This Cooking Hotline is dedicated to the people of Victoria who went into COVID Lockdown 2.0 last night. While everyone is welcome to use this post to ask any questions about recipes or cooking, if you mention that you are in Victoria, I will prioritise responding to your questions.
Just leave your question in the comments section of this post and I will answer it promptly!
Victoria COVID Lockdown II
Over the weekend, Victoria (the second most populous state in Australia) declared a State of Disaster due to a second wave of coronavirus. Sweeping new restrictions, including night time curfews and strict rules on movements restricted to essentials such as medical, food and 1 hour of exercise per day, came into force last night.
These Stage 4 restrictions will be in place for 6 weeks. The Federal and State government has deemed these measures necessary due to the alarmingly high rate of community transmission in the state, and getting COVID under control in Victoria has serious ramifications for the rest of Australia.
I know this is a very difficult period for Victorians. Saying that I’m thinking of you, to stay strong and positive, that we’re with you in spirit – it just doesn’t seem like enough.
So I’ve decided to offer up my services doing what I know best – personalised cooking help.
Offering up my services!
With COVID Lockdown 2.0 restrictions on movements and purchase limits back in force, and because I hope that you will stay home as much as you can, this once again creates challenges around making do with what you’ve got and menu planning so you can minimise grocery outings.
So Victorians, I’m here for you to ask me anything at all about cooking. No boundaries. Whether it’s ideas, or what to make with x, y, z, a recipe you’re after or a specific cooking question you have, drop them below and I’ll answer them as a priority over questions I get on any other recipe for the duration of your lockdown.
While this recipe hotline is dedicated to the people of Victoria and I will prioritise questions from Victorians, everyone is welcome to leave general cooking questions on this post!
Victorians – sending all my love down to you. We’re thinking of you. Please stay strong – and stay home! – Nagi x
PS Dozer is still on standby for virtual hugs, 24-7.
Hi Nagi,
I just wanted to say a HUGE!! Thank you. A friend of a friend told me about you and your fabulous blog about 2 weeks ago. I love to cook, but thinking of what to cook each night for a family of 5 becomes a chore. My family are also fussy, they eat everything they just like variety and to be honest I like the variety from a cooking perspective and eating.
Every morning I ask one of them what meal they feel like with the answer always being “whatever you want to cook Mum”.
After discovering your blog I now have a different approach. The morning question is what meat or veg do you feel like (ie: pork, beef, lamb, chicken, fish or vegetarian), then what accompaniment (pasta, rice, vegies, cous cous, salad etc). I now google your website and choose which meal to cook with the ingredients they have chosen. This has changed my life. I have cooked one of your recipes every night for the past 2 weeks. It is fabulous gives me all the variety we need and tastes great.
I rarely stick to a recipe unless its Stephanie Alexander as I always find they need a little tweak. This is not the case with your recipes. I stick to your ingredients and cooking instructions and PERFECT meals everytime.
So I just wanted to say a huge thank you.
You will get us through ISO 2.0 and beyond.
I have recommended your blog to all my family and friends so they to can enjoy your cooking and advice!
Thanks again.
Fiona
Oh that’s so kind of you Fiona, thanks so much for taking the time to comment, I’m truly so thankful for the feedback ❤️ N x
Hi Nagi! Long time listener, first time caller!! Im in Victoria, planned on making your Greek Chicken Rice one pot dish tonight, however only managed to get 3 chicken thigh fillets. Could i add veggies at the same time (or just after) onions? Thinking zucchini and mushrooms?? Thanks so much for your support, it means a lot! 🙂
Hi Pip! I’d marinate whole button mushrooms with the thigh fillets, then add them onto the rice 20 minutes into the oven time (per Note 1 of the recipe) with the thigh fillets. They will cook in the same time and be plump, juicy and infused with greek flavour! YUM!
thanks nagi!
Hi Nagi, thank you for reaching out to us here in Victoria. As you probably are aware meat and veg is in short supply. I will put in an order with my butcher for delivery in 2 weeks, the first they can get an order to me. I have quite a large freezer and a family of 4 (2 adult children). What are your suggestions for what I should order to make it last and eat something yummy! Thanks
Hi Michelle, what kind of meats are you going to buy? I generally think big pasta bakes, curries, stews and slow cooked meats are great freezer meals! N x
Hi Nagi. I couldn’t find my earlier question on masterstocks, so if you were able to find out, that would be great. Thanks for everything! Your recipes are amazing!
Hi Joel! As promised by Nagi, I’m responding to your question about master stock!
