Southeast Asia Photo of the Day

I can't promise every day, since I don't have wifi availability all the time, but I'll try to share some of the amazing (usually) food related pix of my current trip on a regular basis.  I'll mostly be keeping them in chronological order. I might also share some ideas or recipes.

First up this photo from Phonm Penh, Cambodia, is the Green Mango Salad I made at La Table Khmere Cooking School and Restaurant. A little sweet, a little tart, a little salty with a nice crunch and lightness, I'll be making this again when I get home.

Happy 2015

I'm traveling in Southeast Asia, but promise I'll find some time to catch up on some content, recipes, stories, etc.  here's wishing you a year of adventure, health, happiness and good things to eat and share.  The photo is of a dish of chicken amok steamed in banana leaf I made in a Phnom Penh cooking class.

A Celebration of Six Years - Thai Vegetable Curry Cooked Inside a Pumpkin

This is Blog Appetit's sixth blog-o-versary. I like to mark my blog's anniversary with either mawkish sentiment or a celebration recipe.  This year I did both. You can read the sentimental part here. Now on to the recipe.

There's a lot of background on this pumpkin curry dish. First I love Thai pumpkin curry in all of its guises and wanted to create my own version.  Next I love baking things in pumpkins -- to date I've made custards, South American corn stew, turkey chilis and soups in pumpkins, so I've got a theme going on. (Unfortunately, none of these dishes are on the blog. Yet.)  I also like cooking with pumpkins and winter squash so you'll find lots of recipes and how tos on the blog for that.  And when it comes to cooking savory dishes in a pumpkin my preference is for the tasty, nutty flesh of the kabocha, also called Japanese pumpkin and a type of winter squash that is reportedly used in Thailand.

Also, aside from whacking off the pumpkin "lid" and cleaning out those pesky strings and seeds (really it should just take you a few minutes), it is a very easy recipe but has a wonderful wow factor making it a perfect celebration dinner dish.  Like for a blog-o-versary.

Thai Vegetarian Curry Baked in a Pumpkin
Serves 4-6

You may be able to “harvest” the cup of squash chunks for the stir fry during your pumpkin prep. If not, use the sweet potato pieces instead. (If you need tips on cutting and cleaning a pumpkin, please check out my pumpkin "boot camp" post.) If you are avoiding animal products, be sure to read the ingredient label of your red curry paste. Some are made with shrimp and many have fish sauce. The level of spiciness varies between brands of curry paste, so you may need to increase or decrease the amount accordingly. This recipe will serve about 4 people if it’s the only main dish but more if there are other entrees or a lot side dishes. I served this over red jasmine rice, but regular white or brown jasmine or other rice would work well.

1 large kobacha pumpkin
15 oz. can regular or light coconut milk
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 ½ cups chopped onion
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 large carrot, cut into ¼” rounds
1 cup of ½” red pepper chunks
2 cups of ½” chunks of Asian, Thai or Italian eggplant (unpeeled)
1 cup ½” winter squash or sweet potato chunks
2 cups quartered button or crimini mushroom caps
1 Tbs. (or to taste) prepared red curry paste
2 cups ½” cubes of wheat gluten and or pressed, firm tofu
½ cup fresh Thai or Italian basil, divided.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut top off pumpkin, reserve. Clean out seeds and strings. Pour can of coconut milk into pumpkin. Cover with reserved lid. Put on a rimmed baking dish or pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes until just tender.

While the pumpkin is baking, make the curry. Heat oil in wok or large fry pan. Sauté onions, garlic and ginger until the onions are beginning to brown and soften. Add the carrots and peppers and stir fry or sauté for a few minutes until slightly charred and browned. Add eggplant and squash chunks. Stir fry or sauté until eggplant and squash have begun to soften and brown. Add mushrooms. Stir fry or sauté for a minute then add the red curry paste. Mix well. Add the wheat gluten or tofu and continue to stir fry or sauté for a few minutes. Take off heat and reserve until the pumpkin is ready.

