Cooking with: Nira

During a recent walk through the produce section of the Buford Highway Farmers Market I ran into two women who appeared to be on their first trip through the market. They were obviously overwhelmed by the array of unfamiliar greenery laid out before them – gailan, a-choy, yo tsai, sherlion, kohlrabi, epazote – and they seemed relieved when they finally identified something familiar – ginger. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that it was in fact galangal that they had discovered – not ginger…

We’ve all been there – so I’m starting a series to shed a little light on some of the ingredients that many of you probably have tasted (or will) as you explore ethnic cuisines, but that you may not recognize when you encounter them in the market.

Nira

Nira is known by many names:

• Nira (Japan)
• Jiǔcài (China)
• Buchu (Korea)
• Hẹ (Vietnam)
• Garlic Chive, Chinese Chive (other parts of the world)

What is it?

Nira, as you can see from the photos, is a plant… it’s in the Allium genus (same as garlic), with long flat leaves, 10-15 inches long. It’s easy to grow – my first exposure to it was when I found it growing wild in the backyard of my house. It’s even easier to harvest (with scissors), and like grass, it grows back after cutting.

In the market, you’ll find as many as three types of nira:

Nira is dark green.

Yellow or golden nira is… yellow. It’s actually etoliated – after cutting the green leaves, the plants are covered and allowed to re-sprout in the dark – similar to white asparagus.

Hananira or Chive Flower has the flower bud at the top of the stalk.

What does it taste/smell like?

Hm… This is a similar dilemma to the one I have with fish sauce (nước mắm) – you may love or hate the smell, but it adds a character to foods that is impossible to get any other way. Pungent, as obtuse as that is, is the best way to describe the smell. The flavor is more that of a garlicky onion and much stronger than a regular chive.

What can I do with it?

You’ve probably eaten it before – nira is a common ingredient in Asian dumplings: Chinese jiaozi (being made in the photos), Japanese gyoza and Korean mandoo.  Chinese green onion pancakes, cōng yóu bǐng (蔥油餅), can be made with nira instead of green onions. These are called  jiǔcài you bing (韭菜油饼). Nira-reba is a Japanese dish, where liver is stir fried with nira. Supposedly, this dish will give you “stamina”. Another common Chinese preparation is to scramble eggs with nira (a lot of nira). In the book Oriental Vegetables, Joy Larkcom mentions a tempura preparation, where the leaves are wrapped into bundles, dipped in batter and deep-fried.

How do I store it?

This is important, as once cut, nira does not keep well. Wrap it with damp paper towels and store in the vegetable drawer for no more than 2-3 days (you’ll know when it’s time to go…)

So what’s baffling you in the markets? There’s lot’s more to come in this series, but let me know – I’ll try to push requests to the top of the heap.

Cabbagetown: Chomp & Stomp pt. 2

Cabbagetown: Chomp & Stomp Chili Cookoff

Carniceria Hispaña vs. Don Taco

Yay

Tacos carnitas – Carniceria Hispaña

OK – I’ll spare you any artificial tension, B.S. or whatever. Carniceria Hispaña. Hands down. So now you don’t have to read anymore – just look at the pretty taco pictures and be done with it.

Tacos al pastor – Carniceria Hispaña

Carniceria Hispaña

Carniceria Hispaña
3258 Buford Hwy NE
Atlanta, GA 30329-1708

Sunday lunch, and HX declared “Mexican”, followed by “tacos”, so we were off. HX has been demanding to eat at Don Taco again since the one time he tried it at their former location, about 4 miles South on Buford Highway. That was 4 years ago – when he was 3. I guess that makes him persistent and me stubborn.  So I caved and we decided to start at Don Taco. We would start with a small order – if it was good (I remembered otherwise), we would stay and order more, otherwise we’d move on.

We ordered 4 tacos – carnitas, barbacoa, and 2 al pastor (my bellweather). After an interminable wait, 4 tiny foil packets were delivered to our table. The foil and steam had reduced the flour tortillas to a gelatinous mess, and in no time my fingers were covered in tortilla, bits of napkin and random flotsam. Al pastor – mealy and flavourless. No amount of tampering from the fixin’s bar could revive this one. Barbacoa – tortilla disaster aside, flavourful and moist – not too bad. Carnitas – again with the tortilla, but surprisingly tasty and tender pork. I could get behind this carnitas, but who knows if it’s consistent… The restaurant is clean (if not reminiscent of a hospital cafeteria from the ’80s) and the staff friendly.

After using the remnants of our rationed glass of water (the drought is over, guys) to soften the wheat paste on our fingers, we decided that round 2 was to be found elsewhere and ventured on to Carniceria Hispaña.

Carniceria Hispaña pretty much does what it says on the tin. It’s a Hispanic butcher shop with a small market and restaurant inside. One guy works the flattop and mans the tiny “kitchen”. You can watch your food being prepared (which I like) or wander about the market until he hunts you down to let you know your order is ready. The $2 tacos are generous (about twice the size of the $1.60 tacos from Don Taco). Double corn tortillas, a splash of lime and chipotle salsa and a tamarind soda got us back on track. The pictures (above) say it all.

Boo

Carnitas & barbacoa – Don Taco

Carnitas, barbacoa, al pastor – Don Taco

Hospital cafeteria – I mean, Don Taco

Don Taco
5884 Buford Hwy NE
Doraville, GA 30340-2422

Ming’s BBQ – Duluth

Jiang you ji – soy sauce chicken

I’m a huge fan of Ming’s (see here), so it was a bit embarrassing when Blissful Glutton asked me if I’d been to the Duluth location and I had to say, “no”. So this weekend, HX and I ventured to Duluth – not a regular destination for me. After a bit of exploring and making notes on a few new places to try, we decided to (finally) hit up Ming’s.

