bamboo beancake

Susur Lee (born 1958) is a celebrated chef based in New York, USA. He was born in Hong Kong, the youngest of six children. He served his culinary apprenticeship at Hong Kong’s renowned Peninsula Hotel. He immigrated to Canada in 1978, where he worked his way to executive chef status at a number of restaurants. Lee currently owns two restaurants in Toronto, “Madeline’s” (formerly “Susur”), and “Lee”‘, located side-by-side at 601 and 603 King St. West. In 2008 he opened “Shang”, located in the Thompson Hotel in the Lower East Side of New York City. His eclectic style is described as fusion cuisine.

The internationally acclaimed restaurant Susur opened its doors in 2000, and was designed with aid from his wife, Brenda Bent (Lee’s first wife died in the Korean Airlines disaster in 1983). Recognized by Gourmet, Restaurant (UK) and Food & Wine, among others, “Susur” has been on various international Top 50 lists, including Restaurant’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards. Instead of offering a traditional menu, a tasting menu is built each day from whatever inspires Lee at the marketplace that morning.

He was the second Canadian chef to appear on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America (the first was Rob Feenie) in a battle with Iron Chef Bobby Flay, resulting in a tie. The episode first aired on May 3, 2006. The theme ingredient was bacon. Lee has also been a guest chef on Ming Tsai’s show, East Meets West, on the Food Network. Restaurants with which Lee has been affiliated with include:

* Shang, New York (owner & chef) 2008-present
* Madeline’s, Toronto (owner & chef) 2008-present
* Lee, Toronto (owner & chef) 2004-present
* Susur, Toronto (owner & chef) 2000-2008
* Tung Lok Group
* Prague Fine Food Emporium, 1998
* Club Chinois, Singapore (Consulting Chef)
* Ritz-Carlton, Singapore (Consulting Chef) 1997
* Kojis Kaizen, Montreal
* Hemispheres, Toronto (Consulting Chef)
* Oceans, 1990
* Lotus, Toronto (owner & chef) 1987-1997
* La Bastille, Toronto (guest chef) 1987
* Lela, Toronto (chef or executive chef)
* Peter Pan, Toronto (chef or executive chef)
* Le Trou Normand, Toronto
* Le Connaisseur, Toronto
* The Westbury Hotel, Toronto (cook)
* Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong (apprentice/commis)

Lee is now based in New York City as the head chef of the Shang restaurant at the new Thompson LES Hotel. This move caused his Toronto restaurant “Susur” to close and re-open as “Madeline’s”, a European themed restaurant. His other Toronto eatery “Lee” will remain open.

Slow Cooked Chili Duck Breast with Honey Glazed Taro Root
Recipe courtesy of Susur Lee

Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
0 min
Cook Time:
30 min

Level:
Intermediate

Serves:
2 servings

Ingredients

* 1 pair duck breast, boneless
* Salt and pepper
* 2 Thai Bird chiles, minced without seeds
* 1 tablespoon duck fat
* 4 cloves garlic, minced plus 2 tablespoons
* 2 tablespoons port wine
* 5 cups dark duck stock
* Korean Chili Paste (Ko Chu Jung)
* 1 large diced taro root
* 1/2 cup honey
* 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds
* 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Season duck breasts with salt, pepper, and chiles. Sear the duck breasts skin side down, and pour off and reserve the rendered fat. Place the breasts in the oven. Do not turn the breasts. Cook 10 to 15 minutes, until medium rare.

Meanwhile, saute 4 minced cloves of garlic in 1 tablespoon of the reserved duck fat. Add 2 tablespoons of port wine. Add 5 cups of duck stock and reduce by 1/2. Finish by adding Korean Chili Paste. Strain using a fine strainer, set aside to keep warm.

Blanch taro root in water. Cook until medium. Saute in a large pan with some more reserved duck fat until golden brown. Pour off the grease and put in 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons of minced garlic. Then sprinkle with sesame seeds and parsley.

Wine Suggestion: River Bend, Russian River Valley, Pinot Noir, 1996

Printed from FoodNetwork.com

I was recently was looking for a few recipes by Masaharu Morimoto and stumbled across this recipe, and video from the Today show.

Braised black cod
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups sake
• 6 slices of fresh ginger
• 6 black cod fillets with skin on, 6 to 7 ounces (175 to 200 g) each
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons tamari
• 3 tablespoons mirin

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour the sake into a large, deep skillet or flame-proof casserole. Add the ginger and fish fillets skin side up. Cover and cook over high heat for 3 minutes. Add the sugar and cook over medium-high heat for three more minutes.

2. Pour the soy sauce and tamari over the fish fillets. Cook over medium-high heat, covered, for five minutes. Add the mirin and cook for three minutes longer. Be careful not to burn the fish; glaze the fillets by repeatedly pouring the thickened sauce over them while cooking.

3. With a slotted spatula, carefully transfer the black cod fillets to a platter. Check the fish to make sure it has no residual bones hidden in it.

