Dried Japanese Persimmons (with ASMR Video)

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My kids challenged me to do an ASMR video. I had no idea what that was, and obviously it’s a YouTube trend right now. Knowing kids and what unimaginably dreadful things lie lurking for them to watch on the internet, my fear was that this ominous-sounding acronymic genre of video was something shady, along the lines of ADHD, S&M, or MRSA. To my relief, ASMR stands for and is defined as autonomous sensory meridian response, which is a relaxing, often sedative sensation that begins on the scalp and moves down the body. These videos usually involve no music or talking, just organic sounds. This is my first ASMR video to capture the sounds of persimmon harvesting and drying to make Japanese Dried Persimmons. You can watch it toward the end of my post, just promise you won’t snicker, at least not to my face.

My youngest with her basket of freshly picked Fuyu persimmons

The art of making dried persimmons in Asia is very much like the art of raising Kobe beef. The persimmon trees are lovingly fertilized and watered throughout the growing season and harvested at the peak of ripeness. When they are undergoing the drying process, these persimmons are massaged every day to evenly disperse the fruit sugars throughout the fruit and to prevent mold and help break up clumps within the fruit.

Depending on the locale, persimmons take anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks to dry and be ready to consume. Because I live in southwest Texas, the heat and sunshine are plentiful for most months of the year. Persimmon drying can be challenging for those who live in colder climates because persimmons ripen in the autumn, and most of these places have cold and rainy fall weather. If this is the case, setting up a hanging rack indoors next to a sunny window is ideal. You can get excellent results this way, too.

In Japan and Korea, I believe they use the softer, more elongated Hachiya persimmon variety to make dried persimmons, but the tree I grow in my backyard is the crunchier Fuyu variety. Either type will work for this treat.

The hard work put into making dried persimmons pays dividends in taste and texture. They have a candy-like chewiness and a taste reminiscent of caramel, honey, and vanilla. And if you’re thinking why go through the trouble of sun-drying and not using an electric food dehydrator— I have tried that route with unsuccessful results. Dehydrators cannot give the persimmons the same rich consistency and chewiness that natural drying and massaging does. You will end up with hard chunks of fruit that are lackluster in taste and texture. So if you are looking to make persimmon chips or persimmon rocks, I’m not judging you, but don’t expect the same texture or taste as naturally sun-dried persimmons. If you ever have the opportunity to make or try these dried persimmons, they taste heavenly with a steaming cup of jasmine green tea!

Dried Japanese Persimmons with Green Jasmine Tea

Japanese Dried Persimmons

Ingredients:

– Fresh firm and just ripened (not soft or smushy) persimmons, either Hachiya or Fuyu

– kitchen string for tying and hanging

– sturdy clothesline if hanging outdoors, or a hanging rack if drying indoors

Useful Equipment:

** Disclaimer: Please note that the highlighted links in this post are affiliate links, in which I will earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you purchase through those links. I have purchased all the products I recommend with my own funds and have tested and used each product before I post. Please know that I only recommend products that I like and trust and genuinely believe would help my audience. Thank you for your support of my blog in this way!

OXO Grip Vegetable Peeler , Shun 4″ Classic Paring Knife , Natural Kitchen Twine , Long Thumb Tacks

Directions:

1. Wash and dry the persimmons.

2. Use a vegetable peeler or a paring knife to remove the persimmon skin. Be sure to leave the stem, so that you can tie the string for hanging. If your persimmons are missing the stem, you can insert a clean push pin thumbtack into the top of the persimmon to create a faux stem to attach the string.

3. Use clean natural kitchen twine (see recommendation in equipment links above) to attach the stems securely for hanging. Each piece of twine should hold 1 persimmon at each end, for a total of 2 persimmons per string.

4. When all the persimmons have been tied, it is now time to hang them outside to dry in the sunshine. If you live in a cold, rainy area, then you can hang the persimmons indoors near a sunny window. Depending on where you live, it may take anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks for your persimmons to dry. Be sure to bring your persimmons inside each night or during rainy days, in order to prevent mold and rot. If you spot any green mold beginning to form on your persimmons, you can spray them with a little vodka to get rid of the mold. When daylight arrives once more, bring the persimmons outside again to dry.

5. This is where the pampering of your persimmons comes into play– when the persimmons begin to feel dry to the touch (3 to 5 days), begin “massaging” the persimmons every day. When you massage the fruit, try to squeeze them gently yet firmly in a way that breaks up the clumpiness inside the persimmons but doesn’t tear them from the outside.

6. The persimmons are ready when their exteriors are dry and shriveled. Most times there is a hard white crust present on the outside of the persimmons. This is actually the dried sugars that came to the surface as a result of massaging the persimmons. It looks much like mold, but mold will take on a green color. This sugary crust is actually a desirable trait to have.

