The sauce of life and legend.

There is a certain sadness to strip shop malls that I can't quite explain. They are convenient but seem depresingly out of place, like those lonely BestBuy vending machines in airport terminals. Pick one anywhere in the country and you will find the ubiquitous Vietnamese owned nail salon with the population of a small village wearing masks and filing away, next to that, a Chinese owned dry cleaner with a dour attendant unhappily sorting through your stained clothes and smells. Some of those smells are coming from the newest Hot Yoga studio that just opened up, with stringy, toned gurus trying to get fat suburban folk to stick their heads up there own arses and while trying not to suffocate in escaping gale force 4 bean burrito induced winds. They probably ate that fart bomb at a Mexico Lindo next door, that serves up bottomless pre-mix margheritas and stale nachos with canned salsa.

But, that is not always the case. In one such strip shop mall on a quite stretch of the PCH in Long Beach, there is a gem of a Jualisco style Mexican, serving up a secret so fucking good, they have to keep it off the menu because it can cause a small riot. It is in such high demand, it usually runs out by late afternoon, and they just don't have the space to make more.

The secret, a Pork Shank with Tomatilo sauce on a bed of spicy rice is a thing of legends. Cooked slowly for 8 hours the massive and I mean gargantuan, like Kim Kardashians ass, the shank is super juicy (you are free to draw your own parallels here). Served for one, it can easily feed a small Chinese army unit, or half a Texan (once again, you are free to draw your own parallels).

It is however the sauce that elevates this dish to stratospheric levels of goodness. The roasted Tomatilo sauce with bits of crispy pork is so fucking good I would actually sit down and have a philosophical debate with Paris Hilton as long as she fed me spoonfuls of this culinary marvel. I can't emphasize how good this is, seriously !! I would vote republican and dance with Ann Coulter if they promised me a daily supply, courtesy the Koch brothers. Since it is a closely guarded secret, I couldn't get the recipe, even after offering them my next born. Maybe somethings are best kept secret.

Southern California has the best Mexican in the country, and this dish easily stacks up against the best SoCal has to offer.

An awesome cheat sheet on everything worth grilling

Your Opinion: Who Next ?

I want your suggestions folks. Who do you think should be reviewed or a dining report put out, on the Filandering Forker? 

Categories: 

• Street Food Eats: Roadside vendor or a hole in the wall, both qualify as street food for the sake of this blog. 
• Local Legends: Self explanatory
• High Street: Established tables, Hot Tables, Culinary temples. 

I would love you support, so please leave your suggestions on the blog comments below, or on The Filandering Forkers Facebook page. All of this will end up on the The Fat bastard website, when it launches in a few weeks. 

I am always happy to share a meal with friends and we can review some of these places together if time, schedules and will permits. 

Roasted Duck Soup with Glass noodles: Thai Boat Noodle Style

I was not a big soup guy, especially the healthy, brothy with floating veggies and lentils kind. My idea of a proper soup was a thick, hearty New England Clam Chow-Dah or Lobster Bisque in Boston, or a spicy Gumbo with Andouille south of the Atchafalaya, maybe a Cioppino in the San Francisco mist. The lightest soup I liked was perhaps a Saffron seeped Bouillabaisse after a few glasses of wine at the Vieux-Port Marseille. 

You get my point, hearty, calorific, stick to the ribs, booze soaking, hangover curing thickness. I just got excited writing this :) 

That is, until I had a steamy, aromatic, punchy, cloudy broth made with pork and beef, served over noodles and accompanied by slices of pork, beef, offal, and crunchy deep fried lard, Yummm !!! You can also ask for a swirl of pork blood if you want that extra kick. Its all the right things in just the right package to shake you out of those Chang Beer and SangSom thai whiskey sweats. 

Now back at home, and away from the naughty, sweaty, streets of Bangkok, we were trying to re-create the flavour profile without the grind of the original recipe, when Nino came up with the brilliant idea of using roasted duck. 

