Singapore Chilli Crab

It's the start of the dungeness crab season in the Bay Area. Last year, the dungeness crab season was closed due to domoic acid levels. This year, it's been given the go-ahead by the California Department of Public Health* (The dungeness crab season starts Nov 5, 2016 and ends July 30, 2017)

So I made my first crab dinner of the season. Listed number 35 on the World's 50 most delicious foods (compiled by CNN), Singapore Chilli Crab is a quintessential Singapore dish. As a girl,  I remember going to seafood restaurants by the beach, housed in bungalows, sitting in the garden enjoying the sea breeze and wonderful dishes like chilli crab, satay and black pepper crab.

In Singapore, Sri Lankan crab is used and it is a bigger and meatier version of its Dungeness cousin. The crabs are cooked with garlic and ginger, and simmered in a chilli tomato sauce. The sauce is so good as the juice of the crab gives the gravy its 'umami' flavor.  It is usually served with deep fried buns, to mop up the gravy.

Most Singaporeans don't make this dish as all they have to do is go to one of the many seafood restaurants in Singapore and order the dish. (Jumbo, Red House, No Signboard Seafood) but living in the Bay Area, one has to attempt the chilli crab dish at least once or twice during the crab season.

My Chilli Crab recipe is adapted from Christopher Tan's cookbook: Singapore Cooking 

6 Ibs Dungeness Crab
5 tsp oil
2-3 shallots, thinly sliced
8 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 Tbsp minced ginger
5 Tbsp Siracha garlic chilli sauce
7 Tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1.5 cups water
3-4 eggs, beaten

1/ Cut the crab into quarters. (be sure to remove all the fibrous tissues) Crack the claws lightly with a pestle
2/ Heat oil over high heat in a large wok. Stir fry the onions until soft and transparent. Add garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant (be sure not to burn). Add crabs and stir fry until they turn bright red. This may be tricky with a lot of crabs and you may have to place a lid on top to cook the crab faster. Omit cooking the crab viscera (located at the head of the crab)*
3/ Add all the other ingredients except the eggs and cook for another 2-4 minutes. Make sure the crab is cooked. The meat should be opaque, not translucent and the shell should be red.
4/ At the end, stir the beaten eggs into the gravy so that it thickens and serve with buns to mop up the gravy.

* Note that the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) advises that consumers not eat the viscera (internal organs, also known as butter or guts) of crabs caught north of Point Reyes. So if your fishmonger can't tell you where the crabs were caught, it's better to be safe and omit the viscera during cooking. CDPH Shellfish Biotoxin Information Line (800) 553-4133 for updated crab consumption advisories.

Japanese restaurants in the Peninsula

As I have grown up in Asia and have been exposed to Japanese restaurants in Tokyo, I'm picky. My husband proposed to me in Japan so it holds special memories. Tokyo is teeming with foodie gems (restaurants, street eateries and food stores) I'll bet that anyone who's been to Tokyo has a "Tokyo Food Story" - a food experience so good, they were blown away.

I have many Tokyo food stories but one of my memorable ones is in Sogo food hall, Shibuya. We were captivated by this fishmonger carving out a huge tuna head. (Some of the best cuts of sashimi comes from the head). We ordered the sashimi and the fishmonger was really nice, he gave us a complimentary 'butcher's cut' slice of fish that he usually consumes for himself. I am struck by the generosity and perfectionist culture in Japan.

What's your Tokyo food story? Leave me a comment! I'd love to hear from you... 

So I have been delaying this but here is my list of Japanese restaurants in the Peninsula SF.

Sushi Kuni (Sushi)
10211 S De Anza Boulevard, open tues-sat, 11:30-2pm, 5-9:30pm
The chefs at sushi kuni are serious about their craft and that's why I am a fan. You can tell that they source their ingredients carefully (their latest offering is an octopus sourced from Tsukiji market, Tokyo). Be sure to sit at the bar and watch the sushi master Kunio put together the sushi. And I would recommend the Omakase (your dishes will be selected by the chef). It's worth it.

