dont be afraid to try something new, turkish sunflower seeds?

so the better half and i were strolling down the aisle at berkeley bowl west.

whats this? turkish sunflower seeds?

i love sunflower seeds. ive always been a fan. toss a handful in your mouth, crack them open. spit the seeds.

prior to my convincing, the gf didnt really understand why people ate them.

after a few handfuls, she was hooked.

so we were walking down the aisle and this reddish silvery bag catches her eye. we had to get them.

glad we did.

these arent like the sunflower seeds you find at your local gas station. first, they arent as small and plump. these are pale in color, long and slender. at first they were a bit harder to manipulate and eat, but you get used to it.

the seed themselves tasted WAY better. not sure if it has to do with the fact that the ones we are used to are mass produced, corporate bad people brand sunflower seeds, but these turkish ones were much better.

and these are WAY less salty.

just goes to show you, trying something a bit different is a good thing. surprise yourself. do something interesting everyday.

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!

muse me, hodo yuba

ive been asked many times, how did you learn how to make that? where did you get that recipe from........

most of the times, i dont do recipes. i mean, i borrow from this recipe and that recipe all the time and i love to learn new things while replicating a dish i learned from a cookbook..... but ill be honest, my favorite part of cooking is taking the skills, techniques and ideas ive learned and evolving and applying them to a dish im making on the fly.

i like to open the frig and see whats in there and make something from it, based on ideas and techniques ive used for hundreds of other dishes.

because of my heritage and because the biggest cooking influence ive had is my mother, of course it shows in my cooking. its gonna be "asiany". theres no doubt about that. this entry is gonna be a bit asiany.

another favorite part of cooking is when i go grocery shopping and i find an item so interesting i have to buy it. most of the time, i will have no idea what to do with it. sometimes, i catch myself just staring at it on the counter in my kitchen....

"now why the hell did i buy this? what am i gonna do with this? well at least my dog will eat it if its bad... ooo i should walk her. shes getting kinda fat. maybe i should feed her a low fat diet. i wonder if she thinks in korean...."

anyways. so i buy some random item that catches my eye and i make do. i let that initial interest evolve into an idea. i take all the different techniques ive learned, go thtough the steps in my mind and shape that item into a final product. i might not know how it will turn out, and i will admit, sometimes its REALLY REALLY BAD..... but i will say, over the years, the number of really bad dishes have slowly decreased! yay!

"ok, so i know if i build a simple foundation of flavor around this ingredient, i can highlight the texture of it with this cooking technique"

"ok, so this kinda looks and smells and taste like chinese chives, maybe i can substitute it in my chive pancake batter"

different thought processes take place. different scenarios play through my mind.... but this is all part of the fun.

***************
the other day, while at berkeley bowl, i saw they had yuba. not just any yuba either hodo beanery yuba.
yuba is basically a byproduct when you make tofu. its the skin that forms along the top of the tofu. i think its all sorts of delicious, and when a place like hodo, who are crafters of some of the best tofu out there, makes this.... its simply divine.

i brought it home and realized, i never cooked yuba. what the hell am i supposed to do with it?

thought process....

yuba is tofu skin, folded up. it kinda reminds me of tomago.

hey it also reminds me of kalguk soo before you cut it.

hey maybe i should use it like a noodle!

slice in half, the 1/4" sections

hmmm. well this is the first time im cooking with it, so i should bring out the flavor of it. simple dish.

its asiany, so lets do asiany simple. some sesame oil, some green onions, hey, theres some left over garlic greens, some black sesame seeds...

ok, maybe thats a bit too simple. lets add a bit of oyster sauce. that always goes good in everything! hmm some garlic, salt and pepper... ok this should do.

now i can just put this sliced yuba right in, but hrm..... ima blanch it real quick, it will help break apart all the individual pieces anyways.

ok, strain, then add to the hot pan... ooo a splash of good ponzu should top it off right.

