The best chefs, restauranteurs, bakers, and those representing wine and beverage servers, hospitality providers, and humanitarians working at giving back to their communities were in Chicago this last weekend for the 2023 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards, presented by Capital One and held at the historic Lyric Opera of Chicago.
The awards presentation was co-hosted by Eric Adjepong, chef, author, and host of Alex vs America; Esther Choi, chef and owner of mŏkbar and ms.yoo; Gail Simmons, author, producer, and Top Chef judge; and Andrew Zimmern, James Beard Award winner, TV personality, chef, writer, and social justice advocate. 1,500 guests were in attendance at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Built in 1929, with an outstanding Art Deco interior, it’s the second largest opera house in the U.S.
Additional presenters included Mashama Bailey, James Beard Award–winning chef and restaurateur, The Grey; Chris Bianco, James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur, Pizzeria Bianco; Monti Carlo, TV personality, food writer, and host of the Food Network’s Help My Yelp; Sarah Grueneberg, James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur, Monteverde; Tahiirah Habibi, sommelier, founder of The Hue Society, and James Beard Awards Committee member; Carla Hall, cookbook author, chef, and TV personality; Tanya Holland, chef, author, James Beard Foundation trustee, and Awards Committee Chair; and Erick Williams, James Beard Award-winning chef, and restaurateur, Virtue Restaurant; among others.
“Congratulations to the exceptional winners of this year’s Restaurant and Chef Awards—whose incredible achievements and dedication to culinary excellence have left an indelible mark on our industry,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation.
. “As we celebrate, it’s important to acknowledge the significant work that these accomplished restaurants and chefs have done to push American food culture forward—using their immense creativity, passion, and talent to create extraordinary experiences on behalf of others. Thanks to them, our food future is bright, indeed.”
“As we celebrate the second year of the new awards process, we were thrilled to witness the remarkable talent showcased by our 2023 nominees and winners, who represent the true diversity of gifted chefs and outstanding restaurants that exist across the industry,” said Holland. “I am deeply appreciative to the committee members for their thoughtful deliberations that were instrumental in recognizing and honoring some of the brightest and most innovative minds in our industry.”
“On behalf of the committee, we are excited for all of this year’s Restaurant and Chef Award winners,” said Adrian Miller, Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee Chair and Allecia Vermillion, Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee Vice-Chair. “We are thrilled to celebrate excellence exemplified by the quality and diverse restaurants and chefs who play a pivotal role in shaping our country’s vibrant culinary landscape.”
“As a chef, it is a privilege and an honor to co-host this year’s Restaurant and Chef Awards,” said Adjepong. “Thank you to the Beard Foundation for giving us this opportunity.”
“To play a key role in celebrating our fellow chefs and restaurateurs has been such a joy,” said Simmons.
“Congratulations to this year’s winners. Your work makes us proud to be a part of our country’s independent restaurant industry,” added Zimmern.
The voting process for all Restaurant and Chef Award categories can be found here, and the process and eligibility for each category can be found on the Awards’ policies and procedures page, as well as here. 2023 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award Winners.
The James Beard Awards, considered to be among the nation’s most prestigious honors, recognize exceptional talent in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system, as well as a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive. Established in 1990, with the first ceremony taking place in 1991, the Restaurant and Chef Awards is one of five separate recognition programs for the Awards.
The 2023 Humanitarian of the Year Award honorees are the co-founders of the Black Farmer Fund: social entrepreneur and impact investor Olivia Watkins, and farmer and activist Karen Washington.
A new barbecue restaurant in Canaryville, Bell Heir’s BBQ opened its doors in January 2023. Located at 704 W. 47th St., this casual spot offers diners brisket, ribs, burgers, and more. (Neighborhood: South Side)
Bistro Monadnock, a French bistro from the owners of Victor Bar and Love Street, will open in Spring 2023. Located inside the 130-year-old Monadnock Building at 325 S. Federal St., the menu will feature classic French dishes prepared by executive chef Johnny Besch. (Neighborhood: The Loop)
The Cauldron, a magic and wizard-themed restaurant and bar that brings fantasy to life through food and beverage spaces around the world, is pleased to announce the grand opening date of its third location in the U.S. in Wicker Park (1612 W Division St.) on May 4, 2023. As the brand’s largest U.S. location yet, The Cauldron Chicago fills the space of a 10,000-square foot former bank that will boast a ticketed and ever-evolving Potion-Making Experience, a walk-in restaurant and bar with weekly programming, and more. (Neighborhood: Wicker Park)
Dawn, a new brunch spot from the owner of Caribbean bar and restaurant 14 Parish, will open Summer 2023 at 1642 E. 56th St. at the former home of Piccolo Mondo. Restaurateur Racquel Fields, a South Side native, is planning to offer a combination of new American fare and Southern staples like fried green tomatoes. (Neighborhood: Hyde Park)
Vegan cuisine is on the menu at Don Bucio’s Taqueria in Logan Square. James Beard Award-nominated chef Rodolfo Cuadros opened the plant-based restaurant at 2763 N. Milwaukee Ave. in early 2023. (Neighborhood: Logan Square)
West Loop Mexican restaurant and bar Federales will open a second Chicago location in Logan Square at 2471 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Spring 2023. Four Corners, the hospitality group behind Federales, Ranalli’s, Benchmark, and Kirkwood, will transform the former Marcello’s Father & Son restaurant space into Federales’s Logan Square outpost. (Neighborhood: Logan Square)
Fioretta is a new steakhouse from the team behind Siena Tavern and Prime & Provisions set to open in Spring 2023. The menu at the 318 N. Sangamon St. location features Italian-American fare. (Neighborhood: Fulton Market)
After debuting Gordon Ramsay Burger in December 2021, celebrity chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay plans to pay homage to one of his most popular TV shows with Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen. Set to open in River North in 2023, the 18,000-square-foot two-story restaurant will be one of only a handful locations in the U.S. and will include a few unique-to-Chicago, to-be-determined menu items. (Neighborhood: River North)
Kindling | Downtown Cookout & Cocktails, a new concept from The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, opened January 2023 inside the Catalog at Willis Tower. The 17,000-square-foot live fire show kitchen restaurant is helmed by James Beard Award winner Jonathon Sawyer, formerly of the Four Seasons Hotel’s Adorn Restaurant & Bar. (Neighborhood: The Loop)
New York City restaurant Kohoku-Ku Ramen is opening its first Chicago location in Spring 2023. The shop at 1136 W. Thorndale Ave. offers diners 12 different types of ramen with a variety of broths. (Neighborhood: Edgewater)
Michelin-star Chef Daniel Rose returned home after years in New York and abroad to open a French restaurant Le Select in Chicago with the industrious Boka Restaurant Group in January 2023. The menu features traditional French brasserie fare, showcasing the best ingredients and classic French techniques. (Neighborhood: River North)
Ramen-san’s Lincoln Park outpost will mark the fourth location of the noodle shop. Sushi-san’s debut will signal the sushi restaurant’s third location. (Neighborhood: Lincoln Park)
The first restaurant, Miru (pronounced mē-rōō), from Executive Chef Hisanobu Osaka will open Spring 2023 in tandem with the hotel. Miru, Japanese for “view,” will showcase Chef Osaka’s unique take on Japanese cuisine and boast two terraces and a dining room that overlooks the Chicago River and Navy Pier. The Japanese restaurant will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The menu will include sushi, sashimi, and raw selections from the sushi bar, complimented by a selection of Izakaya-style dishes like hand-made dumplings, skewers, fried rice, and hot pots, as well as a robust wagyu and seafood section.