7. Now that your dried persimmons are ready to eat, you can enjoy them with hot tea or coffee. They are decadently sweet and chewy with intense flavors of honey and caramel. Dried persimmons need to be stored in an airtight container. They can be stored at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, but if saving them for longer periods of time, you can refrigerate them for a couple months or freeze them for 1 year. I hope you take time out of your busy life to enjoy the fruits of the earth and savor every moment.

My very first ASMR video on how to make Japanese Dried Persimmons! 🙂

Vietnamese Crab and Asparagus Soup– Bikini-Friendly!

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At only 183 calories a bowl, this soup is definitely bikini-friendly!

One of my favorite Vietnamese dishes is Crab and Asparagus Soup because I love most anything with crabmeat.  The marriage of delicate crabmeat and silky asparagus truly is a match made in heaven.   If you’ve ever attended a Vietnamese wedding or a birthday party, then you’ve probably encountered and tasted this elegant crab and asparagus soup.  In Vietnam this soup, called “Súp cua măng tây,” is usually reserved for special occasions.  The asparagus was introduced to the Vietnamese when the French colonized Vietnam for over a century (from 1800’s to 1954).  The other ingredients in this dish are truly Vietnamese.  

    One of the blessings in my life is living on a canal near the bay during the weekends.  There is a wealth of seafood to be had, including fresh blue crabs.  Usually when I make this soup, I like to catch, cook, and peel my own crabs.  However, this time I’m using fresh store-bought Dungeness crabs because they were on sale at the market, and they are easier and faster to pick clean due to their large size and softer shells. Even though this soup looks and tastes fancy, it is very easy to make at home.  You can substitute canned crabmeat, asparagus, and quail eggs for the fresh versions if ingredients are not readily available or saving time is a factor, but like most things in life, fresh ingredients make the best tasting soup. 

     Add-ons, such as white fungus (I know, it sounds not so appetizing, right? It’s actually just a white type of mushroom) and quail eggs give the soup extra richness, texture, and nutritional value.  The white fungus, also called snow mushroom, resembles a sponge when dried.  You can buy this mushroom in the Asian grocery store in the dried foods section.  It is valued in Asia for making the skin youthful and bouncy due to its high hyaluronic acid and collagen content.  Snow mushrooms (which I’ll call them from here on out because white fungus just doesn’t sound that appealing) don’t really have a taste, but I like to chop them and add them to this soup because they have a slight crunchy texture…and, if they’re going to make me look younger in the process, then I’m all for it!  Let food be thy medicine, right?  

White Fungus/ Snow Mushroom

  As for the quail eggs, which are these cute little poppers of protein, they taste just like chicken eggs and add extra richness to this soup.  You can also find these eggs at the Asian market, and some of the gourmet grocery stores even carry them now.  They are about 3 to 4 times smaller than a chicken egg and come packaged in small cartons of 18 eggs.  

Quail eggs are so cute! 🙂

So now that I’ve hopefully convinced you to try to make this soup at home, let’s get started!  

**Disclaimer: Please note that the highlighted links in this post are affiliate links, in which I will earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you purchase through those links. I have purchased all the products I recommend with my own funds and have tested and used each product before I post. Please know that I only recommend products that I like and trust and genuinely believe would help my audience. Thank you for your support of my blog in this way!

Vietnamese Crab and Asparagus Soup:

Ingredients:

– 2 dungeness crabs, 6 blue crabs (cooked and picked over), or 1 large can of pasteurized crabmeat

– 1 bunch fresh asparagus (white preferred for a monotone soup, but green is great as well)

– 1 dried snow mushroom, soaked overnight until rehydrated.

– 1 carton fresh quail eggs (12-18 eggs), boiled.

– 6 quarts (1.5 gallons) of chicken stock

– 2 tablespoons chicken or mushroom seasoning

– 2 teaspoons fish sauce 

– 2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste

– 1/2 cup tapioca starch

– 1 cup cold water

– 2 beaten eggs, placed in separate bowl

– Sesame oil, add in few drops toward the end of cooking

– freshly chopped cilantro and green onions for garnish

– freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Equipment Used:

Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Round Dutch Oven, Zyliss Lobster Cracker, Global 7″ Vegetable Knife

Directions:

1.  If using live crabs, boil and remove the meat from the crabs.  Set aside.

2.  Wash asparagus and break off the hard woody bottom parts of the stalk. Asparagus will easily snap off at the partition of the woody part and the tender part. (See my YouTube video that is attached below this blog post)  Slice the asparagus into 1″ slices in a diagonal fashion.

3.  After soaking the snow mushroom in cold water for a couple hours until softened and expanded, remove from the water, shake off excess water, and chop into small pieces.

4.  If using canned quail eggs, rinse, drain, and set aside.  If using fresh quail eggs, boil the eggs for about 10 minutes and place all the eggs into a bowl of cold water.  Peel each egg while holding it submerged in the water.  This will help the shell to come off much easier and cleaner.

