Holiday Gift Ideas

It's that time of year again.

For people like me, who leave things to the last minute. It's time to think really hard - what gifts can I get for that difficult-to-shop-for [insert name]?

Of course, I don't claim to have all of the answers, but through the years I've amassed some pretty cool kitchen & photography things. I thought I would share with you some of my favorite (and perhaps more unique and unusual) things I've gotten over the past few years. Perhaps it can be the perfect gift for some food-loving friend or relative you know.

:)
The Inner Kitchen Chemist

I actually got this present for my birthday about a month ago from some good friends of mine. It's perfect for my inner chemist who likes to play around with powders, liquids, and vials!

This molecular gastronomy kit includes many of the basic ingredients needed to execute all kinds of  molecular gastronomy techniques. They also gave me the Alinea cookbook, written by none other than Grant Achatz, one of the leading masterminds of molecular gastronomy in the U.S.


Or Savor Beautiful Food Photography + Recipes

Speaking of books by amazing 3-star Michelin chefs, another great gift idea might be the new, gorgeous book by Daniel Humm about dishes from his newly minted 3-star Michelin restaurant, Eleven Madison Park. I got to try many of these dishes at a special "cookbook tour" dinner cooked by Daniel Humm himself (at Boston at Menton, of all places!) just a few weeks ago. Details from that meal will be posted, soon I hope! I haven't tried cooking out of the book, but I can attest to the fact that it's gorgeous and the food we had on the cookbook tour tasted incredible.

 I've been meaning to try out these cool Japanese kitchen items I got in the mail from Korin, a cool specialty Japanese tableware and knives seller from New York City. They carry a lot of neat Japanese kitchenware, including many knives similar to my beloved Masamoto knives (among many other Japanese knives). They recently contacted me asking me if I wanted to review something from their store. I ended up picking this unusual type of pot called a Jo On Sai Pot because it was different and something I'd never tried using before. Look out for a new post about this! Meanwhile, check out Korin's store online, which has tons of fun Japanese-type dishware & knives, many of which would make excellent gifts for anyone who loves Japanese stuff (like me!).

Sous Vide Supreme

If you want to experiment with a cooking technique used by many high-end restaurants around the world, try the art of sous vide cooking, which involves cooking foods at very precise temperatures (in a water bath). For the adventurous, try cooking out of Thomas Keller's food dedicated to sous vide cooking, Under Pressure. For a more basic book that's chock full of really useful information, try Douglas Baldwin's Sous Vide for the Home Cook.

Jura-Capresso Impressa F9 Fully Automatic Coffee and Espresso Center

We absolutely love our espressos and cappuccinos. We drink them every single day. This trooper of a machine has served us faithfully for the last two years. It is Swiss built and super reliable. We love that it's completely automatic (everything from grinding, tapping, removing the grounds) and you can choose whatever type of beans you want to put inside. No K-cups in landfills! 

This machine is quite expensive, but we've definitely gotten our money's worth and we absolutely love it. The espressos that it makes have excellent crema.  The cappuccinos are solid as well. I would highly recommend it!

Blendtec or Vitamix ??

 The Blendtec 1560 watt blender is one of the newest toys I've gotten this past year (thanks Bryan!). Many people have a hard time deciding between the Vitamix and the Blendtec. Frankly, both are excellent machines and will perform beautifully. From the multiple reviews I've read, the difference comes down to height (Blendtec fits under a kitchen counter whereas Vitamix does not); controls (Vitamix is more manual while Blendtec is more computerized); and noise (Blendtec is louder than Vitamix). There are other differences that people debate about such as power, ease of cleaning, tamper, and how "smooth" the shake is.

We chose the Blendtec mostly for counterspace reasons and the fact that you could turn it on and walk away. So far, I've had tons of fun with it - everything from making my own soy milk at home to whipping up gorgeous, restaurant-quality velvety smooth blended soups. Although it is a loud, the blending is only for a short amount of time, and the results are so worth it!

