1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of potlog food talks. 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:14,760 Today we're going to talk about the light side of food. 3 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:16,980 The bane of all buffets. 4 00:00:16,980 --> 00:00:18,200 The pain of all buffets. 5 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:19,200 Salads. 6 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:20,560 So what's the deal with salads? 7 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:22,400 Do you have any favorite salads? 8 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:24,080 Do I have any favorite salads? 9 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:29,920 It could be the salad as the leafy green or salad as a dish ingredient. 10 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:35,800 So do you have a specific one where you say, like I have to say I really like a, it's not 11 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,120 something I have super often, but I really like a Caesar salad. 12 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:42,840 When there's a place I know it's going to be a good one, I'll probably have one, you 13 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:43,840 know, like. 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:45,200 Yeah, that's the thing. 15 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:46,200 It's just never good. 16 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,360 I think like a Caesar salad is such an amazing thing. 17 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,480 Like if it's done right, you know, like nice croutons, you know, a couple of anchovies in 18 00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:58,880 there, you know, amazing dressing, nice chicken, like a little bit of ham, crispy ham could 19 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:00,660 be so tasty, you know? 20 00:01:00,660 --> 00:01:05,200 And somehow it's something I would never ever, ever order in a restaurant because I feel 21 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:07,240 like it's always going to be disappointing. 22 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:08,640 That's something that I'd make at home. 23 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:09,640 Yeah. 24 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:11,720 Like I partially agree. 25 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:16,840 That's why I said if, if it's a restaurant where I know that it's a good place to have 26 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,080 a Caesar salad, I would probably order it. 27 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:20,080 I don't know. 28 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:24,640 You know, you know, a salad that's because I'm not a person who ordered salad at a restaurant, 29 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,640 you know, it's like, but I am a person who enjoys eating salad. 30 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,560 A salad that I would order at a restaurant is a nice coleslaw. 31 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:32,680 I'm a big fan of coleslaw. 32 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:33,680 Oh really? 33 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:34,680 Okay. 34 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:35,680 Yeah. 35 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:36,680 Coleslaw. 36 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:42,120 Also, coleslaw is, it's this thing, it's sort of like, if it's like mediocre, it's like 37 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:43,760 kind of really just that. 38 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:46,280 It's just disappointing, but it well made coleslaw. 39 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:47,280 It's delicious. 40 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:52,520 I had a coleslaw back in the day in the small town called London. 41 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:57,000 There was a restaurant called Pit Q and it's, it's been closed for several years. 42 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,960 The owner, he's got Coombshead farm now in Cornwall. 43 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:03,560 Don't know if you know it. 44 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:04,560 No, no idea. 45 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:11,920 But he had a restaurant called Pit Q near Soho and they were supposed to be like a sort 46 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:15,000 of barbecue restaurant, but they were just kind of just making whatever they wanted. 47 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,200 It didn't feel very barbecue-y to me. 48 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:21,520 But they had a green chili coleslaw and that was like, I remember eating it and I was like, 49 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:23,840 man, this is the most delicious thing ever. 50 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,120 They had two things on the menu at that time. 51 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:30,400 They had a, like a whole loaf of sourdough that was called like dripping sourdough. 52 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:35,200 So they, it was like soaked with meat juice and you would just like pull it apart and 53 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:36,200 eat it. 54 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,480 And they had this green chili slaw that like still to this day I think about, cause it 55 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:40,480 was just amazing. 56 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:43,320 I think it was like made with fermented green chilies or something like that. 57 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:44,720 It was super tasty. 58 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:49,920 Like a memorable salad I had recently, it was in Singapore. 59 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:55,600 There was this Vietnamese restaurant called Miss Pho and man, it was amazing. 60 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,520 It was probably one of the best Vietnamese I've eaten so far. 61 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:07,360 And they had this raw green mango salad, but it had like this cubes of pork belly. 62 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:08,360 So nice. 63 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:09,360 Amazing. 64 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:14,200 You know, with the fish sauce and all this Vietnamese flavors, super nice. 65 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,640 You know that Caesar salad is actually a Mexican salad. 66 00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:19,240 We talk about this. 67 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:20,240 Is it green? 