5.  In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of tapioca starch with 1 cup of cold water.  Mix well into a uniform slur.  This mixture will be used to thicken up the soup later.

6.  In another bowl, beat together 2 eggs.  Set aside.

7.  Bring chicken stock to a boil in a large stockpot.  If you want more chicken flavor, you can add more chicken powder (bouillon granules) or mushroom powder.  

8.  Add the lump crabmeat to the stock and cook at a steady simmer. This will draw out the sweetness of the crabmeat into the stock and give it a lot of great crab flavor. Allow the soup to simmer for 2 minutes before adding in 2 teaspoons of sugar.

9. Bring the soup back to a boil and add in the tapioca-water mixture that you prepared earlier. Give the soup a good stir while you add in the tapioca mixture. Keep stirring until the soup gets thicker. You want the consistency of a Chinese restaurant-style egg drop soup. If your soup is too thick, add in a little water to thin out. If you want the soup to be thicker, add more cornstarch to a bowl and mix with cold water, then add mixture to the boiling soup.

Add tapioca starch mixture and continuously stir soup until it becomes thick and viscous.

10. When the soup reaches the desired consistency (thick and viscous but still fluid), add in the beaten eggs in a gradual stream while constantly stirring to form beautiful egg ribbon strands (very much like egg drop soup). You can refer to my attached YouTube video below for a full tutorial.

11. Increase the heat and add in the cut asparagus. Cook until tender. Add in the chopped snow mushroom if using. Remember, the mushroom is optional. Much of Asian cuisine has to do with texture and mouthfeel. The added snow mushroom gives the soup a pleasant crunchy texture to contrast the silkiness of the cooked asparagus and tender crabmeat.

12. As the asparagus is cooking, add a few drops of fish sauce to the soup. This will add umami flavor to your soup. Don’t add too much fish sauce because it will overwhelm the delicate flavor of the soup. Add about 1/2 teaspoon only.

13. Continue simmering the soup until asparagus becomes tender and silky. At this point, bring the soup back up to a gentle boil and add in the peeled quail eggs. Again, this ingredient is also optional. Simmer the soup until all ingredients are well blended and smooth, about another 10 minutes.

14. When the soup is in its last couple minutes of cooking time, add in 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to the soup. This will impart a lovely flavor and aroma to the soup.

15. When the soup is done, ladle it out into bowls and sprinkle freshly ground black or white peppercorns, finely minced cilantro and green onions onto the soup.

Add finely minced cilantro and green onions for a delightfully fragrant and delicious soup!

This soup is wonderful for hot summer days as well as cold winter nights. Best of all, this soup is very low in calories and dense in nutrients. I hope you try out this elegant soup and enjoy it with family and friends!

** You can check out my full instructional video on how to make Vietnamese Crab and Asparagus Soup here:

Scratch-Made Spaghetti Sauce with Juicy Meatballs– Buh-bye Olive Garden!

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One of the favorite meals served at my house is homemade spaghetti and meatballs.  My kids know I love them on days I make spaghetti from scratch, and that everything in that moment is right with the world. 🙂

    As a child, I had a dislike of spaghetti, mainly because my first introduction to it was a can of reheated Chef Boyardee SpaghettiO’s.  Then came the school cafeteria’s version of mushy spaghetti, and finally, my mom’s rendition of spaghetti using canned tomato paste and a packet of Lawry’s Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning Mix.  My love affair with spaghetti finally began when I received my first cookbook, Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, at the age of 10.  It was then that I learned how to make spaghetti from real tomatoes (albeit, canned tomatoes) and not from a reheated jar from the grocery store.

    The older I get, the more fascinated I become with the miracles of nature and how Mother Nature provides for our needs when we carefully tend to the earth.  I know, I’m sounding like a hippie here, but there’s nothing wrong with peace and love and good tomato sauce!  One of the greatest joys in my life is to tend to my garden: to plant, water, nurture, observe, and harvest the fruits of my labor.  Every summer I look upon the bushels of ripened red fruit with joy and anticipation of wonderful salads, soups, and sauces waiting to be created.  The best thing about growing tomatoes is that I can pack up a bit of this sunshine and freeze it for the gloomy winter months when not much else is in season.  

This past summer our garden had an abundant production of tomatoes, so we were fortunate to be able to freeze a lot for the winter months for marinara sauce making.  I like to also make plump moist meatballs for my spaghetti, as well as made-from-scratch pasta using just wheat flour, eggs, and water.  I realize not everyone wants or has time to make their own meatballs or pasta, but it’s worth a shot if you have nothing else to do and want to experience a culinary explosion in your mouth.  Bottled tomato sauce, processed grocery meatballs, and boxed spaghetti noodles just don’t stand a chance in the taste department when compared to freshly made ingredients. 

