salmon belly amuse bouche, sujiki, fried thai basil, lemongrass oil

ingredients:

sashimi grade salmon belly
sujiki- fresh salmon roe marinaded quickly in sake and soy sauce (or ikura will do)
thai basil
lemongrass stalk
lime ponzu
grapeseed oil
shichimi

directions:

1.  using a mortar and pestle - if you don't have one, use a bowl and the end of a rolling pin - mash up
chopped lemon grass stalk.  marinade lemongrass mashings in grapeseed oil and set aside.

2.  heat up oil in a small saucepan.  fry basil leaves one by one and set aside. careful- the oil really pops when you do this so have an oil mesh screen available.

3.  slice salmon into 1 cm thick slices. strain lemongrass oil.

plating:

1.  get your mise en place ready: salmon, sujiki, fried thai basil, lemongrass oil, lime ponzu, and shichimi.

2.  place salmon on a plate.  top with some sujiki, then top with fried basil leaf.  spoon lime ponzu around
each salmon piece and lightly drizzle lemongrass oil over it. sprinkle with a light dusting of the shichimi
and serve immediately.

rou zhou fan, swan tsai, gai lan

ingredients:

rou zhou- taiwan style minced pork (see recipe below in "tainan dan zhi mien" recipe)
swan tsai- pickled mustard green
garlic
red chili
soy sauce
sugar
gai lan- chinese broccoli
jasmine rice

directions:

1. cook jasmine rice. heat up salted water in a pot for blanching gai lan. trim, shave ends of gai lan.

2.  soak the pickled mustard green in ice water for 2 hours. (without soaking it will be super sour) after
soaking finely mince mustard green.  mince garlic and slice some red chilis.

3.  saute garlic and red chilis in some canola oil, add in minced mustard green, a dash of soy sauce, and
sugar to taste.  set aside.

4.  blanch gai lan, and put on a plate.  add about a bowlful of rice next to the gai lan and spoon
minced pork over rice. garnish with the sauteed mustard green on side.  serve immediately.

tainan dan zhi mien

 


ingredients:

taiwan style minced pork (ingredients/directions see below)
shrimp
shirmp shells
pork soup bones
egg noodles
bean sprouts
chinese green chives
cilantro
garlic
black vinegar
hon-dashi
white pepper
salt

directions:

1.  make taiwan style minced pork.

ingredients :
   
pork belly, diced into small pieces by hand- food processor won't give you the same results.
ground pork
fried shallots (preferably the kind bought from taiwan street stalls- when you visit there, bring some back!)
soy sauce
rock sugar

directions:
  
heat oil in a pot and saute fried shallots.  if you don't have fried shallots, saute fresh shallots till browned and super fragrant.  add pork belly and saute for a bit then add ground pork. add soy sauce till
meat is browned and then add three times the amount of water. season to taste with rock sugar and let it
stew for awhile on low heat.

2.  boil pork bones for stock.  boil shrimp shells for shrimp stock.  make the shrimp stock super concentrated.  season pork stock the salt and hon-dashi.

3.   mise en place preparation:  mince garlic, cilantro, and cut chinese green chive into 1-2 inch pieces. cook shrimp and peel off the shells.

4.  cook noodles.  while noodles are cooking, put a bit of the minced garlic in the bottom of a bowl.  splash some black vinegar over garlic and top it with some white pepper.  using tongs, put noodles in bowl on top of the garlic mixture. blanch bean sprouts and chinese green chives in noodle water. ladle pork stock over noodles, add a bit of the shrimp stock in the bowl then spoon taiwan minced pork on top. add the blanched bean sprouts and chives, top with the cooked shrimp, and garnish with cilantro.  serve immediately.

bacon infused egg frittata, kale, yellow onion, potato

ingredients:

bacon (preferably applewood)

eggs (buy pastured if possible!)

potatoes

kale

yellow onion

garlic

cayenne pepper

fine sea salt

pepper 

*you can make this with mostly egg whites too for the health conscious; instead of using bacon, you can just use extra virgin olive oil

directions:

1. peel then cube potatoes and cook in salted boiling water.  set aside.

2. trim kale and blanch in salted boiling water.  set aside.  when cooled, squeeze out extra liquid and chop.  

3. slice onions and mince garlic.

3. whisk eggs with a bit of water and season with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

4. render bacon in a le creuset braising pan (or regular cast iron will work) over medium low heat.

5. saute onions in bacon fat, add garlic, kale, potatoes.  season as you go.

6. stir in egg mixture and cook for a bit.

7. bake uncovered in a 375 degree oven until eggs are set.  broil for a minute or so if you want to brown the top. serve with extra cayenne on the side/ tabasco/ ketchup if preferred.

yellowfin tuna tartare, avocado, shrimp chip, black tobiko

ingredients:

yellowfin tuna

avocados

shrimp chips (the kind you fry yourself at home)

black tobiko

chives

lemon

fine sea salt

shichimi

for sauce:

light soy

ponzu

sake

honey

lime 

sesame oil

grapeseed oil

directions:

1. brunoise avocado, squeeze lemon to prevent oxidation, and season with fine sea salt to taste.  refrigerate. 

2. in a bowl, whisk together light soy, ponzu, honey, splash of sake, sesame oil, and squeeze of fresh lime.  refrigerate.

3. dice yellowfun tuna into 1 cm x 1cm chunks, lightly toss with grapeseed oil (this prevents tuna from turning grayish) and season with fine sea salt.   refrigerate. 

4. in a small pot, heat up oil for frying shrimp chips.

5. cut the chives.  (you can do so by snipping the bunch with kitchen shears if you don't want to use a knife.)

6.  fry shrimp chips, crumble, and set aside.

to plate:

using a ring mold, spoon one layer of avocado onto a plate.  sprinkle shichimi on top of avocado then top with the tuna.  sprinkle chives and shrimp chips on top of tuna and garnish with black tobiko.  remove ring mold. gently spoon sauce around the plated tuna tartare and serve immediately.