Tag Archive for 'Asian'

Hamachi wrapped in ramp kimchi

Published
by
marc
on May 3, 2008
in Appetizer, Asian, Japanese and Seafood
. 7 Comments

I know what you all must be thinking “enough with the ramp recipes”. I promise I’m starting to reach the bottom of the bag from my most recent foraging trip, so you shouldn’t see many more:-) In case you’re still looking for a place to buy ramps, there are a few sellers on ebay you may want to check out.

This is less a recipe and more a way to serve the ramp kimchi I made last week. The cold creamy texture of the hamachi makes a perfect foil for the intensely briny and spicy kimchi. This goes well with an ice cold glass of soju (korean vodka) as an appetizer, or along with a bowl of rice and some other small dishes as a main.

ramp kimchi (garlic chive kimchi works as well)
sashimi grade hamachi (yellowtail)

Put a plate in the freezer for a few minutes to get it very cold.

Using a very sharp knife, and cold hands, slice the hamachi into moderately thin slices (a little less than 1/4″).

Working quickly, wrap each piece of hamachi in a ramp leaf then plate. You want to handle sashimi as little as possible as the heat from your hands will melt the fat in the fish and change its texture.

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Ramp kimchi & Ramp confit

Published
by
marc
on April 29, 2008
in Spring, Vegan, Vegetable, pickle and vegetarian
. 12 Comments

So this weekend we made another trip north to pick ramps. This time we brought home a grocery bag brimming with these delightful members of the onion family (they’re sweet and have a flavor somewhere between leeks and garlic). The reason for this large harvest is that L had the brilliant idea of making ramp kimchi, and I wanted to make a ramp confit.

Kimchi, for those unfamiliar, is a fiery Korean side-dish that’s pickled in a potent mix of chili powder and garlic. The specifics and vegetables vary by region and season, but Korean families take pride in the number of urns of kimchi they prepare per year. Prior to winter, families would gather to pickle the last of fall’s vegetables to last them through the cold months until spring.

Confit on the other hand traces its roots to France before refrigeration where meats like duck and goose were cooked in their own fat to preserve them. The word is derived from the verb “confire” which quite literally means “to preserve” and can refer to fruits or vegetables as well as meat.

If you haven’t guessed by now, the common thread here is 2 ways to preserve these perishable gems so they last more than a few days. I figured it would be fun to employ methods coming from 2 continents, and the results were fantastic!

While ramps are a vegetable that aren’t available in Korea, they work perfectly for kimchi because of their strong (though not overpowering) garlic flavor. The long leaves are well suited for wrapping around a slice of steamed pork, or a bit of rice and the flavors just burst with spicy goodness in your mouth.

The confit on the other hand roasts the ramps in an ample amount of olive oil, rounding out the flavor and intensifying the sweetness. The olive oil it’s cooked in is redolent with ramp’s leeky garlicy aroma and is marvelous on pizza dough or bread.
Continue for full recipe

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Homemade Asian beef balls

Published
by
marc
on April 13, 2008
in Appetizer, Asian and Beef
. 2 Comments

Most people who have tried these at a restaurant will tell you that beef balls are an acquired taste. It’s not not even the taste so much as the texture. Rubbery, and almost crunchy is the first thing to come to mind… making one wonder what exactly these “balls” are made of.

They’re widely used in soups and noodle soups and are probably the cheapest meat product you’ll find in the freezer section of an asian grocery. While I’ve acquired the taste for them, I’ve always wondered if I could make them better at home. Since I was planning to make Thai beef noodle soup for dinner, I thought it would be a great chance to try my hand at it.

I’m pleased to report that even you beef ball haters should find these agreeable (provided you’re not a beef hater in general). They’re soft, slightly fluffy with just enough elasticity to give them some texture. I flavored them with some garlic and cilantro so they’re even good on their own with a little squeeze of lime.

For the photo, I just sliced up some avocado, and made a sauce out of Thai sweet chili sauce, fish sauce and some lime juice that I drizzled on top.

1 lb ground beef
1 clove garlic crushed
a couple sprigs of cilantro
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp finely ground white pepper
1/4 Tsp kosher teaspoon salt
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 Tbs vegetable oil

Just toss all the ingredients in a food processor and process until it’s a smooth paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times.

Boil a large pot of water. Rub some oil on your hands then start making the meat balls. I actually start dropping them strait into the water, but if you do this, it’s a good idea to have someone watching and removing them as they cook. Otherwise you can place them on parchment paper until you’re ready to add them all to the water. They cook in about 5 minutes (depending on how big you make them) and you’ll notice that they grow in size and float as they cook (due to the baking powder).

Serve them as an appetizer or as a main with some rice. They’re also marvelous in noodle soups. If you think you won’t be able to get through all of them in a few days, you can freeze some once they’ve cooled off.

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Vegetarian Gyoza (potstickers)

Published
by
marc
on April 12, 2008
in Appetizer, Asian, Japanese, Party and vegetarian
. 10 Comments

As I was coming up with a title for this post, half of me wanted to omit the “v” word because as a meat eater, I often skip passed the flimsy vegetarian approximations of dishes that are supposed to contain meat. Why? I guess my experience has been that most veggie approximations are just that… less tasty approximations for people that have made the switch.

