0 comments

Salt Encrusted Dungeness Crab



The other day Jared decided to peruse his favorite Japanese cookbook Shunju. The book is all about seasonal cooking. Cooking items that are in season brings out the best flavor. For the winter season, the book emphasized hot pot and seafood meals. One particular dish that intrigued him was the salt encrusted crab. Well any crab recipe pretty much piques his interest. But he felt that this recipe seemed pretty easy. So today, Jared attempted to make his first salt encrusted crab. What is wonderful about encrusting the crab or other type of seafood or fish, is that it traps the flavor within itself as the salt crust forms a steaming vessel. The salt also pulls moisture away from the crab, which intensify the sweet mild flavor of the crab.

Recipe (modified from the book)

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
5lb of fine sea salt (I made the mistake of using coarse salt, which did not hold the crust as tight)
1 dungeness crab (~1.5 lb)
Seaweed (wakame)

Directions:
  • Put the crab in a pot of boiling water for 10 secs to kill it (murderous, I know)
  • Pull the crab out and let it dry.
  • Separate the egg whites and place into a large bowl.
  • Pour all the salt into the bowl and mix with your hand until it is foamy and thick
  • Lay 1/4 of the salt onto a siltpat or parchment paper
  • Wrap the body of the crab with seaweed and place it onto the salt
  • Insert a thermo-probe through the mouth of the crab
  • Take the rest of the salt and completely cover the entire crab.
  • Pack the salt together to form a better crust
  • Pre-heat the oven at 300
  • Bake for 40-50 mins until the thermo probe reaches 125 degrees
  • While baking, use a flat spatula and shape the crust, use the back of the spatula and lightly tap the top to pack in salt for a harder crust
  • Take the crab out and break the salt crust
  • Remove any salt off the crab and serve immediately

This little crab looks sad, yet he was so delicious

Note: To serve, flip the crab on its belly. Remove the flap on the bottom. With a cleaver cut the crab in half and bend the leg together to free it from the shell. Remove the gills from the body and cut into separate pieces. If the roe is nice and orange, do not throw away, but mix it. Add a little soy and use it as a dipping sauce, or spoon it over rice (mmmmh)

And as Alice doesn't like to waste. We saved all the wakame, rinsed it and made seaweed soup to accompany this dish.

Happy Holidays from the Zhao's!
Bookmark and Share

5 comments

Chasu Ramen, "Tonkotsu" Broth

Oh ramen, my dear ramen.

So, one of my food pet peeves is hearing tv or radio commercials reference ramen as the cheap crappy food that college kids survive on. That is NOT ramen. Cup noodles or even maruchan is not even close. It's gross. I refuse to eat it- even if it's 10 cents a packet! Authentic ramen may be the fast food of Japan, but it is also ridiculously good (unlike fast food in the US). Everywhere you go in Japan, you can find ramen stands/shop. Depending on where you are, each region has their own regional specialty. And everyone has their well kept secret on how to make the stock, on the lock down. Unless you marry into a family, you will never learn their secret! There are a few basic types to choose from-soyu ramen (or soy sauce based), miso ramen (miso based) and our favorite shio ramen (flavor with salt) One particular shio ramen is tonkotsu, originated from Hakata region in Fukuoka. The broth is made by simmering pork bones until the stock is white and milky. We had our first taste when we visited Fukuoka a few years back, and that is where I fell in love with real ramen. The bowl of noodles were topped with tons of chopped scallions, minced fried garlic, and a few slices of pork. The soup was so incredibly intense and full bodied. Ever since that experience we have been trying to find that taste back in Chicago.

