Archive for the 'Asian' Category

Sukiyaki

Published
by
marc
on June 25, 2008
in Beef, Dinner, Dinner party, Japanese, Soups & Stews, Vegetable and Winter
. 11 Comments

No… I’m not going to bust out singing that Japanese pop song from the 60’s that got renamed for the US market by some culturally insensitive prick record executive. Instead you get my rendition of this ubiquitous dish that’s become synonymous with Japanese food. Not that I have anything against record execs, or even renaming songs, but really… did ya have to name it after a hotpot dish? I wonder how that guy would have felt if I took a song like “Unchained Melody” and renamed it “Beef Stew” in Japan because it’s easier to say and more catchy.

There are many styles of making this, but perhaps the most common way is to cook meat and veggies in a sweet soy sauce based broth at the table. While I’m a big fan of the table top cooking method (especially for Shabu Shabu), I actually prefer to pre-cook the stuff separately and just serve the sukiyaki in a large bowl in the center of the table.

Regardless of how you decide to cook it, it makes for a really simple weeknight meal that requires no more than some washing and cutting of veggies. It’s typically made with thin slices of well marbled beef, but you could really use just about anything. Japanese markets tend to have the meat pre-sliced and packaged. I lucked out and got a pack of wagyu end-cuts (kiriotoshi) for a couple bucks. Because they were the end cuts the pieces were kinda irregular (which would be a problem for shabu shabu), but works just fine for sukiyaki. The most important thing is that the meat is tender and has a good amount of fat marbled with the meat.

For veggies you can use just about anything. I went mostly traditional using Tofu, green onions, bamboo, enoki mushrooms, and chrysanthemum leaves, but I also added some fresh summer squash I got at the farmers market the other day. It’s a good way to clean out the vegetable drawer in your fridge.

   

Traditionally it’s eaten by dipping the cooked meat into a raw egg, but due to the potential for getting salmonella I wouldn’t recommend it. You could soft poach or coddle the egg, but I still don’t think that would technically be “safe”. Instead I just grate some raw yamaimo (japanese mountain yam) also known as nagaimo which has the texture and slimy consistency of a raw egg when grated. If all this talk of slimy things is turns you off, or you can’t find it, you could always just skip it.

Leftover sukiyaki makes for a great bowl of udon (with some boiled noodles and egg cooked in the broth), or you could turn it into a donburi by reheating it with some beaten egg on top then serving it over a bowl of rice.
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Spicy Asian subs and the Philharmonic in the park

Published
by
marc
on June 25, 2008
in Asian, Fusion, Pork and Sandwich
. 10 Comments

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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Green tea pulled pork with spicy asian bbq sauce

Published
by
marc
on June 23, 2008
in Asian, BBQ, Fusion, Pork and Roast
. 13 Comments

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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Slow roasted salmon with peanut curry sauce and snap pea slaw

Published
by
marc
on June 21, 2008
in Asian, Dinner, Dinner party, Roast, Seafood, Southeast and Uncategorized
. 12 Comments

When it comes to seafood, common knowledge tells us to cook it hot and fast, so when I saw slow roasted Steelhead on the menu at the Painted Lady in Newberg Oregon, I was skeptical. I guess curiosity won over my skepticism because I ordered it.

The dish as a whole was a disaster. There was so much going on I can’t even remember half the things in/on/around the steelhead, but the limp overdressed arugula and prosciutto were memorable as was the fact that the dish was sooo salty I couldn’t taste much of anything else. Though in all fairness to the restaurant, the service was very friendly and the appetizer and dessert were both good.

So if it sounds bad and tasted bad, why would I make my own rendition?

As I said, the dish as a whole was a disaster. The slow roasted Steelhead on the other hand was transformational! As I was eating it, I went back and forth between oral bliss as the Steelhead melted into a pool of flavor on my tongue and utter indignation over the travesty that was on my fork.

Determined to fix this injustice I spent the next few days contemplating what I’d pair with the moist and melty morsels. This peanut and spicy red curry sauce melds perfectly with the creaminess and earthiness of the roasted salmon while the crispy, sweet and minty slaw strikes a pleasing juxtaposition, that will cool your palette and bring a smile to your face.

A couple things to note, use the best sockeye salmon or steelhead trout you can find (wild and line caught ideally). When making the sauce, don’t let it boil as the oil will separate (I turned my back for a few minutes as I was reheating it and it boiled which is why the photo doesn’t look so great).
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Grilled shrimp with tamarind noodles

Published
by
marc
on June 11, 2008
in Fusion, Pasta, Seafood, Southeast and Summer
. 16 Comments

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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