All about baking powder and soda
Plus some exciting food adventures in my tiny kitchen
Hello friends!
Happy March! The last couple of weeks have been pretty eventful, both in the Bay Area in general and at home. Most of you probably know that the Bay Area got snow recently, so that’s kind of crazy…
Since it’s been pretty cold/wet here, I’ve spent a lot of time holed up at home cooking a variety of new things. A few friends, my husband, and I recently started this new tradition of cooking and/or eating together once a month (our version of a monthly supper club), so you can check out what we cooked this month down below!
For this week’s newsletter, here’s a summary of the latest videos up on my channels. I’m also including the topics for upcoming videos so that I can re-sync my newsletter and video schedule.
The secret to getting stiff peaks for aquafaba — this acidic ingredient helps to stabilize the protein-air bubble network by keeping denatured proteins apart.
An easy way to test the freshness of your baking powder and soda — expiration dates are not reliable for determining whether your baking powder and soda still work, so it’s best to do this test every once in a while. I use more in the video for more obvious effects and for beginners, but after you’ve done this enough times, you can use a pinch of baking powder or soda.
The difference between baking soda and powder — here’s some more commentary on the difference. Baking soda is also more potent than powder, so that’s why you typically see recipes call for less baking soda than powder. The consensus is that you really shouldn’t interchange them, but if you have to swap, do check online for the specific conversions (it’s never ever 1:1).
To be published: why do some recipes call for baking powder AND soda?
To be published: what does the “double-acting” in double-acting baking powder mean?
I’m continuing the leavening theme after these videos, so stay tuned for some content on yeast (one of my favorite things to work with!).
The latest in my tiny kitchen
In one of my previous newsletter installments, I talked about making popiah, or Fujianese spring rolls. Well, I finally made them! I found jicama at my local Chinese supermarket and followed this recipe. I grated the jicama with my food processor instead of by hand (thank goodness for appliances 😂). I also subbed the shrimp with dried scallops and Chinese BBQ pork and added some shredded carrots to the mix. Traditionally the wrappers are fresh (so not cooked), but since I somehow bought the wrong ones, I ended up cooking the popiah. P.S. I’ve discovered that I enjoy baking instead of frying them! You get the same crispness without the hassle of heating and disposing a ton of oil.
After doing Nigerian food last month, the monthly supper club decided to do Japanese/Korean for the second dinner. My friend suggested Osaka-style okonomiyaki, which is a savory Japanese pancake made with egg, cabbage, and nagaimo (mountain yam) and topped with sliced pork belly. It was pretty easy and super tasty! To give it a little more kick, we had some of the homemade kimchi I fermented from two months ago.
Used some leftover egg yolks to make crème brûlée, with heavy cream steeped with a special Taiwanese black tea from my mom’s hometown:
My friend sent me this miso carbonara video, which also got me thinking about kimchi carbonara. I may make both or either one of these days. 😉
Some noteworthy reads
Ok, so I always thought that resting cookie dough resulted in better flavor, but my favorite scientist-turned food content creator Nik Sharma did a fairly extensive test to show what resting actually does:
Umami science, with some fascinating history…you’ll definitely want to read about this special ingredient from the Amalfi Coast called colatura.
If you’ve never had Malaysian food (or even if you have), check out this restaurant review. It’s for the first homestyle restaurant in Penang to receive a Michelin star, and you’ll learn a lot about the local cuisine, called Peranakan or Nyonya. It’s an amazing blend of Chinese, Indonesian, Malay, Indian, and more!
Thanks for spending your Saturday with me! I hope you have a great weekend doing something fun and/or relaxing (for me, it’s probably going to be another round of bagel-making), and I’ll see you in a couple of weeks! 😎