• Welcome to the new Internet Infidels Discussion Board, formerly Talk Freethought.

Share your recipes

My favorite snack. What you'll need:

1. Slice of soft white bread.
2. Squeeze-jar of mayonnaise.*

Instructions:

Place bread on flat surface.
Lift mayonnaise (business end downward), and squeeze vigorously on bread.
Be liberal.
Fold bread and open mouth.
Eat.

Other kinds of bread may be substituted. Traditional jar of mayonnaise may also be substituted, but then one will require a utensil.**



*Anyone caught using fat-free mayonnaise will be shot.
**Knife, spoon, small spatula. A fork is not recommended.

I don't think I could ever eat that.

But then, I grew up on raw eggs and soy sauce on rice. Dump a raw egg onto a bowl of rice, add soy sauce to taste, and stir with chopsticks until slimy.

If you didn't grow up eating it, you probably wouldn't like it even if you were willing to risk the salmonella.

As you know, I'm sure, I was mainly just trying to be funny.

I'm not the least bit fussy about food. I can eat anything. I've been that way since infancy. There's not a single item of food I dislike or can't eat. I realize I'm lucky in that regard.

I don't think I have a very discriminatory palate. The art of fine-dining is entirely lost on me. I suppose in that respect I am unlucky.
 
My favorite snack. What you'll need:

1. Slice of soft white bread.
2. Squeeze-jar of mayonnaise.*

Instructions:

Place bread on flat surface.
Lift mayonnaise (business end downward), and squeeze vigorously on bread.
Be liberal.
Fold bread and open mouth.
Eat.

Other kinds of bread may be substituted. Traditional jar of mayonnaise may also be substituted, but then one will require a utensil.**



*Anyone caught using fat-free mayonnaise will be shot.
**Knife, spoon, small spatula. A fork is not recommended.

I don't think I could ever eat that.

But then, I grew up on raw eggs and soy sauce on rice. Dump a raw egg onto a bowl of rice, add soy sauce to taste, and stir with chopsticks until slimy.

If you didn't grow up eating it, you probably wouldn't like it even if you were willing to risk the salmonella.

As you know, I'm sure, I was mainly just trying to be funny.

I'm not the least bit fussy about food. I can eat anything. I've been that way since infancy. There's not a single item of food I dislike or can't eat. I realize I'm lucky in that regard.

I don't think I have a very discriminatory palate. The art of fine-dining is entirely lost on me. I suppose in that respect I am unlucky.

Fine dining is overrated anyway. 80% of your meal is the quality of food you're eating, 20% of it is preparation.

Easy to just show up at a grocery store and buy a nice cut of meat, have the same meal you were going to have in a restaurant, and save 70 bucks.

The one exception I can think of is when I went here. And I'm sure if I lived in Toronto I'd eventually just run out of money.
 
My favorite snack. What you'll need:

1. Slice of soft white bread.
2. Squeeze-jar of mayonnaise.*

Instructions:

Place bread on flat surface.
Lift mayonnaise (business end downward), and squeeze vigorously on bread.
Be liberal.
Fold bread and open mouth.
Eat.

Other kinds of bread may be substituted. Traditional jar of mayonnaise may also be substituted, but then one will require a utensil.**



*Anyone caught using fat-free mayonnaise will be shot.
**Knife, spoon, small spatula. A fork is not recommended.

I don't think I could ever eat that.

But then, I grew up on raw eggs and soy sauce on rice. Dump a raw egg onto a bowl of rice, add soy sauce to taste, and stir with chopsticks until slimy.

If you didn't grow up eating it, you probably wouldn't like it even if you were willing to risk the salmonella.

As you know, I'm sure, I was mainly just trying to be funny.

I'm not the least bit fussy about food. I can eat anything. I've been that way since infancy. There's not a single item of food I dislike or can't eat. I realize I'm lucky in that regard.

I don't think I have a very discriminatory palate. The art of fine-dining is entirely lost on me. I suppose in that respect I am unlucky.

