Pan Fried Oysters with Anchovy Filet Sauce (Hàu Chiên với Cá Cơm Biển Phi Lê Sốt Dầu Ôliu)

A Japanese housewife is what my friend Akiko described me as when I was in Japan a month ago :-). I spent the first and last few days in Tokyo sightseeing, and of course tasting delicious food, but the majority of my time in Minamiashiga was spent grocery shopping, cooking and eating authentic Japanese food with my host family, their neighbor, and friends. I had an unforgettable time experiencing the life of a local and seizing the opportunity to learn the culture, custom, and culinary delights. I didn't leave, however, without introducing them to a few Vietnamese culinary flavors and teaching them how to cook a few of our favorite dishes. Despite the language barrier, we managed to understand one another through broken English, sign language and Google translator. What would we do without Google?

I posted most of my trip photos on my facebook page, but here are some pictures of food, shopping, and gathering when I was in Minamiashiga.

Phở - Vietnamese beef noodle soup

steaming rice cake for phở noodle

teaching these ladies how to make pork buns

bánh xèo - savory crispy crepe

introducing chè trôi nước  - sweet mung bean ball

I am learning how to cook miso soup 

oden - one of my favorite Japanese food

enjoying roasted sweet yam

One of the treasures I brought back was a recipe for oyster and shirako which I'd learn by observing Yuko's cooking. Now shirako is quite rare as it's the milt or sperm sacs of male cods. (Aren't you hungry now? Stay focus here). She pan-fried the oysters and the exotic shirako, then she cooked anchovy filet, smashed it into a paste and poured it over the fried oysters and shirako. It was mouthwatering watching her cook up this dish. I thought how my husband would really enjoy this dish with a beer or better yet some premium sake.

When I returned home, I tried to find shirako but it was impossible. I even attempted to text a head chef at a well-known restaurant in town to ask him to check with his vendor for shirako, but to no avail.  When pan-frying shirako, it needs to be coated with flour to protect its delicate and tender texture. The outside is crisps and golden brown while the inside is marvelously soft, and creamy - kinda like pork brain - which I love to eat it when I was a little kid. Little did I know how dangerous that could have been. 

shirako

So, with this recipe, there's only oysters.  If you're lucky enough to find shirako, you can prepare it the same way as oysters.  As exotic as this sounds, the flavor is in the anchovy.

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RECIPE: Pan Fried Oysters with Anchovy Filet Sauce

printable recipe

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Ingredients

1 glass jar oysters, small or medium size

1 slice  anchovy filet

potato flour

kolser salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

baby spring mix or rainbow mix

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Directions

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Preparing Oysters

Remove the oysters from the jar and let drain. Wrap the oysters in paper towel to draw out the excess fluid.  Sprinkle oysters with salt, and toss gently in the flour.

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Pan-Frying Oysters

Warm the pan, add oil and butter on medium-high heat.  Place the oysters in the butter and cook for about a minute until the bottom of the oysters are golden brown, gently turn them over and cook until golden brown.  Don't cook oysters too long as they will get dried out and tough. Remove the  fried oysters and let drain on a paper towel.

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Preparing Anchovy Fillet Sauce

In a small pan, cook olive oil and garlic over medium heat until fragrant, without letting it brown. Stir in the anchovy, and cook until anchovies are broken down, then turn off the heat.

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Preparing Baby Spring Mix

Arrange baby spring mix on a serving plate.  

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Presentation

Arrange oysters on a bed of baby spring mix. Drizzle anchovy sauce over. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over oysters. The lemon juice adds a robust acidity and concentrated floral sweetness to oysters.

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Eat well.  Stay healthy.

Custardy French Toast (Bánh Mì Rán)

Tower Cafe in Sacramento is known for its famous French toast. Once in a while, my husband would show off his romantic side by taking a few hours off work to take me there for breakfast. He knows I like this place best for its relaxed outdoor garden ambiance and the famous French toast, of course. I usually don't care much for French toast, but the setting sure lends itself at Tower Cafe.

Their French toast is slightly crisp on the exterior, silky, custardy, and  luscious in the center. It's addicting.  All these years, I had never bothered to figure out their "secret custard recipe" that they use for their famous French toast until I tasted Shokupan that I bought at my local Japanese bakery a couple weeks ago.  Shokupan is literally translated as "eating bread". The bread is about an inch thick, white, much fluffier, and softer yet resilient but not too chewy.  It would make really good French toast, I thought. 

So I whisked up a can of condensed milk and fresh eggs and soaked Shokupan slices in the egg custard. When thick slices of bread are soaked in sweet, creme anglais custard, fried in butter and oil, doused in syrup and served along fresh fruits, what could be better?

