Eating Around New York

Mr Minx and I are serious eaters. We enjoy a wide variety of foods from all over the world. Asian food is my thing especially. Northern Baltimore County, where we live, isn't exactly a hotbed of good food, and really great Asian food is hard to find. So when we go to New York, we eat as much of it as we can get.

I like to stay in or near Koreatown, in Midtown Manhattan. 32nd Street between 5th Avenue and Broadway in particular is packed with Korean eateries, though there are some outliers on 31st and 33rd and across 5th. One can get bibimbap or barbecue 24/7, and fancy pastries and bubble tea most of the day. On our most recent trip to New York, we ate at two Koreatown restaurants, but also ventured elsewhere in the city for ice cream and pizza.

Our first stop of the trip was for a lunchtime feast of dumplings and noodles at Mandoo Bar. The soft and slippery udon with seafood was mild and soothing; the colorful steamed mandoo were variously filled with vegetables, pork, and seafood. All benefited from the mix-your-own-sauce collection of salty and spicy condiments found on every table. Personally, I prefer the fried mandoo, because I like a little crunch on the somewhat thick wrappers, but the steamed version was satisfying, too.

Later that evening, we visited Hao Noodle & Tea, which was written up here last week. Our lovely food tour guide, Daisy, remembered that Morgenstern's ice cream had recently opened a new flagship shop nearby, so we stopped in to sample a few of their 88 occasionally very unusual flavors.

When presented with that many choices, I have trouble making up my mind. I did manage to settle for cardamom lemon jam. The ice cream was strongly cardamom flavored with small pockets of a somewhat bitter lemon marmalade that contrasted nicely with the sweet spice and milky ice cream. Sadly, I didn't take note of what Mr Minx ordered, but he seemed to enjoy his flavors which likely involved chocolate. Daisy had a date-flavored concoction that was neither ice cream nor sorbet, with an odd grainy texture, that was saved by a dose of a very good hot fudge sauce.

After Morgenstern's, we trudged through the rain to Joe's Pizza, a slice joint on Carmine near Bleecker. Mr Minx, a proponent of NY-style pizza, really enjoyed the perfection of Joe's thin crust that audibly cracked when being folded. It's truly one of the best slices in town, relatively cheap and satisfying, too.

The next morning, after lattes at Starbucks (I know, but it was Sunday, they were open, and they are if nothing else, consistent), we walked the ten or so blocks to Bryant Park to check out the Bank of America Winter Village. The rain had stopped, but the clouds lingered. Still, it was a lovely winter day. We window shopped up and down the maze of tiny boutiques until we made a decision about food. Mr Bing was our first choice.

A few years ago, I saw Mr Bing at Urbanspace Vanderbilt. The food court was crowded and most stalls had lines; I found myself overwhelmed by foodie anxiety. Rather than choose something new to me, like bing, I quickly grabbed two tacos at one of the less-busy stalls, scarfed them and escaped the crowds. I resented my decision.

Jianbing is a traditional street food that originated in the north of China. Generally eaten for breakfast, this crepe-like pancake is coated with egg on both sides, smeared with various pastes and sauces, and folded. It can be filled with meat and veg, like our General Tso's bing. It's big enough to share, and fucking delicious. I won't pass up this treat next time.

Mian Kitchen was nearby, and we grabbed a couple of bao (fried chicken and pork belly) with a side of spring rolls. I enjoyed the spring rolls, which were piping hot and crispy, but was a little disappointed in the bao. The chicken was on the dry side, and neither were as flavorful as others I've eaten in town.

We also tried one of the famed liege waffles from the Waffles & Dinges outpost at Bryant Park. It was good, but I've had better.

Our plans for the evening involved visiting the tree at Rockefeller Center and checking out department store holiday windows. Barney's was a real bust; they didn't bother decorating at all. Bergdorf's windows were real winners, especially those dressed up with fake confectionery like cakes and gingerbread houses. From BGs we segued to the Parker New York Hotel (formerly the Parker Meridien) to hit up the fabled Burger Joint, a faux "dive" restaurant tucked away behind a curtain next to the hotel's front desk. The ambiance (posters, tons of graffiti on the walls and gouged into wooden tabletops) is very CBGB, but the food is classic Americana--burgers, fries, milkshakes, plus beer and wine.

