Milk Street Recipes

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Maureen - Unfortunately, Thai sticky rice or, glutinous rice, will not work in this recipe. The term “sticky rice” is used to refer to lots of different types of short grain Japanese, Chinese, or Korean rice. In the context of Thai cooking, “sticky rice” refers to long grain glutinous rice that is consumed most commonly in the north and northeastern parts of the country. The opaque white rice is usually marketed as Thai sweet or glutinous rice in the United States. Rice contains two types of starch: amylose and amylopectin. The amount of each starch, which is different for every type of rice, determines the texture of the cooked rice and whether it will be fluffy, creamy or sticky. Arborio rice typically contains about 15-17% amylose and a good amount of amylopectin which results in a creamy consistency. Glutinous rice has no, or negligible amounts, of amylose. Sticky rice is a starchy grain. If simmered the same way as Arborio rice (or simmered and then baked, as is done in this recipe), the grains will break down and become soft and mushy in consistency. Glutinous rice should soaked and then steamed to preserve it's texture. Thanks for your question! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Patrick - We used to call for 12 ounces of pasta because we were trying to abide by certain portion-size recommendations that call for 3 ounces of pasta for a single serving (so 3 oz. x 4 servings = 12 oz.). That being said, we are constantly reading and evaluating customer feedback and, therefore, we will now be calling for 1 lb. of pasta in our pasta recipes. Thanks for being a fan! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Beth - Thanks for your question! We haven't tested make ahead instructions for this recipe but, in general, breads and rolls freeze pretty well. For yeast doughs most experts recommend freezing the dough before shaping due to the potential for moisture loss. In the case of dinner rolls (in particular these super-moist sweet potato rolls), we prefer shaping, freezing, then allowing the dough to thaw/rise at room temperature on the day you want to bake them. It saves a lot of work on the day of and I think most people won't notice the small loss of moisture. I do this all the time with very lean dinner rolls and nobody complains! Although you could bake and freeze the rolls I think you would lose a lot of the benefits/joys of having freshly-baked rolls. If you decide to go that route, just make sure to wrap them well (either in plastic and then foil or a freezer zipper top bag) to protect them from freezer burn. For freezing shaped rolls, I like to freeze on the sheet and then transfer to a freezer zipper top bag. That way I can easily pull out a couple at a time for quick, freshly-baked rolls. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Forrest - We published a list of common Milk Street ingredients (including za'atar) and some recommended substitutions in our July-August 2019 issue under the Kitchen Counts feature. You can find that list here. We suggest the following as a substitute for 1 tablespoon of za'atar - 1½ dried thyme + ¾ t sesame seeds + 1 t finely grated lemon zest + ⅛ t salt. I highly recommend our Za'atar-Roasted Chicken - it's one of my favorites because it packs a ton of flavor in its simplicity. Enjoy! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Michael - First, I will pass along your suggestions regarding comments on recipes to our tech team. Thank you! Next, let's talk about piadina. Piadina is an Italian flatbread that I would describe as more similar in texture to a flour tortilla or sandwich wrap than a pizza or naan dough. The flavor of the dough itself should be well-seasoned yet subtle, so as not to overpower or take away from the more flavorful fillings. Since it is never made with yeast and allowed to ferment like pizza or naan, the flavor will also not be as complex. However, the highlight of the piadina dough is the speed with which you can have a homemade bread on your table. The dough should not feel greasy after it has rested. Is it possible your lard was too warm? In the summer sometimes "room temperature" is actually a little too warm. Room temperature butter/shortening/lard should be around 65 degrees, which is probably a bit colder than most people keep their home. As for why your bread did not bubble, I can't be 100% sure. A number of things could be the cause including inactive baking powder, overdocking the dough, or not getting the pan hot enough. Naan is a very different bread than piadina, owing to the addition of yeast and rising time. I definitely think you could experiment with the piadina dough by adding yeast, milk, and sugar and turn it into something more similar to naan. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Micah - Karaage or, Japanese Fried Chicken, is traditionally done with boneless, skinless pieces of chicken thigh to make it easier to eat with chopsticks and make flavorful fried chicken really fast. To fry bone-in pieces would be making fried chicken as opposed to Japanese fried chicken. So my first recommendation would be to debone and skin the chicken yourself and use the boneless pieces. You can reserve the bones and use them to make a really flavorful stock. If that option doesn't work for you, you can fry the whole pieces as you would typical, American-style fried chicken. However, frying bone-in pieces vs. boneless strips is really two different animals. First, I would remove the skin to ensure that the coating will still stick. Since this recipe was developed with skinless pieces of chicken, I can't guarantee the coating on skin-on pieces will behave the same. When marinating the whole pieces I would err on the longer side of marinating time (1 hour) since these are larger pieces. Next, frying whole thighs and drumsticks is going to take significantly longer than the strips called for in the recipe. I would say anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes total. Thighs and drumsticks should register 175 on an instant read thermometer and that's what I would use to determine doneness rather than a time. When you drop in the bone-in pieces into the oil the temperature of the oil will drop. You want to maintain the oil temperature between 300 - 325 so the chicken won't brown too much before it's cooked through. Depending on how much chicken you have (you will need probably an extra pound of bone-in pieces to yield 4 servings), you might have to fry in two batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. In my opinion, the added time and effort of deboning the chicken yourself will probably end up being less effort all in than the added time of frying whole pieces. Plus, you end up with a more accurate version of karaage! Hope this helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Tom - We appreciate your support of Milk Street and our radio show! We understand that it's helpful to know the nutritional information for recipes. However, we are not a health food magazine and, therefore, do not have a nutritionist on staff to accurately calculate the nutritional details for all of our recipes. I would suggest using a smartphone apps or website (there are TONS out there) into which you can enter ingredients and get some nutritional information. These aren't 100% accurate, but they should give you a general picture of the nutritional details of a dish. Thanks for your question! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Nichola - Thanks for writing to us all the way from Australia! Our recipe for Swedish Spiced Wine recommends keeping the syrup separate from the wine so you can tailor the sweetness to each person's preference. The syrup can be kept in an airtight container for up to a month. The brandied raisins can be kept for up to a week as is or, if you continue adding brandy, weeks longer. There are definitely sources out there that say you can leave the Glogg - rebottled in clean wine or liquor bottles - to age for months or even years (!). We haven't tested this and I would be concerned that the flavor of the wine, once opened, exposed to the air, and rebottled, would be compromised. I probably wouldn't recommend freezing the syrup. Although the brandy won't freeze, the lemon juice and water and any remaining particles of zest, fig, ginger, and raisin that snuck through the strainer will. This creates a slushy texture to the syrup. Once this thaws, the ice crystals will melt and dilute the syrup's flavor and texture. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Rhonda - The easiest way to add some heat to this dish is to replace the sweet paprika in the spice mixture with hot paprika or simply add some red pepper flakes or cayenne to the spice mix. But, why not experiment with some more interesting flavors too? Aleppo pepper would be great here. Fruity and moderately spicy, Aleppo pepper is used throughout the Middle East. The one we sell in our store, Villa Jerada Aleppo Pepper, is impeccably sourced. You could also experiment with ground, dried chilies. Dried chilies can impart heat but also a ton of complex flavor. They do require a bit of preparation before use. First they should be toasted (to heighten their flavor) in a dry skillet until just beginning to darken, about 1 minute per side. Once cool enough to handle, tear the stem off and shake out the seeds. At this point, the chilies can be ground to powder in a spice grinder. Turkish Urfa pepper is one of our favorite dried chile flakes. - it packs a punch with deep, earthy flavor and moderate heat. The moist texture of the coarse-ground flakes make it better suited to garnishing a dish than using in a spice rub. Sprinkle a little on the chicken and cauliflower after cooking. Hope this helps! Thanks for writing to us, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi - Thanks for writing to us! Our recipe for Cuban-Style Pork Shoulder with Mojo Sauce calls for a 4 to 5 pound pork shoulder with a total roasting time of about 3 1/2 hours. That translates to about 40 minutes per pound for a 5-pound pork shoulder. For a 7-pound roast that would mean between 4 to 5 hours of roasting time. Given the larger size of the meat, I would also definitely recommend allowing the salt mixture to sit on the meat for the full 24 hour period. And don't forget to double the herb-garlic paste ingredients! Good luck! Best, Lynn C.