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jhirshon

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Posts posted by jhirshon

  1. Here is my personal Zhoug recipe - it is not as atomically spicy as many zhoug recipes, but still packs a potent kick (I like to taste the spices and herbs, not just having my tongue burned to a stump)...

    cheers, JH

    The Hirshon Zhoug

    1 cup of fresh Coriander, including stems

    1 cup of fresh parsely, including stems

    7 (use more or less depending on your spice tolerance) Jalapenos, stem ends removed

    3 serranos, stemmed

    8 garlic cloves

    3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds

    2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin

    2 teaspons freshly ground coriander

    Seeds from 5 cardamom pods

    1/2 teaspoon salt (add more if needed)

    1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (add more if needed)

    About 3 tablespoons of olive oil (add more if needed)

    Finely grind the cardamom pods and caraway seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, then sift to remove the husks.

    Grind all in a food processor to a paste - cover and store in the refrigerator.

  2. Here is the revised list. :)

    I should probably clarify that I am NOT rich as Croesus, despite my choice of restaurants and hotels. The reason for this trip was that American was running a fare sale to Narita from California - $520 per person round trip, so the wife and I jumped at the chance to fly on the cheap.

    Also, I'm burning Hyatt points to get 2 out of 3 nights free at the Grand Hyatt (which is good, becuase it's $400 a night!!!!), averaging out to $133 per night - not bad for 3 nights in Tokyo at a top hotel! :)

    As for Kyoto, the Brighton is the best Western-style hotel in the city, and is normally $350 per night+ - but for some weird reason, my travel agent was able to get us in at $140 a night. :)

    So, the bottom line - the savings are going into our meals, in true eGullet fashion. :)

    cheers, JH

    _______________________________

    Japan food-fest!!!

    May 31 dinner:

    Inakaya

    3405-9866

    Roppongi 4-10-11, Yamaki Bldg. 1F.

    The best place for robatayaki in Tokyo - dinner is about $85 per person

    June 1 breakfast:

    5:00 AM – Sushi Dokoro Okame

    03-3541-5450

    Chuo-ku, Tsukiji 5-2-1, Area 6

    Opening at 5:00 AM, this is *THE* place for a toro sushi breakfast - they specialize in toro, omakase is about ¥3,650

    6:00 AM - Sushi Bun

    03-3541-3860

    Chuo-ku, Tsukiji 5-2-1, Area 8

    Another early-morning sushi shop in Tsukiji, been in business for more than 150 years. Specializes in seasonal and wild (non-farmed) fish varieties. Omakase course for about 3650 yen. Opens at 6:00 AM, come here after sampling the incomparable toro at Sushi Dokoro Okame at 5:00 AM. :)

    June 1 lunch:

    Miyako Zushi

    03-3851-7494

    10-12, Yanagibashi 1-chome, Taito-ku

    Superb sushi (5th generation of family!) - considered the best in Tokyo. No menu - Kato-san only provides the market's daily best through a unique relationship with Tsukiji. No plastic, bill is usually between ¥6,000-10,000 - it is next to the Asakusa temple.

    June 1 dinner:

    Chibo

    5424-1011

    Ebisu 4-20-3, Yebisu Garden Place 38F

    Great okonomiyaki - KILLER VIEW

    June 2 breakfast:

    Grand Hyatt

    June 2 lunch:

    Honmura An

    3401-0844

    Roppongi

    SUPERB soba - Honmura An offers two classic zaru preparations year-round: inaka soba (dark, thick, rough textured noodles made from the whole grain; $7.45 a portion) and seiro soba (lighter, thinner, smoother noodles made from the grain's kernel; $6.20 a portion). In addition, Honmura An offers seasonally flavored noodles for $13.85 a portion. In the winter, there is yuzu (an aromatic citron peel); in the spring, yomogi (a healthful green herb), and in the summer basil-like shiso that is finely minced and added to the noodle dough. These soba dishes are served with a very smoky, bonito enriched dipping sauce to which freshly grated wasabi (Japanese horseradish) and chopped leeks can be added. When soba yu is added to the dipping sauce, it becomes a lovely broth. Portions are small, and it's easy to manage two or three servings.

