Cooking it Whole on Christmas Eve:

Grouper

It’s 40 degrees Fahrenheit outside, Christmas Eve morning and you have no idea what to cook for the evening.  I suggest you take a trip to a local market and grab yourself a whole fish, a couple aromatic herbs, saffron and start cooking.  I found myself a Grouper—typically found in the South Atlantic and the Gulf.

Cooking a fish whole does not always extend itself literally.  You can cook it whole in a pot and extract the meat for a fish curry, fry it or steam it whole.  Fish can also be broken apart and cooked in a method appropriate to each part.  I kept the fish fillets and the collarbone to be cooked at the last few minutes of the soup.  I used the bones, which have a lot of meat stuck to them, and the head to develop the base… the oh so deliciously comforting broth.

Taking the Fish Apart

Here is how I did it.

Ingredients:

1 whole grouper (3-4 lbs), cleaned and taken apart

2 fennel bulbs, using only the bulb, julienned

1 leek, chopped only the white part

1 onion chopped

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon of whole peppercorn

1 can of tomato paste

1 tablespoon of sweet paprika, dried ginger, dried Ancho chili

1/2 tablespoon of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons of honey

2 pinches of saffron

Sauté fresh herbs until caramelized. Then add the fish bones and head with 2 teaspoon of salt.  Add all dried ingredients then deglaze the pan with ¼ cup of anise flavor liquor.  In this case, I have Becherovka (herbal flavor bitter) from Czech Republic in my cupboard, so I used that.  Add 1 gallon of water and bring it to boil.  Add honey, tomato paste, cayenne and saffron and simmer until reduced by half.

Cut the fish fillets to 1-inch strips.  Add them to the reduced broth (which has been strained) for 5 minutes.  Serve with French bread.

Keep warm and wholesome.

Cheers!

Teera

Leaning Toward Mateo…My Southern Tapas

Chicharones-Crispy Chicken Skin

 

 

I miss going to Jose Andres' restaurants in the DC area, especially Jaleo, a tapas/pintxo restaurant that showcases food from the Basque and Catalan regions of Northern Spain. Having traveled and tasted food through San Sebastian, Bilbao and Barcelona, Jaleo was the closest to satisfying my craving of Northern Spanish food.

Here, in Durham, I stumbled upon Mateo. The restaurant opened its doors in August 2012. The chef, Matthew Kelly, originally from upstate New York, transplanted to NC over 20 years ago, working at a local French restaurant. Through his traveling of Spain, he fell for the food and decided to recreate the flavor here, in the Triangle area, with a southern influence.
 

Carpaccio de Pulpo

I started off with Carpaccio de Pulpo-thinly sliced octopus. This dish reminds me of the traditional boiled octopus, served with potato, olive oil and pimento on a wooden board, except it is better at Mateo’s. Chef Kelly topped his octopus with diced pepper, olive oil and pickled onion. It was so simple, yet subtly sweet and crunchy.

Mollejas--Sweetbreads

The second dish was the sweet bread. I suppose with his French cooking background, this is where the sweet bread shines. Served with a bed of Migas (bread crumb mixture) and caper. The bread was sweet!

Special of the day-Rabbit Rillettes

The Rabbit rillettes was another French twist of Chef Kelly. Served similar to a crab cake (instead of in a terrine and covered in pork fat), the flavor is much more tantalizing than the rabbit rillettes at Poole's Diner, I can tell you.

The first time I ate stewed tripe in Spain was in a local bar in San Sebastian. One has to walk to the deep end of the counter to find this dish. At Mateo’s, the special was stewed beef heart and tripe with beans, a different take from the traditional, but nice and tender.

Beef Tripe and Heart Stew

The highlight of the night was the chicken skin-deep fried in a batter (maybe tempura) and served with pickled piquillo pepper. It was an original southern tapas at its best. My mouth is watering, thinking about the crunchy texture of the chicken skin and the contrast of spicy, sweet and sour of the pepper. All I needed was a cold beer to top it off.
 

Morcilla

One disappointment I had was the Morcilla or blood sausage. Served with applesauce and slaw, which helps to compensate for the dryness of the sausage, but it was still dried to my taste. A couple of other items that I was looking for but did not find on the menu were Bacalao (salted cod) and squid ink, so I was unable to satisfy my craving for saltiness.

I did hear that the chef cooks pigtails on special occasions. Maybe pigskin will be next. I can't wait for that. But for now, I am pushing Jose Andres aside and learning to like Mateo’s...my southern tapas destination.

Cheers,
Teera

All Spiced up for the Night of Hallow

Jamaican All Spice

One of the largest storms of the century has come ashore on the East Coast. Full moon and howling wind rustles through dried fallen leaves. It is a perfect condition for Halloween and witches brews. With cold tropical rain, my body craves for the flavor of warm, savory spices...Allspice to be exact. No other cuisine uses and grows allspice like Jamaicans do. This peppercorn looks like spice but has a flavor combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and pepper all in one. In addition to allspice, Jamaican cuisine has a combination of tropical ingredients and world influences from Africa, Spain, India, England and China.
Jamaican goat curry and jerk chicken are some of the uniquely Jamaican dishes that I crave for.

