Les Lentilles, J’Adore

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Posted on 10 January 2011 by Brian

A few months ago I started an affair, the passion of which shows no sign of fading. My partner is the lentil, a sassy little pulse delicious in any incarnation, be it brown or green or red. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not that I’ve discovered the lentil only recently. We’ve been acquainted for years. It’s more like growing up and suddenly realizing that your childhood friend is hot as hell and you are, in fact, in love with them. So yes, my lentils, I love you.

I suppose that the big revelation came when I made salmon and lentils for myself a month or so ago, with the lentils dressed in a mustard and lemon butter. It was pure sex, so much so that I insisted on making it for my friends (which led to what I like to call ‘LentilQuest 2010’ — a tumultuous traipsing around Rockville, Maryland to find the perfect lentil). Despite having gorged myself on fried pickles at Hooters, which is a story for another time, I cleaned my plate — a rare occurrence for moi.

In any case, I eat lentils on an almost daily basis, either prepared simply, or jazzed up in some fashion. Yesterday, for example, I decided to have lentils for breakfast, and since Matt and I love Indian flavors (nothing is better than garam masala, dudes), the following recipe was born. You can serve the lentils alone, but I cannot imagine anything better than a fried egg on top, with the yolk oozing down…

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Some Pleasant Post-Christmas Procrastination

Posted on 28 December 2010 by Brian

My loved ones have been quietly insisting (not quite nagging) that I continue to chronicle my adventures in the world of food, and for all of their rightness — I do so hate it when I’m not in the right, rare as it may be — I simply haven’t had the inclination. I promised updates on DC Restaurant Week which, my lord, was back in August, and failed to deliver. I apologize. They will come… eventually.

I know I’ve commented on this before, but the most peculiar thing about writing, and probably most things in general, is that while I constantly want to write, I often never do unless the act itself is taking the place of something I don’t want to do. As I write this, for example, I should really be fixing up my Georgetown applications (because I’m daft enough to want to go back to graduate school) or at the very least be preparing a new playlist for my iPod. But here I am, blogging for you.

The year is almost over and I will, hopefully, have some things to talk about: my thoughts on my food progress in 2010; my almost vulgar obsession with Nigella Lawson; experiments with my new camera; goals for 2011 (think: macarons!). Until then, my peaches, fiddle with this recipe, which I created when Matt expressed a desire for turkey burgers or Indian food for dinner one night.

There is no picture to accompany it, and its title is pure kitsch and more than likely offensive; in any case, these do taste wonderful and are scrumptiously moist.

Bombay Bao Burger with Cucumber Raita Dressing
Serves 4.

For the Burgers:

1 onion, chopped
1, 1″-knob fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 serrano peppers, seeded (optional) and minced
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
3 1/2 tsp garam masala, divided
1/2 tsp cumin, divided
1/4 tsp fenugreek
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp ketchup
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp plain, non-fat yogurt
Kosher salt
Vegetable oil

For the Raita Dressing:

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1/8 tsp garam masala
Kosher salt
1-2 tsp fresh chopped cilantro or parsley

4 crusty rolls, toasted
4 slices tomato
Romaine lettuce leaves

Place the chopped cucumber in a colander in the sink and liberally sprinkle with kosher salt. Let stand for 20 minutes, until a fair amount of moisture has been drawn out from the cuke.

Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is quite hot, almost shimmering. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, and serrano pepper to the pan and saute, stirring occasionally to prevent serious burns, until the onions just begin to color. Stir in tomato paste and cook for one to two minutes more (the tomato paste should lose its vivid redness and begin to brown). Add 2 tsp garam masala, 1/4 tsp cumin, fenugreek, and 1/2 tsp of kosher salt to the pan and stir to coat the veg. Cook for one to two minutes; it should look hideous and glumpy and be very fragrant. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, make the raita. Pat dry the cucumber to remove any salty overkill. In a bowl, whisk together yogurt, mayo, garam masala. Stir in the cucumber. Check for seasoning: as the cucumber was already quite heavily salted, you may not need that much salt. Do it to taste: you’ll know it’s properly salted when you can distinctly notice the sweetness of cucumber, the tanginess of yogurt, and the spicy undertones of garam masala. Stir in parsley or cilantro to taste.

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, cooled onion mixture, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, cornstarch, yogurt, 1 1/2 tsp garam masala, cumin, and 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. Do not overwork! We want the mixture to be light. Do a patty test: in the pan you fried the onion mixture, place about a teaspoon of the meat mixture and fry until done. Taste the patty and adjust for salt.

Divide the meat mixture into four patties (these are quarter-pounders, baby!). I go for flatter (rather than thick) burgers. They are quite large so, unless your pan is a king of surface area, you may have to do this in batches. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium- to medium-high heat. When the pan is very hot, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil and the patties. They should sizzle. Cook until the bottom of the patty is nice and browned, about 3-4 minutes. Carefully flip patties and cook until the other side is brown.

