how many of you guys cook???

[PalJoey]

Anyone got thoughts on Anthony Bourdain's New York hawker hall concept? http://www.thedailymeal.com/news/eat/anthony-bourdain-s-new-food-hall-will-be-part-hawker-center-part-farmers-market/040915
 
It sounds a bit like the much-missed Oriental City in North London (soon to return, but will it be any good?), only slicker and better-funded. But I'm wondering if the deliberate coolness of the concept will detract from the basic experience of getting good street food.

 

[parbaked]

Hahaha! I do that too - reuse the chilies to make ghetto spicy snacks ( but I'd never admit it to anyone ).

I always thought SF was flush with awesome Chinese food.

The waitresses always argued that we can't take home the leftover peppers...I figured they like to reuse them.
 
San Francisco has lots of Chinese food, but most of it is mediocre and caters to Americans and American Chinese.
Most have been around since long before anyone wanted the real stuff so there is lot's of inertia to overcome.
Lot's of thick sauce and cornstarch.
We're lucky to have a great Cantonese dive so we eat really well, just not Szechuan much. 
 
Most of the Szechaun restaurants actually serve a wide range of regions specialties e.g. Kung Pao, Moo Shoo, Xiao Lung Bao - pretty much anything not Cantonese.
The best Szechuan dishes are in small Taiwan restaurants which were established later and are more 'authentic'.
There are more and more authentic regional restaurants lately (I went to a Uighur pop up last month) but anything Szechaun is usually "SF style" Szechuan.
 
The most authentic Asian food is in the suburbs where new immigrants establish new restaurants catering to other new immigrants.

 

[Clayton SF]

Hahaha! I do that too - reuse the chilies to make ghetto spicy snacks ( but I'd never admit it to anyone ).

And I only use wings - they're the easiest and tastiest for this dish.

I always thought SF was flush with awesome Chinese food.

 
What are ghetto snacks? Leftovers?
 
Well I've been impressed by many Chinese restaurants here in SF, but then again parbaked lived in Hong Kong and I'm from Hawaii so that may be why my taste is more accepting. (I haven't had the read deal!)

 

[Clayton SF]

Yum! What kind of ribs? I have some pork spareribs in the freezer I need to do something with.
<...>

 
The are pork spareribs.
 

Maltose-Glazed Spareribs

Ingredients

1. 1 large rack of fresh pork spareribs (2 - 2 1/2 pounds)

seasonings

1. 1 cup Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry
2. 2 teaspoons Szechwan peppercorns
3. 4 quarter-size coins ginger

sauce

1. 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2. 2 tablespoons ketchup
3. 2 tablespoons Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry
4. 2 tablespoon maltose
5. 2 tablespoons green and white scallion rings, for garnish
6. 1 tablespoon brown sugar (packed)
7. 1/2 teaspoon Chinese chili sauce
8. 1 teaspoon minced garlic
9. 1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

 

How to make this recipe

• Trim off any fat from the rack and cut it into 4 even pieces. Put the ribs in a large wok or heavy pot. (If you don't have a big enough pot, divide them between two pots.) Add cold water to cover by 2 inches and bring to a boil over high heat, skimming the scum from the surface. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer and add the seasonings. (For two pots, divide the seasonings between them.) Cover partially and cook until a knife easily pierces the thickest part of the meat, 1 hour or longer. 2. While the ribs simmer, make the sauce: Combine the sauce ingredients in a non-corrosive saucepan and bring to a slow simmer over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the maltose. Let cool to room temperature. 
• When the ribs are tender, transfer them to a parchment-lined sheetpan curved sides up and in a single layer. Strain and refrigerate the stock, if you wish, for another use. 
• Preheat oven to 375°. Brush the ribs with a thick coating of the sauce and bake for 15 minutes, rotating the pan midway. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. (At this point, the ribs can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days.) 
• Cut the ribs in between the bones and brush with the remaining glaze. Bake at 375° for 10 to 12 minutes or until heated through. Mound on a platter and garnish with scallion rings.

 

[Pudu]

Maltose-Glazed Spareribs

What are ghetto snacks? ... I'm from Hawaii ...

