Mariam – Page 89 – Yogurtsoda

La Mar Cebicheria Peruana

June 30, 2010June 30, 2010

I’m a sucker for Peruvian cuisine but I always tend to gravitate towards the same dishes. Okay, I’ll be honest – the same one dish: lomo saltado. The sirloin strips stir-fried with soy sauce, vinegar, and spices and stir-fried with onions, tomatoes and French fries is one of my all-time favorite meals so it’s hard to branch out.

But I digress. When I met up with friends at La Mar Cebicheria Peruana in San Francisco’s Embarcadero, I was determined to stick to the cebiche. La Mar is, after all, a cebiche restaurant. (It’s also an international restaurant, with outposts throughout Latin America in Lima, Mexico City, Santiago, Sao Paolo, and Panama City.)

After we were seated, our waiter brought us Yukon, plantain, and sweet potato chips and an array of dipping sauces to nibble on while we perused the menu.

My favorite was were the sweet potato chips, and all three of the sauces were full of depth and spicy.

For my entree, I chose the cebiche mixto.

The cebiche mixto came with a little bit of everything: Mahi Mahi, calamari, octopus and habanero pepper in ajÃ amarillo leche de tigre with cilantro, red onions, Peruvian corn, and yam. Whew. The ajÃ amarillo sauce was delicious but I was let down by the cebiche. The fish wasn’t as flavorful as I was expecting and the big chunks of yam seemed out of place. That being said, I’ve since heard rave reviews of La Mar’s other cebiches so I’ll come better informed next time.

If it’s one thing La Mar has down it’s presentation and ambiance. All of our dishes were gorgeously plated and the restaurant interior was modern and industrial without at all feeling cold. The service was friendly and unhurried during our visit, despite the restaurant being very busy.

Even though my entree wasn’t as incredible as I was hoping for it to be, I left La Mar feeling satisfied. The restaurant was fun, the menu looked exciting, and it left me wanting to go back to discover more.

Deep-Fried Tofu with Mushroom Sauce

June 26, 2010February 7, 2019

I’ve been on a tofu kick lately, and I can’t think of a better way to cook it than with mushrooms. Both are rich in protein and lend this dish a rich, meaty flavor despite having no meat at all.

This Japanese rendition, adapted from Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook, is wonderful on its own or with steamed rice.

1 block firm tofu, about 1 pound
4 tablespoons grated daikon radish
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 green onion, sliced
2 mild peppers, such as Anaheim, pierced and deep-fried (optional)
1 cup dashi stock
3 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup mixed mushrooms such as shiitake, enoki or shimeji
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 teaspoon water

1. Wrap the tofu in two layers of paper towels and place in a flat-bottomed dish with sides. Place a light weight such as another flat dish on top, and leave about 30 minutes to drain excess moisture. Wipe any moisture from the surface of the tofu and slice horizontally. Slice each half into eight rectangular pieces. Set aside.

2. In a large frying pan, heat the oil to medium-high and carefully slip the tofu pieces into the oil. Deep-fry until golden brown, 3-4 minutes.

3. In a medium saucepan, combine the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and mushrooms and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and pour in the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. Remove from heat as soon as it comes to a boil.

4. Place the fried tofu pieces in a serving dish, ladle the sauce over, and top with the grated daikon and ginger. Garnish with the fried peppers and green onion.

Agedashi Tofu

June 23, 2010February 7, 2019

Most of the time when I dine out for sushi, I order an appetizer of agedashi tofu to start things off. It’s a simple Japanese dish of deep-fried silken tofu, and I love the textural contrast of the crispy outside and the piping hot, creamy tofu on the inside. The whole thing is served in dashi broth and topped with shredded daikon radish and green onions. Despite being deep-fried, the tofu absorbs very little oil, so I don’t feel bad about eating it.

I recently learned to make this dish at home when I was gifted Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook by a friend. I have a few Japanese cookbooks, but this has quickly become my favorite. I’ve already cooked this rendition of agedashi tofu several times.

Ingredients:

1 block silken tofu, about one pound
Potato starch for coating the tofu
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
3/4 cup dashi stock
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons mirin
1/2 cup lightly-packed dried bonito flakes (katsuo-bushi)
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1-inch daikon radish, peeled and shredded
1/8 teaspoon Japanese-style ground red chili pepper (ichimi togarashi)

1. Mix the shredded daikon with the chili pepper and set aside.

2. Bring mirin, soy sauce, and dashi to a gentle boil and turn off heat. Add bonito flakes and leave for 10 seconds, then strain through a mesh strainer. Set sauce aside.