TADA a new dish, inspired by a new ingredient i found, built on a foundation of previous experiences with food.. ever evolving..... i think next time around, i will do a few things different if i was to make this dish, like topping it off with fresh green onions instead of letting it cook. or better yet make a whole new dish! maybe a nice brothy one....

little city gardens, aka the best kept secret in sf at this very moment

warning, cliche filled moment ahead.

its pretty hard to surprise me. ive seen it all. trust me. you have to wake up pretty early in the morning to get the worm thats two eggs in a basket.

i stumbled upon little city gardens by complete chance. i was actually researching some of our local farms when i found the most local farm possible. how local? glen park local. if you were to roll down the hill from my parents house, you would land in little city gardens. ill go into more about who they are and what they do later, but for now, what i wanted to share with you is the box of joy i picked up from the folks at little city garden yesterday.

with the advent of the internet and websites like yelp, you sometimes want to hide things from people. you dont want to share. you still want to be able to get dinner reservations, you still want to be able to enjoy it.....

well with little city gardens, it is too good not to share.

what could possibly be this good?

a salad mix.

so purdy

yep a freakin salad mix.

people who know me well know im a meat and rice type person. growing up, veggies to me was the kimchee i ate with my meat and rice.

i loved this salad mix. so much i ate it twice last night.

how can i explain this? you dont really need dressing and if you do, just the simplest, light dressing possible. the balance between all the different greens and edible flowers make for harmonized event for your taste buds. i added a bit of salt, pepper and olive oil. simply delicious. each bit was a bit different then others. some times you got a more of this making it more nuttier. some times you got a bit more of that making it a bit more bitter..... it was quite delicious. i had to have a second serving. the second time around, i added a bit of ichimi for a little spicy kick. its hard to explain. if i was better at, i maybe i would be one of those weirdo food blogger types constantly talking about food.... wait a minute....

i wish i could do this salad mix more justice. it has everything going for it. its pretty. theres substance. theres excitement. its just really that good. i can see why an urban farm, a small local business, grew out of this salad mix. i can see why chefs from local restaurants want this for their menu. i can see why people get excited again.

im not sure if little city farms is quite ready to mass market this badboy, im not quite sure if thats the route they even want to take. i dont know if it will be available at a grocery store near you... but if you can get you hands on some. do it. add some salt and pepper and good olive oil and see what im talking about.... seriously. a guy with a freaking pig tattooed on his back is saying he loves this salad mix. its got to mean something.

now of course, little city gardens isnt only about a single salad mix. hell, little city gardens isnt only about producing a monthly csa box. what do i know? im just a loud mouth blogger eater consumer. im sure theres much much more going on and hopefully, ill get to all that in a future posting. for now let just see what else i got from the csa box.

pea sprouts

pea sprout? dude pea sprouts? HAHAHA i had to chuckle a bit when they were telling us what was in the box. i was (am) on this whole pea sprout thing. i LOVE pea sprouts. it seems you can only find these at your local chinese super market and to be honest, they arent usually the best quality. still, i buy them all the time. i sautee them with a bit of olive oil and salt or do that whole crab butter thing with it.  love pea sprouts.... little city gardens pea sprouts? yeah. the bizness

green (young garlic) and an herb i just cant remember the name of



green garlic? green garlic? no way. this stuff. i grew up on. it was on of my favorite things. chopped up, marinated in a spicy, sweet sauce and it becomes on of the best ban chans. more on this later also. you know this is going to become a ban chan this week!

id rather get this than flowers.

there was also nice little herb bundle that made the entire car ride a nice savory ride home.

this is what came with my first csa box from little city gardens. i cant wait to go visit the farm and see the operation for myself. i cant wait to see what else they got going there.

so quick lesson here? dont think googling random things is a waste of time. you never know what you might come across. i found an urban farm right by my hood where they grow and prep an incredible salad mix amongst other things.

shabu shabu, the sound of swishing water....

shabu shabu, hot pot... whatever you call, its delicious.... and healthy.

legend has it, genghis khan informed his troops he wanted a quick and nutritious meal to be eaten on the run. they came up with hot pot. if you can trace the origins of the kebob to turkish solider skewering meats and vegetables with their swords on a open fire, i can totally see some mongols sitting around a pot of water, dipping, cooking their meals.... downtime while they rape and pilage (or bring an early form of democracy and government, depending on which view better suits you).

so hot pot. it got all popular recently. i swear you cant walk a few block in the san francisco bay area without waiting in line for one. whether it be the oh so popular little sheep mongolian hot pot chain, the og all you can eat and drink mums in japantown, or one of ten i can name off the top of my head shabu shabu/hotpot places in sf, lets just say people like hot pot.

and why not? fresh veggies and thinly sliced meats cooked table top. its fun, its healthy. why the hell not?

this post is not going to be about where i like to eat hot pot. however, i do have to say, up until a few years ago, i refused to eat hot pot at restaurants. most places were either over priced and/or just crappy..... then came shabu house in the richmond district of sf...

lets just be honest. shabu house got INSANELY popular because of their spicy miso broth. such a simple adjustment to the formula and BAM. instant hit.