Its been bitterly cold here in Chicago, so what could be better than making our own chasu ramen to keep us warm. Usually we make the trip to Santouka in Mitsuwa Marketplace in Arlington Heights, which is the closest to the ramen in Japan that you will find here. But rather than fight the traffic, we decided to stay in and make it ourselves. Jared has attempted many times to get the stock white and milky. But not having a huge vat of bones that simmers for days on end, it is difficult to make the soup at home. In the past, Jared was able to get the soup white, but lacked the body. So this time, he cheated and added a few ingredients to get the taste, texture and color. The thick milky broth was satisfying and flavorful with every slurp, but we are still a ways to go before opening up a ramen joint. Plus, I could tell that he had cheated! So until we have perfect the recipe, we will refrain from putting it up. But if you know how to make authentic tonkotsu ramen, please do share with us. =)

We didn't make them, but bought the raw ramen noodles from our local Asian market

Pork belly simmered in soy, mirin, sake, ginger and a little five spice powder. Jared has gotten really good at making this!

And lunch is served, with tons of raw minced garlic, scallions and sliced pork belly

We leave you with a clip from the quintessential Japanese comedy film about ramen, Tampopo.
Bookmark and Share

9 comments

Happy 1st Bloggiversary to Us!

Exactly one year ago yesterday, Jared and I started Eat a Duck I Must! Our original goal was simply to document all the great dishes Jared cooks for us. Our first post was a one sentence "poem" accompanied by what now seems to us a horrendous photo of Oden. This was looooooong before we really knew how to photograph and properly light food. One year and many hard learned lessons later, we have decided to recreate and re-photograph a bowl of oden for fun.

Oden 12/13/2008

Oden 12/13/2009

And, we thought we'd also highlight some of our favorite posts from our first year here at Eat a Duck I Must!

This was the first post to make it on to Tastespotting. We danced an outrageously silly happy jig when we saw our photo appear on page 1. We absolutely love this photo and even have it framed in our kitchen!

Do I really need to explain this? It was a once in a lifetime chance to dine at French Laundry. We also rented the Canon 85mm L lens and took it with us on our trip to California. This is when we first started to fall in love with photography.

What started out as a small impromptu seafood dinner ended up being a gluttonous meal and probably resulted in some temporary high cholesterol levels. It also made it's way on reddit.com and whoever it was that posted it, THANK YOU!!!

Jared got a couple large packets of powders for molecular gastronomy as a Christmas gift last year. After playing around for a couple months, he finally invented this amazing Grilled Watermelon Salad dish.

We were both given the chance to go to the Foodbuzz Community Table dinner which was held at Tru. We not only had a fabulous meal, but we also met several local food bloggers which is always my favorite aspect of running this blog.

Jared traded his PS3 for a sashimi knife, the Watanabe Yanagi. He pretty much developed his love for handcrafted Japanese knives that same weekend.

This is a dish Jared had been developing in his mind for a while and finally sat down to do it. It was one of the most luxurious things he has ever made at home and he was extremely extremely proud. (and I am too!)

In some ways, this blog has pushed us to pursue greater things. I am pretty sure that had we not been writing this blog and developing our photography the way we have been for the last year, we would not have considered attempting to meet a someone of such a high calibur.

Fate + Twitter brought Bee of RasaMalaysia.com and us together. We bonded over our posts on our trip to Penang (her hometown). After which, she invited us to write a guest post for her. At this point, we knew we could only give her the best- a secret family recipe for crispy pork belly. Um, you're welcome folks!

This past year has brought us a lot of amazing opportunities, broadened our culinary palettes and definitely made us better photographers. It's been a crazy ride and THANK YOU for sticking with us so far. Here's to another great year- Cheers!
Bookmark and Share

5 comments

ZSAT: Osaka, Endo Sushi (ゑんどう寿司)

Our final major food stop on our ZSAT 2009 (Zhao Super Asia Trip) landed us at back in Osaka and at Endo Sushi. We heard a lot about Endo Sushi from a few sources. The restaurant is located next to Osaka's central market- which is Osaka's equivalent to Tsujiki market in Tokyo. Being right next to the market ensures fresh fish and although the restaurant is a little out of the way from the city, it is totally worth it.