Below is my recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce, which tastes best using fresh tomatoes, but even frozen or canned stewed tomatoes will taste great, too!  I also included my recipe for succulent juicy meatballs, as well as what I use to make spaghetti noodles.  All these suggestions are ideas, so feel free to tweak them to fit your tastes.  For my vegetarian friends, you can substitute the meat in my recipe for mushrooms or chopped veggies like zucchini, cauliflower, bell peppers, or carrots.  I hope you give it a try and cook your loved ones a delicious homemade hearty meal!  Buon appetito!

**Disclaimer: Please note that the blue highlighted links in this post are affiliate links, in which I will earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you purchase through those links. I have purchased all the products I recommend with my own funds and have tested and used each product before I post. Please know that I only recommend products that I like and trust and genuinely believe would help my audience. Thank you for your support of my blog in this way!

Made From Scratch Spaghetti Sauce with Juicy Meatballs

-about 8 servings


For the Scratch-Made Spaghetti Noodles:

  • Because my family eats quite a bit of pasta, I invested in this wonderful Philips Pasta and Noodle Maker. It is pricey, but worth it if you want to quickly create your own pasta in just 10 minutes. This machine is super simple to use and clean. All you have to do is plug it in, add the simple ingredients, and watch it knead the dough and spit out different shaped pasta (includes several different molds for different pastas). Follow the manufacturer’s recipe.
  • Flour, egg, water
  • Boil noodles until al dente, about 5 minutes for fresh noodles.
  • Be sure to reserve about 1/2 cup cooked pasta water for the marinara sauce!
Machine kneads the dough for you!
My favorite part is watching the machine spit out perfectly formed noodles!
Fresh noodles do not need a long cooking time.  Be sure to check firmness in 4-5 minutes.



For the Marinara Sauce:

  • 12 fresh medium to large garden tomatoes, about 8 pounds, or the equivalent in canned stewed tomatoes.
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 pound lean ground beef (optional– I use a little beef to make the flavor richer)
  • 1 large onion, small diced
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 8-10 cloves garlic, minced (you can add more or less, but I really love garlic and hate vampires!)
  • Bunch of fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves), or 2 tsp dried basil if fresh is unavailable.
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp Organic Better Than Bouillon Chicken flavor
  • 1-2 tbsp Kosher salt (more or less to your liking)
  • 1 tsp freshly ground pepper (more or less to your liking)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder (optional– again, I really love garlic! I find that this gives extra umph to leftover spaghetti sauce.)
  • 1–6 oz can of tomato paste (to thicken sauce)
  • 1/2 cup of cooked pasta water (to thicken sauce)
You can use fresh, canned, or stewed tomatoes. I’m using the stewed home-grown tomatoes I saved in my freezer.

Marinara Instructions:

1.  Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and carefully add fresh tomatoes into the water. Boil for 30 seconds and remove.  Place tomatoes into an ice-water bath.  This will allow the skins and stems to be easily removed.  Place stewed tomatoes into a food processor and pulse the tomatoes just until they become smaller chunks, but be careful not to overprocess into a watery sauce.

If you are using canned tomatoes, you can process them as well, or break up the big chunks with a wooden spoon.

2.  Heat oil in a large heavy pot.  I like this Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven because it evenly distributes heat and allows me to simmer my marinara sauce over a long period of time beautifully.  However, any heavy-bottomed pot will work.  

3.  Brown ground beef if using.  Add diced onion and shallot to the pot and saute until tender and translucent. Add minced garlic and saute until fragrant and tender.

4.  If using mushrooms and bell peppers, add those now and cook for another 2 minutes.  Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chicken bouillon,tomatoes, basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, brown sugar, salt, and pepper, can of tomato paste, cooked pasta water.

When you boil your pasta, don’t throw out all the cooked pasta water!  This is like liquid gold–adds body and helps thicken the marinara sauce.

5.  Bring to a generous simmer for 5 minutes, give the pot an occasional stir.  Then, lower the heat to a steady simmer, stirring the pot occasionally for at least an hour.  If I’m making seriously good marinara, I will simmer for 2 or more hours.  In order to prevent evaporation of the sauce, I tend to cover the pot (leave a small opening between the lid and the pot for steam release) for the first hour, and then remove the lid during the second hour and just allow to gently simmer uncovered.

6.  Prepare meatballs while you are waiting on sauce.

For the Juicy Meatballs:

-makes 15-20 meatballs, depending on the size you want.  Mine are around 2″ in diameter.

  • 2 pounds ground beef –You can also use pork, veal, chicken, or turkey.
  • 1 cup Italian bread crumbs, or Italian panko bread crumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp kosher salt (season to your liking)
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Red chili flakes (optional)
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp dried parsley or basil

Meatball Instructions:

1.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.  Mix gently with your hands, making sure not to overdo the mixing (meatballs will be tough).

2.  Roll into desired size balls.  I make mine about 2″ in diameter.  You can make them smaller, but not too small.

3.  Place meatballs on a foil-lined baking sheet.

4.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, until a little golden brown but not thoroughly cooked.

