Don’t Eat at Henry’s Taiwan Kitchen, Seattle

Posted on August 6, 2018 by rundlea

Henry’s Taiwan Kitchen served me a bowl of raw pork wontons in chili sauce, and not initially realizing this I bit into one of them and the filling was cold, mushy and slimy. Disgusting. None of the other wontons in the bowl were even warm to the touch. May be this is some obscure, regional, artisanal Taiwanese preparation using super high grade pork that I have never heard of before? Nope, it turns out the chef forgot to cook them, and I am not sure how that is possible since that is an essential part of the job title. When I talked to the manager and asked him if I had just bitten into raw pork, he responded that he “did not know what they had served me”.

Nuff Said, do not eat at Henry’s Taiwan Kitchen in the University District, or probably any of the other locations.

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China Wok Express, Northampton MA

Posted on July 30, 2018 by rundlea

Spicy Fried Wontons

China Wok Express is a classic American-Chinese take-out joint incongruously housed in a building with a Swiss red roof chalet type thing going on.  I was there at lunch time and the place was jammed with people waiting for take-out or eating at one of its six tables and the phone was ringing off the hook. The restaurant seems to be active in the local community, one wall is papered in appreciation certificates from local organizations. If you eat-in, the food comes served on styro-foam plates, on red plastic trays, with plastic to-go packets of Chinese mustard, soy sauce and duck sauce.

The Dumplings:  China Wok Express sells steamed or fried dumplings, crab Rangoon and spicy fried wontons.  Unless I am craving some pork fried rice or pork lo mein I normally avoid American-Chinese take-out joints, but the listing of spicy fried wontons on the menu had caught my eye.  Unfortunately these pork wontons turned out to be pretty bad.  I think they must pre-fry a large batch of wontons and then when this dish is ordered they stir-fry the wontons in the spicy sauce.  What you get is fried wontons so saturated in sauce that they have lost their crunch and have taken on a thick leathery texture instead.  I only made it through about three of my order of twelve.  The sauce is quite good and I think they would have a fine dish if they boiled fresh pork wontons and served them in the sauce.

Steamed Pork Dumplings

The steamed dumplings are large, moon shaped dumplings filled with, as the guy behind the counter put it “basically just pork”, although there was a little bit of scallion in the filling too.  Typical of American-Chinese restaurants the wrappers were thick and sturdy, and slightly sweet.  The filling was serviceable, your basic mildly seasoned pork.  But these dumplings were actually very good when dipped in the sauce from the spicy fried wontons.  My advice is order the steamed pork dumplings and a side of the spicy sauce.

The Dipping Sauce:  The steamed dumplings come with a small plastic tub of soy based dipping sauce, but the tub is really too small to dip the large dumplings in.  The spicy sauce that comes with the wontons is a thickened soy sauce, maybe with some hoisin sauce mixed in, that is sweet and spicy, but less spicy than is suggested by its red color.

Location:  China Wok Express is on King Street, which is the commercial drag that heads north out of Northampton’s downtown.  Look for the building with the vaguely Swiss chalet style red roof, on the left as you drive away from Northampton.

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Otafuku Okinomi Sauce

Posted on July 23, 2018 by rundlea

Otafuku Okinomi Sauce comes in a squeeze bottle packaged in a plastic bag

Japan’s Otafuku Sauce Co., Ltd.’s Okonomi sauce has become my go-to condiment for pretty much everything.  It is particularly good drizzled on pan-fried vegetable or pork gyoza and with this sauce on board you don’t need a dipping sauce.

Okonomi sauce is part of the culinary family of “brown sauces” that includes HP Sauce, HP Fruity Sauce, Daddies Sauce, Takoyaki sauce, Bulldog Tonkatsu sauce and Worcestershire sauce, which may be the ur brown sauce.  Like all the “brown sauces” Okonomi sauce brings the umami, salty, tangy and sweet fruit flavors and is most similar to HP Fruity Sauce.  It is the heavier fruit profile that makes it an excellent accompaniment to pork dumplings.

Otofuku Okonomi sauce is made from vinegar, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (a source of MSG), apple juice, onions, tomato paste, yeast extract, spices, carrots, apple puree, prune paste, apricot puree, and dried sardine extract.  If you don’t have access to an Asian food market you can make a close approximation at home by mixing 3 tablespoons of ketchup, with 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, and one tablespoon of soy sauce.  To make a vegan version use Annie’s Organic Worcestershire Sauce.

