Whenever I take a test, I always make associations between certain things in my life so that I will memorize keywords. Sometimes the explanations get really long but sometimes they come to me very quickly and concisely. Sometimes associated words come to me when I am not studying a test, which is the case for our dish today, nikujaga.

Ever since I can remember whenever I hear nikujaga I always think of Mick Jagger because they sounds so alike. Nevermind that I already know what nikujaga is (simmered meat and potatoes), or that no one will ever quiz me on the contents of the dish, but I will forever associate nikujaga with Mick Jagger–like Seigfried and Roy.

Here’s a food list of useless associations based on phonetics:

Nikujaga (Japanese meat and potatos) = Mick Jagger
Bibimbap (Korean rice bowl dish) = Bibinba (controversial Sanrio character from the 70′s)
Banchan (Korean small dishes) = Baba-chan (my grandma)
Youtiao (Chinese fried donuts) = Utah
Tahdig (Persian crunchy rice) = Tay Diggs

Nikujaga is the ultimate comfort food in a Japanese household. It literally means “meat and potatoes” (niku= meat, jaga=potatoes). People on either sides of the Pacific debate about how different Japanese and American foods are, but the fact that both cultures find comfort in meat ‘n potatoes confirms that even if one culture shits on warmed toilet seats… the bottom line is that we all share the same DNA sequence.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb pork shoulder cut into thin slices
3 Russet potatoes
2 carrots (optional, big bite-size pieces)
2 onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp oil
4 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
4 cups water

METHOD

1. Cut potatoes into sixths. Cut onions into bite-size pieces. Mince the garlic and slice the pork into 1/4 inch thick slices.

2. In a large pot, heat oil on high. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and meat. Cook on med-hi for a few minutes until the meat is not pink.

3. Add the potatoes, onions and carrots (if you have them) into the pot. Cook all the ingredients for a few minutes.

4. Add the 4 cups of water. Then add mirin, shoyu and sugar.

Bring to a gentle roll and skim any scum that rises to the surface.

5. Adjust the heat so that the ingredients simmer gently. If you have an otoshibuta, lay it over the ingredients. If not, cover the pot with a lid.

6. Let simmer for 20 minutes.

7. Serve immediately with rice. Pack up leftovers in air-tight plastic containers. They will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Nikujaga is not a dish to impress guests with exotic flavors or ingredients. It’s a dish to make your friends and family feel like they are at home.

If you ever have a Japanese house guest, blow their mind by putthing this simple, piping hot dish onto the table and proclaim, “Mick Jagger!” It will probably be the best moment during their entire trip.

With the in-laws away in Paris, my sister-in-law, grandma, house chef Gracinha, and dog-in-law Pri (short for Princess or Priscilla, still not sure) have come to stay with us. The opportunity was ripe to finally ask Gracinha to show me her feijoada-lite recipe.

I wrote about feijoada last year, as it’s Brasil’s national dish. Feijoada is traditionally eaten only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, we had to do it Wednesday after work. Feijoada-Lite is a simpler/ lighter version of feijoada (without the pig knees, tails, ears, and feet). With the whole family participating (and Pri carefully watching for any fallen bits of meat, couve (kale), or other morsels), it was on.

The dog-in-law Pri patiently awaiting gravity to send her a gift.

Gracinha is one of the most loving, funny, and gracious ladies I have met. She cooks with love and kept me alive during my first few months in Brasil.

Like many other kitchen geniuses throughout this culinary church of a city she is from the northeast, Pernambuco state. Many of the day workers, bus boys, bar staff, and doormen are from this area, and from what I have encountered, very hard-working and friendly. Their accent and slang is pretty hard for me to keep up with, but Nordestinos carry the city on its back, often facing discrimination (much like migrant workers from Mexico, in the States).

