My manager at work alerted me to an amazing knife deal and I managed to score 8 Ken Onion Shun knives and the honing steel for almost 65% off retail price.  I would never buy these knives at full retail cost, that’s just crazy, but the deal was too good to pass up.

The set included the following Ken Onion Series Shuns:

6″ Chef Knife
7″ Santoku
4″ Chef Knife
5″ Serrated Utility Knife
9″ Slicing Knife
3″ Paring Knife
Boning Knife
Bread Knife
Honing Steal

Although the set did not include the spotlight-hogging 8″ Chef Knife that every one has been raving about, I was fine without it. It’s just too much knife for most of us who solely cook at home.  The title of kitchen workhorse should belong to its 6″ inch brethren.  It seems to be more practical when it comes to everyday kitchen tasks and other mundane chops, yet it still outshines where performance is desired.  The size is just right, and the balance is right on.

The knives are sturdy and much heavier than I thought, reminding me of Western knives such as WÜSTHOF, but still not as heavy.  What’s more important is that it feels good when it’s held.

The handle is designed to be ergonomic in eliminating stress on the hand and wrist, and while it fits well in the palm of the hand, it doesn’t matter to me because I hold the knife by pinching the bolster with my thumb and index finger.  For those who use the pinch-grip method, the curved side bolster makes it extremely comfortable to hold the knife.  It’s the way I learned to hold a knife, and holding it by the handle still feels awkward, no matter how ergonomic it is.

Aesthetically speaking, these knives look great, especially when they glimmer under the light.  I found myself cleaning them almost immediately after use.  They didn’t deserve to be left dirty after delivering such precision on the chopping block.

By far, these are the sharpest knives I have ever used.  So sharp that these put my Globals to shame.  While I was cutting chicken breast after chicken breast, I didn’t have to exert much force and the knife did  most of the work, a true testament to the sharp edge and weight of the knife working in conjunction. There was no resistance from the meat, as if it just gave up on life and let me hack away.

Switching to these knives might be too much of a leap for novice home cooks looking to step up their knife game, but seasoned home cooks who have mastered knife basics will have no time adjusting.  In all honestly, it’s difficult to justify the price, as most of us would never drop over $1200 for a set of knives.  I only got these because they were on sale.  If you had to get one, go for the 6″ Chef knife if you can find it.

Happy cutting, and watch those fingers!

~ Kin

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe.  Here’s a marinade that I’ve been using for the past month for chicken breast.  The flavor is rather light with hints of the garlic and shallots.

Ingredients
3g of chopped garlic
3g of chopped shallot
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander seed
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of mirin
1 tablespoon of sake
1lb of chicken breast, cut into strips or cubes

Chop up the garlic and shallot, and mix them together with the rest of the ingredients.  Add in the chicken and marinate for 24 hours in the refrigerator.  Once in a while, I’ll add in some fresh thyme and sesame oil to add more aromatics and flavor to the chicken.  You don’t need a lot of garlic or shallots, as too much will be a bit too overpowering.

The first problem I encountered was cooking the products.  The ingredients that make up the pasta make it brittle, and unless the it’s perfectly cooked, the final product either ends up chewy or into broken little pieces.  The first batch of penne and spaghetti I cooked came out overcooked and torn, the second batch was chewy and starchy.  It took a few more tries to find the equilibrium I wanted, and I still have some trouble cooking it.

Looks like any other kind of whole grain and multi grain pasta right out of the box.

The cooking instructions for both products are as follows: Boil 4 quarts water.  Add contents of this package to boiling water; stir gently until water boils again.  Cook 4-6 minutes or until al dente-do not overcook.  Drain and rinse with cold water. For those of us who are used to cooking regular pasta, we all know that cooking times are different for each variety of pasta, and the results are pretty much on par with the cooking instructions printed on the box.  However, the cooking instructions for the gluten free pasta and spaghetti should be taken with a grain of salt.  Cooking the penne for 6 minutes yielded an al-dente bite, yet cooking the spaghetti for the same time yielded broken spaghetti.  What’s more, the pasta has to be rinsed with cold water immediately after cooking, or it’ll be clumped together by this starchy and sticky residue.  It should also be noted that the pasta should be rinsed gently, a strong stream of water will break the pasta as well.

