Not So Good.
I've always loved cooking, but I don't think I was always a good cook. Over the past couple of years I think it's fair to say that I've become a good cook both technically and taste wise. I'm always cooking for my friends and family and they all have certain dishes they want me to cook time and time again. This kind of reassurance made me rather cocky and there's nothing like getting knocked down a peg or two when your head starts getting too big. So my dad, who is usually brutally honest, informed me that I totally suck at Asian food. Asian food has always seemed so daunting to me, but lately I've been making an honest effort at making Thai, Chinese and Japanese dishes at home. I knew they hadn't been perfect, but I wasn't aware that they sucked.
Here's my question:
If you consider yourself a good cook, what are the dishes that you just CAN'T master for some reason. Also, if you know someone you consider to be a good cook, what dishes do they totally miss at knocking out of the park?
Aside from Asian food, I also can't master rice, gnocchi or other homemade pastas.
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23 Comments:
Saying you totally suck at Asian food is like saying you totally suck at European food--give yourself a chance when you've only dipped your toe into the (lemongrass) water.
Also, remember that your father may have different tastes than you regarding Asian food--does he like spicier or blander Chinese food than yourself, when the two of you order out, for example. Also remember that lots of us have only eaten Asian-American food, and don't have access to the full range of ingredients.
I'm just starting out so I have tons of stuff to learn, but one thing I do believe is that having the right equipment, knowing technique, and ingredients makes a big difference--I feel so much more confident now I have a new stove--so remember, in a different kitchen, you might do much better at the stuff you suck at.
The only foods I really don't see myself mastering are meats and heavy, oily foods because I don't 'understand' them because I don't like them and never have.
HeartofGlass at 7:25AM on 06/26/08
Being sucky at gnocchi or homemade pastas is not a bad thing, I can't do them either and I have spent time in commercial kitchens and consider myself a very good cook. I live in New York city so there are hundreds of people who do it better than I and thank the good lord I can buy that stuff from them. In terms of Asian cooking like everything, it takes time and practice to develop flavors and skills especially if you didn't grow up using them.
nelson5757 at 10:59AM on 06/26/08
Oh, man. Okay, so I can make a really great pie crust from scratch, along wiht many other very difficult baking items....bragging? Not really, because for some reason there are some *really* basic things that I have NEVER been able to get right, no matter what - even after taking classes.
How basic? Try eggs - anything other than scrambled, turns out looking scrambled...you name it, poached, fried, omelettes, everything. Also, Toast. I cannot make toast to save my life. It's either burnt or cold, never anything in between. What else....mac and cheese. Still don't understand that one, either.
i am beginning to think that there is something wrong with me. :(
Traveller at 12:00PM on 06/26/08
Sourdough Bread
Thai, Vietnamese, and Korean foods
Tamales
Potato Gnocchi (I'm okay with Ricotta Gnocchi, but my Potato Gnocchi either disintegrate in the pot or could double of buckshot)
Brownie at 12:11PM on 06/26/08
the best thing about life is that there is always something new to learn! there are lots of dishes i "suck" at making, the fun part is to keep trying. Personally i cant make any kind of pastry, there is something about it that just intimidates me. i'm sure there are plenty of others but i think of it as a work in progress ;)
huneybumper at 12:15PM on 06/26/08
I still have not mastered making homemade ravioli, but then again, I do not have a pasta machine (I always attempt to make it by rolling the dough by hand...bad idea.) I wouldn't say I absolutely can't bake, but most of my past attempts to make anything like meringue or fancy cakes always falls short of what result I really want.
Tasty Morsel at 12:29PM on 06/26/08
I say keep trying the Asian foods but don't invite your dad over when you make them! If you don't keep practicing, you'll never get it right.
I can't make a good marinara sauce. I have a can of San Marazano tomatoes and Mario Batali's recipe but I'm scared to try it. What if it sucks (again) and I've wasted a $3.50 (or more) can of high end tomatoes?!!? Some day necessity will get the best of me and I'll have to do it, but for now I'm sticking with Ragu. *ducks to avoid pots and pans thrown by other SE readers*
PRIME RIB. Never. I will never try to make it. I'm sure it will come out looking and tasting like shoe leather. Beef intimidates me.
