Thai "Chicken" Soup & Cast Iron Update

Made some truly wonderful thai "chicken" soup following this recipe. I think the real secret here is the Curry paste, which has fermented shrimp in it and is really quite flavorful. We used Quorn chicken cutlets, thawed them in the broth, and then took them out to cut into bite sized pieces. This allowed the cutlet to soak up broth as it was thawing, which is better than heating outside of the pot and adding after you cut it up.

We also made a more traditional curry following the same recipe with potato and red bell pepper added in. Its a pretty filling meal with rice!

The version I made was not actually vegan, what with the fish sauce and shrimp in the curry paste, but it can easily be made such.

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In the cast iron pan corner, the pan has turned out quite well and lives in the oven. I have baked bread on it multiple times and also made some eggs in it. Although I am still a little unclear as to how to clean baked-on food off of it.... It is a beautiful black color though.

Cast Iron Revisited

On further experimentation, I have deviated from the original method. The website I was following says to oil the pan with a very thin layer of oil and bake it for 1 hour at 500 F, after which you turn off the oven to let it cool. It is this cooling period that I don't see the point in. Once the oil has gone above its smoke point and polymerized, you should be able to add another layer of oil again, while the pan and oven is still hot.

This is what I did and what it accomplished saved energy and resulted in a very nice black pan in a more timely manner. Additionally, I focused on a cooking surface of the pan to try to get that glossy nonstick surface. Unfortunately, this seems to have resulted in an inadequate amount of oil on the bottom of the pan, so I am continuing the oiling and baking, this time with oiling the pan all over while it is still hot and allowing it to bake for 30 minutes before applying the next amount of oil. I am alternating between flaxseed oil and virgin coconut oil. A word on the coconut oil, it smokes quite a bit at that temperature so turn on the fan and don't be alarmed!

Reseasoning my cast iron... Again.

Maybe I shouldnt have nice things.

After stripping and seasoning a cast iron skillet I found at a thrift store, I allowed the cast iron to sit in the sink with food stuck on it and it proceeded to rust. Granted, I was mad at it because after one great flatbread, the second one proceeded to stick.

This time, I am trying a new method by encouraging the production of magnetite or "black rust" on the cooking surface of the skillet before I season it with oil. I sandpapered off the rust and all-over generally, leaving the older seasoning in the pits. Maybe this will permit a smoother cooking surface? To get the magnetite to form, I am following a method I didn't research at all and only saw once, but it seemed like a good idea at the time (See Joseph R. Kennedy's comment about a third of the way down). This involves boiling black tea in the pot, filled up to the level you want to be wonderful and smooth.

The magnetite production will supposedly result in a more protective coating for the iron and will allow the oil to better stick to the iron. In the previous attempt, I obviously didn't get the pan seasoned well enough because some foods still came out greyish, likely from the raw iron leaching out. More layers of seasoning will hopefully alleviate this.

I am also thinking about alternating oils, organic flaxseed with organic coconut oil. The flaxseed is supposed to leave a wonderful smooth finish because you are heating above the smoke point and polymerizing it. I have no reason to add the coconut oil to the mix, besides for adding a wider variety of fats, but it seems like the right thing to do.

I should also be rubbing oil on it in between uses, so I will try to be better about maintaining it. I want to get it in tip top shape so I can try baking breads in it!

UPDATE!:
Just got done with the tea magnetite procedure. The tea water turned nice and black and so did the pan, just like advertised! Now I will bake it in the oven at 450 for an hour to possibly set the magnetite and dry out the pan. After that, the first coat of oil. Need to decide on linseed or coconut. The tannins in the tea supposedly do something with this process over just boiling regular water. My water didn't even get to a full boil, but the water was totally black, as were the sides of the pan, so I decided that was enough.