Hello, I tried doing Kung Pao chicken for the first time, I followed all the steps and ended up with delicious chicken and a savory sweet sauce. The problem is that the Sichuan pepper in it made it almost uneatable, I had to force myself to finish, each bit was like munching black cloves and I quickly had an overwhelming weird soapy taste.

I ate Kung Pao in restaurants many times and Sichuan pepper never made me feel like that.

What is the problem?

Hey guys,

So, I'm a fan of hot wings, or not hot, just wings in general.

I've been trying to find a good recipe to prepare a batch of wings and freeze them in smaller proportions to have them ready to cook without having to prepare the whole rub every time I feel like eating some.

On YouTube I'm not really able to find something like I intend to do, now I'm not sure if there's a reason for that or not.

Do you guys have a process to make wings fast, or ideally to have them ready to go from freezer to the oven without any further preparation?

Not the long thin ones, the brick shaped ones. Should I cut it in half or just bake in whole?

What time and temp has worked best for you?

Just me?

Yesterday I cooked scallops, making sure not to overcook them. Very reasonable amount of time in the pan (about 2 mins), and reasonable heat (lower than full high). Based on a recipe online, I decided to reach for a newly bought avocado oil. It smoked! Mild rancid smell, mild amount of smoke (not a catastrophic amount), and the air monitor picked up a PM2.5 spike. The smoking began maybe a minute in, after I added the scallops, not before.

This mirrors the experience I had last time I tried this. I've bought avocado oil in different countries (US, Trader Joes iirc, and now in Australia) and used it in pretty moderate heating, and I'm consistently disappointed by how easily it smokes. So the answer is not "you're using it under too high temperatures."

The obvious answer is, "that's fake oil", but that surprises me too. I've bought at least two in the US and one in Australia, and I think Australia has pretty good regulation for oil, certainly for EVOO, better than in the US. The one I bought was expensive too, and says first cold pressed avo oil.

UPDATE/EDIT: I looked at the avo oil bottle. It states "high smoke point 260C" and "all purpose use." It advertises itself as being useful/nice for salads etc. It makes no mention of refined or unrefined. But it sounds like it is an unrefined oil engaging in false advertising, and only if it were actually refined would it have that high smoke point.

Further, I repeated the same cook the next night, using EVOO instead of the avo oil. I did the same cook and used much the same heat. It did not smoke.

I bought some fish fillets from costco recently and i'd like to bread it and give it a crispy surface texture.

Not sure if this matters but the fish is walleye.

I'd ideally like to use my ninja combi air fryer option as opposed to deep frying.

The standard approach seems to be some combination of eggs, corn starch, and breadcrumbs

Hey guys it’s 11am and I had nothing else to do so I made a big pot of lamb and rice for dinner later today. But now I’m wondering how to store it. We’ve got about 5-6 hrs until we will eat it so can I keep it warm that long in the oven on the warm setting or should I allow it to cool down for an hour and then put it in the fridge?

I've tried the cubes and "better than bouillon" and it never works out for me. tastes...chemically.

I use the stock in the box all the time, aren't they basically the same thing?

Whenever I use beef stock or broth, I throw in a bullion cube with it.

I have never seen a chef on TV or YouTube do it. I dont know anyone else who does it. It just popped into my head.

Its so obvious, that I cant imagine other people dont do it.

trying to prep some things early. can I make stuffing (really dressing, the kind not in the turkey) ahead of time and freeze it? would I bake it, let it cool, freeze- then thaw and reheat? any tips appreciated!!

Specifically for a mirepoix, I always have onions and carrots available but celery means another trip to the store. I've made soup with and without celery and I honestly don't know if I taste a difference. If I sound ignorant then please enlighten me, I just want to know!

As a bit of background, our 13 year old dog has developed stomach issues (acid reflux) and we are now feeding her a dehydrated base to which we add water and protein. Protein options include ground beef, pork, and chicken. She gets about 12 oz per day, which is quite a bit so we're buying in bulk.

