Cooking

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Tim - Are you referring to this recipe from the Pasta Grannie? When adding starter to a recipe you need to account for the flour and water in the starter in your pasta recipe. This is best done using a scale. So, for example, if you have 7 ounces of starter to use in your pasta you'd need to take out 3 1/2 ounces of flour and 3 1/2 ounces of water from the pasta recipe to account for that addition. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Jennifer - Baking soda is a fairly weak akali - at least compared to super-charged (and slightly sketchy) lye. Heating baking soda makes it transform from sodium bicarbonate into sodium carbonate, which is a stronger alkaline salt. Food scientist, Harold McGee, wrote an article on this in the NYT about 10 years ago. Good luck with your noodles! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Mitchell - In general, and especially in this recipe, you could use a combination of soy sauce and rice vinegar in place of the fish sauce. It's hard to fully mimic the distinct flavor of fish sauce, but this combo should work OK. I highly recommend this recipe - it's on weekly rotation in my house since it's so easy to prepare and packs a ton of flavor in its simplicity. Make sure to really cook the caramel until it's smoking. You need the bitterness from the dark caramel to balance the sweetness of it. I'd love to know what you think! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Kiesy - For high-end options, our absolute favorite extra-virgin olive oil is Maalouf Extra Virgin Olive Oil from North Lebanon. It's a truly all-purpose extra-virgin olive oil without the overpowering bitterness that mars some other brands. Unfortunately, it's a small-batch producer and they are sold out in our store until next year's harvest. But, when it comes up again, definitely grab a bottle or two! Our second choice would be the Castelines L'Anglandau Extra-Virgin Olive Oil from Provence. It's a little more peppery than the Maalouf, but it's a favorite in our kitchen too. For daily use, California Olive Ranch extra-virgin olive oil is a terrific product that can be found in most supermarkets. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Teresa - What you have, essentially, is pork belly. Since it's already been sliced it shouldn't be smoked and cured like bacon at this point. You can, however, use it as you would thin pork belly - search for recipes for sliced pork belly. Unlike bacon, it has only its pork flavor so adding some salt to it is crucial. I'd probably choose to make Char Siu, Chinese-style barbecue. I love it served with steamed rice and sautéed vegetables to soak up the sticky glaze. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Christopher - Wow, that's very ambitious for a home cook! I don't think I've made a consommé since culinary school. I just don't find the added effort worth it for anything I'm making at home. Milk Street doesn't have a recipe or technique because we just aren't about fussy cooking. We would rather make a simple broth from water or chicken broth and some highly-flavorful ingredients than spend hours babying a consommé. Consider instead our Miso Broth (miso paste adds tons of flavor), our easy Vegetable Broth (a pungent Parmesan rind is added), or simply adding ginger, garlic, fish sauce, coconut water or milk, chiles, or any bold ingredients to water or homemade chicken broth. No need for perfectly clear consommé around here! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Denis - The water-rice ratios in the Instant Pot are very finicky. That's because each ingredient in the recipe can release liquid in the pot that will affect how the rice cooks. While you could definitely cook white basmati rice in the Instant Pot and make this recipe, since we haven't tested it, I can't give you an exact substitution. I'm so sorry! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi John - I don't think there will be a large enough difference - especially if you prep your ingredients before cooking - that you would need to alter your cooking times significantly enough to change how you make a recipe. First, I would prep the Better-Than-Bouillon before any of the other ingredients so it has time to cool off a bit before you use it. Second, follow the visual clues in the recipe. If you follow the visual clues rather than the cooking times you won't need to rely on them as much anyway. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hello - This recipe was developed for using an Instant Pot, so substituting canned beans would likely not work. Canned beans are already cooked so they will be overcooked during the times suggested in the Instant Pot recipe. This recipe for White Beans with Sage, Garlic, and Fennel is similar to the recipe you noted but uses canned beans. It, too, is great so I'd give this one a try! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Pat - You're making the right choices by substituting radish for a similar bite, although probably best in raw applications. Radish is a member of the Brassicaceae family, not an allium. To mimic texture, celery and bell pepper are options. According to FODMAP diet followers (which requires the elimination of alliums due to Irritable Bowel Syndrome), Asafoetida, also called Hing, would be something interesting to try. Asafoetida is a pungent spice used in cooking that is native to Central Asia, particularly Iran and India. Asafoetida comes from a very unusual source. According to food scientist Harold McGee, it’s made by scraping the sap from the exposed root of a plant in the carrot family. The sap is dried and crushed, giving us a tan-colored powder to sprinkle into our dishes. McGee also says that the sap contains many of the same sulfur compounds found in onions. It has a very strong odor when dry, which many sources say is reminiscent of washed rind cheeses or body odor. Not to worry – when the spice is added during cooking, it mellows out into a gentle flavor. Asafoetida is used in savory dishes, often to add a more full flavor by mimicking the taste of onions, garlic, egg, and even meat. It’s a staple ingredient in Indian cooking, commonly used along with turmeric in lentil dishes like dal, and a variety of vegetable dishes. Unless you have a really excellent health food store or Indian grocery near you, it’s probably best to look for asafoetida online. You can buy it here or here. I'm sure it's very frustrating since onions and garlic are in so many dishes. Maybe asafoetida can help! Best, Lynn C.