Zojirushi Fuzzy Rice Cooker

I have an older model of this rice cooker and I love it! It makes perfect rice every time. I also like how it has settings for different kinds rice, and you can set different types of timer options. Seriously, after having tried one of these rice cookers, it's hard to go back to a normal one. :)

Lello 4090 Gelato Pro Quart Ice Cream Maker

Bryan got this for me as a birthday present one year and I absolutely love it. It has its own condenser so you don't have to bother with taking up precious freezer space for a huge dewar. Best yet, you can make ice cream on a whim just by turning it on. It makes luxuriously beautiful ice cream. You can check out some of the more unique ice creams I've made on this blog, such as avocado, olive oil, black sesame, simple lemon, and grape nut.

Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron French Oven

I can't believe it took me this long to appreciate how awesome cast-iron Dutch ovens are! I finally bought my first Le Creuset piece the summer of 2010 at an outlet store. I am still amazed at how evenly it heats everything and how well it retains heat. Seriously, it has made stir frying a breeze. I love the versatility of this pot. Yes, it's heavy and a pain to lift up, but it's totally worth it for the performance. It has become one of my default pots of choice whenever I want to stir-fry! Perhaps I'll look into a cast iron wok next!

Zester

New generation zesters (inspired by the original Microplane zester) are surprisingly useful for so many things! I love the Oxo zester (pictured at left) because it "cuts" in both directions.  Of course I love my original Microplane zester as well, which works like a charm. I use them to zest my lemons,   create gorgeously fluffy Parmesan cheese shavings over pasta, and make chocolate shavings! It's quite sharp, so be careful!

Shun Classic 7-Inch Santoku Hollow Ground Knife

For the longest time, this was my favorite knife. Bryan gave this to me one Christmas.  It far surpassed all the cheaper Tramontina knives I had in my starter set. I still swear by Japanese knives (I think they are among the best in the world), though I recently purchased some Masamoto Tsukiji knives (hard to get outside of Japan), which are nothing short of amazing. For a knife that is easily purchasable in the U.S., I still think this is a fantastic option. It's great for someone like me who has slightly smaller hands.

Panasonic Lumix GF1

A birthday gift from Bryan in 2009 (soon after Tiny Urban Kitchen was christened), this is my carry-with-me-everywhere camera. It is small enough to put inside my purse and it's really light. I love the f/1.7 aperture, which allows me to shoot really nice pictures in extremely low light conditions (typically inside restaurants). It is seriously the ultimate food blogger's camera.  Click here to read more detailed thoughts about it.

Also consider getting the new generation Lumix GX1, either just the body or with a 14-42mm lens.

Canon 5D MK II

When I know I'm going to a special event, or if I know I'll be in a very challenging light situation, I will bring this camera along (which actually belongs to Bryan!). We bring it along with us on all of our trips, and it's really versatile. It's biggest (and only) drawback is that it's HUGE. It's still worth it, though, This is an amazing camera that really takes seriously good photographs. Click here to read more detailed thoughts about it.

24-105 mm f/4 lens

Another present from Bryan (such a generous guy!),  this is my favorite all-time lens as its zoom range is versatile. Although this lens doesn't quite have as low light capabilities, it has a wonderfully versatile zoom range and can still handle reasonably low light due to the fact that it has stability control. It is my favorite travel camera.

Bryan's favorite travel lens is the Canon 24mm f/1.4 wide angle lens. It takes wonderful sweeping shots of landscapes and cityscapes, and performs beautifully in low light conditions.

After raw files leave my camera (yes, I don't advise shooting in jpg! Please shoot in raw if possible!), I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 to catalog and work up my images. I absolutely love Lightroom because it makes photo processing so much easier! There are little sliders on the right side which allow you to fine tune parameters such as exposure, color, and clarity. Finally, there are all these plug-ins you can get that allow you to automatically upload to Flickr or post to your favorite blogging software all in one step. Definitely a time saver!


That's it, for now . . .
I could go on and on and on, but I'll stop here. Hope I gave you some inspiration for possible gifts, either for someone else or even for yourself!

If you'd like to support Tiny Urban Kitchen through your shopping, feel free to search for amazon.com items through the link on the left sidebar of the blog, or click here to get to Amazon.

Have a great final week of holiday shopping!

Sushi Mitani

This is part 4 of my latest travel series: Post Quake Japan. Other posts in this series: Kago, Daisan Harumi, and Tempura Kondo.

