Chow Mein - use steam, not oil!

A very common way to make Chow Mein is to heat oil on the stove and then cook everything hot and fast. But if you're looking to have a better-tasting, better textured dish, cook the chow mein at a medium pace and use water to steam the vegetables and noodles. When everything is ready to be added into the pan, turn the heat up to medium high and add ingredients. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover the pan with a lid. Let the water completely evaporate. After all the water is gone, take the lid off, stir the contents and season with preferred spices. Most Chow Mein recipes call for you to "prod a vegetable with a wooden steak" and this is a good idea because it shows you how well or how poorly your vegetables are cooked. Since noodles are basically done after you boil them, the vegetables being crisp and thoroughly cooked is crucial to the quality of the dish.

Have you ever served food to someone that wasn't cooked 100% thoroughly? How can you make sure that doesn't happen again?

Soba Salad

傍 or soba means noodle in Japanese. I made a simple noodle salad with a 酒 (sake, Japanese wine) vinaigrette. I chopped up some common vegetables such as cucumber, olives, lettuce, and carrots. I tossed them in a bowl and poured the sake in as I mixed everything together. I poured the boiled 焼きそば (yakisoba) noodles over the contents of the bowl. Once they were incorporated, I sprinkled toasted sesame seeds and chopped peanuts over the top. 

Have you ever had a meal where alcohol was one of the main ingredients?

Soy Sauce Noodle Rice Wraps

Today I made soy sauce noodles and added a twist to them. Instead of putting them into a bowl, I put them into a rice wrap and created these rolls. On the rice wrap package, it says to "dip the sheet into warm water for 5 seconds and then quickly place contents in and roll". I found out (the hard way) that these wraps harden very fast after they are dipped in the water. I had a lot of problems with this dish. As I wrapped more and more rolls, the previous one had already cooled by the time I was done with the next. I made 8 rolls in total. The first wrap was ice cold while the eighth was still steaming. Next time I make these I will have to find a way to keep finished wraps warm until I'm one with all of them.
 

Have any of you ever had a problem like this? If so, what happened?

Peanut/Walnut, Bacon, and Chicken Fried Rice

I decided to make fried rice which is a common recipe that goes throughout my family. In the recipe, it calls for a cup of peanuts per serving of fried rice. Before we get started, let me give you a little cooking tip. Set out all of the ingredients AND utensils that you will be using by looking at the recipe. Once you set them all out you will know what (if anything) you need to get/buy before starting the dish. Since we make fried rice at my house a lot, I usually skip this precaution because I'm so familiar with us having all the needed ingredients. But as I was cooking the bacon and onions, I reached into my cabinet to find that we had run out of peanuts.The next best thing was a bag of chopped walnuts that we bought in bulk from WinCo. I was in a hurry because the peanuts have to soften with the bacon before you move on with the recipe. I poured the walnuts in as a substitute and didn't think that there would be much of a difference. After this step the recipe calls for you to "create a well in the middle of the bacon and peanut pile and pour in the egg, scrambling quickly and mixing together ingredients" (Family Recipe). I used my spatula to gather all the ingredients and brought them to the middle of the pan. From there, I made an indent in the mountain of bacon, shredded chicken, onions, and walnuts. I poured the egg in the middle of it and let it sit on the heat for a few seconds. Then I stirred it all together. From there I added the rest of the ingredients: Rice, sliced water chestnuts, minced garlic, cayenne, paprika, and red wine vinegar. I incorporated the sauce mixture (soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, sweet and sour sauce, minced garlic, sliced green onions, distilled white vinegar, and sesame seeds) in tablespoons at a time until it all came together. I let it cool off a little before I scooped some into a bowl. I have always loved this recipe, but the walnuts dulled the flavor in my opinion. I know now that for that particular recipe, peanuts would best suit it. It was still good, but the peanuts brought out flavors while the walnuts absorbed and destroyed it.

Have you ever had to use a substitution while cooking? If so, did it taste even better than the original?

How to make four-star Pad Thai - THE RIGHT WAY

Pad Thai is a noodle-based meal that contains a blend of all the senses of food: sweet, sour, spicy, and savory. The sweet chile paste and snow peas gives the dish an unusual but delectable flavor and crunch. The lime juice contributes a citrus-y, pungent taste. The hot sauce that is mixed in at the end produces a spice factor that is tolerable to the average consumer because it is a very small amount. And finally, the soy sauce that is mixed with the chicken gives the Pad Thai an enjoyable, enticing flavor that keeps you coming back for more platefuls of this delicious menu item. The last time I made Pad Thai, I was impatient and boiled the noodles instead of setting them in hot water from the tap. The recipe clearly says to "place noodles in a bowl of very hot tap water and allow to soak for 25 minutes until pliable, but not mushy" (Pad Thai Recipe By: Soyaki193). The recipe was basically telling me to keep the noodles in the hot water long enough for them to soften, but to still have a stiffness to them. The noodles that I had boiled in the past turned to a paste when i cooked and stirred things into them. This time, I soaked the noodles according to the directions and drained them after 25 minutes. They seemed unusually stiff to the touch. I came to a fork in the road and I had to make a decision. I was afraid I hadn't soaked them for long enough, but I was also scared that if I put them back in the hot water, history would repeat itself. I continued on with the recipe's directions, hoping for the best. After mixing eggs, the chicken, and peanuts into the pan, I added the noodles in handfuls at a time, stirring in the sauce with each addition. The final product turned out surprisingly well, and tasted amazing, too!

For the sake of my sanity, please tell me you've messed up a recipe before too. Am I the only one!?