5.  Remove meatballs from the baking sheet and gently plop them into the simmering marinara sauce to further cook them during the last 20 minutes of simmering the sauce.  The baking allows the meatballs to hold their shape and gives them a nice color, while the simmering in the sauce creates a nice moistness to the meatballs.  

After this detailed labor of love, you can now spoon that lovely marinara sauce over hot spaghetti noodles (even better if homemade), top it with a meatball or two, garnish with freshly torn basil leaves and a sprinkling of ground Parmesan cheese, and send it off with a kiss!  I hope you enjoy this recipe.  I know it requires time and preparation, but it will be worth the effort, especially since leftovers taste even better, and the sauce and meatballs freeze well.  Wishing everyone a happy week!

Even pandas love homemade spaghetti!
My 4 food critics
Spaghetti tastes best when slurped!
Complete delicious meal served with garlic bread and fresh salad

“Baked” Potato Spring Rolls: East Meets Southern Comfort Food

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 Back in August, my beautiful friend/colleague Wendy and I got to work the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) convention.  We decided to celebrate a job well done afterwards by going to the Grand Lux Cafe to raise our blood sugar.  Wendy recommended that I try the Double Stuffed Potato Spring Rolls, which taste like a loaded baked potato wrapped in a crispy shell.  Five pounds more “voluptuous-looking” later, I decided to replicate this delectable dish in my own kitchen.  It was kid-tested and kid-approved, so if you have skinny children or an underweight niece who’s trying to get into the army like I do, this is the dish you need to make to fatten them up!  These not only taste great as party appetizers or part of a main dish, they are super simple to make.  With the holidays coming soon, you should give them a try!

He loved them and devoured a second full serving! 🙂

“Baked” Potato Spring Rolls:

-Makes about 12 spring rolls

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of mashed potatoes made from boiled potatoes, milk, salt. Don’t add any butter. Potatoes will be fried later.  
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt, more or less to taste
  • Fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • Package of spring roll wrappers (don’t use egg roll wrappers, which are thicker)
  • 1 egg, for sealing the spring roll wrappers
  • sour cream, 1-2 tablespoon dollop per 3 spring rolls
  • crispy bacon, chopped for garnish
  • green scallions or fresh chives, chopped for garnish
  • shredded cheddar cheese for garnish, or queso for topping
  • peanut oil for frying

Directions:

  1. Make the mashed potatoes. For roughly a dozen spring rolls, you will need 3 cups of mashed potatoes.  I can’t tell you how many potatoes to boil because it all depends on which variety and size of potato you decide to use.  Idaho or Yukon potatoes work well for this recipe.  When you make the mashed potatoes, just add milk/water and some salt and pepper to taste.  Add the garlic powder.  Make the potatoes fluffy.  Don’t make them too soggy.  You can also add shredded cheese to this mixture, or anything else you might want to add to the filling.  After all, everything tastes good fried, right?  I made it as simply as possible because 2 of my kids don’t like cheese, so I kept it to sprinkle on top of the spring rolls for later.
Make simple plain mashed potatoes, or add other flavorings you may want in your spring rolls.

2.  Cook the bacon to a crisp. You can make as little or as much as you care to sprinkle on top of your potato spring rolls, or you can even incorporate into the filling.  I like to cook mine in the toaster oven until they turn an even golden brown.  Crumble the cooked bacon.

Bacon–always a beautiful thing!

3.  Remove the spring roll wrappers from the packaging.  If they were frozen, thaw them out at room temperature until pliable.  These wrappers are thin, so when you separate the layers, be careful not to tear the sheets.

4.  Crack an egg into a small bowl.  Be sure not to break up the yolk.  We will be using the egg white part only.  In my video that follows, I had to use the yolks because I had used up the whites for macarons earlier in the day.  We want to use egg whites because they are colorless.  Nothing wrong with using the yolks as a wrapper sealer, just that it will make the wrapper have dark yellow splotches.  

5.  Now it’s time to start rolling our potato spring rolls!  Please watch the video below to see how to roll:

6.  While you are rolling your rolls, heat up the peanut oil in your fryer to 350 degrees.  You can also use a deep pan of oil if you don’t have a fryer.  Just be sure to turn the rolls often and don’t let the oil overheat.  When you have finished rolling, place 6 spring rolls into the fryer.  Do not overcrowd.  Fry for about 10 minutes, or until crispy golden light brown color.

7.   Cut the spring rolls into halves, lay them on a plate, sprinkle with cheddar cheese, chives/scallions, crumbled bacon, and add a dollop of sour cream.  The cheddar cheese can also be substituted with melted cheese sauce or queso.  There you have it!  Enjoy!

