/ck/ - Food & Cooking

For me it's Chinese scallion pancakes.
The texture is always wrong, they don't really layer or crisp.

The recipes are so simple, I just don't get it

>>13535029
Fried chicken. Always too oily/dry, raw/overcooked. Also I have a problem with my oil getting black and smelling burned.

>>13535029
Many dishes to be honest, there's always something slightly off.

Tell me a dish that's too simple but you've seen people fuck up somehow
You ever seen someone fuck up a grilled cheese/cheese toastie? I fucking have.

>>13535029
pretty much anything that that that involves chopping vegetables, takes more than 2 pans or isn't baking. I even make macaroons and they turn out perfect, but every time I try to make fucking thai curry or some shit its always slightly off, not bad or inedible, just not as good as it should be.

also coffee is one of those things im pretty hit and miss on, even though i use the same measurements always, its just better some days and worse others,

>>13535029
brownies
DONT. EVEN. ASK

>>13535218
Just weigh your ingredients and don't change brands while adjusting quantities.

None.

>>13535029
Galette des Rois.

First attempt failed because puff pastry couldn't hold the almond paste, which was wrongly proportioned. It was all over the place after baking.

Second attempt failed for the same reason, only this time tasted even worse due to my suggestion(to mum) of adding lemon rind

I asked my aunt(who runs a home bakery) to try it and she failed at it too, exactly the same issue as before.

Maybe our curry family was cursed to being shit at making such a wonderfully tasting tart.

>>13535296
Not him but there's more than that. It's also in how you i corporate the ingredients together and add air to the batter to you get that flaky top layer.

Protips: ALWAYS SIFT YOUR FLOUR, ALWAYS WEIGH YOUR FLOWER. WHIP AIR INTO THE BATTER.

>>13535029
Stir fry. Goddamnit it always comes out flavorless and soggy

pizza dough or any dough. it comes out a sticky mess and it takes like an hour to kneed.

>>13535029
A good tasting tomato pasta sauce.

my nemesis

>>13535371
try adding some egg yolks into the filling, and don't pack it too tightly because it expands

>>13535393
cook sushi/short grain rice. put it in a voodoo
bowl uncovered in the fridge for at least 5 hours, take it out 20 mins before use, put it in the wok after everything is cooked/80% there, toss it around until coated in oil and warmed through. You NEED to dry your rice out or it'll fuck it all up.

>>13535047
Oil temp is to high homie

>>13535029
macarons..

>>13535029
This is one of my favorite pics of all time.

Thai curry. I can never get it right.
It tastes good but the stuff i get at the local Thai so so much better.

Rice
Not even joking, I have to use the rice cooker, if I try to do it on the stove I make glue.
Also, not a noob. 42 can cook like a champ, this is that one thing I can’t do, no clue why.
InB4 rinse your rice: I’ve tried various combinations of style, rinse level, water ratios, etc... I rice just fine in my rice cooker, but for decades, I try to do it manually I will fuck something up.

>>13535406
Came here to say the same but I have the opposite problem; mine always becomes too dry and tough and then doesn't rise well and doesn't have a very good texture when cooked. I've tried so many times but I still haven't gotten it right.

>>13535881
Are you weighing your flower or are you measuring by volume? Also are you leaving your dough to proof overnight? Most pizza dough takes 24 hours.

>>13535869
what kind of rice?

if it's turning to glue, it means you're cooking for too long and adding too much liquid.

onion strings

Beef Wellington. Have tried to make it at least 5 times. Puff pastry always turns to mush. Have even tried cooking the duxelle 10 mins past what the recipe calls for to extract the most moisture out of it.

Poached eggs.

>>13535080
Over easy egg. Didn't know what over easy even meant.

>>13535901
I do weigh everything. I've left dough out overnight before with pretty much no change to the texture (always too dry and hard). I'm honestly pretty stumped about it.

>>13535029
FUCKING PASTA
ITS NEVER RIGHT
EITHER TO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE
TO SOFT OR TO HARD
PASTA

>>13535029
boneless, skinless chicken breast

Pasta with tomato sauce. The ketchup always gets burnt...

>>13536014
>ketchup
poor quality b8, m8

>>13535047
Got a temp gauge? 350 with high temp oil. Cook first time drain and second time. I know, tho I mess it up too, unless you make something like weekly you will mess it up.

effing risotto. I got kicked off top chef for making what I thought was a pretty good risotto, but Tom C. told me it was "amateurish"

>>13535969
The key, I've found, is to constantly sample the pasta as it's cooking. You get to eat a lot of pasta and then you find the right texture through sheer brute force.

>>13535029
Refried beans.
I can never get them to be light and airy like restaurant beans. Mine come out dry and dense as concrete mix.

Noodle stir fry, the noodles always clump together and don't integrate with the meat/veg. I end up with a lump of noodles and all the other ingredients on the outside.

>>13535029
Tom Kha Gai. can never get it to taste just like the restaurant's version

>>13535029
Crêpes

General tso's chicken.
I cant fry the chicken nor make the sauce.

>>13535029
The Fly was a great film.

>>13535080
My ex couldn't bake chicken to save her life. Was always raw on the inside and dry as hell on the outside.

for my life i couldnt make a peppercorn sauce for steak until the other day

it would always separate and get too oily or wouldnt be thick enough

i finally figured out to drain the pan after cooking the steak, leaving the fond in it and then make the sauce in that

French Toast. How can I get it nice and crispy. It always comes out soggy.
Also, as previously mentioned, fried chicken is a bitch. The crust turns out great, but it's really dry and overcooked on the inside. I should get a thermomether.

>>13536060
>your food is bad because it's bad
what does that even mean? that's not a critique.

>>13535029
This is gonna sound retarded, but pancakes.

They always come out too flat and dense for me. I know there must be something obvious and simply I'm doing wrong, but I never get them quite right.

>>13537508
You might be overmixing the batter, it's okay if it's a bit lumpy. Also let it sit for 10 minutes after you mix.

>>13535869
>Rinse a cup of rice
>Add 1 and 3/4 cups of water to saucepan and a teaspoon of salt
>Put on medium heat until boiling
>Add rice and stir, then put the lid on, turn it to low and leave to cook for 16 - 18 minutes
>Remove from heat and leave for another 5 minutes
>Stir with fork to fluff and serve

>>13535931
Use a deep saucepan, put white vinegar in the water, crack your eggs into a sieve to get rid of the runny part of the white then transfer to a small bowl.

