Saga of the Sesame Oil: Concluded

[thistlechaser]

I ran home from work at lunchtime to pull the crock pot out of the fridge and plug it in. In a short time, the smell of the sesame oil seemed a lot weaker, though I wasn't sure if I was imagining it or not.

When I got home from work for the day, my apartment smelled AMAZING. Like great Chinese food. I had high hopes for the meat! I pulled out a small piece to try. (Usually I don't open it during cooking, but I needed to see how close to done it was.) That first piece wasn't very good (bland), and wasn't cooked enough (it was cooked through but not fall-apart as crock pot meat should be). So I let it go another hour or so, and tried again. Cooked enough!

Unfortunately the taste didn't match up to the smell. It wasn't bad, but it was still lacking something. I let it cool off and tried it again as I was packing the rest away -- much better! I have high hopes for it tomorrow, maybe the flavor will improve more.

It's very salty (marinating in soy sauce for nearly 24 hours...), but not too salty for me. It's very nicely rich, too (yay sesame oil!). It has an interesting flavor to it (interesting in a good way). I'm not sure if it's the ginger or what.

I don't think I'll be making it again, but I'm pretty sure I'll be finishing the leftovers.

Comments

[bastets-place.livejournal.com]

If you find your crock pot recipie involves making food a little too bland, consider adding the spicy-spices about an hour before you consider the food "finished". Some spices don't do prolonged "cook" very well.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip! I use my crock pot only rarely, but I'll keep it in mind for next time.

[tersa.livejournal.com]

It may also taste bland since you decreased the amount of one of the primary flavor ingredients. ;)

Instead of using soy sauce in the future, try tamari. I think it's a lower sodium variation.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's true! If I try something like this again in the future, I'm going to make sure I have everything on hand... and be sure to pick a recipe without hot sauce. :P