
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I tried to make Bear Paw Tofu from Fuchsia Dunlop's cookbook, and I failed from the get-go and am seeking advice. It requires frying soft tofu until it is golden and then taking it out. I used a block of silken tofu, pressed it a bit to squeeze out water, and sliced it to be fried. The rectangles never turned completely golden and stuck to my pan terribly. Small bubbles formed in the tofu, which I expected, and small patches browned, but never the whole piece. What am I doing wrong, and what should I be doing?
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Jul 2, 2013 16:33
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squigadoo posted:I tried to make Bear Paw Tofu from Fuchsia Dunlop's cookbook, and I failed from the get-go and am seeking advice. why are you pressing it? Don't press it. Pressing tofu is the weirdest thing, why do people do this? Also, oil needs to be at least 350F to form a tofu skin without making the tofu disintegrate. Deep frying is easier.
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Jul 2, 2013 16:56
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It crisps up a lot better with some of the moisture pressed out. Also it absorbs marinades better if you press it first. I also just like the texture change sometimes. Tofu's pressed pretty often here in Korea, it's not some white people thing. Fried tofu especially always seems to be pressed.
Grand Fromage fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Jul 2, 2013 |
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Jul 2, 2013 17:00
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Grand Fromage posted:It crisps up a lot better with some of the moisture pressed out. Also it absorbs marinades better if you press it first. I also just like the texture change sometimes. Tofu's pressed pretty often here in Korea, it's not some white people thing. if you're going to press it buy a firmer tofu from the start. There's no point in buying silken if you meant to use medium or firm.
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Jul 2, 2013 17:08
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So I was at a restaurant the other day and had what they called "tofu with crispy bean blend." It was perfectly fried tofu with a dried blend of stuff tossed on top; the entire dish was dry. It was amazing. The menu has some characters but I can't copy-paste from the menu, so it's here on page 3. Can anyone help me track down how to make it?
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Jul 2, 2013 18:36
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Grand Fromage posted:It crisps up a lot better with some of the moisture pressed out. Also it absorbs marinades better if you press it first. I also just like the texture change sometimes. Tofu's pressed pretty often here in Korea, it's not some white people thing. Fried tofu especially always seems to be pressed. It's a good thing this is the Chinese thread then. Koreans are weirdos. In all seriousness, I've never seen this done in Chinese cuisine. You can dry it fine just by laying it out on a towel on all sides a few minutes before cooking. But honestly, I'm not sure what Chinese dish you're making where the internal moisture of tofu would make a difference in either absorbing flavors or frying that wouldn't be because you used the wrong type as Grav said. In fact, when you start saying a tofu marinade, my mind does a full stop and I'm really wondering what you're talking about. I'm being absolutely sincere, because this is completely foreign to me and I'd love to hear more about it if it does anything else. One thing that I have seen done is to freeze tofu and defrost it. It gives it much more chewy and rough texture and is excellent that way stirfried or even in soups.
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Jul 2, 2013 20:49
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Marinading gets different flavors into the tofu. It's how you make all those Chinese flavored tofu snacks.
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Jul 3, 2013 01:26
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You're going to have to give me a recipe on that because the only Chinese tofu snack I know is an imitation jerky beancurd which is not made by marinating fresh tofu in any step. Fresh tofu isn't porous and marinating as the method it is usually ascribed to should really do poo poo to give different flavor to tofu from my understanding.
Rurutia fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Jul 3, 2013 |
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Jul 3, 2013 01:56
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Grand Fromage posted:Marinading gets different flavors into the tofu. It's how you make all those Chinese flavored tofu snacks. All those Chinese flavored tofu snacks are usually aged/dried/fermented tofu.
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Jul 3, 2013 03:35
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I don't have any recipes how to make it since I never have, I dunno what to tell you guys. I have bags of it sitting in my kitchen and I press and marinate tofu sometimes to give it different flavor. I mean you're literally telling me that what I just ate for lunch doesn't exist. The Korean tofu classifications aren't very useful. There's silken, which is the same as you'd think. There's stuff just labeled tofu, which is what I usually get. Blocks in water. And there's jjigae tofu, which best as I can tell is exactly the same but twice the price. I never really ate tofu in the US so I don't know how it's classified there. It's firmish and can be sliced but will fall apart if you mess with it too much, while the Korean silken tofu just falls apart the moment it gets out of the package. If you press the non-silken thoroughly it reduces to maybe half the volume. The internet claims firm tofu is made by pressing fresh tofu, so I don't really see what the difference is doing it yourself if you have fresh and want firm? E: I am relying largely on Chinese friends for everything I know about tofu--if there's a good guide to using it somewhere, I'd be interested. I'm running out of ideas of things to do with it and I know there's a lot more out there. Grand Fromage fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Jul 3, 2013 |
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Jul 3, 2013 04:15
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quote:The internet claims firm tofu is made by pressing fresh tofu, so I don't really see what the difference is doing it yourself if you have fresh and want firm? Grannies use to add plaster cast to make it firm  Grand Fromage posted:I don't have any recipes how to make it since I never have, I dunno what to tell you guys. I have bags of it sitting in my kitchen and I press and marinate tofu sometimes to give it different flavor. I mean you're literally telling me that what I just ate for lunch doesn't exist. I'm not saying it doesn't exist but it just doesn't sound very Chinese, bastardized or not. Got any pictures? I may be biased but I find jiggae tofu to be super smooth and not the "lumpy stacked on a wodden board surface texture". Not a master chef, but my folks screamed at me for messing around with the tofu too much. The regular tofu in blocks of water is the same as tofu you can get in the states. Except that in the states the tofu is usually categorized into 3 subcategories: soft, firm and extra firm. Silken is fancy stuff  and I have never really seen it used much in Northern Chinese cuisine.  MY GIRLFIREND from Eastern China  at silken for the first time.Tofu is weird, it's prepared in so many different ways and shows regional differences in Chinese cuisine. In the East they eat stinky tofu unfried like blue cheese, in the south our tofu pudding dessert is sweet. But once you go near the Yellow river, people like it savour  Soy sauce, scallions and seaweed on tofu pudding.  But savoury curdled tofu soy milk with salted cabbage and scallions is totally ok 
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Jul 3, 2013 04:39
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These are the two I still have:  I'm prepared for foot in my mouth because I can't read the labels, but MY CHINESE GIRLFRIEND said they're tofu meat made from marinading in a sauce that doesn't actually have any meat in it, but replicates the flavor somehow.