Following your husband on one of his business trips has both positive and negative aspects.

On the up side, the lodging, his airfare, and his meals are paid by the Company. This particular flight, my million miler husband even used his points to upgrade me to business class with him.

On the down side, however, I'm left to fend for myself for most of the working day and (occasionally), even during the evenings. Sometimes I'll use the time to do some serious clothing (or shoe!) shopping. Other times, I'll visit my favorite kitchen supply area in all of Tokyo.

It was during one of these rainy, working weekdays when I stopped in for lunch at Sushi Mitani.

OK, admittedly, "stopped in" is hardly the right term to use. I had made a reservation, partly based on a few glowing reviews online about this place. In fact, I sought out the restaurant, and it was surprisingly difficult to find.

A simple wooden door and a sign written in kanji were my only clues.
I entered a serene, modern, yet intimate dining space. Like many high-end sushi places, the entire restaurant is merely a sushi bar, manned by the namesake sushi chef himself.

The next two hours were definitely an adventure, both in concepts and in flavor. Instead of your traditional sushi meal consisting almost entirely of unadulterated, fresh seafood with rice, the omakase at Sushi Mitani comes with no shortage of little surprises along the way, many which deviate from the traditional sushi model.

Omakase

1. Uni (Sea Urchin) Soup
As I settled down into my little sushi bar seat, the sushi chef (Mitani-san himself) welcomed me. I tested my elementary Japanese with him, and he seemed willing to work with me, which immediately put me at ease. Soon after sitting down, he handed me a red lacquered covered bowl.

What could be inside? The traditional miso soup?

I was delighted to discover that I couldn't be more wrong. A vivid orange hue met my eyes. Sweet, creamy, and singing the fresh flavors of uni, this chilled uni and caviar soup was the perfect amuse to what would be an unforgettable meal.

2. Abalone
I then sampled some fresh abalone. This chewy, flavorful shellfish was slightly seared and covered with a seaweed based sauce. Mitani-san told me that the typical season for abalone is May to October, so we were definitely at the tail end of the season.

3. Sama
This fatty, mackerel-like fish comes from Hokkaido, is currently in season, and "very delicious" according to Mitani-san. I agreed wholeheartedly - the thick slices of fish were buttery, slightly salty, and full of deep, rich umami.


4. Saba (mackerel)
This next course was similarly gorgeous, beautifully rich, and full of flavor. It was so soft that it seemed to melt in your mouth.

5. Ebi soup with Tamago
After several pieces of sashimi, we had a second course of soup. Here, a perfect, barely-cooked piece of shrimp sat gingerly on top of a thick, almost gelatinous soup filled with shrimp roe. It was rich, and bursting with strong, flavorful umami of the sea.

6. Akamatsu with Chutoro
Things continued to get more interesting. Next he handed me this double layered fish course comprising two types of fish: red deep sea grouper on the bottom and fatty tuna (chutoro) on the top. The slightly seared grouper was sweet while the fatty tuna was rich and fatty. It was an interesting contrast.

7. Matsutaki Soup (mushroom)
Have you ever had Matsutaki mushrooms? They grow at the foot of pine trees and are hard to find, thus very expensive. Mitani-san made a simple yet delicious broth out of the matsutaki mushrooms. It was earthy, clean, and extremely flavorful. It was a perfect "cleansing" mid-course between all the different seafood dishes. I absolutely loved it, and savored every sip of the golden nectar.

8. Otoro wth Karasumi (from Taiwan)
If you're from Taiwan, you've probably had Karasumi before. Called 烏魚子 in Chinese (wūyúzi), it is the dried and salted roe sac from a fish called the mullet. According to my aunt and uncle, Taiwan is one of the few places that can harvest this because the fish migrate near Taiwan right around the time when the roe is large and ready for harvest.

In this case, the otoro (fatty tuna) is sandwiched between two slices of the Taiwanese fish roe. Karasumi is salty, flavorful, and very rich in flavor. The idea of sandwiching otoro in the middle was quite new to me. The entire bite was rich, salty, and very satisfying. I could imagine it going down really well with sake or beer!

