Lately you’re favorite kitchen hood-rats have been slammed to the gills with the rigmarole of our non-hyperspace rat races. We’ve been slumping into beers and books a little too quickly in these first weeks of January, and our innate drive to spend three hours cooking after eight hours working has been a little stunted. We’ve been making lots of quick fix meals of late and this one was at the top of the list.
This recipe was inspired by the spoils of Lake’s recent conquest of a Korean market in Torrance, the dregs of a jar of Kimchee on the verge of spoilage, and an elemental desire for Umami. The dish requires little prep time and can be made a la minute for three or thirteen in less than 20. The two more obscure items, Shisho leaves and Simeji/beech mushrooms can be found in most Japanese and or Korean Grocers.
One Pan, Two Plates
8 oz Simeji Mushrooms
2 Leeks sliced
10 baby green or black tomatoes, quartered
4 cloves of garlic diced
½ Tsp. Sesame Oil
¼ cup Napa Cabbage Kimchee,
¼ cup Kimchee brine
2 Tbs. soy sauce
8 Shisho leaves
1. Heat a medium sauté pan on high heat while you clean your leek. Start by slicing off the roots at the end and the millimeter of white stalk they are attached to. Also, chop off the last 2-3″ of the greens at the end of the stalk (if you make your own stock, keep these in your stockpile). Now slice the leek in half from top to bottom and rinse with cold water. When you’ve washed out all the dirt and sand, make one incision from top to bottom of each 1/2 stalk and then slice horizontally as thin as you can.
2. Throw the leeks in the pan.
3. Snip the ends off of your Shimejis using kitchen shears or a paring knife, and rinse them under cold water. Pat them dry with towels and throw them in the dry pan with the leeks. Dry sauté until the mushrooms are browning and releasing their juices.
4. Quarter all your little tomatoes, and slice your garlic. Add them to the mix, with the sesame oil and the minced kimchee and toss.
5. After all the contents of the pan are nice and hot, about three minutes, add the kimchee juice and cook until the juice is almost completely gone, about three more minutes.
6. Fan out the Shisho leaves on the plates you plan on using, and make a concise pile of the contents of your pan on each set of leaves. The heat from the sautéed veggies will cause the leaves to release some of their wonderful perfume.
7. Return the pan to the flame and keep cooking until the pan is virtually dry, then add the soy sauce and cook until a viscous sludge remains.
8. Garnish your meal with the aforementioned sludge.
Beverage: Hitachino’s Red Rice Ale
Soundtrack: Boris’ Vein
