Writing With My Mouth Full

Smoked Tofu and Celery Salad

You can find smoked tofu from your Chinatown’s refrigerated aisle next to the regular tofu. I order a spicier version of this salad whenever I’m in a Sichuan restaurant because I like the combination of spongy and crunchy textures. The tofu brings down the spiciness of the other dishes while the celery cleanses the palate. With a dash of red pepper flakes, this salad makes a good starter for non-Chinese dishes.

Ingredients:
1 package smoked tofu, sliced thinly
5 stalks of celery, cut into matchsticks
a splash of soy sauce
a splash of rice wine vinegar
red pepper flakes
peanut oil
salt

1. Heat peanut oil in a large skillet. Add the celery and stir-fry for 4 minutes. Add the tofu and continue to stir-fry for another 4.
2. Add a splash of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Sprinkle some salt and red pepper flakes. Toss and cook for the last 2 minutes.

Ippudo

65 Fourth Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets
212/388.0088
about $40 for two, with drinks, with tip
♥ ♥

Shigemi Kawahara became Japan’s Ramen King after winning three consecutive years in a TV program against other ramen chefs. After twenty years in business, people still line up outside his Ippudo branches in Japan. This East Village store is his first foray overseas. The pandemonium has now reached New York City and the wait for a table to eat ramen is already two hours long. Alas, Ippudo’s reputation precedes itself.

We put our names down around 7pm and bought a few drinks around the East Village before heading back to see if the maitre d’ was any closer to calling out our names from her book. Two more Sapporo and Kirin drafts later and we were finally seated in front of the beautiful sequin piece in the back (next to chef Pichet Ong, no less). I immediately noticed the heavy wood interior when we walked in. Everything inside Ippudo looks expensive. I realized I’ve seen this kind of design before (Wagamama in London and Momofuku a few blocks away), but Ippudo presents itself quietly and with grace. Don’t expect loud music inside; there’s a buzz but it doesn’t get as loud as David Chang’s Noodle Bar. During opening week, they seemed understaffed because service was slow. The waiters were attentive but I just didn’t want to wait for my food any longer after having already waited two hours.

It’s amazing how a simple food item like ramen can be glorified this way. There is no need to bill the Berkshire pork nor the organic ingredients. At Ippudo, it’s all about the art involved in making the ramen. The high-quality ingredients just follow.

We ordered the bowls Ippudo is well known for: Akamaru Shin-aji and Shiromaru Moto-aji. The akamaru was appropriately served in a red bowl (aka is “red” in Japanese) while the shiromaru was in a white bowl. (Shiro translates to “white”.) The broth is milky white, a sign that pork bones have been simmered for a few hours, but it didn’t have that slimy smell you usually get in regular ramen broths. It tasted of pork, but clean and rich at the same time. You don’t begin to really appreciate the Ippudo signature until you start chewing on the noodles. Firm and tender noodles. I never had ramen noodles like this before even from the small ramenyas in Tokyo.

They ran out of the kakumi, or pork belly with braised daikon radish, when we visited so we supplemented our ramen bowls with the Ippudo roll instead: grilled pork with custard and cucumber. We slurped loudly and happily, appreciating every effort that has gone to making each noodle the way ramen should be.

Watch out Momofuku.

Dilled Vegetables with Lentils

You can use almost any vegetable to make this dish at home. I chose potatoes and carrots because they are hefty enough to keep me full for a couple of hours. The spinach, I think, is a must–don’t be afraid to use frozen spinach leaves if you want to skip the chore of washing them. Add some roasted butternut squash and you’ll be more than set for autumn.

I made my own ginger-garlic paste and froze them in batches. Store leftovers by spreading a small bit on Saran wrap. Top it with another sheet of Saran. Repeat until you have a small stack of ginger-garlic paste separated by Saran in sheets. Store in a resealable plastic bag and put in the freezer. If you want to skip that step, just add 2 tbsp of ginger cut in thin strips and 3 cloves of minced garlic.

Ingredients:
3 bunches of spinach, rinsed thoroughly, chopped
3 potatoes, peeled, quartered
half a bag of baby carrots
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cup of lentils, washed and drained
a handful of dill leaves, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
salt, oil

For ginger-garlic paste:
cloves from 3 heads of garlic, peeled
1 large ginger root, peeled, chopped

1. Make ginger-garlic paste. Blend ginger and garlic together until smooth. Set aside.
2. Cook lentils. In a small saucepan, boil some water and add lentils. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon, reserving some of the water for later.
3. In a large Dutch oven, heat some oil. Add the cumin seeds and toast until light brown. Then add a tsp of ginger-garlic paste and mix.
4. Add all the vegetables and the lentils. Season with salt. Add turmeric and mix. Put 2/3 cup of the lentil water, cover, and cook in low fire for about 35 minutes. Stir occasionally until carrots are tender. Some of the vegetables will be mushy.

Broccoli with Cumin and Black Mustard Seeds

I don’t like broccoli but these sure were tasty, was one of the comments I received after including this in my first Mother Hen project for some of my co-workers. They were my favorite, too, because they came out bright green and perfectly tender. If you need to eat more greens, this is a good dish to start with.

Ingredients:
3 bunches of broccoli, separated and cut into small florets
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt, oil

1. In a large skillet, heat some oil. Add the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the cumin and toast until light brown. Then add and sauté garlic. Add turmeric and mix.
2. Add the broccoli and season with salt. Add 2/3 cup of water and cook covered for about 5 minutes. Uncover and check if florets are tender. They should still be a bit crisp. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving plate using a slotted spoon.

Sweet Potatoes with Maple Syrup Glaze

I started what I call Mother Hen Project at work where I cook Monday lunch for up to five people for $5 a pop. I call them omakase bento so that I don’t have to promise a menu ahead of time. They’re stored in these neat lunch boxes I picked up from a Chinatown stationary store. I have plans to have a life, so I decided to do it only once a week. The demand’s pretty good right now and I only have a few slots until the end of May to fill up. I hope they all like what they get.

This sweet potato with maple syrup glaze recipe is matched with dilled vegetables with lentils, a seared Swai fillet and broccoli with cumin and mustard seeds. It’s a tad sweet to clear the palate off the Indian spices.

Ingredients:
3 sweet potatoes, rinsed, ends trimmed, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch rounds
1/4 cup maple syrup
a small knob of butter
a pinch of thyme leaves
salt, pepper, oil

1. Toss potatoes with oil in large bowl; season liberally with salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and brush foil with some more oil. Arrange potatoes in single layer on baking sheet and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place potatoes in oven, and heat oven to 300º. Cook potatoes for 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and continue to roast potatoes until they begin to soften slightly, 25 minutes longer.
2. In the meantime, make maple syrup glaze. Heat maple syrup, butter and thyme in small saucepan over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Remove sheet from oven and increase oven temperature to 400º. Once oven reaches 400º, return potatoes to oven and cook until bottom edges of potatoes are golden brown, 12 minutes. Remove pan from oven and brush tops of potatoes with half of glaze. If glaze becomes too stiff to brush onto potatoes, reheat it briefly.
4. Return sheet to oven and cook until bottoms of potatoes are golden brown and glaze begins to darken, 8 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and, using thin metal spatula, flip slices over. Brush second side of potatoes with remaining glaze. Continue to roast until bottom edges of potatoes are golden brown, another 8 minutes. Let potatoes cool for 5 to 10 minutes, transfer to platter, and serve.