so..... if anyone is thinking of getting me a gift, for no particular reason.... this would be a great idea :D
found here: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/e79f/ this is an all black coated, chromed steel knife from Stelton..... and it is gorgeous! you want one too now, don't you? :)
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i loved these as a kid. i still love them. i watched my mother make them, and eagerly waited as each golden, crispy pretzel was plucked from the hot oil, and placed on some paper towels. as soon as they were cool enough to grab, i ate them right off of the paper towels they were draining on...... crunchy, sweet, so good...... so i decided to try and make some. doing this project made me start thinking..... how these are Chinese? i tried looking it up, and only found recipes, but no origin...... but, i guess they are Chinese? one recipe i found called them "Tong Wan", but when i looked up tong wan, it showed some herbal thing. and then, how are they pretzels? they're not bready or covered in salt granules. they actually taste more like fortune cookies kind of...... meh, its too confusing, lets just forget it - its best not to question it too much, and just enjoy, shall we? they're awesome, really they are - but only when you make them correctly :P i am still working on that last part. i found a recipe that looked easy enough, so i tried making it last night. THIS RECIPE, turned out to be crazy thick like dough, and nothing like the batter my mother used to use. i had to doctor it a bit to make it usable. i'm sure you're asking, "why didn't you just use your mother's batter recipe?" well - that would take a lot of digging on her part, and neither of us have time for that! although, i'm now considering it b/c last nights batch came out "okay", and not great. to make these, you're going to need a Swedish Rosette iron = which again makes me think these are less and less Chinese, but whatever..... you can get these irons in Hawaii at the Complete Kitchen, or at the Executive Chef. both have a good selection. here is a shot of the doctored batter, and my rosette iron..... the batter should look like a not-so-thick pancake batter. also make sure you season your iron before using it. i had no idea how to do this, so i called my mother..... she said "rub it with vegetable oil and sprinkle a little salt on it." i have no idea what this does, so don't ask me :P FRYING! check out how crazy it gets in that pot! insanity. FYI, sometimes the batter doesn't come off of the iron nicely, so just use a wooden chopstick to help nudge it off. when the're golden brown, take them out of the oil..... i burned some, and it smelled like burnt popcorn - weird, i know. drain on paper towels, and WAIT till they cool to eat them.... .trust me. by the looks of that.... i'm still trying to get the timing down. finally, after many tries, i got the timing down.... the end product were nicely browned (not burnt), crispy, "Chinese" - "pretzels". and yes, i'm hiding the burnt ones on the bottom. :)
CHINESE PRETZELS * Canola oil * 2 eggs * 1 cup sugar * 2 cups flour * 1/4 cup cornstarch * 3/4 cup milk or water (i used soymilk, and added about 1 to 2 additional cups, 3/4 is NOT ENOUGH) * handful of sesame seeds, and more on the side mix all the ingredients together until you have a not too thick pancake batter consistency. heat oil over medium / medium high, when hot, dip your iron into the oil to heat the iron. take out and wait a few moments before sticking in the iron into the batter. if you do not wait, the batter will "cook" on to the iron, and will not come off clean. place iron into batter, and DO NOT let batter go over the top of the iron - only on the sides. dip batter covered iron into the oil, and hold there until batter begins to release. if it does not eventually come off, use a wooden chopstick to help it off. fry until golden brown, and drain on paper towels. add more sesame seeds to the batter as needed. i nearly cried when i heard the news........
one of my FAVORITE food shows is coming to an end. Good Eats, the brilliant show by Alton Brown has entertained me, taught me, and inspired me for so many years...... and now Alton Brown is ending the series. http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/05/alton-brown-ends-good-eats-tv-show-food-network.html?ref=obinsite there supposedly are other things in store for the future, so says Mr. Alton Brown - lets hope those things are GOOD things! :D nothing like free eats...... sometimes, they come from unexpected places. for example, i was recently invited to go to a Private Walk-through opening of the upcoming Aulani Hotel: A Disney Resort. this new hotel (opening August 29, 2011) features hut-esque looking design, a brown-on-brown color scheme, and a dopealicious pool. i got to walk around the not-quite finished work in progress, and i have to say, it looks like it's coming along nicely. the property is a little smaller than i thought it would be, but it is still pretty big. the opening i went to consisted of (supposedly) over 56,000 expected guests throughout the day. DAMN. so of course catering was no small feat. here are some of the eats from that day..... upon walking in, i was presented with skewers in a cone. this is a paper cone with fried noodles on the bottom, and 3 skewers consisting of chicken, vegetables, and meatballs. it was just "ok". next up, there were hamburgers and hot dogs. both came with chips. i only had the hamburger, which was bland.... but i imagine saved a lot of money for the hotel people. :P
i did not know, until i was too full, and it was too late, that located near the back of the property was a plate-lunch style buffet. had i known, i would not have filled up on this other riff-raff. the food near the back consisted of chili and rice, teri chicken, and kalua pork and cabbage. DAMN! had i only known :( i also had a piece of guava cake, courtesy of Larry's Bakery Hawaii. good cake, but honestly, shave ice would have been better on a hot-hot-hot day like that one. cheaper too.... but hey, that is what happens when mainland people plan this event without consulting with locals. ah well. it was a nice event anyway. |