Help me make a tasty stew!

[Mal]

[Birch]

Are you asking for a critique of your stew so you won't have to make it yourself ?

 

 

Carrots are always good. IME.

 

Maybe some onions. All depends on what you want it to taste like once you're done

 

You could do a curry in a slowcooker. That would be awesomely good.

 

Plus, some of the longer cooking meats. That would be appropriate IMO.

 

Personally I have an issue with slow cookers, I prefer being on hand to taste and adjust as I go.

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

Me, I'm not much of a fan of stewed meat, but I love using the crockpot to make all manner of beans. If you can get pinto beans in Australia, I can get you my recipe for Mexican 'Borracho Beans', (borracho means 'drunken' in Spanish) in which beer is an ingredient with pinto beans, garlic, onions, cumin, chilies, tomatoes and a few other things.

 

Beans of all sorts are awesome in the crock. You can just beans in the pot, seperately sautee some garlic, onions and veg in olive oil, toss them in; then a few ladles of marmite season to taste. The best part is smelling them cook all day. I'm sure you can find some other recipes from our crewmates here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey, is this 'Taoist Discussion', or 'Off Topic'?

Edited August 11, 2010 by TheSongsofDistantEarth

[idquest]

I just add Garam Masala to all dishes I want to be spiced. Good for meat, fish, prawns, veges - universal that is. This is a basic Indian melange with a cinnamon base and a bunch of some others spices, not hot. You should be able to find it in any store that carries Indian stuff.

[Taomeow]

A noble taoist enterprise! Cooking is alchemy, both external and internal (and ultimately opening one's wisdom eye to the superficiality of the distinction).

 

I'll give you an idea of a simple stew that's not going to fail if you don't burn or oversalt it, but I won't give you precise amounts of ingredients because they don't matter -- just use what's handy. One word of caution though: I'm opposed to the electric crock-pots big time. The flavor is destroyed, everything winds up tasting the same. And there's ample evidence that it's not very healthy to cook with electricity, so if you have a gas stove, I'd use that. If you don't, pray to the taoist gods to send you one someday.

 

In any event, invest in a good stovetop clay pot. Traditional Chinese ones are great.

 

Once you have that, make your stew on a bed of onions, with no water. Cut the onions into large chunks and layer the bottom of the pot with same. One large onion per every one pound of meat. Add a T of butter or ghee or coconut oil or sesame oil.

 

Any meat that's handy goes on top, with salt, black pepper, and any spices and herbs you fancy. Then keep filling the pot with cut vegetables -- potatoes and eggplant are a must, everything else is optional. (Except don't combine beets with eggplant, ever.) Throw in a few prunes, they will make a difference. Something sour must be in there too -- tomatoes, or squeeze out a lemon, or both (but then you might want to add a t of sugar if you use both.)

 

Cover, put on the lowest low, and forget all about it for some 2 hours. If you see no way around a crock pot, then forget all about it for however long it goes.

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

A noble taoist enterprise! Cooking is alchemy, both external and internal (and ultimately opening one's wisdom eye to the superficiality of the distinction).

I'll give you an idea of a simple stew that's not going to fail if you don't burn or oversalt it, but I won't give you precise amounts of ingredients because they don't matter -- just use what's handy. One word of caution though: I'm opposed to the electric crock-pots big time. The flavor is destroyed, everything winds up tasting the same. And there's ample evidence that it's not very healthy to cook with electricity, so if you have a gas stove, I'd use that. If you don't, pray to the taoist gods to send you one someday.

 

In any event, invest in a good stovetop clay pot. Traditional Chinese ones are great.

 

Once you have that, make your stew on a bed of onions, with no water. Cut the onions into large chunks and layer the bottom of the pot with same. One large onion per every one pound of meat. Add a T of butter or ghee or coconut oil or sesame oil.

 

Any meat that's handy goes on top, with salt, black pepper, and any spices and herbs you fancy. Then keep filling the pot with cut vegetables -- potatoes and eggplant are a must, everything else is optional. (Except don't combine beets with eggplant, ever.) Throw in a few prunes, they will make a difference. Something sour must be in there too -- tomatoes, or squeeze out a lemon, or both (but then you might want to add a t of sugar if you use both.)

Cover, put on the lowest low, and forget all about it for some 2 hours. If you see no way around a crock pot, then forget all about it for however long it goes.

 

 

Mmmm...obviously an alchemical chef who knows what she's doing...

[Taomeow]

Mmmm...obviously an alchemical chef who knows what she's doing...

