Persimmons and Chicken Broth? Oh Yes!

Who knew that hachiya persimmon goop and chicken broth went so well together? I got a huge box of on-the-edge hachiyas at the farmers’ market for just a few dollars, and spent about an hour dealing with them: separating the goop from the skins and tops, sieving it, and placing it it one-quart freezer bags for later use, long after persimmon season is over. I couldn’t help but toss a few cups of it in the blender with some chicken stock I had just made, just for fun, along with plenty of salt and pepper. Oh yes, did it work! Here’s what I added to the soup pot:

chicken stock/persimmon mixture

zucchini slices

cooked potato slices

cooked rice noodles

matcha salt

chives

It yields a broth that’s light and vibrant and tangy, yet slightly creamy. It feels preposterously healthy while eating it, and long afterward.

Is anyone doing anything interesting with persimmon goop? I’m also making oatmeal with it: milk, water, persimmon goop, crystallized ginger, currants, cinnamon, dried apricots. What else?

Posted by Eric | 11:57 pm 11/12/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas | 13 Comments »

How to Make "Japanese" Bacon

Here’s a clip from the new Vook. I’ll have a lot more video to upload in the coming months, so I’m hoping everyone likes this direction. Feedback is hugely appreciated! Btw, there’s nothing inherently Japanese about this dish, other than the cut of meat — sukiyaki cut, which is quite hard to find in mainstream markets — and possibly the addition of minced ginger. Whatever its origin, it’s really, really tasty.

Posted by Eric | 7:49 pm 11/09/2009 | Posted in videos | 13 Comments »

Superkraut — More Fermenting Action

It had been far too long since my hardcore German Harsch fermenting crock had seen any action, so I thought it might be fun to make some “superkraut” — in addition to the classic cabbage and salt, I added carrots, quite a bit of fresh younger ginger, and even more fresh turmeric, all sliced very thinly with the benriner. After six days of ferment, it’s perfect in my book: tangy, lively, almost medicinal (in a good way). Instead of using just kosher salt, I used herb salt and tangerine salt.

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of making your own sauerkraut, it’s a marvelous thing to do. You simple shred a boatload of cabbage (I used two very large heads), take a big handful, toss it into a crock, salt it, and punch it down with your fist, both to break up the cabbage pieces and to squish them down. Add more and do another layer. And again, either till you run out of cabbage or space in the crock, whichever comes first. The salt draws out the considerable amount of water of cabbage, which then provides a kind of salt bath, which prevents some bacterias from forming, and encourages lots of probiotic activity. The veggies then get a heavy ceramic “lid” placed over them, which gets pushed down to make sure everything is sitting in brine. The crock itself has a little “moat” around the top so that critters can’t crawl in. Here’s a photo of what the crock looks like. I got the 20 liter version — must have been feeling a surge of optimism when I hit the purchase button that day! A much smaller one would have done just fine, say the 7.5 liter one.

It’s just delicious stuff. I love having several gallons of it around, for snacking, for part of lunch, to give away to friends and neighbors. If anyone’s around Marin and wants a taste, let me know! I have a feeling the crock is going to see constant action this winter.

Posted by Eric | 5:30 pm 11/04/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas | 5 Comments »

Making Automatic Chicken Broth: Star Anise Vegetable Soup with Green Tea Soba

I’ve lately developed a little habit that I’d like to share with you. Everytime we have chicken, there are always bones left at the end, either the whole carcass if I’ve roasted a whole bird or if I’ve purchased an already-roasted one (yes, I sometimes do that), or just the thigh bones from the bone-in thighs I sometimes make. After dinner, as we’re cleaning up, I’ll just chuck every bone into the pressure cooker, chop up an onion and maybe a carrot, toss in a dried shiitake or two, season with some s&p and whatever else beckons, and saute the massacre in some olive oil. I’ll then add some water, bring it to a boil, secure the lid, and cook under pressure for about 30 or 40 minutes. All of this has become so automatic that I don’t even think of it as extra work — it’s part of the cleanup, almost.

The payoff is the next day: I’ve got some incredibly flavorful broth with which to make a simple vegetable noodle soup. You just saute a sliced onion, a carrot, and whatever other veggies are laying around your vegetable crisper: chard, kale, green beans, fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, whatever. I saute the veggies in some olive oil, and usually add a generous pinch of dried shiitake powder (made by pulverizing a few whole dried shiitake in the spice grinder or, even better, in the Vita Prep blender, which turns them to dust in no time flat) for the extra umami hit. If I’m in a hurry I’ll add a small ladleful of the broth to cook the veggies faster.

