My Half Full Glass - February 21st, 2013

Tie Kuan Yin Oolong Tea

I don't really know anything about tea, and I know absolutely nothing about this style or this source (is it reputable or not to start?), but I do know that the tea tastes wonderful!

The text on the side of the tin says that it is an Oolong tea from the Anxi area of Fujian Province in China. The Wikipedia entry confirms the particulars and also has some interesting information about the style and origin. Other web sources identified this style of Oolong as much desired and typically heavier than its siblings.

For me the tea is nutty and earthy, toasted also comes to mind. It is medium bodied with a touch of acidity or tartness in the finish. I've enjoyed it both warm and cool.

What I do know about Oolong tea is that many varieties can be brewed more than once, and in some cases the second or third brewing is the most desirable. I have tried this on a limited number of occasions with several different styles of Oolong experiencing a range of second and third running's; some I liked more than others.

I typically buy my tea at C-Mart on Lincoln Street in Boston. They have a broad selection of basic bulk teas and plenty of "interesting" varieties in bag form. Teas designed for specific maladies are not something I would recommend trying however. I would rather work by varietal and know up front about any added flowers or plants in a more straightforward way!

C-Mart is not a tea shop, actually a full service Asian grocery which is also useful, so I don't believe the teas are "fine" in anyway. That said my experience with several dozen varieties of tea from there has been positive. I typically look for the clean, newer contains and some can be opened to inspect the date sticker on the vacuum sealed package to find the teas that have been sitting in the store the shortest time.

Cheers!

Jason

Never Had Sushi? Neither Had I Until Yesterday

( A typical sushi sampler )

Why had I never had sushi before yesterday you ask? No reason really, maybe only that I wasn’t a fan of fish when I was a kid, and there wasn’t (and still isn’t) any influence from my family around sushi. It was on my list of things to try and I just got to cross it off.

I found a great guide for my first sushi experience in Richard Auffrey, a.k.a The Passionate Foodie. Richard is a certified sake professional and a passionate writer/educator on many food and wine topics. We hadn’t yet met and picked a lunch outing for what I expect will be the first of many meetings as we both weave our way through all the wine and food events in the Boston area. Richard picked the Kyotoya Sushi restaurant in Stoneham, MA, both because he has had many positive experiences there and they are BYOB. That last part would give me an opportunity to bring a couple of my homemade wine selections to have with lunch.
I can see why Richard makes a great educator. He is approachable, very easy going and is extremely knowledgeable. We talked about topics from all over the spectrum from visiting Sherry bodegas in Spain to what makes a good wine shop. I am sure we could have filled days with similar conversation.

I asked Richard to pick a sushi sampler that would offer me variety but wouldn’t be too much of a challenge for a first try. The following was returned to the table on a beautiful tray which looks quite similar to the borrowed picture above. I had my camera but was enjoying talking and tasting so much, I never broke it out!

• Ebi (Shrimp)
• Tamago (Egg)
• Sake (Salmon)
• Maguro (Tuna)
• Hotate (Scallop)
• Unagi (Fresh water eel)

For pairing with lunch I brought a 2009 Sauvignon Blanc made from Sutter Ridge frozen juice and something called Pacific Quartet , a kit wine that is a blend of Vidal, Gewurztraminer, Chenin Blanc and Muscat.

The scallops were massive, a two biter for sure. The texture was so creamy, and of course not fishy as it should be. The salmon was quite familiar in flavor, but the texture of it raw was amazing. The shrimp was the least adventuresome for me as I will eat those and lobster in volume! The tuna was really incredible and I finally know what people mean when they say that it is much more like red meat than fish. It was richer with a bit more of a chewy texture than say the scallop or the salmon. The Tamago is a sweet egg omelet served over a rice ball wrapped in a small band of seaweed. If you have never had it or have seen it, it is the item closest to you in the picture above. From what I understand the fish influence can be from a fish broth used to cook it. This was very surprising to me. The texture was similar to that of the fish and the flavor was incredible, sweet, but not like candy. The final item was the Unagi, fresh water eel that has a small amount of what Richard called a BBQ sauce and is served over rice with the seaweed wrap. The taste and texture here is a bit different. It is also a bit chewier but not displeasing. Richard said that one of the best things Kyotoya has is an Unagi sandwich that consists of the eel, sauce between two pieces of tempura sweet potato. Before I had the eel that sounded weird but not so much after. The wine pairing that worked the best was the Pacific Quartet. It has some residual sugar and a good balance of tart and sweet that ended up working very well. The Sauvignon Blanc was tasting very good, this was the first bottle I’ve opened, but was too dry and too specific of bell pepper to work with the fish.

