Ask Marc

Marc-

Great site! I love it. I have been experimenting with your fish n chips preparation. I find very very tasty! I like to experiment with different beers and oils and judge the differences. My question is regarding the batter. Does the batter keep for 48-72 hours, or longer? Or is essential to make it fresh every time you plan on using it? Your opinion is much appreciated! Take Care

keep cookin'

Dubb

Hi Dubb, I'm glad you like the fish n chips, I think I might make it tomorrow night with some Guinness. Unfortunately the batter will not last because the foaming action of the beer and the leavening effect from the baking powder will cease after a while. Once that happens you'll end up with tough and crunchy rather than light and crispy. It's best to use it as soon as you mix it.

Marc-

I'm curious to hear how it works out for you with the Guinness. I experimented with it and the fish browner way too quickly I lowered the temp significantly and got better results. I really enjoy the paste with a pale ale, but would love to hear your opinion when you try it!

Good Luck

Dubb

Hi !
So glad to have found your site!
One question: why in the world does garlic turn green when it is mashed up? So off-putting!

Hi Joumana,

I've had this happen to me a couple times when I've pickled garlic. Looking it up in Harold McGee's tome: On Food & Cooking, it sounds like the culprit is a chemical reaction that occurs when a compound found in garlic comes in contact with something acidic (like vinegar, tomatoes, etc).

I've never seen this happen when the garlic is simply mashed up (without adding anything else) could it be the implement you're using to mash the garlic? I used to have a garlic press that started oxidizing that turned the garlic a greyish colour.

Hi Marc,

Thank you for the expert insight!

Regarding seeds, how is this? If the seeds are yellowish brown (mature), remove before cooking. If the seeds are white or semi-transparent, they might be cookable and edible.

I am working on a chilled summer soup recipe with winter melon that I like a lot. I will post it on KF when I perfect it.

Thanks!

Michael

Hello Marc,

What is the zen of winter melon (togan)?

In Japan, the smaller ones are the expensive ones. They are usually sold whole. I think that I have seen people just peel the skin and chop them up seeds and all. I am especially interested in how to use the pith and seeds.

Do you use winter melon in your cooking? I realize that it is more common in Chinese cuisine than Japanese, but I see it here in the stores all the time.

Michael/Peko from KyotoFoodie

Hi Michael, to be honest, I've never seen a young one before and typically peel and seed it before using, but if the seeds are small enough you could try using them whole.

The most common use of winter melon is to cube it and add it to chicken soups. There's something very comforting about the way it soaks up the broth and melts on your tongue, so this is probably my favourite use.

Other ways to cook it:
- Fry some ground pork then add the winter melon in with water, soy sauce, sugar and mirin garnish with kinome.
- Cut it into 1/2" thick pieces and boil in dashi until soft, drain and chill then serve with a drizzle of ponzu and garnish with yuzu zest
- Cut it into slices and add it to nabes (hotpots)

Hey Marc,

Great meeting you at last night's event and am loving your blog. The photography alone is what will keep me coming back! I'm sure I'll have plenty of food questions to ask you in the future, so I'm glad you have a section entirely dedicated to that.

Good luck and I hope our paths cross again soon!

Hi Marc,

Greetings from San Diego, CA. I have a lovely white peach tree in my backyard and was trying to come up with a green peach recipe and that's how I found your site. Two days later, I am still on your site. First the amazing pictures drew me in, then your style of writing and the story behind each recipe. I usually don't spend more than a few minutes on any given website or actually post a comment. Needless to say, I love your site and will be again. As a native of Laos, I prefer eating peaches, mangos and apples when they are still considered "green" because of its firmness but the flesh are actually sweet/sour. Thai green mangos and green white peaches (with a pink center) are heavenly, simply dipped in just salt and spicy chili flakes. Your combination of Asian and Western/Eastern recipes are inspiring. You have a new fan!

I want to thank you for judging the Foodie Fights eggplant & white wine battle and for taking the time to give such thoughtful feedback.

