By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

Wednesday, November 21, 2001

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NAMKOONG PUBLISHING
The best part of jook, says author Joan Namkoong, is the variety
of condiments served on the side.

Reporter cooks up
a new career

It seems honorable to be able to say something nice about the competition. For years, Joan Namkoong was the competition, the food editor for the Honolulu Advertiser (that other newspaper). We covered a lot of the same events, worked with many of the same chefs. But here's the thing -- she can actually cook. Me, I own a stove and most times I can follow directions.

But anyway, she's left the Advertiser to indulge in non-newspaper pursuits, the first of which is a cookbook, "Go Home, Cook Rice" (Namkoong Publishing, paperback, $20, with $1 of each sale going to the Hawai'i Food Bank).

It's actually far more than a cookbook. "Go Home, Cook Rice" (great title) is a crisp, clear guide to local foods and culinary techniques, as well as to classic techniques as they fit into the island way.

It's beautifully designed and provides plenty of reading beyond the recipes, which are drawn from the author's own kitchen as well as from chefs and publications she trusts.

Namkoong summarizes her book at the start, calling it a guide to "using a wide spectrum of ingredients and mostly, the freshest locally grown produce in delicious, everyday home cooking."

It has been a Thanksgiving Eve tradition in this column to focus on ways to make use of leftover turkey. Conveniently, this new book includes a savory, traditional recipe for Chinese jook, or rice soup, which will be handy on Friday.

Book signings for "Go Home, Cook Rice" begin Saturday -- at noon at the Compleat Kitchen in Kahala Mall and 2 p.m. at Bookends in Kailua -- and will continue at bookstores statewide through December.

Rice Soup

4 quarts turkey stock (recipe follows)
1 cup long-grain or jasmine rice
2 fingers fresh ginger, 1/2 inch thick
3 green onions
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Bring stock to a boil. Add rice, ginger and green onions. Simmer and cook 1-1/2 hours, stirring to prevent sticking. Add more broth or water if necessary; consistency should be like a thick soup. Add salt and taste for seasoning. Serve with assorted condiments. Serves 8.

Condiment suggestions: Pickled ginger, cilantro, green onions, sesame oil, soy sauce, chili sauce, shredded iceberg lettuce, asparagus tips, shiitake or enoki mushrooms, shredded turkey or chicken, toasted pine nuts, fresh chili peppers, salted duck egg, soaked and chopped shrimp, Asian pickled vegetables.

Turkey Stock

Break the carcass into pieces, removing stuffing and pieces of meat. Place in stock pot and cover with water (about 8 quarts for a 14-pound turkey), bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently about 3 hours. Add an onion, carrot, celery stalk and herbs if you wish; ginger and green onion are good additions, too. Skim any impurities that rise to the surface. Strain stock into another pot. Cool and refrigerate. Remove layer of fat.

Nutritional information unavailable.

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Clarification

On Oct. 3, a recipe for pickled garlic was printed here that involved a traditional Indian technique of pickling whole cloves in oil and leaving them in the sun for several days. The recipe came from Kusuma Cooray's new cookbook, "Burst of Flavor" (University of Hawaii Press, 2001).

In light of a possible risk that Clostridium botulinum could grow in this method of preparation, Cooray suggests the following adaptation of the recipe.

For more on the risk of botulism in garlic-and herb-flavored oils, see this week's Health Options column on D7.

Pickled Garlic Cloves

1 pound garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 sprig curry leaves or 1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 pints olive oil

Boil garlic 10 minutes; drain and cool. Place in a sterilized pickling jar; add all spices, curry leaves and salt; cover with olive oil. Refrigerate immediately and use after 1 week. Makes 2 pints.

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
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.