Culture

I am lucky to be born into a true food culture. Vietnamese love food even though they can be ethnocentric about it, they love food. Case in point I was in a local Pho Restaurant recently and Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation was on the TV. The restaurant was about half full and it was the episode where Bourdain is in Hong Kong. People were sort of paying attention about the culture of Hong Kong but when the show focuses on noodles everyone started to watch. Bourdain then showed a true artisan. A small middle aged man in a cramped space was making noodles by hand using a bamboo stick to work the dough. Everyone was mesmerized with ohhs and ahhs. “Look at those noodles” said one patron. “I remember noodles like that at the Big Market in Saigon” says a grayed haired man with expressions usually reserved for first loves. I too was watching the television. Even a young teenage girl was watching intently knowing that this was something important. It was a nice moment.

Here is the part of the episode. About 5 minutes in you see the noodle making.

Cost of a grilled pork chop

I love pork chops and recently been enjoying inch think juicy ones that are brined for at least a day. My pork chop roots though are for thin ones that are marinated in oyster sauce, fish sauce, onions, lemongrass, and garlic. That is the basic recipe my mom and countless other Vietnamese moms make for their kids.

The other day I was really craving the pork chop mom use to make and I got some on sale at Kroger. My marinade for two pounds of pork chops is

½ a cup of oyster sauce

1 teaspoon of fish sauce

½ an onion finely chopped

1 squeezed orange (we had bought a big box so I used it for some acid and citrus)

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

Anyway I also made some Thai cucumber salad which really is just pickled cucumbers

1 seedless cucumber

1/3 cup of rice wine vinegar (but distilled is fine)

1/3 sugar

1 Shallot finely chopped

1 teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of fish sauce

1 chili pepper sliced

I love pickled vegetables with savory meats. I had finished some work and heated the grill in the backyard for the pork chops. I was in my usual attire of a t-shirt and shorts even though it was about 35 degrees outside. I brought the pork chops outside and closed the door. The beautiful sound of meat sizzling greeted me as I put each chop on the grill, the smell was awesome. Happy with the way the grilling started I tried to get back inside. The door was locked. I tried again. Still locked. Hmmm, I started to notice I was in a t-shirt and shorts it was getting pretty cold, being barefoot did not help either. I started to think about ways to break into my own house and usually there was a window I would forget to lock etc, but Nhung is super paranoid and every single window was locked. I made a pretty silly sight outside at one in the afternoon in a t-shirt and shorts with no shoes. I went to my immediate neighbors and no one was home. My uncle lived down the street but it was getting cold so I tried the door of my Muslim neighbor, I had noticed that a truck was parked our front. As I rang the doorbell I started to think what normal person would open the door for such a sight especially a woman. As I turned to leave the door open and a man with a slightly apprehensive look greeted me. I explained my situation and he got me a phone and invited me inside. I left out the grilled pork chops part. I called my sister and she came and got me and my aunt got there later who had my house key. The first thing I did was start back up the grill and made my pork chops needless to say they were delicious.

Thanksgiving

Here is my menu and thoughts for Thanksgiving.

I am using a recipe from Anne Burrell of the Food Network for the turkey..

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/brined-herb-crusted-turkey-with-apple-cider-gravy-recipe/index.html

But I am giving it a small Vietnamese twist. In the brine I am going to add a little fish sauce probably a table spoon to see if it gives a little kick. This is all going to be a experiment with my family as the guinea pigs. I am also going to add some Vietnamese mint and Thai basil to the herb butter mix from my garden. And here is the really scary part instead of chicken stock because Vinh is allergic I am going to add Coconut soda that I use to braise our pork belly recipe and numerous other dishes. This is going to be the toughest part I am not sure of the combination but worse case scenario no gravy.

I am taking the Turkey out of the freezer today and let it defrost. Sunday I am going to start the brining. Wednesday night I am going to the next to last step with the herb butter and veggies. I am going to add a little ginger and daikon to the veggie mix for the gravy and aromatic of the turkey.

My sides are going to mashed potatoes and stuffing. I am searching for a good stuff recipe that I can add some Vietnamese ingredients too. I think it is going to be Anne Burrell recipe as well from her Thanksgiving show. I am going to take the base of the recipe and add Chinese sausage instead. For dessert I am going to try and make an Asian pear pie from a simple apple pie recipe with my own pie crust.