The second restaurant, Tre Dita (pronounced trā dē-tä), Italian for three fingers, is a nod to the thickness of a properly cut bistecca Fiorentina that the restaurant will be serving from its open-hearth wood fired grill. The Tuscan Steakhouse is in collaboration with award-winning Chef Evan Funke (Felix, Mother Wolf) and will open later in 2023.
Netflix’s School of Chocolate winner and Jean Banchet Award nominee Juan Gutierrez has been named Executive Pastry Chef, while
will oversee the restaurants’ beverage programs as Beverage Director.
Little Goat Diner, the newest location from James Beard Award-winning chef Stephanie Izard, will open its doors at 3325 N. Southport Ave. in Spring 2023. The menu features new takes on classic diner dishes like burgers, French toast, and chicken and dumplings. (Neighborhood: Lakeview)
Choose Chicago is the official sales and marketing organization responsible for promoting Chicago as a global visitor and meetings destination, leveraging the city’s unmatched assets to ensure the economic vitality of the city and its member business community. Follow @choosechicago on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and TikTok and tag #ChicaGOandKNOW. For more information, visit choosechicago.com.
“for the adventuresome home chef, Allahyari offers a world of flavors.”
In mortal danger for his beliefs, Hamed Allahyari and his pregnant girlfriend fled their homeland of Iran, first spending two months in Indonesia and then, after grueling hours long by truck over badly paved back roads and then days crammed aboard a boat another five months on Christmas Island before being granted asylum by the Australian government. Once there, life remained extremely difficult for the young couple who were now parents of two young children, and though Allahyari had been a chef and restauranteur in Iran, no one was interested—or so it seemed—in Persian cuisine.
Unable to find work Allahyari began volunteering at the Resource Center, an organization that provides support, legal advice, and other assistance including meals to refugees and people seeking asylum.
“Every day they feed 250 people a free lunch,” Allahyari writes in the introduction to his cookbook Salamati: Hamed’s Persian Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from Iran to the Other Side of the World. “I started cooking there two days a week, making Persian food for people from all over the world: Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Miramar, Sierra Leone, all kinds of places, and most of them had never tried Persian food before. But when they tried it, they liked it. They talked to me about it, asked me about it, and it made me happy.”
Culinary Connections
At the recommendation of others, Allahyari also began teaching cooking classes, demonstrating how to make such dishes as Zeytoon Parvadrah (Olive and Walnuts Chunky Dip), Abdoogh Khiar, Yogurt and Cucumber soup, Sabzi Pofow Ba Mahi (Fish with Herb Pilaf), and Persian Love Cake. Over the years, Allahyari taught more than 2500 people how to make Persian food. Now, he caters and is chef/owner of SalamiTea, a restaurant located in Sunshine, an ethnically diverse neighborhood in Melbourne. The name is a play on “salamati,” the Persian word meaning both “health” and “cheers.”
Salamati is more than just a cookbook, it’s also a memoir and homage to the country he had to flee. The introduction to the featured recipes in his book might offer a personal connection to the dish, a description of a unique ingredient that helps define it and bring out its best flavors—though he also offers a substitute for such items as Persian dried limes, which might be difficult to locate outside of a major city, and/or puts the food in context with the scenes to Iran.
“This dish is traditionally served in Iranian shisha shops, the cafes where older men gather to smoke water pipes, drink tea and solve the problems of the world,” he writes about Ghahve Khunee Omelette (Street-Food Tomato Omelette). “Shisha shops don’t really serve food but inevitably people get hungry while they’re hanging around, so it’s become traditional for staff to whip up a quick tomato omelette for customers and serve it with bread, raw red onion, herbs and lemon. If you want one, all you ask for is ‘omelette.’ There’s no menu as such.”
Not all the recipes are easy but for those who don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, there are enough simple ones to get started. Full-color photos of each recipe show what the finished product will look like. And for the adventuresome home chef, Allahyari offers a world of flavors.
Returning to the flavors of his very earliest years, chef Peter Serpico was born in Seoul, Korea and adopted when he was two. Raised in Maryland, he graduated from the Baltimore International Culinary School and cooked professionally at such well-known restaurants as Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York City’s East Village. Serpico worked with David Chang, who founded the Momofuku chain, in opening two new restaurants. His job as director of culinary operations for Momofuku, Serpico garnered three stars from the New York Times, two Michelin stars and a James Beard Award. He currently owns KPOD, a contemporary Korean-American concept in Philadelphia’s University City.
Serpico was already an award winning chef when a taste of marinated short ribs and black bean noodles reeled him back through the years, giving him a taste of his original home. Now that reckoning, exploration, and elevation of the foods of his past has resulted in his debut cookbook,Learning Korean: Recipes for Home Cooking (Norton), Serpico has long been recognized as a virtuoso with ingredients but his lesser known talent becomes apparent in this book. He makes Korean home cooking easy. For anyone who has tried to master this intricate and delicious cuisine, it’s a relief to be able to easily cook Korean cuisine in a home kitchen using everyday home equipment.
Serpico starts with kimchi, that Korean staple often served in some guise or other, at every meal (and yes, that includes breakfast) with a recipe for Countertop Kimchi and then quickly segues into a master recipe that can be used to make a plethora of the fermented vegetable dishes.
“I also wanted to develop an easy ‘master’ method that could be applied to any vegetable, regardless of its texture, density, surface area, or water content,” writes Serpico before giving us the way to make Apple Kimchi, Carrot Kimchi, and Potato Kimchi, among others.
He continues with the simplification. Sure, there are some complicated recipes for those who already have or want to advance their skills with such dishes as Crispy Fried Rice–a recipe that’s a full page long. Add to that the ancillary recipes needed to complete the dish–Korean Chili Sauce, Marinated Spinach, Marinated Bean Sprouts, and Rolled Omelette which are all on different pages. But for those not up to or interested in the challenge, just flip to the recipes for such dishes as Easy Pork Shoulder Stew, Soy-Braised Beef, Battered Zucchini, Potato Salad, Chocolate Rice Pudding, and Jujube Tea as well as many others.
From the New York Times.
And while anyone experimenting with the cuisine of another country understands that they’ll need to purchase some unique ingredients, these are not budget breakers or, in many instances, so esoteric that after one use they’ll sit unused in your cabinet for an eternity. For example Serpico’s recipe for potato salad calls for Kewpie Mayonnaise instead of the mayo we typically have in our refrigerator. The latter uses whole eggs and white vinegar while Kewpie is made from just egg yolks and rice or apple cider vinegar. But the cost difference is definitely reasonable and a home chef might just find the extra richness translates to other recipes as well whether they’re Korean or not.
