Yesterday was National Cheesecake Day

Did you know that yesterday, July 30th, was National Cheesecake Day?  I did not.  Or maybe I forgot because there are so many themed observances (both important and trivial) in the United States.  Still, staying true to the theme, I whipped up one of my favorite baked goods: Green Tea Cheesecake.  I used a generous amount of matcha (抹茶) for the green tea flavoring, a graham cracker crust, and Neufchâtel for the cheese.  Cream cheese works great, but this time I felt like blending in a touch of "old world" French aristocracy.  Not to be confused with "old school," in which case I would have to follow how the Greeks made cheesecake.  If anyone cares to argue that cheesecake was not eaten by the Ancien Régime nobility: forget it. You would be arguing against my M.S. in European food history.

Now, I will be the first to admit that my bias toward food often consciously and unconsciously slants in favor of Asian flavors, and that slant is more of a steep mountain slope in some cases.  Clearly this cheesecake is no exception.  Something about matcha, described as it is to be "bitter" by some, pairs well with light, creamy, and sweet desserts.  I can only imagine (and it would make sense) that the first person who discovered this pairing is likely swimming in a sea of green of a different sort.

Of course, not everybody has the palate for the combination of "a hot beverage" and cheesecake.  When I discussed this dessert with my office-mate, a self-proclaimed man of desserts, he instinctively and lightheartedly blurted out "That sounds absolutely disgusting."  Then he tempered his remark by saying he would be willing to taste a sliver for the experience.  My response:

What I find intellectually fascinating about cheesecake is that it has survived and evolved for so many thousands of years when 70% of the world today is estimated to be lactose intolerant.  That figure jumps up to 90% in some Asian and African populations.  So I cannot thank my parents enough for passing on the gene that allows me to enjoy cheesecake without a requisite "bathroom blowout."  Either way, when I present a few slices to the office today, it should be interesting to observe the varying degrees of responses ranging from disgusted to enthusiastic.

----- Update 2:07 PM -----

Challenge completed.  After tasting a small bite, my office-mate remarked "Well played" and proceeded to devour the rest of the slice.  Rock on, Success Kid.  Rock on.

Barbecue, Inventing Cleveland Style

It is in this Ohioan-at-heart's humble opinion that the American South has perfected the art of divine, mouth-barbecue within these borders (to be sure, Brazilian Barbecue is another beast entirely).  Never having been to the Deep South to experience Southern or Texas barbecue in its native environment, I can only reference dinner at Baby Blues BBQ in Philadelphia, PA and a trip I took to North Carolina last year.  My best and most concise way to describe the food with words: good for the soul, deadly for the arteries.

So it is no wonder that some of the most publicized barbecue shops in Ohio tout their Southern style prepared meat.  The Midwest has its own style too (in my opinion, a tamer version of Southern barbecue), but one intrepid soul means to redefine barbecue in his (and my) hometown.  And I cannot wait.  This Fall, Iron Chef and Cleveland native Michael Symon will open up Mabel's BBQ in downtown.  Using locally produced meat, regional wood from fruit and oak trees, and creating in-house sauces from tried and true Cleveland ingredients, Symon hopes to reinvent barbecue with long-term aspirations of driving the creation of Cleveland style barbecue.

For this foodie who is also a staunch hometown and home state supporter, Symon's endeavor promises potentially fantastic adventure(s).

Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes for the Chinese American Soul

The concept of "comfort food" began to creep into conversations during my high school years, but I personally avoided that terminology because it confused me.  Comfort foods as discussed in those conversations were often sweet or rich, usually high carbohydrate edibles that had some likelihood of being fried (with the exception of things like chicken noodle soup).  I thought to myself: those foods don't make me feel comfortable after eating them.  I enjoyed the sweetness or richness temporarily while I indulged; but without fail, I always felt physically or mentally sick (or both) after I had finished such foods.  What made those comfort foods when they do not comfort me at all, I wondered.