    Open weekdays 11:30 A.M. to 3 P.M. and 5 to 9 P.M.; 11:30 A.M. to 9 P.M. weekends and national holidays. Exit Roppongi subway station from stairway No. 4B. Walk straight ahead and turn right at the first corner. Restaurant is halfway down the narrow street, on your right. Sign on ground level; restaurant is up one flight. Hibiya subway line stops at Roppongi.

    June 2 dinner:

    Yama no Chaya

    03-3581-0656

    10-6, Nagatacho 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku

    THE place for kabayaki-style Eel - accept no substitutes. NOTE: closed Sundays, no plastic. Dinner is ¥17,000 per person

    June 3 breakfast:

    Grand Hyatt

    June 3 lunch:

    Maisen

    (03) 3470-0071

    4-8-5 Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku

    Any argument over which restaurant in Tokyo serves the best tonkatsu—Japan’s beloved plate of deep-fried pork cutlet, rice and cabbage—should end with Maisen. The restaurant has made an obsession of perfecting a dish that is usually cooked quickly as standard daily grub. The secret to Maisen’s success is that cutlets can be doused in one of three tangy sauces brewed on the premises. Our favourite is a fruity concoction served with the house special, a delicious cutlet made from kurobuta, a black hog from Kagoshima. JH prefers the ‘rosu’ cut, which is fattier - but the ‘hire’ or fillet cut is also good.

    This large, crowded restaurant is tucked away in a converted old bath-house off the main Omotesando drag. Be prepared to wait at least 20 minutes for a table and expect to sit on the floor. If you hit the weekend rush and the queue seems too daunting, buy one of the superb tonkatsu sandwiches from the Maisen stand outside the restaurant.

    June 3 dinner (Kyoto):

    Hotaru

    075-441-4411

    nakadachiuri,shinmachi-Dori,kamigyo-ku

    The restaurant of Chef Mitsuro Harada, winner on Iron Chef - superb Kyoto cuisine in the Brighton Hotel, the city’s finest western-style hotel

    June 4 breakfast:

    Kyoto Brighton Hotel

    June 4 lunch:

    Menbaka Ichidai

    81-75-812-5818

    Marutamachi Chiemitsuin Higashi iru Minamigawa, Kamigyou-ku

    *THE* place for negi ramen (ramen with a lot of chopped scallion). The heated oil that a waiter pours over the bowl catches fire in front of customers sitting on the couter stalls. The shop is quite famous for this unusual service.

    June 4 dinner:

    Sushi Iwa

    cater-cornered from the Kikoku-tei Gardens

    The best sushi in Kyoto

    June 5 breakfast:

    Kyoto Brighton hotel

    June 5 lunch:

    Owariya

    231-3446

    Kurumaya-cho, south of Nijo, Nakagyo-ku

    A legendary Soba shop - established in 1465! Closed Wednesdays

    June 5 dinner:

    Myoken-ji Temple Lodgings

    75-414-0808

    Teranouchi Higashi-iru, Horikawa-dori, Kamigyo-ku

    Very cheap lodging/food in Kyoto (about $44 w/ breakfast), but you must send a postcard or call WELL IN ADVANCE for reservations - you actually stay in the monastery! Pretty sure they also serve dinner.

  3. Robyn, that's all great feedback, thank you! :)

    We're going heavy on the sushi because my wife is a Sushi fanatic - and your suggestions on the kaiseki are well-taken.

    We've actually had killer tempura here in the states at Inagiku in NYC and I've eaten probably the best tempura in Japan at Hayashi in Tokyo, so we thought we would forego the tempura.