2 Delicious Ways to Cook Geoduck Clam: Sashimi and Crispy Fritters

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Please get your head out of the gutter before we proceed.  Just kidding.  But really, were you thinking, “OMG! What on earth is she holding and why?!”  🙂

Well, for those of you that aren’t familiar with this obscene-looking creature, it is known as a geoduck.  Despite the spelling, which may seem rather counterintuitive, geoduck is actually pronounced “gooey-duck,” a Lushootseed (Native American) word meaning “dig deep.”  This member of the clam family is also known as King Clam because it is the largest burrowing clam in the world.  Geoducks are found only in the American Pacific Northwest and in Western Canada.  They are long-lived (that is, unless I eat them), averaging 146 years.  They are the clams that America actually exports to China and Japan.  

    If you like eating clams and oysters, then you will enjoy the taste of geoduck, which is by far sweeter and richer than any other variety.  The siphon (neck) has a delicate, crunchy texture, while the mantle (body situated in the shell) resembles the taste of oysters when fried.  Asian cuisine not only focuses on the taste of foods, but also the texture.  Thus, when you go to an authentic Chinese restaurant (not Pei Wei), you will see such items as sea cucumber and jellyfish on the menu.  All these seemingly strange things are considered delicacies to be enjoyed for special occasions, such as weddings.

    Speaking of special occasions, my brother-in-law invited my husband and I to go blow his newly deposited bonus check on geoduck at a local Chinese restaurant a few weeks ago.  Looking at the menu, the going rate of geoduck was $42/pound.  He wanted the 4 pounder that day.  I looked at him with beads of sweat forming on my forehead.  Then I politely confirmed he was paying for the meal.  I thought to myself, “why in the world would anyone want to spend $168 on a darn clam?” Then the clam came out, all fancied up in 2 separate dishes– one was geoduck sashimi, and the other was fried geoduck fritters.  Oh heavens!  It was beyond amazing!  And $350 later, we went home.  He spent his bonus check, and we were all happy and full.

    So the moral of that story if there is one is this, try geoduck if you have the opportunity, but get someone else to pay.  I’m kidding again.  But seriously, try geoduck, but there is a way to eat it without having to spend $168 on a clam.  If you live in the bigger cities with a Chinatown, most of these places will carry geoducks live in aquariums.  Although still pricey, its definitely not $42/pound. 

I was able to buy geoduck here in Houston for $14.99/pound.  For a 3-pounder, it only cost me $45–a fraction of what the restaurant would’ve charged.  

    So with this geoduck, I will be showing everyone how to make geoduck sashimi, as well as crispy geoduck fritters.  Ready?  Let’s do this!

Geoduck Sashimi:

  • Pot of water
  • whole geoduck, rinsed clean
  • 3-inch knob of fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • ice water bath
  • sharp knife

1.  Fill a pot big enough to fit the geoduck in with enough water to cover.  Clean and cut a 3-inch knob of ginger into slices.  No need to peel the ginger, unless you’re OCD.  The slices can be any size or shape because they will be discarded afterwards.  The ginger serves to take away any fishy smell/ taste from the clam.  Place the ginger slices into the pot of water.

2.  Bring the pot of water with the ginger slices to a rolling boil.  Add kosher salt.  Place the whole geoduck into the boiling water and blanch it for exactly 20 seconds. Any longer than this, and you will find yourself gnawing on what resembles the consistency of rubber bands.  Not appetizing.  Believe me, I’ve eaten rubber bands as a child, but that’s another story for another day.

3.  After 20 seconds, remove the geoduck from the boiling water and place into the ice bath.  This will stop the geoduck from cooking any further.  When geoduck is cool to the touch, remove from the ice bath and place the geoduck onto a cutting board.

4.  Pry open the shell and remove the geoduck in its entirety to reveal the mantle (the body).  With a sharp knife, separate the siphon (long neck) from the mantle.  There should be a demarcation where the firm neck meets the soft body.  Cut at that spot.  Set the mantle aside.  We will use that later to make fritters.  Place the siphon onto the cutting board.

5.  Now with your sharp knife, cut the neck into very thin slices against the grain in a diagonal fashion.  This will allow the sashimi to be crunchy, yet easily chewable.  Place the slices on a plate and sprinkle some fresh lemon juice on top if desired.  You can dip in soy sauce or a combo of soy/minced ginger or soy/wasabi for the best taste experience!

Crispy Geoduck Fritters:

  • Geoduck mantle (soft body inside the shell)
  • 1 beaten egg, mixed with 1 teaspoon water
  • Japanese panko crumbs
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Peanut oil for frying

1.  Before starting, remove the visceral ball from the mantle.  This is the golfball sized mass that sits inside the mantle.  Some chefs like to use it to sweeten up stocks, but I tend to just toss it.  Take the mantle and slice into 1/2″ to 1″ thick slices.  

2.  Pat the mantle slices dry with a paper towel, and proceed to place slices into the egg mixture.  Cover slices well with egg.  Season with salt and pepper.

3.  Place panko crumbs into a ziplock bag or paper bag.  Place mantle slices into the bag of crumbs and coat each slice well.  

