Tell us what you have cooked lately (that's interesting)

Never heard of H Mart but we have a few that opened up close by so I will have to go hunt them down now. Looks like a newer version of Ranch 99.

This is more of a snack, but I really, really how it came out enough to post : kale chips with chili-lime. They hit some of the same parts of my brain that potato chips do, but these are far more guilt-free.

First, grab a huge bunch of kale, cut out those tough stalks, and cut into chip-like sizes:


Toss them with olive oil, sprinkle some salt, and cook them 20-25 minutes at 350, then take 'em out and dust (heavily) with chili powder and lime zest:

Stack 'em up in an airtight container so you’re ready to snack any time:

And enjoy a snack that’s like $5/bag if you don’t make it yourself.

The wife made her take on enchiladas. I swear they’re under there somewhere.

Cool faster, damn it!

In the last 40 hours, I have cooked:

  • 3lbs of high-quality Korean rice
  • 8lbs of chicken breasts and 4lbs of chicken wings into Korean Fried Chicken
  • 4lbs of thinly sliced beef ribeye into Beef Bulgogi
  • 3lbs of thinly sliced pork shoulder into spicy pork bulgogi
  • 3lbs of tiny new potatoes into glazed potatoes
  • 2lbs each of bean sprouts and spinach into seasoned side dishes
  • A gallon of spicy Asian coleslaw
  • A quart of lime and cilantro Crema
  • A cup of Ssamjang BBQ dip
  • A gallon of doenjang jjigae soup with shrimp, tofu, mushrooms, potatoes, and zucchini (plus a quart of vegan soup)
  • 4 giant shrimp, zucchini and kale pancakes
  • 4 big platters of kimchi fried rice with spam and veggies topped with fried eggs.
  • A quart of spicy-sweet sauce for the chicken
  • And a pint of honey butter sauce for the same

… All of which fed ten guests over the course of four meals and left my James with a terrifyingly small amount of leftovers. In the process I used about 3lbs of carrots, 5lbs of onions, 5 bunches of scallions, 3.5 heads of garlic, a quarter pound of ginger, about a quart of soy sauce, about the same amount of rice syrup, a pint of sesame oil, the better part of a quart of canola oil, and about a pound of brown sugar. That was INSANE.



Unsorted 15 picture food porn because good lord does sorting photos that upload in completely random order to Discord suck dicks and it's 1AM and I'm tired

Holy shit! You need to have “caterer” added to your title.

My GF would approve. Take normal enchiladas. Smother with multiple layers of awesome. Now you have awesome enchiladas.

I’ve never had kale chips. What kind of taste am I looking at here? Like veggie chips? More like crispy spinach? Are they bendy at all or tough at all?

Good lord, man. Get some sleep! That’s a crazy amount of food.

If done correctly, they are very crispy, and a lot like erm…very thin potato chips. If you let them sit for a few days, they start to soften up and you need to re-crisp them in the oven for a few minutes. They should snap/shatter when crunched on.

Noted, thanks for the explanation, Jim. I like Kale, but crazy or not I’ve just never had Kale chips. Usually when I see a veggie based chip it’s shredded and baked or fried, not quite whole like this. This looks … too easy?

Kale chips remind me of roasted seaweed, if you’ve had that before.

Kale chips are delicious but it’s always kind of deflating to buy a huge head of kale and see it condensed after baking into a tiny handful of food.

Damn! I would eat the fuck out of that. That so takes me back to my childhood. Every birthday I was allowed to pick my dinner of choice, and almost always I chose something that looked like that…my mom’s skillet enchiladas. So freaking good. Since we are at about that time of year, I wish I could stop by!

In hot sauce news…

So I posted about trying my hand at hot sauce about two weeks ago. It was too sharp with the vinegar at the time. Boy has it mellowed nicely in the passing days. I love it. Although I’m surprised to find that it works much better as a compliment to Asian foods, than Mexican, which is what I was intending. Mixed with some soy or Tamari sauce? Wow. It really works. I can just do a bowl of rice with that hot sauce and some soy and I’m good.

I’m really pleased at how the flavor profile has changed. It has a mellower taste w/r/t vinegar, but still retains a great lingering heat when you eat it.

I look forward to trying a batch with some dried peppers, and maybe mixing in some canned chipotles. Not sure about that. we’ll see.

-xtien

That’s a really good tip, I would not have known that. I’ve grown peppers and considered making sauce before but just thought it would be a pain. Reading this gives me hope that it’s not really too bad.

I threw some of my peppers in pickling juice along with some onions and a little cucumber. They mellow out very nicely there, too.

Played Starfinder tonight with my buddy who hosted the Blizzcon party this past weekend. He had some leftovers, including chicken, zucchini, and a ton of red skin potatoes that someone bought that I couldn’t use for the braised potatoes recipe I did then. So I cooked fried chicken, sautéed zucchini, and a ton on garlic herb smashed potatoes, which were promptly loaded with cheese and bacon. Tasty game night !

I have somehow become a fan of this food blogger dude named Mark Wiens. He doesn’t cook really. His videos–all on youtube–are just him traveling the world with his wife and son and eating. At first I wasn’t crazy about him because he seemed a bit schticky in the way he reviews what he eats, but over time his enthusiasm has won me over.

Anyway, I watched a bunch of his videos of traveling in Thailand–he actually lives there, and his mother-in-law seems to be an amazing cook–which made me want to get more Thai food. Unfortunately I have not been able to leave the house much this week, and since I tried my hand at hot sauce above, I decided to try to make a condiment I really love when I go out for Thai food. Looking around, I found it’s called Nam Som Prik Dong. And it could not be easier to make.

Peppers. Vinegar.

It’s one of my favorite condiments when I go to a Thai restaurant, and I made it today. I revere the stuff I get in restaurants way too much. I love it when simplicity happens.

Now I want to make my own chili oil and chili paste.

-xtien

nsis

I love Mark Weins! He has a giant orgasm with everything he eats. Very entertaining.

Check out Mikey Chen too, another great food/travel YouTuber.

If you’re willing to “settle” for prepackaged pastes, Thai food is largely a breeze to make. If you can get your hands on lemongrass/galangal/lime leaves, all the better, and I’m thinking out in CA you can, but yeah, it’s a ton of fun to cook, either the Western-friendly restaurant fare or more legit stuff. I think the next year for me is gonna focus heavily on more traditional Asian cooking styles, and I’m really excited to dig more into Thailand :-D

Does anyone know about Japanese soba sauce? It’s daishi (the smoked fish), wine, and soy sauce.

Anyone know what is a good one? I have tried 3-4 different bottles and they are all okay. I know it’s supposed to be for buckwheat but it is DELICIOUS. I can add a dash to any meat dish, or plain white rice because I am bored with plain white rice.

edit: I know almost nothing so don’t be afraid to talk down.