A Broad Reference

I've been craving 2 things lately: silken tofu and rice cakes. We normally go to this place called the Pyung Chang Tofu House but since I've started buying groceries at this really inexpensive place in Oakland's Little Korea called Koreana Plaza I'm inspired to make my own. I used 2 different recipes Tteokbokki and Soon Tofu Jigae for inspiration but in the end what I made was kind of a combo thing so I include my recipe below.

Ingredients:
1 onion or leek (white stalk) chopped
1lb ground chicken
3 Cups water
3 pieces kelp
3 shiitake mushrooms sliced
2 Tbs red pepper paste
2 Tbs honey or sugar
1 Tbs garlic black bean paste
1 pack rice cakes (~20 tubular) soaked
2 fish cake (flat rectangular kind) cut into squares
1 tub silken tofu
1 Tbs fish sauce
2 Tbs cilantro chopped

Instructions:
Sauté the onion till glassey, and the mushroom till tender.
Quickly sauté chicken and stir to break into small pieces.
Add water, kelp, red pepper paste, honey and garlic bean paste and bring to a boil.
Simmer rice cakes ~ 15 minutes till just soft but still chewy. The center should not be tough.
Add in the fish cakes and tofu (whole), try to keep the tofu chunks large, stirring will break tofu into smaller pieces.
Reduce to low heat and simmer for 5 minutes until tofu is heated through. Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

Posted by Misty at 06:02 PM | Permalink

There's a little Vietnamese place down the street from my Aunt's. We go there for lunch, and split everything we order. I love their grated apple salad. I guess it makes sense to use the local fruit rather than trying to ship in green papaya from far away. They serve it with thin slices of grilled beef. The dressing is very simple and oil free so I like it for a low calorie option. They use Fuji apples for sweet but I like to mix in Granny Smith as well for a tart contrast. Standard salady mix of shredded cabbage and carrots, with a sprinkle of bean sprouts. A little bit of cilantro, lime wedges and some toasted peanuts. It's so satisfying. They were happy to share the recipe, the waiter laughed and said everyone in Vietnam could make it. So now you can too.

Ingredients:
6oz flank steak grilled and sliced

2 Apples (Fuji & Granny Smith) grated
1/4 Cabbage shredded
1 carrot grated
1 Cup bean sprouts
6 sprigs of cilantro
1/4 Cup peanuts
lime wedges

1/2 Cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 Cup fish sauce
2-3 Tbs palm sugar
1-3 tsp hot chilli peppers sliced
up to 1/2 cup water

Preparation:

Mix together vinegar and fish sauce, add sugar and chillies dilute with water to taste.

Layer vegetables together top with beef and nuts. Pour over 3 Tbs of dressing.

Posted by Misty at 06:42 PM | Permalink

Dim sum would not be complete for me without Feng Jiao (romantic translation Phoenix talons) aka chicken feet. Another binary selection food, that people either love or hate. Sometimes it's the texture, maybe it's the idea of it, but everyone has an opinion which they are happy to share with you. In general people appreciate it if you refrain from calling their food disgusting, a sensitive quirk perhaps, but I've found that many folk feel no need to edit their feelings of disgust when it comes to chicken feet.

When I was a kid, I came across my Mum chowing down on a bucket of something strange, brown and wrinkly. I was definitely put off by the way it looked. When I asked her what she was eating, she replied "Nothing you'd like"... but she was so evidently enjoying herself. I thought I'd give it a try- Wow flavour explosion, super chewy yet succulent chicken with sweet, salty and spicy hot notes and an evocative hint of mysterious ginger, cinnamon and anise. When Gwynie wandered into the kitchen to find out what we were eating with such relish, I told her it was "Nothing you'd like"... Lol that didn't dissuade her one bit.

