Home Farm Tokyo Nachos

Of course, there is a story, with food there is always a story.  During the Sundance Film Fest we had a friend visiting and a group of us decided to head up to Park City to look at all the beautiful people, see the scene and get some sushi.  We ended up at the Flying Sumo on Main Street, not bad for Utah sushi but the highlight was the Tokyo Nachos - wonton wrappers topped with a Tuna Tartare and served with a Wasabi Guacamole.  Delicious and trivial to make.  So a few days later I purchased some nice Ahi and proceeded to make this at home.  The dish came out great, better fish, more guacamole and no need to drive up to the Backside.
To serve, top each fried wonton wrapper with a heaping tablespoon of the Tuna Tartare, diced tomatoes, and dress with the spicy mayo.  Place on a tray with the Wasabi Guacamole and watch them disappear.

1 tomato, seeded and diced

Wonton Chips
12 wonton wrappers
2 T olive oil
Put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, when the oil is hot but not smoking add the wonton wrappers.  Take care not to over crowd the pan.  Fry until lightly browned, turn over and continue frying until the other side is also golden brown.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Set aside to cool.

Tuna Tartare
8 ounces sushi-grade Ahi tuna, cut into a 1/4" dice
2 T green onions, green part only, finely chopped
2 T toasted sesame seeds
2 T soy sauce
1 t sesame oil
1/2 t kosher salt
1 t Yuzu
Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl.  Let sit for 10 minutes for the flavours to combine.

Wasabi Guacamole
3 ripe avocados, cut into a 1/4" dice
juice of 1 lime
2 T red onion, finely minced
1/4 C cilantro, finely minced
1 t wasabi, or more to taste
1 T kosher salt
1 T pickled ginger, minced
Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl, use a fork to lightly mash the avocado and all the other ingredients are incorporated.

Slow Cooker Bo Saam

I now have my THIRD freezer, a small upright version (15 cubic feet) that fits nicely in the laundry room.  I don't know if it is testimony to my food storage nature, fear of the end of the world or that we have far too many residences.  But this a food blog not a psychiatrist's couch so, while I admit there maybe some lurking unresolved issues in my psyche, I refuse to divulge them here.  The facts were:

• we had brought a bunch of meat down from Lyle 
• I had made freezer strawberry and raspberry jam 
• I had roasted and frozen 2 boxes of red and yellow peppers
• there was a corn glut this summer and I have 20 freezer bags of corn
• Trader Joe's had a sale on quick frozen artichoke hearts and I bought 18 bags
• Scott encountered a mispricing at our ghetto Smith's and came home with 8 beef rib roasts ranging in price from 92cents to $5
• ditto a pork chop sale ( huge 1" thick chops, delicious)

So there are the facts.  We have a freezer and I have filled it.  So now all I have to do is eat it.  From the buy 1 get 1 free pork butt sale in combination with a snowy preseason day purchase of a DI crockpot comes the following.

Momofuku Slow Cooker Bo Ssam
Credit to momofukufor2 for pointing me to this recipe, which I ultimately found on Martha Stewarts web page.  Momofukufor2 are diligently cooking their way through David Chang's Momofuku cookbook and noodle bar menu, a very funny and great photographed food blog.  When I looked at the recipe and saw a low slow cooking time in the oven and a light went off in my brain - SLOW COOKER, combined with a Napa Cabbage Kimchi (can anyone say we get to make pickles) this recipe was right up my alley.  I added 1/2 C beer to the bottom of the slow cooker and put the pork in on high for 2 hours and then on low for 6 hours.
Quick digression on what is Bo Ssam.  The idea is everyone makes their own lettuce wraps with the soft melt in your mouth pork, rice and sauce.  Sauce wise I used the sauce recipes provided by David Chang, a delicious ginger scallion sauce, his Ssam sauce and the Kimchi.  Apparently the Kimchi reaches it's peak deliciousness after about 2 weeks in the refrigerator so I am hoping for another buy 1 get 1 free pork butt sale at Harmon's.
1 bone-in pork should or pork butt (8-10 lbs)
1 C granulated sugar
1 C salt plus 1 T kosher salt
1/2 C beer
7 T brown sugar
1 C Napa Cabbage Kimchi, pureed, for serving
1 C Napa Cabbage Kimchi, for serving
1 C Ginger Scallion Sauce, for serving
1 C Ssam sauce, for serving
2 C steamed rice
3 heads butter lettuce
sea salt
Place pork in a large bowl and rub all over with the granulated sugar and salt, cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
The next day rinse the meat and put in slow cooker with 1/2 C beer.  Turn slow cooker on high for 2 hours and then turn down to low for 6 hours or until pork is fork tender, remove and transfer pork to a roasting pan.  
When I took the pork roast out of the slow cooker it was SOOOO tender, the meat totally melted in my mouth and had a slightly sweet/salty taste.
When you are ready to serve - sauces are made, lettuce is washed, rice is cooked etc. turn the oven on to 500 degrees F.
Stir together the remaining tablespoon of salt and the brown sugar and rub the mix all over the pork.  Place in the oven until the sugar has melted into a crisp and sweet crust - about 10 minutes.
Serve the Bo Saam whole and hot, surrounded with the various accompaniments.