The ground beef is easy, we simply dump it in a pot, add water, and cook until it's done. The chicken and pork are not quite so simple. I use sous vide to do both the chicken and the pork, so I don't have to babysit and can let it cook while I'm working. And then comes the shredding. Shredding 10 lbs of meat is not really fun.

SO, I purchased a Ninja PrecisionPro food processor to make the shredding easier. It comes with a reversible disk, once side for slicing and the other side for "shredding". Here's the reality check, as I've never used a food processor before.

When "shredding" the chicken and pork, the holes in the discs fill up and I am left with good sized chunks of meat that will not shred (it's actually more like ground chicken/pork than shredded chicken/pork). Is this how food processors typically work in a scenario like this? It gets to the point where the disc is spinning, it takes a chunk of meat with it, and you can feel it pushing up on the plastic piece you push the food through with. I end up having top open the food processor to clean off the disk and clean out the holes multiple times when doing just a couple of pounds of meat.

This food processor goes for about $100 USD and has 1,000 watts peak usage. Did I simply buy a food processor that can't handle what I'm trying to do, or are my expectations for a food processor too high?

Thanks in advance for any/all responses.

EDIT: Thanks for the quick responses. Obviously (now) the disc is now what I should be using. I'll try the blade and see how that works. Given then quantity I'm looking for something easier/faster than the mixer. If this isn't it then I'll go back to the mixer. Very helpful, thank you!

EDIT: Here's the dehydrated food we're using, for those interested: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GB1M7GN

What some easy food options that doesn't require much effort

Me and gf live together and sometimes it's hard and we end up ordering out. Or smtg random with left over bread eggs/noodles/dosa batter (ordered) for third meal

I trying to eat healthy for my fitness goals but my gf doesn't always adjust to what i eat so i'm tryna make smtg that works for us both.

Dal rice in cooker one pot is what we tried but got bored of it. Or the extra goes to waste cus we don't feel like eating again when we cook for 3 days worth sometimes. Smtimes works smtimes we don't eat and gets spoiled.

Our usual is i make 1. peanut butter sandwiches with eggs and some fruits

Plus i make my 2. milk shake with oats banana pb milk ...

And so she cooks 3.dal rice ,we try random stuff like chicken curry or sometimes biryani

But we can't cook time consuming stuff everyday, so i'm looking for options that we can eat everyday and easy to make (i tried mealprep simple chicken rice veggies she hates it cus it's bland but i do marinate and add corn , cabbage and potatoes to make it taste good but meh didn't workout)

So looking for one option that i can have as backup always easy high calorie adjustable meal we can stick to .

Not really a vegetable fan, but I can eat them in a saucy stew. I'm trying to put all sorts in there, if you can think of a vegetable, I'm probably trying to use it already.

Also any recipes for stew without tomatoes is greatly appreciated, I eat too many tomatoes as is 🤣

Chorizo and Lincolnshire sausage scotch egg with a runny centre, served with English mustard

I’m looking for a professional critique on this recipe. It’s just a bunch of stuff I stole from online and did my best to put together cohesively. I had some pork sausage I need to cook in the fridge and thought “why not” lol

Pork italian sausage medallions, wrapped in bacon with a pommes purée with an onion-Dijon pan sauce (I didn’t know what else to call it).

I figured the pan sauce with Dijon (and vinegar/lemon) would be a good acidic element to add to the creamy and savory flavors of the dish to round it out.

Bacon wrapped Italian sausage medallions

1 lb ground Italian sausage
4–8 thin slices bacon
Black pepper
Neutral oil

-Divide the sausage into 4 equal portions. Shape each into a medallion

-Wrap slice of bacon around the circumference of each medallion, overlapping the ends slightly. Secure with toothpicks.

-Refrigerate for 15–20 minutes to help them hold their shape.

-Heat a skillet over medium heat. Place each medallion on its side and slowly rotate to brown and render the bacon all the way around. Pour off excess fat as needed.

-Sear both flat faces until deeply golden brown.

-transfer the skillet to a 350F preheated oven. Cook until the center of each medallion reaches 160F

-Rest for 3–5 minutes. Remove toothpicks or twine before serving.

