Category Archives: food

salmon takikomi gohan

i made salmon takikomi gohan tonight. it didn’t look quite like the dish at yabu, but i enjoyed the salmon immensely. i soaked kelp in water to make a broth then added soy sauce, rice, mirin and topped the bowl with seared salmon. the rice cooker did the rest. m sauteed the komatsuna and enoki mushrooms. i chopped some scallions. we piled all of it on our heaping bowls of salmon takikomi gohan. umami!

Serves: 3-4 Prep Time: 1 hour Cooking Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

3 Cups of Japanese (short grain) Rice
3 Tablespoons of Shoyu (Soy Sauce)
(see mirin below) 2 Tablespoons of Cooking Sake
(see mirin below) 1 Tablespoon of Sugar
(substitute cooking sake and sugar) 3 tablespoons of Mirin (Sweet Cooking Sake)
1 3″ x 3″ sheet of Hoshi-Konbu (dried kelp)
1 (or 2) Kirimi (cut) of Salmon

A cup of rice is measured using the measuring cup in the rice cooker. The water should be done in the same way. Imperial cups are much larger than the rice measuring cups.

A kirimi is a cut of salmon approximately the thickness of the forefinger and the middlefinger.

Take a bowl large enough to fit the sheet of kelp in. This may be the rice cooker bowl or the pot. Cut the sheet to fit if neccesary. Fill the bowl with 3 cups of water, the same amount the rice will be cooked in. Let the kelp be submersed. Let stand for 30 minutes. This will make the stock, and soften the kelp. DO NOT DISCARD WATER/STOCK.

Use a pair of scissors or a knife to slice the kelp into thin strips as thin as you have patience for, approximately 1″ long. Return kelp into the stock.

Wash the rice to be cooked. For questions on how to cook Japanese rice, refer to the Rice (Japanese) entry. Drain water from rice. Place rice into the cooking container, add kelp and soupstock. Add in soy sauce, cooking sake, and sugar. Mix thoroughly, using your hand to ensure an even mixture. Let stand for 15 minutes while doing the next step.

Grill the salmon at high heat to sear the surface. Cook only enough to color the surface and make it crispy. Alternately, use a frying pan to sear the surface of the salmon. Ideally, use no oil. The salmon need not be thoroughly be cooked. This step is intended to add texture to the salmon, and bring out some of its scent.

Place cooked salmon on top of rice. It needs only to sit on the top. Cover, and begin the cooking cycle on the rice cooker. No time modification needs to be made on an electric cooker.

When cooker is finished, let stand for 5-10 minutes. Take the Shamoji (rice paddle) and use the edge to “cut” the salmon into the rice. Break apart the salmon (steamed, it should do so readily) as you mix it throroughly. Do NOT use the flat side to squish the rice and turn it into a featureless mush.

salmon steams on top

mix it up!

final product with enoki, komatsuna, and green onion

side of king trumpet mushrooms

nira and komatsuna

i generally don’t like spinach unless it’s sauteed and mixed with butter and garlic. i generally don’t order spinach salads. so i was hesitant to order the komatsuna (spinach) salad with anchovies at yabu, and, trust me when i say, it wasn’t the anchovies that gave me pause. ultimately, i loved the salad. i chased after all the little anchovies with furious chopsticks and even tried to get the ones off m’s plate. she shooed me away claiming that the fish on her plate had previously fallen onto the tabletop and were therefore inedible. i didn’t care – i wanted those fish. the komatsuna has a stiff rib that crunches when you chew it. the leaves don’t leave a furry feeling on my teeth like the spinach that i am used to. of course, the japanese yuzu/soy dressing also made the salad complete.

we went in search of mochi after lunch to take to baby g’s and baby c’s mom. this brought us to nijiya where we not only picked up mochi but also komatsuna and nira (chives) and soba and somen.

i used to say that if i could only have one cuisine in the world, it would be japanese. i can eat both rice and noodles. i can have it cold or hot. there’s lots of fish and they eat all kinds of meat. there is a freshness and lightness to the cuisine, or, at least, the dishes i order (and don’t forget sushi!).