4. If the braising liquid is not thick enough, keep cooking it over high heat until it becomes caramelized.

5. Garnish the cod with the julienned scallion and ginger and sprigs of kinome, and drizzle with the braising liquid.

Vegetable ragout
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking

INGREDIENTS

• 1 carrot, peeled and diced on an angle
• 1 bamboo shoot (about 8 ounces), rinsed, diced
• 8-inch piece of burdock root, peeled and diced on an angle
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated, stem-cleaned, and quartered
• 1/2 yam cake, diced with a spoon
• 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sake
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Julienned Tokyo scallion and ginger, for garnish
• Sprigs of kinome, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Set a large bowl of ice and water next to the stove. One at a time, blanch your vegetables for two minutes. Drain well. (The vegetables can be prepared several hours in advance.)

2. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet. Add the vegetables and saute over medium heat until tender and lightly browned, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the soy sauce, sake, chicken stock, and sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender, about 30 minutes.

I read this story this morning about my favourite grocery store at CBC News :

“Grocery retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd. said Friday it is buying T&T Supermarket Inc., Canada’s largest Asian food retailer, for about $225 million.
Loblaw 3-month TSX chartLoblaw 3-month TSX chart. Loblaw said the deal is for $191 million in cash, with the rest in preferred shares issued by T&T. The value of the preferred shares will be tied to the future performance of the business.

Sales in the quarter rose by 2.8 per cent to $7.2 billion on growth in its food and drugstore operations. Same-store sales — which track sales at stores open at least a 12 months — gained 2.5 per cent, topping the one-year rise of 0.7 per cent seen in the same quarter of 2008. Loblaw stock fell 70 cents to $35.05 in TSX trading.”

Tony gives in to pressure from one of his office staff and travels to Korea. His condition? Nari (the assistant) must come with him and guide him through Korean cuisine, customs and culture.

Martin Yan (born December 1948) is a Chinese-born American chef and the host of the award-winning US national cooking show Yan Can Cook. Born in Guangzhou, China, to a restaurateur father and a grocer mother, Yan began to cook at 12. He moved to Hong Kong when he was 13, and attended the Munsang College in Kowloon City. During this time in Munsang College, he worked at his uncle’s Chinese restaurant and learned about the traditional method of Chinese barbecue there. He received a diploma from the Overseas Institute of Cookery of Hong Kong and later left for Canada for continuous study. Ten years after his arrival in North America, Yan received a Master of Science degree in food science from University of California, Davis, in 1975 .

After teaching Chinese cooking for the extension program and appearing on a local Calgary talk show in 1978 (on CHCT-TV, now CICT-TV), Yan has been hosting over 1,500 episodes of the PBS cooking shows Yan Can Cook since 1982. He has also appeared on cartoon talk show Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, which currently airs on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.

Martin Yan currently hosts “Martin Yan – Quick & Easy.” He also hosts Martin Yan’s Chinatown Cooking, where he tours Chinatowns around the globe.

Yan is one of the lead actors of the Singaporean movie Rice Rhapsody (????, 2005). Martin Yan also received the title of “Master Chef” by the American Culinary Federation. He has appeared as a guest judge on several episodes of Iron Chef America.

Martin Yan pwnz a Chicken

Check out this recipe :

Black Tea Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients:
Marinade

* 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
* 2 tbsp regular soy sauce
* 2 tsp cornstarch
* 2 lb. beef short ribs

Black Tea Braised Short Ribs

* 1 tbsp vegetable oil
* 4 x quarter-size slices ginger, lightly crushed
* 2 x green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths
* 4 cups chicken broth
* 6 x black tea bags
* 1/4 cup Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
* 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 x whole star anise
* 2 x cinnamon sticks
* 1 lb. daikon, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
* 2 x medium carrots, roll-cut

Directions:
Marinade

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl; add short ribs and stir to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Black Tea Braised Short Ribs

1. Place a large saucepan over high heat until hot. Add oil, swirling to coat bottom. Add ginger and green onions; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Reduce heat to medium. Add broth, tea bags, wine, brown sugar, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and beef. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 1 hour. Add daikon and carrots; cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Tsukiji fish market (????, Tsukiji shij??) is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign visitors. The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, commonly known as Tsukiji fish market is located near the Tsukijishij? Station on the Toei ?edo Line and Tsukiji Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. There are two distinct sections of the market as a whole. The “inner market” (jonai shijo) is the licensed wholesale market, where the auctions and most of the processing of the fish take place, and where licensed wholesale dealers (approximately 900 of them) operate small stalls. The “outer market” (jogai shijo) is a mixture of wholesale and retail shops that sell Japanese kitchen tools, restaurant supplies, groceries, and seafood, and many restaurants, especially sushi restaurants. Most of the shops in the outer market close by the early afternoon, and in the inner market even earlier.

tuna auction

Andrew travels to Seoul, South Korea, where he feasts on the country’s most authentic soups, barbecues and fermented foods. Andrew’s Asian adventure goes beyond eating when makes his first batch of fresh kimchi