The burgers were simple and very good, earning every "best burger in NY" accolade received in those glory days before the advent of the now-ubiquitous Shake Shack.

Much later in the evening, we enjoyed our second dinner at Samwon Garden, in Koreatown. Though it was nearly 10pm on a Sunday, most Korean restaurants in the neighborhood were packed, some with lines. Samwon Garden has multiple levels, so we were able to snag a table and order a few of the more interesting non-bbq items on the menu. The Honguh Kangjung, or deep fried skate wings with housemade Buffalo sauce were crunchy and overcooked and doused in a sauce more sweet than spicy (though it was spicy). Osam Bulgogi was another spicy sweet dish, this time with chewy chunks of squid and morsels of pork belly. The show stopper was a dish listed as a "side" - an enormous plate of fries with kimchi, bulgogi, and cheese curds, rather like a Korean poutine. I'm not crazy about fries in general, but I probably ate more than my fair share of this dish.

The next morning, we wandered around Chinatown in the chill wind, stopping for a porky plate of steamed dumplings at Chi Dumplings before ice cream at Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. I am endlessly amused that the "regular flavors" at this tiny shop include durian and taro, but the "exotic" flavors include chocolate and vanilla.

After ice cream came....pizza! I haven't been to that many pizza joints in NYC, but I did realize that one of my favorites, Pomodoro, was not too far away from where we had wandered. We had a quick vodka slice before heading to the Strand to browse through books.

After the Strand, we found ourselves wanting three things: 1) a place to sit; 2) to pee; 3) something warm. We spotted Max Brenner and found everything we ever wanted. 

And churros with milk chocolate, caramel, and raspberry dips. Lattes on the side. So good and so welcome.

We left the city later that afternoon, full of happy food memories and already planning our next visit.

Mandoo Bar
2 W 32nd St
New York, NY 10001

Mr Bing
Urbanspace Vanderbilt
230 Park Ave
New York, NY 10169

Mian Kitchen
1065 Ave Of The Americas
Ste 2400
New York, NY 10018

Waffles & Dinges
Bryant Park
6th Avenue & W 42nd St
New York, NY 10018

Burger Joint
Parker New York
119 W 56th St
New York, NY 10019

Morgenstern's
88 W Houston Street
New York, NY 10012

Samwon Garden
37 W 32nd St
New York, NY 10001

Chi Dumpling House
77 Chrystie St # A
New York, NY 10002

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
5 Bayard St
New York, NY 10013

Pomodoro
51 Spring St
New York, NY 10012

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Gaonnuri

As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, I stayed in Koreatown when I was in NY for Fashion Week. Despite all the tempting offerings that surrounded my hotel, I kept my consumption of Korean food to one meal. And what a meal it was!

Gaonnuri is on the 39th floor of a building at 32nd and Broadway. The sweeping views of the city are only somewhat distracting from the excellent food. With a menu full of tempting Korean dishes like haemul pajun (scallion and seafood pancake) and japchae (stir fried glass noodles) plus the option of tableside barbecue, I had a hard time making decisions. I wanted it all, so that's what I had - the tasting menu. Eight courses, including dessert, plus an amuse bouche. Washed down with Hite beer.

The rather bland amuse was a thin rice porridge, perhaps to clean the palate of any previously consumed flavors.

PORK TROTTER NAENG-CHE 족발 냉채

Thinly Sliced Steamed Pork Trotter Wrap With Vegetables And Soy Mustard Dressing

If I didn't know this dish was pork, I would have thought it was beef. The medium-thin slices were served chilled, and were somewhat difficult to eat with chopsticks and a spoon (traditional Korean tableware). I managed. The dish, though meaty, was a light and refreshing start to the meal.

