cia – Page 152 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Rosemary-Honey Braised Lamb Ribs

I had leftover lamb ribs in the freezer that I wanted to use before my run in the park. When I returned out of breath, the last thing I wanted to do after my shower was to go to the grocery store. I searched the Food Network and found this Ming Tsai recipe using lamb shoulder. The list of ingredients, except for the chickpeas, were all in my cupboard so I used a can of butter beans instead. It also gave me a chance to use the fresh honey I bought at a farm when we were in Long Island. September is only a couple of weeks away and the dish made me look forward to autumn. I love braising cheap cuts of meat because it only requires using one pot where I can put everything together and leave it for several hours without worrying about overcooking. My favorite part is pouring the leftover sauce on top of the dish before serving. The liquid is thick and the flavors become concentrated. For this dish, the honey just gave the sauce a subtle hint of sweetness.

Ingredients:
6 pieces lamb ribs
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 tbsp ginger, smashed
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
4 ribs of celery, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
1 can of butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup of honey
2 tbsps soy sauce
salt, pepper, Canola oil

1. Mix together the flour, chili powder and cumin in a platter and use to rub and cover the lamb. In a Dutch oven and working in batches to avoid overcrowding, heat some oil and brown the lamb on both sides, about 12 minutes per side. Remove the lamb and set aside on a plate.
2. Wipe the Dutch oven clean with a paper towel and place back on high heat. Coat again with oil and sautÃ© the garlic, ginger, onions, carrots and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Add rosemary and bay leaves and deglaze with red wine.
3. Add the butter beans, honey and soy sauce. Add back the lamb and some water to cover. Check for flavor of the braising liquid and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 1 to 2 hours, or until fork tender.

Searching for a Good Taco: East Village

Miss Geolouxy volunteered her services to accompany me for my second search for a good taco. It was after work so we decided to meet at Astor Place and work our way up and down First and Second Avenues from 1st to 10th Streets. I didn’t bring a list of places since the east side is not my territory, but I had a map to keep us from making a wrong turn towards the no-number streets. (That’s for another day.)

The area around St. Marks Place has always been the place to get a bowl of soba noodles early in the day, a sterling silver stud for your ear at lunch, a tattoo in the afternoon, a pair of socks from the Sock Man afterwards and a chicken gizzard yakitori with a bottle of Sapporo for dinner, all in one day. While you can still get all those today, you’d have to fight your way to get through the crowds stopping by chickpea, the falafel place in the corner, Chipotle, Grand Sichuan and soon enough Bamn!, a shop full of vending machines off Second Avenue. The neighborhood has indeed changed.

We learned early that it would be hard to keep our budget of $3 for each taco. The downtown locations come with an extra price hike. Unlike the tacos uptown, the second tortilla is wrapped around the first so that they look like burritos, perhaps it’s because people are on the go downtown. I also found it interesting that none of our tacos came in half-moon shapes.

San Loco Mexico, 124 Second Avenue off St. Marks Place, 212/260.7948

The guys at the bar wouldn’t get up from watching their baseball game to let two ladies sit and eat, but at least the catfish taco was good enough to make us stay. The fish is breaded and deep-fried and it was crispy and hot enough to make everything all right. The shredded pork was equally tasty and succulent. The two tacos cost us a little less than $7.

Puebla Mexican Food and Coffee, 47 First Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets, 212/473.6643

The chorizo taco was just all about salty goodness here. We loved the cilantro and the lime juice, plus the tortilla had a different texture than what I was used to. My favorite out of the four even at $5.25.

Downtown Bakery, 69 First Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets, 212/254.1757

The guava jelly roll is a plus but we weren’t there to rate their pastries so we stuck with the chorizo taco that came with avocado. Instead of ground pork, this was sausage cut up in smaller pieces. The tortilla seemed to taste more real here, too. They serve two tacos for $6 but they were nice enough to sell us only one to share.

Paquito’s, 143 First Avenue between St. Marks Place and 9th Street, 212/674.2071

We ordered the beef taco this time for $2.50. It was a little bit chewy but the good salsa that came with it was pretty tasty. Their “Real Mexican Style” taco was more substantial than the others. Their red blinking sign gave me a headache while we waited for our order, so if I have to return, I’d check out their restaurant next door.

We only had a couple of hours–we opted for a manicure first, of course–so we ended up only hitting four spots but what good spots they were!

Menkuitei

63 Cooper Square on 3rd Avenue
212/228.4152
$30 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥

Astor Place is filled with restaurants serving Japanese comfort food. I go to Menkuitei for their grilled fish neck. Their ramen selection is good, too, plus you’ll deal with less of a crowd here. The house special is one of my favorites but I must say I find it hard to say no to the curry bowl.

Corn Bok Choy Soup

When corns are in season in the summer, people immediately grill or steam them. I usually make this corn soup, a staple when I was growing up in Manila. To me, slurping soup is one of the most comforting things you can do for yourself even if it’s 90 degrees outside. Even if you don’t have all the vegetables to make a nice stock, the natural sweetness of the corn is enough to make the broth tasty. Kale or even broccoli is a good substitute for the bok choy.

Ingredients:
5 ears of fresh corn, kernels sliced off using a serrated knife
2 bunches of baby bok choy
1 medium red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound of ground pork
red pepper flakes
salt, pepper, oil

1. In a stock pot, heat some oil and sautÃ© garlic until brown and onions until transparent. Add the ground pork and brown until cooked.
2. Add the greens and cook until slightly wilted. Add 8 cups of water and the corn and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Ladle in soup bowls and sprinkle with red pepper flakes before serving.

Province

305 Church Street corner of Walker
212/925.1205
$25 for two, with two drinks, without tip
â™¥ â™¥

Update, 2008: Province has closed

Oh, mantou, where have you been all these years? Mantou, the steamed bun mainstay of northern Chinese street food stalls is finally in TriBeCa. And I hope it stays because the neighborhood could use a practical place to eat where good food is served without the frills and the bill. A mantou sandwich is $3.75 and you can choose between bulgogi with kimchi, spicy pork, grilled chicken or braised pork shoulder with pickled radish. Each mantou is freshly-baked and grilled so the sesame seeds on top get toasted for a nice smoky taste. They’re dense but spongy; doughy but not heavy. If two mantous are not enough for you, the bowl of cold sesame noodles with tofu, eggs, carrots and cucumber in soy-ginger sauce is substantial for less than $7. It’s a refreshing summer lunch.

Province calls itself the Chinese Canteen and frankly, I like that name better. I would even call it the Asian Canteen because you can practically sandwich anything with mantou. Its simple unfinished decor reminds me of Momofuku Noodle Bar, only less pretentious and less crowded.