4.  Heat oil to 375 degrees in a deep fryer or pot of oil.  Place slices into oil, working in small batches to prevent sticking.  Fry geoduck for about 2-3 minutes, or until panko is a light golden brown.  Drain fritters on paper towels and enjoy dipped in cocktail sauce or any dip of your choice.  These fritters taste very much like fried oysters!

    So now you know how to make both geoduck sashimi, as well as crispy fried geoduck fritters.  Not paying $168 here!  😉

L: Crispy Geoduck Fritters, R: Geoduck Sashimi

Crispy Fried Snapper with Sweet and Sour Tamarind Sauce

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Beautiful morning from my home on the canal.

I look forward to days like today, when the coolness of autumn has set in, the sun is bright, the water is as smooth as silken tofu, and the fish are beginning to come closer inshore.  The Gulf of Mexico is abundant with marine life, and finding fresh seafood to prepare for each meal of the day has been a blessing for us.  One of the most abundant types of fish found here are snappers: red, lane, and mangrove, to name a few.  The federal red snapper season is now closed, but thankfully, we can still catch and keep snappers within Texas waters.  With the cooling temperatures, snappers tend to come closer inshore than in the summer months, so we don’t have to go out very far to catch them.

What I like to call a “silken tofu” sea –perfect conditions for offshore fishing!

As beautiful as they are to look at, snappers are not my favorite fish to eat because they tend to be coarse and dry if not prepared properly. Today, I want to add some pep to my snapper.  So we’ll be cooking Crispy Fried Snapper with Sweet and Sour Tamarind Sauce. 

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Crispy Fried Snapper with Sweet and Sour Tamarind Sauce

Ingredients:

For the Fish:

  • 1 small to medium snapper of any kind, about 2 to 3 pounds (I am using mangrove snapper here)
  • Vinh Thuan crispy flour mix, or cornstarch for dredging 
  • Kosher salt 
  • Peanut oil for frying
  • large wok or deep fryer (my wok of choice is this model by Le Creuset)

For the Tamarind Sauce:

  • Tamarind concentrate, mixed with 1 cup water. (If there are seeds, remove seeds.) If using premade liquid tamarin
  • 3 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce (preferably 3 crabs brand or Red Boat)
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp crispy fried shallots (optional, to enhance flavor)
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup diced bell pepper

For the Garnish:

  • chopped green scallions
  • chopped cilantro

1.  If you are buying your fish, you can ask the fish monger to clean the fish for you.  You will need to have your fish descaled, gutted, and beheaded (unless you want the head on, as is normally the case in most other countries).  If you are cleaning your own catch, please do the same.  I like to clean my fish outdoors to keep the mess to a minimum, but when the weather is too hot or rainy, I tend to clean my fish indoors.  One way to keep the scales from flying everywhere when you descale fish inside is to fill your kitchen sink halfway with water, or enough to immerse your fish, and descale the fish keeping it submerged in the water. Be sure to have a screen mesh handy when it’s time to drain the sink, so that the scales don’t clog up your drain.

Add enough water to submerge your fish.
Descaling with fish submerged prevents scales flying everwhere.



2.  Once the fish has been cleaned, lay it on a cutting board, remove the head (optional) if you haven’t already, and make deep slits into the flesh, about 1 inch apart.  This is to help cook the fish quickly and thoroughly, and to help absorb all that delicious sauce we’re going to make later.

The beheading of Mr. Fish
Make deep slits in fish on both sides, about 1″ apart.

3. Rub Kosher salt into the fish, about 2 teaspoons. Generously sprinkle the fish with frying mix or cornstarch. Don’t put on a heavy layer, but enough to lightly dredge the fish.

Dredge the fish lightly with frying mix or cornstarch.

4.  Prepare the sweet and sour tamarind sauce.  For those of you who do not know what a tamarind is– it is a fruit that grows in tropical countries and has a tart, raisin-like taste.  Tamarinds are widely used in Thai and other Southeast Asian cuisines.  Pour a cup of tamarind concentrate into a saucepan.  Add 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons fish sauce.  Mix well and heat the mixture up over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.  At this point, you can taste the sauce to see if it needs any more sugar or fish sauce to your desired taste.  Stir in fried shallots (optional).  Set aside.

    In a separate pan, stir-fry the garlic, onions, and bell peppers until fragrant and tender.  Add that to the sauce and stir well.  You can also add in chili peppers if you want your sauce to be spicy, but since I’m cooking for small kids, I made mine mild.  Your sauce is now ready.

Tamarind fruit concentrate
Add in fish sauce and sugar.
Add fried shallots for more flavor (this can be homemade or store-bought at an Asian market).
Stir-fry garlic, onions, and peppers until fragrant and just tender.
Finished Sweet and Sour Tamarind Sauce

 5.  Heat peanut oil in a wok or deep fryer to 375 degrees.  Carefully place fish into the oil, being extremely careful not to splatter scalding oil on yourself. (I have many scars all over my arms from such oil splatters.)  I use long sturdy tongs or wear kitchen mittens.  Fry fish for 5 minutes on each side.  Do not over-cook, because snapper will be dry and coarse.  Drain fish on paper towels.

