Recipe: Cauliflower Tater Tots

As the Fall is approaching, pumpkins and cauliflowers are plentiful in the markets.

Here are a few easy recipes from our kitchen's crew. Simple, delicious  morsels for your next gatherings as hors d'oeuvres!

Crisp Baked Cauliflower with Cheddar Cheese and Birds Eye Chile 

Ingredients:

1  medium size cauliflower

1/2 t sp turmeric

1/2 t sp paprika 

1 bird eye chile (seeded) or serrano pepper (minced)

2 T milk or heavy cream

2 T butter

1/3 cup shredded cheddar

4 egg whites

salt and pepper 

vegetable or peanut oil

Directions:

Recipe: End of Summer Delights

Scallop glazed with Kalamansi and topped with Chiang Mai sausage and roasted corn

As the summer is winding down, there are still large nice fresh succulent scallops from Maine.
With the end of season of corn still available from the farmers market, these two ingredient complement well as hors d'oeuvres. Our kitchen has been serving Seared Diver Scallops with Brown Butter sauce and Sage, with abundance sage in the garden, it's delicious with crispy sage leaves!
Another way to enjoy the best of it is the Grilled Scallops marinated with Miso and Sake topped with Hijiki salad.

Recipe: Grilled Scallops marinated with Miso and Sake topped with Hijiki

Ingredients:

2 lb. Diver Scallops (approx.18/20 pcs )
1/4 cup sake
1/4 mirin
4 tablespoons white miso paste
2 tablespoons sugar
black pepper

Fundraiser: Here's to Summer Cocktails!

It’s my favorite time of the year!  But when the heat is sweltering, there’s nothing better than a nice, cool cocktail by the pool.  Serve these summery Saffron59 favorites at your next BBQ or just for yourself!

At a recent Cetana fundraiser to raise money for the educational future of Burma, our Burma Rise cocktail was a hit:

Recipe: Burma Rise

Ingredients:

½ cup vodka

¼ cup lime juice

¼ cup ginger infused simple syrup

¼ cup pomegranate juice

½ cup club soda

Muddled Thai basil leaves

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients except club soda and Thai Basil into a pitcher and stir to mix.  To serve, pour into glass of ice and add 3-4 leaves per glass of Thai Basil and top off with club soda.

Blood Orange Sangria

Classic Fish Recipes From Cambodia and Myanmar

I would like to share two simple classic fish dishes from Cambodia and Myanmar. It is an all-time favorite of mine and created for my previous restaurant Road to Mandalay.  You can substitute the white fish (the firmer, the better) with large shrimp or any seafood you have on hand.

Si Byan (Burmese Fish) in 15 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs cod fillet or halibut, sea bass, etc - into 1-inch chunks

1-inch chunk ginger

2 tsp turmeric powder

¼ cup of vegetable oil

3 med. tomatoes, small chunks

3 med. onions, minced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 inch of ginger, minced

2 tbsp sweet paprika 1 tsp hot paprika or 2 fresh chili peppers

 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce

¼ cup of vegetable or fish stock

½ cup cilantro leaves (reserve some for garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, marinade the fish with salt, pepper and turmeric for five minutes.

2. In a frying pan, heat the oil and mix in the onion till lightly brown and add in ginger, chili (if not using paprika) and garlic till fragrant.  Add in the paprika then immediately the fish and let it seared then stir in tomatoes, liquid stock and cook for five minutes.

3. Lower the heat and add fish sauce, coriander and simmer for another

2 minutes.  Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with steamed jasmine rice.

Amok Fish Steamed in Coconut Shell

Cambodian Fish Amok 

Makes: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1lb White Fish Fillets, e.g. (Catfish, Cod, Haddock, Sole, etc)
1 Garlic Clove, chopped

1 Red Onion, chopped

Recipe: Seasonal Eats: Vegetable “Ratatouille”

This time of the year the chill is in the air and the need for comfort food never fails to satisfy our creaturely comforts.  This year’s harvest is abundant of cauliflower or Romesco broccoli.  With so many people increasingly aware of seasonal ingredients and quality produce, this is the perfect easy and flavorful recipe for vegetarian lovers and meat lovers alike.  Adjust portions to serve as a side or full entrée. 

Saffron59 “Ratatouille”

Click through for the recipe to this beautiful dish.

Recipe: Happy Lunar New Year: Gong Xi Fa Choi!

