2020 marked our 20th wedding anniversary. We were planning to make a trip to Provence where we spent our honeymoon. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we had to cancel the trip. To make it up, I want to plan a nice Valentine's Day dinner. I remember very well our first Valentine's date. We went to the best steakhouse and had surf and turf dinner. Our palate was not as educated as now. The filet mignon was cooked well-done and dressed with A-1 sauce. This time, I want to elevate the surf and turf using our Swarnadwipa spice mix. I want to make a velvety, luxurious Swarnadwipa sauce to complement the lobster.

Not many people knew the story behind our Swarnadwipa spice blend. Part of it is because we don’t promote it that much. It is the most time-consuming spice blend that we produce. The bulk of the ingredients are made from scratch. More importantly, it’s very close to my heart. In the beginning, I wanted to share it with only the right chefs, the ones who appreciate Southeast Asian flavors and can incorporate them with French techniques. Swarnadwipa has coconut, kafir lime, lemongrass, etc. Only a handful of our beloved chefs know about this spice blend to this day. Ten years ago, I created Swarnadwipa dedicated to my wife, Esther, for our 10th wedding anniversary. I was inspired by one of her favorite foods growing up. I named it Swarnadwipa which means the Island of Gold. She is the love of my life. We met in high school and we’ve been together ever since.

We just received our weekly fresh winter black truffles shipment. They were beautiful. Fresh black truffles and lobster sounded so good. I couldn’t resist cooking the surf and turf for the weekend. I ordered Colossal Maine lobster tail online. I also got a couple of American Wagyu ribeye caps and smaller lobster tails at my local store. We were celebrating Valentine’s Day as a family. We needed extra lobster tails. They were also the perfect foundation (fond) for making the Swarnadwipa sauce.

It was Friday and I had all ingredients on hand. Cooking surf and turf was manageable. It took me less than two hours from start to finish. The flavor combination of the black truffles and lobster, Swarnadwipa sauce, and everyone’s reactions were very rewarding.Needless to say, the dinner was a success. I'm going to cook another surf and turf dinner again on February 14th.

Ingredients

2 American Wagyu ribeye cap or filet mignon

1 Maine lobster tail

2 smaller lobster tails

1/4 cup cognac


2 cups chicken stock


1-1/2 cup See Smell Taste Swarnadwipa®

4 kaffir lime leaves

1 egg yolk

1 lemongrass stalk

fresh black winter truffles (optional)

3 sprigs rosemary

1 whole garlic head, crushed

4 tbsp canola oil

unsalted butter


kosher salt

lemon juice


salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Lemongrass Butter

Lightly smack with the back of the knife dan roughly chop the lemongrass. Melt 125 grams unsalted butter in a small saucepan over low medium heat. Wait until foamy then add the lemongrass. Sauté the lemongrass for one minute. Cover the pan and turn off the heat. Let the butter infuse for 30 minutes.

Broiled Lobster Tail

Preheat the oven to broil setting. Cut the top shell lengthwise. Release and butterfly the meat on top of the shell. Squeeze half kaffir lime over it. If using truffles, put some slice truffles underneath the meat (shown) and stuff some truffle pieces inside the shell. Baste the lemongrass butter over the lobster meat before putting it in the oven. Depending on the size of the lobster tail, it may take 8-15 minutes to cook. Baste the lobster meat one more time halfway through cooking.

Pan-Seared Steak

Heat the oils on the frying pan. Salt the steak generously on each side. When the oil is hot, put the steak in. Throw in the butter, rosemary, and garlic. Baste the infused fat over the meat continuously. Depending on the thickness of the meat, cook each side for 3-5 minutes. Use a thermometer and check the internal temperature. For medium-rare, you want to take it out of the stove when it reads 125°F. Let it rest and loosely covered. 

