Nom nom nom - Food Thread

kvetcha said:
Huh, I had no idea! My assumption was that it emerged from the usual English suffixing process. Reading more into it it seems that it's still used officially to describe any citizen of Laos, while Lao is used to describe the specific ethnic group.

Just Lao, then. Good to know.

I imagine the 'Lao + Chien' thing is a bit of retroactive history. The actual French word is a typical demonym - ‘laotien’/’laotienne,' and I'm guessing the pejorative aspect is more of a coincidence of language than an intentional slight. But I certainly understand the political implications. I'm half Vietnamese and we definitely have our own Special Relationship with the French.
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Saaaame here with the Spanish (half Filipino myself).

But yeah, I had zero clue either. Though your deep dive on the etymology makes a hell of a lot of sense.
 
I made the best curry I've ever pulled off tonight. I've long felt like it's one of my weakest areas because I'll nail one then the next few just fall totally flat. But my last two were my best yet and it's from combining techniques I've learned across styles of curry. My last curry was a burnt onion curry I adapted from a video for an Indian chef's reply to what his last meal would be.

Tonight's curry was a Thai yellow curry. For the first time I velveted my chicken. Why did I waste so many years not doing this? Dumb decision because it really is a game changer. Then I baked potatoes last night till the skin got crispy and just slightly browned on the bottom. I wanted the flavor and for them to firm back up over night in the fridge. I mixed a fantastic Thai yellow curry paste from a brand I've taken a liking to at Hmart. To that, I added two tablespoons of sweet smoked paprika, two tablespoons of minced garlic, one and a half teaspoons of ground galangal, and a cup and a half of water. I got that to a simmer and put in the velveted chicken. When that was 2/3 cooked, I added the cubed baked potatoes. Meanwhile, I had cauliflower and diced onions under the broiler to get a nice char going on them. When they were nearly cooked with the char, I added those to the pan with two cans of coconut milk, two table spoons of maple syrup, and a jar of bamboo shoots marinating in chili oil. Once that was hot, I added about 20 spicy basil leaves, chiffonade, and the juice of 4 large limes. Served it over brown basmati rice. Forgot to take a picture until I was doing up leftovers for lunches, so the plating doesn't look as good.

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Hemotep said:
I made the best curry I've ever pulled off tonight. I've long felt like it's one of my weakest areas because I'll nail one then the next few just fall totally flat. But my last two were my best yet and it's from combining techniques I've learned across styles of curry. My last curry was a burnt onion curry I adapted from a video for an Indian chef's reply to what his last meal would be.

Tonight's curry was a Thai yellow curry. For the first time I velveted my chicken. Why did I waste so many years not doing this? Dumb decision because it really is a game changer. Then I baked potatoes last night till the skin got crispy and just slightly browned on the bottom. I wanted the flavor and for them to firm back up over night in the fridge. I mixed a fantastic Thai yellow curry paste from a brand I've taken a liking to at Hmart. To that, I added two tablespoons of sweet smoked paprika, two tablespoons of minced garlic, one and a half teaspoons of ground galangal, and a cup and a half of water. I got that to a simmer and put in the velveted chicken. When that was 2/3 cooked, I added the cubed baked potatoes. Meanwhile, I had cauliflower and diced onions under the broiler to get a nice char going on them. When they were nearly cooked with the char, I added those to the pan with two cans of coconut milk, two table spoons of maple syrup, and a jar of bamboo shoots marinating in chili oil. Once that was hot, I added about 20 spicy basil leaves, chiffonade, and the juice of 4 large limes. Served it over brown basmati rice. Forgot to take a picture until I was doing up leftovers for lunches, so the plating doesn't look as good.

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If you can find a copy of 660 Curries, I can’t recommend it enough. The author sadly passed away last year so it doesn’t appear to be in print at the moment, but it’s an absolute treasure trove of Indian recipes and techniques.
 
Gyoza (餃子; Japanese dumplings) made by hand last night. I used store-bought dumpling skins, as it is typical to use these even for restaurants in Japan.


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Came out great. Dipping sauce is simply equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar, with a few drops of chili oil. Made 35 of them and stored 20 for later.

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Oyster Okonomiyaki (カキお好み焼き) for midnight hunger pangs. A speciality in the Okayama prefecture (岡山県), an area I hope to visit within the next two years.

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It came out so good for the first try. I hope I can improve on it next time.

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Rip_City said:
Oyster Okonomiyaki (カキお好み焼き) for midnight hunger pangs. A speciality in the Okayama prefecture (岡山県), an area I hope to visit within the next two years.

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It came out so good for the first try. I hope I can improve on it next time.

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Okonomiyaki is one of my favorite dishes to make. Sadly have to substitute for the nagaimo since nowhere in town sells it, but it still turns out good either way. Never made it Oyster style, that looks really good! I normally use bacon or pork belly. If you go the bacon route, I I've found it's easier to eat if you cook and chop up the bacon first, then add it to the batter. Gives it some extra crunch too!
 
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Fillip J Phry said:
Okonomiyaki is one of my favorite dishes to make. Sadly have to substitute for the nagaimo since nowhere in town sells it, but it still turns out good either way. Never made it Oyster style, that looks really good! I normally use bacon or pork belly. If you go the bacon route, I I've found it's easier to eat if you cook and chop up the bacon first, then add it to the batter. Gives it some extra crunch too!
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This is my first time making okonomiyaki overall. I don't think I would ever add bacon to mine (almost always seafood), but the method you describe is typical for how it is prepared in Japan. Almost always is protein/seafood separated from the rest then added on the uncooked top side of the pancake.

Thankfully, I live < 2.5 miles away from four Asian grocers, so nagaimo (長芋) is plentiful. Expensive though ($6-8/lb).

The leftover liquid from the oysters (tried to remove as much excess moisture as possible) added a lovely richness to the cabbage.
 
sahomerrocks said:
Do you make or buy your bulldog sauce? Brand or recipe?
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The sauce that I used is actually a takoyaki (たこ焼き; octopus dumplings) sauce branded by Otafuku. These bottles are common in Japan. They also manufacture an okonomiyaki sauce, but I am 90% certain they are the same contents.

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