What's for supper - Second Course

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cerebus said:
Are you familiar with the concept of umami? Do some reading up on it if not. It's an entire flavor profile that we're only beginning to understand; roughly speaking it's savouriness or meatiness. Fish sauce just adds an undertone of umami that totally uplifts the other flavors - like I recently did a mango chicken that would have been sickly sweet except that it was balanced with the fish sauce. It can be used in practically any kind of dish.
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Interesting...since it's so intense, how much would you use in a dish? a dash?
 
Toni11 said:
Interesting...since it's so intense, how much would you use in a dish? a dash?
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Just taste it constantly while adding till you're happy. And bear in mind that it's also very salty, so you might want to moderate the amount of salt in the dish before putting in the fish sauce.
 
The umami thing is very interesting! Going to get a bottle of fish sauce and see how it goes. I hear that some recommend the use of MSG in cooking, any thoughts on that?

What else can you guys recommend as "staple in your cooking"?
 
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Park@82 said:
The umami thing is very interesting! Going to get a bottle of fish sauce and see how it goes. I hear that some recommend the use of MSG in cooking, any toughs on that?
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Nothing wrong with MSG, also adds umami. Gets a bad rap for nothing.

What few people understand is that the hated MSG and the adored umami are chemically related: umami is tasted by the very receptors that MSG targets. At a MAD Symposium in Denmark, a TED-like conference for the food industry, Chang spoke about MSG and umami: “For me, the way that I’m looking at umami, it’s the same way I look at MSG. It’s one in the same.”
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http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-...t-msg-is-so-easy-to-swallow-180947626/?no-ist

Park@82 said:
What else can you guys recommend as "staple in your cooking"?
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Cream, salt and butter.
 
faniedry said:
I thought MSG is bad for you?????
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Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer commonly added to Chinese food, canned vegetables, soups and processed meats. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified MSG as a food ingredient that's "generally recognized as safe," but its use remains controversial. For this reason, when MSG is added to food, the FDA requires that it be listed on the label.

MSG has been used as a food additive for decades. Over the years, the FDA has received many anecdotal reports of adverse reactions to foods containing MSG. These reactions — known as MSG symptom complex — include:

Headache
Flushing
Sweating
Facial pressure or tightness
Numbness, tingling or burning in the face, neck and other areas
Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations)
Chest pain
Nausea
Weakness

However, researchers have found no definitive evidence of a link between MSG and these symptoms. Researchers acknowledge, though, that a small percentage of people may have short-term reactions to MSG. Symptoms are usually mild and don't require treatment. The only way to prevent a reaction is to avoid foods containing MSG.
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http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-l...ert-answers/monosodium-glutamate/faq-20058196
 
Park@82 said:
The umami thing is very interesting! Going to get a bottle of fish sauce and see how it goes. I hear that some recommend the use of MSG in cooking, any thoughts on that?
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Get a thing of Robertsons Zeal, it's basically pure MSG. Nothing wrong with it at all.

What else can you guys recommend as "staple in your cooking"?
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Not sure what to say on that. There's too many recipes that vary ingredients. I use real butter in just about everything though. The main thing is to have a pantry that's packed to the gills with spices and cooking elements, then you can usually make anything you come across with infinite variety. I have almost no 'mixed' spices like soup packets because firstly they don't taste as good and secondly it's just too much temptation to use them in place of cooking from scratch. But for instance I'll always have:
Soy sauce
Worcestershire
Balsamic vinegar (and as many different kinds of vinegar as I can find - rice wine, red wine, white and brown)
Tinned tomatoes
Onions
Celery
Leeks
Garlic
Fresh thyme, rosemary, basil, parsley, coriander (and dried)
Cumin
Kidney beans
Limes
Honey
Cream
Paprika
Bay leaf
Chili
Good quality stone ground flour
Parmesan
Eggs
Good stock (pref homemade)
Rock salt
Turmeric
Curry powder and leaves
Garam masala
Tomato paste
Good quality (ie not spekko, not instant cook, not long grain) rice, of a few varieties including arborio, Chinese and basmati
Mushrooms
Red wine
Good sugar including muscovado.
Coconut milk

That's pretty much what I'd consider staple in the kitchen.
 
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akescpt said:
Didn't you put the toilet paper in the freezer? Double burn for the win!

Howcome you eat like this most nights? You seem to go through cycles.
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Haha. I did not but I'm already up with an upset tummy. Never again!

Got a bit of an Erawan addiction at the moment, so good. Much better than pizzas. ;)
 
ChopsSaus-1.jpg

ChopsSaus-2.jpg

These were insane. I'm used to thin pork chops but I had my butcher make me up some thick mofos and cooked them to medium. Took on some nice smoke, were juicy and the rub gave a nice taste to it - salt/garlic/paprika/bbq spice.

The sausages were awesome too. I'm stuffed.
 
Steak my bru

No pics fortunately for you

I can though go for the really expensive cuts of meat. Once a week.
 
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