ozmotion's Profile
Can Nobu-style Saikyo Miso be frozen?
Not "freezing solid" is of no consequence, and in fact you are better off if the items you put in your freezer are not frozen solid.
The point of putting something in the freezer is to slow the growth of bacteria and slow the occurence of the degradative processes that we know as food spoilage. That's achieved by low temperature, not the phase of its water content.
In fact, since water expands when frozen, it is an undesirable thing, as it pushes against tissue and cell walls, altering the texture of whatever it is you are freezing. This is why the food industry flash freezes items, as large crystals are less likely to form, reducing the negative effect of freezing.
Does anyone else get a craving for sushi when you visit the aquarium?
So when ya'll see stray cats and dogs on the street, what feelings arise?
Storing strawberries
After the dry ice process, store them vacuum packed (FoodSaver, etc) to prevent oxidation and freezer burn. This part helps a lot.
Anyone else love Aloe Vera juice
I wonder what kind of processing is done for the sweetened asian aloe drinks to get it to the right consistency. Cause, after having enjoyed the sweetened version for a long time, I picked up a raw aloe leaf once at the grocery, cut it up, and tried a small piece -- ugh, it tasted like a grassy slime.. very unlike the beverage I was used to.
Taiwanese beef noodle soup
My favorite staple of Taiwanese cuisine has gotta be their spicy beef noodle soup. It's executed to perfection at all sorts of grimy hole-in-the-wall places in the native country, but vexingly difficult to find a an accurate version of around here.
This is the way i remember it: The broth is spicy, oily, and very aromatic with strong notes of star anise. The meat (i forget the cut, but it's often cut with a lot of tendon and cartilage) is slow braised for long hours in some soy-marinade until it falls apart in your mouth. The noodles, on the thin side and chewy. And the whole thing dressed with copious pickled mustard greens.
I've found some places in the greater NY that do one or another of the elements well.. For example, the various Lanzhou hand pulled noodle places have the right noodle consistency, but the broth is sadly one-dimensional and the meat nothing to speak of. Excellent Porkchop House has the closest broth rendition so far, but the noodles are typical and meat only slightly better than average. Ajisen noodle serves a ramen entree with one of the best tendon-y cuts of meat, but isn't really a beef noodle soup. Even in Flushing (i've tried at 66 Lu's and in the Flushing Mall) which seems most promising, something has always been missing somewhere.
I have the most hope for the Queens area, but basically I'm looking for an authentic Taiwanese style beef noodle soup that has the above elements. Recommendations, please?
Korean Ox Tail Soup Recipe
hey, i was wondering about your suggestion to let the meat/bones sit in hot water baths for several hours, 2-3 times. from a food safety perspective, isnt it a little questionable to let some meat sit at that temperature for what might be around 10 hours? or does the final boil ensure that nothing nasty is getting through?
just a little apprehensive here....
insulated or vaccuum twist top mug tumbler or what have you
I try to avoid the dispensing-top containers, or at least avoid using the dispenser. I like to keep my coffee hot - hot enough that if I drink directly from the container I risk burning my tongue. Not only that, but the snaking path that the liquid has to take makes cleaning difficult. Moving parts make it prone to failure. Especially the spring-loaded dispensers, which are usually combinations of small, easily-broken pieces of plastic paired to a flimsy spring.
If you must have a dispenser top, the current Starbucks model is a really good design. Same cleaning issues, but it looks much more durable.
As long as its a true vacuum design (metal or glass inside), they're all more or less the same.
Mail-order meats
Niman Ranch (www.nimanranch.com) is another relatively big outfit that's earned some good words around the net.
Mail-order meats
I've been doing a lot of steak at home lately and I'm itching to try meats esp from the small, family-owned ranches and butchers that have put their goods up for online ordering.
I dug around a bit and found a whole bunch of these places; I'm glad for the variety, but I had trouble finding any opinions on most of em.
Anyone have any experiences to share?
I'm was looking for dry-aged steak, but would like to hear about anything that was really good.
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a few i found:
Lobel's (www.lobels.com) is a butcher in NYC that gets rave reviews in general, though their prices are high.
Tallgrass (www.tallgrassbeef.com) is a grass-fed beef ranch; their hot dog was tops in some new york magazine poll.
Heart Ranch (http://www.hearstranch.com/) has deep pockets and runs an impressive-sounding operation. I hope they're good cause prices are cheap with the discount promos theyve been running (~$50 shipped for 4, 10oz new york strip steaks)
Alderspring (http://www.alderspring.com/) is a really small grass-fed operation, some restaurant nearby was using it.
authentic japanese restaurants
for ramen, my three favorites are ippudo, minca, and setagaya (in not particular order as it really depends on your taste, but if i had to pick just one, it'd be ippudo, though its not the best bang for the buck).
Halal cart on 53rd and 6th
the 53rd and 6th halal carts have been a reliable and consistent favorite for many years now. the cart across the street is indeed the same thing, and after confirming this with the workers there i haven't waited in the long line since.
the carts have a website of their own at http://www.53rdand6th.com/
it's also known as 'platters'
Pho (Vietnamese noodles) in New Jersey?
"Actual customer service"? what's that supposed to mean? honestly, to me an authentic pho restaurant is somewhat of a no-frills endeavor, with your food brought out unceremoniously on a metal cart with little in the way of traditional table service. It's all about the food... I view any pho establishment with high service with deep suspicion, as they must be spending too much effort on impressing the customers with ambiance and overall presentation than they are on the soup itself.
Bien Hoa, mentioned earlier on this list, is the best in central jersey. The decor is also the worst - that is, tacky and bare at best, but the food is absolutely delicious. Order the rare beef in your pho served on the side so you can let it be cooked to your preference at the table. mmmm....