About the Author
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Peter Serpico was adopted when he was two years old, and was raised in Laurel, Maryland. Serpico graduated from the Baltimore International College Culinary School and his first cook job was at the Belmont Conference Center, where he worked under chef Rob Dunn. In 2006, Peter began as sous chef at the original Momofuku Noodle Bar in the East Village. For the next six years, Serpico worked with David Chang to open Momofuku Ssäm Bar and Momofuku Ko. As director of culinary operations, Serpico earned three stars from the New York Times, a James Beard Award, and two Michelin Stars, among other accolades. Serpico’s highly praised eponymous restaurant on South Street in Philadelphia opened in 2013.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Serpico was reimagined as Pete’s Place. In 2022, Serpico and restaurant-partner Stephen Starr launched a revamp of Pod, a long-standing Philadelphia pan-Asian restaurant, as KPod, with a menu inspired by Serpico’s native South Korea. Serpico lives with his family in Philadelphia.
Hobak Jeon (Pan-Fried Zucchini)
For the Dipping Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
½ teaspoon maple syrup
¼ teaspoon gochugaru (Korean red-chile flakes)
¼ teaspoon sesame seeds
1 scallion, trimmed and thinly sliced (white and light green parts)
For the Zucchini
1 large Korean zucchini or 2 American zucchini (about ¾ pound), sliced into ½-inch-thick rounds
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Make the dipping sauce: Whisk all ingredients in a bowl. This sauce will keep in the refrigerator in a covered container for 1 week.
Prepare the zucchini: In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini and flour, ensuring each piece is lightly coated.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and fish sauce, making sure to break down the egg white.
In a medium skillet or sauté pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, dip and coat the floured zucchini rounds in the egg batter, then add to the skillet and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Use a spatula to transfer finished zucchini rounds to a wire rack lined with paper towels.
Serve as banchan or as an appetizer with the sauce. The zucchini can be enjoyed hot or at room temperature; cooked zucchini pieces can be held inside an oven set to warm.
Ground Beef Bulgogi
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium yellow onion (8 ounces), halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
2 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (white and light green parts)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Cooked white rice, for serving (see NOTE)
Kimchi, for serving (optional)
Fresh lettuce or cabbage leaves, for serving (optional)
In a large bowl, stir together the beef or plant-based meat, onion, garlic, scallions, sesame oil, soy sauce, maple syrup and salt until combined.
In a large saute skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the beef mixture and cook, stirring occasionally to break up any large chunks, until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Serve the bulgogi in bowls with rice, kimchi, and lettuce or cabbage leaves for wrapping, if using.
On July 21, the Selection Committee presided by Jérôme Bocuse met to decide which countries in the Asia-Pacific region would qualify for the Grand Final of the Bocuse d’Or, a two-day biennial world chef championship. Named in honor of Paul Bocuse, the renowned chef and restauranteur who was the recipient of the coveted France’s prestigious “Meilleur Ouvrier de France,” the Bocuse d’Or is considered one of the most prestigious gastronomic competition in the world.
Held in Lyon, the home town of Bocuse, the next competition is scheduled for January 22 and 23, 2023 and is held during Sirha Lyon, the World Hospitality & Food Service trade show. Lyon, the capital city in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France is nestled at the confluence of the Rhône and Saô rivers.
According to Inés Carrayrou of Monet+Associates Agency for the Bocuse d’Or Americas 2022, each team vying for a chance to participate in the Grand Final was required to submit a recipe based upon a main ingredient and make a presentation. 24 chefs will ultimately be selected and during the intense two-day competition will have just five hours and 35 minutes–and not a second longer–to prepare their dish which is then presented ‘à la française’ on a tray or platter. Each entry is exquisite and the winner recieves what the Bocuse d’Or website describes as “the most beautiful trophy in the world of gastronomy.”
5 TALENTED TEAMS JOIN THE WINNERS OF THE PREVIOUS 2022 SELECTIONS
The five winning countries are:
Australia – Alexander McInstosh China – Nick Lin Japan – Tomoyuki Ishii New Zealand – William Mordido South Korea – Hwang Byeong Hyen
The teams, the recipes as well as the theme plates they’ll be preparing will be announced this fall.
Listed below are the teams that qualified for the different continental selections.
Bocuse d’Or Europe 2022
1st: Denmark – Brian Mark Hanse 2nd: Hungary – Bence Dalnoki 3rd: Norway – Filip August Bendi 4th: Sweden – Jimmi Eriksson 5th: Iceland – Sigurjón Bragi Geirsson 6th: Finland – Johan Kurkela 7th: France – Naïs Pirollet 8th: United Kingdom – Ian Musgrave 9th: Switzerland – Christoph Hunziker 10th: Belgium – Sam Van Houcke
Bocuse d’Or Americas 2022
1st: USA – Jeffery Hayashi 2nd: Canada – Samuel Sirois 3rd: Chile – Ari Zúñiga 4th: Colombia – Carlos Pajaro 5th: Mexico – Marcelo Hisaki
“Paul Bocuse was the incarnation of French cuisine,” said then-French President Emmanuel Macron in 2018 when Bocuse passed away in Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or, in Lyon, where he was born and operated his main restaurant. Bocuse, credited with changing French cuisine with the introduction of nouvelle cuisine, a lighter, fresher approach to the classic cookery of France.
Melt the butter in a double-boiler, stirring it with a whisk. Let cool for a few seconds. Add the salt and mix. Add the confectioners’ sugar. Mix. Add the flour in a steady stream, while continuing to mix. Once the dough begins to come together, take out the whisk and continue to mix with a spatula. Work in the baking powder.
Break the egg into a ramekin, beat it with a fork, then pour it into the dough. Mix it until the dough comes together into a ball. Flatten it slightly, put it on a plate, and leave it to rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
If you prepare the dough the day before, remember to take it out of the refrigerator a bit before you want to use it, so that it is not too hard.
You can also make the caramel several hours in advance. There is no need to reheat it before arranging the apples.
Step 2: Caramel
Heat the sugar over high heat in a saucepan. When the sugar has turned a nice, golden color and is beginning to foam, mix it with a wooden spoon. Add the butter. Mix until the butter is melted.
To make a successful caramel, wipe the pan out carefully before starting the process. Move it around during the cooking of the sugar, but do not use any utensils.
The caramel should have a good color without becoming at all brown. Allow 3 to 4 minutes or so.
Pour the caramel into a 8-inch (20-cm) metal baking dish. Split the vanilla pod in two without separating the two halves. Put it into the pan, right in the middle, to form a “V”.
Step 3: Tart
Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Peel and core the apples. Cut them in half vertically. Arrange the apples, standing them upright in the pan. Fill in the center, and fill up any gaps.
It is important for the success of the tart that the apples are all the same thickness. Peel them immediately before cooking to make sure they do not oxidize when in contact with the air.
Place the pan in the bottom of the oven and cook for 1 hour. Check that the apples are cooked. Allow to rest for 10 minutes, then chill for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the dough on parchment paper, and flour it lightly. Roll it out into a circle about 1/8-inch (3-mm) thick. Lay the lid of the dish upside down on the pastry, and cut the pastry out to the same interior dimensions as the lid. Cut away the excess.
