Napa Cabbage Slaw with Wasabi Vinaigrette....

 Napa which is north of San Francisco in the heart of the wine country has nothing to do with Napa Cabbage or Hakusai in Japanese. This delicate almost lace like cabbage comes from or at least originated in Asia and is used in all types of Asian Cuisine. Unlike Green or Red cabbage Napa cabbages delicate crisp leaves will absorb flavors such as the vinaigrette I previously posted giving it something special in my view. This slaw is simple to prepare and will hold for a couple of hours before turning slightly soggy. If Napa Cabbage is not available Savoy Cabbage which is similar in texture can be substituted.

2 cups Napa Cabbage (finely shredded)
1 cup Wasabi Greens ( if you can't find them, radish greens can be used in substitute)
1/2 cup Dikon Radish ( small dice))
1/2 cup Cilantro (rough chopped)
1/4 cup Green Onions (chopped
2-3 tbsp Wasabi Vinaigrette
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and toss until greens are evenly coated with the vinaigrette, place in refrigerator for 10 mins, remove and toss again, serve.
As previously stated this goes very well with Roasted Hoisin Duck which I will be back to offer up the marinade and what to do with the Duck before it is roasted. Until them "Think Good Thoughts & Smile".

Wasabi Vinaigrette, and a little about Bokbunja Joo!

Crisp Wasabi Greens, Dicon Radish, Napa Cabbage with a Wasabi Vinaigrette. The fresh intensity of the Wasabi Greens with the suttle overtones of sesame and rice vinegar combined with the nasal felt strength in perfect balance of the fresh wasabi that lingered on my tongue just long enough to keep me wondering if I had finally arrived and if so could I remember how much of what ingredient I used in the wasabi vinaigrette I had just prepared, would I ever be able to duplicate the perfect balance of flavors I so selfishly prepared for myself with out sharing, the answer my friends is yes, yes I did remember the exact amount of ingredients that make this Wasabi Vinaigrette tossed with mentioned ingredients to become a Slaw that works so perfect with Roasted Hoisin Duck. So here it be, Wasabi Vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Roasted Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Bokbunja Joo(black raspberry wine)
1 tbsp fresh grated Wasabi (adjust if using powdered)
1 tsp fresh grated ginger or pickled ginger
1tsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

Combine all the ingredients and chill before tossing with the slaw. Speaking of the Slaw I will offer it in my next post and since I mentioned the Hoisin Duck I might as well do the whole gastronomical experience but first I want to make mention of the Bokbunja Joo, this is a Korean Black Raspberry Wine that is often served chilled as a dessert wine. It is a bit sweet and packs 16% to 20% alcohol, it does very well in marinades as I will exhibit here, with the duck, in the very near future.

Fun fact,  in Korean Medicine it is said that Bokbunja Joo increases sexual stamina as well (something to think about). With this said I will return, until then "Think Good Thoughts & Smile".

Wasabi, It's Not Just For Sushi!!

What can I say about Wasabi other than "I Love It". Also known as Japanese Horseradish, Wasabi has many uses other than being a well known Sushi Condiment and if you can get your hands on fresh Wasabi lgreens you will be very surprised, what a treat. Commercially we usually see Wasabi in a paste or powder, Buyer Beware! There are several producers of the famed green powder or paste but only a very select few produce real Wasabi so read the label, many are not Wasabi at all but rather mustard and horseradish and will cost about half of real Wasabi. Fresh Wasabi is by far the best but can be difficult to find. I am fortunate and can find it at Ranch 99, Marina Market and several places in Japan Town if I want to make the trek to the city. The only markets I have found the fresh Wasabi Greens is in Japan Town in the city but well worth the ride once in a while. When working with Wasabi it is important to know it losses its flavor and spiciness after about 15 mins if left uncovered. Lets talk about the heat or spiciness of Wasabi, unlike chili's which linger on your tongue and burn Wasabi tends to hit the nasal passages hard and then almost disappear leaving the enhanced flavor of what it is being served with. Over the next couple of posts I will offer up a couple of recipes that are simple and full of that wonderful Wasabi flavor.
I shall return, until then "Think Good Thoughts and Smile".

Pairing, The Finale!!

The last post I stated that in this post I would build a basic pairing menu which really isn't a menu but rather a breakdown of the guild lines I use and have used for several years now to offer a pairing experience that goes beyond good food with good wine,

1. Buy and taste the wines you wish to build a pairing with.

2. One to Two wine pairings meaning One White and  One Red

3. Attain knowledge about acidity and the pH of both wine and food using the basic tools offered in the       previous posts on pairing.

4. Keep it clean, meaning do not complicate tastes with an overwhelming experience in flavors.

5. Have as much fun as possible and Enjoy!!

There really is much more to it than this, some of which is common seance and just taking your time when planning out and sticking to the menu when you go to the market. I can not count the times I have seen something or tasted something at the market and thought to myself  "WOW" , that would go great with some wine that was enjoyed in the past or when I was doing the shop for a tasting I was preparing at the time. As I said there is much more, If one should want more information than what I have offered feel free to ask.
I shall return with some recipies that sing for summer, until then "Think Good Thoughts & Smile."

Recipe for Pairing , (part 2) a simple lesson in tasting....

