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More Asian Adventures

When I lived in China, one of my most exciting food discoveries wasn’t Chinese at all.  In fact, it was Korean food, a cuisine I must confess I had never considered in the past.  Complex and often spicy, Korean food is a culinary gem, but one which hasn’t really made an in-road into the British restaurant scene, although I did have a great meal at Soju restaurant, Soho in London this summer.  Great food, friendly service, cheap (ish) prices and the waitress was impressed with my knowledge of Korean cuisine.  What more could you want!

Soju

32 Great Windmill Street

Soho

London

W1D 7LR

Being as Sheffield is sadly lacking in Korean restaurants (although there are more and more Korean students at the university, so fingers crossed for the future!), I popped to our local Chinese grocer and picked up some kimchi (pickled cabbage) and gochujang (red pepper paste).  I already knew what I wanted to make - kimchi fried rice.  The dish encapsulates my personal experience of Korean cuisine, and I would often fall back on ordering this dish when I needed a hit of spice (or a hangover cure, ahem).  Enjoy!

Kimchi fried rice (bokumbop)

Serves 2

4 spring onions, finely sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

100-150g kimchi (depending on how spicy you like it)

1/2 - 2 tbsp gochujang (again, depending on how spicy you like it)

150g raw rice, cooked 

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 eggs

Toasted sesame seeds, to serve

Heat a little oil in a wok, add the spring onions and garlic and stir fry for 2 mins.  Add the kimchi and gochujang and stir for a minute, then add the rice.  Toss the rice in the spicy mixture to coat, then season with the soy and sesame oil.

Now for the eggs: you can either beat the eggs and stir fry with the rice in the wok, or you can fry them separately and serve them on top.  Personally, I prefer the second way, as you can’t beat cutting into the egg yolk and watching it run over the rice.

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Turning Japanese

Japanese food has always fascinated me, despite the fact that there are still (in my opinion) a dearth of authentic Japanese restaurants here up north.  On a recent trip to London, I stopped for lunch at Ten Ten Tei, a small Japanese cafe in Soho.  Although I haven’t been to Japan myself, my companion had just recently returned from a trip to Tokyo, and he commented on the authentic, suburban Japanese atmosphere.  They have a range of set lunches, mostly for under £10; we sampled the chicken teriyaki and the “mixed fry”, a huge dish of fried salmon, cod, prawn, kushikatsu and a peppery potato croquette (korokke).  Both came with a generous portion of rice, a vegetable, and a dish of silky agedashi tofu.  Quick, delicious, and for me, much preferable to a meal in the high street Japanese chains.

Ten Ten Tei

56 Brewer Street

London

W1F 9TJ

Upon my return I felt inspired to try and recreate a homestyle japanese donburi - a rice bowl that can be topped with various meats and vegetables.  I choose Gyudon, beef and onions cooked in dashi, then mixed with beaten egg at the last second.  This is the headline dish at Yoshinoya, a Japanese chain that has made considerable headway into China, where I used to live, and my colleagues and I would often eat there when we needed a break from Chinese food, but still felt like eating Asian-style.  Eating this with a cup of green tea made me feel surprisingly nostalgic for the “mean streets” of Shanghai.

Gyudon

Serves 2

200-300g beef frying steak, thinly sliced (see note)

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 cup dashi (or chicken/vegetable stock)

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Chinese rice wine

2 eggs, beaten

Heat a little oil in a frying pan, and briefly fry the onion and garlic until soft, but not coloured.  Add the dashi or stock, soy sauce, rice wine and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes.  Add the beef and simmer until tender and cooked through, then pour over the beaten egg.  Swirl around the pan until the egg is just cooked.  Personally, I like my egg a bit runny, but this is all down to you and the freshness of your eggs!

Note: The beef is easier to slice if you put it in the fridge for 20-30 mins first.

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NYPD Pizzeria (Draper, Utah) Review

We just got back from NYPD Pizzeria in Draper, Utah. This is a purely gastronomical review. Don't ask me about prices. I'm guessing it came to about $100 for four 18-inch specialty pizzas, a few drinks, and a couple orders of garlic knots. There were 14 of us, and the food we got was about right for lunch.

