Feed on Cooking With The Single Guy

What's ON My Frig?

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:41:00 +0000

From time to time, I'd feature what's in my frig. (Right now it's a lot of leftover cranberry and pumpkin cheesecake.) But today I thought I'd show you what's on my frig.

This is actually a suggestion from reader Beth, who noticed my refrigerator is filled with magnets during my cooking demos on YouTube. Beth pegged me right as a magnet fanatic, and I've been one for a long time.

It all started when I first moved away from home and rented my first place. I didn't have a lot of money to decorate so it was cheap to buy a magnet to personalize my kitchen. Over the years I'd buy more and more every time I moved and eventually my refrigerator door was covered with magnets.

My friends know I'm such a magnet fanatic that they'd sometimes give me a magnet and that just adds to my collection. And it really is a collection to me. Whenever I moved (and I moved quite often in the early years), I would individually wrap each magnet with tissue paper like it's some kind of antique in a museum exhibit, and then I'd place them all into a shoebox for the move.

I don't know how many pieces I have, but the number has changed over the years. That's because some never really survived. There has been a few magnets that were the victim of me walking by and knocking them off and then breaking as it fell. Or some got so covered by kitchen grease over the years (I'm a fanatic but there's no way I'm going to individually clean each tiny magnet) that I end up just tossing it.

Here's a close up look at just a small part of my collection.

Many of my favorite magnets have a sentimental attachment to it, and some of that is because I got them during my travels. (Pictured above, left, a magnet from The Orangery tea salon in London; top right, a mosaic magnet from La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona; bottom right, a Fish Eddys magnet from New York, my most recent addition.)

Some magnets from my travel don't necessarily scream out where they're from, but I know. Like this beautiful ceramic magnet of a dragonfly. I got this from a flea market when I was visiting my sister in Portland a few years ago.

I get a lot of my magnets when I go home to Hawaii. On the weekends, they have crafts fairs at the beach and for awhile a few booths sold hand-made magnets. (Although not so much these days.) I like to find magnets that are just cute or reminds me of growing up in the islands.

Of course, there are quite a bit of magnets related to food. I've got magnets of cherries, watermelons in a basket, Reeses peanut butter cup ...

... and, of course, cupcakes!

There are a lot of magnets that remind me of my favorite characters, like Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street.

And I'm always a sucker for rubber duckies. There's just something playful but traditional about them.

Like I said, this is just a peek at what's all over my refrigerator door. It's like taking a stroll down memory lane every time I go to get something from the frig.

Live Blogging: Turkey Day 2009

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:25:00 +0000

9:25 a.m.: Good morning Gobble Gobblers! Happy Thanksgiving! Some of you are probably super busy getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner, while others of you are enjoying some quiet time before you head off to dinner with your side dish.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I'm cooking my first turkey tonight for my nephew and his girlfriend. And I'm live blogging about it. I have to admit, I only woke up an hour ago so I already feel like I'm so behind. But I did get a head start last night when I made the cranberry and caramelized some onions that I'm tossing with the green beans. Still, even before I start cooking I have some cleaning up to do around the apartment and washing dishes that I plan to use today. Ugh, I'm so behind!

As you're reading, feel free to drop comments about how your day is going. If you also have questions, post a comment and I'll see if I have any suggestions. Yes, I'm still helping you even though I'm busy here. :)

9:30 a.m.: The Official Menu

Wondering what I'm making, here's my menu...

Persimmon and Prosciutto Flatbread

Pomegranate Frisee Salad w/Hazelnuts

Lemon-citrus Turkey w/Chestnut Cream Sauce

Chorizo and Leeks Stuffing

Five-Spice Glazed Sweet Potatoe with (or without) Walnut Toffee

Cranberry-Asian Pear Sauce

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

Pumpkin Cheesecake w/Bourbon Whipped Cream

10:00 a.m. OK, that didn't take long. I just broke my first glass of the day. Luckily, it was just a cordial glass that was the victim of a falling cake pan as I tried reaching for it to prepare for what I needed to make my cheesecake. This is what happens when you live in small space. Everything's a target.

10:07 a.m. What's in my frig? Lots of stuff! It's never been so full.

I pointed out some things I plan to use, like the pomegranate for the salad that I seeded a couple of nights ago. See my turkey? I got it at Whole Foods (I reserved a couple of weeks ago to be safe) and it was just partially frozen, so I didn't have to worry about defrosting for days. I just wanted a 10 pounder and they gave me this 12 pounder. Oh well, it doesn't look too big does it? Hope it fits my tiny oven. I just salted it with kosher salt (about 3 tablespoons) and some lemon zest since I'm trying to go for a lemony turkey. So it's been sitting in the salt for 24 hours. I wasn't about to brine it in a mass of salty water, too much trouble!

11:40 a.m.: Pumpkin cheesecake in the oven but not really cooking.

OK, so I wanted to do something different this year and I love pumpkin pie, but my nephew likes cheesecake so I thought it'll be fun to make a pumpkin cheesecake. I couldn't really find a recipe that sounded good, so I just combined a few things. First off, I went with a graham cracker crust but I bought one of those ready made ones. Hey, why deal with all the mess? It was a bit tough getting all the pieces into the cake pan I'm using. Then for the filling I used a Los Angeles Times recipe, but wanted to make a marble effect so I kept the pumpkin and cream cheese separate. Then I poured the two ingredients in alternating methods. Above is how it turned out. Not too bad huh? Kind of marble-ly.

Problem is, it's not cooking well. The recipe says to cook it at 300 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, and it's been in the oven for 40 minutes and when I checked it was still like liquid! ARRGH! I should have made this last night. Anywho, I just bumped the oven up to about 325 and hopefully that'll help the filling cook faster. I have to get the turkey in the oven in an hour so this has to be done soon!

12:20 p.m.: Yeah, cheesecake done and out of the oven. Now cooling off on the rack. Looks nice and golden on the edges. Hope it taste good. Now, time for a lunch break. Going to make a chicken Caesar salad. Then time to cook the turkey! (BTW, I bet some of you are already eating your Thanksgiving dinner. I find it interesting that people start eating at 2 or 3 p.m. What time are you guys eating?)

1:27 p.m.: Turkey is in the oven!

So the real cooking begins! The turkey is in the oven. And I have to say, it barely fits. The top of the turkey is hitting the top of my oven roof. It's not like the turkey is so big. It really does look like a chicken on steroids. But before the turkey went in, I roasted some hazelnuts I got at Trader Joe's. They're for the salad later. I have to skin them, though. What a pain. Hope it's worth it.

Then I made a herb butter with sage, thyme and rosemary. The classics. I tucked these under the skin of the turkey. There's no stuffing in the bird, just celery, onion, garlic and a lemon and grapefruit for the whole citrus theme. It's the same thing I do when I roast a chicken. So now the turkey is cooking at 450 degrees. I'll turn down the heat in an hour. Time for more prep and Brady Bunch reruns. (There really is nothing to watch on Thanksgiving.)

2:06 p.m.: Table is set. Check. It's a good thing it's just the three of us because my table is too small for anyone else. (Plus, those Indian corn is taking up most of the centerpiece.) I'm going to put the food up by the kitchen counter and we're going to have to do it buffet style because the food won't fit the table. Now I'm just waiting for my guests to arrive and that turkey to be done so I can do other things in the oven. Is it time for wine yet?

2:39 p.m.: Yikes, look at my turkey after just one hour in the oven!?

Doesn't it look like it's done? I think the high heat definitely browned the turkey, especially in my small oven where the heat is probably really up close to the turkey. I hope the turkey doesn't dry out on the outside. Gosh, this is such the typical Thanksgiving cooking dilemma huh? Anywho, I lowered the heat to 325 degrees, which I had planned to do after an hour anyway. But I bet this cooks faster than the planned 3 hours. I'll probably check in another 1.5 hours. In the meantime, I put foil over the breast, hopefully that'll keep it from turning black. (Oh, and also to baste, I put some of the oil that came out and rubbed a lemon half on the skin to give it that lemony taste. Keeping my fingers crossed that the skin doesn't turn any darker!

3:20 p.m. My nephew Chris and his girlfriend, Mary, just arrived. And he brought pumpkin bread. Although it looks kind of like cake, huh? He says it's a recipe from Alton Brown. (Now he's off to Safeway on a beer run. I guess he's not into my wine.)

3:45 p.m.: OK, big debate about whether the turkey is done.

We just did an instant read and the thermoter quickly jumped to 160 degrees, which I think is good because when we let it rest it should be ready, but Chris thinks it should be 170 because that's what the recipe says. The turkey looked pretty dark and dry. I'm worried it'll be over cooked. Anyway, it's back in the oven and I think it'll be done in 10 minutes. It's a pretty fast cook, huh?

4:15 p.m.: Turkey out and now baking the yams. Chris and Mary are busy being my prep chefs and are cleaning out the green beans. I'm getting confused by my schedule that is now blown out of the water.

4:42 p.m.: Sitting down for the Pomegranate Salad with Hazelnut, but skipped the flat bread since Chris made pumpkin bread that was more like pumpkin cake. So we're just munching on the prosciutto instead. I sliced up the persimmon on the side, and the combo with prosciutto is like figs with prosciutto.

5:18 p.m.: Mad rush to the end! Just finished a quick chorizo leeks stuffing and now made the chestnut cream/gravy. Chris is thickening it up now. Last thing to do: green beans! Aiiiie! Hope the turkey isn't all cold by now.

5:44 p.m.: Yes, finally sitting down for dinner. Carving turkey was tricky with no carving knife and getting oily and stuff. But now for eating. (Whew, the turkey wasn't dry, but it wasn't super moist. It helped to have the gravy or cream or whatever it was that we made.) I almost forgot the cranberry that I had in the frig, but cranberry is my favorite so I pulled it out at the last minute. Enjoy your thanksgiving dinner everyone!

6:49 p.m.: Oh. MY. Gaawd. I'm so full. And you know what? The free-range turkey tasted like chicken. A big chicken. Now we're watching "Glee." Then in a bit it's dessert and we're going to see if that cheesecake was fully cooked.