68 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:21,240 Yeah. 69 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:22,240 Yeah. 70 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:26,400 Like a lot of people, if you talk about Caesar salad to an Italian, he would be like, what 71 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:27,400 is that? 72 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,400 And also you will see that most people pronounce it in English. 73 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:38,040 They say Caesar salad, even, you know, then nobody says it's insalata, or something like 74 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:39,040 in Italian. 75 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:40,040 Ah, that makes sense. 76 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:41,040 Yeah. 77 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:42,040 It's insalata. 78 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,440 It's like a Mexican salad, created like in North Mexico. 79 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:49,880 And it's called Caesar because it's Romana salad and Parmesan, you know, like, because 80 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,640 it has like Italian ingredients, but it's like a Mexican creation. 81 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:54,640 Yeah. 82 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:55,640 Ah, that makes sense. 83 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,200 Because actually when I was living in Mexico, there were a few places that still made the 84 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:00,840 Caesar salad, like table side. 85 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:01,840 Exactly. 86 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:02,840 You know? 87 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:03,840 Exactly. 88 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:04,840 Yeah. 89 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:05,840 Yeah. 90 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:06,840 That's really nice. 91 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:07,840 I remember having that in Venezuela. 92 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:11,400 They come and they do the mayo in front of you with anchovies and so on. 93 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:12,400 Yeah. 94 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:13,400 Yeah. 95 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:14,400 That's really cool. 96 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:16,520 I also heard that originally there weren't anchovies. 97 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:20,520 There was like Worcestershire sauce that has anchovies. 98 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:25,880 And then someone like just wanted to enhance the anchovy profile in the flavor. 99 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:27,520 And, but the original one was... 100 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:28,520 Anchovies, very new. 101 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:29,520 Yeah. 102 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:30,520 Yeah. 103 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:32,080 That's one of the key ingredients for me. 104 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,980 Anchovy, bacon, you know, crispy bacon and Parmesan. 105 00:04:34,980 --> 00:04:37,400 And then like the mustard dressing is just like umami. 106 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:38,400 Yeah. 107 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:40,120 Cotons, you know, there's... 108 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:41,120 Garlic croutons. 109 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:42,120 Yeah. 110 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:45,760 Going back to what you were saying about the green mango salad is also one of my favorite 111 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:46,760 salads actually. 112 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:51,680 I don't know the Vietnamese version with pork belly, but I love the Thai version, the som tam. 113 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:52,680 Yeah. 114 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:56,640 Or also that there is also the variation with green papaya, which is pretty similar. 115 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:57,640 It's actually the same. 116 00:04:57,640 --> 00:04:58,640 Just... 117 00:04:58,640 --> 00:04:59,640 That's what I mean. 118 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:00,640 Yeah. 119 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:01,640 Yeah. 120 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:02,640 Yeah. 121 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:03,640 That's papaya. 122 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:04,640 But yours was mango. 123 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:05,640 Yeah. 124 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:06,640 Exactly. 125 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:07,640 They had like in the same menu, you could choose mango or papaya. 126 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:08,640 And I choose mango. 127 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:09,640 That's really nice. 128 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:10,640 I don't think I've ever had green mango, to be honest. 129 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:11,640 Yeah. 130 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,640 But actually that's interesting because in Venezuela it's super common to have a green 131 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:22,120 mango and you will eat it with like a spice mixture is called adobo. 132 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:29,040 Basically you dip it, it's with salt, you know, it's like a seasoning you would use 133 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:32,920 normally for stews or meat and you put the mango there and then you have it. 134 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:33,920 Yeah. 135 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:41,120 And so mango is a fruit that comes from Asia and so there weren't mangoes like 200 years 136 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:42,120 ago in Venezuela. 137 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:44,000 It's something relatively new. 138 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:51,440 Well, same as the whole colonization and the whole new culture that exists in that territory. 139 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:56,760 But it really caught my mind when I was in Singapore, they were also selling green mangoes 140 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:58,240 with this spice mixture. 141 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:03,800 And I was like, wow, the whole thing was, you know, imported to Venezuela the whole 142 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:05,680 way of eating green mango. 