9. Uni + Rice + Ikura Sauce
Mitani-san was quite particular in teaching me how to eat this next dish. First mix up the ikura sauce (bright orange liquid made from mashed salmon roe) with the rice. Enjoy half of each portion separately. Then mix in the uni (sea urchin) with the rice and taste the entire mixture together.

Wow.

I was floored by how delicious the ikura sauce tasted. I asked Mitani-san whether he had added hints of orange or some other bright citrus flavoring, and he strongly said "noooooo . . . only a bit of soy sauce!" The beauty of the ikura flavor alone was undeniable. It was delicious with the rice, and also interesting with the addition of uni (the second "part" of the dining experience). Again, this top notch ikura hails from Hokkaido, the northern part of Japan.

The Sushi

The first part of the tasting had ended, and now the big tub of rice came out. Mitani-san was about to start making sushi. I guess you never know what kind of sushi you're going to get if you're coming as a visitor for the first time. Unlike a true omakase, where the sushi chef knows you and can make things according to your liking, here he just gave me whatever he fancied.

This meal turned out to focus quite heavily on edomae sushi, the traditional Tokyo-style sushi that emerged in the late 1800's in Japan. Edomae literally means "in front of Edo", which refers to fish that come from Tokyo Bay. In the olden days, Tokyo was called "Edo," and raw fish over vinegared rice became a popular item sold on the streets near the fish market in Tokyo. Because of the lack of refrigeration back then, raw fish was sometimes cured with soy sauce or vinegar in order for it to keep longer.

10. Sardine
This first sardine was definitely cured in some sort of edomae fashion. It was very rich and fatty in that melt-in-your-mouth kind of way. I found it to be just a tad salty, but overall it was quite good.

11. Maguro akami zuke
Similarly, this fiery red piece of tuna (the lean cut, akami) was again cured with soy sauce or something salty in the edomae tradition (zuke style).Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this piece much, thinking it way too salty.

12. Hirame (not pictured)
This white fish (fluke) had been pressed between two layers of kombu. The fish was tougher, and (again) cured. Thought not one of my favorites, I still thought it was quite good.

13. Kohada
This fish (gizzard shad) is also slightly vinegared. The rice sort of falls apart and you have to work hard to eat it. Mitani-san makes you eat with your hands. I asked him why the rice was brownish. "Is there soy sauce in the rice?

"No," he replied, "I use red vinegar in the rice instead."

Naruhodo! (I see!)

14. Toyama (white shrimp)
The next course (not pictured) was a raw, white shrimp known as toyama. I found it to be creamy, flavorful, and quite good, but (again) too salty! (Do you see a trend here? Maybe I'm thankful for the invention of refrigeration, which allows us to eat raw but not too salty fish!)

15. Chutoro
Fatty tuna belly is one of my favorite things to eat in the world, and I was so excited when I saw him take it out. Though this piece was not too salty, I found that it had just a tad of "stringyness", which you usually don't experience at top-notch sushi places. He also added a strong wasabi component, probably to offset the fattiness of the fish.

16. Ika (squid) (not pictured)
Although I don't typically like squid sushi in the U.S., I love it in Japan. This particular piece was creamy, reasonably good, but (again) just a bit too salty. I didn't think it was as good as the one from Daisan Harumi (which was excellent).  Compared to others we've had in Japan, it was quite average (though it still beats US versions hands down).

17. Shako
Shako, known as mantis shrimp in English, are actually not shrimp at all. Instead, they are sea crustaceans that are named "mantis shrimp" because the look like a cross between a shrimp and a praying mantis. When cooked, they look grayish and taste sort of rubbery. This interesting edomae rendition is cured in salt and filled with roe! It's also presented dramatically, served split in half to show off the bright, orange roe.

18. Anago Sushi
 Unlike unagi, which is freshwater eel, anago is the salt water cousin. This particular piece was rich, tender, and piping hot! Though the hot, flaky eel had great flavor, the pieces were unevenly salted. In general, I wished for a greater rice to eel ratio. Although the anago was excellent quality, overall, I felt that Daisan Harumi makes a superior version of this one.