8:24 p.m.: OK, after watching "Glee" (love it), it was time for dessert. Gosh, it's late. I bet all of you have already gone to a movie and back. Anywho, the pumpkin cheesecake was sliced up but not before we made some whipped cream the old fashion way. No, we didn't go harvesting the cream itself from milk. But I got some heavy cream and had my nephew start whipping it with a whisk until it got stiff and fluffy. Oh, boy, he was a wimp. He hardly whipped it before he got tired. We ended up taking shifts where we each whipped the cream until it was magically stiff and firm after being liquid just a few seconds before. I'm so amazed when that happens. Oh, and yes, we added liquor, but not the bourbon that I was planning to because I didn't find any at Safeway (but they sure love their whisky), so I just poured a dash of Disaronna. But we didn't really taste the alcohol in the cream. But it was light and fluffy. The cheese cake itself? It was like someone took a pumpkin pie (which I love) and put half of it with a cheesecake. I guess I should have blended it more instead of trying to marble it when it wouldn't. Here's a shot of the slice (I had to use my point and shoot because my camera battery died all of a sudden. Go figure.)

So that's it with the eating now that dessert is over. Whew. That was a lot. Oh, and you don't want to see the dishes. Yuck. I'm so tempted to bury everything. We're going to watch the DVD of Ice Age 3. No 3-D glasses though. Hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner and night! So I showed you my Thanksgiving, I'd like to hear how some of your Thanksgiving went.

Food Gallery: Thanksgiving Edition

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:40:00 +0000

I'm a big fan of corn, in general, but it's a summer crop. Except in the fall when you see Indian corn at the markets. They are perfect for that Indian-greets-the-pilgrims-decorated table. I just love their deep, rich fall colors, sometimes just a mix of jewels. So here's my photo showcase of some Indian corn I bought to decorate the table. (BTW, does anyone actually cook these?)

Programming note: Tomorrow I will actually be cooking my very first turkey. I know, you're thinking, "Single Guy, you've never cooked a turkey?" Yes, that's because it's obvious why I've never made turkey. As the Single Guy at Thanksgiving, I'm generally the guest at other people's table, so I've never had to make my own turkey. And when there were those many Thanksgivings when I was by myself, I either just cooked a turkey breast or ate chicken instead.

But this Thanksgiving my nephew is visiting from college and I'm making a turkey dinner for him and his girlfriend. It's just the three of us squeezed into my little studio apartment. And if you're curious and have nothing else to do tomorrow, you can follow along my cooking adventure as I live blog on Thanksgiving day. Yes, you can see how my first turkey turns out. I don't really have a roasting pan that's big and my oven only has one rack, so it'll be a mystery on how I'll get everything done. Tune in tomorrow to see.

Test Kitchen: 5-Spice Glazed Sweet Potatoes and Walnut Toffee

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:04:00 +0000

I guess if people had to pick a Thanksgiving dish other than the turkey, sweet potatoes with marshmallow might be among the favorites, if you believe this month's Test Kitchen poll.

54 percent of you voted for me to try Food and Wine's Five-Spice Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Walnut Toffee recipe, beating out a cornish hen meal and a cranberry sauce (I actually love cranberry sauce, but it's forever the bit player at the Thanksgiving table, it seems).

This particular recipe is from Chicago Chef Shawn McClain and he puts a spin to sweet potatoes by adding the Chinese-influenced five-spice and substituting marshmallow with a walnut toffee.

As usual, I did just half the servings of the recipe. And it was a good way to get a sample of the dish and whether I should add it to the Thanksgiving table this year.

You can click here to see the complete recipe on the Food and Wine Web site. But as always, you can read on to see how it went when I tried to make it this weekend.

I started out by peeling and cubing the sweet potatoes. I have to say I was confused about what the recipe meant by 2-inch chunks. Because chopping them into 2-inch squares to me seemed like super big pieces. I couldn't imagine cooking such large chunks of yams, so instead I cut it to be more like 1 to 1.5-inch chunks, roughly. If anyone has an idea of what they meant by 2-inch chunks, let me know. Because the photo of the finished dish (above) from the magazine didn't look like 2-inch chunks. Anywho, I placed them in a baking dish with a cup of water, covered it with foil and started the baking process.

As the sweet potatoes baked in the oven, I worked on the walnut toffee, which is a separate recipe that you can find here. I started by melting some sugar, corn syrup and butter in a saucepan until it became a light caramel, which looks something like the above. See how it's still almost white and just barely golden? I guess that's what they meant by light caramel.

Once the caramel was ready, I added baking soda and salt like the recipe said and then threw in the chopped walnuts and quickly poured everything on a parchment paper-lined baking tray I prepared earlier. I was supposed to quickly flatten out the whole thing, but you know it's been cold in the Bay Area so the caramel hardened pretty fast. See, above was the thinnest I could spread it out. I've never made toffee before but it was pretty easy and looked kind of nice.

With the toffee done, I put my attention back to the sweet potatoes by making the glaze. Along with five-spice, the glaze includes freshly grated nutmeg, butter and brown sugar. (Oh my gawd, Adam Lambert is screaming in my ears as I'm typing this. No, he's not in my apartment he's on TV. Oh, where was I?) After the glaze melted into a bubbling mess, I brought out the yams from the oven and poured off any excess water, which was a challenge to do with the near mushy yams bumping each other. I think I cooked it a wee bit too long. After applying the glaze with a pastry brush so as not to break the sweet potatoes, back in the oven they went to finish cooking for another 10 minutes.

And then when they were done, I plated them up and sprinkled the walnut toffee I made earlier and chopped up into bits. Here's how my version turned out. What do you think?

My tips and warnings about this recipe:

Definitely don't overcook your sweet potatoes because that makes it harder to apply the glaze on them near the end of the cooking process.
You probably don't need to make as much walnut toffee as the recipe says. You can keep some as a snack for later.
When making the toffee, have your baking sheet ready and all the ingredients within reach because everything happens pretty fast once the caramel gets to the right consistency.

Ease of cooking: Yet another really simple recipe to follow, even learning to make the walnut toffee. It takes about an hour to prep and cook the entire recipe and you can totally make the toffee ahead of time.

Taste: I actually liked the hint of five-spice for the yams, which were sweet from the glaze. The spice flavor gave the dish an interesting twist. I can't say I was a big fan of the walnut toffee, though, mostly because I'm not a big sweet person. You're basically making candy and throwing it on top of the dish. The walnut toffee is a bit chewy and gets stuck in your teeth as your eating, so if you have a relative that talks a lot at the Thanksgiving dinner table, then feed the relative the toffee and your relative will be busy chewing for awhile. Despite this, it is simple enough that I'm planning to make it this Thursday for Thanksgiving.

Overall Grade: B for ease of recipe and interesting flavor. Creative use of toffee, but not recommended for older adults with dentures. ;-)

Don't forget to vote for which recipe I should test from Food and Wine's December edition in the poll on the upper right column. You know this is the holiday issue so lots of ideas for your holiday parties.

Previous test kitchens:
Smoky Shrimp and Chorizo Soup
Rabbit Ragout with Soppressata and Pappardelle
Puff-pastry Tomato Tarts
Bucatini Carbonara

Dish on Dining: Starbelly

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:59:00 +0000

Beretta Clones Itself in the Castro
3583 16th St. (at Market), San Francisco
Castro neighborhood
PH: 415.252.7500
Open Mon.–Fri., 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m.; Sat. & Sun., 10:30 a.m.–11 p.m. (till midnight on Friday and Saturday), weekend brunch served till 4 p.m.
Major credit cards accepted
Reservations for 6 or more only, otherwise call within 45 minutes before you arrive to be placed on walk-in wait list
www.starbellysf.com

I’ve written in the past about the lack of real “destination” restaurants in the Castro, a neighborhood in which one would most likely find the discretionary income—even in today’s economy—to enjoy a night out for cocktails and dinner.

But things appear to be changing with the opening a few months ago of Starbelly and this month’s entry of Frances, the long-awaited restaurant by Chef Melissa Perello, formerly of Charles Nob Hill and the Fifth Floor.

I’ll have to save Frances for a later post. Today, my focus is on Starbelly, which has drawn crowds to the tiny spot in what I consider the traffic triangle hell of Market-16th-Sanchez. By the same people behind the popular Beretta in the Mission, Starbelly has transformed the former Asqew Grill eatery into a handsome and equally popular neighborhood hotspot.

Starbelly even functions the same as Beretta: Beautiful bar with fancy cocktails, check. Thin crust pizza and assortment of small and large plates, check. No reservations but a 45-minute call-in policy to get on the wait list, check.

Hearing about the crowds, I decided to meet my friend Ken at 6 p.m. on a weeknight. I called ahead to put my name on the wait list, but when we arrived, we didn’t have a problem getting a table. Probably because it was one of the worst tables in the house.

Unfortunately, we weren’t taken to a prime table in the back near the large communal table or supposedly large patio. Instead, we got a two-top at the front entrance near the window. Normally I wouldn’t mind sitting by the window and people watching, but this two-top was squeezed near the corner. The waitress had to squeeze by me every time to serve the table next to us, and as the night went on and the people waiting in the front increased, I was basically surrounded by butts. Look to my right: the waitress’ butt as she’s helping the table next to me. Look to my left: the butt of some guy waiting for a table and standing in the front area among the crowd.

Poor seating aside, Ken and I both ordered a glass of Malbec and started ordering a few dishes from the menu, which seems to lean heavily on the California seasonal-inspired cuisine as opposed to the mostly Italian offerings at Beretta.

We shared the Pan Roasted Diver Scallops ($14) because Ken and I both love scallops. I learned a big lesson, though. Whenever ordering scallops, be sure to ask how many scallops you’ll actually get on the plate. Even though it was listed under the “small” category, I figured we’d probably get three small scallops. Instead, the dish came with just two. And for $14, that seemed a bit skimpy.

Plus, the scallops were overly browned. The taste was OK, and it sat on a light gingered yam puree with pepitas, which was a nice seasonal touch but hardly made up for the darkly browned scallops.

Ken also ordered the Fuyu Persimmon and Butter Leaf Salad ($8), which looked pretty and tasted fresh with the thinly sliced persimmons. Ken shared a bit of the salad with me, and I really loved the addition of the Oregon hazelnuts, which were toasted to a nice crunch, adding a fun contrast to the persimmons and butter lettuce.

