I took a step back today and let J the gumbo master take command of the kitchen. The only thing I added was the Tapatio, because let's face it: that's what Californians do.
Step 1: procure a LOT of seafood. We bought tiger shrimp as well as live blue crabs and a spider crab today. This was added to some catfish filets and picked Dungeness crab that we had already gathered and kept in the fridge. The biggest disappointment today was that the market didn't have any good oysters or clams. 
I'd never bought a spider crab before, but I wouldn't recommend it. They're covered in dirt and algae, and their shelld are impossibly hard to crack. I had to use the back of a cleaver and I got crab juice all over the kitchen and myself. But look how intensely blue it is!
The spider crab turns bright orange after steaming. The flavor is similar to that of a Dungeness crab, but the meat is a little springier.
Step 2: Make seafood stock. Anything goes, but today's stock included a pound of whole shrimp (the really cheap kind that's not great for eating), the shells and smaller feet of six blue crabs, bonito flakes, bay leaves, cracked pepper, thyme, oregano, celery, onions, and parsley. Everything was simmered for a few hours, then strained.
Step 3: mise en place! This was my only contribution to the meal. Don't knock it; it's a lot of chopping. Onions, celery, garlic, a bell pepper, a poblano chili, and a lot of okra. The okra was cut later to prevent it from turning brown. And look at my beautiful Shun santoku.
I roasted a poblano for the first time today. I should have let it get a little blacker all over, but I didn't really know what to look for. Next time, I'll know to let it get totally black on the outside. It was fun to hear the skin popping as it blistered. It sounded like tiny popcorn.
Step 4: sit back and knit while J works his magic! That's right, I finished in one weekend. I can't believe I finally finished a project. Now that I've mastered rectangles, straps, and curved armholes, I think I'm ready to add sleeves and make a complete sweater. Someday. I still need to wash this and shape it to get rid of some of the funny wrinkling, but that's easy. I love my Seuss-inspired stripes.
J is the seafood master of the relationship. If I could only eat one animal for the rest of my life it would undoubtedly be beef, but I think J would die without seafood. He won't even let me touch his roux, so you're going to have to excuse me for not having an exact recipe for gumbo.
The recipe for ro geng, however, is up and running! Scroll down or click here.
1 comments:
your tank top is cute!
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