Fry the fish 5 minutes on each side.

Crispy fish is now ready to dress with tamarind sauce.
Tastes delicious with rice and salad!
My best critics approved of this dish whole-heartedly! 🙂

Hope you get to try out my recipe one day. Wishing everyone a fun and relaxing weekend!

To watch my offshore adventure on the first day of Federal red snapper season 2019, please click on the link below:

How to Make Delicious Crispy Calamari Rings

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Hi everyone! Welcome to my first blog post EVER!  Please forgive any grammatical mistakes or other blunders until I figure out what I’m actually doing. As I was going through old photos on my phone to get ideas about what I wanted to write for my first post, I came across some awesome fresh calamari shots from this past spring.  Since it’s not the hardest thing in the world to cook, but still impressive enough to attempt, I decided to stick to making fried calamari for my first entry.  I realize not everyone likes squid, but please bear with me. There will be a wide variety of recipes in the future, I promise. 🙂 If you decide not to use squid, you can still adopt some of the techniques and ingredients to use with other things— shrimp or fish nuggets, for example.

One of my favorite appetizers to try when going out to eat is fried calamari when it’s available. Personally, the way a restaurant prepares their calamari sets the tone for what I can expect of the rest of the meal. If it’s boring and soggy, forget the meal, I’m out. I really like calamari that is bursting with flavor and seafood goodness, that is crispy but not greasy and overwhelmed with batter.  I think I finally came up with a delicious way to prepare calamari at home. My kids, as picky as they are, love eating these fried calamari rings, and I hope you and your family will, too. 

Me and my beautiful plate of fresh calamari that I found at the Asian seafood market! Fresh calamari should not smell overly fishy. Instead, it should smell like salty ocean water.

First, start off by buying the freshest calamari you can find. If it’s not available where you live, you can also use frozen calamari rings from the grocer. Here in the Gulf, we have access to great seafood most of the year. I went to the local Asian seafood market to purchase these beauties. When you purchase, they should smell like the salty sea, not too fishy. Their flesh should be firm and almost translucent.  When I went to Vietnam a couple years ago, I had the opportunity to witness firsthand the harvest of calamari by village fisherman. They start off a clear blue color when taken out of the water and almost immediately turn reddish when landed. The taste of freshly caught calamari is just indescribably delectable!

Vietnamese fisherman in Vinh Hien province showing off his fresh catch of calamari.
Freshly caught calamari quickly changes color from a translucent blue to a translucent reddish purple.

Delicious Fried Calamari Rings Recipe:

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

  • 2 to 3 large fresh squid, about 2 pounds. Or frozen calamari rings, thawed.
  • All-purpose seasoning mix (I like Badia Complete Seasoning or Slap Ya’ Mama Cajun Seasoning for spicy lovers)
  • 3 egg whites (the yolks make the batter heavier)
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • Peanut oil for frying
  • For the Chili Lime Dipping Sauce:  
  • 1/2 cup any brand Sweet Thai Chili Sauce (available in Asian section of grocery store)
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce,
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 clove finely minced garlic

1.  Clean the calamari by peeling off the dark outer membrane to expose the light flesh. Remove the eyes and the beak if you will be consuming the head.  Cut calamari into 1/2″ thick rings.

My older daughter is cleaning the calamari by peeling the outer dark membrane to reveal the white flesh underneath.
After the calamari is cleaned, it is sliced into rings. If the head is too big, you can separate the tentacles and cut the head into smaller pieces.  Make sure to remove the eyes and the “beak” (the hard mandibles or jaws). 

2.  Sprinkle complete seasoning on slices to taste and marinate calamari for about 30 minutes.

3.  I prefer using a deep fryer for consistent results, but you can use a large cast iron pot or pan if you don’t have a fryer. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F.

4. Whisk egg whites in a bowl.  In another bowl, mix together cornstarch, flour, pepper and salt.

5.  Dip the calamari rings into the egg whites, then toss into the cornstarch mixture to coat thoroughly.  Shake off excess breading.

6.  Fry the calamari in the hot oil in batches, being careful not to over-crowd the fryer. You want your calamari to by nice and crispy, not a sticky mess. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Do not over-cook, unless you intentionally want chewy and tough calamari. 

7.  Remove calamari rings from oil and place into a paper-towel-lined colander or plate. This will soak up the excess oil and keep your calamari crispier longer.

8.  Prepare dipping sauce by mixing all the sauce ingredients well with a spoon in a bowl.  Enjoy!

Finished product: deep-fried calamari rings with easy chili-lime dipping sauce
Kid-approved! 🙂

I hope you like this recipe.  Please feel free to share ideas and feedback.  Also, let me know how you like to prepare calamari?  Take care and talk to you soon!