Tag: sauce

Scallion Pancakes Taste-Off

Published on by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

By The Crimson Crave Board

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There are a lot of scallion pancakes out there, but not all are made equal.  We, the Crimson Crave Board, set out to find which scallion pancakes reigned supreme.

To keep things fair, we set up a blind taste test. We randomized and assigned letters to scallion pancakes from five locations: 9 Tastes, Cilantro, the Kong, Spice, and Dumpling House.  A silent tasting and voting period yielded shocking results.

Pancake A: Spice

Caroline: These are pretty doughy and small, which I’m pretty thankful for because I don’t have to commit and suffer through eating a large but mediocre scal-pal.

Saranya: Where are the scallions? This is underwhelming.

Siqi: These pancakes are not crispy at all, but they have a good onion taste.

Pancake B: Dumpling House

Sara: Definitely a taste explosion and great mouthfeel. My oh my! There are scallions everywhere! Just the right amount of scal, just the right amount of pal.

Richa: Yes. This is correct.

Bovey: Nice and chewy, but the sauce is a little vinegary.

Caroline: I love how these have a mixture of textures, the perfect balance of crispy and doughy, packed with that addictive scallion flavor. The scallions in the soy sauce are also a nice touch.

Pancake C: The Kong

Richa: I’m actually offended by these. They taste like regret.

Sara: Mild on the palate, but so mild that it feels like it’s not even there. I feel like there’s no scallion in there… BUT, if you drown it in soy sauce it’s pretty good!

Caroline: These are super fried and basically taste like generic fried dough from the county fair. No scal either!

Pancake D: Cilantro

Bovey: Nice and crunchy, and good scallion flavor too.

Siqi: Good smell, super crunchy, and I really like the soy sauce!

Saranya: Almost too fried? But still really good.

Pancake E: 9 Tastes

Sara: Thick, nice shapes, cute… but lacking serious scal. Floury. The shapes are cute, and almost make up for the lack of taste explosion.

Richa: Same as the first one EOM

Siqi: Not crispy at all, and the salt definitely isn’t equally distributed.

In the end, Dumpling House and Cilantro tied for first and – brace yourselves – Dumpling House was far and away the worst (oh the humanity!) with a nearly unanimous vote.  If you’re as shocked as we are, take comfort in Sara’s analysis of the results: “At the end of the day, Kong delivers to your door at 2am and Dumpling House is far. So there’s that.”

Chicken & Rice Guys, D-hall Style

Published on by mchiang123Leave a comment
by Michelle Chiang ’19
The Chicken & Rice Guys food truck is a familiar sight in the Science Center plaza. Nonetheless, I had always somewhat ignored the block of sunny yellow. Compared to Vietnamese sandwiches and gourmet grilled cheese, who would want to spend money on boring chicken and rice?
My opinion changed the moment I actually tasted that “boring” chicken and rice. The chicken was tender, flavorful, and warm; the rice, lettuce, and sauces blended perfectly into a crisp, smooth mouthful of deliciousness. It got me wondering if I could recreate the taste in the d-hall. Who wouldn’t want to eat Chicken & Rice Guys all the time?
After doing a bit of research, I’ve concluded that perfectly recreating the dish is impossible without considerable amounts of time, effort, and spices (to prove my point, here’s a recipe for a similar halal food truck in New York City). However, it IS possible to create an approximation that isn’t too shabby. Best of all, you won’t need to buy anything on your own, and you can substitute ingredients and alter proportions to make it as healthy or indulgent as you want.

Ingredients:

grilled chicken
lettuce (and any other vegetables you want)
rice (I used brown rice for my meal, but feel free to use any other kind of rice!)

White Sauce:

1 /2 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice (Yes, they have this in the d-hall.)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoons vinegar (Yes, they also have non-balsamic vinegar in the d-hall. HUDS is just full of surprises, isn’t it?)
2 tablespoons ranch or blue cheese dressing
salt and pepper to taste
(Helpful tip: 1/2 cup is about half of a d-hall soup bowl. You can use the d-hall spoons for teaspoons and tablespoons.)
Enjoy!
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