Double Happiness Bowls

Growing up in Myanmar, we celebrated Chú Xī, commonly known as Lunar New Year. Along with my parents, brother and sister, I would go to the night market and shop for the New Years decorations and sweets. My parents bought new outfits for all of us, and I would help my mom to stuff the red envelopes to give away, while she prepared feasts for the start of the New Year.

This year, I thought I'd ask my friend Grace Young, author of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge (the James Beard’s award winning author) what she and her family cook for the New Year.

According to her:

The New Year’s Eve dinner is the most important meal of the two week New Year’s celebration and of the entire year. Today many people choose to go to a restaurant because it’s more convenient but my family always gathered for dinner at home. Every family’s meal is slightly different while still being designed around meaning-laden foods.

Eat Locally Think Globally

Instead of dining out, I had a few friends over on our rooftop. This Friday night, I pan-seared okra from our local Union Square Farmers Market, with tomatoes and holy basil leaves that I have been nurturing in my urban, rooftop garden since April. 

Okra is a very simple, nutritious and lots of fiber vegetable and of course it is appetizing too! Popular as the ladies fingers in South Asian, Okra is abundance at this time of year in Northeast America as well. It’s perfect for summer refreshing vegetable dish option.

Most people don’t fancy okra is because of its slimy taste, I find if it sliced and seared gives a nice snappy texture and eliminate the liquid. 

Recipe: Seared Okra with Tomato and Cumin Dust

Ingredients:

1 lb Okra (sliced diagonally)

Vegetable oil for frying

1 medium onion, minced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cups (450g) chopped tomato, fresh or canned, drained

1 serrano chile, sliced

2 teaspoon finely minced ginger

2 teaspoon finely minced garlic

Spice mixture

¼ cup cilantro stems and sprigs

2 teaspoons ground cumin

½ teaspoons ground paprika

¼ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne) 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper

1/8 cup of water

Instructions:

In a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high flame, heat 2 to 3 teaspoon oil. Add enough okra to cover pan in a single layer. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining okra, adding more oil as needed for each batch to prevent sticking.

In the same pan wiped clean, over medium-high heat, add onion till lightly brown, add in garlic, ginger, stir in cumin paprika.

Continue frying over medium high heat, adding water, stirring frequently, until tomatoes soften, about 3 minutes.

Add reserved okra and stir very gently with chile to combine with tomato and cilantro stems. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until okra is cooked through…

Garnish with cilantro sprigs

*add in cooked shrimp or fish if desired!

July 4th: Personal & Country Independence Day

This year marked the 30^th Anniversary of my family arriving in America. I remember being at John F Kennedy Airport seeing all ethnicities at immigration and the overwhelming crowd.

So different from my small city of Yagon, Myanmar.             

Scorching hot summers, sprinklers on the fire hydrants along the highway, as my mom’s friends picked up all eight of us and drove along the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.

Given how time flies, I thank my parents for bring us this far and see how all of us has accomplished. Now they have nine grandchildren. Yes, July 4th is also our personal Independence Day! This year and the past 30 years--never fail--it's been our annual big cook-out feast. The largest hit was BBQ Rib Eye Steak..

Ingredients:

•  8 lb. rib eye steak -1 1/2 inch thick
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons sake (or rice wine or sherry)
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 scallions (green onions), minced
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until the sugar has dissolved. This can be prepared and marinate a nite before.
Preheat the grill to 450 degree.Charred the steak for 2 min. each side.  let cook and sliced 1/4 inch thick...
served with basil parsley garlic pesto sauce. 

Baking with Kids

Whenever my nephews & nieces visit, we walk to the local greenmarket at Union Square and pick up what we are going to make for lunch that day. They always cook in the kitchen with me. There’s nothing as satisfying as being able to create something from scratch.

So when my nephew Sidney and his friend Josh needed to raise some money to support their soccer team for new equipment and transportation, we decided to bake a few types of simple delicious cookies for their fundraiser. So we gathered a few kids for an impromptu baking session with our pastry chef, Momo.

josh and sidney

Not only does learning a new skill boost self-esteem, it fosters a sense of worth and creativity. They also learned a few tips about running their own business: how to sell their goods, pricing, packaging, profit margin, inventory, even creating a blog with pictures.

As the smell of freshly baked goods wafts through the studio, we all happily shared a victory cookie from our cache of goodies.

Here’s one of the recipes from that day. Enjoy!

Sammi with Cookie Crumbs

Vegan Vanilla Almond Cookie

Servings: around 30 large cookies

1 cup Sugar

½ cup Vegan Butter

1/3 cup Soy Milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¾ cup white rice flour

1/3 cup coconut flour

2 tablespoons potato starch

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup almond slices

In a mixing bowl or mixer, sift all the dry ingredients together, except for the almond slices. Create a well in the dry mix and slowly incorporate all the wet ingredients. When thoroughly mixed, add almond slices. Form dough balls into desired size or use a mini ice-cream scooper like we did on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until golden brown at 350F degrees.

