“1000 Year Old Food Club” sounds like a dangerous place to be eating anything, but I attended this curiously named event this past weekend and enjoyed food most people will never get to try.  The idea is not old food in the sense of aged or rotten, but in the method behind it.  I forgot my camera, so all the photos you see in this post are courtesy of artist and fellow local food lover, Bonnie Fortune and her iPhone.

yogurt, miso porridge

Think about the foods you love and think about how they’re made.  If you’ve read Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food you will already understand the difference between how modern versions of old foods like yogurt are different from what our (great-)grandparents ate.  Modern products labeled as yogurt are often made “yogurt-like” with additives that add texture or mouth-feel and flavored with artificial flavors and too much sugar.  Fat-free yogurt is a poor attempt at latching onto the public’s fear of fat, and doesn’t behave the same as the real thing.  Real yogurt, made from raw milk and natural bacterial cultures is good stuff.  There are even different types of cultures that can be used to make everything from watery to stiff yogurt to a slimy, mucus-y substance like the Nordic specialty, viili.  There’s a video showing what the texture is like… watch it if you dare.

chorizo (front L), salami (front R), sauerkraut (rear R)

The whole premise of this tasting event was to take a trip back a thousand years or so to taste foods made in traditional ways.  There was homemade miso, with some mixed into a porridge.  I really liked how the funky umami flavor of the miso dispersed into the creamy porridge.

There were two sauerkrauts on the table, provided by Dan H. Schreiber.  One was a plain cabbage sauerkraut (which I, regrettably, didn’t try) and another one made with mostly white cabbage but colored deeply with beets.  Sauerkraut is often made with unnecessary additives, rendering it much less healthful than the original fermented formulation of cabbage and salt.  Dan’s is all-natural and tasted fresh and still crunchy.  Sure it was sour from lactic fermentation, but it was a wonderful flavor unlike any sauerkraut I’ve had before.

The meats were, of course, provided by the masterful meat manipulator, Laurence, of This Little Piggy fame.  The chorizo was a solid interpretation of the Spanish cured meat, but the salami was my favorite.  I was told it was a fennel salami, but the peppercorns in it gave little bursts of peppery kick when you met one.  It’s the kind of salami I could munch on all night.

raw milk, scary!

Then there were the dairy products.  This is where the crazy regulators get all antsy in their seats just wishing they could barge in the door and tell us how un-pasteurized milk is dangerous stuff and pour bleach all over everything in sight.  Fortunately this is purchased directly from a farmer who cares about preserving the 1000 year old food that comes out of his cows’ udders.  I was able to advocate for raw milk that night, convincing another attendee that she could drink raw milk just fine, despite her lactose intolerance.  You see, raw milk still has all the stuff that is needed to digest it, including some bacteria and enzymes like lactase (which is what LI folks can’t produce enough of).  I was really happy with the milk, and will definitely be obtaining some in the future.

raw milk cheddar

The other delightfully raw dairy came in the form of a raw milk cheese made by the same aforementioned farmer.  It was a cheddar style, and was by no means a refined, commercial product.  I imagine this is cheese that he makes with extra milk he has for his family to enjoy.  With some age, maybe heavier salting, this could be great cheese.  As it was, it was amazingly light from lack of age, but the flavor of the milk was concentrated.

There are no pictures of it here, but there was a selection of Dan’s chocolate as well as a mint fudge prepared by his business partner, Bill.  If you haven’t heard, Dan is already in the process of finding the right equipment and the right space to start up his own micro- (nano-?) chocolate factory right here in Urbana.  He’s already started making certified (i.e. by the health department, so he can sell it in retail stores) chocolate, drawn up business plans, and by the time I’m writing this who knows what else he’s accomplished?  Keep an eye on his blog to find out all the latest.  Congrats Dan on all that you’ve accomplished so far, and all the success that is sure to come!

This event was “sponsored”, supported, and publicized by the newly resurrected Prairie Table organization.  Prairie Table plans on holding more events like these, tasting excellent locally available products, as well as many other community-building opportunities.  I am already involved with them and hope to be a part of bringing more local food opportunities to the community.  If you’re in the Central Illinois area and are interested in hearing more, go to the website and look around.

EDIT: Of course there are so many things that I’ve nearly forgotten, like home-brewed beer (the stout was tasty).  If anyone in attendance remembers something I didn’t, please let me know!

This is a follow-up from the previous post, trying to cover a collection of recipes from the Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

As you probably saw in the last post, I’ve really been enjoying this book.  Friendly prose, consistent and clear instructions, and excellent photography make it a very useful and easy-to-read cookbook.  There was one recipe, however, that I tried that didn’t quite turn out as well as it should have.  On the flip side, there was one so good that you will be convinced that you can stay home to have great Korean food.  I’ll be sharing that recipe here.

