Monthly Archives: June 2015

DIY: Cooking Copper River Salmon

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My first experience with Copper River Salmon was about three years ago at a sushi restaurant. This very seasonal salmon is filled with Omega 3’s and is very tasty. My understanding is that the adult Sockeye Salmon are ready to spawn and head to the fresh waters of the Copper River in Alaska and fatten up during the upstream swim. This bright orange, almost red salmon is delicious.

A few weeks ago, I was noticing one of my colleagues heating up her lunch. I commented on what a nice lunch she had. She said it was Copper River Salmon she picked up from Costco. It took me a a few seconds before I recognized the variety.  

I was cooking a lot last week and decided I wanted to get a hold of the Copper River Salmon from Costco. My colleague told me she got it from the San Leandro store. I called to make sure it was still available and the representative assured me they were carrying it. I don’t have a Costco card, so I convinced a friend to take me.

 I picked some of the reasonably priced salmon for $10.99 per pound. My only question now was how to prepare this delightful fish. I wanted a simple recipe so I could really taste the fish. After reviewing various online recipes, I ended up listening to my friend who said olive oil, salt, pepper, orange juice, and orange rind.  

  Mind you, I haven’t cooked salmon in awhile. I wanted to make sure to get the results of a tender, medium rare cook with a crispy salmon skin. After careful thought, I decided on using my cast iron skillet in order to get the pan really hot and enough oil so the skin would not stick. My intuition was correct. Let’s say I succeeded and was thrilled with my accomplishment.  

Here’s my instructions on how to cook the perfect salmon:

  • Salmon filet (preferably Copper River)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil, additional 2 tbsp olive oil for cooking
  • 3 tbsp orange juice
  • 1 tbsp orange rind

Marinate the salmon with all the ingredients above for a few hours. Can also marinate overnight.  Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high. Heat enough olive oil to cover the pan, approximately 2 tbsp. When hot, place your salmon, skin side down in pan. 

  After a couple of minutes, use a spatula and ensure your salmon is not sticking to the pan. If it does, add additional oil. Let salmon sear for about 4-5 minutes. Turn the pan down to medium heat and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.  Remove from pan and serve.  

  The fish was tender and flavorful and I ate all of the crispy salmon skin. This was the best salmon I have ever cooked and a lot better than most salmon I have eaten at restaurants. After this experience, I feel much more comfortable cooking fish. If you like salmon, it’s time to run to the Costco in San Leandro and pick up the Copper River Salmon before it runs out.  

Taiwan Bento: Uptown Lunch Spot

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I remember walking by Taiwan Bento in the Uptown District of Oakland with a coworker many months ago. The restaurant was not open at the time and there was a sign at the door indicating they were having soft openings. I peaked through the window to check out their menu board. It was a very small menu and it didn’t sound too interesting to me.   

I pretty much forgot about Taiwan Bento until I read Eddie Huang’s “Fresh off the Boat.” He kept talking about the foods he grew up with and I felt like I wanted to experience that. I don’t yet have immediate plans to visit New York City to try his restaurant Baohaus. For the time being, I had to try something more local. Taiwan Bento!

I went with a few coworkers to give this lunchtime spot a try. We each ordered our own bento box, but we shared. The bento boxes come with rice, pickled vegetables, edamame, and a tea egg. As I mentioned before, their menu is a bit limited. Each day of the week, Taiwan Bento features a daily bento lunch special which is slightly discounted.  
 Monday’s special is the roasted chicken bento. I liked the crispiness of the skin and the tossed sesame seeds.  
 The braised pork bento is Tuesday’s special. From reading Huang’s biography, it sounded like this is one of the most popular dishes in Taiwan and one his grandma makes best.  
 The fried pork chop is Friday’s special. The pork chop is battered and deep fried to a crisp.  
 Taiwanese sausage is Wednesday’s special. My friend ordered a side of the sausage. Leaner than the Chinese sausage that I am used to, it was really tasty. The generous amount of green onions and the gravy added a lot of good flavor.

 Although not a bento, Taiwan Bento serves beef noodle soup, another popular Taiwanese dish. I found this dish to be very familiar tasting because it’s common in Cantonese cuisine. The star anise is prevalent.  
 We also tried some hand made pork buns. The soft bun and the tender pork filling makes this melt in your mouth. In my opinion, this is the healthier version of the BBQ pork bun.
 Taiwan Bento is simple food, but different. I enjoy the concept of a bento box. In addition to your main course, you get a few fun bonus items. I imagine myself eating similarly to the millions of people in Taiwan. I think Taiwan Bento provides a good glimpse into Taiwanese lunchtime food.

