(JS) How’s everyone out there feeling this week? A gentle reminder as we rapidly approach our one year quarantiniversary that shit remains weird out there! It’s okay to feel things! It’s also okay to not feel things! I’ve been on a bit of a Chinese cooking kick these past few weeks and frequently encounter a technique of gently heating oil until shimmering, which is then poured over a variety of prepared ingredients; the hot oil provides a final blast of heat to crisp things up, while simultaneously coaxing out lingering aromatics to really make the flavors sing. Lately I find myself wondering if there’s an equivalent procedure for human behavior; might a shower of hot oil help amplify my feelings to offer some sort of clarity? Does this sound like therapy for anyone? Am I making any sense? Much like the energy grid in Texas, mentally I find myself somewhere between frozen and tapped out (sorry to my energy policy readers, I am actually quite dumb).
Every day I put on my silly little business extremely casual WFH ‘fits and listen to my silly little Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition) on repeat, intermittently pausing to add value (read: obscure Bravo references) to my Teams meetings. Food remains the primary source of variety in this silly little life. This week I savored the following:
Cumin lamb from the Xian Famous Foods cookbook, because at this newsletter, a Valentine’s Day dinner can truly look like anything; served with hand-pulled biang biang noodles (cathartic!), dry fried long beans, and a spicy and sour carrot salad you can read more about below
Friend of the newsletter Viv’s pork and chive dumplings and Imogen Kwok’s steamed whole fish for the Lunar New Year
Loosely inspired by the Almond Butter Punch at Hawa Smoothies, I’ve been tinkering with a breakfast blend of banana, almond butter, oat milk, chia seeds, flax seeds, and a pinch of cacao nibs; it’s pretty good but I think I’m about ready to admit it’s just too close to a milkshake for that early in the day
(SB) Hey hi hello, sweet readers. We’ve made it to Wednesday once again, and I’m eager to echo Jake’s assessment of the state of the world: things are weird, verging on apocalyptic, and I have not left my apartment in three days (!) due to a combination of near constant Zoom obligations and poor discipline about self-care. I must (and will) venture out for a long walk today, but am taking a moment to reflect on what insights my tendency to hunker, at times pathologically, might be revealing. Prompted by a series of curated readings by friend of the letter Bench about the concept of “burn out” this week, I realize that it feels a bit like my body and brain are in the midst of a long, slow protest against even basic daily demands in the face of ongoing disaster. It is my habit to long for the languid humidity of summer during winter, but this year I realize that the kind of physical ease that accompanies it is particularly anathema to the current state of my ligaments and tissues, which have become habitually tense, as if constantly steeling for bad news or disaster. Increasingly, I wonder if the knots in my neck and my desire to stay indoors are related on some deeper, animal level — an intuitive acknowledgement that I lack the flexibility and fortitude required when out in the world, something that used to feel easy and energizing to me. Maybe those knots are also a clue about the kind of movement my body is not getting, in front of this screen.
Regardless, it’s almost certainly time to engage in a different kind of refusal (of meetings, of exhaustion, of despair???) and venture outdoors today. In the spirit of making hopeful lists, I’d also like to start reading something for pleasure and not work. I’m thinking of you all in this exceptionally hard time, and hope that you’re staying warm and well-fed. I believe that we’re in this together, even if it feels lonely a lot of the time. Here’s what I ate, this week:
Chicken soup, assembled freestyle with potatoes, a lot of dill, and some curry leaf bone broth. I consulted this recipe from Alison Roman and this favorite from Smitten Kitchen along the way.
Sweet potato vindaloo from Meera Sodha’s Fresh India.
More focaccia, one topped with sesame and the other with an eggplant/goat cheese medley with mixed results — while one pan had some nice, if flat, crumb, my crusts were too hard, and the sesame version turned out to be more of a sourdough cracker. Baking is hard!
GLD: Cornmeal Biscotti
(JS) In another life, I was supposed to defend my dissertation on the afternoon of Monday, April 6, 2020. Friend of the newsletter and fellow Met fellow Abbe was scheduled to defend that very same day, so our plan was to scoot on down to the museum, where we’d join our colleagues for a little in-office fêting and then saunter on over to Flora Bar to put in some real work during martini happy hour (SB: I honestly might shed a tear). The following Saturday I was to take an overnight flight to Rome, where I’d spend a cool Easter Sunday cosplaying as a lapsed Catholic with a hankering for carciofi alla giudia, before boarding a Monday afternoon train to Bologna, where I’d present some research at an esteemed annual conference and eat my weight in lasagna.
