WhatThePho's Profile
Vietnamese Rice Paper for Fried Rolls?
Update: I just did samosas fried in about 3/4" oil, then flipped and fried on the other side. The results were certainly not like a traditional wrapper, but they did turn out significantly better than our baked version. Definitely edible, we considered this one a keeper.
(Again, we were looking for a simple gluten-free alternative to wheat wrappers)
Sugar in the soak water didn't brown the rice paper noticeably, but I didn't fry them for a long time either: maybe two or three minutes per side? Just till they got crunchy.
Thanks again, CHers, for all the helpful input!
Vietnamese Rice Paper for Fried Rolls?
Hey! This thread's a great help, although I see I'm late to the party.
My mom and I just tried baking spring rolls brushed in oil, as I've seen some recipes direct you to do. Celeste, you're right: the texture wasn't great.
We also tried steaming them. After (about) ten minutes the texture of the wrap was like that of a cooked noodle, or a steamed wonton. We liked it. I would urge you to use a metal colander and grease it slightly if you try it, as ours stuck to the steamer and fell apart. She's allergic to wheat, so this was a happy surprise.
I'm definitely going to try sugared soak water. Also trying samosas with rice paper for the same reason, no wheat. I'll report back. Thanks for the tips!!
Pho Noodles
I haven't seen this discussed elsewhere, forgive me if this is a repeat question.
I'm planning to try Steamy Kitchen's Crockpot Pho and plan to serve it pretty much as soon as I'm home from work. Has anyone tried leaving (dried) rice sticks to soak for a longer period of time, say 8 hours? It would be nice to put them in water in the morning and have them ready when I get home. The Mongolian grill near us has them on the line this way, I wonder if anyone has tried it at home?
Also I remember hearing somewhere that refrigerating rice sticks is a no-no. So maybe soaking on the counter?
I've never had good results dunking dry noodles in boiling water, I normally soak in hot tap water for 1/2 hour. Thoughts before I screw up a whole package of noodles? Thanks!
Torte? Petit fours? What word am I looking for?
Yeah, Chowser! That's what I remember them looking like. I've never had them glazed like they're supposed to be, sounds very very sweet! :)
Bushwickgirl, you're probably right about just using sheet cake cut-outs being the smarter method.
The more I think about it, the more I think they're supposed to be for snack-size bites of banana bread, or for cracker size slices of rye for topping...maybe? Pic soon.
Torte? Petit fours? What word am I looking for?
Quickbreads! I bet you're right about that. Mine are the length of the pan but would slice into cute 2' x 2" pieces. I will try and post a pic soon.
Breaded and Pan-fried FAQ
My brother taught me a trick he learned at work for making chicken parm. Pat the chicken dry, then coat in cornstarch. Then proceed to the wet coating, then dry coating, then fry.
Torte? Petit fours? What word am I looking for?
That must be what it's intended for, I can't imagine what else it would be. So I think that the petit fours and layered tortes that we used to get were exactly those things, just dipped in "bark" coating instead of frosted or glazed in the traditional way.
Torte? Petit fours? What word am I looking for?
I am trying to search the boards and the web for a recipe, but I don't really know what the name of the dish is, maybe you guys can help.
I received a silicone pan for Christmas with three long skinny reservoirs, like 2" x 2" x 8" or so. I don't know what its intended use is, it's not labeled in any way. But the dessert I'm thinking of is that size and shape, layers of white or chocolate cake with filling--almond, lemon, buttercream, cherry and chocolate are the ones I remember having--in between layers, and there was a hard chocolate or "almond bark" shell on the outside. We used to get these around Christmas when I was a kid, I'm pretty sure they came from a food catalog.
I know I could wing it, but I'm looking for inspiration, maybe some pictures. I'm sure there are some awesome ones out there if I could just figure out what to search for! Thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Please help me fix my chicken soup!
Late post, and this is maybe another "quick and dirty" suggestion. To my palate chicken soup stock never tastes "full" without simmering celery w/ the leaves, carrots and onion. Strained and salted, you wouldn't even need more chicken. Throw a whole sprig of fresh thyme in to really fill it out :) :) :) Oh chicken soup.
The Vodka Cringe
Very informative, thank you JMF. I've always wanted a better answer for customers who ask the question, "If the $10 vodka is distilled 7x, why isn't it as good as the $20 bottle that's only distilled 3x?"
Not a vodka /lover/ but I use it to add a backbone to mixed drinks a lot, and so all I want is "smoothness" and lack of off-taste/aroma. Just had a vodka martini (don't judge) with rail vodka because I mistakenly assumed my bartender would continue to serve me Stoli products, and it was really terrible. Just erased any self-doubt I had about whether or not a regular schmuck like myself, and not just "vodka-snobs," could detect a difference. ^_^
Pool party foods to sit at ambient temperature
I guess I didn't mix the dressing together, just squeezed lemon juice on the corn and drizzled olive oil. Cracked pepper, a little salt, chopped cilantro, chopped raw tomatillo, chopped up chipotle en adobo with whatever sauce clung to the peppers. I don't really know how much I used or proportions, but I didn't use much oil.
