Taste test: Mirin and other Asian cooking wines

Posted on January 9, 2025 by Burnt My Fingers
Mirin Taste Test

Mirin Taste Test: Kikkoman vs Morita.

We have too many bottles of Mirin, the sweet Japanese cooking wine. Time for a taste test to winnow down the supply. Kikkoman Aji-Mirin, the brand you probably have in your pantry as well, is the obvious keeper. Or is it?

The ingredients in Kikkoman Aji-Mirin according to the label are Glucose Syrup, Water, Alcohol, Rice, Corn Syrup, Salt. The most important ingredient for this “rice seasoning”, namely rice, does not appear till the fourth ingredient. The taste is overwhelmingly sugary with just a hint of a rice wine element. Boil it down, and you could use this on pancakes.

Compare to Morita Yuuki Mirin, a higher end product which is widely available including on Amazon (affiliate link!). It’s superior in every way. Yes, it’s sweet. But there is underlying complexity. You can recognize the clean dry taste of fermented rice and also a definite hint of alcohol. Ingredients for this one are Organic Rice, Organic Malted Rice, Salt, Organic Sugar, Alcohol. Different, no?

For a few more $$ you can get Osawa Mirin, a product that is aged 9 months and contains no added sugar. Ingredients are Organic Sweet Rice, Organic Distilled Rice Wine (water, organic sweet rice, koji seed), Organic Rice Koji (Rice, koji seed), Sea Salt.

Recommendation: if you have a bottle of Kikkoman Aji-Mirin, send it straight to the garbage and replace with one of the other two choices, That’s what we’re doing at Burnt My Fingers, and you know what penny pinchers we are. Since we already have a bottle of Morita we’ll use that up then treat ourselves to Osawa.

While we’re at it, how about a comparison to Xiaoxing, the go-to cooking wine for Chinese (especially Szechuan) recipes. It’s a very different product. To our palate it’s like a watered down dry sherry with salt added (to skirt any alcohol regs by making it a “cooking wine”). We would certainly consider an actual dry sherry as a substitute, and while we’re at it a nice cream sherry could probably stand in for Morita Yuuki Mirin. But the mirin is cheaper, so save the sherry for your drinking pleasure. Kampai!

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Recipe: Baba Ganoush with Yoghurt REVISED*

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Baba Ganoush

Baba Ganoush with Yoghurt.

I wanted to replicate the wonderfully creamy baba ganoush at Bon Appetit Cafe, my local Mediterranean (actually Egyptian) place. Adding a bit of high quality whole milk yogurt (like this from Argyle Cheese Farmer) may be the solution. The creaminess makes the babaganoush extra easy to spread and dip. Makes about 3 cups.

2 medium eggplants, a bit over 2 lbs
¼ c tahini
2 T lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
Cayenne or other hot pepper to taste**
½ t Kosher salt
¼ c Greek yogurt, plain made with whole milk

Method: poke the eggplants in a few places with a fork to allow steam to escape, then smoke over a grill or gas broiler. Expose to direct high heat and turn with tongs as the surface blisters and the meat beneath softens. When all sides have been grilled, transfer to a container and seal to steam until completely done.

When eggplants have softened and cooled to room temperature, peel off the bits of skin with your fingers and transfer to a colander so liquid can escape. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate overnight. There will be more liquid in the morning; pat the eggplants dry before proceeding to next step.

Add eggplants to a food processor along with minced garlic (you can chop it in the food processor before adding eggplant), tahini, lemon juice, salt and yogurt. Process until very smooth. Garnish with a sprinkle of sumac if you like. Serve with pita wedges or vegetables such as carrot, celery or bell pepper batons.

*This is a completely different method than the oven workaround described in the previous version of this recipe. We’ve decided there is no substitute for direct heat in creating the smokey taste you want in your baba ganoush.

**At Bon Appetit Cafe they will ask you “how spicy do you like it?” I don’t think of baba ganoush as a spicy item but you can experiment if you like.

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Best oven temperature for baking bread?

Posted on December 26, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Olive Bread Comparison

Acme Olive Bread at right, our copycat at left. We’re just a bit darker due to more whole wheat flour, something easily adjusted.