 

 

When I'm inspired (not every day of course), I try to use the same principles in cooking that guide my overall taoist pursuits -- yin-yang, wuxing, ganying. The simplest way to start cooking alchemically is by meditating on the energies of the ingredients you're going to use. No, there's an even simpler one -- go with the Five Tastes -- use all five in every dish, emphasizing the phase you want to support. For instance, a stew for someone who needs more Fire would be generously spiced up with cayenne, chili, etc., but it will include onions and garlic for Metal, lemon for Wood, parsley for Water, prunes for Earth...

 

In China I had some dishes with a "numbing spice" which actually slightly paralyzes your tongue as you eat. I can't figure out what that's for except that taoist ways (which influenced Chinese cooking for thousands of years) do incorporate some bizarre weirdness just for the hell of it... I loved that spice, by the way...

[C T]

 

In China I had some dishes with a "numbing spice" which actually slightly paralyzes your tongue as you eat. I can't figure out what that's for except that taoist ways (which influenced Chinese cooking for thousands of years) do incorporate some bizarre weirdness just for the hell of it... I loved that spice, by the way...

I think this tiddly-bit numbing spice you spoke of is Star Anise, Taomeow. Frequently used in chinese soups and stews, and marinades, naturally. Them Peking Spare Ribs? One of the essential spices used in marinating the ribs. (yum )

 

Good luck with your stewy adventures Mal! Allow me to offer a tip on appropriate herbs to use: Bay leaves, thyme and rosemary... lightly used, these herbs truly bring out the aroma and really add to the stew's character. (eg. cooking for two, i'd use 2 bay leaves in the pot and half a sprig of rosemary and/or thyme. Usually just one or the other. Sometimes both when feeling adventurous .)

 

Another way i'd make stew is to first prep a large enough pot of vegetable and/or meat stock. Fill a large pan with all the bits you like, add two or three bay leaves and one star anise, and add water almost to the brim. (Some of my cheffing colleagues like to also add a stick of cinnamon, but i prefer not. Then with lid off, bring to the boil, and then simmer, with lid on, for about 3 to 4 hours until its reduced to about half. Use half of this half for making your stew and keep the other half, after its cooled, in the fridge for the next day's cooking. This essence can be used in curries and also for gravies too! This is the secret to any flavorsome, delicious cooking, in my experience as a Chef.

 

Have fun!

[rain]

I am lazy so I love throwing meat into my slow cooker in the morning, some veges in the afternoon and then enjoying a nice stew or curry that evening.

 

But I make these using "packet" flavours and I'm thinking about having a go myself with herbs and spices to get away from the added sugar and preservatives in the commercial products.

 

 

 

So anyone got simple tasty recipes? I don't want to go too hard core right away and while I can get some fresh herbs, mostly it will be those dried ones from the supermarket.

 

 

slow cooking is so nice Mal, just made an organic chicken stew today with some of the mentioned fresh ingredients; to spice it up; chilantro, celeryroot, parsley, carrots, estragon, onions onions onions large or small red or yellow, chilipepper, garlic, grinded black pepper and seasalt flakes. (add other green veggies I dont know the names for those I chose tday)

 

aand..then you have lemongrass, honey, lime, cumin, dill, basil, thyme, lemon. you can just throw the herbs right in or work slightly on them in a morter first, together with some oil and lemon or honeyon if you want to rub or cover if you are cooking smthng in the oven.

Edited August 11, 2010 by rain

[gendao]

I think this tiddly-bit numbing spice you spoke of is Star Anise, Taomeow. Frequently used in chinese soups and stews, and marinades, naturally. Them Peking Spare Ribs? One of the essential spices used in marinating the ribs. (yum )

Nope, it is known as "mala" spice made from Sichuan peppercorns.

Mala's spicy-numb contrast is probably my favorite flavor used in Chinese dishes. Like damnnnn it's GOOD! You just haven't had real good Chinese food until you've had real mala dishes (unfortunately not very available in the US, btw)!

Edited August 11, 2010 by vortex

[ShaktiMama]

I am lazy so I love throwing meat into my slow cooker in the morning, some veges in the afternoon and then enjoying a nice stew or curry that evening.

 

But I make these using “packet” flavours and I’m thinking about having a go myself with herbs and spices to get away from the added sugar and preservatives in the commercial products.

 

 

 

So anyone got simple tasty recipes? I don’t want to go too hard core right away and while I can get some fresh herbs, mostly it will be those dried ones from the supermarket.