They bring their talent, variations on traditional recipes, and goodness to São Paulo. Gracinha’s simple take on the traditional feijoada has recently become my favorite recipe in the city, and is a lot easier to make than the other, heavier versions. With the complimentary sides of vinaigrette, couve (kale), Brazilian rice, and farofa, each fork full exceeds the first. I suggest making a lot so you can eat it for lunch the next day. Warning: this may induce extreme flatulence (this is beans and sausage, after all).

Grancinha’s Feijoada-Lite

INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound of carne seca (salted jerked beef)
2 thick paio sausages (smoked pork sausage)
1 pound of black beans
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 onion
2-3 Bay leaves

METHOD
1. Soak jerked beef for at least 24 hours:

2. Soak black beans two hours before cooking.

3. Cook paio (sausage):

4. Remove the skin and chop it up:

*Don’t even think about sexting.

5. Fry onion and garlic in pressure cooker:

6. Add jerked beef (without the water) and paio to the pressure cooker:

7. Add black beans with 1/3 of the water it was soaked in:

8. Add boiling water:

9. Add bay leaves:

10. Twist the pressure cooker shut and time out about 45 minutes on full heat:

Voila!

Side Dishes

Couve (Kale)

INGREDIENTS
2 big kale leaves
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves

METHOD
1. Cut couve into thin strands
2. Heat pan
3. Add half an onion
4. Add garlic (however much you prefer)
5. Stir in a pan
6. Add the couve, stir until it cooks down.

Farofa

INGREDIENTS
Chunk of bacon, onion, farinha de mandioca (manioc flour), banana (not green) or apple (not green).

METHOD
1. Chop bacon:

2. Fry it in its own grease until crispy:

Lady in waiting.

3. Chop banana:

4. Add farinha and stir:

5. Add half a chopped onion, fry it a bit and then add your chopped banana:

6. Stir until crispy.

Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS
Onion, tomatoes, red pepper, white vinegar, olive oil and salt.

METHOD
Chop up your onions and tomatoes. Then season the mix with vinager, olive oil and salt.

Brazilian Rice

INGREDIENTS
White rice (preferably not Asian), onion, garlic, salt.

METHOD
1. Wash your rice

2. Add onion and garlic

3. Stir fry it for a bit

4. Add water and cook in a pan. Cover with a lid a little later.

+++

Our dinner spread:

Gracinha + Me:

Gracinha’s Feijoada-Lite with all the trimmings:

ENJOY!!

*Originally from Los Angeles, Bryan lived in Tokyo for four years before marrying CH and moving to São Paulo. Bryan fixes on bikes, collects vinyl, teaches literature and speech, and is conquering South America one dish at a time every other Friday in his Super Faminto (“super hungry”) column.

I am hosting a rather important dinner party with lots of opinionated eaters this weekend, so I’ve been practicing and experimenting with what I may serve.

In the last year or so, whenever you go to an upscale restaurant, you always encounter sous-vide this and sous-vide that.  What is sous-vide? To explain it in simplest terms, it is basically a water-bath cooking method. Currently many chefs are crazy over this, and sous-vide machines are popping up everywhere, even at Bed Bath and Beyond. If you have enough space in your kitchen, and money, you can invest in one of these babies for $500-$1,000, but seriously, that’s just too much. The basics of sous-vide is that you keep the water warm at 140˚F, and cook your meat/fish/vegetables vacuum-sealed, for a long time. After extensive research, I found that you can actually make pretty darned good sous-vide cooking at home, without using the fancy equipment.

The most important part of sous-vide is that whatever food you are cooking must be vacuum sealed. This part is the biggest pain in the ass. I am still contemplating whether to buy a vacuum sealer, but what else would I use it for?  When I first saw Ziploc bags with a vacuum seal, and when I saw them, I was like, who needs them? But now that I do need them, I can’t find them anywhere any more. Maybe next time I rent a Zipcar, I will look around inventories in NJ or something. Obviously New Yorkers do not need Ziploc vacuum seal bags.

