food ruminations
Jan. 26th, 2016 10:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarea
Does anyone know of a way to (quickly) thinly slice green papaya? I know experts can probably do it with a knife, by hand, but my knife skills aren't pro. Last night I made som tam (Thai green papaya salad) with shrimp, and I busted out my mandoline and used the thinnest julienne setting. Only... they were still too big/thick. A grater won't work because the pieces shouldn't be small like that; they should be long strips, almost like noodles. :/ I was happy with the flavor otherwise (I specially bought palm sugar for the purpose), though maybe a little too sweet, which I'll adjust the next time, if there is a next time. It was actually a lot of work!! I won't begrudge the som tam prices in restaurants anymore. Thai street food vendors bash green papayas with a knife, then shave it off, but that seems like it would take an inexperienced person a really long time, not to mention be dangerous. (I have purchased this julienne thingy from Amazon. I am unconvinced it could actually work the way I want, but I'm willing to spend $14 to find out.)
Next, macarons. I have tried to tame this pastry chef's beast before. A few years ago, over several days, I tried to make macarons. Tried, and failed. It's a very costly endeavor to keep failing at, because you're wasting a ton of eggs and almond flour. :/ So I have never successfully made a macaron that had feet, with the right texture of crispness on the outside and chewiness on the inside. It's not just me; other people have had difficulties with it! IT'S REALLY HARD! Anyway, after all that dismal failure, I gave up.
Buuuuuut last night on Kids Baking Championship (my new favorite show), they made macarons. And yes, some of them failed. But they were all excited about making them, and had clearly made them before, successfully (even if they didn't have those results on the show). And many of them made beautiful macarons. It was really inspiring! (Also embarrassing that 10-13 year olds can master macarons and I can't.) So now I want to try to make them again. But I have much grocery shopping to do!
Next, macarons. I have tried to tame this pastry chef's beast before. A few years ago, over several days, I tried to make macarons. Tried, and failed. It's a very costly endeavor to keep failing at, because you're wasting a ton of eggs and almond flour. :/ So I have never successfully made a macaron that had feet, with the right texture of crispness on the outside and chewiness on the inside. It's not just me; other people have had difficulties with it! IT'S REALLY HARD! Anyway, after all that dismal failure, I gave up.
Buuuuuut last night on Kids Baking Championship (my new favorite show), they made macarons. And yes, some of them failed. But they were all excited about making them, and had clearly made them before, successfully (even if they didn't have those results on the show). And many of them made beautiful macarons. It was really inspiring! (Also embarrassing that 10-13 year olds can master macarons and I can't.) So now I want to try to make them again. But I have much grocery shopping to do!
