HUNGRY GERALD

HG’s adorable daughter in law, Exquisite Maiko, makes the best tempura in the world. Superlatively light, greaseless, flavorful. There are few better things than a bowl of cold soba noodles accompanied by her freshly prepared tempura warm from the wok. Ah, if HG only possessed a genii who could bring EM to New Mexico in a flash. But, in the absence of such a miracle worker HG must prepare his own soba, crisp fry some sole, slice scallions, scissor sheets of nori, steam some shu mai and pork buns. If not up to EM’s lofty standard, these items make a pleasant Asian dinner. HG adds some yakisoba sauce to his soba. Otafuku is the manufacturer of the sauce and HG likes the motto: “Taste That Creates Smiling Eyes.”

HG made a premature visit to heaven last night (HG hopes that the HG final–and well deserved–visit to heaven be delayed for a bit). Exquisite Maiko, HG and BSK’s lovely and talented daughter-in-law, gave HG a glimpse of the celestial by preparing a Japanese tempura feast. Here were the elements: Whole wheat soba noodles in broth with a dusting of thinly sliced green onions. Ribbons of crisply fried burdock root. Kinpira Gobo ( braised carrot and burdock root salad in a soy, ginger and garlic dressing). And the tempura — light as air, free of even a trace of grease, flavors enhanced but not concealed: Asparagus, mushrooms, Petrale sole, sliced sea scallops. HG drank a pleasant bottle of Fudo Myoo Junmai Ginjo Sake produced in Oregon. Served very chilled. EM, SJ and family leave New Mexico soon. HG will miss them and the magic of EM’s cuisine.

Curry is usually associated with Indian cuisine. HG never thought about it in connection with Japan. Yet, curry is a staple Japanese dish. A true comfort dish most often served at home (of course there are plenty of great curry shops in Japan — like ramen, curry is one of the basics of Japan’s superior fast-food culture).

HG relishes the chicken curry prepared by Daughter In Law Exquisite Maiko. Savory. Comforting. Hearty. EM’s Japanese version isn’t burn-your-mouth stuff. If you want some vindaloo heat just add cayenne pepper to taste.

Here’s how EM does it (proportions are vague — you’ll have to figure it out by the trial and error method). EM puts two big onions and a big carrot into a food processor and chops it fine. This gets a long, long saute in butter and garlic. Then mushrooms, red peppers, zucchini, carrots, onions, potatoes (any anything else that’s in the vegetable bin) are chopped coarsely. All of this (plus a goodly amount of chicken thighs) are added to the butter and garlic semi-puree. It’s all doused with chicken broth and simmered for an hour.

After that cooking period, EM adds a package of Japanese curry sauce (S&B Golden Curry Sauce is a good brand and you can find it at Whole Foods or at any reasonable Asian market) and all is simmered for an additional 15 minutes. The curry mix is more like a roux so make sure that it breaks apart. At the very end EM adds some soy sauce and Japanese Bulldog Sauce (similar to Chinese hoisin) is stirred in. Served with white rice, chopped scallions and (HG’s choice) Indian mango pickles. Down home delight.