Food, Food, and More Food Thread

Started by bmwracer · 6 Oct 2004 · 25,210 replies

General Discussion Page 853 of 1261

1 Mar 2008, 15:41 #17041
Tu_triky wrote:they nicknamed the fish, Gandalf the Grey.

LOL.


Grey's Anatomy. :beaten:
1 Mar 2008, 16:02 #17042
bmwracer wrote:
LOL.


Grey's Anatomy. :beaten:


:rofl: ...much more appropriate.
4 Mar 2008, 14:24 #17044
^ What is that exactly? I know it's pork, but is it a soup or just gravy? And any rice or noodles in it?

Just ate some mochi with crunch peanut butter & chocolate in the middle. That stuff is YUM. :drooling:
4 Mar 2008, 22:24 #17045
cori wrote:^ What is that exactly? I know it's pork, but is it a soup or just gravy? And any rice or noodles in it?


It's ramen....so it's a broth with noodles....it looks thick because it's a tonkotsu (pork bone) broth so it has the emulsfied goodness of those bones....which give it that characteristic rich looking color. Noodles are hidden underneath the mountain of toppings.
5 Mar 2008, 04:19 #17046
Tu_triky wrote:It's ramen....so it's a broth with noodles....it looks thick because it's a tonkotsu (pork bone) broth so it has the emulsfied goodness of those bones....which give it that characteristic rich looking color. Noodles are hidden underneath the mountain of toppings.

Looks mighty tasty... Better than the turkey on wheat I'm currently eating. :sweat:
5 Mar 2008, 04:51 #17047
bmwracer wrote:
Looks mighty tasty... Better than the turkey on wheat I'm currently eating. :sweat:


Don't fret....I empathize with you. I had brown rice with vegetables in black bean sauce....it's good but it ain't no bowl of ramen! :beaten:
5 Mar 2008, 10:47 #17048
Tu_triky wrote:

Don't fret....I empathize with you. I had brown rice with vegetables in black bean sauce....it's good but it ain't no bowl of ramen! :beaten:


Damn... miss these two ramen joints in Tokyo... one is upstairs near the train station in Harajuku, the other in the Yanaka Ginza.


Cheers, :drink:
PCM
5 Mar 2008, 10:54 #17049
pcmodem wrote:

Damn... miss these two ramen joints in Tokyo... one is upstairs near the train station in Harajuku, the other in the Yanaka Ginza.


Cheers, :drink:
PCM


Man, I would miss almost any ramen joint in Tokyo compared to what we can get here in Cali! :)
5 Mar 2008, 10:57 #17050
Tu_triky wrote:

Man, I would miss almost any ramen joint in Tokyo compared to what we can get here in Cali! :)


There are respectable joints here in CA... have to find places that make their own noodles.

Argh... getting hungry. :bonk: :)



Cheers,
PCM
5 Mar 2008, 11:11 #17051
pcmodem wrote:

There are respectable joints here in CA... have to find places that make their own noodles.

Argh... getting hungry. :bonk: :)



Cheers,
PCM


Yeah respectable compared to Ohio....but when you find ramen joints in Tokyo that take 20 hours to make their broth....we don't have any of that here.....but I'm glad we do have what we do!
5 Mar 2008, 11:15 #17052
pcmodem wrote:

Damn... miss these two ramen joints in Tokyo... one is upstairs near the train station in Harajuku, the other in the Yanaka Ginza.


Cheers, :drink:
PCM


that is some raumen photo, i can't wait to have some authentic food, although SoCal has some good places too, but it doesn't compare.

what are those two places you went to in Japan? can you suggest any good raumen places to try?
5 Mar 2008, 13:27 #17053
Tu_triky wrote:
but when you find ramen joints in Tokyo that take 20 hours to make their broth....we don't have any of that here.....but I'm glad we do have what we do!


Yep, no kidding. Some joints in Japan, the broths are utterly astonishing.

Heck, even the streetside ramen stands and the ramen stands in the parks of Japan and in the temples work for me. :thumbsup:


Cheers, :drink:
PCM
5 Mar 2008, 13:31 #17054
pcmodem wrote:

Yep, no kidding. Some joints in Japan, the broths are utterly astonishing.


no doubt.


Heck, even the streetside ramen stands and the ramen stands in the parks of Japan and in the temples work for me. :thumbsup:


Agreed!

I feel you...it's like going to any country and getting good street food at a food stall...like I'm sure you could get some awesome tacos in any Mexican border town that would be considered food of the common folk, but it would taste excellent.
5 Mar 2008, 13:33 #17055
pcmodem wrote:Yep, no kidding. Some joints in Japan, the broths are utterly astonishing.

Heck, even the streetside ramen stands and the ramen stands in the parks of Japan and in the temples work for me. :thumbsup:

Interesting that you keep calling the restaurants "joints." :beaten:
5 Mar 2008, 14:00 #17056
Tu_triky wrote:

Agreed!

I feel you...it's like going to any country and getting good street food at a food stall...like I'm sure you could get some awesome tacos in any Mexican border town that would be considered food of the common folk, but it would taste excellent.


Yep yep... my cousin in San Diego drove down along the coast of Baja the other weekend, hit some little roadside places near the beach for seafood tacos, he said they were amazing.

When travelling, I tend to fly low to the ground, inexpensive hotels, eat at places where the locals eat, etc., ala Rick Steves and Lonely Planet. Helps me feel more like a local.

