I’m fascinated by foods that have been transplanted from one country to another and in the process become their own unique dish. Some dishes like Chop Suey get totally lost in the translation, while others, like Tacos Al Pastor, and Japanese Curry take on a different, though no less tasty life of their own.
This dish originated in northern China as a dish called Zhajiang mian. In its native form, it’s a fried mixture of fried scallions, garlic, ground pork, and black bean paste that’s all served over a bed of thick wheat noodles. The dish migrated to Korea with Chinese immigrants and there it began to change. The Korean-Chinese dish is called Ja Jang Myeon and is a popular staple in Chinese restaurants there. As it evolved, it took in more veggies like onion and zucchini, and got a black bean “gravy” thickened with cornstarch.
I’ve had both versions and my recipe below takes it in a new direction. It’s lighter than both the original and Korean versions and has a full compliment of veggies. The sauce is less cloying and strikes a pleasant balance between sweet and savoury, enrobing the veggies and noodles like a satiny black cloak. I don’t like wimpy noodles and this dish is no exception. I’ve found that dried linguine cooked al dente makes the perfect foil for the sauce, putting up a good fight from the beginning until the very last noodle is slurped up.
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After subsisting on poutine and foie gras for a weekend, I felt in dire need of some good ole Amur’cun food… Except I also wanted to enter it into the Build The Best Burger Recipe Contest hosted by Marx Foods, which meant I couldn’t just do my favourite classic burger with a huge juicy beef patty, plasticine slice of American cheese, lettuce, red onion, tomato and a dollop of ketchup on a Wonder Bread bun.
Instead I came up with this highfalutin Asian burger loaded with garlic, ginger cilantro and hoisin sauce with mizuna, tomato, lime pickled red onions and Thai chili sauce all snuggled between a toasted brioche roll with melted gruyere. Not quite what I originally had in mind, but it was tasty none-the-less. The Asian spices combined with the sweet hoisin sauce go well with the nutty gruyere, the pickles added some southeast Asian zing and the sweet Thai chili sauce makes the perfect substitute for ketchup.
I served it with my rendition of Syrie’s raw broccoli salad (from Taste Buddies), which for someone that’s ambivalent about broccoli was delicious. I subbed out the lemon juice for lime juice, the cumin for kaffir lime leaves and some of the salt for fish sauce then added a bit of honey for sweetness.
This makes enough for 4 smaller burgers (perfect for a brioche roll), or 2 large 1/2 lb burgers. It took me about 45 minutes from start to finish but your mileage may vary.
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About 5pm today I got an IM from L that the New York Philharmonic Orchestra was playing in Central Park at 8pm. Given the amazing weather today I decided to run home and pack a picnic dinner that we could eat in the park. I just happened to pick up a baguette at the farmers market today and I had leftover pulled pork so I figured I’d make some Asian sandwiches.
The great thing about making a ton of roast anything is that there are million things you can do with the leftovers. This spicy asian sub came together with some left over green tea pulled pork (and the spicy BBQ sauce that went along with it), some summer squash I had pickled with mint a few weeks ago and a few sprigs of fresh mint. It all came together in a matter of minutes and I even had some time to blanch some incredible green beans I found at the farmers market and marinate them in olive oil and 12 year balsamic vinegar.
We got to the park a full hour before the concert started, but as I suspected the Great Lawn was already blanketed (literally) with people. For whatever reason (probably because New Yorkers are allergic to dirt) no one was sitting on the baseball diamond. We staked out our spot right in the center.
As I listened to the music while munching away I realized that a good sandwich (or any food for that matter) should be constructed like a good orchestra. In this case, the rich earthy pulled pork laid a solid base like a tuba or cello; the tart pickles were like the trumpets and trombones adding emphasis and texture; the bbq sauce added bursts of sweetness and spice like a percussion section; the thin layer of Kewpie mayo reminded me of the smooth french horns; the mint added a breath of freshness into the sandwich like the woodwinds, and of course the bread was the conductor that brought it all together.
As you can tell from the photos below, night-time photography is not my strong suit. I brought my brightest lens with me, but it’s fixed focal length and the uneven lighting made it quite a challenge. The first one is looking south across a sea of New Yorkers (you can see the Time Warner Center in the back). The second one is of when a glowing alien beamed onto the stage and took over the orchestra (well not really). The last one I took on the run as we tried to evade the mass exodus towards the subways.
So what makes a perfect sandwich for you?
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Still lingering on tasty memories of Michelle’s last BBQ, I was craving smokey pulled pork in a big way this weekend. So much so that I actually got my ass out of bed at 9 am on a Saturday to head over to Chinatown to pick up a big ole pork butt.
Pork butt for those initiated is another name for the “picnic” roast which in betrayal of its name comes from the other end of the pig (the shoulder). It’s a delightfully grisly fatty cut of meat that would make for a rubber doorstop if you cooked it any other way than slow and low.
At about 185 degrees F, the fat and connective tissue break down into that lovely moisturizing stuff that lotions purport will keep your skin wrinkle free and supple. This makes the meat incredibly moist and tender allowing you to enjoy the ample flavor that’s inherent in this cut of meat. The key is to slowly raise the temperature of the meat to 185 F then keep it there for at least an hour. In an ideal world, you’d put it in a heating vessel that holds a steady 185 degree temperature then leave it there for a day … But then again in an ideal world I’d be allowed to BBQ in my NYC apartment and not have to go to work either.
In an effort to make this more apartment friendly and time saving, I roast it in a dutch oven at 200 degree F. It will still take at least 5 hours mind you, so this isn’t a quick weeknight meal, but you could also put this into a crockpot on low and let it do it’s thing while you’re at work. I used smoked salt to give it a bit of that bbq flavour, but nothing beats putting it in a real charcoal smoker for hours on end.
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The heatwave finally broke here in NY, but a freak thunderstorm last night made it very humid. This is the kind of weather that makes me crave something refreshing that doesn’t require much fuss (or heat) to prepare. I decided to make use of some rice noodles I picked up at a Thai market over the weekend, stopping by Whole Foods to pick up some nice looking shrimp.
I’ve had a container of tamarind concentrate in my pantry that’s been crying out to be used and I figured its intensely tart sweetness would make the perfect base for my marinade. Making a separate marinade and sauce for the noodles seemed like too much work for my languid mood so, I just made extra marinade to use as a sauce for the noodles.
The grilled shrimp had a smokey sweet glaze that caramelized under the broiler and the noodles tasted a bit like pad Thai. As a whole, the dish was a perfect melding of sweet, sour, savoury and spicy with just a touch of creaminess coming from the avocado’s to smooth over the sharpness of the tamarind.I served this with some mint pickled summer squash that made last night. It added just the right amount of crunch, a vibrant yellow color and it’s own complimentary sweet tartness.
Update: I just noticed the July Jihva for Ingredients is for Tamarind, so this is getting entered.
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