Instead I defended via Zoom from my couch that weird ass Monday, wearing a jacket but no shoes, with my dog perched on top of the cushions just out of the frame. I made these biscotti that Friday, perhaps as a half-hearted attempt to salvage some semblance of an Italian fairytale ending to my strange seven years of study (I know, big “Kim, there’s people that are dying energy,” but work with me). I never quite crave biscotti but certainly won’t turn them away. I can absolutely appreciate their versatility; depending on their sweetness and mix-ins, they’re equally welcome after an especially indulgent dinner or alongside an afternoon espresso. (SB: s/o to the biscotti at Via Carota, I loved ye.) Loaded with the proper mix of seeds and nuts, they’re also perhaps the least explicitly healthy breakfast cookie, if that’s something you’re into.
David Lebovitz’s recipe caught my eye at a moment when I was constantly craving sweets, or at least something to do with my hands, while at the same time anxiously trying to conserve the last of my pre-pandemic AP flour. His biscotti takes on an inviting golden hue thanks to the addition of cornmeal, which also provides an intriguing bit of textural variety; think eating sand, but make it pleasant (just trust me here!). I halved the recipe and subbed in pistachios for walnuts, as well as orange zest in place of lemon. I also added a bit of fennel candy because when has this newsletter ever said no to a little subcontinental flair? (SB: Never!!!) The result was a pleasure to look at and even better to taste. They’ll keep for at least a couple weeks in a sealed container, but they also make for excellent trading with your neighbors during the early stages of a pandemic barter economy.
TMYK: Puff, the Magic Snack Food
(SB) Every Sunday morning, I slink out of bed sometime before 8 a.m. to spend about an hour on a WhatsApp video call with my grandparents in India, where they are well into their Sunday night. It is one of the small, screen-based highlights of my week, almost always followed by several hours of an intense, transnational homesickness that often crests in some sort of culinary project superseding the rest of my to do list and/or tears. In the throes of my longing this past weekend, I remembered the package of puff pastry in the freezer (originally intended for a chicken pot pie) and quickly set about internet-searching my way around recipes for a subcontinental bakery favorite beloved by both me and my grandfather: the puff (JS: *stares in British slang*).
Surely the root of my abiding love of Golden Krust, the puff could be kin to Jamaican Patties, Japanese Curry Bread, or even a Southeast Asian curry puff. Commonly found in bakeries across South India, puffs typically come in three flavors: veg, chicken, or egg. While I have enjoyed tempting fate with my share of midnight-layover airport puffs, ideally, they’re best when purchased fresh from the oven in the late afternoon and enjoyed with a cup of frothy decoction coffee some hours before dinner. Depending on your puff distributor, you might be in for a small post-coffee nap or some serious heat — the discovery of what lies within is all in the eye of the beholder.
When from a trusted source, my favorite of the three is the egg puff, which features a humble hard-boiled egg ensconced in jammy, curry-leaf flecked onions and wrapped in flakey pastry. This recipe, from Keralite food blogger Maria, guided me through the process of making my own. I had never worked with puff pastry before, and admit to being a little intimidated. As is often the case with a beloved favorite from a country you cannot currently visit, disappointment can be crushing and difficult to overcome. Proceeding with caution, I followed Maria’s instructions pretty much to the letter (going heavy on the curry leaves and chili powder) and was surprised at how simply these came together.
I started by removing my puff pastry sheets from the freezer to defrost, which took longer than the prescribed 40 minutes in my kitchen and pre-heating my oven to 350° F. For two standard-sized sheets of pastry, you’ll want to hard boil four eggs. (I leave your egg boiling method up to you!) Then, using coconut oil as a base (which I wouldn’t skip or sub!), begin to caramelize three thinly sliced onions in a heavy-bottomed pan. Once these are pretty uniformly golden brown, stir in ginger-garlic paste and cook for a couple of minutes. Then, add dry spices: turmeric, red chili powder, ground coriander, a little garam masala, and a little salt. I also threw in a half-teaspoon of mustard seeds, and recommend you consider the same. Stir until these are well incorporated and cook until the spices no longer smell raw, or, as Maria recommends “until the oil appears” — about 3 minutes. Loosen things up a little with a couple of tablespoons of hot water, a swirl of ketchup, and about 12 curry leaves. I cooked this down for about a minute and cut the heat.
