chezpei.com

Duck Noodle Soup (and Sneak Peak!)

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:19:00 +0000

J manned the kitchen again today. I have to admit, he's been doing most of the cooking since we moved, since I'm exhausted after dealing with the house all day and he's been getting home reasonably early from work. It's a good thing we both love to cook. There's usually at least one person willing to man/woman the stove! Today's dinner was a joint venture. But for those who are surprised that J cooks, here he is in action!

Here are J's hands as he busily blanches some bok choy and enoki mushrooms for our bowls of roast duck over noodle soup. And in the background is our new Samsung induction range! It's really amazing. We're both still getting the hang of it, and we've been cooking very simple meals so it hasn't really had a chance to shine. I haven't even used the oven yet, other than to run a short steam clean cycle. But so far, we already love two things about this range. It can boil water for my morning coffee in about two minutes (fast and hot!), and it creates such even heat distribution that an egg dropped in simmering water turns into a beautifully poached egg with no work at all from the cook. I can't wait to see what else it can do!

Here's a close up of our dinner. Not too shabby. We painted one entire room and got started on the ceiling of our hallway today, in addition to doing laundry, prepping some wall trim for paint, laying contact paper in the kitchen, and trying to clean up a little.

Soup noodles are hardly enough when you lead a life of hard manual labor, so we added another plate of lu wei to tonight's dinner. I gussied it up with extra chili oil and ground Szechuan peppercorns.And another sneak peak for those who are looking: that's our kitchen countertop to the left, and our finished hardwood to the right! More to come...

Pot O' Braised Meats

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:41:00 +0000

Happiness is having dinner cooked for me after a long day. We did our first big grocery run this morning, and then I spent the afternoon painting while Jimmy slaved away in the kitchen making one of his favorites: lu wei. Roughly translated, lu wei is "braised flavors." Basically, everything is braised in a big pot of soy sauce, star anise, five spice powder, ginger, sugar, and water. It takes some finesse to get everything to come out perfectly cooked, but J was spot on today! I don't know who to credit; him or the new induction stove. Here's a visual:

As for the remodel, we're moved in, unpacking, painting, and arranging. The big reveal keeps getting pushed back, but soon! I promise; I don't want you to see the mess I'm living in right now!

Lightening Foods

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:12:00 +0000

Wow, it's been a week. Nonstop home improvement action full speed ahead! This weekend we unpacked and washed all our kitchen possessions, went shopping for kitchen organizing supplies, built our closet system, and paint stripped a window (this last one is the most grueling of the bunch). This week I'm concentrating on putting up shelving in the bathroom and painting our living room. Goal: be 90% unpacked and ready for furniture this weekend! Exciting times.

Unfortunately, exciting times means more eating out. We've been eating dinner at home but keeping it very simple. A lot of soup, salad, and bread. For lunch today, I met up with J at his favorite cheap lunch spot, Lightening foods. This is their house Caesar, served with a huge slab of juicy grilled chicken. Lightening serves J's favorite Caesar salad dressing--it's strongly infused with anchovies and garlic. Let's just say it's a salad that stays with you all day!

I opted for what turned out to be an incredible $6 deal. A large BLT and a side salad! The bacon was a little chewy, but if that's up your alley this can't be beat.

Tommy's Joynt

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:17:00 +0000

Tommy's Joynt has been a favorite of ours since J's law school days. A huge plate of food for under $10 paired with cheap beer in a casual atmosphere is a big draw when you're a poor student!

Nowadays, the food is too heavy for us to eat regularly, but once in awhile we do fall prey to the allure of Tommy's hofbrau-style good eats. You stand in line cafeteria style, pick which slab of meat you want to eat by pointing to the guys manning the carving stations, then pay and find a seat. Remember to hit up the pickle bucket on your way to your table. Tommy's has perhaps the finest homemade pickles in San Francisco. Lightly brined, but not too salty and still crunchy and fresh.

I had a brisket plate, which happened to be a little high on the fat ratio but otherwise very tender. I like baked beans at Tommy's, and the other choices of sides are all fine though nothing special.

J had the ginormous turkey leg with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy. I think we headed to the gym after this meal, but it was last week so I forget. I sure hope we did!

Cafe Claude

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:12:00 +0000

Impromptu romantic dinners are a perk of living in SF. We're not much for prescribed nights out like Valentine's Day or even birthdays, but when the mood strikes us it's nice to have the entire city at our feet.

