Recipe: Pork belly tteok

I love Korean food like wow and love to share the obsession with my friends. This homely comfort food dish is warm and delicious, you can use just about any protein and vegetable combination but this is one of my favourites.

You can buy Korean rice cakes (tteok 떡) at most Asian supermarkets, they store in the freezer for months so you can buy up and use them whenever you like.

Pork Belly Tteok

200g sliced pork belly
500g (or 1 packet) tube style rice cakes
4 eggs (or 1 per serving)
2 tbspns gochujangg
2 tbspns tomato puree
2 tbspns white sugar
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
2 sticks of celery
1 capsicum
4 spring onions (scallions)
1 tbspn minced ginger
2 tbspns sesame oil

Method

• Before starting the main dish boil the eggs to your preferred doneness
• Dice the celery and capsicum then heat the sesame oil in a wok or large saucepan
• Add the celery and sweat until transparent, then add the capsicum and continue to stir fry
• Once the capsicum is soft add the pork belly and fry all items until the pork is slightly brown
• Add the ginger and stir to coat all the vegetables then add the rice cakes
• Combine the wet ingredients (stock, tomato, gochujangg) in a jug until a consistent texture and colour
• Add the liquid and the eggs to the saucepan and simmer to reduce
• Add the sugar and scallions once reduced, leave some scallions for garnish
• Serve with cold Asian beer

Review: Nana Ramen, Brooklyn

Well it's been snowing up a serious storm in NYC this week so we were happy to hear the latest chapter in the Brooklyn gentrification odyssey is an authentic ramen restaurant in Bed Stuy.



Nana Ramen lovingly blends authentic fresh noodles and tonkotsu broth with Brooklyn filament bulbs and hipster beards with great results and I'm pretty sure we'll be regulars from here on out.

Chicken Karaage $7USD 

This is an excellent rendition of a ramen house staple. The chicken is juicy and the batter is light and lacks any trace of oil. The pieces are well sized to really maximise on the delicious sesame karaage batter as well. Served simply with a spicy mayo sauce and lemon slice. The serving size is actually a little larger than pictured, we couldn't help ourselves on arrival and ate two pieces before we remembered to take photos. 

Agedashi Tofu $7USD 

I really liked the presentation of 4 squares each with traditional agedashi toppings on them (ginger and daikon, scallions, seaweed and katsuoboshi), you could easily combine on a single piece if that was more to your style. The coating was light and the frying didn't make the dish too heavy, the real star though is the broth which is a fantastic sweet soy broth. My only wish is that this had been silken tofu rather than cotton tofu but well ... you can't have everything for $7 in the back streets of Brooklyn!

Spicy Miso Ramen $13USD

Built on a tonkotsu base with thinner style noodles this dish comes with egg, scallion corn and chashu pork. The spicy mix is interesting and deviates slightly from a traditional Japanese mix but is nonetheless delicious particularly with the creamy tonkotsu. The chashu is particularly excellent tightly rolled and well seasoned. 

Black Tonkotsu $13USD

Black garlic oil tonkotsu is an unusual ramen to appear on menus particularly in the US so I was very intrigued and boy did they deliver. Thick fresh chewy noodles are in a super creamy tonkotsu broth topped with a healthy splash of roasted garlic oil. I ordered mine with extra egg and fresh bamboo shoots. This was the perfect dose of warm soup belly in the NY winter weather. My only complaint is that the bowl could have used more soup, but since this is an option for ordering then I will just get a larger serving in the future. 

I'm super excited by the arrival of this business in walking distance of my house and will be definitely eating my way through the menu. They have a tan-tan-men which is my all time favourite and a curry ramen as well as a Tokyo style shoyu with tsukune that has me intrigued. For appetizers there are home made gyoza and takoyaki amongst others to explore. 

Like any new food business in Brooklyn Nana Ramen is currently being loved to death by the local hipsters so expect to wait for a while or go at unusual times. Our plan of going for a walk in the snow when most people were hiding inside paid off and we immediately got a table. Service is friendly but basic, cash only so stock up on the way. 