Chef Momo

Recipe: Simple Cauliflower or Root Vegetable Preparation

Most people are familiar with common root vegetables like potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots and the like, but aren't as knowledgeable about turnips, rutabagas, and parsnips abundant in your local market. 

Now is the peak season for root vegetables, which generally like the cooler months of the year (January to March and October to December). Root vegetables are a great source of nutrients and are so versatile you can make practically any course of the meal with them. 

An easy way to use whatever root vegetables look fresh at the market or just rolling around your crisper drawer is to peel & chop into 2-inch chunks, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, onion & fresh rosemary, sage or thyme. 

Roast in oven at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes or until tender, stir occasionally & serve. 

My local market here in Union Square has the most gorgeous colored cauliflower. Cook it the same way you do with the root vegetables; simply cut off the florets and roast. It also makes a great side dish for your holiday dinners.

Recipe: Stonington: Too Many Chefs in the Kitchen, Part 1

I rented a summer home this July with my family in Stonington, CT. We have my cousin Ron, my sister inlaw Yin and my parents' housekeeper from Shanghai; all happen to be great cooks.

Since we have 14 to 22 of us every day for dinner, one evening we brined a whole pork tenderloin that yielded about 8 lbs. We marinated it with apple cider, honey, crushed light peppercorn, rosemary, thyme, lots of garlic and sea salt. Of course, we immerse the ingredients in  water overnight in the refrigerator. Occasionally turning the porkloin overtime. Since our hosts have 11 acres of garden, fresh flowers and herbs, I use a mixture of rosemary and silver thyme processed with six cloves of garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper (for basting).

To grill:

• Prepare to raise the heat very high

• Remove the meat out from the refrigerator half an hour before grilling.

• When the temperature of the grill reaches its peak, place the pork loin on the rack until it chars on both sides. Then turn down the temperature to low.

• Afterward, put the cover down for about 30-45 minutes. Occasionally turn the meat and brush with the olive oil mixture mentioned previously.

• It is perfectly fine for the meat to be a touch pink. Let it cool and then slice. It's deliciously moist and juicy.

• Serve with grilled summer peaches and swiss chard on the side to add to a perfect meal.

Recipe: Stonington, Connecticut: Too Many Chefs in the Kitchen, Part 1

I rented a summer home this July with my family in Stonington, CT. We have my cousin Ron, my sister-in-law Yin and my parents' housekeeper from Shanghai; all happen to be great cooks.

A purveyor from New York City had given me half of a goat which had inspired me to make something with a nice blend of spice rub. Since this half goat totals about 18 lbs of meat we decided to create a variety of meals from it using different cuts.

Cooking plans:
For the meatier part: kabob with the outdoor grill - dried spice rub with Hungarian paprika, garam masala, coriander seeds and cumin; Malaysian curry.

For the shin part of the leg: slow cook with lots of slivers of ginger, garlic, sweet onion, white wine and the Karma spice I acquired during my recent trip to Penang. We let it slow cook and made it into a stew, keeping it a few days in the fridge for easy warm up at dinner upon returning from a day's outing.

Recipe: Stone Crabs

There is now abundance of these stone crabs in New York City, no need to fly to California or Florida. Simply steam them for seven minutes and make a nice dipping sauce with a touch of salt, chopped red birds eye chiles minced with a squeeze of lime juice, mix in a few tablespoons of water and Nuoc Mam (fish sauce). If you have sprigs of cilantro handy chop them in. 

How to check if they are fresh? Simply turn the crabs upside down and check for freshness by their movements and no tiny bubbles being blown out from their head. After purchasing, keep in brown bags away and hold in fridge until ready for steaming. Yum!

The Taj - My Culinary Experience

Over the last few days while listening to the tragedy unfold in Mumbai, my heart empathized with the families of the victims and to those who lost their lives. It was at the Taj Hotel Mumbai, the Gate of India, where I received my apprenticeship in southern Indian cooking with a young bright chef Vikram. 

A few years back after one of my group culinary trips, I took a detour and spent five days at this beautiful colonial hotel overlooking the Malabar Sea.