Tonight, J suggested we head to Cafe Claude in Claude Alley. The outdoor tables were all empty, but the alley was still charming with its dim lights and sidewalk umbrellas.

We shared a pate plate, which turned out to be quite a generous portion! Our favorite was the rabbit, which was very peppery.

As the hungrier diner tonight, I ate the almond trout with string beans and potatoes in lemon butter sauce. Deliciously rich and tender, this filled me right up.

J kept it light and healthy with Cafe Claude's very popular endive salad. This salad might have just changed my mind forever! I've always thought endives were convenient scoop-shaped vegetables, but these were actually a flavorful salad green in their own right! They were crunchy and sweet, and paired nicely with bacon, tomatoes, and blue cheese. Total bill for our meal was just shy of $60. Not cheap, but not bad for a brief breath of civilization until our home comes together (fingers crossed; it should be soon!)

Sugar Cafe

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:54:00 +0000

Ever since it opened, Sugar Cafe has easily been the cutest cafe on the block. Hip, chic. and new, it is an internet cafe by day and a bar/lounge by night. What's really great though is that they roast their own coffee, and it's always been gosh darned good.

Lately, I've been going to Sugar Cafe to kill time while the contractors finish my apartment. I discovered that in addition to a good cup of joe, Sugar Cafe makes really good food! I've photographed here a slice of ginger cake and three muffins. The cake was moist and intensely gingery, and the muffins are generously sized. Last week I had a banana nut muffin topped with walnuts and a crunchy meringue/streusel, and it was exceptional. I might even way it's the best banana bread I've ever tasted! I liked it so much I bought a box of assorted muffins for my workers today. When the going gets tough, the tough bribe their contractors. After all, little sugar never slowed any project down!

Another day, I had a cheesy vegetable scramble because I needed to spend an entire morning at the cafe. I was very pleasantly surprised. Despite the cool vibe, Sugar Cafe serves some seriously homey grub! Maybe I just haven't cooked in too long, but it was so refreshing to eat a plate of food that tasted like home cooking rather than restaurant fare. Whoever cooks at Sugar Cafe is probably not a chef, but his/her friends probably love coming over for dinner.

Chabot Park Marksmanship Range

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:14:00 +0000

Everyone needs to get out of the city sometimes. This weekend, remodel-related issues drive us from our home and into the East Bay. Making lemonade out of lemons, we convinced a friend to take us rifle shooting. Chabot Park has a beautiful rifle and pistol range; much greener than the ranges in Los Angeles! I highly recommend this form of stress relief.

San Diego Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:49:00 +0000

Congratulations to J and D for tying the knot last weekend in beautiful, sunny San Diego!! It was really nice escaping from renovation misery and lounging around for a few days.

The wedding was at the Marine Room on the gorgeous shores of La Jolla. The restaurant is right up against the beach, with floor-to-ceiling,wall-to-wall windows that make you feel like you can reach out and touch the waves. The weather, of course cooperated. And the food was delicious! I think the crowd favorite was the smoked salmon appetizer: rolls of smoked salmon served atop lightly batter-fried avocados and what may have been an English muffin.

And for the main course, lobster! My friends are the BEST. How many people serve lobster entrees at their weddings? The lobster was tender and the sauce was lemony. I have nothing more to add.

Dessert was a trio: creme brulee, hibiscus lemon tart, and a port sorbet. The creme brulee was more like a hardened mousse, so it was the loser of the entire meal. It also didn't go with the other desserts, with were tart and refreshing. But two out of three ain't bad, and the presentation was delightful. I forgot to take pictures of the cake and boxed desserts, but it was very obvious that the couple of the day has bit sweet teeth! Thanks for throwing a lovely party, and best wishes on your new life together!

Home Messy Home

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:56:00 +0000

Ah, we're all moved in! Here's a very zen photo of our beautiful, sunny living room overlooking Union Square.

Unfortunately our apartment no longer looks this beautiful and tidy. We've moved in, and along with us have come dozens of ugly boxes. But I will spare you those details; just admire the pretty floors and stay tunes for painted walls and more pictures!

Moving Day!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:44:00 +0000

Rule #1: stay hydrated, and bribe the movers. Hence, two cups of coffee today.

Purple Rug?

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:49:00 +0000

As you can imagine, it's been busy busy busy around here. We're really entering the home stretch on our remodel! Not to jinx anything, but I hope to be fewer than five posts away from a big reveal. In the meantime, how do people feel about traditional rugs? Remember, our apartment harkens from the 1920s, even if we've tried to update its interior. Then again, I do admit an affinity for purple so maybe I'm distracted by the fact that I found a relatively lovely, very well-priced rug that has purple in it. Vote away! I have to keep packing.