This sushi place has a long history since it's opening in 1907. What is so unique about their sushi is that rice used is hot when shaped and warm when it arrives. This keeps the rice soft and light and crumbles in your mouth as you eat it. Also, you will notice a bowl of soy sauce with a brush on the table. The communal bowl is shared by its patrons. And with each brush of soy onto the fish, the oil and flavor from the fish goes back into the soy. With time, the soy sauce develops its own flavor. This can be seen by the layer of sheen on the sauce. Also brushing the soy onto the fish is the correct way to eat sushi. Never dip the rice into the soy sauce, as it will cause the rice to break and will be too salty to eat.



You can order any type of fish you want, but I would recommend that you order the chef's selection (Omakaze). For 1000 yen, you will get 5 pieces of nigiri, but one out of the five will be an Otoro piece!!! After 5 plates, you would've sampled all of the fish of the day. Most people usually stop after 3 plates (including me). But Jared made it all the way to 5. If there is a particular piece you liked during your sampling, you can order that. I would recommend just getting the Otoro, it is out of this world. We never had Otoro this fresh and this good. The tuna literally melts in your mouth and you can really taste the fattiness of the fish. Every time he describes this meal, Jared always says that Endo has ruined any future sushi eating experiences for him back home. Nothing in Chicago could possibly compare to quality in Japan. This meal was utterly defining. And yes, we dream about this Otoro, too.

The plate in the center had the most marbled Otoro, it literally melted in our mouth. mmmmh




Along with their sushi, they also offer a bowl of clam miso soup. The soup has a nice sweet taste and very flavorful as it is packed with small clams.


The chef came by and we of course had to take this photographic opportunity!



To get here:

1. take a train to Tamagawa station (s12 on the Sennichimae line)
2. take exit 3 or exit 6 from the station
3. walk straight down the road until you see a large market/warehouse on your right. there will also be a carpark. If you cross over the river, you have gone too far.
4. the shop is at the end of the carpark to the left of the market itself. You will see a blue banner with Endo written in Japanese.

They are open from Mon-Sat 5am to 2pm, and closed on Sundays and Holidays

大阪市福島区野田1-1-86
AM5:00～PM2:00　（日曜、祝日休み）
Tel: 06-6469-7108
Fax: 06-6469-7125
info@endo-sushi.com

And as an added bonus- here's an instructional video spoof on how to eat at a sushi bar :) Cracks me up every time.

Labels:
Bookmark and Share

8 comments

ZSAT: Kyoto + a Chance Food Blogger Meetup!

We had exactly one day in Kyoto and it was a long and amazing day! We started it by meeting up with Marc Matsumoto of NoRecipes and Stephane Lemagnen of ZenCanCook (who both happened to be in Kyoto at the same time) for lunch at Komameya. Komameya is a small chain that serves Kyoto cuisine and all the items included Yuba, or the curd from soy milk. We've never had fresh yuba before, so this was the time to try it.

We ordered the set meal which came with a variety of items made from yuba. I like the fried yuba the best. Most of the dishes are pretty mild to showcase the taste and flavor of the yuba. Man, I really love tofu. They even sell yuba ice cream here, but seeing that it was the middle of fall and the ice cream machine was sitting outside the restaurant, we didn't ask for any.

With our stomaches filled, we decided to walk off lunch and headed over to the Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion. Three years ago, Jared and I went to the Golden Pavilion, but we figured this time we were better equipped with a fancy camera and lens. We ended up with some great shots- a big improvement from the last time, I must say!


It was a perfect day for photos- the sky was extremely blue with very few clouds

Afterwards we headed to the the Ryoanji, with the famous zen rock garden.


We accomplished something of a photo trifecta: ZenChef in a Zen Garden, being Zen.

Marc seemed to always be behind the camera. Somehow this was the only picture I took of him!

