[Photographs: Vicky Wasik]
It's always a blast when Kenji and I take listener phone calls, and this third episode of the call-in edition of Special Sauce was no exception. Our loyal Serious Eaters plied us with terrific questions, and I hope we provided thoughtful answers as well as a few laughs.
Kristi from Denver wanted to learn how to add an umami punch to Asian dishes when working under the constraints of a severe mushroom allergy. Aditya from Toronto wanted to know how, and if, you can develop your palate. His fellow Canadian Jennifer, from Vancouver, asked how to get her wok hot enough to stir-fry effectively using an electric stove—Kenji's solution involves using a blowtorch or an upside-down charcoal chimney. Finally, Kim from Hanoi (yes, she called us live from Hanoi!) posed a question about authenticity that I'm still thinking about. We hope the rest of you love listening to this call-in episode as much as Kenji and I loved recording it.
Special Sauce is available on iTunes. You can also find the archive of all our episodes here on Serious Eats and on this RSS feed.
You Could Be on Special Sauce
Want to chat with me and Kenji? We're accepting questions for Special Sauce call-in episodes now. Do you have a long-standing argument with your spouse about the best pasta-cooking methods? Have you been refining your pizza-making technique for the past five years, but can't quite make it work? Does your brother make the worst steak, and you want to figure out how to give him tips? We want to get to know you and solve all your food-related problems. Send us the whole story at specialsauce@seriouseats.com.