First of all, I love your website. Very interesting, informative, and I've been inspired by more than one idea is. My question is rather broad: do you have any advice about navigating Asian markets for someone who is very new to Asian cooking?

I live in a mid-sized Midwestern city, and we have a decent number of Asian groceries (particularly Thai) but there is often a language barrier and I find that most fresh herbs and produce aren't labeled. When looking for ingrediants in recipes I find such as dashi, Thai basil or Thai holy basil, differentiating between different types of chilies, etc, I'm often a bit dumbfounded and intimidated. Any advice?

Thanks much.

Hi Erika, thanks:-) Here are a few suggestions.

1) Do some research ahead of time. Google Images and Wikipedia are both great places to look up info and photos of ingredients such as Thai Basil and different types of chillies. That way you know what you're looking for before you go to the store.

2) Go with lots of free time to spare and take your time. I'm always visiting Indian, Middle Eastern and Mexican groceries, which can seem overwhelming at times, but I can almost always find what I'm looking for without asking for help. If I do need to ask for help, I usually bring a list of items written down so I can just point to the item on the list.

3) Don't be intimidated because of the language barrier. You may have a hard time getting help to find something, but they shouldn't run you out of their store because you don't speak their language (and if they do, they don't deserve your business).

4) Be adventurous. You may make a mistake on occasion and get the wrong herb or spice, but it doesn't have to be a failure. Taste it and see if you can figure out a way to put it to use. I sometimes go out and buy a random ingredient without knowing what it tastes like. This has inspired more than one dish on this blog.

I hope that helps:-)

I just found your blog while looking for something to do with the rice cakes I bought the other day.
Your blog is amazingly helpful, thanks so much!
I love cooking and I love experimenting with things(even at my young age of sixteen) and normally i don't use recipies, but I was lost with these rice cakes.
My question is if you are willing to give me an idea for these cakes, I have writers block, but for food.

Hi Emily, I'm glad to hear you found the blog helpful:-) As for rice cakes, without knowing what kind of rice cakes you have it's a little hard to give specific advice, so I'm going to assume you have the hard Japanese kind that are either round or rectangular and are individually wrapped.

The simplest way to have these is to pop them in a toaster oven (not to be confused with a toaster) on a sheet of foil with a little butter and soy sauce. As they heat they'll start to puff up and brown on top. When you remove it from the oven it will deflate and you can just wrap it in some nori and eat. It will be crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside.

We also put rice cakes into soup in Japan. You can either drop them straight into soup, or you can toast them first to get that nice toasted rice flavour on the outside.

I also like to make my own rice crackers. Just slice them using a sharp knife into thin slices, baste them with a mixture of soy sauce and mirin, then put them in a 350 degree oven until they are golden brown (be careful as they go from golden brown to burnt in a matter of seconds).

Lastly if you want to make a dessert with them, we eat a sweet redbean soup called "oshiruko" in Japan that has rice cakes in it. Just get a can of sweetened red bean, add enough water to thin it out so it's not too sweet, heat it and add in a few rice cakes (you can toast them first for extra flavour).

I hope that helps:-)

thanks so so much. Yeah, those were the kind of rice cakes. Sorry for not being specific (i will blame that on the time of the day) i will try a couple of these out!^-^

Marc, love your mix of attention to detail and creativity. Your posts are always fun to read!

I've got all the ingredients for your Buta Kakuni recipe, save for the sake. Are there particular brands you would recommend buying (or avoiding)? We're likely to use it mostly for cooking.

Thanks,
Rachel

Hi Rachel, if you're mostly going to use it for cooking it really doesn't matter what brand or type you use. I usually just get a big 1.5 liter bottle of Sho Chiku Bai for about $9. The nuances of more expensive sakes get lost in food. I hope that helps:-)

Read about your blog in the MSNBC article about GenXers. I really like your commentary and recipes. I'm one who take recipe books with me on vacation just to read and will buy a new one from each region I visit.

I'll be checking out your site often and sharing it with my sister!

Carrie Lynn