Swarnadwipa Sauce

Cut two smaller lobster tails in half along the shell. Put the oils on the frying pan and let it heat until you see light smoke. Put the lobster tails in with the meat facing down. Put in 2 tbsp of unsalted butter. Sear the lobster meat for 2 minutes before flipping the shell side for another 2 minutes. Put the slightly roasted lobster tails aside. You may save the leftover oils aside for other use. Do not wash the pan. Put the pan back on the stove for making the Swarnadwipa sauce.

Chiffonade the kaffir lime leaves. Put in the butter and start scraping the pan with the whisk. Let the butter become foamy before turning off the heat dan pour in the cognac. Flambé the pan. Make sure the heat is off. Let the alcohol burn off before turning the heat back on. Keep scraping until most of the cognac evaporates. 

Pour the stock in dan keep scraping/whisking. Add the Swarnadwipa. Keep whisking dan reduce the stock to about half. It should slightly thicken. 

If not thick enough, add another 1-1/2 cup of Swarnadwipa. Turn off the heat and strain the stock. Whisk the egg yolk in the small mixing bowl. Slowly pour in the warm strained stock while keep whisking the yolk. Put the mixture back into a medium saucepan. Turn the heat to medium. Keep whisking until thicken. The sauce should be clingy around the whisk. Add the lemon juice to thin the sauce a bit. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ready to serve!

Arrange the lobster tail and black truffles. Cut the steak into 1/4-inch slices. Pour the Swarnadwipa sauce and enjoy! 

In this recipe

See Smell Taste Swarnadwipa™

Fresh Black Winter Truffles

I want to do comfort food and yet elevate it to the next level. I keep thinking about Karei Raisu (Japanese Curry). We haven’t had one since last Spring and the kids loved it. A meal of perfectly cooked ribs with a nice crust and thick curry sauce on the side would be as memorable as a prime rib.

The first mission was to find a prime-rib quality beef. I got 5” bone-in short rib American Wagyu. The second was to revisit the techniques and the other ingredients. I would roast instead of sweating the onions to give it more depth and sweetness to the sauce. I would not brown the beef but reverse sear at the end for better presentation and texture. I would skip the honey and get nice Fuji apples instead.

The day has come. I had all the finest ingredients I could get and our Christmas Eve dinner came out great! The time it took me to prep and cook was much longer than for a regular Japanese Curry, but it was worth every second. It was our most memorable Christmas Eve dinner ever!

How did I do it? Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

5” bone-in short rib American Wagyu

1 large yellow onion sliced into half moon

2-3 large carrots, preferably cut rangiri style

1 lb Brussels sprouts

1 lb fingerling potatoes

1-2 Fuji apples

3 tbsp See Smell Taste Japanese Curry Mix

50 grams wheat / all-purpose flour

50 grams butter

See Smell Taste Heavenly Salt & Pepper™ Mix

salt to taste

water

Directions

Morning prep:

First, I preheat the oven to 350F. Once the oven is ready, I put the whole onion unpeeled for 1 hour.

Second, I parboil and rinse the beef ribs, then bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and skim for any scums. Leave the beef ribs to cook for 1.5 hours. Peel the onions. Cut in half and throw into the stock.

Next, throw in the potatoes and cook for 25 minutes. In 15 minutes, then you can throw in the carrots and the brussels sprouts.

Blanch and rinse the carrots, Brussels sprouts, and potatoes separately to stop the cooking process. Cover and put them in the fridge.

When the ribs are done, leave them in the stock to prevent darkening and drying, then put them in the fridge.

An hour before serving:

Preheat the oven to the highest temp Broiler setting. Get the vegetables out of the fridge.

Strain the stock using the oil separator. Brush the ribs with the oil and season with Heavenly Salt and Pepper™ Mix. Make sure all sides of the ribs are covered with the seasoning. Arrange the vegetables on the roasting pan and put the ribs on the V rack with the fat cap facing up. Put them in the oven for 15-20 minutes for a nice crust.

