Creme Brulee

I wanted to take a classic dessert and modernize it. This is my take on creme brulee. It's white since there is no egg in this recipe, however, texture is just as creamy and decadent as classic creme brulee. Instead of caramelizing sugar in traditional method, I placed caramelized spun sugar around it.

Mackerel

Mackerel is definitely one of my favorite fish. I grew up eating a lot in numerous preparations which include raw, sauteed, broiled, braised and more. This time I cooked it very gently in sous vide and I served with a lot of delicious things which I think go very nice with the fish: tomatoes, saffron, lemon, basil, etc. As it gets warm in my area, I see these flowers blooming, and trees are coming back to life. So many ideas and inspirations.

Beans

This is my take on cold bean salad. Cannellini beans, black beans, basil, lemon, black olives, pistachio, cucumber. I will probably take this in the near future one more step further and more ingredients to the plate such as tomato and red onion or maybe ramps since it's in season now.

Powder

All the sudden new idea popped in my head and I decided to take it furthermore to increase its potential flavor and taste. Originally, I was just going to take those instant ramen noodles from package and crumble them up and season with salt and pepper. I tasted it. It was ok.... What if I add more traditional Asian flavors to this. I made powder of duck fat and sesami oil and added that to the mix. Also, I decided to smoke the noodle before crushing them. As you can see in the picture, I didn't crush them into fine powder but instead I kept some small pieces with curves and curls because I think those shapes and texture gave more character to the finishing product.

Mitarashi Dango

Mitarashi Dango

I am sure what is this?? would be the first thought in the mind of most people. This is called Mitarashi Dango and it's a classic Japanese sweets. Dango is somewhat similar to mochi in texture but not as "chewy" or "stringy as in fresh warm mozzarella". It is made from rehydrated mochiko or sweet rice flour. I use one by Koda Farm. It's a popular brand when it comes to sweet rice flour. My grandma even uses this brand. Anyway, mitarashi dango almost always comes on skewer and grilled on Japanese grill and dipped into sweet soy sauce for several times until it takes on the flavor of sauce. It's really popular street food as well whenever there is a festival or some sort of event, you will most likely to find this.

This time I tried on a deconstruction or modernization of this Japanese classic sweets. Dango was prepared in a traditional method. The sauce, I made it very simple but instead liquid form I used some hydrocolloids to make it into a thin sheet and I draped over dango. At the end, I added some smoke foam onto the side to add extra smoky aroma which it will get if it had been grilled over charcoals.

I don't think I have done too much of Japanese food but this was pretty fun. This dish brought back so much of my childhood memory. I definitely need to do this more often.

Sweetbread

Sweetbread with elements of spring

As a chef, I get a lot of inspiration from numerous sources which includes books, internet, blogs and such. Recently, I went to Chicago to do one week stage at Alinea. I learned so much by doing, cooking, watching, hearing, and eating. This particular dish was inspired by Sturgeon dish at Alinea.

Crispy deep fried Sweetbreads are served with ingredients which I associate more with spring and even slightly to summer. Tomato, rhubarb, lemon, olive, basil, extra virgin olive oil, orange, bloody dock. Some of the ingredients are manipulated to give more interesting and different textures and some are kept simple to retain its integrity.