to the vegetarian, it is indispensable. my curiosity was piqued because they were running rampant on every chef/competition show on television, and when i found this bottom-of-line model at bed, bath, and beyond about a month and a half ago for $16 (with a coupon) i thought it sufficiently cheap to experiment with.
and i love it. i can't even see the need for a more expensive one unless i needed a thicker bottom for searing off meat, but i'm not going to be doing that anytime soon.
my favourite thing about it is it allows me to come home from work, decide i want to cook dried beans (not having soaked them the night before), and eat before eleven o'clock. it's so simple. i just use the 'quick soak' method, wherein beans are put in a pot full of cold water, brought to a boil, and then lidded up, the heat killed, and the whole thing left to soak for an hour. after that, a mere 20-30 minutes under pressure has the beans perfectly done. not 'almost done' - perfect.
also tomato sauces can be tossed and a cooked for half an hour that come out tasting like they've simmered for 3 or 4 hours. amazing. i even bought one for the hospital christmas grab-bag ($20 limit - no problem).
be sure to read instructions so as not to put anyone in danger. especially with beans. always soak them (even just a quick soak) - as this will stop them from foaming up, which can clog the vent, and don't fill the cooker more than halfway.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
mee krob
it doesn't look very appetizing, it doesn't sound very appetizing (i think it was one of the 'cursed words' in a south park episode), but man is mee krob tasty. traditionally made with shrimp and beef, this recipe is adapted from madhur jaffrey's vegetarian world of the east cookbook. it's basically a vegetable stir fry with deep fried noodles and egg folded in. very yummy. the ingredients are as follows:
- 6 oz. very thin vermicelli style rice noodles
- 1 large carrot, chopped (sometimes, i don't know what i'm making for dinner until halfway through, and chopping helps me to figure it out. in the picture you may notice i have brunoised the carrot, celery, shallot, and habenero - it might serve the recipe better to finely julliene these ingredients)
- 2 celery talks, chopped
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 1 habenero, chopped
- 1 small can seasoned, fried bean curd (or season and fry your own), julienned
- 1/2 a small can of bamboo shoots, julienned
- 3 chicken eggs
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce (the recipe calls for ketchup, which i don't have, but i had a mexican tomato sauce i had made the night before flavoured with cinnamon, which worked quite well)
- cilantro to garnish
also, n.b. i had no scallions, ginger, or bean sprouts, i think all of these things would have improved the dish.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
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