Ken also ordered the house-cut fries ($5), which you can guess I didn’t eat much of since I avoid deep-fried foods. The thinly cut fries, almost shoestrings, were served with three kinds of dip. I did try one piece to test the texture and taste, and I have to say I was thrown by the texture. It tasted fake. Ever eat something that had been so overly cooked that it basically turned into dust? This was what the fries were like. They were so fried that their exterior were definitely crispy, but the interior didn’t taste like potatoes anymore and just tasted like nothing.

Starbelly has a large pizza selection, and our waitress said because they’re thin crust, they’re not super filling. Ken and I shared the Fall Squash and Sage pizza ($12), which looked beautiful when it arrived. It was also topped with black garlic, fresh goat cheese and more toasted pepitas.

I enjoyed the flavors from the thinly sliced squash and the deep flavors of the sage and black garlic. The crust was super thin, very similar to the paper-thin crust at their sister restaurant Beretta. And just to remind you, I thought those thin crusts were too thin. I’m not a lover of the paper-thin crusts.

While Ken was pretty much filled from his starters and the pizza, I ventured into the entrée section to order the Pan Roated Lingcod with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon ($16). The plate was a nice size, and I didn’t mind the searing on the lingcod (it wasn’t as charred as the scallops). The fish had a nice flavor and the texture was perfect, and I enjoyed the rustic combination of Brussels sprouts and bacon, which turned it into a very hearty dish.

We ended our night with dessert, which was a Toffee Cake ($7). The tiny cake was topped with dates and served with mascarpone. I didn’t really like the addition of the dates, and the mascarpone was bland and needed some sweetener. But I really enjoyed the warm cake with its light fluffy texture and spiced flavors.

Side note: The service was a bit off. I don’t know if it’s a matter of the restaurant being new or if it was an off night. But the hostesses always seemed a bit bored, not sure what to do other than telling people they had to wait; and our waitress kept rushing us. She would literally hand us the menu and come back for our orders within 60 seconds.

Judging by the crowds, Starbelly is a certified success and a welcome addition to the Castro. But I think the crowds are more a reflection of the hunger from neighborhood residents for a really good restaurant. As more good restaurants open up in the Castro, I think people will eventually see Starbelly as a decent restaurant serving up seasonal dishes—but not a place worth waiting for.

Single guy rating: 3.25 stars (Just like Beretta)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

Related reviews:
Beretta: “Hip to Pizza and Cocktails in the Mission”
Eureka: “A Night of Revelations at this Castro Spot”
Lime: “A Party Where Food is an Acessory”

Food Gallery

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:10:00 +0000

During the fall, there might not be a lot of fruits and vegetables like summertime but it’s a season that, to me, seems to have the most romantic fruits. Things like the luscious fig or the bejeweled pomegranate or the shapely pear.

Another one is the persimmon with its distinctive shape and color. I can’t say I’m a big fan of eating persimmons because it’s definitely a fruit that is tricky to eat since you have to time it right to get the perfect taste and texture. But the persimmon is definitely one elegant food model, which is why I decided to do a shoot recently with the fuyu persimmon (the squat-looking variety that’s eaten crisp like an apple).

I’ve seen lots of blogs posting about baking persimmons into muffins and breads, but since I’m not a big baker, I typically eat my persimmons in a salad. Below I made an amazing persimmon salad with wild arugula (or what Jamie Oliver would call “rocket”). What took the salad over the top was the simple vinaigrette I made using a bottle of Napa Valley pear-rosé vinegar I bought at the Tyler Florence shop in Mill Valley. The fruity vinegar totally enhanced the sweet persimmons that were balanced by the peppery arugula.

So what do you do with persimmons?

Persimmon Arugula Salad

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:06:00 +0000

Copyright 2009 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients
1 fuyu persimmon, thinly sliced
2 cups wild arugula or “rocket”
Parmesan reggiano cheese for garnish

Dressing
1 part pear-rose vinegar (or champagne vinegar)
½ part sugar
3 parts extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt

In small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Set aside.

Thinly shave your persimmon using a mandolin, removing the core first. (You may not need the whole persimmon.) Throw in with the arugula and toss with the vinaigrette. Add parmesan shavings on top and serve with bread or as a starter salad to a meal.

Makes one serving.

Pair with a glass of Torrontes (white wine from Argentina).

TIP: I love having a spark of flavor when eating a simply dressed salad. That’s why I use a pinch of salt to finish the salad. Instead of adding the salt when making the vinaigrette, I add it at the end on top of the finished salad by sprinkling a tiny pinch, using sea salt like pink salt.

Another recipe you might want to try:
Chicken and Persimmon Salad

A Cupcake by Any Other Name

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:06:00 +0000

Fellow blogger Wasabimon pointed out this new cupcake bakery one night as we walked around San Francisco’s Union Square. Of course, we didn’t buy anything because Wasabimon doesn’t eat gluten.

So I had to return on the weekend to check out this month-old bakery located on O’Farrell Street (and near the really touristy shops along Powell). First off, I don’t get the name, and their Web site doesn’t offer any clues behind it. Is Cako a play on cake? Or did someone misspell it and didn’t realize it? Despite the pretty graphics, Cako makes me think of ka-ka. I know, I’m weird with word-association games.

When you walk in, you almost think you’re in a temporary shop. The inside doesn’t really match the outside appearance. The sparse interiors include a glass counter filled with pretty cupcakes, a handwritten sign hanging on top and white curtains separating the front from the storage room in the back. It all looks a bit makeshift.

Anywho, that didn’t matter because the cupcakes look so interesting and pretty. Cako offers regular sized cupcakes and mini cupcakes, and there are a few original flavors along with traditional cupcakes like Red Velvet. (I think there’s an ordinance that you have to offer Red Velvet in order to sell cupcakes in San Francisco.) There are some wild flavors, like a chocolate decadent cupcake with a huge chocolate-covered strawberry on top.

I ended up getting the S’Mores, which is probably the most unique cupcake I’ve ever ordered. Cako’s S’Mores is a spice cake that has a marshmallow icing top and a graham cracker crust on the bottom. Eating this cupcake is a messy proposition because you get graham cracker crumbs falling all over you as you try to balance the oozing marshmallow icing from falling all over the edges of your crumbling cake.

Sounds interesting but tasted a bit off. The icing was ok, although a bit sweet. And the cake was really crumbly, so a bit of a challenge. The graham cracker crust is what threw it for me, but I did love the creativity.

I made another visit to Cako to try another cupcake. I asked the counter person if any of the cupcakes, which are handmade, have a filling. (I love filled cupcakes like they sell at Kara’s.) The girl gave me a look and said “um, you get a lot of sugar already in the icing.” Oh snap. I guess she doesn’t know I’m a cupcake fanatic.

I spied a pumpkin cheesecake cupcake introduced for the fall season, so I got myself one and brought it home for dessert. The pumpkin flavor was actually pretty nice, and the cheesecake was in the icing. It wasn’t really thick, but fluffy and light and slightly sweeter than I would have liked. But still, I found it enjoyable.

Cako sells their regular-sized cupcakes for $3.50 each. It doesn’t really have the quaint settings of some cupcake places, but it sure is convenient for me since it’s near Union Square and close to public transportation. And you can’t beat their creativity.

Cako Bakery, 211 O’Farrell St. (at Powell), San Francisco. PH: 415.404.7303. www.cakobakery.com

More cupcake posts:
Frosting Bake Shop
In Line at Sprinkles Cupcakes
Orange Creamsicle Cupcake Recipe

Dinner Fast: Black Bean Clams Recipe

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

I thought I should get back to the roots of my blog, which is to come up with quick-and-easy recipes that single people can make because 1) they don’t have the time because they’re too busy trying to mate, or 2) they want something special because single people deserve to eat well, too.

So in these “Dinner Fast” videos, I’m showing some simple recipes that are super fast to make. And nothing’s faster than seafood, and here I make one of the classic Chinese dishes of black bean clams stir-fry. It’s so easy, especially if you use the black bean sauce from the jar. (Or you can go ferment your own black beans and then pound them with garlic to make your own sauce. I’m not.)

In case you don’t believe this recipe is easy, just count how many times I say “quick and easy” in the video. :P

Below is the actual recipe for you to follow after you see my quick-and-easy demo. Enjoy!

Black Bean Clams

Copyright 2009 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
1 lb. manila clams (about 12-15), scrubbed
1 T black bean sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t red chili flakes
1 T cornstarch
1/4 cup chicken broth or water
2 T canola or vegetable oil
cilantro for garnish

In large wok or skillet, heat oil over high heat, then add garlic and black bean sauce and cook for about 30 seconds. Add clams and let them cook covered for about two minutes. Check to make sure the wok hasn’t dried out. Add either chicken broth or water (about a quarter cup) and cook until the clams start to open up (another 3 to 5 minutes).

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with a bit of water to create a slurry. Add the cornstarch mixture to the hot wok to thicken the broth. (Add a little of the cornstarch at a time to get the consistency that you want in the gravy.) Finish off by adding the chili flakes to taste.

Place in bowl and garnish with a twig of cilantro. Serve with steamed rice.

Makes one serving. Pair with sake.

TIP: Pick up your clams in the seafood section of your supermarket after work and make your dish fresh. But if you’re not cooking your clams right away, place the clams in a brown paper bag (moisten the bottom with some water) and refrigerate.

BLACK BEAN SAUCE: This sauce is so popular that it’s pretty easy to find in most Asian stores or in the Asian foods aisle of most stores. Lee Kum Kee is the brand found in most stores, just refrigerate after opening. Because this is salty from the fermented black beans, I usually don’t add salt to the dishes that I make using this sauce.

Other recipes you might like:
Black Bean Clams Pasta
Mapo Tofu demo
Making Won Tons

Back to the Fro-Yo Report: Tutti Frutti

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:57:00 +0000

So now that my cholesterol is back on the “high” side again, I have to pay more attention to what I eat. Frozen yogurt is supposedly better for you (I think it’s more a marketing position, if you ask me) so I recently went to check out a new fro-yo spot that conveniently opened in my neighborhood earlier this summer.