DUMPLING SOUP 만두국

Steamed Dumpling Soup With Mushroom

Two kinds of Korean dumplings and shredded beef and egg floated in an intensely beefy consomme-style broth. I'd take this over won ton soup any time.

MODUM JUN 모듬전

Pancake Sampler – Oyster, Perilla Leaf With Pork, Beef Shortrib

I'm most familiar with crispy, lightly greasy, haemul pajun and we almost always order the seafood and scallion pancake when we eat Korean food. I was not at all familiar with the three varieties served in this course. None were crispy, and the oyster and perilla/pork versions reminded me more of omelets than pancakes. The beef one, wanja jun, was similar to a meatball. Or in the case of my pancake of ground shortrib, beef tartare. The outside was browned, but the inside was close to rare. It was mildly seasoned, so the beef flavor shone. I think it was my favorite of the three.

GALBI JJIM 갈비찜

Traditional Korean Braised Prime Shortribs

One normally finds galbi (or kalbi) in cut in thin slices across several bones, but at Gaonnuri, the short ribs were western-style, served in big meaty chunks, off the bone. Easily the best short ribs I have ever eaten, the meat had a perfect fat-to-meat ratio, and were melt in the mouth tender, with that lovely sweet galbi flavor. Gorgeous.

BLACK COD GUI 은대구 구이

Broiled Black Cod in Caramelized Bean Paste Sauce

If you've ever tried misoyaki butterfish at restaurants like Morimoto or Roy's, then you have an idea of what the black cod gui was like -- tender, very fresh fish with a sweet, caramelized skin. A little bean paste and gochujang on the side could be employed to add variety to individual bites, and the lightly cured kimchi added tartness to the dish.

SEAFOOD DOLSOT BIBIMBAP 해물 돌솥 비빔밥

Mixed Rice With Seafood And Vegetable Served In Hot Stone Bowl AND

DOENJANG JJIGAE 된장찌개

Korean Bean Paste Stew With Beef, Tofu & Vegetables

I love dolsot bibimbap, a dish of rice with vegetables and protein served in a sesame oil-slicked screaming-hot stone bowl. The bowl and oil lightly fry the rice, making for mouthfuls of varying textures once the ingredients are stirred together. This version had shrimp, squid, and a little fish roe, and it was as good or better than any other I've tried. The final savory dish, served at the same time, was a lightly spicy stew with chunks of zucchini, beef, and tofu, and also among the best versions I've tried. A big bowl of it would be a great choice on a blustery night, warming and soothing.

A LA MODE 된장찌개

Frangipane-Apple Galette, Huckleberry Compote, Mascarpone Ice Cream

By the time dessert arrived, I was stuffed, so I couldn't do the lovely crisp apple galette justice. I felt the huckleberry compote to be a little on the sweet side, but otherwise I enjoyed the few bites I was able to eat.

All that for $105, with an amazing view of the city. I'd definitely do it again (and take Mr Minx along for the ride).

Gaonnuri
1250 Broadway
Penthouse, 39th Floor
New York, NY 10001
212. 971. 9045



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Pork, Kimchi, & Dr. Pepper. Or, How to Take an Idea and Make It Your Own.

Yum yum - don't those look delicious?  And they were. The general recipe for these ribs came from Bryan Voltaggio's new book, Home: Recipes to Cook with Family and Friends. It's a very nice book with lots of interesting and not overly-complicated recipes (quite a change from the very chef-fy VOLT ink, his book with brother Michael). This recipe is so simple, in fact, there are only five ingredients: pork spareribs, kimchi, Dr Pepper, ketchup, and scallions.

The recipe is written for a pressure cooker, but since not everyone has one of those hanging around the house, there are also directions for baking the ribs. Rather than the 15 mins for a pressure cooker, oven cooking takes 3 hours at 300°F. For both versions, the ribs, soda, and kimchi are dumped into the cooking vessel. Simple, right?

