Asian Ingredients

The SkyFOODS store in the Skyview Center in Flushing is boffo crazy and you can validate your parking if you spend enough. Here are some impulse purchases.

Chinese broccoli is also known as Gai Lan; it’s immediately recognizable if you get dim sum out; this was that exactly; pre-packaged bag lasted many days through many recipes: Stir Fried Beef with Chinese Broccoli (Serious Eats); Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) with Minced Garlic (Salu Salo Recipes); Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) with Oyster Sauce (Steamy Kitchen).

Chinese chives are not those dinky overpriced things in the clamshell but rather these reedy behemoths you can make chive pancakes with: Chive Pancake (Spice the Plate).

If you look up sweet potato leaves, most say they’re sort of like baby spinach but less bitter, which makes sense when you eat them; a hit; simply cooked, they’re a great side: Chao Fan Su Ye – Sweet Potato Leaves Stir-Fried with Garlic (Chubbypanda).

Journal: Burgers

Sam Sifton’s Tavern Burgers: Used the cast-iron skillet and did three minutes then four minutes, which was definitely medium rare. Round two tried four minutes and then five minutes — a little more where you wanted it.

Journal: Yogurt

Salton yogurt maker: unused wedding gift until fairly recently (and under threat of being unloaded on Goodwill). Heat 32 ounces of milk up to 180-190 degrees (approximately seven minutes on the front left burner), then let cool to 100-110 degrees (approximately 45 minutes). Mix with 1/4 cup yogurt, then put in machine for 12 hours.

Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook

Tried this, kind of to eliminate chicken funk, but it tasted good in the end. Chicken thighs marinaded overnight in white vinegar, sesame oil, salt, soy sauce, white pepper and grated garlic (a little of each). Then fried Ruhlman except with an egg wash and panko and no salt or pepper (on account of the marinade). Really good, unaccountably so. The sesame flavor comes through like it’s some wonderful Asian dish. I looked up vinegar and chicken and vinegar and meat just to make sure this wasn’t some fluke and I guess it’s not. Do again.

Eat Me, World: Japan

We did this Japanese-themed meal for book club. Yakisoba was somewhere between this and this. I wanted it to taste really fried and griddled but I’m assuming it was an operator error; still I think it tasted pretty OK. Bought Aonori (seaweed flakes) and Benishoga (pickled red-colored ginger) at the local Japanese food mart and that was a great addition. Made okonomiyaki for the second time using a cross between this and this; I cannot get it to flip correctly; assume it’s an operator error. Then had tonkatsu — or pork katsu — except I used pork shoulder meat (butcher’s recommendation). It was only $13.15 for like 20 cutlets and it totally worked.