Kung Fu Xiao Long Bao

Posted on by

Instagram Post 3/24/2019

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Soup dumplings, Xiao Long Bao, XLB, 小笼包, call them what you will, are universally prized regardless of the appellation. Literally “little basket bun” because they’re steamed and served in a little basket often made of bamboo, the wrapper encloses a tasty meatball (usually pork), sometimes with the addition of crabmeat and/or crab roe, swimming in a rich broth (usually pork).

Fans champion just the right skins (a little elasticity, not too thick but not so thin that it breaks upon dislodgment from the steamer), just the right filling (flavorful, proper consistency, and moist unto itself), just the right soup (savory and porky, not playing second fiddle to the meat), and just the right ratio of soup to filling. In short, sort of like Goldilocks’ appraisal of Baby Bear’s personal effects: “juuuuuust right”.

[1] An oft-cited favorite purveyor is Kung Fu Xiao Long Bao, 59-16 Main Street, Flushing. On this visit, we ordered the Crab Meat XLB, pork with minced crab meat and roe.

[2] The salmon colored bit of crab roe peeking out of the topknot is the telltale clue as to what awaits within.

[3] Further evidence of crabiliciousness!
 
 

Leek & Celery Salad – Polish Ethnojunket

Posted on by

Instagram Post 3/23/2019

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

I’m still contemplating whether I should add a new neighborhood ethnic food tour to my roster of ethnojunkets, this time through Greenpoint, Brooklyn with a focus on Polish cuisine.

I suspect some folks think that Polish food is rather one note – although a good note to be sure – opining that kielbasa and pierogies can only take you so far. But there’s more to the cuisine than you might realize. Take this bracing Salatka z Porem i Selerem (Leek & Celery Salad). You don’t usually think of leeks in the starring role of a cold salad and their snappy presence here easily serves to awaken a jaded palate. Adds a further touch of excitement to that Kielbasa Wiejska with a dollop of zingy horseradish cream we’ll be sampling along the way.

Curious to learn more about this hearty cuisine? Any Polish food fans out there? Weigh in please! (Poor choice of words, perhaps. 😉)
 
 

Ittadi Garden and Grill

Posted on by

Instagram Post 3/22/2019

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Since I was in Jackson Heights the other day and since I love Bangladeshi food, both for the spice level and the mustard oil, a visit to Ittadi Garden and Grill was in order. It’s a steam table affair facilitated that day by an accommodating waitress who was kind enough to identify anything unlabeled.

[1] There was a wide variety of fish as is to be expected in a Bangladeshi restaurant, but only one was anonymous, a whole fish about six inches long. I was told it was Baila, aka Bele, and that it was less bony than Hilsa (which can be a challenge in that regard if you’re particularly hungry); I later learned that it’s a species of the freshwater goby. The sauce was savory, spicy, and splendid slathered over the rice.

[2] Another essential in Bangladeshi cuisine is vorta (you may see bharta, bhurtha, or the like), a vegetable or fish that has been boiled then mashed and seasoned with chilies, mustard oil, and spices, existing somewhere along the condiment/side dish continuum. I requested a mix and received (left to right) fish, potato, broccoli (top), eggplant, and onions & chili, each wonderfully spicy but with its own character.

[3] I asked about the golden shreds punctuated by slivers of green chilies in the vegetable section and learned it was papaya, but unlike any papaya I had experienced, ripe or unripe, for this was soft as a boiled vegetable and retained only a tiny trace of its papayaness; I enjoyed the preparation. Dal and a small salad came with the meal.

Ittadi Garden and Grill is located at 73-07 37th Rd, Queens. Always worth a stopover.
 
 

Holi Mubarak!

Posted on by

Instagram Post 3/21/2019

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

The Equal Opportunity Celebrant strikes again, eating my way through Holi today, the Hindu festival of spring and colors celebrated predominantly in India and Nepal. Prowling around the Indian neighborhood in Jackson Heights yesterday in search of traditional Holi treats, I enjoyed watching children choosing packets of powder in every color of the rainbow to sparge at anything in their path, thus producing a glorious festive mess. The holiday recounts the heartwarming legend of Krishna coloring his face for Radha, his love, and heralds the arrival of spring.

[1] Jalebi are one of the most widely available Indian mithai (sweets); they’re made from chickpea or wheat flour batter, usually orange but occasionally yellow (no difference in flavor, just a color preference) which is drizzled into hot oil in coil shapes. The resulting deep fried confections look like pretzels; they’re crispy when they come out of the oil, then they’re soaked in super sweet syrup so you get the best of both worlds. For Holi, however, jalebi get the royal treatment; this one is about 7 inches in diameter and generously adorned with edible silver foil, sliced almonds and pistachios. Because this sticky jumbo jalebi (jalumbi? jalembo?) is larger and thicker than the standard issue version, it provides more crunch and holds more syrup in each bite so it’s even more over the top, if such a thing is possible.

