I went with Robert Mueller to the Japanese Kitchen for Chirashi
today. He prefers their Chirashi because
it includes Robert’s favorite, uni or sea urchin roe.
Sushi Items – Uni (Sea Urchin)
What is uni?
Uni (oo-nee) is the Japanese name for the
edible part of the Sea Urchin.
While colloquially referred to as the roe (eggs), uni is actually the
animal’s gonads (which produce the milt or roe). Uni ranges in color from rich
gold to light yellow, and has a creamy consistency that some love and is
off-putting to others. It is nevertheless one sushi item that is in incredible demand
around the world, which is reflected in its price. Sea Urchins are a rare treat
for those who acquire a taste. Uni has a light, sweet, and somewhat briny
flavor and is is usually enjoyed as nigiri sushi or sashimi. Uni is also
sometimes served with a raw quail egg. Uni is also considered an aphrodisiac by
some. It is harvested throughout the world, however the west coast of the U.S.
has in recent years become one of the largest sources, and much of the harvest
finds its way overseas to eager Asian customers. Each sea urchin contains five
‘lobes’ and the harvesting of the uni is a very delicate process as the meat
easily falls apart. Uni is a somewhat seasonal item and is at its best when
served from late fall through the winter, with December considered the best
month by Japanese standards.
I love all sushi
about equally, so I gave him my uni because he treats the act of eating uni as
a religious experience, probably acquired when he lived in San Diego. I think I also came to a realization today
about my Japanese Kitchen ordering technique.
Instead of saying I do not like the red snapper and mackerel, to which
they simply eliminate those two items from the selection, I should ask if they
will substitute yellow tail for those two items. Unlike Azuma, Japanese Kitchen only includes
one piece of each type of fish, except for two pieces of red tuna. So I might get more yellowtail by effecting a
substitution. At Azuma, I have perfected
my ordering. Their menu states that the Chirashi
Donburi lunch includes 12 pieces of seafood, so I designate the type and number
of each seafood item: usually 4 yellowtail, 2 salmon, 2 super white tuna, 2 red
tuna, and 2 octopus.
I like the Japanese Kitchen Chirashi very much because it
includes more items including pickled umiboshi plums and it makes its sushi
rice sweeter. But it costs $4.00 more
than Azuma, so I am ambivalent as to where I go.
This evening I did not plan a meal so we started to thaw out
Chicken Basil sausages from Sprouts and then when I fetched the PPI couscous and
Crawfish Etoufée, we discovered that we had a larger quantity of Etoufée than
we thought, so we each ate a bowl of it.
I added the PPI ingredients from the Bearnaise Sauce base to it when it
was heating, which gave the couscous a decidedly vinegary taste. Suzette thought it had gone bad until I
explained what I had done.
Last week I saw an article in the latest issue of the AARP
magazine that said that dark chocolate is good for you and I know that Suzette
and I and Willy seem to be addicted to chocolate. This discovery triggered a new theory that I
am developing; that I can make a more healthy and delicious form of chocolate fudge.
In support of this new theory, last Saturday when I went to Trader
Joe’s I bought a Pound Plus bar of 72% Dark Chocolate and then I went to Lowe’s
where I bought a can of evaporated milk and a 12 oz. bag of semi-sweet
chocolate chips. Here are the ingredients' wrappings.
After dinner tonight I decided to try my new recipe for fudge.
I used the standard Mr. Stover’s recipe,
but substituted the 72% Dark Chocolate and reduced the sugar from four cups to
two cups and used fewer pecans. I also
did not make the mistake of using condensed milk instead of evaporated milk.
Fudge Recipe
1/4 lb. butter
4 cups of sugar
1 can evaporated milk
Bring these three ingredients to a boil and boil for four
minutes.
Then take off heat and add a 1 lb. chocolate bar, 1 cup of chopped
nuts, 12 oz. chocolate chips and ½ of a bag of marshmallows (about 6 oz.). Then stir to combine all ingredients and
spread in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and refrigerate until cooled and hard.
Tonight I noticed the evaporated milk and butter accepted
the smaller amount of sugar more readily and it seemed to go into
solution better. The initial three ingredients
boiled into a smooth thick liquid and the chocolate and marshmallows also
seemed to going into solution more easily.
I tasted the leftover fudge on the sides of the casserole and it was
smooth and not gritty like the last batch of fudge. Also, it seemed super charged with a concentration
of caffeine. A small taste from the bowl
gave me in a buzz. According to Wikipedia,
a Hershey bar of 45% chocolate has about ¼ the amount of caffeine as a cup of
regular coffee. Suzette tasted the fudge
also and confirmed that I had overcome the biggest problem with the last batch,
“It is not gritty.”
So I put the pan of fudge into the fridge to chill. Tomorrow we will start official human experiments
to determine the proper dosage and formulation of ingredients in fudge that
will satisfy one’s addictive urge and enhance the anti-oxidant effects of
chocolate without overdosing the body with toxic levels of sugar or caffeine.
Bon Appétit
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