Parsi Tomato Chutney

This is another recipe from the the shift.com. And apparently this one has changed quite a number of hands before landing to shift.com. As they put it this recipe is "derived from My Bombay Kitchen, a collection of Parsi home recipes by Niloufer Ichaporia King, by way of The Traveler's Lunchbox, by way of The Wednesday Chef, who says, "I could almost guarantee that you will find yourself hoarding it, instead of giving it away as you might think you would after lining up all your neatly-filled crimson jars just after filling them."

Niloufer Ichaporia King's Parsi Tomato Chutney
Source: The Traveler's Lunchbox
Makes about four 8- to 10-ounce jars; recipe can easily be doubled

3 pounds (1.5 kilos) ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup finely-julienned peeled ginger (about one 2.5-inch/6-cm-long piece)
1/2 cup thinly-sliced garlic (about one large head)
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) cider vinegar
1/2 to 1 cup (75 to 150 grams) raisins (optional)
2 cups (400 grams) turbinado sugar
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 small cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt


Photos courtesy of shift.com © All rights reserved.

1. Open a window or two in your kitchen. Place all the ingredients in a heavy nonreactive pot and, over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, stirring well. Continue to cook, stirring every five to seven minutes (more frequently towards the end of the cooking time), until the chutney has the consistency of a soft jam, about an hour. Be careful not to scorch the chutney.

2. While the chutney is cooking, sterilize four or five glass jars and lids in boiling water or a hot oven. When the chutney has finished cooking, ladle it carefully into the clean jars and quickly screw on the lids. Turn the jars upside-down to cool. If you plan to eat the chutney within a few weeks of making it, there's no need to can it; simply keep it in the fridge.

Steamed sea bass. Chinese style.

One of my favorite dishes to order at Chinese restaurants in Chinatown is steamed fish. The fish is usually really fresh, coming either from the fish tanks within the restaurant or from the abundant Ctown's fish mongers. I'm convinced that this is the only way to order fish, as the recipe is a relatively healthy one - it doesn't have any of those mysterious gooey sauces and you actually know what type of fish you're eating.

It is also a very easy and quick recipe to replicate at home. It takes about 15-20 minutes to make, including prep time. You will need however either one of those Chinese wooden steamers or a wide enough pot with a steamer rack. The rack can be picked up at any Chinese store that sells cooking appliances for about $3. The good thing about Chinatown is that everything is cheap and nearby. And you can buy all of your supplies in a matter of an hour.

First thing you need to do is find a shop that has the freshest fish. For this recipe I like to use sea bass, which is easy to find. This is a great fish because it is not bony, has beautiful white flesh with a good amount of meat and mild flavor. If you order this dish in a restaurant the chances are you will be given a choice between sea bass or flounder, which is absolutely delicious but is often frozen.

So to the way to pick out the freshest fish is, first of all, not to be afraid to get your hands a little dirty. Don't ask the guy to give you one, select it yourself. Step right up to the counter and start touching. There're four things to look for.

1. Size. I like them at about 2lb or 12-14" including head and tail, so I can fit them in my pot.
2. Clearest eyes. Fish eyes tend to cloud and become milky-white if the fish has been lying there for too long.
3. The flesh should be firm and bounce back when you press it with your finger.
And finally, probably the most important sign,
4. Lift one of the gils, it should be healthy, dark red. If the gils have brown tint, the fish is not fresh.

Now ask the guy to gut it and clean the scales. Normally you would steam it with the head attached, but if that's not how you roll, tell him to cut it off as well. Then you need peanut oil ( or use a mix of vegetable oil and sesame seed oil), good quality rice vinegar, some good soy sauce (I prefer Premium Dark kind, it's more concentrated and you can use less of it so it's not that salty). You can get some Chinese cooking rice wine to marinate the fish, but I have tried without it and can barely tell the difference. You need some cilantro, green scallions, ginger and garlic.