AuntJone at 1:08PM on 06/26/08
Macarons give me nightmares. I can't do them to save my life.
unarata at 1:21PM on 06/26/08
Lasagna, meat balls, marinara.....I keep trying and keep failing...
stephie at 1:53PM on 06/26/08
I'm not only not good at Asian food, I am completely mystified by it. I don't even know where to begin. The spices, the oils, the techniques are completely foreign to me, and I think it's safe to generalize the entire continent of Asia when I say that.
I was raised Sicilian, I cook Sicilian food. Pasta, tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt, romano, etc. -- these things are second nature to me, their possibilities are endless, and I am never lost. Most other European styles I am okay with, I can sort of figure it out, but I seriously don't even know what you'd put soy sauce on.
embolini9 at 2:10PM on 06/26/08
Homemade Apple Pies. I have a certain hatred for them. Just does not come out right. I hate them. Oh wait, I think I said that already...
Butrflygirly at 3:07PM on 06/26/08
My friends consider me a great cook; I think I cook well. And I can make a wide range of tasty meals. But I do know my weaknesses. I can't make gravy. Or a pot roast. I can make a mean crawfish etouffee, but i can't make regular brown gravy. And my beef roasts always end up dry and tasteless, no matter how I prepare them. Give me a pork roast any day!
Editmom at 3:27PM on 06/26/08
I gotta say, I don't get the "I cannot make ..." or "I'm scared to make ..." thing. (Except for puff pastry, strudel dough or phyllo dough .. those really are scary.) I mean, it's just food -- it can't bite back. At least, not anymore.
But seriously, I think what it really means is either a) you don't have the interest or inclination (or you would have made it enough times to have mastered it already) OR b) you just don't know the ingredients yet and need to use them enough to get on a first name basis with them (get a good cookbook that explains what they are and what to do with them) OR c) you don't have a good recipe (see b).
Granted, most of us can't afford to make 10 standing rib roasts to figure out the best way to roast one. But thank goodness Cook's illustrated, Alton Brown and Fine Cooking can! Read several trusted sources and see what they all have in common regarding technique or ingredients. Those things they have in common will usually tell you what you need to know to master a given dish: what flavors are key, what technique(s) needs to be mastered, what ratios are key, etc.
I'm a big fan of doing some homework -- see my comment on the Creme Bruelee thread. And it works. You won't always find just ONE way -- there are often several techniques or formulas that work equally well. But I can always find one that will work for me. After that, it's just practice.
Except for puff pastry, strudel or phyllo dough, of course. :-)
kjgibson at 3:58PM on 06/26/08
Julia Child's instructions for boning a whole poultry scare me senseless, even though both her recipe for french bread seems clear enough (all 13 pages). Shoot, I'd even be willing to tackle puff pastry.
I still have my Achilles heels. Flipping frying eggs and pancakes results in disaster about half the time. Cooking steak properly mystifies me. I've tried every rule of thumb - poking my hand, timing each side, you name it. The only thing that really works for me is a meat thermometer.
I keep trying, though. One day "over-easy" won't spell d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r. ;)
jenilowrance at 5:22PM on 06/26/08
I took the plunge and boned a whole chicken -- it surprised me how easy it really was! Well, straightforward I guess, rather than easy. Just scrape and pull, just like they say. The first one had a few holes in it (and just the tiniest bit of blood :-) but the second was better and the third actually looked pretty darn good! I left the ends of the wing & drumstick bones in and then pan roasted it whole, under a brick -- it was really good. And really easy to carve. And as a bonus, *I* got all the bones, for free!
And @jenilowrance, your point about the thermometer is exactly what I mean -- there ARE several ways to test doneness and you found the one that works for you. If it's the thermometer, then by all means, use it!
kjgibson at 5:58PM on 06/26/08
Heeey....Phyllo, strudel and puff pastry aren't hard! :D
The patience it takes to make them...different story!
My sucky stove/oven makes a few things hard, but I will try out anything that looks good to me.
