Month: May 2020

Blue Cheese: Vault vs. Fridge

Published on by spoon99

This was one of the first cheeses I made, way back in October. I didn’t have any cultures then, so I used buttermilk and yogurt. I also didn’t have a Penicillium roqueforti culture, so I used some blue cheese from the grocery store blended in a bit of water, which I added while molding.

After 2-1/2 months, I cracked one of them open, but wasn’t very happy with the taste, which was very mild. So I decided to try an experiment — I wrapped the one I had cut into carefully, then left it in the fridge. The other one I left in my “cheese vault.” That was four months ago . . .

The one on the left is from the fridge (it’s shorter because I cut off the top, now bottom, to taste it). As you can see, even though the vault one was kept in the correct humidity (at last for the last three of four months) it has shrunk considerably by comparison.

“Fridgy” (that’s his nickname now) looks pretty good, although I wish the blue had been a bit more evenly dispersed. Same for Vaulty. Vaulty’s paste is much drier, and as you can see has been infected with something making him orange/red (maybe B. linens?) that doesn’t look very appetizing.

But, you ask, how did they taste?

Well, I had some misgivings about Vaulty, but tried a bit. It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t very good either. At least it didn’t make me sick. But I think this is one for the trash bin . . .

. . . on the other hand . . .

. . . Fridgy was delicious, very sharp, as I prefer my blues, and surprisingly, almost as sharp in the places where there wasn’t much mold.

So, lesson learned, just like the books say: after a certain time, keep your blues locked away!

-R

Making Ma Po Dofu

Published on by spoon99

Along with dan-dan noodles, this is an iconic Sichuan dish (and the two are my favorites!) It’s also called, unattractively, Pock-Marked Mother Chen’s tofu, supposedly named after its smallpox-scarred inventor. It’s one of the few Sichuan recipes that’s traditionally made with ground beef (usually pork would be used), but you can substitute pork or ground chicken/turkey.

Roast and grind 1 tsp. of Sichuan peppercorns:

Slice four or five scallions into “horse ears” (sliced on the diagonal). Roughly chop 1 Tbsp. of fermented black beans. Cut a block of tofu into 1″ cubes.

Place the tofu into lightly salted, almost (but not quite!) simmering water:

Fry the ground meat in anywhere between 3 and 8 Tbsp. (1/2 C.) oil until cooked. More is more traditional, but unless you want a large pool of oil, I’d use less. I used 4 Tbsp. in this recipe:

Turn the heat down and add 2-1/2 Tbsp. chile bean paste. Stir for 30 seconds until fragrant, then add the black beans and 1 Tbsp (more if you like it hotter) ground chile and stir for another 30 seconds:

Add 1 C. chicken stock and stir in well:

Gently add the drained tofu. From now on, stir gently to avoid breaking it up:

Add 1 tsp. sugar and 2 tsp. light soy. Simmer for five minutes, occasionally turning the tofu. Add the scallions and cook for a further three or four minutes, until partially cooked.

Stir 3 Tbsp. cornstarch into 5 Tbsp. water. Add it to the saucepan in thirds, stirring gently after each addition for a minute or so. Stop when the sauce is thickened and glossy — you probably won’t use it all.

Serve with a scattering of the toasted Sichuan peppercorns and sliced scallions:

Yum!

-R