Seared Grapefruit Carpaccio

To be served on Friday, 4/22/2011

I am taking a chance with this one, and not everyone may like this one.

Growing up in Taiwan, we have always had the practice of dipping fresh fruits in a soy sauce and garlic mix and the results were always… surprisingly good!  I am making a dish out of it with some hardy slices of grapefruit and my amateur attempt at presentation.

Goal: to make a refreshing appetizer-esque dish that is NOT a salad (I’ve only had 3 or 4 of those in a row).  The sour-bitterness of the grapefruit needs to be complemented but not lost.

My bed of sauce is a mix of soy sauce, finely chopped garlic, sesame oil, Chinese black vinegar, and some optional sriracha sauce on the side (upper right hand corner of the plate in picture above) for some kick.  I then top it off with some lemon juice and roughly chopped mint leaves to give a fresh aroma and taste.

Finally before serving, I lightly coat the top of the grapefruit slices with sugar powder and melt it with a creme brulee torch; also slightly caramelizing the grapefruit at the same time.

Ingredients:
grapefruit
soy sauce
finely chopped garlic
Chinese black vinegar
sesame oil
sriracha sauce
lemon juice
roughly chopped mint
sugar powder

 

Parsley Stuff Mushrooms

Served: 4/1/2011

Ingredients:

Shiitake Mushrooms
Parsley
Garlic
Onions
Black Pepper
Olive Oil
Soy Sauce
Chinese Black Vinegar

Directions:

Remove stems from mushrooms and bake until soft.  Usually 350F for 10 – 15 minutes will do.

Dice the onion, and caramelize it with garlic, soy sauce, black pepper, Chinese black vinegar, and olive oil.  This will act as the “dressing” to the parsley. Chinese black vinegar is a common item that can be found in most, well, Chinese markets.

Rough chop the parsley, and toss it in with the caramelized onions.  The ratio I use is about 8:1 parsley to onions.  Depending on how much soy sauce and vinegar you used in caramelizing and your personal preference, you may want to adjust that ratio.

Make sure the pan is cooled (at most warm to the touch) when mixing in the parsley, we don’t want to end up cooking it.

Now, stuff (or in some cases, top) the mushrooms with our parsley, and we’re done!