Prick the surface of the dough all over, using a fork. Trim the greaseproof paper to within 1/2 inch (12 mm) of the edge of the dough. Slide the dough, on the paper, onto a baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes. Lay the cooked pastry on a cooling rack. Allow it to cool and harden.
It is always helpful to use parchment paper: there is no need to butter the pan, and the transfer of the pastry base is easy.
After 10 minutes of cooking, the pastry will still be soft. It hardens completely when cool. Handle it with care!
A few minutes before serving, gently warm a serving plate. Place the pastry disk over the apples. Unstick the apples by holding the pastry with one hand and turning the pan from all angles.
When the apples are unstuck from the bottom, turn out the tart. Lay the plate upside down over the pan, invert, and lift the pan away. The tart is ready to be devoured!
This recipe was originally published in “My Best Paul Bocuse” (Éditions Alain Ducasse).
He cooked in Italy, honed the seasonal California-Mediterranean style in the kitchen of the Zuni Café, and learned Californian contemporary cuisine with Italian influences at Quince. But when it came right down to it, Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco who just last night won this year’s James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: California, missed his grandmother’s cooking.
“What I remember from eating my grandma’s food is after eating, you feel good,” says Jew whose original family name was spelled Jiu but was changed when the family moved here when going through customs. “That sensation is what I want people to experience. Understanding that chefs back in old China—they were considered doctors too, where they were healing people and giving remedies to fix your ailments. A lot of it was basically what they were feeding you. I try not to take it too seriously, but there are things I feel like as a chef, I feel like it’s my responsibility to make people feel good afterwards too.”
But those years cooking Cal weren’t wasted.
Lion’s Head Meatballs
“Cantonese cuisine and California cuisine really align in how ingredient-driven the food is and how minimal—the goal is to do as little to a perfect ingredient,” says Jew. “Finding that perfect ingredient and thinking of the cooking method to showcase its natural flavors the most, to me, is very Cantonese and Californian. I’m using that mentality to bridge the two together.”
A bio major, Jew says it starts with the ingredients.
“There are just some classic things we want to reinterpret,” he says. “There isn’t a lot of specific recipes for a lot of things. Chop suey just doesn’t have really any recipe to it. We’re taking the creative freedom to do our version of that, or even something like egg foo young.”
Anything that needs slow braising will do well in a clay pot. The porous clay distributes an encompassing gentle heat all while sealing in the juices. The slightly alkaline clay also keeps proteins loose and tender. I appreciate a clay pot for its kindness to cooks. It holds heat so well that you can set it aside off-heat for an hour or two and come back to find everything inside still nice and toasty. And if you don’t have one, a small Dutch oven with a tight lid will do. Lion’s head (獅子頭, shī zi tóu in Mandarin) are a classic Chinese meatball (the bumpy texture looks like the curly manes of mythical lions). We use savory ingredients ingredients—mushrooms, seaweed, and a blend of pork—that compounds the sīn flavor exponentially. Use whatever delicious fungi you’ve got. Sometimes I drop a handful of fresh cordyceps (蟲草花, chóng căo huá) sautéed with garlic, or shave matsutake as in this recipe. For the bacon, choose an intensely smoky kind. You can use a meat grinder or hand-chop everything old-school.
Active Time — 1 hour, 15 minutes
Plan Ahead — You’ll need about 3 hours total, plus time to make Chicken Stock; pre-soak the clay pot for 2 hours
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Special Equipment — Meat grinder (optional), soaked 9-inch clay pot or a small Dutch oven
Lion’s Head Meatballs
3 oz / 85g nettles or stemmed lacinato kale
1 tsp neutral oil
Kosher salt
4 oz / 115g skin-on pork belly
12 Savoy cabbage leaves, thick stems trimmed
12 oz / 340g pork shoulder, cut into 1½-inch pieces
3 oz / 85g pork back fat
3½ oz / 100g medium-firm doufu
4 tsp peeled and minced ginger
1½ Tbsp light soy sauce (生抽, sāng chāu)
1 Tbsp powdered milk
1¼ tsp freshly ground white pepper
1 tsp fish sauce
1½ cups / 360ml Matsutake Broth (recipe follows)
2 Tbsp neutral oil
3 oz / 85g fresh wild mushrooms (such as matsutake, black trumpets, or chanterelles), chopped if large
½ rosemary sprig, about 2 inches long
Kosher salt
3 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
1 fresh matsutake mushroom, very thinly sliced or shaved with a mandoline
To make the meatballs: While wearing thick gloves, strip the leaves from the nettles and discard the stems.
In a wok or a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the neutral oil until shimmering. Add the nettles and a pinch of salt and cook until wilted but still bright green, about 1½ minutes. If using kale, this will take about 3 minutes. Finely chop and set aside.
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Line a baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels.
Remove the skin from the pork belly. Add the skin to the boiling water and blanch for 30 seconds to firm up. Using tongs, remove and set aside. Add the cabbage leaves (work in batches, if needed) to the water and blanch until just wilted, about 30 seconds, then transfer to the prepared baking sheet to drain.
Place the pork skin, pork shoulder, belly, and back fat in a single layer on a plate and put in the freezer until the surface is just frozen but the center is still soft enough to be ground, about 15 minutes.
If using a meat grinder, grind the fat and skin through a fine grinding plate (⅛-inch / 3mm holes) into a large bowl. Switch to a coarse grinding plate (¼-inch / 6mm holes). Regrind about half of the fat-skin mixture back into the large bowl, then grind the shoulder and belly through the same grinding plate. Mix gently to combine. Regrind about half of the pork mixture again. Grind the doufu through the coarse grinding plate into the large bowl.
If chopping by hand, separately mince the pork belly skin, pork belly, pork shoulder, pork fat, and doufu using a chef’s knife or cleaver (two if you got ’em). Transfer to a large bowl as each one has formed a sticky paste and then mix well.
Add the nettles, ginger, soy sauce, powdered milk, 1½ tsp salt, pepper, and fish sauce to the bowl and use your hands to mix until well combined and a sticky paste forms but the meat is not overworked.
Divide the mixture into six portions. Roll each portion into a ball that is firmly packed and smooth. Wrap a cabbage leaf around each meatball, leaving the top exposed (save the remaining cabbage leaves for the clay pot). Refrigerate until ready to cook, up to 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Place the wrapped meatballs in a single layer in a soaked 9-inch-wide clay pot or small Dutch oven. Tuck the remaining cabbage leaves between the meatballs, then add the broth. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
Transfer the pot to the oven and bake uncovered until the meatballs are browned and cooked through, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, warm a wok or a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the neutral oil and let it heat up for a few seconds. Add the mushrooms and rosemary, season with salt, and stir-fry until the mushrooms are browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Discard the rosemary.
Spoon the stir-fried mushrooms and any oil left in the pan over the meatballs and top with the pine nuts and shaved mushroom. Serve immediately.
MATSUTAKE BROTH
Makes 1 ½ cups / 360ml
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, sear the bacon until dark golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the onion to the pan and sear until very browned on one side, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-low; add the seared bacon, chicken stock, both dried mushrooms, and kombu; and simmer until reduced to 1½ cups / 360ml, about 1 hour.
