私の大好きなおせんべい

note: sorry for the bad, blurry photos in this post. i make do with a simple canon sd10 that i inherited from a friend.

煎餅（せんべい, senbei) are japanese rice crackers that are traditionally flavored with a soy sauce-mirin glaze. they are undoubtedly delicious and their addictive crunch is unparalleled. i can (and do) easily go through not one, but several packs in one sitting. there have been instances where i've eaten them to the point where my tongue numbs over from the sodium content.

so yeah, they're pretty damn good. every now and again, i get incredible cravings for them. they range anywhere from salty-sweet to spicy and crispy-flakey to a hard crunch. last week's paper-writing provided a particularly good opportunity to munch on senbei, and i worked my way through 5 packs, of which i have reviewed below:


kameda brand "kare-sen" (curry flavored senbei)

very light and crisp texture, but of the styrofoam-like variety (potato starch is added to the mochi rice). mild curry flavor and not spicy at all. nor salty enough to bring out the richness of the curry. of course freshness is key to any good rice cracker, and here, the product’s shortcomings is probably due the local jas-mart’s (under new management) poor stock maintenance.


kameda brand "soft salad" (salad flavored? senbei)

again, i don't really care for styrofoam-type crackers. however, they tend to have greater variety in terms of flavors (whereas traditional rice ones rarely deviate from the shoyu-mirin combo). nevertheless, these were also disappointing: very little flavor of any sort, reminiscent of popcorn...


kameda brand "onidaiko tamari aji senbei" ("devil's drum" senbei)

these are an oversized version of classic round senbei. these crackers were rather hard and really gave the jaws a workout. the flavor was salty and lightly sweet, but i would've preferred it to have a bit of heat (the angry sumo head would probably agree with me).


masuya brand "onigiri senbei" (riceball crackers)

these were pretty standard senbei, although the riceball shape and mascot were a cute touch. taste-wise, a nice tangy soy sauce & mirin combo with nori confetti to amp up the umami.


toko brand "friendly pack" (a gregarious collection of tiny crackers)

not really senbei proper, this "party mix" type has an assortment of mini-crackers, coated peanuts and peas. i was surprised by how fresh this package was. though we are talking about MSG-laden snacks, it seems to me that this product tasted brighter and bolder than most of the other bags i worked through. the crunch was crisper than that of the others'. the peanuts were especially fresh and their sweetness complimented the spiciness of the half-moon crackers.


toko brand "mamegashi" (coated peanuts & peas)

further deviating from the subject of senbei are coated peanuts (don't really know the correct term here, they’re usually called “mame”-something). my love for these snacks rivals that of my love for senbei. whereas peanuts are a pretty boring snack for most of the world, the japanese have given the lowly peanut new life by dressing it up in different flavors. my favorites in this mix are the yellow ones (curry flavored) and the red ones flecked with nori (spicy squid flavored, i think). there's just so much variety to be had! and yet, each piece has a shelled peanut in the middle, whose nutty sweetness is the perfect accompaniment to its salty, crunchy exterior.


kameda brand "ume no kaori maki" (ume-plum flavored senbei with nori)

my favorite flavor in the senbei family. mostly b/c I ADORE EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING UME. ume is the greatest: it's salty, sour, sweet and umami-y all at the same time (maybe even a little spicy?). i went through these the quickest (you can see there are very few crackers left in the package). the nori was stale though.


toko brand "shisomaki noritsuki" (shiso (beefsteak plant) flavored senbei with nori)

shiso is used to make umeboshi (pickled ume), so i suppose that's why this product tastes almost exactly like the ume flavored crackers above. i liked these better since the nori was crisper and the ume flavor was stronger. both products boast real ume flesh in their list of ingredients, but these crackers simply tasted better. also, plus points for not packaging crackers individually (a wholly unnecessary and wasteful practice)


glico brand "pretz - salad flavor" (pocky’s savory brother)

also not a type of senbei, but they're sort of in the same family of snacks. pretz are buttery little sticks that are made to resemble western crackers in taste and texture. the classic "salad" flavor is my favorite, though in china, i was able to taste other varieties like curry, roasted corn, pizza and butter. though they don’t taste like salad per se, their inexplicably rich taste is addictive. pretz are a testament to the great things that the japanese can do with a little ingenuity helped along by a little MSG.

adventures with ruth reichl, my personal lord and savior

photo from booksamillion.com

i've been trying to cook my way through ruth reichl's memoirs. though i am more fond of her earlier works that document her gloriously capricious youth, i've been paying particular interest to garlic & sapphires in the interest of writing a paper for my silly little sociology class.

the recipes in her books are straightforward and less time consuming than most of the recipes i've come across in her magazine (yes, her magazine). in an earlier post, i put up a photo of fairly successful gougères:



having never had gougères at a restaurant proper, i have no idea what to expect. still, i was quite happy with my own version of them. i cut the little cubes of gruyère a little too large and the dough fell away from the cheese, creating large pockets of air inside. as a result, they were a little crisper round the edges rather than soft, foofy puffs.

i have to say, the smell of the baking gruyère really stank up my kitchen. surprisingly, this funk was not at all present in the gougères themselves. all in all, pretty tasty, if not slightly on the salty side (prob due to the brand of cheese used). the security guard in my building really liked them. i've been bringing him food every now and then and he lets me into the building without having to swipe my columbia card.

moving beyond gougères...

