CHEW ON THIS: JAPANESE MOCHI

Until recently, my experience with Japanese 
"Mochi" was limited to seeing boxes with that word in the frozen dessert section at Trader Joe's. I finally got to taste them and became hooked on the chewy rice texture. 

Mochi is rice-covered ice cream, however; ice cream mochi is but one of the many different kinds of mochi: Mochi actually refers just to the paste made by pounding steamed glutinous rice into dough, and then forming it in various shapes.

The exact origin of mochi is unknown, though it is said to have come from China. By the 8th century it had become a Japanese New Year's treat eaten exclusively by noblemen and the emperor known as "wagashi" and "mochigashi." 

Mochitsuki

As with many things traditional Japanese, there is a ceremony to prepare mochi called "mochitsuki," where two people, using special mallets, beat the rice in a wooden bowl. Modern mochi is also made by machine, and is found in every Asian grocery store in Southern California.

Dried Machined Mochi Bricks

Mochi Production

A match-box sized brick of plain mochi has the same caloric content as a bowl of rice. Ancient Samurai took mochi to the battlefield for its ease of transport and preparation. Japanese farmers eat mochi on cold winter days to keep up their strength. Today, it is eaten every day by all classes of people.

The savory version Japanese eat at home come as dried mochi bricks, found in any Japanese market. Heating by baking or grilling renders the mochi soft and inflated, and can then be dipped in soy sauce, or cut into smaller pieces as dumplings in soup.    

Grilled Mochi Pieces

Mochi Soup

Grilled Mochi with Nori

 The mildly sweet wagashi version now comes in literally thousands of varieties with different flavor pairings of mochi and fillings, due to centuries of the New Year's Day tradition.  The level of artistry to create these colorful candies grows each year.

Ichigo Daifuku

The basic is called "Daifuku," with a plain soft round mochi skin stuffed with sweetened red bean paste. "Ichigo Daifuku" is a version containing a whole strawberry inside.  "Kusa Mochi" is a green variety of mochi flavored with mugwort. And the list goes on and on.

Assorted Mochi

A Showcase of Mochi

 In Los Angeles, the best selection of fresh, homemade wagashi is at Fugetsu-Do in Little Tokyo.  It's a small old-fashioned Japanese sweets shop that offers a few dozen varieties of the treats.  The friendliest to the American palate are the fruit-flavored ones but don't be afraid to try the milder authentic daifuku with red or white bean paste: It's a texture thing.

For the ice cream version, head around the corner to Mikayawa. They not only make the ice cream mochi for Trader Joe's, but offer many more flavors at the Little Tokyo store.

Asoorted Ice Cream Mochi

One freezer case holds ice cream mochi in rich creamy flavors like strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, green tea, red bean and mango.   

Another freezer case will make your tongue hard with food woody when you read the sign "Mochi-Lato." That translates to gelato mochi, an even denser, richer and creamier ice cream ball in gourmet flavors like plum wine, hazelnut and toasted coconut to leave you joyously sticky.  






Fugetsu-Do
315 E 1st St

Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 625-8595 

Mikayawa

118 Japanese Village Plz Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 624-1681

GROUP WOODY IN LA'S CHINATOWN

One thing Chinese do well are banquets.  If you're gonna have food woody it's better to have a lot of people to share it with.  That's why many restaurants in LA's Chinatown are quite large to handle these celebrating groups.  They tend to serve Cantonese style, which is more mild and subtle in flavors, and for that reason it's great for groups: A bottle of hot sauce lets you customize your plate.

The owners of these restaurants are all great businessmen and will never let any reasonable offer go by.  So it's up to you to use your top organizing savvy to get the best deal.

I've been to a few banquet dinners that are total food orgies with over a dozen courses that cost less than $30 per person.  Use these menus and prices as a point of reference when negotiating on your own.

Best of the Cantonese is Golden City Seafood. I came for an intimate Chinese new year's eve dinner for 60. We had 14 courses and service was amazingly fast and courteous and ran $26 per person tax and tip included. The menu was:

 Westlake Beef and Tofu Soup - Kung Pao Shrimp

Minced Squab Lettuce Wraps

Hong Kong Sticky Rice with Pork

Cod with Black Bean Sauce - Filet Mignon French Style

Singapore Chow Fun - Spicy Chicken with Green Beans

Orange Peel Chicken - Ma Po tofu

Yee Mein with Lobster - Sauteed Spinach with Garlic

 Oysters with Black Bean Sauce

Eggplant with Spicy Garlic.

The first 10 courses were met with excitement when they arrived at the table, but the last few were met with resentment that we had more to eat.  My motto is: "Don't let not-being hungry stop you from eating," but I could only get through 12 courses. I skipped the tofu course and by the time the last dish of eggplant arrived I had given up.