So how should you vacuum seal your regular Ziploc bag? You can try to squeeze as much air out, but there’s a limit to this.  Another option is to stick a straw in the corner and suck the air out. I tried it, but I almost fainted, so this may be a health hazard. Besides, sucking raw meat air isn’t pleasant. [By the way, above was my first trial with duck.]

Then I found a post on dipping the whole bag in water. By sinking the bag into water, it naturally gets rid of air. Try to sink all the way to the top of the bag, squeeze the air out, and quickly seal it.

It’s pretty easy, and pretty good sealing without spending any extra money. I would say this is a pretty good job.

Keeping the water temperature at 140˚F is a bit tricky. First trial when I made sous-vide duck, I stuck a heavy pot in the oven and set it at 170˚F, and kept an eye on the water temperature using a probe. It stayed at 135˚F throughout the cooking process.

It came out ok, but nothing special–it tasted just like regular duck breast. The meat was rather chewy as well.

So the second time, when I went with a pork loin, I set the pot onto the stove top, and kept the lowest heat.

Using a candy thermometer, I tried to maintain the temperature at 140˚F. On my stove, the water kept rising to 145˚F, which was annoying. I kept monitoring the progress, and whenever it went over 140˚F, I cut the heat for about 10 minutes, then restarted the heat again.

After fours hours of turning the heat on and off, the pork was done. It comes out looking rather gross, but don’t worry. Now it’s time to sear the surface.

Now this looks more like what pork loin should look like.

OMG, this was the most tender, juicy, succulent pork I’ve ever cooked. No wonder it’s so popular. I had leftover braised red cabbage, so I placed pork on top of it.

Sous-vide is totally the way to go–no more tough meat when you use this method.

Here’s my third trial, using pork again, right after I took it out of the bag after cooking.

Post-torching.

PORK PORN!!

I cooked peach, balsamic vinegar, shallots and cinnamon together and poured over the meat.

More pork porn!

For dessert, I cut up strawberries, and coated it with condensed milk. So Japanese! I used to suck condensed milk out of a tube. Although I hate milk, I love condensed milk.

The cooking process takes long, but there’s nothing complicated in this method, so try this at your home as well. You will be amazed by how tender the meat gets.

About a year ago, Dickson’s Farm opened up a shop in Chelsea Market and I often go there to get my meat. It’s fresh, and sometimes you can see the guys butchering huge chunks of cow. It’s nice to buy meat where you can see it being cut up. Also, their prices are pretty decent for New York.

Aside from very good cured meats (such as beef tongue) or terrine, they also carry excellent duck. It is often sold out, and the other day I asked when is the best time to secure duck. The guy told me that they kill the ducks on Friday morning, and ship them to the shop in the afternoon. Since the ducks are still warm on Friday afternoon, they have to be chilled until Saturday morning, and then they cut them up to pieces. So Saturday afternoon is the best time to get ducks.

Freshly slaughtered duck! Not the Chinatown kind, or the ones that are vacuum-packed. Last week, I bought a whole duck. This bird was huge, about eight pounds. When you get a whole duck, what would you do? Obviously, you have to make Peking Duck, right? My first post ever on Umamimart was a Peking Duck in 2007, and I decided to recreate it.

As you may remember, my oven has a very interesting feature that is perfect for Peking Duck: a rotating roasting pit. Hang bird like so with a wire hanger.

My method is pretty primitive, and it may be offensive to call this Peking Duck, since I did not blow air through the bird to separate the skin from flesh. It’s more like crispy-skinned roasted duck with crispy skin.

Once you hang the bird, mix these ingredients together: 3 cups of water, 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp corn syrup, 1 tbsp rice vinegar. Boil this mixture, and add 5 tsp cornstarch to make a slurry concoction. Pour it over the duck, and make sure it coats the entire surface of the bird.

This is not the duck’s asshole. It is the breast.

See how shiny it is? Once the whole bird is coated with semen-like liquid, blow air on it for about six hours (I used a fan).