 

One of my fav type of meals is soup or stew.

 

For a stew I once made in a Crockpot for Dr. Glenn Morris:

 

I used venison (deer) cut into large bite sized pieces. I sauteed in a little olive oil to add some tasty brown bits and then marinated it in merlot overnight. Use enough to cover.Threw it all, including the marinade, into the crock pot on low in the morning with assorted veggies and basic spices like garlic, celery seeds, onion, salt and pepper to taste. All yummy goodness for the Grandmaster's meal in the evening. No leftovers. Finished off with raspberries dusted with grated dark chocolate for dessert. And a bit of mead for the table.

 

When you get a little bit more ambitious...

 

My other most fav meal is beef pho...made in crockpot.

 

http://vietworldkitchen.typepad.com/blog/2008/10/pho-beef-noodle-soup.html

 

you could add maybe a tablespoon of floor is you want more of a gravy type.

 

One of Santi's fav dishes is Oxtail soup, cuban style.

 

http://www.tasteofcuba.com/oxtailstew.html

 

You can definately slow cook all of these dishes.

 

 

just wanted to add all these slow cooked broth rich recipes are good for the jing. I eat a lot of bone broth in the cold months. Keeps my body nice and warm.

 

I also add a few drops of fish sauce to just about every hearty soup or stew I make. It rounds out all the flavors and blends them together nicely. Sometimes I add a teaspoon of raw sugar and a splash of apple cider vinegar if not using wine. The vinegar will help leach all the minerals out of the bones into the broth. I also will buy organic broth, either veggie or meat based, from the store and use instead of water to cover. It will make for a richer taste. I prefer chicken broth over beef broth for any stew/soup even if beef based.

 

for a nice touch, get some organic mushroom broth and use that too instead of meat or basic veggie broth.

 

love and nomm, nommmms,

s

Edited August 11, 2010 by ShaktiMama

[Taomeow]

Nope, it is known as "mala" spice made from Sichuan peppercorns.

Mala's spicy-numb contrast is probably my favorite flavor used in Chinese dishes. Like damnnnn it's GOOD! You just haven't had real good Chinese food until you've had real mala dishes (unfortunately not very available in the US, btw)!

 

You're right!! Thanks, now I know what I'm looking for. (Thanks for the nice try, CowTao... I wish it was as simple as star anise... but I'm no stranger to spices and have used every single one available in the US and dozens from elsewhere... unless it's something not available in either the US, Europe, India, or Middle East, I know it. )

 

I'll try to shop for Mala online... maybe someone somewhere carries it.

[Andrei]

I'll try to shop for Mala online... maybe someone somewhere carries it.

 

Any Asian store have Szechuan pepper corn... I see it everywhere in Montreal

 

My teacher bought it for Iron Hand technique, Szechuan pepper mixed with mung beans is the perfect combination to fill a denim tissue bag and to hit with the palm...

Edited August 12, 2010 by steam

[thelerner]

In my early days I'd cover my 'fixings' with liquid. I've learned its not necessary and makes things taste blander. These days I use little or no liquid.

 

I like using beer can chicken recipes (got the book) and cook chicken standing up on low, w/ herbs or fruit in the middle and a nice rub under the skin. Yumm.

 

Michael

[Taomeow]

Any Asian store have Szechuan pepper corn... I see it everywhere in Montreal

 

My teacher bought it for Iron Hand technique, Szechuan pepper mixed with mung beans is the perfect combination to fill a denim tissue bag and to hit with the palm...

 

Nice! I'll look for it at the local Asian market. The wiki article cites a dozen or more names under which it can be encountered -- it is not known enough in the US to have an established name.

 

Here's a quote from the wiki article which can give one an idea why this spice is like no other:

 

"According to Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking, second edition, p 429 (...) "they produce a strange tingling, buzzing, numbing sensation that is something like the effect of carbonated drinks or of a mild electrical current (touching the terminals of a nine-volt battery to the tongue). Sanshools appear to act on several different kinds of nerve endings at once to induce sensitivity to touch and cold in nerves that are ordinarily nonsensitive. So theoretically may cause a kind of general neurological confusion. "

 

Which is why I could never really figure it out while eating dishes prepared with it beyond the fact that it gives you a mild electroshock. Well, OK, now I get it.

 

Iron palm technique, huh? Yeah, makes sense... a Thunder spice would be my first choice too if I wanted to temper Iron!

