I'm done with the 'always use a microplane for garlic' rule after a night in a Tokyo izakaya

I was working a stage at a small place in Shinjuku, and the head chef made me crush garlic with a heavy knife and the heel of my hand for a whole service. He said the microplane makes it too watery and bitter, and the paste from crushing has a deeper, sweeter flavor. I fought him on it for a week, but after tasting the difference in our tare sauce, I had to admit he was right. Does anyone else have a 'fancy' tool they've ditched for an older, simpler method?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim1881mo ago

My immersion blender collects dust since I learned to make mayo with just a whisk.

derekward1mo ago

My hand whisk method failed for years until I tried your single drizzle trick.

troythompson1mo ago

For years I was sure you needed a blender to get it right. That single drizzle method proved me wrong completely. It turns the whole process into something slow and careful, which is what it needed all along. My old batches would always break and I just accepted that as normal. Now the whisk feels like the right tool, not a workaround.