Once the pumpkin’s flesh is just tender (test with a fork), remove the baking pan from the oven, but keep the oven on. Wearing oven mitts, remove top and carefully pour coconut milk into stir fry vegetable mixture. Be careful not to rip or tear the pumpkin shell. Bring vegetables and coconut milk to a simmer, stirring frequently until the vegetables are almost cooked through and the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce. Taste and add more red curry paste if desired. Stir in ¼ cup of the basil, cooking for an additional minute. Spoon curry inside pumpkin until packed, replace pumpkin lid and return to the baking dish and place in the oven for about 30 minutes or until pumpkin flesh is soft all the way through and curry is heated through. To serve, remove the lid, sprinkle with remaining basil and scoop out some of the pumpkin flesh with the curry.

A note about pumpkin size and integrity. If your squash proves to be too small (which has happened to me), just reheat your extra veggie curry and serve alongside the pumpkin encased version, or refill your pumpkin as the contents diminish. I did have an unfortunate tear when I poured out the coconut milk from the pumpkin in the photo above but was able to “mend” the rip with skewers and the squash held together admirably during cooking.

Filipino Cooking Class at Oakland Asian Cultural Center

I've taken two Filipino cooking classes from the Asian Seasonal Cooking Class series at Oakland Asian Cultural Center.

This slide show and recipes are from the first, which was last November. Watch for a more complete write up and photos from the more recent class this past May. In the meantime, if you live in Oakland, the OACC is fighting for its programming which is threatened by severe cuts by one of its major funders, the Oakland (CA) City Council. Please email your city council member and let him or her know you support the work of the OACC in preserving and transmitting local Asian cultures. For more on the OACC, click here. For info on how to contact your city council representative, contact Jennifer Chu, Development Coordinator, at jchu@oacc.cc.

If you want to learn more about why I, a Jew of Russian-German heritage, regard this Asian American organization as important, please read this post.

Back to the cooking class. We made a classic comfort food dish from the Philippines -- arroz caldo or lugo or lugaw -- a rice soup a little like Chinese jook or congee but with sweet (glutinous) rice. The soup had a rich, full flavor from the chicken stock, with lots of other flavorings and seasonings. Here is a link to the pdf with all the info on that workshop and the recipe. The workshop was led by Herna Cruz-Louie, the Executive Director and Co-Founder for American Center of Philippine Arts. The recipe below is hers and used with her permission and with her directions and notes.

LUGAW (LUGAO) / ARROZ CALDO
Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

- Small whole chicken (orThighs and Wings)
- Fried Tofu
- Celery
- Garlic
- Onions
- Ginger
- Kosher Salt
- Whole Black Peppercorns
- Canola Oil
- Sweet (Glutinous) Rice
- Fish Sauce
- Scallions

CHICKEN BROTH:

- Small Whole Chicken or Thighs and Wings ( about 3 /2 lb..)
- 2 Celery Stalks
- 1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of whole black peppercorn

Combine all of the ingredients with 10 cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is tender (about 30 minutes).
**Prep all your ingredients for the Lugaw while you wait!**

Transfer chicken pieces with tongs to a plate to cool. Strain the broth through a mesh strainer into another large saucepan and bring back to a slight simmer over low to medium heat. Continue to simmer, adjusting the heat if necessary while we cook the Lugaw.

When the chicken has cooled, remove the skin and use your fingers to remove meat from the bones and shred the chicken.

**LUGAW:

- 3 tablespoons of canola oil
- 2 heads of garlic (cloves peeled and crushed)
- 1 fresh ginger, 2-inch piece (peeled and julienned)
- 1 medium-sized onion, diced
- 1 cup of sweet (glutinous) rice
- 8-10 cups of homemade chicken broth (to preference)
- fish sauce (to taste)
- 1 cup of fried tofu
- fresh ground pepper (to taste)
- 5 scallions, sliced for garnish

Warm 3 tablespoons of canola oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add crushed garlic cloves (1 head of garlic) and cook in the oil until golden brown and crisp. Transfer the garlic out of the saucepan and onto a paper towel lined plate or bowl to drain.

Using the oil left in the pan, add the peeled and julienned ginger, diced onions and the remainder of the crushed garlic cloves to the pan and saute until the onion is translucent. Add 1 cup of sweet rice and saute until the rice is evenly coated with oil. Add 1 cup of warm chicken broth and stir until most of the broth is absorbed. Continue adding a cup of chicken broth at a time, stirring frequently, until the rice begins to break down. This will take 30-45 minutes. Add less broth for a thicker consistency.