I love master stock myself. I’ve made it before and used it for a few iterations, though admittedly I’ve never done the “keep it going for years” thing. However I have read fairly extensively about it and the most common wisdom for maintaining a masterstock seems to be the following:
STORAGE:
1) After you’ve finished using your master stock to braise, bring to a boil to sterilise.
2) Strain and then cool quickly. This is to minimise bacterial growth and allow you to get it into the fridge or freezer ASAP. The quickest way to cool your stock is to fill your sink with cold water, and then sit your hot pot of stock in it. Water is a much better heat conductor than air, so the heat will be removed from the stock faster. Leave it sitting in the water. When the sink water feels warm, drain it, then refill with more cold water. Keep doing this until your stock has cooled enough to store in the fridge or freezer.
3) If storing in fridge, reuse for braising within 5 days. Once re-used and you re-do the storage steps above, you’ve effectively reset the clock and can in theory keep repeating this cycle forever.
4) If you wish to “stop the clock” at any point, then you can just freeze it. It will keep many months in the freezer in airtight containers. Thaw when ready and keep going as you please!
REPLENISHING:
This is where schools of thought differ and it seems more a matter of personal tastes. Some recommend replenishing with at least fresh aromatics every time you use it while others say replenish with all ingredients on a less frequent basis when you feel it needs a bit of a lift. I’d lean more towards the latter school. I think this is where you can really experiment and see what works for you. Just taste, and your palate will guide you!
You will need to top it up with water regularly however, as you will always lose some water to evaporation and the food with each use.
I hope this has been helpful!
That’s amazing! Thanks Goh. I’ve been having to use 2-3 icecream tubs to store the stock in the freezer. Any other options?
Hi Joel,
If you mean the problem with the amount of storage space it takes up in your freezer, one option – possibly the only option – is to reduce the stock to concentrate it.
I do this all the time with my (regular Western-style) chicken stocks. I let my stock boil away and reduce 6L of stock to maybe 2 or 3L. Then I measure it out into 500ml portions into takeaway containers, and freeze them. Dividing up this way I can also just take only what I need later on.
When you want to use the stock, melt in a pot and add back the water to reconstitute to the concentration you want. (It helps to mark on your containers how much you reduced by, so you remember how much water to add back).
I’ve found this works well. For a strongly flavoured stock like master stock especially, I doubt you’d even be able to tell that you’ve reconstituted it.
Good luck!
Brilliant! Thanks so much. That’s extremely helpful!
Hey Nagi, HELP!
Just got my online shop delivered, they didn’t have the size of pork shoulder I asked for, so have sent me 2 x mini roasts instead ahhh one is 700g and one is 900g 😫…….. do I just follow your directions to cook it but obviously cut the cook time (I was planning roast pork with crispy crackling for Sunday dinner)! Never cooked pork in my entire life ever 🤪
I seen that you don’t recommend the recipe for cuts smaller than 1.5kg 😅 what can I do with these, I might go to the shops see if I can get a bigger piece for my roast and do something else with these smaller bits….. barely any meat to be had in the supermarkets with panic buyers 🙃
Still haven’t been able to get a cut big enough, should I just risk it and go with the two smaller cuts hmmm
Hi Nagi! I’m in Melbourne and all the regular mince and cuts of meat I buy at the supermarket have been panic bought by crazies. In desperation, I bought a 1.5kg boneless leg of lamb, but I have zero idea on how to cook it. Please help! (P.s. I do own a meat thermometer)
Cat I feel your pain I wanted mince for Nagis burgers – none to be had 🤪
Hi Cat! OK, so my absolutely FAVOURITE way to cook boneless leg of lamb is this Lamb Shawarma -> https://salesdock.info/slow-cooked-lamb-shawarma/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
It’s slow cooked so it’s forgiving, and packs a big flavour punch from the spices. Stuff into wraps, or make bowls with couscous or rice – lots of suggestions in the post.
Also, you can just use any of my roast lamb leg recipes, just reduce the cook time by say 30% or so (start checking it early) because boneless leg cooks faster than bone-in leg. Try:
https://salesdock.info/greek-slow-roasted-leg-of-lamb/%3C/a%3E (this is good because it infuses with tons of flavour)
https://salesdock.info/slow-roast-leg-of-lamb/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
And lastly, you can always roast it traditional Roast Lamb Leg style and serve with gravy! The internal temp for perfect roast lamb is in my classic lamb leg recipe!
https://salesdock.info/roast-lamb-leg-with-gravy/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
N x
Amazing! Thanks so much! I know you think it’s just a small thing you’re doing for us in Vic, but it’s a huge help!