As you can see from my posts in this thread, a lot of what I make at home is comfort food, but I grew up having friends come over to our house and turn up their nose at some of the Japanese stuff my mom made or that was in the pantry, so I do enjoy thinking about food and especially about combining things from different cuisines together. I also enjoy trying out new cuisines, so I'm thankful I live near a big city that has (last time I checked) 3 different Ethiopian restaurants.

After all, I'm from the generation of Japanese Americans who introduced the rest of America to panko. You're welcome. :D
 
My favorite snack. What you'll need:

1. Slice of soft white bread.
2. Squeeze-jar of mayonnaise.*

Instructions:

Place bread on flat surface.
Lift mayonnaise (business end downward), and squeeze vigorously on bread.
Be liberal.
Fold bread and open mouth.
Eat.

Other kinds of bread may be substituted. Traditional jar of mayonnaise may also be substituted, but then one will require a utensil.**



*Anyone caught using fat-free mayonnaise will be shot.
**Knife, spoon, small spatula. A fork is not recommended.

I don't think I could ever eat that.

But then, I grew up on raw eggs and soy sauce on rice. Dump a raw egg onto a bowl of rice, add soy sauce to taste, and stir with chopsticks until slimy.

If you didn't grow up eating it, you probably wouldn't like it even if you were willing to risk the salmonella.

As you know, I'm sure, I was mainly just trying to be funny.

I'm not the least bit fussy about food. I can eat anything. I've been that way since infancy. There's not a single item of food I dislike or can't eat. I realize I'm lucky in that regard.

I don't think I have a very discriminatory palate. The art of fine-dining is entirely lost on me. I suppose in that respect I am unlucky.

I've eaten mayo sandwiches. I don't often have a taste for it, but it's a kind of comfort food for me from when I was little and was learning how to make my own sandwiches. I hadn't had one in decades until just recently. It was delicious and comforting, as expected. Not something I want on a regular basis, and certainly not with a mountain of mayo. :laugh:

I also think I don't have a very discriminatory palate, either, but I do have my favorite types of flavors and recipes, so I kind of stick with chili, baked goods, puddings/pies, and things that are vinegary, such as pickles, pickled various vegetables, my pickled watermelon rinds (so good), salad dressings, etc.

Within those narrow areas is where I try new things and experiment. I like to keep my food and diet stuff as simple as possible. Lately going lighter in portions and things has helped with that simplicity.
 
...
Fine dining is overrated anyway. 80% of your meal is the quality of food you're eating, 20% of it is preparation.

Easy to just show up at a grocery store and buy a nice cut of meat, have the same meal you were going to have in a restaurant, and save 70 bucks. ...

On my budget 20% is the quality and 50% is the preparation. Still hoping to find the other 30%.

ETA - If I ever open a restuarant I'll call it The Sow's Ear. Really good meals at really low prices.
 
Last edited:
Tonkatsu
No doubt you've noticed that Americans (and especially American chefs) have gone panko-crazy. Almost anything that gets breaded and deep fried in America is in danger of getting a panko coating these days. Panko (please don't say "panko bread crumbs" as that's redundant) can be found in virtually every American grocery store. This is the dish by which panko was introduced to the rest of America by Japanese-Americans.

T[ent]omacr[/ent]n- means pork, and -katsu is (I think) an attempt by Japanese to say "cutlets." It's very much like Japanese schnitzel, but with pork instead of veal, and with a number of other Japanese twists.

Tonkatsu sauce (usually Bulldog brand) is also widely available in most American grocery stores. The sauce is vaguely reminiscent of American steak sauce, but sweeter and fruitier. It's great on all kinds of pork or chicken recipes.

  • Boneless pork chops
  • Eggs
  • Flour
  • Panko
  • Frying oil
  • Fresh cabbage, shredded (like you're making cole slaw)
  • (Optional) Mix shredded carrot into the cabbage
  • Tonkatsu sauce
  • Lemon (garnish)

Put the pork chops between pieces of wax paper and whack them flatter with a skillet, pot, rolling pin, or any other available hard heavy thing you have lying around. If you're one of those fancy people, you probably have a device called a "meat tenderizer" kept in your kitchen for the express purpose of bashing meat into submission, but whatever. You want to flatten the chops a bit so that the pork cooks all the way through before the breading burns.