143 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:11,240 I saw that was something like really, you know, like from us and it's not. 144 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:12,240 That was interesting. 145 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:13,240 Yeah, nice. 146 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:17,760 I have to say that the green mangoes that I tried in Asia, they were almost sweet, you 147 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:22,440 know, because usually with a green mango, it's more like, I wouldn't know how to describe 148 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:26,400 it, but it's like a not sweet, you know, it's like a tangy flavor. 149 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:27,400 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 150 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:28,400 Well, of course. 151 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:30,040 That sounds super nice, honestly. 152 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:31,040 Sounds really delicious. 153 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:38,080 Well, another another super classic is I would say the caprese salad is something so basic 154 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:39,080 and so nice. 155 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:40,840 It doesn't need anything else. 156 00:06:40,840 --> 00:06:43,160 Honestly, if it's nice, that's also a thing. 157 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:48,520 Like if I see a caprese salad on a menu, I will never order it unless it's like a super 158 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:54,000 nice, well-known Italian place, you know, because it's just kind of like the tomato. 159 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,040 It's so simple, but like all the ingredients have to be super nice. 160 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:02,280 If the tomatoes aren't nice, you know, if the mozzarella isn't nice, you know, if the 161 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:07,440 olive oil isn't nice, it's just like, nah, you know. 162 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:08,440 Absolutely, absolutely. 163 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:09,440 Yeah. 164 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:15,160 And also, even if everything you said is nice, but it's not balanced, you know, it won't 165 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:20,680 work, you know, because also you need specific, like a specific mozzarella and a specific 166 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:23,080 tomato to make a nice caprese, in my opinion. 167 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:24,080 Yeah. 168 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:25,080 You know what I really hate? 169 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:29,840 People say they make caprese salad and they slice tomatoes and mozzarella so far so good, 170 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:31,400 and then they put pesto on top. 171 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:32,400 I hate that. 172 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,400 Ah, so you're a caprese Nazi. 173 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:35,400 Okay, okay, okay. 174 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:36,400 Good to know. 175 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:37,400 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 176 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:38,400 I hate that. 177 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:43,800 I'm actually just like, I'm really salad obsessed, you know, like it makes me really angry when 178 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:44,800 people do that. 179 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,240 It's like pesto is pesto, caprese is caprese. 180 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:49,240 Capiche? 181 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:55,320 I have to remember, like the first time you caught my attention cooking was when we first 182 00:07:55,320 --> 00:08:03,360 met working at McGaw, and there were always this staff meal salads. 183 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:08,960 And I remember the dressings you made were really nice until one day the chef got really 184 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:14,280 angry and was like, and Phil, I know you're using the fucking mustard oil for the staff 185 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:15,280 salad meal. 186 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:16,280 Stop doing that. 187 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:17,280 Yeah. 188 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:25,920 So that was the reason you were using super expensive oil for the staff meal, right? 189 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:27,800 No, that wasn't the reason. 190 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:33,680 I think that that happened like one time where I put like a little bit in, you know, but 191 00:08:33,680 --> 00:08:36,720 I just figured out how to make very tasty dressing. 192 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,500 And it's like, I still do that to today. 193 00:08:39,500 --> 00:08:45,000 It's almost like emulsified to the point that it's almost like a mayonnaise, but it's just 194 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:46,000 really simple. 195 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:47,920 You just, you have your acidity. 196 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:50,760 So usually I use lemon. 197 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:53,680 So lemon juice, lemon zest, and a little bit of vinegar. 198 00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:54,680 Right? 199 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:57,120 So you have the fresh acidity and you have the vinegar acidity is important. 200 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:58,120 Right? 201 00:08:58,120 --> 00:08:59,120 I do the same. 202 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:00,120 Yeah. 203 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:01,120 Yeah. 204 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,880 Then a little bit of mustard, then either some honey or some sugar, because you need 205 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,040 the sweetness to balance the sourness. 206 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,400 You don't want it to be sweet, but you need it to balance. 207 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:10,400 Right? 208 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:11,400 Agreed. 