le blog de tranny

January 17, 2012

providence & reconciliation

I’ve probably (definitely) written some disparaging things about the food scene in LA. Let’s just say I don’t agree with this article. I’ve eaten at Mario Batali’s Osteria Mozza and thought it was kinda shitty, and I’ve had trouble finding what I view to be pretty basic ingredients in LA (county) grocery stores (green garlic, pea sprouts, frisee, the list goes on). But I can honestly say that when I was down there over the summer I had a world class dining experience. You know a restaurant is still on its game (read: has not gone downhill due to neglect by an empire-building proprietor) when you see the chef owner himself wandering around the dining room on a Saturday night, checking on patrons. My dining experience at Providence was so much more than just exquisite food in my mouth; it was a moment of reconciliation. The fact alone that it was my first time doing a tasting menu with my parents made it a hallmark in my frivolous, pleasure-seeking adult life. But I also reconnected with an old friend who I hadn’t spoken to in years and a locale I’d grown up next to but had hardly ever explored. I realized that LA really does have something to offer, not just in terms of fine dining, but in terms of night life and unpretentious, good food, as evidenced by the hip/divey whisky bar and late night ramen joint we went to once his shift was over. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I could probably, maybe stand living there, if I had to. This is a complete departure from the prejudices I’d always previously held against LA culture.

Chowhounders seem to think that the best restos in LA are Providence and Melisse. Having eaten at both, I’d say Providence wins by a long-shot. Maybe I’m just partial to fresh, well-executed seafood over classic French in general, but Melisse just wasn’t that memorable to me. Well, the bill was. Also, I think KV hooked us up a bit when we were at Providence [e.g. by sending out Wagyu instead of whatever meat was being served to the plebes]. Here’s what we ate.

Aperitif/amuse.

["screwdriver" + "mojito"]

Things on sticks.

[abalone skewer]

Photo fail, sorry.

[sword squid & chorizo skewer]

The most flavorsome bites of the night.

[shrimp that has been cooked sous-vide with salt, espelette and lemon zest, gougere stuffed with smoked trout & carrot soup with passion fruit]

The kampachi was my second favorite. This meal happened months ago yet I still remember the courses I loved best!

[kampachi with shiso tapioca & cucumber]

[scallop with beets, brown butter, dashi & nori brittle]

[smoked sesame encrusted halibut with sunchoke puree]

[Santa Barbara spot prawns that have been cooked live in hot salt and rosemary, served with really good olive oil]

[Wagyu beef with cepes, sunflower & dashi foam]

Then came many, many desserts!

[grapefruit & tarragon sorbet with greek yogurt]

[strawberries & cheesecake]

I love blackberries but was not so much a fan of the other components on this plate.

[blackberries with mochi cake & coconut ice cream]

I think Melisse also has a dessert like this.

[chocolate + peanut butter]

Farewell fudge and banana macaroons.

This is where I spent the next three hours of my life, slowly getting drunk while draining my iPhone battery. I read the Economist, saw Michael Cimarusti (who I recognized from Top Chef Masters) and silently geeked out over this to myself and to Facebook.

Who knows if I’ll ever find myself living in LA? I know many cool people who have chosen to settle there, and that must count for something. If the food was this good at Providence, then maybe LA isn’t the gastronomic wasteland I always thought it was. For once in my life, I’m curious to know more.

Leave a comment

December 27, 2011

Christmas recap

I’m curious to see if owning an iPhone 4 S will make me a better blogger. Being able to instagr.am one’s photos – which have been taken with a fairly decent cell phone camera – and upload them instantaneously, well, that ain’t nothin’. That means I can edit photos and blog at the airport, or on Bart, or while lying in bed…

Christmas Lunch in Garden Grove
It seems like the feast my step-mom prepares for each of the two big holidays becomes more and more meat/offal-centric with each passing year. On Thanksgiving she made mushroom soup, whole-roasted duck, salmon, papaya salad with liver, and veal to go along with my step-sister’s deep-fried turkey. This year she made something even more exotic…

[deep-fried quail]

[trotters and assorted cuts of pig/cow for soup]

[delicious lemongrass scented tendon]

These delicious meat parts went into some homemade bun bo hue. I really need to get this recipe from my step-mom.