Here it is in more detail:
1 sea bass - 2lb, about 14" long. Gutted and scales cleaned.
1/4 cup of peanut oil
1/3 cup of light rice vinegar
2 large cloves of garlic, cut into thin strips
Same amount of ginger, cut into thin strips
Half a cup of cilantro, coarsely minced
3 whole stalks of young green scallion
3 stalks of scallion cut into 2 inch segments on an angle and halved



First wash the fish, pat it dry and set it on a plate. With a sharp knife make quick diagonal slashes across one side of the fish, taking care not to cut too deep. Slice garlic and ginger, take a pinch and spread it inside the fish's gut. Drizzle some of the vinegar over the fish and let it stand while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Meanwhile, place the steam rack in your pot, pour some water in so there's about an inch of space between the surface and the rack. Bring water to a boil. When the water is rolling, reduce the heat, take three whole stalks of the scallion, cutting off and discarding the softest green tops, and place the scallions diagonally across the steam rack. This will prevent the fish from sticking to the rack. Finally, carefully place the fish on top of the scallions, making sure the fish rests comfortably and the entire surface is straight and even. Cover the pot, bring it to an even boil and let it steam for about 5-7 minutes.



Meanwhile, pour the oil into a small sauce pan and heat it over medium heat, until the oil starts to crackle and there's a whiff of just a slight smoke. Reduce the heat to a minimum and check your fish. You can tell the fish is ready when the diagonal cuts open up and the flesh is uniformly white. Turn off the heat under the fish and carefully, using a spatula and taking care not to tear the fish appart, transfer it into a large plate, large enough to accomodate the sause. When that's done, sprinkle the rest of the garlic, sliced scallions, ginger and cilantro over the fish. Take the heated oil and very carefully pour it over the fish. There will be crackling and slight splattering as the oil comes in contact with the fish's skin, crisping it. When the oil is poured take the soy sauce and the rest of the vinegar and drizzle over the fish. It's done.

One note about serving the fish. You will need two table spoons. Use a side of one spoon to cut across the spine of the fish, while lifting the meat off the bone. Use the second spoon to help you separate the bones as you fillet the fish and flip it butterfly open. Lift the spine with the attached bones, it should separate right off, and discard it. Check for renegade bones along the spine and pour the sauce over the meat.

Pure Thai Shophouse

766 Ninth Ave
purethaishophouse.com

Some people call the stretch of Ninth Ave between 56th and 42nd streets, a little Thailand. And it's true that there's at least one and perhaps more Thai joints on nearly every block. But you realize very soon that most of those are either tourist trap versions of what the Thai may think Americans must think of Thailand and Thai food, or mini fast food chains with food akin Chinese greasy-spoon take-outs but more saccharine if not nauseatingly sweet. (Yes, I am talking about you Yum-Yum Bangkok I, and II, and III, and IV, and V).

It would have been a complete waste if it wasn't for some rare exceptions. Won Dee Siam, the one between 52nd & 53rd, and uber trendy Room Service have been satisfying my Thai food cravings with consistently solid if slightly generic menu. Until recently, that is.

Pure Thai Shophouse has opened it's doors in October 2010, and right away became a place to go for excellent and authentic Thai food. As soon as the construction scaffolding came down you could sense the difference. The restaurant brakes the mold with tasteful storefront design that includes a simple type marquee, surrounded by iridescent bulbs, and a sign featuring an iconic elephant. Inside shows the same degree of restraint and good taste. To recreate a feeling of an authentic Bangkok noodle shop the designers used unfinished wooden boards for the walls and old corrugated metal sheets for the ceiling. Not without a number of cute gimmicks, such as pulley suspended tip bucket, Pure is an exercise in maximizing space without sacrificing comfort and functionality, and good taste.


Photo courtesy of Lush Life Productions. © All rights reserved Lush Life Productions

Curiously enough, the design and concept of the place reminded me of one of my other favorite spots called Recipe, on Amsterdam Ave on the Upper West Side. Although entirely different - Recipe serves a version of new American cuisine, with some excellent terrines and pickled vegetables, they both make use of vintage styling and found objects and both of their menus hark back to the do-it-yourself country grocery ethos. As I later found out to my surprise, David who owns and is an executive chef at Pure, also owns Recipe.

But what about the food you ask? Well, in short, It's excellent. To me, it's one of the best restaurants in the city. Period. No matter the cuisine. The combination of taste-to-price-to-quality is simply unbeatable.

First hint that it's not your regular Thai is the amount and power of spice these guys use. They love chilly, and don't try to modify the recipe to appeal to a broader crowd. The waitress will warn you however if the dish is spicy, and her spicy is VERY spicy. She will also love you afterwards if you have enough balls finish it.