I went one weekend with my friend Joe, who wondered why Tutti Frutti would open just a few yards down from Fenton’s Creamery on Piedmont Avenue. I told him that people needed options, like cholesterol-challenged people like me. He just didn’t see the logic.

Not only is Tutti Frutti just a few steps from Fenton’s, it’s also a block from my favorite gelato shop, Lush. Again, alternatives.

Tutti Frutti is supposedly a worldwide chain that’s suddenly opening up a lot of locations in California. I can’t tell if this Oakland location is a company store or a franchise but it really feels like it’s run by a family.

When you walk in, you’re hit by the bright, cheery pastel colors and the bright colored photos of fresh fruits. Tutti Frutti (I have to say, very fun name for a fro-yo spot) is one of those self-serve spots where you choose your flavor and dispense it yourself from the machines.

You start by picking the size of your cup. There were also waffle-like cones, but they were used as lining for the certain cups. Not sure if they charged extra for that or they just add it in as part of the overall weight. I just went for a plain cup.

There were some interesting flavors, and Joe pretty much took a little bit from the first few stations, creating his own tasting cup. Some of the flavors included taro (unusual), cookies and cream, French vanilla, orange sorbet, regular yogurt, green tea, mango, pomegranate and strawberry.

For the toppings, there were your typical assortment of fruits and candied sprinkles. But I have to say, the fruits looked nasty. They looked old and tired, not very fresh like the photos on the wall. I was disappointed and a bit scared to put anything on top of my fro-yo. In the end, I just sprinkled a few strawberries because they looked the least offensive.

Tutti Frutti charges 37 cents an ounce, and our cups came out to be roughly $3.50 each.

I got a mix of regular yogurt, mango and pomegranate. Joe got taro, green tea and some other flavors. He really liked the taro, but didn’t like the green tea, which was a bit bitter. I thought the regular yogurt was nice but the mango was a bit tart. I really enjoyed the pomegranate because it was sweet but not super sweet and it was smooth.

Overall, the fro-yo was creamy and light, not too thick like some places and no signs of icy chips that I’m not a fan of. Tutti Frutti is a fun spot to hangout in, but until they clean up their fresh fruits section, I’m probably going to get my fro-yo plain with no toppings.

Single Guy's Fro-yo Rankings:

1. Red Mango, Palo Alto
2. Pinkberry, Southern California
3. Tuttimelon, San Francisco
4. YoCup, San Francisco
5. Fraiche, Palo Alto
6. Icebee, San Francisco
7. Yoppi, San Francisco
8. Jubili, San Francisco
9. Tutti Frutti, Oakland
10. SoGreen, San Francisco
11. Yogurt Harmony, Berkeley
12. Yogen Früz, San Francisco
13. Céfiore, San Francisco

Tutti Frutti, 4214 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. PH: 510.594.9028. www.tfyogurt.com

More posts to lick:
Homemade Helado in My Hood
What’s Up at Fenton’s
Pretty in Pinkberry

Dish on Dining: Bocanova

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Getting Festive by the Waterfront
55 Webster St. (at Embarcadero), Oakland
Jack London Square
PH: 510.444.1233
Lunch and dinner daily
Reservations, major credit cards accepted
www.bocanova.com

There are big plans for Oakland’s waterfront, known as Jack London Square (named for the writer, in case you messed that in class). And it’s about time because the area has a great view of the water but in recent years hasn’t been able to attract the crowds. The few times I’ve visited felt like a ghost town, despite having a Cineplex and the longtime Yoshi’s Jazz Club.

So with news of a major food market and restaurants by such culinary luminaries as Daniel Patterson of San Francisco’s Coi and Il Cane Rosso, things are looking up. And the party has already started with the opening this summer of Bocanova.

Bocanova is the brainchild of Rick Hackett and his wife, Meredith Melville. The two have a steeped history in the Bay Area’s culinary scene, having worked at places like Chez Panisse and having operated the famed Enrico’s in North Beach. Now they’ve landed in Jack London Square with a restaurant focusing on the cuisine of South America, taking cues from their largely Latin kitchen staff.

The beautiful and expansive restaurant — dressed in warm tones and decorative balloon lights — takes advantage of the waterfront view with a large patio. When I visited a couple of weeks ago (this was before daylight savings time ended when it was still light before 7 p.m.), I thought it would be nice to have a drink in the patio as I waited for my dining companion, my friend Laurie.

The restaurant’s bar is actually in the center of the large dining room, right off the main entrance. It’s close to the open kitchen with roaring fire from the ovens, offering up close-up views of the action, but the bar wasn’t near the water. So I asked if I could take my drink outside, and a waitress said it was fine.

This is where I have to talk about the overall service at Bocanova, just because it all started with the drink outside. The service at Bocanova is inconsistent and at times awkward. I think it’s a reflection of the fact that not all the servers appear to have much experience in the service industry.

Here’s what I mean: As I went outside to sit and admire the view, one waitress was extremely helpful in getting me seated and even firing up the heater lamps nearby. Then another waiter took my order for a pisco sour but instead returned with a pisco punch. He tells me they don’t make pisco sours (!!) so he brought me the next best thing. It would have been nice if he told me earlier that they didn’t have pisco sours in case I wanted another drink, like a martini instead.

Then even before I could take a sip of my pisco punch and enjoy the sunset, one of the younger hostesses came up to me and asked me to sit inside. I asked her why, and she didn’t have an answer, saying only “it just would be better.” Better for whom, me or her? It was all very awkward, especially since I had asked if it was OK if I had a drink outside while I waited for my friend.

What was odd about her request was she didn’t ask me to sit at the bar to wait, and instead offered up another table inside, which didn’t make sense to me because if I can’t sit at a table outside, why is it OK to sit at a table inside? Because it was almost time for my reservations, I figured I’ll just go sit at the bar. So I grabbed my drink and walked in totally confused about Bocanova’s policy about who gets to sit in the patio.

And on top of all this, I was chatting with the bartender about how I love pisco sours and told him I was surprised they didn’t make them. Then he tells me he could have easily made one for me if he knew. It’s this back-and-forth, yes-and-no experience from the various servers that left me feeling the overall service is lacking. Some servers go out of their way, while others seem too intent to follow some unwritten rule. (BTW, the service experience wasn’t just limited to the start of dinner. During dinner our server wasn’t overly friendly and seemed to be rushing us along a bit.)

But enough about the service, let’s talk about the food, which is more fun.

When Laurie arrived and we settled at our table facing the patio where I couldn’t sit (no, not bitter, really), we looked over Bocanova’s interesting menu, which is broken up by where the dishes come from, i.e., raw bar, garden, stove, grill or rotisserie.

There were definite Latin touches, but they weren’t predominantly from one country. I saw touches of Peru, Argentina, and Mexico in the offerings.

We started with the Mexican Wild Shrimp Ceviche ($9), which came tossed in a creamy coating that reminded me of avocado. The bits of shrimp was mixed with jicama and red pepper and served alongside chips that we used to spoon out the ceviche. The flavors were fresh and light, and not as tart as some ceviche cured in lime juice. Bocanova’s version was definitely easier on the palate.

We also tried the Burnt Carrot and Arugula Salad ($9) in a creamy avocado vinaigrette and sprinkled with contija cheese. Our server explained that the carrots are blackened for caramelization, but when the dish arrived the carrots didn’t look that burnt. Instead, they were just tender with the slight hint of smokiness from the gentle char.

Taking our server’s advice, we tried the huarache ($9), which is a Mexican flat bread. Bocanova tops theirs with thinly sliced pumpkin, bacon, bufala mozzarella and ajipanca. The huarache came out looking like a thin crust pizza, and since both Laurie and I like thin-crust pizzas, we found this enjoyable. The pumpkin blended well with the savory bacon and the slight sweetness of the ajipanca, a Peruvian red pepper paste.

After the huarache, we knew we were in trouble because we ordered two entrées to share but we were already getting full. First up was the Yucatan Seafood Stew ($11), which was a hearty dish of mussels and fish blended with bits of grapefruit and tomatoes. This was an OK dish. I didn’t find the flavors necessarily exciting, and the broth was too thin and didn’t feel like a stew to me.

Then we had the Organic Turkey Breast with Pumpkin Seed Mole ($16), which was my favorite dish of the night. If you have no Thanksgiving plans, you should come to Bocanova and order this dish. The slices of turkey breast from the rotisserie was perfectly cook, the moistened tender meat just filling you up with tryptophan. The pumpkin mole was slightly sweet but earthy, and added a nice color and subtle flavor to overall dish.

Despite hearing about an amazing pumpkin dessert from the bartender, Laurie and I were too full to order anything more. But isn’t it always a good thing to leave a dinner feeling full?

Bocanova’s menu offers a lot of exciting chances to expose oneself to more Latin techniques and cuisine. The ingredients are seasonal and fresh, and most dishes come out lively from the kitchen. As the restaurant’s staff gets settled in and increases their accommodating nature, Bocanova is sure to be a future mainstay amongst a revitalized Jack London Square.

Single guy rating: 3.5 stars (Fresh Flavors)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

Other latin flavors:
La Furia Chalaca: “Offering up Homey and Authentic Peruvian Cuisine”
La Mar Cebicheria: “A Continuing Lesson in Peruvian Cuisine”
Limon Peruvian Rotisserie: “Classy Take on Home-style Peruvian Food”

What’s In My Frig?

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:42:00 +0000

One of my favorite things to get when eating sushi is unagi or eel. But what it boils down to is that I really love the barbeque sauce that’s slathered on the eel, sometimes caramelized with a blow torch. Good stuff.

I try to recreate the experience at home (because you know sushi can really add up) by buying a bottle of unagi sauce from a Japanese grocery store. I got this bottle awhile back when I was shopping at a Nijiya Market, one of the largest chain of Japanese grocery stores in the Bay Area.

I can’t say this particular brand of unagi sauce from Shirakiku is the best I’ve ever had. It was on sale, so I can't complain. I think it’s a bit lighter than other unagi sauce I’ve had, but it does the trick.

Unagi sauce is really just teriyaki sauce, which is the combination of soy sauce, sugar and mirin (sweet rice wine). But it’s slightly different with the addition of eel extract, giving it a bit of the seafood flavor.