Hi there! I’ve eaten Pork belly nuggets at American restaraunts before (it basically is deep fried battered pork belly). But I can’t seem to find a recipe anywhere. Would love to be able to cook these up for my parents !
The Thai do crispy pork belly bits the best! Here’s how: 1 kg/2lb piece of pork belly, simmer in a large pot with 1 tablespoon salt and enough water to cover the pork. 1.5 hrs until pork meat is tender, then drain, and place on rack in fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill and dry out (or overnight). Then slice into 2cm / 4/5″ wide pieces, pat dry with paper towels. Now, you can deep fry those pieces as is – they will become super crispy but take about 5 min and you WILL need to cover the oil with a lid because it spits (so BE CAREFUL!). OR you can coat in batter then deep fry – but if you do that, then you will cover the skin and it won’t get crispy when you fry it. The alternative would be to cut the skin off and deep fry that separately until it’s crispy (it’s essentially pork crackling chips!) then batter the meat/fat and fry. Below is a link to a recipe with my favourite frying batter – it’s a Chinese batter that puffs up a bit and it’s terrifically crunchy.
https://salesdock.info/tachyon/2020/08/Honey-Prawns.pdf%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hope that helps! – N x
Thank you so much! Appreciate it 🙂
Hi Nagi I just love your recipes!! They always work. Do you have a recipe for the muesli biscuits made by Whisk & Pim & very similar to those made by Berkelouw bakery? Would really love to master these….
Thanks Nagi. If anyone can work out the recipe it is you!!
Hi Mary! I don’t know those biscuits but I have Berkelouw bakery in my suburb so I will try one today then share a recipe if I have or know one! – N x
Hi Nagi!
Currently living in Victoria with my family and it’s my sisters birthday next week! We need some ideas on what to cook her for dinner and maybe a special dessert?? Thanks!
Hi Clare, what a lovely idea! What does your sister like to eat? Does she have a favourite cuisine? N x
Well considering we are all struggling right now in Melbourne and the weather is quite chilly.. I was thinking of cooking some sort of nice winter comfort food.. maybe something in a slow cooker? And then for dessert.. anything with white chocolate! Any and all recipes would be much appreciated! Thanks Nagi!
You are the best. Thank you
Thanks so much Jeny 🙂 N x
Just cooked your lovely creamy zucchini Pasta for tonight’s dinner. Something new to me. We really enjoyed it. As it happened I had a few strips of Spanish prosciutto left over . I rolled them up and cut with scissors and scattered the bits over the dish. It made it even more delicious. I will be doing it again soon. Thanks.
Yum! A great addition Frank! N x
Hi Nagi and Dozer! Thank you for thinking of us Victorians! I have to say that your site is really getting me through this lockdown and I’ll be cooking up a storm in the next 6 weeks!
My question is.. what are you favourite pots and pans to use? Especially for everyday use? I need to upgrade mine and would love some suggestions. Big hugs from Melbourne x Amanda
Hi Amanda! I’ll put a proper post together, but for now, these are by far the most used in my kitchen (you see them all the time in my videos!):
1. Scanpan non stick fry pans – the most used pans on the stove for sheer convenience ie minimal oil, non stick. Also, nowadays, can use metal spatulas, they don’t scratch! I’ll measure these up properly tomorrow as the depth is important when selecting skillets just as much as width 🙂
2. Scanpan saucepans and pots – 18cm Impact saucepan (for sauces & 1 – 2 cups rice) and 24 cm pot (for pasta cooking, and 3 cups+ rice, soups)
3. Chasseur 26cm dutch oven pot – I use it for stews, soups, one pot dishes (like Chili Mac, Chicken Casserole etc), and anything that needs to go from stove to oven. I love love love it.
4. Lodge skillet – my favourite skillet, base is 22 cm top is 26cm diameter. It is excellent for stove to oven, and it retains heat super well. Excellent for steaks! I also like it because it has straight sides so sauces don’t slosh out, it comes seasoned (ie naturally non stick), it’s heavy duty and will last forever, I take it camping with me and use it on campfire (it is literally indestructible) and it’s cheap for what it is (https://www.victoriasbasement.com.au/Product/Details/17238/lodge-logic-cast-iron-skillet-26cm-made-in-the-u-s-a)
Those are by far my most used items. I would happily give up everything else if I could keep those! – N x
Thank you so much!! X
Hi Nagi,
I’m a 44 year old male “cook“ new to cooking for the household. I am surviving because your recipes are so easy to create yet taste so good. The accompanying videos are a godsend. I thank you.
Any chance of a short video describing and/or showing the difference between garlic that has been sliced, chopped, finely chopped, crushed and/or minced? Does is really make much of a difference?
