Photo courtesy of Calvin N. Ho
Calvin Ho of the L.A.-based Asian diaspora blog The Plaid Bag Connection encountered this – Ethiopian injera bread, served on a standard-issue Chinese restaurant plate – while visiting Washington, D.C. over the weekend. ”The world we live in,” he tweeted yesterday.
I’d initially wondered if the restaurant was in Los Angeles, as this combo would make sense here, too. But it’s the Lalibela Restaurant, an Ethiopian eatery in D.C.’s Logan Circle neighborhood.
Photo by Manogamo/Flickr (Creative Commons)
A bowl of raw kitfo, at right, with spongy injera bread
Last week, Multi-American delved once more into that culinary landscape where some diners fear to tread, the territory of the unsung ethnic delicacy.
These are the dishes that don’t necessarily sound good, look good or or even smell good, but are worth trying because they are unexpectedly delicious.
Our first series in March covered a range of foods, from drinks like the Vietnamese avocado milkshake to main dishes like arroz con calamares en su tinta, a particularly unattractive squid dish served in several Latin American countries.
The series last week focused on meat dishes, cooked, raw and canned. True to form, none sound like anything one would rush out to try, but don’t be put off. For any carnivores who might have missed these treats, here they are in a convenient list. Dig in.
Spam musubi to go, October 2006. Photo by klyphord/Flickr (Creative Commons)
One of a series of posts last week that explored unsung ethnic delicacies highlighted Spam musubi, a popular snack made with Spam and sushi rice that is popular in Hawaii.
The series focused on those dishes or items that may not look or sound good, but are in fact delicious. I knew that Spam musubi was well-loved on the islands, and at least by one person in Washington, D.C., that being our Hawaii-raised president. But judging by the flood of comments that came in to KPCC’s Facebook page, there is a great deal of Spam musubi love out there.
“This is one of my favorite foods!” Joanne Kakuda wrote.
“Hot dogs are worse than spam so I don’t understand the prejudice against it,” Tracy Munar-Ramos wrote. “Spam rocks!”
Okay, not entirely sure about that. Vanessa Lee put it in perspective:
Love spam musubi, but can’t eat the pink canned stuff any other way.
A bowl of kifto, at right, with spongy injera bread. Photo by Manogamo/Flickr (Creative Commons)
Since our list of unsung ethnic delicacies this week has so far focused on meat – most recently, raw meat – why stop now?
A couple of different colleagues lately have praised the virtues of raw Ethiopian kitfo, a spicy relative of steak tartare and its global cousins, among them the Armenian-style chee kufta featured yesterday.
Kitfo is quite unlike the simpler chee kufta and its Lebanese cousin, kibbeh nayyeh. The dish is made from minced lean beef that has been flavored with an elaborate spice blend containing chili peppers and fragrant spices, among them cardamom and cloves, and with seasoned clarified butter. It’s typically served with flat injera bread and a mild cheese, which balances the spice.
With its complex seasonings, the dish tends to surprise those who didn’t grow up with it, but grow to like it. Here is what Elahe Izadi, one of my NPR Argo Network colleagues from WAMU’s DCentric blog, had to say about her first kitfo experience:
I’m typically very wary of undercooked meats, a byproduct of an over-protective mother who obsesses over making sure meat is well-done. But it tasted very good, and not like what I’d expect raw meat to taste like (which is gross, I guess?). And no, I didn’t get sick.
But for those with an aversion to uncooked meat, the dish can also be served cooked. The food magazine Saveur has a recipe for a cooked version that details the spice blend. For purists who want to make the raw stuff at home, this simple recipe suggests grinding the meat just before serving.
But why go to the trouble? Kitfo can be found raw and rare at Ethiopian restaurants, which Southern California is fortunate to have many of.
Have an ethnic dish to suggest that tastes better than it looks or sounds? Please share.
A parsley-laden dish of chee kufta
This week, Multi-American is again exploring the unsung ethnic delicacies that may not sound or look like much, but are worth a try. And for whatever reason, people are suggesting meat dishes this time around.
Today’s suggestion comes from blog contributor Lory Tatoulian, and it’s not for the faint-hearted. Chee kufta, a raw meat dish, is what she describes as something that “sounds risky but tastes delicious.”
The dish is popular in Armenian and Turkish cuisines as an appetizer and consists of ground beef or lamb that is mixed with fine wheat bulghur and seasonings, which in the typical Armenian preparation consist of red and black pepper, water and salt. It is then garnished with scallions, parsley and a generous amount of olive oil.
