Korean BBQ -- A Place Of Plenty In The Torrential Rain

En route to our adventure described in the last post to the Artisan Cheese Festival, we had to endure a 9 1/2 hour drive through torrential rain. The usual travel time is about 5 hours from Santa Barbara to the Bay Area, but that Friday was filled with National Weather Service Flash Flood warnings. The 101 Freeway around Gilroy was crawling at 40 mph with buckets of water pouring from the skies, flooding the roadway and splashing up from the tires creating limited visibility. The sinuous 17, scary on even a sunny day, was worse in the rain with insane drivers determined to plow through its curves at high speed despite the slick conditions.

We had our sights on dinner at a Mongolian BBQ that my daughter knew about in San Jose, but it was impossible to navigate when street signs weren't visible through the diagonal sheets of rain. So, we found the most promising exit for restaurants and turned off, finding the Korea B.B.Q. Buffet (1783 W. San Carlos). Korean food is based on rice, meat, vegetables, tofu and kimchi--a fermented cabbage dish laced with pepper that is either heaven or hell depending on your view. My father loved kimchi, but my mother made him keep it on the porch saying it stunk up the refrigerator and always made a big show of holding her nose when it came into the house. It is odiferous! I love it--crunchy, salty, sour and full of red chili pepper, it goes particularly well with chasuke--rice and green tea mixed together in a bowl. This particular Korean bbq was a meat lover's paradise--I haven't seen so much meat piled onto customers' plates since I was last in a churrascaria! Two long buffet tables of food bisected the restaurant, one of which was laden with meat of every description. Customers had piled their trays with what looked like a week's worth of meat. Each table was built around a grill where one cooked their selections. My daughter took a modest portion, but the waitress didn't approve. She was already miffed that I refused any meat, so she was determined that at least one person at the table had their money's worth. She fussed over my daughter--bringing extra plates of meat and turning each piece over for her until it was suitably cooked. I was happy--I had two servings of glass noodles which I love to make at home (see recipe below) plus some difficult to eat tiny crab legs and shrimp. A novelty was kelp deep fried for just a second, then sprinkled with sugar. The glass noodle recipe below is easily tailored to whatever you have in the frig at the moment--other vegetables and meat can be cooked and sesame seeds or nuts sprinkled on top.

GLASS NOODLES (see bottom of plate in photo at right):
1 (14 ounce) package glass noodles*

1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1" of ginger root, peeled and minced or 2 Tbsp. canned minced ginger
6 Chinese cabbage leaves, sliced into 1/2"
1 carrot, peeled then shaved into long slices
1 4 oz. can shitake mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
*optional: 1 cake extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce, approximate
2 Tbsp. sugar
Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the glass noodles, turn off heat and stir noodles so they are completely immersed. Let sit and they will soften in the hot water. In a large frying pan or wok, heat the sesame oil over medium heat and cook the garlic, ginger and onion until softened. Do not let the garlic burn--adjust the heat if necessary. Add the Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, carrot and tofu and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often, until the carrot is cooked but still crunchy. Drain the noodles and add to the pan along with the sugar and half of the soy sauce. The soy sauce measurement is approximate because soy sauce varies in saltiness according to type and brand. You want to find the balance of sweet and salty--so start with half the soy sauce, mix well, taste, then add more soy sauce as needed. Serve warm or cold. Serves 2 as main dish or 4 for a side dish. Pair this recipe with a chilled oaken Chardonnay.
*Glass noodles are also called cellophane noodles, Chinese vermicelli, bean threads, bean thread noodles, or saifun. They are made from mung bean or yam starch and look like plastic threads uncooked and turn clear or "glassy" when cooked.

This week's Online Grapevine special is a sampler of four big, bold red wines, including a Shiraz rated 94 points by Wine Spectator.
Spice up tortilla soup with bold flavors of green chili, onion and tomato. Tortilla chips and melting cheddar cheese top this satisfying soup that can be made meatless for vegetarians or with ground turkey. Pair with the fruit-forward Cedar Knoll 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. I devised this recipe when I came home late and wanted something fast and nutritious that would use up salsa I had in the refrigerator. I had the leftover soup the next day without the chips and cheese--adding cooked baby potatoes. It's an easy and fast recipe either way. Makes 2 servings.

GREEN CHILI TORTILLA SOUP:
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 lb. ground turkey or tofurkey (tofu-based turkey)
10 oz. can green chili, drained and minced or 5 fresh chilis, roasted, seeded, peeled and minced
1 cup fresh salsa (Salsa Fresca--with tomato and onion)
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
fresh ground pepper
salt to taste
2 cups tortilla chips
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Heat the oil in a pot over low heat and add the garlic, oregano and ground turkey or tofurkey. Stir and cook until until for 3-4 minutes, separating the ground turkey or tofurkey into chunks. Add the minced green chili, salsa, broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for one minute. Remove the bay leaf. Season with a few grinds of black pepper and salt (if needed--I used none). Ladle the hot soup into wide bowls and crumble the tortilla chips on top. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.