    As for the eel, we both love unagi, so I think what we will do is substiitute eel in place of Kaiseki - as I prefer kabayaki-style eel to kansai-style, we'll eat eel in Tokyo. I love Yama no Chaya as the premier eel restaurant for this.

    Also, we ate an AMAZING kaiseki dinner at Kincha at the Grand Wailea hotel on Maui 8 years ago that was $400/head and still ranks as one of the best meals ever - so we can do kaiseki on our next trip to Japan, whenever that may be.

    Instead of blow-out kaiseki, we'll take the opposite approach and eat out last meal in the serene setting of a Buddhist temple - Myoken-ji Temple offers very inexpensive vegetarian meals within the Temple grounds for visitors, as long as you RESERVE WELL IN ADVANCE. It seems appropriate to end our stayin Japan eating a Temple vegatarian dinner, somehow. :)

    I'll pm you for the name of your driver, that sounds like a REALLY good idea.

    Again, thanks for the suggestions! :)

    The revised list follows this post.

    cheers, JH

  4. My wife and I are planning a trip to Japan during the first week of June - I've been to Japan a number of times for work, but it is her first trip.

    As such, I wanted to expose her to the wealth of different cuisines and styles that she would never find here in the States - or to have the finest of a particular type of cuisine. It ranges from ramen to Kaiseki, and we are trying to squeeze in as many styles as we can - would that we had one more day in Tokyo, so I could take her for some chanko and kabayaki-style eel - but that will have to wait till next time,,,

    After much research (THANK YOU eGullet!!!) here is my list - I welcome thoughts or additional data, as one or two restaurants lack addresses or phone. Comments are my own or from the reviewers here if I haven't yet been to the restaurant in question.

    cheers, JH

    Japan food-fest!!!

    May 31 dinner:

    Inakaya

    3405-9866

    Roppongi 4-10-11, Yamaki Bldg. 1F.

    The best place for robatayaki in Tokyo - dinner is about $85 per person

    June 1 breakfast:

    5:00 AM – Sushi Dokoro Okame

    03-3541-5450

    Chuo-ku, Tsukiji 5-2-1, Area 6

    Opening at 5:00 AM, this is *THE* place for a toro sushi breakfast - they specialize in toro, omakase is about ¥3,650

    6:00 AM - Sushi Bun

    03-3541-3860

    Chuo-ku, Tsukiji 5-2-1, Area 8

    Another early-morning sushi shop in Tsukiji, been in business for more than 150 years. Specializes in seasonal and wild (non-farmed) fish varieties. Omakase course for about 3650 yen. Opens at 6:00 AM, come here after sampling the incomparable toro at Sushi Dokoro Okame at 5:00 AM. :)

    June 1 lunch:

    Miyako Zushi

    03-3851-7494

    10-12, Yanagibashi 1-chome, Taito-ku

    Superb sushi (5th generation of family!) - considered the best in Tokyo. No menu - Kato-san only provides the market's daily best through a unique relationship with Tsukiji. No plastic, bill is usually between ¥6,000-10,000 - it is next to the Asakusa temple.

    June 1 dinner:

    Chibo

    5424-1011

    Ebisu 4-20-3, Yebisu Garden Place 38F

    Great okonomiyaki - KILLER VIEW

    June 2 breakfast:

    Grand Hyatt

    June 2 lunch:

    Honmura An

    3401-0844

    Roppongi

    SUPERB soba - Honmura An offers two classic zaru preparations year-round: inaka soba (dark, thick, rough textured noodles made from the whole grain; $7.45 a portion) and seiro soba (lighter, thinner, smoother noodles made from the grain's kernel; $6.20 a portion). In addition, Honmura An offers seasonally flavored noodles for $13.85 a portion. In the winter, there is yuzu (an aromatic citron peel); in the spring, yomogi (a healthful green herb), and in the summer basil-like shiso that is finely minced and added to the noodle dough. These soba dishes are served with a very smoky, bonito enriched dipping sauce to which freshly grated wasabi (Japanese horseradish) and chopped leeks can be added. When soba yu is added to the dipping sauce, it becomes a lovely broth. Portions are small, and it's easy to manage two or three servings.