Sushi Tomi (Sushi)
635 W Dana St, Mountain View, open daily, 11:30-2pm, 5-9pm
This is my go to Japanese restaurant off Castro Street. It is very popular but the tables turn-around fast. They have all the standard favorites and they do it well.

Sumika Grill (Yakitori)
236 Central Plaza, Los Altos, open daily except monday
This is hands down my favorite Japanese yakitori in the bay area. It's perfect for a casual date or a girl's night out. Tucked away in a car park in Los Altos central, it reminds me so much of the small hole in the wall restaurants in Japan that I love so much. The most popular dish seems to be the pork belly yakitori. Don't forget to check out the seasonal menu, filled with inventive dishes - melt-in-the-mouth eggplant tofu and deep fried octopus are clear winners. Just pick a few dishes to go with you sake and you're in for a great night out.

Ramen Dojo (Ramen)
805 South B Street San Mateo, Open daily except tuesday, 11:30am-2pm, 5:30pm-9pm
Ramen Dojo is the smaller sister restaurant of Santa Ramen. It was clear from the concise menu that the focus of the dining place was ramen - spicy ramen, to be precise. The restaurant opens at 11:30am and there will be a queue of at least 25 people waiting to get in. Not to worry, tables move quickly. It is known for its spicy ramen. I ordered the garlic pork ramen (tonkatsu soup broth) It is topped with a delicious roasted black garlic sauce. At $8.95 for a basic bowl, it was worth the wait.

Taka Ramen (Ramen)
2219 The Aladmeda Santa Clara
Their thin taka ramen features thin ramen noodles (which I prefer) and their broth is not overly salty. Looking forward to trying the Tsukamen (dipping ramen) They are family friendly, automatically dishing out cute dishes cutlery cups and even a little scissors for the kids to cut their ramen. But get there early. Like all good ramen restaurants, there's a strong following and it's popular.

Shabuway (Shabu Shabu)
Various stores in San Francisco, San Mateo, Mountain View and San Jose http://www.shabuway.com/
Shabu Shabu is a Japanese hotpot of thinly sliced meat and vegetables. It's interesting to note that Wikipedia mentions that Shabu Shabu is an onomatopoeia, referring to the sound emitted when ingredients are stirred in the cooking pot. Shabuway uses good quality meat (like prime angus beef from Meyer ranch, premium lamb from Niman ranch) and the broth is MSG free.

Watch this space as my list grows.
Remember, not all restaurants with queues guarantee good food. Sometimes, it is just hype.

8 things I discovered while cooking in a Mexican home-kitchen

1/ Tajin rules! Tajin is a wonderful spice mix made out of chilli peppers, lime and salt. The sour piquant taste is perfect  to flavor bland vegetables.  For example, Jicama! grate away the tough outside layer of the Jicama and slice it the same way you would slice carrot sticks. Sprinkle Tajin liberally on Jicama and I promise you, you won't stop eating Jicama! You can purchase Tajin at most supermarkets.

2/ Chipotle is not just the name of a food chain, it is a wonderful smoky hot sauce. For those that like it spicy, Chipotles is a smokey chilli sauce that would make a great accompaniment for your dishes.

3/ We discovered different vegetables and they were beautiful. We prepared Tomatillos for our enchilada sauce. Go out, bring a new vegetable home, and try them out.

4) Ceviche is easy to make and makes a good starter! It originated in Peru but it is popular in Mexico. We prepared Ceviche de pescado (fish ceviche) Use a firm white fleshed fish (never use an oily fish). We blanched ling cod in water with bay leaves, peppers, cloves, garlic, onions and salt. Remember not to cook too long as the fish flesh needs to be firm. We marinated the ceviche with lime juice, olive oil, diced onions in the fridge for 20 min to an hour and added vegetables at the end (avocado, tomato, cilantro and green olives or capers) 

We sprinkled tajin on our pescado

Serve in small glass cups for a nice touch

5/ Use orange juice to flavor your shrimp cocktail (Coctel de camaron)

Costco sells fresh ready-cooked shrimps to shorten your cooking process. Our shrimp cocktail was flavored with 1 cup fresh orange juice and 1/2 cup tomato ketchup (600g shrimp). Yes it does sound strange, but it was delicious! Mix with chopped tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, drizzle with olive oil and squeeze lime juice to taste.