[bun bo hue]

But here’s what really got me – there was another very special dish in this spread that I’d never seen or even heard of before. My step-siblings jokingly referred to it as duck “pizza”…

[yeah, that's blood]

Gelatinous until you scoop some off the plate, this concoction of duck blood and various duck parts is finished off with lime juice and eaten with sesame chips. Yes, I ate quite a bit of it. It was delicious. I understood that this dish could only be made with very fresh duck blood, but didn’t realize just how fresh until my step-brother explained to me the process of preparing this dish. You take a live duck, pick the feathers off its neck, slit its throat, and hold it over a bucket, draining all the blood out while the poor duck is still struggling. Then you cook up its liver, its meat and various other organs and, in the words of Mary-Kate and Ashley, PUT IT ON DA PIZZA. Anyway, this is how the dish is traditionally prepared. I think this time my step-mom just bought fresh blood from the Asian market, though it was likely extracted in this same way. Inhumane? Yes. Delicious? Yes. But I doubt I’ll indulge in this dish next year.

Lastly, what Vietnamese Christmas meal is complete without a bûche de Noel? My step-brother’s wife actually made this herself. Pretty impressive in my humble opinion.

Day After Christmas Meal in Rolling Hills
You might’ve noticed a recurring theme in my celebrations of the big American holidays: they always include a big Vietnamese meal with my dad’s side of the family and a big Italian meal at my mom and step-dad’s house. (Dad’s surname is Italian after all.) This year was no exception, except this time Anais came over to help with the cooking (and to help me kill a rosé, a Rochiolo chardonnay, and a 2007 Napa cab).

We made a raw kale salad, eggplant parmesan and veal and pork meatballs. My mom made garlic bread.

[for the recipe, see: http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2011/12/raw-kale-salad-with-walnuts-pecorino-and-lemon.html]

Nothing better than a hearty meal with an old friend eh?

And in case you’re curious, here’s a few more photos from my SoCal Christmas:

[our living Christmas tree aka rosemary bush - he's just a baby now]

[opening presents in my parents' backyard]

[santa gave me a full set of shun knives!!]

Not sayin’ I’m going to do all my posts like this from now on – the backlog of photos on my camera right now is ridiculous – but it was nice to get things down on paper without having to open up a photo editor on my computer. I love technology!!!

1 comment

November 24, 2011

aw, honey, you baked!

I’m not much of a baker (or blogger, for that matter). After a long day of being “analytical”, the last thing I want to do is undergo the tedious process of measuring exact amounts and mixing things in a specific order. I’m even less inclined to put in the effort if the pay-off is, well, something sweet like a dessert. When it comes to baking I try to keep it simple yet thoughtful. I improvise, as I do in regular cooking, and this sometimes yields amazing results.

In the week preceding Thanksgiving I’ve already baked on more occasions than I think I have in the past year as a whole. I’ve baked two things, both of which were pretty low-key in terms of preparation, yet which managed to garner glowing accolades. These dishes were: a butternut squash, leek & sage galette for Friendsgiving at Jane’s, and a pear-cranberry-gingersnap tart for the annual Thanksgiving pie-baking contest at my work. One a strong opener, the other a strong closer, both baked and both seasonally appropriate .

Butternut Squash, Leek & Sage Galette

You need:
- all purpose flour
- a stick of butter, unsalted, cold
- fresh sage, chopped
- 6 tbsp of ice water
- an egg, beaten
- a butternut squash
- warm spices like paprika and nutmeg
- 2 leeks, washed and sliced
- about a cup of ricotta cheese
- fontina cheese

How to:
This recipe is largely based off of this one, but I made some important changes to the flavor profile.

1. Make the crust.
Cut the cold butter into ½ inch cubes and combine with 1 ¼ cups of flour and 6 to 8 sage leaves, torn up, in a food processor. Add a pinch of salt. Pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Drizzle 4 to 6 tbsp of ice water evenly over the mixture and pulse until the dough just begins to form a ball.