On a side note I found out we are having Thanksgiving at my mother in law for lunch so I am going to have to work on my catering skills  at least I have a mini van. I should be nice a tired to watch the Cowboy games at my parents where thank goodness I am only going to make dessert.

Here is the recipe I am will be messing with.

Ingredients
Brine:
• 7 quarts water
• 1 quart apple cider
• 3/4 cup kosher salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large or 2 small carrots, diced
• 3 ribs celery, diced
• 1 head garlic, cut in 1/2 equatorially
• 1/2 bunch fresh rosemary
• 1/2 bunch fresh sage
• 6 bay leaves
• 1 (12 to 14 pound) turkey, free range organic is great!
Herb crust:
• 1 bunch fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
• 1 bunch fresh sage, leaves finely chopped
• 3 sticks butter, room temperature
• Kosher salt
Gravy:
• 1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 large or 2 small carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 5 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bunch thyme
• Kosher salt
• 1 quart chicken stock, divided
• 2 cups apple cider, divided
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Directions
Special equipment: butcher's twine
To brine the turkey: Combine all of the ingredients for the brine in a large container. Add the turkey and let it brine in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
To prepare the turkey for cooking: Remove the turkey from the brine the night before roasting and pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels. Combine the rosemary, sage, and butter for the herb crust in a small bowl. Season, to taste, with kosher salt. Work the butter under the skin of the turkey and massage it into the breasts and the legs. Massage the butter on the outside of the skin as well. Tie the legs together over the breast so they will protect it during cooking and help keep it moist and juicy.
Gravy preparation: Put the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, apples, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and thyme in a roasting pan and season with salt. Arrange the turkey on top of the veggies and refrigerate overnight UNCOVERED! Yes, that's right, uncovered. This will help the skin dry out and become really brown and crispy. Make sure that there is no raw food near the turkey in the refrigerator. After refrigerating overnight, the turkey is ready to go in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Put 2 cups chicken stock and 1 cup apple cider in the bottom of the roasting pan. Roast the turkey in the preheated oven until the skin gets really nice and brown, about 40 minutes. Lower the oven heat to 350 degrees F for the remainder of the cooking time. Baste the turkey every 30 minutes or so and add more stock to the roasting pan, if needed. Cook about 17 minutes per pound. Once it gets to the proper color, tent the turkey with aluminum foil to prevent it from getting too dark.
Remove the turkey from the oven when an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the turkey registers 160 degrees F. Make sure that the thermometer is not touching a bone when doing the reading. When the turkey has reached the proper temperature, remove it from the roasting pan to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
Strain all the veggies over a bowl to separate them from the stock/mixture. Discard the veggies. Skim off the fat and add it to the roasting pan. This is the fat for the roux. Put the roasting pan over 2 burners and over a low heat and whisk in the flour. Cook until the mixture looks like wet sand, about 4 to 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the remaining 1 cup apple cider, remaining chicken stock and the stock/cider mixture. Cook until the mixture has thickened and reached a gravy consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour into a serving pitcher or bowl.

Back to the Beginning

As I am preparing my journey into cooking professionally I started to think what my first true experience with restaurant food was. It was when I was 8 or 9 living in Garland, Texas. We had just moved to Texas and only been in the States for about 5 years. There were only a couple of Vietnamese restaurants in the area and they were sub par to my mother’s cooking so we never went. What I do remember was this Chinese restaurant called Dinh Ho in Irving that served some amazing roasted pork and duck. It was amazing and that once a month trip was highly anticipated.

First Chinese BBQ

Roasted pork and duck are still some of my favorite dishes and I went to First Chinese BBQ in Garland on Jupiter and Walnut recently to see if I could capture that first kiss of restaurant food again. As I entered the restaurant I saw the tell tell sign of a good Chinese BBQ place; hanging meat. I could smell the smoky flavors of roasted duck, roasted pork, and Chinese bbq pork. It was a sight to see. A formidable cook with a wicked cleaver stood behind the display chopping the meat into bite size bits. He was amazing with speed and accuracy. I ordered a pound of the roasted pork and brought it home to my kids who love the stuff. As we ate it with pickled vegetables, rice, and soy sauce I savored not only the food but the connected memories.