Fit a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Strain the broth and discard the solids. Stir the fish sauce into the broth. Let cool, transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
SIZZLING FISH
On a weekly basis, my mom would cook corned beef with cabbage, or chicken à la king, or sausage lasagna. It was too expensive to travel internationally, but we got to eat all over the world from our kitchen table. When she cooked food from her childhood, though, she would make us this steamed fish, topped with ginger, green onions, and fermented black beans. The flavor of steamed fish in Cantonese cuisine is all about sīn tìhm (鮮甜), the essential flavor of a fresh ingredient in combination with a pure, smooth sweetness. The final lashing of hot oil in this dish infuses the green onions and ginger into the flesh of the fish and enriches the soy. Take care not to overcook the fish; I like to turn off the heat in the last minutes of cooking and let the steam finish the job. The flesh should pull off the bone in tender morsels, not flake. I always score round, fleshy fish to help it cook evenly. Then I steam the fish only until the thickest flesh right behind the gill area is not quite opaque or, as Cantonese cooks say, “translucent like white jade.”
Active Time — 20 minutes
Makes 4 servings
Special Equipment — Steamer, 9-inch pie plate
1 Tbsp fermented black beans (optional)
One 1½-lb / 680g whole fish (such as black bass or Tai snapper), gutted and scaled
large handful aromatics (such as thinly sliced ginger, green onion tops, and/or strips of fresh citrus zest)
¼ cup / 60ml high-smoke-point oil (such as peanut oil)
In a small bowl, cover the black beans (if using) with water, let soak for 30 minutes, and then drain.
Prepare a steamer in a wok or a large, lidded pot following the instructions on page 167 and bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat.
Meanwhile, using kitchen shears, cut off the gills and the fins (careful, sharp!) on the top, bottom, and sides of the fish. Run your fingers over the skin, especially near the gills and belly, toward the head to check for any last scales; remove the scales with the edge of a spoon or the back of a knife.
On both sides of the fish, make eight 2-inch-long parallel slits into the flesh, not quite deep enough to hit bone, starting about 1 inch from the gills. Place the fish in a pie plate. (The fish can hang over the edges so long as everything fits in the steamer. If not, cut the fish in half to fit and hope none of your guests are superstitious.) Tuck some of your chosen aromatics into each slit, then stuff the remaining aromatics in the cavity. Top the fish with the black beans.
Place the pie plate in the steamer, cover, and steam until the eyeball is opaque and the flesh of the fish is white and flaky at the thickest part near the head and first slit, 10 to 12 minutes.
While the fish is steaming, in a small heavy-bottom saucepan over low heat, slowly warm the oil.
When the fish is ready, remove it with the pie plate from the steamer. (Reassemble as a whole fish if you cut it in two.) Drizzle with the soy sauce, then top with the ginger and green onions. Turn the heat under the oil to high and warm until it just starts to smoke. Immediately pour the oil over the fish, getting as much of the ginger and green onions to sizzle as you can. Garnish with the cilantro and serve with a spoon big enough for drizzling the juices.
TAIWANESE-STYLE EGGPLANT
For this recipe, I prefer medium Chinese eggplants, the pale purple, slender ones that are ten to twelve inches long, over similar-looking but more bitter varieties. This calls for oil-blanching and, because eggplant is basically a sponge, brining them for an hour first until they are saturated but not bloated. During frying, the water turns to steam and makes the eggplant creamy and not at all oily.
Cooking is really the study of water. It takes water to grow everything, of course, and so the amount of water that remains in an ingredient after it is harvested or butchered dictates how it will heat through in the pan, whether it will soften, seize, crisp, or caramelize. You’re adding water when you use stocks, vinegars, or alcohol. You’re creating barriers to water with starches. How you cut ingredients and the order in which you add them to the pan is about controlling how and when they release the water inside them. Even the shapes of cooking vessels are about releasing or retaining moisture. When cooking with a wok, changes to water happen so quickly that split-second timing is essential.
¼ cup / 5g packed Thai or opal basil leaves, torn in half if large
Trim and discard the eggplant ends, then cut into thick wedges, like steak frites—first cut crosswise into three 3-inch chunks, then halve those lengthwise repeatedly until you have 1-inch-thick wedges.
In a large bowl, combine 1 qt / 950ml of the water and the salt and whisk until the salt is dissolved. Add the eggplant, making sure it is submerged, and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
Fill a 5-quart or larger Dutch oven with the neutral oil and secure a deep-fry thermometer on the side. Set over medium-high heat and warm the oil to 375°F.
Meanwhile, drain the eggplant and dry very well with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup / 60ml water, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set this sauce aside.
Add the sliced garlic to the oil and fry until crisp and light golden brown, about 30 seconds. Use a spider to transfer them to a paper towel to drain.
Check that the oil in the Dutch oven is still at 375°F. Set up for the second fry by setting a dry wok or large skillet over high heat.
Carefully slide all the eggplant into the oil. Stir until the eggplant has darkened and caramelized at the edges, about 1 minute. Remove the eggplant with the spider and drain well over the Dutch oven, then transfer to the screaming-hot wok.
Immediately add the chopped garlic and most of the chile rings (reserve a few for garnish) to the eggplant in the wok and toss everything to combine. Add the reserved sauce and continue to toss until the sauce thickens to a glaze and the eggplants are browned at the edges, about 1 minute. Add most of the basil leaves and toss until wilted.
Transfer the contents of the wok to a serving platter. Crumble the fried garlic and scatter it over the eggplant with the rest of the basil and chile rings. Serve immediately.
It’s the third in their series of cookbooks, the first two of which were both New York Times bestsellers. Tam, who holds a doctorate in pharmacy from the University of California, develops recipes based upon the Cantonese meals her mother cooked for the family when she was growing up and the immigrant cuisine of the San Francisco Bay area where she grew up as well as such American teen basics as cheeseburgers and French fries.
Tam and Fong operate on the premise that weeknight suppers should be healthy and flavor-packed as well as fast and simple. Weekends and celebrations, on the other hand, are the perfect excuse to craft elevated (but easy) crowd-pleasers. Nom Paleo Let’s Go! offers crazy-delicious recipes for all occasions, and every single one is free of grains, gluten, dairy, and refined sugar.
Fong is an attorney who does the photography and illustrations for their books as well as the over all design. In all, they both seem to have a lot of fun in the kitchen and in writing their cookbooks.
All three books coordinate with a multitude of specialty diets—paleo, keto-friendly, vegan, nut-free, Whole30, and plant-based and every single recipe is free of grains, gluten, refined sugar, and dairy. But if it all sounds too healthy, no one you’re cooking for needs to know how nutritious the dishes are. And they won’t know based on the taste either as it’s all seriously yummy.
As always, Nom Nom Paleo’s recipes reflect the diverse cuisines Michelle grew up with and culinary ideas from her travels. Often Asian-inspired, Michelle’s unfussy recipes maximize flavor, optimize whole foods, and are presented with photos of each step so they’re absolutely foolproof–even for novice cooks! New recipes include: Cantonese Roast Duck, Nom Nom Chili Crisp, Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole, Chicken Karaage, Instant Pot Balsamic Beef Stew, and Paleo-Friendly Cream Puffs.
