Writing With My Mouth Full

Flank Steak with Sugar Snap Peas on Vermicelli

There have been some wonderful sugar snap peas in Chinatown for less than $2 a pound. I imagined making some sort of crunchy salad with them so I stopped by my butcher on Mott to buy a nicely-red beef flank steak to match. After searing the steak, the sauce caramelized and I ended up throwing the snap peas in the same skillet to wipe it off. The beef came out perfectly medium-rare and pink inside when I was slicing it against the grain. You can definitely eat this with rice but I opted for vermicelli noodles to make it lighter. Because it took less than an hour to make this, two people were able to drink the rest of the night after eating.

Ingredients:
1 pound of beef flank
4 tbsps kecap manis
3 tbsps sambal oelek
a bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp peanut oil
rice vermicelli
1 red bell pepper, julienned
a handful of sweet snap peas, trimmed
salt

1. Marinate the meat. In a large bowl, combine kecap manis, sambal oelek, cilantro, garlic and sesame oil and rub all over the flank steak. Cover and put in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
2. In the meantime, trim the peas and julienne the vegetables. When ready to cook, heat peanut oil in a large skillet and sear the flank steak in high heat. Let it sit on one side first without moving it and then turn to sear the other side, about 8 minutes each depending on its thickness. Remove to a chopping board and let rest for about 5 minutes.
3. Keep the heat on and cook the peas using the remaining oil and crusty bits in the skillet and then add the peppers. Stir-fry until peas are tender.
4. Boil some water in a pot and then turn the heat off. Add the vermicelli in the hot water and let it cook in the remaining heat for a couple of minutes. Drain and using a fork, separate noodles and serve in a bowl. Slice the beef against the grain and serve on top of the noodles with the vegetables. Pour remaining sauce from the skillet on top.

Related post/s:
More recipes using flank steak

Thai Chicken with Basil and Cashews

I’m on a Thai and Indian kick lately so I’ve also been craving spicy and hearty stews. But I didn’t want to spend too much time cooking last night–I just wanted to eat. Something quick for dinner to me means stopping by the Asia Food Market around the corner from the office and buying fragrant Thai basil leaves and lemongrass. Chicken is usually my fallback when I just want to eat from a big rice bowl in front of the TV and I ended up doing just that after putting this together, quickly and painlessly. I made a big batch so guess what I’m having for lunch?

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken thighs, cut in small pieces
1 bunch of Thai basil leaves
a handful of cashews
1 small knob of ginger, peeled, sliced thinly
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lemongrass stalk, crushed, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro stalks, finely chopped
2 red chilis
juice from 1 lime
2 tbsps palm sugar
2 tbsps fish sauce
oil

1. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with the ginger, garlic, lemongrass, cilantro and chilis.
2. In a large skillet, heat some oil and lightly toast the cashews. Remove to a plate and drain with a paper towel.
3. Add more oil to the skillet and cook the chicken in batches, stir-frying until they’re cooked and lightly browned.
4. Stir in the basil leaves with the lime juice, sugar and fish sauce until the leaves wilt. Toss in the cashews and simmer until the liquid thickens a bit.

Related post/s:
Another Thai-inspired dish

Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

I never really bake because I’m not a big fan of desserts. When I tell my friends who love to bake that I am a better cook because I can just throw ingredients in a pot and make a nice dish out of it, they tell me the same thing–that they throw eveything in a bowl and bake. I honestly think baking requires more skill and patience. I can chop vegetables until my hands are numb so I can make my own Vietnamese summer rolls and I enjoy braising and waiting for my beef bourguignon to come out of the oven, but I have no patience to wait for anything to turn golden brown. If I need more than my finger to poke and see if it’s cooked inside, then I don’t want it.

I bought a loaf of ciabatta bread the other day to make some pizzetta for dinner and ended up only using less than half of it. I didn’t want it to go to waste so I picked up a quart of heavy cream the next day and actually baked pudding when I got home. Sure enough, it took a few TV shows before they were the color I imagined the top of pudding should be, but they actually came out perfectly. I used a 12-muffin tray and topped them with caramel sauce and packed them for sweet-toothed co-workers the next morning.

Ingredients:
1 big loaf of day-old bread
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 cup maple syrup
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 tbsps butter

1. Prepare everything before baking. Preheat oven to 300Âº. Grease muffin tray with melted butter. Set aside. Slice and break bread into small pieces and fill each muffin hole.
2. In a large glass bowl, whisk together eggs and egg yolks. Add 3/4 cup of the maple syrup, 1 cup of the heavy cream with the milk and vanilla. Pour this mixture into each muffin hole with the bread, enough to make sure they are swimming.
3. Fill a deep baking tray with about 2 inches of water. Place the muffin tray in the baking tray and bake until golden brown, about 1 hour. If necessary, gently flip each muffin with a spatula and cook the bottom of the muffins until they are also lightly browned.
4. During the last 30 minutes of baking, make the caramel sauce. In a small non-stick pan, heat the remaining maple syrup and whisk in the other cup of cream until thickened. Add the butter and a pinch of salt and keep whisking in low heat until caramelized.
5. When ready to serve, place muffins on a plate and pour caramel sauce on top.

