ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
Pisco sours are an essential experience in Peru. No culinary trip would be complete without imbibing at least a gallon of the stuff (so I hear) in the land that learned how to distill the grape. Chile also produces pisco. Unlike cognac that is aged at least two years in oak barrels, Peruvian pisco must be... Continue Reading →
Now is not the chanterelle season here in the Pacific Northwest, so it was a bit of a surprise to see the wild mushrooms at Costco last week. One pound for $8.99 was too hard to pass up. Even if eating light and local is what's called for in the warm days of summer, chanterelles and smoked bacon... Continue Reading →
My mother used to make this dish using only chicken. The sauce is an intriguing combination of miso and umeboshi (pickled Japanese plum). Because it's a steamed dish, it uses no vegetable oil for cooking, only a splash of toasted sesame oil at the end. I've changed the recipe years ago to include tofu and vegetables. The main character of the... Continue Reading →
I love the funky savoriness of Chinese fermented black beans (douchi). I also love chicken wings. No big surprise then that I love them together. Rather than packaged, loose black beans (which need to be swirled in water and drained several times), for convenience I use the Master brand of fermented black beans bottled in oil. I find other prepared black bean... Continue Reading →
I've made this watercress dish over the years using only XO sauce, but recently, when there was only a teaspoon of XO left in the jar, and two bunches of watercress to cook, I had to come up with some substitutions, or rather additions. I had oyster sauce and fermented black bean sauce on hand. The... Continue Reading →
Our favorite farmer, Darrell Westover (Westover Farms in Maple Valley), was again at the Issaquah Farmers Market. We'd missed the market for the last two and a half months for reasons beyond our control, so we were sure to get there today before it closes for the season in a few weeks. As I'd posted... Continue Reading →
Yesterday when I arrived in Southern California to visit my wife's relatives, we were all treated to a classic Filipino dish, adobo, prepared by a family friend, Ronnie E. (His recipe for Bacon Bok Choy follows.) This particular dish, rather than being made with either chicken or pork, uses both, a recipe he learned from his mother.... Continue Reading →
Bacon tastes good with almost anything. By itself, bok choy is pretty bland, almost grassy in taste. While my wife loves the stuff, I find its sole redeeming feature is its crunchiness when not overcooked. Could the addition of bacon improve things? This recipe, prepared by Ronnie E., a friend of my wife's family, convinced... Continue Reading →
Congee is a rice porridge served throughout most of Asia. Owing to its easy digestibility, it's usually given to people who aren't feeling well—chicken soup of the East, so to speak. It typically is made by adding a small amount of rice to plenty of water and cooked anywhere from half an hour to several hours,... Continue Reading →
zoomeboshi 