The Aimless Cook

It’s amazing what can be done when you have the right ingredients. This Japanese spaghetti recipe uses uni. Uni is the delicious roe of the sea urchin. To be precise, it’s the gonads of the male and female sea urchin. In any case, it’s really really good. Whenever I go to the sushi bar, I have to order some to satisfy my craving for this incredible delicacy.

In the sushi bars, uni is pricey. Normally, it’s about $5 per piece. If you’re gonna spend your hard earned money on uni, just make sure it’s a place you trust with really fresh seafood. Uni should be bright orange, tender, taste creamy and slightly sweet. If it looks dark orange to brown and smells like socks (no kidding) keep your money and walk away.

Occasionally, the local Asian grocery has fresh uni for a decent price. I can usually get a whole tray for $13… and I have eaten the whole tray by myself on occasion.

This uni pasta is a lot like making mentaiko pasta. It requires butter, uni, a splash of cream and a bit of salt and pepper. That’s it. I topped my pasta with shredded nori and some masago to compliment the subtle flavour of the uni with some saltiness of the sea. It’s magical. Really.

You will need:

• 250g spaghetti
• 125g fresh uni
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• some fresh cream (about 250ml)
• salt and pepper to taste
• masago and shredded nori, to garnish

Start by dropping your pasta into a large pot of boiling salted water. Meanwhile, on medium heat, melt the butter and add the uni. Cook the uni gently while stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon. There are some recipes that ask you to puree the uni to get a smoother texture. You can do this prior to this step if you like, but I like the rustic texture. When you have cooked for a couple minutes and it starts to smell delicious, add some cream to the pan (enough to just cover the bottom). Turn up the heat slightly and let the sauce reduce, but just a little.

By this time, the pasta should be almost done (al dente). Take the pasta out of the water and put directly into the pan. Don’t strain the pasta (never strain pasta). You need the residual starchy water to thicken the sauce and help it stick. Toss the pasta in the sauce until everything is evenly coated and combined. Give a final taste and season with salt and pepper. Plate up and garnish with masago and shredded nori. Enjoy!

This rich and creamy ham and potato chowder is not only super easy to make, but also extremely economical. I have a hard time even calling this a recipe, it’s that easy. The best thing about this is that you can substitute the ham with seafood (clams, oysters, etc) or even leftover chicken and have yourself something totally different.

You will need:

• ⅛ cup butter
• flour
• 1 cup each (onion, celery and ham and potato) diced
• ¼ cup water (or chicken stock/white wine)
• 3 cups milk
• salt and pepper

In a small skillet, start on medium heat and melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk until you get a paste. Cook the roux on the heat just until the raw smell is gone then set aside.

In a large heavy pot or dutch oven, saute the veg and ham in a tablespoon of oil on medium heat until the onions are starting to turn translucent. Deglaze with the water/stock/wine then add the milk. Bring the heat up to full and bring to a boil. When it starts to boil, turn it to medium low and simmer til the potatoes are almost tender. 

Finally, add the roux, stir to combine and thicken and let simmer on low for about 5 more minutes. Give a final taste and season with salt and pepper. That’s it!

Garnish with chopped bacon and chives. Serve with a nice toasted French bread or baguette with butter.

**notes:

You can use this recipe as a base for some other great chowders by subbing the ham with seafood or leftover roasted chicken. Also, you can add carrots. I don’t know why this recipe didn’t have carrots, but that’s just the way it is… Take this recipe, make it yours and have fun in the kitchen!

This Curry Carbonara mixes the exotic spice of curry with creamy egg yolks in this really easy pasta recipe. A textbook Carbonara consists of 4 classic elements: egg yolks, cheese, bacon and black pepper. I am experimenting tonight with some Szechuan peppercorn, a Chinese ingredient that has a signature numbing sensation on the palate. I thought that the Szechuan peppercorn would be an interesting fit with the curry spices. 

For this recipe, I used:

• 165g pasta (I used rice pasta since it was all I had on hand, use spaghetti)
• 85g asparagus* (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns, freshly ground
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder (Madras or S&B)
• 3 large egg yolks
• 4 rashers bacon

Start by cutting up the bacon into little quarter inch pieces and frying them til crispy. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Start boiling the pasta in a large pot of salted water. On the last minute or so of cooking, blanch the asparagus for 60 seconds then set aside. When the pasta is al dente, take out of the water (don’t strain it) and put it into a large mixing bowl. Add the bacon the asparagus and toss lightly. Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to mix until combined. Salt and pepper to taste and that’s it. Serve up and enjoy!

**notes:

A few things with this recipe…

One: The Szechuan peppercorns would go really nice with a more prominent spicy kick. Next time, I think I will add some chili flakes.

Two: The curry blend should be more subtle. Perhaps half the amount and see what happens. 

Three: use spaghetti. The rice noodles don’t hold up very well to being tossed with tongs. They broke and end up looking like sh*t. Tasted good, but I guess I’m a stickler for details.

Mike Durkee from Durkee in Korea takes on my dare to get the handlebar moustache and makes this Aimless Cook spoof at the same time. Well done, Mike. You look like a killer badass!

Tteokbokki is a delicious rice cake commonly served in a spicy chili sauce from street carts all over Korea. The traditional version is a Royal Court recipe that is prepared with a soy based sauce. My version is a delicious and savoury blend of shiro miso and spicy gochujang with the aromatics of sesame oil, balanced out with a little touch of honey. This has a little kick of spice, but nothing too overwhelming. Another great thing about this recipe is that you can use whatever leftover vegetables you got in the fridge. Hooray for clean fridge!

You will need:

• 200g thinly sliced pork
• 400g assorted chopped vegetables (cabbage, carrot, shimeji, green onion, snow peas)
• 250g tteokbokki
• 1 tablespoon slivered ginger
• 1 cup dashi
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

For the sauce mixture:

• 2 tablespoons sake
• 1 tablespoon shiro miso
• 1 tablespoon gochujang
• 1 tablespoon honey

In a mixing bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and whisk together until combined. Set aside.

Now get a wok on high heat and add the sesame oil. Toss the ginger in and cook briefly until fragrant. Follow that with the pork and continue cooking and moving around to separate. When the pork starts to change colour, throw in the vegetables and continue to cook for about a minute. Add the tteokbokki, dashi and pour in the sauce mixture. Stir until combined, cover and let simmer til the tteokbokki are tender. The cooking time will depend on how thick the tteokbokki are. They should be soft and springy, like udon.

When it’s done, give a final mix and taste. Season with salt and pepper, finish with finely chopped green onion and serve. Enjoy!