6/ A good dose of Tequilla makes the cooking experience fun. Jose Cuervo Tequilla makes a great gift and beautiful pop artwork as well.

7/ It's easy and a fun activity to make empanadas at home with friends. Note: Not all empanada makers are equal. It's not so easy to shape the damn empanadas! Our empanadas were filled with chicken mole (shredded chicken cooked in mole sauce) 

Empanada filling: 

- Get ready-made mole sauce at Mexican supermarket (see bottom)

- Cook chicken breast in water, shred chicken meat

- Reserve chicken stock and combine with ready-made mole paste. Add shredded chicken 

Tip: Don't be greedy, put a smaller amount of filling for each pastry. But don't worry, they come out looking fine in the end. 

Trader Joe's makes great puff pastry that you can roll out and use for the empanadas. 

Brush with egg batter, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake empanadas in an oven @420F

The empanadas were filled with chicken cooked in mole sauce. Mole sauce can be bought pre-prepared in Mexican supermarkets. Make sure your mole sauce is not watery. It should be nice and thick. 

8/ And when life gives you Trump, you make ceviche and coctel de cameron. 

God Bless America!

You can get your Mexican products at Mi Pueblo Food center (Mexican Supermarket): 40 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View, CA 94040

Discovering new ingredients at a Vietnamese Supermarket

So here I am at Vietnam town, San Jose. I brought a group of moms to Maxim Supermarket (995 Mclaughlin Ave) to familiarize them with vegetables and sauces of an Asian kitchen.

My favorite part of the Vietnamese supermarket is the herb section. Herbs are essential in Vietnamese cuisine.  The varieties of mint, basil and coriander are different to the Western variety. Notice the banana blossoms on the top left corner

This is the Saw Leaf Herb, named because of the jagged edges. It is usually served with Vietnamese Beef Pho. 

Galangal or Blue Ginger, is used extensively in South-east Asian cooking, especially curries. 

Saw Leaf Herb on top of my beef pho

Vietnamese Basil in the foreground and Rau Ram in the background, a herb that is used in South-east Asian cooking, known for its aromatic scent

And of course, navigating the sauce section can be tricky and confusing for the first-timer. 

 Here are some of my inputs:

Fish Sauce - Thai or Vietnamese? The Thai version is stronger in flavor and the Vietnamese version is slightly more delicate. So if you're cooking Vietnamese, definitely go for the Vietnamese brand but if you prefer more robust flavors, reach for the Thai version.

I love the seafood section. There's so much variety. And they gut, clean and scale the fish for you. 

And my last word of advice, EXPLORE and be ADVENTUROUS! Go, bring home some herbs and incorporate into your cooking.

Bonjour Vietnam

Of late, Vietnamese cuisine has gotten quite a lot of exposure on social media. President Obama conversing with Anthony Bourdain over bowls of Banh Cuon in Hanoi and Bon Appetit's video "This is how you should be eating Pho"which caused a backlash with many food bloggers.

The last time I went to Vietnam with my sister-in-law, Hiep, we went on a food journey from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi, discovering wonderful Vietnamese dishes along the way. Vietnamese cuisine is so interesting because of its many influences from myriad cultures.

My sister-in-law with a Banh Mi Hawker 

Banh Mi is a popular street food that you can get in roadside stalls in Vietnam. From afar, it looks like a baguette sandwich - cold meats and pate served on Baguette. On closer inspection, you will find that the baguette is made with rice flour and the sandwich is filled with Asian pickles and herbs.
"Vietnamese food is all about smell and color, all of the five senses has to be engaged" says Hiep.