Lately we have been tinkering with our Acme Style Olive Bread recipe and wanted to see how close we were to the original. We purchased a batard of the Acme product on our recent trip to the bay area and froze it for the plane ride back. Then we baked our own and it’s in the ballpark! Taste, texture and tartness all very similar, and the crust added a finish without being “crusty”.

We baked this loaf in a cast iron dutch oven preheated to 440 degrees and this seems to be the best oven temperature for baking bread that is hard enough to stand up to a slicing knife but can be cut easily for sandwiches or serving. Our last batch had been baked at 470 degrees because we saw that in Steve Sullivan’s recipe on The Fresh Loaf, but that produces a much sturdier crust which does not match Acme’s. Their crust is a bit softer than ours even at 440 and were wondering if they bake as low as 435.

We also increased the hydration to around 65%, which resulted in a slack but manageable dough. Didn’t have any whole wheat starter so we added whole wheat flour to the sponge instead. After kneading the bread was proofed at 70 degrees for about 4 hours, transferred to a plastic bag for overnight refrigeration, then shaped and placed in a banneton and proofed maybe 3 more hours. The dough seemed delicate as we transferred it to the hot iron dutch oven, but it achieved good oven spring. And because the bread was not going to burn at 440 degrees, we were comfortable leaving it in the uncovered dutch oven a few extra minutes, cooking out any residual moisture for a lighter, airier crumb.

What’s the best oven temperature for baking bread? Do try this at home! Temperature within your cast iron dutch oven is completely within your control (assuming you trust your oven’s thermostat of course) and it is a useful exercise to tinker with variations of 5 or 10 degrees and see how you like the results.

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Taming the rare roast beast for Holiday 2024

Posted on December 23, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Rare Roast Beast packaged

This Rare Roast Beast is about to be unwrapped and refrigerator aged overnight, then dry brined.

The grinch has kept the price of standing rib roast well north of $10/lb in our outpost, but our local market dropped it to just $6.99 last week for USDA Choice so we jumped at the chance to secure a five-rib small end roast for around $45. Now we need to prepare it for Christmas dinner in a manner that satisfies Dr. Seuss, who specifies that the roast beast must be cooked rare.

Last year we described the process we learned at Victoria Station cooking dozens of prime ribs every week. An aged whole roast is rubbed with Kosher salt and then blasted at high heat in a convection oven until it is medium rare at the ends, rare in the center, with a glorious crust overall. Results are consistently perfect, so of course we’ll try something different in our rare roast beast for 2024.

We’ve already made one decision in buying a small end roast vs the usual large end that has fewer ribs but more surface area on each cut for a more impressive presentation. They say the small end is more tender but I have never encountered a chewy prime rib that was Choice or better.

I am going to make one important modification based on Sam Sifton’s preparation method in NYT Cooking: I will refrigerator-age the roast for 24 hours on a rack, then rub it all over with salt and let this dry brine work overnight. I will then rub the roast with Sifton’s formula of salt and pepper mixed with flour because it’s all about the crust and a little flour could only make the surface more crusty, yes? (I will not follow Sifton’s advice to rub the ends with butter because I cherish my end cuts (“baseballs” we used to call them at Victoria Station) and want them as crusty as the rest of the beast.

The reverse sear method, which tempted me last year, was not considered in 2024 because I fear the hours at low heat this method requires (cook low and slow to desired doneness, then blast it to crisp the surface) might render out too much necessary fat. By the way, Sifton’s article (which is paywall-free at the link), has hundreds of tips from readers on reverse sear and other strategies.

The rest of the meal will consist of Yorkshire pudding, some sour cream spiked with Sau-See horseradish, green beans and, in an homage to House of Prime Rib in San Francisco, a Caesar salad. Looking forward to it.

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Make iconic tteokbokki right at home!

Posted on December 13, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers

Burnt My Fingers was a marketing writer before becoming a full-time glutton, so we enjoy good copy about food as much as anyone. Which is why we are sharing this Amazon blurb for Taekyung instant tteokbokki. Who knew that a companion product to Shin Lamyan (made by the same company, by the way) could generate so much adoration?