Hash Brown Fish
Umami Stir Fry Powder
⅔ cup dehydrated chopped scallions
6½ tablespoons kosher salt
¼ cup dried shiitake mushroom powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
Hash Brown Fish
1 pound Russet potatoes, peeled
½ cup scallions, thinly sliced
¼ cup avocado oil or ghee, divided
2 teaspoons umami stir fry powder or kosher salt, divided
Four 5-ounce skinless sea bass or cod fillets, each about ¾-inch thick
1 lemon, cut into wedges
MAKE THE UMAMI STIR FRY POWDER (IF DESIRED): Toss all of the ingredients into a mini food processor or spice grinder. Blend to make a fine powder, scraping down the sides occasionally to make sure the dehydrated green onions are totally powderized. (This seasoning will keep in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months.)
MAKE THE HASH BROWN FISH: Grate the potatoes with a food processor or by using the large holes of a box grater.
Bundle the shredded potatoes in a clean kitchen towel. Then, wring out the potatoes and discard the liquid.
In a large bowl, toss together the shredded potatoes, scallions and 1 teaspoon of umami stir fry powder or kosher salt.
Pat the fish dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the other teaspoon of umami stir fry powder or kosher salt on the fish fillets.
Heat a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat, and then add 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee to the hot pan.
Add two ⅓-cup mounds of potatoes to the pan and flatten them into rectangles, approximating the size of your fish fillets.
Smush a fish fillet onto each potato layer and cover each one with a thin layer of shredded potatoes.
Fry for 5 to 8 minutes or until the bottom layer of potatoes is crisp and golden brown.
Carefully flip the fillet packets over with a fish spatula and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes on the other side.
Once the other potato layer is nicely browned and the center of the fish registers 135°F on an instant-read thermometer, transfer to a plate.
Repeat steps 6 to 11 with the remaining fish and potatoes and serve with lemon wedges.
Ginger Scallion Sauce
This salty, herbaceous condiment is exponentially greater than the sum of its parts. It’s traditionally served with whole poached chicken, but growing up, I would put it on everything! This sauce is transformative, lending massive flavor to any savory dish.
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients:
1 cup finely minced scallions
3 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ cup avocado oil
Method:
Toss the scallions, ginger, salt, and white pepper in a large heat-proof bowl or 2-cup measuring cup.
Stir it all together.
In a small saucepan over high heat, warm the oil until it’s shimmering but not quite smoking.
Add a tiny piece of scallion to test the heat of the oil. If you see lots of little bubbles, the oil’s ready. (Or just check that the oil reaches 375°F on an instant-read thermometer.)
Pour the hot oil into the scallion and ginger mixture a little at a time. It’ll sizzle and boil, so be careful!
Stir well and let the sauce cool to room temperature. The sauce can be refrigerated in a sealed jar for up to 2 weeks or frozen in an ice cube tray for up to 3 months.
All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce
Despite its name, my All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce isn’t just for stir-fries: it’s a fundamental component in recipes of all kinds. This ultra-versatile sauce keeps in the refrigerator
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients:
1 cup coconut aminos
½ cup fresh orange or pineapple juice
¼ cup paleo-friendly fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Method:
Combine all the ingredients in a measuring cup or jar. Mix it all together.
Char Siu (Chinese Barbecue Pork)
Makes 8 servings
½ cup plum, peach, or apricot jam, sweetened only with fruit juice
¼ cup coconut aminos
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 tablespoon honey (optional, not Whole30)
1 teaspoon paleo-friendly fish sauce
½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
½ teaspoon ground ginger
3 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast
2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
2 scallions, thinly sliced (optional)
Pour the jam into a small saucepan. To stay paleo-friendly, be sure to use a high-quality, 100% fruit jam.
Next, toss in the coconut aminos, tomato paste, almond butter, honey (if desired), fish sauce, Chinese five-spice powder, and ground ginger.
Whisk the marinade as you heat it to a simmer over medium heat.
Once the marinade is bubbling and smooth, transfer it to a measuring cup and let it cool to room temperature. (Not ready to roast the pork? You can store the sauce in the fridge for up to 4 days.)
Next, prepare the pork. Blot the pork shoulder with a paper towel. Then, slice the pork shoulder into 2-inch strips of even thickness.
The pork strips should be roughly uniform in size. It’s fine to have fatty pieces of pork because: (1) it’s tasty, and (2) you don’t want to end up with dry char siu. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of kosher salt all over the pork pieces.
Place the pork in a large bowl or in a zippered food storage bag. Pour all except ⅓ cup of the cooled marinade onto the pork. Cover and refrigerate the reserved marinade.
Use your hands to coat the marinade all over the pork strips. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it for 2 to 24 hours.
When you’re ready to roast the pork, heat the oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position. Arrange the pork on an oven-safe wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes, flipping the pork pieces at the halfway point. Take the pork out of the oven and increase the temperature to 400°F.
Brush half of the reserved marinade on the tops of the pork pieces. Pour enough water into the bottom of the pan so that you have a thin layer coating the bottom. This will keep the drippings from burning while the pork cooks.
Roast for 25 minutes. Then, flip the pork pieces over and brush on the remaining marinade. Cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the pork is slightly charred on the edges. Rest the pork for 10 minutes, and then slice against the grain into bite-size pieces.
Arrange the pork on a serving dish and garnish with 2 sliced scallions, if desired.
Sheet Pan Pineapple Chicken
Serves 4
This easy sheet pan meal is my riff on Huli Huli Chicken, a classic Hawaiian barbecue staple featuring a sweet and savory sauce made with pineapple juice, ketchup, and soy sauce. Believe me: no one can resist a pan of sticky chicken and pineapple, especially when it’s re-imagined with healthier, paleo-friendly ingredients. Don’t substitute fresh pineapple and ginger for canned pineapple and ground ginger! The fresh stuff contains enzymes that break down proteins, so if you use ’em, they’ll make your chicken mushy!
Ingredients
1 (13.5-ounce) can pineapple rings in pineapple juice
½ cup paleo-friendly ketchup
½ cup coconut aminos
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon paleo-friendly fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon ground ginger
5 garlic cloves, minced
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
¾ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Method:
Open up the pineapple can and set aside the pineapple rings.
Pour ½ cup of the pineapple juice from the can into a large measuring cup. (We won’t be using the rest.)
Add the ketchup, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, honey, fish sauce, sesame oil to the pineapple juice in the measuring cup. Toss in the ground ginger and minced garlic. Whisk it all together to form a marinade.
Place the chicken in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Pour in ½ cup of the marinade. Set aside the remaining marinade.
Toss the chicken well. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes or up to a day in the fridge.
In the meantime, pour the remaining marinade into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over high heat. Then, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer for about 20 minutes until the liquid has thickened into a sauce. Remove from the heat and set aside. You should now have about 1 cup of sauce.
Set aside about ¼ cup of the sauce to baste the chicken, and save the rest to serve with the finished dish.
Heat the oven to 400°F on convection mode or 425°F on regular mode with the rack in the middle.
Arrange the chicken thighs and the pineapple rings in a single layer on a rimmed, greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes. Then, rotate the tray and brush the reserved ¼ cup of cooked sauce onto the chicken thighs and pineapple rings.
Bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until the thickest part of the thighs register 165°F on a meat thermometer.
Garnish the chicken and pineapple with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with the reserved sauce!
“Our life centers on the farm and the field. We eat what we grow,” says Nancy Singleton Hachisu, author of Japanese Farm Food which won the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2012: USA Winner for the Best Japanese Cuisine Book. It’s a fascinating take on Japanese cuisine from Hachisu, a native Californian who moved to a small village in rural Japan more than 30 years ago, intending to live there for a year. Describing herself as coming for the food, but staying for love, she met and married Tadaaki, an organic farmer, moved to the rural Saitama Prefecture. There she raised a family in an 80-year-old traditional Japanese farmhouse and immersed herself in both the culture and cooking. The book is so very niche that it’s almost like being in her kitchen and on her farm, giving us an amazing insight into a tiny slice of Japanese farm culture.
Hachisu also has written Japan: The Cookbook which she describes as not an examination of regional cooking traditions, as much as a curated experience of Japan’s culinary framework from a specific moment in time. Using both fine and generous strokes, I have put together what I hopes a broad and rich picture of the food of this island nation.”
Her other books include Preserving the Japanese Way: Traditions of Salting, Fermenting, and Pickling for the Modern Kitchen It’s a book offering a clear road map for preserving fruits, vegetables, and fish through a nonscientific, farm- or fisherman-centric approach. Ruth Reichl, author of Tender at the Bone and former editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine writes “Even if you never yearned to make your own miso or pickle your own vegetables, this beautiful book will change your mind. It’s almost impossible to flip through these pages without wanting to join Nancy Singleton Hachisu in the lovely meditation of her cooking. This book is unlike anything else out there, and every serious cook will want to own it.”
Food Artisans of Japan, another of her wonderful books, offers us a look into Japan’s diversely rich food landscape and includes 120 recipes from 7 compelling Japanese chefs and 24 stories of food artisans.
Pork and Flowering Mustard Stir-Fry
Buta to Nanohana Itame
Serves 4
“Tadaaki made this one night when we had fields of flowering mustard and komatsuna. The flowering tops of brassicas, particularly rape (natane), are called nanohana in Japanese and are similar to rapini. Tadaaki tends to throw some meat into his stir-fries because he feels it gives the dish more depth,” writes the author in this simple recipe that is delicate and delicious. “I’m more of a purist, so prefer my vegetables without meat. But this dish really won me over, and I quickly became a convert (almost). Japanese stir-fries can be flavored with soy sauce, miso mixed with sake, or even salt. In this dish, I like the clarity of the salt.”
½ tablespoon organic rapeseed oil
Scant ½ pound (200 g) thinly sliced pork belly
1 tablespoon finely slivered ginger
1 (10 ½-ounce/300-g) bunch flowering mustard or rapini, cut into 2-inch (5-cm) lengths
½ teaspoon sea salt
Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil.
Heat a wide frying pan or wok over high heat. Add the oil quickly followed by the pork belly slices and ginger slivers. Sauté until the fat sizzles and there is some minimal browning, but don’t overdo it.
Place the flowering mustard in a mesh strainer with a handle and lower into the pot of boiling water. Cook for about 30 seconds, or until no longer raw. Keep the strainer at the top of the water surface in order to scoop the mustard greens out in one brisk pass. Shake off the hot water and toss into the cooked pork belly. Toss a few minutes more over high heat and season with the salt. Cook for about 30 seconds more, then serve.
Variations: Substitute soy sauce for the salt or chopped ginger for the slivered ginger.
—From Japanese Farm Food, by Nancy Singleton Hachisu/Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC
The flavors and foods of Miami, with its imaginative and creative cooking, wide ranging cultural traditions, and unique culinary identity, are brought to the fore by its amazingly talented and award winning chefs and mixologists, Sara Liss, who has been writing about the city’s food scene for more than 15 years captures the culinary essence of the city’s fascinating food scene in Miami Cooks. Presenting 75 signature dishes and drinks from 35 of the hottest restaurants and chefs, either just rocketing to fame or James Beard winners, Liss shares their recipes–ranging from craft cocktails to satisfying brunch dishes to airy desserts. The flavors are global–Cuban food capital of America, but it also home to so many other cuisines―Peruvian, Venezuelan, Puerto Rican, Haitian, Jamaican, Cuban, Mexican, Asian, classic French with a Miami twist, and Floridian (of course). All evoke the passionate gastronomic spirit of The Magic City.
Avocado Pizza. Chef Helene Henderson of Malibu Farm Miami Beach. Henderson recommends Caputo (or “00”) flour for the pizza dough as it is an authentic Italian flour used by pizza makers to produce a very soft, flavorful thin crust.
But Liss takes it one step further. Stating that her mission was to make the entire creative process acceptable and achievable for the home chef, she makes it easy for us to take our cooking to the next level.
Miami Cooks, published by Figure 1m is currently available for purchase now.
With beautiful photographs and intriguing recipes, here are a few more to contemplate:
Cubano “Croque Monsieur” – This recipe was crafted by Executive Chef Frederic Delaire from Bar Collins. A Cuban play on a French classic, this towering sandwich teems with slow-roasted pork, an indulgent béchamel sauce, and many layers of ham and Swiss.
Hamachi Cilantro Rolls – “You’ll be sure to wow your mom with some homemade sushi rolls! It might seem intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, the technique is fairly easy,” writes Liss.
Shrimp Cakes – This recipe is an Executive Chef Klime Kovaceski specialty from Crust. Riffing on the classic crab cake, Chef Klime has created an easy go-to dish when you’re looking for a hearty brunch course.
Golden Geisha – This raspberry vodka cocktail recipe is from Owner David Grutman of Komodo. This refreshing cocktail is deceptively easy to prepare and heightened to a luxe level with edible gold leaf flakes.
Jim’s Yellow Fedora – From Executive Chef Daniel Roy from The Jim and Nessie, Jim’s Yellow Fedora cocktail is made with whiskey and chartreuse – a liquor distilled using 130 natural herbs, spices and flowers. In this recipe, it adds depth to whiskey for a play on the classic green hat cocktail.
Korean Braised Chicken with Glass Noodles
This popular Korean dish, also known as Andong jjimdak, originates in the city of Andong, Korea. All at once savory, sweet, and spicy, it sees spicy braised chicken cooked together with Korean glass noodles for a dish that explodes with flavor.
Serves 2 to 3
Marinade [ingredients]
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/4 tsp black pepper
41/2Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp concentrated pear juice (see Note)
2 Tbsp mirin
11/2tsp sesame oil
Marinade [method]
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
Note: Korean cooking often calls for pear juice for marinating and tenderizing meat. It can be found in most Asian markets.
Chicken [ingredients]
2 lbs, bone-in chicken thighs
Marinade (see here)
5 to 6 oz Korean glass noodles (sweet potato starch noodles)
Sesame oil, for searing
5 dried red chiles (divided)
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, chopped
5 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 scallions, roughly chopped
Chicken [method]
In a large bowl, combine chicken and marinade, turning to coat, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Soak glass noodles in water for 20 minutes, until softened.