209 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:12,400 Salt, pepper, if you want. 210 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:13,920 And then just oil. 211 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,680 Not pure like crap olive oil, do a little bit of olive oil if you want the olive oil 212 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:21,400 flavor and then just do like a nice neutral oil. 213 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:22,400 And that's it. 214 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:27,640 And just emulsify it until it's a nice creamy consistency, almost like a loose mayonnaise. 215 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:28,960 Grape seed oil is very nice. 216 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:29,960 Ah, yeah. 217 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,360 That was also one of the expensive oils you were using. 218 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,200 No, no, no, no, no. 219 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:35,200 That's a lie. 220 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:36,200 That's a lie. 221 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:40,880 I was using the Il Cassone olive oil from Italy. 222 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:41,880 Okay. 223 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:44,120 Which was not as expensive. 224 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:45,120 Okay, okay. 225 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:46,120 Sorry. 226 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:47,120 And yeah. 227 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,880 And then just like just season, you know, I think like with a lot of cooking, it's just 228 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:52,120 the proper seasoning. 229 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:54,960 I think people are sometimes a little bit too shy. 230 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:55,960 Yeah. 231 00:09:55,960 --> 00:10:01,000 Like addressing, addressing has to be over salty because you will spread it all over 232 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:02,000 the salad. 233 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:03,000 Right? 234 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:04,920 It has to work kind of like the salt you will add. 235 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:05,920 Almost. 236 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:06,920 Yeah, pretty much that. 237 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,440 This is something that I learned when I was cooking Thai is really pushing the flavors 238 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:14,120 up to the top where you're like, okay, if I put any more salt in, it would be too salty. 239 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,840 But where it's here, it's just, it has power, you know, as oomph. 240 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:19,280 You have to do that with the dressing. 241 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,320 Cause like you say, you know, you have like salad, it has loads of water in it. 242 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:24,360 So you need to, you need something that can hold up to that. 243 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:25,360 Yeah. 244 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:31,000 And also a rule of thumb is three to one, three parts oil, one part acidity, be it vinegar 245 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:37,080 or lemon, depending on the oil or the vinegar you're using, perhaps you have to adjust, 246 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,600 but most of the times it will just work just like that. 247 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:40,600 Okay, nice. 248 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:41,600 I didn't know that actually. 249 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:42,600 Oh really? 250 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:43,600 I always just eyeballed it. 251 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:45,560 I'm really terrible with recipes and with quantities. 252 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:46,560 I eyeball everything. 253 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:51,960 Well, but this is like a, like a proportion more than a recipe, you know, but I actually 254 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:53,800 learned that at culinary school. 255 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:59,920 And then I have this book on ratios that they only talk about ratios and proportions when 256 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:01,120 you're cooking. 257 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:04,600 And they also use the same, same proportion three to one. 258 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:05,600 Nice. 259 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:11,520 And I'm also talking about dressings because you have that rule three to one oil to acidity. 260 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:17,440 So you play around with any kind of oil and any kind of acidity that could be interesting. 261 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:23,000 As you said, you could use lime, lemon, vinegar, or all of them mixed same with the oils. 262 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,400 I actually like simple dressings. 263 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,880 I've worked in restaurant where they had this complicated recipes where they use like 20 264 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,680 types of vinegars and 20 types of honeys. 265 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:36,840 And at the end, you know, like just lemon and olive oil is a super nice dressing. 266 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:40,160 You don't need to reinvent the wheel. 267 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,080 You know, there are things that are so simple. 268 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:48,960 And then you mentioned honey or sugar, but also playing with the sweet component using, 269 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:52,640 I don't know, maple syrup or agave or this kind of things. 270 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:54,720 It's also like something to do. 271 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:55,800 Yeah, absolutely. 272 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,560 And I think with like everything in cooking, I think people really underestimate quality 273 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:00,740 of product. 274 00:12:00,740 --> 00:12:06,000 You know, it's like a lot of people that I see with that kind of, you know, they come 275 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,200 into a restaurant, they're sort of like, oh, we had that a lot of at Margot actually. 276 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:12,440 They say, oh, I'm allergic to vinegar. 277 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:13,440 They say they're allergic. 