Good morning! Today we have for you:
California dreamin’ (and cookin’)
Hello, friends. I hope this finds you well and warm, whether indoors or out. This time of year, I feel bad when distant friends scraping ice off their cars ask what I’m doing here in Los Angeles. It feels mean to mention running on the beach or hiking through wildflowers, even if I do miss snow falling outside my window. Wherever you are, there are ways to channel California warmth during the dregs of winter. You can watch Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Inherent Vice” or “Boogie Nights,” both set in Southern California and suffused with the golden haze of 1970s sunlight. Or you can get in the kitchen. This savory, tangy stir-fry from the chef Charles Phan tastes distinctly like the so-called Sunshine State, with its use of local greens in a Vietnamese classic. Garlic-marinated cubes of beef tenderloin are deeply browned, tossed with onions and scallions and then glazed in a blend of vinegar, sugar and soy and fish sauces by constantly shaking the wok or skillet. That smoky mix of meat and onion is slid over a tangle of watercress for its cool crispness. Featured Recipe Bò Lúc Lắc (Shaking Beef)This rendition of bò lúc lắc stood out as a signature dish at Mr. Phan’s Slanted Door restaurant in San Francisco. While he kept the sauce’s basic ingredients, he opted for beef tenderloin instead of the tougher cuts more commonly used and shook the beef only until it landed on the rare side of medium-rare. Setting the meat over watercress instead of tamer lettuce and cucumber added a peppery freshness. Touches like these may seem standard now, but that’s thanks in part to Mr. Phan’s brilliant cooking and generous spirit. His then-trailblazing use of local ingredients and different techniques in Vietnamese recipes influenced the way chefs cooked in California and beyond — as did his humor, kindness and a giving spirit that you can taste in his food. When he died last year, his loss was felt deeply by all who knew him, but his impact endures in his restaurants and recipes. You definitely want to make this dish, and you can serve it with steamed rice and his bok choy with shiitakes or Swiss chard with caramelized shallots. (If you don’t eat red meat, try his spicy caramelized shrimp with lemongrass.) Here are more tastes of California cooking to bring warmth and joy: Citrus, beet and avocado salad: Ali Slagle describes this shingled plating of seasonal oranges, grapefruits, tangerines with rounds of roasted beets and avocado as a “winter caprese.” It is plenty refreshing on its own, but Ali created it as a base for whatever you’d like. Rounds of mozzarella would take it closer to caprese and seared salmon would turn it into a complete meal. Mini Kabob’s chicken lule cutlets: The Armenian American chef Armen Martirosyan of Mini Kabob in Glendale, Calif., graciously shared this recipe with Christian Reynoso, who adapted it for home kitchens. Chicken thighs are ground to a paste with garlic and mixed with puréed onion and white pepper for butter-seared patties that end up juicy and complex despite having only five ingredients. Keep the fat on the meat for the most flavor and be sure to use white pepper for its round floral aroma. If you’re meal prepping, you’ll be happy to have these in the fridge for sandwiches. Silken tofu-miso dressing: This past week, I wrote my column about this creamy yet dairy-free sauce that’s boosted with the umami of barley miso and the richness of sesame. It comes from the chefs Travis Lett and Ian Robinson of RVR restaurant in Los Angeles, who toss it with chicories in winter for the sharp bite of radicchio, endive or escarole against the natural sweetness of tofu. The thick, smooth dressing is so good, I eat it by the spoonful, toss it with noodles, use it as a dip and spread it on toast. BBQ chicken pizza: For a meal that doesn’t just transport you to California, but also to ’90s mall culture, you want this pie for dinner. Tejal Rao adapted this recipe from Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield of California Pizza Kitchen and told the story of its inception. This was always my order at C.P.K. and it actually tastes better when made at home with Tejal’s suggestion of starting with homemade dough and barbecue sauce. She also recommends mushrooms in place of chicken if you want it meatless, but I’ve found it’s still plenty tasty if you just leave out the chicken. Date bars: Dates, native to North Africa and the Middle East, now feel distinctly Californian as well since they were first planted in the Coachella Valley in the late 1890s. The chef and cookbook author Tanya Holland shared this recipe with Korsha Wilson to highlight the natural jammy sweetness of the dried fruit. I love making a batch of these on Sundays to cut into small bars to enjoy as a breakfast and a snack throughout the week. And since it is citrus season, I grate orange and lemon zest into the dough and filling. See you next week! For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started.
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