My co-workers and I have been talking a lot about using the crock-pot to make ready-to-eat dinners during the busy work week. Ever since our discussions, I've been noticing a plethora of cookbooks, websites, and magazine articles dedicated to using the crock-pot to make diverse and innovative meals. In fact, the crock-pot seems to be making a comeback as a viable cooking method for everyday Americans. However, crock-pots do have their limitations--they are only good for making foods with a high liquid content, such as stews and soups. Thus, even if you are one of those crock-pot junkies who knows how to make hot porridge and cake with your crock pot, you'll still have to get used to eating every meal with a spoon.
In the second installment to the Working Eater Series, I am featuring a recipe inspired by the crock-pot cooking method, but that can be made by someone who doesn't even own a crock-pot! Furthermore, because this soup is cooked on high heat, this recipe is a speedy and preferable alternative to a languid slow cooker.
Rustic, One-Pot Curry Kabocha Squash Soup
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 tsp of curry powder (preferably Madras brand--as it is my family's favorite)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 medium kabocha squash, cubed into dice-sized pieces (you can find this type of squash in Asian supermarkets)
1 can of chicken stock, plus 1 1/2 cans of water to "extend" the stock (you can also use whole milk instead of water, to make the soup creamier, but then you must stir the soup constantly to prevent the pot from overboiling and the milk from forming a tough film on the bottom of the pot)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
In a large pot, heat the oil on high heat until shimmering. Add the chopped yellow onions, and fry until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the garlic and fry until the onions and garlic begin to slightly caramelize.
Add the dry spices and the kabocha squash, and stir rapidly, to prevent the dry spices from burning and to fully mix the dry and wet ingredients.
Add the stock and water, and bring the soup to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the squash is fork-tender.
Serve the soup with wilted spinach.
If you'd like to have meat with this soup, I would suggest adding roasted chicken or turkey breast.
For the "working eaters," if you don't have enough time to roast poultry, you could also buy a roast chicken from the supermarket, and use a fork to separate the breast meat from the bone. Add the shredded breast meat to the soup, so the meal is still a one-pot (and a one-bowl) meal! Hey, to save on time, you need to save on dishes too!
I think that a total of one-half radish and three cauliflower florets were consumed. However, the guy who ate the florets later told me that he thought the cauliflower was popcorn. Well, that means more for me for lunch tomorrow.
Heat the pan to high heat, and add the oil just until shimmering. Add the garlic, ginger, and white parts of the scallions. Cook until it begins to brown. Add the hot bean paste and soy sauce, and stir briefly. Add the diced tofu, and cook until the flavors seep through the spongy tofu crevices, just a few minutes.
Turn off the heat, drizzle the sesame oil over the tofu, and sprinkle the green parts of scallions on top.
Serve with leafy green vegetables stir-fried with chopped garlic, and that’s what I call a "quick vegetarian" meal!
My first course was the chestnut and celery root soup, made with prosciutto and duck gizzard confit. The velvety soup reminded me of a warming bowl of mushroom chowder, but it was infinitely more complex. The confit imparted a husky and multifaceted layer of flavor, but it also gave the soup a gritty, sandy texture.
Additionally, the ingredients weren't distributed evenly throughout the soup. Thus, my spoon had repeatedly dive to the bottom of the bowl to fish out the brunoised cubes of celery root, flaps of prosciutto, and toothsome chestnuts pieces.
As for the second course, my companions ordered the seared Hawaiian tombo, which came with cipollini onions, assorted mushrooms, and a wild splash of caramelized garlic-marjoram broth. My fork "snared" a few medium-rare flakes of tuna, and the meat was supple and moist. Although my sample was limited, my companions agreed that their dish was superb. However, both of them were put off by strange herbaceous leaves that according to them, tasted like "chemical ammonia."
I selected "the dish-for-people-who-want-to-become-morbidly-obese"--the smoked and glazed pork belly. The pork belly was served with a soft polenta pudding, dried fruit condiment, and braised greens. To be frank, I wasn't that impressed with the greens, the fruit, or the pork fat. The flavors weren't vivid or particularly notable, thus it was an average dinner. The greens and the belly fat (in the words of 
However, I did enjoy the thick, creamy, and custard-like texture of the polenta. There weren't any unmixed lumps or undercooked patches that are common to bad polenta. I also enjoyed the crispy pork skin that had been darkened by seasonings and the reduction of the pork juices. It wasn't crispy like the golden-skinned slabs of pork hanging in Chinese barbeque shops, but it had a distinct crunch, reminiscent of my earlier sample crostini.
One of my companions ordered the other dessert selection: the pistachio and dried cherry nougat glacé with seasonal winter fruits. When the ice cream was placed on our table, we eagerly peered at the rotund mound topped with tiny orange-colored tidbits. Wait a minute. You call those wormy and slimy lil' slivers "seasonal winter fruits"? The ice cream was tasty though, but nothing to write home about.
In concluding, I believe I successfully met my goal of cheating the system (of expensive upper-end restaurants)! Okay, okay. I know what you're thinking. Another restaurant post? (And the post isn't even that good!) Alright, I admit that one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2006 was to "eat out less," and this year I am already blowing that goal to the dumpster, but I'm not going to relegate that resolution to the graveyard of "resolutions n'er accomplished"--just yet.
However, eating the wings is impossible to do so with chopsticks or a fork. Unfortunately, if you use your hands to eat the wings, you will experience "Cheetos-finger syndrome," (when your fingers become stained and sullied with a ghastly mess that cannot be cleaned with a dry napkin). Furthermore, another pitfall of the wings, is that if you smell your besmirched fingers after devouring a set of the wings, they will reek of vulgar-smelling fish sauce. However, you won't notice the smell of your fingers, when the visually-appealing main dishes are delivered to your table.
Other than the pad thai, I'd say that the other dishes I've ordered are generally pretty good. For instance, in addition to tender slivers of duck meat, the duck red curry has refreshing bites of tomato, julienned bell peppers, rolly-polly green peas, and moist chunks of pineapple, all swimming in a pool of curry-infused coconut milk. The duck red curry is pretty good. It isn't the best I've ever had in San Francisco, but it tastes great with the pad thai (like how everything does).
The last dish that we ordered on this week's trip to Marnee Thai also merits a recommendation. It was the seafood combo, which really did "combine" many seafoods together, including: delicate squid tentacles, julienned ginger, circular rounds of scallops, mussels on the half shell, shrimp, and colorful bell peppers. But if you order the seafood combo, be careful of the twiggy sprigs that are decorated with spicy peppercorns--they are just like bay leaves, because they are not to be eaten.
I hope that this post got you in the mood. . . In the mood for Thai food! If you live in the San Francisco area and have never tried Marnee Thai, or will be visiting the San Francisco area sometime soon, just remember that Marnee Thai is high on my list of "SF" restaurant recommendations.