278 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:14,440 They're actually allergic. 279 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:15,440 They just don't like vinegar. 280 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:20,720 The thing is that they only know like the really horrible vinegar that you find a supermarket. 281 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:22,400 Vinegar is not equal to vinegar. 282 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:26,040 There's vinegars that are absolutely delicious that you could eat by the spoon, you know, 283 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:28,540 and they're still acidic, but they're absolutely delicious. 284 00:12:28,540 --> 00:12:31,480 Have you ever seen pure acetic acid? 285 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:32,480 Pure what? 286 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:40,560 Acetic acid is a acid component of vinegar, but like at the laboratory level, you open 287 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:45,880 it and man, if you get close to it, it's even dangerous to smell it like, to smell like 288 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:46,880 this. 289 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:51,840 You can break your nose if you do, you know, but it really feels like smelling super strong 290 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:52,840 vinegar. 291 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,480 Is that like what vinegar powder is made out of? 292 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:57,520 Probably, yes. 293 00:12:57,520 --> 00:12:58,960 Vinegar powder was a very tasty. 294 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:01,800 A little bit of vinegar powder on top of your fried chicken. 295 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:02,800 Very. 296 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,280 And also vinegar is an absolute universe. 297 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:06,280 You have malt vinegar. 298 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:08,080 I love sherry vinegar. 299 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:14,200 You have even champagne vinegar, different balsamics, darts, lights, you know, it's like 300 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:15,200 a whole universe. 301 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:19,840 This is becoming a vinegar episode, but vinegar is a really amazing product. 302 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:21,280 It's a flavor enhancer, actually. 303 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:27,600 You know, when we were cooking at Faberkin, in Faberkin, I discovered my love for really 304 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:29,360 clean distilled vinegars. 305 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:30,760 We would use the Swedish vinegar. 306 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:36,560 It has like, it was like really highly distilled and it just had this very clean, crisp vinegar 307 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:38,000 acidity. 308 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:39,800 And we often use that to finish dishes. 309 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:43,600 So for example, to give you a really good example, we had the vinegar in these like 310 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:50,660 little spray bottles and we had a dish of like a braised and glazed lamb tongue with 311 00:13:50,660 --> 00:13:52,360 like pickled vegetables and stuff. 312 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,840 And this lamb tongue is obviously really fatty, really meaty. 313 00:13:55,840 --> 00:14:00,080 And after we plated it, we would take the spray bottle and just give it a little and 314 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,960 just spray it with white vinegar because it would cut through this fat and through this 315 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:05,080 richness. 316 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:06,820 And it made a huge difference. 317 00:14:06,820 --> 00:14:09,520 And like I said, people really underestimate it. 318 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,760 Yeah, I really, this is really becoming a vinegar episode. 319 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:19,160 I learned that there is this video, I hope it's still on YouTube of Thomas Keller making 320 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:20,160 gnocchis. 321 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,760 That's actually how I learned to make gnocchis. 322 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:27,720 It's super well explained and it really works the way he explains it. 323 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:34,640 The moment he's like, you know, sauteing the gnocchis in butter, he has like a squeeze 324 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:37,320 bottle and he adds some vinegar to it. 325 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:42,120 And he says like, as you said, that vinegar works like a flavor enhancer. 326 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:47,360 And I see that actually more in German kitchens with German chefs. 327 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:54,040 I see it more common to use vinegar as a, to put a kick in sauces and dishes and these 328 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:55,040 kinds of things. 329 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:59,960 I would say I haven't seen it as much in other regions. 330 00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:03,640 But yeah, it's something I really like to do. 331 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,480 Like just some drops of vinegar to a stew. 332 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:12,640 It just like brings some balance that is interesting instead of having it just plain, you know? 333 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:13,640 Yeah, absolutely. 334 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:17,080 And I think Asians understand this very well. 335 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:22,160 You will always have a lot of acidity in most foods. 336 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:28,760 Yeah, it's understanding this balance of sort of like savory, sweet, sour, and sour is not 337 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:29,760 equal to sour. 338 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,840 You know, it's like, like I said, you know, that's why I make my vinaigrette with like 339 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:36,320 lemon and vinegar where you're like kind of like, well, they're both acidic, but it's 340 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:38,540 a different kind of acidity, you know? 341 00:15:38,540 --> 00:15:42,920 But like, you know, if you have something acidic, adding a little bit of sweet to balance 342 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:43,920 it is very nice. 343 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,040 If you have something sweet, adding a little bit of salt or adding a little bit of acidic 344 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:48,840 is very nice to balance it. 345 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:53,120 It's just about understanding the balance of those flavor components. 