Curious Cuisine's official game/development blog Play the game's WIP HERE Support the Author HERE (kofi) The askbox is always open. Feel free to ask the author and characters whatever you want to know.
Hi all :3 Welcome to the blog. As you can see, the game is currently on hiatus, being rewritten and ported over to Twine.
The main focus is currently on a different project: @devilscreekballad The Ballad of Devil's Creek, a Weird West adventure.
It's currently on semi-hiatus while I sort out my life (So, um, yeah, if you have money to spare and could donate that'd be really awesome ^^; ), but the game is getting somewhere. The blog for Ballad is also where I post announcements for livestreams.
See you there :D
PS: you can OF COURSE ask questions about CuCu on here, and I'll try to answer them asap :)
Sharing the secrets of your hearth with strangers who will never be able to meet or thank you. Honoring the dead through learning their traditions of the home; emulation and exaltation. A good carrot cake.
at some point in your life you will be boiling fruit, water, sugar, and lemon juice in a pot to make a syrup or jam. the instructions will tell you to simmer for a certain amt of time. your timer will go off and you will look at the pot and go, "hm, this doesn't look thick enough. maybe i'll let it go for another 10 minutes." this is the devil speaking. it's only so liquid right now because it is at boiling point. it will thicken when it cools down. learn from the follies of my youth and do not let this happen to you
at some point in your life you will be making a sauce or a stew in which you need to add cornstarch to thicken it. and you will prepare a slurry of starch in cold water and think "this looks like way too little starch to thicken this amount of liquid." this is the devil speaking. cornstarch instantly polymerizes at 95°C and if you add too much it will turn into an impossibly thick goop.
Recipes from Portland's famous but long-closed Rheinlander restaurant. This cookbook was produced in a limited window before Chef Mager's death. All of these fucking slap.
The lentil soup post is yeah beyond amazing. I know lentil soup doesn't seem like it could be that good. You simply don't Know how beloved the rheinlander lentil soup was. This was a famous soup here.
so they said that it turns out that if you centrifuge ricotta cheese at something like 20,000 RPM for a few minutes, you end up with a solid substance that's delicious but so rich that it feels like it solidifies your arteries instantly. they were working on incorporating it into pastry fillings
Like, the info is correct, but why TF was the original poster (insta? tiktok?) using fucking ai-generated images? get your ass into the kitchen and cut garlic!
Hello my dear Winter Whelps, Outlaws, Cooking Heroes and Scoundrels.
The year draws to a close, and we've come a long way.
Ashenmaw chapter 3 is about halfway typed up, so hopefully the next update will head sometimes in January.
Ballad is also being worked on, mostly in terms of some fixes and longhand writing (so much to type up), plus the conversion to a physical novel (don't worry, the game is happening, but there will also be a non-if book version at some point)
In the offline world things are marginally looking decent. Thank you everyone who has supported me to here, you guys are awesome.
I hope I'll be able to get the money for all the stuff I need/would like next year, sooner than later, and finally improve my health enough to get a proper job.
So, to all of you, have a calm rest of the year, and may the new one be tolerable.
Hello little whelps, café-heroes, scallywags and outlaws, quick status updates for stuff:
Ashenmaw:
Almost done rewriting the museum part, very much multiplying the word count be 4 or 5 in that section. I will really, really need y'all to try and break the game at that section to see if everything there works as intended.
Also started working on ch3 already, at least in terms of the scenes for meeting the other ROs.
Ballad of Devil's Creek:
Been going through the code and fixing some grammar, wrote a bit on the next chapter. Over on Patreon Charlie is winning the poll for the character portrait, so supporters on pat and kofi will get that little extra hopefully before the end of the year.
Curious Cuisine:
Almost done rewriting the prologue and moving it back to ChoiceScript. So... next year we'll be back, prolly?
Beggar's Luck:
Working on it, but the prologue is mostly done. So, another thing for next year.
~+~
IRL stuff:
Computer funds are at around 500 bucks now, so about a 1/5 of the goal (again, this is for computer, desk, chair, all of that). Thank you everyone who has chipped in so far. The art stream will still happen as soon as I got the comp and everything set up proper and securely.
Health is still messy and a lot of other furniture and appliances are still broken, but I make do with what I got :3
[ID: Five large, enclosed bao piled on a plate. The topmost bao has been opened to show a bread-like dough texture and a vegetable filling. The bao are garnished with chopped chives. End ID]
Bánh bao chay (Vietnamese vegetable dumplings)
Bánh bao are an iteration on the Chinese da bao (大包) brought to Vietnam by Cantonese immigrants. Like da bao, bánh bao are commonly filled with some combination of minced meat, Chinese sausage, and hard-boiled eggs; however, some versions of bánh bao are also made with Vietnamese vegetables, herbs, and flavorings. Vegetarian bánh bao (bánh bao chay) may have no filling, a filling consisting of a variety of vegetables, or a filling of sweetened beans or sweet potato.