So it's safe to say, thanks to Mum, we're fans of the chicken feet. There are a bunch of different methods of cooking chicken feet. One involves deep frying followed by braising/steaming, and I have to point out that deep frying always improves an item- for example twinkies. Altho this method produces a very intact foot, which is considered more appealing, given that most of us can't indulge in those kind of calories very often, that's slightly limiting.

In Taipei I used to pass by a restaurant called Elastic. It served teas and soups made of connective tissue plus special herbs and spices that are supposed to help your joints. At fraction of the price, holistic and tasting infinitely better than that Glucosamine chondroitin, MSM, Sam-E, CoE Q10 etc. I'm definitely sold on the idea, and I try to make stocks from cheaper parts (pig feet/hocks, pork and beef neck bones). The stock has a richer, glossy, more proteiny feel to it and I get to count it as my cartilage supplement, so it works out all round. Hence chicken feet/carcass make a great start to a stock, and then you can dress up the feet and eat them too!

I recognise that the idea of chicken feet can be initially disconcerting. But I urge you to put aside these preconceived notions and give it a try. Maybe sample a tiny bit at dim sum, or use stock made with chicken feet. Well whatever your preference, I include my recipe below. If you don't want to see the process, read no further.

Continue reading "Glorious Phoenix talons aka Chicken Feet" »

Posted by Misty at 06:30 PM | Permalink

For some strange reason I've been tasked with making salad dressing over the holidays. My default vinaigrette is a meld of salty, sour, sweet and spicy. It should be light enough that you can taste the individual vegetables in the salad, but add a little sparkle that makes you want to keep munching away on your 5-9 serving... I put whatever is at hand in a small jar which I use to mix it all together by shaking. But despite my casual approach to the creation of what seems very simple everyone keeps asking for a recipe. Keep in mind this is all approximate and should be adjusted to your preference.

Ingredients:
1 lemon- juice & zest
OR
1/4 Cup balsamic vinegar

3 Tbs Fish sauce
1 Tbs mustard
1 Tbs sugar/honey
1/3 Cup olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Optional: adjust to taste
white vinegar or rice vinegar for a neutral acid
ginger grated
shallots/green onion/pickled garlic chopped
cilantro finely chopped
Siracha/hot pepper
sesame oil

Posted by Misty at 07:13 AM | Permalink

Gwynie made this for Christmas. It was so good I thought I'd give it a write up. It's more like French toast than a quiche, with a great contrasting texture of succulent mushrooms and crispy bread. Most of the steps can be done in advance, so it would be a great dish for say a dinner party where you'd rather spend time with your guests. Gourmet magazine talks about using parchment lined ramekins, but I prefer to do it in one large dish. If I were going to serve it in smaller volumes, I'd just use large muffin tins with cupcake papers, and prolly bake for only 10-15 minutes. Alternatively prebake and then broil as discussed below.

Herbed Sausage & Wild Mushroom bread pudding
Ingredients
4 Cups (1/2-inch) fresh bread cubes (Acme herb foccacia- missing 4 slices...)
1 large onion coarsely chopped OR
1/2 Cup shallot finely chopped
1/2 lb sausage meat
2 Tbs butter unsalted
1 1/2 lbs mixed fresh mushrooms (crimini, chantrelle and shitake)
1/2 Cup flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
1/2 bunch sage coarsely chopped
2 Cups half-and-half
4 large eggs
1/2 Cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Gwynie started eating the herb slab before making the bread cubes... I think a whole herb slab would have been too much? Bake bread cubes in 1 layer in a large shallow baking pan until golden-brown, about 10 minutes. This can be done ahead and stored in a air tight container.

Tear or cut mushrooms lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Sauté shallot or onion in butter until glassy ~3 minutes. Add mushrooms, sausage, salt & pepper and cook until dry ~15 minutes. Add parsley, sage and cook, stirring ~2 minutes. Remove from heat. Sometimes I feel that a cycle of heating and cooling helps to boost flavours, if you want that then this step can be done ahead and stored in the fridge.