Season the flattened pork chops with salt & pepper or don't as you like. The tonkatsu sauce has an awful lot of salt in it already, so if you skip seasoning at this stage, I'm not sure anyone would miss it. I rarely bother.

The breading is done with a typical three stage process in whatever pans, plates, or bowls you have handy:

Stage 1Stage 2Stage 3
FlourEggwashPanko

Where the eggwash is just a beaten egg or two mixed with water. You can do the breading ahead of time, cover it in plastic warp, and refrigerate or even freeze it the night before. I would pound the chops even thinner if you plan on freezing.

You can deep fry if you like, but I prefer to pan fry the chops one side at a time. That way, some of the moisture escapes when you're cooking the first side, which allows the breading to stick a bit better. Just make sure the outside is golden brown & delicious and the pork cooked all the way through. If you plan to pre-cut the pork chops into chopstick-sized strips (and you really should if everyone knows how to use chopsticks), then let them cool for at least a couple of minutes on a rack that allows air to flow under them. This way, the breading won't slough off when you try to cut the chops into strips.

Lay the strips of cooked pork cutlet onto a bed of shredded cabbage*. Drizzle tonkatsu sauce over the pork & cabbage just before serving. Alternately, you can put the tonkatsu sauce on the side in a tiny little bowl and let the diner dip as much pork and/or cabbage into the sauce as they like. Garnish with lemon slices or wedge. Raw cabbage with tonkatsu sauce is a delight with this dish, and you may find yourself making "quick 'n dirty" Japanese cole slaw with all the leftover fresh cabbage you'll have in the 'fridge.

* You will find on the Internet pictures of tonkatsu made by people who serve the cabbage on the side instead of under the tonkatsu. These people are monsters. Do not imitate them.

If you serve the tonkatsu sauce on the side in a separate tiny bowl, you can offer people a tiny dollop of Japanese mustard, which they can stir into the tonkatsu sauce to add heat in the same way that wasabi is stirred into soy sauce to add heat at a sushi restaurant. Chinese mustard can be substituted, do not attempt to substitute western mustard. Spicy Szechuan hot oil can also add heat if you can't get Japanese nor Chinese mustard.

Suggested Sides
  • Japanese white rice
  • Miso soup
  • Assorted Japanese and/or other Asian pickles of your choosing (I usually go with takuan and kimchi)
  • Salad and/or Japanese vegetable dish of your choice
  • For further side dish and/or presentation suggestions, google "tonkatsu bento" and click on "images."

Optional
As for the carrots that get mixed in with the cabbage, I will save pickle juice from used-up jars of pickles, add sugar and/or red pepper flakes as the mood takes me, then add shredded carrots to the jar and stick them in the 'fridge for days/weeks. These pickled carrots generally end up in salads and sandwiches, but they are also very nice in cole slaw and mixed in with the shredded fresh cabbage in this particular dish. The carrots themselves are optional, this is even more optional.

On Eating Japanese Meals
Although the bowl of rice is typically served in the back left or back right of the table setting, it is actually the center of a Japanese meal. If you can, serve each item in its own separate tiny dish or bowl (except the pork and cabbage, which need to be together), or in separate compartments in a bento box.

The idea is, you alternate between taking a bite of rice, then a bite of something else. The rice cleanses your palate for the next thing you eat, and the thing you ate just before the rice changes your perception of the rice's flavor.​

If for whatever reason you can't or don't want to serve pork, chicken is a common substitution.
 
Last edited:
I just made some fantastic chili. I don't have a fancy gourmet recipe, though. This is a poor-people-who-don't-like-to-cook kind of recipe.

2 lbs gr beef
1/2 of a fat white onion or 1 small one
1-2 tiny cans of tomato paste
1 can of kidney beans
2 cans of red beans
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes
3 packages of chili seasoning (I like two packets of mild and one medium or hot)
16-20 oz of beef broth
1/4 c sugar (That's right. Sugar. Deal with it, haters.)

edit: and peppers! Bell peppers! I forgot that. dice and cook with beef and onions.