>>13536244
Cook your noodles then drain them and run under cold water. Then drain them again and mix in a bowl with some oil. I usually use peanut or sesame. I usually make a few incisions with scissors at this point to make them easier to stir through.

Biscuits

Menudo
Birria

Eggs, Ive made entire slabs of ribs and made yeast risen bread and other shit that all turned out great yet eggs that arent scrambled fucking eluded me and it's driving me insane.

And legit I've used all the tricks, it just refuses to obey me

Pic attached is some ham, toast and eggs for reference, and this is one my CLEANER attempts.

>>13537602
Don't use salt until after they are cooked. You can baste the top of the eggs with the hot butter instead of flipping.

Any chicken it sucks I'd much rather eat kfc than any chicken made by me

Fuckin pancakes

>>13535029
fish and chips, particularly the batter and frying the fish

>>13535029
fucking pan frying a steak
i almost got it last time but it set off the fire alarms due to smoke

>>13537602
crack egg with spoon or knife edge, gently open it over a medium-heat pan, make sure the pan is nicely oiled.

>>13537602
>tfw can crack eggs with one hand and keep the yolk intact at the same time

>>13535371
>100g sugar + 100g soft butter
>add 100g egg, then 100g almond powder
>add eventually 1-2 teaspoons of bitter almond essence or vanilla essence
>putt the filling between the 2 puff pastry, close the slightly watered edges with a fork
>30-60 minutes in the fridge
>pre-heated oven at 170°
>then put the galette in the oven for 30-40 minutes with rotating heat
EASY af dude

>>13537752
forgot 1 thing before putting it in the fridge
>spread 1 yolk on top (to make it shine later) and draw stuff with a knife

>>13537617
>>13537602
>>13537732
also this was me when i had trouble cooking eggs, i even did it on a cast iron with no seasoning and still do

i put the stove top to high with the cast iron on top for just a few minutes (to warm it up), then i keep touching the center of the cast iron with my finger until its no longer comfortable doing so,

drop a teaspoon of oil in the center of the pan and let that catch the heat a little and warm up too (don't burn the oil)

then i drop the stove top heat to the middle between medium and low (it needs to be low enough so it doesnt burn the bottom of the egg before the top of your egg even cooks, you might have to baste it with butter if your conscious about an under cooked egg yolk) keep in mind im making a fried egg with crispy bottom.

now DONT touch it, i know most amateur cooks like me do one of two things, they don't warm up their pans properly (they are not confident in the kitchen yet as well), or they are impatient and keep touching the food they are cooking.

if you don't touch it the egg will actually unstick itself from the pan if you cook it for a couple of minutes. you will start to notice the edges getting crispy around your egg but don't worry

and yes don't season the egg until it's done cooking. also when you are cracking an egg don't be afraid to jam both your thumbs into the crack and push inward and separate the shell but not too forceful obviously, i think you can practice cracking an egg into a bowl then pour that bowl into the hot pan and the egg should still remain intact

french toast. I'm feel I'm always on the edge of greatness but my attempts to get closer randomly change the quality and I can't find a correlation

>>13535029
Fucking Fried Rice

No matter what I do, it always ends up seeming too greasy/moist.whatever. Mush.

I've essentially given up on trying to make it.

>>13535029
Beef stew. It just has an overwhelming bland taste to it.

>>13537903
So season it more...

>>13537897
are you using well-dried-out rice? That's why it's recommended to use day old rice, but sometimes that is not enough to dry it out

Rice on the hob. After a dozen attempts I just bought a cooker.

>>13537903
Bone in beef
Wine

>>13535029
Rice.
tbf I usually used a rice cooker and lived with electric stovetops until a few years ago. Most recipes are written with electric stoves/ovens in mind so I ended up burning a few pots of rice on the bottom.
My arroz rojo game is getting pretty perfect, however. I don't even look at a recipe these days.
Being unable to cook rice on a stovetop, yet being able to make everything else (minus baking) pretty perfectly, makes me feel like an absolute retard. It's getting better tho.

>>13537546
does your measurement of water account for the evaporation? and how does boiling water on medium turn out, won't that take 40 minutes?

>>13537903
You're likely underseasoning. Very common mistake with homecooks. Slowly add salt until it stops being bland.

>>13536499
Any dish that involves a crispy fried component + sauce seems impossible to make well at home. At least I've never been able to pull it off.

>>13535029
I've tried making cinnamon rolls/chocolate babka several times and without fail I will fuck something up.

>>13537602
how the fuck do people struggle with cracking an egg open

>>13535029
Pho sadly, it's so simple but I always over think it and the flavor is nothing like at the restaurants.

>>13535869
>>13538046
>>13538050
My idiot proof white rice method
>add rinsed rice to pot (usually 2 dry cups)
>add x1.5 water (usually 3 cups)
>crank the stove to high until water level gets low enough that distinct "steam vents" are visible
>put on lid, heat to low
>wait 12 minutes
>fuck around finishing the rest of dinner for an indeterminate amount of time
>fluff rice with fork and serve

A little rice always stick to the bottom, but rice is consistently good. Risotto is much more fun to cook and is absolutely GOAT.

>>13538050
Yes to the water measurement. I have gas so it doesn't take that long.

>>13538106
Why don't you just boil the water on high then? When you turn it back down the adjustment will be immediate.

Pretty much any kind of bread. I'm amazing at cooking anything else. I just don't know much about baked goods. I've tried to learn to but it's all filled with this "muh crumb" faggotry and every baking thread on here is max level autism where no one agrees with each other. So fuck it. I'll just buy bread I guess

>>13538123
I know that feel anon.
I know that feel.
My injun fry-bread comes out fine, but baking might as well be space magic.

>>13538114
I usually start it on a bigger burner then put it on the small burner on low.

I’ve only managed not to either undercook or overcook cod once.

>>13535393
>soggy
Not enough heat, too much water.
Just using a wok doesn't make it stir fry, you need serious heat - basically only gas stoves can do this.
Another common cause is instead of cooking in batches you're adding one ingredient after another until the wok is too full.
Another cause is not slicing meat and vegetables finely enough.

