Easter Brunch at Hook
April 19, 2009 § Leave a comment
I think my first visit to Hook is responsible for my current obsession with all kinds of seafood. I’ve loved sushi for a long time, but there really aren’t enough restaurants that serve delicious, sustainable fish like Hook. According to the Washingtonian, they also supposedly have some of the best brunch in DC, so for Easter, my floormate Alan and I decided to stop by and get our fill of seafood.
The first time I went to Hook with Amy, it was for dinner and we were seated at the long table across the bar since we didn’t have any reservations. This time around, the restaurant was airy and filled with light, and Alan and I were seated a cute little alcove, from where we could actually see the cooks working in the kitchen.
For appetizers, Alan got the almond scones (he wanted to compare them to Leopold’s and Poupon, I think) and I got one of Hook’s signature dishes, the grilled calamari with walnut-pesto and some smashed potatoes to which I didn’t really pay attention. That single dish is now the one that I find myself craving the most often. Actually, I had it at the Tackle Box, the more casual, lobster-shack inspired sister restaurant of Hook, with Amy yesterday.
My seared barramundi was tasty and light. One of things I love most about Hook is that all the fish has this wonderful crust on the outside that’s perfectly seasoned, and the fish just flakes at the touch of a fork. Also, the vegetables and sides, like lentils or black eyed peas, that accompany each of these dishes are something that I would never really crave or want, but everything comes together so beautifully that I wish there was some way for me to reproduce the taste. Which I probably can’t.
My first raw oyster
April 14, 2009 § Leave a comment
After staying at a friend’s house in Fairfax on Friday evening, my family and I then drove to Old Town Alexandria to walk around King Street and look at cute antique stores. There was a lot of rain, but in a way, it was a good thing since there were less people walking around town that day. We had a late lunch at Hank’s Oyster Bar, which also has a location at Dupont Circle, much closer to Georgetown campus.
Now, I’d never tried raw oysters before. I don’t even remember if I ever tried them cooked, but when I read Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, I knew that if I was ever given the opportunity, I wouldn’t let it pass me by. Eating raw oysters was one of his food revelation-moments after all. Luckily, my dad happens to really love them, so going with our waiter’s recommendations, we ordered the Kusshi, Steamboat, Bluepoint, and Wildcat; this was one case where he didn’t want to hold back the food. Though all were delicious and wonderfully fresh, the Kusshi stood out and I actually got a bit of that “cucumber finish” that our waiter mentioned. At $2 a piece, they weren’t too expensive, and my dad found out that on Saturdays, you can buy tickets for $65 for all-you-can-eat oysters and all-you-can-drink beers. Needless to say, I wouldn’t be surprised if he just happened to visit me next time during the weekend.
Oh, and this is a beautiful box of mochi that my dad got during his trip to Tokyo. It was gorgeously wrapped, but the box itself was plain white, which is driving me crazy now because I want to know if I can order the same set online and I don’t even know the company name. Anyway, there was a lot of sesame-seed-crusted red bean mochi, some apple and orange, but my favorites by far were the individually wrapped yuzu (yellow) and sakura (pink). Both of them were so floral and not disgustingly sweet, and I just love that sticky rice texture compared to the smooth filling. Sigh. I need more.
The Quans go to Washington
April 12, 2009 § Leave a comment
There’s only about 3 weeks left in the semester, and to help me through to the final stretch, my parents and youngest sister Jackie came down this past weekend to keep me company during my Easter break. At first I was a bit nervous since the weather didn’t look too good, but Friday, it was sunny and clear and we spent the entire day downtown at the National Mall and Smithsonian museums – American History, National Gallery (of course) and Natural History.
My parents left all the eating up to me, and I have to say I planned out a pretty damn good itinerary. We had a lovely light lunch at Teaism which was fast and cheap, but the bento boxes and other food were surprisingly fresh and tasty. Jackie really liked the mango lassi and the salty oat cookies (which I could eat with the tea alone), and I loved the little pot that the tea came in. The adjacent tea shop next doory wasn’t open at the time, but I think I might go back there to get a Mother’s Day gift or something. I could see how people go there day after day for lunch; there are so many different choices, so many possible combinations.
