Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Tides Seafood - LES


Tides Seafood - 102 Norfolk St. New York, NY 10002 Tel. 212.254.8855

Maybe I am biased but being a former chef from there I still love going back and seeing what Chef Judy is cooking! Trust me you'll love it too.


Pan Seared Diver Scallops and Crabcakes.


Chef Judy

Gothamist: Hunting down the best lobster roll
http://gothamist.com/2008/08/22/hunting_down_lobster_rolls.php

Look no further I got you covered, please see below.



Friday, August 22, 2008

Sweet Soy Braised Bronzini with Carmelized Shallots


Sweet Soy Braised Bronzini with Carmelized Shallots

Cooking dinner for one on a budget has been a bit tricky for me, however today I managed to find a very friendly and convenient fish monger here in Bayridge (Chef with a Sole, 3rd ave btwn 86th and 85th street), once I walked in I saw very fresh produce of which he told me that he hand picks every morning at the fulton fish market. As an added bonus they will even peel, clean, fillet, and cook ($2/lb) any fish you purchase. I decided to pick up a 1 lb whole Bronzini, of which they professionally cleaned and gutted it for me.

After spending some time in Canada with Angkong (grandpa), of who is also an excellent chef and someone that knows how to really eat good chinese food! He has inspired me to create this dish, so here is to a great man with a great taste for food.


Prep your ingredients in advance, stuff belly of fish with garlic, julienne ginger, and cilantro.

Season fish with kosher salt and crushed black pepper. Prepare sweet soy braising liquid.

Deep fry shallots to golden brown in oil, drain and cool. Deep fry entire fish 4 mins each side.

Remove all oil, and add braising liquid. Braise for 3 more mins.

Korean Microwave Rice(2 mins), surprisingly delicious and taste very fresh! Perfect for myself when cooking for one!

The cheeks of each fish are said to be the most succulent and sweetest part of the entire fish. They are considered a delicacy in the east, and was a prized piece of every meal with fish in my home. For this night it is all mine. Good eats indeed.


I'll follow up with a full recipe in a few days.

oh Canada


YYZ Pearson Airport

Just got back from my recent trip from Canada, that included many days and nights of good times with family and friends, ten ren, chinese food, movies, and did i mention ten ren?


Congee Wong and Pu choung Chicken


Watermelon Ti Quan Yi Slush with Tapioca
@ Ten Ren Tea Time - Hwy 7, Thornhill, Ontario Canada

Thursday, August 14, 2008

newspaper rack


advertising fun

Chow Mien


Beef Chow Mien

Watching Phelps rock out the Beijing Olympics and my recent voyage to Toronto (great chinese food), I been in the mood for great Chinese food. I decided to take a crack at making some authentic beef chow mien HK style with the crispy "fried" noodles". My version features fresh egg noodles, which are fried into a cake that softens slightly when topped with the meat and vegetable sauce (which to me, makes this dish so delicious), fried tofu, flank steak, cilantro, and choy sum, garlic, ginger and scallions.


Portioned Scallion(Cut on Bias), Cilanto, Ginger, Garlic, Tofu, Choy sum, and egg noodles.


Make sure to cut your meat "against the grain" and on the bias to get most tender meat.


Marinated Beef and make sauce.


In a hot wok deep fry noodles into pancake shape, and start tofu.


Beef with Vegetable and sauce.

ingredients

8oz fresh thin Chinese egg noodles
1 (1/2 lb) flank steak
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup reduced sodium or fresh chicken stock

1 teaspoon julien fresh ginger
1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
1 teaspoon picked cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
8 pieces of fried silken tofu
6 oz Choy sum, cut into half, or other veg

1 cup peanut oil or veg oil

*Seasoned wok. (I purchase mine at Ikea, cheap and easily replaceable)

I like to begin by prepping all my ingredients, creating my own station in my kitchen, which allows me to be able to just grab what I need and start cooking.

