“DANCE…AND FEAST…AROUND THE BIG BONFIRE OF TOTALITARIANISM”
I apologize for the speechlessness today. In the past couple days, it has been next to impossible to compose anything on wordpress because…
Every year in China around a historical holiday known as 6-4, a massive and elaborate celebration takes place. The great beast of China and its army of cyber-minions will gather, dance hysterically, and feast on the corpses of information freedom, and any non-Chinese-friendly internet activities around the big bonfire of totalitarianism. I have about a 5 minute window to finish/publish this post before the beast finds me. So my friends, please, help yourself with some disk fries and kombu miso butter sauce, for it is unbeatable in deliciousness and unrelenting in spirit…. A small and insignificant thing it may be, but nonetheless makes me feel slightly better to say – you can bet that the beast….
…ain’t fucking getting any
This is my absolute first time working with Kombu (dried kelp). So you see…anybody can do it. Kombu can be found on all major Asian grocery stores, or widely available online.
Ingredients:
- Kombu miso butter sauce:
- 3/4 cup (169 grams) of water
- 1thin strip (7”x1”, 8 grams) of kombu (dried kelp)
- 1 tbsp of red miso
- 2 tbsp of rice vinegar
- 1/4 tsp of sugar
- 1 1/2 stick (170 grams) of unsalted butter, cold
- 1 tbsp of heavy cream
- 1 large egg yolk
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Disk fries:
- 17~20 baby potatoes
- 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil for frying
To make the kombu miso butter sauce: Break the kombu into small pieces and add to a small pot with 3/4 cup of water (use a narrow pot so the kombu has a deeper depth of water to soak). Set on low heat and SLOWLY bring the water to a simmer. Once the water has come to a simmer, immediately turn off the heat and let soak for 20 min, after which, the kombu should be soft and slippery to the touch.
Remove the kombu with a slotted spoon and reserve. Dissolve 1 tbsp of red miso through a fine sieve into the kombu-water, then discard the granules left on the sieve. Add the rice vinegar and sugar, then return the pot to medium-low heat and reduce the liquid down to about 1 1/2 tbsp (the mixture should have thickened slightly). This will take approx 10 min. Meanwhile, add the reserved kombu and cold unsalted butter in a food-process, and run until the mixture is evenly blended (stop the machine and scrape the sides a few times). Set aside.
Once the miso-liquid has reduced down, take it off heat and whisk in the heavy cream (which will cool the mixture down slightly), then whisk in the egg yolk. Then add the kombu-blended-butter, 1 tbsp at a time, and whisk vigorously to create an emulsion with the miso-liquid. Do not add more butter until the previous addition has been completely incorporated. When the pot has cooled down too much, and the butter isn’t melting or the mixture is too thick, return the pot a 3” above low heat to warm up. If the mixture breaks (looking more “liquid and greasy” than “creamy”), DO NOT PANIC. Simply add 1~2 tsp of cold milk and whisk vigorously. It should come back to being emulsified.
Once all the butter’s been incorporated, taste and re-season with salt and black pepper. Set aside.
If the sauce needs to be warmed up again, set it over low heat just for a few seconds while whisking vigorously.
To make the disk fries: Cook the baby potatoes in lightly salted water until completely cooked through (a fork should pierce through effortlessly). Drain well, then gently press each baby potatoes with the bottom of a small plate to flatten into a disk (don’t over-press it or the potatoes will shatter). Mix all-purpose flour with salt and black pepper, then drench each disks inside the seasoned flour until lightly coated (the flour will only coat the exposed flesh of the potatoes and not the skin).
Add enough oil to a pot so it reaches 1” deep, and set over medium-high heat. Test the oil by inserting a wooden chopstick into the centre. If it bubbles up fast around the chopstick, the oil’s ready. Fry the potato disks until golden browned on each side. Season them again with a bit of salt and black pepper once they come out of the fryer. Serve with the kombu miso butter sauce.