Nana Ramen

https://www.facebook.com/nanaramen/

330 Malcolm X Blvd

Brooklyn, New York 11211

Authentic ramen in Brooklyn, simple but definitely worth a stop

Review: Xi'an Famous Foods, East Village NYC

One surprise that hit us when we moved to  the Bay Area was how Americanised a lot of the Asian food was. After moving to NYC we found a heavenly array of very authentic and reasonably priced Asian foods. Xi'an Famous Foods offers one of the things I missed most about home - reasonably priced hand pulled noodles. 

Xi'an Famous Foods has several restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn but I tend to favour their restaurant in the East Village since it's close to a number of businesses I frequent and around the corner from a delightful Italian cake shop (more on that later).

The food is decidedly cheap and cheerful but delicious spicy Western Chinese food. The noodles are all made on site and if you're lucky you can catch glimpses of the cooks making them. 

Being Manhattan the restaurant is reasonably small and New Yorkers have no patience for those who lose them a New York Minute. Be prepared to order if you step in line, don't take a seat until you get your food, clean up your own station and be prepared to get up as soon as you've finished. Those who do not follow the unwritten rules will get passive aggressive interruptions by people waiting to eat. 

Spicy and Tingly Beef Hand Ripped Noodles $7.50USD

Chewy delicious hand ripped noodles are stir fried in a numbing chili spicy oil that is not for the feint hearted. Try the mild first before attempting hotter! The noodles are served with vegetables and fatty meat.

Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand Ripped Noodles $8.25USD

Spicy Cumin Lamb Burger $4

Both the lamb noodles and the lamb burger contain a cumin drenched dry lamb with vegetables. The burger is on a mantou style bun grilled on a flat top until crispy. The noodles are stir fried with more of the cumin, vegetables and chili oil. 

Mount Qi Pork Hand Pulled Noodles $7.00USD

Pork Zha Jiang Hand Ripped Noodles $7.00USD

Spicy and Sour Lamb Dumpings $7.00USD

The Mount Qi pork is cubes of pork belly grilled with noodles and a slightly less spicy sauce. The Zha Jiang noodles feature ground pork fried in an umame soy bean sauce, deeelicious! The spicy and sour lamb dumplings are stuffed with a ground lamb filling and served with vinegar and soy.

Close up of Pork Zha Jiang Hand Ripped Noodles $7.00USD

This is easily my favourite dish on their menu and reminds me of a dry tantanmen without the sesame. 

Go in expecting exactly what it is - a cheap limited menu of food made extraordinarily well. Not pictured are the noodle soup versions of each dish. Everything they make is excellent. Make sure to eat in, the delicate nature of the noodles does not survive delivery or a walk home. Cold drinks are available like Chinese teas and Coke products. 

I really rather wished they offered condiments,, I keep wanting black vinegar to cut through the oil. Also the chopsticks they use leave a lot to be desired and if you're willing to endure the odd looks of your fellow diners I would recommend bringing some of your own from another restaurant or home. Still this is one of my favourite cheap food desinations in NYC, try it out.

Xi’an Famous Foods

http://xianfoods.com/menu/

81 St Marks Pl

New York, NY 10003

Ph: (212) 786-2068

Cheap and cheerful artisan noodles, good for the spicy food lover

Review: Yakitori Glad, Honolulu Hawaii

If you've spent any serious time in Osaka you're bound to have ventured into a Torikizoku "Restaurant 280" a yakitori specialty restaurant where everything from the beer to the bar snacks are a flat rate 280Y. Their cheap and cheerful booze laden atmosphere house some of my favourite travel memories so when we found a clone in Hawaii we just had to go. 

Exchange rates and inflation have had their way but at $3.90USD for all items it's still a total bargain. 

Other than the price it's almost identical to Torikizoku even down to the decor.