The Verdict: 2.5 stars (out of 4)

1. Garlic knots: Deliciously golden crust with an excellent, flavorful marinara dipping sauce that actually complemented the knots and wasn't just a placeholder.

2. Pizza: We bought four pizzas: Manhattan Meat Lover's, Queen's Deluxe, Hawaiian Pie, and the Brooklyn Blue Cheese and Buffalo Chicken.

The slices are HUGE! I guess it is New York style, after all, where you're supposed to fold it up and throw it down, but dang, Gina! I think this is the first time I've had New Yorker pizza, so it was different and I tried to keep my expectations in check. Most of us had two slices. I had tried the Deluxe and one of the Meat Lover's. The sauce on the Deluxe reminded me of Dion's Pizza in Albuquerque - not too sweet, and a good mix of spice. The crust was pretty average for being thin. The Deluxe had a healthy amount of quality toppings. I'll be honest. The Meat Lover's reminded me of store-bought frozen pizza with the crumbly meat (as a way to convince you that there's more meat than there really is). It didn't look anything like the website.

Most everyone who tried the Brooklyn Blue Cheese pizza raved about it.

3. Zeppolies: We got a couple bags of Zeppolies (Zeppoli) to finish off the meal. They're kind of like doughnut holes with a bready texture, covered in cinnamon and sugar. They were piping hot and delicious.

Overall, a tasty meal that could only be improved in the pizza department.

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Alice Waters Doesn't Cook Here Anymore | Best meal of my life, Part II

                 

But it doesn’t matter. David Tanis does, and I would eat whatever David cooks no matter what, where, or when.

Alice is the founder and genius behind Chez Panisse, which she opened in 1971 with friends on Shattuck Avenue and Cedar on the north side Berkeley, California. Alice had gone to France and returned insistent on the best quality food using the freshest ingredients. From a slow start that included an “unfinished kitchen” and “insufficient silverware” during its first week of operations (Vanity Fair, Oct 2006), Alice’s Chez Panisse has developed into one of the finest fine dining experiences anywhere on the planet. And I have eaten many places on this planet.

But who is David Tanis? David has been cooking at Chez Panisse for more than 25 years. And while Alice wasn’t there (isn’t there), David invited us into the kitchen at Chez Panisse. Actually, the wait help invited us, and then while we tip-toed gingerly, the chefs beckoned us in further, until David himself took the upper hand.

We saw the the evening’s ahi marinating while they awaited their personal searing on the wood-fired grill. (I swear, the ahi cooked au poivre tasted like steak!) Baskets of freshly baked breads displayed their full crusts. At the back of the wide open kitchen, the pastry chefs were perfectly at ease whipping and stirring. No leaping flames, clattering pans, shoving of oven doors, or yells of “Order up!” - this could have been a Zen experience.

David personally showed us the Cannard Farm figs, freshly picked and waiting to be pinched for ripeness in their bowl. Finding a mature fruit, he squeezed it open for us with his fingers and offered a tasting. Mmmm. I have never savored figs, fresh or Newtoned, until now.

He’s not a big man. Rather like a sedated Rick Moranis in cook’s clothing (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids; Ghostbusters).  And he, like his restaurant — did I say “his” restaurant? I meant Alice’s — is all about the food. At Chez Panisse there are no celebrity chefs, no hauty cuisine, no full-of-it waiters with suspicious European accents.

Good food, good friends, good times. And that’s a perfect evening.

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    
Great Vanity Fair article on the people and history behind Alice Waters and Chez Panisse:
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2006/10/kamp_excerpt200610

More on David Tanis and why people are talking about his food
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/17/FD6212RSU5.DTL
http://www.pdxfoodpress.com/?p=3212
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07food-t-1.html?ex=1378353600&en=6f850bbaac46d70d&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

David’s new cook book, A Platter of Figs
Read about it at barnesandnoble.com because Amazon doesn’t do it justice.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Platter-of-Figs-and-Other-Recipes/David-Tanis/e/9781579653460

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