Foodbuzz 24, 24: Molecular Gastronomy with an Asian Twist

I never thought I'd say this.

But, I actually miss the lab.

It's been years since I've touched a syringe, weighed out powders, or set up chemical reactions. Before law school, I worked for years as a synthetic research chemist making new molecules that could potentially become medicines. There was always a sense of excitement in trying to make something that had never been done before, hoping to find the next breakthrough.

This past weekend, the inner chemist in me finally got a chance to play.

Friends of mine gave me a molecular gastronomy set from Artistre for my birthday last fall. I can't believe it's taken me this long, but I finally cracked open my multiple bags of powders and began experimenting this weekend.

I had so much fun! All afternoon I read voraciously on the science behind techniques such as spherification, gels, and foams. I set up several "reactions", "purified" end products, and ran many test experiments.

The final result? A four-course meal consisting of various classic Asian dishes, re-interpreted with molecular gastronomy.

Course 1: Pho + Sauce

Pho is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup that consists of an aromatic broth, meat (usually beef or chicken), and rice noodles. It is usually served with bean sprouts, Asian basil, mint, and fresh lime wedges as accompaniments on the side. Additionally, a pho meal would be incomplete without the two fundamental sauces: Sriracha (a spicy chili sauce) and hoisin (a sweet bean sauce).

My modern, "molecular" interpretation of this dish took all of the elements from traditional pho but presented them in vastly different ways.

Part 1: "Pho"

Lime, mint, and cilantro marinated skirt steak over Pho rice noodles tossed in an Asian basil pesto

I marinated skirt steak in lime, mint, cilantro, and chili peppers, all classic flavors associated with pho.

I also added soy sauce and fish sauce to round out the flavors of the marinade. For a modern twist, I cooked this steak sous-vide for about three hours before quickly searing the steak on a hot grill.

The end result was absolutely delicious, juicy and full of those wonderfully fragrant Southeast Asian flavors.

Sweet Basil Pesto

For the pesto, I combined Asian basil, garlic, salt, and oil in a food processor. I tossed the pesto with traditional rice noodles used in pho. The resultant pesto is aromatic, herbaceous, and peppery.

Part 2: Sauce

Typically at a Vietnamese restaurant, the tables will already be set with a container full of chopsticks, a napkin dispenser, and several bottles of sauces. Classic sauces you see with pho include a sweet, dark bean sauce (hoisin sauce) and a red hot spicy sauce (Sriracha - yes the famous one with a rooster on it).

I used a technique called spherification to make balls of hoisin sauce, cilantro essence, and Sriracha sauce. Spherification involves mixing your "juice" or "sauce" of choice with Sodium Alginate and then "pipetting" out small bubbles into a basic Calcium Chloride bath. You can then use your nifty hot pot scooper to gently fish out the balls, which you rinse with water before serving.

Putting It All Together

Using a mold (we used a cookie cutter kind of like this), layer the pesto noodles and top with slices of grilled steak. Remove the mold. Add the three different flavored "caviars" on the other side.

Course 2: Deconstructed Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

I've made traditional Taiwanese beef noodle soup before (yes, I even hand-pulled the noodles). A traditional Taiwanese beef noodle soup is made by stewing beef shank in a rich soy-based broth infused with spices such as star anise, hot bean paste, and chili sauce. This gorgeous beef "stew" is served with noodles and vegetables (for example, bok choy).

Bok Choy "Noodles"

For this meal, I decided to be a bit more creative with the presentation. Instead of traditional noodles, I decided to take the bok choy element of the dish and make that into noodles instead.

I blended bok choy, dashi broth, and shallots into a puree, and then cooked it with agar agar and some salt.

It only took about an hour at room temperature before they set.

Finally, I cut them into "noodles" and served them alongside the other two elements.


Cilantro Foam

Cilantro is one of Bryan's favorite herbs, and it's often served as a garnish for beef noodle soup. Foams have become popular in the molecular world because they can infuse the pure essence of a flavor without dilution by anything else, except air.

I made a foam by first steeping cilantro in hot water before blending the mixture to create a cilantro liquid. I then added gelatin powder + water to the liquid (as a stabilizing agent) before incorporating air into the liquid with my favorite immersion blender.

This foam can stay intact in the refrigerator for a couple hours, although eventually it starts losing some structure.

I used the foam as a topping for the steak, but you can use it in all sorts of different applications.

Beef Soup "Caviar"

I made normal beef noodle soup and spherified the broth using the same spherification method described above.

As an alternate preparation, you can just enjoy a simple bowl of the spicy beef soup with the bok choy noodles.

Put it all together


Course 3: Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Matcha Spheres

Although the use of gelatin does not seem nearly as novel as some of these more modern methods, I still think of using gelatin as a form of rudimentary molecular gastronomy. After all, you're still adding a powder to some food and changing its structure, right?


Panna Cotta is a classic Italian dessert that uses gelatin instead of eggs to create a sort of "custard" from cream.

