Chinese Food, Gourmet Ketchup, Mediterranean Grilling, Spice Emporium, Bistro Life

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Recipes and information from this week's Good Food.

Old Redwood Forest Fundraiser

When: Thursday, May 20 at 6pm
Where: Axe restaurant on Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice
Who: Live music, snacks from Axe
Call: Lisa at 510-444-4710 x308 or go online at www.AncientTrees.org.

Nancy Zaslavsky has space on her Culinary Tours to Mexico. The tour to San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato runs from July 15 - 21, and includes cooking classes, tastings and market tours. For reservations or additional information, call 310-440-8877 or go online at www.NancyZaslavsky.com.


Join Evan Kleiman on her first-ever family-inclusive Italian Cooking Adventure

When: June 25 - July 3
Where: Puglia (the heel of the boot)
For kids 2 years and up
For more info, email Italy@AngeliCaffe.com.


Vital Zumin Ranch is located at 29127 Pacific Coast Hwy at Heathercliff Dr (at Point Dume). Call 310-457-1084 for market hours and information on becoming an intern.


Jonathan Gold is a restaurant writer for Gourmet Magazine and the LA Weekly. He spoke about Chung Flower Rice Noodle House at 140 W Valley Blvd #208 in San Gabriel. He especially recommends the fish soup, $2 pork chop combination, and the super-thin rice noodles in broth thickened with cornstarch.


Mark Bittman is the author of How to Cook Everything, published by MacMillan. He is also the author of the "Minimalist" column that appears each Wednesday in the Dining In & Out section of the New York Times.

Stir-Fried Chicken With Ketchup
Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings.

  • 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken, preferably dark meat, cut into 1/2- to 1-inch chunks
  • 1/2 cup flour, more as needed
  • 4 Tablespoons neutral oil, like corn or canola
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons slivered garlic
  • 1/2 tsp Cayenne, or to taste
  • 1 cup ketchup.
1. Toss chicken with flour so that it is lightly dusted. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn heat to high. When oil smokes, add chicken in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. When chicken browns on one side, toss it and cook until just about done: smaller pieces will take five minutes total, larger pieces about 10. Remove to a plate. Turn off heat and let pan cool for a moment.

3. Add remaining oil to pan and turn heat to medium high. Add garlic and cayenne and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add ketchup and stir; cook until ketchup bubbles, then darkens slightly. Return chicken to pan and stir to coat with sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve.


Cliff Wright is the author of Real Stew and Little Foods of the Mediterranean: 500 Fabulous Recipes for Antipasti, Tapas, Hors D'Oeuvre, Meze and More, published by Harvard Common Press.

Pork Satay from Northern Sulawesi

Satays are not always blistering hot, but this one from the town of Manado in Northern Sulawesi is. Sulawesi is the Indonesian name of the intriguing looking peninsular island of Celebes on English maps. This preparation is traditionally served as a snack or appetizer. The chiles used in this dish are long finger-type chiles, about 4 inches long and slender, but any chile will do. Pork satay skewers are always a big favorite at grill parties.
Makes 6 servings

  • 5 fresh green finger-type chiles or 20 green Thai chiles or 8 green serrano chiles, coarsely chopped
  • 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1-inch cube fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 Tablespoons salt
  • 2 Tablespoons water
  • 2 lbs boneless pork butt, excess fat removed, sliced into 1 x 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • Eight 10-inch wooden skewers
1. Place the chiles, onion, ginger, lime juice, salt, and water in a blender and run until smooth. Scrape down the sides and run again if necessary. Pour into a glass or ceramic bowl and toss with the pork. Marinate at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours or in the refrigerator for 4 hours, turning occasionally.

2. Prepare a hot charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill on high for 15 minutes. Skewer the pork pieces tightly onto wooden skewers. Brush each with oil and grill, about 2 inches from the heat source, turning the skewers occasionally until crisp and brown, about 10 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

@ Clifford A. Wright, from Some Like it Hot, forthcoming from Harvard Common Press.

As for the grilled pizza, it's all about the method. Prepare a hot charcoal fire in the grill using quite a bit of coals, about 50 briquets. Once the coals are white spread them around. Place the grilling grate down and place a 16-inch baking stone on top of the grilling grate. Cover and let it heat for 15 minutes. Remove the cover, sprinkle the baking stone with coarse corm meal, lay the pizza on top, cover, and cook until the bottom of the crust is golden brown, speckled black and the top is bubbling, about 7 to 9 minutes.


You can find Perry Doty's All Spice at the Original Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax in Los Angeles, stall #614 (near the north west corner). 323-936-0464


Gordon Hamersley's Bistro Cooking at Home is published by Broadway Books. It recently won an International Association of Culinary Professionals cookbook award. Unfortunately no recipes from this book are available to us at this time.