Text 20016, 118 rader
Skriven 2007-09-04 12:19:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DALE SHIPP
Ärende: heat levels 87
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 DS> We finally got a cryovac of flat iron steak from BJs.  Had to ask
 DS> for it several times.  Turns out they come in with the shoulder clods
 DS> but the butchers do not normally put them out in cryovac.   In fact,
 DS> the guy told me that they had been taken out of the system, so he
 DS> rang up a sticker as a shoulder clod (at $2.79).

That is a lot for shoulder clod but, given the trends, quite good
for flatiron steak.

    We had a pair of
 DS> steaks two nights ago -- very good.   Tonight I cut the rest of the
 DS> strip into 1 inch thick steaks, about 8 ounces each.   My high carbon
 DS> chef's knife balked at the center gristle piece, no matter how much I
 DS> sharpened it and honed it.  The stainless steel Santoku cut through
 DS> it with only a slight hesitation.

The balkiness actually can come in handy, because with a
thicker knife you can cut down through the meat until you
encounter resistance and then tease the blade along the
gristle, coming up with extremely tender pieces of meat.
Then you can discard the essentially 100% gristle center
sheet - or better, cook it until it jellies and eat it as
chef's treat or use it to strengthen a stock.

 DS> How do you rate straight Crystals?  How about straight Tabasco?   I
 DS> use both of those in cooking, as well as other peppers of various
 DS> kinds.

Straight Crystal is negligible to mild (it comes in two kinds,
but I've never been able to tell the difference in heat between
them); straight Tabasco is medium minus, but what makes it so
corrosive-tasting is the heavy hit of vinegar that comes with
the pepperiness. These being judged as hot sauces (used by
the drop or "squizzle") rather than sauces (used by the
ladleful). Used by the ladleful both would be too much, but
mostly because of the vinegar rather than the heat level.

 DS> moderately hot, but not super hot.  Tabasco is a sauce I use
 DS> sparingly in dishes -- and could take a bit of it on a finger tip
 DS> without pain. I would characterize that as hot.   And to me, straight

I use most vinegar-based hot sauces as an accent when I want
hot pepper flavor combined with a bit of sour kick. When I
want heat, I go with something else, such as Pendery's 60000
powdered chile or anything labeled "extra hot" in the Indian
markets (I have currently got Mayoor and Casablanca brands).

 DS> tabasco is not as hot as the "Super Hot Sauce" we made.   The "Very
 DS> hot" is perhaps as good a heat level as the Crystals on Buffalo wings
 DS> -- albeit a different sort of heat, delayed reaction in the back of
 DS> the mouth instead of immediate on the tip of the tongue and lips.

Your sauces took advantage of the white and black pepper heat
as well as the cayenne and jalapeno heats; this added depth to
the profile, which is good, as you were using them as a sauce
sauce, not just as a picker upper. Be that as it may, the Very Hot
would have made a nice soup for me, maybe with a bit of admixture
of Super Hot. 

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

       Title: SUGAR CANE PRAWNS WITH CHILLI DIPPING SAUCE
  Categories: Starters, Seafood, Asia-se, Sauces, Kebabs
       Yield: 12

     700 g  Prawns- green; cleaned
       2    Garlic cloves
       2    Shallots- red
       2    Spring onions
       2 lg Chillies- red
       2 tb Fish sauce
       1 ts White pepper; ground
       1 ts Sugar
     1/2 bn Cilantro leaves
       1    Eggs; beaten lightly
       2 tb Vegetable oil; >3tb
       3    Sugar cane sticks; canned
       1    Garlic cloves; minced
       2 lg Chillies-red; chopped
      25 ml Vinegar- rice
      60 ml Lime juice
      60 ml Fish sauce

   Roughly chop the prawns & place into the bowl of a food processor. Peel
   garlic, shallots & spring onions. Roughly chop with the chillies & also
   place into the bowl with fish sauce, white pepper, sugar & coriander.
   Process till the paste is almost smooth but still a little lumpy &
   then add the egg. Pulse to combine. Refrigerate at this point to stiffen
   the paste.

   Drain the sugar cane & split each piece into 3 or 4 parts lengthwise,
   depending on the thickness.

   Wet hands with cold water. Place 2 Tb of the prawn paste in the middle
   of your palm. Place a piece of the sugar can on top & mould the paste
   around it. Gently press the paste against the stick so that the edges
   seal. Repeat with the remaining sugar cane & paste.

   Set a steamer to simmer over a medium heat. Oil the basket & place
   the sugar cane sticks in a single layer.

   Steam till the prawn paste turns pink, 5 to 7 minutes. The prawn sticks
   can be refrigerated at this point to be served later.

   To finish; grill or pan-fry the prawn sticks till golden.

   Mix the dipping sauce ingredients & serve with the prawn sticks,
   some fresh mint, coriander & lettuce, & rice-paper wrappers.

   From: FOOD&WINE, THE ADVERTISER, 13 JUNE 2007
   By: GENEVIEVE HARRIS
   Typed by: KEVIN JCJD SYMONS

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