19. Kampio Inarizushi and Maki
Near the end of these omakase meals, it's not uncommon to end with some sort of maki "filler." Wrapping a normal maki with the tofu skins typically used in inarizushi was an interesting twist and worked quite well.

20. Ume (dessert)
Although I am typically not a huge fan of Japanese plum (ume), this was the best ume I had ever eaten! Unlike most pickled ume I've had, this one was not uncomfortably sour. It just had a slight tartness and was actually quite sweet and full of lovely fruit flavors. If all ume tasted like this, I would love ume!

21. Tamago
Some say you can judge how good a sushi chef is by the quality of his tamago (sweet, steamed egg). This egg omelet was steaming hot, creamy, slightly sweet, and had several beautiful layers. I thought it was better than the one at Daisun Harumi but not as good as the epic one from Sushi Kanesaka.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable meal. I was more impressed with the first half of the meal, where creative combinations, unusual yet incredible soups, and high quality ingredients stood out to me. Although the edomae inspired second half was also good, I generally found the cured fish to be a bit too salty for my tastes.

In general, however, there were definitely some aspects of this meal that I thought were outstanding. My favorite courses (the ones I still think about to this day) would be the matsutake soup, the uni + ikura + rice, and the uni soup.

Prices are not cheap. My entire meal (which was just lunch!) was somewhere between $150 and $200 USD (all inclusive). I guess for 21 courses maybe it's not horrendous, but it's definitely a splurge type meal. I basically had to tell him to stop when I got to the point where I felt like I was about to explode. You can always tell him you want to stop earlier!

Related Posts
Post Quake Japan
Kago
Daisan Harumi
Tempura Kondo

Kabocha Pumpkin Mochi Cake

This post is part of a larger series: An Asian Twist on a Traditional Holiday Meal. Other posts in this series include Chinese Oven Roasted Duck, Keroppi Cookies,Totoro Cookies, Taro Fries, and Chinese Long Beans with Garlic

I've found that baked mochi is almost always a universal crowd pleaser at potluck parties, especially if many of the party-goers are Asian. Asians (including me!) have some sort of addiction to the chewy-sweetness of mochi desserts.

The classic baked mochi dessert involves red bean, which I make all the time. This fall, however, I decided to put a slight autumn twist on the traditional mochi cake for my Thanksgiving meal, sort of as a replacement for pumpkin pie.

This mochi cake is inspired by my Project Food Blog Round 8 entry from 2010, which included three different pumpkin desserts. Instead of using normal pumpkin like I did last year, this year I made the dessert even more Japanese by substituting Kabocha Squash (still one of my all time favorite squashes!).


Roast Kabocha squash in the oven (see detailed instructions here).
Remove the kabocha flesh and mash it up! Gather the rest of your ingredients (eggs, sweet rice flour, sugar and the like). I loved baked mochi desserts because they are so easy to prepare. Since it uses vegetable oil, you don't even need to cream butter or anything! Just throw everything in a pan, mix, and bake!

So easy and so delicious. Note: definitely let the cake cool COMPLETELY before trying to remove it from the pan. Otherwise, you will be very, very sorry (I learned that last time the hard way! Even this time, I had to use a knife to pry it out a bit).
Enjoy!

Pumpkin Mochi Cake
Adapted from Jen's mom's recipe

1 lb glutinous rice flour
1 cup baked kabocha squash, mashed
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups milk
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs, beaten

Combine all ingredients and mix until well combined. Add to a well-greased bundt pan (or other shape if desired). Bake at 350 ° F for at least one hour depending on the pan. A bundt cake will take over an hour, whereas two loaves will take less time. Cake is done when an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly. Let cool completely before trying to removing from the pan! Otherwise it will stick and you will be very, very sorry.

Stir Fried Chinese Long Beans with Garlic

This post is part of a larger series: An Asian Twist on a Traditional Holiday Meal. Other posts in this series include Chinese Oven Roasted Duck, Keroppi Cookies,Totoro Cookies, and Taro Fries.

Have you ever seen Chinese long beans? It's got a ton of alternate names, such as the Snake Bean, 豇豆 (Chinese), or even the long podded cowpea (?!).

