You're listening to Heritage Radio Network. Hi
everyone, welcome to Potluck Food Talks, the
show where we make fun of ourselves while we
talk about food, recipes, restaurants, and the
most infamous chef on earth. How was that? Is
it better? Am I getting better with these intros?
Yes, good. I just don't know. I didn't realize
that we were degrading ourselves on this episode.
I don't remember signing a wafer for that. We're
continuing with the questions. There are still
plenty of questions around here. Mona El Sabahi
asks, how do you feel about serving non -crispy
chicken skin? Consider Hainanese chicken. Can
figure... out my own stance and i like i like
this question because we're like fixed on so
many things like oh this has to be crispy this
has to be brown green things have to be bright
green you know and it's like no it doesn't you
know i really love the example of like with the
greenness you know like these like spinach dishes
from india where the spinach is like cooked for
a really long time. It's like army green. It's
fucking delicious. And it's like, would this
dish be better if it was like bright, bright
green? It's like, no, it wouldn't. It's good
the way that it is. So yeah, Hainanese chicken.
Delicious. Yeah, this is, I think, Singapore's
most iconic dish because there was a lot of Hainanese
migrants too. And it's a famous... Is it chicken
rice or rice chicken? I always say it wrong.
Chicken rice. Chicken rice is a famous chicken
rice you find in Singapore. For me, it's like
the perfect way of boiling chicken. You know,
like having like a nice boiled chicken boiled
nicely, like they do, you know, like where you
cut it and it's just perfect amount of, you know,
it's still like a little bit pink, but not too
much, you know, like. Yeah. And ultra juicy.
There is just nothing better in life, I guess.
I don't know why I had the idea that this chicken
would be skinless, but now I Google it and yeah,
most pictures are wet skin. 100%. I remember
having that in Singapore, and it's just amazing.
I guess my answer is, again, it depends on the
context. And a good example of this is ajo blanco,
which is this almond gazpacho that you find here.
You do it with the almonds white without roasting
them, and it should be like that. And if you
roast them, because some people say you should
always roast almonds the most flavor out of it
yeah but roasted almond milk is crap because
it tastes like i don't know like like like something
that was roasted and and then it's wet like it's
weird like you know like i'm not saying that's
wrong because what you do with the chicken juice
basically But with almonds, I don't feel it just
doesn't work. I mean, also, there's this dirty
trick of making empanadas filling stews, where
you boil the chicken and you take all the chicken
skin that is boiled and soft, and you cut it
ultra small so people won't even notice it's
inside the mixture, and you blend it into whatever,
like a reina pepeada, for example, which is basically
chicken. mayo and avocado yeah i totally agree
it really depends on the context like for example
heinani's chicken skin i love the skin on the
chicken when you you know take a good chicken
and you pour hot water over the skin to firm
it up first right and then you let it kind of
like air dry and then you sort of poach it then
you get the slice with super juicy meats and
like a little layer of very bouncy chicken skin.
It's kind of a texture that in the West maybe
we're not so, I mean, referring to you and me,
not so used to, but that you can very much appreciate
for what it is. And it's just a different style
of making that. So I feel very, very good about
it if it's done correctly. Directed by Xander.
Who's that guy? I don't know. What a stupid name
to write a question. Get out of here. What is
the least intuitive recipe or cooking technique
you've come across? Something that might go against
common sense cooking logic, but works surprisingly
well. Oh, I have a good one for this. So, I mean,
first of all, any Mugaritz recipe, basically.
But I came across a recipe not too long ago,
last year. which when i read it i was like that's
fucking bullshit and now it's one of my favorite
recipes so this is a recipe for a filling for
a lemon pie it's a lemon custard filling and
so what you do this is a recipe that was passed
to me by katie it's originally from gordon ramsay
And it's my favorite citrus filling, like pie
filling recipe now. It's so fucking easy. Basically,
you take your citrus juice, can be whatever,
can be lemon, can be a mix of lime. I used to
do it with yuzu or like grapefruit. Super nice.
Citrus juice in a pot. Citrus zest, same pot.
Sugar, get in there. You take your butter, fucking
throw it in the pot. You put the pot on the stove,
you bring it to a boil. In the next bowl, you
have eggs, beaten eggs. once the liquid comes
to a boil you pour the egg into the mixture you
stir it in you boil the thing again like proper
boil boil boil and then you tour mix it with
a with a hand blender and blend it fine and straight
away when it's hot fill it into your tart shells
So when I read this recipe, I was sort of like,
wait, you just add the butter into the citrus
juice? You boil all the citrus juice? Which for
me is like first red flag. Boiling the citrus
juice is going to remove all the freshness. Don't
like that. Then the butter just goes in. It's
a lot of butter, right? So all the butter is
going to melt. What's going to happen with that?