>flavourless
Several possible causes
A. You're omitting ingredients like ginger, chilli, djoubangiang because you don't like them
B. You aren't making red oil - most of your aromatics should be infused in oil before you start.
C. Your meat was not marinated.
D. You are using a white people receipe with carrot, kikoman soya sauce and hokkien noodles

Pic is yesterday's Chinese

>>13535406
Sticky dough is always adding too much water - usually because when you start kneading you see dry flour.
As you knead it becomes wetter.

>>13535426
Worked in an italian place.
A. Using the wrong tomatoes, your hydro supermarket shit is flavourless
B. Didn't use chicken stock
C. Didn't use a bouquet garni of Italian herbs/ used flavorless dried herbs
D. Didn't cook it long enough, we cooked our sauce for five hours and for an Italian place we were getting scolded by Italians
E. Didn't use olive oil
F. If using meat, didn't brown sufficiently or deglaze with wine

>>13535869
Rice is unironically hard.
Like pasta you have to do it by eye.

And there are fifty different rice varieties and at least 5 cooking techniques.

One key factor is measuring by weight or volume.
Another is understanding the ratio of water to rice is NOT linear.
Another is leaving the rice to stand after streaming

>>13537518
>overmix pancake batter
not the guy but is this a thing? i know about overmixing cookie dough and shit but this never occurred to me

>>13538208
It's definitely a thing. Any kind of batter will suffer from overmixing

>>13535928
Probably your oven isn't removing enough moisture.

>>13535931
Many myths about this.
I put an upsidown plate at the bottom of the pot to stop the egg contacting the metal.
If you're using shit supermarket eggs drain the watery part from the white with a slotted spoon.

Vinegar will cause floating white to foul your water and is noticeable in the final p product

Using a baine marrie and adding water on top of the eggs works also, we use muffin tins in the hotel for breakfast service.

>>13535969
It's likely you're just using very poor quality pasta.
Perhaps your water is not hot enough, or you're using a pot which is too small.

Like rice, pasta cooks further in the sauce, so remove it "dente" or in English slightly under done.
I always remove my pasta a bit early and finish cooking it in the sauce

>>13535029
Spanish rice/sopa de arroz. I always either burn the rice on the bottom of the pan, or make it too soft, often both.

>>13538218
neat, thanks bro

>>13536342
You followed my girl Pailin's video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RNxC6w7ERg
https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/tom-ka-gai/

>>13536244
Blanche your noodles, add some vegetables oil if you're not stir frying with much.
Cut your noodles up smaller

>>13536377
Use better flour
Use more egg, the bbc good food guide has a good recipie

When cooking, roll the batter around the pan so the edges are thin

>>13537451
The issue is you're using super light, super sugary supermarket bread

>>13537719
Do you let the batter sit after mixing?

>>13537897
All white people persist in attempting to make fried rice the wrong way.
A. You MUST use dryed rice.
Rice that's just cooked is too wet and will just steam everything.
I know most of you wh*te people will ignore this step.
B. The very first thing you do is dry fry the rice with oil to brown it, then remove all the rice and proceed as normal.

>>13538080
It's a lack of the correct herbs normally.
Pho stock is a closely guarded secret.
Also try clarifying the stock after cooking the meat

>>13537508
What >>13537518 said.
Also you can follow the jiggly Japanese method of separating out the egg whites in your recipe and whipping them to stiff peaks and then carefully folding them back into the batter so as not to deflate them like you would a sponge then portioning the pancake batter in ring molds in the pan and steaming them with a lid on to give added height.

>>13535029
Chicken. Either cooked perfectly with a soggy outside or overcooked with a delicious charred outside.
Fried rice. Always comes out nasty and crunchy.
Any dessert that isn't from a pre-measured box.

>>13535029

Honestly? A plain fucking cheeseburger. I can intuitively figure out how long to grill various meats but I always seem to either under or overcook burgers.

Yes I know I should be making them in a pan and not a grill, fuck off.

>>13538273
holy shit wow im trying this

Cornbread
Tried using a seasoned cast iron
tried bacon and bacon fat and buying premade lard

Texture wise its perfect it just doesnt taste "addictive" like cornbread should.

>>13535080
Boy do i got a video for you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR0_ips5I_o&t=71s

These people are hitting a new level of retardation every video

>>13538336
>putting butter in the pan instead of the bread
what the fuck senpai

Steamed soft boiled eggs. I Can't get the fucking shells off without essentially destroying the egg.

>>13535029
fucking BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS FUCK

I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING. I’VE EVEN SOUS MEME VIDED THEM BEFORE FRYING AND THEY STILL CAME OUT NOTHING LIKE RESTAURANT WINGS JUST SOGGY PILES OF SHIT FUCK AHHHHHHHHH

That being said, does anyone have a recipe or have advice on how to properly prepare buffalo chicken wings at home? Thank you in advance.

>>13538408
When you crack the shell pierce the skin then use your thumb like a peeler and run it over the egg. I usually run my eggs under cold water so they don't burn my hands and peel them immediately.

>>13535029
Its extremely embaressing because its such a simple goddamn thing, but I always fuck up muffins.

Its something about the baking powder that always tastes...metally and bubbly.

Yes I fucking stir the shit in, but I still taste the metal and bubbly shit. I've switched to alum free baking powder, and there's slight improvement, however my muffins always have some tinge of bubbly aftertaste.

I don't have this problem in other baked sweet dishes that call for baking powder. My pancakes/waffles are delicious, so are my cookies/brownies, and cakes.

But for whatever the fuck reason, muffins decide to fucking dab on me. Personally, I blame muffin goblins who cum into my kitchen when I'm making muffins and decide to fucking jizz into my rising muffin batter.

>>13535868
you have lime leaves and lemongrass and fresh chilis galangal and everything you need? If you've got fresh ingredients you're doin better than most folks.

>>13535908

Don't forget to wash it first too.

>>13536342
Same. Getting all the ingredients is tough where I am too.

>>13537546
>>13538050
Ricecooker

japs do it. why shouldnt we?

