The Cooking Thread

[Bluto11]

Why do all of our conversations in this thread resort back to curry? It seems to me that you people love nothing but curry. what happened to the other amazing spices like saffron and rosemary. Why doesn't anyone talk about making meals with these spices.
i love rosemary. in fact, i like it so much that when I was in Anger taking a tour of a castle they had some growing in the garden and I rubbed a bit on my hands so they'd smell good!

[FIFARay007]

i love rosemary. in fact, i like it so much that when I was in Anger taking a tour of a castle they had some growing in the garden and I rubbed a bit on my hands so they'd smell good!

Rosemary is very underrated. I'm not saying I'd rub it on my hands or anything, but it adds a great flavor to all different types of meat.

[Bluto11]

Rosemary is very underrated. I'm not saying I'd rub it on my hands or anything, but it adds a great flavor to all different types of meat.
i'm weird like that :)

[johno]

Yummay. :) I've never tried the burning sugar thing; that sounds fun.

What is a good substitute for pigeon peas if I can't find them? I think they have them canned at my grocery store, but something about canned beans kinda grosses me out. Or is the flavor special enough that I just need to buy the canned?

We'll be meatless for the rest of the week, but I can't wait to burn some sugar and try this recipe in a few days.

The canned ones are very good. Back home we only use canned peas when we're lazy or too busy because its much cheaper to buy a few pounds of peas and shell it and then freeze it for use later on.

There really is no subsitute for pigeon peas in that dish (Pelau) however when there's no pigeon peas in my family we've used lentils in the past - but its NOT THE SAME!

If you're going to try Pelau yourself I'd suggest you start off with a basic receipe on the net and then if you like it, adapt it to your taste. Here's a good online receipe....

http://recipes.caribseek.com/Trinidad_and_Tobago/pelau.shtml

I use the canned ones myself, and I think they're fine. I mix them in with rice boiled with coconut milk and a whole scotch bonnet pepper and it comes out very tasty.

Now, you sound like a trini? May I ask where you're from or if you've got caribbean roots? Few people cook with a whole pepper anymore sadly. Its funny, I can live without pepper, but when I'm with my Indian friends back home, I devour pepper.

[Sapphire]

Thanks Johno and Ray. I am going to go by a Latin market this weekend to look for the dried peas and pick out some other stuff. If I don't find them, I'll go with canned.

I'm too hungry right now to be reading this thread. . .

[FIFARay007]

Now, you sound like a trini? May I ask where you're from or if you've got caribbean roots? Few people cook with a whole pepper anymore sadly. Its funny, I can live without pepper, but when I'm with my Indian friends back home, I devour pepper.

I get my love of spicy things from my dad, who's Indonesian. I really enjoy Caribbean cooking because of all the different spices and tastes. And jerk chicken? Don't even get me going on that.... I could probably eat that every day for a year and not get bored with it!

[johno]

Ahh...

Indonesian people eat good food! I was hosted by a bunch of Indonesian migrant workers back home about a year ago and had a ball.

[FIFARay007]

Yea, what I really love is all of the complex flavors involved, yet the dishes themselves are quite easy to make. Plus I get to go to the local spice store and stock up on different types of curry. For anyone who lives around a Penzey's Spices and loves to cook, give them a try, it's a lot of fun to explore in there.

http://www.penzeys.com


On a side note, I made a kickass pad thai the other night. Pretty sure it invokes a massive orgasm when you eat it. Again, a lot of fun to make since you get to use fun stuff like fish sauce and toasted sesame oil. :)

[Dark Savante]

So my latest interest is cooking and I'm getting quite good at a number of recipes, but I still suck cooking with ginger.

I'm trying to make garlic and ginger chicken without using a sticky or carb-based coating - how the hell do I make the chicken take the aroma and flavour without that?

Does anyone know?

Also, any recipes for cod?

ta

[johno]

Ginger is ich... I hate ginger.

[Sapphire]

Well, you could saute a little minced garlic and ginger in olive oil and then cook the chicken in the same pan. If you want to go lower calorie, you can use a little olive oil cooking spray instead of the liquid oil; you'll still get a saute effect and decent taste, but with much lower calories and fat. Alternatively, you can mince the garlic and ginger very finely, and rub them and a little oil or spray into the chicken before cooking.