Brown beef with chopped onion, drain. Add tomato paste and seasonings and a little broth and let that all simmer together for maybe 10 minutes to let the meat soak up the spices. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the sugar. Simmer for about 20 minutes or longer if you like. Take a taste and see if there's bitterness from the acid and spices. If so, add some of the sugar and taste test until the acid is balanced to your taste.

I know some chili fundamentalists get testerical at the idea of canned ingredients and especially about the sugar, but like the other kind of fundamentalist, they forget that your food is to your taste, not theirs. :)

chili.jpg
 
Last edited:
I just made some fantastic chili. I don't have a fancy gourmet recipe, though. This is a poor-people-who-don't-like-to-cook kind of recipe.

2 lbs gr beef
1/2 of a fat white onion or 1 small one
1-2 tiny cans of tomato paste
1 can of kidney beans
2 cans of red beans
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes
3 packages of chili seasoning (I like two packets of mild and one medium or hot)
16-20 oz of beef broth
1/4 c sugar (That's right. Sugar. Deal with it, haters.)

Brown beef with chopped onion, drain. Add tomato paste and seasonings and a little broth and let that all simmer together for maybe 10 minutes to let the meat soak up the spices. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the sugar. Simmer for about 20 minutes or longer if you like. Take a taste and see if there's bitterness from the acid and spices. If so, add some of the sugar and taste test until the acid is balanced to your taste.

I know some chili fundamentalists get testerical at the idea of canned ingredients and especially about the sugar, but like the other kind of fundamentalist, they forget that your food is to your taste, not theirs. :)

View attachment 18239

I always expect to see sugar in recipes from the USA. For savoury dishes, I just ignore that ingredient. Usually the results of doing so are excellent.

I am not a fundamentalist; I just didn't grow up in the USA where everything is sugary, so that's just not my preference. ;)
 
I just made some fantastic chili. I don't have a fancy gourmet recipe, though. This is a poor-people-who-don't-like-to-cook kind of recipe.

2 lbs gr beef
1/2 of a fat white onion or 1 small one
1-2 tiny cans of tomato paste
1 can of kidney beans
2 cans of red beans
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes
3 packages of chili seasoning (I like two packets of mild and one medium or hot)
16-20 oz of beef broth
1/4 c sugar (That's right. Sugar. Deal with it, haters.)

Brown beef with chopped onion, drain. Add tomato paste and seasonings and a little broth and let that all simmer together for maybe 10 minutes to let the meat soak up the spices. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the sugar. Simmer for about 20 minutes or longer if you like. Take a taste and see if there's bitterness from the acid and spices. If so, add some of the sugar and taste test until the acid is balanced to your taste.

I know some chili fundamentalists get testerical at the idea of canned ingredients and especially about the sugar, but like the other kind of fundamentalist, they forget that your food is to your taste, not theirs. :)

View attachment 18239

I always expect to see sugar in recipes from the USA. For savoury dishes, I just ignore that ingredient. Usually the results of doing so are excellent.

I am not a fundamentalist; I just didn't grow up in the USA where everything is sugary, so that's just not my preference. ;)

It doesn't make it sweet, though. You'd need a lot more for that. The sugar is for those of us who are sensitive or whatever to tomato acid combined with some of the chili spices. Optional. No need for either fundamentalism OR irrational jingoism. ;)

Anyway, I use splenda. I ran out of sugar last year and haven't bothered to buy more because I so seldom use it.
 
I just made some fantastic chili. I don't have a fancy gourmet recipe, though. This is a poor-people-who-don't-like-to-cook kind of recipe.

2 lbs gr beef
1/2 of a fat white onion or 1 small one
1-2 tiny cans of tomato paste
1 can of kidney beans
2 cans of red beans
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes
3 packages of chili seasoning (I like two packets of mild and one medium or hot)
16-20 oz of beef broth
1/4 c sugar (That's right. Sugar. Deal with it, haters.)

