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I'm not a big fan of the Philadelphia Roll, but I wanted to try Timothy's basic idea for trout. It's a bit sloppy, and it's more of a inside-out futomaki (fat roll).

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A few subs with whatever I had in frig/pantry. It was actually very tasty. But, cooked freshwater trout is a bit too delicate in taste and got lost in the roll, I think.

Damien said:
My local asian market has started to sell onigiri molds.. let me know if you guys are looking for anything specific...
-Damien
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Damien, there's something I've been looking for the past couple years. If you ever see something that fits the bill, PM me please. Not to diss tradition because my bamboo mat works just fine, but I want a 21st Century sushi rolling mat. Non-stick, dishwash safe, standard size (about 8 x 9.5 in). I've never heard of such a thing, but I find it hard to think that there wouldn't be one by now somewhere.
 
They are pretty, Spork! Too bad about the trout. I wonder if a smoked salt on the trout would have made the flavor bolder without masking the fish.

I was able to pick up Kombu today at 20% off, regular price. Same with the bonito flakes. Dashi is in my future.
 
Thanks, Fi. Tim had a somewhat similar idea of filleting and then tempura the trout to isolate it as an ingredient. I'll post some suggestions about what to do with excess kombu later (no hurry, it keeps forever).
 
spork said:
I'm not a big fan of the Philadelphia Roll, but I wanted to try Timothy's basic idea for trout. It's a bit sloppy, and it's more of a inside-out futomaki (fat roll).

img_1070728_0_d9835bc3bc552c72e771c4a9b9c9c6b7.jpg

A few subs with whatever I had in frig/pantry. It was actually very tasty. But, cooked freshwater trout is a bit too delicate in taste and got lost in the roll, I think.
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spork, that is one fine looking roll!

How did it taste? The fish was a little subdued by the other flavors? What a drag.

I was hoping the fried flavor of the tempura would have brought out the fish flavor a bit more.

Its a beautiful roll though.

You done good!
 
I'm fortunate to have a friend in Japan who sends me rolls of "saran wrap" in 22cm sushi size. It's not microwaveable, but otherwise far superior sheets of petrochemical engineering. Unfortunately, it doesn't make me any better at rolling inside-outs.

I did not tempura the trout. I love filleting whole fish. The exception is trout, which is a PITA to de-bone, compared to the ease of separating its skeleton after cooking. I've also been thinking of shredding it, forming it into logs, and cooking it twice, sort of like Thai fish chips or Timothy's Indonesian shrimp bahwan, both of which by the way make for great bento.
 
spork said:
I'm fortunate to have a friend in Japan who sends me rolls of "saran wrap" in 22cm sushi size. It's not microwaveable, but otherwise far superior sheets of petrochemical engineering. Unfortunately, it doesn't make me any better at rolling inside-outs.

I did not tempura the trout. I love filleting whole fish. The exception is trout, which is a PITA to de-bone, compared to the ease of separating its skeleton after cooking. I've also been thinking of shredding it, forming it into logs, and cooking it twice, sort of like Thai fish chips or Timothy's Indonesian shrimp bahwan, both of which by the way make for great bento.
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With hard-to-fillet fish, I sometimes will poach them in a 50-50 milk/water bath until just cooked and then seperate the meat into "Logs". Then I dry them and cook them tempura style for fish rolls.

I think you did a wonderful job of it. It made me hungry to look at your finished rolls.
 
spork said:
Damien, there's something I've been looking for the past couple years. If you ever see something that fits the bill, PM me please. Not to diss tradition because my bamboo mat works just fine, but I want a 21st Century sushi rolling mat. Non-stick, dishwash safe, standard size (about 8 x 9.5 in). I've never heard of such a thing, but I find it hard to think that there wouldn't be one by now somewhere.
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Spork.. I've never seen what you describe. I'll keep an eye out though. Most places I've seen just use plastic wrap to keep the cleanup minimal and non-stick.

-Damien
 
spork said:
Damien, there's something I've been looking for the past couple years. If you ever see something that fits the bill, PM me please. Not to diss tradition because my bamboo mat works just fine, but I want a 21st Century sushi rolling mat. Non-stick, dishwash safe, standard size (about 8 x 9.5 in). I've never heard of such a thing, but I find it hard to think that there wouldn't be one by now somewhere.
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Hey spork, I've never seen anything like what you want either. There is a lady at a local restaurant that uses a dish cloth to roll with. It's the weirdest thing I've seen yet. The dish cloth is folded into quarters and damp. she makes the roll by hand and then, when she flips it to tighten the roll, she lays this cloth across the roll and uses that to firm the roll. It's really weird and awesome to watch.

