I am on Metrocurean Friday Five Bites!
July 23, 2010

Thank you Metrocurean for posting my Five Bites submission today. I really enjoy that column and am thrilled to be a contributor. For those of you unfamiliar, each week, Metrocurean asks a chef or some other contributor in the city to pick their favorite five dishes from local DC restaurants. I thought a lot about my Five Bites in DC. So much, in fact, that it inspired me to think about my favorite "Five Bites" of my life. Here's my list:

Five Bites of Washington, DC:
1. Shiitake mushroom veluté at Volt
2. Chicken salad sandwich at Bar Pilar
3. Foie gras terrine at Central
4. Tom Kha Gai and Pad Thai at Thai X-ing
5. Potato & vanilla mousse with American Caviar at Café Atlántico

Five Bites of My Life:
1. Sushi at Sushi Sei in Tsukiji, Japan
2. The curry goat I ate in the backyard of a local dance club in Montego Bay, Jamaica
3. Risotto nero at Jardine in Cape Town, South Africa
4. Spaghetti with Lobster at Ristorante Sabatini di Firenze, Tokyo, Japan
5. Ricotta gnocchi and roast chicken at Zuni Cafe, San Francisco

 

Infuse Seasonal Flavors into Rice
July 18, 2010

Japanese corn pilafIn Japan, one way to enjoy seasonal produce is by making a Japanese style pilaf ("Takikomi gohan" in Japanese). In the Fall we use chestnuts and mushrooms (Matsutake is best), in Winter, we use oysters, and in Spring we use sea bream, bamboo shoots, and wild plants. But the possibilities are endless.

Right now in Washington DC we are in the peak of summer and it is a great season to use up beautiful summer vegetables and seafood in a pilaf. For example, soy beans, broad beans and octopus are great. However, my favorite is a corn. Simply add fresh corn kernels with raw rice along with your favorite seasoning and cook as usual. When you open your rice maker, you have instant seasonal pilaf.

I can think of many ways to make corn pilaf. If you like Japanese flavors, add a dash of rice wine, a small piece of dried kelp and a pinch of salt. You can also add some white wine, chicken bouillon and butter to make it more Western style. Or you can add some hot chile for Latino style. So many options.

Here is my recipe for Japanese corn pilaf.

 

A Great Indian Recipe from Julia Child and Madhur Jaffrey
July 13, 2010

I own Madhur Jaffrey's book and I use it religiously. But I could not find a spicy coconut milk sauce recipe in my book recently so I googled it and was surprised to find a Julia Child show. This episode was so educational and I learned a lot even through I cook Indian food all the time.

I used fresh cod fillet instead of shrimp and it was just wonderful. This sauce is so versatile, it can be used for many different ways.

It was so good I wanted to share with you all.

Watch the full episode.

 

An Envious Dilemma
July 11, 2010

It is a wonderful time of the year to enjoy endless choices of beautiful produce at the farmer's market. One of my favorites, corn on the cob, just arrived and I can't resist. And all the berries that I love, many different kinds of eggplant, squash, peaches, tomatoes, beets, baby potatoes, carrots and artichokes and more. We are a family of two and it is impossible to keep up with the speed of new items even though I cook almost every meal at home. Sometimes it seems hard to figure out how to use all these things, and then I realize: what a wonderful dilemma I have. I just remember when I was in Africa, I was always trying to figure out how to make a certain dish with many missing ingredients. It was challenging but rewarding each time I came up the solutions. Each meal involved with a lots of creativity. Now I am so overwhelmed with the amount and variety of produce that it actually requires a lot of creativity and learning to figure out how to use up all the fresh items fast enough each week. Woe is me...

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