Cooked for 6 minutes and the penne is a bit broken.

I prefer eating my pasta tossed with olive oil, butter, and a bit of salt.  That’s where I encountered my second problem.  Tossing the pasta in a sauté pan with the aforementioned ingredients broke it up into even smaller pieces.  While a fork is perfectly adequate to eat with, having a spoon to scoop up the scattered pieces doesn’t hurt.

When cooked correctly, the penne still lacks the bounciness and bite than that of regular pasta, but as a gluten free alternative, it isn’t that bad. The spaghetti on the other hand, seems to be lacking and needs more work.  I’ll eat the gluten free spaghetti after I finish my boxes of Barilla pasta.

I recommend the penne over the spaghetti, but it’s going to take some finesse to cook it properly.  For me, desired results came from cooking the penne pasta for about 5 minutes and 30 seconds in medium boiling water, rinsed gently with cold water, and set aside for 5-6 minutes to rest.  It’s a bit of work for cooking pasta and who knew something so simple would be so challenging.

Cost ranges from $1.50 to $2.50 a box. So far, I’ve only seen them at Whole Foods.

~ Kin

This bit of news has been making its round around the Internet for a few weeks now, but it you haven’t heard, the Food and Drug Administration is classifying the cholesterol-lowering cereal as a drug.

In a letter to General Mills from the FDA, a passage states:

“Based on claims made on your product’s label, we have determined that your Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug,”

Since the marketing of the cereal focuses on the claim of lowering of cholesterol by 4 percent in 6 weeks, that classifies it as a drug, and not a food item.  With that being said, that means Cheerios is a “new” drug, and since it isn’t approved as a drug, it’s not “recognized as safe and effective for use in preventing or treating hypercholesterolemia or coronary heart disease.”  The claim on the box has been around for two years, and it has taken the FDA that long to realize this?  Either they work very slow, or that they’re looking for something to do, it’s not like they’re really doing much in food safety.  If General Mills does not retract the claim, the FDA is threatening to take Cheerios off of supermarket and wholesaler shelves.  I can see a long legal battle coming down the line.

While it does seem logical why the FDA is pursuing the matter so aggressively, there might be another reason behind this.  While it’s rather simple minded, I think there might be some validity to it.

Marketing Cheerios with the stated claim of lowering cholesterol might take away sales of cholesterol-lowering drugs.  Even though it’s a bit of a stretch, think about the impact on the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and sell the drugs.  Pharmaceutical companies are in business to make money, and like other businesses, it’s about the bottom line.  Since Cheerios has been clinically proven to lower cholesterol, that would mean it’s an alternative to taking cholesterol-lowering drugs.  Sales of Cheerios goes up, sales of cholesterol-lowering drugs go down or remain stable.

Will we be seeing Cheerios being sold in the over-the-counter drug aisles?  Let’s hope not.

~ Kin

Ingredients
3 cups of frozen broccoli florets
3 garlic cloves
1.5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
dash of salt
pinch of pepper

Chop the garlic into evenly sliced chips.  This lets them brown evenly.

Heat up the pan on low heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the garlic.  Cook until the half of the garlic starts to brown. Remove from heat and let the garlic cook until the color turns golden.  If the garlic turns dark brown, it’s overcooked and will taste bitter.

Transfer the cooked garlic on a paper towel for the oil to absorb.  Leave some oil in the pan.

Steam the frozen broccoli for about 7 minutes and then sauté for about 30 seconds in the pan containing the infused garlic olive oil.  Toss the broccoli around while adding the salt and pepper.

Transfer to a plate and pour the garlic chips over the broccoli.

OMS/B
Website
156 East 45th St., NY,NY 10017
Mon-Fri 8:00-19:30
Sat 11:00-17:30
Sun Closed

Ah, Japanese rice balls.  Even if you have never seen a rice ball in real life, I’m sure you’ve seen them in Japanese animations, that is if you watch anime.  What are rice balls?  Well, in the cartoons, they’re usually depicted as a triangular wad of rice that’s wrapped in seaweed.  Sort of like the ones shown on the left.

