Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
By Request
With this dish, it's all in the equipment. If you have a good quality vegetable shredder, Angelo Pietro's signature salad made from raw potatoes is a snap. Otherwise, you're going to need extremely good knife skills. Fine shred key
to salad successManager Earl "Bo" Guillermo says restaurant cooks cut the potatoes by hand for the first year, but the current process is made faster and a lot more fun by an electric shredder. The machine turns out thin ribbons of potato and daikon 2 to 4 inches long, resembling the shredded radish you'll find under your sashimi in Japanese restaurants.
To do this at home, consider buying a hand-crank shredder. Marukai has one type; Shirokiya has several selling for up to $90.
Marion Wong finds the salad delicious and wants to know the technique. The key -- beyond the shredder -- is to soak the shredded potato in water to prevent browning and make it crisp. Use any dressing on the salad, but, of course, Guillermo suggests the restaurant's own line.
Also from Angelo Pietro's: Lydia Garza is after the Chicken and Spinach pasta recipe. Both follow.
RAW POTATO SALAD
4 large russet potatoes
3/4 pound daikon
4 large leaves iceberg lettuce, shredded
Radish and alfalfa sprouts for garnish
Angelo Pietro salad dressing (see note)Peel potatoes and daikon, cut off ends and slice each piece lengthwise half-way through (do not split the pieces). This keeps the slices from getting too long.
Using a hand-crank or electric vegetable shredder, shred the potatoes and daikon. Place the shreds immediately into a bowl of water. Rinse until water runs clear to remove starch and prevent oxidation and browning.
Refrigerate overnight, soaked in water. If serving immediately, submerge in ice water for 5 minutes to crisp potatoes.
To serve, drain well. Place a mound of the potato-daikon mix atop a bed of lettuce. Garnish with sprouts and serve with dressing on the side. Serves 4.
Note: Angelo Pietro salad dressings in Shoyu, Ume and Sesame-Miso flavors are sold at the restaurant and most supermarkets (but not Safeway). They sell for about $3.50 for 10 ounces. If desired, substitute your favorite dressing.
Nutritional information unavailable.
CHICKEN AND SPINACH
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1-by-1-inch pieces
SPAGHETTI WITH
GARLIC OIL SAUCE
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 heaping tablespoons flour
6 ounces spinach leaves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound spaghetti (Barilla No. 5 preferred), cooked
Chicken seasoning:
1/2 tablespoon garlic puree
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Pinch chile-pepper flakes, crushed
Dash garlic puree
Pinch salt
Pinch MSG
2 tablespoons hondashi fish stock
Splash soy sauce
2 cups vegetable oil
3/4 cup sliced raw garlic
1 tablespoon crushed dried chile-pepper flakesTo prepare chicken: Lightly coat with soy sauce, then lightly season with chicken-seasoning ingredients. Lightly dust with flour.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil and brown chicken. Stir in spinach just until wilted. Add sautepan seasonings (sauce should be a dark tan color and not too thick).
To prepare garlic oil sauce: Saute oil and garlic on high heat until garlic is golden brown. With a slotted spoon, remove garlic. Let oil and garlic cool, then return garlic chips to oil and add chile flakes.
Toss pasta with chicken mixture and 1-1/3 cups of garlic oil sauce.
If desired, garnish with thinly sliced onion rings, tossed in cornstarch and a pinch salt; then deep-fried. Serves 4.
Approximate nutritional information per serving without onion ring garnish: 1300 calories, 83 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,300 sodium.*
Food Stuffs: Morsels
Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com
Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the
Body & Soul section indicates calculations by
Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts,
a nutritional consulting firm.
