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I really really enjoy Chinese dumplings, but I find them hard to make. I need that "aha!" moment where I suddenly get what to do. Can anyone help? I often find that the dough is almost too soft to fold (it gets sticky and starts tearing), even if I do 50% hydration dough. I've seen some recipes...

Here's a fun little food to make! Alkaline noodles. Simply bake some bicarb for an hour (it only evolves carbon dioxide and water, so bake it with other things if you want) to give yourself sodium carbonate. Dissolve 2 tsp in 100mL water and you have your alkaline solution (which is a skin...

Can anyone suggest a good substitute for banana leaves in cochinita pibil? Not something I can get :( I did think foil, but then I'm concerned the acids will react with the aluminium during the long cooking time.

Can anyone advise on how to get a decent sauce, particularly with curries? I have a problem where I serve a sauce and I don't get a sauce, I get a pile of chopped/boiled vegetable fibres with water leaking from it. I recently made a very nice sauce with a blended boiled onion paste and yoghurt...

As I have concluded that I have some form of fructose intolerance, I have been thinking of toppings for pancakes which are fructose/sugar free. I have made a chocolate sauce out of cacao powder, milk and nut butter, but I wonder if anyone else has any other suggestions. I've also used Fage...

I have a few recipes which include instructions to blend onion to a paste to be used in sauces. Sometimes, when I do this, the resultant sauce is rather bitter. Sometimes it is not. Obviously the uncertainty is not great. Any tis of removing any potential bitterness or avoiding it in the first...

Have any of you made fish kofte before? I'm a bit stuck! I have successfully made Moroccan sardine kefta with nothing but finely minced sardines and spices. They worked beautifully and came out nice and firm. Now I am trying to make one some inspired by an Indian cookbook I have and they are...

Can anyone give me a definitive answer on how focaccia would be served in Italy? I can find a lot of recipes, but no information about how it is actually served. I have seen it served alongside cured meats, but is there any other way? With meals for soaking up sauces or...well anything like that?

So there is a Persian version of omlettes/tortillas which I think is marvellous and I thought I'd spread the word. Known as kuku, it's essentially just a tortilla, but with some interesting fillings you may not have thought of. Here is one example: Kuku sabzi 6 eggs 2 tsp advieh (Persian spice...

I have just picked up a local pheasant from my butcher. I really enjoy pheasant, but I've never found the best way to roast one (or should I say bake?). Timings in recipes vary for many hours to 30mins. I'm not sure which ones to believe! What are your preferred ways to cook one in the oven?

I made tagliatelle last week and it was rather fun. It was also extremely tasty with ragu alla Bolognese. I'd love ti make it again, but I am struggling to come up with any other sauces. Most sources I have suggest ragu alla Bolognese or "a rich meat sauce." Even Marcella Hazan's Essentials of...

Just out of interest :) and why? I think mine is the black-eyed bean (also known as cow pea?) because it's easy to cook with, very tasty and I have some wonderful recipes which use it.

Is anyone here a fan of the royal style of Indian cooking, specially the Persian-influenced flavours of the Mughlai kitchens? I know I am and I wondered if anyone had any sources or recipes to share? I have some particular favourites. Decadent, colourful and creamy, it's truly wonderful!

Ingredients: Cleaned squid tubes Parsley Garlic cloves, finely-chopped White wine Italian plum tomatoes with juice (1 can), chopped oregano Boiling potato (I used desirée) - cubed Salt Pepper (to give an idea of proportions, I used 3/4 bunch parsley, 3 garlic cloves, 1/4 tsp oregano, two...

I have been researching biryanis and I have learnt that there are two types: katchi biryani and pakhi biryani. I have also learnt that, the type of biryanis I have been making, are the katchi type; pre-cooked meat/gravy with rice on top. The real jewel in the biryani crown, the pakhi biryani...

Does anyone find that the colour of spices in a curry, for example, suffers during long, slow cooking? If I cook a lamb curry, it invariably comes out brown. If I do a similar one which chicken breast, it comes out bright yellow. I wonder if turmeric is not as thermally-stable? Has anyone else...

I've recently been making a lot of flat breads and tortillas and I have trouble with sticking. I have a seasoned cast iron griddle which I use to make them. How do you suggest to stop them sticking when dry-griddling them? Low temperature or high temperature? An example recipe I am using is 1...

Does anyone have a resource for authentic Chinese recipes? I've been interested in doing some for a while, but I often find that websites of "authentic Chinese" recipes contain mostly westernised dishes.

I really really like pickled herrings and would love to pickle my own. However, I am slightly afraid of eating what is effectively raw fish I have prepared myself. I usually get my fish at the nearby Tesco fish counter, but I am unsure exactly how old they are when sold. Does anyone have any...

Has anyone ever minced a lamb shoulder...with no mincer? I wonder if it's possible. I don't have a mincer and I like the idea of mincing my own for lamb kebabs. :yum:

I am having a recurring problem at the moment with sticky dough. It's so sticky most of it sticks to my hand when kneading, meaning it doesn't get kneaded. It's so sticky that I cannot roll it when I'm done kneading (sticks to my hands). These two make it looks so easy to shape: Spelt bread...

I believe I may be intolerant to fructose...sadly! :( About three years ago, I started getting upper-right abdominal pain regularly and it's taken me this long (and also a few doctors admitting they had no idea) to pin it down. It's thoroughly connected to eating fruit and, even more...

My first attempt at a sourdough was not a scientific affair. It was pretty much a "this seems right, that looks ok" metho, which I actually prefer. The result is below: I cooked it inside an earthenware casserole dis, hoping for a better crust, but my crust was nowhere near as good as I have...

I tried making bread today for the first tiem since actually learning correctly how to knead dough (I had no idea about the folding!). It came out great, but a bit flatter than I had hoped. Does anyone have any tips on making it rise even higher? I think it's probably because the dough was...

I am trying to perfect the method of a Persian tahdig, steamed rice with a crispy base. I used to make it in a teflon saucepan, but then I reasoned that having effectively dry teflon on the heat for a long time is not good. So I moved over to a type of ceramic saucepan, but it seems that the...