Enter the upperclassmen years of college.  The summer before junior year, I asked my mother to teach me the basics of her culinary abilities so that I could feed myself with neither a meal plan nor reliance on anyone else to regularly feed me.  One of the first things I asked her to teach me was Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, pictured below and known to practically every Chinese-American as 西红柿炒鸡蛋.  (Yes, I own Big Bird bowls.)

Confused, my mother asked me why, of all things, I wanted to learn to make that.  She gave me many reasons for why she should teach me something else: the dish was simplistic, too easy to make, not that complex in flavor profile, and so on.  Not to put words in her mouth, but she may have been thinking to teach me more difficult things that would automatically cover the simpler dishes such as this.  I had no response.  I just wanted to know how to make it--and how to make it well.

That was the beginning of my understanding of comfort food, not as a specific ethnicity of food or even a methodology of producing and consuming food like take-out or home-cooked.  I began to understand comfort food as a byproduct of upbringing and cultural norms.  Whereas ethnic foods are loosely bound by (and continue to evolve within) the cultures that created and defined the food, comfort food is more nebulous.  And whereas there are some ubiquitous characteristics of an American upbringing that--evolved out of European origins and--lend themselves to certain ideas of comfort food, those characteristics do not restrict this category of food.

As Wikipedia has appropriately defined it, comfort food is something traditionally eaten that evokes feelings of nostalgia or sentimentality.  Rich, sweet foods may evoke comfort for some folks due to individual biology, upbringing, cultural origin, etc.  And I admit that, with no anthropological aspirations, I am hardly doing justice to this topic even for an opinionated blog post.  For myself, a more outspoken foodie than most, food that comforts me takes on a more cultural and personal tint.

Cakes and Vegetables: The Carrot Cake Chronicles

When it comes to baked goods, few have piqued my curiosity more than the concept of cooking a fruit or vegetable directly into bread (or cake).  To my limited conceptual abilities, it sounds like a terrible idea, and my intuition could not be more wrong!  Yesterday, I decided to invest in making my own carrot cake from scratch.  Invest is the appropriate word to use here because I just put everything I had into that cake.  Three whole cups of grated carrots is a serious commitment, so let this cake stand as proof that Jake does not shy away from commitment.

Anyway, no self-respecting carrot cake would be complete without its cream cheese buttercream frosting.  Being my first time making buttercream frosting, I learned a valuable lesson: confectioners' sugar is the worst baking ingredient ever invented.  It is like sand on a beach.  It takes too much effort to handle artistically, and it gets everywhere--I repeat: everywhere.

In the end, it was worth every measure of effort I poured into it.  The bread was aromatic and moist with a strong complement of carrot flavor and subtle hint of cinnamon.  The texture and consistency were soft, thick, and assertive; thus, making the cake pleasant to bite into.  Paired with the delicate sweetness of the buttercream, the carrot cake truly satisfies the taste buds.  In trying to do descriptive justice to the cake, sounding like a snob is pretty much unavoidable, but trust me when I tell you that it turned out really well!

Best Ramen on This Side of the Pond

With thanks to Dan Gentile, author for The Thrillist, here is a shortened list of the twenty one two best ramen shops in the United States.  Take home idea: California and New York are killing it, surprise surprise.

Slurping Turtle, Chicago, IL	Daikokuya, Los Angeles, CA	Tiger Den, Houston, TX
Ramen Tatsu-Ya, Austin, TX	Tsujita Annex, Los Angeles, CA	Chuko, Brooklyn, NY
Biwa, Portland, OR	Uncle, Denver, CO	Cheu Noodle Bar, Philadelphia, PA
Bassanova Ramen, New York, NY	Orenchi Ramen, Santa Clara, CA	Dante, Cleveland, OH
Ramen Shop, Oakland, CA	Toki Underground, Washington, DC	Tsukushinbo, Seattle, WA
Momi Ramen, Miami, FL	Ivan Ramen, New York, NY	Moto-i, Minneapolis, MN
Totto, New York, NY	Ramen Halu, San Jose, CA	Noodle & Pie, New Orleans, LA
	Kome, Austin, TX

It does make me wonder that more shops from DC did not make it.  Has Dan actually eaten at all these locations? Did Daikaya and Sakuramen not make the cut? Given, no shop in the US has had a slice of chashu as good as those I got at that one little shop in the Japanese mountains (Takayama, Japan). The chashu melted in my mouth...damn my mouth is watering thinking about it right now.

