hah! a little squirt bottle made to hold mustard or some such. hardly fancy!
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I asked the BF for a salad of cherry tomatoes, fried tofu, and cukes, with nuoc cham as the dressing, inspired by my big jar of crispy fried shallots, which went on top. He added lettuce too, and made the nuoc cham extra spicy. so good!
for himself, he used the leftover shakshuka i made and added boiled potato and a ground chicken patty.
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I would boil it a little harder, I think. If that doesn’t help, add a tsp. more.
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I’m trying to get back into my meatless Monday habits and cooking from my books. Second time around making Melissa Clark’s recipe for spiced Brussels sprouts with paneer.
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I’m no expert, but I use a slurry of a tsp or two of cornstarch in 1-2 tbsp of water usually, so my guess would be too much liquid vs cornstarch.
Here is WOL on cornstarch, where they suggest 1:1 ratio of cornstarch to liquid for the slurry, but how much cornstarch is used depends on the liquid in the recipe and what outcome you need.
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I don’t think I’m an expert, but am I right that you add starch directly into the pot? If so, try dissolving it in cold water to make a slurry, and then pouring that in. The ratio I use is generally 1:3.
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Seafood soup with cilantro, jalapeno and lime. It was just okay, the flavor was kind of muted. Looks nice, though.
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I went to the movies with a meetup group I recently joined so I popped into the pub for dinner first and had a really good smoked meat sandwich paired with my favorite beer. Then off to the movie (The Four Daughters - highly recommended) then we recessed for dessert for the worst cheesecake I’ve ever had) and a lively discussion of the film.
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Variation on mansoor dal - red lentils cooked in water and coconut milk with onion, garlic, ginger, brown mustard seeds, fennel seeds, cardamom, turmeric, red pepper flakes. Finished with some wilted spinach and lime juice. Served with diced tomatoes and some coconut flakes.
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I know 
Another fellow salad lover!
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Best wishes to them for good recovery.
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Mouth on fire Sichuan after a long time.
Cumin fish fry pot was fabulous — fish wasn’t over-battered, perfectly fried, and the balance of vegetables was really good.
Chef’s special sautéed beef was mostly fire, but the meat was well-cooked and tender. I would’ve ordered something with a different flavor profile, but my friend really wanted the beef — and then couldn’t eat more than a few bites because it was too spicy. (Sweet soju quelled the flames a bit.)
Had a brief wander through Flushing beforehand:
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@paryzer I’m always interested in your wine pairings. Do you ever share them on the wine thread? Would be a great resource!
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Thank you! I tried sharing some wines on the wine thread a while ago, but there didn’t seem to be much interest, so I stopped.
Mrs. P and I are strictly red wine drinkers. We enjoy the bold red wines like cabernets, Malbecs, Shiraz, Chateauneuf Du Pape (anything with dark ripe fruit and a little peppery kick).
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Oops, I was unclear in my post. I made a slurry (using about 3T water and 3T cornstarch, just enough to get it fully hydrated), and then added that to about 3 cups of liquid (so, about one Tablespoon of cornstarch per cup of sauce to be thickened).
I reboiled what was left in the pan and that seemed to do the trick, thanks! I’m always afraid of cooking cornstarch too long but clearly it can take more heat than I think. All of the other ingredients in the pot (the tofu especially) probably also bring the temp down even when the liquid is boiling.
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My usual method for thickening with a corn starch slurry is to bring whatever needs thickening to a boil, add some of the slurry (maybe half) while stirring vigorously, and then cut the heat as soon as I reach the thickness I want. Add more slurry and continue stirring as needed. Works pretty well.
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This is my MO as well.
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I boil without fear. I’ve seen enough recipes for various things that add cornstarch from the beginning and then keep boiling and nothing happens in terms of thickening. Plus all the pastry cream I’ve made and seeing the disaster that can ensue if not boiled long enough (thankfully I’ve only done this like once or twice in hundreds of attempts). So I’m just conditioned at this point to make sure it’s thoroughly cooked.
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