    Open weekdays 11:30 A.M. to 3 P.M. and 5 to 9 P.M.; 11:30 A.M. to 9 P.M. weekends and national holidays. Exit Roppongi subway station from stairway No. 4B. Walk straight ahead and turn right at the first corner. Restaurant is halfway down the narrow street, on your right. Sign on ground level; restaurant is up one flight. Hibiya subway line stops at Roppongi.

    June 2 dinner:

    Sakuragawa

    03-3408-0039

    SK Roppongi heim 1F, 6-8-21 Roppongi, Minato-ku

    The quintessential itamae kappo (master chef cuisine) - With its traditional wood front and understated interior, there is counter seating for 10, plus two small side rooms. Chef Kurahashi is a quiet man who prefers to let his food do the talking. He cooks delectable full-course meals in the style of his native Osaka, which many local gourmets rate as the finest food in Japan. No doubt that is why, since opening in 2002, Sakuragawa has become one of the most popular restaurants of its kind in Tokyo.

    The menu will closely follow the conventions of kaiseki ryori, the multi-course Japanese haute cuisine, in which a succession of exquisite dishes, each cooked in a different style, is served in prescribed order. You will start with a couple of delectable appetizers (known as sakizuke), followed by a steaming bowl of soup (owan), usually containing slivers of white-meat fish and colorful seasonal vegetables in a fragrant clear broth.

    For connoisseurs, this soup is the true measure of an itamae's skills. Likewise with the dish that follows: a few cuts of prime sashimi (tsukuri). Good sashimi demands to be accompanied by a thimbleful (or three) of premium sake.

    June 3 breakfast:

    Grand Hyatt

    June 3 lunch:

    Maisen

    (03) 3470-0071

    4-8-5 Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku

    Any argument over which restaurant in Tokyo serves the best tonkatsu—Japan’s beloved plate of deep-fried pork cutlet, rice and cabbage—should end with Maisen. The restaurant has made an obsession of perfecting a dish that is usually cooked quickly as standard daily grub. The secret to Maisen’s success is that cutlets can be doused in one of three tangy sauces brewed on the premises. Our favourite is a fruity concoction served with the house special, a delicious cutlet made from kurobuta, a black hog from Kagoshima. JH prefers the ‘rosu’ cut, which is fattier - but the ‘hire’ or fillet cut is also good.

    This large, crowded restaurant is tucked away in a converted old bath-house off the main Omotesando drag. Be prepared to wait at least 20 minutes for a table and expect to sit on the floor. If you hit the weekend rush and the queue seems too daunting, buy one of the superb tonkatsu sandwiches from the Maisen stand outside the restaurant.

    June 3 dinner (Kyoto):

    Hotaru

    075-441-4411

    nakadachiuri,shinmachi-Dori,kamigyo-ku

    The restaurant of Chef Mitsuro Harada, winner on Iron Chef - superb Kyoto cuisine in the Brighton Hotel, the city’s finest western-style hotel

    June 4 breakfast:

    Kyoto Brighton Hotel

    June 4 lunch:

    Menbaka Ichidai

    81-75-812-5818

    Marutamachi Chiemitsuin Higashi iru Minamigawa, Kamigyou-ku

    *THE* place for negi ramen (ramen with a lot of chopped scallion). The heated oil that a waiter pours over the bowl catches fire in front of customers sitting on the couter stalls. The shop is quite famous for this unusual service.

    June 4 dinner:

    Sushi Iwa

    cater-cornered from the Kikoku-tei Gardens

    The best sushi in Kyoto

    June 5 breakfast:

    Kyoto Brighton hotel

    June 5 lunch:

    Owariya

    231-3446

    Kurumaya-cho, south of Nijo, Nakagyo-ku

    A legendary Soba shop - established in 1465! Closed Wednesdays

    June 5 blowout dinner:

    Hyotei

    075/771-4116

    35 Kusakawa-cho

    The best Kaiseki in Kyoto, hence the world. FIENDISHLY expensive (from $170 per person for dinner) and worth every penny.