Making dumplings in Hoi An

Bo Bit Tet, Steak and Egg Breakfast on a hotplate

My sister-in-law introduced me to a wide spectrum of food, from Bun Bo Hue, spicy beef noodles from Hue, associated with royal cuisine to Bo Bit Tet (steak and eggs breakfast on a hotplate), popular in her hometown in Danang. Perhaps the influence for this dish was from the Americans when they were based in Danang.

The quintessential Pho is another example of a dish that has benefited from multicultural influence. It is said that the Chinese introduced noodles to Vietnam, the Mongols introduced Beef in the 10th century and the French popularized the Bullion, but it was the Vietnamese that married all these influences and made it their own - the clarity of the soup stock, the freshness of the herbs, the spice base of the soup, the cuts of meat.

Take a look at this video by the Culinary Institute of America. I have added here an adapted recipe from the book, "The Food of Vietnam" by Trieu Thi Choi (with inputs from my sister-in-law):

Recipe for Pho Bo

1 piece of fresh ginger
1 large onion
1 shallot
1 kg (2lbs) beef bones (knuckle bones, marrow and oxtail)
400g (13oz) beef brisket
Salt, sugar to taste
1-2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
4-5 pieces Star Anise
1-2 Cinnamon Stick
tsp each of cloves, fennel seeds, cardamon
1 cup bean sprouts
8 oz Rice Noodles
8 oz raw beef strip loin (thinly sliced)
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1/4 cup sliced spring onion
coriander leaves, basil, vietnamese mint, saw leaf herbs


1/ Grill ginger, onion and shallot on open flame until skins are charred.
2/ Immerse beef bones and beef brisket in a pot of boiling water to clean the bones
3/ Put beef bones and beef brisket in a fresh stock pot of water
4/ In a shallow pan, toast the spices (but don't burn)
5/ Put spice mix in a bouquet garni bag and add to stock, together with ginger, onions and shalllots
6/ Cook on low heat for at least an hour (preferably four hours) skimming the scum from the top of the soup
7/ Season with fish sauce, salt and sugar
7/ Blanch rice noodles in separate pot of boiling water. Portion into bowls
8/ Top with beef brisket, raw beef, sliced onion, spring onion, coriander
9/ Pour boiling soup into bowl
10/ Arrange a generous portion of herbs, bean sprouts, lime wedges and serve with pho.

By the way, if you are ever in Vietnam, check out the following eateries:

Ho Chi Minh City
Pho Hoa, 260 Pasteur Street (my favorite pho place, you won't be disappointed)
Anh Thu , 49A Dinh Cong Trang, District 1-Q1 (Ban Xeo Vietnamese savory pancakes)

Hanoi
Chaca La Vong, Paint Street, Hanoi (Crispy freshwater fish fried in turmeric, this 100 year old restaurant is an institution)

Easy katsudon recipe for a simple lunch or school lunch

Do you have any leftover chicken, pork cutlets or rice? Turn leftovers into a nice piping hot Japanese meal. Katsudon is a staple dish for many Japanese households. Made of pork cutlet with a runny egg on rice, it is the ultimate comfort food. But the real secret to this dish is the savoury sweet sauce that flavors the egg and blends all the ingredients together. 

For those not familiar with Japanese cuisine, it could be a little daunting, getting to grips with all the ingredients. So we've broken down the katsudon recipe into 9 ingredients:  

- Dashi Stock (1/2 cup) Dashi is a soup stock made from bonito fish. It is also usually flavored with kelp and mushrooms. These are available in little sachets that you can use when needed. It's always good to have this in your pantry as it is useful for other Japanese dishes like Miso soup and Chawanmushi. Make a half cup of dashi for the katsudon recipe. 

- Mirin (1/2 Tbsp) Mirin is a sweet seasoning made out of rice alcohol. This is another staple that you should have in your fridge if you like to make Japanese food

- Sake (1/2 Tbsp) Japanese rice wine. It's always good to have a bottle of sake around. 