Panna Cotta is so easy to make (it's just like jello but with cream!) yet easily impresses guests because it looks so elegant and tastes so darn delicious.  You can infuse any sort of creative flavors you want into the cream + gelatin mixture (for example, I used fresh vanilla beans). Pour the creamy liquid into cups (like tea and coffee cups) and let cool overnight in the refrigerator.

To add both an Asian and molecular twist, I made matcha spheres using the same spherification method described above. Put a few matcha pearls on top of the panna cotta and enjoy with a nice sauterne.

Course 4: After Dinner Drinks

Just for fun, we tried spherifying a few wines and spirits to see how they would taste. Surprisingly, the chemical reactions involved in spherification affect different types of drinks differently. Spherified scotch whisky lost a lot of its sweet and floral notes yet maintained a strong "peaty" characteristic.

Spherified Chateau La Tour Carnet

Spherified red wine, on the other hand, lost its deep tannins and instead became much more fruity and light. The Cabernet part of this blend seemed to disappear while the Merlot portion became more pronounced.

Epilogue

Jen on her last day of work as a chemist

It was a wild and fun weekend, full of interesting challenges and surprises. In many ways, working in my kitchen "lab" this weekend reminded me a lot of my past life in the lab. I weighed out powders; I stirred interesting liquids; I tested a variety of "conditions;" and I wrote copious notes.

However, there was one huge difference.

Never in the chemistry lab could I ever taste my final product.

That's priceless.



Please note that I was not able to put all of the recipes for all of these cool dishes into this one post (it would have been way to unwieldy). I plan on posting individual recipes for most of these dishes this coming week, so stay tuned!

Update: Links to the recipes
Bok Choy Noodles
Sweet Basil Pesto with Rice Noodles
"Pho" Grilled Steak with Mint, Cilantro, and Lime
Spherification
Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Matcha "Caviar"
Cilantro Foam

Thanks Foodbuzz for sponsoring this meal as part of Foodbuzz 24, 24!

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Aged Balsamic

Sometimes, you really don't need much cooking skills to make a really fantastic dish.

I swear, if you have access to high quality ingredients, you're most of the way there. Really good ingredients naturally supply a ton of flavor and nutrients. The rest is simple. Just mix good ingredients together.

So easy.

And so, so good.

I had a seriously good beet salad the other day at home, and it was ridiculously easy to make.

In the past, I've always roasted my red beets whole, covered in foil in the oven. This method is great if you have tons of time and don't feel like handling the beets. Then I discovered the glorious oven-roasted golden beets, made through a method that caramelizes the beets beautifully in the oven.

Just recently, because I was short on time, (and because I had bought these monstrously huge beets that would have taken hours to roast whole), I decided to chop them up while raw and roast the pieces in the oven with just a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

It worked out great. I cut my roasting time in half, and I found yet another way to prepare this versatile vegetable. Yes, I did have to deal with having slightly pink fingers (easily addressed with a pair of gloves), but the time saved was well worth it.

I tossed the roasted beets with high quality imported feta cheese and drizzled them with a beautiful aged balsamic vinegar.

What a gorgeous combination of flavors. It was healthy, flavorful, and simply delicious.

I can't wait to buy my next batch of beets.


Oven Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Aged Balsamic
serves 4-6 as an appetizer

2-3 whole beets, cut up into similar pieces (about 3-4 cups worth)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon of each?)
1-2 oz feta cheese (or to taste)
1-2 tsp aged balsamic (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 400 °F. Toss the beets with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes.

A few notes:

It's hard to write a precise recipe for this salad because so much of it is subjective. Some people like lots of cheese, others don't. Similarly, the amount of balsamic vinegar you add will really depend on the flavor of the particular one you bought. Slightly sweet balsamic vinegars work better for this salad. You could try reducing cheaper balsamic vinegar down with a bit of sugar.

I think quality of ingredients can make a huge difference in whether this salad is just ordinary or whether it pops. I used a more expensive, imported Greek feta cheese and a really nice 10-year aged balsamic vinegar that I purchased at Il Buco (post coming soon!) in New York City. It was fantastic, and I think it made a huge difference in the dish as well.

Enjoy!

Etoile (Chandon Winery)

This is part 4 of the Napa Valley Adventures series. Other posts in this series: Ad Hoc, Bottega Ristorante, and Joseph Phelps Winery

There aren't that many places in Napa County where you can sit on the grounds of a winery and dine at a first rate restaurant.

Why is that?

Napa County actually has a law that prohibits restaurants inside of wineries. Although many wineries do offer small bites of food during their wine tastings, full fledged restaurants are not allowed. Etoile, a one-star Michelin restaurant nestled right in the middle of Domain Chandon Winery, was lucky enough to be grandfathered in when this law took effect.

As a result, a meal at Etoile is unique in a lot of ways.

You can visit the winery in the morning, and then walk straight into the restaurant for lunch. The dishes are tightly integrated with the wines at Domain Chandon, and the views of the vineyard from the restaurant are gorgeous.