Whisk together half-and-half, eggs, cheese, salt & pepper in a large bowl. Stir in sausage, mushrooms and bread cubes until coated well and let stand 10 minutes for bread to absorb egg mixture. Mix again before placing in a shallow casserole dish, sprinkle top with more cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, remove and allow to rest for 20 minutes. The egg continues to cook while waiting, making for a very tender chew. Gwynie likes hers served hot, and if you want more crunch, heat under broiler ~5 minutes for the top to crisp up. You can also bake in a large dish and then when serving individual portions toast under broiler for more of an edge effect.

Posted by Misty at 10:20 AM | Permalink

As a child, my Gran in Nottingham made light and fluffy Yorkshire puds, with crisp shells and melting centers- served with gravy and roast beef. Yum! But she could never really articulate how she did it. Now my Mum is a great cook, and super adventurous experimenter when it comes to trying recipes. That said, back home, Mum attempted Yorkshire pudding on countless Sundays. Mum would peek anxiously in through a crack in the the oven door every couple of minutes and watch in horror as it deflated to a limply flat and soggy pud. We supported her attempts with typical scientific interest and critical eating, what factors could be changed? some day we were sure, it would all work out. At school in England, the muffin sized yorkies were tough, chewy (and to my horror- bounced). So for me the search for a reliable recipe was similar to the Grail.

In the USA, people refer to popovers and Dutch babies, where it's all about height with crisp shells and serve them sweet instead of savoury. The first time I experienced the impressive form of the Dutch baby was at a ski cabin in Tahoe where a professional chef whipped one up in about 15 minutes. She made it look so easy, producing crispy lofty peaks of golden pillowy meltingly soft goodness in a massive cast iron pan**. With a dusting of icing sugar and raspberry jam, it was a perfect winter wonderland breakfast. Inspired by her success, I made a note of her recipe which I've tweaked and been using ever since. I've experimented with proportions and have determined the golden secret ratios which will work every time. So you can adjust your proportions based on how many people you're cooking for. The ratios are essentially 1:1 for milk:flour*:egg ie For every 1/4 cup flour & milk you need 1 large egg or about 1/4 cup egg.

Ingredients:
3 Tbs Butter
2 Tbs Grapeseed oil (or lard)
4 eggs
1 C milk
1 C flour (3/4 Cup All-Purpose: 1/4 Cup Bread)
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425oF. Place butter & grapeseed oil in cast iron pan and heat in oven while you prepare the batter. In a blender or food processor whiz eggs until they are well mixed. With the motor running, add milk, flour and salt, whiz for another 30 secs - 1 minute.

Pour batter into preheated skillet (the butter/oil should sizzle) and return to oven. Bake for about 18-25 minutes until craggy peaks are browned but not burned. It's most impressive if everyone is ready and waiting since it deflates slightly when it comes out of the oven. (I've tried leaving it in for longer to keep the puffiness but then the outside gets tough...)

If serving sweet, dust with powdered sugar and top with fruit, preserves etc. Whipped cream is fun too.

For savoury garnish with chopped chives or parsley, and smother with gravy. I served it with sautéed wild mushrooms and shallots.

Continue reading "Popovers/Dutch Baby Pancake/Yorkshire pudding" »

Posted by Misty at 12:17 PM | Permalink

Tartine is a fun local San Francisco bakery- the lines out the door attest to this. They make great bread with a dense chewy texture & yeasty nutty goodness and awesome tarts/pies, cakes etc. I recently visited with my friend Jon, who recommended the Almond Rochers as the pinnacle of their baking achievement. Tartine's Almond Rochers are crunchy mounds of almond meringue with toasted flakes creating a 3D effect that creates a meltingly soft and chew center. Since I'm a fan of the Acme pan epi, I have to agree that the rochers are simply deliteful and my favourite item.