We started on campus, which was absolutely beautiful because all the tulips and flowers had already started blooming. Plus, mom and dad had to get the requisite shot of them in front of Healy Tower. My parents really enjoyed the National Gallery, especially the large rotunda on the second floor with the giant marble columns. I don’t think my mom realized that there were so many important paintings in DC, so she was pretty impressed with the Monets and Van Goghs housed upstairs. There was also a temporary orchid exhibit at the Museum of Natural History, so if you’re in DC during the next month or so, I’d recommend stopping by there as well. All Smithsonian museums have free admission! One reason why I really love going to school in DC. Free culture!
Finally, we had dinner back at Jaleo in Penn Quarter since my parents had never tried Spanish tapas before and Jaleo was one of the first restaurants that I had reviewed for The Hoya. I have always loved Jose Andres food since then, so I thought it would be a special treat for them to try a lot of his small dishes. Everything we ordered was delicious, especially the classic tuna salad ensaladilla rusa and the semolina cake for dessert, which had a lovely light texture, paired with the cinnamon ice cream.
So that concludes the first day while my family was down here. We spent the rest of the night at my mom’s college friend’s house in Fairfax, VA where a bunch of them got together and just drank cocktails and ate snacks while reminiscing about college life and passing along gossip about other classmates. The next day we went to Old Town Alexandria and had some of the best seafood of my life, but that’s for another day’s post.
Gimme my galbi
April 8, 2009 § Leave a comment
This is the recipe for the Korean galbi that accompanied the dry-fried green beans in the previous post. Sometimes, you just need a good helping of beef with a little bit of green on the side. These short ribs marinated for about 10 hours in the fridge before I slapped them on the smoking hot grill pan, and the flavor was amazing. Good caramelized crust on the outside and wonderfully tender insides.
Kiwi may seem like a strange ingredient, but other people – who add apple or pear – do add fruit, probably because it acts as a great tenderizer for the beef. Ideally you would puree everything in the marinade, but I don’t have a food processor so I just diced everything and it turned out fine. Everyone loved it, and this is definitely a great thing to eat when you have guests around and want to prepare them. In my experience, Korean bbq is pretty expensive in restaurants, so this is also a good way to eat well and save some money in the comfort of your own home. Just make sure someone else is delegated to do the dishes.
Korean Galbi
1 tbspn black pepper
Wash any bits of bone from the ribs and then pat dry with paper towels. Mix/puree the ingredients for the marinade and pour into a pan. Add the ribs and marinate for 8-10 hours, the longer the better. Heat a grill pan until smoking hot and grill for 2-3 minutes. These are thinly cut so you really don’t need that much time to get a medium rare short rib. Eat.
Dragon Palace-style Green Beans
April 6, 2009 § Leave a comment
When I’m home for breaks, there is one restaurant that our family must always go to for dinner – Dragon Palace. It serves amazing Sichuan food that we can’t get anywhere else, and the fact that it’s about a three minute drive from our house is a plus. We always show up early before the dinner rush, our waiter is always the same, and we always order the same three or four dishes and then branch out a bit. Sometimes, familiarity can only be a good thing.
One of the must-order dishes is the Sichuan dry-fried green beans. Now, my mom is a pretty good cook, but her green bean dishes could never compared to the wonderfully blistered and salty nuances of Dragon Palace’s version. The beans are crisp but somehow still juicy on the inside, and that light smattering of ground pork is always a good thing. The last time I was home, I think they knew we were going to order it, and they gave us an extra huge helping.
Originally, I assumed that their version was superior simply because they were a restaurant; they had to make it better because otherwise no one would pay for it. But, while browsing the archives of one of my new-favorite blogs, appetiteforchina, I found a dish called “dry-fried green beans” and I knew that I might have found the answer to my string bean-pleas.
We didn’t have ground pork when I made this version, and I also added maybe too much chili paste. It was a lot spicier than I intended to turn out but it was still delicious. We paired the beans with some Korean galbi which I’ll post about later. Together, it was probably the fastest, simplest, most delicious meal that I cooked while I was home.
