Food chat: To get the most out of chile crisp, make sure you get some of the crispy bits
Each Wednesday at noon (Eastern time), Aaron Hutcherson and Becky Krystal answer questions and provide practical cooking advice in a chat with readers at live.washingtonpost.com. Aaron and Becky write and test recipes for Voraciously, The Washington Post’s team dedicated to helping you cook with confidence. Here are edited excerpts from a recent chat.
Q: Are you supposed to stir up chili crisp before measuring it out and using it in a recipe? Or just use the hot oil at the top?
A: Yes! You should definitely give it a good stir every time you use it because it settles quickly. The crispy bits are what make it chili CRISP!
- Aaron Hutcherson
Q: In a lot of recipes I see ingredient requests for a dry white or dry red wine. What should I be looking for, and if I can’t use wine for various reasons, what would be good substitutions?
A: For wine, dry simply means not too sweet, so you should stay away from things like riesling, moscato or lambrusco. If you’re looking for one thing to remember, pinot is always a good option. (Pinot grigio for white and pinot noir for red.) For substitutions, the gist of it is just replace it with another liquid and adjust the flavor accordingly. Depending on what you’re making, options include tomato juice, pomegranate juice, beef broth and, of course, the ever-expanding world of nonalcoholic wines.
- A.H.
Q: Can I freeze a block of Gorgonzola cheese? If not, how long can I keep it sealed and unopened in the refrigerator?
A: You can freeze it, though the cold temps can sap the flavor and it can go crumbly. I’ve successfully kept blue cheese around for a few weeks in the fridge. I highly recommend investing in cheese paper or, even better, something reusable like Bee’s Wrap, for rewrapping and storing cheeses after opening.
- Becky Krystal
Q: When I am making a recipe that has me adding stock midway through, such as after sauteing vegetables, does it matter if I use frozen stock to melt in the pot, or do I need to defrost it first?
A: Feel free to pop it in frozen, but obviously things will take a bit longer.
- B.K.
Q: I read that adding oil to a cold pan ruins the oil as the pan heats up. The article said it is better to add the oil to a hot pan. Can you clear this up for me?
A: The general answer is that it’s better to heat the pan before adding oil, but there are a handful of caveats and exceptions, such as the type of pan. Also, if you’re paying close attention and not leaving hot oil in a pan by itself for too long, you should be fine.
- A.H.