The menu is point and slur simple, perfect for too many beers. Various bits of chicken are skewered, grilled and topped with sticky BBQ sauces. Choose chicken skewers with salt shio, BBQ marinade tare or specialty kushi-yaki like wasabi beef, tongue or pork belly.

Beer $3.90USD

Imported Sapporo and Kirin were available off the keg plus a number of other domestic beer options. 

 

Lychee and Grape Calpis Chuhai $3.90USD

Chuhai are alcoholic high balls common in bars in Japan. Usually sweet and reasonably low alcohol they're a sometimes safe bet when drinking rounds with salarymen if you wish to survive Japan's bar culture. Fizzy water, flavouring and shochu (white grain alcohol) are mixed and served long over ice. Add Calpis fermented yoghurt cordial for a creamy delicious option.

Tsukune okonomi style  $3.90USD

Ground chicken meatballs are threaded on a skewer grilled then topped with okonomi sauce, mayonnaise, shaved katsuoboshi and scallions. 

Momotare yaki $3.90USD 

Chicken thigh and scallions slathered in a sweet BBQ sauce are grilled till crispy

Tsukune with cheese $3.90USD

Ground chicken meatballs are threaded on a skewer grilled then topped with cheese slices

Momo-mayo-tare $3.90USD

Grilled chicken thigh with BBQ marinade and mayonnaise. 

Gyu-kushi $3.90USD

Grilled beef skewer with scallions - delicious with beer!

 

Renkon nikizume $3.90USD

Slices of lotus root stuffed with ground chicken meat grilled to perfection. I love lotus root in everything, it's a very fancy looking root vegetable with a neutral taste that adds fiber and depth to many dishes. Fantastic with the super hot Japanese mustard provided.

Hiya-yakko $3.90USD

One of my favourite dishes particularly in warm weather. Cold silken tofu topped with ginger, soy sauce, katsuoboshi and scallions.

Vegetable salad $3.90USD

All that meat and booze deserves a little greenery to finish it off. Fresh salad topped with a classic Japanese onion dressing.

Onigiri-yaki $3.90USD

The Japanese like to end a meal with white rice and I think it's a great way to cleanse the palette. White rice is formed into triangular rice balls, brushed with a little soy and then grilled until crispy. Neutral and chewy!

Sesame balls $3.90USD

I like to end on a sweet note and these fried sesame balls are one of my favourite desserts - gluten, dairy free and vegan! Sticky rice dough is filled with red bean paste, rolled in toasted sesame and deep fried to perfection

Yakitori Glad is a great example of the skewers and too many drinks Osaka style eating. Great for groups and parties, you can order a little or a lot and have a great time. Service is fast casual bar style, don't expect a lot of niceties and if you're looking for sushi or large plates you came to the wrong place. If you, like I love a rowdy night out and a lot of small plates this is an excellent time for everyone. 

 Yakitori Glad

http://yakitori-glad.com/

766 Kapahulu Ave

Honolulu, HI 96816

Authentic Japanese bar and small plates grill
Good for groups

Recipe: Bacon gochujangg tteok

Inspired by a similar dish served at Mok Bar in New York's Chelsea market this is an amazing fusion taste combination of smokey pork and sweet spicy gochujangg Korean chilli paste. This is an amazingly quick dish to prepare and absolutely wows.

Bacon gochujangg tteok

4 rashers of bacon
250g fresh Korean rice cakes (tteok)
2 sprigs of Spring onion
2 tbspns Gochujangg
1/2 cup cabbage Kim Chi
1 tspn sesame oil
1 clove garlic
1 tbspn grated ginger
2 eggs

