Pica

Looks really tasty. Are you a trained cook/chef?

caretaker

It was good, but no, I'm just a caretaker.

Pica

What/who do you take care of?

spouse of scouse

No matter what recipe I use I just can't get my fried rice or stir fries to taste the same as they do in Malaysia/Singapore/Indonesia. There always seems to be something missing. Any ideas?

caretaker

MSG? Many long years ago, we were sitting around the table eating a bucket of KFC. Valerie was telling us how MSG worked by lacerating the taste buds on your tongue with tiny sharp crystals, and even though there is no visible bleeding, they are scored enough to allow the flavour to be sensed quicker, then actually changes the chemical compounds in your brain fluid, so the synapses effectively short-circuit allowing the taste to register in your brain faster.
When we paused she dove right in and got the last piece of chicken.

spouse of scouse

She's a tricky one, that Valerie I think you might be right though, it's something I've thought before but I wouldn't add it to food I cooked. I'm also wondering if it's the wok I use, it's a very heavy one (Le Creuset toughened non-stick). When I see Asian chefs cooking they always seem to use a very thin/light wok.

caretaker

I wouldn't think so, as long as it's hot enough; I have a heavy cast iron wok and it doesn't seem to make a difference. Like most people (I think) I flip a drop of water in the oil to test, and if it goes mental then it's hot enough to start. The Asian chefs I see on youtube work fast.

spouse of scouse

Ok, thanks. I don't do the water test so will try that. I also think I might try cooking smaller batches, I usually fill the wok and things start to stew.

BuckinghamshireBoy

There are some spice mixes out there that do provide 'that missing bit', the name Connimex (sp?) rings a bell and has a range of products if you have those available in WA? Works equally well for Nasi and Bami. I'll dig deeper...

I have to avoid MSG like the plague, I am highly allergic.

I'm with caretaker on this, I have a not quite Le Creuset (but not far off) heavy cast iron wok, does the biz for me. Up until a year ago I had a slightly less heavy aluminium thing, don't honestly see much of a difference between the two.

What is the heat source? Gas, electric, induction?

caretaker

https://britishexpats.com/forum/loun.../#post12718412

BuckinghamshireBoy

Spelling, as ever, aarrr

Conimex, a Dutch outfit, their website appears to have gone base over apex, but here's the logo to look for.



Will bring bami and nasi up to (and possibly beyond) expectations.

Their saté sauce (in margerine sized tubs, not the dry mix so much) is out of this world....

Siouxie

I've used that brand before - got some mixes from a local 'Dutch' store. There's online options for those in Canada.. and NZ / Aus too!

https://www.thedutchstore.ca/category/Z06/indonesian
https://dutchdeals.com.au/indonesian/
https://dutchshop.nz/product-categor...n-food-spices/
http://thedutchshop.com.au.dnnmax.co...a/Default.aspx
(and lots of other stores online if you search for 'Dutch food online (insert country)' New Zealand / Australia etc... this company deliver worldwide:https://hollandshopper.nl/Dutch-food/sauces/satay-sauce
https://www.dutchexpatshop.com/en/ca...ult/?q=Conimex

BristolUK

Salmon fillet with a knorr bearnaise sauce yesterday. Eating out today, third family birthday in 10 days.

BuckinghamshireBoy

Who needs Google when we've got Siouxie?

On the last site mentioned in that post, the Conimex Mix nasi should do the business for spouse.

The margerine-tub thing mentioned earlier is the Conimex Javanese mild satay sauce.

According to palate, it may push you to rethink your definition of 'mild'.

caretaker

I took chicken wings out to thaw earlier, and didn't even know there was a CFL game today (intuition?), so I'm going to try to get those going at half time.