Late every afternoon, after the lunch crowd consisting mostly of international guests dispersed, chef Vikram would bring out tastings of delicious varieties of regional curries, piping hot naan and parathas fresh from the tandoor oven. I would then select a few of these dishes for him to teach me after the hectic lunch hour. The kitchen staff worked long shifts. After lunch, the staff was busy preparing for the dinner menu for the hundreds of guests that come through the Tanjore. This was the time when Vikram took me for a tour of the bustling market to shop and visit stalls from cookware and spices. Coincidentally, the market was located right near the train station where many lost their lives in the beginning of the attacks. 

Keeping track of last week’s horrific events, I could not help thinking of my wonderful culinary experiences with the kitchen crew at Tanjore Restaurant and how this event has transformed the gentility of the people who were passionate about their work and food. Writing this blog brings my senses to the smell of delicious fish curry with sounds of popping mustard seeds and hot chapattis in Vikram’s kitchen. I am sure there will be many fruitful stories like mine to share with great memories of this colonial landmark and that our stories overcome the calamities that enveloped the Taj last week. 

** update August 20,2014- The Taj Hotel Mumbai has totally revamped with all new and modern  restaurants.

Here is a simple vegetarian dish I learned from Chef Vikram

Okra with Curry Leaves

1 pound fresh okra topped and bottomed

10 curry leaves

4 dried red peppers

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

4 red Serrano chilies sliced thin lengthwise

and cut into 1/8-inch slices

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon kosher salt.

Set a wok over a medium heat. Add the oil, toss in the mustard seeds, red peppers and curry leaves cook until the seeds start to pop. Add onion and green chili and sauté until tender.

Turn the flame to high and add the okra, add some water or vegetable stock, stirring constantly for two –three minutes, add spices and continue cooking until okra browns (about 10 minutes).

salt to taste.

Note:You can substitute Asian Long Beans, Cauliflower or String beans.

Curry leaves :

Grown on small trees, the soft leaves are stripped from the short sprigs, use fresh or dried, just sizzle in hot oil to reveal its clear spicy flavor,then add to a finished vegetable dish, great to jazz up seared salmon or red snapper.

  ** update August 20,2014- The Taj Hotel Mumbai has totally revamped with all new and modern  restaurants.

Holiday Cocktail Party Ideas

A cocktail party should be fun and festive; it can be as simple or complex as you wish to make it.

Make a quick list- how many guests will be attending? YOU DO NOT want to be working at your party. It's wise to have someone there to give you a hand but not your friend or family members.

It is great to mix guests with different backgrounds and interests, you will be playing the host. Have a caterer and combo of your own signature dish you are best at with flavorful spices. And do one or two fun delicious cocktails to get your guests buzzing and have a fabulous time.

Here is one of the easy delicious recipes from my kitchen.

Seafood Ceviche (you can do this ahead of time and mix it an hour before the guests arrive

1 lb of #36 shrimp (deveined and shelled)
1 lb. of bay scallops
1 lb. filet of sole- sliced thin pieces
1 sliced serrano chile, minced
6 juice of limes
salt and pepper
1 minced red onion, minced
1 mango- peeled and diced into small pieces
1 asian pear- peeled and diced small pieces
2 cloves of garlic

Prepare all these ingredients, put aside all the seafood on bed of ice. mix all the seafood ingredients with lime juice one hour before guests arrive and then toss with the rest of ingredients. add salt and pepper to taste. served with toasted tortillas or point toast......

Recipe: Soft Shell Crab with Tamarind Glaze

Soft shell crab is in season!

Now is the time for soft shell crab! It's easy to make, delicious, and a fast dish for the summer. The best soft shell crab usually comes from Maryland and is only $3-$5 a piece from your local seafood market and is seasonal and fresh. You can lightly sear it with butter and garlic or olive oil, or you can use my signature dish we feature at Saffron 59. It is one of the traditional recipes that I made while I lived in Saigon, Vietnam.

Recipe

To prepare the crab, simply remove the gill and the claws. Then egg wash- flour, beaten egg

add panko crust then sear each side for 2 minutes

For the sauce,

small chunk of dried tamarind, soaked with 1/2 cup of warm water

then you squeeze the pulp and seeds out to get the juice (set aside)

brown the shallots and add the tamarind juice

season with fish sauce, sugar, salt and pepper

bring to a boil

Spoon the sauce over the crab then garnish with fresh slivers of scallion and enjoy!

Thingyan Water Festival: Time to Purify

Happy Thingyan! Wash it all out, may the water clean all bad spirits within us and bring peace, prosperity for whole year!