Pure does offer some of the Thai stand-bys such as Pad Thai and Pad See Ew. But if you are in the mood for noodles, skip those and head straight for the house specialty - Ratchabury. These home-made egg noodles, a family recipe by the way, come flawlessly cooked with slices of pork and real crab meat in light and fragrant broth. Order it with a poached egg on top.

But I would strongly recommend exploring more original items on the menu. We all had Green Papaya Salad, right? Not really, until you try it at Pure. It's spicy and tangy and explodes with fiery chilly flavor. It comes with dry shrimp, as a true green papaya salad should. But ask to include a salted blue crab (+$2), and you're in for a real treat. The crab is marinated raw in fish sauce, cracked, its top shell removed, and tossed on top of the pile of green papaya. As you suck on the creamy salty flesh, trying to put out the flames in your mouth and, at the same time, shedding tears that are 50% pain and 50% bliss, you're already planning your next meal here. Because that dish is addictive.

Equally addictive and, probably the spiciest item on the menu, is Wok Chili Turmeric With Beef. I have tried a similar dish at Jitlada in LA. There it's called dry curry beef and is a recipe LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold swears by. To my taste Pure's version is better - the balance between the flavors of green peppercorns, kaffir lime, turmeric and hot chilly is mind boggling. Literally. It feels like it burns direct pathways to your brain's addiction centers. You suffer with every bite, but unable to stop. And it's hard to tell wether the speed with which you devour the dish relates to it's actual taste or more to your desire to extinguish the heat engulfing your whole being sooner.

Another fantastic dish on the menu, albeit not spicy at all, is Fried Rice With Lump Crab Meat. This too is a true masterpiece, as I have never tasted rice that fluffy yet chewy, and ingredients so flavorful that you want to just scoop it up with a spoon. For extra kick ask a waitress for a mix of fish sauce and fresh green chillies. And it's guaranteed to send you to heaven.

The wait staff is great and attentive and specials change every three days. Pure bliss this place is.

Grilled Steak. A Good One.

Photo : Guilt MANual


From my friends at the MANual.
Step-by-step instruction for a not so usual take on a grilled steak.
Hint: it involves arugula, and parmesan.

Cuts of Meat

This is a helpful article that i am reprinting without permission but with a plug, from the MANual.

Shell Steak: Also known as a New York steak or a strip steak, a popular and tender cut most often broiled or cooked in a cast iron pan.

Filet Mignon: A very tender and lean (not to mention pricey) cut of meat that calls for searing on all four sides and a rare center. The filet remains a standard bearer despite being a little underwhelming on the flavor scale.

Rib Steak: Fatty and flavorful, a rib steak usually comes with a bone attached. Its center is well known as the rib eye and is normally served boneless. Popular cooking methods are the tried-and-true broiler method, which works for almost any cut, or on the grill.

Porterhouse: Also known as a T-bone, this consists of a shell steak and a filet separated by a bone, and is generally a large and expensive cut of meat best prepared in the broiler.

Skirt Steak: Tough, stringy, and flavorful, skirt steak is generally marinated before cooking and is best served braised or otherwise slow-cooked—a technique that keeps the cut’s mineral flavor while amping up its tenderness.

Hanger Steak: A cheap, tasty, and tough steak, hanger steak should be cooked quickly over a high heat—though served rare to medium rare—and is often used in dishes like steak tacos.

For pork…

Rib Chops: The pig version of a rib steak, this is the most flavorful cut of pork and is best served broiled.

Loin Chops: Bake these bone-in cuts for a moister piece of meat.

And for lamb…

Rack: A cut from the rib known for being fatty and flavorful (and less dry than a sad old leg), best served broiled.

Loin Chop: Similar in construction to a Porterhouse—and served bone-in—this cut has a filet on one side and a shell on the other. Like all cuts of lamb, if it’s in season (spring), the methods that are used to cook steaks can be used to cook lamb. In the wintertime, when lamb is tougher, you’ll want to use a slower method, and instead of broiling, you should try baking it.

