The market was situated just like any regular American grocery, except I couldn't read much of anything. A nice man helped me find everything I was looking for including: rock sugar, thai basil, miso paste, Chinese chili-garlic sauce, and the miscellaneous produce I needed. I wandered through the store and thought about getting some meat form the butcher. Their short ribs were thinner than what I was looking for, so I passed on buying them and kept wandering down the case. There was all different kinds of fish, duck, and whole chickens. I wasn't surprised by any of that, however I was not expecting to find a bucket of live eel at the end. Then I noticed next to it there was a cage with these huge live soft shelled turtles. And next to that there was a tank full of live frogs - I felt like I was at the zoo! I love trying new foods, and I would be all for trying any of these prepared by a chef in a restaurant, but if I took home a turtle or a frog it would definitely end up a pet before it made it on a plate.
Driving down Payne I also passed the Koko Bakery. Bender has recommended this place to me and it was pretty busy for a Tuesday afternoon, so I stopped in. The cases are full of asian pastries, and they serve bubble tea and assorted sandwiches. The lady behind the counter gave me some samples and I bought some things to try, but I really had no idea what I was buying. These buns (see below) have duck yolk and sweet red bean paste in them. I tricked CC and the Little Potato into trying them before I told them what they were. They are sweet, but kinda weird. I also bought a loaf of sweet bread that is delicious!
Before heading home I stopped at Gallucci's cuz I don't know of a better deal on spice in the city - $1.85 for a tub of cumin, yes please!
Last night's dinner recipe came from Food and Wine's 2007 Annual Cookbook. I messed a few things up: 1. I asked CC to pick up chicken breast, but the recipe actully called for chicken thighs. No biggie, just a little healtheir. 2. I decided to just shred the whole head of cabbage I had in the fridge from the CSA and didn't measure it. I think it was way more than 4 cups. I just get so carried away when I start shredding things in the food processor.
The paste has a fantastic flavor and can be rubbed on steak, shrimp, or pork. But too much cabbage diluted the overall flavor.
Ginger-Miso Spice Paste
Makes 1/4 cup
1 tbsp. finely grated ginger
1 tbsp. miso paste
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tsp. Chinese chile-garlic sauce
1 tsp light brown sugar
1 twp Asian sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mash to a paste.
Grilled Chinese-Chicken Salad
4 Servings
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/4 c. Ginger Miso Spice paste (above)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
salt
1/4 lb. snow peas
1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 scallions, cut into thin 1 inch julienne strips
10 oz. shredded colesaw mix
1. Light a grill. Make 1/4 inch deep slashes in the chicken thighs. In a bowl, combine 2 tbsp. of the spice paste with 2 tbsp of the oil and spread all over the chicken. Grill over high heat until cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes. Let cool then cut into thin strips.
2. Meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of salted water to boi. Add the snow pease and blanch for 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water; pat dry. Slice in half lengthwise. In a large bowl, whisk the remaining 2 tbsp. of paste with the lime juice and the remaining 2 tbsp. of oil. Season with salt. Add the snow peas, scallions, coleslaw mix and chicken, tolls well and serve.
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