>>13538184

checked

>>13535377
I have literally never sifted or weighed my flour and have also never fucked up a brownie. I always felt that brownies were super simple as long as you bake them for just the right amount of time and at the very least roughly follow a recipe

>>13538536
eat shit and die r*ddit newfaggot

>>13538536
>13538184
>checked

>>13535942
After years I finally get over easy right about 90% of the time. Still, for whatever reason, about 10% of the time I fuck one up. If it's the first one I spaz out completely and fuck all of them up in a rage. So if I fuck the first one up I just switch and pretend I intended to make scrambled eggs.

>>13535901
Honestly I think it's best 2-3 days in. And at about 5 it gets a delicious sourdough-y flavor.

>>13538515
>Its something about the baking powder that always tastes...metally and bubbly.
Don't use premade baking powder in a can. That always tastes like that. Instead use a mix of two parts cream of tartar, one part baking soda. Some suggest using cornstarch. Don't.

Pesto pasta. For some reason I just can't get the flavor right. Always ends up kind of bland. Anyone have problems with this? How do you make the basil flavor stand out more?

>>13538339
That's the best way to do it. Cope

>>13538256
>dryed

>>13538693
Usually the rice from breakfast is kept in the open until lunch.
A fridge will dry the rice as well.

>>13538536
Newfag

>>13538293
Flipping them more than once

Thickness of the party is up to you, but if you are grilling them it's better they are thin

>>13538534
I prefer stove top rice.

Cacio and pepe
I hve done it right a few times but in most cases I fail and I don't even know why

>>13538336
>That guy who couldnt tell the difference between olive oil and butter

>That guy that literally puts cheese on the pan and then scrape it onto some non-toasted bread

Jesus christ this video had me in tears

>>13538824
>pepe

>>13538416
>put frozen wings in hot oil
>remove wings when done
>add buffalo sauce

Mashed potato pancakes. Too little flour makes it very hard to form them into patties and too much makes them gummy. Should I stick them in the freezer so they keep their shape?

>>13538994
No flour and straight out the fridge in some hot butter? Flour is for latkes and shit with fresh shredded potato and onion.

>>13538256
i actually use 2 cm thick brioche from my boulangerie

>>13538603
It's not much of a help I know but the only thing you can do is to add more basil. Make sure that the basil you are using is from a good plant, that the taste is fresh and sharp. Supermarket shit is rarely good enough

Chicken fried rice. It always ends up tasting boring, regardless of the number of vegetables or amount of seasoning. I've had some luck with copious amounts of garlic, ginger and chillies if I eat the dish the following day.

>>13535029
Bahn Xeo, trief it like 20 times still can't get it right

>>13538206
>Another is understanding the ratio of water to rice is NOT linear.
That's a bit of a misnomer. The amount of water absorbed by rice is linear. However that's not the only water in use. There's the amount of water evaporated during cooking, which is a function of heat and the pots surface area. Assuming you're always cooking in the same pot on the same stove your formula is linear plus a constant. Unfortunately everyone is calling the "(ratio + constant)" the "ratio" misleading people into believing the amount of water absorbed by rice is much bigger than it actually is.

Sunny side up eggs

Kill me pls

>>13537903
Sound like your going the boiled beef route.
You want to slow cook beef in a fairly low volume of liquid. Try adding tomato paste, a high quality beef stock, red wine, etc for maximum richness. Aim for thick rich gravy consistency.
Then add water and veggies once that's done, ending as soupy as you want it.

>>13538416
Try adding corn starch before frying the wings. Or fry twice. The good thing about wings is that there is so much fat you practically CAN'T overcook them (this is not a challenge)

>>13537430
Whenever I run into issues like these I always find the issue to be supermarket meat. The two big chains in my area temperature control the raw meat so that it can hold the maximum amount of water/brine, then they keep it in a vacuum sealed container so that it isn't sitting in a puddle by the time you open it to cook. You're being sold water as meat, which is bad enough, but I find it ruins all sorts of sauces and prevents browning, especially in the case of fatty mince. None of the independent butches are as blatant, so you always have better luck with them.

>>13535035
I use the frozen raw ones from Taiwan that are cheap and good. I was clued in by an actual Asian that a few scrunches with tongs are required about halfway through to get proper layer separation and heat flow through the middle. By scrunching I mean just kinda slightly fuck it up with a pair of tongs.

>>13535426
You may be like me. I eventually found that while I appreciate most sauces theoretically, I only really love sauces with fresh tomato as a substantial component.

>>13535080
Me. I can’t cook a steak to save my fucking life. It’s always blue rare or medium well. No in between.

>>13538283
> Chicken. Either cooked perfectly with a soggy outside or overcooked with a delicious charred outside.
By default chicken is not very thermally conductive. In other words the outside can block the transfer of heat to the middle. The way to even out conductivity is wet brining. This way significantly more percentage of heat to the surface is delivered to the core. With wet brining you will never lose moisture, which is another thing that can be an issue. Wet brine + 75% medium roast + 25% high-heat char will get you where you want to go.

>>13538416
All restaurants double fry

>>13535029
RICE

I have to do 1 part rice 2 part water boil away method and even then it ends up sticky or moist.

If I just simmer normally it turns to mush.

>>13535426
I don't typically have much of a problem with a can of tomatoes, some dried Italian herbs and one of wine/beef stock cube/orange rind.
Fresh herbs would be better but I wouldn't use enough to justify the purchase, fresh tomatoes are substantially worse unless you've tracked down a farm during tomato season / grow them yourself.

And that's just the beef route. You can go the lighter pork + veal route with milk in the sauce and minimal tomato product.

The big issue for me is tomato paste. Unlike in the states they don't sell toothpaste container tomato paste, so I either have to throw out most of a tin or go without.

>>13538536
>84
>Checked
???

>>13539177
> Unlike in the states they don't sell toothpaste container tomato paste, so I either have to throw out most of a tin or go without.
A square of plastic wrap, scoop of paste in the middle, spin corners together, twistie tie, into fridge. Get with the program anon

>>13535433
I never bother getting tarragon to make bernaise in the first place

Soft boiled eggs. I have no idea why, I'm a decent cook in every other regard, but anytime I try to soft boil myself some eggs they either come out hard boiled or near raw. I'm just a retard I guess

>>13535029
I got scared of this man

>>13539406
You need to use the same pot with lid and the same water level. You also need a timer. You do a sacrificial round where you boil the water, add the eggs, boil for 1 min to neutralize most of the cold from the eggs, then cover and turn the heat off. Around 9 min for me, things start looking good. So do a round of six and take one out per minute from say 7 min and up, snap a pic for each.

