The DIY Pantry (37 page)

1. Whisk together the vinegars, molasses, fish sauce, tamarind paste, soy sauce, and onion juice. Set aside.
   
2. Preheat a small, dry sauté pan over medium heat. Toast the spices until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.
   
3. In a small saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat; then sauté the shallots until transparent and beginning to brown, 2–3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, anchovies, and reserved spices and continue to sauté just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
   
4. Pour in the vinegar mixture and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a full simmer; then remove from the heat and let cool completely.
   
5. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl and stir in the lime juice. Pour into a jar or bottle for long-term storage. Will keep in the refrigerator for 1–2 months.
   

Homemade stocks are extremely nutritious and provide you with copious amounts of needed minerals. As with any stock, the longer you simmer it, the more nutritious the final stock will be. The only thing to keep in mind is that with every stock, there’s a fine line between pulling every bit of nutritious goodness out of the ingredients and cooking it so long that it starts to taste “off.” Follow the guidelines in each specific recipe and taste your own stocks periodically while cooking, as various stoves can cook at wildly different rates. Also, you may wonder about the vinegar in some of the recipes. The vinegar is present in all of the stocks made from bones in order to increase the amount of minerals in the stock. Bones are—very literally—a storehouse of minerals in the body. Just think of what an important role calcium plays in bone health! Thus, we’re wanting to get as many minerals as possible out of the bones and into the stock, and vinegar helps promote that transfer. If you’d prefer to leave it out, feel free to do so. (And if you skip the vinegar, you can also skip the one-hour soaking period at the beginning of each recipe.)

1. Rinse and clean the bones under running water. Pat them dry.
   
2. Roast the bones at 400°F for 45–60 minutes, until the bones are well browned. Drain off any fat.
   
3. Place the bones in a large stockpot. Cover with water and add in the vinegar. Let sit for 1 hour.
   
4. Add chopped vegetables, bay leaves, and peppercorns; then bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a very gentle simmer and simmer uncovered.
   
5. Check the stock every half-hour for the first hour or two to skim off any foam and double-check that the stock is simmering (if heat is too low, stock will be hot but not show any movement).
   
6. Cover and continue to simmer for 24–48 hours, adding water as needed to keep the bones submerged.
   
7. When you are ready to finish the stock, toss in the parsley and let simmer for a final 10–15 minutes.
   
8. Filter through a fine-mesh sieve and pour into storage containers.
   
9. Refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 1 year.
   

1. Place chicken bones or carcass in a large stockpot. Cover with water and add in the vinegar. Let sit for 1 hour.
   
2. Add chopped vegetables, bay leaves, and peppercorns; then bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a very gentle simmer, uncovered.
   
3. Check the stock every half-hour for the first hour or two to skim off any foam and double-check that the stock is simmering (if heat is too low, stock will be hot but not show any movement).
   
4. Cover and continue to simmer for 12–18 hours, adding water as needed to keep the bones submerged.
   
5. When you are ready to finish the stock, toss in the parsley and let simmer for a final 10–15 minutes.
   
6. Filter through a fine-mesh sieve and pour into storage containers.
   
7. Refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 1 year.
   

The beautiful thing about a vegetable stock is you can vary the ingredients completely according to what you have on hand and vary the amounts according to your tastes. I often refer to this as “clean out the refrigerator stock.” If you want a mushroom stock that makes risottos, beef stroganoff, and lasagna taste out of this world, double the mushrooms in this recipe and add in 4 ounces of dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms along with the peppers.