346 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:58,240 I also remember we had like this French dressing that was super nice. 347 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:06,280 And I remember that one had some chicken stock and boiled potatoes to give it texture. 348 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:07,280 Nice. 349 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:13,680 But the key ingredient in that dressing was it was a Merlot grape seed oil that was amazing. 350 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:14,680 Nice. 351 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,160 That was actually the main flavor. 352 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:22,400 The other things were just, you know, like giving it texture, giving it some also meaty 353 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:24,640 flavors with the stock. 354 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:27,960 But the star was the oil for sure. 355 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:31,520 What was the name of this Austrian company that made these oils? 356 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:32,520 You remember? 357 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:33,520 Gegenbauer. 358 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,320 Gegenbauer, amazing producer. 359 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:40,200 They made like whatever, you know, like cherry seed oil. 360 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:41,200 Absolutely. 361 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:45,080 They made really amazing vinegars like cucumber vinegar, tomato vinegar. 362 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:46,080 Super delicious. 363 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:47,080 Yeah. 364 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:51,920 I also remember well, pumpkin seed oil, the best in the world for me is from Austria for 365 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:52,920 sure. 366 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,440 And they also have like a super nice one. 367 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:56,440 Yeah. 368 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:01,560 It's like if you've never seen it, it's got like this deep green, almost like sapphire 369 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:03,080 shiny look to it. 370 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:05,000 It's very rare to find it in that quality. 371 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:12,360 And Dave, like you just said, it's called Stylisches pumpkin seed oil. 372 00:17:12,360 --> 00:17:14,640 That's the name of the area. 373 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:15,640 And it's super nice. 374 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:19,680 It's very traditional to finish like pumpkin soups and stuff, but it's like really versatile. 375 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,720 Didn't you talk about that already? 376 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:23,120 Ice cream with pumpkin seed oil? 377 00:17:23,120 --> 00:17:24,120 Yeah. 378 00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:25,120 Yeah, exactly. 379 00:17:25,120 --> 00:17:28,360 Like it was just like a plain creme anglaise. 380 00:17:28,360 --> 00:17:33,480 And it had like once it was like in the ice cream machine, you would add the oil to emulsify 381 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:36,440 it while mixing. 382 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:41,080 And it ended up being like a, it looked like a pistachio ice cream, like super green. 383 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:42,080 Yeah. 384 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:47,520 And yeah, it was something hard to, like if you don't know what it is, to identify what 385 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:48,520 it is. 386 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:49,520 Yeah. 387 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:50,520 Yeah. 388 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:51,520 Super nice ingredient. 389 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:55,320 So going back to the salads, there was also a salad I really liked that was like same 390 00:17:55,320 --> 00:18:02,860 as we talk about green papaya or mango, same kind of cut, you know, like julienned with 391 00:18:02,860 --> 00:18:08,400 a mandolin, but with raw pumpkin since we're talking about pumpkin. 392 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:09,600 Oh yeah. 393 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:14,720 And I remember that that salad had just lime, olive oil and honey that was the dressing 394 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:16,920 and some chives and that was it. 395 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:18,920 And it's a super nice salad. 396 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:23,800 I've done it many times like for Christmas because it's like a pumpkin thing, but at 397 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:26,560 the same time, something fresh. 398 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:31,140 Usually like Christmas dinners, you have everything super heavy and sometimes it lacks like a 399 00:18:31,140 --> 00:18:32,520 fresh salad somewhere. 400 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:33,520 Yeah. 401 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:34,960 And that's like a super nice option. 402 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:35,960 Wow. 403 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:36,960 That's really nice. 404 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:37,960 Yeah. 405 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:40,240 I just remember the salad that really stayed in my head when I ate it. 406 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:42,800 Like I still think about it sometimes today. 407 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:47,480 There's like Japanese, I wouldn't call it like necessarily salads, but they're like, 408 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:49,360 there's a term, 409 00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:50,360 Zucchermonos. 410 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:51,360 Zucchermonos. 411 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:52,360 Exactly. 412 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:53,360 Zucchermonos. 413 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:54,360 Okay. 414 00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:55,360 They're like cold vinegar dishes. 