Here are some pictures of traditional rugs in modern rooms:

sample one
sample two
sample three

I'm not saying I'm in love with any of those interiors, but I think in concept a traditional rug and a simple Crate and Barrel style sofa can work together. Yes/no?

Also, shout out to my peeps in DC! Hang in there, there's snowhere to go but up! And if you're still stuck indoors, remember there's snowhere like home.

Bellissimo Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:27:00 +0000

Blogger continues to befuddle me. Stay tuned as I try to straighten out their ftp issues AND bring my remodel into its home stretch! It's going to be a busy week for me. Hence, relying on Bellissimo Pizza for dinner. Not a bad pie, I recommend it if you need delivery around Union Square!

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:57:00 +0000

Assembling a plate of noodles is easy!!

You take a plate of various sliced vegetables. In this case, I used carrots, cucumbers, onions, bean sprouts, and cilantro (not pictured)...

Cook a nice hearty sauce. Recipe forthcoming. Warning: it's a weird one!

Combine artfully on a plate with some cooked thick noodles and toss well before digging in! Now, for the sauce recipe, which for me yielded over a pint of sauce. That should be enough to feed four if not six. These noodles may look like jajang mien, but the flavor and ingredients are definitely not traditional yet surprisingly tasty. This recipe is born of my desperation to use up as many jars as possible before our move. I'd like to get a fresh start, instead of hanging on to things that have been lurking in my cupboards for two years. So here goes:

1/2 pound pork belly, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1/2 bunch spinach (totally optional; I had some to use up)
1 tablespoon shrimp paste
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 dash cayenne, or more
1/2 cup rice wine
1-2 cups water

In a tablespoon of oil (I used duck fat; it's so handy to have some lying around!) sautee the onions and pork belly, adding the zucchini when the edges of the onion start to brown. Toss in the spinach if you had it, then add all the sauces and the cayenne. Stir well. Toss a little to toast the sauces, and when stuff starts sticking to the bottom of the pan add the rice wine and light everything on fire. I love a good cooking fire! Then, add the water and stir well.

Fair warning: at this point my sauce smelled pretty gross. Raw shrimp paste basically smells like the day-old bin at a bad fish market. I turned the flame down to a simmer and covered my pot, hoping for the best. An hour later, all the flavored had melded together and become something quite delicious! And the fat from the pork belly had helped thicken the sauce beautifully. A weird but thankfully delicious meal made from what was essentially kitchen scraps.

Le Creuset

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:24:00 +0000

*happy dance*

It's a good day. The hardwood is beautiful (though still being sanded), and they're starting on the cabinets tomorrow. But the big news today is my new Le Creuset!

Flame red, 2 3/4 quarts, round, and 50% off! Sometimes I catch really great deals at Williams-Sonoma. I've been wanting another smallish pot for awhile now, and now I have a great one! I used it to cook rice today, and it performed beautifully. It's going to be fun using an LC more regularly.

Edit: what the heck, blogger won't let me comment. Here's what I had to say.

Tuesday Morning and Marshall's often sell Le Creuset pieces, but a lot of their pieces are seconds. There's a way to identify seconds--Google it. Seconds are really cheap and still great for cooking, but often they are deemed to be seconds because the enamel wasn't applied 100% properly. Before this new purchase, I owned one second and one Williams-Sonoma piece, both several years old. The inside of the second is blackening much more quickly, and stains stick to the outside more. Something to keep in mind for those who care about appearance. I've never paid more than $100 for an LC, and this orange one was only $66, so I'll only be buying primo condition ones in the future. It pays to keep your eyes peeled; there was a forest green one left at the Union Square store when I left if anyone wants it!

And sadly, those aren't my new floors. I wish. We didn't move yet, those are the floors at our current rental apartment. Not bad, though! I like our management company a lot. They take good care of the place.

Farm:Table and Verve Coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:57:00 +0000

I dragged my *** out of the house extra early today to check on our remodel and go to our new gym (!), so I rewarded myself with coffee.

New coffee shops have been popping up all over San Francisco, bringing with them selections from roasters previously unavailable in the city. Lately, the buzz seems to be all about Verve from Santa Cruz. I had a drink they've dubbed the tendernob, in honor of Farm:Table's location on the edge of the Tenderloin and Nob Hill. the tendernob is equal parts foamed milk and espresso--basically a cross between a macchiato and a cappuccino. It was intensely creamy, which speaks to the quality of the coffee as well as the skill of the barista. I'm very excited that there are now good whole coffee beans as well as a skilled barista in the neighborhood.