Brown beef with chopped onion, drain. Add tomato paste and seasonings and a little broth and let that all simmer together for maybe 10 minutes to let the meat soak up the spices. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the sugar. Simmer for about 20 minutes or longer if you like. Take a taste and see if there's bitterness from the acid and spices. If so, add some of the sugar and taste test until the acid is balanced to your taste.

I know some chili fundamentalists get testerical at the idea of canned ingredients and especially about the sugar, but like the other kind of fundamentalist, they forget that your food is to your taste, not theirs. :)

View attachment 18239

I always expect to see sugar in recipes from the USA. For savoury dishes, I just ignore that ingredient. Usually the results of doing so are excellent.

I am not a fundamentalist; I just didn't grow up in the USA where everything is sugary, so that's just not my preference. ;)

It's unusual for chili con carne, but in certain regions (e.g. Cincinati), they do add sugar to it.

There's nothing wrong with omitting sugar from chili. That's how most Americans make it. In fact if you remove the beans, add sugar (preferably brown) and ketchup, then cook it down to a thick paste, you can slap the results on bread (normally hamburger buns) and call it "sloppy Joe." So adding sugar kind of pushes the dish into another category.

The big debate is whether or not to include beans. Texans debate each other about whether or not beans should be there (beans were added during the depression to compensate for people using less beef), while outside of Texas, pretty much everybody includes the beans.

My fundamentalism is against using pre-made spice mixes.

Normal chili seasoning is
  • Garlic
  • Salt
  • Cumin (use lots, grind it yourself if you can)
  • Oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
  • (semi-optional) Chili powder
    • Chili powder is another spice blend. In fact it's mostly cumin with a bit of red pepper and a couple of other things. Like many, I prefer to use ancho (dried and partially reconstituted, or dried ground powder).
  • (Optional) dried or fresh chile peppers of your choice

The difference between the seasoning of chili and Americanized taco meat is that the taco meat uses more cumin. Seriously, that's it.

Go heavy on the spices and lots of heat as this was the dish that introduced many Americans to spicy foods.
 
Last edited:
I just made some fantastic chili. I don't have a fancy gourmet recipe, though. This is a poor-people-who-don't-like-to-cook kind of recipe.

2 lbs gr beef
1/2 of a fat white onion or 1 small one
1-2 tiny cans of tomato paste
1 can of kidney beans
2 cans of red beans
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes
3 packages of chili seasoning (I like two packets of mild and one medium or hot)
16-20 oz of beef broth
1/4 c sugar (That's right. Sugar. Deal with it, haters.)

Brown beef with chopped onion, drain. Add tomato paste and seasonings and a little broth and let that all simmer together for maybe 10 minutes to let the meat soak up the spices. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the sugar. Simmer for about 20 minutes or longer if you like. Take a taste and see if there's bitterness from the acid and spices. If so, add some of the sugar and taste test until the acid is balanced to your taste.

I know some chili fundamentalists get testerical at the idea of canned ingredients and especially about the sugar, but like the other kind of fundamentalist, they forget that your food is to your taste, not theirs. :)

View attachment 18239

I always expect to see sugar in recipes from the USA. For savoury dishes, I just ignore that ingredient. Usually the results of doing so are excellent.

I am not a fundamentalist; I just didn't grow up in the USA where everything is sugary, so that's just not my preference. ;)

It doesn't make it sweet, though. You'd need a lot more for that. The sugar is for those of us who are sensitive or whatever to tomato acid combined with some of the chili spices. Optional. No need for either fundamentalism OR irrational jingoism. ;)

Anyway, I use splenda. I ran out of sugar last year and haven't bothered to buy more because I so seldom use it.

Simple is good, and there's nothing wrong with adding sugar. They do it in Cincinnati.
 
...

1 can of kidney beans
2 cans of red beans
...