Known as Omusubi, or Onigiri, the rice ball originated in and is found all over Japan.  They are also popular in Taiwan and Korea.  A traditional rice ball is either triangular or oval in shape, and contains a filling inside the center, usually of cooked fish or vegetables.  They are popular due to their size for portability and for convenience.  For a history of omusubi, head over to the wiki here.

I discovered a store in New York City that specializes in omusubi.  It carries a vast selection of rice balls and the prices are rather decent.  You have the option of buying the rice balls separately or ordering a set, which contains 3 rice balls of your choosing, and a soup.  Some items are excluded from the set though.  A set costs $8.50.

The shop is small, and only has about 6 or so small tables.  By the time I got there, which was about 3pm on Saturday, the selection was rather limited.  It looks like once a certain item is sold out, it’s not replenished.  I would recommend going early on Saturday.

Items are selected through the see-through glass, and you get your food and you pay at the register, so there really isn’t any waiting service.

I ordered the eel rice ball, the wasabi wrapped rice ball, and the cod roe rice ball.

The mayo lobster rice ball, the shrimp tempura rice ball, and the football rice ball.

Final Thoughts:

In all, I thought the rice balls were good.  While they didn’t blow me out of the water, I like how the presentation adds an extra touch to the food.  It didn’t exactly fill me up, but a set of 3 rice balls and soup is perfect for a snack.  Especially when you’ve been walking around the city and need an energy boost.  Recommended (Just barely)

Food: 3.5/5

Service: 3/5

Ambiance: 3/5

So, a good number of people are asking for the recipe for the Japanese cheesecake I made.  It’s not my recipe, but the instructions are mine.  The original instructions were far too vague and confusing, so I did some research online to find a clearer way in making it.

This recipe takes some time and patience, but the best things come to those who wait.

So, here is what you need.
2 large mixing bowls
Small bowls for holding the ingredients
Hand Mixer
Kitchen Scale (digital – grams or ounces)
8 or 9 inch baking pan
Large baking pan for the water bath

Ingredients
140g/5 oz. fine granulated sugar (regular sugar)
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks (make sure no egg yolk makes it into the whites, not even a little bit)  Set aside for about 20 minutes to warm up. `
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
50g/2 oz. butter
250g/9 oz. cream cheese
100 ml/3 fluid oz. fresh whole milk (6 Tablespoons)
1 tbsp. lemon juice (use fresh lemons)
60g/2 oz. cake flour /superfine flour
20g/1 oz. corn flour (cornstarch)
1/4 tsp. salt

I separated the instructions into 3 parts to make things easier.

Part 1:  The Cake Batter

• Step 1.  Melt the cream cheese, butter, and milk together in a double boiler.  A double boiler can be made by placing metal mixing bowl on top of a pot of low boiling water.   Make sure the boiling water doesn’t touch the bottom of the mixing bowl and that the bowl is larger than the pot.  Also, use an oven mitt as the mixing bowl can get pretty hot.  Stir until all the ingredients are melted together.  Set aside to cool down.  15 minutes should do.
• Step 2.  Once the batter is cooled, fold in the egg yolks, salt, cake flour, corn flour, and lemon juice.  Mix well, the batter should be smooth with no lumps.  A whisk is particularly useful for this.  Set aside.
• Step 3.  Prepare the water bath.  Details on preparing a water bath can be found here.

Part 2:  The Meringue

• Step 1.  Whisk the egg whites with the hand mixer on low for about 15 seconds.  It should get bubbly.
• Step 2.  Continue mixing and add in the cream of tartar.  Increase the power two levels.  5 seconds.
• Step 3.  Slowly add in the sugar.  Increase the power another level.  Add in the first half of the sugar one tablespoon at a time while mixing.  Slowly pour in the remaining half while mixing.
• Step 4.  Increase the speed one more time if available and keep mixing.  Eventually, it will thicken up.  Mix until soft peaks form.  Meaning when you remove the mixer, the meringue will peak up and the tips will slowly curl back down.  It should also be light and airy.

