Writing With My Mouth Full

Ginatang Isda, Fish in Coconut Milk

This is my second contribution to Lasang Pinoy 20: Binalot, All-Wrapped Up! Binalot comes from balot, which means “to wrap”, while isda is Tagalog for “fish”.

If you live in the Philippines, I’m sure you can go to your neighbor’s backyard and find a banana tree. All you have to do is wipe the leaves down with a wet paper towel to make sure they’re clean. Here in New York City, I bought mine frozen in Chinatown. I thawed the few rectangles I knew I was going to use. If you’re surrounded by concrete buildings and there are no banana leaves around, you can use parchment paper which should be available in your baking goods supermarket aisle. If you can’t find bluefish, you can use cod or even salmon.

Using coconut milk is common in some parts of the Philippines. I grew up calling it gata. The important ingredient here is the dried chiles–the coconut milk needs to have some oomph!

Ingredients:
1 bluefish, scaled and cleaned
half a can of coconut milk
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
a handful of basil leaves, chiffonade
a few sprigs of cilantro, finely chopped
a few sprigs of parsley, finely chopped
dried chiles, crushed
salt, pepper
frozen banana leaves, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 375Âº. Season the fish inside out with salt and pepper.
2. Using a bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk together to make marinade, except for the fish and banana leaves. Marinate the fish for about 30 minutes.
3. Lay banana leaves large enough to cover the fish on your working table. If they are already in squares, make sure you overlap two leaves for your “base”. Put the fish on top and spoon the coconut mixture inside and outside the fish. Discard the rest. Using another banana leaf square, cover the fish and fold with the base to seal. Use toothpicks to hold the leaves together.
4. Put on a baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, discard the toothpicks and uncover by removing the top leaf. Return to the oven and cook for another 7 minutes. To serve, leave the fish on the banana leaf; just transfer to a plate.

Pinangat na Isda, Bluefish in Tomatoes

This is first my contribution to Lasang Pinoy 20: Binalot, All-Wrapped Up! Binalot comes from balot, which means “to wrap”, while isda is Tagalog for “fish”. Simmering in tomatoes is referred to as pinangat, although in my family, it also meant sour broth. It was too hot for soup, so I decided to make this even more simple by wrapping the fish in parchment paper. I wanted something easy and quick, preferably using ingredients that didn’t require me going to the supermarket. I found everything I needed in the fridge and the herbs I wanted on my windowsill. Under half an hour, we were eating dinner. Shortly after, we were ready for bed.

In French, this is also known as poisson en papillote, or fish in paper.

Ingredients:
1 bluefish, scaled and cleaned
a handful of white mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 large tomato, roughly chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1/4 stick of butter, half of it melted
salt, pepper
parchment paper

1. Preheat oven to 375Âº. Season the fish inside out with salt and pepper.
2. In a small pan, heat half of the butter. SautÃ© onions until translucent. SautÃ© tomatoes until mushy. Add mushrooms and cook until soft. Season with herbs and with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and set aside.
3. Lay parchment paper large enough to cover the fish on your working table. Brush one side with melted butter. Spoon half of the sautÃ©ed tomato mixture onto the paper. Put the fish on top. Stuff remaining tomato mixture inside the fish and spoon the rest on top. Fold the parchment paper over and seal all sides. Put on a baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes. Move to a large plate and unfold the sides of the paper in front of your guests.

Bluefish Sashimi with Kochujang Sauce

This isn’t really a recipe for the bluefish as much as it is for the spicy sauce that Koreans use to eat their sashimi with. The Dr. grew up fishing in Los Angeles and this is what his family does when they eat their catch. He replicated it in New York after he caught some bluefish off Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn.

Kochujang is a spicy Korean condiment made of fermented soy beans and chilis. It’s the same red pepper paste used in making kimchi. You need sushi-grade or freshly-caught fish to make the sashimi. A Korean boy with knife skills is also important. A big plus is spicy arugula to wrap and pick up the sashimi with.