If I had known how easy to is to make crust with a food processor, I would’ve added so many pastries to my repertoire by now! It’s like magic.

Press the dough into a 5 inch disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for an hour or more.

2. Prep the vegetables.
Peel and seed a butternut squash then cut into ¼ inch discs. Toss with olive oil, salt, paprika and nutmeg. Roast in a 500 degree F oven til tender. Set aside.

Wash and slice the leeks. Saute in butter until tender. Season with salt.

3. Assemble the tart.
Roll out the dough into a 13 inch round on a well-floured surface. Transfer to a baking tray.

Spread an even layer of ricotta cheese over the center of the dough, leaving a border of a few inches. Top with an even layer of butternut squash, then leeks. Top with grated fontina cheese and chopped sage. (For presentation purposes I might put the fontina underneath the squash next time.)

Fold the dough on the edges to cover the outer rim of the filling. Brush the crust with a beaten egg. Bake at 375 – 400 degrees F until crust and cheese are slightly browned. YUMZORS.

Making a galette in addition to my usual cornbread chorizo stuffing was a nice way to mix things up for Friendsgiving this year. It may even have earned a permanent place in my Friendsgiving dish rotation, but I guess that’ll depend on my mood next year.

Pear-Cranberry Tart with Gingersnap Crust, Crumb Topping & Bay Leaf Whipped Cream

You need:
- all purpose flour
- a stick and a half of unsalted butter
- 40 to 45 gingersnap cookies, or about a box
- three ripe Anjou pears
- fresh cranberries
- a lemon
- cornstarch
- granulated sugar
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- heavy whipping cream
- bay leaves
- vanilla extract

How to:
1. Make the crust.
Break up ~ 32 gingersnap cookies, grind in a food processor and combine with ½ a stick of melted butter. Add a few pinches of salt. Press mixture evenly over the bottom of a spring-form pan, allowing crust to come up on the sides. Set aside.

2. Prep the filling.
Peel and core the pears then cut them into thin slices, ¾ to an inch thick. Toss the pears in a bowl with a few handfuls of cranberries, a healthy squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch or two (maybe a tsp?) of cinnamon, a few handfuls (maybe half a cup?) of brown sugar, and a tablespoon of cornstarch. (Sorry — I didn’t really measure things out, even though you’re totally supposed to while baking. I was loaded with sake, it was 10.00pm, and I just wanted to get the damn thing done!) Arrange the pears in a circular pattern on top of the crust. Spread cranberries evenly over the top.

3. Make the crumb topping.
Grind up about a dozen more gingersnaps. Combine with ½ to ¾ a cup of flour, ¾ a stick of butter that’s been melted then cooled and a pinch of salt. Added ⅓ cup each of white granulated sugar and brown sugar. Combine well then spread evenly over the top of the tart. (When I made the crumb topping I tried to follow this recipe, but didn’t have enough gingersnaps left to do so. I just ended up eyeballing everything and consequently my crumb topping was a little on the wet side. That is to say, it’s probably not supposed to look the way it does in my photo, but I was fine with how this slightly off, clumpier version of a crumb topping turned out.)

Bake the tart at 350 degrees F for an hour to an hour and a half, until cranberries have begun to shrivel and the crumb topping is a little brown.

4. Make the bay leaf whipped cream.
Make a bay leaf simple syrup. Bring equal parts granulated sugar and water to a simmer with bay leaves (I used 5 or 6 fresh bay leaves with ½ a cup each of sugar and water). Simmer for just a few minutes then turn off the heat. Allow syrup to cool completely with bay leaves still in it. Actually you might even want to chill the syrup.

Whip up cold heavy whipping cream until it’s almost whipped cream. Add bay leaf simple syrup and vanilla extract to taste. Serve with pear-cranberry tart.

In spite of my failure to measure things out properly, I still won the “taste” prize in the RA pie baking competition that took place during the office Thanksgiving luncheon this year. I was worried that one of two things would happen: that I would lose because my dessert was too tart or that I would be disqualified because it was a tart. I dodged both bullets. I think the Principals appreciated my frou-frou approach, and as a result, I was awarded a $50 Visa debit card (and a wooden spoon). Hey, baking ain’t so bad!