• TAEKYUNG TOPOKKI, HOT (128g/4.5oz) – Savor the iconic taste of tteokbokki right at home. Our product encapsulates the flavor of the beloved after-school cup tteokbokki, combining the delectable chewiness of rice cakes with the harmonious addition of glass noodles. A convenient snack that captures the essence of Korean street food
• EFFORTLESS PREPARATION – Convenience meets culinary excellence with our paper cup packaging. Unbox the delight and choose your cooking method – simply microwave for 3.5 minutes (1,000W) or 4 minutes (700W), or use a stovetop by adding water, glass noodles, and our signature sauce. In just a few steps, you’ll have a piping hot, mouthwatering dish ready to enjoy
• GENEROUS PORTION – Set apart from the competition, our tteokbokki doesn’t just stop at rice cakes. We include glass noodles, offering a richer and more diverse snacking experience. It’s more than a snack; it’s a fulfilling treat
• TRANSFORM YOUR TASTE BUDS – This is the epitome of hassle-free Korean cuisine. Whether you’re a Korean food enthusiast, a busy bee, or someone who loves to explore spicy flavors, our Taekyung Topokki elevates the everyday snacking experience to new heights. Let your taste buds embark on a flavorful journey!
• NONGSHIM TAEKYUNG – Taekyung, a culinary tradition in South Korea, is renowned for our iconic Gochugaru spice. A proud member of the Nongshim family, Korea’s top noodle manufacturer, we create the seasonings for all Nongshim noodles, delivering an authentic Korean flavor experience

We’re buying some, how about you? Oh, and that’s an affiliate link, did you guess?

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In praise of mom-and-pop ethnic restaurants

Posted on December 8, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Hot and Sour Soup

Ocean Palace hot and sour soup is the best we’ve tried.

Ethnic mom-and-pop restaurants are a treasure. I’m thinking of small places that have been in business for a while, so the proprietors have developed a well-oiled routine which is highly efficient but also entertaining to watch just because it is practiced and trimmed of all unnecessary actions.

Typically pop is in the back and mom is front-of-house. You are in direct contact with your source of dining pleasure, no intervening layers of chefs, line cooks and marketing strategies. And one more thing: at an ethnic mom-and-pop restaurant what you eat is what they give you. It may not be what you asked for but it’s what you deserve and need.

Yoshi Lunch Special

Yoshi lunch special early 2024.

I’m fortunate to have three examples within driving distance of Saratoga Springs for my daily lunch rotation. First up is Yoshi Sushi in Latham. Yoshi makes the sushi behind a counter; Mrs. Yoshi serves miso soup and tea and checks you out when done. Until recently Yoshi had a lunch special consisting of a couple pieces of nigiri, some assorted rolls, and random items made from whatever Yoshi had left over from the previous night. One time I was served mixed pickled things atop clam meat in a nori wrapper, another it was a perfect chunk of miso-marinated black cod. I decided this spring I would dine there every Friday lunch; since it’s the last day for the lunch special before the weekend Yoshi should have the widest palette of leftovers to work with. But they closed for a long vacation, and when Yoshi reopened it was dinner only. They’re both well into their 70s so I guess they deserve a break.

Bon Appetit Sampler

Combo meal at Bon Appetit. Cannot be finished by one person.

A few miles south is Bon Appetit, an Egyptian place improbably sited in a windowless bunker within a brutalist office tower on Wolf Rd in Colonie. This place came to our attention when our local food critic gave it a loving review. Most of the patrons are from the offices and order standard fare like egg sandwiches; if you go for the middle eastern menu they recognize a fan and will treat you as such. The portions are cheap and generous and usually come with an unannounced extra; one visit it was a clamshell of Koshari, a mac-and-cheese type thing that is “the national dish of Egypt”; another time I was offered a bowl of piping hot crusty chicken rice, straight from the oven, to savor while they prepared my order. The falafel are the best I have ever had and come with a side of babaganoush except they don’t; unless you preorder by 9:30 am you will get hummus instead. I learned my lesson and called ahead the next time and the creamy eggplant dip was well worth the extra effort.

On the other side of town, in a seamy Albany neighborhood near the Hudson River, Peter Chan plies his trade at Ocean Palace. Peter is a local institution who has owned multiple restaurants and to-go emporia; he has a habit of disappearing and then popping up somewhere else a few months later.

