beef bolognese

This dish is unbelievably simple - just dice up some veggies, saute, add meat, milk, white wine and canned tomatoes, and leave it to simmer by itself, yet the result is amazing. The only thing was that it took a long time.


Even though the recipe said that it only takes 10-15 minutes each for the milk and wine to evaporate, I found that it took me up to 20 minutes, or even more. Maybe the heat wasn't high enough, but it did say "simmer"!

I substituted 1% milk for whole milk and I think any kind of milk would work as well. I also cut the amount of butter down to 2 tablespoons and doubt that it caused any significant loss. As for the dry white wine, I used Vermouth (which, by the way, is an extremely useful thing to stock in the kitchen. You can use Vermouth for any recipe that calls for dry white wine.)


In the end, I did forget to tend to the fire and some of the meat got burned, but it still tasted amazing over the fettucine (hahaha, yeah let's pretend that nothing happened). It had that rich meaty flavor to it, which completely blended in with the tomato sauce. I highly recommend trying out this recipe if you have the time over the weekends. Make a big batch and freeze for quick weeknight meals!

Oh, and remember to not drain the pasta meticulously and leave some water clinging to it - it will help the sauce blend in better.

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BEEF BOLOGNESE
(Adapted from Cooks Illustrated)
Makes 3 cups, enough for 1 pound of pasta

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons minced carrot
2 tablespoons minced celery
3/4 pound ground beef chuck
Table salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup dry white wine
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes , packed in juice, chopped fine, with juice reserved

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat butter in large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion, carrot, and celery and sautè until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add ground meat and 1/2 teaspoon salt; following illustration below, crumble meat with edge of wooden spoon to break apart into tiny pieces. Cook, continuing to crumble meat, just until it loses its raw color but has not yet browned, about 3 minutes.

2. Add milk and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until milk evaporates and only clear fat remains, 10 to 15 minutes. Add wine and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until wine evaporates, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and their juice and bring to simmer; reduce heat to low so that sauce continues to simmer just barely, with an occasional bubble or two at the surface, until liquid has evaporated, about 3 hours (if lowest burner setting is too high to allow such a low simmer, use a flame tamer or a foil ring (see related Quick Tip) to elevate pan). Adjust seasonings with extra salt to taste and serve. (Can be refrigerated in an airtight container for several days or frozen for several months. Warm over low heat before serving.)

kokyo sushi buffet @ hayward, ca

I've made a mental note since a long time ago to never frequent Asian buffets anymore. Every one that I've been to was horrible - Moonstar, Hokkaido, Kome - the fried foods were not fried properly and plain greasy, Chinese dishes were always sitting in a puddle of oil, and the sushi always tasted frozen and unfresh. Yet, despite the low quality in food, these types of places keep popping up everywhere around the Bay Area, and the lines never go away either. For that kind of price (around $15-$20 on average), I would rather have smaller portions and eat at a sit-down restaurant where each individual dish is prepared and served with love and heart. I usually eat too much at home anyway.

So today when my friend, who wanted to thank me for helping him out at school, took me to yet another Asian style buffet, I was not excited to say the least. Especially since it said "Sushi Buffet". I've never had one decent piece of sushi from these buffets. But it was still a nice gesture of him, and I appreciated it a lot.


Yet, upon entering the place, to my surprise, the sushi section looked very clean and put together, in contrast to places like Kome in Daly City. I was also shocked to see so many seafood items that were refilled promptly, since the ones I've been to before always had their seafood sections looking like a warzone.


The sushi and sashimi tasted surprisingly fresh. The sushi rice was not stale and would not fall apart even if I tried. It was cooked to the right consistency, not mushy yet not dry either. Some rolls which included tempura items like tempura shrimp and tempura soft-shell crab could've had a bit more crunch to it, but I wouldn't blame them since the rolls did have to sit under the lamps for a period of time. The sashimi, especially the tuna and salmon ones, was smooth and firm. Though it did seem to be sliced sloppily, I didn't mind it that much, because the quality of the fish made up for it.


The seafood selection was pretty impressive. They had baked scallops, coconut shrimp, baked shrimp, salt and pepper shrimp, steamed crab legs, steamed oysters and clams in black bean sauce. I'm not that big of a seafood fan so I only had some shrimp, clams and an oyster, but they were pretty good and I'm sure a seafood lover would be very happy here. Great bang for the buck.


The Chinese food items were your standard Panda Express fare. I did appreciate their fried rice though (not pictured here), as it was actually fluffy, not covered in oil or oversalted. The teriyaki chicken had a nice grilled flavor to it as well.