    This 300-year-old restaurant first opened its doors as a teahouse to serve pilgrims and visitors on their way to Nanzenji Temple. Today it consists of two parts: one offering expensive Kyo-kaiseki, which originated with the tea ceremony but is now associated with Kyoto cooking, and an annex offering seasonal obento lunch boxes. The kaiseki meals are served in separate tiny houses situated around a beautiful garden with a pond, maple trees, and bushes; the oldest house, which resembles a small teahouse, is more than 3 centuries old. You'll dine seated on a tatami floor in a private room, the food brought to you by kimono-clad women. The annex (bekkan), to the left of the kaiseki restaurant and with its own entrance, serves delicious lunch boxes (Shokado Bento) at about $35 each, which change with the season and are served in a communal tatami room with views of a garden.

    To find it, look for Nanzenji. West of Shirakawa Dori and south of Murin-an; look for a plain facade hidden behind a bamboo fence with a sign shaped like a gourd.

  5. John --Just how old are you?  The picture of the 'old lady' on the sauce jar looks pretty young to ME!!!!  LOL!

    Xiao hzrt --- Does my favorite Lan Chi brand Chili Paste with Garlic measure up to any of those sauces?

    Lan Chi has become hard to find in the bay area, for some reason - however, I do like it very much when i can find it. As noted, it is a bit salty, but I use it in specific recipes where that aspect works. In most recipes calling for Chili sauce now, I use Guilin chili paste (still hoping Ah Leung will post the images I mailed him of the brand I prefer) or the Yank Sing variant.

    Chiu Chow Chili oil from Lee Kum Kee is also excellent - I use the detritus/solids from the bottom for a potent concentrated kick in certain recipes where I don't want a sauce or oil, but want a powerful chili flavour.

    cheers, JH

  6. Guilin chili sauce is SUPERB - the addition of Shaoxing makes it truly special.

    I just sent Ah Leung some pics of my 'straight from Guilin' crock o' sauce, as well as the labels and the sauce itself - I'm not sure how to post them on my own. This is my preferred hot sauce of choice nowadays in Chinese cooking, due to it's depth of flavour. If I was making Szechuan, I'd stick with Tobanjon. For hot chili oil, you can't beat the oil floating atop the Yank Sing Chili XO sauce - like Ah Leung, I think they make the highest-quality product and have used their sauces for years. :)

    cheers, JH

  7. Actually, camphor trees are grown for decorative purposes in the US.  [...]

    i'd love to hear your report on how it worked out (I haven't had the opportunity/time to try out my own recipe yet, sadly!).

    Looking forward to hearing your report (and a pictorial, hopefully) if you decide to go for it - JH

    Whaaat? You haven't tested your own recipe yet!? :shock::blink:

    Will Ah Leung get any reward for being the guinea pig? and I don't mean just getting to eat the duck. :wink::laugh:

    I rarely need to taste test my recipes - my mental palate has always served me well. ;)

    And the only satisfaction is knowing he would be the first, i suppose. :)

    cheers, JH

  8. Actually, camphor trees are grown for decorative purposes in the US.  [...]

    Sure. I have a camphor tree right outside my bedroom! :biggrin:

    I kind of like the smell. But these trees are surely very messy. They don't shed in the winter. But when the fruits (??) fall down, it is hard to clean up.

    I have been thinking: hey if I want to make smoke tea duck, I just need to peel off some really old barks from the trunk and use them to make smoke! Save a trip to the Indian grocery store! :raz:

    hzrt8w - if you want to follow my recipe for the camphor smoked duck, substituting camphor barkchips for the oak and leaving out the camphor crystals, go for it - i'd love to hear your report on how it worked out (I haven't had the opportunity/time to try out my own recipe yet, sadly!).

