Things You've Always Wanted To Know

[zhao]

Got an open suitcase here on living room floor,
chock full of that stuff Zhao ...
She buys on last day in Tokyo, cheaper in Japan -and always a new blend.
Then the guys come and pick up her suitcases and bring to Narita so they are there waiting for her.

that's awesome. the biggest asian store in city center here is the size of a 7-11... but at least there is fresh kimchi and the essential part of every meal: pickled tofu. so funny i've gotten my girlfriend and other Germans addicted to the stuff great to see the initial expression of extreme skepticism/horror change to "oh... hey this is tasty"

 

[Mr. Tea]

Academic job or job job?

The latter, for sure. To be honest something I can do 9-5 five days a week, forget about at the weekends and pick up a monthly cheque for would be great right now.

 

[don_quixote]

you will get bored so quickly. i stuck that out for 3 months.

 

[empty mirror]

i love my Zojirushi IH rice cooker
very easy to use and a cinch to clean
i even use it to make steel cut oats
and by pressing down a special key it plays a little melody

 

[martin]

Thanks for the rice tips - much appreciated! Will try them out, cos I'm always fucking that part up.

Regarding Thai red/green curries -i'm inclined to think you chuck the meat in first, seal it, then add the curry paste -is this right? Only I've heard some people saying you should mix up the curry paste with the coconut milk in the wok first, before you lob the meat in. The latter theory doesn't make sense to me - but anyone got any tips?

 

[STN]

I dunno, I only did thai once and fucked it right up. WIth an Indian-style curry I always fry the powder with ghee and onions first, then chuck the meat in.

 

[Mr. Tea]

There are really great Thai curry pastes I buy from the little Chinese-run shop across the road, the instructions always say to fry the paste in oil for a minute, then add your coconut milk/stock and wait for to boil, then sling in yer meat, followed by veg once the meat's more or less cooked. Works pretty well.

 

[Mr. Tea]

I often turn my phone off to save battery (weird, I know), but what's confusing me is this: twice I have been into clubs and been searched, when extracting my phone, wallet and keys the bouncer looked through my wallet (nothing of interest), followed by asking me if I could turn my phone on.
Is there something in particular my turned off phone could be masquerading as?

Just occurred to me that with some phones you can take the battery out and replace the cover, can't you? Leaving a nice little secret-squirrel drugs compartment. Airports often check laptops in a similar way.

 

[luka]

pickled tofu? hmmm must track that down....
best brand etc?

 

[zhao]

Regarding Thai red/green curries -i'm inclined to think you chuck the meat in first, seal it, then add the curry paste -is this right? Only I've heard some people saying you should mix up the curry paste with the coconut milk in the wok first, before you lob the meat in. The latter theory doesn't make sense to me - but anyone got any tips?

i recommend cutting up and marinating the meat in curry (or any sauce for that matter) over night, at least, or even for a day or 2 in some cases, before cooking. not that i know from experience (working up to that soon though, only started really cooking very recently), but that's how my indian friends and other good cooks i know always did it, and the flavor really gets in there instead of just on the outside.

pickled tofu? hmmm must track that down.... best brand etc?

don't have a favorite brand. just those little 5 inch/12 centimeter tall jars with blocks of the stuff in a sauce inside... i always just make sure it's the right stuff, that it's made in Mainland China, or i suppose HK, and have never had a bad experience.

but please treat it like salt, and only take a pinch of it on the end of your chopstick or western stab/jab instrument and put it in your mouth during a meal, as flavor enhancement -- because it is very salty. or you can spread it on the kind of asian pancakes that people wrap stuff in. it would pretty much go well with any asian food.

but if you are crazy like my friend Wolfgang you can of course just pile entire blocks of it into your plate and chow down -- like adding heaps and heaps of anchovies on your pizza...

 

[luka]

i just got back from the supermarket.
confronted with about 30 different varieites.
brought two different ones so we'll see how it goes.
got that seaweed wasabi seasoning too. looking foward to cooking some rice tonight.
this is going to be good!

 

[zhao]

30 VARIETIES OF PICKLED TOFU?!?! do you live in Sydney's Chinatown??? fuck me i think i'm in the absolute worst asian-food place on earth

 

[luka]

its something i'll miss if i move back to london. there is nothing comparable there and it sounds as though berlin is the same.
as regards the pickled tofu, well, i work in the food hall of a department store. my espresso bar is opposite the cheese counter. one slow day i wandered over and got some stilton. i was working with a japanese girl and a nepalese boy. i offered them some stilton. i was reminded of their reactions today after eating the tofu. its the most pungent salty offensive thing i've ever eaten!
it reminded me of kim chee in tat i knew i didn't like it but i felt compelled to keep tasting more until i became absolutely sure that i found the taste repellent.
i'm glad i tried it though.

 

[Mr. Tea]

i recommend cutting up and marinating the meat in curry (or any sauce for that matter) over night, at least, or even for a day or 2 in some cases, before cooking.

I usually do this when I'm making a stir-fry: bits of chicken or pork marinated in finely chopped ginger, chillies and garlic with soy and sweet chilli sauce and sometimes a dab of honey. I have a very vague idea this is very vaguely Szechuan (?). Whatever, I'm more into tasty than authentic...the smell when it hits the hot oil in the wok is to die for.

 

[luka]

it also smells like a particularly noxious fart.

 

[luka]

i have to admit tho i eat some more since.... it keeps tugging at me, maybe its the saltiness, i cant leave it alone, its like one of those things
but i cant think of it
a pain thing that you keep picking at,
its a weird powerful food.
how do you usually eat it zhao?
just on its own like a pickle, or with rice or somehting?

 

[zhao]

oh my god. i know exactly what is happening. YOU GOT THE STINKY TOFU BY MISTAKE!!!

normal pickled tofu is not smelly at all, but only spicy and salty, and has a different flavor.

the STINKY TOFU, how ever... the second you open the lid, the entire flat is immediately filled with the odor. and yes, it really does smell like FART ---- i adore the stuff though, and cannot find it anywhere in this place. it is certainly a very much acquired taste, but it sounds like maybe you have the intestinal fortitude to win this battle

with both it is usually just eaten a tiny bit at a time, with any meal. like you put a little bit on a little saucer, and just dab at it with your chopsticks.

is the other bottle the same? if it is, you should maybe ask someone at the shop about non-stinky pickled tofu. and bring some of that wicked stuff back for me

 

[luka]

the second jar, i wasn't paying attention but its actually pickled soybean and chilli. not tofu.
i don't think ive come to the end of this investigation. im going to keep you posted.

 

[Slothrop]

Semi related - why is it so bloody hard to find fresh curry leaves? And where can I get hold of them in central / north London?

Cookery writers seem to have considered them as much of a staple as rice and flour for years now but they're almost impossible to find even in places that are pretty good for obscure herbs and spices. *grumbles*

 

[Mr. Tea]

Aren't they just as good dried? I buy them dried in my aforemention local Chinese grocer's - I expect a trip to the little Chinese/Viet quarter in Hackey would probably be fruitful here.