Optional:
1 tbspn black or balsamic vinegar
2 tbspn Mirin

Method

• I buy Jinmi Napa Cabbage Kim Chi if local fresh products are not available
• One of the best things about this dish is the toothy al dente texture the rice cakes take on in the bacon fat. For best effect use the flat disk style garaetteok rather than the tube tteok so that a greater surface area is fried.
• Use a large flat pan with as much surface area as possible for frying. Dice the bacon into small pieces and fry until the fat has rendered into the pan.
• You must use room temperature tteok for the crispy chewy fried texture to work, if you buy frozen rice cakes make sure to defrost before cooking.
• Pour the rice cakes into the pan, try to maintain a single cake depth with as many rice cakes as possible touching the bottom of the pan.
• Leave the rice cakes to turn slightly transparent before turning. Use an egg flip to turn the rice cakes, resist the urge to 'stir' them as this will activate the gluten and you are just as likely to end up with one sticky ball of rice cakes!
• Start to fry the eggs sunny side up at this stage, this should ensure that your eggs are fried at the same time the rest of the dish is complete.
• In a small bowl mix the gochujang, ginger, garlic and sesame oil plus 1 sprig of the spring onions diced.
• Add the gochujang mixture and kim chi to the pot then mix until the rice cakes are well covered. Taste 1 cake for texture and taste.
• Depending on the brands of gochujang and bacon you use this can be a quite salty dish.  If desired add vinegar and Mirin until the dish is seasoned to your taste and cut through some of the salt and fat.
• Turn the rice cakes off the heat and then serve in a flat bowls
• Top with the fried eggs, remaining scallions (spring onions) and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Recipe: Okonomiyaki

It looks super fancy but okonomiyaki is a simple dish that's easy to make during the week. Okonomiyaki is "grilled as you like it" so get creative with the vegetables and toppings - use up leftovers and smother in delicious sauces for a sure fire winner.

Okonomiyaki

1/2 a head of cabbage
3 eggs
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup water
2 cups flour
1 serve of hon dashi (bonito stock)
2 tbspn sesame
2 tbspn soy sauce

Toppings:

1/2 cup diced spring onion (scallion)
1 bottle of squeezable mayonnaise
1 bottle okonomi or tonkatsu sauce
1 tbspn sesame seeds

Method

Dice the cabbage and scallions and set asside. If you are using leftover vegetables or meat in your dish now is the time to mix them in

Mix the flour and bonito stock together in a bowl. For a gluten free alternative use rice flour.

Bonito stock can be bought in powdered sachets at any good Asian supermarket. For a vegetarian alternative use Vegeta or add vegetable stock in place of water to the egg mixture.

Crack the liquid ingredients into a bown or jug - egg, soy milk, sesame oil, soy sauce and water. 

If using liquid stock add to this step. Whisk until well combined.

Mix the flour, vegetables and egg mixture into a loosely formed batter. You can add more water at this stage if you want a more pancake like consistency.

Oil a small non stick pan and fill 3/4 inch with vegetable batter. Fry until the vegetables are browned half way up the sides. 

Use a plate to flip the pancake and fry until golden brown.

Prepare your pancake for dressing. 

Drizzle okonomi or tonkatsu sauce on top of the pancake. 

Tonkatsu sauce is very similar to okonomi sauce but usually intended for fried pork, it is easier to find in the US. 

Drizzle mayonnaise in the same direction as the okonomi sauce using a small squeeze nozzle

Turn the plate and drag a chopstick across the sauces for a decorative touch.

Sprinkle with scallions

Top with sesame seeds and serve on its own or with your favourite grilled meat and Japanese croquettes.

Recipe: Katsu Sando (Spicy Japanese pork cutlet sandwich)

This is definitely a cheat day treat but to me a katsu sando is the best sandwich in the world. It hits all the major indulgence food groups - fried meat, fluffy bread, spicy morish sauce and rich Japanese egg mayonnaise.

Tonkatsu is the Japanese version of schnitzel - breaded and fried pork or chicken cutlet. After watching one of the contestants make this favoured dish on Food Network Star recently I just had to make one!