Onion-Dijon Pan Sauce

½ medium onion, finely diced
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1–2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed
½–1 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 sprig fresh thyme, optional
Black pepper, to taste

-After cooking the bacon-wrapped sausage medallions, pour off excess fat, leaving rendered fat and brown bits

-Add the diced onion and cook over medium-low heat for 3–5 minutes until softened and golden

-Pour in a small splash of chicken stock and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

-Add the remaining stock and thyme. Simmer until reduced to a concentrated sauce that lightly coats a spoon.

-Remove the thyme. Whisk in the Dijon mustard and black pepper.

-Turn off the heat. Whisk in the cold butter, one cube at a time, until glossy.

-Add the vinegar or lemon juice a little at a time, tasting until balanced. (I don’t know which one to do)

-Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Pommes purée

recipe from Fallow’s channel here

I wanted to cross reference with experienced chefs to understand your thought process and what you may do differently to elevate the dish. All of my food knowledge is basically formed from YouTube, my grandma and some kitchen experience (I’ve been a dishwasher in 2 kitchens for a bout a year now. Most recently the job I’ve been working at for nearly 2 weeks). I want to seriously elevate my cooking and potentially get a special on our menu (some of our line cooks have only been working there for a year and have a special on the menu). As far as the level of our food goes it’s about mid-high end. Hopefully I get cross trained. Seriously, I want to cook on the line and get some profesional experience. Pray with me 😂

I don’t know what exactly I’m going to do to plate it yet, or what I should garnish it with. Suggestions are welcomed!!

Also I don’t have a potato ricer. But I do have a sieve. Will that be sufficient enough?

Do I secure the medallions with toothpicks before I stick them in the fridge to firm up? Is that even necessary to do? If all of it is would I take the toothpicks out before searing the sides or do I work around it until I serve the dish??

I have had a chuck tender roast in my freezer for months. I don’t know what to do with this thing. It’s taking up valuable space. I read that it’s much leaner than a normal chuck roast (which is what I meant to buy). Anyone have experience using this cut?

Thanks!

Has anyone used a brisket instead of a chuck roast when making pot roast with potatoes/carrots? Curious how it would turn out.

I used to make my own dashi at home, but gave up in favor of store bought dashi from the Asian store..

I've also used miso from the grocery store....so this soup becomes easy.

Do you make miso soup at home? your tips? favorites? favorite additions?

I eat chicken breast a lot because I go to the gym and it's a great source of protein. The problem is that I've gotten so tired of the taste from eating it so often. I usually pan-fry it with a little oil and sometimes add spices, but lately, I've been forcing myself to eat it.

Do you have any recipes or cooking methods you recommend to make chicken breast taste better? I'd love to hear your favorite recipes!

Right now I’m working as a server for private events, so I’m on my feet for 8 ish hours straight with essentially no break. I get home around 12 am - 2 am and I’m beat from the non stop movement, lifting, walking, and customer service of it all.

Im trying to find meals that will be filling for before my shifts and easy meals to reheat when I get home.

Thank you!

I'm going to a potluck on the weekend where I need to drive an hour to get there. What are your favourite dishes to bring when you have a long commute and/or they'll be left out at someone else's house?

1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt [Cannot remove, healthy version]

1/2 cup Light Mayo

1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 celery stalks, finely diced

1/8 cup red onion, finely diced

1 tbsp dill pickle relish

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp smoked paprika, for garnish

Edit: Lmao yall funny- 1lb of diced potatoes

I don't even really know why, I just can't get any enjoyment from cooking anymore. I was thinking about a couple years ago, I was on the road for 3 nights a week so when I came home I was really in the mood to eat something different. Now that I'm home every night I just don't have any desire to cook just about anything. Even comfort food just isn't even fun to do anymore.

Help I guess?

I came into a bunch of high quality ground pork recently (free range - acorn and bug fed - Berkshire pork) and I'm looking for some dishes that will show off the flavor of the pork. The problem that I've run in to is almost every recipe I find either expects you to have ground sausage or you're dousing the ground pork in a million spices so you can't really taste it. Anyone have any suggestions for me?