lemongrass

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.

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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

Quail Escabeche: Because I Said I Would

30 Mar 2011
quail escabeche

Quail escabeche. Little pickled birds.


Are you still with me? I said weeks ago that a covey of quail was coming.


But you didn't think I would actually do this recipe did you? It's a heck of a recipe though, full of global influences. It's exactly the kind of food I love. But when I said a few weeks ago that I could do quail if I wanted to. You didn't really think I would, now did you?


And you claim to know me. HA! Because I was saving this recipe for when my mood got just sour enough to match the bite in these little pickled birds!


Now I see what's going on in blogland, and sometimes I just have to take a stand for the kind of food I believe in. I know that it's cupcakes and healthy snacks for kids that get all the love juice right now. Those are some lovable topics. But we don't ALL have to post the same recipes... do we?


Still I realize with all the gingerbread surprises out there, you may have very little room left on your virtual plate for little pickled birds. You don't even like me saying it do you? Little pickled birds. That's why I am pretty proud of the few of you who are still reading these words.


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Quail Escabeche

Quail Escabeche
By jgreghenry Published February 26, 2011
Prep time: 90
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 4 whole quail
  • 2 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 small fennel bulbs (1 lb total) stalks trimmed and bulbs minced
  • 3 medium shallots, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 lwmongrass stalk, 1 or 2 outer layers removed & lower 4 inches minced
  • 0.5 c raisins
  • 1 (2-inch) piece mexican cinnamon stick
  • 1.5 c dry sherry
  • 0.25 c sherry vinegar
  • 1 T flat leafed parsley, minced
  • 0 salt and pepper to taste
  • 0 additional olive oil to taste for drizzling

Directions

Place the rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 350 degrees F. Wash and thoroughly dry the quail. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch skillet with a lid, until it shimmers. Sear quail on all sides until golden brown, abou 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Add fennel, shallots, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to skillet and saute until fennel is well softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in lemongrass, raisins, cinnamon stick, sherry and sherry vinegar. Bring to a boil, then cover the skillet and move it to the oven to braise the vegetables about 20 minutes. Pull the skillet from the oven, remove the lid and add a bit of water if necessary. Not too much, just enough to keep the vegetables fluid and easy to move around the skillet. Nestle the quail on top. Cover and return to the oven to continue braising another 30 minutes until the thigh pulls easily from the joints. Cool completely, uncovered. Serve at room temperature, drizzled with olive oil.
Source: Adapted from Raquel Carena

FoodBuzz Challenge #7: Foodie Film Festival

05 Nov 2010
ingredients for Sippity Sup's Scallop & Crab Cakes

CLICK here & then on the 'heart' to VOTE for me

Welcome to week 7 in the #PFB2010 Competition. It's the video challenge, and I've decided to present an entire Foodie Film Festival! The feature presentation is a new release, but if you like what you see– you may want to stick around and view some of my favorite videos from the past. Just click the links at the bottom of this post.

Even though I consider myself something of a foodie auteur, I've seen plenty of bloggers do it much better. Check out Average Betty or Food Wishes and you'll see what good food videos for the web are all about. Still I have so much fun making them – though I admit they're a lot of work. Which is the reason I just don't make them as often as I'd like.

Which means I've been looking forward to this challenge more than any other. I knew it would force me out of my complacency and into the editing room. In fact my very first post ever on this blog was a cooking video. And from the very beginning I've always believed that if a blog is going to have a video, then that video needs to be fun and it needs to be accesible. Talking heads are fine for the Food Network, but this is the web and we have our own way of doing things.

My videos are fast-paced and stimulating. In other words, frenetic and loud! However, I also load them chock-full of useful food advice or actual recipes, without bogging them down with too much detail. After all, I figure you're an intelligent person who knows a few things about cooking and the wider world. Otherwise why would you even be here? I mean, do I really need to show every single step in monotonous detail in order to inspire you in the kitchen? I don't think so.

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