[Guest paul walter]

 

 

 

In China I had some dishes with a "numbing spice" which actually slightly paralyzes your tongue as you eat. I can't figure out what that's for except that taoist ways (which influenced Chinese cooking for thousands of years) do incorporate some bizarre weirdness just for the hell of it... I loved that spice, by the way...

 

 

Sichuan Pepper?

[Taomeow]

Sichuan Pepper?

 

Yeah, apparently -- I didn't know that, but looks like I've pinpointed it as such by now with a little help from my TTB friends. (God, I love learning things I didn't know! I don't mean stupid things like who fought what battle when or who was elected where or who scored or who cheated on whom... I mean things that matter, things that can change my life! This one can! Sometimes I have to wait for years and years between the episodes... today is my lucky day... That's what happens to you if you start reading at 3, cooking at 8, dating at... nevermind, this one is nobody's business... -- you miss out on all the fun of learning from your peers!)

 

Are you familiar with this spice? What would you use it for? In Xian, it was all over vegetable dishes, so I don't know what it's going to do to meat and potatoes... cookies and cream... sushi and sashimi... tacos and burritos... but I intend to find out. If anyone has a recipe, consider this a sub-thread of Mal's thread and please enlighten!

[Seth Ananda]

I tend to make Very Large stew's to last a day or two.

 

Soak overnight: 1 cup of Orange lentils, I cup of green split peas, and 1 cup of barley.

 

I fry up some garlic, ginger and onion, when cooked well I add 2 more cups of water and wait till simmering, then Spice!

I often go with: Mustard seeds, cumin, Basil, Curry powder, Salt, pepper, and sometimes a spoon of honey.

 

In go potatoes and large mushroom chunks. Slow Cook,

 

A nice addition here can be nuts or seeds...

 

Later, the cups of soaked grains, and carrots, Beets [a must IMHO] and sweet potato,

 

Add more water as needed...

 

Later Broccoli and cauliflower,

 

Later Green beans, corn,

 

and Last 1 large bunch of Parsley and sometimes also a bunch of coriander...

A whole bunch of either or both is so delicious its not funny

 

well my friends all love it

Edited August 12, 2010 by Seth Ananda

[Mal]

Are you asking for a critique of your stew so you won't have to make it yourself ?

Me, I'm not much of a fan of stewed meat, but I love using the crockpot to make all manner of beans. If you can get pinto beans in Australia, I can get you my recipe for Mexican 'Borracho Beans', (borracho means 'drunken' in Spanish) in which beer is an ingredient with pinto beans, garlic, onions, cumin, chilies, tomatoes and a few other things.

Yes please. I make a nice Taco filling. Brown mince and a clove or 2 of garlic, add an equal amount of kidney beans, reduce heat to a simmer. Add Tomato paste (2 satchels or a small tin depends on amount of meat and beans) Keens curry powder and chili sauce. Little bit of tabasco. I don't have measurements as I add the tomato/curry/chili till it's the right color Taste seem to develop over cooking so can be tricky to gage at the start. Simmer for over 2 hours and don't let it burn as it will go bitter (add water during cooking if getting too dry)

I just add Garam Masala to all dishes I want to be spiced. Good for meat, fish, prawns, veges - universal that is. This is a basic Indian melange with a cinnamon base and a bunch of some others spices, not hot. You should be able to find it in any store that carries Indian stuff.

Sounds good. I though my partner had something like this, but the one she has is HOT

 

One word of caution though: I'm opposed to the electric crock-pots big time. The flavor is destroyed, everything winds up tasting the same. And there's ample evidence that it's not very healthy to cook with electricity, so if you have a gas stove, I'd use that. If you don't, pray to the taoist gods to send you one someday.

 

I'll get gas one day as I want it for my stir fries. Electricity is just not as useful. While I was recently thinking that setting coal on fire to heat water to turn a turbine that generates current through wires that I run through a resister to heat the water for tea (whew) might be a bit inefficient the electric slow cooker stays for a while (I use to use the microwave a lot, heck I use to think a "value meal" was good value)

 

Do you need to salt the eggplant? I'm pretty good on veges but I've never used eggplant (I do like eating it, usually) and I didn't see water/stock at all. Is it a bit like like roasting veges?

 

Good luck with your stewy adventures Mal! Allow me to offer a tip on appropriate herbs to use: Bay leaves, thyme and rosemary... lightly used, these herbs truly bring out the aroma and really add to the stew's character. (eg. cooking for two, i'd use 2 bay leaves in the pot and half a sprig of rosemary and/or thyme. Usually just one or the other. Sometimes both when feeling adventurous .)