I think part of the problem was my relative lack of experience cooking fish.  After all, in the middle of the vast corn fields of Illinois, there aren’t a lot of good seafood options.  I’m fine with fatty fish, like salmon, and crustaceans (shrimp) and shellfish (clams, et al.) are no problem for me.  When it comes to firm-fleshed white fish, I’m much more comfortable breading and deep-frying it than anything else.  Unfortunately, I made a bad choice of fish for this recipe, which I was really looking forward to.

Have you ever had eel?  Usually served in a sushi restaurant, it’s usually labeled unagi (fresh-water eel) or anago (salt-water eel).  It’s grilled with a dark soy glaze called kabayaki sauce that brings out the meatiness in the eel.  It’s one of my favorite things on a Japanese menu.  The sweet umami-rich kabayaki sauce is made with  soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.  In deference to the relative unavailability of fresh eel and the questionable sustainability of it, Jaden uses it to glaze some firm-fleshed white fish.  And now you can probably tell why it didn’t work out so well.

Alright, it wasn’t really that bad, but my choice of fish (cod) was not the right one.  I should have used the catfish fillets that were suggested.  I also probably slightly over-cooked and under-charred it, which left it a little more bland than I would like.  The sauce is delicious, though, and could be used to glaze or just pour over anything.  On a side note, this was my first time eating edamame (you can see them peeking out behind the fish in the photo).  They’re basically fresh young  soybeans, available frozen in any grocery store.  You just steam them, pop them out of their pods and enjoy.  Soybeans are really good for you, and if you don’t like tofu, this is a great way to eat them.

Kabayaki Sauce

from Steamy Kitchen Cookbook by Jaden Hair

• 1/2 c soy sauce
• 1/2 c mirin
• 3 T sugar

1. Stir ingredients together and bring to a simmer.
2. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon.

One of our stand-out favorites so far from this cookbook is a spicy Korean stew.  I’ve seen the name spelled many different ways–soon tofu, soon doobu, soon tubu, soondubu.  Sometimes they add in jjigae, which Wikipedia tells me just means “Korean stew”.  If you’ve never had soon tofu, it’s usually made with a broth that is rendered deep red and spicy with the liberal addition of Korean chili paste (gochujang) or flakes (gochu garu).  It has silken tofu and a few vegetables, and usually includes seafood or beef, though it’s easily adjusted for vegetarians or vegans.  Once you have the broth and the tofu, though, you can use whatever you like and adjust the spice to your own tastes.  It is customary to serve it with white rice, as it helps to temper the heat of the spicy stew.

Instead of the beef in the recipe, we made it with a frozen seafood combo from a local Korean grocery store.  It had octopus, clam meat, shrimp, and a few other tasty bits.  Unlike the white fish, this turned out perfect.  The combination of creamy silken tofu, chewy seafood, and the bright crunch of the green onions on top make each bite a tasty new exploration into this stew.

Spicy Korean Tofu Stew

from Steamy Kitchen Cookbook by Jaden Hair

• 1 T cooking oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 pound very thinly sliced beef
• 4 c stock or broth (homemade is best, any kind will work)
• 4-8 fresh shitake mushrooms
• 2-3 T Korean chili flakes
• 1 T soy sauce
• 18-oz block or tube of silken tofu, cut into large cubes
• 4 eggs
• 1 t sesame oil
• 2 green onions, sliced on the bias

1. In a pot over medium heat, add cooking oil and swirl to coat.
2. Add garlic and fry until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
3. Add beef slices and fry for 1 minute until browned.
4. Pour in stock, and add mushrooms, chili flakes, and soy sauce.
5. Bring to a boil, then add the tofu and return to a rolling boil.
6. Taste and add additional chili flakes or soy sauce as needed.
7. Crack eggs into the pot and let the eggs cook until the whites are white, but the yolk is still runny.
8. Turn off heat, drizzle with sesame oil, and finish with the green onions.
9. Serve in bowls with white rice.

Since my seafood blend was already cooked, I added it with the tofu, so it only heated through and cooked for a few minutes.  Jaden says you can substitute regular chili flakes in place of the Korean variety, but with so many ethnic groceries, I recommend going for the real thing.  The flavor is fruitier and more complex than the straight-forward hot POW of the chili flakes you put on pizza.

You can look through the table of contents of the Steamy Kitchen cookbook on Amazon (click “Look Inside”).  If there’s any dish that you’d like me to try out, just let me know.