The Minimalist

For dinner last night, I stole a recipe that appeared on Mark Bittman's blog, Bitten, last week. I say "stole" because I adapted it so completely that it's almost a different recipe. Almost.

I had actually stumbled upon Bittman's recipe for savory oatmeal on SeriousEats.com, a website dedicated to both restaurant and home-prepared cuisine. The recipe was simple: cook one cup of dried oats (just regular old oatmeal; steel cut oats take nearly four times as long to cook) in two cups water along with a dash of sea or kosher salt for seasoning. When the water reaches a boil, stir the oatmeal and lower the heat, stirring frequently for five minutes until the water is mostly absorbed. Add two tablespoons of soy sauce and one tablespoon of fresh chopped scallion, stirring both into the mixture. Take the oatmeal off the heat and pour into a bowl, garnishing with a final tablespoon of chopped scallions.

The recipe sounded good (and easy) enough, but why not go farther, I thought. I substituted the soy sauce for tamari and added an additional teaspoon of toasted sesame oil and teaspoon of Frank's red hot. Sriracha would have been more appropriate here, but I didn't have any on hand. I topped this dish with a soft-boiled egg (easier to prepare than poached, but similar in concept). The final result was something approximating congee, a thick porridge that was salty, spicy, and not over-the-top gooey. The egg made the oatmeal more of a meal, adding much-needed protein. And the runny yolk was perfect in the middle of all that spice and tamari.

Savory oatmeal, an idea I had never really considered too deeply, seems like the perfect quick fix for lunch or dinner. I'm thinking of experimenting with other presentations. Bittman also mentioned an oatmeal he enjoyed in Italy, topped with tapenade and olive oil. Delicious.

Another Lesson In Cooking For One

I went back to the fish markets yesterday, despite the nasty weather.  I did not return to the market that sold me the fishy scallops.  It should be noted that when buying fresh seafood one unsatisfactory product does not necessarily speak poorly of the place (sometimes the fish just isn't good), but Astoria teems with options, so I explored mine.  

Actually, the fish market I went to had fillets of tuna already wrapped in cellophane for easy purchase.  The fillets were large--nine to ten ounces apiece--and they were also exactly what one looks for in a piece of tuna.  They were pinkish red with no discoloration and the sign said they had been caught that day.  

These things are important when it comes to tuna in particular, because most people don't cook tuna all the way through.  If you're going to buy it for your own use, then, you have to make sure the product is really top rate.  

I stopped by my favorite vegetable stand for some scallions and green beans.  Back home, I combined a few tablespoons of sesame oil, soy sauce, wasabi, pickled ginger, ground ginger, sesame seeds, fresh lime juice, some baby bok choy, and one sliced scallion in a tupperware container.  If you're wondering why I keep wasabi and pickled ginger in my house, well, I don't.  I saved the leftover wasabi balls and condiments from the previous night's sushi, figuring I'd use it eventually.  

I cut my tuna steak in half (the recommended portion size for a piece of tuna is four to six ounces) and coated it with the marinade with my hands.  I then put the fish in the tupperware, closed it, and left it in the refrigerator for the rest of the day.  

Which meant that, hours later, when I returned from a rigorous workout at the gym, the fish was ready to go.  I heated a frying pan and wilted the bok choy for a few minutes before getting the fish on the heat.  On a very high flame, I seared both steaks, one minute on each side.  I ate the steak over brown rice with green beans that I had steamed.  For extra flavor, I added tamari to my rice.  

For me, tuna is the perfect substitute for a grilled steak.  It is substantial in a way that some fragile white fish are not and it offers a comparable mouthfeel to meat.  Seared rare, it's almost as good as a rib eye.  Almost.  

The fish was very fresh and the bright, spicy marinade proved the perfect counterpoint for dense the meat.  Perhaps the best part is that last night's leftovers will be today's lunch, not bad for seven bucks at the local fish market.