The dessert consisted of assorted fruits, cakes, creamed puffs and egg tarts. I got some fruit and a donut-like pastry. The sugar-coated pastry was spongy and springy, albeit a bit greasy. The fruits were alright, not particularly juicy or sweet, but could you really expect more for $15? I think not.

Overall, no particular item was exceptional, but out of all the Asian style buffets that I tried, Kokyo really outdid them all. Don't expect too much, after all, it is a $15 buffet, but for the price and its endless amounts of sushi and seafood, I definitely won't mind going back.

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KOKYO SUSHI BUFFET
Address: 1071 B St
(between Main St & Foothill Blvd)
Hayward, CA 94541
Phone: (510) 881-8868
Price range per person: $9 for lunch, $15 for dinner

chicken and shrimp jambalaya

Lately the weather has been extremely chilly in Berkeley, which means that it's time for those one-pot comfort food that warms you up. I've been meaning to try this recipe for quite some time, but never got around to doing it because... I was lazy. Yeah, I wish I had a better excuse, but no, I was just lazy.


As with all Cooks Illustrated recipes, they always ask for ingredients that even a well-stocked pantry might not have. In this particular recipe, it's clam juice. In my case, I gave in and bought a bottle of it (Crown Prince brand @ Berkeley Bowl for $1.99), but feel free to substitute it with the same amount of chicken broth - I doubt it would make that big of a difference.

I am also too cheap to have a food processor at home, so I just chopped the vegetables by hand. I also rinsed the rice even though the recipe didn't call for it, but it's my habit whenever I make rice. And because I'm a loner girl who lives by herself, I halved the recipe but kept the original amount of vegetables and dumped in the whole can of tomatoes anyway - I figured that more veggies couldn't hurt, could they? Finally, you don't have to use a Dutch Oven; any tall pot would do.


I'm actually really happy with the way the dish turned out. The flavors were spot on - it was bold but bright. The rice took on a hint of smokiness from the sausages (I used Saag's andouille). The chicken was moist and tender, and the shrimp was perfectly done and not rubbery at all. The tomatoes complemented the rice and meat very well. I'm impressed, once again, by CL's recipes. The rice did come out a bit softer and wetter that what I would have liked though, even though I'm not sure if it's intended to be that way. It's not mushy to the extent that it gives a bad mouthfeel, but still, I prefer it a bit fluffier. To find out why, I went to look at the water to rice ratio in the recipe, and as I had expected, it was 1:1.8, which was a bit high in moisture compared to the usual ratio that I use when I cook rice (1:1.5). So if you are like me and prefer a bit more bite to your rice, I would try cutting the amount of chicken broth from 1.5 cup to 1 cup. (Eek, I'm probably committing a horrible culinary sin by saying this, but you know, I've always believed that there's nothing wrong with modifying recipes to your own tastes as long as you don't claim authenticity.)

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CHICKEN AND SHRIMP JAMBALAYA
(Adapted from Cooks Illustrated)
Serves 4 to 6.

INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion , peeled, ends trimmed, and quartered lengthwise
1 medium rib celery , cut crosswise into quarters
1 medium red bell pepper , stem removed, seeded, and quartered lengthwise
5 medium cloves garlic , peeled
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
8 ounces andouille sausage , halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice (10 ounces)
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (see note)
1 can diced tomatoes (14 1/2-ounce), drained, 1/4 cup juice reserved
1 cup clam juice (bottled)
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 pound medium shrimp (31 to 35 shrimp per pound), or large shrimp, shelled
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In food processor, pulse onion, celery, red pepper, and garlic until chopped fine, about six 1-second pulses, scraping down sides of bowl once or twice. Do not overprocess; vegetables should not be pureed.

2. Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, skin-side down, and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken and cook until golden brown on second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to plate and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and add andouille; cook, stirring frequently, until browned, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to paper towel–lined plate and set aside.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low, add vegetables, and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon, until vegetables have softened, about 4 minutes. Add rice, salt, thyme, and cayenne; cook, stirring frequently, until rice is coated with fat, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, reserved tomato juice, clam juice, chicken broth, bay leaves, and browned sausage to pot; stir to combine. Remove and discard skin from chicken; place chicken, skinned-side down, on rice. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir once, keeping chicken on top, skinned-side down. Replace cover and continue to simmer until chicken is no longer pink when cut into with paring knife, about 10 minutes more; transfer chicken to clean plate and set aside. Scatter shrimp over rice, cover, and continue to cook until rice is fully tender and shrimp are opaque and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

4. While shrimp are cooking, shred chicken (see illustration below). When shrimp are cooked, discard bay leaves; off heat, stir in parsley and shredded chicken, and serve immediately.