415 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:56,360 Yeah. 416 00:18:56,360 --> 00:19:00,280 Zucchermono is pickles and Zucchermono is like cold vinegar dishes. 417 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:07,680 And I had one in a Coya bar in London and it was like marinated seaweed in like a really 418 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:15,120 clear vinegar dressing, but the dressing was almost like a very sharp soup, you know, kind 419 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:18,960 of like kombucha, like where it's very acidic, but you can kind of eat it like a soup. 420 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:19,960 It's very refreshing. 421 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:20,960 Ice cold. 422 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:21,960 Is it? 423 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:23,520 And then it was like seaweed and berries. 424 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:24,520 Nice. 425 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:28,160 Like red currants and stuff like that. 426 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:30,640 And it was so, so tasty. 427 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:35,440 And the combination, seaweed, cold vinegar, and like fresh berries was outstanding. 428 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:37,600 It was so nice. 429 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:43,760 Another one I remember I really liked, it was, I had this super nice fresh cucumbers, 430 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:46,680 baby cucumbers. 431 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,400 And I also had like this super strong pickles. 432 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:57,640 I think it was actually, well, like this American Jewish, like cucumber pickles, they're super 433 00:19:57,640 --> 00:19:58,640 strong. 434 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:05,520 Actually one of the things I like the most in American food are those bloody cucumber 435 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:11,520 pickles, like the ones you'll find in cats and this kind of daily places. 436 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:14,520 So that the brine was super strong. 437 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:21,760 And what I did, it was this fresh baby cucumbers and the dressing was the brine of the pickled 438 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:26,480 ones also with lime, but then it was kind of confusing because it was, is this fresh 439 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:27,960 or pickled? 440 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:33,080 You know, like it was like this double game and the salad. 441 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:35,400 And that was also like something fun to eat. 442 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:36,400 Yeah. 443 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:42,040 Well, there's also this whole universe of raw vegetables that you can use like, you 444 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:48,240 know, carrots or this kind of thing that you can put into a salad, cabbage. 445 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:49,240 Yeah. 446 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,040 Like all the, like the chopped salads, you know, like a cop salad. 447 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,160 I mean, salads, they're, you know, endless, you know? 448 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:55,160 Yeah. 449 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:56,600 Like what you call it in German, right? 450 00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:57,600 Rokost. 451 00:20:57,600 --> 00:20:58,600 Yeah. 452 00:20:58,600 --> 00:20:59,600 Like Grüntes. 453 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:00,600 Yeah. 454 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:01,600 Exactly. 455 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:02,600 Grüntes is very nice. 456 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:03,600 With like a little bit of like a ranch dressing next to it. 457 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:04,600 It's delicious, you know? 458 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:09,520 But then like this, like, you know, like I really love like, you know, tabbouleh for example, 459 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,120 super, super delicious. 460 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:15,040 All these sort of like chopped salads are very, very nice. 461 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:19,280 Well, and talking about Germany, potato salad, of course. 462 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:22,960 That's a whole category on its own. 463 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:27,120 Yeah, potato salad is a serious topic, you know? 464 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:28,120 What's your favorite potato salad? 465 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,120 Are you like a vinegar, vinaigrette person? 466 00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:32,360 Are you a mayonnaise person or what? 467 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:41,120 I'm a mayonnaise person and I like when it has like celery, apples, like a good old mustard, 468 00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:44,000 like that, that kind of potato salad. 469 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:45,000 Nice. 470 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:46,000 I see. 471 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:47,000 I see. 472 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:48,000 Yeah. 473 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,560 It's kind of cool when you have those like crunchy apples in the salad, you know, like 474 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:51,560 a potato salad. 475 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:52,560 Yeah. 476 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:54,680 And then you have like pickles and stuff like that. 477 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:56,800 And yeah, I really like that too. 478 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:57,800 Yeah. 479 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:01,320 And if I go too crazy, I will put some beef tongue in it for sure. 480 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:02,320 Oh my God. 481 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:03,320 Yeah. 482 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:04,320 So nice. 483 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:09,840 Germany has a type of potato salad that I think is super cool, which is made with beef 484 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:10,840 stock. 