Stir in the shredded chicken, fried tofu, 2-3 tablespoons of fish sauce (to taste) and black pepper (to taste). Ladle the Lugaw into individual serving bowls and top off each bowl with sliced scallions and Fried Garlic.

Asian Cooking Classes in Oakland Chinatown

The wonderful Oakland Asian Cultural Center is once again sponsoring a series of workshops on Asian cooking. Sign up for Tibetan, Filipino and/or Mongolian workshops on Dec. 12, 13 and 19 by calling OACC program director April Kim at 510.637.0462. Class size is limited to 15 participants.

The workshops go from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. are completely hands on and include lunch. You learn a recipe or two and get exposed to a culture and immigrant experience. Classes are affordable, just $5to $30 each (sliding scale).

For more information, please go to the OACC website.

The December 12 Tibetan workshop will be focused on a traditional fermented cheese soup, churu. The December 13 Filipino workshop focuses on arroz caldo, a traditional comfort food.
The December 19th Mongolian food class centers on buuz, wheat dumplings. That class is already sold out, but you can be put on the waiting list by calling April.

To see some of the slide shows, recipes and other info I've posted about the OACC's series of Asian food workshops, please click here. I will be attending all three workshops. Hope to see you there.

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About the photo: Tools of the trade from a previous class on Vietnamese crepes

Laotian Food in Oakland

I've been remiss about writing about my experiences with the Laotian food resources and restaurants here in Oakland, but Andrew Simmons of Bay Area Bites hasn't. He's written a wonderful article about the food and the people who create it here.

He mentions the classes at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center taught by Sokham Senthavilay. (That a photo of her to the left teaching a cooking class at the OACC.) I've taken two classes with her and was very impressed with the flavors, textures and tastes of Laotian food. You can read what I've written about the OACC classes and Sokham here. (True confession, I have several other posts with photos planned from the classes and haven't written them yet.)

See what the OACC has posted about the workshops here (including links to recipes).

The OACC may be planning more Asian culinary workshops in the near future. I'll be sure to post about them when more info becomes available.

A special thank you goes out to the Alliance for California Traditional Arts which has funded the OACC workshops.

National Vegan Month and an Asian-Inspired Stuffed Cabbage

The back story to this recipe is that I met an editor of VegNews at the BlogHer Food conference. We got to talking and she told me November was National Vegan Month. I was inspired to develop several vegan recipes to celebrate the month and to help me reduce the animal fats in my own diet. This Asian-inspired stuffed cabbage is stuffed with a veggie-packed stir-fried rice and features a zippy sesame soy sauce. (Use a wheat free soy or tamari sauce to make it gluten free.) The recipe was developed for my twice-a-month food column at the j. You can see the complete article here.

What is this Asian-ish dish doing in a Jewish newsweekly? Well, my wonderful editors really give me free reign on what I choose to write, but stuffed cabbages of all sorts are traditional Eastern European dishes. (Plus other Jewish communities stuff cabbage and grape leaves as well as vegetables with all kinds of rice pilafs and mixtures.) And there are Jewish communities throughout Central Asia and the East, where traditional dishes have been adapted to local ingredients, so just think of it as a Far East Eastern European speciality!

Asian-Style Cabbage Rolls with Sesame-Soy Sauce
Serves 3 to 4

Large Savoy or green cabbage
4 Tbs. vegetable oil, divided, plus oil for baking pan
¼ cup chopped onions
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
½ cup chopped, peeled jicama
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
¼ cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped fresh shitake mushrooms
½ cup chopped cabbage
2 green onions (white and green parts), sliced into thin rounds
½ tsp. salt
2 Tbs. of Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 cups of cold, cooked long grain rice
¼ cup chopped cilantro, plus additional for garnish
3 Tbs. soy or tamari sauce
2 tsp. of chili paste (such as sambal oelek)
2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
2 Tbs. Japanese or Chinese-style sesame oil