Joy Tsin Lau Restaurant

The formula for choosing Chinese restaurants postulates that one should go for those with most Chinese patrons. And it is certainly the case at Joy Tsin. On any given Sunday morning or early afternoon, the line of diners often extends past its spacious lobby and spills onto the street. This can be a fun if a bit stereotypical way to introduce yourself to Chinese everyday life and culture, as the line is full of families complete with miniature, ancient yet dignifies elders with toothpick thin bones and parchment-like skin and vibrating packs of small children with nearly identical haircuts.

There is a constant flow of newcomers and goers dead set on squeezing past you at any cost. First you maybe overwhelmed by this persistence and the lack of consideration for your perceived personal space. And it so happens that once in a while some respectable American lady in front of you would make a sarcastic wisecrack, looking back at you with the expectation of comradery, as if both of you are united by some sort of shared experience by virtue of looking European. And you frankly don't know if these people are delivery men (unlikely), members of the family ahead of you ( you keep hearing the words "party of nine" from the hostess) or just eager visitors trying to gouge how long their wait will be. But you should just flow with it knowing that the food won't disappoint and that this, as much as the collage on the wall of hundreds of photos of the owner in various traditional costumes, in front of various honor plaques, banners and posters, with various children in arms is a part of experience.



And the experience is what you're here for. Well, really you're here for fantastic Dim Sum. And it begins with carts of steamed dumplings - shrimp, chives, pork, or freshly fried rice crepes. Followed by an unbelievably tasty and fragrant star anise beef tripe and lungs stew that goes down like an elixir spiked with spicy red chilly oil. The first 15 minutes is where you should really pace yourself. You're hungry, and everything looks good. Unfortunately you may reach your capacity right after having a bowl of congee (rice porridge) or what looks like the most tender wonton you've ever seen. So you may opt for the next cart pushed by a smiling lady and loaded with plates of crawfish (visual factor: 10, taste factor: 4), fried shrimp, snails, clams and fried quail. There's also baked rice wrapped in dry leaves, and plates with jelly fish, pork buns and mustard greens.



The waiters rush past you like acrobats balancing piles of steaming plates in a hurry to replenish the carts. Your only hope is that you get a chance at first dibs on stuffed pig intestine, since you're afraid that by the time the cart makes a circle around the immense dining room you won't have any. But that fear soon disappears as you realize that the mysterious kitchen elfs keep churning out their delicious wares and the waiting stuff is not at all interested in kicking you out in order to free up your table. One cultural trait, the wisecracking respectful American lady, I hope will find refreshing.

Luke's Lobster

93 E 7th St
lukeslobster.com

I have mixed feelings about lobster in general and lobster rolls in particular. I get the appeal of eating an "expensive" product. And it does have an impressive presence on a plate. But somehow I can't shake the feeling, every time I see someone with a plate of lobster, that in all probability the Broadway show will be amazing and the commute back to _______ (fill in the blank) will be a breeze, and after this wonderful dinner we can all relax and go back to eating crap again.

But if you're going for the flavor, I'd have a crab or a longoustine any time. The meat is so much more flavorful and texture is so much more gentle. Of course there's a way to make good lobster, to balance it's meatiness and to once and for all take it out of it's attention grabbing whore of a shell.

Enter Luke's Lobster. A smallish store front in East Village. Again, not being a huge fan of lobster rolls which in my previous experiences tended to be an uninspiring combination of rubbery meat and cheap tasting mayo, it's hard for me to claim proficiency in the art of roll making. But this is as close to the work of lobster roll perfection as one can get. First of all, the lobster is fantastically fresh. An obvious point you'd think, but an important one nevertheless. Shell fish tends to acquire a slightly metallic after taste, which these rolls lack entirely. Secondly, the meat is cooked expertly - it's juicy, succulent and flavorful. And finally, it's perfectly dressed. There's barely any mayo, and its taste does not overpower the lobster. Oh yes, the rolls are filled "to the brims" with large chunks of meat, so you can really taste and enjoy the main ingredient.



I do have a gripe though. And it's with Luke's buns. I am not sure what butter they use, but its taste is overbearing. It's too sweet with a slight whiff of artificial flavoring and it competes with the delicate flavor of the lobster meat. So just ask the dude (or dudette) not to butter them. Just try it.

And by the way, you can get wonderful crab salad and crab claws as well. Awesomeness.