Katsu Sando

Tonkatsu cutlet

• 4 pork cutlets
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• Oil for frying

Sandwich fillings 

• 8 tbspn Tonkatsu sauce 
• 4 tbpsn Whole egg mayonnaise
• 1 cup Cabbage or 4 lettuce leaves
• 8 slices White sandwich bread

Method

• Start by preparing your cutlet preparation station - get 3 flat bowls, a tray for the breaded cutlet and a chopping board to trim and pound the meat
• Pound the pork cutlet using a meat tenderiser, the cutlet should be about 1cm thick 
• Into one bowl plate the flour, if desired you can season the flour using salt and pepper
• Into the second bowl beat the eggs and milk
• In the third bowl pour the breadcrumbs - if you can buy Japanese Panko but normal breadcrumbs will also do the trick

• To bread the cutlet we want to complete a 1 - 2 - 3 process using the flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs
• The flour and egg will form a glue to stick the breadcrumbs to the meat

• Place the cutlet in the flour and then using a fork push the flour up into the sides of the cutlet, turn over and repeat. The meat should be completely covered in the flour. 
• Then move the floured cutlet into the egg and dip again using a fork to ensure the mixture covers the sides of the culet then turn over
• Once the cutlet is completely covered in egg mixture use the fork to lift the cutlet and drain off excess egg before placing in the breadcrumbs.

• Cover the cutlet completely in bread crumbs and then turn over, ensure that all the meat and egg mixture is covered in the crumb.
• Once you are satisfied with the coverage move the breaded cutlet to a tray while you complete the other cutlets

• Your completed schnitzels should look like so. If you want to make less than 4 sandwiches move the excess fillets to the freezer and use them later - tonkatsu is great with rice, salad or vegetables!

• Heat a pan on medium heat and add a high temperature fry oil like grape seed oil. 
• Use tongs to transfer the cutlets to the hot oil, the bread should sizzle when you add it to the pan. If it doesn't your oil is not hot enough and your sandwich may turn out greasy.
• You can deep fry the cutlet but this is not required, a pool of oil about the size of a pancake should be enough to shallow fry the cutlet. 
• Fry until the crumb turns golden and then flip. If desired you can add more oil in when you turn the cutlet to ensure that there is enough oil for even frying. 

• Once the crumb is golden press the center of the cutlet with your tongs - if the meat is cooked it should be firm and the tongs should not spring to the touch. 
• If your crumb is golden but the meat is not fully cooked then turn the pan to a lower heat to cook for a further 2 mins 
• Using your tongs move the cutlet to oil absorbing paper or paper towel to soak up the excess oil.
• You can serve the cutlet hot, or prepare the fried meat then leave till the following day - it is just as delicious cold 

• Tonkatsu sauce can be bought at any Asian supermarket or on Amazon. I like this Bull Dog brand which can be bought in most good Asian stores. 
• Kewpie Brand Japanese mayonnaise is best for authenticity but just about any rich whole egg mayonnaise will do - I like Hellman's or Best Foods mayonnaise when I can't find Kewpie
• Any soft white sandwich bread will do but I love this thick cut Japanese Hotel Bread to really add to the "wish you were in Tokyo" taste

• You can toast the bread if desired but I find this works best with untoasted bread
• On one side of the bread spread the mayonnaise and 1/4 cup of cabbage or if preferred a single lettuce leaf
• On the other side of the bread liberally cover with Tonkatsu sauce. If you like a lot of sauce then pour it directly onto the breadcrumb coating of the meat rather than onto the bread. This takes some of the crispness out of the cutlet but gives you a rich oozy sandwich.
• Add the fillet to the sandwich, you may need to cut it into pieces to fit evenly onto the bread
• Cut the sandwich in half and serve cut side up to your diners. You can cut the sandwich into 3 or 4 slimmer slices if you want to fit it into a bento.
• Rinse and repeat for each diner - recipe makes 4 sandwiches
• To get in the spirit of Japanese bistros serve with a creamy dressed side like potato salad or cheese and corn
• Delicious!