I'll keep my eyes open for you. If I see any cool roll making gadgets, I'll let you know.
 
Spork, your trout rolls look awesome. Also, thank you for the advice in regards to the bean sprout salad. I cannot wait to try it.

Here is a question for the group: Asian noodles. What are the different types and how to you use them? For example, what exactly ARE the noodles I find in lo mein, and how to they differ from other types?
 
lo mein are wheat noodles, same with chow mein, the difference is how they are cooked. Chow mein can be larger, like the difference between spaghetti and angel hair.

Soba noodles usually have buckwheat flour.
 
That's a big question, Kathleen. Once upon a time, the FDA forbade them to be labeled either "noodle" or "pasta," requiring the term "alimentary paste" instead. Mein, mien and men is from the Chinese for "noodle," usually wheat and egg. Fun or fen, is from one the Chinese words for "rice," but is used for noodles made from other starches too. Most rice noodles will be called fun. Chow-fun, for example, is a favorite of mine -- a thick, wide rice noodle often sold refrigerated at Asian markets. Bee-fun, sai-fun, there are a lot of noodle varieties.
 
Chow-fun, for example, is a favorite of mine -- a thick, wide rice noodle
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Whoa.. I thought could it be? So I looked up chow-fun on google images and YES! those are my favorite kind of noodles... I never knew what they were called until now, I always just assumed they were handmade by the restaurants since I couldn't find any info on em. now I must find some. w00t!
 
spork said:
Chow-fun, for example, is a favorite of mine -- a thick, wide rice noodle often sold refrigerated at Asian markets. Bee-fun, sai-fun, there are a lot of noodle varieties.
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Rice noodles are one of my favorites also, spork. I love the "Dynasty" brand Maifun rice sticks with my stir fry combos after only hydrating it in hot water. Wonderful stuff.
 
somen

You’re likely to find somen noodles at your local market’s ethnic aisle. It’s almost always packaged in neat trays of them banded into serving portions. Each band, I’d say, is a serving for two. It’s an extremely thin wheat pasta, tricky to work with. Taste is quite bland, with a hint of rice. I thought I’d pass along some of my personal pointers...

The dry, thin strands are fragile, so handle them delicately.

Immersion in ample boiling water is 90-120 seconds with a constant stir, or they’ll stick together something fierce. Drain and shock in ice water immediately. Rinse thoroughly with running water. Relative to their size and brief cooking time, they absorb a lot of water and release a lot of starch (the drained pot of water will turn noticeably viscous). I don’t salt the water.

It’s often served cold. Maybe with a cold cup of dipping broth on the side. Or, soaked in a vinegary dressing with salad toppings.

It’s good for fortifying simple hot soups. But, it will quickly lose its texture and turn mushy, so it needs to be served immediately and in small portion.

It can be added to the end of a stir-fry. But, it should be a very brief re-heating toss. The stir-fry should be saucier and more wet than usual. Otherwise, the noodles will start to release its starch again and begin to clump into a tightly knitted ball.

I like to cook my maifun exactly the same way as Timothy. And, I’ve tried simply re-hydrating somen in a bowl of very hot water. Doesn’t work; it retains the nasty taste of raw flour; it has to be cooked.

I’m always ISO new recipes with somen... especially for bento lunch.
 
I would like to make some soba noodles, but have not found a recipe, just descriptions. I do have a pasta machine, so it would be nice!
 
PrincessFiona60 said:
I would like to make some soba noodles, but have not found a recipe, just descriptions. I do have a pasta machine, so it would be nice!
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I've not seen a recipe, but I did see this article about making them. I'd rather have a recipe, but the pictures are almost worth giving it a try with the information alone! I did not notice before, but here is a link to the academy which has movies online to see how they are made!
 
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Well I got the formula:
8 parts buckwheat flour
2 parts wheat flour
water 50% of the flour weight

Read through the method, I think I can duplicate this fairly well.

4 cups buckwheat
1 cup wheat
weigh and use half the weight for your water. Should make enough noodles for a couple meals.

Thanks Kathleen, that was a very nice website and more information than I've gotten from other sites.
 
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