 

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Bertagni’s Girasoli with Basil Pesto and Parmigiano Reggiano

Posted on July 16, 2018 by rundlea

Rating: 

Founded in 1882 in Bologna, Italy by Luigi Bertagni and his two brothers, Bertagni is the oldest filled pasta producer in Italy.  They began with tortellini and now along with a variety of tortellini, they produce fresh pasta, ravioli and girasoli that are sold in 45 countries on 5 continents. Apparently the Bertagni brothers were also innovators in preserving and packaging pasta for sale in grocers.  In early 2018 the company was bought by the Spanish food conglomerate Ebro Foods.

Bertagni’s Girasoli with Basil Pesto and Parmigiano Reggiano  caught my eye at Whole Foods.  Girasoli are a type of fresh filled pasta, similar to ravioli, but made in a round sunflower shape.  These Girasoli were excellent, I could distinctly taste both the Basil Pesto and the Parmigiano’s sharp, savory, nutty flavor.  I ate the Girasoli with a robustly flavored red sauce and some cheese, but this pasta can shine by itself and could be served with just some butter and olive oil and a little garlic.  This pasta is pretty delicate and easy to over cook, so use a low boil for only 3 of the 3-4 minutes recommended on the packaging.

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Golden China Restaurant, South Deerfield MA

Posted on July 9, 2018 by rundlea

Golden China Restaurant is a roadside American-Chinese joint in South Deerfield, MA. It serves up the American-Chinese greats like Beef and Broccoli, Cold Sesame Noodles and Chicken with Snow Peas, along with American fast-food like jumbo fried shrimp, fried chicken nuggets, fried chicken wings and french fries.

Fried Pork Dumplings

The Dumplings:  The appetizers section of the Golden China Restaurant has Crab Rangoon, steamed or fried pork dumplings and steamed or fried chicken dumplings.   The fried pork dumplings did not look that good when they arrived at my table, they appeared to have been deep fried to within an inch of their lives and looked like they had been flattened under a weight.  However they turned out to be delicious, the meat was well seasoned and flavored with finely chopped ginger and scallion slivers and had slightly sweet and savory notes.  And although the dumplings looked over fried, they did not taste of grease or burned wonton.  Golden China Restaurant makes its dumplings in house, but the pork dumplings were so uniformly filled, wrapped and pleated I was initially fooled into thinking they were factory produced.  If they could fix the presentation of the dumplings they would be excellent.

The Dipping Sauce:  Golden China serves a sweetened soy based sauce that has a pretty good chili oil kick.

The Location:  South Deerfield MA, is the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains in the Pioneer Valley as you head North from Northampton to Vermont.  South Deerfield is a one Stop sign town with a lot of farm land around it.  Another spot to check out in South Deerfield is Wolfie’s Restaurant which has been family owned and operated for 40 years and is about 10 yards from Golden China Restaurant.

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H-Mart, New York, NY

Posted on June 25, 2018 by rundlea

Wall of freezer cabinets full of dumplings.

H-Mart is a U.S. Asian supermarket chain with locations throughout the United States, Canada, and London and with 61 locations is the largest Asian grocery store chain in the U.S.  The “H” in “H Mart” stands for Han Ah Reum, a Korean phrase meaning “one arm full of groceries”.  I love H-Mart, their produce is incredibly diverse and always super fresh, they give away tons of free samples including a wide range of kimchi styles, there is also often a food court full of kiosks selling cooked Chinese, Korean and Japanese food, and they have a wall of freezer cabinets full of dumplings.

Jumbo Leek Bun

Jumbo Leek Buns, Vegetable Dumplings and Stewed Spicy Tofu.

H-Mart also sells lots of hot, cold and room temperature to-go prepared foods including dumplings,  buns, a huge range of banchan (Korean appetizers) and a wide range of savory pancakes.  I recently tried the Jumbo Leek Buns which are filled with bean curd, onion, cabbage, green cabbage (I am assuming these are leaks), and green chili pepper.  These buns were really good, with a slightly sweet flavor from the cooked leaks and a little bit of spice pepper heat.  They are particularly good if you pan fry the bottom of the buns so they are crispy and golden.

I also grabbed some Vegetable Dumplings, which are filled with cabbage, soy bean curd, soy bean protein, onion, leak, soy sauce and sesame oil.  The dumplings were not as good as the buns, they had a general, mild savory flavor with a hint of cabbage and onion flavor.  But the texture of the filling was nice, with a slight crunch from the cabbage.  These dumplings didn’t really scream healthy green veggies, but were good with a dipping sauce. On side note, H-Mart’s tofu in spicy red pepper sauce is excellent.

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Han Dynasty, New York NY

Posted on June 18, 2018 by rundlea

Pork Wonton in Chili Oil

Han Dynasty is a mini-chain of Szechuan restaurants based in Philadelphia that has two outposts in Manhattan.  The first location opened in the East Village to multiple good reviews, as did the second on the Upper West Side.  But after trying the Upper West Side location I think Pete Wells’ NYTimes review of the East Village location nails it, he wrote “I’m mystified by the popularity of Han Dynasty in Manhattan, where there are far better Sichuan restaurants. Han Dynasty’s translation of the cuisine has a thick American accent.”