The recipe's instructions are pretty simple, too. Once the ribs are cooked, the cooking liquid is poured off, the kimchi reserved and kept warm in a separate pot. The liquid should be cooked down with the addition of 1/4 cup of ketchup, to make a glaze. The ribs are then browned on a grill, glazed with the sauce, and served with the kimchi on the side. Easy, peasy. Except....

I don't know how much liquid comes off of the ribs in a pressure cooker, but the oven method produces well over a quart of various pork juices and fat. And I didn't even use the recommended amount of kimchi. The recipe calls for two 30-ounce jars. That's 3 3/4 POUNDS of kimchi. My supermarket had only two 16-ounce jars; I thought that was plenty. There's no mention of salt in the recipe; I'm guessing the massive amount of kimchi was going to supply that element, so I salted the ribs before cooking them. Now what to do with all of that liquid, which tasted nice and porky, with a light cabbag-y element that reminded me of my Polish grandmother's cooking. I decided to keep a cup of it, which I defatted with ice cubes. I didn't think a mere 1/4 cup of ketchup would make much impact, so I upped it to 1/2 cup, added a bit more Dr Pepper, plus 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and, because the kimchi is a Korean thing, a heaping tablespoon of gochujang. I also tossed in an entire bunch of scallions, chopped. After this sauce boiled for a few minutes to a nice thick consistency, I gave the scallions a whiz with a hand blender to make a chunky sauce redolent of meat, sweet, and heat.

Rather than firing up our charcoal grill for about 10 minutes of cooking, I put the ribs under the broiler, instead. Browned them on both sides first, then brushed them with my sauce for a final broil. The result was pretty delicious. There was no obviously Korean flavoring to them, despite the kimchi and gochujang. Perhaps if I had added a bit of sesame oil and a bunch of garlic to the sauce, but I didn't want to risk burning the oil during broiling. Yuck. The cooked kimchi itself had lost a lot of its oomph, but was still tasty. I had been slightly skeptical that the ribs would come out with much flavor at all, being that they hadn't been dry-rubbed the day before, but they had absorbed a good deal of the kimchi's garlic flavor.

I think that if I make this recipe again, I'd do it with baby backs, which are far less-fatty and easier to work with, since they are so much smaller and don't require any trimming. I'd use my tried-and-true Alton Brown method of dry-rubbing and foil-wrapping the ribs the day before, except instead of a dry rub, I'd puree the kimchi with some of the Dr Pepper to make a paste and allow the ribs to marinate in that overnight before adding more soda for the final cooking. Will let you know how that goes if and when it happens.

In the meantime, I have to figure out what to do with a pint of leftover cooked kimchi.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Bo Ssam (ish)

My brother suggested I make a bo ssam for Easter dinner. Only he didn't really want bo ssam. He just wanted the pork butt. Bo ssam means "wrapped" or "packaged," so the real thing needs to be served with lettuce or cabbage leaves. But I didn't want to go through the trouble of washing and drying lettuce, so didn't even purchase it. Which is why this post has (ish) in the title. It's actually just Momofuku-style pork butt.

In any case, it was delicious. And it's amazing how much pork five people can put away. We decimated that thing in about 45 minutes. Sure, there was a giant Flintstonian bone in it, but we still managed to eat more than half the meat. Plus jarred kimchi and homemade brussels sprout kimchi and lots of rice. And dessert.

Oink.

Bo Ssam (ish) (adapted from Momofuku)

1 whole bone-in pork butt (8 to 10 pounds)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
5 tablespoons brown sugar

Put the butt into a foil lined baking pan just large enough to hold it (it should fit snugly). Combine the white sugar and salt and rub it all over the pork butt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Discard plastic wrap, make sure butt is skin-side-up in the pan, and roast for about 6 hours, until it's fork tender. Remove pork from the oven. The skin should be a crispy sheet at this point. Lift it; scrape out and discard any soft white fat still under the skin. Put the skin back down, schmear with the brown sugar, and put under the broiler until the sugar melts. Watch carefully so it doesn't burn. If it does, no worries - just scrape off the burnt parts. The skin will still be edible and have a nice caramelly flavor to it.