3. In a heavy saucepan, heat 2 inches oil to medium-high heat.

4. Slice tofu horizontally into 2 pieces. If desired, slice each of these 2 pieces in half as well. Blot tofu dry and coat with potato starch. Fry the tofu until the surface is golden and crispy, about 5 minutes. Carefully transfer the tofu with a slotted spoon onto a paper-lined plate to drain excess oil.

5. Place tofu in a serving bowl and pour in the sauce. Garnish with the green onions and shredded daikon radish.

Chilled Vegetable and Bean Thread Noodle Stir-Fry

June 22, 2010August 17, 2023

Originally adapted from an old Martin Yan recipe for vegetarian rolls wrapped in Mandarin pancakes, this recipe has gone through several permutations over the years. The biggest change is that I added more noodles and got rid of the pancake/wrapper component.

This dish makes a healthy meal on its own and the vegetables can be replaced with whatever is season. Best of all, you can make it ahead of time since it can be served room temperature or chilled.

Ingredients:

4 dried shiitake mushrooms
6 pieces dried cloud ear
8 ounces dried bean thread noodles
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups mung bean sprouts
2 eggs, lightly beaten with a dash of salt
2 tablespoons oyster flavored sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil

1. Soak mushrooms and cloud ears in warm water to cover until softened, about 15 minutes; drain. Thinly slice mushrooms and cloud ears. Soak bean thread noodles in warm water to cover until softened, about 15 minutes; drain. Cut noodles into 8-inch lengths.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil on medium-high heat in a small frying pan. Pour in 1/3 of beaten eggs and swirl pan to cover entire bottom. Cook until egg is lightly browned on bottom and set on top, about 1 minute. Turn sheet over and cook 10 seconds; slide out of pan. Repeat to make 2 more egg sheets. When sheets are cool, cut in half, stack and slice crosswise into 1/8-inch shreds.

3. Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add remaining tablespoon cooking oil, swirling to coat sides. Add garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add mushrooms, cloud ears, cabbage, and carrots; stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add bean thread noodles and broth; cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add mung bean sprouts, egg shreds, oyster flavored sauce, sugar, and sesame oil; cook until heated through. Remove to a serving bowl and serve room temperature or chilled.

Yank Sing

June 19, 2010

Yank Sing is probably San Francisco’s most well-known dim sum restaurant. More upscale, pricier and busier than many other dim sum establishments in the city, it’s the one that I’ve most often heard cited as someone’s first foray into dim sum. My first visit to Yank Sing was several years ago, and I hadn’t been back since.

Until now. I met up with a group for brunch on a late morning one weekend, and immediately we were surrounded by carts. The dim sum at Yank Sing is more Americanized than that at most other dim sum restaurants, but the quality is top notch.

We started with the gingered sea bass.

One of the fun things about dim sum with a group is that you get to try things you wouldn’t normally order. I usually go straight for the dumplings, so the fish was a refreshing departure from the usual. This was incredibly fresh fish, flaky and light.

Next we tried the spring rolls.

These were good, similar to what you might get at any other high-end dim sum restaurant. Thin and crispy on the outside, piping hot and stuffed with shredded vegetables on the inside.

Our third dish was the steamed rolls with shrimp.

This is one of my favorite dim sums and its easy to mess this one up. Sometimes the rice noodle rolls are mushy and overcooked, but not here. Drizzled with a light soy-based sauce, this was a winner.

Next we tried the stuffed mushrooms.

These were good, but not incredible. I order this often when I eat dim sum, and I like the ones with a finer minced stuffing. This had a rougher texture, but flavor-wise was still tasty.

We continued with the honey walnut prawns.

Served with a creamy glaze, this dish was a little too sweet for my taste but that’s a personal preference. Again, the quality on this dish was apparent and we ate the shrimp up in no time.

Our last savory dim sum was the nori-wrapped fried tofu.

This is my absolute favorite dim sum at Yank Sing. I love seaweed and I love fried tofu; the combination is just excellent. The only letdown was that it was a bit too salty, but otherwise perfect.

We finished our meal with an order sesame balls.

Sweet and glutinous, and stuffed with a red bean paste, I always order this at the end of my dim sum meals. It’s a heavy dish to finish with, but it’s delicious and satisfying nevertheless.

I can easily see why Yank Sing consistently draws a crowd, but it’s much more expensive than other dim sum establishments. A seventy dollar bill for two at brunch is the norm here, and it’s almost twice as what you might expect elsewhere. Still, it’s a good place for a special meal and best of all, the dishes are consistently delicious and made with care.