Part 3.  Combine the Batter and Meringue, Baking

• Step 1.  Mix the batter into the meringue and fold (not whisk) until the 2 mixtures turn into one
• Step 2.  Pour the combined mixture in a greased or cooking sprayed baking pan.
• Step 3.  Place the baking pan into the water bath.
• Step 4.  Bake in the oven in a water bath at 325 degrees for 1 hour, 10 minutes.   Don’t forget to preheat the oven.
• Step 5.  After baking, carefully remove the pan from the water bath and let it settle for 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Step 6.  Top with your favorite topping.

Yeah, it takes some work. It’s a good recipe to try if you’re stuck at home with nothing to do on a rainy day.

This is one of my favorite dishes.  I tested it on my friends some weeks ago and we cleaned out the entire pot of pasta.  It’s not difficult to make, but it’s sort of heavy on ingredients.  The best way is to make lots of sauce in advance and freeze it.  The inspiration comes from the Pasta Da Vinci dish from Cheesecake Factory.

Ingredients

• 4-6 cloves or garlic – finely diced (not minced)
• 1/2 of a medium sized shallot – diced
• 6-8 baby Portobello mushrooms – cleaned and sliced
• 6-8 medium-sized shitake mushrooms – cleaned and sliced
• 1 teaspoon of fresh chopped parsley – chopped well
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1 cup of Madeira Wine
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• pepper to taste
• 3 cups of cooked penne
• 1/2 cup of cooked chicken breast (cubed)

In a stainless steel pan, heat a tablespoon of butter on medium heat.  Add the garlic, and shallots.  Cook for about a minute and add the mushrooms.  Cook until the ingredients start to brown and stick to the bottom of the pan.  Reduce the heat to low and pour in the Madeira Wine.  Add the remaining tablespoon of butter.  Let the wine simmer and reduce for about 15 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  For a stronger flavor, simmer for an additional 10 minutes, but there will be less sauce.  Stir in the heavy cream, salt, and pepper.  Let the sauce cook for five minutes.  Gradually pour in the flour and whisk in a circular motion as the flour hits the sauce.  Depending on how thick you want the sauce, you might not use all of the flour.  Stir slowly for a minute.  Remove from heat, throw in the penne and chicken.  Toss well to coat.  Top with parsley as a garnish.

~ Kin

Seven out of the 30 Jack-In-The-Box restaurants in the Charlotte, North Carolina area tested a new way to provide drive through services to their customers.  At the drive through speaker, instead of speaking to an employee who’s inside of the store, a customer might be speaking with someone in another state or even in another country.  The spokeswoman for the company declined to disclose the locations of where the drive through orders were being routed, but one customer noted that it felt like she was speaking to a person who was slightly far way and delayed, and what might have been an Indian accent.

Other fast food companies such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Hardees have dabbled with the idea of centralized order taking in the US.  None have yet to do a national roll-out because the technology doesn’t seem to introduce any cost savings and return on investment.

Full article here

The Super Bowl is only a day away, and a menu for such a sporting event is incomplete without guacamole.  Turn your guacamole from good to great with this recipe.

I found this guacamole recipe online, but I wanted a sweet garlic flavor and a bit more kick to it.  So I used roasted garlic and threw in a chitpotle pepper to spice things up.  It’s an easy recipe to follow and it takes very little time to prepare.

Roasted Garlic Chitpotle Guacamole – 4 Servings

• 2 ripe avocados (dice if using a food processor)
• pinch of salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup mild salsa
• 4-5 roasted garlic cloves
• 1 chitpotle pepper w/ adobo
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 Tbsp of chopped cilantro
• 1/4 of a chopped red onion

Throw all the items into a food processor and pulse it until the consistency becomes semi smooth.  This can also be done manually with a potato masher or something like it.  Just throw the ingredients together and smash away.

Serve with tortilla chips or use it as a spread on hamburgers…or if you’re like me, just eat it as is.

~ Kin