And now, dear readers, I hope you've also had your morning coffee. I need you to vote for your favorite hardwood color! The hardwood guys are currently sanding and polishing my floors, filling in the gaps and nail heads, and they'll soon be staining and glossing! Here you can see an area where they laid new hardwood in the corner and are planning to sand and stain it to match the old hardwood. Which stain should I choose? Remember, I'll be covering the whole floor and adding a high gloss, so it won't look quite the same.

Pork Leg Stew

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:51:00 +0000

Meltingly fatty, savory, and topped with cilantro and green onions. There aren't many comfort foods better than Chinese pork leg stew. This one was even better because I used pan drippings to cook the rice! That's "brown" rice even J enjoys eating.

For one pork leg, which should be enough to feed four if not more:

1 pork leg, bone in or boneless
1/4 cup rice wine
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cups water
2 thick slices ginger
2 cloves star anise
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
3 green onions, sliced or diced however you like
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

In a pot just big enough to fit the pork, heat a tablespoon of oil and sear all sides of the meat over high heat. When the meat is browned on the outside and the pot is very hot, add the rice wine, tip the pot towards the flames of your stove, and watch out! It should spark a burst of flames for several seconds. Return the pot to the flame and add the soy sauce, water, ginger, star anise, onions, sugar, and white pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the flame down and let the pork simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until fork tender.

Remove the meat from the flame and carve the meat off the bones. The pieces should be larger than bite-sized, and each piece of fat or skin should have lean meat attached to it. Meanwhile, remove the ginger and star anise from the liquid and turn the flame up to medium. Reduce the sauce to about 1/3 the original volume.

Return the meat to the sauce, add green onions, and serve when ready. Some people like the onions raw, some people like to cook it until soft. Serve over any kind of rice you wish, and sprinkle cilantro on top! Thai restaurants serve a similar stew with a little dish of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, chilis, and finely chopped garlic. With or without the sauce, this is a hearty meal.

Bylaws and Leaseholds

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:05:00 +0000

Look what I got today! My own little piece of San Francisco history. My building manager dug this out of his files; it's the lease agreement from the very first time my apartment unit was sold in 1927! He says it sold for $2,500, which was a very pretty penny back then. Let's just say J and I paid more than that. Actually, we ran it through an inflation calculator, and we paid more than the $30,000 that that should be equivalent to in today's money. I guess real estate has really changed, eh?

I love this little extra piece of information about my place, and I also wonder what type of person bought it. I know it was a woman who was addressed as missus, so I'm wondering if the apartment was a pied-à-terre purchased by a doting husband, a small city dwelling for a lonely widow, or just the purchase of a rich and independent lady of means?

The book is filled with beautiful signatures from an era when people cared about penmanship, along with meticulous notes and corrections from the purchase negotiations, and fancy embossed notary seals. For a nerd, this is all pretty exciting. Also exciting: my floors were sanded today, and they might be polished by week's end! Things are really moving along.

Dukk Bokkee and Durian Shake

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:25:00 +0000

Sorry, J, today I made food only I like.

Once in awhile, I force J to eat dukk bokee, or spicy Korean rice cakes. It's one of my favorite dishes, and one that I'm almost always willing to eat. Sadly, J does not share my enthusiasm for chewy dense rice noodles drowning in spicy red sauce, so I try to remember to put a lot of other stuff in it. Today's version included plenty of pork belly, zucchini, bamboo, fish cakes, spinach, enoki mushrooms, green onions, and yellow onions. He didn't complain (too much) and I got to wallow in my dukk love.

I did also make something we both love: a durian milkshake! If you've never had this incredibly stinky tropical fruit, a milkshake is the best way to try it out because the iciness dulls the smell of the durian. If you'd like to try it, find frozen durian pieces in the freezer section of an Asian market; it'll cost you $4-5 for a pack of six small sections instead of $30-50 for a fresh whole fruit! For one mug:

1 section frozen durian, seed removed and cut into three chunks
4-5 ice cubes
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream if you have it
1 cup milk
1 tsp simple syrup if you like things sweet

Blend everything in a blender and serve!