Dry-fried Green Beans a la Dragon Palace
lots and lots of canola oil (about 3-4 tablespoons)
Heat the oil in a wok until just beginning to smoke. Add green beans and stir fry. Again, make sure that the beans are really really dry, otherwise they’ll cause a lot of oil to splatter when you add them. These are delicious but they’re not worth any serious grease burns. Make sure the beans all get a coating of the oil and stir them constantly for about 8-10 minutes until they finally begin to blister. When the beans are wilted, take them out and drain on paper towels.
Remove all but 2 tablespoons of oil. Add garlic, ginger, preserved mustard, shrimp and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant. Return beans to the wok and add chili bean paste (you can add more if you like it really really spicy), sugar, salt, sesame oil and stir until well combined. Serve blazing hot.
Answer to laziness? Why, more carbs, of course.
March 17, 2009 § Leave a comment
Anyone who knows me moderately well can tell you about my obsession with anything [more like anyone] British. It’s the accent, the sarcastic humor, the cute names for everything [ex: jumbleberry crumble], that laidback poshness. Sadly, I’ve never actually been to England [though next spring break may change that], but I live vicariously through Nigella Lawson by watching her videos on Youtube.
Even though she’s known as a “domestic goddess,” I think she’s also one of the laziest and most clumsy cooks on television, though it makes me love her even more. Her dishes are sometimes so simple that you really don’t need a recipe, and there’s no fuss for which, as a poor college student who hates spending money on random ingredients, I am grateful.
Linguine with thyme mushrooms is such a dish. I think button mushrooms are probably one of the most versatile ingredients you can have. Throw them into pasta sauce for an extra meatiness or sautee them with the pan drippings of your steak to make them even more rich. There’s really nothing like a bunch of mushrooms to add more to your food. What makes this dish even better is butter. And lots of it. Sometimes, you just have to indulge. Or, if you’re Nigella, every meal is already an indulgence.
Linguine with Thyme Mushrooms (adapted from Nigella Lawson)
garnish: handful of chopped parsley and shaved Parmesan
Cook pasta according to instructions. Make sure you salt the water, and before you add the linguine, drizzle a bit of olive oil into the pot to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Retain some of the pasta water and loosely drain the linguine when al dente, with a little bite.
Snackin’ on Guac
March 16, 2009 § Leave a comment
Eating guacamole by myself at school is sometimes a waste; at our supermarket, it only comes in medium-sized tubs, so by the time I’ve had my fill, my guac has already turned an unappetizing brown color. Home, on the other hand, is a different story. When Laura and Jackie get back from school, I can put together a fresh guacamole in less then 10 minutes and it’s gone in 5.
In my opinion, guacamole is better when it’s simpler. This recipe is really basic, and I love it with some blue or lime salted tortilla chips.
Guacamole
Tapas at Bodega
February 22, 2009 § Leave a comment
Julia and Ameya were in town, and instead of getting dimsum at China Garden like we usually do, we tried the tapas at Bodega. They did have a Restaurant Week menu for lunch and dinner, but we decided to just order 3 tapas dishes each since we didn’t really like the appetizers or desserts. And what a smart decision on our part. Usually with tapas places, I expect some hits and misses. Even with Jaleo, there were some tapas that I didn’t really like. Bodega is another story, and even though I definitely liked some dishes more than others, each one had something to give.
Bodega Spanish Tapas and Lounge
Paolo’s and Restaurant Week Part I
February 20, 2009 § 1 Comment
Winter in DC usually means I’m holed up in my dorm room on weekends watching crappy chick flicks or catching up on LOST. A couple weeks ago, Jia and I had had enough, and we decided to organize a girls’ night out at Paolo’s Ristorante on Wisconsin. We’d walked past a dozen times before, and with a sudden craving for some decent Italian food, we caved.
I went with two appetizers, the duck gnocchi and eggplant fritters, while my friends chose between the pizzas and specials. The duck gnocchi was a bit disappointing. I was really excited after reading the delicious sounding description, but the duck confit was tough and dry, and even though the gnocchi was pillowy, the arugula and biscotti crumbs had no business being in the dish. If the duck had been cooked better, the two alone would have been heavenly enough. The eggplant, on the other hand, was satisfactory. The cheese was molten hot and the sauce had a really nice tang, so I didn’t complain too much.
