bear Report post Posted September 13, 2018 Topic title is probably over the top. Moving swiftly on, the basic idea is what are your favourite "if I try this" moments that work out. The thread is partly inspired by the scrambled eggs topic reminding me of the time I put some chorizo jam on a piece of toast before topping with scrambled eggs. To start with I recently made up a batch of the béarnaise reduction needed for this recipe. (could only get white wine vinegar so used a little extra dried tarragon) http://www.simonhopkinson.tv/recipe/4/grilled-fillet-steak.aspx but instead of using it all to make delicious béarnaise sauce I substituted some of it into this mayonnaise recipe from Serious Eats https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/10/two-minute-mayonnaise.html along with some fresh tarragon to make a great Tarragon Mayonaise. I'm basically one more good idea away from getting a Michelin star. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkN Report post Posted September 14, 2018 This is a really simple one, but up until about 3 years ago I'd never put Marmite on a crumpet. I love crumpets, I love Marmite, but I think I enjoy the understated glory of crumpets with just butter so much (or perhaps with a thin smear of honey), that I thought slapping something THAT tasty on top of it would diminish that crumpet-y goodness. But then I gave it a go, and - by crikey! - it's magnificent. In the 3 years or so since I must've had at least 100 crumpets and all but about 3 of them have had Marmite on them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gotters Report post Posted September 15, 2018 not so much a single dish eureka moment but about a year ago I decided I wanted all the convenience of a microwave ready meal but homemade without any compromise (its the Food Prepping thread). almost hitting the year mark and not showing the slightest sign of letting up - learnt a lot and the constraints I place on what gets made (and how it gets made) is all part of the enjoyment. I love buying bags of meat and veg and base ingredients and turning it into a nice picture of identical looking meals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cubik Report post Posted September 15, 2018 After years of not bothering to emulate takeaways, we finally realised we could make great tasting food that was on a par or in some instances, better. This chow mein recipe for example is pretty bloody good: http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/24266/authentic-takeaway-style-chow-mein.aspx I would recommend you halve the amount of sauce though or else it gets a bit too wet. The frying pan pizza recipe from pizza pilgrims was a real game changer, fantastic base without a pizza oven. I love pizza so this is probably my favourite. https://www.pizzapilgrims.co.uk/2017/06/frying-pan-pizza/ And finally, something simple like fried chicken strips is so much better when you make them yourself. Bag of panko breadcrumbs, throw some seasoning in, flour, egg, breadcrumbs and then fry them. Seriously simple but so much better than most chicken shops or supermarket efforts. Just need to perfect egg fried rice next, any tips? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gotters Report post Posted September 16, 2018 9 hours ago, cubik said: Just need to perfect egg fried rice next, any tips? take a look at this site, she's great https://www.recipetineats.com her chinese recipes I've tried were brilliant, did the sweet and sour chicken, char siu, egg rice and chow mein she write very clearly, usually gives several little tips or alternatives to the recipes, has some nice little vids, and the comments section are useful too as pretty active 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
revlob Report post Posted September 16, 2018 I've been on a journey to make KFC-style fried chicken at home, and I've made a lot of discoveries along the way. None of these are unique or innovative but each has resulted in a drastic improvement in my results: Discovering not the secret blend of 11 herbs and spices on the internet, but learning that MSG is the key ingredient and isn't some terrifying chemical nasty after all but a naturally-occuring wonder salt. There's no substitute for buttermilk. Nothing I've tried gets the flour to stick to the chicken in the same way. Double-dredging, and letting the dredged pieces sit for 15 minutes and get sticky before chucking in the oil. The importance of fine temperature control when deep frying. I now only fry in a large cast iron pot, using a thermometer. Too cold when it goes in it doesn't crisp up enough; too hot and it darkens too much. Not covering the fried chicken after it's cooked if I'm doing batches, as the steam it releases will cause it to lose its crispness otherwise. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cowfields Report post Posted September 17, 2018 On 15/09/2018 at 21:43, cubik said: The frying pan pizza recipe from pizza pilgrims was a real game changer, fantastic base without a pizza oven. I love pizza so this is probably my favourite. https://www.pizzapilgrims.co.uk/2017/06/frying-pan-pizza It's mine too. Was amazed at how it came out, and blow torching the top made It bubble and char on the crust which was great too. So much so I made about 10 people a little pizza each in quick succession thanks to how simple and quick it is. Made for a great Eurovision party! Hadn't been going out with my girlfriend for very long at that point, and most of the people were her friends meeting me for the first time. I got a good approval rating thanks to the method. I've always had trouble shaping and getting on the pan without fucking the shape a bit. But I think I might be getting a flat lodge cast iron pancake pan for my birthday... Specifically for pizza. Barely a lip on the pan so I'm hoping that levels up the technique. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stephen129 Report post Posted September 17, 2018 On 15/09/2018 at 21:43, cubik said: Just need to perfect egg fried rice next, any tips? 1. Get your wok as hot as possible 2. Heat about 3-4 tbsp of oil, peanut/veg/any high smoking oil. I like using blended sesame oil for the flavour. 3. Fry 2-3 eggs, let it set slightly before stirring when 2/3rds cooked, remove from wok. 4. Add a bit more oil (you'd be surprised how much oil these dishes need). Wait until it's hot again. 5. Add in rice (can be day old or fresh, it's a myth that you have to use old rice. Fresh works just as well). Don't add too much rice, this is KEY, depending on the size of your wok you can only really make 2-3 portions max. Domestic hobs don't get anywhere near as hot as wok burners in Chinese restaurants, so make sure your wok is hot as possible, and don't put too much rice in. 6. Season with salt, MSG, dark soy, light soy. The rice shouldn't be too dark, the main seasoning should be the salt and MSG. The MSG is pretty crucial to recreating the flavour of your takeaway. 7. Add back in egg and mix with rice All the other fried rices are pretty much the same Add curry paste/powder and blanched veg for Singapore fried rice Add blanched protein (char siu, prawns etc) and veg for special fried rice aka Yang Chow/Yangzhou fried rice This is a good YouTube channel for Chinese takeaway classics: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHWpjb33oVxMb0UjVkZVItw The main difficulty in recreating Chinese takeaway at home is the comparatively weak burners compared to the restaurants. But cooking smaller portions helps a lot. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stephen129 Report post Posted September 17, 2018 On 16/09/2018 at 07:48, revlob said: I've been on a journey to make KFC-style fried chicken at home, and I've made a lot of discoveries along the way. None of these are unique or innovative but each has resulted in a drastic improvement in my results: Discovering not the secret blend of 11 herbs and spices on the internet, but learning that MSG is the key ingredient and isn't some terrifying chemical nasty after all but a naturally-occuring wonder salt. There's no substitute for buttermilk. Nothing I've tried gets the flour to stick to the chicken in the same way. Double-dredging, and letting the dredged pieces sit for 15 minutes and get sticky before chucking in the oil. The importance of fine temperature control when deep frying. I now only fry in a large cast iron pot, using a thermometer. Too cold when it goes in it doesn't crisp up enough; too hot and it darkens too much. Not covering the fried chicken after it's cooked if I'm doing batches, as the steam it releases will cause it to lose its crispness otherwise. I've been on a one man mission for decades trying to convince people that MSG is not only completely harmless to the large majority of people (and contains less sodium than salt), but that it makes a noticeable improvement on the flavour of savoury foods. I put it in loads of things. I think Anthony Bourdain made a good point by saying that a big part of it is racism. You never hear about people getting ill or getting headaches eating Doritos or McCoy's crisps which also contain MSG. I think if more people tried using MSG in their cooking, they'd have a 'Eureka' moment. I know I did when I realised just how big of an effect it has on flavour. I was amazed to discover that you can microwave vegetables so they're cooked perfectly. Pretty indistinguishable from steamed or lightly boiled and much easier. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScouserInExile Report post Posted September 17, 2018 Slimming World chips (microwave your spuds for a five minutes, then chop into chips, spray with fry light then stick in the oven). Especially combined with chip shop curry sauce mix (made into curry sauce, obv). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrispinFoetus Report post Posted September 29, 2018 A THC edible led to the discovery of Lemon curd, I don't know how I managed to dodge this stuff until now. I could put this on mostly anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