Then the skin gets darker, and very dry. It looks like someone just got a Botox injection, and can’t move their face at all.

Securely attach the bird on to the roasting pit.

Roast the duck for about one hour at 350˚F. When the skin is golden, it’s time to eat.

Peking Duck is usually just to eat the skin and a little bit of meat, but this is an entire bird with a lot of breast meat. It’s too wasteful to just eat the skin, so I basically cut thin slices of duck breast.

You can make pancakes with flour and hot water, but I was too lazy to do it so I just bought flour tortillas. I cut up cucumbers and scallions, and mixed Hoison sauce with sesame oil for the sauce. It was very nice, more Asian duck tacos than Peking duck, but everyone was happy.

Lake Tahoe is a bit of a nightmare during the height of the summer. The lake is a dream but South Lake Tahoe is swarming with slot machine hungry tourists from both sides of the border (California and Nevada).

We stayed at the Marriot and I had no complaints, especially because we stayed in a suite with a full kitchen. We were able to avoid spending $26 on seafood linguine at a restaurant built on the docks because of the kitchen. In fact, the only time we went out for food at South Lake Tahoe during our three-day stay was for lunch at the Brewery at Lake Tahoe which was mediocre at best.

As soon as we arrived into South Lake Tahoe, we surveyed the area for food sources. Sadly, the only grocery store neighboring the Marriot, Embassy Suites, Harrah’s and Harveys was a Raley’s. We were definitely not in Berkeley anymore.

Our task was to cook a menu involving beef for dinner. Since I purposely did not bring any gadget that connected to the internet, I turned to the local yellow pages. Under “Meat” I found a humble little listing that sent telepathic signals to me– Overland Meat Co. It also helped that they were located on the only road I recognized, which is also the road that most things in South Lake Tahoe are located on– Lake Tahoe Boulevard.

Easy to spot on the main road by a sign which reads “Free Range Meats,” Overland Meat Co. is nestled in a plaza called Kings Trading Post.

Upon entering, I knew I came to right place.

We wanted to make Gyu no Tataki (recipe below), so our beef was going to be rare. I asked the guy behind my counter which one I should use. He recommended the top sirloin.

What impressed me was that this guy was just a kid, but he was knowledgeable and eager to tell me where their meats came from (Oregon Country Beef, a cooperative of family ranches scattered across Oregon).

They also had an impressive case which included all the necessary foodstuffs necessary for a killer temaki party!

It was also great to see that they are not fans of waste and sell hunks of bones for dogs.

And the mark of a killer meat market is their own brands of sauces for marinading and slathering meats.

This is a tiny store but packed with a lot of product and knowledge.

Oh yeah, and a bunch of wine.

Upon leaving the store, a local who was sitting on a stump doing pretty much nothing (but maybe shining his harmonica), told me that “This is the best place in Tahoe. It’s a small business that’s been around for years.” That’s when I thought to myself I need to use the yellow pages more often.

We went home with two juicy top sirloin steaks, wasabi-horseradish and a bottle of wine.

My husband was in charge of cooking the meat. On the menu was Gyu no Tataki, which is usually made with wagyū. The top sirloin is a perfect substitute for us in the states who have access to delicious domestic grass-fed beef.

Gyu no Tataki

Ingredients (feeds four):
2 big slabs of top sirloin steak
2 tbsp of salad oil
Pepper

Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup sake (or white wine)
1 clove grated garlic

1. Rub the steaks with pepper and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

2. In a large pot bring the soy sauce and sake to a gentle boil. Turn off the heat and add the grated garlic.

3. In a frying pan, heat the oil and sear the steaks. Searing time depends on the thickness of the steak, but for our top sirloin (which was about 1.5 inches thick) my husband seared it for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Another sign of when to stop is when you start really smelling the aroma of the meat.