People in Myanmar, also Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, celebrate Thingyan Water Festival every month of Tagu, which means the first month of the 12 months of Myanmar Calendar. I remember the streets are full of people pouring and sprinkling water on each other to purify the bad, evil spirits. Young and old, man and woman, everyone is out to celebrate the Water Festival and welcome the new year in hope of prosperity and happiness to come.

This time of year, I celebrate Thingyan Festival with Ginger Salad, it is one of my favorite, fresh and tasty salad from Burma...

Burmese Ginger Salad (Jin Thoke)

SERVES 4

Some recipes for this salad call for bottled pickled sliced ginger, but the homemade version tastes much fresher. Although it takes two days to make, little hands-on effort is required. We recommend using young ginger, which has very thin, delicate skin and is more succulent than mature ginger. Young ginger is easiest to find in markets during the spring; if it's not available, use the smaller knobs of only very fresh, plump mature ginger.

3" piece young ginger, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise
Salt
Juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp. channa dal (hulled split dried small chickpeas)
1⁄2 cup peanut oil
10 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1⁄2 tsp. fish saucehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/saffron59/
1⁄4 cup peeled, roasted, unsalted peanuts
2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
4 green bird's-eye chiles, stemmed

1. Toss ginger and 1 tsp. salt together in a medium glass or ceramic bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 24 hours, stirring every 8 hours. Rinse ginger, drain well, and put into a clean glass or ceramic bowl. Add lime juice and mix with your fingers until ginger is well coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours, stirring every 8 hours. Soak chickpeas in a small bowl of water for 8 hours.

2. Drain ginger, then slice into long thin strips. Put ginger into a clean medium glass or ceramic bowl and set aside. Drain chickpeas, thoroughly dry with paper towels, and set aside.

3. Heat oil in a wok or a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and fry, stirring constantly with a slotted spoon, until lightly golden and crisp, 6–8 minutes. Transfer shallots with slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Fry garlic in the hot oil, stirring constantly, until just beginning to turn golden around the edges, 1–2 minutes, then transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry chickpeas in the hot oil, stirring constantly, until golden, 4–5 minutes, then transfer to paper towels to drain, setting wok with oil aside. Set shallots, ginger, and chickpeas aside separately to cool completely.

4. Add fish sauce, peanuts, sesame seeds, and fresh chiles to bowl with ginger. Add fried shallots, garlic, and chickpeas and 2 tsp. of the frying oil, season to taste with salt, and toss well. Adjust seasonings. Serve at room temperature.

Exotic Cocktail for Your Holiday

Thanks to everyone for the great raves over the parties Saffron 59 has catered, especially the exotic drinks. We've been getting many requests for our special drink recipes. During this holiday season we'd like to share one of our favorites, a simple, fun, and delicious mixed drink created by our mixologist Monamie...

Lychee Martini

Ingredients
1 oz Lychee Liqueur
3 oz Vodka (pref. infuse ahead with Lychees)
1 ½ oz Cointreau
1/2 oz Lychee Juice
Fresh Lychee or from a package to garnish
Instructions
In a shaker filled with ice mix everything together. You can either shake this one or stir - shaken will cloud it up, while a slick stir will leave all things looking pretty.
Garnish with Lychee into the glass with cocktail pick and strain into a martini glass.

Happy Holidayshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/saffron59/

Irene Khin Wong: My First Blog Post

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saffron59/

This blog is dedicated to all culinary enthusiasts all around the world.

Food and Travel is always an immense passion for me. Every time and everywhere I go, there have been always great excitements...and big surprises..!

My next trip will be my 43rd country, Cambodia, with a stop off in my home country of Myanmar. 

I just can’t wait.

What fascinates me most about my trip is visiting traditional markets, just like eight years ago when I was in Bali. A typical Balinese sweet is Black Rice Pudding, an everyday street food that is just so delicious. Recipe:

Balinese Black Rice Pudding with Coconut Panna Cotta

black rice pudding-6 servings

1 C black rice

2 C water

3" ginger chunks, bruised

tiny pinch salt

1 can coconut milk

1 pandan leaf, ( tie into knot if usiing the leaf, or 1 t. if using extract)

2 TBSP palm sugar

1 pack of Knox geletin

black and white sesame seeds (optionals)

Instructions

1. Soak rice over night and rinse.
2. Cover the rice with water and ginger and pinch of salt, simmer, covered until done, about 30 mins, or water reduced.
3. Reduce coconut milk with pandan leaf and palm sugar, when lukewarm, stir in and mix in the gelatin.
4. Serve with one layer of black rice and spoon the coconut milk on top. (sprinkle toasted white and black sesame seeds, optional).