Shimeiji Gohan- Rice with Shimeiji Mushrooms

I never used to like mushrooms. Mama T claims that I used to LOVE them when I was much younger but learned to hate them under the influence of my brother, who has never met a mushroom he didn't hate.

My version of the story is that I used to like mushrooms till I met canned mushrooms --they have a weird metallic and briny taste to them! I never knew that it was canned mushrooms specifically that I disliked and just generalized it to mean that I hated all mushrooms.

However, in recent years, I have been giving mushrooms a second chance here and there, and have come to find that I actually do like them, if they are fresh and not cooked in soup (something about the soggy mushrooms just turns me off)!

This past weekend, I was in a Asian grocery store and picked up some lovely brown shimeiji mushrooms. Not knowing how or what to cook them with, I consulted with a Japanese cook book or two and chanced upon this recipe.

The bonito broth cooked rice and mushrooms lends for a very tasty and comforting dish. I love the addition of the scallions as they not only give color to the dish but also provide an extra sharpness of onion flavor.

Ingredients:
4 oz shimeiji mushrooms
1 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 to 2 cups of Japanese rice, washed and drained
1 3/4 cup dashi broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake
A few curls of negi or Japanese scallions

Directions:
1. Separate mushrooms and discard the tough bottom parts. After wiping down the mushrooms, put them in a colander and pour boiling water over and sprinkle with salt.

2. Put the mushrooms in a saucepan and add the dashi broth, soy sauce and sake. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once it boils, turn heat to low and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.

4. Take mushrooms out and set aside. Allow broth to cool for a little while.

5. In another saucepan with a tight fitting lid, add the rice and reserved broth. Bring to a boil over medium to low heat. Once the rice is boiling, turn up the heat and continue to cook for another 3 minutes before turning off the heat.

6. Add mushrooms to the rice and put the lid back on. Leave mushrooms and rice to steam for another 10 minutes.

7. Stir to combine the rice and mushrooms. Serve with curls of negi.

Momofuku Noodle Bar & Milk Bar

Having already read David Chang and Peter Meehan's Momofuku cook book from cover to cover, my visit to the Momofuku chain of eateries was the gastronomical highlight of my New York trip.

After a long day out in the City, my friends and I were craving a hot soupy-type of a meal for dinner. Our initial thought was to cook our own bouillabaisse from scratch (what were we thinking? It was already 7pm and we thought we could make seafood stock from scratch?!?!), but after facing facts, we settled on getting some soupy Asian goodness in the form of Momofuku Noodle bar.

Arriving at the Noodle Bar past 9pm, we were told the wait would be an hour. *sigh* I hate waiting for food. However, I was determined to not be deterred by the hour long wait time, so I suggested that we pay the Milk Bar (which was a block or so away from the noodle bar) a visit and do dessert before dinner.

At the Milk Bar, we ordered a Carrot Cake soft serve and a Milk Cereal soft serve. The Carrot Cake soft serve really tasted like well... carrot cake with a hint of the warm spices. But as yummy as the Carrot Cake soft serve was, the Milk Cereal was by far my favorite flavor (they also had Red Velvet (too sweet) and Cream Cheese Frosting (too sweet again, but very authentic!)). The milk cereal reminded me of Horlicks, but obviously a more gourmet version of that. The one thing I will say is that the Milk Bar's soft serves were a little too rich for my liking. I guess I'm used to tart fruit flavors of frozen yogurt and the rich creamy soft serve was a tad overwhelming for my biased taste buds.

At the Milk Bar, we also ordered a Compost cookie made with pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch and chocolate chips; a Blueberry cookie with dried blueberries and milk crumbs; and Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow cookie. The Blueberry cookie and the Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow cookie were good cookies, but nothing too extraordinary. The Compost cookie on the other hand, I have to take my hat off to. The saltiness of the potato chips and pretzels really played well with the sweetness of the chocolate chips. Meanwhile, the coffee grinds really were a spectacular and genius addition to the cookie, adding the right amount of smokiness to the flavor profile.

After pigging out on desserts, we headed back to the Noodle bar for our main meal. I have to first add that the hostess at the Noodle bar was exceptionally rude and grumpy with my friends and I. Trust me, we did nothing to deserve that treatment. But I was having such a good time with my friends that a grump-butt did nothing to spoil my mood.

Because we were at Momofuku, there was no way we could visit and not get the steamed pork buns. Even though Momofuku is sort of famous for their steamed pork buns, I did not have very high expectations of them. After all, the momofuku steam buns are not exactly an original idea, but just their version of a pretty common Asian food formula: steam buns + delicious meat = Mm-mm-good. The steam buns or mantous were lovely but for some reason, the pork belly seemed to be missing the unctuous, fall-off-the-bone lusciousness that I expected. However, I will say that the pickled cucumbers added a fresh snap to the steamed pork buns.