Here’s how Lory describes a good chee kufta:
The redder the meat, the more delectable. It is best to use zero percent fat meat, and there should absolutely be no fat or no tendons in the patty. Chee kufta can be eaten with Akh Makh cracker bread, but it is best eaten when your mom is preparing it in the kitchen and hands you a small sample to ask if more or less salt is needed.
The dish is to be prepared and served quickly. Here are a couple of tips from one recipe, which calls for V8 juice among the seasonings:
Always grind Chee Kufta meat yourself.
Keep very cold while preparing and serve right away.
Leftovers should be refrigerated and may be fried or baked later.
I’ll confess here that I’m a recovering onetime vegetarian, so while I am perfectly content to nosh on things like Hawaiian Spam musubi - yesterday’s entry – I’m leaving it up to Lory and other dedicated carnivores to rave about raw delicacies like chee kufta, which like other global relatives of steak tartare (such as Lebanese kibbeh nayyeh or the spicy, beloved Ethiopian kifto) has legions of fans who have either grown up with it or discovered it along the way.
Know of an ethnic dish worth discovering that gets a bad rap? Share your suggestions in the comments below.
Photo by jonathanb1989/Flickr (Creative Commons)
Their romantic dinner might taste like plastic - better to share some shabu shabu or an Ethiopian stew.
Forget momentarily about chocolate, oysters and the rest of the usual food suggestions that accompany Valentine’s Day, about aphrodisiacs and expensive dinners. As a favor to lovestruck foodies in the Los Angeles area, a few colleagues and I recently came up with an unscientific but well-loved list of some of the best date-friendly offerings to come out of our immigrant enclaves.
Five favorites:
Photo by Eekim/Flickr (Creative Commons)
Ethiopian There’s something very intimate about sharing a meal from the same dish, eaten with your hands. The spongy injera bread serves as a both plate and utensil with which to scoop up savory stews, called wot, and other dishes, making the meal a tactile experience. The food itself is fragrant, seasoned with garlic, ginger and other spices.
One place to find it: Nyala at 1076 South Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 936-5918
Japanese Shabu Shabu Much like with Chinese hot pot or Swiss fondue, shabu shabu involves dipping and sharing. Participants in this communal meal cook it together, dunking thin slices of raw meat and vegetables into a boiling pot, leisurely enjoying each morsel. Dip, swish, eat, then afterward share the delicious broth that’s left in the pot.
One place to find it: Shabu Shabu House, 127 Japanese Village Plaza Mall, Los Angeles, (213) 680-3890
Photo by Sarahbest/Flickr (Creative Commons)
Oaxacan Instead of a box of Godiva, why not a meal of rich mole negro as it’s prepared in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, dark and redolent with chocolate? Ridiculously complex, its ingredients are too many to mention, but they combine to make a sauce that is earthy and subtly sweet. I’ll take a plate of pollo en mole negro over chocolate truffles in a heartbeat.
One place to find it: Guelaguetza, the undisputed heavyweight of Oaxacan restaurants in town. Two locations are open, one at 3014 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 427-0608 and the other in Plaza Mexico, 11215 Long Beach Blvd. #1010, Lynwood, (310) 884-9234. Another location in Palms is closed for remodeling.
Persian One of the best things about Persian cuisine is its fragrance. Food is perfumed with saffron, cardamom and rosewater, a staple ingredient in desserts. Roses are lovely to look at, but a meal that ends with rose-scented lacy zoolbia or doughy baamieh is proof that roses are just as lovely to eat. Though taking a bite of your bouquet wouldn’t go over well – opt for a scoop of rosewater ice cream instead.
One place to find it: Shamshiri Grill in Westwood, 1712 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 474-1410. Nearby is Saffron & Rose Ice Cream, 1387 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 477-5533
Photo by librarianishis/Flickr (Creative Commons)
Spaghetti This most plebeian of Southern Italian staples, messy and kid-friendly, is the perfect meal if you have kids and can’t get a sitter. Boil up a pot, rent a copy of “Lady and the Tramp,” and let the tots slurp and enjoy the movie while you giggle over shared noodles like Disney’s canine lovebirds. Add a nice bottle of red to make up for the fact that you’re, well, home eating spaghetti watching a cartoon.
One place to find it: Thanks to the great wave of Italian immigration a century ago, everywhere.
Happy Valentine’s Day. And if you go out, bring a little extra cash, as the immigrants who will most likely prepare and serve your meal will appreciate the tip.
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