all-purpose flour

Geoduck Fritters with a Sweet & Sour Chili Dipping Sauce

19 Apr 2011
Geoduck Fritters with a Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Geoduck Fritter with Sweet Chili Sauce

Sure a geoduck is a clam, an ugly clam with (let’s face it) a very phallic looking trunk that it projects from its shell in search of food.

But did you know that a geoduck could also be a fritter? Of course just about anything can be a fritter. But a geoduck makes a particularly tasty fritter. Especially when that fritter is designed to compliment the geoduck’s best feature. Its very special texture.

But let me backtrack.

You may have seen some tweets and twitpics from a recent day in my kitchen. Three bloggers and I got together to help I Love Blue Sea get its message out about delicious sustainable seafood. We did this by making cooking videos featuring all sorts of the high-quality seafood I Love Blue Sea sells.

My cohorts were Show Food Chef, Sushi Day and La Fuji Mama– each one worthy of the title culinary star. The videos and the recipes we showcased will be available at I Love Blue Sea soon. So I can’t divulge too much information.

Sippity Sup Continues »
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Geoduck Fritters with Sweet Chili Sauce

Geoduck Fritters with Sweet Chili Sauce
By jgreghenry Published April 19, 2011
Prep time: 20
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 6 T rice vinegar
  • 4 T water
  • 3 T sugar
  • 1 t garlic, peeled & minced
  • 0.5 t thai bird chile, seeded & minced (or more to taste)
  • 0.25 t salt
  • 3 c all-purpose flour
  • 4 t baking powder
  • 2 T orange mint, thai basil or regular mint
  • 1 T lemongrass, white tender parts only, minced
  • 1 T fresh ginger, minced
  • 0.5 t shichimi togarashi
  • 1 c clam juice
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1.5 c milk
  • 1 geoduck clam, cleaned, prepped and very thinly sliced
  • 0 oil as needed for frying
  • 0 kosher salt, to taste
  • 0 lemon wedges, to taste

Directions

Prepare the sweet chili sauce sauce: In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, water, sugar, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, minced bird's eye chili, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, then simmer until liquid is reduced just slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir sauce from time to time. Remove from heat and allow to cool before use. Prepare the fryer: Use a deep-fryer filled with oil according to manufacturer specifications. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Alternately, fill a large stockpot 1/3 full with oil and heat it to 350 degrees F. Prepare the batter: Stack the orange mint leaves, then roll them cigar-style and slice crosswise into thin strips. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, orange mint strips (or substitute), lemongrass, ginger, shichimi togarashi, clam juice and eggs. Add the milk a few tablespoons at a time until thick cake batter consistency is achieved. Add the geoduck slices and stir to combine thoroughly. Gently drop tablespoons of fritter batter into oil and cook, turning over often until deep golden brown, about 3 minutes. Do not crowd the fryer. Work in batches. Remove with a wire strainer to a paper towel-lined plate. Season immediately with kosher salt and additional shichimi togarashi. Arrange fritters on a platter, garnish with a squeeze of lemon and more mint leaves. Serve with bowl of sweet chile sauce on the side for dipping.

Notes:

serves 8 or more

Sup! Loves Cookbooks: Turquoise A Chef's Travels In Turkey

24 Feb 2010
Sup! Loves Cook Books: Turquoise A Chef's Travels In Turkey

I have made this cook book available in my OpenSky Shop. Just CLICK here to be taken straight there.

"Food Porn" just what does that mean? Where did the phrase even come from? I find the casual use of that term mildly disturbing and a bit inappropriate. It's not that I am a prude in any way (at all), but it does seem a bit disrespectful to actual pornography. Because it indicates a snobbish sort of elitism– a bit of tongue-in-cheek wryness designed to let the reader know just how hip we foodies think we must be. Do we really need to let the world know how cool and open-minded we are by embracing "pornography" in this superior way? Oh the irony of it, because (it seems to the world) that we foodies see pornography as – well, bourgeois.

Though to be fair, I suppose the term got its start because many of the same carnal (animalistic) instincts are tickled by both varieties of porn. Still food porn can embarrass me in a way that the other kind cannot.

Understanding the etymology of the term might help me embrace it and come to know what it means. Which may help me see why I find the term so ridiculous.

Sippity Sup Continues »
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Zucchini Fritters with Dill

Zucchini Fritters with Dill
By jgreghenry Published February 23, 2010
Prep time: 30
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 1.33333 lb zucchini
  • 0 sea salt
  • 1 small onion, grated
  • 1 clv garlic, peeled and minced
  • 4 oz feta, crumbled
  • 0.25 c dill, finely chopped
  • 2 T flat-leaf parseley, leaves
  • 2 eggs, well beaten
  • 0.333333 c all-purpose flour
  • 2 T rice flour
  • 0 fresh ground black pepper
  • 0 oilive oil, for frying

Directions

Grate the zucchini coarsely and put into a colander. Sprinkle lightly with salt and toss, then leave for 20 minutes to drain. Rinse the zucchini briefly, then squeeze it to extract as much liquid as you can and pat dry with kitchen paper. Mix the zucchini with the onion, garlic, feta, herbs and eggs in a large bowl. Sift on the flours, then season with pepper and stir to combine. Heat a little olive oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium heat until sizzling. Drop small tablespoons of batter into the hot oil and flatten gently. Cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve piping hot.

Notes:

makes 16 Source: Turquoise: A Chef's Travels Through Turkey