Day Trippin'

Today I decided to take a trip to my local Asian supermarket (something I'd meant to do for some time now,) and I certainly was pleasantly surprised. What awaited me was a plethora of 'authentic Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese products' of whom I am generally quite fond, as Asian cooking and ingredients have a special place in my heart.

While wandering the aisles for what seemed like hours (actually, it was hours) I found a wonderful selection of grocery list items that my usual HEB trips had failed to deliver. The oh-so -hard-to-find large tapioca pearls (giant 'faux caviar', beware,) shiro miso, lotus root, palm sugar, Chayote, curries and so much more leapt from the shelves into my basket.

Most notably, MT Supermarket has a fish and meat section to be reckoned with. The entire back wall of a gigantic store was packed with a wondrous selection of fresh fish and seafood, topped off by several large tanks full of live, swimming fish, as well what might be the largest pork selection ever (go figure.)

One item in particular caught my eye, and inspired this delicious and beautiful Thai recipe. Fresh, not frozen, head-on, prawns. Not really big shrimp, actual honest-to-gosh prawns (note the pincers.)


Grilled Prawns with Red Curry Vermicelli

1/2 lb. Prawns, heads removed, peeled (reserve heads)
1 T. red curry paste
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup Thai Basil, chiffonade
2 oz. Vermicelli (rice noodles)

Skewer the Prawn tails (head end down) to keep straight while cooking.
Season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Grill about 1-2 minutes a side.

Squeeze the 'goodness' out of the reserved Prawn heads.
Combine curry paste, coconut milk and the 'goodness.'
Bring to a simmer and whisk to dissolve.

Soak the vermicelli in water for about 5 minutes.
Cook in boiling water for another 5 minutes.
Drain. Toss with 1 T. curry and the basil.

Garnish:
1 Basil leaf
Lotus Root, peeled and sliced thin (about 1/8")
1 reserved Prawn head

Fry the basil leaf, lotus chips, and the Prawn head until crispy and golden.

Plate with more curry and enjoy.


All in all it was a wonderful dish, and it left me wishing I had bought about 15 more. These Prawns were like mini-lobsters, and had a similar flavor and sweet succulent ocean goodness. Grilling them lightly preserves that flavor and texture, and leaving the curry on the side allows you to regulate the heat level to your liking.

My New Favorite Salad

With my new toy arriving from Kerekes, I decided to take a few vegetables for a turn, and this salad was the glorious and delicious result.

Roasted Golden Beet, Carrot and Fennel Salad:

2 carrots, sliced
2 golden beets, roasted, sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced thin
4 strips bacon, cooked and diced (reserve fat)
1/4 avocado, sliced thin
1/4 cup Basil, chiffonade
1 egg, poached
1 slice Ciabatta topped with Idiazabal cheese, toasted

Dressing:
Reserved bacon fat
1/4 cup white balsamic
1 T. honey
salt and pepper as needed

Whisk to combine.

Toss carrots, beets, fennel, bacon, and basil with dressing.
Top with poached egg, avocado, and a chiffonade of basil.
Serve with cheese toast.

The crunch from the vegetables and the bacon matched with the smoothness of the egg and the avocado created a lovely textural contrast, and the yolk from the egg added a velvety richness. The cheese toast was a nice textural element as well as a tool to sop up all of the delicious runoff.

The Lab - Pea Ravioli

For my first foray into so-called 'molecular gastronomy' I decided to try my hand at re-creating an inspirational dish from Ferran Adria, the master himself. El Bulli's Pea Ravioli are one of their signature menu items that helped propel El Bulli into 'Best Restaurant in the World' status. Off I go.


Seeing as it was my first experiment with these ingredients, I referenced the hydrocolloid recipe collection at khymos.org.

Pea Ravioli:

Settling Bath:
1500 g Cold Water
10 g Calcium Chloride (0.67%)

Combine the water and the calcium chloride. Stir to dissolve. Chill.

130 g Frozen Peas
162 g Water
3 Mint Leaves
1.5 g Sodium Alginate (0.5%)

Heat the peas in enough water to cover for about 4-5 minutes. Add mint leaves for the last minute or so. Shock in ice water bath. Strain.


Combine the sodium alginate and water, blend to mix evenly. (I found it worked best to use a tall container and add the sodium alginate to the water gradually, with the immersion blender running.)

Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Cool to room temperature.


Combine the peas and the room temperature sodium alginate/water. Blend until smooth.


Dip a rounded (plastic measuring) Tablespoon into the bath, then pour the pea mixture just to fill the spoon. Dip the spoon into the bath, and rotate to release the 'ravioli.'


Let sit in the bath for two minutes (longer time creates a thicker coat) and then remove to a cold water bath.

Plate and serve immediately with sea salt and a mint sprig.



It took me a few tries to get the proper technique down for making nicely rounded shapes, but the results were spectacular. I found that coating the spoon with a little of the calcium chloride bath made it much easier for the mixture to release from the spoon, and helped to ensure the rounded shape. These 'ravioli' have a wonderful texture, the coating dissolves in the mouth and leaves just the essence of peas.

The Laboratory

Let the experimentation begin! I received my package from Willpowder today, and I can't wait to get into the kitchen and attempt to replicate all of the crazy things I have seen/read about. Ferran Adria and Wylie Dufresne beware.

I went for the gusto and chose three of the 'package' offers: Balls of Fury (Sodium Alginate, Calcium Chloride, Sodium Citrate, Calcium Lactate, and Calcium Lactate Gluconate), The Pantry (Lecithin, Egg White Powder, Tapioca Maltodextrin, Agar Agar, and Xanthan Gum, Honey Granules), and the Crazy for Meth (5 types of Methylcellulose.)

Stay tuned for a host of fun experiments to come.