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Whats_For_Dinner_Momofuku_Pork.zip (437 KB)

If you've ever eaten at Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York City and you live in LA, you're probably praying that David Chang takes pity on us and opens an outpost here.  But since that hasn't happened yet, the Momofuku Cookbook offers some consolation.  After some hesitation, I picked this cookbook up last weekend so that I could make Momofuku's famous pork buns for my family for our Valentine's Day Dinner (Doug and I hate Valentine's Day and never celebrated it before kids--but they love it so much it's been a great excuse to start a family tradition.  Every year, we eat dinner by the fireplace and watch a movie while we eat Valentine's Day candy.  Maybe it's not such a bad holiday after all).  Why the hesitation?  Well, at first glance, many of the recipes in the book seem intimidatingly complicated and some of the ingredient lists are daunting.  But upon closer inspection, many of the recipes are also amazingly simple and besides, David Chang is actually a really funny guy--so the cookbook makes good reading too.

So on to the pork buns.  The pork buns have several components.  The bun, of course.  The roasted pork belly.  Pickled cucumbers.  Sliced scallions.  And, finally, Sriracha and hoisin sauce.  The buns are one of the more complicated recipes in the book, so instead of making them, I called up Hop Li, a local Chinese restaurant and asked if they'd sell me the buns they serve with their Peking duck.  For 60 cents a piece, they were happy to part with their buns.  So, now the pork belly.  I headed to Mitsuwa Market near Culver City, a local Japanese market where they sell pork belly in every incarnation possible (thinly sliced, whole, marinated, cubed, you name it) for a pittance of what you'd pay at Whole Foods (where you may have to special order it anyway).  Cucumbers, scallions, Sriracha and hoisin sauce--no problem--available at almost any grocery store.

So, my culinary adventure had begun.  My son helped me marinate the pork belly and we left it to its own devices overnight.  The next day, we roasted the pork belly, Doug picked up my buns, I made the quick-pickled cucumbers and set up my pork bun assembly line.  Doug said it's one of the best meals I've ever made and the kids were silent for most of the meal aside from the occasional "mmm" and "Can I have another one?"--overall, I'd say it was a success.

Pork Belly 

One 3 lb slab of skinless pork belly (I couldn't find a whole 3 lb slab, so I got four 3/4 lb slabs)

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup sugar 

1.  Nestle the belly into a roasting pan or other oven-safe vessel that holds it snugly.  Mix together the salt and sugar in a small bowl and rub the mix all over the meat; discard any excess salt-and-sugar mixture.  Cover the container with plastic wrap and put it into the fridge for at least 6 hours, but no longer than 24.

2.  Heat the oven to 450.

3.  Discard any liquid that accumulated in the container.  Put the belly in the oven, fat side up, and cook for 45 minutes to an hour (the book says one hour, but since I didn't have one whole slab, the pork browned a lot faster and I lowered the heat after 45 minutes), basting it with the rendered fat at the halfway point, until it's an appetizing golden brown.

4.  Turn the oven temperature down to 250 and cook for another hour, until the belly is tender--it shouldn't be falling apart, but it should have a down pillow-like yield to a firm finger poke (it really does feel like a down pillow!).  Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the belly to a plate.  Allow the belly to cool slightly.

5.  When it's cool enough to handle, wrap the belly in foil and put it in the fridge until it's thoroughly chilled and firm.  This really is an important step because it allows you to cut the pork belly into neat, nice-looking slices.

6.  Cut the pork belly into 1/2 inch thick slices that are about 2 inches long.  Warm them for serving in a pan over medium heat, just for a minute or two, until they are jiggly soft and heated through.  Use at once.

Quick Pickled Cucumbers 

2 meaty japanese or 4 Persian cucumbers, cut into 1/8 inch thick disks (great time to bust out that mandolin)

1 tablespoon sugar, or more to taste

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

Combine the cucumbers with the sugar and salt in a small mixing bowl and toss to coat with the sugar and salt.  Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes and enjoy.  Can be refrigerated for up to 4 hours.