My friends and I also split an order of smoked chicken wings with pickled chili, garlic and scallions. While I appreciate that the process of making these smoked chicken wings is not exactly a throw-in-a-pan-and-fry type situation, I don't think these were particularly special. My favorite thing on this plate were the pickled chili- apparently I am a fan of the pickling process at Momofuku.

And lastly, for my main dish, I ordered the Momofuku ramen aka the whole reason we went to Momofuku Noodle Bar in the first place. A typical ramen usually consist of broth, noodles, meat, toppings and garnishes. Momofuku's ramen was no different, with pork belly, pork shoulder, a poached egg, bamboo shoots or menma, naruto or fishcakes and nori.

To me, what makes a kick ass bowl of ramen is the broth. It needs to be served at the right temperature (right under boiling), with the right amount of tare for depth, salt for roundness and mirin for sweetness. Unfortunately, the ramen broth at momofuku was a little too salty for me. I blame their addition of bacon to the usual pig bones and seaweed combination for this unnecessary saltiness.

Because ramen usually comes with a hard-boiled egg, I will give Momofuku's ramen bonus points for their poached egg. It was lovely to poke the egg with my chopsticks and watch as the yolk ozzed out into the broth. MMmmmm...

Despite the all too salty broth, Momofuku's Ramen was still rather tasty and comforting. However, nothing beats the original ramen roadside stands in Fukoka, Japan; where you are served steaming bowls of ramen noodles after a night out of partying. Ahhhh... good memories.

Details:
Momofuku Milk Bar
207 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003

Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 1st Avenue
New York, NY 10003

Little Tokyo Gastronomy Tour

One of the highlights of my friend's visit to LA was a gastronomy tour that we took of Little Tokyo. Having lived in LA for about 5 years, it is a little embarrassing that I have never stepped foot into Little Tokyo. So this Six Taste Little Tokyo tour was the perfect chance to rectify the situation and get some yummy Japanese cuisine in my belly.

Before our tour began, our tour guide Bryan ran us through what we could expect and some small rules and guidelines. I heard two things- 1. there will be a lot of food today! This is a gastronomy tour so pace yourself and 2. do not be shy, if you want seconds, don't hesitate. In typical Nic style, I chose to ignore the first and follow the second.

Green Tea Mochi Mochi (Left) and Melon Pan (Right)

Other baked goods from Yamazaki Bakery

While we were standing around getting to know each other, Bryan passed around some treats from Yamazaki Bakery - merompan or melon pan and green tea mochi mochi (and yes, you have to say mochi twice). The melon pan is a sweet Japanese bread that is reminiscent of Mexican sweet bread with a sort of crispy cookie dough layer on top. Despite its name, melon pan does not taste like melon but its name was derived from its melon-like shape. According to Bryan, the melon pan is an example of Eastern influences on Japanese baking. The mochi mochi on the other hand is a classic Japanese treat. Made from pounded rice, the mochi mochi had an addictive chewy texture to it and I appreciated that the flavors were not shove-in-your-face obvious but more subtle and sweet.

Our first stop on our gastronomy tour was Oiwake. There we were served beef tataki (seared filet mignon slices on top of ponzu slivered onions), gyoza (fried pork and vegetable dumplings served with a chili soy sauce) and some California rolls. The tataki was nicely seared, the ponzu sauce was perfectly sweet and the onions helped cut the rawness of the beef. On the other hand, I was not impressed by the gyoza (which were limp and soggy) or the California rolls (truth be told, I don't think a California roll can ever be impressive in my book).

While at Oiwake, Bryan ran through some basic Japanese eating etiquette, all of which I already knew. However, I welcomed the reminder to not de-splinter my wooden chopsticks at the table (an insult to the chef) and to dip only the raw fish portion of my sushi in the soy sauce and not the rice or the ginger (which is meant to be a palate cleanser between fishes).

We next visited Fugetsu-Do, a small traditional Japanese sweet shop that has been around since 1903. There we sample little cubes of fruit flavored mochi and I found myself gravitating toward the lemon flavored one which deliciously chewy was not overpoweringly lemony.

One of the thing I love most about Japanese culture is their emphasis on presentation. I remember on one of my first trips to Japan, I found that all stores would gift wrap your purchases for free and all you had to say was "presento" and nod/bow a couple of times throwing in a few "hi's" here and there. It must be said that no one does gift wrapping quite like the Japanese. (NB: now this "presento" trick could have been entirely false. For all I know, the workers in the stores could have just been having a good laugh at the silly little foreign kid in their store, but the point is, that's how I remember it :D)

This emphasis on presentation also applies to their food as evident in how it is packaged and presented in neat little boxes all gussied up ready for purchase. How can you say no to something like looks so pretty. If you've ever been to Japan or just the Narita airport and visited a couple of food stores, you'll know what I mean.