[2] This is gujiya (you might see gujia), a classic Holi sweet, half-moon shaped and similar to a deep-fried samosa. Crunchy outside and soft within, it’s filled with sweetened khoa (milk solids), ground nuts, grated coconut, whole fruits and nuts (raisins and cashews in this one), cumin seeds, and a bit of suji (semolina) for texture.

These Holi day treats came from Maharaja Sweets, 73-10 37th Ave, Jackson Heights, Queens.

Holi Mubarak! Have a blessed Holi!
 
 

Hamantaschen

Posted on by

Instagram Post 3/20/2019

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

The story of Purim memorializes the time in ancient Jewish history when Haman, royal vizier to King Ahasuerus of Persia, had been plotting to exterminate all the Jews in the empire. His plan was thwarted by Mordecai and Queen Esther, his adopted daughter, and the deliverance is one of joyful celebration, steeped in traditional ceremonies and festivities. Purim begins tonight at sundown and concludes tomorrow evening, and among the many icons of the holiday, one of the most renowned is the hamantasch, literally “Haman’s pocket”.

Hamantaschen are delicious triangular baked pastries conventionally filled with thick prune jam (lekvar) or sweet ground poppy seeds (muhn) but these days creative cooking prevails and fillings of apricot, fig, chocolate, halvah, raspberry and more are not uncommon and take their place beside their predecessors. These fine examples came from Queens Kosher Pita & Bakery, 6838 Main St in Flushing.

Happy Purim!

!חג פורים שמח

Chag Purim Sameach!
 
 

Ethnic Ice Cream at the Fancy Food Show 2018

Posted on by

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)
Show Floor

Part four in a series of reports.

Some folks look forward to the annual celebration of their birthdays or anniversaries; for me it’s the occasion to cover America’s largest food and beverage trade show right here in New York City, Specialty Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food Show. (Check out full coverage and a description of a recent event here.) Aside from the fact that it affords the chance to hob and nob with other professional foodies, see what products and brands are trending and poised to make a breakthrough, and get a sense of what the industry thinks the marketplace is craving, it gives me the opportunity to turn you on to new products to watch for locally or even order online.

Here are just a few of the exhibitors who featured ethnic ice cream at last year’s event.

Japan: Mochi is a traditional Japanese food originally made from short grain glutinous rice that’s pounded and molded, often into chewy flattened orbs. Frequently a confectionary, its sphere of influence has extended far beyond the perimeter of its source. A new version was created about 35 years ago that wraps mochi dough around ice cream. This contemporary edition, technically called mochi ice cream, has become so popular that it’s often simply referred to as mochi.

Several companies displayed their renditions at the convention including Mr. Mochi, Mochi Cream, My/Mo, and Bubbies, a Hawaiian contender. Flavors ranged from red bean, green tea, black sesame, and lychee to Kona coffee, chocolate peanut butter, and mango along with the more routine vanilla and strawberry among others. Note that in some cases, the ice cream core carries the flavor unassisted by the somewhat neutral mochi coating, but sometimes the doughy wrapper is infused as well and further enhances the experience. Look for these and other brands in Asian markets, particularly those that highlight Japanese goods. And while you’re there, take note of the seemingly infinite array of Japanese and Korean pops, bars, and ice cream novelties as well (melon is a popular flavor).

Korea: In terms of world flavors of American style ice cream, Noona’s, (noona means “big sister” in Korean) exhibited heritage flavors like toasted rice, golden sesame, black sesame, turmeric honeycomb and green tea.

Latvia was at the Fancy Food Show as well making a push to pop into the American marketplace with at least four brands of Latvian ice cream available in tubs, cones, pops, and bars with intriguing varieties like orange & macarons, raspberry-pomegranate, and black balsam & blackcurrant (shown here). In addition to ice cream, the Latvian company Speka offered several varieties of curd snacks. Curd snacks are not unlike a cross between an Eskimo pie and chocolate covered cheesecake; individually wrapped, they come in an assortment of flavors from chocolate and vanilla to the more esoteric blueberry, blackberry, and raisin. They’re currently available as Russian/FSU products in markets throughout the city, with a high concentration in Brooklyn, of course; always a high point on my ethnojunkets along Brighton Beach Avenue, Brooklyn’s Little Odessa.

 
 
For more about ethnic ice cream, please check out my comprehensive and perennially updated post, July is National Ice Cream Month! Celebrate Globally!

F.O.B.

Posted on by

Instagram Post 3/17/2019

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

F.O.B. abbreviates Fresh Off the Boat, the Filipino restaurant at 271 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, where the only boats that might sail nearby would be on the Gowanus Canal. You won’t find hard-core Filipino cuisine here, but what they do offer is tasty and competently executed. Here’s what came from the galley a few nights ago.