With pot lid in hand, carefully pour 1/4 cup (you may need more depending on pan size) of the hottest tap water in the pan. Careful! It’ll sizzle and spit! Clamp on the lid and cook over medium heat until most of the water has evaporated, about five minutes. Remove lid, and continue cooking until the pan is pretty much dry, being careful not to let the burgers burn.

Serve on a crusty roll with a slice of tomato, a romaine leaf, and the raita.

Breakfast of Champions (Now with More Meat)

Posted on 31 August 2010 by Brian

I wake up every morning dreading the inevitable: Matt’s daily utterance of the phrase, “Bao has to blog today.” He’s right, but sometimes I find it very hard to sit down and write without an incentive, such as a deadline, a glass of wine, or the gift of a unicorn. Oftentimes, and I’m sure most people experience this as well, when I know I have to write something, I’d rather write something else.

So Restaurant Week reviews are still forthcoming, but this morning I created a zesty recipe, and that’s what I’ll post. Take that, Mattie!

Japanese-style Hamburger with Citrus Soy and Shichimi Glaze
Serves 4.

For the Burgers:

1 small onion, finely diced
3/4 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs), or fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 lb ground beef
1/4 tsp lime zest
1 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp ketchup
2 tbsp butter
2-4 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying

For the Sauce:

6 tbsp soy sauce
6 tbsp sake (Japanese cooking wine)
4 tbsp mirin
4 tsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp shichimi-togarashi*
1 tbsp butter, for finishing

Combine the panko, milk, and whole clove of garlic in a small bowl and set aside for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat in a small saucepan and saute the onions until soft and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Do not let the onions brown. Set aside and let cool.

Place the ground meat in a large mixing bowl. Remove the garlic clove and squeeze the excess milk out of the bread crumbs, which should almost be like a paste by now, and add them to the meat. Add the cooled onions, lime zest, salt, egg, and ketchup and mix everything lightly with your hands until the mixture comes together. Divide the mixture into four portions, and tossing each portion between your hands, form hamburger patties. Tossing them back and forth and letting them go THWACK! against your hands will make your burgers fluffy.

Whisk together the ingredients for the sauce.

Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the oil begins to shimmer. (Do not crowd the pan; if you cannot fit all the patties in, cook them two at a time, adding more oil as necessary.) Add patties and cook until the bottoms are nice and browned, about 2-3 minutes. Flip patties and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes, until the bottom is browned and delicious.

With the pot lid in one hand, carefully pour in 1/2 cup of very hot tap water, so that the water reaches about 1/4th of the patties’ height (you may need more or less water). Clamp the lid on the pan, turn the heat down to just over medium, and steam the burgers until most of the water has evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove lid, and cook until the water is all evaporated. Remove burgers and set aside.

Drain any excess oil from the pan, and return it to high heat. Add the sauce and cook over high heat, swirling the pan, until it reduces to a loose syrup. Add the patties, swirling the sauce around them to cover the bottom, and then flip patties and repeat. Remove patties to individual plates. Cook the sauce a little longer until it thickens just a bit more, and then remove from heat. Swirl in 1 tbsp of butter to finish, and drizzle sauce over hamburgers. Sprinkle a little extra shichimi on the side of the plates for those who want it and garnish with lime.

Serve with white rice, miso soup, and Japanese pickles.

*Shichimi-togarashi (or shichimi pepper, or just shichimi) is a Japanese spice blend. It can be found in any Asian grocer.

DC Restaurant Week — Day One, Lunch: Sushiko

Posted on 23 August 2010 by Brian

I am not dead, though I probably should be. DC Restaurant Week came and went, and I tackled six restaurants over the span of four days. I filled my brain with new ideas, my arteries with cholesterol, and have a shiny new mouth ulcer to boot. Hells yeah!

Day one kicked off with a Brian, resplendent in purple gingham, and a mysterious woman from Bowie (hereafter referred to as Charlaine) attempting a lunch date at a modern sushi bar. This was a dangerous undertaking for several reasons. For starters, our original lunch plans had been foiled by the slimy knaves of Bezu, so I was already in a pisser of a mood; Charlaine was fearful of being arrested in Chevy Chase, and, as I’m sure you’re all aware, I’m the snobbiest critic of all things Japanese. Forgive me, Sunny.

Sushiko

Sushiko, one of two restaurants bearing that name in the DC area, reminded me of the inside of a fish bowl. It was bright, minimalist, and marine. Except for the white leather booths (which Charlaine found to be a bold choice), a goldfish would have felt right at home. Or Daryl Hannah from Splash.

For 20 smackaroos, Sushiko put up quite an impressive Restaurant Week lunch menu. Here’s what we devoured:

Brian’s Lunch

Miso soup
Shrimp tempura
Sushi (spicy tuna maki; assorted nigiri)

I also indulged in a white cosmopolitan and sesame ice cream for dessert.

