a healthy, tasty alternative to a cream based soup, aka roasted cauliflower soup, kombu, silken tofu edition.

so i used to watch my mom make all sorts of tasty things in her vitamix. shes had one since i was back in the college years and (unfortunately for me) that was a long time ago.

kong bee ji (stewed pork ribs in ground soy beans with kimchee) is one of my favorite dishes. i can only imagine the difference my mother has seen in prepping this dish. its a pretty intensive dish to make right now with her vitamix, but i can only imagine what its like to make this with a stone grinder, manually spinning and grinding the soy beans into a nice puree.

growing up see this, it was only natural for me to evolve and intertwine what ive seen with flavors and techniques i learned along the way.

lets cook....

you know when you cook instant ramen, you boil water.

why use water?

because the instructions said to?

ive always had a problem with people telling me what to do. i will teach you to be as rebellious and anti establishment as i am. i fight the power by not listening to instructions on instant ramen packaging.

kombu broth

buy some dried kombu. rinse off a big chunk. simmer it in a pot of water with some onions, garlic and you have a low calorie flavor booster that will transform simple instant ramen into something thats actually presentable to beyond your 5 year old nephews palate.

for the most part, if water is going into a dish, a broth will make it better.

now that we have that down.... i have been experimenting with things and i came up with this recipe.

low calorie, flavor boosted roasted cauliflower soup.

i rinse off a large piece of kombu. i rinse it off to get the impurities off, the excess salt included. add a quarter of a chopped onion, a couple cloves of garlic and a few dried shiitakes mushrooms. add a couple pinches of salt just to get the flavors blending. i have no idea if this is true or not, but i like to salt throughout the cooking process because i believe it brings out the flavors of each individual ingredient, it highlights each step of the cooking process and you end up with a more balanced flavorful product.

simmer for 10-15 minutes.

take the broth off heat.

caulifower is awesome. i dont know why such amazing vegetables like cauliflower, brocilli and brussel sprouts have such a bad name. i remember growing up and being scared to try these because tv shows i used to watch then, made them out to be such terrible things.... theyre delicious!

i rinse and break up the cauliflower, small inch sized pieces will do. you want to break it up enough to get a nice char on a good portion of the surface area, but you dont want a crumbly burnt mess either. rough chop up some onions, add some peeled garlic cloves (please chop off the little stem area). remember, you want all the items to roast up consistently, so try to make everything about the same size. add all these in a large bowl. add some good olive oil, salt and pepper and coat things evenly.

(note, this time, i added in some leeks, more on this later)

place this all on a flat oven safe surface and roast up these bad boys in a preheated, 400 degree oven. keep an eye on these things. it should take about 8-10 minutes to get a good roast going, but be careful because it can go from a flavoring enhancing technique to an ashy mess real fast! i check once during this time and i move things around, flip over the larger pieces.

while you have the veggies roasting, you cant start to prep the next phase of the process. the kombu broth should have cooled down a bit by now. why is this important? well, depending on what kind of blender you have, adding very hot liquids might not be the best technique.

im using a vitamix, but i have done this with a normal counter top blender as well, and while it will require a bit more work with a regular blender, its nothing too difficult. with a regular blender you will have to stop the blender, mix things around, maybe add more liquid but you will get the idea when you give it a shot yourself.

besides the kombu broth the other secret to this low calorie, low fat, super flavorful recipe... silken tofu. yup. high in protien. low in fat and calories.... this adds a great texture to the party and you wont miss your heavy cream at all. no seriously. this isnt a "diet" recipe that tastes like a half assed crappy version of the original. this is a different technique/recipe for a dish that looks and tastes just as good if not better than its fatty counterpart.

this is half the normal container of silken tofu, about a cup or so. now you can play around with the ratios to your liking.

to give you an idea of how much you can adjust, after this attempt, i realized i didnt like those leeks in this recipe because they burned too fast when roasting and the end product had too much of a leek flavor to it. next time, no leeks.

take a look at the ratios.

its about 1/3 silken tofu to 2/3 roasted cauliflower. i think it should be more like 1/4 silken tofu to 3/4 roasted cauliflower, but whatever. it still ended up good, and playing around with these things is half the fun. besides, you usually learn the most this way.

