Category Archives: Seafood

Embracing High Heat, Part I (The Savory)

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The juiciest shrimp ever.

I dunno about you, but in my early days of cooking, I was petrified of high heat.

Back then when I was a teen, the words, “Heat the pan on high,” would make me quake in fear.

I thought I’d end up burning myself, not to mention whatever I was cooking, along with the poor pan, too.

But the more you cook, the more you realize the beauty of high-heat cooking. There’s nothing like it for creating caramelization, and thus, greater flavor, texture, and color.

Who doesn’t love the blistered crust of pizza baked in a scorching wood-oven? Or the yummy crust on a seared steak? Or the crispy skin on a salmon fillet? Or the smoky, intense flavor vegetables get from being tossed around in a fiery wok?

When I took a recent class at Draeger’s in San Mateo, veteran cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough reminded me of the joy of high-heat cooking, when they demonstrated their recipe for “Roasted Shrimp.” It’s from their newest cookbook, “Cooking Know-How” (Wiley).

Normally, I just saute shrimp in a pan. But their oven-method could not be easier. It’s my new favorite way to cook shrimp.

Like all the recipes in this book, the shrimp one gives you a basic technique, then variations so you can alter the flavorings.

Preparing the baking pan.

The method remains the same: You put a baking dish in a cold oven with oil and herbs. Turn the oven on to 450 degrees. As it warms, the herbs get infused gently into the oil. When the oven gets up to temperature in 15 to 20 minutes, add shrimp (or scallops) to the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes for large shrimp (about 5 minutes for scallops), stirring a couple of times during the cooking process.

Pull out the pan, then stir in salt, pepper, and a dash of acid (vinegar, citrus juice, or wine).

This is by far the juiciest shrimp you’ll ever eat, with a pleasing crunch, too. It’s the high heat that does all that. Moreover, the fragrance of the herbs roasting in the oven is utterly intoxicating.

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A Four-Star Taco Truck

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Chow down on a seafood chimichanga.

One of my favorite seafood restaurants has no fancy cutlery, no pressed linen tablecloths, and no crystal wine goblets. Heck, it doesn’t even have a front door.

It’s a taco truck that’s permanently anchored in a parking lot in San Jose.

I have my friend Sarah to thank for turning me on to Dia de Pesca, a quirky, lovable eatery that’s been around for about two years, churning out impeccably fresh Mexican seafood dishes.

Plus, who can resist a place whose name translates into “Gone fishing”?

You've come to the right place.

Get in line — as there’s almost always one — to place your order at the taco truck. The wipe-board lists that day’s fresh seafood offerings. Pick your favorite and enjoy it in soft tacos, enchiladas, bouillabaisse, salads, fajitas, or tostadas. There are oysters on the half shell ($6.46 for a half dozen), or done up “Mejicana”- style with chorizo and pico de gallo ($8.50 for six).

The seafood comes from nearby Race Street Seafood retailer/wholesaler. Dia de Pesca goes through so much fresh seafood each day, its owner told me, that the owner of Race Street Seafood came by once to see for himself. He couldn’t believe a taco truck could be selling that much seafood each day. He left duly impressed.

The hardest part is figuring out what to order. You want the entire menu.

Once you’ve placed your order, grab a table in the parking lot, where a server will bring your food out to you. You have to give the Dia de Pesca folks credit; as far as parking lots go, this one has uber ambience. Heavy, tiled benches and patio tables with umbrellas dot the parking lot, along with big, brightly colored planters filled with lush greenery that help shield the busy intersection of N. Bascom Avenue and W. San Carlos Street.

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Take Five with Roy Fong — Educator, Importer, and Connoisseur of Fine Teas

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Top quality jasmine tea leaves.

Nobody knows tea quite like Roy Fong.

The 53-year-old entrepreneur opened the first traditional Chinese tea house in San Francisco in 1992. Now, he overseas two Imperial Tea Court locations in the Bay Area — one in Berkeley, and the other in San Francisco’s Ferry Building.

A visit back to his native Hong Kong when he was in his 20s, changed his life. As he wandered around the old tea district there, he knew he had found his destiny. Now, he sells about 300 types and grades of teas, priced at $16 to $480 a pound.

Roy Fong enjoying the fruits of his labor.

His two tea houses also are thought to be the only restaurants in the Bay Area that feature an all-organic, sustainable dim sum menu.

With the exception of a few sauces, everything else on the menu is organic and sustainable. The flour used to make the wrappers and the tea oil used to fry the green onion pancakes are organic. The shrimp is wild. The pork is family-raised and sustainable. Even the tea leaves used to flavor the broth for the won ton soup are organic.

Read more about Fong’s organic dim sum — and other purveyers jumping on that bandwagon — in my story in today’s San Francisco Chronicle Food section.

I had the chance to sit down to lunch with Fong recently at his Berkeley tea house. He poured cups of jasmine tea, the favorite variety of Northern Chinese.

Dumplings made with wild shrimp, organic flour, and organic jasmine tea leaves.

Before pouring water over the rolled-up leaves, he had me take a whiff. The aroma was very floral. It was an indication that the green tea picked in early spring was quite fresh, because jasmine tea takes on a more citrusy fragrance as it ages. Surprise your guests at your next party by pairing jasmine tea with brie cheese. Fong says the two are an exceptional match.

Q: You’ve won quite a loyal following for your organic dim sum, haven’t you?

