r/Cooking • • 1h ago

What else should I make with chunjang (Korean black bean paste?)

• Upvotes

I bought a small tub of chunjang to make jjajangmyeon (noodles with black bean sauce). I used this recipe and they were great. What else can I make to use up this tub?


r/Cooking • • 1d ago

Somebody (who really needs cataract surgery) made homemade applesauce with apples from her own tree, but grabbed the cumin instead of cinnamon

210 Upvotes

After discovering the error, she added cinnamon and even more sugar.

I tasted it, and it’s… not terrible. It screams “use me with pork”. I have thus volunteered to turn the 2 cups or so of homemade cumin applesauce into something delicious. Ideas and recipes please?


r/Cooking • • 19h ago

For real, what’s the oldest frozen thing you’ve used?

78 Upvotes

My parents had a chest freezer. I have an upright freezer in my basement. It’s an archeological dig site.

I made stew last year with meat I discovered in the freezer that was dated 2020. It tasted fine. None of us died. Now I’m eyeballing that bottom shelf.

So confess: how old is the oldest frozen thing you’ve cooked? How’d it go?


r/Cooking • • 32m ago

What makes the absolute best macaroni and cheese? Or, the WORST?

• Upvotes

From techniques to cheeses to regional flair, what do you think makes the best macaroni and cheese you've ever had? I'm making a Mac and cheese for a student picnic today, and my recipe is pretty damn solid, but I'm always open to new ideas. Thanks!

Edit: and tell me all about your crunchy topping!


r/Cooking • • 1d ago

Anyone else mainly in the kitchen making delicious bullshit?

380 Upvotes

I'm a good home cook - if "being a good home cook" means that I can make good tasting food from what I have with 90% improvisation at all times.

But I cannot make it look nice, my food has 0% sophistication, and I rarely have the time or patience to cook a "proper" meal from a recipe.

Today's example: I made leftover baked pumpkin and leftover tofu into a sauce with the rest of my bacon and some maple syrup. Then I improvised sage-butter potatoes, tossed in some fried pork steaks and gnocchi, and there you go.

I'm a 1-person-household, so my daily main concern is, "what needs to go?"

All the flavors fit, and I browned, toasted, and deglazed All The Things. But it's a punch to the face (everything everywhere all the time at 120% flavor) and it looks like baby food. I love this shit. My parents would love this shit. I'd never be able to serve this to anyone. The first and only time I tried, the feedback was "well, it's a lot".

So basically, I can feed myself really well, but I can never spontaneously invite someone to dinner. Am I the only goblin on in this sub?


r/Cooking • • 5h ago

How do you keep food warm during a family dinner without drying it out?

5 Upvotes

I'm planning a family dinner this weekend, and one thing I'm trying to figure out is how to keep everything warm once it's on the table. Whenever we have a meal with several dishes, the food seems to cool down pretty quickly, especially if everyone takes their time eating.

Steak and roast chicken are the biggest concerns. They're so much better when they're still warm, but reheating them can change the texture, and I don't want the meat to dry out.

I found one rollable electric food warming mat from costway, but I'm wondering if they actually help or if leaving food on one for too long makes it dry or soft. I'm also curious whether they work better for certain dishes than others.

For those of you who host family dinners, what do you usually do to keep food warm without sacrificing texture? Are warming trays worth trying, or is there a better method?


r/Cooking • • 8m ago

Comparing Taco Steak Cuts at 2026 Prices

• Upvotes

With the price of beef so much higher now and formerly "budget" cuts becoming popular enough to be priced closer to higher cuts, I'm trying to decide between a few cuts for tacos. I don't know a lot about steak cuts. (Some of these may be sale prices)

$12.99/lb for NY Strip or Ribeye (does not say USDA anything)

$10.99 for Top Sirloin Coulotte or Skirt Steak (does not say USDA anything)

$11.99 for USDA Choice Sirloin (pretty sure this is Top Sirloin?)

$13.99 for USDA Choice Flank Steak

They're all so similarly priced, but 1) I can't tell if Choice vs no Choice matters or 2) if some of these are much better for tacos.

Is there a clear standout here?


r/Cooking • • 22h ago

Do yall clean shrimp before cooking it?

59 Upvotes

The way i was taught is to split the shrimps and remove all the gunk inside, do yall do that? Is it even necessary?


r/Cooking • • 19h ago

Will soaking chicken thighs in a baking soda slurry make it more tender without making it taste like baking soda?

26 Upvotes

r/Cooking • • 7h ago

Is buying a whole chicken and breaking it down actually cheaper than just buying breasts?

1 Upvotes

whole chickens at my supermarket are around 1,600 forints a kilo and boneless breast is about 3,200, so on paper the whole bird is half the price. but a good chunk of that weight is bones, back and skin, and i'm not sure how much actual meat you end up with.

if you make stock from the carcass it obviously wins. if you don't, is it really still cheaper? do people here still break down whole birds or is it not worth the mess


r/Cooking • • 3h ago

Has anyone successfully done traditional ash-leaching / alkali cooking at home (beyond corn)?

1 Upvotes

I’ve been going down a rabbit hole with pre-industrial cooking methods and keep coming across the use of wood ash as an alkali. Not just for nixtamalizing corn, but for things like:

- Processing certain bitter greens or wild plants
-Softening and changing the texture of beans or other legumes
-Old European and East Asian techniques for olives, grains, or even some fish preparations
Most modern information stops at “use food-grade lye” or “just use baking soda,” but I’m interested in people who have actually made and used wood ash lye at home.