Serve with white rice and kimchi. Make some dipping sauces if you are so inclined. A combination of miso, gochujang, and sherry vinegar loosened up with a bit of oil is nice. And if you want to eat it properly, have some lettuce or napa cabbage leaves available in which to wrap a bit of pork, some skin, kimchi, and sauce.

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Korean Baby Back Ribs

Believe it or not, I think baby back ribs are one of the easiest and tastiest things to prepare for a weekend dinner. Note that I did not use the words "fastest" or "quickest"--the process is rather time-consuming. However, the actual work is pretty simple. Normally I'll put together a dry rub (or get Mr Minx to do it) and apply it to the ribs the night before. The next day, the ribs get a dose of moisture in the form of juice or even soda and spend several hours lounging in a slow oven. Once the meat is fork tender, it gets slathered in sauce for a trip under the broiler.

I find slightly charred barbecue sauce to be a delightful scent. Someone needs to make a candle. But not Yankee Candle.

Oven braised bbq ribs are a perfect lazy weekend dish. As long as I don't make a lot of sides, it affords me free time to catch up on my reading or knitting or whatever. (Napping, too.) And two giant racks of ribs for two people means a week's worth of leftovers. Or two dinners for us plus enough left over to bribe my brother into watching the dog while we head off to a media event in Frederick.

I was feeling in a Korean food mood (as often happens) so I designed the dry rub and sauce with that in mind. To my palate, Korean food is all about sweet, garlic, and heat. The dry rub includes all three elements in the form of brown sugar, garlic powder, and kochukaru, or Korean red pepper flakes. The sauce also incorporates those flavors, plus the tang of rice vinegar and the toasty mustiness of sesame oil.

I put some jarred kimchi into the sauce because we had it. (It's available in the refrigerated produce section of Giant and other supermarkets, believe it or not.) If you don't want to invest in a jar, then just add another garlic clove and some chopped scallions to the sauce.

I make ribs fairly often, and I think this is my favorite version to date.

Oven-Baked Baby Backs with Korean Flavors

For rub:
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons kochukaru (Korean pepper flakes)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

For sauce:
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 cup kimchi, chopped (or 1 clove of garlic and 3 whole scallions)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 heaping teaspoon grated fresh ginger
6 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
2 heaping tablespoons gochujang
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

For ribs:
2 racks baby back ribs, 6-7 lbs total weight
1/2 cup apple juice

To make the rub: Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Reserve three tablespoons for glaze.

Remove the thin membrane that covers the concave side of each rack of ribs. You can do this by grasping one end with a paper towel and pulling. If you're lucky, it'll come off in one sheet. (Like this.)

Place a sheet of aluminum foil on a large rimmed baking sheet and set close by.

Tear two large sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, each large enough to hold one of the racks, with several inches of overhang on all four sides. Place the foil sheets, one on top of the other, on the counter in front of you, horizontally. Place one rack of ribs on the top sheet; coat the top and bottom of the ribs with half of the rub, pressing it into the meat. Take the top and bottom edges of the foil and bring them together over the ribs like a tent. Fold the edges together and roll them down towards the meat to make a package. Roll the open sides of the package up toward the center to seal all sides. Your package should look like this. Repeat with other rack of ribs. Place both wrapped packages on the prepared baking sheet.

Refrigerate ribs for 6 hours or overnight.

To make the sauce: Cook the onion over medium heat in a bit of oil and pinch of salt for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Add the kimchi, garlic, and ginger. Stir to combine and let cook for an additional couple of minutes. Add the brown sugar, gochujang, soy, and rice vinegar. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Let sauce thicken a bit, then remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Use an immersion blender to make a mostly smooth sauce. Place sauce into a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.

To cook the ribs: Preheat oven to 250°F.

Remove ribs from the fridge. Gently unroll one short end on each foil package. Pour a quarter cup of apple juice into each, and re-roll the ends. Keeping the packets on the rimmed baking sheet, put the whole thing into the oven.