I actually don’t use it on unagi at home because I’ve never really cooked and prepared eel. So instead, I’ll use it on any other fish like salmon or tilapia. In this case, I used some fresh sand dabs. Have you ever had them? They’re like tiny fish that reminds me of eel in texture, so it worked out well with the unagi sauce.

All I do is broil the sand dabs for 5 minutes and then coat them with a generous amount of the unagi sauce and finish broiling for another 3 to 5 minutes (they’re so small they don’t need to cook that long). The reason why I coat the fish with the unagi sauce mid-way in the cooking process is because the sugar in the unagi sauce burns fast, so if you coat your fish with the unagi sauce too soon, you’ll have a blackened fish before the meat is ready to eat.

Serve your unagi-lathered fish over some steamed rice with sprinkling of furikake (rice seasoning) and you’ve got yourself a quick and easy dinner for the night! Enjoy!

Back for Seconds: Commis

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:21:00 +0000

This is an occasional report on return visits to restaurants that I’ve already reviewed.

Star Rising in Oakland
3859 Piedmont Ave., Oakland
Piedmont Avenue neighborhood
PH: 510.653.3902
Prix-fixe dinner only, 5:30–9:30 p.m., Wed.–Sun.
Reservations recommended, major credit cards accepted
www.commisrestaurant.com

Original visit: June 2009

It’s rare that I make a return visit to a new restaurant so soon, but with Commis it’s quite the exception.

It doesn’t hurt that it’s close to where I live. Since my visit a few days after this tiny restaurant opened in the summer, it has garnered a Michelin star and several mentions in the local and national press.

A somewhat lukewarm review from the San Francisco Chronicle also made me wonder if I had been overly generous with my first take on Commis, my excitement maybe heightened by the newness and originality of what Chef James Syhabout was doing.

Since that first visit, a few things have become clearer about Commis. One is that the $49 prix-fixe I paid for the three-course dinner was an introductory rate, and it has since settled into its permanent $59 prix-fixe price point. Another is that reservations require a $30 deposit on a credit card.

I didn’t deal with the reservations deposit because I walked in early one night, just like the last time, without a reservation. And despite its popularity, I was able to snatch a seat on one of the stools at the counter facing the open kitchen in the center of the room.

Commis’ hostess also went out of her way to welcome me back. I thought that was amazing because not only did she recognize me even though I’ve only dined there once before, but she also chatted with me about how my workout went, recalling that the last time I had just come in from the gym. It’s this personable touch that I’m sure was noticed favorably by the Michelin people.

Chef Syhabout’s seasonal menu still lists only a few items, but you can make your three-course dinner out of any combinations. So you don’t have to stick with a starter, entrée and dessert. Because there have been complaints about the serving sizes being small (actually a major point of the Chronicle review), you can pick two starters and an entrée, or even two entrées and dessert.

To start my dinner that night, Chef Syhabout — who worked quietly in front of me, always focused on the details of the plate in front of him — sent out two amuses. First was a lovely shiso or perilla soda. The shot glass contained a beautiful pink-tainted drink that was refreshing, with touches of rose and hints of what seemed like Indonesian long pepper.

Then came this amazing bowl of onion-flavored foam with a perfectly cooked soft-boiled egg yolk. Accented with smoked chopped dates and chives, this entire amuse awakened my senses to the many flavors and tastes ahead. Complexity continues to be a theme in the dishes at Commis, and I wished this dish was more than an amuse because it was so satisfying and creative.

For my actual dinner, I started with the roasted beet salad, served with greens and a pear sauce on the side. Some chefs might complain about how every restaurant offers a roasted beet salad, but I heart beets so I’m not complaining. But you can bet Syhabout did his best to put his own spin on the roasted beet salad.

The red beets, roasted tender, were sprinkled with tiny crunchy bits (not sure what they were but it was an interesting contrasting texture) and thinly sliced red onions. The pear sauce on the side had a subtle flavor, not overly sweet, so initially I didn’t think it added much to the beets. But that’s the mastery of Chef Syhabout because he provides complex flavors that actually progresses through a meal. So even though I didn’t get the pear sauce initially, as I continued to eat my salad and slowly blended the beets in the pear sauce, my palate slowly changed and I started appreciating the added tastes from the pears. It was, in a word, enlightening.

For my main course, I ordered the duck because you know my rule about duck on the menu. ;-) This duck (which was the last night it was served for the season) was presented two ways: 1) poached then seared and 2) braised. The duck pieces sat in a mulled broth and were served with king trumpet mushrooms, greens and cranberry beans. It was finished off with a sugar-plum condiment and a few squirts of some green liquid.

I have to say, the duck surprisingly was not my favorite dish of the night. Not that it was bad; it was just not as complex or innovative as other dishes I’ve had at Commis. Because the duck breast sat in the broth, the seared skin wasn’t crispy. And the breast pieces were more on the rare side, so it was a bit tough to cut into. The strong taste of the duck also masked any of the nuanced flavors from the broth or any of the sides.

Side note: Sitting at the counter, you get to watch Chef Syhabout and his sous chefs meticulous prepare your dish. In a way, it was a bit awkward because whenever they finished a plate, I kept thinking is it coming to me? And it’s not like sitting at a bar where you can chat with the bartenders. Although the chefs are pleasant, they’re extremely focused and you almost feel like you don’t want to bother them. They work like artists, using tweezers to pick a twig of wildflowers and then perfectly place it on the dish. I didn’t want to be blamed if one flower was off centered because I distracted the chef.

For my final course, I went the traditional route and ordered dessert, specifically the cheddar cheesecake with green apple. Out came a small rectangular piece of cheesecake bejeweled with tiny candied bits of green apple and tiny flowers. Also on top were cracklings made from something I totally forgot, but it was like shredded wheat but more fine.

Although I thought there was too much of the shredded wheat, I totally enjoyed the piece of cheesecake, which was creamy and soft. The tiny bits of candied gems just added little burst of sweetness now and then, making it a wonderful end to another amazing dinner.

A note about wine: the last time I did the wine pairing for an additional $29 but this time I ordered a glass of red from the wine list. As a nice medium-body red wine, I ordered a glass of the La Casaccia Barbera de Monferrato 2007 ($11), which turned out to be a smooth compliment to everything I ate.

Looking back at each course and the enjoyment I got out of each one (even the duck), I decided that the $59 price point is a real value for what you get. I didn’t feel hungry or disappointed, and in fact left rejuvenated and inspired. It’s the kind of dinner that makes you want to go talk to people about dining and life. So it’s no surprise that Commis has a lot of people talking these days.

Update experience (previous 4.5 stars): Still delivering at the high standard set from day one.

Other reviews of interest:
Ubuntu: “What’s Growing this Fall in Jeremy Fox’s Garden”
Coi: “The High Price of Eating with All Your Senses”
Five: “Berkeley Hotel Dining is Reborn”

Cooking With Steamy Kitchen

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:33:00 +0000

This is Part 2 of my Steamy Kitchen post. Steamy Kitchen, aka Jaden Hair, was in San Francisco promoting her new cookbook. I posted about our food blogger get together the other night, and today I'm giving you a peek at the cooking class I took at Sur La Table at Union Square.

The class on Saturday night was a hands-on session featuring some of Jaden's recipes. Many of the participants are fans of her food blog, and for awhile I was the only guy in the class until this other guy showed up from Sacramento. (Whew!)

What's great about taking a class from Jaden is that you really do feel like you're just cooking in her kitchen. And it might be the mom in her, because she often checks to make sure everyone's engaged. She also spends time talking about how she started her blog and how she got into cooking, and then we went into making the food. And we actually made quite a bit.

The first thing we worked on is called "Firecracker Shrimp" that's a fast and easy appetizer using just three main ingredients: spring roll wrapper, shrimp and a sweet chilli sauce from the bottle. Jaden showed us the simple roll technique and everyone got into making their shrimp and then frying it up in a wok.

The Firecracker Shrimp looked so delicious coming out golden brown. But of course, many of you know I don't eat fried food so I was dying here because I really wanted to eat more than the one I tried. (Of course, the one I tried, which was piping hot, was delicious.)

Then we worked on summer rolls, which is a popular Vietnamese dish. Jaden makes her with lemongrass pork, which she grilled.

We assembled the rolls with shredded cucumber, red bell pepper, lettuce and shredded carrot. This is something I've made before, but it's nice listening to someone else talk about the ingredients they like to use and where they shop for their supplies.

Here's Jaden doing her Martin Yan impersonation with her quick chopping technique on some spring onions.

Jaden showed her fried rice technique, cooking up her ingredients in parts and mixing them all together at the end. Looks yummy huh?

Everyone was so good about taking notes. But of course, a lot of the recipes can be found on her blog.

More food! This is a simple tofu dish that was pan-fried and served with a dark sweet soy sauce, garnished with more spring onions.

And here's everyone making the last dish, which is a dessert won ton made with chocolate. You can bet this was pretty popular. We simply folded some won ton skins with chocolate chips and then deep-fried them, finishing off with powdered sugar.

Here are the fried chocolate won tons. OK, I didn't bite into these because, yeah, I can only eat so much fried stuff. But like I said, everyone else loved them.

It was a fun evening, mostly because of Jaden's relaxed approached to cooking. And you know how she curses in her blog? Yeah, she dropped a few S-bombs during class. Just made it seem more real. ;-)

Jaden is heading to Seattle as her next stop on her book tour, so you people in Seattle should definitely check her tour schedule. And if she's doing a class, definitely sign up.

I spent today reading her cookbook. It was a real surprise. I was expecting a book with a few recipes from her blog, but there are 100 recipes and a lot of copy! It's like Jaden unloaded her brain about her life and cooking, and she takes you through her journey. But all the way, it's always down-to-earth and funny. And you feel like you're just chatting with a friend in the kitchen. A friend who's steamy.

Steaming Up San Francisco with Steamy Kitchen

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:05:00 +0000

Last night was supposed to be cold and rainy, but it actually turned out to be a beautiful night to be out. And no wonder, there were some Florida sunshine in the house with Jaden Hair of the fabulous Steamy Kitchen blog in town.

