Receta Adventures in Japanese Cooking
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Adventures in Japanese Cooking
I love Japanese food. I grew up in San Francisco eating at the famous Migaya restaurant on Union Street enjoying shabu shabu hot pot. The restaurant resembled a country inn with old school floor-seating only. Don't look for it as it's now gone and very much missed.
Eons later we were always found on Sawtelle Boulevard dining at either the Sawtelle Kitchen or Mishima and shopping at the various neighborhood Japanese markets. I always keep a big jug of Mugi-cha in the fridge along with umbeoshi plums and seaweed for snacking. I have not however, been known to cook anything Japanese. Why would I with such wonderful restaurants close at hand? Then we moved to Sonoma and the only Japanese food fix I can get is on our business trips to LA. Until I was sent a new Vook to review. Watch.
My first task was selecting a recipe to prepare. There are 23 recipes and accompanying videos in this Vook. I chose to sample Scallops with Miso, Ginger and Ruby Grapefruit and Japanese Coleslaw. My second task was locating the ingredients I needed. Fortunately our local markets do carry quite a selection of Japanese foods (unlike the Indian stuff I'm always looking for). I went shopping and I was feeling pretty proud of myself. As I examined the recipe I started reading about the philosophy behind the food. This was not strictly traditional Japanese cooking but Japanese/ California fusion cooking. This I was familiar with.
There was a teeny tiny restaurant in deep, dark Downtown Los Angeles back in the day when we were practically housepets at Susan Fenniger and mary Sue Milliken's City Cafe. Oh why, oh why didn't I invest when they asked me?!! I'm talking back in the day when I had a semi, two-toned mohawk and safety pin sort of things in my ears and hung out on Melrose Avenue and wore a lot of torn-looking black, Japanese clothing and fishnets. Yes, my friends, we're talking the '80s, of which I was a major fashion victim. No, we're never going to be seeing those photos. There's not enough money in the world.
The restaurant was called Ishi's Grill and the chef was Masayuki Ishikawa. The cusine was Japanese/French fuision cooking and I loved it! This itsy bitsy restaurant flourished in the early to mid-80's in a hole in the wall space. Ishi's had strict rules about making resrevations (he wouldn't answer the phone before noon or something like that) and when he would unlock the door. Not a moment before or after he said he would. People dining there that evening lined up outside as if they were at a soup kitchen.
Of course once one was in Downtown LA and had ones' fill of fusion food, what better place to top things off than the now defunct Al's Bar to see Sonic Youth or the Replacements or the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I have missed those days. I didn't realized how much until this Vook sent me careening down memory lane. I am the Proust of post punk LA. But, back to those scallops.
This recipe is amazingly quick to fix since the scallops are delicately seared and the sauce just simmered. A lot of pleasure for relatively little work. Here's what to do:
Scallops with Miso, Ginger and Ruby Grapefruit
In a non stick skillet ( I don't own any non-stick cookware so I used flameware by Clay Coyote) melt 1 Tbs of butter
When the butter has melted toss in:
2 Tbs of finely chopped shallots
2 Tbs of minced ginger
Saute everything until the shallots soften.
While the shallots are softening, in a blender mix together:
the jucie of 1/2 fresh ruby grapefruit
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs of sake
1 Tbs of white miso
When the shallots are softened, add the blender ingredients to the pan and simmer until it's reduced by about 3/4s.
The Scallops
12 large fresh ocean scallops..3 scallops per person.
- In a bowl toss together:
- 1 tbs of flour
- 1 Tbs fresh chopped thyme
- 2 Tbs fresh chopped oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
Dredge the scallops in the flour mixture, make sure they're well coated.
The Cooking
In another skillet heat 2 Tbs of olive oil
When the oil is hot quickly sear the scallops in the pan. Turn them only once.
When they're firm and golden they're done.
While the scallops are searing place some roughly chopped radicchio in a bowl.
Place the scallops on the radicchio, garnish with a few chopped sections of the ruby grapefruit from the half the wasn't juiced. Set aside for a moment.
Pour the sauce into the pan the scallops were seared in and deglaze, scraping up pthe browned bits that remain.
Spoon the sauce over the scallops and sprinkle a few chopped chives on top. Eat!
The dish was amazing and brought me right back to the day when Ishi was locking me out of his Grill .
It actually made me dig out my Comme Des Garcons jacket .
How very Bladerunner! Coming up next, I go in search of Indian Vegetables! Follow along on Twitter @kathygori
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