Mmmm ... spam musubi...(Actually I couldn't bring myself to buy the 7-11 offering when I was there over the summer, so it may be delicious... but I doubt it. )

The flavours of chilies and peppercorns get more intense overnight in the fridge. You can chuck in more meat and heat it up for a very passably good spicy snack. I did it with leftover grilled tuna steak once and it was really tasty. I've never used the term ghetto snack before, but I like parbaked's description.


Thanks for this recipe! I'll try it this week. I need to find some maltose somewhere.





I hadn't heard about Bourdain's hawker thing before now. The US doesn't have enough places that just concentrate on doing one dish perfectly. But this seems destined to be so trendy and hipster that it kind of goes against the whole feeling of hawker food. I hope he can pull it off because it will be brilliant if done correctly - tough one though, I think.

We have a reasonably decent Sichuan place here, but I would never ever have tried it because it is called "Hong Kong Palace". From the outside you'd never think to go in looking for good continental Chinese food. But my wife has some colleagues who work on the China Desk in DC and they swear it's the best option for Sichuan around here.

 

[parbaked]

  Well I've been impressed by many Chinese restaurants here in SF, but then again parbaked lived in Hong Kong and I'm from Hawaii so that may be why my taste is more accepting. (I haven't had the read deal!)

Yes, I am much more picky than Clayton, especially when it comes to choosing my friends....

 

[PalJoey]

I hadn't heard about Bourdain's hawker thing before now. The US doesn't have enough places that just concentrate on doing one dish perfectly. But this seems destined to be so trendy and hipster that it kind of goes against the whole feeling of hawker food. I hope he can pull it off because it will be brilliant if done correctly - tough one though, I think.

You never know whether it'll work out, even if the original plan doesn't fly. Oriental City in London was originally set up as the somewhat dull Yaohan Plaza. When that project died a death, the premises were taken over by a bunch of independent traders and it became a great destination for eating, shopping and socialising.
 
Well off the tourist trail and miles away from Chinatown, so you got a mixture of locals (of all origins) and those other people who knew it was worth the journey.
 
I think Bourdain's love of the hawker hall idea is genuine, but it will battle against his desire to make the thing look cool and anti-establishment. But quality could win out in the end, and the hipsters will move on as soon as the next fad appears. 

 

[Pudu]

You're right - his love of hawker food is genuine. His is one of the only tv shows I watch (it's what's on the ipad in the picture on the preceding page). So I hope this thing works, because street food is my favourite way to eat, and honestly every city should have something like that. But attaching a celebrity chef's name to a designer food market seems to me to be starting off in the wrong direction for a good authentic hawker joint. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[PalJoey]

You're right - his love of hawker food is genuine. His is one of the only tv shows I watch (it's what's on the ipad in the picture on the preceding page). So I hope this thing works, because street food is my favourite way to eat, and honestly every city should have something like that. But attaching a celebrity chef's name to a designer food market seems to me to be starting off in the wrong direction for a good authentic hawker joint. Hope I'm wrong.

Sometimes it needs celeb leverage to push an idea like this into reality, outside territories where hawker halls are a part of life.
 
I've got my fingers crossed that he doesn't screw it up, because if it is a total disaster, it'll be a long long time before someone else tries to do the same thing. And the concept is sound.

 

[parbaked]

This reminds me of new shopping malls in Japan that get the best regional restaurants to open a branch in their mall.
This is Bourdan's wish list of hawker food he has tasted and would like to include in the project.
I can vouch for the ones from Singapore and HK!
 
"Dishes from my travels that I want, badly, for my eventual market in NYC. These are the dishes, as prepared by the original vendors, that we need and deserve." Here's the set:

— White pepper crab from JB Ah Meng in Singapore

— Octopus and cod ceviche tostada from La Guerrerense in Ensenada, Mexico

— Hainanese Chicken Rice from Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore

— Noodle Soup with brisket and shrimp wontons from Mak's Noodle Shop in Hong Kong

— Dim Sum from Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong

— Bun Thai from The Lunch Lady in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

— Geylang claypot rice from 649 Geylang Claypot Rice in Singapore

— Roast goose and barbecued pork from Joy Hing Roasted Meats in Hong Kong

— Char Kway Teow from Hill Street Fried Kway Teow in Singapore

— Sarawak laksa from Choon Hui Cafe in Kuching, Malaysia

 

[Pudu]

Any laksa from Kuching is going to be delicious.