Ssam Sauce (Makes 1 C)
1 T Korean soybean chili paste (Ssamjang, available at an Asian Supermarket)
1 1/2 T Korean chili-pepper paste (available at an Asian Supermarket)
1/4 C grapeseed oil
1/4 C sherry wine vinegar
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Sauce may be kept refrigerated for 2 weeks.


Ginger Scallion Sauce(Makes about 3 C)
2 1/2 C thinly sliced scallions (1-2 bunches)
1/2 C finely minced, peeled ginger
1/4 C grapeseed oil
1 1/2 t soy sauce
3/4 t sherry wine vinegar
3/4 t coarse salt
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl and let stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.  Sauce can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.


Note:  I sometimes serve this with Quick Pickled Cukes and a quick pickled combination of julienned carrots and radishes

Ginger Scallion Noodles, Momofuku Style

I am cooking my way through David Chang's Momofuku book, and loving it.  I had initially intended to go through the book recipe by recipe but I have found that the second time is the charm as far as tweaking the recipes to my palate.  With this recipe there really wasn't that much tweaking required, a few changes in the quantities for the Ginger Scallion Sauce and I omitted the meat, might as well be vegetarian a few nights a week.
Ginger Scallion Sauce is one of the greatest sauces I have tasted in a long time.  I have stirred it into all kinds of hot noodles - lo mein, rice noodles,soba - and it is deliciousness in a bowl.  Brig now loves it on his lunch rice and I have done the same for a mountain lunch.
The dish goes, for me, like this: boil 6 ounces of ramen noodles (no not the instant stuff), David Chang makes his own but I have a good fresh provider at the Korean Market, drain and toss with 6 tablespoons of Ginger Scallion Sauce; top the bowl with 1/4 C each of Quick-Pickled Cucumbers, Pan-Roasted Cauliflower; a pile of sliced scallions; a squirt of Hoisin; and a sheet of toasted nori.  I've improvised with snap peas, chinese long beans (roasted) and a quick pickling of carrots.
All I know is that I need Ginger Scallion Sauce on my noodles, on my rice, in my fridge, in my life.  It may even cure the common cold.

Ginger Scallion Sauce
2 1/2 C thinly sliced scallions (greens and whites)
1/2 C finely minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 C grapeseed oil or other neutral oil
2 t usukuchi (light soy sauce)
1 t sherry vinegar
3/4 t kosher salt, or more to taste
Mix together the scallions, ginger, oil, soy, vinegar and salt in a bowl.  Taste to check for salt, adding more if necessary.  The sauce needs to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, it really tastes better, although you can use it from the minute you stir it together.  Will keep for a day or two in the fridge, if you can resist it for that long.

Quick Pickled Cucumbers
6 1/2 oz Persian cukes, Korean cukes or Kirbies
1 T sugar
1 t kosher salt
Combine the cucumbers with the sugar and salt in a small mixing bowl and toss to coat with the sugar and salt.  Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
Taste: if the pickles are too sweet or too salty, put them in a colander, rinse off seasoning and dry in a tea towel.  Taste again and add more sugar or salt as needed.  Serve after 5 to 10 minutes, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Pan Roasted Cauliflower
I love the way cauliflower tastes after pan roasting - it really adds a nuttiness to the profile.  So easy, and it looks like popcorn, so it is kid friendly.
1 large cauliflower cut into bite size florets
2 T olive oil
1 t kosher salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.  Spread the cauliflower out on a rimmed sheet pan and toss with oil to evenly coat, pop the sheet pan into the oven.  After about 10 minutes check and turn the cauliflower.  After another 10 minutes the cauliflower should be browned in spots and tender.  Season with salt and use in the Ginger Scallion Noodles or eat as is.