The Upper West Side location looks great, it has a good lounge and bar area and a large dining room with high ceilings and sky lights, but unfortunately the food was weak.  The fried rice dish I had was essentially unseasoned white rice with cubed pieces of carrots, green peas and scrambled eggs.  Han Dynasty’s Lo Mein would have been bland except for the all the salt they used, my local corner Chinese take-out makes better Lo Mein at half the price.  But it does amuse me that their web address, handynasty.net, sounds not safe for work.

Pork Wontons

The Dumplings:  Han Dynasty’s menu includes Dumplings in Chili Oil, Wontons in Chili Oil, Chicken Dumplings and Vegetable Dumplings.  The Han Dynasty menu provides spiciness gradings for the dishes from 1 to 10, the Dumplings in Chili Oil are rated a 4 and the Wontons in Chili Oil are rated a 6.  Other than the difference in spice level, the waiter described the difference in the wontons and dumplings as the wrappers of the dumplings are 4 times thicker than the wrappers of the wontons, he was very precise about this.  The Wontons in Chili Oil looked really good but other than a striking, almost painful level of spice heat, these pork wontons and their sauce had no flavor.  My dining companion asked that the heat on the level 4 Dumplings with Chili Oil be dialed back a bit, which revealed a bitter burnt flavor in the sauce. Maybe the toasting of the sesame oil went too far.

The Location:  The Upper West Side location of Han Dynasty is on 85th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.  As an alternative, really good dumplings can be found at Jing Fong 6 blocks south and excellent Szechuan food can be found at multiple restaurants 20 blocks north (see Grain House and Happy Hunan Hot Pot).

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Kubeh, New York, NY

Posted on June 11, 2018 by rundlea

Vegetable Kubeh in Hamusta Soup

Kubeh serves Eastern Mediterranean meze style cuisine with a menu is inspired by the chef’s Israeli-Iranian family recipes and time spent in kitchens with Syrian, Kurdish and Iraqi women.  I had the Labneh (a strained yogurt) with cucumber and zahtar, the cauliflower small plate and the Brussels sprouts special.  All three dishes were excellent but the cauliflower really stood out.  It appeared to have been coated and then fried, which gave it a crunch, and was served with sea salt, parsley and lemon.  Get the cauliflower and dip it in the Labneh.

Vegetable Kubeh

Kubeh is known for its namesake Kubeh soup.  Kubeh are a type of dumpling that come in a variety of styles.  Sometimes they have an outer dough-like shell and an inner filling; sometimes the ingredients are ground together into a ball or croquette; and sometimes kubeh is prepared in layers like a pie.   Kubeh can be fried, boiled, baked or served raw.  Kubeh are now a staple of Israeli cuisine, but originated in Kurdish, Iraqi and Syrian cuisine and was brought to Israel in the 1940s and 50s.

Mushroom filling

The Dumplings:  Kubeh specialize in the boiled version of kubeh served in broth.  Their kubeh selection includes Kurdish Siske – filled with slow cooked beef, Iraqi Vegetable – filled with mushroom, Syrian Fish – filled with cod, cilantro, tomato and cumin, Syrian Lamb – ground rice, lamb and mint.  I tried the Iraqi Vegetable Kubeh in Hamusta soup which is a vegetable broth with Swiss chard, zucchini and lemon.  The kubeh have a wrapper that is stiffer than boiled Chinese dumplings and slightly crumbly, which my dinning companion likened to being made of matzah ball dough.  The kubeh were filled with chopped mushrooms that were surprisingly, intensely flavorful and complemented the light bitterness of the Swiss chard in the soup.  There are three kubeh per serving and the Iraqi Vegetable ones are vegan.

The Soups:  There are four choices of soup to go along with the kubeh; Hamusta – swiss chard, zucchini and lemon, Selek – beet, celery and herbs, Persian Chicken Soup – chickpea, carrot, and dried lime, Tumia – tomato, fennel, mint and arak.  All the soups except the Persian Chicken Soup are vegan.

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Anthony Bourdain, 2018

Posted on June 8, 2018 by rundlea

Anthony Bourdain

I was deeply saddened to hear of Anthony Bourdain’s passing. I love his food/travel books and TV shows, and his love of the Ramones and old school New York City spoke to me.  His TV shows are my go-to for getting ideas for places to visit when I travel to new cities and even for trying out restaurants in my home town, New York.  The “Disappearing Manhattan” episode of No Reservations introduced me to the great Hop Kee in Chinatown.

