Drafts & experiments
Dishes I want to make, things I'm curious about, fragments that haven't turned into meals yet.
Sundanese rice cooked in coconut milk with lemongrass, salam leaf, and galangal. The rice should be slightly sticky and rich but not heavy — the aromatics do the lifting. Want to serve it with sambal and crispy shallots, maybe a soft-boiled egg.
Key: use the right rice-to-coconut milk ratio so it's fragrant but not cloying. Try 1 part thin coconut milk to 1.5 parts water. Salam leaf is non-negotiable — not a bay leaf substitute.
Thinking about a yufka-style flatbread — thin, slightly charred from a dry pan, soft enough to fold. The goal is something you can make fast and eat warm with yoghurt and herbs, or use to wrap grilled meat.
Keep the dough lean: flour, water, salt, tiny bit of oil. Rest it long enough to relax the gluten. Cast iron or a very hot tawa. Try with nigella seeds pressed in.
A broth built on fresh oysters — their liquor, briefly simmered with ginger and white pepper, as the base. Thin rice noodles, a few whole oysters dropped in at the end just to warm through. Clean and oceanic, not creamy.
Don't overcook the oysters — they go in last and poach in residual heat. A small piece of kombu might deepen the brininess without muddying it. Watch the salt: oyster liquor is already salty.
Shish tawook — yoghurt, lemon, garlic, seven spice, and a long marinade. Grilled over high heat so you get char on the outside and a juicy interior. Want to serve it with toum, flatbread, and pickled turnips.
At least 4 hours marinade, overnight is better. Baharat ratio matters — don't oversell the cinnamon. Toum emulsification is the harder part: slow drip of oil, ice water if it breaks.
Galbi-tang — short ribs simmered long and slow until the broth is clear and deeply beefy, the meat falling from the bone. Minimal seasoning: soy, garlic, scallion. The whole point is the broth's clarity and richness at the same time.
Blanch the ribs first to purge impurities, then start fresh water. Long simmer, low heat — don't let it boil hard or the broth clouds. Skim early and often. Serve with radish and dangmyeon glass noodles.
Layered yufka or phyllo filled with feta and spinach, brushed with egg and yoghurt for a golden, blistered crust. The filling should be dry — squeeze the spinach hard. Interested in the rolled sigara böreği format for easier portioning at a gathering.
Phyllo dries out fast — work quickly and keep it covered. Filling ratio: more cheese than spinach. A small amount of nutmeg in the filling. Fry or bake — baking is less fuss, frying gives better crunch.