4. Once the steaks have been seared, place them into that pot you have ready with the soy sauce marinade. Cover the pot and place the whole thing into the fridge. Turn the steaks over every 10 minutes or so.

5. After one hour of chilling and turning the steak over every 10 minutes, cut the steaks into thin slices.

This was excellent as-is, but a dab of wasabi or horseradish livens up the flavor as well.

Since this recipe is SO simple, a good piece of meat is the key factor in making this dish a success.

I’d like to thank Oregon cows, the Overland Meat Co. and my husband for an unforgettable meal.

Hot Doug’s (The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium) was really the ONLY place Matt wanted to go to during our Chicago visit. Our conversations leading up to the trip often went like this:

Kayoko: Should we go to Burt’s Place for pizza?

Matt: Sure, I’ll leave it up to you. But we’re going to Hot Doug’s, right?

Kayoko: How about Avec?

Matt: I’ve been, but will go again. Let’s just make sure we get to Hot Doug’s.

Kayoko: I’m thinking we should try Kuma’s Corner, for their ginormous burger.

Matt: Great. As long as we go to Hot Doug’s.

So, not much choice in the matter– Hot Doug’s was mandatory. We took a cab out to the Avondale section on Chicago, which was quite far from the center of town. And guess what? Our cab broke down on the highway! It was definitely a prized moment, me and Matt on the side of the freeway trying to hitch a ride into town. Hilarious!

A gentile Chicagoan pulled over and picked us up– the people in this town are just SO NICE! I still can’t get over it. The genuine-seemingness of the Obamas really all makes sense now.

We made it to Hot Doug’s in one piece. The Sausage Superstore!!!

It was only 11:30am, and take a look at this line! Jesus Christ!

We waited a good half hour– all for the love of the encased meat. The inside was bright and kitchy. Really unique and so adorable!

Menu.

Duck fat fries on Fridays and Saturdays only. It was Friday– lucky us!

The guy taking orders reminded me of Henry Rollins slash Elvis Costello. Great mashup. I really, really regret not getting one of their tshirts.

SAUSAGE TIME!

Let’s start with the basics: THE DOG, which was a typical Chi-town style with “all the trimmings”: tomatoes, onions, housemade neon green relish, celery salt. This might be one of the best things I ate during the entire trip. That relish was out of control– Matt, who doesn’t even really like pickles, enjoyed this.

Special #1: Smoked jalapeño cheddar pork sausage with mole and jalapeño jack cheese. This was super spicy, almost too spicy, as it just really overwhelmed all the other flavors. The mole added a nice smokiness, though.

Special #2: Smoked pork linguica, saffron rouille, and queso Iberico. Que delicioso! So creamy. This was Matt’s favorite.

The fries were great– the duck fat was pretty subtle, you couldn’t really tell one way or the other. The actual potato itself, with the skin and everything, was perfectly cut and fried.

I walked into the bathroom and look what was painted on the wall!!!

ENCASED MEAT AMERICAN GOTHIC!!! So clever. There was a play on Magritte’s The Treachery of Images in the other bathroom, which I peeped. I believe it said Ceci n’est pas une hot dog, with an image of a hot dog. Love this place!

The REAL American Gothic, by the way, is at the Art Institute of Chicago. It was so awesome to finally see it.

More wall photo fun.

This was a fun excursion all around– from the cab breakdown to the encased meats, the fries, the whole vibe of the place. They don’t serve beer, though, which was super disappointing. Work on that beer and wine license please, Doug!

HOT DOUG’S
3324 North California
Chicago, IL
T: 773.279.9550

Top photo by Matt K.

It’s sugar snap pea season! These beans are so sweet and only need a minute in the frying pan, which means it’s perfect for us LASYASSES.

Remember when I wrote about chinese sausages, aka lap cheong a couple weeks back? Let’s add those, and a clove of garlic.