I know some chili fundamentalists get testerical at the idea of canned ingredients and especially about the sugar, but like the other kind of fundamentalist, they forget that your food is to your taste, not theirs. :)

I've been making chili for the past 3 years. It's always evolving, but the first thing I found was that there are just more varieties of dried beans available than in cans. I like half "small red beans" and half "black beans" because they're smaller than kidney beans. I don't bother to soak them but I slow cook everything for about 3 hours. Also use red bell pepper for it's sweetness (as well as some brown sugar), but mainly fresh poblano chilis as well as fresh jalapenos and ancho chili powder. Lots of other spices of course. And I use shredded chicken breast rather than beef. Latest ingredient is fresh epazote herb. I chop up an entire bunch. Tastes weird (like kerosene) by itself, but it's used alot in Mexican cuisine.
 
Not to shift the topic away from chili but I've been eating chili for lunch all summer and I've just switched to chicken soup. I know that sounds boring but I'm fine with having the same thing to eat every day. I like routine (must be the aspergers) but I also have to be creative about it. I don't understand people who say cooking is supposed to be relaxing.

So I'm kicking off this winter's soup experience by adding chicken feet to my stock. I usually just buy a Costco rotisserie chicken, remove the breast meat and simmer the carcass and dark meat for 2 hours. Then remove any of the meat, which all gets added back later. I strain the liquid and set in the fridge so the fat congeals on the surface and can be removed. I divide the stock in two and freeze half for the next week's soup. I add olive oil, bay leaves, yellow onion, carrots, potatoes, celery, parsley, salt, black pepper, dried dill weed, and 2 bay leaves and let that simmer 1.5 hours or until the potatoes soften. Makes 7, 16 oz serving. The chicken feet were supposed to add their collagen to the stock and create a thicker, silkier, more "luxurious" mouth feel. But I didn't notice any difference at all. Nada. Not worth the trouble. I only used 4 which costs about $1. Oh well. A friend of mine suggested adding garlic cloves but I use garlic in just about everything already. Next time I'm trying some kombu to see what that does.
 
I actually made one of those FB recipes that gets passed around. Crock pot chicken and dumplings. Already had most of the ingredients which is what inspired me. Just had to get the biscuits, chicken broth and celery to round it out and I used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables that had been languishing in the freezer for a while instead of the peas and carrots. I added a little more seasoning than in the recipe and it came out quite tasty and very easy to make.

https://www.facebook.com/delish/videos/10156048573777437/
 
I actually made one of those FB recipes that gets passed around. Crock pot chicken and dumplings. Already had most of the ingredients which is what inspired me. Just had to get the biscuits, chicken broth and celery to round it out and I used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables that had been languishing in the freezer for a while instead of the peas and carrots. I added a little more seasoning than in the recipe and it came out quite tasty and very easy to make.

https://www.facebook.com/delish/videos/10156048573777437/

If I owned a slow cooker, I would absolutely try that.
 
I just made some fantastic chili. I don't have a fancy gourmet recipe, though. This is a poor-people-who-don't-like-to-cook kind of recipe.

2 lbs gr beef
1/2 of a fat white onion or 1 small one
1-2 tiny cans of tomato paste
1 can of kidney beans
2 cans of red beans
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes
3 packages of chili seasoning (I like two packets of mild and one medium or hot)
16-20 oz of beef broth
1/4 c sugar (That's right. Sugar. Deal with it, haters.)

edit: and peppers! Bell peppers! I forgot that. dice and cook with beef and onions.

Brown beef with chopped onion, drain. Add tomato paste and seasonings and a little broth and let that all simmer together for maybe 10 minutes to let the meat soak up the spices. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the sugar. Simmer for about 20 minutes or longer if you like. Take a taste and see if there's bitterness from the acid and spices. If so, add some of the sugar and taste test until the acid is balanced to your taste.

I know some chili fundamentalists get testerical at the idea of canned ingredients and especially about the sugar, but like the other kind of fundamentalist, they forget that your food is to your taste, not theirs. :)

View attachment 18239

I made a spaghetti sauce last night that I forgot to taste because in a raging hurry to get it on the table.

The acid was way high and sugar would have improved it. I had been thinking salt for next time.

Ta.
 