    Looking forward to hearing your report (and a pictorial, hopefully) if you decide to go for it - JH

  9. All - this thread I started in the Indian forum has bearing for the Chinese as well:

    http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=80497

    Camphor-smoked duck requires - unsurprisingly - camphor wood shavings which are completely unavailable in the States (and not all that easy to find, even in Asia!). Every recipe for it calls for a different blend of smoking materials, all of which lack the essential camphor flavour that makes this recipe what it is.

    We have had no other choice - until now. :smile:

    I think I've come up with a creative solution to this problem - in some Indian grocers, you can purchase Camphor crystals, which are incredibly pungent and completely edible. They steam the aromatic oils out of the Camphor wood, then crystallize it to form (in Hindi) Paccha Karpoora.

    Grinding some of these crystals over smoking materials of Jasmine tea, lapsang souchong tea, and oak before smoking should enable a totally authentic Szechuan Camphor-roast duck - probably for the first time ever in the US. :cool:

    I for one plan to attempt this at the earliest possible opportunity - failing that, if some enterprising eGulleteer has access to these crystals and wants to try it before me, by all means do so (as long as I am immortalized forever as the man who enabled the true recipe to be experienced by the gweilo of the world.) :biggrin:

    IMPORTANT NOTE: Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES buy 'Camphor' at a drug store or ANYWHERE outside an Indian grocery to use in a recipe - this is synthetic camphor and is NOT EDIBLE.

    My personal recipe for Szechuan Camphor-smoked duck, if anyone wants to try it:

    The Hirshon Szechuan Camphor-smoked Duck

    4 slices fresh ginger, pureed in a food processor

    3 ts Salt

    1 ts Szechuan peppercorns, ground to a powder

    1 Star anise, ground to a powder

    1 ts Saltpeter (available at pharmacies)

    2 tbs sesame oil (preferred) or peanut oil

    1 4 to 5 lb. duckling

    4 tbs oak sawdust (or use chips, if unavailable)

    2 tbs lapsang souchong tea leaves

    2 tbs Jasmine tea leaves

    1 lg. crystal of edible camphor (finely ground to make 1/2 teaspoon)

    3 tbs sugar

    8 c Peanut oil for frying

    24 2" sections green onion

    Dipping Sauce:

    4 ts Peanut Oil

    2 ts Sweet bean paste (tan min chun)

    2 ts Sugar

    2 ts Water

    Heat pan and stir-fry salt over medium heat until lightly brown. Add peppercorns, ginger, anise and saltpeter; stir-fry until fragrant. Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle. Set aside half of the mixture and rub the interior and exterior of duckling thoroughly with it, reserving the rest. Allow duck to sit overnight in the fridge. Combine the remaining seasonings with the sesame or peanut oil and massage into the duck.

    Place the duck on a wire rack in a preheated moderate oven at about 400 deg (put a drip-pan underneath) and roast for 1 hour.

    For smoking, light a charcoal fire. When the charcoal is glowing red, but not blazing, sprinkle half the tea, camphor powder, sugar and sawdust (or chips, if sawdust is unavailable) over the fire. Place the duck on a wire rack and suspend it a couple of inches above the fire.

    Invert a tin or wok cover over the duck and fire and let smoke for 10 minutes.

    Turn the duck over for a further 10 minute smoking, sprinkling the rest of the smoking mixture on the fire (poke and stir as needed to get a good smoke going) before turning it.

    Remove the duck, brush it with 2 tbs more of sesame oil and heat oil for deep-frying to 380 F in a large wok. Fry duckling 8 min. or until skin is crispy, ladling oil over the duck constantly and turning as needed. Remove and drain. Cut into bite-size pieces and serve with Dipping Sauce & green onions.

    Directions for Dipping Sauce: Heat oil. Stir-fry all ingredients until boiling.