Everyone else said their food was fine, but I was too busy eating my food to care. Though I did choose not to order dessert, Jia and Tracy split the largest slice of tiramisu that I have ever seen in my life, and Melissa’s mandarin orange creme brulee was huge as well. We walked out of Paolo’s considerably stuffed and had to walk around M street before finally heading back to campus.
We didn’t have to walk too far. At Hook, there weren’t any individual tables available, but we sat at the end of a long table near the bar where there was full service. Hook is a restaurant very well known for its sustainable seafood, so it only made sense to order as much fish as we could. Appetizers were tuna tartare and an amped up clam chowder, but the entrees were the star of the show. My arctic char was no short of amazing – grilled so the skin was deliciously salty and crispy with the creamy celeriac puree to balance it – and Amy’s sablefish was light and airy but packed with the flavor of the ocean.
Desserts were amazing as well, and at this point, while I was taking photos, a chic woman came up to our end of the table and asked why I had a camera. Her name was Bethany Umbel, owner of Hook, and at that moment, she had been talking with Heather Chittum, the pastry chef who’d actually been named one of the “Top 5 Pastry Chefs in the Nation” and worked with Michel Richard at the famous Citronelle. I think they were both a bit on edge about me taking photos of the pastries (maybe they thought I was stealing presentation ideas?), but when they realized I was just an innocent food blogger, they eased up and sincerely said that they hoped we’d enjoyed the meal.It was a truly lovely dinner, and when I came back to the room to see how much the dishes originally would’ve cost me, I was shocked that the price tag would’ve been $61 without tax and tip. A serious bargain considering we only paid 35. Usually I’d say eating seafood exclusively isn’t my thing, but this was definitely a dinner to remember and I can’t wait until I go to Hook again.
Hook
http://www.hookdc.com
3241 M Street, Washington DC 20007
202.625.4488
Happy Lunar New Year!
January 26, 2009 § Leave a comment
I’m so homesick right now as I look through my photos of real roast duck, slow-cooked pork belly with mushrooms, and other delicious Chinese dishes from when I was off for winter break. Jia and I went to a Chinese restaurant called Harmony Cafe this past weekend but in my opinion, it really didn’t measure up to authentic Chinese cuisine. I wanted hot pot with spicy peanut sauce or pork or red bean buns and instead I ended up getting a flavorless ma po tofu and beef chow fun. DAMN YOU DC WHY DON’T YOU HAVE A HALF-DECENT CHINATOWN!? One can only have so many cupcakes in a given time before she starts to go insane.
Nevertheless, the room is now as clean as it will ever be in that rush to get rid of any lingering bad spirits, but I haven’t found anything red to hang up for good luck. I’m still contemplating what I’m going to have for dinner tonight, seeing how any Chinese food that I order will be sub-par, but maybe we’ll manage to find something edible?
When I was home our entire family chipped in to make these simple scallion and peanut butter pancakes. Since finding the recipe via userealbutter, I don’t think my parents have ever really felt the need to buy them at our local Asian supermarket. This was also the first time we tried using peanut butter with a light sprinkling of sugar, and OH EM GEE it was delicious. Next time I’m voting to try using red bean paste. I think red bean + anything pan fried = heaven. AAAAAAAAAAAAAh.
Just a note for this recipe: The measurements given are just a guesstimate. I found that there was not enough water, so I had to add a little extra to get the right consistency. Just trust your instinct until you can feel with your fingers the texture that you’re looking for and then you’ll be fine. You’re going to dust your board with a lot of flour as well so even if it is a bit sticky at first, it won’t be for long.
salt
In a large bowl, mix the flour gradually with the 1/4 cup of water until the water is completely absorbed. Continue adding water in small increments and mix thoroughly until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. Let it rest for about 20 minutes and cover with a damp towel.
Cut the dough into about 6 pieces of equal size and roll them into balls. Place dough onto a well-floured work surface and roll out into a thin circle about 1/16 inch thick. Spread teaspoon of oil evenly over the pancake. [I find that it’s easiest to just use your hands to do the spreading, even if it is a bit messy. The oil is more uniform that way and it’s much quicker.] Sprinkle salt evenly and then curl the roll into a spiral from top to flatten it. Roll the pancake out to 1/8th inch thickness.
Notes on Food 