Charlaine’s Lunch

Wild mushroom soup
Salmon ceviche
Sushi (same as mine)

Our Bowie beauty (how witty am I?) also shared some edamame with me, and had sansho bread pudding, green tea whipped cream and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

These lovely shots are provided by Charlaine herself, as she wields the power of film much better than I do; I am much more apt at providing the pretentious critique.

The wild mushroom soup was very delicate and earthy — great for whetting your appetite and not weighing you down. I question, though, Sushiko’s decision for even having this item on the menu; this is unquestionably an autumnal dish in Japan, a country where seasonal cooking is the only cooking. It was tasty, but not appealing when it’s 632 degrees outside.

The miso soup? Well, I make better, but I make miso soup better than most Japanese I know. (Think I just nailed my pretentiousness quota.)

On to the next course. I had the shrimp tempura (not pictured); it was two giant prawns and an assortment of vegetables in a crispy crunch. Tempura is straightforward — it’s either well-done, or it’s not. This was fine, but truly high quality sushi restaurants that do tempura (in Japan) will give you a bowl of coarse salt in addition to, or in lieu of, typical broth. While the broth was tasty, I wanted that punch of sodium, dang nabbit. Oh, and the portion size? Ridiculous. That alone would have fed me for dinner.

The real star of the entire lunch was Charlaine’s salmon ceviche. Sashimi-style salmon in yuzu juice, with salmon roe, wasabi mayonnaise, and mitsuba (a Japanese green), this dish was intricate, with great depth of flavor and beautiful balance. The eggs popping and squirting in your mouth, the creaminess of the fish and mayo, and that awesome zing from the yuzu culminated in what those of us in the know call a foodgasm. Absolute yumminess and a clear winner for both me and Charlaine.

The sushi course was sushitastic. Fresh fish, cut well. Not much can be said about sushi, because, like tempura, it’s either spot-on, meh, or rotten. This was spot-on, and for a first-time sushier like Charlaine, a good way to delve into the world of rawness.

We ended our food orgy with some dessert. The sesame seeds in the sesame ice cream were simply not processed enough, giving the dish a very mealy texture that was frankly not enjoyable. On the other hand, Charlaine’s sansho bread pudding was an interesting experience. She gobbled it up with gusto, and I was very intrigued with the fact that the pudding itself was flavored by sansho, which is Sichuan pepper from Japan. It gave you a really nice hit of heat at the end.

Overall, though, I’m not sure the dish worked as a whole, and it was because of the green tea whipped cream. For starters, I don’t need whipped cream if I have ice cream, and vice versa. It’s just too much. However, the big problem was the flavor. The green tea whipped cream was plain overpowering; it should have been subtle and worked in tandem with the spice in the pudding. As it was, the cream was overworked and heading towards the clotted cream stage, it tasted too strong, and when I ate it with the bread pudding, I felt like someone had put pepper in my tea. That just doesn’t jive with me.

We rounded out with a bill of 35ish for Charlaine and 45ish for me (because of that damn cosmo!). The pacing of the service was horrible, with our dishes being brought out far too quickly — and on multiple occasions while we were still in the process of eating the previous one. (Ironically, dessert took forever to come.) Bad form, Sushiko!

That being said, Charlaine and I both enjoyed our lunch. For her, it was a big leap into proper (sort of) Japanese food, and she found it to be very tasty and light; she was satiated, but not sluggish or bloated. That’s a sign that you’ve had fairly good Japanese food. She also talked about the ceviche for the rest of the week.

Would I go back? Well, the food was tasty, especially the ceviche, and the company was wonderful, but I can’t imagine paying normal price for anything on the a la carte menu. I can get sushi of equivalent quality at other places for considerably less money. So, short of an amazing deal, I probably wouldn’t hit up Sushiko again. Still, it was a wonderful start to Restaurant Week, and Charlaine’s outrage at being charged ten bucks for parking had me in giggles for hours.

That wraps up Sushiko. Stay tuned for more posts; I’m doing one for each restaurant I ravaged! (For those of us who struggle with the maths, that’s five more.)

Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor, or Your Very Hungover

Posted on 12 August 2010 by Brian

I’m not a huge breakfast fan, so I often start cooking lunch around 10:30 or 11 am. I eat a lot of pasta, especially for my first meal of the day, because (1) I’m far too lazy to go to the grocer for fresh ingredients, and (2) I prefer it (and think it’s healthier) to say, processed food and frozen meals.

My house always has dried pasta and the staples to make a basic marinara sauce, so this dish is usually my go-to when I’m feeling especially lethargic (like today) or just plain hungover. It’s super easy, and more importantly, super CHEAP! My good buddy Charlaine, who (in addition to trying out the dishes on my blog) gives me great photography tips, has requested some easy recipes, and who am I to disappoint my fans? Read on for my quick marinara.