Momofuku Pork Buns

1 steamed bun

about 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

3 or 4 slices Quick-Pickled cucumbers

2 to 3 thick slices Pork Belly

1 scant tablespoon thinly sliced scallion (green and white)

Sriracha, for serving (a hot sauce available in the Asian section of most supermarkets)

1.  Heat the bun in a steamer on the stovetop.  It should be hot to the touch.  With my restaurant bought buns, this took a minute a two--not very long at all.

2.  Grab the bun from the steamer and flop it open on a plate.  Slather the inside with the hoisin sauce, using the back of a spoon.  Arrange pickles on on side of the fold in the bun and the slices of pork belly on the other.  Scatter the belly and pickles with sliced scallion, fold closed and voila:  pork bun.  Serve with sriracha.  

www.momofuku.com

Mitsuwa Marketplace:  3760 South Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90066

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Good_Stuff_Lazy_Ox_Canteen.zip (217 KB)

It's always an adventure driving downtown--particularly on a rainy night in Los Angeles.  After a ridiculous amount of traffic, we found ourselves exiting early and winding our way through the undulating urbanscape that is currently downtown LA.  It is a schizophrenic experience that goes back and forth between gentrified and not-so-gentrified.  Empty patches of run-down buildings amidst brand-spankin' new retail/residential buildings which boast airy lofts and stores such as Pussy and Pooch that apparently cater to the multitude of dog and cat owners that live downtown?  But I digress.  The destination for this particular journey was a new gastropub in Little Tokyo called the Lazy Ox Canteen.  And, it was well worth the effort it took to get there.

Located on the ground floor of one of the aforementioned retail/ residential buildings that seem to have popped up all over downtown overnight, the Lazy Ox Canteen has a nondescript store front that doesn't even bear a sign.  I'm intrigued already.  Once inside, you are treated to a warm, inviting wood-paneled space discreetly lit by beautiful, over-sized filament bulbs that dot the interior.  So far, so good.

The menu is eclectic and ambitious, to say the least.  There is the regular menu and then there are the seasonal specials which fill up a chalkboard the length of a wall.  Most of the dishes fall in the small plate category--perfect for sharing with a group of friends over one of the interesting collection of beers they serve.  We started with blistered shishito peppers grated with dried tuna, moroccan-style beef jerky served shredded on top of a fried egg and topped with salsa verde, and a refreshing assortment of pickled seasonal vegetables in dill.  We ooohed and aaahed over each dish and one of the friends we were with said, "I would have never ordered any of these dishes on my own but they are amazing!"  That, to me, is what makes dining out so fun--a sense of discovery shared over a table with good friends.  

We proceeded to order an incredible array of dishes from the formidable menu.  Most were hits, but some were misses.  The pig ear chicharron was bland and chewy.  The charred octopus was in a harissa-type sauce that didn't work all that well, in my opinion.  But there were a lot more hits--awesome, curry-infused cauliflower gratin, yellowtail tartar with avocado, creme fraiche and hash browns (OMG), lamb sausages on polenta, steak frite with smoked paprika mayonnaise and bone marrow jam, egg pasta with sunny-side egg, butter and herbs, and a delicious romaine salad that provided a wonderful break from the richness of the food.  

As the evening wore on, more people drifted in to the cozy space and the pub exuded a great neighborhood vibe--ironic in downtown LA, or maybe not anymore?  We ordered some delicious desserts and took it all in over the remainder of our drinks.  What a great little spot.  Unpretentious, good food, reasonably-priced and just plain fun.  We'll definitely be back.

www.lazyoxcanteen.com

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OK, anyone who knows me knows I'm not a salad kind of girl. I mean, I like a little roughage before or after a meal. But, generally, I don't find salads satisfying enough to qualify as a meal unto itself. I know, not very LA of me, but what can I say? But all my preconceived notions about salads--thrown out the door with the Seasonal Salad at Cafe Surfas in Culver City. 