This recipe combines Vietnamese vegetables, herbs, spices, and sauces with Vietnamese meat substitutes to make a well-rounded filling that's equal parts umami and fresh. The yeasted, enriched dough is tasty, fluffy, and light, but still has enough structure to hold up against the filling.
Recipe under the cut!
Patreon | Tip jar
Makes 16-20; serves 6.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
4 cups + 2 Tbsp (500g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp (7g) active dry yeast
7 Tbsp (90g) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp (10g) baking powder (optional)
2 Tbsp (16g) cornstarch (optional)
1 - 1 1/4 cup (135-295 mL) lukewarm soy or oat milk, or water
1 Tbsp cooking oil
The basic components of this dough are flour, yeast, sugar, salt, oil, and milk. The baking powder is added to help with leavening; the cornstarch works to create a light, fluffy dough that will not become soggy when filling is added.
For the filling:
1 large carrot (100g)
4-inch piece (120g) cassava root / yuca
1 cup (100g) shiitake or wood-ear mushrooms, diced
4 large pieces (50g) sườn non chay, or 1/2 cup diced or crumbled chả lụa chay
1/2 cup water + 1/2 tsp vegetarian 'chicken' broth concentrate (optional)
1/4 cup soybean oil, peanut oil, or other cooking oil, divided
Sườn non chay (roughly, “vegetarian ribs”) is a meat replacement made of textured soy protein. It may be found in bags online or in the pantry / dried goods section at your local Asian grocery store—the bags will be labelled “sườn non chay” as well as “vegan meat slice,” “textured soy bean protein,” “vegetarian food,” or “vegan food.” Most sườn non chay are large and pale in color, but they sometimes come in "beef" or "pork" styles—the difference is not the flavoring but rather the size, shape, and coloring of the pieces. In my experience, the "beef" ones are more darkly colored, and both "beef" and "pork" styles are smaller in size and thinner in shape than the non-specific ones, which I often use to replace chicken.
Chả lụa chay is a vegetarian version of a Vietnamese pork sausage. It can be found in the form of a large loaf in the refrigerator section of a Vietnamese or Asian grocery store. It will be labelled "chả lụa chay" or "gio lụa chay," as well as "vegetarian pork roll," "wheat meat," or "vegetarian food."
Đậu hủ ky, or tofu skin, is prepared by taking the film off of a batch of tofu as it sets. Tofu skin may be purchased fresh or dried, in sheets or in sticks: for the purposes of this recipe, any kind will work! Chinese tofu skin produced for sale abroad may be labelled "dried beancurd sticks."
Bột nêm is a Vietnamese seasoning sold in powder or granule form. Vegetarian ("chay") versions of the seasoning may contain shiitake mushroom, lotus seeds, carrots, tomatoes, and kohlrabi, as well as salt and MSG. It can be purchased in pouches or boxes from an Asian grocery store, or you can use any other vegetable stock powder.
Fish sauce and oyster sauce are common inclusions in pork fillings for bánh bao but are often simply omitted from vegetarian ones. I've used vegetarian substitutes for these ingredients—if you don't have vegetarian imitation fish or oyster sauce, just increase the amount of salt, sugar, and bột nêm to taste.
Instructions:
For the dough:
1. Heat 1 cup (135mL) non-dairy milk to lukewarm in a saucepan or in the microwave. Stir in the yeast to dissolve. if you’re not sure your yeast is alive, proof it by allowing to stand for 10 minutes—it should foam.
2. Add the baking powder, sugar, and salt and whisk to dissolve.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and cornstarch. Pour in the milk mixture and mix well to combine. Add additional milk 1 tsp at a time if it remains too dry to combine. The dough should be slightly tacky but not sticky.
3. Add oil and knead by hand until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for about 3 hours until doubled in size. If you live in a cold climate and don't have a proofing drawer, heat your oven on the lowest setting for a few minutes, turn it off, and then proof the dough in the oven.
For the filling:
1. Prepare the proteins. Soak the tofu skin (if you're using dried) and sườn non chay in cool water for about half an hour until rehydrated (or simmer them for a shorter amount of time). They are fully hydrated once flexible and a couple shades lighter. Gently squeeze the water out. Dice tofu skin; rip sườn non chay into small pieces lengthwise and then dice widthwise.
2. Prepare the vegetables. Peel cassava root and carrot. Cut both into a fine julienne, or grate them. Dice the mushrooms; mince the red onion; chop the garlic.
3. Cook the filling. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
4. Add the red onion and continue to sauté until fragrant and slightly softened. Add black pepper, bột nêm, and salt and allow to cook another 30 seconds.
5. Add carrot, cassava, mushrooms, chả lụa chay (if using), and tofu skin and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring often, until tender. Remove from pan.
6. If using sườn non chay: in the same pan, fry sườn non chay in 3 Tbsp of cooking oil on medium until they’ve absorbed the oil. Whisk 'chicken' stock concentrate into a small amount of hot water, then add the stock into the pan. Cook until mostly dry.
Soaking in water, deep frying in oil, then simmering in a flavored broth is the typical Vietnamese preparation of sườn non chay. The simmering in stock could potentially be skipped if you're including vegetarian oyster and/or fish sauce, but personally I find that dried soy products benefit from being soaked or simmered in something other than water.