The Gourmet Backpacking Trip

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Backpacking has been something on my bucket list and my friends agreed to take me during the July 4 weekend. In preparation for it, we did a test run this weekend in the High Sierra. We began in the Mokelumne Wilderness on Saturday and made our way through Thornburg Canyon into the town of Markleeville on Sunday. My fitbit measured about 15 miles of hiking, but we hiked to an elevation of approximately 8500 feet. I don’t have an exact weight of my backpack, but I would estimate it to have been about 28-30 lbs.

 The highlights of the trip for me were the company, the breathtaking views, counting over 50 varieties of wildflowers, seeing a golden bear, having a gourmet picnic lunch, cooking over a campfire, and watching the bright stars shining at night.

 

 Since this was a short trip, we were able to eat a lot of fresh food. Since I was assigned to prepare one lunch, I thought it would be fun to make it gourmet. I planned a French themed lunch. I picked up a couple of quiche from Starter Bakery in Oakland and prepared ingredients for a niçoise salad.  

 After enduring multiple mosquito bites, my first ever bee sting, soreness, muscle ache, and some inflammation, I successfully made it through the test run. There were some lessons learned that will likely be applied to the July 4 weekend trip. One of which is that camp food probably won’t be as nice next time around. 

The One and Only Country Bar in Oakland: Overland

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The entire Bay Area is cheering on the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. After all, it’s been forty years. I’ve been catching the games anywhere I can, but my favorite place to watch has been the new Overland Country Bar and Grill in Jack London Square in Oakland. It’s located in what my BFF calls the “cursed corner” on Broadway and Embarcadero. We have seen numerous places come and go.  

In order to be a good place to watch sports, there has got to be plenty of televisions. Overland has got that and an area in the back with a large projector screen. Another requirement is a full bar with drink specials. Overland has got bartenders in cowboy hats with plenty of drink specials. I’ve seen $4 Jack Daniels and they’ve got a frozen margarita machine pouring out $6 cocktails. When you are watching a game for roughly three hours, you have got to have good bar food. So here I am to review their food.
I’ve been to Overland twice and here are some of the various items I have eaten with friends. Hank style fries are french fries topped with pulled pork and ghost pepper jack cheese. I was a bit intimidated by these fries, but then pleasantly surprised. The flavor of the barbecue pulled pork, the french fries, and the cheese was well balanced with sweet, salty, and a kick of spicy. I was amazed how the fries remained crispy even with the pile of goodies on top. This is a great appetizer to share.
 I enjoyed some fried pickles which are cut, battered, and fried. I had these on my last visit to Texas and wanted to give them a shot. These were not quite as good as the ones in Texas. I think a lot of it has to do with the cut of the pickle. The ones in Texas were sliced about an inch thick. These were cut lengthwise in spears.  
 Overland serves a few different pizzas. They are made in the style of St. Louis which means it is cracker thin. We shared a pepperoni pizza. Personally I was not a big fan. To me it tasted like cardboard.  
 New on the menu are their stuffed burgers. One of my friends had one on the last visit, but preferred the regular cheeseburger he had the time before. I really enjoyed the regular cheeseburger I had. It was moist, juicy, and comes with delicious fries.  
 The second time I was at Overland it was Game 1 of the finals and the place was packed. I ordered a sausage sandwich which is a beef hot link served on a sweet corn hoagie. The link had been sliced in half and grilled. It came out completely burnt on the inside, but was turned over. I don’t know why I didn’t send it back. Maybe because it was so busy. I put some ketchup on it and it was definitely crispy, but surprisingly it was really tasty. I gave my BFF a bite without telling her and she really liked it.  
 I mentioned that Overland has a frozen margarita maker. It wasn’t functioning on my first visit, but I tried some on my second visit. They are served in cute mason jars and were delicious. 
 So when there are no sports to watch, Overland is a real country western bar and even has line dancing. My understanding is that on Wednesdays, it’s “wingo night” which is the night they serve chicken wings and customers can play bingo. Sounds like a good match for me. I hope Overland can stick around. If they continue improving and developing their menu, I am hopeful it might finally do away with the curse.