Saturday, March 13, 2010

Pick Your Poison...

Alright, this blog needs a new post before it dies. Not that it was really alive to begin with. I'll post pictures of food I made, and let you guys decide what I can help walk you through with next. Wait, this idea might not even work since my last post got like 0 comments. Hahaha........


Chicken Katsu with Curry (The curry came from a box though... but still, teachable)


[Thomas] Keller Fried Chicken - Time consuming, usage of lots of ingredients, slightly difficult recipe, but SO WORTH IT.


Basic Steak, pretty easy to do. OK, SORRY. Excuse my soggy spinach, poor presentation, and poor picture taking skills. Oh and look, I'm using the same plate in every picture!


Spaghetti a la Carbonara. Probably the easiest recipe in the world. Kind of. Really tasty too. And not many ingredients.


Miso Cod. Easy, but marinade requires one to three days to work. Oh and you need to get a hold of some sake (but why not? you can drink some while you're at it)


Prime Rib. Let's just say this involved a blow torch, lots of time (a few hours in the oven), and is quite expensive... unless you are hosting a holiday dinner! (You can really impress others with this prime rib, given that you can buy a good quality roast)


Corned Beef Hash. You gotta make corned beef the night before... (you can buy it prepackaged at the store, probably better if you corn it yourself, but that's hardcore) but using leftovers for breakfast the next day is totally worth it cause this is a REALLY tasty breakfast. And no corn is actually involved in the entire process.


Roast Pork Shoulder [Ssam] (a la Momofuku) Pretty easy, but you gotta marinate upwards of 6 hours, then roast for anywhere from 3-7 hours to get the meat to fall off the bone. Other than time concerns, really good.


Buta No Kakuni (Japanese Braised Pork BELLY) Pretty good, everything is falling apart, oozing fat. Okay not really, cause most of the fat cooks out, so even though you're eating the gelatin that is left behind (and it tastes really good and fatty), Japanese people say it's actually good for you. Time consuming (Iron Chef Morimoto recommends popping it in the oven for 8 hours first, which I do while I sleep), and then you cool, and then simmer for another 2-3 hours. Oh and it requires sake. But pork belly is so good.


牛肉面 (Beef Noodle Soup). Pretty easy, just requires a few hours of low simmering. Oh and some shaoxing cooking wine (some chinese cooking wine that you can get from any Chinese market without ID!!!)


Just kidding... I wish I could have this at my disposal at any time though... But do try Kaito Sushi if this looks really really good to you! Cause it was!


Any cut of steak cooked by "ghetto sous vide" (a la Momofuku). You need somehow to have water bath at a constant 130 degrees F for around an hour, and heavy duty plastic freezer bags. And lots of dedication to even be trying this. And a lot of attention to hygiene and safety. And a hot pan or grill to seal in the deliciousness of these. (Searing doesn't seal in juices though, I hate that myth).


Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) Super easy to do, you can even make your own sauce.


Pork Belly Bun (a la Momofuku) Option A: Buy the buns from a Chinese market = pretty easy recipe.  Option B: Make the buns yourself = Harder. Making the bun yourself is an interesting experience, but the quality of market buns are probably just as good if not better. Also faster, more convenient, and easier.

Aaand finally...

Just kidding. As if my last post wasn't long enough...

Alright, that's it for now. I realize it's a long list, so instead of choosing just one of your mouth watering favorites, you can choose three (granted you rank them 1st, 2nd, and 3rd). I'll make them on subsequent weeks, and any other popular ones I can do later. Or, if, as I suspect, nobody says anything, then my blog will ___________.


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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

How to Make Fried Rice: The Strategy Guide/Walkthrough (Bonus recipe included!)

Recipe for this Ketchup-Spam Fried Rice at the end of the post.

In college, making your own fried rice is at times a revelation (at least over junky cafeteria food). Not very fancy, relatively easy, and so damn good if you do it right, which you can, even with the junkiest of stove top burners.

What I love about fried rice is the flexibility of ingredients. The most basic fried rice can be put together with a little oil, rice, egg, and salt/or soy sauce. Technically you could omit the salt/or soy sauce and egg, but you can imagine what it'd taste like: nothing. You can build upon your fried rice with various meats, vegetables, aromatics, spices, sauces, etc. which I'll talk about further in the post.