 

Thanks I usually toss in a bay leaf, honestly I have a bit of trouble identifying the taste, guess I need more practice. We usually kill a rosemary and thyme plant every few weeks (we buy them live in the supermarket and the go in a window box in the kitchen where there is a bit too much sun and I forget to water them ) Again I need more practice using them and adjusting flavors.

and..then you have lemongrass, honey, lime, cumin, dill, basil, thyme, lemon.

I love lemongrass in stir fries. Had not considered it for a stew.... tasty.

 

I used venison (deer) cut into large bite sized pieces. I sauteed in a little olive oil to add some tasty brown bits and then marinated it in merlot overnight. Use enough to cover.Threw it all, including the marinade, into the crock pot on low in the morning with assorted veggies and basic spices like garlic, celery seeds, onion, salt and pepper to taste. All yummy goodness for the Grandmaster's meal in the evening. No leftovers. Finished off with raspberries dusted with grated dark chocolate for dessert. And a bit of mead for the table.

Mmmmm never had Deer but I recon I'd like it I have not had mead for a while either but I LOVE rasberries so much, would even chose them without the chocolate

In my early days I'd cover my 'fixings' with liquid. I've learned its not necessary and makes things taste blander. These days I use little or no liquid.

 

Interesting I seem to be moving towards using the least amount I can too.

 

I'm feeling inspired (and calmed) thank you all. Now I just need to buy a few more herbs and spices.

[Mal]

I tend to make Very Large stew's to last a day or two.

 

Soak overnight: 1 cup of Orange lentils, I cup of green split peas, and 1 cup of barley.

 

I fry up some garlic, ginger and onion, when cooked well I add 2 more cups of water and wait till simmering, then Spice!

I often go with: Mustard seeds, cumin, Basil, Curry powder, Salt, pepper, and sometimes a spoon of honey.

 

In go potatoes and large mushroom chunks. Slow Cook,

 

A nice addition here can be nuts or seeds...

 

Later, the cups of soaked grains, and carrots, Beets [a must IMHO] and sweet potato,

 

Add more water as needed...

 

Later Broccoli and cauliflower,

 

Later Green beans, corn,

 

and Last 1 large bunch of Parsley and sometimes also a bunch of coriander...

A whole bunch of either or both is so delicious its not funny

 

well my friends all love it

 

Missed one. Broccoli and cauliflower.... would never have considered them as stewing veges, I particularly enjoy broccoli. Why the beens and corn later? I usually put them in a bit earlier so they are softer and toss in my B12 meat substitute (Mushrooms) in the last hour or so. They are usually chopped a bit, perhaps you are using whole ones. I bought one of those mushroom growing kits once, excellent fun.

[Taomeow]

 

Do you need to salt the eggplant? I'm pretty good on veges but I've never used eggplant (I do like eating it, usually) and I didn't see water/stock at all. Is it a bit like like roasting veges?

No, it's a stew, as per your request, and yet you don't need stock/water at all for this recipe -- your bed of onions will liquefy in a slow cooker (or on very low if/when you get your gas) and turn itself into a juicy medium in which everything else will shine. This is a Russian classic, and I've discovered empirically that Russian classics done properly (not as denigrated by the syndicated media which portrays us eating either unglamorously, something like boiled cabbage, or mafia style, something like caviar by the spoonful) are usually a huge hit with Ango-Saxons, Chinese, and even French.

 

As for eggplant, in this particular stew you treat it as just another vegetable, no special approach. I love cooking with eggplant -- in a meat-veggie stew, it is likely to become the bits and pieces most hunted for.

[rain]

I love lemongrass in stir fries. Had not considered it for a stew.... tasty.

 

 

Yes in fact I had neither, but being a practical chef, I discovered that green or red currybased thaisoups make exellent stock or base for stew.

[宁]

Sherry Or, Brandy.

[Guest paul walter]

 

 

As for eggplant, in this particular stew you treat it as just another vegetable, no special approach. I love cooking with eggplant -- in a meat-veggie stew, it is likely to become the bits and pieces most hunted for.

 

 

You salt the eggplant to leach toxins and take out bitterness (though we need bitterness more and more in our diets). You can wash the salt off after salting for about 20 minutes if desired. Never use green flesh of eggplants!

Edited August 13, 2010 by paul walter

[Guest paul walter]

Missed one. Broccoli and cauliflower.... would never have considered them as stewing veges, I particularly enjoy broccoli.

 

 

Brassicas will turn to mush unless you put them in maybe ten minutes near end...