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Jul 3, 2013 05:19
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Did you use that stuff for cooking? That's like using beef jerky or for your meat pie, or using potato chips to make a gratin You need to substitute that stuff for some Reese peanut butter cups or something like green tea wife cakes. I got DontaskKant a treasure trove of stuff, too bad you couldn't bus to Gimhae from Ulsan  I got a whole bunch of supplies and sauces so get it from him.I personally hate the fake meat tofu stuff and see it as cheating Mahayana Buddhism and abhor the taste. What did your Chinese girlfriend teach you?
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Jul 3, 2013 05:43
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No, I don't cook with it. The cooking has just been experiments infusing my tofu with different flavors. My only point is you can, in fact, marinade tofu to flavor it. It absorbs it fine if it's not waterlogged to begin with. Those are just cheap and low calorie snacks, no religion involved.
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Jul 3, 2013 06:15
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Marinating tofu by pressing some liquid out so it can absorb more is fairly common in the West. I first learned about it from Alton Brown and it does seem to hold that you would want your firm tofu fairly dry on the outside before you try and brown or crisp it.
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Jul 3, 2013 07:03
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I suppose, pressing the tofu and getting the water out is more like a wheat gluten (麵筋) - mian jin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_gluten_(food) There's a Shanghai dish called KaoFu, it's really crispy and uses said gluten. Most of the sauces used in marinating/cooking involves a starchier savoury soy sauce taste to things. Grandmas use gluten as a substitute to corn starch. Works well with dried mushrooms and the water used to soak the mushrooms can be reabsorbed into the gluten. Making it spicy or sweet? Never heard of it myself 
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Jul 3, 2013 07:12
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Fried soft tofu is a thing. It's not necessary for the tofu to be firm to get a good crust. What is more important is hot oil. The crisp with the custard texture inside is actually pretty nice. Tldr soft tofu supremacy.
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Jul 3, 2013 07:14
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GrAviTy84 posted:Fried soft tofu is a thing. It's not necessary for the tofu to be firm to get a good crust. What is more important is hot oil. The crisp with the custard texture inside is actually pretty nice. GF, we need to find this kind of tofu. Or are we better off making it? The kind for desserts and the kind you can fry don't exist in Korea (afaik) even in the Chinese districts.
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Jul 3, 2013 09:07
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Grand Fromage posted:These are the two I still have: Arglebargle III posted:All those Chinese flavored tofu snacks are usually aged/dried/fermented tofu. Sorry, your girlfriend's either using the word marinating wrong or you're translating it into English wrong. But those snacks are what we were talking about. I love them. 
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Jul 3, 2013 12:22
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She said they were soaked in something. I dunno, she's probably wrong. I do have another package labeled smelly fermented tofu in English, it frightens me. Anyway more productively, what are more ways to use tofu? Not recipes necessarily. So far I've used it as an extender/bonus protein in soups and stuff, fried it crispy, marinaded in various things and stir fried, made mapo tofu. I haven't explored dessert options yet. What are other Chinese tofu methods? I'm trying to use it more, I can get it for about a dollar a kilo so it's by far the cheapest protein option here. Even a chicken is going to run six to eight bucks for a kilo bird. DontAskKant posted:GF, we need to find this kind of tofu. Or are we better off making it? The kind for desserts and the kind you can fry don't exist in Korea (afaik) even in the Chinese districts. I've never seen firm tofu here either, so if anyone knows how to make it please let us know. From my cursory internet search it's just regular tofu that's been pressed. Dessert tofu I think is just silken tofu, that's 순두부.
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Jul 3, 2013 13:13
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Grand Fromage posted:I've never seen firm tofu here either, so if anyone knows how to make it please let us know. From my cursory internet search it's just regular tofu that's been pressed. Dessert tofu I think is just silken tofu, that's 순두부. There are definitely Korean brands of firm tofu in the Korean markets in the USA (as well as the soft/silken tofu for soondubu). I would imagine that they also exist in Korea... From my cursory internet search, you can probably just type "korean firm tofu" into GIS and get a bunch of Korean brands.
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Jul 3, 2013 17:51
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Turns out the owners of the place by my house are from Shanghai. We're friendly enough that I'm willing to ask about off menu items. What's something good that probably isn't on the menu from the shanghai area? I was thinking about the crispy fried chicken posted in this thread, complete with attempting to write it on a post it note, but I'm game for anything.
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Jul 8, 2013 00:23
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