Sakuramochi- Tokyo style (Left) and Kansai style (Right)

Anyway I digressed a little there, but my point was that everything looked so pretty, my friend and I could not help but purchase some additional sakuramochi to go- mochi, sweet azuki bean paste (red bean paste) wrapped in sakura or cherry blossom leaves. We bought a Tokyo style sakuramochi (which is made rice flour) and a Kansai style sakuramochi (which is made using glutinous rice flour). I loved the saltiness of the pickled sakura leaves and how they brought out the sweetness of the red bean paste. Personally, I preferred the Tokyo style sakuramochi as I felt that the glutinous rice flour was a little too much competition for the overwhelmed azuki.

Munching on our sakuramochi, we were next led to Wakasaya where we sat down for a negitoro don (raw tuna bowl) served with some dashimaki (rolled omelet) and nori (seaweed) and a small portion of hot udon noodles. The negitoro was very fresh and had the right mix of o toro and chew toro to make it just fatty enough. I had my negitoro don with a little sprinkling of don buri sauce (think light soy sauce but sweeter and lighter) and some very very intense but authentic wasabi. I haven't had wasabi like this since... the last time I was in Japan? It's the kind of wasabi that a wiff of will set your eyes watering, and a taste of will clear any sinus infection. I like!

Negitoro bowls remind me of a training camp I once attended in Yokohama, Japan (at least I think it was Yokohama? It could very well have been Fukuoka but all my Japan trips seem to blend into one.) That was the first time I truly discovered the little gem of a don buri that is negitoro don! Fresh raw tuna, minced up and served a top a lot fluffy Japanese rice... who could ask for more!

Next up were Imagawayaki (Anzuki bean paste filled um pancakes?) from Mitsuru Cafe. I am not going to lie, I love love love Imagawayaki especially ones that are hot and fresh off the "waffle" pan used to make them. This Imagawayaki did not disappoint. Pipping hot of the stove and perfectly crisp on the outside, the red bean paste was beautifully sweet and salty at the same time. Just heaven!

In keeping with the dessert theme, we ventured to Mikawaya for some mochilato- mochi with gelato. Mikawaya is known for pioneering mochi ice cream and if you've ever bought a box of mochi ice cream from Trader Joe's or WholeFoods, it was most probably a box of Mikawaya ice cream mochi. For my mochilato, I ordered the hazelnut chocolate and to be honest, it could have been mochi ice cream and I would not have known the difference. Either way, I love mochi and I love ice cream so I was happy.

Our very last stop of the day was Chop Suey/The Far Bar. Chop Suey was initially opened in 1935 to introduce Chinese American food to the Japanese in LA. Apparently there is a lot of history associated with the restaurant but by this time in the tour, I was so stuffed/going into a semi food coma state that I missed a lot of what Bryan said. Either way, Chop Suey was still being restored and we dinned at The Far Bar instead. Located through a very narrow passage way between two buildings, The Far Bar basically occupies the outdoor patio portion of Chop Suey. There we dined on some spicy tuna rolls and french fries with a wasabi dressing. The wasabi french fries were definitely very interesting but I think I am going to stick with my fries and ketchup combo, you don't mess with a classic that is that good.

After a 3 1/3 hour gastronomy tour, I had tasted the food of Japan in LA, walked the streets of little Tokyo and learned a little about the cultural history of Japanese Americans. Tired but satiated, I was ready to go home.

Details:
Yamazaki Bakery
123 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-624-2773

Oiwake
122 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-628-2676

Fugetsu-Do
315 E 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-625-8595

Wakasaya
335 East 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-621-2121

Mitsuru Cafe
117 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-613-1028

Mikawaya
118 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-624-1681

Chop Suey/The Far Bar
347 E 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-617-9990

Teishokuya of Tokyo

Stop 3 of Spring Break Asian Extravaganza: T.O.T or Teishokuya of Tokyo. My Singaporean guest and I headed to Little Tokyo to meet up with 2 of her secondary school friends from Singapore who are working in LA now.

Our little group had originally planned to dine at a ramen place but for some reason, we changed our minds and ended up at T.O.T. Thrown off my game, I was a little frazzled as to what to order, but since I was in the mood for something crispy and deep fried, I got the tonkatsu don or fried pork with egg bowl.

I usually do a good job of ordering- you know, when you go to a restaurant and order what you think you want but end up looking at your neighbors dish wishing you had gotten what they ordered... yeah I am usually that neighbor people gaze wistfully at. But this time, I found myself looking longingly at my friends plate and sadly at my own. My tonkatsu was soggy and lacked the deep fried goodness that i was craving. Meanwhile, my friend had ordered some udon noodle goodness with mushrooms and tempura and all that kind of good stuff. She let me have a sip of her broth and the earthy umami goodness of the mushrooms just stole my heart and my poor little tonkatsu (crispy or not) never stood a chance. Oh well...

Details:

Teishokuya of Tokyo
345 E. 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
212-680-0344