Lots of cooking and eating ahead. Enjoy your feast tomorrow, okay?

Leave a comment

October 18, 2011

sonoma (day 3)

We kicked off the final leg of our trip with appointments at some of the Dry Creek Valley wineries. Every winery we visited was absolutely lovely. We started off at Unti, which sells to pretty much every resto in the SF Bay Area worth knowing that I can think of. (Not to mention Bi-Rite, which is super convenient.) The tasting fee was only $5 and the bottles were shockingly well-priced!

The Dry Creek Valley wineries were markedly less touristy, more legit, and better-priced than their Sonoma and Napa counterparts. A tour of this region could’ve made our trip alone!

Our next stop was Preston, which had the most charming grounds and the most delicious house-made sauerkraut (and loads of kitties).

We took some citrus-y Sauvignon Blanc (which you can apparently purchase at Berkeley Bowl) and a container of sauerkraut to go.

Next on our agenda was lunch at Willie’s Seafood & Wine Bar. We split some oysters, a hangar steak skewer with chimichurri, and the uni mac ‘n cheese. Solid.

Soon it was time for the final winery of our trip — the grand finale, if you will – Copain. Oh COPAIN, Copain — my favorite winery of our trip by far! We were treated to spectacular views and delicious wines. (And I brought two very expensive bottles back with me as well. As soon as I pay off my credit card I’m ordering a few more bottles of the Les Voisins Pinot, since I just drank mine yesterday.) As a side note, I dined at Daniel in NYC a few weeks ago (for my first ever three Michelin star experience) and I noticed that they use the Les Voisins Pinot as a pairing on their tasting menu. They also sell bottles of it on their wine list for like $90, but I don’t have to pay those prices ‘cos I live in California beysh!

[The barn/tasting room/cellar at Copain.]

[Our view while tasting.]

With wine on our teeth and the sun on our backs, how could we not be gleeful?

So, the finale to our trip was actually a two-parter. The second bit? Dinner at the bar at Cyrus. (It seems I’m incapable of going to wine country without hitting at least one Michelin star joint.)

[An ode to a Pimm's cup called "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" -- gin, Pimm's #1, lemon juice, ginger, orange bitters, cucumber-lemongrass foam.]

Once again we found ourselves victims of age-ism. We watched two parties who arrived at the bar after us get their extravagant bread baskets before finally asking for our own. That bartender was a bitch.

[Chilled cucumber consomme with avocado and hearts of palm.]

[Sea bass with artichokes in sake lees, pea sprouts and dashi.]

[Aged abalone with sake, melon and sea grapes OMFG.]

[Foie gras torchon with cherry, pistachio and ginger...!!!]

[Sweet corn and black truffle risotto with taleggio.]

[Kurobuta tenderloin with cranberry beans, potato and persillade.]

A delicious, boozy (if not ulcer-inducing weekend) with the most delicious company — Nina and my car. Car, I miss you!

Leave a comment

October 6, 2011

sonoma (day 2)

On our second day we drove into Sonoma proper for a full day of wine tasting. We started off with breakfast at the much loved Fremont Diner, which more than lived up to its reputation (on Chowhound).

With so many delicious low country menu items to choose from, we had to be strategic in our ordering.

[The "Kitchen Sink", with biscuit, ham, fried chicken, sausage gravy & a fried egg.]

[Shrimp 'n grits with bacon, sausage, spring onions, and sunny side up eggs.]

[I lost this lipstick and it makes me sad.]

Our first winery of the day was Keller Estate.

We met a lovely woman who taught us the difference between stainless steel and oak aged whites.

Next was Gundlach Bundschu, where the ageism was ample but the pours were not.

I ended up getting a 100% Cab Franc and my tasting fee was not waived upon purchase.

Gundlach is a five minute drive from Sonoma square, where we had a light lunch at The Girl + the Fig.

Our lunch consisted of fig royales, heirloom radishes with anchovy butter, a cheese tasting, and a BLT with green tomatoes.