Then you need a second batch all at your chosen time and make those +- 30 sec/1 min judgement adjustments. You can get permanently dialed in with 12 eggs in 2 batches, you just need measurement and consistency.

>>13539483
Oh, also immediate cold water rinse until cool to arrest cooking

>>13539483
I was doing it 7min with boiling water and rinse cold after
I thought they were pretty good but I'm going to try your way

I want to make broccoli like they serve at O'Charley's or most chain restaurants that serve it where it's firm but not hard. I keep fucking that up.

I used to make superb carbonara but for the last few years I seem to have lost my touch. Been trying recently to nail down an actual recipe that will give me consistent results, tweaking things and keeping others the same to learn what it needs.

>>13535029

YO MOM'S PUCCI

fuck! he looks like a terrier chewing a wasp

>>13538408
put them in an ice bath immediately after taking them out of the steamer (have the bath ready beforehand). Peel as soon as they're cold enough to handle. You have to crack and peel gently though because the whites are fragile.

>>13535029
Turkey. I just can't get fucking turkey right. It's always dry.

>>13539172
you want it to be moist
I usually have to do 1 cup rice to 2 1/4th cups water for it to turn out good

>>13540370
deep fry that fucker

>>13540370
Cover in foil either for the last half or the entire time. Or even cover entirely although the skin won't get brown.

>>13540370
i wouldn't bother with that ugly bird, why would you even want to prepare that if you don't have 12 people eating it minimum. instead i would learn to just prepare small cornish hens and just copy that to any bigger bird

>>13540172
When you cook broccoli take the lid off every now and then and stab with a knife to see how sort it is. I usually steam it until it turns a dark green.

>>13541237
*Soft

I cant cook for shit.
Rice is always either uncooked or soggy, mushy and over cooked.
Whenever i make chicken, it is under seasoned, bland.
I tried baking pumpkin pie one thanksgiving, came out rubbery, crust was dry, a friend likened it to eating ash.
I dont like rubbery bacon but when i try to make it crisp all over i always burn it.
I try to pop popped corn, and it either burns or i end up not cooking a large chunk of kernels, a complete waste.
I cant cook. I keep trying but i suck at it.

>>13537451
stick your bread in the toaster for like 30 seconds to a minute, not enough to brown it or toast it but just enough to slightly stiffen it so the egg does not absorb and make the bread too soggy. dip one side of the bread into the egg and then stick it in the pan with egg side down. after its nice and brown take it out and dip the bare side into the egg and cook it up

>>13535080
PB&J.
unironically the person must have had brain damage

>>13539144
Dont use non stick and cook a thicker steak

>>13535080
Oh, my roommate tried using my rice cooker once, asked me a bunch of questions while I was chilling and when it was time he comehow made the white rice bloaded. like mashed potatoes. in a rice cooker.

>>13535047
Your fire is too high homie

If anyone here is struggling with rice (basmati in this instance) then try going to Cooking in Russia on youtube (check comments for annotations) and using his method. I failed it literally over 10 times using every other popular recipe I could find and none of them were edible. After doing CiR for the first time the only problem was a little bit too much moisture (I assume I just need an extra minute or so before the resting period)

However, these things I cannot do no matter how much I try:

Steak. If I try to sear then it sticks to the pan, always and doesn't cook evenly, then it goes all dry and tasteless (I know how to preheat a SS pan to optimum temperature so that's not the problem) I "think" it might be because my steaks are cheap so therefore they're too thin.

Stir fry chicken. It goes limp, and soft and rubbery. It's not pleasant at all.

Broccoli. I absolutely love broccoli whenever I go out to eat, but if I try and boil it at home it is literally one of the most disgusting things I've ever had the unfortunate pleasure of consuming. Last time I tried to cook it, it legitimately made me question ever eating broccoli again.

Scones. Either super super sticky and unworkable, or incredibly dry. No matter what I do I cannot fix it.

>>13541956
how do you mess up broccoli though, you literally just dump it into boiling water and take it out after a few minutes. it tastes great every time

>>13535868
you have to toast the curry paste in oil before you do anything else. Smear the curry paste into some very hot oil until it changes color slightly, then start adding everything else. make sure you are using the right kind of coconut milk too, if the label is in english you are using the wrong shit. pic related

>>13535371
>Galette des Rois.
benelux fag detected
just buy them when it's in season, why would you even bake it

>>13535218
they're actually intermediately complicated to do right unless you have baking experience. Few ingredients but many techniques

>>13535433
I have wasted so many pounds of bear meat trying to get this right

>>13538824
FUCKING SAME how are you supposed to get the cheese to become a nice little saucy sauce??? mine breaks down into big waxy clumps. i just can not get it right

>>13538994
i find that with these, i end up using way more eggs than i think i should. i used to think I could get away with 1 or 2 eggs, but now i use between 4-6 eggs for a batch of tater pancakes and they hold together much better.

>>13542023
Practice your cheese sauce with making mac and cheese. You need to slowly add heavy whipping cream with a SMALL amount of butter over a low heat together with slowly adding cheese to the mixture. The milk / liquid will gently raise the heat of the cheese to melting without burning it. And add more pepper to give it flavor while doing so. The pepper gives you a visual cue to see how viscous the soupy sauce is. You keep gently mixing with a whisk and it takes time. Up to 10 minutes of medium whisking and slow heat increasing if you need it, to make the cheese melt just right.

>>13542075
You need to not just add milk but make something called a Baychamel. To make a basic baychamel you slice an onion in a quarter and then skewer it through and have the onion resting inside the milk for 30 minutes in your fridge with a bay leaf (or was it basil. I forgot) attached to one of the skewers. Once the baychamel is prepared you take out the onion and the bay leaf and you use the seasoned milk in your cooking and it will add significant flavor to your cheese sauce and make it actually good.