Also, hometown shout out for Cleveland, OH! I guess I will have to check out Dante next time I am back in town.

King Oyster Mushrooms

If ever there were a mushroom bigger and badder than the rest, it would be the King Oyster Mushroom.  I mean, the name pretty much says it all.  This freaking beast originally hails from the Mediterranean (Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East), although its kingly splendor was never meant to be caged to a specific region.  Getting incorporated into local cuisine as it spread, the King Oyster [Mushroom] eventually reached East Asia and beyond.

Also, it is probably the most phallic of all edible fungi.  But don't let that unfortunate slip in my stream of consciousness deter you from partaking in its deliciousness.  Just recently, these were on sale at the local Chinese supermarket, and so I grabbed a few and added them to some dumplings.  Since mushrooms are one of my many favorite foods to begin with, the King oysters added an extra flavor dimension that was simply heavenly.  And while I could never restrict myself to any food group(s), I salute this vegan on his apt nickname for a particular preparation of the King Oyster: Vegan Bacon.

Chicken and Shrimp Dumplings

Well, the creation of this blog has needed to happen for a while in order to take my foodie adventures to the next level.  Of note, my wallet has been hemorrhaging hard-earned dollars for almost the last twelve months because I have been dining out at least once a day, sometimes twice a day.  Let's not even talk about the beating my health has taken.  So about three weeks ago, I committed to a 100% home-cooked diet made only from fresh ingredients (no frozen meals/ingredients).  One to two weeks ago, I brainstormed what my meals would look like.

Without further ado, I give you a very successful recent attempt at Chicken and Shrimp Dumplings.  This makes 60-70 hefty dumplings.

INGREDIENTS

2 packs Twin Marquis Shanghai style dumpling wrappers
1 lb ground chicken
1 lb large shrimp, minced (de-headed, peeled, de-veined)
2 cups Napa cabbage, minced, salted, drained (approximate)
1 bundle green onions, minced (approx. 6 stalks in a bundle)
3-4 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
Low sodium soy sauce (to taste)
1-2 tbsp sesame oil
Salt (to taste)
Sugar

STEPS

The steps for making dumplings are always the same.  After making dumplings a few times, the only point of interest will be the dough (not covered here) and the filling ingredients.  For reference, here are generic steps.

1. In preparing the filling, the most important things are flavor and consistency.  The filling should be slightly over-salted (for boiled dumplings, 水饺) and have a consistency similar to pudding, only drier and more solid.  Combine the chicken, shrimp, Napa cabbage, green onions, and ginger in a large mixing bowl.  Add 0.5 to 1 cup soy sauce; adjust as necessary for texture.  Add sesame oil.  Add salt as needed for additional flavor.  Add approximately 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Mix thoroughly.
2. Prepare flat surfaces (plates, bins, etc.) on which finished dumplings can be placed.  Sprinkling flour on the surface can help to prevent dumplings from sticking to the surface.  Prepare a small bowl of water, to be used to seal dumpling wrappers.
3. Wrap your dumplings.  Wrapping dumplings like the professionals is definitely an art--it takes time and repeated practice.
4. To cook the dumplings, bring a pot of water to boiling point.  Add dumplings and stir gently with a large soup skimmer to prevent dumplings from sticking to the pot (which could lead to wrappers tearing).
5. When the water is boiling again, pour a standard mug of cold water into the pot and stir.  Repeat this step twice more, for a total of three iterations of pouring cold water into the pot.  If the pot is nearly full, you can pour off some water.  This step is crucial for preventing dumplings from ballooning (and potentially rupturing) in the boiling water.