[Icicle, flambeau and easter radishes -- who knew there were so many different kinds?]

Our final winery of the day was Scribe, which does tastings by appointment only. This was by far our best tasting experience of the day.

We decided to explore this rundown hacienda.

It was time for our tasting appointment so we drove to the end of the trail, where this idyllic scene awaited us.

[Heh heh.]

The wines were pricey but I couldn’t leave without a bottle. I chose a Syrah.

After Scribe we went back to Sonoma square to split a bottle of rose on the grass and bask in the sun. Once the sun went down we had a quick dinner at La Salette. We were pretty haggard at this point so had to cut it a little short. The food was definitely tasty, but the place was practically empty and had a washed up kind of feel. It didn’t help that their menu was typed in Comic Sans MS.

[Tripe with white beans & chicken -- bueno.]

[Mussels with tomato-lobster fumet -- how bad can that be?]

2 comments

September 30, 2011

sonoma (day 1)

For a host of reasons, most notably a few life changes and some preposterously busy weeks at work, I fell off the blogging wagon in a big way. It goes without saying that I owe you, my reader(s), an apology, however many of you there are left.

This post is long overdue, as it documents a trip I took over two months ago. I had just moved to the Upper Mission, where parking is surprisingly easier to come by than in Lower Haight, but also requires an S permit. I could now BART to work and easily get to a number of other neighborhoods via various modes of public transportation. I no longer needed my car. My mom generously offered to come up and help me turn my car in to the dealership (we’d leased it). I was to be officially car-less in a less than two weeks. Nina and I decided we needed one last hurrah, one last trip. Sonoma was the obvious choice, since we like eating and drinking, a lot.

We decided to stay at Valley Ford Hotel in Bodega Bay which is kind of far from everything but we had our reasons (oysters).

Iron Horse, famous for its bubbly, was conveniently on the way (kind of) to our hotel. We stopped to enjoy their latest releases and the view.

We ended up taking a bottle to go, and I don’t even remember where we drank it.

The main reason we decided to stay at Valley Ford Hotel, other than that it was way cheaper than all other alternatives, was that we wanted to eat at Rocker Oysterfeller’s (the resto in the hotel) and not have to drive anywhere afterwards. Our logic was a little faulty — turns out Rocker Oysterfeller’s closes pretty early — at 8.30pm — and there is *nothing* to do in VFord. It was all for the better though, an excuse to go to bed early so we could get an early start on our jam-packed itinerary for the next day. And believe me, Rocker Oysterfeller’s was worth the trip alone.

[Oyster shooters -- a first for both of us.]

[A mandatory starter of raw oysters and the restaurant's namesake dish -- baked oysters with arugula, bacon, cream cheese & cornbread crust.]

[Negronis for the second round.]

[Louisiana Hots, garlic butter, basil-walnut pesto -- hot damn these were good!]

[Chicken-fried duck steak with vidalia onion gravy.]

[Grilled asparagus with chopped egg aioli.]

So juicy, so medium-rare, just the way chicken-fried duck ought to be! OH GOD YES.

I’m so tempted to continue this post but it’s getting late and I need to pack for an early (real early) flight to NYC tomorrow. If you most know, I’m going to relive the 90s and sing my heart out (i.e. go to a Third Eye Blind concert) and spend some much-needed quality time with my best boy mates. I also might be fulfilling a certain New Year’s resolution…

So anyway, days 2 and 3 are forthcoming. I may be a shitty blogger, but I’d never leave this series unfinished! (…)

1 comment

July 28, 2011

the hazards of loving food: bacon fat confit

(Yes it’s a play on the title of the second to last Decemberists’ album which kind of sucked in my opinion.)

[What does one do with an excess of bacon fat?]

As many of my friends know, a month or so ago, I was deep in the throes of an existential food crisis. Specifically, a warning from my mother and a chat with my optometrist had me convinced that I had high cholesterol and would have to significantly alter my diet. I freaked out. I started eating salads for lunch. I purchased this Eric Ripert cookbook. (Nina pointed out that while this cookbook features many fish recipes, which I had been planning on emphasizing in my new low cholesterol diet, there are also plenty of recipes in it with foie gras and truffle oil as the main ingredients lol.)