Roasted duck (kăo yā) noodle soup

The upscale sheen of the Duluth location has done nothing to diminish the quality of food.  The barbecue is still impeccable, the menu is the same (with the notable absence of quail), and even better – they’re open til midnight!

Flash interior

Ming’s B.B. Q. – Duluth
2131 Pleasant Hill Rd.
Duluth, GA 30096

Nightcap – Morellino di Scansano

Tuscan, obviously young and a bit too bright for my palate. Cooks better than it drinks.

Frittata al pomodoro e basilico e funghi

OK, so I wasn’t going to post this – I wasn’t even going to photograph it (I don’t photograph most of what I cook or eat). For some reason, a lot of the cooking that I post on this blog are first takes or one-off dishes. But damn it – I do know how to cook. My toque may not have 101 pleats (sorry if you don’t understand that – look it up), but it’s got a serious few and I can put a hurtin’ on some eggs when I feel like it.

Now it’s not like there is anything difficult about a frittata, but as with all things egg, if you don’t pay attention to what you’re doing you can seriously f* it up. And before anyone jumps on my back about frittatas not being brown on top – it’s not burnt. I sprinkle grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top before it goes under the broiler to create a kind of frico crust.

I’ll post a recipe later if anyone’s interested. OK – done with my chest thumping.

***** UPDATED WITH RECIPE *****

OK, enough of you asked, so here you go – it’s really not hard (or exact – just the way I like it).

• 1/4 onion – chopped
• 1/2 medium tomato – chopped & drained
• 1/4 cup mushrooms – chopped
• Chopped fresh basil
• 4 eggs
• Olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3-4 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• salt
• pepper

1. Add olive oil to a pan and cook onion over medium heat until translucent. Add mushrooms and cook a bit longer, followed by tomatoes. Continue cooking until tomatoes are warmed through. Drain any excess oil and liquid and transfer vegetables to a bowl to cool.
2. Beat eggs in a bowl. Add vegetables, basil, salt and pepper and beat together with eggs.
3. Melt butter in a heavy (ovenproof) skillet over medium heat. When butter foams, add egg mixture and immediately turn the heat to low. Let cook slowly until the eggs have set and only the top is runny. This will take about 15 minutes or so.
4. Sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano over top and place under broiler for ~1 minute (watch it like a hawk).
5. Loosen the frittata and slide from the pan onto a plate. Cut and serve.

Gu Chi, or the Importance of Starch

Xialongbao – Northern China Eatery

While it may have something to do with the weather turning cooler, I’ve been worried about my Gu Chi (food chi) lately. I think I’ve been out of balance – primarily in the starch & noodle category. I keep this anatomically correct diagram on my refrigerator so that I can remember what I need to eat to keep my Gu Chi aligned:

Ergo, I’ve been craving lots of noodley things of late.

Pork noodles with pickled vegetable – Northern China Eatery

Niu ruo mein – Ocean Garden – Chinatown Food Court

Jiang you ji (soy sauce chicken) – Hong Kong BBQ – Chinatown Food Court

Of course you have to be careful when binging on noodles – Gu Chi is a tricky thing. That explains the jianyou ji – it was necessary to keep my meat chi in balance.

Northern China Eatery
5141 Buford Hwy NE
Atlanta, GA 30340

Chinatown Food Court
5385 New Peachtree Rd
Atlanta, GA 30341

Holeman & Finch Bread – Peachtree Road Market

Roasted Chicken Wings

I’ve been trying to be a good citizen. As I was exposed to swine flu last week via a festering public petri dish (my son’s elementary school), I decided to limit my contact with the outside world over the weekend. Of course, upon quietly making that decision on Friday, the calls & emails started -  “How about dinner tonight?”, “Come have a few beers”, “Someone just gave me free tickets…” Where were all of you last weekend? Of course, by 5:30PM, I’m sitting at home, bored to tears.

To alleviate the boredom, I tried an experiment – how many chicken wings could I fit into my oven? Turns out, quite a few. I’m a big fan of roasting chicken wings – I think I like them better that fried because they stay moist and they just taste more like – chicken.  And if you do it correctly, you still get the crispy skin. “Correctly” only requires 2 things – a rack and a fairly hot oven (convection is best – I miss mine).

A good rub adds a depth of flavor you don’t get from frying. There’s no real recipe, this is a good time to just raid the spice cabinet . Some standard rules apply – kosher salt, black pepper – but then you’re on your own. Don’t measure, just eyeball – chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, Hungarian paprika. This is a great place to hone your spice blending skills. Toss the chicken with the rub, place on an oiled rack and stick in the oven (425-450 degrees).  Roast for 15-20 minutes, turn the wings and roast for another 15-20 minutes. Timing is based on your oven, the size of the wings, etc. You’re looking for the skin to crisp up and bubble a bit. This is how you know the fat has rendered and the wings are cooked.

As soon as they come out of the oven, I like to toss them with some form of sauce. Doing this immediately allows the heat from the chicken to “set” the sauce, forming a nice glaze. I prefer a modified version of the sauce from my family’s barbecue joint in Daytona (it’s no longer there and no, I won’t share the recipe). You can use any sauce you like, or just use a hot sauce with a bit of butter. I modify my sauce by adding either Trappey’s Bull Sauce or chipotle for a little heat.