During the traditional Christmas cookie baking, my friend Wendy produced her birthday present- Tartine's new book- you can imagine my excitement. I quickly flipped to the Rocher recipe and announced that we were going to make it. We didn't have enough sliced almonds so I substituted almond meal but I think that resulted in a flatter and less chewy center since the cookie was overcooked. I'm going to try increasing the sliced almonds to see if that will help with the 3D structure (lattice effect). I'll post pics later...

Tartine's Almond Rochers
1 Cup + 2 Tbs Almond (sliced + meal)
2 Large egg whites
1 Cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt (pinch)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350oF.
Line baking sheet with parchment/silpat.
Prepare a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (no.6 or 7) plain tip.

Toast almonds in a thin layer on a baking sheet in oven until golden
brown 7-10 minutes. Cool completely. Break almonds into ~1/4 inch
pieces. Tartine warns: Large chunks will clog the pastry tip if you plan to
pipe the forms. I didn't have any trouble with clogging but that may be due to the almond meal substitution.

Over a simmering water bath (saucepan with 2 inches water), in
stainless-steel bowl of a stand mixer whisk together egg whites,
confectioners' sugar and salt. Tartine warns: bowl should NOT touch the water.
Continue whisking 5+ minutes till the mixture is hot to the touch
(120oF). Place bowl on stand mixer and fit with whisk attachment.
Whip on high until mixture is thick and holds glossy stiff peaks when
you lift the beater. (I think I should have whisked for longer since my mounds tended to collapse. Heated egg whites are supposed to be more stable than raw egg whites.) Fold in the almonds and vanilla with a spatula.

Immediately fill the pastry bag with the meringue mixture and pipe
onto the baking sheet, forming kisses approx 1 inch in diameter,
spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Alternatively you can drop the
meringues by the tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet. Regular macaroons are left to rest for 30 minutes creating a "foot" with cracks etc when the cookies are finally baked.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and keep the oven door ajar with
the handle of a wooden spoon to allow moisture to escape. Bake the
cookies until they puff slightly, crack along the sides and feel dry
on the outside but soft to the touch 15-20 minutes. Transfer the
cookies to a wire rack, they will harden as they cool.

Store in airtight container at room temp for up to 2 weeks. After a
couple of days they dry out completely and are still tasty delicious.

Posted by Misty at 04:04 PM | Permalink

I was shopping in the Little Saigon section of Fruitvale on International Blvd (in the 'hood) when I came across a very interesting looking pan. Cast iron with spherical indentations. I didn't know what it was for, but my mind went immediately to Yorkshire pudding and fried eggs. It was only $12, so I bought a pan and for that price Gwynie bought one too. But after a couple of failed attempts at eggs, they were consigned to the cupboard.

Fast forward a couple of years, in Taiwan, Takoyaki is a popular Japanese street snack- fried balls made with a wet batter, chopped squid, pickled ginger and green onion. Covered by a generous hand with sauce/mayonaise and shaved fish flakes etc. They are a little crisp on the outside with a soft almost souffle like center and tasty nuggets of chewy squid. These are a fun finger food, to eat them you have to stab them with medium/small bamboo skewers.

It's pretty exciting to watch the vendors make them too. Of course they make it look super easy. All you need is the right pan, a couple of long skewers, and years of practice...

Here's a video I found that demonstrates the technique.

Then I found a recipe online and thought I would give it a try.
http://japanesefood.about.com/od/seafoodfish/r/takoyaki.htm
Ingredients
Batter:
1 2/3 Cup flour
2 1/2 Cup dashi soup
2 eggs
1/2 lb. boiled octopus (yaki), cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 Cup chopped green onion (negi)
1/4 Cup dried red shrimp (sakura ebi)
1/4 Cup chopped pickled red ginger (benishoga)

Toppings:
katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
aonori (green seaweed powder)
takoyaki sauce
mayonnaise