Take a basic cooking class to learn how to make the 5? Basic sauces of cooking. Hollandaise, Beef stock, chicken stock, bechamel, and another one with a B. Also you'll learn how to reduce stocks to make sauces / thicken sauces.

>>13542075
>>13542093
you can't make a bechamel for cacio e pepe. that's not what that is. I have no problem making bechamel sauce.
https://youtu.be/eiz1VlWBU2I

>>13537752
>bitter almond essence

Ain't that cyanide?

>>13538206
Water needed is definitely linear wrt the quantity of rice, mathlet. It's just not *homogeneously* linear (aka, "proportional").

For most white rices it's about 1/2 cup water + same quantity as the rice. Works better between 1 and 3 cups. If less than 1/2 cup rice, it'll be too much water. Go on grindr and find someone to cook for so you're not cooking tiny amounts of rice. For other rices the proportional constant will be different but evaporation should be about the same with the same pot.

I can’t fucking make fried rice like in a hibachi grill. It just never tastes right.

ive been trying to make a good mac and cheese for months and i'm never happy with it.

>>13542130
maybe try to premake the sauce wit hte pasta water and cheese in a bowl or cup.

I do that for Carbonara with my eggs and cheese, just turn it into an emulsion, then slowly add to the pasta while stirring/flipping to coat it all

>>13543180
almond oil or almond extract are the right term
sorry

>>13539144
Do you let your steak come up to room temperature before throwing it in the pan?

>>13542021
Beurre

>>13543918
I was looking for a good recipe for years, also was never satisfied. Something to replace the chemical slop of Velveeta Shells, but the same sort of idea.

I found this, never had to look back. I'd replace the american cheese with some Monterrey jack though, and I also usually add two slices of bacon crumbled up.

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/10/the-food-labs-ultra-gooey-stovetop-mac-cheese.html

>>13543513
same, the flavor is always uneven for me. Like little bites of the good stuff in a pan of bland rice

>>13535029
I can't get Chow Mein right

The noodles either always stick together or just turn into mush after I start frying them in my wok, no matter how many times I try different ways to boil them first

>>13544827
do you even stirr bro?

>>13535080
I fucked up hotdogs by slicing the buns sideways.

>>13535080
HOW THE FUCK DO I GET RUNNY YOLK WHEN COOKING MY EGGS (soft boiled egg)?
IVE JUST ABOUT TRIED EVERYTHING AND CAN NEVER GET IT CONSISTENTLY, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST I THINK IM LEGIT RETARDED.

>>13535029
I always hate the plating of my chateubriand....even at the best of times.

>>13538339
>Pro Tip: Use Mayonaise on the bread then place in the pan without oil.

Will be a creamy light tang and naturally oil your pan, end result tastes nothing like mayonaise.

>>13545957
time 5:30 minutes exactly

>>13545957
if your ever cooking quails eggs 2:14 minutes from boiling with a little white wine vinegar in the water then into an ice bath also with white wine vinegar. for perfect easy to de-shell quail eggs.

>>13541533
There's always unpopped kernels.
Some of them wont pop no matter how much you cook them. That's normal.

>>13544874
Top ten photographs taken seconds before disaster

>>13545957
It's a timing thing. Just take time off until you get it right.
The hidden variable is time between cooking and eating, during which it may continue to cook. If this becomes an issue you need to ice bath it.

>>13546687
it's a fake prop

>>13545957
Have you tried cooking it less? Are you retarded?

>>13539096
Very low heat is a fried egg’s best friend. Don’t rush it.

>>13547470
This.
If your temperature is up too high you get that gross burnt crust around the edges and the thicker bit of the white and the yolk don't get to where you want them.

>>13535080
I once saw a dude cook pancakes in a solid half inch of oil.

Honestly?
Pizza.
I even used a wood fired oven once and it was still somehow off.
Closest I have gotten is with the use of a cast iron skillet and a broiler.
That actually turned out better.

Hash browns. They always end up sticking or being undercooked and/or burnt. I’ve tried many different types and quantities of potatoes and oil, temperature, pans, etc. I’ve just given up at this point.

>>13544634
That's my favorite macaroni and cheese recipe too. Macaroni and cheese is 100x better straight off the stovetop.
>>13547657
Yeah I do like my homemade pizza but it's never quite the same as restaurant pizza.

>>13535029
Fucking shrimp scampi. Either it's not ever really that good or I just cant get the sauce right. I mean what is it? Fucking olive oil, lemon juice, butter, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper, and maybe some red pepper flakes? God damn it.

>>13547720
Do you violently squeeze as much moisture out of the shreds as possible before you cook them?

>>13536499
Have you tried using cornstarch instead of flour? Try double frying it as well.

>>13535080
My room mate always fucked up his eggs. Burnt on the bottom and gooey on top.

For his mac n cheese he just boiled macaroni and threw cheese in with the pasta, then some ketchup to go with it.

He also almost killed us by putting plastic bowls in the oven... twice.

His favorite thing was watching Jordan Peterson or other political talking heads, regurgitate their opinions and talk about how stupid other people are.

Fortunately, i cut him out as my friend.

>>13535029
singapore laksa

>>13547927
I once ran out of normal olive oil and had to use a chili oil for this, turned out amazingly

>>13535969
Start making your own pasta or use refrigerated pasta instead of dried one. Whole different experience.

>>13538339
the result is the same

French omelette. It never turns out smooth, always somewhat bubbly

>>13535029
Gyoza. I just cant wrap them right. Makes me sad just thinking about it

>>13538536
checked what ya dummy?

>>13537602
Always use nonstick, for eggs. Nonstick is a fuckin meme for almost all other applications.

I gently crack eggs against the counter. The ideal is to make a relatively clean break between two halves of the shell, reducing the liklihood that the yolk will break against jagged edges.

Over easy is medium-low heat (olive oil, butter, vegetable oil, or bacon grease).

If you're doing sunny side up, do medium heat, and at the very least try to create a hole in the white that's cooking for the rest of the white on top of the egg surrounding and encasing the yolk to seep into, and of course, baste with the cooking oil. The yolk should turn from pure yellow to a very yellowy(?)-orange.

