Seared Scallops with Miso-Sake Sauce, Corn Cakes and Roasted Maitake Mushroom

Getting all this in a format suitable for plating was tough. In fact, I'm not convinced this was the best presentation. Actually, I know it's not. It's sloppy and looks too heavy. But oh well! Cooking is sloppy, isn't it? I mean, what's the point of cooking, of learning, of growing as a cook if you can't mess things up...make it look like crap once in a while. Not that it's your goal, but if it happens to occur, live with it!

So I knew I wanted seared scallops and I knew I wanted corn, but building a dish around those two items is easy and tough. Easy in that you can do so many things with scallops or corn. Hard in that you can do so many things with scallops or corn ;).

I originally wanted to do something of a stack with the corn, but I imagined a drier approach with a chopped corn, not whole kernels. I couldn't come up with something for that, so I chose the next best thing - corn cakes.

I'm also really into mushrooms at the moment. Every time I walk into a grocery store these days, I'm checking what they have in stock. On this day, I came across this beautiful little floret of a Maitake mushroom, and instantly knew I had to cook it with olive oil, salt and pepper. In retrospect, I probably should have done some sort of chopped approach to the mushrooms, because that's what really threw this plate off. You have a nice corn cake, you have four seared scallops, you have a nice sauce...then you have this big chunk of a mushroom hanging out on the plate with nowhere to hide. If you try this dish, maybe do everything I did, but then take the mushroom and chop it, and set it on top of the corn cake?

You already know how to do seared scallops, so let's get to the miso-sake sauce and corn cakes.

Miso-Sake Sauce:

1 Cup sake

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 Tbs ponzu sauce

1 tsp miso paste

Boil the sake until reduced by half. Add broth and boil for a minute, add ponzu and miso, stirring well. Reduce heat to low and reduce about 10 minutes. Off heat and add 1 Tbs butter, mixing before you use.

Corn Cakes:

1 Cup corn (if you use frozen corn, make sure it's completely defrosted and drained)

1 piece of wheat bread

1 egg white

1/4 shredded parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic, through a press

In a processor, turn the bread into fine crumbs. Add corn and process until chunk, but not a paste. Scoop out into bowl and add egg white and cheese. Add a bit of salt, pepper, and garlic.

Form into cakes, and pan fry for a couple minutes per side.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Mushroom and Chive Dumplings with Plumb-Habanero-Sake Sauce

There are times when you're in a store, or maybe at a farmer's market, or maybe even at a friend's house, and you see something. Some food item that just blows your mind. This is the genesis of these dumplings.

I was walking in SF Market in Rowland Heights and saw these amazing mushrooms. Oysters, Kings, Shitake...loads of them, and they were all fresh and looked amazing. So, I grabbed some Oysters and Shitakes, and moved on. Boom - chives! Beautiful green, and you never find these in Stater Bros!! And as I walked towards the checkout, there they were - ripe plumbs. I had no idea what I was going to do with all this stuff, but I knew it would all wind up on the dinner table.

When I got home, I remembered I had some sweet rice dumpling wrappers I had picked up from a Korean grocery store a few days earlier. Instantly, the entire thing came together. Perfect for a starter or side, but would also work as a main dish. That's the beauty of these dumplings - they're flexible.

Mushroom and Chive Dumpings:

Take all your mushrooms and chop. You can use any combination of fresh mushrooms, but if you use dried, you need to soak them for at least 15 minutes in hot water before using. Set aside.

Chop a handful or two of fresh chives. When I say chives, I'm not talking green onions. Set aside.

Pour a bit of olive oil in a large pan and heat and swirl. Add mushrooms and stir well. Cook these up a bit, stirring occasionally. After a few minutes, you'll notice they're starting to shrink down a bit. Add a swig of sake. Stir again. Cook the mushrooms for a few more minutes, allowing the liquid to release and cook off. Pour this into a large bowl.

Meanwhile, cook up a handful of chopped pancetta. Trader Joe's had a nice little box of chopped pancetta ready for use, and you can use that whole box. I dropped it into a small frying pan with a couple cloves of minced garlic. When this is cooked, pour it into your mushroom mix.

Press 3 cloves of garlic into your mushroom mix, and add some kosher salt. Mix well and set aside.

Wrapping the Dumplings:

Take your wrappers and have them right in front of you. Get a small bowl of water nearby. Take a wrapper, spoon in as much filling as you can fit in the middle of the wrapper, then take a finger into your water and run your watery finger along the inside edge of the wrapper. Fold over, then squeeze it together with your fingers. Here's a good video on wrapping dumplings. Place these on a sheet of wax paper and don't let them touch each other, or they might stick together. Set aside until ready to cook.

Cooking the Dumplings:

The great thing about dumplings is you can cook them multiple ways, depending on your needs. Steaming sounded good to me, so I steamed. I have a multilevel steamer pot. But, you could just as easily use a bamboo steamer, steaming basket, or any other solution for steaming (I've used a plate on an upside down bowl inside of a large pot for certain steaming uses, like large fish). One thing you'll want to do is put down wax or parchment paper, or some form of leafy vegetable, like Napa, and put the dumplings on top so as not to stick to the steamer. Be careful of using things like bamboo, banana, or taro leaves, since they can impart a strong aroma that may not be consistent with the dumpling ingredients.

I also like to put some aromatics in the steaming liquid. Given the ingredients in my dumplings, I figured a combination of lemon rinds and ginger chunks would impart a nice essence to the dumplings. I was right, and it made the kitchen have a great smell!