Now Roasted duck soup exists all over Asia, but we were looking for that Boat Noodle flavour, and sort of achieved it. It's a bit of cheating but who the fuck is judging? Just shut up, slurp and swoon in delight and then have this WTF !! moment while watching Jean Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport. Seriously, WTF was he so surprised about? 

Those not living in East or SE Asia will find it hard to find roasted duck, unless there is a Chinese or Asian supermarket around you. You can use the roasted duck as you will, just save some of the meat, the legs, all the skin and the carcass for the the soup. 

Use glass noodles( aka. cellophane), soak them in hot water or stock till they get soft and pliable (3-5 minutes) and then drain and put them in single serving bowls just before you add the soup. You should be able to find them in just about every Chinese or Asian grocery store or the Oriental section in a decent supermarket. If you shop at Wal-Mart, then you are probably not, I am not judging, but.......

The Recipe: By Nino, minor embellishments by Sid  

Roasted Duck Soup with Glass noodles: Thai Boat Noodle Style 

• Roasted Duck (Chinese) Whole : Break down the carcass into small 2 inch pieces, cut the skin into 2 inch strips. Cut the breast meat into 1/4 thick slices and keep aside. The Legs should be left whole.
• Cooking Oil: 1 Tablespoon
• Onion: 1 onion rough chopped
• Ginger: scraped add sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• Celery: 2 large stems rough chopped
• Carrots: 2 carrots rough chopped
• Baby Bok Choy: cut lengthways into quarters 
• Glass Noodles: 1 pack typically should have 5 servings. 2 packs
• Soy sauce (regular or table): 1 tablespoon
• Dark Soy Sauce: 1 tablespoon
• Dark Vinegar: 1 tablespoon (available in any Chinese market)
• Black pepper: 1 teaspoon, adjust as desired
• Salt: to taste after it has cooked down
• Stock: 2 litres of any meat stock, duck prefered, but no fish.
• Bouillon: add a cube or 1 teaspoon of maggi if using water instead of stock

Tableside dressings and garnish. 

• Thai Basil: large handfull of leaves
• Red Chili: chopped and added table side as desired
• Fish Sauce (Nam Pla): 1 teaspoon added tableside as desired
• Sprouts: small handful to be added tableside if desired 

Servings: 6-10 depending how big your eaters are, this is a light broth, so people can eat in large amounts.  

Heat the oil in a stock pot and cook the chopped onion on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the chopped celery, carrots and sliced ginger and cook for another 3-5 minutes until the vegetables get a bit softer. Add the chopped duck carcass, the whole legs and the skin, with any fat stuck to it for added flavour. Cook for another 3-5 minutes and then add the meat stock or water(with bouillon) up to the top of everything in the pot and then add another 2 inches on top. Add the dark and regular soy and then increase the heat, letting it boil for 2 minutes and then reduce to a simmer. 

Let the soup simmer down to the level of the vegetables which should take about 30 minutes and then add the vinegar and another 1 inch of stock or water. Once again let the soup simmer down for 15 minutes and then add the pepper and taste to adjust the seasoning. If you prefer a stronger soup, simmer down further, if you like it lighter, stop now. 

Strain the liquid through into another pot, pick out the legs and some of the skin and discard the rest. Shred the meat from the legs and discard the bones. 

Reheat the strained soup and add the bok choy to cook for 2 minutes. Adjust any seasonings before serving. 

For serving, put the soaked and drained cellophane noodles in a single serving bowl, ladle the soup over the top, add the sliced duck breast, bits of skin and shredded leg meat. Add a few chopped chili bits, a splash of Fish Sauce, some sprouts and as much thai basil as you desire. 

Once you have taken down a few bowls, walk over to the mirror and gloat. 

Please let me know how it went for you, in the comment section. 