Sorry I'm not being more helpful!! :)
Ricotta and Mascarpone?
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/276527
Do a ricotta vs mascarpone cannoli taste test! :) And I'll be right over to help with all that tedious tasting.
Pool party foods to sit at ambient temperature
Second the tomatillos! It's excellent with some chipotle en adobo chopped fine and (if you're a fan) cilantro! Ohhh I'm getting hungry.
Would you eat "synthetic meat"?
o_O I did NOT know that. I thought "canola oil" was just their way of finding a more attractive name for the rapeseed.
Would you eat "synthetic meat"?
lol In adulthood I've begun to come around.. I'm not a huge fan of sweets in the first place, and the texture and ... well, i know this is blasphemy, but dry blandness of pie crust, just never appealed to me. I find that if I know who made it, then it magically tastes a whole lot better. :)
Would you eat "synthetic meat"?
Can I try again? Ok thanks.
Wild meat has a distinct taste, based partly on species, but in large part on diet. Corn-fed venison vs grass-finished beef vs factory farm cement-finished beef? I don't know how they would synthesize this without the use of the sort of advanced processing methods that make "food" not real food.
Different cuts of meat have different flavor, due to their function and the surrounding tissue. So will this new industry be willing to grow bone and fat and sinew or will they just flavor the meat? I would guess growing everything in a manner that would replicate the taste would be cost-prohibitive.
Kidney? Heart? Liver? Taste the way they do because of what passes through them.
If all that had to be synthesized to make it taste right were the actual tissue you eat, I would say yes. Absolutely. But because it will take so many more steps than just that, I am guessing the finished product will not appeal to me.
Also, the farther something is from the earth, the more unhappy I feel eating it. There IS a certain amount of emotion tied up in that, but it's how my mind wraps itself around food. It is important to me.
Would you eat "synthetic meat"?
Wow, actually I believe that is part of this discussion. People have asked the question, "Will the taste be comparable?" As far as I know, the added ingredients would be the only way to answer yes to that question.
I suppose my answer to the original question is, "No, because it would be very bland and not comparable to on-the-hoof meat." And if they fixed that problem? Then my answer is, "No, because I avoid processed foods."
And just for the record, cow's blood in it's natural habitat, cow meat, is one thing. After you start fussing with it, preserving it, injecting it, I just see the potential for altering the taste and nutrition.
Would you eat "synthetic meat"?
"none of it exists as of yet, so what it will be is purely supposition - but there is no reason to not also grow collagen and fat as well."
And probably add artificial flavors, texture-enhancing agents, maybe some sweetener to replace the flavors like "grass-fed." Iron? Real cow's blood? (The industry probably has more than it knows what to do with..) This is the direction I envision it going. Just another highly processed food. But who knows.
Would you eat "synthetic meat"?
Maybe...Butter is minimally processed. It is just separated from the non-fat part of milk; margarine is highly processed. If it were liquid oil, it wouldn't taste like butter. It's hydrogenated, colored and flavored to mimic butter. Which, in my mind, is what makes it synthetic.
I don't like pie either.
Would you eat "synthetic meat"?
Synthetic: man-made; not of natural origin; prepared or made artificially. Margarine qualifies.
From what I've heard the laws regarding the word "imitation" as it refers to foods have been loosened. It used to be that margarine, "Bac-os," and cheese whiz were all imitation, in that they are not butter, bacon or cheddar cheese. These days I can't imagine how many products would be labeled imitation.
Sam Woo Chili Oil?
The Hot Cock!! :) Love it! Yes cock sauce is all we call it. It doesn't have a name other than that.
Sam Woo Chili Oil?
I think this stuff is crazy good. In my fridge at all times. Just the right amount of heat and the flavor's Awesome.
And due to the rooster on the front we can call it all sorts of inappropriate names! :)
Potluck Showstopper Needed
Ah.. that MIGHT just be the perfect happy medium. Smoked salmon might tempt this group a bit more than tartare. Just safe enough.
So now, do we serve it with toasts? What kind? Would wasabi fries be over the top?
I'm thinking tartare gets moved to one of my vino parties with the girls. You're all effing brilliant.
Potluck Showstopper Needed
That sounds like it could be just the ticket to top a pulled pork sandwich. Maybe with a sesame ginger barbecue sauce?
Sam Woo Chili Oil?
Any way to avoid coughing your lungs out when you make this? Blech, I mean it's worth it, but if it can be avoided that'd be nice.