...
I made a spaghetti sauce last night that I forgot to taste because in a raging hurry to get it on the table.

The acid was way high and sugar would have improved it. I had been thinking salt for next time.

Ta.

I write down my recipes and makes notes when I try something different. So my spaghetti sauce recipe has evolved and I think gotten better over the years. But I almost never taste it while cooking.
 
I just made some fantastic chili. I don't have a fancy gourmet recipe, though. This is a poor-people-who-don't-like-to-cook kind of recipe.

2 lbs gr beef
1/2 of a fat white onion or 1 small one
1-2 tiny cans of tomato paste
1 can of kidney beans
2 cans of red beans
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes
3 packages of chili seasoning (I like two packets of mild and one medium or hot)
16-20 oz of beef broth
1/4 c sugar (That's right. Sugar. Deal with it, haters.)

edit: and peppers! Bell peppers! I forgot that. dice and cook with beef and onions.

Brown beef with chopped onion, drain. Add tomato paste and seasonings and a little broth and let that all simmer together for maybe 10 minutes to let the meat soak up the spices. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the sugar. Simmer for about 20 minutes or longer if you like. Take a taste and see if there's bitterness from the acid and spices. If so, add some of the sugar and taste test until the acid is balanced to your taste.

I know some chili fundamentalists get testerical at the idea of canned ingredients and especially about the sugar, but like the other kind of fundamentalist, they forget that your food is to your taste, not theirs. :)

View attachment 18239

I made a spaghetti sauce last night that I forgot to taste because in a raging hurry to get it on the table.

The acid was way high and sugar would have improved it. I had been thinking salt for next time.

Ta.

One Italian-American friend of mine insisted that proper marinara sauce is made with just tomatoes and salt.
 
I actually made one of those FB recipes that gets passed around. Crock pot chicken and dumplings. Already had most of the ingredients which is what inspired me. Just had to get the biscuits, chicken broth and celery to round it out and I used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables that had been languishing in the freezer for a while instead of the peas and carrots. I added a little more seasoning than in the recipe and it came out quite tasty and very easy to make.

https://www.facebook.com/delish/videos/10156048573777437/

If I owned a slow cooker, I would absolutely try that.

In the future, I'd add another can or two of the cream of chicken soup and more broth. The biscuits really sucked up a lot of the juice.
 
Gyoza

Last night I went over to my brother's house, and we made a metric crap-ton of homemade gyoza (more than 200, less than 300).

This is something of a ritual in Japanese-American households. Gyoza (Japanese pot stickers) is incredibly labor-intensive to make, so making them in really large quantities is a whole family affair. I honestly have no idea if Japanese families make gyoza in such massive quantities, but it's pretty common in Japanese-American households. It's kind of a family bonding activity that is part of the Japanese-American experience, so I'm glad my nephew got a chance to do it (he's only a quarter Japanese and doesn't get exposed to much Japanese or Japanese-American stuff).

We had to compromise and use Chinese wrappers (Japanese gyoza wrappers are thinner) because no one felt like driving extra just for wrappers. Good thing too, because partway through we realized we needed twice as many wrappers and my sister in law was nice enough to run out and buy some. If she had to drive all the way to the Japanese grocery, the wrapper-run would never have happened.

Anyway, if anyone is interested, here's the recipe:

Stuffing
  • Ground pork and/or beef (we used both).
  • Thin-sliced nappa cabbage or bok choy (make the pile of cabbage slightly smaller than the pile of ground meat)
  • Thin-sliced green onions (make the pile [ent]frac12[/ent] to [ent]frac23[/ent] as big as the cabbage pile)
  • (optional) Diced fresh shiitake mushrooms (pile should be around the same size as green onions, maybe a little less)
  • Shredded carrots (do not buy pre-shredded; use a cheese grater as that will make the carrot slices thinner) (pile should be about half as big as the pile of green onions, maybe even less as it's mostly there for color)

Stuffing marinade
  • Soy sauce
  • Rice vinegar (less vinegar than soy sauce)
  • Fresh garlic (use a garlic press) (use pretty aggressive quantities)
  • Fresh ginger (ground/grated fine) (use pretty aggressive quantities)
  • (optional) good dark sesame oil (pref. Korean or Japanese, you only need a tiny bit)

Combine the ground meat and marinade ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands. This allows the meat to start marinating while you're chopping up the various veggies. Once you get all the veggies chopped up, get your hands dirty and mix it all up again. Cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate for at least a half hour.

