Liang Fen

We had a few cold dishes today that were a little noteworthy. All these recipes are still being tweaked, but I'll give the gist below:

Liang fen is a Szechuan creation of mung bean (and green bean) starch. The starch, when cooked with water and then chilled, makes a noodle that is very much like Jell-O in consistency, minus the sugar. Traditionally, it is served with chili oil, Szechuan peppercorns, chopped green onions and cilanttro, soy sauce, and (optional) a healthy dose of Chinese black vinegar. Our approximation was pretty good today, but some tweaking is in order before I will post a recipe. 

Simple stir fry of spring asparagus. California asparagus is at its peak this month, and we've been enjoying it a lot as a simple stir fry: flaming hot pan + thinly sliced asparagus + a bare pinch of salt = really good eats!

Lastly, our signature surf clam salad. For most of my life, I had a deep-seated aversion towards surf clams. I viewed them as an extraneous, rubbery, waste of money that always appeared on assorted sashimi plates. But tossed in the proper sauce, the humble surf clam really come to life! We like it with a spoonful of masago, chopped green onions and/or cilantro, a spoonful of soy sauce, and a spoonful of lao gan ma hot sauce.