add in the broth. i added a small amount of the simmered solids from the broth as well... why not!

now i like to add in only a little of the broth at a time.

my finger is at the broth level.

i do this for two reasons, one, i think its easier to blend and its cleaner with less liquid. more importantly, two, as long as it blends, you can always add more broth. i ended up with a way too "watered" down soup my first attempt. you can always add broth, you shouldnt try to take it out by overcooking something.

season with a couple heaping pinches of salt and pepper.

now just blend.

to this i add more broth until i get the consistency i want.

i basically ended up doubling the amount of liquid in the blender.

i poured this out into a pot

the soup has a nice consistency and ive seasoned it enough, but its still not quite there. its was a bit frothy from all the blending so i just grabbed the pot by the handles and shook it around. most of the foam will settle in the middle and you can scoop it right out.

warm/simmer for a tad bit and its done.

i purposely left out ANY kind of measurements in this post because i want you to figure things out on your own. you will see when you need more kombu broth..... take a spoonful and taste to see if you need more salt and pepper.

i dont really want to tell you to do something the exact same way i do it... learn this technique, figure out what you like and adjust it.

you can add a few drop of some good olive oil, some chives..... tada.

pic courtesy of s+s gastro pub

today, we added a small spoonful of truffle caviar.

a low calorie, low fat , highly nutrious soup that EVERYONE will love.

thank me later. buy me a beer.

dude, seriously, i almost died on that mountain!

ok maybe not, but i thought i was dying. lack of oxygen. altitude sickness... hurry call in the helicopters.

at one point in my life i was in shape. now the only shape im in is round.

but as im quickly approaching the mid 30s, i decided its up to me to get back in shape.... everything is up to me. if i want to succeed, i need to chose to succeed. if i want to get into shape, i need to go out and do it.

someone told me recently during a conversation about starting a new business, if you strip down everything to its basics, the only reason people dont start their own business is fear. if you want to do, theres no other real reason anything will hold you back.

so i went hiking.

koreans love hiking. i had no idea until i started working in korea back in 2000. went on a couple hikes. i went in shorts, some airmax 95s, a tshirt.... them natives came all out, hiking boots, collapsible sticks, backpacks.... they looked like swedish koreans. i think i now understand why they like it so much. its not just a faddy exercise. its not just another reason to eat and drink somewhere cool.... its the mental challenge at any level you set for yourself.

and playing dress up is fun, no?

mission peak in fremont ca isnt something that should "kill" anyone. but when you havent done much training wise, it can be a bit challenging. i wasn't really prepared for it, drinking the night before probably wasnt a good idea either. i didnt bring enough water... mentally, i was there though. kinda. just needed a push.

the hike up wasnt that bad... well at least until you reach that rocky trail that leads you to the summit. then i started to feel the 2500 feet altitude change! i was almost completely spent. the last 500 feet or so were the hardest of the hike. i took a few steps, then a minute to breathe. rinse lather repeat.

on the way down, i had even more trouble breathing,  got extremely light headed, started seeing stars..... i wanted to sit there and just sleep.... good thing i had my trusty trainer aka better half with me. now i want to be able to say she was comforting me, asking me if i was ok, if i needed help...... but that just wouldnt be true. she did what she was supposed to. she got me off my ass and forced me to start hiking down. the altitude WAS getting to me. a few hundred feet down, i started to feel much better. then a few miles later, when i got winded again, she pushed me down more.

i swear, close to the bottom of the hike, i started to do some serious lamas breathing. little kids, seniors.. all doing this hike were looking at me like WTF did that poor guy just go through.

i LITERALLY had to force each and every step.

i had to ask some random older gentlemen for some water. he took one look at me and hes all have it all!

after the hike, i had this complete content feeling. sure it was a "moderate" hike, but its something i wouldnt normally do and it was something i really had to push my out of shape self to complete. its something to be very proud of.... (i redeemed myself somewhat the following weekend with a 9 mile hike (no elevation change), where i did just fine... )

it didnt matter that many of the people around me finished the hike faster and without all the drama.

i did it.

ive come to realize this is very key in life.

it doesnt matter some 25yr kid made 100million dollars with his totally useless internet company and youre still stuck at your 9-5. the important fact is that you are doing your 9-5 the best you can.

it doesnt matter if a new business idea fails or succeed, the important thing is that i do it.