So why on earth would I take the porky goodness out of these dumplings? Well, those of you that have been reading along may have noticed that I have a new found obsession with Quinoa. I’ve used it in place of cous cous and suggested it has potential as a substitute for tobiko. Red quinoa even looks a bit like cooked ground meat… which got me thinking… could I possibly sub in quinoa for pork and trick other meat eaters into thinking they were eating pig? A worthy challenge indeed.

I started with my recipe for making regular gyoza, subbed in quinoa for the pork, added shitake mushrooms for a boost in flavor and an egg to help bind everything together. If you’re horribly opposed to a meatless dumpling you could always turn this back into a less animal friendly recipe, but I really do urge you to give this a try. Aside from the fact that Quinoa is cheaper, healthier, and greener, I actually like these better than their meat containing counterparts.

   

1 C cooked quinoa
1 C boiled cabbage squeezed and roughly minced
2 fresh shitake mushrooms minced
1 Tbs minced ginger
2 cloves garlic minced
2 green onions minced
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp mirin (sweet japanese cooking wine)
1/4 tsp finely ground white pepper
salt to taste (usually add about 1/4 tsp but it’s up to you)

1 egg
1 pack gyoza wrappers (small round wonton wrappers)

dipping sauce
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1/4 tsp chili oil (optional)

make the dumplings

Cook the quinoa according to the package directions. Boil some cabbage for about 10 minutes, cool, then squeeze any excess liquid out before mincing.

Combine the first 10 ingredients in a bowl and mix, taste and add some more salt if you like. Add in the egg and mix well to combine.

This next part seems to intimidate a lot of people but after a bit of practice it goes really fast. Basically you want to take 1 wrapper in the palm of your hand left hand (if right handed) and spoon a small amount of filling in the center (it’s easier to pleat if you have less, you can always add more in the subsequent ones).

Dip a finger from your other hand in a bowl of water and get the outer 1/4″ of the wrapper wet all around.

Fold the wrapper in half like a taco then starting from the left edge, start sealing the wrapper placing a pleat about once every 1/4″. Don’t worry if your first few look bad, they’ll get better and as long as it’s well sealed, it shouldn’t effect the end result much.

fry the dumplings
Get a non-stick pan (that has a lid) hot over medium heat, then add about a teaspoon of oil. Place the dumplings in the pan with the flat-side down. Cook for about 1 minute or until the bottoms are just turning light brown.

With the lid ready to cover the pan, add about 2 Tbs of water then quickly put the lid down (be very careful as the pan will start spitting hot oil as soon as you put the water in). Turn down the heat and steam the dumplings for about 4 minutes.

Remove the lid, turn up the heat to medium high and let any remaining water evaporate so the dumplings get nice and crisp on the bottom (about another minute). Plate and serve immediately with dipping sauce.

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Mapo Tofu (Marpo Doufu)

Published
by
marc
on March 10, 2008
in Asian, Pork and Tofu
. 3 Comments

Mabo Tofu

For the same reasons people love antiques or old Victorian houses, I love foods of legend that have a story behind them. I had a fairly intense day presenting to the entire partnership of a venture capital firm (with 3 continents video conferenced in).

While some might consider cooking a stressful activity reserved for days with lots of time, I actually see it as quite the opposite. When I got home I wanted to make a food from my childhood that’s both familiar and comforting.

Depending on who you ask, you’ll probably get a different story about the origins of Mapo Tofu, but the commonly accepted myth is that this dish was created by an old woman with meager means who cooked it for weary travelers that happened upon her shack along a remote country road. Some versions go on to say she once cooked the dish for the emperor of China.

Whatever the history, the dish was appropriated by my people in more recent history and is as common as mac & cheese on a Japanese dinner table. Asian groceries stock packets of sauce you just heat up with tofu, but that would be cheating, and it’s not much harder to make from scratch. I usually make this with varying spices, sauces and veggies, but I figured I should document something to give y’all a starting point.

1 Tbs dark miso
2 Tbs Mirin or other sweet cooking wine
1 Tbs oyster sauce
2 tsp asian chili sauce (Tobanjan, Gochujang, Sriracha, etc)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp corn starch
1/4 cup water

2 cloves of garlic minced
1 Tbs ginger minced
1/2 lbs. ground meat (I use pork but you can use turkey, beef, or veggies like eggplant)
14oz package silken tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 scallions sliced thin

Mix the first group of ingredients in a bowl to make the sauce. Adjust seasonings as you see fit.

Put a splash of oil in a hot saute pan and fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant.

Add the ground meat and break it up with a wooden spoon. When the meat is cooked, drain off any excess oil and add the sauce mixture.

Stir to combine, then add the tofu. If the sauce seems thick (or non-existent), add some water and cook until the tofu is heated through. If you’re using silken tofu, be careful not to mash up the tofu too much.

Stir in the scallions just before taking it off the heat and serve with white rice.

I make different versions of this sauce depending on what’s in the fridge and as always I encourage you to experiment with what you have. Some things I’ve tried include Szechwan pepper, chinese 5 spice powder, hoisin sauce, dengjang with varying amounts of chili sauce (I like it spicy). For vegetarians, you can leave out the meat, or include veggies like red bell peppers, onions, or eggplant.

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