I'm not going to emulsify it in or whatever like
I do with a beurre blanc, with an emulsion. third
red flag and i think the biggest biggest red
flag is like like wait i'm gonna pour the beaten
egg into this boiling mixture i'm gonna boil
it again for like a 10 second window it's gonna
make fucking disgusting lemon juice scrambled
eggs yeah that's what i that's what i'm thinking
i was wrong it's um there's a thing because of
the sugar and like the citrus juice that the
eggs they don't really curdle and they don't
develop this eggy flavor and it makes this most
perfect like silky it's like set so you can cut
slices but it's like just like the perfect sort
of texture just perfect like lemony acidity sweetness
it's absolutely amazing this recipe okay so my
by the way it was a joke about this stupid name
it's a beautiful name Alexander it's it's a really
great name Thunder This way of cooking pasta
that I thought once, I think it's amazing. It's
super interesting and super counterintuitive.
So basically you're cooking your, let's say a
tomato sauce, right? You sweat some onions, you
add your tomatoes, you cook it a little bit,
whatever. You have it almost done. It's already
reduced everything, like well caramelized and
everything. So I imagine you have like a very
broad... A sautoir. Anyways, once... One where
your spaghettis fit into the whole pot at once,
okay? So you have your sauce there and you throw
the spaghettis into the sauce. And once you have
that, you add, let's say, about four or five
fingers of water. Okay, so you have this watery
tomato sauce. And you bring it to a boil. And
you cook the shit out of it until all the water
is away. It lasts like 20 to 25 minutes, which
is completely counterintuitive. Because your
intuition will tell you pasta will be completely
overcooked by the time 25 minutes are gone. But
no, because I guess it's not the same cooking
it in just water than cooking it in a saucy water.
So like the pasta doesn't get as soft as it would
be like cooking it 20 minutes in just water.
But after 20... Yeah, and at the end, it's like
a completely al dente pasta that was cooked in
the sauce. You never pass it or anything. So
you have like this, almost like cooking a risotto,
you know, where you're adding the water by little.
So you're moving it, and also the starches of
the pasta help to make the whole sauce sticky.
Super interesting. That's crazy, because like
if somebody, some random person, mpc would tell
me like hey i cook pasta like this i would i
would say you're a lunatic you need to be locked
away don't talk to me ever again right because
it sounds crazy it's sort of like i put the pasta
in i cook it for 25 minutes i'd be like get the
fuck out of here get out of my face but that's
crazy i have to try that out yeah it's a very
interesting recipe and you know what like i remember
Once, our beloved chef, Michel Hoffman, said,
yeah, when I worked at Ducasse, we would make
staff meal like that. We would do pasta like
that, cooking it like a risotto. Oh, okay. Interesting.
And the first time I heard about that was in
a Ferran Adria home cooking video that was awful.
It was this video where he would, it was completely,
you know, bodily act, he would be like, hey,
surprise, let's, you know. Oh, no. That's so
good. Home cooking with Ferran Adria or something
like that. It was in the early 2000s. And, yeah,
where he would make, like, tortilla with back
fries or things like that, or this kind of pasta,
or something I do quite often, and people think
I'm a lunatic, which is... treating salad like
spinach you know a bag of mesclun throwing it
to a pan and and cooking it like like like a
wok you know it's quite nice i like that also
yeah so spice mode 88 ask nice name what's a
food trend you secretly wish would just disappear
and what you hope never fades you're not gonna
like this i wish this whole like alchemist sort
of like thing would just go away this whole like
oh there's like a big eyeball displayed on my
plate and i don't know why why why i'm not liking
this yeah i was like i'm i don't know man it's
just like every time i see that i'm like i have
no interest in like going to eat there But, you
know, maybe I'm just too boring because like
a food trend that I never want to disappear is
I never want classic cooking to disappear ever,
ever. You know, like I don't cook classic food
like regularly in a restaurant anyway. At home
I do. But I love the fact that there's places
like Kong Hans Kelde. You know, I love like certain
bistros. Like, you know, I mean, like we're talking
about Copenhagen now, like Bistro Bohem. I fucking
love that. I love people doing solmoneur, but
like very, very well. And just keeping these
things alive, all these things that shape the
cooking that we do nowadays, even if it's like
modern and new interpretations. I really love
that. But this whole gimmick thing is not my
style. I get that. It's the style for a lot of
other people. But for me, it could just disappear.
