Mastering Tang — Using Citrus Effectively

February 10th, 2010 Posted in videos

A little while ago it struck me that it might be useful to outline some key ways to achieve breakaway tastes. I’ve done this in previous books and have talked about breakaway cooking in countless blog posts, so I thought I might try to express some ideas in video, since so much of good cooking IS the visual. Sometimes watching in two dimensions conveys things the printed word cannot.  So I asked my videographer pal Henry Hopkins to help me make a series of short videos (at least 10) on different aspects of breakaway cooking, and he graciously agreed.

The whole series will, at least I hope, outline the basics of breakaway cooking. And since citrus plays such a big role in my own cooking, we might as well start with that one.

More to come! Feedback/criticism is HUGELY appreciated.
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  1. 16 Responses to “Mastering Tang — Using Citrus Effectively”

  2. By Zora on Feb 11, 2010

    Oh! Great video, though I have to admit I was vaguely disappointed–I thought you'd be talking about cooking with Tang! Though I realize that's not exactly your style. Hee. (I did once make some pad thai with tamarind-flavored Tang. Not half bad…)

    Fact-checker in me is freaking a little to see pomegranates in a bowl of "citrus." (Er…are they, technically?! That would be interesting to know…)

    On a practical level, could use a closer zoom in when you show pith (what you don't want). Couldn't tell if you were showing what it should look like, or what it _shouldn't_ (seems like it could be helpful to show the latter).

    And might want to say v. early that you're preparing a specific recipe–I thought the video would be all tips and discussion of flavor balancing etc, and not a particular dish.

  3. By 555cha on Feb 11, 2010

    Nice setting video with thorough narrative. If you can zoom and focus on your hand and food from front, that might be easier for viewers.

  4. By @breakawaycook on Feb 11, 2010

    Thanks Zora. You're right, poms are technically not a citrus — they are classified as "exotic fruit." But I think of them as citrus because they have all the great properties of citrus (tart, high in vitamin C, tangy, sweet, all at the same time; no zest, of course).

    On better/more zooming: Yes, clearly this needs to be resolved. We realized this after doing three or four, so the later ones to come will def have more zooms. And yes, it would be clearer to say that it includes a particular dish in the beginning. We'll get all this worked out. Great feedback, thank you!!

    And 555cha, yes! The problem with the front camera is my kitchen, which is about the size of a large desk! Henry had to acrobatically finagle the cameras in all kinds of impossible ways just to get what we've got. So it's truly a homegrown thing.

    For the next book, The Breakaway Vegetarian Cook, I'm going to be including a short video for every single dish. I'm thinking it might be better to find a larger kitchen in which to crank out 10 or dishes per day x 5 days (there will be about 50 recipes in the book). If anyone knows of some generous person who wouldn't mind letting us turn their kitchen upside down for 5 days, please let me know!

    But for this series, I also wanted to show that one CAN cook in a minimally equipped, tiny kitchen with a crappy stove. It ain't about the tools!

  5. By ELynn on Feb 11, 2010

    I'm impressed and off the topic of the food I love the choice of music.

  6. By Alice on Feb 11, 2010

    Excellent video, I really enjoyed it! I have the same problem with my home kitchen, I can barely move around and the equipment is not very hyper-tech (my stove and oven are from the 1970s)!
    I never used ground lentils that way, it's very unusual but I like the idea. Are pink lentils the same as red lentils?
    Looking forward to your next video

  7. By Natalie Sztern on Feb 11, 2010

    Lentils ground as a crust. Brilliant!! Now if only I could stomach Tofu…help me to like Tofu…

  8. By Rosemary on Feb 11, 2010

    Loved the video. Great real feel about it. Can't wait for the next one!

  9. By Christina N. on Feb 11, 2010

    Really nice video and love the use of lentils for the crust! Like Zora I was expecting more of a general tips talk than a recipe demo, even though the recipe did use citrus in multiple ways. So I agree with the suggestion to maybe tweak promotion language.

    Funny, I received this link just after I was making an orange and avocado salad and wondering just how much faster the process of sectioning out the citrus membrane would go if I had better knife skills. I remember being super impressed by your knife work when I volunteer-assisted you at the Ferry Building and would love any insights/tips you can impart if it happens to fit in future videos!

  10. By Christina N. on Feb 11, 2010

    P.S. Video inspired and made me wish I'd grated some zest over the orange and avocado salad before I ate it!

  11. By Rob on Feb 12, 2010

    Adding a video element to your site aids in the understanding of technique and brings the reader in for a more intimate experience. I found your style inviting. Based on the intro, I too thought it would feature more general thoughts about using citrus and various ways to introduce it for different dishes. I wondered about specific uses for the different sizes of zest. Though I think you mentioned you had addressed that in an earlier post. Ready to throw more tang at my cooking!

  12. By @breakawaycook on Feb 12, 2010

    Thank you everyone! Elynn, I quite like the music too. It's a Marin homeboy called Brett Dennen, he's fantastic.And the title "Darlin' Do Not Fear What You Don't REally Know" seemed very breakaway!

    Christina, yes, there is a knife skills video in the works! It's being edited right now by Henry. It's amazing how much more pleansant cooking becomes as knife skills improve. Huge correlation there.

    And Rob: domo!

    Also, I'd like to say: if anyone has specific requests/ideas for things they'd like to see covered, I will try my best accommodate. Thanks!

  13. By Tricia on Feb 12, 2010

    Hi Rob.
    My friend Sarah introduced me to your blog and I love it. My feedback is to change your shirt! I hope that doesn't seem rude – but I think it would be more effective if you looked crisper. Even a black tee shirt – to set off that beautiful bowl. And watch out for saying 'like' to much – small things that would help tighten it up. I look forward to following more of your recipes and success!
    Best of luck,
    Tricia

  14. By jan in nagasaki on Feb 15, 2010

    oh my gosh, i was thinking the exact thing as tricia but wondered if i should bring it up… your white shirt blended with the background and i was thinking a slightly better fitting/tighter black v neck t-shirt would really have set off the fruit bowl and the background spice rack…would have looked much sharper….

    i love the idea of grinding lentils for a crispy crust…. much more flavorful than katakuriko i am sure!!!

    this recipe looks like a good way to use mikans in season when they are in such abundance!!!

  15. By ~karen on Feb 15, 2010

    thanx for the great demonstration of different types of citrus in the featured recipe! while we're working on our zesting skills, any chance you could mention a few more of your favorite other uses?
    ps – those shelves in the background are just gorgeous!!! can't wait for you to zoom in on the stuff you use.

  16. By @breakawaycook on Feb 15, 2010

    So many people have written to tell me to get a better shirt! Yikes. The bad news is that we shot quite a few in one day, so a few more tee shirts are to be seen! Did I say yikes? But seriously, thanks for the comments.

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