as i was making breakfast today (poached eggs on komatsuna sprinkled with nira), i was thinking that if i became a chef, i wouldn’t train in french cooking (although that might be a requirement in some schools). i would perhaps train in french cooking and then add other cuisines to my repertoire. i can understand now how fusion food came about. and i live in an area where i can use nira instead of regular chives and komatsuna instead of regular spinach. i can pair my locally sourced meat with beech or maitake or enoki mushrooms. i can pursue particular textures or flavors and acquire them within a few hours. this is globalization’s finest result.

kimchi chigae

prologue: mitsuwa and nijiya do not have gochujang (korean red pepper paste). they have this vinegar-y kimchee paste. i made the mistake of calling nijiya and then believing them when they said they had it. so, left with no choice, i tanked up with gas at costco and headed to ktown. only about 15-20 minutes each way on the wide open freeway. takes about as long as it does from weho taking surface streets. i went to the galleria market: 3250 w olympic blvd 90006. this may or may not be the one i intended to go to, but was not disappointed. the market was huge. mushrooms were on sale. there was a great korean optometry store just outside the market. lots of brightly colored frames in unusual shapes. next time…

armed with 3 recipes and some instinctive cooking acumen, i am making kimchi chigae right now. one recipe says fry the beef then add the kimchi. JP’s mom’s recipe says fry the kimchi then add the beef. the third recipe calls for meat but doesn’t say when to add it in the directions. the way i figure it, i can do it however i want and it will come out. JP’s mom’s recipe calls for dried anchovies (she calls them maerichi). i think this is the real secret ingredient that will make this stew pop. and my inherent knowledge of korean cooking, of course.

so here’s what i did, in case i want to replicate it: added 12 cups of kimchi and about 1/4 cup of juice. added 1 TBSP of sesame oil. added 1 TBSP of gochujang (add another .5 – .75 TBSP of gochujang – see note below). started boiling. added 4 tsp crushed garlic and 1/8 tsp ground ginger (because i forgot to buy fresh). added 22.4 oz of short rib beef cut into thin slices. boiled/mixed for 5 minutes. poured water over the ingredients, just enough to cover. cut heads off and put 2 anchovies into a spice ball and brought to a boil. am boiling for 30 minutes (it is currently bubbling vigorously like a little geyser). then i will turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes. JP’s mom then advises to add sliced tofu (optional) and take the anchovies out. longer boiling = softer stew. i figure if it needs more fishy flavor or heat, i can add more fishies and paste and pepper flakes as needed and continue boiling adding water if necessary. it’s just stew – it can handle it.

epilogue: i just tasted it. it’s perfectly fishy but, surprisingly, it needs salt. it would definitely benefit from some onion. the garlic i added was either not enough or has no effect. had a slight burn, but is pretty mild. i added another 3/4 TBSP of gochujang. i’ll taste test in another 10 minutes.

la monarca

my second trip yesterday to pick up some lovely taza mexican chocolate. while i was there, thought i’d sample a few pastries. i picked out the guava/cheese taco because i love guava cheese pastries. i have to say, not as good as porto’s and that’s not because la monarca sprinkles theirs with sugar. i found it too doughy and not enough guava (of course!). they offered bite size samples of the sweet corn bread (omg! i loved it. not too sweet. moist. perfect for the cornbread lover.). i also sampled the bread pudding. it was okay, but i probably wouldn’t get it by itself. it was gummy without any bread texture. i tasted a lot of caramel and sugar but little else. and then i was a bad girl…on my way to the cashier, i spotted a small palmier (orejita) about 1/3 the size of the large ones in the pastry case. so i picked one of those up too. mmmm…flaky on the outside. a little sticky chewy on the inside. it would be perfect with a cup of coffee. next time. perhaps when we go there to work/study.

get your meat on

why, oh why, don’t we live in west hollywood anymore?

[1] ~~Lindy & Grundy~~: two women who love meat open a butcher shop. together.