  10. Ah Leung:

    We used to serve a very similar dish at our restaurant in Honolulu that we called: "Chinese Drunken Oysters",

    The only real difference was that we added Shaohsing Wine, White Pepper and consolidated it into a paste with Sweet Butter, Fermented Black Beans, Garlic, Leaf Parsly, Grated Ginger with a dash of Balsamic Vineger.

    We then covered the bottom of the shell, and the Oysters with the paste and brought them to bubbling in the Salamander Broiler before serving with some spring onions sprinkled on top.

    It was one of our most popular appetizers. The "Drunken" name was due to the Fermented Black Beans and the Shaohsing Wine. Many customers added some Hot Sauce before enjoying. We used Washington State Oysters.

    Irwin

    Couldn't you just as easily steam the oysters just long enough to have them open on their own - then add the seasonings and complete the steaming/cooking using either hzrt8w's or Wesza's seasoning methods (I'd personally add a touch of oyster sauce as well to complete the oyster motif, but that's just me). :)

    Thoughts?

    cheers, JH

  11. I just made brown rice congee, and it came out pretty darn good if I do say so myself. This is especially cool because my bod could really use the extra fiber and nutrients that brown rice provides. I basically placed 4 cups broth and 1/2 cup raw medium-grain brown rice (I do like my congee thick) in my pressure cooker, locked on the lid, and let it go for about an hour and a half. The cooker valve made some slightly alarming spluttering noises, but otherwise behaved itself fine (I was worried that sputtering might clog the valve up). The resulting congee had excellent body, the grains still distinct but quite soft. Plopped a little fermented tofu in and had a very soothing dinner!

    Sorry, i'm with Ben on this one as well, the idea of brown rice jook seems...wrong, though it may very well be tasty...

    cheers, JH

  12. This is my personal recipe for Jook - I am most partial to it. :)

    cheers, JH

    The Hirshon Imperial Jook

    1 cup rice

    8 cups water or unsalted stock (I prefer using all stock)

    1 cup or so Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine - dry sherry may be substituted)

    3 tablespoons Chinese Abalone sauce (preferred) or 2 tablespoons soy sauce

    JH, this is brilliant. I used a very good abalone-scallop sauce. Highly recommended to the sceptical.

    Thanks, muichoi - it's good to see a gweilo can still teach an ancient food culture a new trick or two. ;)

    cheers, JH

  13. I thought I'd share my version of The Hirshon Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp). To my palate, this is the best version, let's see if others agree with me - and share their recipes as well for a cookoff by some enterprising eGulleteer.

    The gauntlet is thrown down! :D

    cheers, JH

    ______________________________

    The Hirshon Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp)

    1/2 cup butter (one stick)

    1/2 cup extra virgin Olive Oil

    12 cloves Chopped Spanish Purple Garlic

    2 lbs. medium shrimp, peeled, soaked in salty water for 20 minutes, washed and drained

    1/4 cup beef broth

    1/3 cup lemon juice

    1 tsp. smoked Spanish Paprika

    3 T. crushed dried chili peppers, (I prefer cascabel for this recipe)

    2 Bay (laurel) leaves

    1/2 cup Fino Sherry wine

    Salt and Black pepper, to taste

    1/3 cup Chopped Parsley

    1/4 cup chopped fresh Thyme leaves

    1. Melt together butter, olive oil, and garlic and simmer until light brown; set aside on low heat.

    3. Simmer together beef broth, lemon juice, paprika, bay leaves, chili peppers; set aside on low heat.

    4. Heat oven to 500 degrees F. with large terra cotta cazuela or ceramic dish on oven shelf.

    5. When the cazuela becomes very hot, remove to the top of the stove.

    6. Bring butter and olive oil solution to a boil and add immediately. Add shrimp and stir with a wooden spoon until they turn pink. Add sherry and broth (which has been brought to a boil).

    7. Stir, add in parsley and thyme, stir again and return to oven for 5 minutes.

    8. Serve with rice or bread to absorb the juices!

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