Scared no more

I have not been writing in this blog because frankly I have been scared and embarrassed. I announced to myself and on this blog that I was going to go to culinary school. I used finances as an excuse to not going but it was because I was afraid. I was afraid I was to old and to fat. I have let my body and mind live in fear and the results are not pretty. The thing is there is still that seed, that wonderful scary seed that says this is what I love and could be my second act. Tomorrow I am going to El Centro and registering for their culinary arts program. No more excuses. I have started a real weight loss program. I am going to walk or exercise everyday for at least 20 minutes. I will not have any sodas;.I will not eat after 6pm. I will not eat any processed foods. I will accurately monitor my progress daily. That’s about all I can handle for now so hopefully I will get into cooking shape in time for classes to start in January

My Ratatouille

It has been awhile since I have been able to blog about my culinary experience because to tell the truth I have not had that many culinary experiences lately due to timing and circumstances. Here though was a great moment.

I yearn for movie like moments in life. I want to experience the feel of a high school championship like in Hoosier where a whole town comes together. I wish I could be as passionate as Rhett was to Scarlet. Feel the wind in my hair and the freedom that comes with it like in Breaking Away. One movie moment that I have been searching for has been the great epiphany in Ratatouille when Ego takes a bite of the title dish and is transported to his mother’s kitchen. It is an incredible moment that I bet every chef would love to give to his diner. Well at Nana’s in Dallas this Saturday I had that moment and it was surreal. It was also a pleasure to share it with my wife as we celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary.

The dish was Slow Roasted Berkshire Pork Belly. When I first came to the United States in 1975 there was no Vietnamese Community. The food that came closest to home was good Chinese food and one of my favorite dishes was Heo Quay or BBQ pork. The skin is crispy and with the fat layered with meat was mouth watering good. To this day it is also one of my kid’s favorite dishes. Anthony C. Bombaci the chef at Nana has given the epiphany that I yearned for. It was the same dish that I remember from childhood and it was transformed to sublime perfection. The skin was so crispy and tasted perfect, the meat and fat was perfect. It was done with a subtle sauce and there were bananas, though I have no idea how they were cooked, paired perfectly with the pork. When the dish came out my wife and I looked at each other and were shocked that such a simple everyday dish would be on the tasting menu of a fine dining restaurant but after a bite we could not stop raving. It made me SO happy there is no other way to describe it. The rest of the tasting menu was very good. I am new to fine dining though I have read and tried some great recipes this was the first time we got to go some place that offered that type of food. It was a wonderful evening with one amazing moment. Thanks so much to Nana and their incredible staff that made all this possible.

Slumdog Millionaire

I went to see Slumdog Millionaire this weekend and it was an absolutely amazing movie. I started to think about ways to describe the movie and I remembered something from Top Chef. I am new to the culinary world and foodies. Top Chef was one of the first things that brought attention to that world for me. I remember the editor of Food and Wine Dana Cowin stating that a certain dish “made me SO happy.” That stuck with me and it is the best way for me to describe the way Slumdog affected me. It made me SO happy. Everything about it; the way it was structured, the actors as children, the actors as adults, the way Millionaire was corny, everything about the movie struck a chord with me. Jamal is one of the noblest heroes in movie history.

Watching that movie for the first time is going to stick in my memory for a long time. I started to think of other great memories that involved something created that moved me so much. There are touchstones moments in my life such as the birth of my children, first love, and deaths that have become a part of my fiber. Then there are moments that I get intense pleasure from because someone created something that touched me. I remember the great meals of my life. My first bowl of Pho that Mom made. The roasted pork over steamed rice at the only good Chinese restaurant in Dallas in the late 70s and early 80s. The first time I tasted mam nem the stinky fish sauce at the behest of my wife. The dinner at the French Room on May 27, 2002 our second wedding anniversary. The dinner at Nana’s grill for my parents 20th anniversary. Someone made that food for me, someone with their hands and brain made something so memorable that I to this day can see the dish, smell the dish, and taste the dish. I will never be a great director, I will never be a great writer, I may never be a great chef, but I can make a meal my kids will never forget. I can make a meal that a dinner guest might remember. Cooking gives me a chance to maybe touch someone they way some great meals have touched me.