Bordeaux versus Burgundy

The Dr. and I stopped by the Union Square Wines & Spirits store before we viewed the amazing Ron Mueck sculptures in the Brooklyn Museum on Saturday. They were having a free tasting of several Bordeaux and Burgundy wines from France with Marcus Lartigau, a French wine guru. We stayed for about an hour and we learned a lot of things during the tasting. I took notes and I’ll try to list them here from my indecipherable handwriting to share with you.

If you look at a map of France, you’ll see that Bordeaux is on the lower west side of the country, closer to Spain, while Burgundy is to the east. Red wine from Bordeaux is made from Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with small quantities of Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot for blending. White Bordeaux is mostly made of Semillon but also with a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle and Ugni Blanc. Red Burgundy is made exclusively of the Pinot Noir grape while white Burgundy is all Chardonnay. Most of the wines from Bordeaux follow a classification that’s why a lot of people think they are more “intellectual” than Burgundy because of the rules they follow. A lot of vineyards in the Burgundy region have multiple owners so a lot of the wines come with several names on the labels. But the most obvious thing that a lot of people don’t know about the two wines is the bottle shape. Bordeaux bottles have high shoulders while Burgundy bottles slope.

The following list consists of the wines we tasted. My personal favorite was the red Bordeaux from Chateau du Tertre at around $35 a bottle:

1. Domain Michel Niellon 2004 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc – Burgundy — a little anemic
2. Chateau Carbonnieux 2004 Pessac Leognan Graves Grand Cru – Bordeaux — grapefruit, very clean
3. Domain Ramonet 2004 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge – Burgundy — tangy in the beginning but very good in the end
4. Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2001 Pauillac Grand Cru – Bordeaux — some raisin, a little bit of spice
5. Chateau du Tertre 2002 Margaux Grand Cru – Bordeaux — bolder and fuller, more spice
6. Chateau Gruaud Larose 2003 Saint-Julien – Bordeaux — a little bit more alcohol and drier

Aburiya Kinnosuke

213 East 45th Street between Second and Third
212/867.5454
$104 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥

There are two ways you can order your grilled food at Aburiya Kinnosuke. The robata grill is right at the bar where the Japanese chefs set skewers next to burning coals (not on top of) and take about 30 to 40 minutes to prepare. If you choose the shichirin grill, your meat will be served on top of a little clay pot and you can grill your food yourself. The portion is small you won’t be grilling like you do at a Korean restaurant. It’s all done that Japanese way: simple and understated.

When we reserved two seats at the bar, the fish of the night was yellowtail and the specials board noted that they were all flown in from Japan. The restaurant’s specialty is fish collar and because the yellowtail probably flew in style, it was priced at $30. We were interested to try it even at that price but thankfully, they were all out of stock by 9pm. We opted for the sea bass collar instead for $7. For collars, I don’t care if the fish came from another country. If it’s a cheap cut of fish, it really shouldn’t be more than $10. That said, we imagined our $7 sea bass collar was as good as how the $30 one would have tasted. It’s grilled the same way and it probably had the same amount of meat as the yellowtail.

But we started with the monkfish liver first. We never fail to order ankimo when it’s on the menu and Aburiya Kinnosuke’s is as delicate as they come. Another item we don’t skip at Japanese restaurants is the uni. The sashimi was served in a small woven basket with two kinds of kelp. I couldn’t help but order the fresh sea eel minus all the familiar kabayaki sweet sauce. They were served with the eel bone deep-fried with a dollop of wasabi. The eel meat was soft, yet very meaty, and it really had its own sweet taste without the dressing. The pork cheeks were delicious. They were chewy but tender enough to make us forget that cheeks, too, are considered cheap cuts. The offal taste was offset by the sweet seaweed and lemon juice. The fried chicken balls came with grilled peppers, something we’ve come to love after Barcelona, and powdered sea salt. They were crunchy without being too heavy. Next were the beef slices on the shichirin grill. They were atop a dried magnolia leaf and a handful of miso chiffonade garnished them. We cooked them for only a few minutes, rare and juicy enough to eat.

The servings were small so Aburiya Kinnosuke’s pacing was key. There were short pauses in between our dishes that allowed us to enjoy our Sapporo and plum vodka. Our dessert was one of the best things I’ve had since my visit to ChikaLicious: white sesame pudding with vanilla ice cream. The sweetness was so restrained and the nuttiness so addicting that I could have eaten another serving even though we were so full.

The crowd at Aburiya Kinnosuke is more adult and more moneyed. In fact, you can reserve a booth behind small curtains where a lot of the Japanese men probably conduct important businesses. (Since the initial reviews were published in 2005, they have employed English-speaking staff. The white girl who answers the phone is as fluent in Japanese as any of the chefs.) I understand that I have to go to midtown to have a real Japanese meal because of the proximity of the United Nations building. If I count how many times I eat Japanese food in a given month, I would group the restaurants in midtown as the best ones. Aburiya Kinnosuke is just one of them.

Related post/s:
Desserts at ChikaLicious