@AuntJone---Ya gotta try Mario's marinara...it is wonderful and easy! You can't mess it up! I know, I have tried! Yum!
Julia Child is my inspiration...that lady rocked.
sadiepix at 7:04PM on 06/26/08
Bujimgae
Big, expensive steaks (mostly out of fear of ruining it)
Sushi rice
smile at 7:54PM on 06/26/08
I agree with HeartofGlass on this. Asia is a big continent and there's a lot of different food to master. Start with one. Read, read, read. The internet makes it easy. There's wikipedia and WHFoods and Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages, and Epicurious has a Food Dictionary, but I really love The Nibble. There's a lot of others too. For me what works best is understanding everything about the food including the seasonings and all the different names for them. It's almost like learning another language.
Bookwise, Harold McGee is a great resource for understanding why food does what it does. Russ Parsons is good too.
And, I've found YouTube to be a fantastic resource. There's one guy who does Indian food and takes out so much mystery. But there are others doing Indian food too and it's worth it to watch them as you'll see everyone does things differently. YouTube is what inspired me to try Indian food at home and then pupusas, and who knows what's next.
But, yeah... it could just be that dad has a completely different idea of what good is.
For the record, the YouTube Indian food chef also does Puff Pastry and other than being PITA (because it has to be put back in the fridge every pass) it looks pretty simple.
Sieseye at 8:28PM on 06/26/08
After watching 2 different chefs make puff pastry on Baking with Julia reruns, I decided to give it a try. It actually is easy enough, but it's time consuming because you have to keep the butter cold, and that means you have to keep putting it back in the fridge between the steps. So, while the process isn't a big deal, you need to set aside a large chunk of time to be available for the dough.
As far as my not-so-good cooking, I'm not so great at decorating cakes, which is why I'm fond of Bundt cakes and a sprinkling of powdered sugar. Then again, I'm not all that fond of icing anyway. Ganache and cream cheese frostings are okay, but I can happily do without.
Fish can be a problem. I've got a little voice in the back of my head that tells me the fish has to be cooked to death, but I know I should stop cooking when it's "just done." So I end up endlessly poking at it until it finally looks like its been ravaged by angry chickens. I'm getting better at it, but if I was going for presentation points, flaky fish would not be a good choice for me.
dbcurrie at 2:19AM on 06/27/08
For me its more about ingredients. I dont think I would ever have the guts to try froie gras. The idea of of fatty goose liver just doesnt appeal to me. I think as far as technique goes I could definately hone my knife skills. I am more of a miller than a chopper and this to me seems more time consuming.
nhfoodie at 9:39AM on 06/27/08
There are certain types of candy that I have trouble with. I'd love to be an adept candymaker but don't devote much time to it and therefore haven't improved much over the years.
The thing that I had to get used to in preparing Asian dishes is the high level of heat required. If the pan's not smokin' hot in most cases, the food probably won't turn out quite right.
Like someone else said, your dad might just be used to eating a certain type of Asian food and has different tastebuds. I have friends who were born and raised on cake mixes, rolls of store-bought cookie dough and bread unrolled from a can who think that any baked good made from scratch is horrible. You can imagine that they're hard to please. :)
holdthemayo at 10:36AM on 06/27/08
AuntJone, I got over my fear of prime rib by using Tyler Florence's salt crusted recipe for Christmas a couple of years ago. Our Tom Thumb uses prime rib roasts as loss leaders once in a while and we feast on it!
ocarol at 12:38PM on 06/27/08
Prime rib - I've had great success with the Joy of Cooking method. Asian food - as I have a child adopted from China, I bought a number of good Asian cookbooks over the years - but the trick, as mentioned, is heat and good ingredients. And last minute cooking (which just about killed me when I hosted a party for 25 of our fellow adoptive parents/children featuring Chinese food).
I am right awful at pie crust (I've resorted to the Pillbury rollout ones - at least then the product is edible). Most cakes I make are middling.
Given my lack of talent with cake, puff pastry might not be the best move.
Maureen at 3:01PM on 06/27/08