cookbook rec

[karenthology]

Yum. Okay, I normally don't make cookbook recommendations, but I can't help it with this one.

I've been using Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way in my kitchen for a while, and I've come out with fabulous meal after fabulous meal. Tonight's dish is salmon in mirin, a beautiful dish I wouldn't have thought of making on my own, and it took about six

Comments

[skylarker]

What is 'mirin?'

That sounds like a good book. I've just been getting into trying out some oriental recipes and today made onigiri.

[karenthology]

This particular book is mostly French-based cooking, although he does branch out here and there into more Oriental-influenced recipes.

Mirin is a sweet Japanese rice wine used for cooking. It's yummy when paired with salmon. And now I have a whole bottle, so I need more recipes...

[skylarker]

Mmm. Sounds good. I'd look at substituting the mirin in recipes that call for other wines, just as an experiment.

[seabream]

Caveat: I wouldn't use mirin for de-glazing. It is that sweet.
I should get a food icon.

[karenthology]

What is de-glazing?

[seabream]

It's when you put a bit of liquid into a hot pan (usually a sauté pan, but it's still de-glazing if it's a roasting pan or a stock pot) in which you've cooked stuff that has let out juices and probably bits that have stuck and reduced to form a skin or glaze on the pan which hopefully comes off into the liquid (usually with some stirring or scraping). Usually this is quite flavourful and can be used to make a sauce. If not, it at least helps with the cleaning up since lots of stuff comes off much more easily if you get it while the pan is hot. If it's becoming a sauce, this heavily influences what you use to de-glaze. Water or soup stocks work fine, not only the heat but the initial rapid conversion to steam help promote separation from the pan, but wines, spirits and vinegars, with the alcohol and acid have added effect, not only on the loosening, but also, depending on what was in the pan, chemically bringing out flavours. Things to be careful of are high alcohol content liquids, which are more likely to catch fire, and liquids