Things I have learned

The finished Fish-Fragrant Eggplant We had some Chinese eggplants in the fridge that needed to be used up. One of my standard recipes for Chinse eggplants is Fish-Fragrant Eggplant, a Chinese dish. On top of that, we had a nice sunny afternoon (we did not have many nice sunny afternoons this April) that allowed me to use our outdoor wok gear to make this dish. My first step involved cutting 600 grams of eggplants into 2-inch cylinders. And then I cut the cylinders into batons by cutting them into quarters or into sixth's pending on the thickness of the eggplant. Afterwards I put the batons into a bowl, salted them, to draw their liquid out, and set the bowl aside for 30 or more minutes.. A good chunk of cooking with a wok is about preparing everything before-hand. There is typically not enough time, once the actual frying or cooking starts, to prepare additional ingredients. I minced about 1.5 tbsp of garlic cloves, 1 tbsp of ginger, prepared 150 ml of stock or water (I us...

Roasting Peanuts in the Wok Today was a nice afternoon without much wind. I used the time to make a few dishes with my wok outdoors. This post is about roasting peanuts, which are intended to eat as a snack, but also being used as an ingredient for some future Chinese dishes. Frying or roasting peanuts in oil is simple: I poured about 6oz of raw peanuts with their skin into oil that was heated in a wok to a temperature between 200F and 250F (about 95C to 120C). Then I roasted the peanuts in the oil for about 20 minutes or so. Toward the end I tasted a peanut and was not entirely happy, so I increased the heat of the oil to about 135C and continued to fry the peanuts for another 5 minutes. I took them out of the wok with a strainer device and soaked off the remaining clinging oil with some paper towels. It is important not to overheat the oil. The peanuts can burn easily and then taste no good. These days I use a cheap infra-red based device to measure the temperature of the oil ...

The finished tofu pickles I made some Korean-style mushroom tofu pickles today. We typically serve them as a side dish in a simple bowl.  I started with cutting 1 pound of firm tofu into suitable cubes with about 1-inch side-lengths. Then I fried the cubes on all sides in a non-stick pan. Frying the tofu cubes in a non-stick pan with a little oil. Afterwards I poured 1.5 cups of water, 0.75 cups of soy sauce and 0.33 cups of apple cider vinegar into a pot. I also added 2 sliced garlic cloves, 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, and three-quarters of an apple to the liquid. I put a lid on the pot, brought the whole thing to a boil, and then simmered the pickling liquid for about 30 to 40 minutes. Preparing the pickling liquid. Once everything was completed, I moved the tofu pickles into a storage glass jar. Then I sliced a shallot and put it on top of the tofu cubes followed up by the sliced (and now well hydrated and soft) mushrooms from the pickling liquid. Finally I ...