(insert 100 more cliches here)

ch, ch, ch, chia.... seeds?.... health food?

so i caught a bit on local tv about local companies that made a big impact in popular culture..... yeah, the san francisco bay area has got a few of them....

one of the surprising ones.....joseph enterprises.

while the companys name might not ring a bell, nor the underdog story of the owner making it big.... some of their products, i bet you bought them while you were hella drunk one night in the dorms.

CLAP ON CLAP OFF

CH CH CH CHIA!!!!!

yes, they have a chia obama and joseph himself presented one to obama.

and my personal favorite that i use almost everyday, the ove glove!

well anyways, joseph was talking about the crazy random chance encounter he had at a random anytown usa mart were he was introduced to a clay pot you spread some seeds on........ the pottery that grows... and worldwide success it became.

you know you had one.... i had four or five through the years. ive spread the seeds on walls.... in bathrooms... yeah they grow!

towards the end of the segment, joseph was saying that hes taking the chia brand into a whole new market.... wait what? health food?

yes. chia seeds are nutritious. very high in omega 3s..... yes. you will be eating ch ch ch chia seed products very soon. you heard it here.... you WILL BE EATING CHIA SEEDS!!!!

the other day, we were grabbing random drinks from whole foods...... grab something i thought was pomegranate juice...... oh no...

whats this?

yes, this is a chia seed drink.... rehydrated chia seeds is one of the main ingredients..... yes rehydrated chia seeds... like when you put your seeds in water for your chia pet!!!! hahahah well, im sure they roast the seeds first or something.... chia pet in your stomach?

so how was it? well the juice itself was good. the chia seeds? as my lovely tasting assistant told me... its like tiny boba....

yes. chia seeds. the health food, white people boba.

enjoy.

fiddlehead ferns, aka wtf do i do with this? learn a technique, cook a million things

waaayyyyy back when, when i was in sunday school, one of the first parables i learned was about jesus teaching someone to fish or something like that.... wait i got that so wrong. ok. i can give you a fish or i can teach you to fish. thats it..

one second on religion. i dont care if you are religious or not. here are the most important things you should get out of any religion. first, know that religion killed faith. humanity and its shortcomings and faults made faith into something its not. whoever the higher being may be, they are up there facepalming going, i cant believe you morons. i left it so simple but you ruined everything. second, its a guidebook to make your life better. its not a guidebook to tell someone else how to live.

anyways, sorry about that. it had to come out. probably because im bitter because im still on this god forsaken earth after the rapture. damn its may 21st 2011 and im still here with you assholes. greeeeeaaaat....

well similarly to the fish and fishing analogy, you can read a recipe and follow it step by step and learn to make a dish. thats great. nothing wrong with that. but i have an alternative, something i always talk about. learn techniques and you will exponentially grow your cooking vocabulary.

here we go.

so i was at berkeley bowl the other week and i noticed something interesting in the produce section. fiddlehead ferns? now i had a few years of my life where i was knee deep into horticulture. my handy dandy pacifc guide to trees and shrubs was always in my backpack and i would randomly identify things by their leaf patterns, fruits and flowers. when i saw fiddlehead ferns in the produce section i was, ummm stumped. you eat fiddlehead ferns? interesting.

of course, my foodcentric friends.. .no more than a couple days later, a buddy had a picture of a dish she made with fiddlehead ferns!

i picked some up the other night. had to try it myself.

now do i know anything about cooking fiddlehead ferns? not really. how do i approach this?

so heres something i learned awhile ago. you grab some basic ingredients, heat up some oil, add some aromatics, toss in some oyster sauce, add your veggies and its tada! its delicious. almost any green veggie will work. this is simple technique to make literally hundreds of dishes. you just need to adjust it slightly for the veggie youre using.

ok so i grabbed some basic ingredients i had in the frig. some firm tofu from hodo beanery, garlic, onion and green onion.

this fiddlehead fern is NOT a leafy green. it wont cook very fast in a pan while your stir frying everything. so what did i do? well first i trimmed of the thicker end of the fiddlehead ferns. then i blanched it in boiling hot salted water.

