Kitchen Scraps: Temping steaks without a thermometer, Hong Kong diners, and the easiest roasted potatoes
No thermometer? No problem.
How to Determine When A Steak is Done
I have a a few digital Thermapens in my kitchen, and they are top-of-the-line, but I find that temping steaks is tricky. I pull a steak off at 130 degrees, and it is blood rare, or the steak goes from 120 degrees to 145 degrees in just seconds. You can use a Bluetooth meat thermometer such as the Meater Pro (this is my favorite brand—it is compact and I like the Bluetooth app) or, and this is old school, you can teach yourself to test a steak with your fingers.
This is the most reliable method, but it takes practice. The rule is that if you press a steak and it feels like pressing the fleshy pad of your hand below the thumb, the steak is rare. If you touch your thumb and index finger and then touch that same spot, it feels firmer and that is medium-rare. If you touch your middle finger to your thumb, it will feel still firmer for a medium steak. I suggest that you try to train yourself (also using an instant read thermometer) and you will get proficient quickly. And you can impress your friends with your newfound skill and your steaks will end up being cooked properly.
Cha Chaan Teng: The Hong Kong Diner
In a recent interview with Lucas Sin, author of Cha Chaan Teng: Comfort Food from Hong Kong’s Iconic Diners, he made it clear that this food is not fusion food, it’s just what folks like to eat. It’s a mishmash of different cultures, with dishes like breakfast noodles in a broth made from diluted canned cream of chicken soup, reinforced with salt, sugar, and MSG, then topped with ham and macaroni or even Spam. You can also find scrambled eggs, made extra silky with extra yolks, or how about Black Pepper Spaghetti with Pork Chops? His favorite restaurant in the world is Australia Dairy Company, and he details how one shows up, sits down, orders, eats, pays and leaves all within seven minutes. The Hong Kong Diner is a world unto itself.
Easy Roasted Potatoes Recipe
Heat oven to 425℉. Halve small yellow potatoes and toss in olive oil and salt. (The pieces should be an inch or an inch and half in diameter.) Place on a baking sheet, cut side down. Roast for 20 minutes or so and then flip them. Continue roasting until they are nicely browned, another 10 plus minutes. Do not overbake—the interiors will become dry and airy. You want a deeply browned exterior and an interior that still has some moisture. You can also toss them with a simple dressing when they come out of the oven.
What I’m Reading: Persian Fire by Tom Holland
Holland is one of the top historians and is also the co-host of my favorite podcast, The Rest is History. (They cover everything from Jack The Ripper to WWI to ancient Rome.) Persian Fire is the story of the Persian empire that started with Cyrus The Great in the sixth century B.C., and what is so striking is the sophistication and scale of the Persian Empire.
The Persians, who predated the Romans, were brilliant at managing a vast empire, along with incredible architecture and technology. Later on, Darius became king and tried to invade Athens at the battle of Marathon. The Persians had landed miles away from Athens at a flat plain that was perfect for their much feared calvary. The Athenians built defensive positions in the hills overlooking the plain, and when the Persians shipped their calvary up the coast in a pincer movement, the Athenians ran down the hills and attacked, pushing the Persians back onto their ships. A runner was sent to warn Athens and, you guessed it, it was 26 miles away. (That runner, Pheidippides, was known to have run 140 miles in two days.)
The Greek army force marched back to Athens in time and the city was saved. (Using fires on mountaintops, runners, and trained announcers who could make themselves heard throughout the course of long valleys, the Persians could transmit news across their vast empire within two weeks.)
What I Am Watching: Grant
Grant is a 2020 documentary miniseries that takes a fresh look at this American hero who is known today for drinking and corruption. (This description was falsely created by his opponents, who tried to stop Reconstruction and the restoration of civil rights to all Americans.) The facts are that he was a brilliant general who was responsible for the end of the Civil War and he was, if not an outright abolitionist, at the very least anti-slavery. His victory at Vicksburg was the beginning of the end, since it cut a lot of the confederacy’s supply lines. He did suffer massive casualties at Shiloh, and also during the Wilderness Campaign, but his dogged and adaptive style of fighting, unlike most of the other Union generals, earned him Lincoln’s affection and the presidency in 1868, after which he used federal troops to put down the Klu Klux Klan and protect the lives and rights of Black citizens.
Although he did drink in the 1850s, in between West Point and re-entering the military in 1861, this aspect of his life was probably exaggerated. His cabinet did have corruption scandals, but not of Grant’s making—he was honest and never made money from the presidency.
One interesting note: Mark Twain offered to publish his autobiography (Grant was broke at the time), which Grant finished a few days before dying of cancer. Since Grant was the most famous man in America, the book was a blockbuster, earning his family half a whopping million dollars in royalties. (The first publisher Grant spoke to about his book only offered him $10,000.) When we think of the Civil War, we think of Lincoln and Lee, but Grant was the most beloved figure of his time. (During his travels abroad, the crowds he drew were enormous, in the hundreds of thousands.)
Miya Bowls from Japan
Made in Japan, Miya has both serving bowls and individual ramen bowls with distinctive designs such as “Aranami,” which translates to raging waves; or a design based on woodblock artist Katsushika Hokusai’s “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.” I use these bowls at home and love them, not just for their designs, but for their size. They are large enough for serving noodles, rice, whatever. You can find them at our store.