Though similar to the American green bean, this bean is actually a different species and typically grows about 1 1/2 feet long! It's less "crunchy" than normal string beans, but more dense, and I think has a sweeter and nuttier flavor.

As part of my Asian-inspired Thanksgiving, I decided to replace the traditional green bean casserole with these lovely, garlic stir-fried long beans. These long beans are so easy to make, and give a huge bang for your buck in terms of cost, time spent, and nutrition.

I've always loved the Chinese way of preparing vegetables because nothing is ever cooked for too long. Beans only stay in the hot wok briefly before coming back out. With this cooking method, vegetables keep their nutrients, flavor, and bright green color.

These long beans only take about 10 minutes to prepare, which is definitely easier, faster (and probably healthier) than a traditional green bean casserole.

Chop long beans into 2 inch segments, prepare a hot wok with oil, briefly brown garlic, and then add the beans. You may need to add a bit of water and cover for a minute or two, but that's it!
So easy, and so, so good.

Stir Fried Garlic Chinese Long Beans
1 bunch of Chinese long beans (about 1/2 lb)
2 T vegetable oil
1 T garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp soy sauce (or to taste)


Cut up long beans into 2 inch segments. Heat work to medium high heat. Add vegetable oil and minced garlic. When garlic begins to slightly brown, add beans. Add about 1 tablespoon of water, cover, and steam. Wait about 5 minutes, or until beans are cooked through. Add salt and soy sauce to taste.You can optionally add a bit of sugar or hoisin sauce as well if you like it sweet, but I didn't add any.

Enjoy!

Taro Fries

This post is part of a larger series: An Asian Twist on a Traditional Holiday Meal. Other posts in this series include Chinese Oven Roasted Duck, Keroppi Cookies, and Totoro Cookies.

I have a horrible weakness for any sort of fried "potato." Whenever I go to Garden at the Cellar, I can't help but finish a whole order of their addictive rosemary truffle fries (ahem, with Bryan's help, of course). I have an awful weakness for potato chips, home fries, tater tots . .  .

I think it all started when I was young. A favorite snack of mine growing up were these pan-fried taro "chips" that my mom used to make. She would thinly slice taro into 1/8 thick discs and pan-fry them in vegetable oil until golden brown. She always made sure to put plenty of salt on both sides.

The other day, I decided to make my own version of these taro "chips". I did two versions - duck fat fried taro "home fries" and canola oil fried taro fries.

Taro is a root vegetable that is native to Southeast Asia. The plant is toxic when raw due to the presence of calcium oxalate crystals, which  can irritate the mucous membrane, causing itchiness in some and more serious allergic reactions in others. Fully cooking the taro essentially remove this risk.

When frying, add enough oil to the pan so that the bottom is completely covered. Heat oil on medium high heat until hot. You can test by adding in a splash of water. If it sizzles, you know it's ready.
Add thinly sliced taro pieces and fry until edges begin to turn brown on one side. Flip, and then fry again until golden brown. Be careful of oil splatter! Use a splatter screen if you have one! I always do!)

There are a variety shapes you can try cutting. For example, you can cut into little squares and make taro "home fries." For these, I actually used duck fat that I had from roasting a duck. Yum!

I served my "home fries" Asian Thanksgiving-style alongside some Szechuan peppercorn oven roasted duck, garlic Chinese long beans, and sticky rice!

Enjoy!

Taro Fries
1 medium sized taro root (about the size of a grapefruit pommelo)
vegetable oil (enough to cover the bottom of a pan, 5-8 T)
salt

Cut off the outer hairy exterior of the taro root, most easily done with a sharp knife. Please note, some people are allergic to the taro's exterior. Use gloves if necessary.

Slice the taro into either thin "fries" or cubes (if making home fries). 

Cover the bottom of a pan with oil (either canola oil or duck fat). Heat at medium high heat until hot. You can try adding a small splash of water to the oil. If it sizzles, it's probably hot enough.

Add taro pieces to the pan, being careful to only put in one layer at a time. Do not overcrowd the pan. Heat, uncovered, until the bottom side of the taro is golden brown. Flip, and then cook the other side until golden brown. Remove, let the taro pieces drain on a paper towel. Toss with salt and serve hot.