Steamy Kitchen is one of the early food blogs that have shot up in the stratosphere, and with so many food blogs out there now, hers is definitely considered on the A-list. (Mine is more like the E-list, not even the D-list.) Jaden's blog about simple Asian dishes has launched her into a newspaper column, TV appearances, an online show on TLC and now a just-released Steamy Kitchen cookbook. (That's why she's in San Francisco; signing a few books and teaching a class at Sur La Table.)

When I started my blog three years ago, Steamy (that's how I think of her) was one of the first to post a comment and then she emailed me a few times (she used to live in San Francisco). I was touched by how real she was, so down-to-earth and hilarious!

OK, enough of the setup. You want to know what we did last night, right?

So when I found out Jaden was going to be in town on her book tour, I e-mailed her about getting together. She emailed back and said she was gamed, so I planned a casual, get-together with her and a few other foodies last night.

We met at Otoro Sushi in Hayes Valley because Steamy says she can't get good Japanese food in Florida. I'd been to Otoro before and liked the vibe and combination of robata grill and sushi. Plus, they're one of the few Japanese restaurants that actually take reservations. Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

The only thing about Otoro was the lighting wasn't the best for photo-taking. (And I didn't bring along my photo light bulb setup that Jaden highly recommends on her blog.) Look at this shot of Jaden scooping up some miso ramen. She looks all blurry and mysterious huh? Those were some really long ramen.

The food was great, and we tried a variety of things from agedashi tofu to monk fish liver (Jaden's favorite) to grilled squid (you know I ordered that!) and lots and lots of rolls. See, here's another blurry photo of us digging into the amazing rolls.

OK, so enough of the blurry photos. Time to bust out the flash to get a decent photo of Jaden. Here she is with Sean of the Hedonia blog. Gosh, I really should have moved those beer bottles and glasses to the side. As you can see, I'm not the best stylist like Jaden, who's a master food stylist.

Here's the gang after our dinner. Stephanie of Wasabimon, Sean, Jaden (that girl never takes a bad picture), and Samantha of The Hungry Dog and her husband, Danny (who is NOT the inspiration for the name of her blog; she actually does have a hungry dog).

After dinner, as we walked along Gough Street looking for a cab to take Steamy back to her hotel, we spotted this line of people outside a gallery. Jaden noticed the unusual name and couldn't believe someone thought it was smart to call the gallery "Fecal Face Dot Gallery." She thought it was a San Francisco moment and told me to shoot a picture. We were across the street and I didn't think my flash had the power to reach all the way across, but when Steamy Kitchen tells you to shoot a picture, you snap and asks questions later.

It was a fantastic night of good Japanese food and blogging talk among foodies. Thanks Jaden for taking time from your busy schedule to hang out!

You, too, can meet Jaden in person. She'll be doing a book signing tonight (Friday) from 6 to 7 p.m. at Omnivore Books in Noe Valley. If you want to be her friend for life, bring her a bowl of monk fish liver.

Dish on Dining: Bushi-Tei Bistro

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:03:00 +0000

Does French-Japanese Fusion Work Watered Down?
1581 Webster St. (between Geary and Post), San Francisco
Japantown
PH: 415.409.4559
Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Major credit cards, reservations accepted

Bushi-Tei is an elegant, French-Japanese fusion restaurant on Post Street. Its food by Chef Seiji Wakabayashi garnered much attention (and once captured a Michelin star, although it has since lost it). Earlier this year, a spin-off called Bushi-Tei Bistro opened down the street on the ground floor of the Kintetsu and Miyako Mall, on the same side as the Sundance Kabuki Theater.

Recently I was in Japantown with a craving for ramen (it happens every time there’s a cold tinge in the air) but the place I wanted a hot bowl of ramen was closed on a Tuesday night. So that led me through the doors of the nearby Bushi-Tei Bistro.

The place was nearly empty except for one large table of happy diners. I could see how this place was planned to be a contemporary, festive bistro with a brightly lit bar (also empty that night) and black varnished tables under ambient lighting. But on this night, it actually looked like the perfect spot for a rendezvous with a spy because the high partitions pretty much obscure one’s view of other tables once you’re seated in the empty restaurant.

The menu is a mix of Japanese and westernized dishes like several pasta choices. The appetizers seemed to offer the most unusual items, but I just settled for a small mixed salad ($4.80) and a plate of gyoza ($6.80).

When the salad arrived, the plating was an indicator of the expert execution even though the ingredients were your garden variety of leafy green, cucumbers, tomatoes, julienne carrots and green bell peppers. You might expect a miso dressing, but it was a slightly tart creamy dressing that wasn’t that distinctive.

The gyoza (seven pieces) had a very thin skin, which I appreciate, although the searing of the bottom was slightly off for some pieces. In fact, one gyoza had its skin punctured apparently during the cooking process, which didn’t help the presentation. The filling was light, and I wasn’t sure if it was all vegetarian or if there was any pork involved. (When the bistro first opened in April it offered a vegetable gyoza appetizer with tomatillo sauce, but this was served only with the standard gyoza dipping sauce of light soy, so I’m not sure if it was the vegetable gyoza version.)

For my main dish I ordered my ramen. Since Bushi-Tei Bistro isn’t a noodle restaurant, it only served one type of broth — the soy broth. (I usually like to order the miso broth when getting ramen.) They offered three types of ramen toppings: teriyaki chicken, karaage (the fried chicken) and ginger pork.

I got the ginger pork ramen ($10.20), and when it arrived it looked like a nice big bowl of noodles and pork, finished off with shredded veggies and bean sprouts. The ginger pork on top was made up of thinly sliced pieces in a soy-ginger glaze, packed with a lot of flavor. The ramen noodles had a nice give to it, although I wouldn’t deem it the best I’ve ever had. But the warm broth and tasty thin pork slices really hit the spot.

I returned on the weekend to check out their lunch menu, which actually seemed more interesting and extensive than dinner (and the place had a few more customers but still not packed.) There were a few dishes that I’d never heard of. But in my fit of indecisiveness, I ended up ordering my tried-and-true lunch order of oyakodon ($9.80) or chicken donburi, which is chicken and egg over rice. I figured it was a good way to see how authentic Bushi-Tei’s Japanese dishes can be.

Before my donburi, though, I ordered the Avocado and Sashimi Salad ($9.80). It looked so pretty in the picture that I wanted to eat it (plus I felt it would be healthy for me with my cholesterol issues and all). But when I think about it, all they had to do was slice up some fresh fish and avocado, top it off with some shredded veggies garnish and call it a day.

The fish, which I couldn’t determine what it was, was indeed fresh, and so was the avocado, served with soy and wasabi. But really, there was no cooking involved. And I found it extremely difficult to pick up the slices of avocado with my chopsticks.

Side note: Bushi-Tei Bistro has some really odd eating utensils. For example, my ramen was served with a really shallow metal spoon that really didn’t help me scoop up large servings of the broth if I wanted to. And the chopsticks were the rounded lacquered chopsticks with the pointy ends, but the rounded part was so thick that it was difficult to get the tiny pointy ends to meet. I hate to admit that I resorted to using a fork to eat the avocado salad.

The oyakodon arrived on a tray with the rice in one bowl, the chicken and eggs in a stone pot and a bowl of miso soup.

I drank the miso first, which had a subtle miso taste but was filled with a lot of ingredients, including small cubes of kurobata pork, sweet potatoes and daikon (although no tofu). It was hearty but not necessarily flavorful.

I thought it was odd that the chicken wasn’t served over the rice, so instead I had to scoop up the chicken and eggs cooked with sweet onions and poured it over my rice. The chicken and eggs were done really well, with just a slight amount of sweet juices.

Bushi-Tei Bistro is a place that I really wanted to like, especially since both times I was served by a really personable (and attractive) server. But the food didn’t necessarily excite me, although it has some moments with its ginger pork. For the higher price, I felt it needed to be more creative with its fusion mission but in the end it seemed more like good Japanese food dressed up to look western.

Single guy rating: 2.5 stars (Better for lunch)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

Related reviews:
Otoro Sushi: “Latest Hip Addition to Hayes Valley”
Santa Ramen: “What I Do For a Good Bowl of Ramen”
Katana-ya: “When it Rains, Find Shelter in Ramen”

Pineapple on My Mind

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:35:00 +0000

You can take the boy out of the islands, but you can’t take the islands out of the boy.

Even though it’s been years since I’ve lived in Hawaii (and more than 18 months since I last visited), I still get cravings for certain things that remind me of Hawaii: kalua pig, haupia, or papayas. Lately, I’ve been craving pineapples.

I think pineapples get a bad rap. They’re often a symbol of a touristy Hawaii, with the slice of pineapple in a brightly colored tiki drink or served up at luaus. It’s often used as a quick way to make something seem tropical like adding them to a pizza for a Hawaiian pizza even though I’m pretty sure the Hawaiians never ate pineapple with cooked ham.

Despite the odd combination, I sometimes like to add pineapples to my dishes and it just makes me feel at home. I typically use it to make sweet-sour dishes like sweet sour pork or beef tomatoes, and I have no problems getting them from the can because then you have these perfectly nice chunks of sweet pineapple.

For the recipe below, I decided to make a simple chicken stir-fry, adding in some zucchini and red bell pepper for color. Yeah, it looks like those made-up dishes at Chinese restaurants created for Americans, but I still like the mix of savory and sweet flavors. Now all I need is a hula dancer to serve it up and I’m all set. Enjoy!

Pineapple Chicken Stir-Fry

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:31:00 +0000

Copyright 2009 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients
½ lb. chicken breasts, cubed
1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 cup)
1 red bell peppers, diced (about 1 cup)
1 can pineapple chunks (8 oz.)
½ cup peanuts
1 t white pepper
1 T sesame oil
1 T Shao Hsing cooking wine or sherry
1 ½ T soy sauce
1 t ginger, minced
2 T sugar
1 T oyster sauce
1 T cornstarch
2 T vegetable oil
Salt for seasoning
Green onions for garnish

In bowl, mix chicken with white pepper, sesame oil, Shao Hsing wine and soy sauce. Let set for 10 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over high heat in wok or large skillet. Then add chicken and brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in wok again, and add zucchini and bell peppers with the ginger and stir fry until vegetables are almost soft, about 3 minutes. Season vegetables with a teaspoon of salt. Then add back the chicken and mix everything together for 30 seconds. Drain pineapple chunks and add them to the wok and blend everything together along with the sugar.