Westlake Beef Soup

French Style Filet Mignon

Yee Mein with Lobster

Another great option is right across the street at Master Chef. For $25 per person, a group of 30 dined on:

Mixed Seafood/Tofu Soup - Dungeness crab

Peking Duck w/steamed buns and Hoisin sauce

Stir-Fried Scallops with Asparagus and X.O. Sauce

Deep Fried Pork Chop with House Special Sauce

Stir Fried Sliced Beef with Chinese Pea Pods

XO Special Fried Rice - Glazed Honey Walnut Shrimp

Pan Fried Rock Cod Fillet with Black Bean Sauce

Crispy Deep Fried Chicken with Spicy Garlic

Black Cod with Black Bean Sauce

Shrimp with Walnuts

Crispy Peking Duck Skin with Buns

Fried Pork Chop with House Sauce

Weekends are great for entertaining and celebrating over brunch where Dim Sum is the popular choice. The only challenge is that these restaurants usually don't take reservations. My favorite "DS" feasting in Chinatown is Empress Pavillion.

I was there on a busy New Year's day with a group of 12. The place is huge and filled with large tables so the wait averages about 1/2 hour. If you know someone who knows someone on staff, or the owners, you can get seated faster. Or set the time way before noon.

At many dim sum joints, the small plates of food come around on push carts and you take what you like, they mark the price on a card, and at the end of the meal all the marks are added up for the total. The 12 of us ate like we'd never eat again and paid only $16 per person. We enjoyed:

A cart of Dim Sum moving through the restaurant

BBQ Pork - Pork Buns - Shu Mai

Shrimp Noodles - Beef Noodles - Fried Calamari

Chicken Feet - Soy Sauce Chicken - Turnip Cakes

Chinese Broccoli - Sesame Jello - Custard Tarts

and more ...

Turnip Cakes

Custard Tarts

Assorted Dim Sum

Beef Noodles

Whether you're a group of 5, 10 or 20, LA's Chinatown is a fun place to gather for delicious food at a really great price. But remember: the larger the group the greater your negotiating power when preparing the menu and price. And don't be afraid to ask for BYOB with no corkage fees.

Golden City Seafood

960 N Hill St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 253-2660
 

Master Chef

937 N Hill St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 687-3638

Empress Pavillion 

988 N Hill St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 617-9898

 

BONE LICKIN' BBQ

Man has been cooking meat over an open fire for millennia. Every country and continent has their own style that developed over the years. America, the melting pot of the world that it is, has become home to people from all of those countries that have fused their own flavors with a taste of the USA.

And that's where our story begins today: When you combine Asian flavors with American  butchering you get my absolute favorite grilled meat: The Park’s Finest BBQ. 

Owner, Johneric Concordiais grew up in Echo Park, a neighborhood just north of downtown LA, in a family of Filipino immigrants. Their frequent large parties always involved cooking BBQ at the park picnic grounds. Over the years he enjoyed learning the nuances of BBQ from his father and family members, as each one had their own interpretation of Filipino traditions. Johneric is first to admit his is not authentic Pinoy, however; he claims his BBQ is true Echo Park style. And that’s how the name, “The Park’s Finest BBQ,” came to be. 

Johneric preparing to serve

A pile of chicken slow-roasting

Sure each cut of meat is slow-cooked to perfection for hours with tender flesh that falls off the bone or melts in your mouth. Before they go on the grill, all the meats start with a special dry rub blend with it’s secret ingredient of Himalayan salt.

Various cuts on the grill

Beef and Pork Ribs

But what people rave about is the sauce. It’s not your typical ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar concoction. This is a secret blend of sweet and spicy exotic ingredients that create a complex balanced flavor with the grilled meats. The Concordiais family spent years perfecting their recipe and it shows.

 


The amazing thing is how delicious the sauce tastes on everything – meat, chicken, sausage, vegetables and rice.  You can choose from:

Real Rib Eye Roast

Beef Short Ribs

Brisket

Pork Tender Loin

Pork Ribs

Chicken

Sausage

Pulled Pork

Grilled Veggies,

Cornbread Bibingka

Rice

The grilled vegetables with dry rub include a unique blend of scallions, asparagus, green and yellow summer squash, and Granny Smith apples.

Bibingka, is a traditional Pinoy dessert cake made with rice flour, coconut and baked in a banana leaf. The Park’s Finest version is the perfect side dish with cornmeal for the delicious fusion of American and Asian techniques.

The Park’s Finest doesn’t have a brick and mortar restaurant and limit their business to private catering, events and festivals. You can find more about how to sample The Park’s Finest BBQ at their website: www.theparksfinest.com. There you can shop for made-to-order catering portions of all the above-listed dishes, arrange a whole BBQ event at your home, or even buy a bottle of the secret recipe BBQ sauce!!

If you have them cater your next party, please invite me! (I'm fun to have around.)