Though I have to admit, some of those 5 star joints, if I'd won the lottery, it would be tempting to experience those here and there. :beaten: :hehe:

bmwracer wrote:
Interesting that you keep calling the restaurants "joints." :beaten:


Heh, I often use anachronistic slang, so as to be un-trendy... eg., calling a car a "jalopy", calling a party a "shindig", et al.



Cheers,
PCM
5 Mar 2008, 22:30 #17057
From the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-dumpling5mar05,1,3421885.story?ctrack=5&cset=true

[image]

Get this dumpling party started
Homemade Asian dumplings demand a group effort -- which means a do-it-yourself dinner is a great way to bond with friends.

By Regina Schrambling
Special to The Times
March 5, 2008

Not so long ago I went to the best party in years. The guests brought wine or beer. The hosts provided the makings for Chinese dumplings. And everyone did the work assembling them. I walked into a kitchen full of mostly strangers and left having enjoyed a good conversation with nearly every one of them.

Clearly, there are icebreakers, and then there are dumplings.

Trying to stuff three different fillings into two types of dough and get the pleats right made everyone bond big-time. The hostess, whose skills are seemingly genetic, taught the first arrivals how much pork or vegetables or shrimp to mound into each wrapper, and how to seal it, and the lesson was passed along as more guests turned up, bottles in hand. Over the course of the afternoon we filled nearly 300 dumplings. And then we got to eat.

As soon as the sensational pot sticker-style dumplings were off the stove, we dunked them in a well-spiced dipping sauce and slurped them up as we stood around and kept talking. Nothing more was really needed for refreshments, but the hosts had bought scallion pancakes from a Chinese grocery to nibble while we wrapped, and they handed out quirky Chinese candies as sweets to finish.

Now I'm convinced dumplings are one of those productions -- like tamales -- that are most fun to tackle in a group, with many hands making tedious tasks go faster. You could assemble them all in advance all by yourself, but division of labor can actually ramp up the festivities. Luckily, dumplings are so forgiving that even those made by the klutziest guest will cook up fine and taste great.

The experience is even easier to repeat if you take a few shortcuts. Our hostess made some of the dumpling skins from scratch, with amazingly silky results, but even she was not prepared to roll out and cut 300. If she saw no stigma to store-bought, neither should you.

Having grown up boiling dumplings, she also was far more adept at that tricky technique than a novice would be. Her method involved bringing the cooking water to a boil no fewer than three times. Steaming and pan-frying are much simpler, although you sacrifice the rich and flavorful broth created by boiling that our hostess served at the end.

For the fillings, pork bound with Napa cabbage, flecked with mushrooms and seasoned with garlic and ginger is classic. (The meat, I learned, should not be too lean nor ground too fine.)

Our chief cook added minced shrimp to about a third of the pork mixture to create a second filling, but for guests who are meat-averse, a better bet would be a blend of shrimp, scallops and crab, held together with an egg white but also seasoned with garlic and ginger. And for vegetarians, a filling based on spinach and tofu is a safe option. (Cooked eggs give it more body, but they can be omitted for even fussier eaters.)

The toughest part of making the filling is getting the ingredients evenly incorporated, especially with the pork. It takes muscle to blend everything together; the designated mixer should be someone who knows from the elliptical trainer.

Anyone can fill. You need a big table to gather around, a few small bowls of water to dip into to wet the edges of the skins to seal them and baking sheets to hold the finished dumplings. A small bit of filling is mounded in the center of each wrapper, folded into a half-moon and then pleated across the top side so that the skin pulls around the filling tightly. Keep the drinks flowing and the work goes surprisingly fast.

When it's time to cook, one person should be in charge, but many can take shifts. You need a bamboo steamer or a pot with a steamer insert and a wok or just a big skillet with a lid. Steaming makes the dumplings silky; pan-frying them over medium heat produces wonderfully crispy bottoms.

The dipping sauce can be made well in advance, just by mixing soy sauce, sesame oil and any seasonings you choose (grated ginger, fish sauce, hot sauce). As a whimsical dessert, I like snickerdoodles flavored with five-spice powder. And as an appetizer, scallion pancakes are a great choice, especially made using a shortcut from "Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen": flour tortillas filled with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds, coated with egg and fried to order.

Make those in batches and guests won't notice you are letting them do all the work on the dumplings.
5 Mar 2008, 22:32 #17058
pcmodem wrote:

When travelling, I tend to fly low to the ground, inexpensive hotels, eat at places where the locals eat, etc., ala Rick Steves and Lonely Planet. Helps me feel more like a local.

Though I have to admit, some of those 5 star joints, if I'd won the lottery, it would be tempting to experience those here and there

Cheers,
PCM


No one can argue that...it's the same philosophy that many seasoned travelers like to espouse....Anthony Bourdain often does the same thing on his travel show No Reservations and he tends to find some amazing meals. :)
5 Mar 2008, 22:35 #17059
bmwracer wrote:From the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-dumpling5mar05,1,3421885.story?ctrack=5&cset=true

[image]

Get this dumpling party started


Interesting....a Gyoza Gathering, if you will. :hehe: A Posticker Potluck....A Dumpling Dance, etc.
5 Mar 2008, 22:53 #17060
Tu_triky wrote:Interesting....a Gyoza Gathering, if you will. :hehe: A Posticker Potluck....A Dumpling Dance, etc.

Heh. :hehe:

A Wor Tip Trip? :beaten:

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