First prep the cabbage leaves. Score the bottom of the cabbage all the way around stem with a knife to detach the leaves from the stem. Pull off 10 of the outer leaves, making additional cuts at the stem if needed. Place the leaves in boiling water in a large pot. (You may want to prepare a few additional leaves in case of rips and tears or if you have some leftover stuffing.) Cover and simmer for four to five minutes or until tender and pliable. Drain and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x12-inch baking pan with oil.
In a wok or large frying pan, heat 2 Tbs. oil over high heat. Add onions, stir fry 1 minute. Add in garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes, stir fry for a minute. Add jicama, red bell pepper and carrots. Stir fry 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, stir fry 2 minutes. Add the cabbage. Stir fry 1 minute. Add the green onions, salt and wine and mix well. Add cold rice, mix well and stir fry for 2 minutes, breaking up any clumps. Take off the heat. Stir in ¼ cup cilantro.

Spread a cabbage leaf on a cutting board. Cut off hard end of stem. Place ¼ cup of filling in the middle of the leaf. Fold over the two shorter sides of the leaf over the filling. Fold over one of the longer sides, then the other. Place folded side down in the prepared baking pan. Repeat with other leaves until you have 10 stuffed rolls. Bake, covered with foil, for about 30 minutes or until the rolls are heated through.

While the rolls heat, mix 2 Tbs. vegetable oil with the soy sauce, chili paste, vinegar, sugar and sesame oil in a bowl. Mix well. Stir again and drizzle half over the cabbage rolls and garnish with cilantro before serving. Pass remaining sauce on the side.

Update: I've posted a second vegan cabbage roll recipe -- Eastern European style with a sweet and sour tomato sauce. You can check it out here.

Of Okras and Paw Paws - The South Rises in Oakland (Plus a Tamarind Okra Recipe)

There has been a bit of a southern renaissance in Oakland, or at least my awareness of the southerneness that has shaped the city's tastes and politics has been kicked up a notch.

There are at least two gourmet "soul" food restaurants now in Oakland with others on the way. Oakland has always been home to more neighborhood places and several renown barbecue stands. (My family has always been partial to Everett and Jones, but Flint's is good, too.) Today, walking to the farmer's market from my car I noticed the Latin American tapas place had closed and was being replaced by another upscale Southern food restaurant. Across from the market I saw the French crepe place had morphed into a soul fusion cafe.

The farmer's market at the Grand Lake/Lakeshore Splashpad Park had several stands brimming over with green pint baskets of fresh and succulent okra, a staple of southern cooking, as well as in Indian and other Southeast Asian cuisines. But I also saw a basket full of paw paws, a fruit much like the cherimoya or custard apple that ranges through the south to parts of the Midwest. I have read of paw paws in food histories as well as seen fiction and non-fiction references but it was my first time face to fruit. These specimens (sorry I didn't take a photo) were the size and shape of small russet potatoes with a greenish yellow skin turning brown in spots. It was almost funny with stands full of such exotica as homemade goat cheese, Afghan delicacies, and variety after variety of Asian greens, that it was the humble paw paw that captured my imagination.

It also got me thinking about Oakland and it's ties to the American South. I don't want to get too scholarly here (nor do too much research), but it was the Depression and WWII war-effort employment that brought African-Americans and others from the South to Oakland. The powers that be were aghast at the what this influx of mostly Democrat voters would do to their Republican (and white) bastions of power in the city. One result was a change in the city government in Oakland, with a strong council and city manager and a weak mayor.

There is so much more to say about this topic, but I don't have the inclination to do the research right now. In the meantime, please enjoy my okra with tamarind sauce. The okra came from a Central Valley farm stand my husband stopped by earlier this week. The recipe is more Thai or Indian than Southern, but it was the okra that started me thinking about the debt this city owes its transplanted Southern roots. In a way it fits in with this post, because it owes much to all the different ethnic influences that thrive here in Oakland.

Tamarind Okra
Serves 2

2 Tbs. canola oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 small bird's eye or similar chiles, chopped (seeded if desired)
2-3 cups okra, in 1/2" thick slices
2 tsp. tamarind paste or concentrate
1/2 cup or more water
1 tsp. sugar (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. fish sauce (Thai or Vietnamese style)

Heat oil in a fry or saute pan over medium heat. Saute onion until light brown, add garlic and peppers, saute until garlic is beginning to turn golden. Add okra and saute until okra is beginning to soften. In a separate bowl combine tamarind, water, sugar and fish sauce, stir well to combine, then add to the pan with the okra. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the okra is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. (Add more water if necessary.)