I completely agree with you. Not on the alchemist
part. Maybe not me. Like, I do like this kind
of places. When they're properly executed. I
mean, if you go to one of these places, like,
I would have to be a millionaire to spend that
money for a dinner. But if I go to these places
and they really impress you, like, you really
go away mind -blown, I think that's nice. I don't...
I wish... the classics never disappear I wish
you know like a couple of weeks ago I was in
Sitges and there was this place that they really
showcased at the at the entrance it says just
one of the most touristy villages in Catalonia
which is one of the most touristy places in Europe
and it said American Asian Mediterranean fusion
and it was a sports bar I wish this kind of places
to burn, to be honest. That's basically my opinion
on that. I get that. I have one additional answer
that I want to throw in there. There's these
particular type of places that unironically serve
like trashy things. Like I'm not talking trashy
like burgers or whatever, but like... Things
sort of like gummy bear worms as part of like
a dish. Like these sort of like convenience things
or like trashy bad things that don't need to
be reinterpreted. Like Met Eagle. What's that?
Anybody listening that doesn't know what a Met
Eagle is. Met Eagle is a German dish that was
invented in the East. Oh, Jesus Christ. What
a nightmare. What a nightmare. Anybody that doesn't
know what it is, Google it, please. And let me
tell you, it has nothing to do with German cooking,
traditional German cooking. M -E -T -T -I -G
-E -L. Yeah, Met Eagle. Met refers to minced
meat of sorts, and Eagle is a hedgehog. And basically
this is a hedgehog formed out of minced meats
that you eat raw. It's like slightly cured. And
I'm referencing a specific sort of relatively
new place that is famous for making a version
of this Met Eagle. And I think that can just
go fuck itself. I hate it. I think it's so lazy
as a chef because you're just making something
for people to talk about. It's not actually like
it's not. anything. I don't say in all cases,
but in general, this kind of food that makes
shapes of animals or of smiley faces or antennas
with whatever and eyeballs on top of your cake
slice. I hate that shit. I'm not saying maybe
someone does. I remember seeing like a Japanese
guy that was on the 50 best that he would cut
some some vegetables like into smileys and put
like in a salad and that looked really cool so
i'm not completely i'm not completely closed
but in general i hate that shit i really hate
it i know where you're coming from i do feel
like i have to make a stance and defend dino
nuggets dinosaur shaped nuggets they hold a special
place in my heart and i will always defend them
So our next question. With ketchup. Knife...
Knife Game Queen. This is a cool name. Goddamn.
Has this ever made you cry? As in full -on emotional
breakdown? What was behind it? I haven't had
that experience, to be honest. i've also not
had an experience where i like full -on cried
i have like had watery eyes makes me feel like
a fucking robot without feelings yeah you know
i mean when you're dead inside nothing really
moves you anymore um i i have to live with that
shit every day you know I have had moments where
I got emotional out of appreciation for where
I am and what I'm doing. Like my last trip to
Japan was like that, where you sit and you look
around yourself and you eat something and you're
like, fuck me, that's so good. And you look around
yourself and you just have this moment of appreciation
of how fortunate you are to be experiencing this
right now. I've also had that when my son made
me an omelet for the first time. That was very
cool. Or when he asked, Dad, what is koji? He
did ask that, didn't he? He did. He did ask that.
Yeah. Well, in my case, I think not like a dish
in particular or like a bite. But more like a
whole experience, you know, especially, you know,
if somebody makes something really special and
you say, like, well, this is too much, like,
and, you know, and you take it and you appreciate
it. I think that, like, I've had those moments
where it was like, wow, that I'm completely mind
blown and, you know, like immersed in appreciation
to whatever that person did for me, you know.
A hundred percent. But that's the cool thing
about food. It's not just like something that
you just shove in your gob and eat. It's a human
interaction. It's a gesture of love and nurturing
in many cases. And I mean, that's most of the
time going to be part of that. So next question.
Which culinary myth or rule do you think is complete
bullshit? We've mentioned a few, haven't we?
Yeah, like for example, you should always roast
chicken skin. Why? Yeah. I'm saying that. You
should never add butter to mashed potatoes or
olive oil. You know, like either or or both of
them are just stupidity into words, you know?
