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| The Chef's Challenge: By Emily Kaiser
In his quest to spend only $10 on a meal for a family of four, Kaz Okochi has found Virginia's least expensive celery. A tall man with long legs, he strides quickly across the linoleum at Fairfax's Safeway, Shopper's Food Warehouse and Lotte Asian Supermarket to make his planned purchases. Safeway sells celery by the individual stalk, not the bunch. He picks out one and one carrot to match. At Shopper's, he grabs one pint of half-and-half, four chicken drumsticks, one small package of sliced ham. At Lotte, he rustles his bag of shrimp at the fish clerk to get his attention. "Excuse me, can you tell me how much this costs?" Kaz asks, placing the shrimp on the scale himself without waiting for the clerk. Okochi knows his seafood. After 10 years as executive chef at Sushi-Ko, he helped design the Whole Foods line of packaged sushi, then five years ago opened his own restaurant, Kaz Sushi Bistro in downtown Washington, offering his "freestyle Japanese cuisine." We asked him to demonstrates this creativity and construct a meal for four for $10. The shrimp are the last thing he needs for his three-course, late-summer meal: vichyssoisse, followed by a cold noodle salad with shrimp, chicken and vegetables, then lemon ice cream with cookies. "I wanted to make something I like to eat when it's hot outside," Okochi explained. "Something cool for the summer. This is also something you would not find at a traditional Japanese or Chinese restaurant." The shrimp cost 90 cents, bringing his total to just over $7 (including the homemade lemon ice cream and cookies, which we didn't include here), a record low for this occasional series of chefs cooking tightly budgeted meals. Okochi grins. He may be one of the nicest chefs in town, but he also has a healthy competitive streak. The key to his economy -- besides his meticulous shopping -- is in his use of every part of each ingredient. For example, he used the peels and tops of his carrot and celery in his soup, before julienning the rest of the vegetables for his noodle salad. He used the half-and-half in the soup and the ice cream. And so on. For the most part Okochi worked quietly, humming along to the Bee Gees. He demonstrated the indispensability of a sharp knife when he julienned his vegetables, sending out fine strands of cucumber and onion in a blur. Mere mortals might enjoy the aid of a mandolin. Okochi cooked these dishes more or less all at once, but they are listed here in roughly the order they can be prepared. Chicken Stock (Makes about 3 cups) 4 cups water 2 to 3 outer layers from 1 onion, coarsely chopped (remaining onion reserved for Vichysoisse and Noodle Salad) Peelings and ends of 1 carrot (remaining carrot reserved for Cold Noodle Salad) Ends and leaves of 1 celery stalk (remaining celery reserved for Cold Noodle Salad) 2-inch piece ginger root, peeled and coarsely chopped 4 chicken drumsticks, skin removed 5 whole peppercorns In a large saucepan or pot, bring all the ingredients to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, uncovered, until the drumsticks have cooked through, about 20 minutes. If necessary, use a spoon to skim any foam from the surface. Transfer the drumsticks to a plate; reserve for Cold Noodle Salad. Strain the stock, discarding any solids. Return the strained stock to the saucepan, cover and return to low heat to keep warm. Ingredients too variable for meaningful nutritional analysis Vichyssoisse (4 servings) 3/4 of 1 peeled onion (outer layers used in preceding Chicken Stock; remaining 1/4 reserved for Cold Noodle Salad) 1 potato, peeled 1 tablespoon butter Salt to taste 3 cups Chicken Stock (see preceding recipe), warmed 1 cup (1/2 pint) half-and-half 2 tablespoons finely diced ham (optional garnish) 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives (optional garnish) Chop the onion and potato into a 1/4-inch dice. Heat a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the butter to the hot pan. When the foam has subsided, add the onion, potato and salt to taste, toss to coat with the butter and cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute. Add the mixture to the pot of warm stock and simmer gently until the potatoes are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer the soup to a bowl, add the half-and-half, cover and refrigerate until chilled through, about 1 hour. To serve, divide the soup among 4 individual soup bowls and, if desired, garnish with ham and chives. Per serving: 185 calories, 7 gm protein, 14 gm carbohydrates, 12 gm fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 7 gm saturated fat, 237 mg sodium, 1 gm dietary fiber Cold Noodle Salad (4 servings) Okochi made his own egg noodles from scratch, but we have included the dried, store-bought version in this recipe. 2 cups water 1 teaspoon salt 4 to 8 shrimp, unpeeled, heads removed 4 poached chicken drumsticks, reserved from Chicken Stock (see first recipe) Nonstick cooking spray 2 eggs 1/8 teaspoon corn or potato starch (optional) About 21/2 ounces thinly sliced ham 1 carrot (peel and tops reserved for Chicken Stock) 1 celery stalk (ends reserved for Chicken Stock) 1 small cucumber, peeled 1/4 of 1 onion (remaining reserved for Chicken Stock and Vichysoisse) 1 tomato 1 white button mushroom 1 pound dried egg noodles Noodle Dressing (see recipe on Page F3) In a small pot, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the shrimp, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently just until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the shrimp and rinse them under cool running water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a plate, cover and refrigerate. Shred the chicken, discarding the bones and gristle. Cut the meat into matchstick-size pieces; transfer to a plate, cover and refrigerate. Place a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, spray lightly with cooking spray. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and, if using, the starch. Pour in just enough of the egg mixture to form a thin coating along the bottom of the pan (about 1/4 to 1/3 of the egg mixture). When the egg has firmed slightly, you may either flip the egg "pancake" if you are feeling brave, using chopsticks to assist you, or you can continue to cook it without turning, until cooked through. Slide the egg onto a cutting board and repeat with the remaining egg mixture. Cut the cooked rounds of egg into matchstick-size pieces. Transfer to a plate, cover and refrigerate. Cut the ham into julienne. (Reserve the trimmings as a garnish for the soup). Cover and refrigerate. Trim the carrot, celery and cucumber into 3-inch lengths, then slice each into matchstick-size pieces. Cover and refrigerate. Place the onion slices in a small bowl, add enough water to cover and set aside. (This will soften the pungency.) Remove the skin and seeds from the tomato, then chop the flesh into small dice. Thinly slice the mushroom. Set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain the noodles and rinse them under cool running water until chilled through. Set aside. To serve, divide the noodles equally among 4 individual soup bowls. Divide the shrimp, chicken, egg, ham and vegetables equally among them, pour about 1/2 cup of the dressing over each bowl. Per serving: 583 calories, 37 gm protein, 71 gm carbohydrates, 17 gm fat, 256 mg cholesterol, 4 gm saturated fat, 749mg sodium, 3 gm dietary fiber Noodle Dressing (Makes about 2 cups) 2-inch piece ginger root, peeled and grated 1 cup rice vinegar 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil 2 teaspoons prepared mustard Press the grated ginger through a strainer or squeeze it in cheesecloth. The juice should measure about 11/2 teaspoons. (Reserve the ginger flesh for another use.) In a bowl, whisk together the ginger juice, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, oil and mustard. Taste and adjust the amounts accordingly. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Per 1-tablespoon serving: 26 calories, trace protein, 4 gm carbohydrates, 1 gm fat, 0 mg cholesterol, trace saturated fat, 4 mg sodium, trace dietary fiber Emily Kaiser is a writer and former restaurant line cook. |
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© 2001 - 2008 Emily Kaiser |
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