My first sushi experience was extremely positive and will not be my last. I am going to try and work on Margot to go with me and try it too. I think she will like it, but something tells me her approach won’t be so calm and full of interest.

We also ordered from the lunch special menu. I had the Crab Rangoon, Tempura Shrimp & Veggies, Fried Tofu and Fried Rice. The tempura was the highlight and specifically the acorn squash and the sweet potato. This feels to me like and underrated delight, something I will be looking for more examples of very soon! The fried Tofu was interesting. The Tofu had some funk to it and the exterior sections were crispy and very tasting. The inside, well it wasn’t that interesting. But is Tofu ever really that interesting? Everything else was very well prepared and tasty.

I left Richard with the wines we enjoyed at lunch and two other bottles from our collection. A 2009 Petit Verdot and a 2008 Gewurztraminer/Riesling blend. I can’t wait to hear his thoughts on them. I love getting feedback because it always helps guide my future winemaking.

Hungry for sushi now? I sure am and I just had it for the first time yesterday! Thank you very much Richard.

Cheers!

Jason

Picture Citations
1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Typical_japanese_sushi_set.jpg

What’s For Dinner? Five Spice Shrimp!

Shrimp was on the list for dinner last night. I had a choice. I could use a packaged marinade and broil them like I often do or come up with something else. Serendipitously I saw several recipes that included Chinese Five Spice yesterday, and it got me thinking.

I took a quick look around and found several recipes that combined Chinese Five Spice, garlic, salt and pepper to season shrimp for pan frying. I added some homemade 2009 Viognier for additional flavor and to ensure the garlic paste I was going to use wouldn’t burn. I had already planned to serve a mushroom couscous and steamed broccoli with the shrimp, but that didn’t seem complete.

I continued thinking about Asian influences and figured that with a couple teaspoons of Five Spice and some black pepper the shrimp might have a little heat. I could throw some sweetness at the shrimp to keep things in balance. Plums! Something I had on hand to eat which would work nicely here. A plum and onion compote is where I landed.

Plum & Onion Compote

3 purple plums, cut into ½ cubes
½ medium onion, chopped
2 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
¼ cup of water
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 oz spiced simple syrup (2x syrup spiced with cinnamon, clove and allspice)
1 tsp rice vinegar
Additional cinnamon & clove to taste

Using a medium saucepan sauté the onions in the oil over medium heat. Add the plums, water, ginger and garlic and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the coriander, salt, pepper, spiced syrup and vinegar. Mix well. Continue to simmer until the plums are soft but not falling apart. Add additional spices, salt and pepper to taste.

Five Spice Shrimp

30 raw large shrimp, deveined and shells removed
2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic paste
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 oz dry white wine

Clean and pat the shrimp dry. Toss the shrimp with the Five Spice, salt and pepper. Allow to sit for 15 minutes. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp and toss to coat with oil. When the shrimp begin to get pink Add the garlic paste and gently mix it in with the shrimp. Add the wine and cook the shrimp through. Immediately remove them from the heat and the pan to prevent overcooking.

For the plating I placed the shrimp overtop the plum/onion compote. The broccoli was steamed using a bamboo steamer and the couscous was the handy boxed kind found in the rice section of your local grocery. We generally season our broccoli with spray butter (Smart Balance to I Can’t Believe It’s Not) and grated parmesan cheese, although that isn’t shown in the photo.

I paired the meal with the 2009 Viognier that I used to cook the shrimp. This particular wine was not as aromatic as I had hoped, but in its later age and mellowing the flavors have come out a bit. It is a great middle of the road wine for a dish that isn’t very rich, spicy or complex.

Cheers!

--Jason