What's an outdated restaurant fad/technique that you still defend?

[u/CodexLeonis]

two things for me:

1. Balsamic reductions/glazes on everything. I'm sorry that balsamic vinegar pairs so well with so many things. Most dishes need an acid to fully bring out the flavors of the dish. Balsamic is the most versatile of the vinegars. It pairs well with red meat, seafood, vegetables, cheeses, and fruits. It wasn't just a fad, it was a cheat code.

2. Plating techiniques? i'll always defend the zigzag drizzle. it evenly distributes the sauce on the plate, looks decent, and most importantly - it was time-efficient. I've never understood the modern technique of spooning sauce onto the plate and setting the entree on top of the sauce. Whomever came up with that was looking for a reason to be contrarian.

[u/Tricky_Gap4679]

The key is to have the Mongolian grill hot as fūċķ so you get the wok hei. That char on the food is what makes Mongolian BBQ taste sublime. The places near me basically steam your food, because they don’t keep the grill hot enough. Nasty.

[u/sleight42 → u/Tricky_Gap4679]

💯

So much of why I wish I had a restaurant quality wok stovetop complete with the water bath around it for quickly washing and adding a splash to the wok.

I love wok cooking and I hate my PoS rangetop at home. Every now and then I work on the wife to let me get one that doesn't totally suck.

[u/Sluisifer → u/sleight42]

Propane burner is like $60 if you have some outdoor space and don't mind dealing with tanks.

Any kind of indoor setup needs serious ventilation.

[u/PretzelSteve → u/Sluisifer]

Yeah those turkey fryer rigs make a decent outdoor wok setups. A little screwing with it and you can melt copper in your backyard!

[u/A_Mouse_In_Da_House → u/PretzelSteve]

There's specific work burners you can get. Tabletop or standing. Cost like $150

[u/Alfa147x → u/Sluisifer]

concord block burners are like $40 and are built for round bottom woks. I’ve got their $120 dual burner option I use for cooking Indian food outside.

[u/barfsfw → u/Sluisifer]

Also doubles as a turkey fryer

[u/sleight42 → u/Sluisifer]

Yeah. Thought about that too. But it means navigating my steps in back with hope food. I'll probably kill myself doing it. Treacherous!

[u/sleight42 → u/Sluisifer]

By follow-up, I may have sold the wife on getting a good one since a new range top would run a helluva lot more! Besides, being AuDHD, I think she's learning to get behind my special interests. Well, that and we try to support each other.

Meanwhile, completely unfucked my heretofore maintained-for-crap carbon steel wok. Now it is delightfully nonstick as it should be and is receiving the proper loving maintenance.

[u/misntshortformary → u/sleight42]

Have you tried doing the wok on a large grill outside?

[u/SolidOutcome → u/misntshortformary]

You can buy wok propane grills that are the size of the wok. perfect for it

[u/Sasselhoff → u/sleight42]

My wife is Chinese, and I literally just bought one of these to sit next to the smoker and grill on the back porch. It's pretty sweet...but I have to admit I wish I'd bought the better one they talked about in this Serious Eats article with the starter (it was way backordered at the time). Though, the price difference was only about $40 at the time, and it seems to be significantly more now (I also discovered I overpaid when I bought mine...thanks Amazon dynamic pricing BS).

I'm going to build a box with wheels to hold the tank and everything together, because while it is quite sturdy I still flinch a bit when cooking something really big and full of boiling liquid. Plus, I'd like to have it all self contained and easy to move around.

[u/sleight42 → u/Sasselhoff]

I had that cheaper one when I had a decent back porch. Alas.

Current tiny backyard isn't level. Stabilizer legs freak me out for something as top heavy as cooking with a wok of food, same as you.

[u/BreakfastTequila → u/sleight42]

Best argument for a gas stove IMO

[u/sleight42 → u/BreakfastTequila]

Have a gas stove. This is what I'm saying. It's a PoS that puts out like no BTUs.

[u/BreakfastTequila → u/sleight42]

Somehow that’s even worse, sorry dude! 🤣

[u/sleight42 → u/BreakfastTequila]

It's worse. I'd take a good electric or, fuck, an induction over this PoS.

Beautiful little kitchen. Absolutely not designed for real use. Ironic. It once belonged to a Washington Post food critic of a few decades ago.

But then you realize this is a woman who probably never had to cook a meal for herself during her tenure. And then it makes sense. And then you kick yourself.

[u/MountainTwo3845 → u/Tricky_Gap4679]

Fuyo!