Spring When It Sizzles -- Vietnamese Banh Xeo Pancakes with Greens

The Oakland Asian Cultural Center is sponsoring a series of Asian cooking lessons with the idea of passing on these traditional foods to those who might not have grown up learning all about Laotian fresh bamboo soup or Thai green curry from their parents or grandparents. The OACC classes (which are supported by the Alliance for California Traditional Arts) put the emphasis on eating seasonally as well. For more info about the classes and how to sign up, click here.

The latest class was on Vietnamese Banh Xeo eaten with fresh greens. Taught by Thy Tran of Wandering Spoon, it was a hands-on class on this classic, which is sometimes known as sizzling or happy sounds crepe or pancake for the sound the batter should make when it hits the hot pan. (You can hear the sizzle and directions here from Tran's website.) For a slideshow featuring highlights of the class, click here.

Thy shared stories of her childhood, food experiences and her amazing mother, who taught her how to make this dish. She was determined to teach the process to us as she had learned it, by watching and then trying. She also passed on lots of tips that only experience can teach, everything from what products she found the best (see recommendations in the recipe) to tricks for peeling ginger and turmeric (use the side of a tablespoon).

Thy had us break into groups to make the rice flour batter from scratch -- from soaked rice. We added turmeric and scallions and ground the rice with water almost into a fine paste. Thy advised a little bit of grit for a better texture crepe. An acceptable option is starting with the pre-ground rice flour (look for Erawan brand with three elephants and be sure to get the kind with a red label) available from Asian markets. (To use it mix with ground turmeric, coconut milk and water until it is a creamy paste then proceed with the recipe.)

Then it was on to happy sounds; the sizzling of the crepe batter hitting the pans. Or, in some cases the not so happy sounds of students having to dump their batter out and starting over again because they used too much oil, too much batter or they started before their pans were hot enough. Thy had us frying in woks, an Indian dosa pan, a cast iron fry pan (class and Thy favorite), and a non-stick fry pan. The woks were the hardest to control, but created the most spectacularly large and golden crepes.

When the bahn xeo better was about half way cooked in the pan, we added our own combinations of cooked mung beans, stir fried pork and/or shrimp, and raw mung bean sprouts. Then we let the crepes cook until they were golden, the edges browned and a spatula inserted underneath could lift the pancake cleanly.

A quick flip of the spatula to fold the pancake in half, a slide onto the plate and it was ready for eating with dipping sauce and lots of Asian greens and red leaf lettuce. While there was a bounty of fresh greens around us, Thy was nostalgic for the really young and tender spring greens she has eaten these crepes with before, especially the ones her mother grows on her Midwestern property. We, her students, had to make do with the greens from the downtown Old Oakland Friday farmer's market (known for its Asian produce). It was a feast, and one we had all made for ourselves. We were the ones making the "happy sounds" as we devoured it all.

Here is the recipe from Thy that we used. I made a very few changes based on my notes, but the recipe is not mine. This recipe is copyright Thy Tran and is used with her permission.

Banh Xeo -- Vietnamese Sizzling Crepe
Recipe Courtesy Thy Tran, Wanderspoon.com

Makes about 8 crepes, enough for 4-5 when served with the Asian Vegetable Platter

Batter
2 cups jasmine rice, soaked in water at least 4 hours
1/2 cup of coconut milk (Thy likes Chaokoh brand)
4 scallions, whites only, chopped
1 inch turmeric root, peeled and chopped, OR 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt

Filling
1 pound pork tenderloin, julienned or coarsely ground pork
1/2 pound whole shrimp, peeled (deveined if desired)
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fish sauce (Thy likes Three Crabs, Golden Boy or Flying Lion brand)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus (lots) extra for cooking filling and crepes
Pinch of sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dried split mung beans,
2 cups mung bean sprouts
4 scallions, greens only, sliced thinly

To grind the batter: In a blender combine the soaked, drained rice, coconut milk, scallion whites and turmeric root. Add about a cup of cold water and puree until rice is finely ground in a think batter. Drizzle in more water if needed to keep the mixture moving. It should look smooth, but still be a little coarse to the touch. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in additional water, if needed, to obtain the consistency of thick cream. Season to taste with the salt. (Can be refrigerated up to 3 days).