On our plane ride to Japan we read about the Fire Festival, north of Kyoto and the four of us were excited to go. This was an interesting experience to say the least. It was nearing dinner time so we thought we'd grab some dinner at the festival. We crammed into a train that seemed to only inch along the tracks. An hour later we exited the train only to stand in another line to check out the fire festival. It was extremely crowded and we were herded through like cattle. It was all a bit anticlimactic, not to mention the lack of food. To sum it up from a foreigner's muted and uninformed viewpoint, it was a bunch of people carrying around huge torches. Some people showed their tushes... others did not. Am I wrong here? Even the Japanese folks behind us were complaining about the lack of excitement and the long wait! (as Marc translated for us) We were famished and tired of standing for hours on end so we decided to leave. But when we got to the "exit" of the festival we realized that in order to leave, we had to stand in yet another long line just to get back onto the train to take us back to Kyoto. Sigh.


So you could only imagine our relief when we finally made it to our dinner destination, another meal that Jared and I were most looking forward to on this whole entire trip. We've been dreaming about yakitori in Kyoto since the day we got back from Japan 3 years ago. Forget French Laundry, forget Alinea. We'd rather have ... yakitori.

We read about Torito via KyotoFoodie's blog. I almost cried when we found out the restaurant was full when we arrived. But let me tell you, this meal was worth the wait (and the agony!)

Torito sign

Jared and Marc looking over the menu.

Before we could even look at the menu, we requested 4 ice cold glasses of beer. STAT. Only after we took our first extremely long gulp could we even look at the menu.

So they have a "secret" menu. Well it's the secret menu if you can only read English. Their "secret" menu is just their normal menu in Japanese :) And only on their "secret" menu is Chicken Sashimi (Toritsukuri). I guess foreigners are not inclined to try it, so they left it out of the English menu. This was the one item Jared really wanted to try while in Japan, also makes for a good conversation starter back home. ;)

Mmmmh, grilled mature chicken neck, gizzards, skin and fried skin. There were a few other dishes that we didn't get to photograph. But wow, you can really taste the binchotan (type of charcoal) in the chicken and that is a good thing. All the food was seasoned perfectly and grilled to perfection. I am not exaggerating. You can't help but close your eyes after tasting every single piece. As a warning, if you do eat here, come early. By the time we arrived around 9pm most of the skewers were sold out. I think we cleaned out the rest of their daily supply of yakitori!

So then we moved on to the chicken sashimi. And here came the moment of truth. IT TASTED WAY MORE DELICIOUS THAN IT LOOKS!!!! The liver was creamy and fat, not a hint of the typical gritty cooked liver taste. I've been describing it to everyone as uni-like. Delicious! I could have eaten so much more. The center breast meat was sweet and tender. If you didn't know it wasn't fish, they could of served it on rice and called it nigiri- and we'd all be none the wiser. The heart, on the other hand, was a little crunchy and did not have much flavor. You were given two dipping sauces, soy and wasabi or salt and sesame seed oil. We preferred the salt and oil.

And the chicken meatball. It was so incredibly tender and they also gave us an egg yolk for dipping. Heavenly. We tried to savor each and every bite. If only I could have brought this stuff home with me.... I will remember this meal until pretty much my next trip to Japan.

We said our goodbyes to Marc and Stephane as they needed to get up super early the next morning for an epic day of their own. You can read Stephane's account of it (which we are TOTALLY jealous of).

On our way back to our ryokan, Jared and I walked through Gion. I love love love this area, it's streets are completely preserved and pristine. You feel like you've stepped into a Japan of centuries past. This is also the best place to catch sight of a real working geisha. We actually saw several but they were... working. It seemed a little inappropriate to get a picture of them with their guests ;) So we settled for night shots.

No pictures of geishas, but the hubs looks like he's in a movie poster!

The next morning we stopped by the temple near Gion for a couple pics before we made our way back to Osaka.


We walked through Gion one last time to see it during the day. I have only seen it at night- AND we saw the cutest puppy of all time :)


And here I am trying to be artsy one last time :)

We wish we had more time to spend in Kyoto, but we loved every minute of it (well perhaps not the 4 hours we spent standing in crowded areas). Regardless, I heart Kyoto!
Labels:
Bookmark and Share
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)