I got a blood test and it turns out my cholesterol is fine, at least for now. This means I can still enjoy my favorite high cholesterol dishes, such as mac ‘n cheese, fried chicken, and medium-rare steak, without fear of an early death. But at the same time, because I know I am at risk for high cholesterol later in life, I am making much more of an effort these days to eat less red meat, more vegetables, and maybe start exercising on a regular basis?

[Melting bacon fat.]

Anyway, this post is a tribute to those days when I didn’t give a second thought to the effect of what I was consuming on my LDL levels. It was a care-free time. A time when I would guzzle citrus-y cocktails, devour meaty mains, and preemptively pop antacids (holla JP) with reckless abandon. A time when I not only saved all bacon fat rendered in my kitchen (I still do this), but used it in creative ways. Case in point: that one time I made bacon fat confit chicken legs.

[Some quick side dishes.]

Bacon Fat Chicken Leg Confit
- Ingredients: bacon fat, chicken legs, garlic, herbs.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Season the chicken legs on all sides with ample s&p. Arrange in a baking tray or oven-safe saucepan just big enough to fit the chicken legs. Top with fresh sprigs of thyme, smashed garlic and whatever else sounds good.
- Melt the bacon fat over medium-low heat. Pour over the chicken legs. Top off with olive oil if necessary so that the chicken legs are fully submerged.
- Heat the pan containing the chicken legs on the stove over medium-high heat until the fat/oil just starts to bubble. Transfer to the oven, uncovered. Bake for 2 hours or more until the chicken is falling off the bone. Fish out the chicken, shred or separate the meat from the bone, and serve with polenta and some sauteed bitter greens or whatever else suits your fancy.

[Out of the oven.]

It was a fun and delicious experiment indeed, but I think I’ll save my bacon fat for frying up home fries from now on. If you make this, be sure to save the confit fat! You can never have enough flavorful meat-infused fats in your fridge.

Leave a comment

July 21, 2011

my 5 favorite sf watering holes

I’m coming off a weekend where I worked over 20 hours, so this just seemed like an appropriate post to make. Yes we all know what it feels like to be in our mid-20s, nostalgic for college, adjusting to the cruel relentless grind of the work week (and weekend, if we’re lucky). Obviously, since I have lived in Lower Haight and now Lower Mission, only bars in and around this locale made my list because I only dare blog what I know.

(1) Bloodhound

(Photo: www.bloodhoundsf.com)
We first discovered Bloodhound because Caro used to operate Chairman Bao while it was parked outside of it on Wednesdays. Not only is it beautifully designed, but the drinks are classy (I usually get the Recoil or one of the gin cocktails off the menu), the bartenders are legit, and it’s in SOMA, which is cool. (I still maintain that I will buy myself a hip SOMA loft in this lifetime.)

(2) Churchill

(Photo: Haigheration)
Yes, clearly I am a fan of what Darin and Dylan (of both Bloodhound and Churchill) have going on. This city just needs more lively, interesting spaces with bartenders who know what they’re doing. Churchill, like Bloodhound, attracts a pretty mixed crowd. I’d say that Bloodhound can have more of a FiDi or brostep-y feel, whereas Churchill is a pretty solid mix of young WASPS, hot messes and food-centric asians. One thing to note (which has not always ended well for us) is that the cocktails here are really strong. All it takes is two for Jane and me (and maybe three for Caro) to be completely shitfaced (and two is usually all I can handle). Talk about bang for your buck! Did I mention that there’s a pool table? It also helps that Churchill is a five minute walk from my house .

(3) Nopa

(Photo: Eater SF)
Gah! Perhaps the *only* reason that I miss my old neighborhood is that I was three blocks from Nopa. Whether I’m drinking a Cocchi Cup at dinner or a Ramos Gin Fizz at brunch, Nopa has and always will be one of my favorites. The staff (who we’ve gotten to know a little too well) there are super cool and it also doesn’t hurt that the food is impeccable, not to mention well-priced. I mean I know Nopa is more of a resto with a bar than a bar that serves food but it still deserves props for having an innovative, stand-alone cocktail menu.