Front of Ocean Palace is a small room that was converted to a take-out window during the pandemic and only recently started serving sit-down meals. My routine is to order their lunch special, which includes the best hot and sour soup I have had, and enjoy it while a takeout order is prepared and I watch Mrs. Chan taking orders and tending to my table. (Since the pandemic, I have always been the only dine-in customer.) The menu is enormous and one wonders how a single chef can make all those dishes. The answer is that he doesn’t; you can expect reliable results if you stick to Chinese-American standards (my house special fried rice on a recent order was sublime, and came in a laughably overstuffed clamshell) but stray to more esoteric items and you will get what the chef decides to give you. The good news is it’s bound to be delicious. No complaints whatsoever.

Japanese omakase restaurants—in which the chef chooses what you will eat and usually charges a pretty penny for the service—have recently appeared in my remote provincial capital. (Demonstrating our provincialism, most of these places hedge their bets by publishing a menu in advance which seems like cheating to me.) But ethnic mom-and-pop restaurants are the OG omakase, at a much lower price point. Visit one of these establishments, or the equivalent where you live, and look forward to a meal which is a pleasure and perhaps a surprise.

 

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Thanksgiving leftovers…

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Turkey Bowl

Thanksgiving leftovers turkey bowl.

We’re down to the stems and seeds on our Thanksgiving leftovers, as you may have guessed by our Turkey Soup post yesterday. Today we’re having a satisfying Turkey Bowl.  Start with a base of dry stuffing cooked separate from the bird, ladle on wet bits including moist dressing, hunks of turkey, shards of skin and random deliciousness scooped from the carcass and roasting pan after the breast and thigh meat had ben carved and removed. Add a dollop of giblet gravy, 3 minutes in the microwave, a couple generous spoonfuls of cranberry sauce and we’re good to go.

Durkee Side Label

“Refrigerate to maintain color quality.”

But wait, where’s the Durkee’s Famous Sauce you are asking? Alas, that’s the one part we miss by not making a sandwich. We still have most of a jar left… will it be good till next year? We checked the jar for a “sell by” date and couldn’t find one. We did find this admonition in mall print on the side: “refrigerate to maintain color quality”. No “refrigerate after opening” or other food safety advisory? I guess that’s what you would expect from a condiment that used to be manufactured by a paint company.

 

 

 

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Recipe: Grandma’s Cream of Turkey Soup

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Grandma's Cream of Turkey Soup

Grandma’s Cream of Turkey Soup.

Grandma may be gone, but Grandma’s Cream of Turkey Soup lives on. It was one of the most popular items at Grandma’s Pies and Restaurant on Central Ave in Albany, and after the restaurant closed the Times Union published the recipe which had been shared by the owner back in 1990. I was initially skeptical because the veggies are added after the roux has been mixed rather than sweated with the butter, but turns out this gives it a pleasant fresh-veggie taste. Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:
2 quarts chicken or turkey stock
½ medium onion, about ¾ c, coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, about ¾ c, diced
4 stalks celery, about 1 ½ c, diced
3 mushrooms, about ¾ c, sliced
6 oz cooked turkey, about 1 ½ c, chopped
6 T butter*
6 T flour*
½ c half-and-half (or ¼ c heavy cream and ¼ c whole milk)
Salt and pepper to taste

Yelp Turkey Soup

Photo borrowed from Grandma’s Yelp page.

Method: melt butter in a large saucepan and stir in flour. The flour should be completely absorbed with no wet spots, but not dry; add more flour or butter if needed. (And consider using additional flour and butter if you want a thicker soup.) Heat this roux over low to medium heat, stirring constantly, till it browns slightly and smells toasty, maybe 5 minutes. Stir in the stock a little at a time, blending or whisking to remove any lumps.

Add the veggies all at once and simmer for ½ hour, stirring frequently. Taste for seasoning; the amount of salt and pepper you add will depend on the stock you begin with. Add turkey and half-and-half and heat to just below the boiling point. Serve Grandma’s Cream of Turkey Soup immediately; if you have extra it can be reheated but not boiled as that will separate the dairy.