Domaine Chandon is a super convenient winery to visit if you're staying in Yountville (home of The French Laundry, Ad Hoc, Redd, and Bouchon), because it's right on the other side of St. Helena Highway from the town center of Yountville.

I love, love, love walking, and I came up with the brilliant idea of walking to the winery from our hotel. At first Bryan wasn't thrilled with the idea, but after seeing how close it was on a map, he agreed to try it. It took about 15 minutes and worked out great. The walk was crisp, refreshing, and beautiful. The path isn't necessarily designed for pedestrians (you do walk up this looooong "driveway" to the winery), but it's totally safe and doable. There is a definitely a clear pedestrian and bike route for crossing to the other side of St. Helena Highway.

Domain Chandon was the first French owned winery in Napa Valley to produce sparkling wines. Moet and Chandon (yes, the famous champagne company) came to Napa Valley in 1973 to start Domain Chandon.

Although Domain Chandon is most known for its sparkling wines, the winery also makes pinot noir, pinot meunier, and even cabernet sauvignon! Most of these other wines are made on a smaller scale, and many of them are not available outside of the winery and the wine club.

They also have several types of sparkling wines, including the top of the line étoile Tête de Cuvée, which has spent seven years aging on the lees (yeast).

Bryan and I took a fun little basic tour at 11AM ($12) right before our 12PM lunch reservation at Etoile. We walked through various barrel rooms and learn interesting facts about Chandon. We tried a barrel tasting of a pinot meunier, which tasted young, a bit harsh, and definitely not quite ready.

After the tour ended at 11:30AM, we spent about 30 minutes tasting a few Chandon wines (you can purchase individual "splashes","pours", or you can opt for a flight instead). We even tried a bottled version of the same pinot meunier, which tasted much better! Our favorite was (not surprisingly), the étoile Tête de Cuvée, which was complex, creamy, and had much more character than the other ones we tried. Of course, it also retails for $100 ($80 for club members).

The dining room at Etoile is gorgeous, with large windows facing out into the winery. I especially loved coming at lunch because the entire dining room was bright, basking in the sunlight from the outside.

I began with the Romaine Heart Soup  ($16), a velvety, gorgeously green soup poured over fried tempura oyster, braised bacon, onion jam, and roasted purple artichokes.

The soup was fantastic - it was intensely flavorful (of romaine!) yet light and healthy at the same time. I loved how the strong umami from the oyster, bacon, onion jam, and roasted artichokes complemented the grassy notes from the romaine heart soup. 

Bryan started with the Dungeness Crab ($20), which was also very, very good. The tender crab meat came with salt roasted radish, young fennel, sorrel, and pickled Meyer lemon. I loved the variety of seasonal vegetables represented on the plate. Ah, imagine living in Napa Valley where you could get this produce every day.

Wine pairing: Chandon Brut Classic

For my main entree, I tried the Seared Dayboat Scallops ($33), which were excellent. They were perfectly seared and served with sweetbread, melted endive, treviso, and a deep, rich lobster veal sauce.

Wine pairing: Newton, "Unfiltered," Chardonnay, Napa County, 2007
Finally, Bryan (who loves homemade fettucini and sea urchin) not surprisingly chose to get the Sea Urchin Fetuccini, ($30) which came with an incredibly artful display of heirloom radishes, Meyer lemon, miners lettuce, and fennel all along the side of the dish.

Wine pairing: Poet's Leap Riesling, Columbia Valley, Washington, 2009

Isn't that an impressive display of vegetables? They are so pretty.

Caramelized Pear Mille-Feuille ($11) made with brandied butterscotch , almond toffee, and a candied peach was fantastic and highly recommended by the server.

Wine Pairing: La Spinette Moscato d'Asti Italy 2010

Thoughts
We had a great time at Etoile. We went off-season during lunch on a random Monday, so it was not very crowded at all. I assume that during the summer months, especially on weekends, it may be much harder to get a  reservation.

The food was all very well designed and executed - no real misses. It wasn't the most creative or inventive menu I've ever seen, but everything was cooked with great skill.

In some ways, I felt like I was eating really, really high-end spa food. Everything was so fresh and delicious yet felt really healthy at the same time. I like feeling that way when I eat at a restaurant. I wish more restaurants made me feel good and satisfied in a healthy sort of way when I leave (as opposed to feeling gross from being overly stuffed or unbalanced somehow!).

The ambiance is formal and a bit quiet, though the service is very warm and friendly. The wine list is so big that it's actually housed in an iPad. If you buy wine at the wine shop outside and you want to drink it in the restaurant, you still have to pay a corkage fee.

Overall, if you plan on visiting Domain Chandon anyway, this is a convenient and great option for lunch. If you actually do decide to join their wine club, you get a discount at the restaurant the day you dine there. We initially signed up for the wine club (tempted by the 50% off all purchase that day) but then canceled when we found out the discount did not apply to the étoile Tête de Cuvée, our favorite (you only get 20% off for that one).

Etoile
1 California Drive
Yountville, CA 94599