- Soya Sauce (1 Tbsp)

- Sugar (1/2-1 Tbsp)

- 2 Eggs (beaten)

- Garnish: Spring Onions or Seaweed (sliced thinly)

Steps: 

1/ Pour the dashi stock, mirin, sake, soya sauce and sugar into a small saucepan and boil. Turn the heat to medium and let simmer for a minute

2/ Add pork or chicken cutlet into the sauce

3/ Add egg mixture. Cover the saucepan with lid and cook until egg is just cooked but still runny

4/ Pour cutlet and egg mixture onto a bowl of steamed rice. Garnish with spring onions or seaweed. 

On your way to the perfect Kebab or Sheftalia

In a foodie household, my husband and I usually have competitions to see who can come up with the better dish. Now his specialty is kebab. It's the don't touch category (you can never come close, so don't even try) So I did a little research to see how I can "up" the game.

I dug out a recipe from Falling Cloudberries, a beautiful recipe book featuring a collection of Cypriot, Finnish and South African family recipes by Tessa Kiros. Now technically, the recipe I am using is a recipe for Sheftalia, Cypriot meat parcels. It's basically minced lamb and beef (the original was minced pork and beef) with minced parsley and red onions; wrapped in caul fat.

What is caul fat? 
Caul fat is a membrane of fat (usually beef or lamb) that is used to encase your minced meat. You can get this at a specialty butcher. It is thin and stretchy and looks like lace or a spider's web. You'll have to soak the caul fat in warm water and juice of 1/2 lemon for 30 minutes. Cut the lace-like membrane into square shapes and wrap the minced meat mixture in the caul fat.

I followed the recipe but I also added a few touches. Here are 3 tips to getting the perfect kebab or sheftalia

Spice it up
Cumin is indispensible, freshly grounded coriander works wonders and don't be afraid to salt the kebab generously.

The right Texture
Add sparkling water or soda water to get a more bouncy consistency (about 1/2 a cup for 2 pounds of meat)

Fatten it up
Use minced meat with maximum fat. And if you want them extra juicy, try the caul fat.

Making Miso Soup

I love miso soup and I asked a couple of my Japanese friends how they do it at home. I wanted to avoid making miso soup entirely from a packet but I didn't have time to make traditional dashi from scratch.

So here's my 'home cooked version' of miso soup. It doesn't take long to make a good miso soup at home.

Simply put, miso soup is made of dashi stock + konbu (seaweed) + miso paste.

1/  Make the dashi. Put the 'fish sachet' in a pot of water. Use 1 sachet for about 500-600ml water. If you're making more, you might want to put two dashi packs in. Bring to boil. 

DASHI

Dashi stock is basically fish stock made out of bonito flakes. The traditional way of making dashi usually takes an hour. I have found easier options in Nijiya or Mitsuwa supermarket.

This is a packet of pure dried shave bonito. I place the fish flakes in a tea bag holder (see below) This keeps the fish flakes in the packet and you can discard the packet after it has sufficiently flavored the soup.

This dashi pack is called "Iriko". It comprises of sardines, bonito, yeast extract and sardine extract. One packet should be enough for 600 ml.

This wafu dashi is in powdered granule form. It is an all-in-one dashi soup stock. (it has bonito extract and even kelp powder). No coloring, MSG or artificial addtives added.

2/ Add the konbu 

KONBU

You can add real konbu seaweed (sold dried in packets) or in powder form. 

3/ Add miso paste. 2Tbsp for 600ml and  3-4 Tbsp for 1 litre. Adjust taste. Miso is salty so add gradually.  

MISO PASTE

White miso paste is used for miso soup. My japanese friend tells me that most of the brands are the same. I picked up this brand at Nijiya as it had dashi and miso and it worked well. 

I found this miso paste at Lion supermarket in San Jose. I picked it up as it had no MSG and was GMO free. This paste is a little darker but also works well with miso soup. 

Other Ingredients

I usually add shimeiji mushrooms, soft tofu and very finely chopped spring onions. For an added seafood taste, I love to add clams. The best of course, is to use fresh clams. However I recently found out from my Japanese friend that you can buy frozen clams in small packets in the frozen section in Nijiya. It doesn't replace the taste of fresh live clams but its really convenient to open a packet after a long day at work.