My 2016 Thank You Notes

It would be an understatement to state how tumultuous 2016 was for me. Losing a parent slowly and painfully--and finally, permanently--to dementia takes its toll. It'll be awhile before I'm truly back to my life. Even so there still were a lot of bright spots. There were big-hearted friends who made sure I was doing okay by bringing me food or yanking me out to the occasional movie. And there was my work. How could there be a totally bad day if I got to spend part of it in the kitchen with a chef?

So, I'd like to end the year by thanking all the chefs who over the past 12 months invited me into their most sacred space and taught me a recipe, a skill, a neat trick for me to share with readers.

Thanks to Quinn Wilson of Balanced and Bright, who invited me into her home to teach me about her bone broth and demonstrate how to make her Autumnal Pork Stew. It would be so lovely to have a bowl of that right now!

Thanks to Willy Eick, such a talented young chef who now has his own place in Oceanside, 608. But earlier this year while working at Real Bar & Bistro, he taught me how to make a lovely Seared Scottish Salmon with White Beans, Bacon, Chard, and Pesto Aioli.

Thanks to the energetic Teri McIllwain of Chandler's Restaurant at Cape Rey Carlsbad. She made me her Farro Stir Fry filled with plump shrimp.

From Junya Watanabe of Rakiraki Ramen & Tsukemen, I learned a terrific version of poke that's fresh and flavor popping. Thanks, Junya!

Moto Deli's chef Andrew Halvorsen taught me how to make their rich Moroccan Meatball Sandwich from their food truck. Congrats on completing the new deli! And thank you and Alex Carballo for the experience!

Thank you, Christine Rivera of Galaxy Taco, for teaching me how to make your fabulous Brussels Spouts in the Style of Elotes!

Chefs move around so much! This thank you goes to my friend Anthony Sinsay, who earlier this year was running the kitchen at Duke's and made me his stunning Mussels Adobo. Now he's ensconced at JSix and my story on how he forages in his kitchen will run in the San Diego Union-Tribune next week.

I love Bottega Americano, so it was a huge treat to have Chef Jeremy Oursland invite me to come in and learn how to make his Salmon with Vegetables, Gnocci, and Tomato Fonduta. Thanks, Jeremy!

Chocolatiers are a special breed. Michelle Lomelin of Sweet Petite Confections fits right in with her mix of precision and whimsy. Thank you, Michelle, for taking the time to teach me how to make your bonbon, The Earl and the Tarts.

Oh, my friend Maeve Rochford! I love Sugar and Scribe and loved our time together in your kitchen, learning about the Irish Halloween tradition of Tea Bramback! So good!

Finally, there's Lorne "The Hammer" Jones, whom I met through the training program Kitchens for Good. The Hammer has worked hard to reach the goal of becoming a certified baker and is now baking at Panera. The day we got together he taught me how to make a family favorite, Pineapple Upside Down Cake--only miniature versions. They were divine. Thanks, Hammer, and good luck to you!

I also want to thank Bob Harrington, Kelly Orange, and Specialty Produce for their always generous support--of this space, of my Close to the Source blog for Edible San Diego, and of the community projects I work on. They are smart and far-sighted people--and beyond kind. And, thanks as well to Tommy Gomes and Dave Rudie of Catalina Offshore Products for being my seafood gurus, community teachers, and just great pals. Thanks to the many farmers, farmers market managers, and artisan vendors who always take the time answer my many questions and share their knowledge and bounty with me so I can help our community better understand what they do. Thanks to the many restaurant owners and chefs who are working so hard to put San Diego's best on the table and do it responsibly--and clue me into their efforts. And, last but not least, I thank you for taking the time to read San Diego Foodstuff and sharing it with your friends. It means a lot.

Thank you all for pulling and tugging me through 2016 with your love and concern. It has meant more than you will know.

I'm looking forward to more kitchen fun with chefs in 2017, but in the meantime, I wish all these chefs, vendors, farmers,  and their loved ones, as well as you, a very happy, healthy, and joyous New Year!


Print Page

Junya Watanabe Adds That Missing Something to Poke

Tokyo native Junya Watanabe is a frequent visitor to Hawaii. After all, it's the natural stop between Japan and San Diego, where he owns the popular ramen restaurant Rakiraki Ramen &Tsukemen. Even with extensive studies in the culinary arts in Japan, Watanabe has his own way of doing things. His ramen, his shabu shabu, his tsukemon all fuse tradition with his distinctive flair. I love his crispy chicken karaange, a marinated deep-fried chicken; the rich oxtail in broth with ginger; and the tsukemen, or dipping noodles. And I love that Watanabe goes to the trouble to use locally sourced quality ingredients.

So, when it came to creating poke, his approach was no different. As popular as the dish has become in San Diego--hey, we even have a huge festival to celebrate it--Watanabe found it to be, in his words, "kind of boring." He was convinced something was lacking. He mulled it over and finally it came to him.

It needed his zuke.

Think of zuke as a secret sauce. It's something Watanabe learned from a three-star Michelin chef in Japan. The ingredients aren't a huge secret--soy sauce, mirin, and sake. It's the proportions that he says are proprietary. Reluctant to share, he finally just shrugged and said, "Okay, two to one to one." I'm not claiming this is exactly how he does it at Rakiraki, but I'm going with it because it's the best I could get.

Now it's not just a matter of mixing the ingredients together. Once you do that, you put it on the stove and bring the mixture to 180˚, then take it off the heat and let it rest at room temperature for a day. After that you can use it and refrigerate it.

What you have when it's ready is a sauce whose saltiness has mellowed, whose sweetness has softened, and which has lost most of the alcohol. It adds great flavor to the fish you marinate in it and, said Watanabe, it sanitizes the fish by killing the bacteria since some alcohol remains.

With that all explained, Watanabe prepared his Kale Salad with Poke. He placed large cubes of ahi in the zuke for about 30 seconds, moving them around to make sure they all were evenly sauced. Then he placed them in a bowl of sesame oil for about the same time. Finally, they were dipped in rayu, a red pepper oil.

The ahi pieces were placed on a bed of chopped kale--but you could use any greens you want.

To that he added pieces of avocado, tomato, and Japanese cucumber, and some cilantro leaves. He dressed the salad with a sesame dressing (no recipe offered here, but you can find recipes online pretty easily).

Once we were seated he poured out little dipping bowls of spicy Kewpie mayo and red spicy miso sauce. Both were delicious--hot, but more like a nice kick than tear producing. In fact, I hope he bottles that red spicy miso sauce; it's that good.

With that we dug in, dipping the marinated ahi into the sauces before each bite, even dipping the kale and other vegetables in the sauces as well.

This dish is on the menu at Rakiraki. And, stay tuned. Watanabe is nothing if not über entrepreneurial. Currently, he has Rakiraki and Angels & Hearts Creperie within Rakiraki and he's also a partner in a stand-up sushi restaurant in Tokyo. He's now building out Pokirrito, which is attached to Rakiraki on the Convoy St. side of the building. Yeah, you guessed it, he'll be making the now ubiquitous combo of sushi or poke and burrito, using nori as the wrapper, lined in a uniformly thin layer of with rice, thanks to this very cool machine he has in his kitchen that he also uses to make sushi rolls. Both restaurants will also be in Little Italy and he's planning a noodle and yakitori shop next door to Angels & Hearts, along with a remodel of the creperie.

Rakiraki Ramen & Tsukemen is located in the Convoy District at 4646 Convoy St.



Print Page