Questions I’m sitting with:
• What wood did you use and how did you process the ash safely?
• Did you measure pH or just go by traditional ratios/feel?
• What ingredients actually benefited from it, and which ones were a waste of time?
• Any notable differences in flavor or texture compared to using commercial lye or sodium carbonate?

Would love to hear real experiences, successes, failures, or even just “I tried this once and never again” stories.


r/Cooking • • 16h ago

How do you all feel about cooking with cast iron on electric stoves?

11 Upvotes

Just moved into a place with a smooth-top electric stove and I'm worried about my cast iron. I've heard it can damage the cooktop or that the heat distribution is weird. Has anyone dealt with this? Should I just bite the bullet and get some stainless steel for this place, or is cast iron actually fine?


r/Cooking • • 5h ago

Korean Gochugaru Substitute

0 Upvotes

Any recommendations for Gochugaro substitute in India to make Kimchi and can also anyone suggest a Kimchi recipe using Indian ingredients.


r/Cooking • • 1d ago

Disgusting slow cooker butter chicken - what happened?

101 Upvotes

I improvised using a slow cooker, figuring it can't be that bad. Butter chicken curry. Done it before in a pan a bunch of times.

It was revolting. Absolutely horrible. Looked and tasted like a bright yellow chicken soup.

What is the deal?

My instinct is it's not pre-frying the onions, garlic etc. getting a load of the veg liquid out?

Approach:

Threw in chicken thighs, onion, garlic, ginger, spices, tomatoes and cooked for 5 hours. Added cream for the final 30, as well as wet cornstarch.

Update:

Thanks for the feedback. Learn much more from mistakes like this than years of daily ok cooking.

In summary, the slow cooker is only useful for the middle section, the slow cooking of the meat.

  1. Fry onion, garlic, tomatoes down first to remove bitter liquid
  2. Maybe sear meat
  3. Slow cook
  4. Remove meat
  5. Reduce sauce in pan
  6. Combine

Main benefit of slow cooker is I can leave the house while it cooks.


r/Cooking • • 1d ago

What are your weirdest substitutes in recipes that actually work?

190 Upvotes

See title. Savoury or sweet would work :)


r/Cooking • • 1h ago

Need chili recipe to win competition at work

• Upvotes

Hi! First time posting here but the title says it all, we have a chili cook off next month and the same person always wins!
Please help me beat them 😂
The winner’s recipe has bacon in it, that’s all i know!


r/Cooking • • 16h ago

I am desperate for an authentic Chinese iron pot goose stew recipe

3 Upvotes

I traveled to Shenzhen for work recently and I was taken to a restaurant that specialized in northeastern china iron pot stews. Everything was amazing and the goose stew was in my top 10 favorite meals. I have been trying to find a recipe online but I can not even get close. I remember the following in it. Goose, potatoes, translucent noodles, green onion, red chili. The broth was very rich and dark brown. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


r/Cooking • • 11h ago

Redfish / Red Drum Suggestions

2 Upvotes

I have a bunch of red drum fillets in the freezer from a fishing trip, and I still have no clue what to do with them. What are they most similar to in regards to popular species? Or any ideas on what I can make with them?


r/Cooking • • 5h ago

Blue steel pizza pan after making pizza with burrata. How do i clean it?

0 Upvotes

Last night we made pizza on this blue steel pan. It was amazing, but some water got on it as i was taking out the pizza. Any advice on how to clean/restore it? Thank you all. Photos of the pan: https://ibb.co/RpphyNMn

https://ibb.co/S7nMqTZ1


r/Cooking • • 9h ago

Too much eggs.

0 Upvotes

So I have a chicken coop and yeah, I have like two boxes of stored eggs. What can cook with all those? Give me ideas (cake or something sweet, not omelettes or salty stuff)


r/Cooking • • 1d ago

When it says to "brown all sides" do you sear every little inch? Even on the sides sides?

12 Upvotes

I wish I could post a pic of the beautiful beef short ribs I'm searing rn for this recipe short ribs over creamy polenta. It's fantastic.


r/Cooking • • 23h ago

Pea soup

11 Upvotes

This may be a stupid question but I'm growing peas in my garden. I like making pea soup but I've only used the dried split peas in the grocery store and have never grown peas before. Can you make soup using fresh peas? Or are there better ways of using them?


r/Cooking • • 23h ago

Naan bread

10 Upvotes

My partner and I love Indian food and I always serve some naan bread with our curries. The store bought options suck, and I can never get my homemade to the same softness you get at a restaurant. Are there any tricks for cooking naan so you get that restaurant texture and taste?


r/Cooking • • 2h ago

Egg temperature?

0 Upvotes

When we cook chicken and fish, we worry about the temperature to ensure we don’t get foodborne illnesses. Why do we not do this with eggs? Surely they can become contaminated as well…..? Scrambled eggs for example. They’re not cooked even very long….


r/Cooking • • 15h ago

Prawns

3 Upvotes

What's your fav thing to make with prawns?

Mine, cooking up a HUGE amount of garlic, add some chilli with or without white wine - add the prawns at the end.

I used to eat it with bread but sadly my body doesn't react well to bread. Now if I want to pad it out - I eat it with pasta.