7. Mix sườn non chay in with other filling ingredients, salt, sugar, sauces, and chives.
To assemble:
1. Turn dough out from its proofing bowl and gently divide into two even parts. Cover the half you're not using and gently roll the other out into a log of even width. Use a dough cutter or sharp knife to divide the log into 8 or 10 even pieces.
2. Place each disc of dough on its side and roll it out into a circle about 5" (13cm) in diameter. The edges of the circle should be much thinner than the center, since the edges will be bundled up and folded together.
3. The folding method is the same as for baozi and momos. Hold a wrapper in the palm of your non-dominant hand and add a couple tablespoons of filling (if you’re not experienced with making dumplings, it may be easier to add less). While pressing the filling down with your non-dominant thumb, use your other hand to pinch pleated folds in the dough all the way around the circle of the wrapper. Remove your thumb and make one last fold to close the bao. Pinch firmly at the place where all the pleats come together (where the drawstring would be if it were a drawstring pouch) and give a small twist to seal.
4. Set each finished bao on a small square of parchment paper on a baking sheet or in a steamer and lightly cover with plastic wrap or a light kitchen towel. Continue folding until you have formed all of the bao.
To steam:
1. Place a bamboo steamer in the bottom of a wok or large pot, and fill the wok with enough cool water to cover the bottom rim of the steamer by ½". If you've added baking powder to your dough, you may add a splash of vinegar to the water to help neutralise the dough's pH and combat yellowing of the dough.
If you’re using a metal steamer, tie a kitchen towel around its lid to prevent condensation from dipping back down onto the dumplings. Carefully place the bao, along with their parchment paper squares, into the steamer, leaving an inch or so between each one. They will expand as they steam!
If you don’t have a steamer, place a small bowl in the bottom of a wok or large, deep pan or pot. Place the dumplings, with their parchment paper squares, on a plate and place the plate on top of the bowl–the plate should fit inside your pot. Make sure that you can cover the plate and dumplings with a lid. If your lid is domed, there is no need for a kitchen towel, since the condensation will run down towards the outer rim. If your lid is flat, tie a tea towel around it just as you would with a metal steamer. Fill your cooking vessel with 2 or so centimeters of cool water.
2. Raise the heat to high and allow the water to come to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and cover your steamer or pot. Steam the dumplings for about 8 minutes, until the dough is tender and cooked through. Keep finished bao warm in a covered casserole dish in an oven on low while you steam the others.
As mentioned in this post, I do need a new computer to do streams and art on to finally be able to do commissions proper.
And as per the post, if we manage to reach the goal of at least 1800 to get the new comp and furniture (though I do hope I can get things cheaper) BEFORE October/November I will be doing a bunch of art-streams once everything is set up and draw the MC of everyone who donated.
This means:
Full body, full color, simple pose, simple background.
For one MC from either Ashenmaw (guise form, as I can't draw dragons well yet. Though I could maybe try to portraits there?), Ballad of Devil's Creek, or Curious Cuisine. Maybe even Beggar's Luck, though that one does not have much/any story to make MCs in.
Donate Here (and drop me a chatmessage here on tumblr)
A while back I had made a poll on whether or not to move CuCu back to ChoiceScript.
While the poll was mostly against the move, I think, mainly for my own rest of sanity, I will go back there.
Several reasons:
CS is easier after all.
I couldn't get the minigames to work. While it absolutely would have been cool it'd been a migraine and a half, and also compromise accessibility
There's in General a migraine and a half with the styling and all. There's a level of frustration when things that should work just don't and it even has experts stumped as to why it doesn't work.
So yeah, I do love the game dearly, but there is a limit to 'suffer for your art'.
Don't worry, Ballad will stay on twine, because there's just something about it that won't have it work in CS anymore (not in the technical sense) and it's not just the name-checks.
Thus, yeah, CuCu will probably return to CS after all. But I'll do what I can to make things worth the wait.
As you know, I am in need of a new computer to do art and streaming to do commissions and earn a bit of money for stuff proper.
And for such a computer I need about 1800-2500€ (that is with furniture and all). Though I do hope to get everything for much cheaper than that.
So how does this sound:
If we can get that money together before October/November, I will go on stream and draw the main MCs of everyone who donated once everything is set up and running. Full body, full color, simple pose and simple background.
That is the main MC for either Ashenmaw, Ballad or Curious Cuisine (as Beggar's Luck doesn't have enough story yet).
It's state fair food. They also did deep fried kool-aid and butter-fried BUTTER. State fair food is not food. State fair food is the equivalent of giving a three year old free reign of the kitchen and a personal chef who will do whatever the three year old wants to do without question. It is mad science taken to absurd heights.
Deep Fried Kool-Aid is when you roll dough in kool-aid powder, deep fry it, snd then sprinkle more powder on top. Make like a donut hole, and when you bite jnto it you activate the powder and the dough suddenly tastes exactly like kool-aid!