one sunny monday so long ago (seriously, new york weather has been simply tragic of late), i cooked myself a little ruth reichl dinner of crab cakes and primavera risotto.

i think i used the wrong kind of crab cuz my crab cakes came out more starchy than meaty. last time i was at zabar's, i bought a couple cans of roland white crab meat, but the stuff inside was just tiny little shreds of crabmeat sitting in crab juice. i don't know where reichl expects anyone to buy canned lump crabmeat. maybe that super gourmet cat food maker supplies that sort of thing.

vs.
images from the internets

other than that, the recipe was really simple, adding bulk to the crabmeat with bits of torn white bread and spiced mostly with paprika. i used panko (japanese bread crumbs) instead of regular breadcrumbs cuz i like crunchy bits and also cuz i have a ton of panko left (i should really deep fry more often).



they came out quite tasty. as did the risotto, which was lovingly, lovingly stirred for a full 40 minutes. i tried to tie together the flavors/not waste available resources by using the leftover/squeezed out crab juice (nearly a full cup's worth) to the risotto. i could barely taste the crab broth in the risotto, but this was due to the fact that salty, MSG-powered bouillon cubes kill all other flavors. man, i really gotta learn to how to make stock.



since the recipe had a fairly high yield, and since i was cooking for one, there was the problem of leftovers. for the entire week, i ate asparagus-dotted risotto and suffered through that asparagus-induced funny-smelling pee phenomenon.

risotto doesn't reheat well (rather, i don't know how to do it), so i shaped the cold, sticky risotto into little cakes and cooked them in a pan. this was somewhat time consuming since i couldn't get the cakes to crisp up. even when i tried using extra oil, the rice just wasn't dry enough to form a substantial crust. still, lightly frying the cakes gave it an earthy, caramelized aroma while keeping the risotto rice tender:



i felt kind of bad serving these to my friday night potluck people, because i was trying to get rid of the risotto by that point. they liked them alright, but i was a little sheepish to serve it seeing as i took no joy in eating it myself.

i also considered making balls of risotto and then deep-frying them, but i've been getting fluffy round the middle and thus, am avoiding fatty starchy things (though i love them so).

i quickly broke this rule just days later at the ghetto mart (c-town) and noticed that cream cheese was on sale. i bought 2 packages, remembering there was a recipe for new york style cheesecake in reichl's book.

her cheesecake, modified from a recipe for lindy's famous cheesecake, is just a little unusual and not too heavy (though the ingredient list would have you think otherwise).

the crust consisted of fine graham cracker crumbs and an entire stick of butter, melted. i tossed in about a 1/3 cup of chopped toasted pecans to the mix, thinking the nuts would add texture and richness to the crust. while this seemed like a good idea at the time, i would not recommend making a nutty crust for cheesecake. for fruit crisps and pies, yes, but not for something so delicate in flavor like cheesecake.

the cheesecake portion required all of 3 packages (1.5 pounds) of cream cheese. i only had the two on hand and thought that 3 would be overdoing it, so i just went with what i had. someday, i'll have to make this recipe again at full cream cheese power, though 2 packages turned out a fine cheesecake of respectable density.

the best part of reichl's cheesecake was the layer of sweetened sour cream that formed the last layer of the cake. 16 oz of sour cream with tbsp of sugar, poured on top and baked until set. having never seen a cheesecake paired with sour cream, i was a little skeptical, but the mild sourness really bolstered the flavor of the lemon zest and the silky texture was a nice, moist contrast to the drier cakey layer.



the recipe says that the cheesecake should be chilled at least 8 hours. i've found that the cheesecake needs a full day of sitting in the fridge to really develop its flavors. at the very least, time mellowed out the toasted pecans in the crust so they weren't overwhelming.

cheesecake is not at the top of my list for favorite sweets, but i was proud to serve this rather impressive (if not delightfully lemony) version of the new york classic.

memories from my freezer

i'm trying to set a good example for my suitemates by doing my part to clear out our overstocked freezer. for several months now, it's been impossible to get anything out of the freezer without rearranging everything inside. we've also learned how to best position ourselves to avoid falling hunks of frozen meat.

for tonight's dinner, i finally extracted the vegetarian chili i made in january. yes, JANUARY.

mostly, i followed the recipe for black bean chili in the Gourmet cookbook. unfortunately, at that time in my life, i had not yet discovered where to purchase chipotle peppers in adobo. ah... the naivety of youth. i vaguely remember nearly burning the toasted paprika and stirring the pot for ages. it came out quite well, though not as superflavorful as the stuff you can make with instant packets. i could never figure out how they got those envelopes of taco spice to be so potently pungent.

so 3 months later, i've confirmed that chili is yet another food that can keep well in the freezer. especially when you reheat it and spruce it up with meat/protein (veggie burger in my case) and some sort of cheese (nearly inedible shredded cheese product in my case). i ate it soup-style with a bit of leftover baguette from the fancy dinner i made for jack (this update coming soon).

so many memories came to me while i defrosted, reheated, and plated the chili. i thought about what the weather was like when i first made this chili. i thought about who i wanted to eat it with and who i wanted to save some for. it had been a very special chili. a chili that required lots of prep. i even bought a green pepper for the occasion. i really don't like green peppers. that may have been the only green pepper i have ever purchased in my entire life.

so much has happened since i last ate this chili. so many people in and out of my life. so many lessons learned and bad habits still uncorrected. such are my musings on leftovers.

i feel uncomfortably gassy.