then i put it under cold water to stop the cooking process while i worked on the rest of the dish.

i added some olive oil to a hot pan and seasoned some tofu chunks with salt and pepper and started the cooking process for these.

why am i cooking this tofu first? well hodo beanery firm tofu is FIRM. this wont crumble up while cooking like other tofu you may have worked with. this is really tofu steak.... i really love hodo beanery products GOOD stuff. and i also like a nice sear on the firm tofu. it builds flavor and adds a nice texture.

i take this slightly seared tofu out and put it on a plate while i address the rest of the dish.

i threw in the aromatics, the onion and garlic. a little sesame oil here, some salt there , some black pepper..... ooh i had some shichimi on the counter so i tossed some in. why not? i let this sweat for a bit *basically cook a bit under med heat*

and the binder that make this technique work for all things green leafy veggie? oyster sauce. i toss in about a table spoon.

oh wait, did i have some left over ground turkey? might as well toss that in to. its not like this is a recipe or anything.

i heat everything threw and i put in on a plate while i worked with the fiddle heads again. at this point, the fiddlehead ferns are trimmed, blanched in hot salted water and chilled to stop the cooking process under cold water. now its time to get them cooking again. i heat up the pan again, add in some sesame oil, toss the fiddlehead ferns in and season with salt and pepper.

now i finally add back all the other ingredients, including some green oinons i was saving for last and heat and toss around for one final time.... and this dish asked me to splash in some ponzu. i obeyed.

then tada!

this is the first time i ever cooked fiddlehead ferns. i used a simple asiany technique to try out this interesting veggie. what do i think of fiddlehead ferns? they are very interesting indeed. texture like okra, flavor similar to aspargus.

what should you take out of this? well, never be afraid. you build up your cooking vocabulary. when you see something you dont know too well, adapt it to something youve done already. this technique will work great with snow pea leave, pea srouts, green beans........ its a helpful tool to learn something new, try something new and keep building up that cooking vocab of yours!

anything you can do i can do better

not to be out done by her little snot nosed offspring, mama patiently listened to her grown ass boy as he went on and on about this awesome salad mix from a farm thats down the street from her house. with the love only a mother can know for her oldest and youngest and only son, she looked at his excitement with pure joy...

then like your typical asian mom she smashed it and stomped on it and let him know whos boss. she busted open her subzero frig (that i paid for of course) and pulled out this plastic bag of winning.

DUDE, is that minari? *korean watercress* whoa. i see it once in awhile. ive seen my boy big willy style had some growing in a bucket before... otherwise, its very hard to find stateside. american watercress is used in place of minari at most korean restaurants... but then again, i dont like to eat at most korean restaurants.

DUDE, is that puchu? *chinese chives* i know EXACTLY what im making tonight with this. puchu pajun. chinese chives mixed into a simple batter, pan fried. make a simple dipping sauce. tada. instant, healthy(ish) snack food... great with magul li or soju or beer.

fyi, magul li, soju, beer...not healthy(ish)

both the minari and puchu looked so healthy, so vibrant, so green and smelled incredible. you can smell the care that went into growing these.

DUDE... ok wait... ok nm..... i have no idea what this is. looked like frisee, but tasted a bit more nuttier and bitter than the usual frisee you find. it started off like a nice simple green, but the finish was a bit ummm different than what im used to. any ideas what this may be?

yeah, so back on point, not to be out done by her son, mama grabbed a bountiful harvest from a backyard farm somewhere in the san bruno mountains. apparently, she knows someone that has a huge backyard garden farm filled with all sorts of hard to find korean veggies. when i asked her where it was, she said, oh, its somewhere, dont worry. yeah. i get it mama. its your thang. go on with your badass self.

if you want the best, you need to find someone that puts the care and effort into it. your local megalomart is not the place to find something like this. you find cheap and although you can find good things on the cheap and there are hidden treasures there and of course, there is a time and place for your local megalomart, if you want the best, you tend to have to find people passionate about what they do. you need to find people who go above and beyond. obviously, this mysterious urban farmer puts some care into their work.

as for myself, im going to fence off a little area in my small urban patio, making a small urban farm. i am passionate about this. it will show. 

stay tuned!