This is debunked already, but I feel like a lot
of people still believe it. Sear your meat to
lock in the juices. Is it like a fucking sponge
that you just kind of... What nonsense, you know?
Yeah, or a pre -heated oven. Who said that? Don't
start with that shit again. It makes no sense.
It makes no sense. Obviously, it's going to make
a difference. Okay, okay. Give me the name of
the guy who told you this. It was Iñaki Álava.
No. A PhD in physical chemical astronomy. No.
That's the same with scientists, you know? Like,
they destroy religions. Yeah, basically. Oh,
I have a culinary myth that is not really a myth,
but I was talking to somebody about this today.
You know, when you see a Japanese chef... Training
for 20 years to make the perfect tempura? That's
fucking bullshit, man. No piece of fried anything
takes 20 years to master. That's absolute fucking
bullshit. I'm sorry. And you also don't need
to be washing rice for a whole year. I believe
that you can learn, if you dedicate yourself,
you can learn all the skills that you need as
a sushi chef in the course of six months to a
year. Okay. Next question is from someone who
put the name Kaiseki Crisis. Oh, damn. Good usernames
today. Yeah. How do you feel about AI in food?
Menus, recipes, even restaurant reviews? Okay.
Restaurant reviews, I think there should not
be any AI involved because what the fuck is AI
reviewing, right? Ah, but that's a thing, you
know? Like, I know this, that most people, when
they're... People are so lazy nowadays. I mean,
like, since the launch of ChatGPT, people are
using AI to write or read. You know, instead
of reading an email, you put it on ChatGPT and,
yeah, tell me the key ideas. Ah, okay. And then,
now write an answer. Okay, do you copy -paste
it? Yeah. Write that this restaurant was really
nice, say some nice words, and thank you to the
chef. Copy -paste. Yeah, I don't know. I think
AI as a tool, great. Like, hey, give me seasonal
dish ideas to do with white asparagus and wild
garlic, right? And then you have a look and you're
sort of like, oh, yeah, I can go this direction.
You kind of do something like that. Okay, cool.
Do that. Do that. If you don't want to think
for yourself, that's all right. If you want to
waste fucking resources, then go for it. I think
AI can work for recipes pretty well if you're
going into pretty classic stuff. If you ask it
how to boil pasta or how to do a tomato sauce,
like an arrabbiata, for that, I'm pretty sure
it will give you at least a valid recipe that
will work just fine. If you go into complex artistic
combinations or stuff, it will hallucinate. It
will give you AI hallucinations and stuff that
just don't make sense. By the way, did you try
the baguette recipe I gave you? I did not. You
know why? Because I looked at the recipe and
I kind of thought to myself, okay, I need to
do this, I need to do that. And as I was thinking
about it, I realized I needed to go to the bakery
to get some of the ingredients. And I was like,
hold on, I've got three bakers in the bakery.
I could just ask, like, why am I making bread
myself? I can just tell them to make this bread,
right? And so I did. And two hours later, I had
a sample of a flute and it was really nice. Okay,
you can thank Chad GPT for that one. Oh, yeah?
Really? Yeah, because, you know, like, I do remember
that that was like, I remember that, like, I
didn't have the recipe, but I remember at some
point I converted that recipe into percentages,
and I compared it to traditional baguette recipes,
and it was like a very standard. ratio of percentages.
You know, I know that there was nothing crazy
in that recipe except for the thing that you
would like pre -make like first. So this was
a baguette recipe in a restaurant field and I
worked where you would make first the whole dough,
right? Like, but just let's say you make one
kilo of dough and then the next day you make
five kilos and into those five kilos you add
that one kilo. You use it as a mother dough.
A pre -ferment. A pre -ferment, which is in this
case, the same dough. Because in some cases you
do like a poolish or a biga or you name it. They're
like this standard pre -ferments. Yes. And yeah,
this was like a very nice recipe. I remember
the key secret of that baguette was actually
the flour. This guy would have like this amazing
French flour that he would drive into. into Berlin.
But yeah, so I basically recreated, I asked to
do like a very standard French recipe. And I
remember while reading the ingredients, it made
sense to me. It was like, yeah, it was something
like this. So and if you tell me the result was
nice, so there you go. Yeah, actually, it was
just the baguettes that we had, like the dough.
But yeah, at the end of the day, it was just
like a standard baguette recipe, you know? Yeah.
But yeah, I think AI, like I think using AI as
a tool, good, important also, move with the time,
but just don't stop thinking for yourself. I
think that's the most important thing. That's
it for this week's episode of Potluck Food Talks.
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