Bring 8 cups of water to a rolling boil in a 6 - 8 quart pot, the greater the surface area the faster the water will boil. Make sure to season the water once boiling with a pinch of salt, then add the noodles, stirring to separate, cook for 15 seconds or till done. Drain in colander and rinse under cold water to cool, drain and set aside.

Cut the flank steaks against the grain into 1 1/2 strips that are about 1/4 inch thick. Toss beef with sugar, sesame oil, 1 tablespoon soy, 1 tablespoon rice wine, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Let beef marinate at room temp while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Stirr together the remaining 1 tablespoon soy, 1 tablespoon rice wine, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1/4 teaspoon white pepper in a small bowl until smooth, then stir in chicken broth.

Season wok with oil, then add 1/2 cup oil till slightly smoking. Carefully add drained noodles all at once and flatten out with spatula into pancake shape. Cook till underside is golden (approx. 5 minutes), rotating ever few mins to brown evenly. Flip over and cook other side for 2 - 3 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and let excess oil drain. In another pot use 1/2 cup oil to deep fry tofu until golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and let excess oil drain. Cover noodle and tofu loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Remove any excess oil from wok, and wipe clean. Add 1 tablespoon oil and coat wok. Add beef, spreading pieces in 1 layer as quickly as possible, cook until browned (1 minute), then stir fry until meat is browned on all sides but still pink in the center. Transfer meat and any juices to a bowl and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok over high heat. When oil just begins to smoke, add ginger, garlic and stir fry for a few seconds, then add scallions and cilantro and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add chum soy and stir fry until leaves are bright green and wilted (2-3 minutes). Stir sauce/broth mixture, then pour into wok and stir fry until sauce is slightly thickened. Add in fresh lemon juice and add beef, stir to coat.

Cut noodle cake into quarters and put into bowls, add tofu and top with beef and vegetable sauce. Save any left over beef and vegetable sauce and have it the next day with rice!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Brooklyn


Picked this up for a few bucks at the Brooklyn Flea by brownstoner.com @ Fort Greene.

Flobots - No Handle Bars

Flobots-Handlebars - Flobots

great video, and song...i wish to back to the days of no handle bars...

Monday, August 11, 2008

Waterfalls and Farms in NYC, OH MY!


Overlooking the NYC Waterfalls

The New York City Waterfalls is Presented by the Public Art Fund in collaboration with the city of New York. Created by artist Olafur Eliasson and is comprised of four man-made waterfalls in the New York Harbor and are on view from June 26th to October 13th, 2008.

All four waterfalls are easily viewable from several spots around the city that include, Brooklyn Anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge, north of the Manhattan Bridge, Governors Island, and across the Brooklyn Promenade.


Brooklyn Promenade

The Waterfalls are built from common building materials that are a common part of the cities landscape of ever evolving buildings. The water used (35,000 gallons of water per min) is filtered through intake filter pools suspended in the river that protect fish and any aquatic life to be pulled into the pumps. All of the electricity used during operation is also said to be "green powered".


Under the Brooklyn Promenade


Public Farm One


Public Farm One

Another so called public art exhibit on display in New York is P.F.1 (Public Farm One) and is at the PS.1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island city. It was the winner of the ninth annual MoMa/P.S.1 Young architects program. PF1 is an urban farm concept that is elevated over head and constructed from large cardboard tubes. Its top surface will be a fully functional working farm, blooming a variety of herbs, plants and vegetables. That brings together the community around the shared experience of growing fully sustainable food and sustainable construction. It is built entirely of recyclable materials, 100% solar powered, and used rain collection for irrigation. The intent of the program is to illustrate and educate many of its urban visitors on sustainable urban farming through a unique medium of contemporary architecture.

I will be starting my own small urban herb garden project, on a much smaller scale of course and much less architecturally designed. But will keep you all posted on my updates!!! Very excited to have my own sustainable herb garden year out!


PF1 Urban Sustainable Farm Concept


empty holes for under carriage picking and cropping