To prepare the filling: Marinate the pork and the shrimp in two separate bowls. Put in each 3 cloves of garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons of fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Season with sugar and black pepper, rubbing the pork and the shrimp to coat evenly with the marinade. (Les sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.)

Saute pork and shrimp separately in a small amount of oil in a hot wok or large skillet. Set aside. Boil the mung beans in water until al dente (about 20 minutes), drain and set aside.

When everything is ready, heat a well seasoned wok or large skillet over a medium flame. When hot, add about 1 tablespoon oil. Stir the batter and then ladle in enough batter to make an 8 inch crepe, tilting the pan to spread it evenly. (See the You Tube video above for a demonstration.)
Scatter the bean sprouts, scallion greens, split mung beans and the cooked pork and shrimp over the crepe. Cook, uncovered, until golden and the edges are lightly brown. (Thy drizzles a bit more oil around the edges of the crepe to help them brown.) Fold the crepe in half and slide on individual plates.

Serve with Asian greens, nuoc cham dipping sauce and pickled daikon and carrots (see recipes below).

To eat, take a piece of lettuce or mustard green. Add in some of the herbs and vegetables and break off a piece of the filled crepe. Roll up the herbs, vegetables and crepe morsel inside the leaf. Dip in nuoc cham and eat.

Asian Greens Platter
One head of red-leaf or Boston lettuce, leaves separated and left whole
One bunch of flat-leafed, young mustard greens
One bunch each: fresh mint, cilantro, red perilla (shiso) and rau ram
Mung Bean sprouts
Cucumbers, cut into thin spears

Wash and dry the greens and herbs. Put on platters with vegetables and serve with the crepes.

Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 cloves garlic, mashed and finely minced
2 red Thai chiles, sliced thinly.

In a glass jar, combine all with 1/4 to 1/2 cup water. Shake or stir until sugar is dissolved. Adjust to taste.

Thy also served her crepes with some lightly pickled carrots and daikon. Here are her directions for making them.

Pickled Carrots and Daikon
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 carrot, peeled, thinly sliced
1 small, young daikon, peeled a, thinly sliced

In a small saucepan stir together the vinegar, sugar, sale and 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, stir in the carrot and daikon and set aside to cool uncovered. Drain before serving. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

The crepes were also served with Rooster brand chile garlic sauce at the table for those who wanted to add a jolt of hotness to their experience.

Banh Xeo Slideshow

While I'm waiting for okay to publish the recipes, here's a slideshow of the recent Oakland Asian Cultural Center class on banh xeo (sizzling crepes) to whet your appetite. Update: Thy Tran of Wandering Spoon and the Asian Culinary Forum graciously okayed the use of her recipes.
You can read about the class experience and see the recipe here.

Korean on a Plate and From the Store -- Spicy Chicken, Potato and Spinach Stew

To say I enjoy exploring ethnic markets is a serious understatement. I love to spelunk the racks of unfamiliar spices, marvel at the vaguely other-worldly produce, climb over piles of not-quite-sure-how-you-use-it cookware and generally try to stuff myself with the food and experiences of another country's cuisine. An ethnic cookbook is always a good guide, especially if there are phonetic or foreign language spellings I can show a helpful clerk. An even better guide is a native eater and cook to help translate the experience for me, recommend products and brands and share recipes.

A few months ago I was driving down Telegraph Avenue in Oakland CA headed somewhere else (I think I was headed toward Whole Foods) when I spotted Koreana Plaza. I made a quick u-turn, parked and entered ethnic market nirvana. The first impression was the scent of sesame oil, garlic and soy. It was heavenly. Then I noticed the aisles of hot and cold prepared foods, a bakery counter, fish market, produce store, frozen delicacies and lots and lots of dried and canned Korean, Japanese and Chinese speciality products were there. There was even a whole aisle of red pepper paste, red pepper flakes, ground red pepper, red pepper threads and other incendiary versions of that spicy capsicum. (I may have been hallucinating because the next time I went it really wasn't a whole aisle.) Plus an entire, separate building of Korean house and kitchen wares.