Cook 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until meat is fork tender.

Remove tray from oven and turn on the broiler. Gently unroll one end of each package and pour out the liquid. (Carefully - it will be very hot!) Place the ribs on a foil-lined baking sheet and brush the top side liberally with the glaze. Broil for 5-8 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and charred in spots. Remove meat from broiler, brush with more glaze, and repeat broiling.

Serves 6-8



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Bulgogi-style Chicken and Kimchi Pancakes

Long, long ago, I had my first taste of Korean food. My Dad, who is usually up for anything, decided that we needed to try the new Korean restaurant in Towson. Sadly, my young palate was not ready for the bold combination of spicy and sweet plus garlic, and I swore it off for many years. After I moved to Towson, well into my adult years, I thought I'd give Korean food another try. And what do you know--I loved it.

Mr Minx and I soon became regulars at that Towson Korean restaurant. Until it closed. A sad day.

Sometimes we venture out to a Korean restaurant in Ellicott City (like Honey Pig), but mostly we make Korean food at home. It's not difficult, and the results are super flavorful. And it helps that gochujang paste can be found in some supermarkets (those that carry Annie Chung products), as can kimchi (in the refrigerated produce section; Giant has it). Otherwise, there are plenty of Asian supermarkets in the Baltimore area (H Mart, Lotte, Great Wall) that have the ingredients you'll need.

Typically bulgogi is made with beef, but one can occasionally find it made with chicken. That's what I had in the freezer, so that's what I used. And I just happened to have a jar of kimchi in the fridge! Kimchi, even the Americanized stuff, is highly seasoned. However, don't skip the salt in the pancakes because you think the kimchi is salty enough. The rest of the ingredients are bland, so you'll need the extra seasoning to take care of the veggies and the batter. When I say "bland," I don't mean "not spicy." Even mild kimchi is quite hot, and so is the gochujang. If you're not into a lot of heat, skip the gochugaru in the bulgogi.

Bulgogi-style Chicken and Kimchi Pancakes

For the chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons gochujang
1 teaspoon gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 scallions, chopped

For the pancakes:
1 cup cabbage kimchi
1 cup chopped or julienned vegetables of your choice (I used thin asparagus but you can use carrot, regular cabbage, broccoli)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 scallions, finely chopped
Vegetable oil for frying

For the chicken: Slice the chicken into strips, removing any excess fat.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat in the marinade. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.

For the pancakes: Pour the juice off the kimchi and reserve. Add enough water to the juice to equal one cup. Finely chop the kimchi.

Combine the flours, salt, egg, and juice-water mixture in a large bowl. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before adding the chopped kimchi, veg, and scallions.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil. When oil is hot, add about 1/4 cup of the batter per pancake to the pan. Spread batter with a spoon to get approximately 5" circles. Cook until bottoms are crispy, then flip and cook other side, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Serves 2-3 with pancakes left over

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Honey Pig

After hearing about the greatness of Honey Pig's Korean bbq, we finally made a pilgrimage on a cloudy Friday afternoon. As soon as we were seated, someone rushed over with dishes of banchan, the little plates of pickles and such one normally gets in a Korean restaurant. Unlike some other places, Honey Pig's selection isn't particularly large, but it hits all the necessary garlick-y/tart/fishy/sweet notes.

As soon as we placed our order for bulgogi and pork belly, another server brought the raw goods to the table. Yet another person dumped the pork belly onto the grill and came back occasionally to turn the meat and rearrange it to optimize cooking. 

Soon everything was cooked, including a side dish of kimchi and beansprouts, and we were able to dig in. 

Both meats were tender and flavorful, possibly the best I've tasted (not that I have that much experience with Korean bbq, but I've eaten it here and there). The seafood pancake, or haemul pajeon, that we ordered as an appetizer came to the table during the Cooking of the Meat. We dug into the pancake's piping hot crispiness immediately. It was full of chewy bits of squid and scallions, and we devoured it.