Ingredients:
freshly-caught bluefish or any sushi-grade fish, filleted and sliced in small pieces
a dollop of Korean kochujang red pepper paste
1 tbsp sugar
a few jigs of rice wine vinegar
toasted sesame seeds
salt
a few leaves of spicy arugula

1. Combine and whisk all ingredients together in a bowl, except for the sashimi and the arugula. Season the mixture with some salt to taste.
2. On a serving plate, lay some arugula leaves and top with sashimi. Drizzle with the kochujang sauce and sprinkle with extra sesame seeds.

Orzo Citrus Pasta with Orange Oil

Lisa emailed to ask me where she can buy fregola pasta. I wondered why on earth an Italian would ask me that. It turns out that even her father didn’t know what it was. She couldn’t find it in her supermarket either. Fregola is a North African pasta used often today in Sardinia. It’s made with semolina and then rubbed to form small pellets and then toasted. It’s crumbly, almost like couscous. After I called Di Palo’s and confirmed that they had the pasta in stock, I sent Lisa to pick up a box before they closed.

I was intrigued that she needed the exact pasta, so I did some research and looked for a substitute. Orzo, and even couscous, were suggested. I have both at home but I decided to go for the orzo. My mother has plenty of grapefruit and oranges she uses as our coffee table centerpiece, so I ended up stealing a few to give the orzo a summery taste. The fennel was a bit of a surprise here–it gave a toasted smell and taste. You can make this meatier if you add some half-cooked peeled shrimps.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of orzo
1 orange
zest of that same orange
half of a pink grapefruit
chicken broth
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 stalks of scallion, white parts only, chopped
a handful fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
a pinch of fennel seeds, lightly toasted, grounded
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Make orange oil for dressing. Soak the orange zest in some olive oil using a small bowl. Set aside.
2. In a pot, bring the chicken broth to boil. Add orzo pasta and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain and remove to a baking sheet. Spread to a single layer to avoid sticking and clumping.
3. In the meantime, cut the skin off the orange and the grapefruit, and slice flesh into smaller pieces over a serving bowl to catch the juice. Add the onion, scallions and the orzo. Toss with the mint, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Drizzle with orange oil before serving.

Oklahoma Smoke BBQ

231 West 145th Street between Frederick Douglass and Adam Clayton Avenues
212/862.5335
about $31 for four people, with two sodas, without tip
â™¥

The day Oklahoma Smoke opened in west Harlem, they ran out of meat. I stopped by to check their menu and they told me they just didn’t anticipate how many people were going to show up. Really? You knew it was your opening day, right? The next day, I stopped by at 2pm. They were open, but the guys in the front had to ask the kitchen what time they think they’ll be ready. 5pm, someone said. Two days after that, I called to order dinner for pick-up. It was loud in the background but I managed to order a rack and a half of their pork jerky ribs. The guy on the phone said two side dishes come with my order, so I picked collard greens and rice and beans. He also reminded me that I can have a can of Coke with it.

Half an hour later, I walked in to pick up my order. There were a few of us standing around and waiting for our orders. Once in a while, someone would announce a number. They finally stopped when they realized their customers don’t know what the numbers mean. (Them: Who ordered number 23? Us: What the hell is number 23?) They packed up my order while I waited, but then realized someone had done it already. When I looked at that bag, the wrong sides were included. So I waited some more. When I received the sauce-stained paper with my food items checked off, the young girl at the counter didn’t know what buttons to press to register my order. One of the older men had to help her. At this point, I’m not quite sure who’s working for the restaurant. When I was finally handed my order, they told me they ran out of Cokes. I picked an orange soda instead. They gave me two.

Back at home, I served the ribs to three others. I had to use my hands because the meat easily fell off the bones. I wasn’t quite sure why they were called jerky; they tasted more like they were boiled before they were slow-cooked. Without the orange-colored sauce, the meat barely tasted like barbeque. Curiously, I texted Aaron, a friend who grew up in Oklahoma, and asked him what makes barbeque an Oklahoman barbeque? All I got in response was, We use a hillbillie recipe.

Harlem is going through a lot of changes. Business owners need more practice in running a restaurant to please more than just their neighbors. At Oklahoma Smoke BBQ, they’re trying really hard–at least they do their collard greens right.