[1] Bola Bola. If you like big, overstuffed, beefy dumplings, these are for you. Seared on the bottom, steamed on top, sort of a potsticker on steroids.

[2] Grilled Tupa, the hit of our dinner. Sliced lamb marinated in coconut milk seasoned with shrimp paste, a triumph of the Maillard reaction. Spicy sauce on the side.

[3] Seafood Malabon, a stir-fried rice noodle dish (aka pancit). The menu states “in a sauce of minced shellfish & smoked fish, topped with shrimp, chicharron, and egg.” All of those were present but the shrimp were small, the smoked mussels were few and far between, and the chicharron should have been crisper. Fine, but easily overshadowed by the lamb.

[4] Tomato and Salted Duck Egg from the Sides section of the menu: fresh tomato, red onion, bits of salted duck egg (the star), and tamarind dressing – good but didn’t quite coalesce.

[5] Laing. I’m familiar with laing as taro leaves drenched in a creamy coconut milk/shrimp paste sauce, hopefully with a chili kick. This version consisted of chopped kale topped with a coconut milk sauce; it was fine but different from the norm. Additional sides were Garlic Rice and Kamote, mashed sweet potato with coconut milk, sweet and delicious.

I’m told the halo-halo is worth a try.
 
 

Polish & Slavic Center Cafeteria

Posted on by

Instagram Post 3/11/2019

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Ever since my Instagram friend @gustasian suggested it, I’ve been contemplating adding a new ethnojunket to my roster. The Greenpoint corner of Brooklyn boasts some hearty and delicious Polish provisions, not to mention more varieties of smoked and cured meats than you can shake a kielbasa at. To reconnoiter the area, we convened at the PSC Cafeteria adjoining the Polish & Slavic Center at 177 Kent Street where home-style comfort food is the order of the day.

[1] This is Kotlet Górski (Mountain Cutlet) a hefty pounded, breaded, and pan fried pork schnitzel topped with a runny egg and kept company by a scoop of gravy swathed mashed potatoes.

[2] Bigos (Hunter’s Stew) a Polish classic incorporating sauerkraut and sometimes fresh cabbage plus bits of whatever meat the aforementioned hunter bagged that morning. These days, it’s almost always pork, often in several manifestations like chunks of fresh meat and sausage, Poland’s answer to Alsatian choucroute garnie. Or perhaps it’s the other way around. Salatka z Burakow (Polish Beet Salad) on the side.

[3] And of course, an order of pierogies was essential: a dumpling by any other name would still spell a treat. Bits of bacon and sautéed onion adorned our Pierogi z Kapusta (cabbage) which we ordered because I like saying “kapusta”. Try it. Sour cream on the side.

Lots more good eats in the neighborhood. What do you think? Should I offer a food tour there?
 
 

Red Bowl Noodle Shop – Pork Roll

Posted on by

Instagram Post 3/10/2019

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

I don’t know for sure if the grab-n-go goodies lined up in front of Red Bowl Noodle Shop, 40-52 Main St, Flushing, are a separate concession or part of the restaurant itself. I do know that they’re pretty tasty and it’s a breeze to buy a couple of items en route back to the Flushing Main St 7 train or the LIRR station at the end of the day.

[1] Here’s Pork Roll, wrapped in bean curd skin and filled with unusually sweet, finely ground pork seasoned with fish paste (no, it doesn’t taste fishy) and chunks of onion. It comes with a spicy sweet tomato sauce on the side, but if you use it, don’t overdo it.

[2] The inside scoop.

[3] I took this photo in 2010 when the iconic Red Bowl actually perched, precariously it seemed, atop the building.
 
 

Goshtgizhda

Posted on by

Instagram Post 3/9/2019

 
Bukharan Jews emigrated from Central Asia’s Emirate of Bukhara, now Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, after the fall of the Soviet Union; many came to the US and settled in Forest Hills and Rego Park, Queens. Evidence of this population can be seen in markets and shops along 108th Street, “Bukharan Broadway”, but cross Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wyck Expressway and you’ll discover another pocket in Kew Gardens Hills. Sadly, a number of businesses there were devastated by a massive fire in December, 2016. Eternal survivors, many rebuilt their establishments as well as their lives. One such triumph is Haim’s International, a market at 72-68 Main Street, where we found these savory Bukharan meat pies called goshtgizhda.

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Two similar but distinct varieties were available. The first, triangular in shape like a sambusa or samsa hailing from the same region, boasted thinner, softer, puffier dough and a double shot of seeds, poppy and sesame.


The second, a spherical orb, featured a thicker, stiffer dough and was strewn with sesame seeds alone. They shared a similar filling of diced beef and onions that had been cooked together with lamb fat if I am to believe my taste buds and recipe research. A delightful find.