Sunday, July 13, 2008

East Meets Western New York

Inspiration's a funny thing. It can come from a chain "Mongolian" restaurant, or from Googling "Canandaigua." Scraps from here or there stick, and a few find their way onto my plate. Sometimes it just takes a while for it to all rise to the surface. Sometimes these disparate experiences transform into, well, a disparate dish. But sometimes, I get lucky.

This week, I got lucky.

I've been thinking about cabbage for a while now, ever since before I moved here. I heard they grew a lot of it here in Ontario County (yes, Canada's near), so my early visions of upstate New York were of a land of waxy green globes. Sans people. Luckily, a few humans live here, too. But many a Canandaiguan worships the humble food, be it animal, mineral, or ceramic:















Then there was a trip to HuHot® with the family, back in the homeland. YMCA and Love Train grooved over the speakers, occasional wafts of big pretzels and giant cookies filtered in from the adjacent mall, and authenticity generally reigned. OK, Mongolia it was not, but then again, they probably don't have scallops in Mongolia, and that is a shame. At HuHot® the tender globs of faint fishiness heaped the all-you-can eat buffet. Slightly scary in that context, given their usual $14.99/pound list price. Did start me thinking, though.

That trip coincided with the Fourth of July. My knees weren't in any cornfields, but I'm pretty sure the stalks had about zero chance of grazing 'em. There weren't any elephants around, either, but I'm also pretty sure their eyes wouldn't have been lazily batting husks. Iowa, as you may have heard, has had some pretty rough times this summer. The corn has taken a beating. Still, just looking longingly on the (kind of) verdant fields of the first 21 years of my life was enough to hanker up some serious nostalgia. Acting on that nostalgia, however, meant buying sweet corn grown in New York, of all places.















That, more or less, is how my dinner came to be. It was Asian fusion meets Heartland, Yacht Club meets summer picnic. Or, seared scallops over ginger cucumber coleslaw with sweet corn fritters on the side.


















Ginger cucumber coleslaw with seared scallops
Adapted from Bon Appetit

For dressing:
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• Thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 T honey
• pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

• 1/2 small head cabbage, finely sliced
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 cucumber, quartered, sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 pound sea scallops
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Toast sesame seeds in a skillet over medium heat until golden but not burnt, about 3 minutes. Set aside. Combine other sauce ingredients in blender until creamy. Add sesame seeds and set sauce aside.

Combine chopped vegetables in a large bowl. Toss with dressing until well-coated. Refrigerate.

Pour soy sauce over scallops and set aside. Heat oil in skillet over moderately high heat — oil should be hot but not smoking. Add scallops to skillet and cook just until browned, about 2 minutes on each side.

Mound coleslaw on plate; arrange scallops on top. Serve immediately
Serves 2-3

Sweet Corn Fritters
Adapted from Gourmet

2 ears sweet corn, shucked
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 T flour
• 3 scallions, finely diced
• salt and pepper
• vegetable oil

Cut corn off cob, scraping and saving juices. In a medium bowl, combine egg, cottage cheese and milk. Add corn, cornmeal, flour and scallions, and season well. It should be like a thick, chunky pancake batter — add flour or milk to adjust.

Heat 2 T oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Drop batter by generous spoonfuls into pan, cook until golden brown. Flip. It should take about 3 minutes per side. Season again with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with queso fresco or other cheese if you like. Keep cooked fritters in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.
Makes about 8 medium-sized fritters

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