I was shopping for a Super Bowl party and quickly abandoned my vague plans of fresh veggies and dips for a Korean feast. I bought everything from the ready-to-eat counter. To be honest I wasn't really sure what I was buying but I just dug right in for the adventure. The hit of the appetizers I set out was with the crab pancakes or fritters you see in the photo above.

While I've always enjoyed Korean food, I've never really tried to cook it and didn't even own a dedicated cookbook on the cuisine (quite a feat when you have as many cookbooks as I do). I began some research and have begun exploring more of the store and cuisine. A Korean friend while not exactly dismissive of the store tells me if I think Koreana Plaza is amazing I should see the Korean grocery stores in Los Angeles. My response to her -- when can we go?

A Korean Feast

For the joint birthdays of one of our best friends who is like an aunt to our sons and our youngest son we had a Korean feast. It was a weekday and I didn't have much time so I picked up the appetizers and all the banchan (sometimes spelled panchan), or little side dishes or salads, pre-made at Koreana Plaza. These included a seaweed salad, seasoned black beans, a mung bean sprouts dish, pickled radish, napa cabbage kimchi, Japanese cucumber kimchi, pickled garlic, garlic stem kimchi and more. For appetizers I picked up a kind of Korean sushi made with fish cakes and the little crab crepes that were a hit at the Super Bowl party. I also made some fresh soy beans to munch on and had some Japanese rice crackers.

To serve with all those side dishes, I grilled the pre-marinated beef short ribs ($5.99 a pound) I had gotten from Koreana Plaza. They were juicy, tasty and irresistible. I also made a vegetable and fresh rice noodle dish, white rice, cucumber salad (which I kept on the bland side for those who don't relish setting their palette on fire with all the red pepper taste I had going in the meal) and a Korean-inspired Spicy Chicken, Potato and Spinach Stew.

While I had green tea with roasted barley (a Korean standby), the adults stuck to red wine or sake, the kids grape or mango juice.

Here's the recipe for the stew. Watch for more Korean-inspired food as I continue exploring Koreana Plaza and other Korean resources in the San Francisco Bay area.

Spicy Chicken, Potato and Spinach Stew

Serves Six

This recipe was inspired by the recipe for Stewed Chicken With Potatoes in Dok Suni: Recipes from My Mother's Korean Kitchen by Jenny Kwak. My copy of the book was borrowed from the Oakland (CA) Public Library. Exploring the ethnic cookbooks from the library has always been one of my favorite ways to get up to plan my "trip" to a new cuisine.

This stew is spicy, true, but not the burn your lips and leave you sputtering kind of spicy. The broth kind of excites the taste buds and gives a gentle burn in the back of throat. Feel free to adjust the seasoning to your taste. The combination of pepper, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds and soy sauce is unbeatable. This makes a very soupy stew. Serve it in a bowl, with rice if you would like.

2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
4-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed or minced
3-4 pounds chicken thighs on the bone
6 large new red potatoes, sliced into 1/2-inch slices
4 tablespoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup of soy sauce (low sodium okay)
2 tablespoons of sake (Japanese rice wine), Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon of Asian sesame oil
1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of water (or more)
2 bunches (about 1 1/2 pounds) of spinach, cleaned, stemmed and roughly chopped
Salt if needed
4 whole green onions (scallions), cleaned, roots cut off and sliced into 1" lengths (including greens)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Put the cooking oil in a large, deep skillet or in a large soup pot. Heat to medium high and add onions and saute until golden. Add garlic and saute until lightly brown. Add chicken, skin side down. Brown top and bottom. (Work in batches if needed). Add potatoes, red pepper flakes, sugar, soy sauce, wine and sesame oil. Mix well. Saute for a minute or two to blend flavors. Add water, stir well to combine. Cover and cook about 20-30 minutes over a medium heat.