Bridal Shower Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:02:00 +0000

It's only two more weeks until another high school friend of mine ties the knot, so a group of girls got together this weekend to help her celebrate the San Francisco way! Here's a summary of our food adventures. Apologies, I was too busy having fun to photograph everything, but this is a great plan to follow if you want to have 2-3 days of fun in SF

FRIDAY
-Blissful Bites
-Academy of Sciences
-Blue Danube Cafe
-Cha Cha Cha's
-Humphrey Slocombe

SATURDAY
-Tartine
-2223 Market
-Miette
-Paulette
-Tal-Y-Tara
-home cooked jajang myun

SUNDAY
-Hong Kong Lounge dim sum

And now, here come the photos!

I was tasked with getting to the Academy of Sciences and snagging planetarium tickets while another friend picked the bride-to-be from the airport, so I stopped by Blissful Bites and bought a welcome present. I bought the six cutest cupcakes, which were pretty well received by a bunch of cupcake connoisseurs. I only had a bite of the Oreo one, but I really liked it. I was saving room for dinner, though, which was a night of tapas and sangria at Cha Cha Cha's in the Mission followed by ice cream at Humphrey Slocombe!

The next morning, we got up bright and early for not one, but two breakfasts. First, some of us stopped by Tartine because we realized there were too many in our group who'd never eaten there. One chard quiche, ham and cheese croissant, apple bread pudding, and a round of coffees and lattes later and the problem was remedied. The ladies were nice enough to accompany me on a remodel-related errand to Ceramic Tile Design. They had fun though, because the showroom really is more like an art gallery than a tile store.

After that, we met up with the East Bay resident in our group and headed to brunch at 2223 . This was the dark horse candidate in this week's eating adventures. None of us had ever been, but it turned out to be really delicious! I'll definitely be bringing people back in the future. The guest of honor had a fruit and yogurt parfait to keep up her vitamin intake for the weekend.

I shared a fried chicken salad, because I'd already had my fruit in the form of baked apples...

And everyone sort of dug into this delicious corned beef hash with perfectly poached eggs. This is one of the best renditions I've had; the only superior one that immediately comes to mind is the one at Canteen. And at about $10, 2223's entrees are really nicely priced for a San Francisco lunch. After eating all this food before the clock had struck noon, we took a nice walk to Hayes Valley for some window shopping, and a few souvenir purchases at Miette and Paulette.

I can't say we were hungry by mid-afternoon, but we were beat so we headedto Tal-Y-Tara Tea & Polo Shoppe in the Outer Richmond. That's right, San Francisco has its own polo shoppe where you can buy everything to ride like a fine English gentleman/woman, plus a lot of very nice tea to boot. The photo above is motorloaf; a carved out loaf of dark nutty bread. The center is used to make tasty sandwiches, which are then stuffed back into the crust for easy transport (get it? It's food for a motor trip!) The crust is then used for jam and clotted cream. Yum! We also had Harlowe & Sons China Rose tea, and a very interesting herbal blend called Forest tea. It was reminiscent of ginseng tea, but a little more palatable.

After Tal-Y-Tara, we just took it easy. We went for foot massages at a Chinese spa, occupying a private room and getting our cares pampered away for an hour and a half. Then we did some shopping and headed home, where N made everyone some of the tastiest jajang myun I've had in a long time. We spent the evening munching through the various treats we'd gathered and playing Bananagrams, the best new game of 2010 as far as I'm concerned. Then we all went home to bed and met up for a farewell dim sum at Hong Kong Lounge. Not a typical bridal shower weekend, but I think it was a lot more fun! I got to show off my city, eat more than I have in ages, and hang out with lovely people. I can't wait for the wedding in two weeks. Beautiful San Diego, here I come!

Liguria Bakery

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:06:00 +0000

I checked another San Francisco institution off the list today: Liguria Bakery. They're famous for foccacia, but they're even more famous for closing shop every day as soon as they sell out. It's infuriating, but it also made me curious. So today, I bought a pizza foccacia.

I hate to say I won't be back. Unlike SF Bagelry, which also only sells one batch of bread a day but makes pretty decent bagels for this coast, Liguria was just okay. It was nice, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it and was glad I didn't make a special trip or anything. And yes, those are boxes of books in the background; let the packing begin!

Dinner, Pre-Plating

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:46:00 +0000

Last night's post got me in a "behind the scenes" mood. So today I whipped out the camera while I was cooking, instead of right before we ate.

Here's the soup of the evening. I simmered pork neck and leg bones, then added daikon, watercress, mushrooms, and a root vegetable that I actually have not officially identified. Maybe I'll post a picture tomorrow and see if anyone knows what it is.