>>13535029
I consider myself a pretty good cook, and I am good at most stuff, but frying things eludes me. Every time I try to make jalepeno poppers, I can't get the coating to stick. the flour and egg layers don't stay on well, and the bread crumbs I finish it off with also just come right off in the oil. The skin of the peppers is too waxy/water-resistant to hold onto that coating.

>>13535029
i did get it right a few times but no idea how people just casually do ganache and get it right every time when it seems to be based on a lot of variables

>>13537451
Don't soak the bread
Dip for a second the n in the pan

>>13535426
Personally, I like a lighter, more tuscan sauce, the kind you find in chicken marengo, but if you want to make a good thick sicilian style sauce, here are a few tricks:

the secrets are salt, a *little* sugar, red wine, and vinegar. Brown your meats and sweat your onions at the same time (even if I'm making sausages or meatballs I usually start off with a leftover oxtail for the fond and fat), deglaze with a /splash/ of red wine and white wine vinegar, let that reduce into a thick sauce. Then you add your garlic, tomatoes (I cannot stress enough that you should be using san marzano campari), salt, and a little more red wine. If you want a deeper flavor you can throw in a whole peeled carrot (or chopped into chunks if you have one of those spice cage things) and let that go for like ten minutes once it starts to simmer. Once the alcohol in the wine is cooked off, you can add your meat, and leave it on low heat for a few hours. Fish the carrot out and season to taste. It's a really easy thing to make once you figure it out, and it's actually pretty hard to fuck up.

>>13538560
Don't worry about it.
Nothing matters.

>>13541974
This is true of all curry. You should be adding your spices on top of your aromatics and browned meat, and congealing that into a paste that gets toasted and picks up the fond thanks to the fat/sweating of aromatics. Then you can deglaze with stock or whatever, add your taters, ginger, turnips, whatever.

>>13537745
what, like it's hard?

>>13538603
might be a little technical, but a pinch of truffle salt will help bring out the flavor of the basil. if you're doing anything with bell peppers, just the seeds can be blended (or diced very finely) in with the pesto. Also, make sure you're using genovese basil rather than sweet basil.

>>13539233
I find tarragon makes a good replacement for either mint or sage when you want a lighter flavor. I used a bit of rosemary rub on my coq au vin but I used tarragon in the sauce (gotta reduce it a little before putting it in the oven with the meat and vegetables, othewise your vegetables get a gross wine-y flavor) and it gave the sauce a slighly more complex and fresh taste.

>>13535080
my mother cannot make a stir fry to save her life. She cooks the meat in olive oil (when I've bought her sesame oil before), and goes low and slow so it's soft and gross. Tender chicken is fine in some things, but the chicken needs a sear or an outer edge to taste good. She then adds *boiled* vegetables without drying them, so a shitload of the water comes with them. She then cooks them until they are absolutely limp, and the consistency of the stuff in the pan is almost soupy. She adds half a teaspoon of soy sauce for a big pan, and then puts pic related /into/ this watery mess rather than letting us do it at the table as is intended. The noodles basically fucking dissolve, and it's almost as gross as the sopping wet soggy rice she makes with it.

>>13541827
spreading shit with a knife is a minor skill

>>13551079
that shit reminds me of this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5RPjQK5ql8&t=52s

>>13535029
Curry in general. I just can't make it spicy unless I use pre-made curry paste.

>mfw I fuck up everything I cook in some way

>>13552485
fucking this
>go to coco's ichibanya in japan
>come home wanting to make some
>everything i make taste nothing like it
what the fuck dudes

>>13549534
Don't get grease on the edge
Don't overstuff them
Wet the wraps with a drop of water
If you really have sausages for fingers, just fold them in half

>>13535029
>>13535080
Falafel

>>13536087
use more liquid from the beans when you start
and only bring it to a boil after you mash it bc if you boil it too long after mashing it will reduce too fast dont worry if it looks too liquid-y

>>13535047
Let the chicken come to room temp

>>13538141
based and bannock pilled! May all tribes live a thousand generations

>>13538252
Thanks I know what I'm cooking tomorrow.

>>13535029
Every time I make chow mein it turns into congealed blob of shit
how do i into crispy noodles?

>>13535029
Frozen pizza. My oven always breaks.

>>13535080
Friend told me once that their old room mate made pasta for themselves at like 4am. They boiled the pasta overnight and nearly started a housefire. The water literally boiled away and there was just a pile of burnt pasta left in the pot. He said that "Its what my mom always does wtf"

>>13554275
>He said that "Its what my mom always does wtf"
kek dat punchline

Chicken wings,
Honestly getting that restaurant quality is though.
I can make some decent oven bake ones,
but when i try to fry them, they never come out amazing

Cant ever get beef bourgignon right. The liquid gets fucked up or the beef becomes too chewy. Waste of time and wine.

>>13554105
Frozen pizza is too expensive to be a valid option. For literally $2 more you can buy a fast food pizza which is generally a step up.

>>13554275
I'm sure she leaves the sauce cooking on minimum heat overnight.

>>13535029
Fucking toast. It always comes out dry bread.

>>13535029
For me it's chili. No matter how I mix dried peppers and spices, it always feels off. I add ancho, new mex, guajilo, pasilla, arbol and chipotle and it always comes out sour or bitter and when I add salt/sugar to fix it, the taste of the peppers will be almost gone.
Is there some secret trick?

Top ramen, it always turns into porrage.

>>13544634
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV-yHbbrKRA
The classic Macaroni, like from the song
Macaroni was known as a refined dish for dandies back in the day
Seriously though, this recipe looks simple and good

>>13554940
>>Frozen pizza is too expensive to be a valid option. For literally $2 more you can buy a fast food pizza which is generally a step up.
Where the shit do you live and what price do you pay for a frozen pizza?

>>13555320
Australia, $8 frozen pizzas, $10 Dominos pizzas.

>>13539172
you have to rinse it before you cook it. That way you wash the starch off and it's less sticky

>>13555358
Damn, friendo. A frozen pizza goes for $3+ vs. $6+ (usually more) for a comparably sized pizza from a chain or restaurant here in my area of the US.

>>13555358
>$8 frozen pizzas
lmao

>>13535080
I fucked up buttered toast on my first day in college dorms
I nearly cried

>>13546496
Holy shit this is great thanks anon.

