滷肉飯, fermented mustard greens, and arugula salad
this week's spread and why i want to institute staff meal at work
Back in the early days of the pandemic, I was working a lot of hours at a small, but quickly-growing coffeeshop that saw COVID as the ideal time to pursue its expansionist ambitions. Despite our shaky foundation and the added burden on our already-thin staff, we trudged on because “just look at these real estate deals (from other shuttered cafes); we can’t afford not to take them”. In other words, I saw my immediate career outlook quickly sink into a trajectory towards burnout. Things were universally bleak around this time, but on this downward spiral, a friendship between me and another coworker was gradually blossoming. Perhaps we shared the same disgruntled spirits, or that she was already (rightfully) skeptical, critical, and fed up with it all, and I was simply catching up with her. Regardless, we found more reasons to become friends than our discontents, one of which was a mutual love for food.
Pretty much every time we worked overlapping shifts, Lesly would cook or bring lunch for me. Some days, it would be shakshuka, then another day, beef stir-fry and the black currant scone recipe she was experimenting with. The next week, she might bring leftover birria de chivo with all the fixings for street tacos. One time, she even brought fried chicken. It helped that she lived only a stones-throw away, as she would hop on her bike and ride home because she forgot the kimchi to the bossam lunch we were having that day. She often stayed an extra hour after her shift to just fix up a meal for me in the back kitchen while I worked on bar.
I never asked for it but her lifestyle simply exuded home-cooked generosity and a passion for hospitality. At the time, I was malnourished in hope and human connection but we broke bread together. These brief, but profound, shared meals sustained me – it was one way we coped. Whether she was sharing about the latest Angela Davis seminar or the systemic expressions of food apartheid, she constantly challenged and pushed me to take a critical, vulnerable look at the world around us. To this day, she reminds me of what is important in food: that before we begin to share our stories or “express ourselves”, we feed people first.
Having only worked in coffee, I’ve never officially partaken in the institution of “staff meal” and had a little bit of FOMO because of that. I envy the excitement of breaking out of the confines of a menu and giving someone the autonomy to be creative and serve their crew. But it dawned on me recently that I did get to experience that exact thing, albeit carved out in an informal way, with the meals I shared with Lesly. I work at another cafe now but I’ve been missing those shared lunches. I made it a goal to cook for people more because I want to exercise this lifestyle of generosity that Lesly modeled for me. I decided I want to instigate and sneak in my own staff meal (whenever possible)! I also made the simple realization that people obviously aren’t going to ask for it (I didn’t) but I can still initiate and serve them anyways.
Following her example, I showed up to work last week with large tupperwares of food for my (current) coworkers (who also happen to be rad people). I whipped up a large batch of 滷肉飯 lu rou fan, which is minced pork belly, braised in a stock enriched with soy paste, shiitake mushrooms, and an ungodly amount of fried shallots, served over rice. It’s a Taiwanese classic that will likely make many reappearances on this newsletter. I paired the protein with fermented mustard greens that were minced and stir-fried with garlic, then finished the whole affair with a soy-marinated egg, cilantro, and more crispy shallots.
This is one of those traditional dishes with countless iterations of “perfection” and I’ve been working on customizing my own recipe. In this round, I found that I preferred the mustard greens that were fermented for only a short period of time as opposed to the longer ferments. The lightly-fermented greens retain much more of the fresh, vegetal taste and crisper texture, which makes for a better contrast to the fatty richness of the braise. Longer ferments yield more complex, tart flavors and a denser chew. While more flavorful, I think the palate would be too saturated with noise that the dish becomes overwhelming. I also realized that these lighter ferments are used commonly as side veggies in restaurants and Taiwanese bentos, usually stir-fried or steamed with edamame and a soy product (like tofu skin, but not quite..). All in all, it was a crowdpleaser.
Another highlight from last week’s spread was arugula salad – a project I committed to after enviously eyeing a lot of beautifully-plated salads on my feed and having a buildup of leftover vegetables in the fridge (as one does after making sandwiches). I was never too good with plating and I’m still uncomfortable with the amount of pretension involved with using tweezers but I thought, hey, let’s give this a shot. Treat it like an arts-and-craft project and just have fun with it because that’s the whole point right?
Not going to lie, it took me at least five minutes to plate and I used chopsticks but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It’s citrus season so the main feature was some oranges from a family friend’s family friend, on top of a bed of arugula, sliced red onions, mint, and shaved parmesan. I dressed the whole thing with maldon salt and a lemon-soy-fish sauce ponzu. I’m not a big salad person but it scored a solid “not bad” from my partner (a win in my book). The only thing missing is a crunch, like toasted nuts or crushed, roasted broad beans.
Personal things from this week
I haven’t been posting as much as I’d like to but I have a longer-form story in the works and I’m trying my best to avoid self-imposed deadlines. Overall, I’m feeling much better about writing than I did before I started this newsletter (ie. less anxiety, more excitement). So yeah, making strides here. Here are some other things I’ve been consuming this week.
Listening to: POP SONG by Kenshi Yonezu, Candydrip by Lucky Daye
Watching: Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc (despite flashy, impressive visuals, storytelling was weak and I’m concerned for the future of the series if it keeps heading this direction)
Reading: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt Says You’re Cooking Just Fine, The New Yorker
Drinking: Cat and Cloud Finca Edgar Honey, V60
Nice thing I did for myself this week: went to the SF Botanical Gardens and Japanese Tea Gardens (for free!)