While the veggies cook, heat up a small pot of water for the noodles. Udon and soba are my two favorite noodles to use in soups, but you could use egg noodles, rice noodles, even spaghetti. I used to cook the noodles in the boiling broth, to save time, but that method creates too much starch for me, so I cook the noodles separately, and then just lay the al-dente noodles in a heated bowl, followed by the veggies, followed by plenty of simmering broth, followed by chopped up fresh herbs and salt. In the photo above I’ve used green tea soba, fennel, carrot, onion, and chard sauteed in plenty of freshly ground star anise, and topped off with purple basil and kaffir lime salt.

It’s hard to overestimate how good this kind of soup makes your body feel. The hardest part of making soup this good is making good broth. But if you can mentally link the making of a quick, easy broth as just part of your chicken dinner cleanup — and it really does just take a few minutes of active prep — it’s a snap. The broth freezes nicely in ziplock bags too, just in case you don’t have time to use it the next day.

Posted by Eric | 11:27 pm 11/01/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 11 Comments »

Pumpkin Curry With Galangal and Fresh Turmeric

I picked up a 20-pound French pumpkin (they’re called cinderella pumpkins, photo here) at the farmers market a few weeks back, and it was time to deal with it. Man does a 20-pound pumpkin contain a lot of meat! After roasting the entire thing in sections, on four baking sheets, we had a boatload of tasty roasted pumpkin. Pureed some and froze, ate some as a side dish with chopped herbs, gave some away, and … made a beautiful pumpkin curry out of the rest.

Had metric quantities of young ginger, fresh turmeric, and galangal leftover from last week’s video sessions (more on these to come), so those got added to the pot, along with a huge onion, chopped apple, a few carrots, and the usual curry suspects: freshly ground coriander, cardamom, star anise, and curry powder, all sauteed in ghee (also from last week’s video on making ghee). What a nice smelling house this combo produces! To that I added a can of diced tomatoes, about three cups of pureed pumpkin, and, toward the end, about 1/2 cup of coconut milk. It is THE mid-autumn food. Served with rice and pickles (daikon and persimmon — that pickle got a video, too!).

Made at least a gallon, half of which I’ll freeze. Going into a slight “fill up the freezer” mode, in prep for the arrival of our new family member! Baby daughter arrives in about three weeks, yikes!!

Posted by Eric | 5:43 pm 10/28/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 10 Comments »

Watermelon Radish GORP

Remember Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts? The classic trail food. There’s something very satisfying about the crunchy-chewy combo of nuts and raisins. Delia was keeping a bowlful of almonds, walnuts, and raisins around as snack food, and I had a few watermelon radishes out, waiting for inspiration, when it dawned on me that these would actually be great together, bound by a simple vinaigrette. A lightning-fast salad that is as fun to eat as it is beautiful to look at. A real energy boost as well.

watermelon radish, cut into one-inch batons, or whatever size turns you on

handful of raisins, currants, and/or dried elderberries (I love these — they’re like intense little blueberries)

nuts toasted in a dry cast iron pan. I used whole roasted almonds, walnut pieces, and pecan halves

simple vinaigrette of good olive oil, fruity vinegar (like blood orange, pickled ginger, lemongrass, pear, or something similar)

Combine and enjoy!

Posted by Eric | 4:27 pm 10/26/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 17 Comments »

Yuzu Kale Crack

One of my favorite ways to eat kale, and lots of it. Just separate the leaves from the backbone, toss with a drizzle of olive oil, add a teaspoon or two of yuzu juice, and place on a baking sheet (I usually use a silpat over the baking sheet for really easy cleanup, but you could also use parchment paper). Bake at 350-ish for about 5 minutes. Using tongs, flip each piece over and bake for another 5 minutes or so, or until they start to get brownish and ultracrispy. Don’t overcook — it will turn bitter. Better to undercook a tad than to overcook, so watch them carefully. They’ll continue to crisp up once out of the oven, too.

Last step: salt! I like using yuzu salt, if you can find pieces of dried yuzu peel in your Japanese/Asian market. Otherwise, tangerine salt, or any citrus salt. Likewise, if you can’t find yuzu juice, any citrus juice will do, but meyer lemons mixed with a tiny amount of grapefruit juice makes a fine substitute. You could also give this dish a Mexican-ish spin by using Mexican (key) limes, a pinch of chipotle powder, and maybe some chipotle salt. Perfect party starter, movie snack, or just fuel as you cook other things!

Posted by Eric | 1:22 pm 10/24/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas | 3 Comments »

Eggplant Parmesan, Redux

Couldn’t resist some gorgeous rosa bianca eggplants I saw at the farmers’ market the other day. My standard eggplant dish sautes chunks of eggplant with ginger, fish sauce, and mint, but I was thinking something more casserole-ish for our little rain spell.