While waiting for the oven, I get started on the curry roux. I reduce the stock to half to concentrate the flavors. Melt the butter. Add the flour and Japanese Curry Mix. Keep adding stock until you reach a gravy consistency. 

Add salt and grated apples. I ended up using two whole apples to get the right sweetness.

Serve and enjoy!

In this recipe

See Smell Taste Japanese Curry Mix

Ingredients

bone-in short ribs (I bought enough for 8 people)

1 large yellow onion sliced into half moon

2-3 large carrots, preferably cut rangiri style

See Smell Taste Japanese Curry Mix

wheat / all-purpose flour

salt and honey to taste

water

Directions

Put the short ribs on the stockpot, fat side down. Render the fat and brown the short ribs. Do in batches if your stockpot doesn’t have enough space for all the short ribs. Put the short ribs aside when you’re done. 

Save the fat in separate bowl and leave about 2 tablespoon on the stockpot. Sweat the onion in medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Put the short ribs back to the stockpot. Pour enough water to cover the short ribs over 1 inch. Bring the heat up to a boil and skim off the scum. Put the carrots in. Then let it simmer and slightly cover for 4-5 hours until the meat is tender and off the bones.

In the meantime, let’s make the curry roux. Measure the leftover fat from the short ribs. You need 50 grams of fat, 50 grams of flour and 3 tablespoons of curry powder to make the roux. If you don’t have enough fat, you can add any fats/oils. Heat the fat in medium heat, then add the flour. Keep whisking for about 5-8 minutes. You want the roux to be beige/light brown color. 

Then add the Japanese Curry Mix and keep whisking for another minute.

When the meat is tender, you can add the curry roux to the beef stew and stir. Bring the heat to medium. Depending on how much beef stew you make, you might want to add more than 1 batch of the curry roux to get gravy consistency. I made 2.5 batches curry roux for my beef stew. Add salt and honey to your liking. Enjoy! 

In this recipe

See Smell Taste Japanese Curry Mix

A bit of history on the Japanese Curry:

The Japanese Imperial Navy adopted British curry in the late nineteenth century to combat beriberi, a disease caused by vitamin B-1 deficiency. At the time, the Navy offered unlimited white polished rice, a luxury that only the rich and aristocracy could afford, as a means of recruiting. They ended up eating too much rice and they developed first beriberi symptoms: loss of strength in the legs, looseness in the knees, cramps in the calves, swelling and numbness. Beriberi became endemic in the Japanese Imperial Navy and crippled a third of the sailors.

The Japanese Navy looked at their British counterpart's diet where beriberi was almost non-existent. The British were eating beef curry mixed with root vegetables with bread. They adopted the British curry recipe, using beef trimmings, dry curry powder and wheat flour as a thickener and beef for the protein. They ate it with rice instead of bread. To implement this new Westernized diet, they served the curry on Fridays. It also gave the Navy a sense of time while they were out on the water for so long. Beriberi was eventually eradicated from the Japanese Navy a few years later. The Navy kept the curry tradition until the present day. They brought home the recipes; people in their hometown loved their curry. It eventually became a national dish, just like ramen and sushi.

The Verdict:

The day had come. It’s Friday! I had my ingredients ready on the counter: short ribs, onion, carrots, our Japanese Curry Mix, wheat flour, salt and honey. Only seven ingredients. That’s it! I’d like to keep my curry cooking basic and simple. I let the ingredients shine and my curry powder did all the magic. Cooking short ribs took time. Hey, now that we're all staying home, we have plenty of time! It took me five hours to get the meat off the bones.

The curry was finally ready. I called my kids to set up the table. I served them the curry over rice. They had a few bites and there was a moment of silence. I asked my son, who was more of an adventurous eater than his two sisters. How was it? He said it was good. It was not as strong as other curries he had in the past. It was mild and sweet and it didn’t hurt his throat. He loved it! The other two kids also nodded with approval. That was my happiest day since the stay-at-home order started in March. Mission accomplished!

See Smell Taste Japanese Curry Mix