Why pigs are so important to China - From The Economist

To keep up with demand, China now rears (and eats) nearly 500 million pigs a year—more than half of all the swine in the whole world. However, the significance of pork goes deeper than culinary tastes. They have been at the centre of Chinese culture, cuisine and family life for thousands of years. 


The Economist explains: Why pigs are so important to China?

Jiang Bing Video: Chinese Crepe/Dosa

This is my first attempt at a video so excuse the lack of audio and editing. I used my phone so the quality of the video itself is also quite low. This has been shared on Facebook before, but adding it here as well 

This is a Jiang Bing, the Chinese version of crepe or Indian Dosa. 

Delhi: Culinary Debates: Iconic Dishes

Culinary opinions are rigid and loyalties steadfast when debating restaurants with friends, sharing the same sapidity, anywhere. I take delight in having these boisterous debates with like minded souls around the world and can carry on for hours, salivating at the thought of being at all the places, eating all the dishes, all at the same time. Its like going through a 20 course tasting menu of that city, the best of the best(another blog post idea). 

Delhi, the city of my childhood, takes this red line of no compromise on food opinions just that extra bit firmer. This unyielding nature of its opinions comes from its deep history of being the epicenter of power for centuries. It has been ruled by and has ruled over so many different kingdoms, empires and cultures that have lend their flair and flavor to this city and its people. Each of the subcultures still exist today in various parts of this city, interacting with others yet stubbornly maintaining their uniqueness. In that way, it represents India as any diverse capital should.  

In its modern form Delhi is a paradox between its patriarchal and parochial conservative past and the jour de vivre of its Punjabi nature. This contradiction runs through the food and all debate surrounding food. Further influencing this milieu, is the diaspora from the mind blowing diversity of India and her states, each bring their own beliefs, cultures and tastes, further enriching Delhi and her food. 

Ask a room full of Delhi gourmands: What is Delhi's stamp on the culinary world ? and you will get a range of responses as wide as the lanes of Lutyens Delhi and a flexibility to accept another opinion as narrow as a gully in Lajpat Nagar. 

If you do force them to drill down to name a few iconic dishes, I suspect the answer among the historically inclined would be Nihari and the younger lot would vote Tandoori Chicken or Butter Chicken.  

Nihari: Representing the past, it is now relegated to a few streets in Old Delhi, especially Gali Kababiab next to Jama Masjid, where Jawahar across the famous Karim's serves up steamy plates with naan for breakfast. I have been told that some of the best is actually found in Ichchra, Lahore, but that journey is not quite that easy.

Tandoori Chicken: a post partition hybrid, conceived in Punjab, born in Delhi, raised around the world, it was actually given its current name and form at Moti Mahal Delux, by Kundan Lal Gujral. The Gujral family still runs this growing empire with locations as far as New York and London.    

Butter Chicken: The sibling of the Tandoori chicken born in the same exact kitchen(Moti Mahal), probably evokes a stronger Delhi bond to the purely Punjabi by nature. Essentially, it is tandoori chicken twice cooked in a creamy tomato and butter gravy. 

I generally do not consider vegetarians as gourmands, because they do not eat what 80% of the world eats as a staple(plenty of future blog posts on that , so I will not elaborate now). But because this is an India centric post, I will make an exception. 

Delhi vegetarians make the argument that Chole Bhature, another Punjabi import, would win and the Dal Makhani would come tumbling after. There are so many other candidates for Icon Delhi vegetarian dishes, but these are the front runners in most conversations. 

Sita Ram Diwan Chand in Paharganj is arguably the highest rated in the city for its piping hot Bhature and tea stained Chole. Moti Mahal fans would argue that the Daal Makhani was also born there, I would argue otherwise. Like I mentioned, this is a contentious debate, one that I am happy to let people argue in the comments. 

BTW, In no way am I endorsing the places I have named as the best for those dishes. That will come on another post. 

FYI, I started this post as an article and review of Karim's Old Delhi, but segued into this discussion.