Preparation

Mix flour, dashi soup, and eggs in a bowl to make batter. Heat takoyaki grill pan in oven or stove top. Brush oil inside cups of pan. On stove top, pour batter into the rounds, you don't need to be too careful about spilling since that will get pulled in during the cooking process. Each cup gets a sprinkle of octopus, red ginger, and green onion. As batter cooks, use 2 skewers to rotate 90o bringing the bottom edge up and allowing batter to fill cup, forming hollow sides. Keep rotating, tucking in rough edges, until you have successfully formed a closed ball. Keep turning, till takoyaki become rounded and evenly brown, remove them from the pan and place in a plate. Put sauce and mayonnaise on takoyaki and sprinkle bonito flakes/aonori on the top.

Cooking time: 10-20 minutes

Servings: 50-60 pieces (4-5 persons)

Continue reading "Takoyaki" »

Posted by Misty at 07:30 PM | Permalink

Every year we get together with our friend Wendy to make cookies. Wendy is a very good baker and she makes brilliant cookies. One of Gwynie's favorites is the Molasses spice cookie from Wendy's Magnolia Bakery recipe book. It's a rich deep flavor, not too sweet with a sharp almost gingery quality, despite there being no ginger. Super easy, they take almost no time at all to whip up AND because it makes a great soft chewy cookie, you can bake these in the toaster oven without a drop in quality.

Magnolia Bakery iced molasses cookies

Ingredients:

2 Cups flour sifted
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs all spice
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 Cup or 1 1/2 sticks butter
3/4 Cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 Cup molasses

Directions:
Pre heat oven 350 degrees.

Combine sifted flour with other dry ingredients, sifting again, set aside.
In food processor, cream butter and sugar until smooth.
Add egg and mix well.
Beat in molasses.
Add dry ingredients all at once, and pulse to mix ~10 seconds. (For a sturdier snap you can go longer to activate the gluten, but watch out for your teeth!). The debate whether to chill the dough or not...
warm dough spreads quickly during cooking resulting in a flatter slightly more crisp effect. Chilled dough holds the mounded shape and makes for a lighter more fluffy center.

Drop by rounded scoops on to parchment lined cookie sheet leaving 1-inch for expansion
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Cool cookies on sheet for 1 minute then remove to rack to completely cool. Cookies are tender and soft (if you want a crisper cookie, you can extend the baking time by 2 minutes- be careful not to burn them!) When cooled spread a thin layer of icing on each cookie with a small knife or spatula. Let icing set before stacking cookies or they will stick together. Makes 3-4 dozen cookies

Posted by Misty at 08:18 PM | Permalink

I recently had a chance to stay a couple of days with some dear friends Dale and Doreen down in Monterey. They get a farm box every week stuffed to the brim and were struggling to finish before the next box arrived. Luckily they have a male monitor lizard (Daphne) which they feed leafy greens so he helped to cut down on leftovers. While I was there, one of the best dinners was a stew which they jokingly referred to as "Daphne stew". I took copious notes as Dale prepped. The meat was tender, the sauce juicy tomato-based, chock full of veggies. Lest you think we were eating the family pet, Doreen explained that they decided to use stuff from the box in every dish. It was working great, they had delicious stews and they started including more and more veg in the recipe. Dale and Doreen laughed as they told me- one day they ran out of veg and decided to use Daphne's portion of the box, wow adding the leafy greens to the stew added a whole other dimension of texture and flavor. Served over rice- perfection!

This week Morgan and Julie kindly gave me a box of their Riverdog Farm share- Rapini, cauliflower, carrots, turnips, bok choy, apples, persimmons. Daphne stew seemed a fitting way to cook these fantastic fresh veggies. I like to think of it as: Meat, onion, garlic, green veg, root veg, leafy greens, moisture, flavor & tomato paste. But if you need a more structured recipe...

Continue reading "Braised short ribs ala Daphne" »

Posted by Misty at 09:38 AM | Permalink