Hello Dalgona my old friend 🎵
Plus a not-too-sweet sesame swirl loaf, and a recipe for sweet-and-sour napa cabbage 🥬
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, we make swirly sesame tea cake, and get caffeinated. Check out past posts here, where I am usually not that mad, and please follow my Instagram @fivethingsiate.
Brown sugar and cardamom Dalgona coffee at home
Here’s a calming ASMR video.
On the one-year anniversary of lockdown, I woke up bleary-eyed and stiff. The warm breeze from the window, a welcome surprise March, made me temporarily forget what month or year I was in. I set out to put together a healthy breakfast; and then I set that bowl of breakfast down. I pulled out my electric whisk, dumped brown sugar and instant coffee into a tall glass, and whipped together a Dalgona coffee. So many things have come and gone since last March, this year of endless grief, stifling isolation, but also some big little lovely things. But one thing remains true: Dalgona coffee, with its sweet, creamy, glossy mega-dose of caffeine, is both incredibly excessive and absolutely glorious. I made my Grief Coffee with brown sugar and a sprinkle of ground cardamom for an extra flavor boost. Just whip together a tablespoon of instant coffee, a tablespoon of unpacked dark brown sugar, and one tablespoon of hot water for several minutes until thick and glossy. Fill a tall pretty glass with ice, top with two-thirds cup of whole milk, and spoon the fluffy sugary coffee on top. Stir, and sprinkle with ground cardamom.
Swirled sesame tea cake at home
Recipe from Claire Saffitz, who has since quit Bon Appetit
This is a beautiful and interesting cake that turned out in a way I did not at all expect it to. I was surprised it turned out Not Too Sweet, despite containing a full cup of sugar, and in fact tasted kind of rich and savory. I was really hesitant about the use of toasted sesame oil (unlawful abuse of sesame oil in recipes written by white people being one of my greatest pet peeves), but the savory note it imparted reminded me of my favorite sweet-and-salty hēi zhīma jiāoyán (黑芝麻椒盐 / black sesame with spiced salt) cake from Dào xiāng cūn. The texture is moist but dense, sort of like if a peanut butter cookie was a loaf of bread. At this point I will remind the reader that I am an unreliable narrator and may have baked this cake in a too-small loaf pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and then, because I was having a bad day, left it in the oven at 300 degrees for the length of a rage walk halfway around the Central Park reservoir. Also, I definitely used Greek yogurt despite the recipe advising against it. YMMV.
Tofu salad at Takahachi Bakery
25 Murray Street, New York, NY 10007 (Also available on Seamless)
I love Takahachi Bakery so much. I love the many varieties of anpan, the friendly staff, and that there are a dozen matcha-flavored things on the menu. I love that the salads come in two sizes, so if you want to get an extra large slice of cake and an extra small salad for lunch you can make that happen. (I definitely make that happen.) My favorite salad is the unassuming Tofu Salad, which is understated perfection. (I am not going to review any of the pastries today because it was hard to choose which to write about.) I bought this salad simply to fulfill my greens requirement but it turned out to be a surprisingly filling (when purchased in the full size) and satisfying lunch. A creamy block of white tofu rests on a bed of wakame (my favorite!) seaweed salad and mixed greens. The sesame dressing, nutty and rich, brings everything together. Little details like sesame sprinkles and strips of pickled ginger add a flavor boost.If I lived nearby, I would definitely come here for lunch every day.
Vega “protein made simple” powder in Dark Chocolate flavor at Whole Foods
This is an extremely off-brand entry, but Approximately Once A Year I really crave protein shakes, specifically chocolate flavored pea-based drinks. This usually occurs in January, which is the month in which I exercise, but this year due to a global pandemic I’m a few months delayed. This is partly due to the fact that sweetened, chocolate-flavored drinks are a secret joy of mine, like an adult Nesquik, and chocolate milk kind of makes me nauseous. The other part is due to the fact that I’m sort of obsessed with instant beverages. It brings out both the Prepper Nerd inside of me, and also my fixation with/evangelism for scientific replicability. Theoretically if you purchase a pre-made instant beverage and you own a kitchen scale you can replicate the exact same result every day which tickles me, Lover of Chaos. The downside to all of this is that most protein powders taste disgusting. But not this one! The issue I always have with veggie protein powders is that they’re oddly gritty, but this one mixes up pretty nice and smooth. The ultimate test is that it tastes good when blended with just water and a few ice cubes (always use less water than specified, maybe 6oz). It also only has five(!) ingredients and no fake sugar, which I really appreciate.
Cù liū báicài or sweet and sour napa cabbage (醋溜白菜) at home
Make this at your home, too.
My 2021 diet is 80% napa cabbage and white rice*, to the pleasure of my ancestors (and perhaps the displeasure of Keto bros). It’s cheap (although the price of bai cai in NYC is jaw dropping) and I swear bai cai can survive a nuclear fallout without wilting. I make cu liu bai cai (literally vinegar-cooked napa cabbage) at least twice a week. With white rice and some seasoned scrambled eggs or tofu, it’s a quick and easy meal that hits that cravings trifecta of sweet, sour, and spicy. I never measure my ingredients when I’m cooking, so this is a very approximate guide. The key is just to balance sugar and vinegar and spice to your liking. To make one big serving, heat a splash of vegetable oil in a big pan or wok. Add finely sliced strips of fresh ginger, and the whites of one scallion, cut in quarters lengthwise and into 1 inch strips. Sizzle until the oil is flavorful, and add a quarter head of napa cabbage, cut into bite size pieces, plus the chopped green part of the scallion. Season with salt and a splash of Shaoxing cooking wine, and cover until wilted. Meanwhile, whisk two tablespoons of seasoned rice vinegar**, a full teaspoon of Sriracha or chili-garlic sauce, a teaspoon of dark brown sugar, a spoonful of water and a teaspoon of cornstarch together. This is your slurry. When cabbage is cooked through, slowly pour in slurry, and mix to coat. Cook until thickened and glossy. Sprinkle with crushed chili pepper, white pepper, and optionally, a drop of toasted sesame oil.
*Supplemented by protein powder so we’re all good!
**I use Japanese seasoned rice wine vinegar here, because I like to make this dish a little lighter. Traditionally, you should use the good black vinegar; if so, you’ll need more sugar (probably a tablespoon to two tablespoons of black vinegar) and more chili pepper to balance it out.
Have a good weekend,
Soph
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