This list certainly sounds amazing.

 

[Clayton SF]

  This reminds me of new shopping malls in Japan that get the best regional restaurants to open a branch in their mall.
This is Bourdan's wish list of hawker food he has tasted and would like to include in the project.
I can vouch for the ones from Singapore and HK!
 
"Dishes from my travels that I want, badly, for my eventual market in NYC. These are the dishes, as prepared by the original vendors, that we need and deserve." Here's the set:

Spoiler: Extensive Wish List

— White pepper crab from JB Ah Meng in Singapore

— Octopus and cod ceviche tostada from La Guerrerense in Ensenada, Mexico

— Hainanese Chicken Rice from Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore

— Noodle Soup with brisket and shrimp wontons from Mak's Noodle Shop in Hong Kong

— Dim Sum from Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong

— Bun Thai from The Lunch Lady in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

— Geylang claypot rice from 649 Geylang Claypot Rice in Singapore

— Roast goose and barbecued pork from Joy Hing Roasted Meats in Hong Kong

— Char Kway Teow from Hill Street Fried Kway Teow in Singapore

— Sarawak laksa from Choon Hui Cafe in Kuching, Malaysia

 

 
WHAT! No Honey Walnut Prawns?

 

[parbaked]

   
WHAT! No Honey Walnut Prawns?

We're sooo fat!
The moderators might not let me have a stick figure for my avatar...

 

[SunTanScanMan]

Yum! What kind of ribs? I have some pork spareribs in the freezer I need to do something with.

The only thing I'll say is that crappy laziji is worse than none if it turns you off looking for the good stuff. Good lazji makes your mouth burn after two bites, then you sip some beer and get this amazing tingling sensation, and soon your mouth tells you you must eat some more - it's a vicious, delicious cycle that builds into an overload of endorphin laced spicy, tingling goodness.

Bad laziji (of which I've had plenty) tastes like anemically spiced chicken popcorn.

And yum!

Do you make your own dashi? By the way, I know many westerners poo-poo nakiri bōchō in favour of gyuto, but I adore mine. A cleaver and a razor blade had a baby - and it is my nakiri.

 
I can't really call it dashi ... it's basically a bunch of long lasting veg from the fridge, and thin dried seaweed, with boiled water poured on top - it's almost instant noodles, but satisfying nonetheless.
 
I don't know much at all about making dashi, but the family recipe involves adding generous squares of the thick dried seaweed into a pot of water and bringing it to gentle boil with a handful of dried anchovies. I don't have either of those ingredients, nor the time presently.
 
----
 
I've recently seen British cooks use similar knives as yours on TV, and wondered what it was called - it seems they are catching. Aesthetically I love the angular style, and the wood/metal combo.
I had fun wielding a relative's Chinese cleaver recently, that was a lot of fun. In terms of chopping garlic, it's both a hammer and a knife...apparently.

 

[Jimmy24]

laziji 辣子鸡 - spicy chicken, chicken with chilies, firecracker chicken, Chongqing chicken - is my favourite dish. I am constantly looking for ways to tweak and improve it.

Yesterday I took a good idea from Fuschia Dunlop - fry the chicken twice. I have done this before with other things - homemade french fries, etc - but why I never thought to do it with this dish, I have no idea.


Fry the chicken in small batches for 3 or 4 minutes each. Then let the oil get good and hot and fry the chicken again briefly in even smaller batches. It ends up wonderfully crispy on the outside and moist inside.


(Sorry for the mediocre photos - it's always dark by the time I'm done cooking and I'm rubbish at trying to adjust the white balance.)


The only problem with this dish is that between the cooking and the eating - you consume far too much beer of an evening.

 
This looks amazing! What do you put on the chicken and what kind dried chilis do you use?