One great thing to remember is that Pairing and Tasting are two different encounters. I was sure that I had posted an exercise in tasting but I can't locate it so I shall offer it in brief. If you are a student of the culinary arts you will most certainly do this exercise sometime during your schooling. I was reminded of this some 3 years ago while helping a friend with her culinary studies and it is an excellent way to understand a bit about tasting and creating a menu for pairing or in general.  Gather up a bottle of Chardonnay and a bottle of Cab, really you will only need two glasses but what the hell why not have some fun, you will need a glass of water and some bread as well as lemon, apple, cheese ( neutral in flavor ) and some walnuts. In this tasting experiment , taste each of the items with each of the wines separately clearing your pallet with a bit of bread and some water in between each items tasting, write down what you experience happening across your pallet and the flavors you experience. They should be drastic, notice what happens when you introduce citrus with the Cab and how the lemons acidity changes the structure of the Chardonnay, this is the most basic and easiest ways to begin understanding of how food and wine come together and remember for this experiment you don't need to break the bank in the wine you choose. When I do a Tasting vs a Pairing the spread is simple; nuts, cheese, dried dates, olives, bread and Charcuterie,  you are not creating a meal but rather offering an array of edibles that will enhance the wines and allow your pallet to receive all that the wine offers. In catering it is important to explain the difference to a could be client , some think pairing is a tasting and it is not, tasting comes first. Next up we will build a basic pairing menu so stay tuned, until then "Think Good Thoughts & Smile".

Recipe for a Perfect Wine Pairing, part 1...

When it comes to pairing food and wine it begins way before a trip to the market. Having at very least some basic knowledge of pH and acidity in both food and wine is vital. one can not live in harmony with out the other. Titratable acidity or total acidity in most wines is 2.5 to 4%, the previous post I showed a chart for food acidity and pH, there are charts made just for pairing food and wine. When choosing a wine, acidity is an important component to both the wines quality and taste. Remember that higher sugar levels produce low acidity which doesn't mean the wine will be sweet. In the world of wine tasting acidity refers to the Fresh, Tart and Sour attributes that balance out the Sweet and Sour of its body such as Tannins. As for the grape in which the wine is produced the longer it is on the vine the more sugar it will hold making for more acidity to be introduced during the fermentation process. In the wine world today's vintages are being released much earlier than wine's from the past years due to accelerated fermentation processes, you will know this when a label reads something such as " The perfect wine to enjoy now or cellared for future years of enjoyment". Now this doesn't mean it is a bad wine, there are many 2011 Cabs, Pinots, Syrahs and Zins out there that are very tasty. A great question is "What about the wines we cook with?" I know many chefs that will argue it makes no difference and buy bulk Red & White wine, usually in 5 gallon boxes and will say no one will know the difference, I beg to differ. If I am serving something with a Cabernet Demi Sauce with no Cabernet Savignon in it I am sorry someone is going to know, I would know so most certainly someone who really knew about wine would know for example, last weekend I witnesses a Master Sommelier tell me what wine I used in not one but two different marinades, so always know that someone will know. So where does one begin in producing a pairing, I choose the wine first then build my menu around its structure. It can be done to the opposite meaning menu first but most chefs including myself are not Master Sommeliers and just because I became a Sommilier in 1998 doesn't mean I am one, that my friends is back in the post "Tale of the Tastevin" many postings ago. I took the coarse and became a "Sommilier" just for understanding and an edge of knowledge many chefs do not have. I must say that my certificate does look Grand on my freshly painted kitchen wall here at home, just to brag a little. So back to pairing, there is an exercise that I may have posted about tasting wines with certain foods, so before I repeat myself I will look back and return with more about pairing soon. Until then "Think Good Thoughts & Smile".

Recipe for a proper Food and Wine pairing, almost...

                                              
Attaining the proper acidic balance in cooking is so important especially when something is to be enjoyed with a fine wine. Some posts ago I spoke of citrus and how they interact or counteract the wines we are enjoying with a meal, same hold true with cooking with wine, vinegar or spirits. The pH level of most vinegars is somewhere between 5 and 6% , Rice wine vinegar on the other hand has a 3.5 to 4 % levels and is much smoother, sweeter and softer on the palette. It is all about chemistry and balance. Asian cooking rice wine vinegar is used in so many of the recipes as is Shaoxing wine which is made from rice. Fun fact, Shaoxing wine will sometime replace rice at the beginning of a meal and is drank from a rice bowl in some parts of Asia, hmmm, it makes sense to me as far as digestion goes. Back to acidity, just a couple of posts ago I posted Basque Marinade, there is nothing non acidic about it, just look at the ingredients, however it goes a long way meaning you only need a little bit. Acidity will cook what ever it is marinading if too high as will a long soak. I remember back before I got out of High School and knew little about cooking I marinaded pork in wine and pineapple juice over night, after it was grilled it turned chalky because the meat  was being broken down and cooked as it soaked in the concoctional marinade that was way acidic. The pH range is from 0 to 14, with 7.0 being neutral.  Anything above 7.0 is alkaline, anything below 7.0 is considered acidic. Acidic it what you want in cooking but in balance, many foods are high in alkaline so knowing what levels or where they live on the 0-14 range is key. There is much more that is relevant and important about pH levels and cooking, if you want to know and understand more about it then pack the books up and take a chemistry of cooking class because I am just talking basics here. Here is a chart that shows where some foods live on the 0-14ph level (3-10 range on this one).
I could get into the whole baking soda and what it does to pH values but maybe some other time,  it is interesting and better left for a pastry chef. Where are you going with this Chef?(might you ask). Over the next few posts I am going to be sharing some recipes and explain how and why to pair them with the proper wine. Pairing has become extremely popular, knowing some basics about pH is a key component in properly pairing a meal with a wine. Just as farm to the table and knowing what soil something is grown in, the ground to the grape is vital as well if you really want to go all the way with it but there are ways around it.
I will return with a bit of pairing and understanding so until then "Think Good Thoughts & Smile".