078: Did you DigestiVOTE?
Enjoying the New York City Marathon makes no sense, but these recipes do
(SB) Dear readers, hi howdy! I’m writing to you all after Rocking The Vote, freshly bivalently boosted and recently returned from a week on vacation at the annual meeting of the American Studies Association in New Orleans. Much like a 75 degree day in early November, the excitement of it all has produced conflicting feelings for me: It turns out overspending and overeating is a lot of fun, but I’ve returned exhausted and pretty broke. There’s a time for anything, and it was fitting to have my own personal Mardi Gras before some dissertation-induced Lent. In any case, as we descend into the part of the year marked by early darkness and academic job-hunt despair, I’m looking forward to sharing both my more unhinged meals and moments with you all. (This is especially germane, as I’ve deleted my Twitter!!! Please clap.)
Here’s some of what I’ve made and eaten since we last spoke:
A whole lot of Gulf Coast seafood. My favorite meals included some dreamy shrimp drowned in butter and garlic at the Elysian Bar, scallops and fried chicken at Mister Mao, a whole dreamy whole fish at everyone’s favorite wine bar (Bacchanal), Viet crab boil at at Big Ez Seafood and just about everything I ate at N7. I might honestly not need to eat for the rest of November, if I’m honest.
Literal warm beignets…! With frozen cafe au lait. Divine. Did I mention I was in New Orleans?
I’m beginning to use up some of my Rancho Gordo overstock in earnest. Recent efforts have included a bean salad with some royal coronas, a store bought mango salsa, and a cumin-shallot-oregano dressing and these garam masala cranberry beans that are currently simmering on the stove with some channa dal thrown in to soak up some excess broth.
(JS) Just so we’re all clear, I actually voted on the first day of early voting in my freshly redistricted polling place, a surprisingly difficult to find and somewhat labyrinthine warehouse that was giving low key first-person shooter vibes. America: YKTV! Fortunately this dystopian space was around the corner from Otway Bakery, so I rewarded myself for doing the least with a couple fresh pastries from Fulton Street’s best new patisserie. I am jealous of my co-editor’s jaunt to the Big Easy, but I’ve also done my fair share of excessive eating between work dinners (an impromptu-ish celebration at Rule of Thirds and an Armenian-inspired feast by Pierce Abernathy at the Seaport), birthday parties (the first ever at Fini - don’t sleep on the white pie with hot honey and lemon) and a long weekend at David’s in New Hampshire with friends.
A few more things I’ve made and eaten include:
Like eight pounds of kimchi, Kim Rim style (just in time for kimjang) - friend of the letter April’s mother (of myulchi bokkeum fame) was kind enough to share her recipe, which incorporates anchovy broth into the sweet rice porridge and maesil cheong (plum syrup) into the paste alongside the usual blend of garlic, ginger, fish sauce, saeujeot, and gochugaru.
A couple one-bowl cakes: Eric Kim’s chewy black sesame rice cake, and a New Mexican spin on my favorite Smitten chocolate olive oil cake for my co-editor’s birthday, spiked with red chile and finished with toasted pecans.
Friend of the letter Ava indulged us with Sunday sauce - a remarkably off the cuff shortrib and mushroom ragu - over homemade rye rags from the Gjelina cookbook.
TOFU BHURJI
(SB) As I begin my thirty-first journey around the sun, I have grown increasingly anxious about the twin health risks that many South Asians share: diabetes and heart disease. At the risk of revealing myself to be swayed by the opinions of health professionals on TikTok, I’ve been making an effort to eat something in the morning, preferably something replete with lean protein. Because I experience the pre-work a.m. hours as a separate temporality, where I am moving very slowly and the clock is racing by, smoothies and pre-made breakfasts are my best bet; and because the thought of refrigerated cooked eggs fills me with a deep dread, I’ve been leaning heavily on the scrambled tofu bhurji (Note: bhurji means scramble, chai tea, etc.) They’re also versatile enough to adapt depending on what I have on hand, though I’ve really become partial to a version that is unambiguously subcontinental in flavor (JS: Respectfully, shocking).
I’ve relied on a few different recipes as guides, but I thought I’d walk you through a synthesis of some of my bhurji “best practices” this week. I like to begin by pressing some extra-firm tofu, though I also think it’s fine to skip this step. Then, I brown some onions or shallots, green chilies, chopped red pepper, grated ginger, and minced garlic in olive oil; I always add in a little turmeric, pepper, salt, toasted cumin powder (you could use crushed seeds or whole, too!) and chili powder. If I’m so moved, I have been known to add black mustard seeds and curry leaves here, too. If I’m feeling rustic, I crumble the tofu into the onion mixture; if I’m feeling a little more meticulous, I sometimes grate the tofu before folding it in. Then, I liberally season with a combination of onion and garlic powder, a good amount of nutritional yeast, and some kala namak (also known as black salt; be sure this is finely ground.) The last is particularly useful for that sulfurous eggy taste – you can sub in a chaat masala if you don’t have plain kala namak. I usually cook for a few more minutes before stirring in a little soy sauce and checking for taste. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped cilantro. I find bhurji are particularly good served over some Greek yogurt.
