killdozzer
Major Contributor
This looks just beautiful. Italians really do know how to enjoy food.
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Pareto Pragmatic
Active Member
Two things people who post in this thread might be interested in.
Za'atar, a spice mix. goes well on anything. Anyone familiar? Sumac, thyme, salt, sometimes other things.
Lao Gan Ma chili crisp. I know I saw one person had chili crisp, but not this one. It is super easy to find, and not too hot, but good fermented funk.
Both of those have a permanent space in my kitchen. Anything you all use, that might not be all that common? I'm always willing to try new things.
Next time I make something interesting, I'll try to remember to post here.
Za'atar, a spice mix. goes well on anything. Anyone familiar? Sumac, thyme, salt, sometimes other things.
Lao Gan Ma chili crisp. I know I saw one person had chili crisp, but not this one. It is super easy to find, and not too hot, but good fermented funk.
Both of those have a permanent space in my kitchen. Anything you all use, that might not be all that common? I'm always willing to try new things.
Next time I make something interesting, I'll try to remember to post here.
Is it food or is it art - I don’t know
Andysu
Major Contributor
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2019
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it could very well be art of cheese that manifests the stuff that dreams are made ofIs it food or is it art - I don’t know
Keith_W
Major Contributor
There are plenty of Chinese herbs and spices that would be unfamiliar to Western palates, even well travelled Western palates. Here are a few in my kitchen:
- Sand ginger powder. Despite its name, it tastes nothing like ginger. It has a unique floral aroma and tastes a little like fennel seed. It is used to make salt baked chicken. Sprinkle this in and out of your chicken, wrap the chicken up in paper, then aluminum foil, and pack it down with salt in a Dutch oven. Bake for 90 min.
- Dried Angelica root. Tastes a bit bitter, like ginseng, and a bit earthy. Good for herbal soups, can be used to add an interesting kick to sauces.
- Asafoetida. This one is not Chinese, it is more Persian / Indian. I came across it as a modern substitute for ancient Roman Sylphium, which appears to have gone extinct. It smells awful, a bit like musty old socks, so the key is to use small quantities. I came across a recipe to make a baste for roasted chicken consisting of honey, garum (substitute with an Asian fish sauce), and asafoetida.
- Chinese 5 spice powder. I make my own. It has star anise, cinnamon, sichuan peppercorns, fennel, and cloves. Sometimes also sand ginger powder, cumin, and white pepper (in which case it becomes 7 spice powder). You should try using a bit of this with your Christmas turkey, the flavour is totally unexpected and surprising. I made a Christmas roast goose by mixing 5 spice powder with orange juice and zest, then rubbing that all over the goose. I stuffed the squeezed orange into the cavity with more 5 spice powder.
- Sichuan peppercorns. This has had so much exposure that it's not that unusual any more. Green peppercorns = more numbing, red peppercorns = more fragrant.
I also have a collection of peppercorns, from native Australian pepperberries (intense pepper heat but minimal aroma, although what aroma it does have is akin to a very weak sichuan peppercorn) to the best - peppercorns from Sarawak in Malaysia. These have a strong floral aroma, and medium pepper flavour so you have to use a bit more. The key to using peppercorns is to grind it fresh when you want to use it, and never grind peppers into anything you are going to heat - unless you don't mind getting rid of the aroma and only keeping the pepper flavour. I ignore all recipe directions to grind pepper into sauces. If I am going to do that, then I use the cheapest peppers I have in stock and only keep my expensive peppers for anything that calls for freshly ground pepper - i.e. all types of meats and some pasta dishes.
Pareto Pragmatic
Active Member
Fan of Tasting History? Asafoetida and garum make me think so. Good youtube content you might enjoy if you have not seen it.
I have never heard of sand ginger, and have never used Angelica root. But I think I will seek out sand ginger at some point, it sounds interesting.
Not a fan of 5 spice, don't hate it, but rarely go that way. I have used it on goose and duck with great success, and will use it for that again. I think I've had too much cheap take out that uses a heavy hand with 5 spice. I don't cook a lot of game, but it seems an ideal match to a lot of game.
Sichuan peppercorns? That's the one Chinese cuisine I actually make proper dishes from! Everything else is just vaguely Chinese. Love me some peppers, but we don't keep many varieties in the house. Sarawak is good! Usually we use Tellicherry, and we have a coarse and fine grinder loaded at all times. Fresh is best. The only time I used pre-ground is when I am trying to recreate the taste of childhood. Which is basically salt, old pepper, and surprisingly good paprika.
I am a fan of this mix for north African cuisines:
Ras el Hanout
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Thanks for the suggestions!
Keith_W
Major Contributor
Yup! I love Max Miller. Actually, my interest is in Roman history and of course you come across garum when you read about the ancients, so I started researching a bit about garum and how to make it. That's how I found Tasting History. If you want to learn more about garum, this lady is somewhat of an authority and this video is excellent:
She even does a very poorly conducted blind test with her husband as the subject. I say poorly conducted, because she knows what is in each sample, and she gives her tasting impression before her husband.
For more historic cooking, there is also the Townsends channel and Early American, but both deal with early American cooking rather than Roman cooking. I also found an historic British cooking channel.
Some day I hope to host an ancient Roman dinner party where I try to cook as many authentic Roman dishes as possible. I will play Synaulia (these guys are a band of musicians who research and play ancient music) with plenty of wine. Not lark's tongues, wren's livers, chaffinch brains, jaguar's earlobes, otter's noses, ocelot spleens, and wolf nipple chips.
There is a difference between good 5 spice powder and bad. My local supermarket sells a "Western" version of 5 spice powder, and it includes sugar and salt in it! I once bought some because I had no choice, and I threw it out because it was disgusting. When I was very young, I used to follow my grandmother when she went shopping. My favourite shop was the spice merchant, picture an old shop with hundreds of wooden drawers. She would ask for something, and they would pull out a few varieties of spices for her to smell. She would pass them to me for a sniff and it was really something. I haven't seen a shop like that for a very long time, all the spices are packed up in plastic bags these days so no more smell before you buy.
Pareto Pragmatic
Active Member
The Roman dinner sounds fantastic! Doing what you love and sharing it like that is always a good thing.
When I use 5 spice, I make my own. I rarely use it, so small amounts. I am just very careful with the levels. It's just one of those things that when I taste it, I have a problem tasting anything else. That's ok, there's a world of spices to try and use, and I don't have many things that hit me like that. Gin does, hate gin. I should like it, botanicals and all, but no. And I have never gotten drunk on it, or even had more than a sip. Any brand, any quality, same reaction. Even to a sniff.
Definitely do that dinner!
killdozzer
Major Contributor
I'll make a food cliffhanger. This is bučnica. It's not a pumpkin pie, but a pumpkin strudel of a sort. Buča is pumpkin in Croatian, so buča being pumkin, pita from buča is bučnica. You use sheet dough, you can buy this in a grocery store. You grate the pumpkin, mix it with cottage cheese (add an egg if you will), you can do it salty, sweet or the mix of two. Spread it on the sheet dough. You roll them up and bake them 40 minutes at 180 degrees (Celsius, of course):
And the cliffhanger is because you have to wait to see them when they're done!!
And the cliffhanger is because you have to wait to see them when they're done!!
killdozzer
Major Contributor
Aaaaaaaaaaand this is it (enough with hanging on a cliff already):
