Gravy's Cooking Thread

mkopec · Feb 11, 2015

Anyone here got a good kung pao sauce recipe? I stumbled on the PF Chang kung pao sauce recipe on reddit, but the amounts to make it are in quarts to make gallons of the shit. I was wondering if I could just substitute, say a 1/4 cup or even Tablespoons for the "quarts" in that recipe to make something like a cup of the shit. Im sure it would not hurt if I just held the right proportions

Also looking at that recipe, it sure seems like they use a shit load of sugar.

Lanx · Feb 11, 2015

an ingredient i see most recipes lack for kung pao is black vinegar
Amazon.com : Koon Chun Black Vinegar : Chinese Black Vinegar : Grocery Gourmet Food

i have no god damn idea why it's 12bucks on amazon, i guess that's just how they price it, if you have an asian grocer it'd be like 2.75, i use this brand or chinkian (which is 20bucks on amazon, wtf)

for the marinade i do corn starch/soy/sugar/rice wine, just enough to coat.

for the sauce a mix of
dark soy (you really want it to stick, good dark soy sauce will stick to the bottle, flip it upside down and it should slide down like ketchup) half a cup
Amazon.com : Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce, 16.9-Ounce Bottle (Pack of 2) : Chinese Dark Soy : Grocery Gourmet Food
black vinegar half a cup
dried chile peppers a few
ginger (sliver)/seseme oil 1tbps/sugar 1tbps/scallions handful/garlic 2cloves/cornstarch 2tsp

mkopec · Feb 11, 2015

Is that the dark sweet soy sauce? I see many recipes that call for chinese cooking wine and oyster sauce. I have a bottle of that dark vinegar but I have never used it. I also have a large bottle of dark soy but its sweet. I have a Chinese grocery store minutes away from my work, but the problem is that 3/4 of that shit is all in Chinese so you dont know WTF youre getting without asking and the dude that works there is rude as fuck.

Ao- · Feb 11, 2015

1 qt is roughly 32 ounces, so just downgrade to the scale you want.

Lanx · Feb 11, 2015

no just dark, dark soy sauce is just thick (and darker), used more for cooking.

(there is sweet dark soy, i've never used it for cooking tho)

yea i've rarely cooked with black vinegar, really only use it as the dipping sauce for xiao long bao (one of the greatest tastes)

but it's a different flavor than white vinegar

i don't think kung pao would call for oyster sauce, maybe hoisin, eh who knows.

mkopec · Feb 11, 2015

Well thanks for input. Im going to throw some shit together tonight and try to make my own concoction based on your input and others.

Sir Funk · Feb 13, 2015

Anybody doing anything special for V-Day?

I'm probably going to makeChef John's Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe - Allrecipes.com
for a little dessert at the end of the night. Made it a bunch of times before and it's both easy and they are ladykillers.

Might do my own chocolate covered strawberries if I'm feeling like a superstar:Chocolate Covered Strawberries Recipe - Allrecipes.com

For breakfast I've got this going onBaked French Toast Recipe - Allrecipes.com

BrutulTM · Feb 13, 2015

Don't forget the:

chaos · Feb 13, 2015

Imma try my hand at a chocolate souffle. In addition to making the old lady some steak, with my awesome as fucking soy garlic green beans.

Falstaff · Feb 13, 2015

Is Soy Garlic like soygen's alter cooking ego? Like Tex Wasabi or Johnny Garlic?

Gravy · Feb 13, 2015

Eyashusa_sl said:
Is Soy Garlic like soygen's alter cooking ego? Like Tex Wasabi or Johnny Garlic?

I was thinking something along those lines, too. Hey there, Fucking SoyGarlicGreenBean! You know, pet name.

Anyway, I want to know how you do those beans, chaos.

chaos · Feb 13, 2015

Pretty simple. Just oil in the pan, cook the beans for a few minutes, throw down an absurd amount of garlic, mix about 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce with a dash of water and some pepper, throw that in the pan and cover for 5ish minutes to soften them a bit, then uncover and cook to desired consistency. It makes kind of a sauce with the beans. I tried getting fancy with some corn starch once and more soy sauce and making a for real thick sauce but I can't remember if that worked or not. Personally the wife and I like them what you guys would probably mostly consider to be overdone, they just get more garlic taste that way and have a better (to us) texture.

Gravy · Feb 13, 2015

Dumb question, fresh or canned green beans?

Deathwing · Feb 13, 2015

Gravy_sl said:
Dumb question, fresh or canned green beans?

Canned green beans aren't worth consumption. About the only good canned vegetable is corn since it can take the canning process and still retain its texture(mostly).

chaos · Feb 13, 2015

Yeah, growing up we only ate canned vegetables, and I hated all vegetables. Only canned veggie I have eaten in years is corn.

Gravy · Feb 13, 2015

Most of the veg we eat now is frozen, except for green beans. For some reason, I've got to have canned green beans, never frozen. I do like fresh green beans, though.

Falstaff · Feb 13, 2015

Frozen veg is light years ahead of canned.

Lanx · Feb 14, 2015

chaos_sl said:
Pretty simple. Just oil in the pan, cook the beans for a few minutes, throw down an absurd amount of garlic, mix about 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce with a dash of water and some pepper, throw that in the pan and cover for 5ish minutes to soften them a bit, then uncover and cook to desired consistency. It makes kind of a sauce with the beans. I tried getting fancy with some corn starch once and more soy sauce and making a for real thick sauce but I can't remember if that worked or not. Personally the wife and I like them what you guys would probably mostly consider to be overdone, they just get more garlic taste that way and have a better (to us) texture.

remember if you want "thick" soy sauce, get dark soy sauce.

And to use dark soy sauce, try getting chinese soy sauce, usually just get the brand "lee kum kee" (as opposed to japanese more commonly known kikkoman)

but dear lord do not get tamari, i made a dipping sauce with that (neighbors house) a while ago, and gagged. I thought the soy was expired, nope it's just horrible soy. I went home grabbed my jug of soy(cuz you know it's cheaper to buy in bulk), grabbed my funnel, dumped out their soy and filled it up with the good stuff. (yea i coulda went to walmart and bought some new kikkoman, but they're literally next door neighbors)

Khane · Feb 14, 2015

I prefer canned green beans to fresh. Pretty much the only vegetable that's true for. For me.

Gravy · Feb 14, 2015

Khane_sl said:
I prefer canned green beans to fresh. Pretty much the only vegetable that's true for. For me.

Yep, same here. Pretty much the only canned vegetable we buy, although I did buy a can of creamed corn for cornbread the other day.

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