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Book Summary InformationAuthor: David Chang, Peter Meehan Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2009-10-27 ISBN: 030745195X Number of pages: 304 Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Book Reviews of MomofukuBook Review: Interesting stories about the restaurants. The recipes are more involved than I expected Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I wanted this book under the mistaken impression that making a good bowl of noodles couldn't be that big a deal. I was wrong and soon realized this is not the cookbook for me. But I think this is a good cookbook for the right person; I'll try to review it so you will know if this is going to be right for you or not.
There are two reasons why you might really want this cookbook. First, you may be interested in the story behind David Chang's Momofuku family of restaurants. On that level, I found the book very entertaining. David Chang may be a hard working, creative, inventive cook but he is also very lucky and he is quick to acknowledge this. The book tells how he got started cooking and gives stories from some of the places he worked on his way, including at ramen shops in Japan. These are some entertaining stories but I have a warning for people who don't like cursing - Chang does it. A lot. I'm fairly certain none of my other cookbooks have some many F-bombs sprinkled throughout.
The first of the restaurants was Noodle Bar. Chang wanted to open a ramenya in New York and this lead to my misunderstanding: I thought recipes for making noodle dishes would be simple. But the recipe for Momofuku Ramen is actually at least six recipes (ramen broth, tare, dashi, noodles, pork belly, pork shoulder) plus the instructions for the various toppings that go on the ramen. This isn't the cookbook for you if you just want to make one bowl of ramen. Even the simplest noodle recipe (ginger scallion sauce for ginger scallion noodles) makes 3 cups - far more than I could use before it spoiled. The others all require making the ingredients in quantities too large for just me. There are also recipes for Momofuku pork buns, chicken and egg, chicken wings, Momofuku fried chicken, pan roasted asparagus with poached egg, brussels sprouts with kimchi puree and bacon, roasted sweet summer corn with miso butter, bacon and roasted onions, cherry tomato salad, peas with horseradish, pan-roasted bouchot mussels with os, bacon dashi with potatoes and clams, Sichuan crawfish, grilled octopus salad with konbu, bamboo shoots and pickled chiles, and shrimp and grits. I think I would enjoy eating the food at Noodle Bar. That brings me to the other reason someone would want this cookbook: you like the food at one or more of the Momofuku restaurants, are serious about cooking, are cooking for more than one person (or have freezer space for the extras), and are willing to take the time to make the various components for each recipe. If that's you, then you may just adore this book.
The second restaurant was Ssäm Bar, which was intended to be like an Asian burrito bar. The story of this restaurant is another entertaining story of success despite the odds. The recipes in this section are for oysters (and garnishes), bay scallops with dashi, chive oil and pineapple, Maine jonah crab claws, cured hamachi with horseradish-edamame puree, fuji apple salad with kimchi, smoked jowl, and maple labne, roasted mushroom salad with braised pistachios, pickled sunchokes and radishes, fried cauliflower (or Brussels sprouts) with fish sauce vinaigrette, XO sauce, bo ssäm, marinated hanger steak ssäm, pork belly ssäm, grilled lemongrass pork sausage ssäm, spicy pork sausage and rice cakes, pork shoulder steak, pan-roasted dry-aged rib eye, "brick" chicken, pig's head torchon, bánh mì, chicken liver terrine, ham terrine, and momofuku shortcakes. This food also sounded quite good.
The third restaurant was Ko. This is the restaurant into which they put the most planning because Chang had built a reputation by that time. It would be high end, expensive food but with a lower end aesthetic. The recipes from Ko are chicharrón (basically fried pork rinds!), english muffins, fluke with buttermilk, soy and poppy seeds, Ko kimchi consommé with pork belly, oysters and napa cabbage, soft-cooked hen egg with caviar, onions and potato, roasted new jersey diver scallop, shaved foie gras with lychee and pine nut brittle, 48-hour short rib with braised daikon, pickled carrot and mustard seeds, rice with miso soup, cereal milk, and fried apple pie.
In addition to the recipes and stories about the restaurants, there are also sections on some of the people who provide ingredients to the restaurants and a scary sounding ingredient -- meat glue. Even though I decided the recipes were either more involved or required making ingredients in quantities too large for just me, I thought this book was highly entertaining. Someone willing to actually make several of the recipes, would probably adore it.
Summary of MomofukuNever before has there been a phenomenon like Momofuku. A once-unrecognizable word, it's now synonymous with the award-winning restaurants of the same name in New York City: Momofuku Noodle Bar, Ssäm Bar, Ko, and Milk Bar. Chef David Chang has single-handedly revolutionized cooking in America with his use of bold Asian flavors and impeccable ingredients, his mastery of the humble ramen noodle, and his thorough devotion to pork. Momofuku is both the story and the recipes behind the cuisine that has changed the modern-day culinary landscape. Chang relays with candor the tale of his unwitting rise to superstardom, which, though wracked with mishaps, happened at light speed. And the dishes shared in this book are coveted by all who've dined?or yearned to?at any Momofuku location (yes, the pork buns are here). This is a must-read for anyone who truly enjoys food. From Momofuku: Ginger Scallion Noodles and Ginger Scallion Sauce Our ginger scallion noodles are an homage to/out-and-out rip-off of one of the greatest dishes in New York City: the $4.95 plate of ginger scallion noodles at Great New York Noodletown down on the Bowery in Chinatown. Ginger scallion sauce is one of the greatest sauces or condiments ever. Ever. It?s definitely a mother sauce at Momofuku, something that we use over and over and over again. If you have ginger scallion sauce in the fridge, you will never go hungry: stir 6 tablespoons into a bowl of hot noodles--lo mein, rice noodles, Shanghai thick noodles--and you?re in business. Or serve over a bowl of rice topped with a fried egg. Or with grilled meat or any kind of seafood. Or almost anything. At Noodle Bar, we add a few vegetables to the Noodletown dish to appease the vegetarians, add a little sherry vinegar to the sauce to cut the fat, and leave off the squirt of hoisin sauce that Noodletown finishes the noodles with. (Not because it?s a bad idea or anything, just that we?ve got hoisin in our pork buns, and too much hoisin in a meal can be too much of a good thing. Feel free to add it back.) The dish goes something like this: boil 6 ounces of ramen noodles, drain, toss with 6 tablespoons Ginger Scallion Sauce (below); top the bowl with 1/4 cup each of Bamboo Shoots (page 54 of Momofuku); Quick-Pickled Cucumbers (page 65 of Momofuku); pan-roasted cauliflower (a little oil in a hot wide pan, 8 or so minutes over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the florets are dotted with brown and tender all the way through; season with salt); a pile of sliced scallions; and a sheet of toasted nori. But that?s because we?ve always got all that stuff on hand. Improvise to your needs, but know that you need ginger scallion sauce on your noodles, in your fridge, and in your life. For real.-- David Chang Ingredients - 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced scallions (greens and whites; from 1 to 2 large bunches)
- 1/2 cup finely minced peeled fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons usukuchi (light soy sauce)
- 3/4 teaspoon sherry vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
(Makes about three cups) Directions Mix together the scallions, ginger, oil, soy, vinegar, and salt in a bowl. Taste and check for salt, adding more if needed. Though it?s best after 15 or 20 minutes of sitting, ginger scallion sauce is good from the minute it?s stirred together up to a day or two in the fridge. Use as directed, or apply as needed.
Asian Books
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