There are about a dozen or so restaurants in the Triangle area that serve Caribbean food. For authentic Jamaican, I narrowed my choices down to 2 restaurants-Lee's Kitchen and Jamaican Grille.

Jamaican Grille

Jerk Chicken, Goat Curry and Oxtail at Jamaican Grille

Jamaican Grille is located in a non-descript office park. There are 10 tables with a counter to order the food. I had jerk chicken, goat curry, oxtail stew and meat patties there. The best thing there was the jerk chicken. The goat curry lacked the spice and the oxtail stew was a bit barnyard tasting. Weekend service is pretty quiet.

Lee's Kitchen

Goat Curry and Jerk Chicken at Lee's Kitchen

Lee's Kitchen Curry Shrimp

Lee's Kitchen was a very different experience. The only seating the restaurant has to offer was the seating to sit and wait for the food. The line is constant here during mid-week lunch hours. This place is Jamaican with a southern accent. They serve Mac & cheese, fried chicken and collard greens in addition to Jamaican food. The made to order popular items are curry shrimp and fried chicken. I had goat curry, jerk chicken, shrimp curry, rice and peas and plantains here and finally understood the flavor. Rice and peas (red bean and rice...similar to dirty rice in texture) has a subtle sweetness that compliments the spicy curry. The goat curry was tender with the level of heat that warms you right up. It has a much lighter consistency in comparison to Indian goat curry. The jerk chicken though was on the disappointing side. It had been sitting on the warming bar for too long. The shrimp curry was juicy and nicely spiced. You can't beat the freshly made food. Wash it all down with ginger beer. I was simply happy...humming reggae with a mouthful.

If Jamaican food is not your thing, try allspice in your pumpkin pie or sprinkle it on warm apple cider. It will comfort you and get you through the storm. Happy Halloween.

Cheers!
Teera

Durham Food Truck Rodeo Recap

Durham Food Truck Rodeo

-->What a sight! 45 food trucks, sound of generators mixing with music, exhaust, grease, people and all, filled up the streets and the pavilion at Durham Farmers Market on Sunday, September 2, 2012. The lines were about 30 minutes long before I got to taste the food (that I gobbled up in a few minutes). The experience was quite different from what I am used to, roaming the outdoor street vendors in Thailand. How hungry people in the triangle are for food on the street, rain or shine! The question is, was it worth it?

I am not an expert on outdoor vendor by any means, but I can tell you, growing up eating from outdoor vendors in Thailand, I found some drastic differences:

Menu Board at Bulkogi Truck

Bulkogi Truck and the Line

1. There was no display of the fresh ingredients. I did not know what goes in my food. All I saw were pretty pictures. It did make me feel like looking at a menu in a fast food joint.
2. There was no display of cooking. All I could see was the window. I am used to seeing a grill, frying pan or a stockpot with the fragrance of the food floating in the air. That's the part when the mouthwatering process entices you to buy...must have food even if you are a mile away!
3. The wait was 30 minutes just to order and another 15 min. before the food arrives. That's way too long. I can go to a restaurant, sit in a comfortable chair, be served and pay the same price. The same can be said to visiting an outdoor festival in Thailand. Thais may be full of patient, but when it comes to food...you better make them quick.
4. The flavors were good. I did see a lot of meat...meat and meat. Is the demand all about meat and grease or is there no food truck that serves a good vegetable dish. Why can't we have both?

Porchetta Truck

Porchetta Menu

I also found good food, which I would not find in Thailand nor many places in the US. North Carolina is known for whole hog, vinegar based BBQ. You will find plenty of that at the Rodeo. The Porchetta and the Bulgoki trucks were an exception, deliciously great finds. I skipped the dumplings and the taco truck since I know where to find authentic Asian dumplings, Hispanic lengua and Chicharron tacos locally. (That's for the next blog.).

A Porchetta Sandwich

Porchetta, an Italian pork roll is made with pork loin wrapped with pork belly and seasoned with herbs, slow roasted, sliced and served on bread as a sandwich. You cannot go wrong with Pork in North Carolina. What pushes it over the top was the fact that it was not a BBQ...but so much more.

Kimchee Hotdog and Spicy Bulkogi

Bulgoki is a Korean marinated BBQ beef/pork taco. Typically it is served with rice, bean paste, and kimchi and wrapped in lettuce leaves. This food truck, however, serves the spicy kimchi bulgoki and kimchi hot dog. The heat ranges from 1 to 10 levels. I found my taste buds satisfied at 9, crunchy and pickle delicious.

The flavor of the food is one note from each truck. A combination of a few trucks at a park can easily make a band. A 45-food trucks rodeo like this one in Durham ought to produce a symphony. Though, all I experienced was the music off tune and a herd of cowboys trying to tame the wild horses. With more practice, I am sure the wait will be less, the aroma will be of food and not exhaust, and the food will show up tasting so good with fresh ingredients from the local farmers market, perfectly arranged and displayed.
It may not be Thailand, but with the global warming in affect and more fine-tuning...we might as well become tropical and rehearse for the perfect rock band!

Cheers,
Teera