Deveining, or “stringing” the peas is the NOT-so-lazy part. But trust me, getting rid of it will make the eating experience that much sweeter since this part so hard to chew through. Do you know what I’m talking about? The stringy piece that runs along the back of the pod? Like this.

Rip the entire vein off. You get a sink full of these cute triangular, curly-Q pieces.

Prep Time: 5 minutes.

I like to thinly slice the lap cheong diagonally. You don’t need too much of it, since this dish is mainly about the peas. The sausage is just for added flavor and texture.

Alright, add a teaspoon or so of oil (vegetable, olive, whatever) to the frying pan, and add chopped garlic. Remember to add the garlic while the pan is still cold, or else the garlic burns too quickly.

Once the garlic starts browning, add the peas.

Toss for about a minute. Salt, pepper, add a tiny touch of sesame oil, for an extra sumthin’-sumthin’.

That’s it, folks!

One of my loyal Monday night regulars brought me these on the other week. A bag full of Chinese sausages! YAY! He grew up in  San Francisco and swears that this one butcher in Chinatown, Mow Lee Co., makes them the best (774 Commercial at Grant, 982-5767).

He brought me the regular pork kind, and liver, which is a bit darker in color. I had never had the liver version before, and it’s surprisingly not too gamey and liverish, and is quite easy to eat.

This is quite a staple in Hong Kong cooking, and prevalent in many dim sum dishes. Wiki says that countries all over Asia have their very own versions of the “Chinese sausage”. Oh, the irony.

They came in twos, fastened by a piece of twine and carefully knotted together. I love this.

What I love most about this is that it adds just the right amount of flavor to a dish, without having to use too many. I’ve been slicing them up really thinly and sauteeing them with vegetables. I’ll do a Lazyass Cookin’ post with them soon.

Let’s not get into the nutritional value of these sausages.

Last week I was invited to dinner at the Farm on Adderley in Brooklyn and by chance there was a special dinner going on, so we signed up for it! The butchers from Fleisher’s in Kingston, NY were hosting the prix-fixe meal at a handful of communal tables in the back room. Their shop supplied all the meat and the shop’s founders, Josh and Jessica, spoke about their dedication to local, sustainable meat.

Sometimes I love how small the world is (or maybe just living in New York) because I happen to be reading the book Cleaving right now, and Josh and Jessica are two of the main characters. They are as cool in real life as in the book and I hope to visit their shop someday soon. The menu was delicious but quite pork heavy- there was even bacon in the dessert! My favorite course was the butternut squash soup (above) that had a juicy pile of pork in the middle.

I love chicken livers, but battered in panko and fried???? HOLY HOTCAKES! I could not stop– I think I ate this entire plate all by my lonesome. No sharing, sorry!

The nuttiness of the livers were totally enhanced by the hot crunch of the outer layer– that unmistakable flavor of fried food. Look at how perfectly they’re fried! Golden but not soggy. Crispy but not burnt. Big fat pieces perfect for picking up with your fingers and biting into.

Crispy on the outside, with a special treasure on the inside. This is true happiness.

Check out the rest of our feast here. We definitely ordered the entire menu– watch out, there’s two menus floating around so don’t forget to peak at both. I have to say that the food is incredible at Magnolia. They’ve got all my favorites: oysters, charcuterie and a kickass burger.

And now that I’ve discovered these fried chicken livers, I’m set for life. These will definitely be at my L’ultimo Cena (aka Last Supper).

Get to Magnolia Pub asap– Strong Beer Month only goes until the end of the month! The Thunderpussy Barley Wine was such carmelized goodness.

They’re not kidding about these beers being strong, either– now I understand why they call is “Strong Beer Month”, as silly as that sounds. I was so wasted after three beers, it was embarrassing.

I’m gonna try to have more of these Umamimart Happy Hours, we had so much fun on Monday! Thanks everyone for coming out!

MAGNOLIA PUB AND BREWERY
1398 Haight Street (at Masonic)
San Francisco, CA
T: 415.864.7468