*This amount of roux will produce a soup which is viscous and full bodied but not thick. If you want a thicker soup increase the quantity of flour and butter while keeping proportions equal.

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Time to defrost that Thanksgiving turkey!

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Patriotic Turkey

In honor of the election, I asked Chatbot to create an image of a patriotic turkey.

It’s Monday before Thankgiving… do you know where your Thanksgiving turkey is? if still in the freezer, drag it out stat! You’ve got 2 days if you’re going to brine it, 2 1/2 days otherwise, so not a minute to waste. Most food safety experts would say you should defrost in the refrigerator, but when time is short we tend to “forget” ours on the counter for a few hours right at the beginning, until the surface is just beginning to soften and still below the 39 degree setting of most fridges.

After we defrost our Thanksgiving turkey we’ll repeat the dry-brine method which turned out to be a hit in 2023*; from that point we’ll follow the method first described several years ago:

We’ll cook our turkey this way following the options from sfgate.com with a light brining, stuffing, and roasting at moderate heat with a paper towel or cheesecloth covered with oil or butter over the breast till the last half hour. We’ll use this stuffing recipe, though we’ll dial back the spices because we will be using our bread machine bread for stuffing  which has the spices already mixed in, accompanied by fresh cranberry sauce which, according to our taste test, is the best option and very easy.

The next day we’ll have turkey sandwiches on some good stiff country sourdough with leftover stuffing, gravy, wilted salad and cranberry sauce, nicely lubricated with Durkee’s Famous Sauce. And then the real work begins as we figure out what to do with the remaining 15 pounds or so of turkey.

*We follow the first part of the recipe where you dry the bird, generously coat it with salt and let it cure a day or longer in the fridge. After that we proceed with our usual method.

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Recipe: Tea-Smoked Chicken

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Burnt My Fingers
Tea Smoked Chicken

Tea-Smoked Chicken as it comes out of the oven.

Tea-Smoked Chicken is moist, flavorful and far cheaper than tea-smoked duck. And we proved you can make it in an average kitchen without setting off a fire alarm. Choose a fat, juicy bird so you’ll be well rewarded for your time and effort. Feeds 4-6.

Ingredients:
One whole chicken
1 T Kosher salt for rub
2 T dark brown sugar for rub

For marinade:
2 t finely grated ginger (1 inch knob, or a couple cubes of Trader Joe’s)
3 T fermented red bean curd (mix of curd and juice)*
1 T five spice seasoning
½ c xiaoshing cooking wine
2 T neutral oil

For smoking:
2 buds star anise
½ c uncooked rice
½ c brown sugar
¼ c tea leaves

Method: wipe down inside and outside of bird with paper towels and air-dry in refrigerator overnight. Rub skin surface with salt and brown sugar and dry cure 1 hour or a little more. Mix marinade ingredients in a large zip-seal bag; pour some into the cavity of the chicken then put the bird in the bag; seal and rotate to expose all surfaces to the liquid. Marinate in refrigerator 4 hours to overnight, turning several times to distribute marinade.

Line the bottom of a wok with aluminum foil, making sure the surface is covered with no gaps. Add smoking ingredients then a rack sufficient to hold the chicken. (We used an inverted expandable steamer basket.) Add the chicken and have ready several towels soaked in water. Cover and heat on medium high till smoke starts to seep out under the lid. Wrap the lid with the damp towels; when properly adjusted very little smoke should escape. Smoke for 45 minutes, then turn off heat and let cool to room temperature as you preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Transfer the chicken to a roasting pan and roast, breast side up, until the skin is a beautiful golden brown and the meat is cooked to 160 degrees internal temperature, 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the bird. Rest until cool enough to carve, then serve. Tea-smoked chicken pairs well with rice and Chinese vegetables but is also at home with Westernized sides.

Fermented Red Bean Curd

This seems to be the most popular brand of fermented red bean curd.

*Fermented red bean curd is the stuff that gives char siu pork its distinctive red color. It has a salty umami flavor similar to miso or doubanjiang, but it’s worth the trouble to get the real thing which you can find in most Asian groceries. A plain fermented bean curd is also available; be sure you get the red kind.

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