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23 responses to “KOMBU MISO BUTTER SAUCE + DISK FRIES”
Yes, I’m helping myself to some of this… Gosh I look at the ingredients of the sauce and think it’s “prodigious” (all that butter!). Will try cooking with kelp too. Cheers! :)
Oh gosh I feel you. I live in Aus and even the Chinese communities are gathering for it. Fried potatoes are always good, with that butter sauce? I would gladly trade my pants in for a moo moo for it.
Right, I had no idea kombu even existed. I’m so ignorant when it comes to specialist Asian ingredients! But, but! I’d spotted potatoes done similarly before (possibly on Food52?) and you reminded me of them, so thanks.
I despise your black-belt level of creativity, but this is purely out of jealousy. The day I get my hands on kombu I’ll know what I’ll be cooking. ||Visiting from Sugar & Two Cents||
I love your recipes, and your writing style! Keep up the amazing work.
Best thing to cooked smashed potatoes is duck fat. It makes them taste like little crack cakes.
Holy flipping shizzle girl!! This looks sooooo good!
Daaaaaaaamn, I can’t even look at these pictures without metamorphosing into a drool-monster. Disgustingly creative.
Wow!!!! JUST WOW!!!! I can’t even begin to explain how AWESOME this looks! Drooling!
i risk sounding like a total wacko, but what i loved most about this post (other than your obviously hopeless addiction with emulsions :) is seeing bits of crumbs and stains on your shiny stove top. this proves that you’re a real person just like me!!!!!
Girl, you surprise me everytime with your unique recipes! I have kelp powder. Wonder if that will work??
AMI: Kelp powder oh wow!! I wish I have kelp powder! Of course give it a try.
Way to late late to say anything, but anyway, kelp powder is actually kelp tea, I believe. Ground Kelp mixed with lots of salt. It’s not just kelp. You take a small teaspoon of it and mix with a cup of hot water for a pick me up. There are also instant kelp dashi soup stock powders as well, which will have seasonings in it, too, I think. I think your way is better for getting ground up kelp into butter!
Your narration…AHHAHA. I love it. You gotta get published, seriously.
And for reals, catching up on your blog at night just makes me want to eat anything I see, since I can`t eat what`s on my screen.
those crispy potatoes look absolutely addictive. and that kombu butter? pure umami :D
i love kombu. i’ve been warned to not boil it bc it turns things bitter, but i can’t tell most of the time? i have loads of the stuff bc it’s crack!!!
What “bomb” are we breaking up in the first step? Is that auto-correct for “kombu”?
Oh man, those potatoes made my mouth water, and don’t even get me started on that sauce! O_O Definitely will try these out. :)
We love the idea of just mashing the potatoes into discs rather than having to slice them into matchsticks–a creative alternative to thick-cut/steak fries!
OH MY GAWD. THIS LOOKS BEYONG AMAZING. AND YES, CAP LOCKS ARE TOTALLY NECESSARY FOR THIS SITUATION!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
Oh. Em. Gee. This looks SO SO SO SO good!
The disk fries look amazing and the butter is revolutionary. Ugh if I can only smell it!!!!
Absolutely great stuff! (Also the countless unbelievably delicious recipes here)
Now let me go back to drooling over the photos….
The image of squashed small potatoes is a surreal complement to your visceral writing. It’s the first time I have seen potatoes flattened.
Perhaps you have seen the Ewan McGregor movie “Perfect Sense” (2011) where cooks are forced to discover new techniques to keep their increasingly senseless, and therefore bored, customers satified?
“When the pot has cooled down too much, and the butter isn’t melting or the mixture is too thick, return the pot a 3” above low heat to warm up. ”
Trying to translate that into European. Does it mean hold the pot 3 inches above a gas stove burner set to low heat?
Enlightenment, thanks and sorry for the confusion! It means the bottom of the pot should be around 3″ above low flame. But I guess if someone was using an electric burner, they will have to hold it closer.