Everything at Honey Pig was seriously delicious, except maybe the neon yellow lemonade, which was super sweet and artificial tasting. Next time, we'll stick to water. And we'll try other meats, the dumplings, and perhaps one of the soups or a bibimbap.

Honey Pig
10045 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21042
(410) 696-2426




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Homemade Tortillas

I bought a bag of masa flour some time ago, intending to make all manner of yummy Latino foods. What I really wanted to make was corn tortillas, but I didn't have a tortilla press and didn't trust my ability to make perfectly thin and even tortillas without one. I found an inexpensive tortilla press on Amazon and put it on my wish list, but Christmas came and went without it.

So I purchased it for myself. Sheesh, what a gal's gotta do sometimes to keep a food blog going.

One evening, I had no dinner ideas (it happens more often than one might think). We had a fridge full of sundry leftovers and raw veggies and I figured it might be a good time to break out the tortilla press. Hey, pretty much anything can be turned into a taco, as long as there's a protein, a sauce, and a salsa or slaw. (My kitchen, my rule!) The raw veggies were brussels sprouts and sugar snap peas, so I turned them into a kimchi-style slaw. There was leftover pork tenderloin, which became the protein, and a bit of peanut sauce left from making a vegan pizza that I mixed with plain yogurt to make a creamy sauce.

Now I just needed to make the tortillas. And they were a snap. As long as there's a bag of masa in the house, I'll never have to buy corn tortillas again. The dough involves only two ingredients--water and masa flour--and cooking them is a fairly quick process. Homemade tortillas are more tender and more corny-flavored than commercial ones, and if you only make as many as you need, you don't have to worry about a gigundo pack of tortillas getting moldy in your fridge (ugh).

Kimchi
This is just a guideline...and this isn't real kimchi. I'm not Korean so don't go crazy on me.

Trim and slice thinly a pound or so of Brussels sprouts and/or other veg (cabbage, sugar snap peas, bok choy).

In a small bowl, mix 1 or 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1 tablespoon Korean pepper flakes, a couple of squirts of fish sauce, a tablespoon or two of white vinegar, salt, four chopped scallions, a teaspoon or so of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, and a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil. If you have sesame seeds, toast about a tablespoonful in a hot skillet and add to the salad. Mix into veg and taste for seasoning, adding more fish sauce, sugar, salt, vinegar until it tastes balanced to your palate. (After all, you're going to eat it. We're not going after authenticity here.) Cover and refrigerate for at least a couple hours so the brussels sprouts have time to tenderize a bit and the flavors can do their thang.

Homemade Corn Tortillas

1 cup masa harina
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot tap water

Put the masa in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the half cup of water and turn the mixer on to medium power. If the dough just looks like crumbs, add the additional water a tablespoon at a time until the dough forms a ball and completely comes away from the sides of the bowl. The texture of the dough should be like non-sticky cookie dough. If it's sticky, add a little more masa. If it's still crumbly, add a bit more water.

Remove the prepared dough from the mixer bowl and form into 8 balls. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use, but not more than an hour or so.

When ready to cook: heat a cast iron pan or other heavy skillet so a drop of water dances across the surface (crazy hot).

Cut down the sides of a small zip-top plastic bag so it's only connected at the bottom edge. Put one half of the bag down onto your tortilla press. Put a ball of dough on the press, cover with the other side of the bag, and close the press. Open the press...if the tortilla isn't big/thin enough, squeeze again.

Transfer the tortilla from the bag to your right hand (left, if you're left-handed). Slap the tortilla onto the hot pan, making sure not to touch the pan with your hand (the tortilla should fall off your hand before it gets too close). Cook for a minute or so on one side, then use a spatula to flip the tortilla. Cook for another minute. Flip again, then press down on the tortilla with the flat side of the spatula, making it puff up. Flip and press again. After the tortilla has puffed on both sides, transfer it to a plate and cover with a piece of foil, to keep it warm.

Repeat with remaining dough balls.



Posted on Minxeats.com.