It is creative, interesting, flavor-defying and incredibly satisfying. Mixed greens with marinated black mission figs, roasted leeks, rosemary roasted pecans, blue cheese, chocolate (yes, and it's really chocolate-y--not just a hint of chocolate--normally not my kind of thing, but it just works here) balsamic dressing, onion sprouts, organic chicken and...is that a hint of toasted coriander? Each flavor is so disparate, but when tied together with the chocolate balsamic dressing, it's like a bunch of different instruments coming together to make beautiful music. I never thought I would wax poetic about a salad. Plus, who doesn't appreciate a meal with actual poetry included (see photos)?

http://www.cafesurfas.com/

     

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Good_Stuff_Seasonal_Salad_at_S.zip (179 KB)

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Trust me.  It's worth the drive to Redondo Beach.  They also just opened another, schnazzier looking location in Tustin (not quite sure where that is--but if it as good as the Redondo Beach location, then that'd be worth the drive too)--I haven't been yet, will let you know when I get there.

Belacan Grill (pronounced blah-chan) is a Malaysian restaurant.  I've never been to Malaysia, but the cuisine, in my mind, combines the best of Indian, Thai and Chinese flavors.  My friend, Ann, introduced me to this place and I keep coming back.  You never read about this place in any of the food blogs and no one else I know has even heard of it.  But it is so good, I actually start to crave the crab in between visits.  If you're not annoyed about the process of picking the crab apart to get the best pieces of meat or, better yet, if you actually think there is something meditative about the whole thing, then I suggest you head out to Redondo Beach pronto.  

The Belacan Crab is the best Asian-style crab I've had--that includes Crustacean, Hop Li and various other seafood places in Chinatown and Monterey Park.  Live dungeness crab is cut into manageable sized pieces and stir-fried in dried shrimp, chilies and toasted shrimp paste.  The result is a crunchy, flavor-packed shell (perfect for biting into) and big pieces of perfectly succulent crab meat inside--all surrounded by crunchy bits of shrimp paste (which taste surprisingly like bacon) and chilies.

The crab isn't the only highlight on the menu either.  The roti (a Malaysian flat bread similar to Indian naan) with curry sauce makes a subtly sumptuous start to the meal--just a little teaser of what's to come.  The chicken and lamb satays are delicious--my son ate 8 sticks of lamb satay last night and insisted on keeping the lazy susan frozen so that the satays wouldn't stray too far away fro m arm's reach.  Then there is the Belacan Kangkung--water spinach stir fried in the same concoction as the crab.  I have a particular affinity to this dish because I grew up eating kangkung--it is a staple vegetable in Philippine cooking.  I find it a lot more texturally interesting than spinach because the stems are hollow and maintain a good crunch even after sauteeing.  Last time I was there, we even tried a whole rock cod chili fish--a whole fish deep-fried and sauteed in a spicy chili tamarind sauce--so good.

So, go, check it out.  Bring the family--it is very family-friendly and casual.  Doug even got to watch the end of the Vikings-Saints game while were there last night.  Let me know what you think.  

http://www.belacangrill.com/

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1.  Dealer's Choice.  You tell the mixologist (these days calling someone a bartender is apparently verboten) what spirits you like and what flavor profiles you enjoy and, voila'!  A crazy concoction shows up at the table and you all spend a ton of time trying to figure out what's in it.  On a negative note, if you really like your drink and try to order another one, there's no guarantee said mixologist will remember your drink or what the hell was in it.

2.  It doesn't feel like you're in Los Angeles and I feel really hip when I go to dinner anywhere east of the 405.  Plus, the ambience is great.  Casual with really good energy.

4.  Crispy pig's ears with bernaise sauce.  I like a little adventure in my cuisine.  Especially when it is both novel and delicious.

5.  Apart from having an adventurous streak, they get all the traditional bistro fare right.  Onion soup, escargots, caramelized onion, bacon and gruyere tartes, steak frites--all outstanding.

http://www.churchandstatebistro.com

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