In a small cup or bowl, mix cornstarch with some water to create a slurry, then slowly add this to the ingredients over high heat to create a bit of gravy. When you have the consistency you like, finish off the dish by tossing in the peanuts and the oyster sauce. Plate and garnish with chopped green onions.

Makes 2 to 3 servings. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Pair with a glass of Riesling.

TIP: When stir-frying, remember not to crowd the chicken. Cook in two batches if your wok is too small. And avoid the temptation to stir too often. You want to give it some time to get golden brown but not burnt. Also, when cooking the vegetables, you can add a little bit of chicken broth to help soften them quicker. But don’t add so much that it’s soupy.

PEANUTS: Try to use unsalted peanuts, but if you can only find salted ones, get the ones with less salt. If your peanuts are really salty, adjust your overall dish by adding less oyster sauce at the end.

Ice Cream for the Earth

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:41:00 +0000

On Saturday I had to go into San Francisco to get my cholesterol checked at my doctor’s office. When I was all done being punctured (twice!) at the lab, I treated myself to what else? Ice cream!

I figured after weeks of avoiding ice cream to get a favorable grade on my cholesterol test, this would be like breaking a fast. So I headed to the nearby Three Twins Organic Ice Cream shop in the Lower Haight neighborhood.

I’ve never had Three Twins’ ice cream before. (I first noticed them at the Oxbow Public Market in Napa.) This small business has an interesting beginning, having been started in 2005 by a former Peace Corp volunteer. The name is kind of confusing, so I’ll leave it up to you to go to its Web site to get the story behind the name. But one thing that’s prominent about this organic ice cream shop is it tries to be a real partner with the environment.

Along with using only organic ingredients to make the ice cream, all the packaging is compostable and they purchase renewable energy certificates to offset their electricity use. From the beginning, they’ve been affiliated with 1% for The Planet, where 1 percent of proceeds go to support non-profits that help the environment.

Walking into the tiny San Francisco store, you can tell it’s an environmentally conscious business because almost everything is green. (More specifically, lime green.) There’s a real whimsical feel that’s part hippie and part folksy.

I ended up getting a single cup ($3.25), where you can get one to two flavors. I decided on Milk and Cookies (which is their version of Cookies N’ Cream) and Dad’s Cardamom. There’s pretty much no seating in the store, so I ate mine as I walked the neighborhood since it was a beautiful warm day in San Francisco.

The cardamom was on top so I ate that first. It had a real nice distinctive cardamom flavor that actually stayed with me even with I was all done. The Milk and Cookies was filled with big chunks of Oreo cookies, so I felt like I was really getting my money’s worth although the sweetness of the Oreo filling added to the sweetness of the ice cream.

Overall, I really enjoyed the creaminess of the product. Unfortunately, this will probably be my last post about ice cream for awhile. I just got my cholesterol test back and it’s high. (Not terribly high, but just over the border.) All those La Farine tarts, artisan ice cream and restaurant eating are catching up with me. I’m not giving up on them, but I just have to eat in moderation. Dang family history!

Three Twins Organic Ice Cream, 254 Fillmore St. (at Haight), San Francisco. PH: 415.ITS.TWIN. www.threetwinsicecream.com

Back for Seconds: Koi Palace

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:52:00 +0000

This is an occasional report on return visits to restaurants that I’ve already reviewed.

A Gathering for Good Food
365 Gellert Ave., Daly City
Serramonte Plaza
Open daily for dim sum lunch and seafood dinner
PH: 650.992.9000
Major credit cards, reservations (primarily large parties and dinner) accepted
www.koipalace.com

Original visit: July 2008

When my Mom was in town awhile back, we went to get dim sum with my aunt and cousin (who were also visiting from Los Angeles) at one of the best places for dim sum in the Bay Area ... Koi Palace in Daly City.

I read a mix of reviews on food discussion boards about Koi Palace, some wondering if the food and service are really worth the long waits. Every time I go, I always come to the conclusion that it is.

Granted, I go on the weekdays when I have guests visiting, so I've generally avoided the ridiculous weekends waits. So maybe it's worth taking the day off to get some good dim sum.

I actually wasn't planning to do a post about Koi Palace, sparing my relatives with my constant photo-taking during lunch. But I had to take a picture when our order of Shanghai dumplings arrived at our table.

While dim sum comes out in a parade of trays and carts, certain dishes need to be special ordered. Shanghai dumplings are one of them, and we ordered a double order for our table.

These are the dumpling that are made with a bit of soup inside, so when you bite into them you get a burst of brothy goodness. I liked how at Koi Palace the beautiful dumplings came in their individual silver tart liners. That made it easy to pick them up and place on your plate.

Koi Palace's version of the dumplings were tasty as well, with thin skin that's used to encase a perfect balance of pork filling that wasn't too dense or loose.

We had a whole slew of other dim sum as well, including my favorite pineapple buns filled with custard. My Mom got her favorite, which was a plate of roasted suckling pig. I generally don't eat animal skin because of the fat content, but no one can really resist the perfectly roasted crispy skin of these piglets at Koi Palace. They're done so well, this is really the inspiration for the pork belly movement.

Almost every other dish were also just as good, and what always draws me back to Koi Palace is the vast options of food to eat. You really will have to eat there a lifetime to be able to eat everything on the menu. I'm definitely up for the challenge. ;-)

Update experience (previous 4 stars): Upgrading to 4.25 because there's still no where better in the Bay Area

Related dim sum reviews:
Hong Kong Flower Lounge: "Going Beyond Your Average Dim Sum"
Asian Pearl Seafood Restaurant: "Dim Sum that Offers Few Jewels"
Dim Sum in Honolulu

Trick or Hawaiian Treat

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Any kid growing up in Hawaii will tell you about the trick of tossing Japanese rice crackers (mochi crackers with a soy sauce coating) with popcorn, getting your own special Hawaiian trail mix.

It’s the mix of savory crunch of the mochi crackers (which we called “kaki mochi” as a kid but I forget why; some kids call it “arare” because of the major brand that produced them) with the buttery popcorn that kids love. Meh, I thought it was all right. (Again, proof that I wasn’t a normal Hawaiian kid.)

Anywho, recently my friend David went to Hawaii for a vacation, and he brought me back this box of treat called “Mochi Pop,” and it turns out it’s the childhood trick of mixing the rice crackers with popcorn, except they took it up a notch by mixing it with caramel popcorn instead of just plain popcorn.

Eating this brought back memories of going to the movies and snacking on this mix, but it was different with the sweet caramel. If you try the mochi crackers, though, I’m giving you fair warning that your breath will give Dracula’s garlic breath a run for the money. You Hawaii people know what I mean. ;-)

Dish on Dining: La Furia Chalaca

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:51:00 +0000

Offering Up Homey and Authentic Peruvian Cuisine
310 Broadway (at 3rd), Oakland
Jack London Square neighborhood
PH: 510.451.4206
Open daily for lunch and dinner
Major credit cards, reservations accepted
www.lafuriachalaca.com

When I was wrapping up my post about my search for the best pisco sour drink in the Bay Area, I made one last stop at this Peruvian restaurant in Oakland because I figured where else would I find an authentic version of the national drink of Peru?

You can check out my post to see how La Furia Chalaca’s pisco sour ranked (sorry to say it wasn’t so authentic), but this post is all about the food at this tiny, almost divey seafood restaurant just north of Jack London Square.

Opened for a few years, La Furia can be easily missed on Broadway, with most people probably heading to Soizic next door. And from the outside, you can’t really tell it’s a restaurant so it’s a good thing they had an “Open!” sandwich board in front.

Unfortunately, in this quiet area of the neighborhood—which is seeing a rebirth with new condos and new restaurants opening—there are still a lot of street elements, like homeless people coming into the restaurant trying to ask for money. So these are some of the challenges La Furia faces, as well as for their diners.

The room has quite an old world feel with the dark wooden furnishings. I sat at the bar, which didn’t have a bartender on duty, and surveyed the menu. It offers up some interesting dishes, including Peruvian classics like ceviche, causa (mashed potato cakes) and lomo saltado (stir-fried beef, except they make it with chicken). There are also quite a few seafood options.

I decided to start with the ceviche ($14), even though it was listed under the entrées, my server told me it was small enough to be a starter. It arrived with all the classic Peruvian ceviche condiments, such as thinly sliced red onions, yucca, sweet potatoes and the corn-like kernels called choclo.

The fish chunks marinated in lime juice was nicely balanced, not very tart. And I liked how they were in chunky pieces. There was a slight heat from the chili, but that’s what the sweet potatoes were for to soothe my mouth. I wasn’t a big fan of the yucca, but I liked that it was there to make it seem very authentic.

For my main dish, I ordered something called Arroz con Pollo ($12) because of the description of a “whole chicken leg” served on rice. When the dish arrived, the chicken leg was buried under this mound of rice, speckled with peas and corn and some tomatoes.

Here’s a picture of the chicken inside the rice after I dug in looking for it. For some reason when I read “whole chicken leg” I was thinking like a turkey leg size, but it really is just a chicken leg, and when you think about it, a chicken drumstick isn’t very big. I felt a bit disappointed at the size of the chicken in the dish, but I did enjoy the jasmine rice, which was cooked perfectly and accented with cilantro. As for the other ingredients, they felt almost pedestrian, like they were from a bag of frozen vegetables. (It didn’t taste frozen; it just looked like they came out of a bag.)

I ended my dinner with dessert, which was helado ($6)—the amazing South American ice cream that’s similar to gelato. The flavor was lucuma, which is a popular fruit from Peru. The flavor and look is very similar to caramel, and this helado was super thick and creamy. I enjoyed it although I wished it was a bit colder.

Overall, La Furia seems to offer you a nice glimpse at authentic Peruvian dishes, but in a simple presentation like you were visiting a friend’s home in Lima. You won’t be amazed by the presentation but you’ll appreciate the informality.

Single guy rating: 2.75 stars (Simple and straight-forward)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner

Related Peruvian reviews:
La Mar Cebicheria: “A Continuing Lesson in Peruvian Cuisine”
Pisco Latin Lounge: “Trying to Shake Up the Neighborhood”
Limon Peruvian Rotisserie: “Classy Take on Home-style Peruvian Food”

Behind the Scenes at Hodo Soy Beanery

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:07:00 +0000

Hodo Soy is a testament to what one guy will do for good tofu.