[2] salt’s cure: a butcher shop that serves lunch

[3] ~~grindhaus~~ grindhaus: sausage. ’nuff said.

my iphone, tasting table, blackboard eats, urbandaddy – i’m never going to do anything but read about food, write about it, and then go in search of it. doesn’t really sound that bad, actually.

Lobstatruck

just finished eating lobster roll and crab roll at the lobsta truck. Also, had fresh squeezed lemonade and whoopie pie even though i’m not a
dessert person and i hate frosting. I liked the crab roll better than the lobster roll. Both were on a piece of toasted texas toast. Yum!

happy new year!

we went out to dinner at hatfield’s last night and besides being overly stuffed on 5 (8 really, the servers came to our table 8 times) courses, none of us walked away unhappy. here is the breakdown (the final menu was slightly different), notice how the menu gradually intensifies. this and aoc are our favorite places now. (also, m had an amazing gin martini, and it wasn’t even made with hendricks gin.)

Flight of Passed Hors d’Oeuvres: curry tuna tartare, zucchini fritter w/ raita (they spelled it riata…), something on toasted brioche crouton
Chilled poached Scallop, crushed citrus, horseradish cream
Warm crab and buckwheat crepe, pickled beets, radish
Black Cod “En Croute”
Kabocha squash agnolotti, pork confit, maple-mushroom broth
Roasted Pekin Duck breast, oven dried pear, caramelized endive, fried sage (OMG, the pear…)
Pork Belly, sweet and sour cabbage, crispy spaetzle, grainy mustard jus, mitsuba
Venison loin, cherry balsamic, sunchoke gratin, maitake mushrooms
Prime New York steak, creamy swiss chard, potato puree, ginger aromatic sauce
Lime Panna Cotta
Caramelized goat milk Cheesecake, marinated citrus, grapefruit lillet sorbet and dehydrated pineapple slice (the stuff macro food shots are made of – i love translucence!)
Chocolate caramel semifreddo, peanut chew, bitter chocolate sorbet
Petit fours

surprisingly, there was no lamb dish of any kind. the lamb chop is their signature dish and the next time i go, that is what i am ordering. my favorite was the duck and the venison. it is too close to call because the venison was so perfect, but i was so full by that time, that i couldn’t fully appreciate it. i also had a virgin mojito to ring in the new year – feeling adventuresome and reckless!

~~hatfield’s~~ | 6703 melrose ave la ca 90038 | 323.935.2977

Wafers

I love wafers of all kinds: kit kat, quadritini, those pink n yellow n brown ones that taste super sweet and fake, torcik wedlowski. I’m not really obsessed with the fake wafer you get at church but that’s because it has all sorts of symbolism attached to it. My favorite wafer of all time, though, is the oblaten in its original flavor. They are perfect wih a cappuccino.

Poquito mas

Poquito mas has one of those help yourself salsa stands. Risking potential diarrhea, i sampled the offerings and here’s what i found: the brown one with black flecks is a smoky chipotle type sauce. Not my fave. The onions. Self-explanatory. The green sauce is appropriately mild with a hint of cilantro. The orange sauce is disgusting. Bitter. Rancid. Like Tapatio on vinegar steroids. But definitely the hottest. The red is tomatoey. Tastes like pasta sauce. I think i skipped a few from the selection. Missing from the picture is standard pico de gallo.

good girl dinette

our 2009-2010 jonathan gold list has long expired, but couldn’t resist trying out good girl dinette. the 30% blackboard eats coupon certainly helped. the spicy fries weren’t as spicy as they could have been, but i enjoyed the flecks of jalapenos that graced the fried goodies. and the charred beef rice noodle salad was like eating cold pho – all the good vietnamese spices and smells (i love anise and basil!). our group also had the curry chicken pot pie, the beef stew, and the pork confit. whoa! everything was so heavy. i really enjoyed the food, but this meal is still sticking with me. i really liked the crust on the pot pie: flaky, doughy, salty. and i liked the steamed an choi. a nice counterpoint to the heartier-than-hearty stew.