The French toast recipe I am sharing with you is inspired by Tower Cafe. They use French baguette for their French toast and people use a variety of different breads to make it. However, it's essential to use the right bread and the right thickness. The sandwich bread will not give you the same texture and delicious result as the bread is too soft and the size of the slice is too thin. Day old French baguette, challah, or brioche would also make delicious French toasts if you don't have Shokupan. 

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RECIPE: Custardy French Toast

printable recipe 

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Ingredients 

about 4 Shokupan slices or day old French baguette, cut at least 1-11/2 inch thick slices 

4 eggs

1/2 cup condensed milk 

1 cup hot water or milk 

fruits 

butter

oil
1 teaspoon vanila extract, optional

whipped butter, optional

powdered sugar, optional 

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Directions

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Preparing Fruits

Wash fruits thoroughly. Drain and set aside.

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Making Whipped Butter, optional

Beat 2 tablespoons of milk with 1/4 lb softened butter together on low speed for 1-2 minutes, or until the butter and milk combine. Then, mix on high for 2-4 minutes, or until the butter is light and fluffy.

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Preparing Custard 

Whisk condensed milk and hot water or milk until combined. Add eggs and whisk until blended. Strain the mixture to remove any egg that has not been fully incorporated.

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Preparing Bread 

Take your pick at cutting the bread slices into half, quarter, or leave it as whole. If used French baguette, cut bread diagonally into at least 1 1/2-inch for extra-thick slice.

Place bread slices in the custard bowl and give it time to soak, about five minutes. Flip bread slices and let soak for another five minutes until custard has been absorbed. The soaking time depends on the type, the size and the thickness of your bread slice. Extra-thick slices can be soaked overnight. 

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Pan-Frying French Toast

Heat equal parts butter and vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Using both butter and oil will help prevent the butter from burning.

Fry bread until golden brown on both sides. After each batch, be sure to wipe out the pan with a paper towel, then add fresh oil and butter. Otherwise, the butter will burn and brown bits will stick to the next batch of French toast.

If your bread slice is too thick, the outside of your toast is golden brown but the inside might still cold and soggy. To get the best result, you need to finish cooking the pan-fried bread in the oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes. It results in a crispy on the outside, and luscious on the inside.

day old French bread

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Presentation

Sprinkle the toast with some powder sugar and serve with whipped butter, and assorted fruits.  The buttery sweetness in this toast is just right for me so I don't even need to douse it with syrup, and top with whipped butter, but you can indulge yourself.   

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Eat well. Stay healthy.

Hai Phong, Vietnam -International Day of People with Disabilities

First, I would like to apologize for being late on updating the charity work that we had been involved with in Hải Phòng, Vietnam. This past December, The Spices Of Life teamed up with Saint Joseph Charity in Austin, Texas to bring together people with disabilities in Hải Phòng, Vietnam not just to promote the International Day of Persons with Disabilities which is observed annually on December 3rd, but also to reach out to them during the Christmas season. We appreciate the help of Caritas Hải Phòng, a local charity organization, for organizing such a wonderful event. There were 300 guests with various disabilities ranging hearing impairment, visual impairment, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophies, and disabilities resulting from motor vehicle accidents.

Many touching stories were shared at the event with the purpose of inspiring each other to thrive and grow under any circumstances so that they not only live but live beyond their physical limitations to inspire others who are in the same situation. In the case of Nguyễn Hữu Hậu who lives in Thủy Nguyên, Hải Phòng; he was paralyzed at birth due to muscular atrophy , but has risen to become the CEO of an engraving and sculpting company. This gives him the opportunity to employ many people with disabilities.

Đặng Thành Đồng is a handicapped who has strived to become a national track and field star.

Đặng Đình Thân and Vũ Thị Bính, a disabled couple - one born with a congenital condition that left him deaf-mute and the other blinded by cruel acid attacks - makes a living together by making brooms.

The event was a display of unity, love, and accomplishments, replete with stories of those who refuse to accept their fate as a disabled. We were thrilled to be a part of this phenomenal gathering.

The expenses for this event was $10,000 which included the cost of transportation for the disabled attendees, their wheelchairs, gifts, and dinner. There were approximately 93 wheelchairs given out. The Spices Of Life contributed $2000 towards 33 wheelchairs. In addition, more than 200 gifts including blankets and cash were given to the blind, deaf and those afflicted with cerebral palsy. The gifts were not of great material value, but they display a great deal of heart and love from the benefactors who make the program possible.

An intimate dinner closed the meeting with exchanges of joy and laughter in an uplifting atmosphere. Caritas Hải Phòng hoped that more benefactors will join in to continue this work to help our friends with disabilities integrate into the community and overcome their physical disabilities so that they can lead a more productive life.

On behalf of all the people with disabilities at the event and Caritas Hải Phòng, I would like to thank my blog readers and friends for your generous assistance and support.

Click this link to the event written in Vietnamese. 

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