The fresh organic tofu products can be found under the bright yellow-and-white canopies at Bay Area farmers’ markets. Since 2004, the small company has tried to cast tofu as a cool and tasty product in the Bay Area’s food scene; its workers offer up free samples or gladly spend time talking to you about the wonders of soy.

The company was started by Minh Tsai, who grew up in Vietnam but came to the United States when he was 11. Working in finance, Tsai and his friends would get together for home-cooked meals, but often felt frustrated at the lack of good, fresh tofu like he remembered eating as a child in Vietnam. Long story short, he connected with some tofu-making relatives and Hodo Soy was born.

In just five years, Hodo Soy has established itself as a high-end organic tofu maker and this month opened a new 10,000-square-foot production plant in West Oakland. The new facility will be open to public tours in December to continue Hodo Soy’s mission of tofu education.

Growing up Asian, I already understood the benefits and beauty of fresh tofu. So I jumped at the chance to go on a preview tour of the new plant to see first hand how beans turned into tofu.

Hodo Soy renovated the former candy factory and bakery into a beanery, installing equipment from one of the oldest tofu-equipment makers in Asia. In the visitors’ room, Hodo Soy plans to show a video about the tofu-making process and give you a peek at the production through a glass window. Above, Dean Ku, a co-founder and marketing director, gives the lay of the land as one guest looks on. (We then donned the requisite hairnets and plastic booties to enter the production floor, which is something the public tours won’t be able to do.)

Here’s the founder Minh Tsai, who also has the title of tofu master. A charming and affable guy, Tsai explained how Hodo Soy uses dried soybeans from a supplier in the Midwest as the starting point for their tofu products.

The soybeans are soaked overnight in filtered water and then ground into a pulp. One of the first products extracted from the puree through a steam-injection process is the soymilk, which is the basis for the tofu Hodo Soy makes. We got to try a cup of fresh soymilk that was unsweetened. In its natural state, the milk had a nice nuttiness to it that gave it lots of body. We also tried fresh yuba, which is also known as “tofu skin” because it’s made by steaming the soymilk and pulling off the thin top layer, or skin, that forms.

Fresh yuba is an expensive ingredient in Asia because of the labor involved in making it. Hodo Soy is the only U.S. manufacturer making and selling it fresh. (Most Asian stores sell it in dried form.) The yuba on this day was so fresh that we could still see the milk around the edges. Of course, when you buy the yuba at the farmers market stand, the yuba has been allowed to air out a bit and then sealed in its packaging.

Here are the yuba sheets being drip dried at the plant. Hodo Soy’s yuba is served in such restaurants as Coi, Greens and The Slanted Door.

Making tofu actually is very similar to cheese-making because it involves curds. In one section of the plant, workers laid out cheesecloth-lined molds that are filled with the soy curds, which are then pressed by this huge assembly line machine. The amount of pressure determines the texture of the resulting tofu—medium or firm. (Soft tofu, or silken tofu, is so delicate to make that Tsai says he has to do that by hand.)

The tofu blocks are then cut up and stored in water so it can be sold at the farmers markets. Tsai says that all the employees who work at the plant also spend time at the farmers market selling the products. So you really do meet the people who make what you buy. It also gives the workers a chance to hear feedback about their tofu.

In the back of the plant is a kitchen, and it’s not just where the workers take their lunch break. Hodo Soy has a chef who develops recipes and creates cooked products that are packaged and sold at the farmers market.

At the end of the tour, we got to sample a table full of tofu dishes, including some sautéed tofu pockets, poached tofu, tofu croquettes and stir-fry tofu noodles. I especially liked the croquettes, which tasted surprisingly light and not at all dense.

With this new and bigger plant, Hodo Soy can now extend its reach beyond the farmers markets. But because Tsai and his team are so focused on quality and freshness, they’re carefully negotiating with retailers and distributors, working out issues such as shelf life, etc. For now, Hodo Soy can be found at Rainbow Grocery and possibly down the road at the Berkeley Bowl.

If you’re interested in tofu and want to talk to people who love it, then I’d suggest you stop by one of the Hodo Soy stands at the farmers markets (you can check where they are on their Web site). And if you want to take a tour of the West Oakland plant, check back at their Web site later this year for more information.

Hodo Soy Beanery, 2923 Adeline St., Oakland. www.hodosoy.com

Get your tofu on:
Yuba Salad with Broccoli and Red Bellpepper
Spicy Blue Lake Bean Salad with Tofu
Rainbow Tofu Soup

Test Kitchen: Smoky Shrimp and Chorizo Soup

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:13:00 +0000

This month's Single Guy Test Kitchen featuring the recipes from Food and Wine Magazine was a first. There was a tie in the poll to decide which recipe to test from the magazine's October edition: 40% voted for the White Bean Stew with Swiss Chard and another 40% voted for the Smoky Shrimp and Chorizo Soup. Of course, only a few voted for the dish that I really wanted to try, which was the Lamb Skewers with Salsa Verde because that recipe is from Chef Seamus Mullen, whose New York restaurant Boqueria Soho I love when I was there recently and who's currently a leading contender in "The Next Iron Chef."

Anywho, I did the simple pull the recipe from the hat trick and the shrimp soup came out on top. So that's what I made recently, which turned out great for the cool fall weather we were experiencing in the Bay Area when I made the dish. (Of course, you're probably reading this now when we're experiencing a warm spell this weekend.)

The recipe was from the section of the magazine that was dedicated to wine pairings. The soup was in the section about "old world wines" and how old world wines from Italy and Spain should be paired with food from the area as they've matured together. So they suggested you pair this Spanish soup with a red Rioja wine. Easy choice.

It's been awhile I've made soup, so it was nice getting back into the soup groove. As usual, I cut the recipe in half because I'm the Single Guy and I don't need that much soup. Here's how the cooking went. You can get the full recipe from the Food and Wine Web site here.

I started out shelling and deveining the medium-size shrimp that I got from my local grocer. I kept the shell and used it to make a stock according to the recipe. But it was a simple stock where I simply infuse the shrimp shell flavor into already made chicken stock for just 10 minutes.

While my shrimp stock stewed at a low simmer, I prepped my other ingredients, including the other star, which was the chorizo. Be sure to buy the dry Spanish chorizo and not the Mexican version or fresh version, which can be too soft and mushy inside. I get my Spanish chorizo from the nearby Piedmont Grocer on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland. You can also find them at the Spanish Table in Berkeley.

This recipe had very basic ingredients. Along with the shrimp and chorizo, I just needed a sweet onion, one carrot, a clove of garlic and a can of diced tomatoes.

Here's the chorizo after I've quickly browned it in a large soup pot. They look tasty to eat just like that, but I had to restrain and keep it to the side as I get working on the other ingredients.

In the same pot, I started off sweating the vegetables, starting with the onion, garlic and carrots. That sprinkling of red you see is the teaspoon of smoked paprika or pimenton, which is a basic spice for a lot of Spanish dishes. I love it. It gives off a really nice smell as you're cooking your vegetables. After the vegetables softened, after about five minutes, I add the can of tomatoes and let everything cook for another five minutes until some of the liquid from the tomatoes evaporate.

Then you start building your soup with the shrimp stock and chorizo, and finishing it off by throwing in the shrimp, which cooks really quickly. Then you add a tablespoon of flour to thicken your soup a bit, but I didn't have flour in my kitchen so I just used cornstarch, which is the Asian way to thicken soup. Same thing.

And that was it. I garnished my soup with slices of avocados, which is suggested in the recipe, and then I was ready to eat. Here's my final bowl. How do you think it looks from the Food and Wine photo above?

My tips and warnings about this recipe:

Even though I halved the recipe, I didn't skimp on the pimenton. The recipe called for 1 teaspoon and that's what I added, even though I halved the other ingredients. The smoky part of the recipe comes from the smoked pimenton, and I felt it could have needed more smokiness. So you could add more if you like, I feel. (Maybe 2 teaspoons.)
If you want to make this a hearty soup, especially for dinner or leftovers, add some cooked white rice.
The recipe says to cut the carrot into thin matchsticks. But I felt it was weird eating soup with carrot sticks, so I would have liked to pureed the onions and carrots before adding the chorizo and shrimp, so the soup would be more smooth. But it's up to you want kind of texture you like when you're drinking your soup.

Ease of cooking: This was another super simple soup recipe. Soup is always so easy to make. And it was quick, so I think anyone can do it. It makes a nice quick weeknight dinner.

Taste: I really liked the flavor of the soup when everything was said and done. The slight smokiness from the pimenton was really overpowered more by the chorizo, which like any meat ingredient dominates the dish. But since I love chorizo, I didn't mind. Plus, the meatiness of the tomatoes was a nice support for the chorizo. And there were a lot of shrimp in the soup, and I love shrimp, so again, it just had all the flavors that I love. Good job.

Overall Grade: A for easy to find ingredients, simple steps and full body flavor.

Don't forget to vote in my latest poll on the upper right corner. It's the Thanksgiving edition of Food and Wine. (BTW, aren't you glad I didn't start with Gourmet magazine? Because this feature would be dead by now.)

Previous test kitchens:
Rabbit Ragout with Soppressata and Pappardelle
Puff-pastry Tomato Tarts
Bucatini Carbonara
Mini Corn Cakes with Seared Salmon

Got Apples?

singleguychef@comcast.net (Single Guy Ben) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:34:00 +0000

While I was at the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market last Saturday, I noticed that it was definitely apple season. I spotted several stands with crates of apples, from luscious pink ladies to petite cinnamons to green grannies.

I never really liked apples growing up in Hawaii because they were all shipped in from the Mainland and were often the huge, highly waxed Red Delicious. (Do you still eat those?) While an apple is a great carry-along snack because you can take it anywhere, I never really liked the chewy skin.

But now I can find all sorts of apples of different shapes and colors. One of my favorites from the stores is the macintosh variety (maybe because I’m a Mac guy) because of its crunchiness and sweet-tart flavor. I mostly just eat them as a snack or toss them in a salad. What do you like to do with apples?