Peel and halve the eggs, and quarter the two sheets of puff pastry, to make eight egg-halves, and eight squares of pastry (perhaps you see where this is going). Brush the edges of your pastry with an egg wash, then place a spoonful of the onion masala in the center, layer on half a boiled egg, and top with another spoon of the onions. Bring together the corners to make a little sachet shape, and crimp the edges. Place your puffs on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush them once more with the egg wash (I imagine that you could also coat them with some melted butter). Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden-brown. By the time were finished, they were more of a decadent dinner side than an afternoon snack, but I wasn’t mad. I’ve been enjoying them for breakfast in the days since.
Carrot Salad At Least Two Ways
(JS) At what point does a salad consisting primarily of a single grated vegetable tossed in an acid-forward dressing with a handful of aromatics become a slaw? Marinate on that, why don't you, while I wax vaguely poetic on the wonders of quick and flexible carrot preparations. With just a box grater or mandolin, a bag of carrots, and a few pantry staples, you’re well on your way to a simple yet flavorful raw side that only gets better after a bit of rest in the fridge (shoutout friend of the newsletter Caroline, who swears I only like food that’s “better the next day”).
I’ve been making Melissa Clark’s grated carrot salad with preserved lemon and coriander for most of quar’ with some frequency (as a matter of fact, I shouted it out in our very first newsletter). Our seemingly still unproblematic white woman fave took inspiration from her student days in Paris, where besides copious croques monsieur and croissants, she consumed many a plate of crudités, like this “ruddy tangle of carrots.” A healthy pinch of toasted coriander and a double dose of lemon (both juice and preserved) form the backbone for a zesty vinaigrette, tempered with honey to taste. Salt your grated carrots, then toss with dressing, a handful of fresh cilantro and mint, and a touch of black pepper, for a dish that’s sweet, sour, floral, and fresh.
If you’re looking for something with a bit more heat, consider the spicy and sour carrot salad from Xian Famous Foods’ Jason Wang. He instructs you to peel and slice your carrots into ⅛ inch matchsticks, but I was feeling lazy and opted to use a mandoline instead. Place the prepared carrots in a bowl and delicately pile some Sichuan peppercorns, slivered dried chiles, and finely chopped garlic on top. Heat some vegetable oil until shimmering, then carefully pour it over your aromatics to gently cook. Toss everything with salt, sugar, sesame oil, and white vinegar, and finish with cilantro if you’d like. Complex, delicious, and still mostly raw!
These are but two examples; consider grated carrots your blank slate, eager to bathe in flavor! Experiment with other acids (sherry vinegar! ACV!), swap in alternative sweeteners (maple syrup! chopped dates!), or perk things up with your preferred herbs and spice blends. Choose your own carrot salad adventure; if you come up with something especially tasty, let us know.
PERMANENT ROTATION: Tartine’s lemon cream. You can even cut the butter by half and it surprisingly won’t suck. Eat it by the spoonful, or lighten it up with some fresh whipped cream for a bright and seasonal tart filling.
WISH LIST
(JS) I’m currently obsessed with these garlic and butter shrimp chips (sometimes sold as “naive happy shrimp chips”) from Sokusa that evidently have Costco customers divided. Unlike this Canadian hater, I would eat them all day if given the chance.
(SB) I’m at a place in this panorama where I’d like to explore both creme brûlée and dabbing more thoroughly with this decently-reviewed Chef’s Torch.
(JS & SB) San Francisco-based Socola Chocolatier initially caught our eye with their red Year of the Ox box, but we’re currently coveting the Little Saigon Box, an assortment of truffles with unexpected flavors like Vietnamese coffee, sriracha flying rooster, durian and the ever intriguing “Phở #1.”
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