Wrappers
  • Flour
  • Water

If you feel ambitious or can't buy wrappers at the grocery, it's just flour and water. Just make sure you knead it extra vigorously to develop a lot of gluten, as you'll need it to be stretchy/rubbery enough to handle all the mangling without tearing. Roll the dough thin, and use an old empty can (or something similar) to cut it into circles. The wrappers should be thin and about 3 to 3[ent]frac12[/ent] inches in diameter.

Gyoza-Wrappers-w600.jpg
Your local Asian grocer probably has this or something like it in the refrigerated section.

Warp Party
Get little bowls of water within reach of each person doing the wrapping. Have a stack of pans ready to receive the finished dumplings, and dust the top one with flour so that the dumplings don't stick. Put multiple teaspoons in the stuffing bowl.

Put a teaspoon of stuffing in your wrapper.

Dip a finger into a water bowl and smear a little water in a semi-circle around the edge of half the dumpling.

Fold in half and make a series of creases along one side to create a crescent shape so that they look like this:

photo.jpg

Folding instructions in video form:
[youtube]9uzGezdkuso[/youtube]​

This is the most time-intensive part of the process. If you're making it in large quantities, the more family members you can involve, the faster this will go. Everyone's will look awful their first few tries, but as things go along, everyone will get better with practice. The skill curve isn't that steep, so it's an opportune time to get the kids involved and do a little family-bonding with them.

At this point, you can refrigerate them for another day, or even freeze them for another week.

Cooking
Gyoza can be boiled, deep-fried, or pan-fried.

When boiled, it's typically served in (and cooked in) a soup. For example, you could use dashi (+ salt if you think you need it), or even instant ramen broth packets, boil, add sliced shiitake, sliced carrot, whatever veggies you fancy, and however many uncooked gyoza and simmer until the meat in the gyoza is done and the veggies softened to your liking. Drop a slightly scrambled raw egg near the end, garnish with sliced green onions.

When deep-fried or pan-fried, you're going to want

Dipping sauce
  • Soy sauce (whole bean if you can get it)
  • Rice vinegar
  • (optional) spicy Szechuan chili oil

I usually give the little dipping bowls to everyone and let them pour their own ingredients so that everyone can get the ratios as they like. When I was younger, I liked equal amounts of soy sauce and vinegar, but as I age I find that I prefer more soy sauce, and increasingly I find myself choosing low-salt soy sauce (to bring out the other flavors besides salt). If you can find whole bean soy sauce for the dipping sauce, I promise you won't regret it.

I don't need to explain how to deep fry this, as it works just like deep-frying anything else. The tricky one is pan-frying.

Pan-frying
Turn the burner to medium high and get a non-stick pan or cast iron skillet really hot, then add a somewhat generous amount (2-3 mm thick) vegetable oil with a high smoke point (e.g. canola, peanut, etc.).

Give each dumpling a little wiggle on its way into the oil to make sure it's lubricated, but put them in as quickly as you can. Don't pack them in too tightly.

Cook until you get a nice golden brown crust on the underside of the dumplings (normally around 3 minutes).

Add around [ent]frac14[/ent] cup of water and cover the pan/skillet.

After a period of time, take the lid off and let the rest of the water boil off. How much time? That depends on your dumplings, your pan, and your cooking range. Test one to make sure it's cooked through and adjust as needed.

Gyoza-w722.jpg
Picture taken from the Internet. Ours did not turn out this perfect-looking. I was too drunk to remember to take pictures.

Anyway, about half of the gyoza we made ended up uncooked in pans in the 'fridge for my brother to bring to a pot luck Christmas thing he did with his friends the next day.
 
Back
Top Bottom