Ok, Dog and Dragon's edits are DONE - marathon effort, but done. One more - bigger job.
I cooked liver and onions last night. What made it moderately unusual is that it was wallaby liver, our own onions and our own bacon (and our own thyme). I soaked the livers in milk, which makes them less strong flavoured. The key I believe is to braise the onion (sliced thin) slowly in a cast iron pot, with the lid on, until they're melting-soft. I then caramelise them on high heat, add the chopped bacon, and fry the liver - cut in thin strips and dusted with cumin and flour and salt in small batches. Cooking liver well, IMO is almost as hard as fish. It's got to be JUST cooked -a little rare if anything, otherwise it tastes and resembles shoe-leather. Yes, I have been kicked in the mouth (quite ineptly, fortunately) so I do know precisely what shoe leather tastes like. Never bite the shoe that kicks you, it probably stood in something nasty. Away, Wallaby liver is slightly stronger flavoured than lamb, so probably not for those who don't like liver.
Tonight I ventured on broccoli stems in tempura batter with a sweet-and sour chili and ginger dipping sauce. The batter was not a success. Need to work on that. The sauce was a bit salty, but nubbly all the same. It was actually good with the fish and chips too. I drew the line at having it on the salad!
My wife says getting tempura batter right requires lots and lots of practice (and has now and then demonstrated that she too can get it wrong). So much so that it's generally better to get tempura in a specialist restaurant...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the edits :) Can't wait for this book to be in stores.
ReplyDeleteHaven't ever tried to make tempura. Getting it 'just right' seemed like something I wouldn't be good at. Like scones, I leave them for the professionals.
For saltiness, try a splash of lemon next time. It reduces saltiness in an amazing way. Let me know if it works for you.