[ SECRET POST #3147 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3147 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 052 secrets from Secret Submission Post #450.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: Cooking failures

[(Anonymous)]

there's two recipes I keep experimenting with to get right and so far no dice. no, well, three.

basic stir fry. meat + vegetables + some spices and/or soy sauce but no premade sauces. I just can't flavor it correctly, nor can I get my skillet hot enough to correctly stir fry the vegetables - they're either uncooked or I simmer too long and they become mush.

mac & cheese, homemade. stovetop, not baked. I've tried so many roux/cheese sauce recipes and all I end up with is globs of lukewarm, barely-melted cheese caked on the pasta.

I've also been trying to make my own marinara sauce from canned tomatoes and tomato paste, but my ratios are all off and no matter how much oregano and garlic powder I dump in it, it only tastes like tomatoes.

Re: Cooking failures

[philstar22]

Stir fry is the best. I use my mother's recipe and it tastes amazing. I actually made that tonight. It is better with rice, but it still tastes good without it.

Does your recipe have sesame oil? I find that I don't like stir fry sauces that don't have sesame oil in them. It balances out the soy sauce well. Also, the way I do it is to cook the meat for 3 minutes first then add the veggies for 2 minutes then add the sauce and cook another 2 minutes. It seems to work pretty well.

Re: Cooking failures

[(Anonymous)]

The next time you try stir fry, add sugar and rice wine vinegar to your soy sauce. Makes a world of difference.

Re: Cooking failures

[(Anonymous)]

Classic Macaroni and Cheese Recipe at CHOW.com has never, ever steered me wrong. There are a lot of components. You have to make the roux correctly by waiting for it to brown and smell nutty, and then the bechamel has to thicken. But this recipe is PERFECT and restaurant quality.

BTW, you don't have to use the cheeses written on the recipe. Plain cheddar and parmesan have worked for me.

Re: Cooking failures

[herpymcderp]

The first way I learned to make mac and cheese was not with a butter and flour roux, but with a cornstarch and milk base.

Very simple, you just take ~2tbsp cornstarch to ~1/2 cup milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan. All you have to do is whisk constantly over medium low heat until the mixture thickens, then add shredded cheese and whatever other seasonings you like. There's no chance of lumps unless you let it sit without whisking.

Re: Cooking failures

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know what spices you're using, but Chinese stir-fries are more about sauces than spices, usually. Soy sauce is a start, but too many people use ONLY soy sauce, which will give you a salty, but still bland stir fry. I flavor mine this way:

garlic and/or onion + red pepper flakes (optional) + soy sauce + oyster sauce + a bit of sesame oil and maybe some chopped scallions to finish.

Saute the garlic, onion and red pepper flakes at medium high first, then add meat and stir until it's cooked through. Then veggies and sauce, stir a bit, turn down the heat and put lid on for 2-3 minutes and check. You'll never be able to get your stovetop hot enough for a proper stir-fry like in a restaurant, this is a compromise.

With marinara sauce, you need fresh garlic and onion, not powder. Saute a bunch of both in olive oil, add your tomatoes and a splash of red wine. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and add oregano and basil and let it simmer for at least half an hour.

Re: Cooking failures

[(Anonymous)]

Mac and cheese:

1) Make sure the roux is good
2) Make sure the sauce COMES TO A BOIL. This is necessary to make sure that it thickens completely.
3) Add the cheese SLOWLY and stir continuously while adding it so as to not break the roux.

That said, it's always going to be better if you pour it into a casserole dish and bake it at the end. It just is.

Marinara:

Don't use too much tomato and definitely not too much tomato paste.

My general procedure: chop an onion. Sweat it in some olive oil. Add a bit of garlic and a bit of red pepper flake, sweat some more, then 4 or 5 anchovy fillets, and then just a small spoon of tomato paste. Mix and let simmer and fry for a little bit. Add a can of whole peeled tomatoes (14.5 or 28 depending on how much sauce you want). Break up the tomatoes and mix everything together, then cover and let simmer on low for a while. And then just season to taste when you think it's done, and add tomato paste to freshen it up as necessary, or pasta water to loosen it.