SALMON AND DAIKON HOTPOT TO CURE YOUR SAD
(JS) I’m officially coming out as anti sheet-pan dinner. Do I love and respect the sheet pan as a versatile workhorse of the home kitchen? Absolutely. Do I feel that tossing a bunch of shit onto one and roasting it all together too often results in a meal that lacks flavor and textural variety?* Yes. And as someone who lacks a dishwasher, I completely understand the desire to cut down on cleanup, but sheet pans are frankly a huge pain in the ass to scrub. So as we hurdle toward ever more unsavory weather here in the northeast, might I humbly suggest that those seeking an easy and one(ish)-pan weeknight fix embrace the hot pot; according to Naoko Takei Moore, aka Mrs Donabe, it just might keep your depression at bay.
Moore is the owner of Toiro Kitchen, a specialty kitchen store in West Hollywood selling traditional clay pots and other Japanese cookware. She also is the brains behind Happy Donabe Life, a collection of recipes ostensibly designed for donabe cooking, but apparently adaptable for most heavy-bottomed pots - I tried my hand and her salmon and daikon in garlic butter miso sauce using a tagine and imagine you could easily pull it off with a Dutch oven as well.
A simple sauce made by whisking together miso, sake and mirin offers remarkable depth of flavor given the time it takes to prepare - lacking sake, I used a splash of Txakoli I had open from the night before, but vermouth or Shaoxing wine would probably also work. Thinly sliced daikon lines the bottom of your pot, which is then layered with julienned carrot and enoki mushrooms, and chunks of rich salmon. These are briefly simmered in a hearty mix of stock - I used leftover anchovy broth from my kimchi prep, made from these quick and convenient teabags - and the miso sauce, fortified with thinly sliced garlic and a couple tablespoons of butter. In keeping with my slightly brazen but ultimately well meaning gaijin agenda, I also added torn kale, and finished the dish with cilantro leaves and stems, a sprinkle of sansho pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
The result was deeply savory and remarkably satisfying, especially considering how quickly it all came together. Don’t sleep on the daikon - the humble radish seriously soaks up the flavors of the broth, while retaining just enough crunch.
*Noted exception for this chile butter chicken and vinegared potatoes from Alison Roman.
BAKED KALE + CABBAGE SALAD
(SB) This is a short and sweet letter of recommendation: I initially saw this baked kale and cabbage salad on Tik Tok and was drawn in by the red onion agrodolce and crispy quinoa. There are a few different components to assemble, but the combination is delicious and it’s been fun to play around with changes to this core structure. Shredded cabbage and kale are separately tossed with avocado oil and seasoned lightly with salt and pepper. These are roasted in a very hot oven for 25 and 7 minutes, respectively. The cabbage comes out with a light char, the kale pleasantly wilted. I usually use the cabbage pan to also roast some sort of squash or sweet potato, diced really small.
Everything gets combined in a big bowl, and doused with an agrodolce made up of thinly sliced shallots, olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, and herbs like sage and rosemary. I’ve substituted maple syrup for honey, and used thyme in lieu of sage. I usually also crack some pepper in there, for fun. The whole thing gets topped with a crispy quinoa –roasted, if you can believe it! Coating your quinoa in chili oil is great if you have it, but I’ve often been doing coconut oil with garlic powder and Espelette pepper powder. I like to go really long on the quinoa, and sometimes add crumbled ricotta salata and some roasted seeds, if I have them. I think of it as slow-casual.
PERMANENT ROTATION: Fresh off a weekend in the Granite State, we’re bumping the recipe for maple scones from Adair Country Inn, adapted/perfected by boyfriend of the newsletter David’s mother (and affectionately rebranded “fire scones” by our very cool and young and hip friends).
WISH LIST
(SB) Highly esteemed friend of the letter Shriya Samavai just launched a gorgeous Fall Collection and I’m personally lusting after this mudra-emblazoned Vedavalli shirt.
(JS) Seasoned readers know I’m a diehard Subu-head for all errands after November 1, so it will come as no surprise that I’m coveting all of the designs from their latest collab with Sandy Liang.
(SB & JS) Like moths to the scented flame, we are once again asking you to indulge our most obscure DS & Durga desires - should we start a Kickstarter to amass a menorah’s worth of Lightable Latkes? Is this what gets us to finally launch a paid tier?
I guess we’re still on Instagram!