Vittal Shetty, corporate chef for the Bay Area’s Amber India restaurants, loves the simplicity and versatiliy of this coconut shrimp curry dish.
Redolent of tamarind, chilies, garlic, cumin seeds, tomatoes, and coconut milk, it cooks in a flash. Best yet, the curry paste can be made in large batches, then frozen in smaller quantities. That way, you’ll always have some on hand to use with most any seafood.
That’s exactly what my buddy, Jacqueline Church, has created in her 2008 “Teach a Man to Fish” blogging extravaganza.
Church, a Boston food writer and the creator of the LeatherDistrictGourmet blog, asked notable chefs, homecooks, seafood experts, and food writers from around the world — including yours truly — to submit a favorite recipe, and our thoughts on why we so strongly champion sustainable seafood.
You’ll find a wealth of seafood resource links, video clips, and 37 mouth-watering recipes you can enjoy without environmental guilt.
I hope you enjoy my contribution on the “Teach a Man to Fish” roundup: New York Times food writer Mark Bittman’s Gravlax, served with Carolyn’s Creamy Greek Yogurt-Dijon Sauce.
It was a brisk morning in St. Helena, but troughs of burning, glowing coals provided warmth as we gathered together, our appetites already primed for the charred, long-simmered delights yet to come.
We were there to watch three Mediterranean culinary stars demonstrate the ancient art of cooking over fire: Mourad Lahlou, the Marrakech-born chef-owner of Aziza in San Francisco; esteemed cookbook author Paula Wolfert; and Haouari Abderrazak, chef-owner of Haouari Restaurant on the island of Djerba, Tunisia.
It was all part of the recent “Worlds of Flavor International Conference” at the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone Campus. This year’s theme was: “A Mediterranean Flavor Odyssey.”
Shrimp and fish brochettes sizzled on a grill, as Abderrazak mixed up a boldly flavored red sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, and harissa (a blend of chiles, cumin, coriander, and caraway) to accompany them.
Lahlou planned to make lamb tangia — chunks of lamb shoulder simmered for 12 hours with saffron, garlic, preserved lemons, and ras el hanout (a Moroccan spice blend that can contain about 50 ingredients, such as ginger, anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, turmeric, and dried flowers).
It is made in a tanjia, a clay vessel that is sealed with wax paper, then buried in hot coals or wood ash to cook.
Pick up a copy of the November issue of San Francisco Magazine now on newsstands to read my short piece on three new sustainable sushi guides.
A year in the works, the guides were put together by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Blue Ocean Institute, and the Environmental Defense Fund.
On each of the organization’s Web sites, you’ll find a copy of a free guide to download. All three are sure to make your next meal at a sushi bar more enlightening.
That is just what Tataki Sushi & Sake Bar in San Francisco is believed to be.
The tiny, seven-month-old restaurant serves only seafood that isn’t overfished, farmed without proper management, or contains high levels of mercury and other contaminants.
Find out more about why business partners, Chef Kin Lui, Chef Raymond Ho, and Casson Trenor (a sustainable fisheries expert) decided to open such a restaurant by reading my story today in the San Francisco Chronicle Food section.
Tataki, the site of a former Subway sandwich shop, grabs your attention right when you walk in. A Monterey Bay Aquarium “Seafood Watch” pocket guide, which lists best and worst sustainable seafood species, is front and center on every table. A copy is also tucked into every take-out menu.
Oct. 22, Tataki will be the site of the official launch of three new, ground-breaking sustainable sushi guides created in partnership with the aquarium, Blue Ocean Institute, and Environmental Defense Fund. Each will include information on as many as 60 different seafood species commonly found on sushi menus.
Want to do the right thing? Then, you’ll stop eating unagi, bluefin toro, hamachi, octopus (tako), monkfish liver (ankimo), farmed salmon (sake), imported King crab (kani), imported albacore tuna (shiro maguro), and sea urchin (uni) from Maine — all of which are unsustainable, according to the aquarium’s new guide.