Here There and Everywhere

7 Comments »

1. whats a bagno caldo?

   i love the stuff 😛 cant get enough of it!

   tell me how you make yours and i’ll let you knowif youre doing anything wrong, cos it is really quite simple 😛

   Comment by skunk | November 15, 2006 | Reply

2. Hey Skunk!

   Bagno caldo – I used the wrong word. Bagno caldo is a hot bath in the oven, when you are baking something.

   My problem is when I cook the chawan mushi it doesn’t turn out a little firm and silky, there is excess water, and it spoils the effect. Actually, we eat it anyway because it tastes so good! but in my heart I know how it is supposed to look – so beautiful, and I yearn to do better. (All my friends gave me Japanese cooking supplies when I left Doha – there is a large Japanese population there, and a whole segment in two supermarkets full of Japanese cooking supplies.)

   Comment by intlxpatr | November 16, 2006 | Reply

3. ahh ok, youre using a bain marie in an oven.

   theres your problem.

   you have to use a steamer.

   something like this:

   

   or this which most people use and you can probably find in the shops you mentioned:

   

   i know it looks kinda large, but its made of aluminium and is very light, should be rather cheap too.

   if you go with the first picture, what you have to do is get a wok and pour some water into it to boil, then you place the steamer over it.

   the second picture is basically a pot at the bottom where you put the water, and then a level for whatever youre cooking, then the lid.

   if you like steamed food of anykind, fish chicken veggies, go with the second one if you can, its well worth it 😛 plus you could make like a really huuuuge chawan mushi in a cake tin for parties an stuff.

   the great thing about the steaming is that theres not temperature to worry about like the oven.

   and dont worry you do tend to get a little bit of water on top sometimes.

   Comment by skunk | November 16, 2006 | Reply

4. I didn’t explain myself very well. I do it on top of the stove, with hot water, like I was shown. But I like the special equipment idea, and I think I will have to invest a little next time I am in my part of the woods, where Japanese cooking equipment is plentiful and reasonably priced due to the 4th and 5th generation Japanese-Americans living there.

   The best thing you said was not to worry about the little bit of water on top, because that is exactly what I was fretting about! And you are right, chawan mushi is the best. And when I was sick, my husband brough me lots of miso soup . . .it’s probably psychological, but it FEELS so healthy.

   Thanks for your help.

   Comment by intlxpatr | November 16, 2006 | Reply

5. PS to Skunk – the steamer at QuickSpice.com is BEAUTIFUL! I’m such a sucker for cooking tools that are also beautiful!

   Comment by intlxpatr | November 16, 2006 | Reply

6. ahhh ok, yeah its best to get the steamer thingy. oh and dont get too attached to the prettiness cos the more you use it the more it’ll get banged up 😛

   its only made of rather thin aluminium 😛

   and trust me you’ll wind up using it all the time, especially since you can make steamed fish chinese style,chicken, dimsum, or just veggies really really fast. i know someone that makes muffins in one too 😛 oh and stick old bread or rice in there for a few minutes and its almost like new 😛

   Comment by skunk | November 17, 2006 | Reply

7. Skunk – I love it. Thanks for the good info on resources. But yeh, I am sort of a sucker for a piece of equipment that is also beautiful, and the steamer (to me) is beautiful!) Being so useful is going to be a bonus.

   Comment by intlxpatr | November 18, 2006 | Reply

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