>>13555358
what the fuck?

Cheap frozen are £1 and decent frozen with stuffed crust ect is like £2.50 max.

>>13535869
This. I feel like I make good food. People who eat my food almost always love it. I know how to cook. But I somehow fuck up rice almost ever single time.

>>13554520
Air fry them homie, they come out amazing.

>>13535029
Sichuan Mapo Tofu is my white whale. After once tasting an authentic version i've tried many times to replicate it to no avail. That thick consistency, that bright numbing heat, its all so elusive. Every recipie is different but after stocking my pantry with unpronounceable chink ingrediants and a dozen kinds of dried peppers i have yet to experiance that same sensation. I have a new appreciation for doubanjiang as an ingredient, and i can make it spicy just by loading it up with thai/heaven facing chilis but that numbing factor remains missing even with freshly ground sichuan peppercorns...

>>13555358
Retard, all grocery stores sell frozen pizzas from 3 aud, up to 5 aud for better ones. These are normally 600g or so. 3 aud = 2 usd.
Dominoes. Literally has a range of pizzas from 5 aud, of similar size and quality to the 3 aud frozen pizzas.
Where the fuck are you shopping, a convenience store in some fly in fly out mining shithole?

>>13535371
Bruno Albouze has a good recpie which i had good results with

https://www.brunoskitchen.net/blog/post/galette-des-rois---king-cake

>>13535433
i've had it break on me which is very saddening

>>13536342
never heard of it but it looks good

>>13538063
a little memey but i actually like the babish version

>>13537752

Did you put the galette in a cake tin before baking it in the oven?

Even if you didn't would this be advisable, to prevent the filling from bursting out

>>13538063
Holy shit the last time I tried making cinnamon rolls i added FUCKING SALT to the cinnamon filling instead of brown sugar in a moment of pure autism. I had to really force myself to finish them all off after the entire fiasco of my parents refusing to touch them (for obvious reasons)

How do I know if I made a good dish or if I just failed it if I never tasted it anywhere before ?

it just keeps fucking with me every time I try a dish I never tasted before

>>13555918
>to prevent the filling from bursting out
sorry I didn't explain bc I thought writing "close the slightly watered edges with a fork" was enough..

>take the doughs out of the fridge
>pour the filling (with the little doll) on 1 slice of dough, spread but keep 1 inch of dough at the edge
>wet a bit the intact border (use 1 glass, and your finger is enough)
>put the 2nd slice on top & wet a bit its edge a bit too
>"pinch" the 2 edges between your fingers, or use a fork or a knife https://youtu.be/dkzUM3kzaXs

good video (the recipe is more complex than my explanations, but it shows the steps well): https://youtu.be/aiR8uFyxwzE (3:31)

Brisket on the smoker.
I don't have the fortitude to monitor that shit for 8+ hours so I always overcook it.

I have one cooking sousvide right now that I'll finish on the smoker, that way I cant possibly fuck it up.

>>13535029
Fucking monkfish.

>>13557414
Wrap it in tinfoil with butter and lemon and pepper, bake until flaky and delicious. How can you get that wrong? Or the same thing but beach fire clambake style.

>>13535035
What type of oil are you cooking with?

>>13538066
If I'm cracking more than one egg, the last one shatters in my hand. Picking shells out of oil is not fun

>>13547412
no

>>13538325
then you are probably not using high quality cornflower or not using enough fat

>>13535029
Grilled cheese

Shock them in ice water after about 5 min.

>>13542130
could be that you are cooking it too hot, making the fat separate and the cheese clump up
keep it at a low heat until your emulsification is safe and remember that most pasta dishes are best served at about 60° (dont run and get a thermometer, just keep it in mind)

>>13555443
You're welcome anon, enjoy.

>>13538336
WHY DO THEY ALL THINK THEY'RE SO FUCKING HILARIOUS?

>>13535029
carbonara. always end up with fucking scrambled egg spaghetti

fried rice, ALWAYS sticks to the pan and I end up with a white layer at the bottom, other than that, its good

Cheese sauce

No matter what I do, no matter what cheese I use, there's always lumps.

>>13562502
So use a nonstick pan, dude...

>>13562544
Are you starting with a roux? Then making bechamel? Then stirring in your cheese? Lean toward softer cheeses and for god's sake avoid anything that you purchase pre-shredded.

>>13535029
Pea Soup, i try and i try but either i burn it or burn it. I am a failure in cooking .-(

>>13562631
Try lower heat, a pan with a thicker bottom, and keep stirring! Stirring is often the answer!

>>13562544
Slowly add the milk start with a whisk and transition to a wooden spoon and beat the absolute fuck out of it all the way through, add cheese/cream to release it if it gets too thick, Easy cheese sauce.

>>13562254
>2 eggs, parmasean, little salt beat together for sauce.
>add small amount of pasta water

>Take the the pan off the heat for a minute or so.
> add the sauce.
>keep the pan off the heat and saute the sauce through for a minute or so.

>add back to the heat for a small amount of time just enough to reheat.

Enjoy.

>>13536060
Episode link Anon?
It can be tricky

>>13551855
Back of a spoon is master race.

>>13562544
Just do the modernist cuisine recipe using sodium citrate. It tastes way better

>>13542093
0/10 almost had me with the basic sauces instead of mother sauces.

Escoffier would be turning in his grave right now.

>>13562502
Fried rice requires copious amounts of oil.

>>13547927
1. Use more garlic.
2.Add a little pasta water to the sauce. Actually toss the noodles when you add them.
3. Use half the amount of noodles as shrimp, 16 oz shrimp 8 oz pasta.

>>13551079
Using sesame oil as main the oil in a stirfry sounds inedible to me.

>>13563750
A stir-fry does not need much oil. Sesame and peanut oil can be mixed, but you do not want a lot of that shit sloshing around in there. Just a touch to cook the meat on, and most of the moisture in there (that should absolutely be cooking off), is soy, teriyaki, or hoisin.

Pork chops. I'm a great cook, especially with meat, but I have never been able to get a pork chop just right. Always either too tough and dry or raw, I know how to cook them, it just... just doesn't work

>>13563685
This is the case more often than not when people fail to replicate restaurant recipes, you're almost always being too squeamish using oil and butter.