in a pickle (oh myyyyy)

many lifetimes ago, back when i lived in the yellow glare of los angeles and not the deep greeny-blue of seattle, when i drove a convertible and not a minivan, when i was 20 times blonder but 20 pounds heavier, and when instead of running after three small people, i translated english-to-klingon for a living (true story), a good pal & i used to have a fun little tradition: the daily top five list.  there were no rules, other than you had to give it some serious thought & the old college try.  any list, any theme, any topic would do:  top five menu triggers, top five most evokative smells, top five awful movie accents, top five guys-you-wanted-to-sleep-with-but-not-marry…  the choices were endless.  perhaps i’ve been missing that pal recently, or perhaps i’ve been missing the excellent adult conversation that those lists would generate, but for whatever reason i have decided that for you, my four readers, i would bring back the much-revered TFL!  (drum roll, rev the engines, hold your hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us.  here we go…)

top five random ingredients you will always find in my fridge:

1) fermented black beans:  

perhaps the mustiest, funkiest legume i have ever encountered, i reluctantly tried them on the vehement assurance of a recipe blurb.  exceptionally savoury and wickedly delicious, after trying them you shall never buy a bottle of pre-made black bean sauce again.

2) kim chi:  

(though i just learned that “kim chi” is more of a verb than a noun, much like “pickle.”  so i suppose i should say cabbage kim chi.)  the spicier the better.  bring it.

3) miso paste: 

essentially the asian equivalent of anchovy paste, miso gives you way more than just the base of a refreshing soup.  add a dollop to a braise or stew for incredible depth of flavour, or mix with orange juice and a little soy for a versatile sauce.

4) pickled mustard greens:  

a random discovery at my local asian supermarché, more of a dare than anything.  i think i referred to these in a different post as kim chi on steroids.  (quoting myself??  how gauche.)  chop then top anything and everything with these strange and pungent leaves.  they take a simple buckwheat noodle with soy/vinegar dressing to a new level.

upon re-reading, i now see there’s somewhat of a well-preserved asian theme going on here.  i’m rather expecting, should i dig deep enough, to find george takei lurking in the depths of my refrigerator.  

ohhhhh my!

lastly… 5) za'atar:

okay, so it’s not kept in my fridge as such, but these days i am never without a jar of za’atar close at hand.  a delicious middle eastern herb blend that supermensch and i discovered together a while back, it’s mostly thyme, sesame, sumac & salt, with a few other bits and bobs thrown in.  spread some hummus on some good stodgy flatbread, sprinkle on some za’atar, and i call that lunch.  or breakfast.  or a snack.  or just “delicious.”

now to the recipe.  i had the pleasure of seeing edward lee speak about his new book “smoke and pickles” a few weeks back.  this book rocks socks, and most recipes contain either miso, kim chi, or both.  ed is my people.  he spoke for over an hour about his life, about cooking, how cooking influenced his life, and how his life influences his cooking.  (i feel dizzy.)  sitting there for an hour as he talked with nary a cue card in sight, it also made me realise that i could never do a book tour.  i think you also can’t do a book tour when your blog has four readers (and you don't have a book), but still.  my presentation/speech would go a little something like this:

“hi, my name is jo, i live in seattle and i love to cook!  uhm…  so, actually, i like kim chi and pickled mustard greens…  lots of other things are terribly yummy, too…  [big pause]  can’t actually think of any right now…  uhhhh, what the bloody hell was i going to say…  something about nicki minaj?  somebody throw me a hoopity hoop hoop here.  crap…  actually, uh…  HEY, look over there, a cute animal doing something cute and totally distracting!!  (what does a girl have to do to get a glass of wine around here???)”  then i’d probably pass out from nerves and wait for supermensch to fly in and save me. 

thank you for coming to my book tour.  you’re welcome.  (on the other hand, i did happen to have dinner with sue from subeeskitchen.com the other night, and i bet she would give an excellent book tour.  not a british mumble in sight.  good recipes, too, check it out.)

the following recipe is a sauce from saucy ed’s awesome book.  actually, it’s like a version of ed’s recipe if you take off your specs, squint your eyes, and look at it in a wonky thrift shop mirror.  ed uses a classic remoulade as a base, but when you’ve just moved house and are still trying to unpack whilst three small people nip at your heels and literally hang off your apron strings, the phrase “classic remoulade” is not exactly tripping off your tongue.  so my version is simpler, easier, and far lazier.  these days, i call that survival.  

(pretend there's a chalkboard picture here.  truth be told, i've not yet unpacked my chalk & actually have no clue where it might be...  nothing to see here, carry on.)

orange-miso sauce (adapted so terribly-loosely from ed lee’s “smoke and pickles”)

2 tablespoons red miso paste

1/3 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon soy sauce

a good dollop of mayo, sour cream, or even greek yogurt, beaten until smooth

add miso to orange juice and whisk until blended.

add sesame oil, soy sauce, and your lazy remoulade-substitute.  mix well and refrigerate until needed.  flavours develop if made a couple of hours ahead.

brilliant over chicken, salmon, pork, and i bet it would even show a green salad a pretty good time.

there you have it!  simple, easy and lazy!  thank you for coming to my book tour, i’ll be here all week…  mostly due to nervous stammering and inability to finish a sentence…  actually…