In some ways Anthony Bourdain inspired this blog. When I was planning a work trip to Shanghai I watched Bourdain’s Shanghai episode of No Reservations to help plan my eating priorities.  The episode featured him eating soup dumplings at Nanxiang dumpling house in Yu Garden.  The soup dumplings I had at Nanxiang were eye opening and as delicious as Bourdain described. But later my hosts in Shanghai told me Nanxiang was a restaurant for Chinese tourists from other cities, not for true Shanghai-ese.  My hosts then took me on a tour of their favorite local dumpling spots.  Those dumplings at Nanxiang, the subsequent Shanghai eating tour and then some trips to Seoul, Korea served as the foundation of this blog.

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Flaming Kitchen, New York, NY

Posted on May 28, 2018 by rundlea

The gloriously named, Flaming Kitchen, serves Szechuan style dishes in a sleek modern styled dining room on the Bowery in New York City.  In addition to its main Szechuan menu, Flaming Kitchen has a Chinese-Cajun menu that features shrimp, crawfish and crab boils with ears of corn and potatoes.  This Chinese-Cajun mash-up seems aligned with the Viet-Cajun cuisine highlighted on David Cheng’s show, Ugly Delicious, when they visited Houston.  (As an aside, Ugly Delicious is the best food-travel show I have seen recently, Cheng totally nails it.)  For $16 we got a pound of shrimp boil with corn cob pieces delivered to the table in a big plastic bag.  The presentation was not aesthetically great and it was a little messy getting the shrimp out of the bag, but they tasted amazing.  The shrimp were served shell on and head on and were quite spicy, with less salt and way more garlic than I have had in seafood boils in New Orleans. When we ordered them I imagined they would be prepared with Szechuan pepper corns, but I didn’t get any of the mouth tingle and numbing that indicates the presence of pepper corns. The best part was sucking the juice out of the shrimp heads.

The Dumplings:  Flaming Kitchen has a wide dumpling menu that includes Szechuan and Shanghaiese styles of dumplings.

Szechuan Pork Dumplings in Chili Oil

Of the three plates of dumplings we tried, the Szechuan Pork Dumplings in Chili Oil were the best.  The pork dumplings were served sitting in a bowl of chili oil with a mash of Szechuan spices piled on top of the dumplings.  The pork filling was well seasoned and flavorful, with the spice heat, sweet, sour, and funky flavors of the oil and spices layered on top of the pork.  The spice level seemed to vary a lot within the mix of oil and spices, or maybe it was just as time passed the dumpling wrappers absorbed more oil. But all I know is the last couple of dumplings smacked me in the face with spice heat.  If you like this style of dumpling these were a great example.

Pan Fried Pork Buns

The pan fried small pork buns were seared crispy brown on the bottom which gave them a great caramelized sear flavor.  But I thought the buns were a little under stuffed with the pork filling and the ratio of fluffy bread to filling was too far in the direction of the bread.  The pork filling was also lacking in juice and so the buns were a little dry.  But overall these buns were pretty good, and they bordered on great when I used them to mop up the left over Szechuan chili oil and spice or dunked then into the Chinese-Cajun shrimp boil liquor.

Pan Fried Pork and Cabbage Dumplings

The pan fried pork and cabbage dumplings were classic pot sticker style dumplings that were pan fried on the bottom and then steamed so the tops of the wrappers were cooked and soft.  Chinese pot stickers are usually a pretty robust dumpling with a coarsely ground meat and vegetable filling and a thicker wrapper, but these dumplings reminded me of the delicate gyoza often served at Japanese restaurants.  The wrappers were very thin and the filling was minced very finely.  In fact so finely that without the description on the menu I would not have known that there was cabbage in the filling.  Overall these dumplings were a little bland and I ended up dunking them into the left over Szechuan chili oil and into the shrimp boil liquor to make them flavorful bites.

The Dipping Sauce:  The buns and the pan fried dumplings were served with pretty standard Chinese soy based dipping sauces.  But the shrimp boil liquor made a really unique and kick-ass dipping sauce.  Imagine a Cajun boil liquor with Szechuan influences that has been infused with shrimp as a dipping sauce for your pork dumplings and buns.  Amazing!  The mix of the Szechuan spice mash and chili oil was also a good choice for dipping the buns in.

The Location:  Flaming Kitchen is in Manhattan’s Chinatown on the Bowery between Grand and Hester Streets on the East side of the street.  It is a five minute walk from the Grand Street B/D subway station.

Posted in Bao, Buns, Chinese, Gyoza, New York City, Pan Fried, Pork, Potsticker, Sichuan Dumplings | Leave a comment