Periodically check and add more water if needed. When the chicken is almost cooked through and the potatoes are tender, stir in the spinach. Cover and cook until the chicken and spinach are done, then taste and correct the seasoning with the salt if needed. Add in the sliced green onions. Stir well and cook until the onions are wilted, (about 2-3 minutes). Remove stew from the heat and transfer to a serving bowl if desired. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

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By the way, I started preparing this whole meal at 4:30 and was ready for company at 6:30, mostly thanks to the prepared foods I picked up at Koreana Plaza. In addition to the Oakland location, the store has another location outside Sacramento, CA. Check the website for more info.

Sign Up Now for Oakand Asian Cooking Classes

Last year I had the extraordinary chance to participate in a remarkable series of cooking classes at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC) in downtown Oakland.

Program director April Kim has put together this year's line up of classes focusing on fresh, seasonal traditional dishes of Oakland's Asian communities. The classes promise to be just as rewarding (and tasty.)

To register, please call April Kim (510) 637- 0462. To see my photos, write ups and slide shows from last year's classes, click here.

Here's the info from the OACC:

"This series of eight Asian culinary workshops will focus on traditional food culture driven by seasonal and local ingredients. The aim of these workshops is to keep traditional culinary practice and food culture alive and thriving, focusing on the oral passing of knowledge and personal story telling; fostering the kind of dialogue that only happens in the kitchen. Each workshop will be followed by lunch provided by OACC and featuring the freshly made seasonal dish."

The OACC is asking for a $5-$30 donation per class to cover the cost of the food and materials, but will offer scholarships if needed. Registration is limited to 15 participants per workshop, and is on a first come first served basis.

The Workshops:

May 2, 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Fresh Bamboo Soup and Watercress Salad, Laos, by Sokham Senthavilay (She is shown in the photo above teaching last year's class on larb, green papaya salad and sticky rice.)

May 16, 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Banh Xeo and Spring Herbs, Vietnam, by Thy Tran of the Asian Culinary Forum and Wanderingspoon.com

June 6, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Demystifying Chinese Greens, China, by Linh Phu, former Chef at Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco. Please note that this workshop will begin in the grocery stores of Oakland Chinatown to see and talk about the greens and then move to the OACC kitchen. Limited to 10 participants.

July 18, 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Riot of Summer Vegetables and Korean Sides, Korea, by Cecilia Hae Jin Lee, author of Eating Korean

July 25, 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Green Curry from Scratch, Thailand, Chat Mingkwan, author of The Best of Regional Thai Cuisine and Buddha’s Table-Thai Vegetarian

More workshops will be scheduled in the fall and winter.

FYI: The OACC also sponsors a regular series of fruit and vegetable carving classes. For more information on those and other OACC classes, please click here.

UPDATE: Some of the classes have been so popular, extra sessions have been added. Contact April for more info or to get on the mailing list for the next series.

Laotian Cooking Class at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center

Soup -- Thai Chicken Curry Transformed

That Pim.
Thoughtful, dedicated, talented, well-traveled and a good Samaritan to boot. Oh, did I mention she can really cook? And blog? Check out Chez Pim for yourself.

I was one of her raffle helpers a few weeks ago for Menu for Hope II and she served us a wickedly good Thai curry noodle dish that has haunted me ever since. Thanks to Brett of In Praise of Sardines I now know we had khao soi, a northern Thai curry chicken and noodle dish. (The photo above shows the accompaniments Pim served with the curry.)

That dish inspired my own, much less authentic version of a Thai Chicken Curry. I very loosely adapted a recipe from Thai Table. I used Thai red curry paste, some chopped onions, bite-size pieces of chicken breast, fresh green beans sliced into thirds, small, round eggplants cut into chunks, cubes of tofu, a combination of light and regular coconut milk, and water to make a very spicy and soupy stew which I served over rice and later noodles. (Dear Reader, I confess I made a LOT of the Thai chicken curry.) It was good. It got better (and hotter) each day. After a few days, I wanted to change the taste profile, so I added a 28-ounce can of diced organic tomatoes with their juice, reheated the stew/soup and ladled into my soup bowl. I served whole grain flatbreads warmed on a griddle to eat alongside the my newly christened Thai Chicken Curry and Tomato Soup.

It was great. But it was not nearly as wonderful as Pim's.

Soup Thai Food