mamster

Mashiko's has hit the big time: Elle Magazine, which this month has a column about unusual Westernized sushi pieces. The column is writted by some Portly Person.

I walked by to peek in, and they don't have a menu up. Grrr. I kind of like the decor--it'll help me pretend that I'm hip and urban. Shall we give this place a try next week?

Is this open now? I've been peeking through the window occasionally for months.

It was intentional, Mark, for two reasons. First of all, it wasn't in the original recipe. Second, for whatever reason, I don't like the combination of white or black pepper and dried red pepper (which is what chile garlic sauce is made from, I believe). When I get a hot and sour soup that includes both, I cringe, even though I like both ingredients separately.

project--The dried shiitakes are "dried black mushrooms". Either variety would be fine. The ginger is measured after peeling and chopping. This is an approximate measure; adjust as you like. When I julienne the ginger, I cut slices perpendicular to the length of the rhizome, then cut those slices into strips--this gives a cross-grain strip that is less likely to be stringy in the mouth. As for the bamboo shoots, the original recipe calls for julienne, but in the soup at the restaurant, they were cut into smaller pieces. I liked it that way. I used most of a can of "strip" bamboo shoots, cut perpendicular to the strips into fine dice. My stock is quite unlike a traditional Chinese chicken stock. I find that this gives me more of a buffer to mess up: it's a more gelatinous, more full-flavored stock that is less versatile, but also a stronger base for a soup that makes it less important to get everything else perfectly in balance. I struggle with soup, which seems more prone to being ruined by a small detail than most other types of dishes. I've skimmed The Elements of Taste but I don't remember their categories, so I can't comment on that. I didn't weigh the shrimp after prepping it. Anyone know what the general loss in prep is for shrimp? I'm guessing it doesn't vary much. Thanks for the questions--it'll help me write a clearer recipe next time around.

No, that's exactly the stuff, Jason--looks awesome! I write it, it gets cooked up in New Jersey. The power is going to my head already.

I will try to make it on Friday; I would have to skip class, but not the part I teach, so I can probably get away with it.

I used to write for Sidewalk, sort of. For about a year I wrote for Music Central, until it was folded into Sidewalk, so some of my stuff was one there. I don't think any of it made it over to Citysearch. And obviously this had nothing to do with food.

I think the term generally refers to transgenic food (food containing one or more gene transferred in from a different species), which is the much more specific term that we should be using if that's what we mean. Every single thing we eat is "genetically modified," but only certain crops are transgenic.

My friend who knew him said she last heard he was at Expedia, but that was months ago, aka decades in Internet time. Sounds like maybe he's at Amazon. Why not? Everyone else is.

I can't remember whether I mentioned in the article that the original recipe uses dungeness crab meat, not shrimp. You certainly wouldn't go wrong with the crab, either.

I think Fred Brack and I have a mutual friend, so I'll ask her.

I'm looking forward to trying it too. Nancy reviewed it last week in the Times. I actually reviewed one of that space's previous occupants, Best Toast.

Shaw: Thorne: Okay, who wants to set this up?

Also, Laurie says, "Isn't it obvious to everyone that Shaw is the next Jeffrey Steingarten?"

Of course, that article originally appeared in Simple Cooking. John gave me a real break by publishing it, and much of what you read in the Seattle Times version linked above is due to his editing. I'm terribly flattered by your comparison, Shaw, but I don't know that I have anywhere near the talent or discipline to live up to it. (The rest of this post I started earlier, before the above shoulder-tap.) For me food writing is about pleasure. If I illustrate this with a personal anecdote, perhaps that will indicate where I place myself on the Thorne-Behr axis. Until a couple of years ago, I had never tried sushi. Well, that's not quite true. I was forced to try some on a fourth grade field trip, and I gagged. So it took me fifteen years to try it again. When I did, it wasn't because I felt some compunction to do so, a la The Man Who Ate Everything. It was because I had a friend who told me swooningly about her epic sushi meals. She's not a sushi expert, just a dedicated consumer. So I asked her to take me out for sushi, order, and tell me about each thing I was eating. I wanted in on some of her pleasure. (Turns out sushi is tasty.) When I write, I can't do it as an expert handing down knowledge, only as an enthusiast. "Here," I'm saying, "I just love eating this dish. Try it, and maybe you'll love it too. If not, I hope you'll try again next week." It's a big reward when someone takes one of my recommendations and runs with it. I'm not really as much of an honest simpleton as that, but I've tried the journalistic approach and I'm just not good at it. I subscribe to AOE and read it cover to cover every issue, but I prefer my food writing well marbled with hedonism. Which reminds me, there's a new Simple Cooking just out.

Jinmyo, I promise next week I will not be ripping off a recipe from a book. It'll be ripped off from a restaurant that got it from a book. I do have some originals to offer, and probably more as time goes by. One will be in the column after next, and it includes pancetta.

Wait, I'm not in for Thursday, because I'm going to be making sausage with klink. Maybe next Thursday.

I'm in for Thursday again, but I don't know which restaurant I should try! Obviously it's easier to get cheap Thai food than cheap French, but I'm curious how well they do with the Thai.

Now that's high praise!

It was probably the real thing, but old and stale. Manky, even.

Next Friday I might be able to participate.

John (either of you, but particularly the original questioner), have you read The Importance of Lunch by John Allemang? It's a delightful collection of mildly cantankerous food essays by a great Canadian food writer, and therefore unknown in the US. John W., does anyone know John A. in England? John T., ever read him? He's clearly influenced by you, but I can't remember whether you're mentioned in the book. Anyway, the title essay is about how he recoiled at horror when someone said to him, "I don't eat lunch."

BH and others, don't miss my TDG column on Monday. Hint, hint.

I'm going to be grading an exam...at least I'll get free pizza.