Plumb-Habanero-Sake Sauce:

Take about 10 fresh plumbs. Clean and take out the seed. Drop these into a pot with about 1/2 cup sake and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce. Add about 2/3 cup sugar and mix well. Let this break down about 20 minutes, mashing the plumbs with a fork or potato masher every few minutes. By this time, your plumbs should be super tender. You're going to use a wand mixer and break this down into a sauce. If it's too dry, add some more sake/water. Add some chopped habanero, according to taste. Cook another 5-10 minutes. Check for taste. You might need to add salt, sugar, or water, in order to adjust.

Assemble your dumplings on a plate with the sauce in a small bowl for dipping. This can be a single plate for everyone to share, or individual plates for each guest.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Sweet and Salty Pan Fried Shrimp on Edamame-Wasabi Puree, with Sake-Spiked Mushrooms

Some things are exactly as they appear. You might look at a dish and think it's complex, but simplicity is a key to cooking. Although I'm not afraid to be in the kitchen all day long, I tend to gravitate towards meals that take 30 minutes or less. In fact, most of my recipes can be executed from start to finish in a very short time - most under 30 minutes.

Anyway, here's a simple, but intensely flavorful dish you'll want to try right away.



Sweet and Salty Pan Fried Shrimp:

As the name suggests, these are sweet (sugar) and salty (salt). Take 1 pound of shrimp and mix with 2 tbs sugar and 1 tbs salt. Set aside for 15 minutes. Shake off or rinse off excess salt/sugar. Boom, they're ready to cook. Heat 1 tbs vegetable oil, and pan fry for 2-3 minutes.

Edamame-Wasabi Puree:

This is a brilliant addition to shrimp. Cook 1/2 back of edamame according to instructions. Drain and shell the beans into a processor. Squeeze some wasabi into the beans and add 1/2 water. Start your processor. Slowly add water into the mix until you reach your desired consistency. Taste. You may need more wasabi, or you might need a little kosher salt. Add some if you need it, mix again, and then you're ready for use. This can be eaten warm, or cold. If you refrigerate it, it may turn a little firm, so you may have to add a little water and mix before use if it's too cold.

Sake-Spiked Mushrooms:

Chop your favorite mushrooms. I used crimini, but you could use just about any type. Add some olive oil to a pan and start frying your mushrooms. After about 1 minute, add 1/4 sake. Keep stirring and frying. Cook up for another 3-5 minutes. Add some kosher salt and you're ready to go.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Cucumber Cups with Shrimp, Korean Pear and Sake Vinaigrette

I don't know why the one photo won't correct the rotation, but ...you get the picture!

First, peel a few large cucumbers, then cut them into 1 1/2" pieces. Then you're going to scoop out the center of each one, but leaving a bottom layer on each one. You also want to ensure you get as close to the outside wall as possible, because a thick cucumber isn't as pleasant as a paper-thin cup.

Now when I do this dish again, I'm going to pickle the cucumbers before I use them. They were good as-is, but would be much better with a nice season on them.

Meanwhile, boil a handful of shrimp, then cool and dice. Peel and dice a Korean pear. Set aside. Mince some napa kimchi, set aside. Mince some green onion, set aside.

Make your sake vinaigrette- Mix 1/2 cup sake, 1/4 rice vinegar, 2-3 Tbs sugar, a dash of sesame oil, and press 2 cloves garlic into the mixture. Shake well and use this to season your dish.

To plate, place a cucumber shell, and scoop a bit of shrimp with a bit of pear, then push down inside. Top with a small mound of kimchi, then some green onions. Pour some vinaigrette over. You can also sprinkle some black sesame seeds on top for effect.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Scallop Ceviche with Sake-Walnut Oil Gremolata and Lime-Sake Dressing

This was an appetizer for a Kentucky Derby party I went to on Saturday (yes, the one with about 100 bottles of wine and Jason's 100 proof Mint Julep that practically killed me!). It was one of those things - "just bring wine, don't need anything else." Yeah, but it's hard to show up empty handed to a party like that. Plus, when I feel like cooking, I cannot be stopped.

So I questioned my logic of taking a seafood dish in a car ride, but trust me, I know what I'm doing. Deep ice in the ice chest, check. Also, when taking something like this from one place to another, you really need to think about flavor melds and plating. I figured I would package all the parts separate and assemble in-house. That worked just fine.

You might be wondering about the walnut oil - creativity, not confines. Since I knew I was going to use sake, I wanted an oil with nut attributes...one that worked with sake. It was a leap, but it worked.

Scallop Ceviche with Sake-Walnut Oil Gremolata:

1 pound large scallops (not Bay scallops), sliced in half across the body, i.e., left to right, not top to bottom. You will have roughly 1/2" medallions. Place those in a shallow dish, but one that will have a lid. Squeeze juice from 1 lemon, 4 Mandarin oranges, and 2 Tsp sake into dish. Add 2 cloves garlic, minced. Stir, cover, then place in fridge for 45 minutes. Stir, place back in fridge for at least another 45 minutes. (The scallops are probably ready to eat at about 60 minutes, but you can also keep them in marinade a few hours).

Meanwhile, prepare gremolata: Get about 1 Tsp lemon zest. Mince small handful of Italian parsley. Mince 2 cloves garlic. Mix it all up and add a splash of sake, and a spin of Walnut oil. Set aside.

Prepare Lime-Sake Dressing: Squeeze 2 limes into small bowl, add 1 Tsp sake, a spin of Walnut oil, and 1/4 minced Serrano chili. Add a dash of Kosher salt. Mix well and let stand at least 30 minutes before use. Mix well before using.

Now to the plating: Remove scallops to serving platter, one by one. Drain as you go, so they have a bit of moisture, but not dripping. Sprinkle a bit of Kosher salt across each one. Once they're arranged and salted, top each one with a bit of your gremolata. Then drizzle some Lime-Sake dressing all over. Finish with a small bit of lime. Ready to serve!

Enjoy!

~ Brock