Coat a large skillet with sesame oil and bring to high heat. Add 3 chiles and sauté for 5 to
7 minutes, until the chiles darken. Discard chiles.
Add chicken to the skillet, reserving marinade, and sear for 4 minutes on each side, until browned. Transfer chicken to a plate.
In a large saucepan over high heat, combine the reserved marinade and 4 cups of water.
Bring to a boil, then add chicken, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until chicken is almost fully cooked. Add the remaining 2 chiles and the potatoes, onion, and carrot and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, until vegetables are softened.
Add noodles, mushrooms, and scallions and simmer for another 6 to 8 minutes, until noodles are cooked. Remove the 2 chiles and serve immediately.
Get Peached–meaning to be flavored smitten–is particularly apt if you’re in an experimental mood when it comes to food. Personally I think you always learn a lot about cooking when you venture outside your comfort range. By doing so either once in a while or really even more often, no telling what you’ll discover.
That’s one reason why I enjoyed chatting with Eric Silverstein who first started cooking from his Austin, Texas food truck, The Peached Tortilla and now runs a restaurant with the same name. He recently wrote “The Peached Tortilla: Modern Asian Comfort Food from Tokyo to Texas” (Sterling Epicure 2019; $16.99 Amazon price).
A former attorney who decided to pursue a different career path by merging his passions of food and business. Eric was born in Tokyo, Japan. There he was heavily influenced by Japanese, Chinese and Malaysian cuisine and then, moving to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of ten, he learned about traditional Southern cuisine. These divergent flavors and cuisines serve as the backdrop for The Peached Tortilla’s menu.
The recipes are Asian versions of American south and Italian food—fried chicken and arancini—those fried rice balls stuffed with mozzarella. If you think of it like that, you can see the possibilities of melding the the three. When I asked Eric for recommendations for readers just getting use to Asian/American/Italian fusion cuisine, he suggested the Umami Chicken because it is a best seller at his restaurant. He also suggested his deep-fried risotto balls stuffed with pureed kimchi and mozzarella cheese because he never met a person who didn’t love them.
Deep-fried risotto balls stuffed with pureed kimchi and mozzarella cheese
“They are so easy to just pop in your mouth, and the fusion element makes the kimchi approachable,” he says.
Kimchi is a Korean dish using salted and fermented vegetables (typically cabbage) that also has chili powder, ginger and other spices. It’s very similar to sauerkraut but spicier and without the vinegary tartness.
He’s adapted his recipes for home cooks. For example, with the Unami Fried Chicken, he calls for par-baking before frying as it’s difficult to control the temperature of a deep fryer at home. By doing that there’s still the crispness of fried chicken without the complications of temperature control.
1 (3 ½-4 pound) chicken, broken down into 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 whole wings, and 4 pieces of breast (breast is split)
To Make the Marinated Chicken
Puree all the ingredients, except for the chicken in a blender. Marinate the broken-down chicken in the fish sauce marinade overnight in a large airtight container or resealable bag.
For the Batter
1 ½ cups rice flour
Whisk the rice flour and 1 ½ cups of cold water in the mixing bowl and set the batter aside. The consistency of the mixture should be thick enough to heavily coat the back of a spoon.
As the batter sits, the rice flour will slowly separate from the water. So make sure to whisk the batter right before you dip the chicken into it.
quarts vegetable oil
Place the pieces of chicken on a baking sheet. Set the oven to 350⁰F and bake the chicken for 30 minutes. Using a meat thermometer, check the temperature of the chicken while it is in the oven to make sure it reaches 165⁰F. It’s best to take the temperature of the thickest part of the breast, since this is the thickest cut of meat you are cooking off. When the chicken is at temperature, remove it from the oven and set it in the refrigerator to cool. You can remove the chicken from the refrigerator when it is cold to the touch.
Once the chicken has cooled in the refrigerator, heat 2 quarts of oil to 350⁰F in a medium-sized pot.
When the oil is at 350⁰, coat the parbaked chicken in the rice flour batter and then place the chicken in the hot oil. The rice flour batter should be thick enough, so it does not run off the chicken. If the rice flour batter has been sitting for a few minutes, make sure to give it a stir right before you dip the chicken in the batter.
Let the chicken cook in the oil for 2-3 minutes. It should turn a robust brown. Do not let the chicken get too brown or dark.
Remove the chicken from the oil and place it on a cooling rack with a rimmed baking sheet underneath it for 2 minutes before serving.
Kimchi Balls
Serves 5-8 / Makes about 30 balls
5 cups chicken broth
1 ¾ tablespoons butter
¼ small yellow onion, diced
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons Kimchi, pureed
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons Sriracha
In a medium-sized pot, warm the chicken broth over medium heat. Keep it warm over extremely low heat.
Add the butter to a wide, round pot and stir it over medium-low heat, until it starts to melt.
After the butter has melted, add the diced onion to the pot and sauté it in the butter until it becomes translucent. Season the sautéed onion with salt and pepper.
Add the Arborio rice to the pot and sauté it until it has browned.
Ladle or spoon the warm chicken broth into the rice mixture over the medium-low heat. Start by adding ½ cup of the chicken broth at a time, stirring the rice until it absorbs the broth. This is a similar process to making risotto.
Once the broth is absorbed, add more broth to the rice. Continue to cook the rice and add the broth until you have used all the broth. The entire process should take about 45 minutes. At the end of the process, the Arborio rice should be cooked al dente.
Place half of the kimchi, Parmesan, mozzarella, and sriracha in the bottom of a large baking sheet. Add the cooked Arborio rice to the baking sheet, then cover the rice with the remaining kimchi, mozzarella, and sriracha. Stir the mixture together with a heatproof spatula. The cheese should melt from the heat of the rice.
Refrigerate the mixture, uncovered, for 3-4 hours or preferably overnight.
Kimchi
1 cup, all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
2 quarts vegetable oil
½ cup Wasabi Mayo (recipe included below)
½ cup Sriracha Mayo (recipe included below)
Place the flour, eggs, and panko into separate mixing bowls or shallow vessels. Line them up to create an assembly line.
Moving from left to right, dredge the rice balls in the flour, then the egg mixture, and then roll them into the panko. By the end of the process, the balls should have a nice panko coating.
Heat the 2 quarts of oil in a Dutch oven or deep cast iron skillet. Once the oil reaches 350⁰F, drop the kimchi balls into the hot oil. The balls should turn golden brown after about 1 ½ – 2 minutes. If the balls start to get a little bit dark, remove them from the oil. If the internal temperature is hovering around 100⁰F, place them back in the oil for another 25-30 seconds or until they reach an internal temperature of 140⁰F.
When the rice balls are done, transfer them to a plate covered with a paper towel.
To plate the dish, top the Kimchi Balls with a little Wasabi Mayo and Sriracha Mayo.
WASABI MAYO
Makes 1 ½ cups
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons prepared wasabi paste
¾ tablespoon lime juice
½ teaspoon sesame oil
Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk them together. Store the mayo in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Sriracha Mayo
Makes 1 ¼ cups
1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Sriracha Sauce
½ teaspoon Rice Wine Vinegar
Heavy pinch of salt
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together until they are well incorporated. Pour the mayo into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to a month.