485 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:11,840 Yeah. 486 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:12,840 It also has like brown butter. 487 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:13,840 Is that possible? 488 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:14,840 Is that the same one? 489 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:16,320 No, not really. 490 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:18,680 I mean, you can, you can do that. 491 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:20,360 I have definitely done that before. 492 00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:25,440 But yeah, it's, you basically, you cook your potatoes and you cut them. 493 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:31,560 And then while they're still warm, you put them in a bowl and add some like clear, intense 494 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:33,800 brown beef stock. 495 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,000 And you let them kind of soak that up. 496 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,760 The stock thickens a little bit because of the starch of the potatoes. 497 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:40,200 And then you make your dressing with that. 498 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:42,320 It was sort of like raw onions. 499 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:49,960 And my grandma made one, one time, which was insanely delicious, where she made that, the 500 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:51,200 potato base with the stock. 501 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,760 And then she added like sauteed chanterelles. 502 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:55,760 Nice. 503 00:22:55,760 --> 00:23:00,400 With like a sort of like bacon that she put in and seared with the chanterelles. 504 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,460 And then she deglazed that with like a dark vinegar, like a malt vinegar and added that 505 00:23:04,460 --> 00:23:08,320 to the potato and beef stock things. 506 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:10,000 And I was like, what is going on? 507 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:11,880 Like this is, that's bad ass. 508 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:12,880 Yeah. 509 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:13,880 I was super bad ass. 510 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:14,880 And I was like, like mind blown. 511 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:15,880 It was super, super tasty. 512 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:16,880 Yeah. 513 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:22,640 And there are like this absolutely not Mayonnaise potato salads in Germany that they look like 514 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:23,640 glazed potatoes. 515 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:25,800 It's probably the same one you're mentioning, right? 516 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:26,800 Yes, exactly. 517 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:27,800 Yeah. 518 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:28,800 Yeah. 519 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:31,280 But the Mayonnaise ones, I mean, like a, like a Spanish and saladilla rusa, you know, I 520 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:32,280 can eat that. 521 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:36,400 I could eat that every day for breakfast and dinner easily. 522 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:37,400 Yeah. 523 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:38,400 Yeah. 524 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:40,440 That's also one of those things. 525 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:44,520 If it's good, you know, like the one from Bar Antonio here, it's amazing. 526 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:47,320 There's also another bar called the escura. 527 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:51,440 It also has like a super nice one, but in general also bodega donostierra. 528 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:57,080 Usually the salad, you will find good in saladillas here, but you can also find really shitty 529 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:58,080 ones. 530 00:23:58,080 --> 00:23:59,080 It's not that difficult. 531 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:00,080 Yeah. 532 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,320 It's not difficult to fuck an ensaladilla rusa up. 533 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:05,560 You know, like it's just like bland. 534 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,720 If you don't season the potatoes and you don't season the dressing, it's just like bland 535 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:12,160 potato with mayonnaise and like a couple of frozen peas in there. 536 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:13,160 You know, it's horrible. 537 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:14,160 Yeah. 538 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:20,160 It's also key to have like good, add some pickle component. 539 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:27,120 I really like using, there was a place I worked in and we would use olives filled with anchovies 540 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:30,760 to the, just chop them and put them into the ensaladilla. 541 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,320 That was really nice. 542 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:33,320 That's very nice. 543 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:34,320 Yeah. 544 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:39,880 And also here in Bar Antonio, what they do is they shave, you know, mojama, tuna ham, 545 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:45,160 a microplane mojama on top, just tuna ham powder on top of the ensaladilla. 546 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:48,960 Sometimes they also put like anchovies on your portion of ensaladilla. 547 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:50,640 It's super nice. 548 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:52,240 I've only ever had it with anchovies. 549 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:53,440 I've never had the mojama. 550 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:54,440 What the fuck is going on? 551 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:58,440 Well, you have to know the right places. 552 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:03,000 Because I, it's because I'm a foreigner, you know, they saw that I'm not spasque and they 553 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:04,480 were like, he's not getting any mojama. 554 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:05,480 Fuck him. 555 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:26,520 Give him the cheap anchovies from the back.