(4) Phonebooth

(Photo: SF Weekly)
You didn’t think I was all about fancy shmancy joints did you? Believe it or not, this girl can appreciate a good dive, and when it comes to SF dives (of which there are many), this one tops my list. Maybe it’s the deliciously cheap and strong gin greyhounds. Maybe it’s all the hipsters smoking inside (no, probably not them). Maybe it’s the Depeche Mode or other catchy post-punk (I don’t know shit about musical genres) that always comes on at full volume as I’m reaching the peak of my drunkenness, I don’t know. I’ve never had a bad time there. And I never feel bad about losing my shit a little while I’m there because it’s so dark inside.

(5) Zeitgeist

(Photo: Grubstreet SF)
What could be better than Zeitgeist? They’re known for their Bloody Marys (one of my favorite beverages, at all hours of the day), you can get a pitcher for like 7 bucks, they serve tasty burgers and sausages, and they are one of few bars around here with (ample) outdoor seating. Also, I can literally see Zeitgeist from my house. If I lived across the street from Thee Parkside I’m sure I would feel equally or more passionately about it, but I don’t.

Leave a comment

July 12, 2011

reclaiming my heritage with banh nam & cha lua

There is something so rewarding about realizing you can recreate dishes that mystified you as a child. Dishes that you loved to eat, that even just the smell of could invoke an onslaught of nostalgia, yet you could never even guess what went into them. I dug deep into my heritage amidst this past working weekend (being busy at work makes tranny a bad blogger) to try and make something special for Gina and Aaron’s heritage dinner. They have these fairly often, but this is the first one I’ve ever been party to. The idea is to bring a dish that reminds you of your heritage or somewhere you grew up. A dish that maybe your aunt or grandmother or mother used to make.

[banh nam aka flat rice flour dumplings with shrimp and scallions]

My mom never cooked traditional Vietnamese much when I was young, aside from this killer tom rim recipe, but I definitely wanted to take this opportunity to explore Vietnamese cooking a bit more. I considered making banh cuon or ga roti then I realized, while I was researching Vietnamese recipes, that there wasn’t a single recipe for banh nam, one of my favorite snacks as a child, in English, on the internet. So I had my mom translate one from Vietnamese (and altered it slightly to match my expectations). It was a risk, because I had no idea what the expect over the course of execution, but it turned out exactly as I remembered it. So here is my contribution to the English-speaking blogosphere: a recipe for banh nam, just like what you can get from the Vietnamese bakeries, courtesy of my mom and me.

Finding banana leaves is so worth it. It’s everything to this, and so many other Vietnamese dishes. The smell of steamed banana leaves is perhaps the strongest scent association I have from my childhood. (Well, that and the smell of wet asphalt.)

When I shared this with my friends they noted that it was like a Vietnamese version of tamales. They are kind of like gooey, flat tamales. But much lighter and more fragrant, in my opinion.

The Vietnamese version of the recipe tells you to smash the shrimp after you cook them. I’m not exactly sure how one is supposed to go about doing that in the traditional preparation (using a big mortar and pestle maybe, machaca-style?) — I ran the shrimp through the food processor before throwing them in the pan, and then ran them through the food processor again after cooking them, with the scallions. One could probably get away with just food processing or finely chopping the shrimp after they’ve been cooked; I’m just neurotic.

New staples for my pantry.

I used to eat these babies for breakfast, with nuoc mam. Could this be where my affinity for savory breakfast foods stems from? Are savory taste buds a product of nature, or nurture? Also, someone told me that if you’re already getting a lot of sugar from alcoholic beverages, you won’t crave sugar in your diet as much. I’ll take all three explanations.

Banh Nam
Makes about a dozen.