We also had stir fried broccoli. Heat a little garlic and oil, throw in clean dry broccoli, toss until the broccoli browns a little around the edges, throw in a few tablespoons of water and a pinch of salt, and cover for two minutes to let the broccoli steam cook. Remove the lid, toss a few times to release excess liquid, and serve. Easy stir fried vegetables infused lightly with salt and garlic.

And finally, our filler: rice with sausage and green onions. I sliced Chinese sausages into thin pieces and charred them in a wok with some green onions, then added them to rice in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Note to other home cooks: I used the oil that the sausage gave off to cook the broccoli. Remember, Chinese moms say a real cook never needs to wash a wok until the end of a meal! Cook your dishes in the order that allows the dishes to build on each other, and save anything that might stick to the wok for last.

Negihama Handrolls

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:31:00 +0000

Full tutorial today, everyone! Why? Because I finally had a chance to make something simple and new that I think anyone can make. J and I found a great price on sashimi grade yellowtail this weekend, so we made a lot of handrolls today after enjoying yellowtail sashimi with our cherrystone clams last night.

Not too bad, right? I know the handrolls aren't perfectly formed, but I promise they are delicious. For two people you'll need:

1 package nori (seaweed), 10 sheets per pack
1 pound sashimi grade yellowtail (tuna also works well
1-2 green onions, depending on size
1 tsp soy sauce, plus more for dipping
1/2 tsp wasabi, plus more for dipping
1-2 avocados
2 cups cooked sushi rice, cooled to room temperature or very slightly warmer

Beautiful piece of fish, isn't it? This is about 1.75 pounds, so don't worry if you can't find a piece this big!

Chop the fish and green onions, then combine in a large bowl with a teaspoon of soy sauce and half a teaspoon of wasabi. Mix well, and add a pinch of salt or two if needed. The mixture should be slightly salty to your taste.

Slice your avocado thinly. Here's a trick for making perfect slices: using a small knife, make very thin slices in half an avocado, all the way until your knife touches the skin. Then, use a large metal spoon to scoop out the perfectly formed slices. You'll be surprised how well this works, even on an extremely ripe avocado.

Using half a slice of nori at a time, layer your fillings in your hand roll. Feel free to add an extra dab of wasabi, horseradish sprouts, fish eggs, pickled gobo roots, or whatever else you like.

Roll everything up, and eat it before the nori gets soggy!

Cherrystone Clams

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:26:00 +0000

3:00 o'clock snack was extra tasty today. We got home from the market and couldn't wait, so half the clams got taken off the dinner menu and put on the snack menu.

Instead of steaming them in water or wine, J steamed them on a rack today so they would retain every last bit of flavor.
And, proving once and for all why he is Spouse in Charge of Aquatic Affairs, J came up with a great combination for a really fragrant dipping sauce: ponzo, chopped green onions, and a little zest from both a pomelo and a blood orange.

Lotus Root Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:37:00 +0000

I found myself trudging through Chinatown in the rain today (thank goodness for waterproof boots), so I bought a fish and some lotus root to round out our dinner.

Not a bad spread, even when raw, right? I wish we'd get some sunshine around here so my photos could stop looking so dreary.

Lotus root and pork soup is one of the easiest, tastiest combinations around. Simply simmer pork back bones for about two hours in enough water to submerge all the bones. Add a few big slices of ginger, and be sure to skim regularly. After the bone soup starts looking a little opaque, add thickly sliced lotus roots and a little salt. Simmer until the lotus root is cooked through, about half an hour to forty minutes. Salt to taste, remove any ginger pieces, and serve.

Sliced asparagus, no explanation needed.

And a giant bowl of colorful fruit for dessert. I bought a ton of fruit at Trader Joe's, but we've been doing a really good job of eating our way through it! This automatically adds three or four colors to any meal, depending how you're counting!

Lemon Chicken and Vegetables

noreply@blogger.com (Pei) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:05:00 +0000

Easy, healthy, not too pretty dinner tonight.

Grilled chicken breast with a little lemon pepper sauce, mache, garlicky broccoli and carrots, and some rice. It's surprising how full you can get off half a chicken breast when you have this many sides.

Close up. I didn't always like chicken breast, but it's grown on me over the years. I finally applied the rule that works for tough cuts of beef: cook lightly (but thoroughly, for chicken) and slice thinly against the grain. Works wonders!