[Republic of Mancunia]

Ginger is ich... I hate ginger.

Can't say I've ever used too much in cooking other than when it's been an ingredient in a jar of sauce etc. I do occasionally like a ginger nut biscuit and a drink of ginger beer though.

Also, every Christmas here, they have a continetnal food market in town and I'll usually grab a bag of frosted pfefferkuchen (sp?) or leibkuchen (again probably spelt wrong).

[Drae]

So my latest interest is cooking and I'm getting quite good at a number of recipes, but I still suck cooking with ginger.

I'm trying to make garlic and ginger chicken without using a sticky or carb-based coating - how the hell do I make the chicken take the aroma and flavour without that?

Does anyone know?

Also, any recipes for cod?

ta

what sort of ginger chicken are you wanting to make DS? an Chinese style dish? or more Indian / curry.

[Dark Savante]

Well, you could saute a little minced garlic and ginger in olive oil and then cook the chicken in the same pan. If you want to go lower calorie, you can use a little olive oil cooking spray instead of the liquid oil; you'll still get a saute effect and decent taste, but with much lower calories and fat. Alternatively, you can mince the garlic and ginger very finely, and rub them and a little oil or spray into the chicken before cooking.
I'll give it a go, but I don't know what ratio of garlic vs. ginger to put in. What's the best thing to do with that? I want it to taste really flavourful and bright, but of both not one over the other.

Help :o
what sort of ginger chicken are you wanting to make DS? an Chinese style dish? or more Indian / curry.

Any that taste good, wouldn't be opposed to trying both.

You a cook, Drae? :)

[FIFARay007]

Taste everything. That's the best advice really. A lot of times, depending on the freshness of the garlic and ginger, you may need to use a little more of one than the other.

Generally tho, I'd say use a bunch less ginger than garlic. A little too much garlic in something isn't too bad... a little too much ginger can be very overpowering.

[Dark Savante]

Taste everything. That's the best advice really. A lot of times, depending on the freshness of the garlic and ginger, you may need to use a little more of one than the other.

Generally tho, I'd say use a bunch less ginger than garlic. A little too much garlic in something isn't too bad... a little too much ginger can be very overpowering.

lol... i've tried to make it three times now and got it wrong on each occasion.

I don't know what I'm doing with this dish, tbh, and it has been by far, my worst failure in the kitchen.

I'll try that - i usually throw in about 4 cloves to about 15g of ginger.. is that bad?

:/

[FIFARay007]

lol... i've tried to make it three times now and got it wrong on each occasion.

I don't know what I'm doing with this dish, tbh, and it has been by far, my worst failure in the kitchen.

I'll try that - i usually throw in about 4 cloves to about 15g of ginger.. is that bad?

:/

Not sure... the only thing I measure in grams is my coke. ;)

you could try a dry rub. if you have a mortar and pestle, grind the garlic and ginger with a little salt (salt will help break down the fibers) and perhaps a bit of olive oil. Then rub it over the chicken (and under the skin) and pop it in the fridge for a few hours, then cook it up.

[yikchi]

You could try poaching chicken in hot water w/ garlic and ginger and salt. Here is a recipe for Hainanese chicken which i have tried. However, I felt the great thing come out of this recipe is the rice and not the chicken.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E7DA1739F934A2575AC0A96E9C8B63

Alternately you can also try to steam the chicken. You can marinate it like how Ray described and steam it up. If you do make steam chicken, i do recommend accompanying it with a dipping sauce. Just mince some ginger and scallion. Heat up a little bit of canola oil or veggie oil and pour it on the ginger and scallion.

[billyireland]

If you do make steam chicken, i do recommend accompanying it with a dipping sauce.
Loose translation: steamed chicken = utterly tasteless. ;)

[Dark Savante]

You could try poaching chicken in hot water w/ garlic and ginger and salt. Here is a recipe for Hainanese chicken which i have tried. However, I felt the great thing come out of this recipe is the rice and not the chicken.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E7DA1739F934A2575AC0A96E9C8B63

Alternately you can also try to steam the chicken. You can marinate it like how Ray described and steam it up. If you do make steam chicken, i do recommend accompanying it with a dipping sauce. Just mince some ginger and scallion. Heat up a little bit of canola oil or veggie oil and pour it on the ginger and scallion.

i'll give it a go and report the findings.

ta.