You need:
- banana leaves (I got them frozen at the asian supermarket and defrosted them on the counter)
- 1 lb of shrimp, peeled and deveined (it’s common for there to be some ground pork in there as well – I’d do half a pound of pork per pound of shrimp)
- scallions (about 6)
- oil, s&p for the shrimp/scallion mixture
- 1 cup of rice flour
- 3 cups of water
- 2 tbsp of tapioca flour
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tbsp of oil

Special equipment:
- a steaming device
- something to grind up the shrimp with (a knife and some persistence would probably do)

How to:
- Cut the banana leaves into big strips, about the width of two hands. Rinse and dry.
- Cook the shrimp in a pan with some neutral oil and s&p. Throw the shrimp into a food processor with the chopped scallions (no need to cook them in the pan; they will steam with the shrimp). Pulse the food processor until the shrimp is ground up into small bits.
- Make the flour mixture. Combine ingredients 5 through 9 (starting with the rice flour) in a bowl. Whisk well to scrape up all the tapioca flour off the bottom. Transfer this mixture to a pot, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens up into a paste. Turn off the heat.
- Assemble your banh nam. Spread 1-2 spoonfuls of the flour mixture down the center of a banana leaf. Spread a few spoonfuls of the shrimp and scallion mixture evenly over the flour mixture. Fold up the banana leaf, press down on the mixture a bit with your hands to flatten it out, and fasten the banana leaf parcel with either kitchen string or a strand of banana leaf.
- Steam until cooked through (the flour paste will be slightly translucent and green). Allow to cool. Serve with nuoc mam.

I was surprised at how much I nailed this one. Maybe it’s not the same as what you’d get in Vietnam (I wouldn’t know) but it’s certainly as good as any banh nam I’ve ever had from Little Saigon!

Cha Lua

I also made cha lua (aka Vietnamese steamed pork ham sausage thingy?) which was a bit of a grizzly affair, especially the part where I grind the gelatinous pork mixture into a paste. I pretty much followed this recipe to a T, and even deep-fried one of them to make cha chien, which I figured would appeal more to my heritage dinner audience. Now I have two more just sitting in the fridge, waiting to be used! Perhaps I’ll make banh cuon to serve it with, or some banh mi to take to work for lunch.

Cha lua had always been somewhat of a mystery meat to me growing up, but a delicious one at that. Turns out it’s just ground pork mixed with single acting baking powder, tapioca flour, water, sugar and fish sauce, ground to a very smooth texture and steamed in banana leaves. Simple enough, right? Turns out it’s fairly fool-proof.

The Ravenous Couple’s recipe calls for twice-ground lean pork. I unfortunately did not have access to a butcher willing to perform such a task, but I made sure to grind up the meat real good in my trusty new Cuisinart 12 cup food processor before forming the pork mixture into loaves, and the texture came out perfectly.

If you think this looks gross, you should’ve been there IRL.

Same method of cooking as the banh nam — you steam the banana leave parcels. They say that the cha lua is done cooking if it bounces when you throw it against a hard surface. I can attest that this is true.

The cha lua expands while it’s cooking, so you should be mindful of that when you’re securing the parcels. The one above was wrapped a little too tight and was bursting at the seams by the time it was done!

[cha lua]

It’s supposed to look like that.

To make cha chien, you just fry the cha lua on all sides in some oil. Et voila! A delicious Vietnamese cold cut to share with your friends! Some of my besties had previously tried cha lua once at Banh Cuon Tay Ho in downtown Oakland and were sketched out by it (I think it was the texture), but they gobbled mine up (and found it delicious) because they knew that I had made it . I can’t think of a higher compliment – friends not only appreciating your heritage, but trusting you and the food that you feed them.

[cha chien]

2 comments

July 12, 2011

box of treasures

It’s so inspiring when someone says they have a dream, and then a little over a year later, makes it happen FOR REAL. That’s exactly what’s happening with Caro and her truck Brunch Box, set to kick off this week with a FiDi spot on Thursdays (Mission & 1st), Sightglass on Fridays, Ritual on Saturdays, and Proxy on Sundays.

Did I mention that the pork belly hash (served with *two* poached eggs) is killer? Can’t wait to try the Croque Madame this weekend. So proud!

Follow “le blog de tranny”