Gravy's Cooking Thread

I've got the Wok Mei oyster sauce. I'm not sure I could tell a difference between brands because I throw so much other shit into marinades. There's almost always oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar. All sorts of shit that dilutes it to the point that I really don't think I could tell a difference.

Lanx said:

how do you live in chinatown and end up buying whole foods oyster sauce?

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Because I have a bougie market that's even closer that sells all the quality goods in one spot and I don't have to make separate trips.

Though I do go to Vietnamese/Thai markets because that's the only place you can find kaffir lime leaves. And Hispanic markets for a couple things (like aji amarillo). But Asian shit is easy to find everywhere here. Maybe I'll hit up the Chinatown markets for galangal but that's about it.

TJT said:

I will say that everyone should do the Soy Sauce challenge.

Buy a bottle of kikomans or walmart soy sauce and a bottle of Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce. The flavor difference and quality is very noticeable. I'm not usually the kind of person to care about this kind of thing but the soy sauce challenge made me realize why Lee Kum Kee is better.

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I get so overwhelmed when I go to an Asian market and there's an entire fucking aisle dedicated to soy and fish sauces. I have no clue where to even start or how to judge that many options. Especially with fish sauce where a bottle can last me damn near six months.

Sounds like bull shit try-hard marketing. Might be true, but comes off as douchey.

I made lomo saltado last night using tamari instead of soy and holy shit I was amazed at the difference. Going to be using that moving forward. And I might start using that instead in other dishes as well.

Made traditional Ossobuco tonight. Cooked it for four hours. Venison shanks. It came out amazing. When the marrow cooks with the meat the taste is so creamy and smooth and delicious. Made fried mashed potato cakes to put under the meat and sauce. If you've never had it, find somewhere that serves it.

Dr.Retarded said:

Here's a question for any of you with a deep freeze. What's the longest you'll typically keep and use vacuum sealed meat? If you go online they say 4 to 6 months on most things, but I've kept items longer than that and occasionally I might get something that tastes a little off like it's been in the freezer for a long time, but as long as it was fresh when it went in and I got a good seal, I can push it to a year maybe.

Reason I ask is I found a couple of things I had buried in the bottom of my freezer, and I'm over a date where I feel comfortable using it for a meal. Tempted just a thaw and see, and that's more than likely what I'll end up doing. Obviously if it's thawed and smells off into the garbage it goes.

Just wondered what everybody's typical experiences are with shit they've got tucked away for a rainy day.

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Did some freezer shuffling just this week to defrost my upright freezer. Found a beef roast from July 2020. Vacuum sealed but looked a tad frosty, so thought maybe the seal broke. Thawed and it looked/smelled fine. Did it sous vide and it was one of the best beef roasts I've made. Shrug.

Defrosting a giant upright Montgomery Ward freezer from the 80's ( maybe 70's sheet) with 4 inches of ice on the top shelf was a chore, but found the temp adjust and now that it's cleared out it's a solid -5 to 0 again (was getting up to 15).

My chest freezer broke, but my mom left me an old commercial ice cream freezer that's just been in my shop for the last 3 years. Used that as a temp freezer, but holy shit, that thing got so cold it wouldn't register on the thermometer. Had to get my temp gun, thing was running at -30 on coldest. So, will be nice having that as a blast freezer (fan rattles like a mofo so only good for short term use).