THIS POST IS ABOUT DOING HOT POT AT HOME.

once upon a time, during the height of mama lees cooking reign, when she was feeling a bit lazy, it was hot pot night. grab random veggies out of the frig, thinly slice some meats, make up a dipping sauce and there you go. a great meal.

over the years, i started taking a huge liking to hot pot. it made me feel healthy. hell, you eat like two days serving worth of vegetables in one meal. its also fun. you get to make the people you are sharing a meal with interact with their food. they get to pick their sauces, they get to cook it.... they feel part of the process.

its always a great meal when you hot pot at home.

LETS GET RIGHT TO IT

of course there is going to be a start up cost. you need to buy some equipment. bare basic, you need a pot (cough cough) and something to make it hot. i would suggest the ubquitous asian table top burner.....

IMPORTANT NOTE HERE THIS IS NO BULLSHIT, REAL SHIT.

buy something good. dont buy cheap shit. an extra five ten fifteen bucks is NOTHING when it comes to safety. a friend of ours got hurt during a fund raiser we were having. im not saying she was using bad equipment. it was fine, but see, even then with good equipment, things can go wrong. using better equipment will help reduce the risks.

personally, when it come to table top burners, i think iwatani burners are the freaking bizness. these are top of the line units.

so purdy

i have a few different burners at home, but the one i like to use currently is this one. it has a ceramic burner that prevents the flame from going out until you completely cut the gas. this will help prevent one major type of accident these table top burners are known for, when the flame goes out, gas builds up and a small little spark...... yeah not good.

avoid something that feels flimsy.

get used to your equipment, how it works, how to turn it off.

a good table top burner should run you anywhere from $20- 40.

BUY GOOD FUEL CELLS. dont try to save a buck by buying a shitton off ebay for $3... buy from a reputable source. safety first.

as for the pot, well anything that can hold water will work, but the qualities you are looking for is something that is wider than tall, something that holds heat well and thats about it.

it may cost you a little money up front, but i can assure you, if you like hot pot, if you like to entertain, if you just like good food, you will get your moneys worth.

HOT POT IN THE CITY!!!!

ok so what will you need ingredients wise? this isnt a recipe. its a guideline. do whatever the hell you like. im just trying to show you guys its real easy. im just going to use one random nights hot pot dinner to show you guys some stuff.

so i stopped buy the local asian market, nijiya, to pick up some stuff. some veggies, some meats and i picked out a mid price point ponzu sauce to highlight an important point. more on this later.

Proteins

some people actually own meat slicers. i know of two people. im actually surprised i dont own one. for as many hot pot meals i have at home, you would think i would have one.

BUT... you dont need one. your local asian markets have conviently thinly sliced meats just for this.

these are even marked.... shabu shabu

berkshire pork loin and nicely marbled ribeye (actually sukiyaki cut, a bit thicker cut cause the meat looked so good!)

if you cant find precut and if your local butcher wont slice it for you, well, no worries. slightly freeze your meats of choice and do your best to slice it thin.

besides beef and pork, you can use most anything, scallops, shrimps, lobster, clam........ive used them all and they are just fine.

VEGGIES

i usually buy a head of napa cabbage, a bunch of spinach, some mushrooms, some green onions.... oh wait, look at this. theres a variety pack for nabe (japanese soup) that has chopped napa cabbage, some mushrooms, leeks, carrots... how nice of them to to this for me!

all boxed up and easy

the nabe set plated

i also bought a few extra veggies

trumpet mushrooms, spinach

i decided to buy some fun stuff too. berkshire spicy pork sausage, some somen noodles, some udon noodles, fried tofu ...... let your imagination go and try it. you will never know if you like it or not if you dont try it.

these three things. OMG so good. 

its not just for breakfast anymore

PREPARING THE HOT POT

i take the pot, add some water........ now some people will say, some water is all you need. these people probably dont read food blogs so i wont worry about offending them....

