Thx Amoeba, I'm off to Walmart to get me some of that chili oil, unless....

I used oil plus chili garlic sauce:



do you think it would be similar to the chili oil?

I think that would work. The lao gan ma is a pretty particular flavor that is fairly versatile in a wide variety of applications (ma po tofu or kung pao chicken or really most spicy szechuan dishes)

I cant believe I don't have it, I'm on a huge asian kick and have 30-40 different sauces, vinegars, etc but somehow I didn't grab this, eventually....

I bought a processor a few days ago because my blender was cheap and not fulfilling all my needs so I bought this one;



As you can see in the up right corner it has a blender addon thingy as well.

I've also got a food processor with a blender attachment. Works pretty well.

I feel a cheap food processor do the job while a cheap blender sux

Or maybe the best blenders are just miles better than the best food processors. Vitamix is love, vitamix is life.

Made Kenji's shakshuka last night. Put it under the broiler for a couple minutes at the end to firm up the tops of the eggs; they turned out perfect. Had it with some crusty french bread, but actually think this stuff would be really good over pasta.

If money is no object, here's the cadillac (strike the old man reference) Tesla(?) of food processors & blenders:






As Gobbo said, Vitamix is the best. You can literally make soup right in the container because it will spin fast enough to heat it plus so many other uses

I bought my Robot Coupe on Craigslist new in the box (in retrospect, I'm pretty sure it was hot)

meajag, your shakshuka looks great

Kinda wondering if I should ditch my food processor (~12-15 yo KitchenAid, not perfect but fine for a FP) and just go Vitamix + box grater.

Beautiful shakshuka. I agree that its pretty awesome on pasta or rice.

Went to some standbys for dinner tonight



Seared okra with some spanish chorizo bits



Caprese again to finish some extra heirloom tomatoes.





Paella with shrimp, squid, lobster. Cheated on the aioli. Too lazy to make from scratch. Just mixed mayo with some finely minced garlic, a bit of chorizo oil, and some lemon juice.

Beautiful as always Amoeba

Sometimes you want things to be coarse in a food processor and the vitamix can basically only liquify things. I made falafel recently and the vitamix was not capable of helping.

Yeah, gobbo is pretty accurate there. I have the same experience with Vitamix.

Do you have a recipe or step by step of how to make the cast iron paella? It's something I would love to be able to make at home and I'm not much of a cook.

The key is a flavorful stock that cooks in to rice. I sautéed lobster shell and shrimp shell along with shallots and garlic, then deglazed and barely covered with additional stock (chicken stock or seafood stock or just water) and brought to simmer.

In a separate pan (paella pan or cast iron), sauté shallots in a healthy amount of olive oil. I also rendered some chorizo which isn't really authentic for seafood paella but I like the flavor. Add rice, toast until rice has a slight bit of color and you can smell a bit of nuttiness. I also add some garlic after adding rice. Traditionally Bomba rice, Arborio is a fine substitute but will be slightly softer/stickier.

Add hot stock when rice is toasted. It will sizzle a lot. Add enough stock to cover rice and then some. I also add saffron at this point. Simmer on medium low. Unlike risotto, you don't want the same level of starch release so just stir a little bit when stock first is added. Press the rice down so you have even layer. Since most burners are smaller than the pan, you will have hot and cold spots on the pan. Move the pan every few minutes so the burner contacts different parts of the pan to promote even cooking. Simmer until rice is cooked through and liquid almost fully evaporated. If liquid almost dry but rice is still very raw, add stock and reduce heat slightly. If rice is cooked but you have too much liquid, turn up heat. Once rice is cooked through, Crank the heat up to med to cook the soccarat rice crust until liquid fully evaporated. Err on the side of less char instead of too much char. jambalaya still delicious, burnt paella not so much.

Cooking seafood. I tend to cook seafood on the side instead of in the rice since I like the greater degree of control. If you really want to cook seafood in the rice while rice is cooking, clams first, then mussels/shrimp/lobster medallions, then calamari.

I added some sliced cherry peppers that I got from the olive bar at the groceries. If you are feeling very authentic and want to out in extra work, roasting red bell peppers and peeling, de seeding, and slicing is more authentic. Peas also a possible addition.

Don't fret over details, as long as you have flavorful stock cooked in to rice until dry, it will be delicious.

Or just follow this



Although I find that he burns his soccarat more than I prefer.

Can we do pan recommendations itt? (if not, feel free to just scroll on by)

I need a good saute pan (skillet?) that can go from stovetop to oven (high heat including broiler) and such. With a lid. I know cast iron is GOAT, but what are my best other options? Thanks for helping the noob out.

have a look at carbon steel pans. keep in mind if you get a 12in pinch, chances are most 12in lids will fit it, so you needn't constrain yourself to pairs.

All-Clad pans are exactly what you want.

Just get something with a thick bottom.
But that's just a good all around rule of thumb.

So glad to have found this thread. Thx all!

all clad or calphalon tri-ply are good, I think Kenji pimps Tramontina as a good, cheap alternative but I have no experience with them

Bowens,

I think I linked it in this thread or the kitchen equipment thread, but I have an all clad skillet with lid that is great, and it was not that expensive. I think I got it on sale for under $100.

Just made some simple cast iron paella using some of the advice above, think my rice was too deep so some was cooked more than other, but I did manage to get a pretty good soccarat. Only had shrimp and sausage, so not really photo worthy, but turned out pretty well overall.