I ate quite a bit of bad eggplant parmesan as a kid. Remember the red-soaked supergooey version? Is there any other? There has to be! And if not, well, let’s make one.

The basic idea behind eggplant parm is to first salt some sliced eggplant to draw out excess moisture, then fry them in batches, then layer them into a baking dish along with layers of parm, and tomato sauce. It seemed like it would take too long to fry the slices in batches, so I just loaded up two baking sheets with silpats, rubbed the eggplant with olive oil, and dusted them with a combo of shiitake dust (pulverized dried shiitake) and flour, and baked in a hot oven until they browned a bit, about 15 minutes per side.

While they cooked, I made a quick sauce with about six cups of chopped fresh tomatoes and garlic confit and reduced it to about a third its original volume. Also had on hand plenty of fresh oregano from the garden, green onions, and two beautiful persimmons, my first of the season! So when the eggplant was done, I got out the Chamba and layered as follows:

layer of sauce
eggplant
parm
thinly sliced raw zucchini
green onions
eggplant
oregano
persimmon wheels
sauce
parm
eggplant
fresh tomato on top
parm

Nothing red and gloppy about it! It bursts with umami. Topped with lavender salt and plenty of black pepper. The rosa bianca eggplants are really nice — they’re creamy, and have far fewer seeds than the standard eggplant. Ask the farmer to show you how to identify male and female eggplants — you want the males, because they have fewer seeds. I got a lesson, but she was pretty unclear about it. Does anyone know how to definitively do it? And: any other favorite eggplant dishes? We’re late in the season, I know, but I’m eating as many as I can before it shuts down altogether!

Posted by Eric | 3:43 pm 10/21/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 6 Comments »

Spicy, Floaty Zucchini Bread

We’re at the end of summer squash season, but I couldn’t help but snap up a big bag of beautiful yellow and green zucchini at the market yesterday with the thought of making a big loaf of light, superspiced zucchini bread.

Anyone who’s ever planted zucchini knows that it likes to grow, grow, and grow some more, until you have so much zucchini that you can’t give it all away. One of my favorite zucchini stories is from my friend Victoria, who told me that you have to be careful in some parts of Canada during peak zucchini season: if you happen to leave your car unlocked, it’s not unusual to find a box of zucchini on the back seat!

Zucchini bread is the classic answer to that problem, since it typically takes anywhere from two to five cups of shredded zukes for a loaf. I like some zucchini breads, but I find most of them to be very heavy, so I’ve been trying to create a lighter version that’s not as sweet as the usual ones, and maximally jazzed up with some Indian-inspired spices.

I think I finally hit it. It’s made in a cast-iron pan with LOTS of grated zukes (six cups) and a combo of turmeric, cardamom, ginger, and ancho. It’s so light it almost floats! And it has a nice tang, with a great range of colors. It’s especially good toasted, with a hot cup of chai.

As most of you reading this know, I don’t normally provide full recipes, in the belief that it’s much more useful to think about the procedure and thoughts that go into making good food than a simple instruction sheet with exact measurements. But baking, of course, is different: it’s pretty much impossible to say “baking soda, to taste,” for example. So here it is, in full cookbook style glory. Hope you like it!

6 cups grated zucchini ( a food processor is a nice tool to accomplish this, but a sturdy cheese grater works well too), plus some kosher salt
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
3 tablespoons powdered ginger
1 teaspoon ancho powder
2 teaspoons freshly ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup cane sugar or light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
½ cup (1 stick) melted butter

1. Place a large, well-seasoned 3-quart pan, ideally made of cast-iron, with high sides (aka a “chicken fryer”), or earthenware/claypot into the oven and preheat to 350.

2. Spread the grated zukes on a baking sheet, salt them liberally with kosher salt, and set aside for about 10 minutes while you do the next steps.

3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, turmeric, ginger, ancho, cardamom, and salt, and mix. Set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl and using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the eggs on high speed for about a minute (you can also use a stand mixer, if you prefer), and add the sugar. Beat thoroughly for another 30 seconds or so. Add the vanilla, and beat a little more. Add the butter and beat still more, for another 20 seconds.

5. Gather the salted zukes into a ball and squeeze as much water as you can out of them. Really get lots of moisture out – the more, the better.

6. Add the zukes to the eggs and mix gently with a rubber spatula. Add the flour mixture to thoroughly incorporate, but don’t overmix. Spoon into the pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove and let cool for a bit on a rack.

Posted by Eric | 5:33 pm 10/19/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 11 Comments »

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