A: People drive hundreds of miles for it. We have regulars who come from Monterey for lunch all the time.

Q: The wrappers on the shrimp dumplings are so incredibly translucent. How do you do that?

A: You have to control the water temperature, and roll the dough very thin. The water can’t be too warm or too cold.

Q: I’m guessing you won’t tell me the exact temperature?

A: Nope. (laughs)

Noodles being pulled to order.

Q: What’s the most popular dish here?

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Sustainable Is…

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Tracy Griffith's sustainable sushi.

At last week’s eighth annual “Cooking for Solutions” event at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, chefs, winemakers, scientists, purveyers, fishermen, farmers, and food writers came together to learn and discuss  how to better follow a more sustainable path — one that lessens the impact on earth and oceans.

What is sustainable? It comes in all guises. Come see for yourself.

Sustainable is…

…Tracy Griffith, sushi chef and sister of actress Melanie, whose seared albacore roll (see photo above) served at the gala showcased a sustainable fish that’s one of the top choices on the aquarium’s “Seafood Watch Guide” and “Sushi Guide.”

Earthbound Farms' organic fro-yo served at its farmstand.

…Carmel Valley’s Earthbound Farm, the pioneer in pre-washed salad greens. With 40,000 acres in California, Arizona, and Mexico, it  now is the largest organic farm in the world. Its farm stand on Carmel Valley Road is open year-round. It just started selling its own organic fro-yo, too.  Slightly tart and lighter in body than Pinkberry, the creamy treat comes in natural honey and a fruit flavor (You can get the two swirled together, too). The day I was there the featured flavor was raspberry.

Chef Thomas Keller.

…Thomas Keller. The acclaimed chef of the French Laundry in Yountville was honored as “Chef of the Year” by the aquarium for his work in promoting fresh, local, and sustainable ingredients through his spectacular four-star cooking.

Keller graciously signed copies of his cookbooks during the event, as fiancee Laura Cunningham, former director of operations for his restaurants, looked on. She wasn’t wearing her Keller-designed engagement ring that night, only because it was being re-sized. Still no word yet on whether the nuptials will take place this year or next.

The jovial Alton Brown.

…the Food Network’s Alton Brown, who was honored as “Educator of the Year” by the aquarium. Brown and his wife plan to set up a foundation to foster sustainable food projects. He’s also received the nod from the Food Network to do several “Good Eats” shows highlighting sustainable seafood.

…Tataki Sushi & Sake Bar in San Francisco, the first sustainable sushi bar in North America. Diners are heartily embracing the concept, so much so that the tiny sushi bar now sometimes has a wait of two hours on weekdays.

At the “Cooking for Solutions” gala, Tataki’s sushi chefs handed out “faux-nagi” — scored wild sablefish brushed with the traditional sweet soy-rice wine sauce that has the same silky mouth-feel as overfished unagi (eel).

It tastes like unagi, but this is sustainable.

…Greenfish Catering, a five-year-old San Jose company that specializes in sustainable sushi platters, bento boxes, and catered events that feature good-for-you and good-for-the-environment ingredients such as farm-raised oysters.

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Sensational Scallops with Porcini Butter

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Dried porcini.

I am not made of money. Greenbacks are not stuffed into my mattress. And the closest I’ve come to a Cartier watch is the advertisements I’ve gazed at in glossy magazines.

Nevertheless, I cooked sea scallops. With porcinis. Lots of butter. And truffle oil.

Yes, even in this economy.

Before you think me crazy for making such a luxurious dish in a lean and mean time, I am here to say that is precisely why you should make such a recipe here and now. Because even when times are bad, we ought to spoil ourselves just the teeniest bit if we at all can. It’s what makes life worth living. And it’s what keeps us going. It’s a small treat to reassure ourselves that no matter what has befallen us, we’re still good people, and we still deserve good will, good tidings, and darn it all, good food to boot.

To be sure, I had bought the truffle oil (even if most of the ones on the market are artificially flavored) and the dried porcinis in flusher times. But the great thing about these ingredients is that a little goes a long way. A dab of truffle oil, a few ounces of dried mushrooms — each adds so much more depth and complexity greater than their minuscule amounts used.

Porcini compound butter.

This simple recipe for “Baked Scallops with Porcini Butter” comes from one of my favorite cookbooks of last year, “Fish Without A Doubt” (Houghton Mifflin) by Chef Rick Moonen of RM Seafood in Las Vegas, and writer/editor Roy Finamore. It includes more than 250 recipes using sustainable seafood. It’s chock-full of information on the most eco-friendly seafood, as well as others we should avoid because they are over-fished or harvested in ways that damage the environment. If there’s room for only one seafood book on your shelf, this would be the one.

When buying scallops, look for dry-packed ones. Avoid the ones that have been dipped in a solution of sodium tripolyphosphate, which helps extend their shelf life. Not only will you end up paying more in weight for these plumped-up scallops, but because they are so packed with water, they will steam — rather than properly sear — when cooked.

The finished dish.

This easy dish is a little like the traditional coquilles St. Jacques, except that it’s made with a compound butter composed of dried porcinis, truffle oil, and sherry vinegar. A single-layer of scallops gets laid out in a gratin dish, with the butter smeared both underneath and on top of them. Dry bread crumbs are sprinkled on just before baking. I used Japanese panko crumbs, but you can use whatever you have on hand.

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