Thanks
Michael
Hi Michael! I’ll snap a photo tomorrow and put it up 🙂 Yes it makes a difference for certain types of cooking methods. For example, if you try to use garlic pressed through a crusher in a stir fry, you’ll end up with little bitter black bits of garlic throughout your stir fry sauce.
In summary: chopped = just roughly chopped into 4 – 5mm bits (pretty chunky in the garlic world), finely chopped = 3 mm, minced = 1 – 2mm.
Crushed USUALLY means put through a garlic crusher which makes the garlic wet and pasty when it comes out the other end which burns in a flash when cooking on high heat (like stir fries) so it only works if you add it in with onion or something else to reduce the impact of heat. If you just put crushed garlic into an empty pan with hot oil, it will burn/spit/stick (if not using non stick).
Sliced means just finely sliced as you can – say 1mm. It doesn’t disperse throughout a dish as well as minced or other chopped forms of garlic because the pieces are bigger, but there are times when certain recipes will call for it to achieve a certain outcome. For example, if you roast it with broccoli, you end up with little golden garlic “chips”. Great for garlic flavour and you get texture too.
Hope that helps! – N x
PS Also there is “smashed”. Put flat side of knife on garlic, hit with palm of hand so it bursts open but mostly holds together. Good to infuse garlic flavour into things like poaching liquid or when you want a “clean” sauce because you can pick it out at the end. 🙂 You’ll see it in a few of my recipes.
This is so helpful!!! I would also like to be what that green “core” is that some garlic cloves have, does it mean they are old? Is the garlic still ok to use if it has it in?
Hi Nagi
I used your Beet Short Ribs recipe on Saturday night for friends, wow it was amazing. I used your slow cooker option on High. I served them on the bone for the men and just slipped the bones out for the ladies, definitely a hit, I was even asked for the recipe.
So thank you.
That’s so great to hear Gayle! N x
Hi Nagi, what flour would you recommend to convert your No Knead Artisan Bread Loaf to GF option and any ingredient adjustments. Thank you.
I’m sorry Helen, I don’t think it’s possible. I really wish it where! If I ever discover a truly great GF bread, I will share it 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi, what would you do with half a bag of frozen cauliflower/carrot/peas that are probably on the verge of having been in the freezer a bit too long?
Hope you and Dozer are keeping safe and well!
Hi Kat! If I were worried about freezer burn / smells in it (which is usually what happens if it’s been in for too long), I’d throw it into something with a STRONG flavoured sauce like a curry – all of these are easy options:
https://salesdock.info/easy-coconut-curry/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://salesdock.info/lentil-curry-mega-flavour-lentil-recipe/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://salesdock.info/cauliflower-and-chickpea-curry/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
– N x
Thank you Nagi, you are a champion! Curry sounds perfect!
Hey Nagi!
Love your work as always.
I was wondering if you have any more recipes using tofu?
Thanks so much!
Hi Nataria, I am Yumiko, Nagi’s mother. Just in case you haven’t discovered yet and you like Japanese food, I have a Japanese Home-cooking website and have about a dozen of Tofu dishes.
https://japan.recipetineats.com/?s=tofu. They will be different from what Nagi will be posting in future.
Hi Natalia! Funny you mention that, I have TOFU written on my blackboard in BIG letters! 😂 I will be getting onto it. In the meantime, you can use firm tofu (cubed) in virtually any stir fry recipe I’ve shared. Try it with Honey Pepper sauce (in the Honey Pepper Beef recipe) or the Vegetable Stir Fry, cut into batons and use in place of chicken in Lo Mein, stir into Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup instead of chicken! N x
Hi Nagi, I’m on your site breakfast/lunch & dinner looking for what I’m going to cook next 😂 I’m in a hotspot here in VIC & trying to make sure the fam a) gets breakfast in each day, & b) don’t get bored of boring cereal & toast. Would you pretty pllleeeaaassseee put up a recipe for eggs benny? The recipes online just don’t have the Nagi X-factor.
That’s just made it to the top of my “to share” list 🙂 (Along with a chicken parm!) N x
Hi Nagi
Just wanted to say your recipes are fabulous. They never fail me…just wanted to let you know your site is the very first I look at when I need inspiration…thanks
Thank you for the lovely message Tanya! N x
Just like Sam below, I’m very happy to read your chirpy posts. Thanks for thinking of us Melburnians. Overall I’m coping well but here I am with tears in my eyes, appreciating your thoughts! Much love to Dozer too. XXX
Sending over big virtual hugs Robin! Wish I could be hugging you in person – N xx