meatbin Report post Posted October 2, 2018 On 29/09/2018 at 17:22, CrispinFoetus said: A THC edible led to the discovery of Lemon curd, I don't know how I managed to dodge this stuff until know. I could put this on mostly anything. Seek out Passion Fruit curd. Thank me later. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stephen129 Report post Posted October 3, 2018 On 29/09/2018 at 17:22, CrispinFoetus said: A THC edible led to the discovery of Lemon curd, I don't know how I managed to dodge this stuff until now. I could put this on mostly anything. I bought some Tesco Finest Lemon Curd a while back and it was delicious. The kind of thing you'd find some hipster selling in Borough market for £6.50. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
emerald fox Report post Posted October 3, 2018 1/4 wholewheat to 3/4 plain white flour when making pizza dough. You get a really stretchy dough that you can roll out very thin without breaking, and isn't as wet and difficult to work with as using 00 flour. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScouserInExile Report post Posted October 9, 2018 On 03/10/2018 at 10:55, stephen129 said: I bought some Tesco Finest Lemon Curd a while back and it was delicious. The kind of thing you'd find some hipster selling in Borough market for £6.50. My missus makes her own lemon curd. She says it's really easy (iirc, it's egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice). Everything else is disappointing after that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gotters Report post Posted October 10, 2018 I'd given up on making poached eggs at home, tried all the methods usually described and bought several bits of plastic crap that make a mess in your microwave This though works perfectly, just tried it now, and all it takes is a small sieve. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bear Report post Posted October 10, 2018 22 hours ago, ScouserInExile said: My missus makes her own lemon curd. She says it's really easy (iirc, it's egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice). Everything else is disappointing after that. You forgot all that healthy, healthy butter. Homemade curd is lovely but just like homemade mayonnaise it's got a lifespan of about a week before it's got to go which is a shame. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrispinFoetus Report post Posted October 10, 2018 Fine by me, it wont last a week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davros sock drawer Report post Posted October 10, 2018 Realised this a long, long time ago now - but holding back some of the starchy cooking water from pasta (or just not draining it completely), and using it to emulsify whatever sauce you're combining the pasta with, so that it completely adheres to it. Makes all the difference. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
schmojo Report post Posted October 11, 2018 Yeah - makes it even better to barely cover the pasta when you're cooking it. The less water there is, the higher the starch concentration. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bear Report post Posted October 11, 2018 But then your pasta will stick together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stephen129 Report post Posted October 15, 2018 On 11/10/2018 at 16:47, bear said: But then your pasta will stick together. Stirring your pasta a lot will resolve this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Plums Report post Posted October 17, 2018 On 10/10/2018 at 09:46, Gotters said: I'd given up on making poached eggs at home, tried all the methods usually described and bought several bits of plastic crap that make a mess in your microwave Back when I still ate eggs I used these and they worked really well. I never tried microwave though, you use these in a pan of boiling water with a lid. I miss eggs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gotters Report post Posted October 17, 2018 @Plums had em, chucked em. not poached eggs, some rubbery shaped approximation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Plums Report post Posted October 17, 2018 I think rubbery is going a bit far, but yes they do lack the delicacy of texture of a "proper" poachy. They still need to be watched like a hawk though and doing them for 20 seconds too long or too vigorous a boil will result in them being overcooked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites