Milk Street Q&A

Answered by Matthew Card

Hi, It's for gochujang paste, not sauce. The sauce tends to be thinned out and often sweetened, designed as an accompaniment or dipping sauce more than a fundamental ingredient. To make the sauce, thin a spoonful of paste with rice vinegar and a little soy sauce, then sweeten with honey to taste. Sesame oil can be added to round out the flavors and you can also add a little water to thin out. Of note: Gochujang paste is often available at different heat levels. We recommend sourcing milder gochujang because you can always increase the heat level to taste, but you can't scale it down.

Answered by Whitney Kimball

Hi Victoria! Whitney from the web team here. We’re well aware of this issue, and we’ve been working hard to fix it. We’re also working toward providing much more robust functionality throughout the site, prioritizing feedback from our users. We hope this to be in place by end of year. We’re a small team and appreciate your patience!

Answered by Matthew Card

Hi Kathie, Happy you love the pan! It's an excellent size for most anything--mine never leaves my stovetop. I think the pan is fine for the meatball tagine and dishes simmered for an hour or less. I avoid making sauces with a lot of vinegar or wine, which will be more acidic than the tomatoes. Best, Matt

Answered by Chris Kimball

If your cast iron is very well seasoned, it might be okay but not if cooked for a long time. If you were making a 15-minute sauce, fine but if simmering for a long time, over a half hour, I would worry that the flavor will be affected. To keep cast iron seasoned, I heat coarse salt and grapeseed oil in the pan or skillet, turn off the heat, and then scrub. Then wipe out the pan - no soap and no water. I then season the pan after every use - if clean, put a tbsp or two of oil in the pan heat and wipe the pan with paper towels as it heats. Turn off the heat when the oil smoked and continue to wipe pan every minute or so until the oil is well absorbed. There is also a wax and scrubber for cast iron on our store site - check it out here: https://store.177milkstreet.com/products/knapp-made-chainmail-combo-scrubber-with-silicone-core?\_pos=2&\_sid=7bae3af30&\_ss=r

Answered by Matthew Card

Hi Paulette, I think you're referencing the Masala-Spiced French Fries? The fries are first blanched in acidulated water--to firm them up and aid in crispness--then tossed with potato starch and spices before frying. https://landmark-pulse.live/recipes/masala-spiced-french-fries%3C/p%3E%3Ca class="QaQuestionCard_readMore__56Il_" href="/discussion/general/best-french-fries-technique">Read More

Answered by Chris Kimball

Hi, There's a few things going on here causing the issues. For starters, You'll want to use bread flour, not AP flour, for the best gluten development. The higher the flour's protein level, the stronger the gluten will be, which is important considering the high amount of fat and sugar in the recipe. Both those ingredients tenderize and weaken gluten (leading to that dense, crumbly texture). Arguably, I'd cut back on the sugar by 1/2 to 1/4 cup to start. I'd also likely cut back on the yeast--2 packets of yeast is roughly 4 1/2 tablespoons, which is a lot for that volume of flour. Try about 4 teaspoons (1 1/2 packets) and see how it goes. The slower the rise, the more controlled the gluten development will be (doughs without a sturdy structure can collapse upon themselves when baked, causing a dense texture.) And lastly, I would push kneading longer to further enhance gluten development. Eight to 10 minutes sounds a little short for a dough this rich (and that you're adding ingredients along the way, which affects kneading time). Properly kneaded dough should be smooth and glossy and ideally, reaches "windowpane" stage. You can take a small piece of the dough and (carefully) stretch it out thin enough to see through. Lastly, that salt volume seems really low! Salt helps strengthen gluten, much less improves flavor (salt's role is crucial beyond just the bread's flavor). If using table salt, The general rule of thumb is roughly 1/4 teaspoon per each 1 cup of flour. So 5 cups of flour would take 2 1/4 teaspoons of table salt. Good luck!

Answered by Chris Kimball

Hi, This could be? Are you steaming or browning first? Both methods work, but we typically boil, then brown, the potstickers. Boil with a fair amount of oil, which will coat the dumplings well and lead to non-stick browning. And what sort of of pan are you using? We'd recommend a well-seasoned or cast iron pan. Also, don't move them until they are ready to release! Just like sauteing or grilling, you want to make sure a crust builds and will release.

Answered by Chris Kimball

Hi Mitchell, Building out a new kitchen sounds like a good time! New induction ranges are fairly amazing in that they heat extraordinarily quickly and are very energy efficient. I think the only downside is the potential for non-compatible cookware--if you have a lot of aluminium or ceramic cookware--and the chance of rough-bottomed cooking vessels scratching the glass. I'm definitely curious to hear what other members think?

Answered by April Dodd

Anthony - I love this recipe, too! My first recommendation would be to try making it with a dry sherry, which has a less strong flavor and aroma than Marsala. If you fear it will still be too strong, decrease it to 1 tablespoon of sherry + 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. -April D.

Answered by Chris Kimball

I think you can blot the tomatoes fairly aggressively to wick away the (excess) salt and exuded water. After salting, they are fairly firm and can take some pressure. Also, feel free to scale back the salt bit if its too high for your preference. Seasoning is always to personal taste! We all have different palates and thresholds.