to use just plain water after you bought a nice hot pot set and bought some great ingredients to cook in it would be a crime.

some people add chicken stock. some people add spices and seasonings. one of the most interesting ones ive heard is tom yum flavored hot pot broth!

today, ill be making a super simple spicy miso.

whenever i can, i use kombu. its dried kelp. i rinse. i add it to simmering water and let it seep. it adds a great foundation to build all your flavors on.

even if you are making instant ramen, simmer some kombu in the water first. you wont understand why, but that shit just makes everything taste better.

today, i simmered some kombu and some dried shitake.

a scale shot. this is how much i used. RINSE RINSE this dried kelp

to this i added  huge heaping spoon of miso.....

taste as you go along. find the balance you like. in this example, to about a gallon of water i added about two heaping table spoons of miso.

i added a few small slices of ginger and a small spoon of kot chu jjang (korean spicy red pepper paste).... homemade actually (homemade as in moi, more on this in a later post). you dont need this. you can add sriacha, dried peppers, spicy red pepper oil.... whatever you like.

bring this to a simmer.

ABOUT SAUCES

ive seen all sorts of sauces. i use all sorts of sauces. my goto however is ponzu...

what is ponzu? it depends on who you ask. some people will say flavored soy sauce. some will say citrus soy sauce....

ME?!??! i say they are all wrong. YUZU my friends. YU FUCKING ZU. its really does make a difference. the house ponzu sauce you get at most restaurants is little more than soy sauce with a few seasoning and "citrus" flavoring which can be anything from citrus oil (extract from lemon, lime orange peels) or citrus juice..... GET SOMETHING WITH YUZU IN IT. you will thank me for it. if you spent the time to read this, convince yourself that bibimblog is the most awesomest blog ever and you must do what i say, go buy yourself a hot pot set and since your at the local asian market picking up supplies... just spend the extra few bucks on good ponzu dipping sauce with REAL YUZU in it....

(im currently sourcing a yuzu tree to grow on my patio!!)

yes, yuzu is the bizness

kikoman ponzu sauce is good. no yuzu. it costs like $2 for 400ml bottle. its probably the exact same thing you tried before at restaurants.

one day, with a bit of extra money burning a hole in my pocket i bought this.

$$$$

ive also tried stuff that costs $30 for a 400ml bottle.... well these should only be used when your actually drinking the stuff... again, another post later...so many topics, such a little blog!

today, i bought this. a mid-range priced ponzu sauce with yuzu juice. i gave a bit to my lovely better half to taste... shes huge hot pot fan, the reason for the post infact...(my muse if you will) and she was blown away how a few more bucks can mean so much in flavor. its like day and night. she was amazed just how much better the meal was with a dipping sauce that was only 4 more dollars.  (and that $4 stretches out for at least 8 servings)

you can also buy sesame seed dipping sauce, you can chop up green onions, garlic, ginger and add it.... whatever you like!!!

today i added shichimi to the ponzu. its a seven seasoning spice (shichi means 7 in japanese) thats a bit spicy a bit savory. a whole lot tasty.

mama lee used to make this soy sauce, vinegar, red pepper flakes and fish sauce dipping sauce i used to LOVE..... fond memories

DINNER SERVICE

now bring everything table top. put it next you your assorted plates of stuff. tada, dinner is served.....

you dip i dip we dip. cook for as long as you like or as little as you like. dont leave the proteins in for too long. adjust the temp according to your cooking and eating style.

NOW WHAT I LOVE ABOUT HOT POT THE MOST?

again, bibimblog is telling you what most people would think of as scraps, waste, byproducts, is gold!!!

wait, before that... heres how freaking hippie santa cruz ive become. i take the scrap i cut off the veggies, stems, roots, skins, and put them in my worm bin. worms eat it. turn it into compost. i grow veggies with that compost. circle of life.

ok back to what i think is gold. you made a great miso broth to cook in. you cooked veggies and proteins in it..... you made a great soup!!!! i like to strain this.. depending on how log you cooked for, you might need to add a bit of water to thin it out, but you got soup! hell you can add some dried seaweed and tofu and make miso soup. you can add noodles and make ramen. YUM!!!!

enjoy

any questions, comments, smart ass remarks? post below