Pupusa Mania on Long Beach Blvd

After a serendipitous encounter at a random farmer's market in the LA area, Sarah and I went on a pupusa craze- three places in one night. For those unfortunate souls who have not tried the El Salvadorian delight that is a pupusa, it is basically a fluffy, doughy, and thick corn tortilla stuffed with either soft salvadorian cheese (quesillo), fried pork rind (chicharrón), chicken, or refried beans. Normally Sarah and I order a pupusa revuelta, that is a pupusa with 2 or more of the ingredients. The cheese, chicharrón, and refried beans make for an incredible hodgepodge; it's not exactly the lightest of meals though...

Curtido is a traditional and delicious accompaniment to a pupusa, and is best compared to american coleslaw- although no mayo is involved. It is comprised of pickled cabbage, carrots, onions, and lemon juice, and can be very spicy if peppers are in the jumble. Not to mention the thick, habanero salsa that is obligatory on every pupusa! Time to up your spicy food tolerance people, california style; it'll make you a better person.

Archeological excavations of Joya de Cerén, a small native village preserved by a volcanic eruption, the Pompeii of El Salvador, shows evidence that natives were eating pupsas as far back as 2,000 years ago. But as a national dish, the pupusa didn't start to diffuse throughout all of El Salvador until the 1960s, when it spread to other Central American countries as well. During the 1980's the civil war spurred many Salvadorians to emmigrate, thus exporting the pupusa to other countries, including the US.

Our favorite pupusa haunt is a dinky little "cafe" on Long Beach Blvd. The surrounding area is a bit sketchy, but don't be alarmed- that's part of the charm. Hey, it's the risk you gotta take for pupusa authenticity. Sarah was speeding by on LB transit when she originally spied the flickering neon window sign advertising those bad ass puppies. So couple days later we walked in, a little unnerved by the desertion that was LB blvd after 9pm. We were greeted warmly by an aproned rolypoly Salvadorian woman who spoke about as much english as I farsi; she was seated at one of the 5 tables, enjoying some of her curtido. But then I said those magic words: dos pupusas por favor, and she mumbled something inaudible, wiggling the little piece of overlooked cabbage on her lip. And so she set to work, but not before dutifully washing her hands. We watched as she rolled the corn dough and the cheese into a a small circle, about 3 inches in diameter. She plopped the mixed dough onto the flat grill and lightly browned both sides, until just a drizzle of the quesillo oozed onto the hot surface and fused onto the side of the pupusa creating a crunchy cheese crust. These first pupusas were simple, the only ingredient besides the corn dough being the quesillo. She served them to us, along with a large bowl of the curtido and the salsa, and we devoured them in minutes...and then ordered seconds. This time, a pupusa revuelta- with all 3 components, as we now order them today. There are quite a few other things on the menu, soups, tacos, and some Mexican specialties, but we can never bring ourselves to try anything other than a pupusa. (By the way, they're only $2)

La Amiga Pupuseria y Taqueria- 1260 Long Beach Blvd on the eastern side, just south of Anaheim St.

Natto, America's most feared japanese culinary import

Growing up in northern California, I was very lucky to have been exposed to various cuisines and foods- of which my favorite was always Japanese. As I'd been going there since I was a wee tot, the sushi chef at our most frequented restaurant called me "sushi baby", and was always shouted as a greeting upon my entrance. It wasn't until my high school years that I started to branch out into Japanese cuisine outside of the American-Japanese restaurant staple of sushi and tempura. I was on break from boarding school staying at a friend's house in Michigan when one morning she started making us breakfast. Being half-Japanese, she often prepared the typical Japanese breakfast of miso soup, fish, rice, and what I now lovingly know as 'natto'. Natto is stinky ambrosia sent from the gods, but only if you can see, or smell, past its rather pungent scent- it is, after all fermented soy beans. Not that they're rotting, come on. We in the western cultures eat tons of things that are fermented: yogurt, sauerkraut, real (not processed) cheeses, pickles, beer, wine, etc.

Natto can be warmed up and served on top of Japanese rice (short grain sticky rice). You can choose to flavor it with the tsuyu (a yummy japanese dipping sauce often served with soba noodles) and karashi (hot mustard) packets that come in individually sized containers. Scallions or green onion add nice flavor and texture, as well as color to the dish. You can enjoy natto this way, or also in easy to make sushi- just lay sushi rice down atop a full size nori (seaweed) sheet and then dole out the natto in a line down the middle. Roll that baby up with a sushi mat and enjoy- no need to cut it into pieces- you can enjoy it handroll style. (That way you non dexterous chopstick users need not embarass yourselves. :D)

The taste of natto differs from person to person; to some, including me, the smell is wonderful, nutty, and maybe even a little cheesy. "Foreigners", or gaijin, notoriously find natto to be revolting. The smell might be intolerable- too pungent and smelling of fermentation- granted the aroma tends to diffuse a bit throughout the household. Sarah, the other dirtyspoon, is also half Japanese. She has told me that her dad, who is American, can't even be in the same room when the rest of the family is eating natto and refers to them as "stinkybeans". And I've also heard that some weirdos believe it to be bland, or have no flavor at all.

The consistency is quite unique; the beans look whole, but actually melt together at the slightest touch, and have a sticky consistency, and spiderweb-like strings appear when you pierce the glob of beans with chopsticks. It's a little tricky to eat, but eating it with rice helps, as the natto sticks and melds with it.

If you are daring enough to try Japan's most avoided dish, let us know and send us links to your pictures so we can publish them! Once you have mastered eating, and hopefully appreciating, this controversial fare, I guarantee you will earn the respect of any native Japanese person and will probably receive some looks, as I have, of pure amazement!

Chefs’ New Goal: Looking Dinner in the Eye - New York Times

Chefs’ New Goal: Looking Dinner in the Eye - New York Times

Japanese Soul Food by Sarah

I'd like to make a brief ode to my favorite cold weather meal ever, Japanese curry. This dish is almost embarrassingly easy to make and is a great choice for the poor college student because it is not only cheap, but is nutritious with the addition of meat and vegetables. Due to the conveniences available now in Japanese cuisine, this dish begins in most Japanese homes with a brick of condensed curry roux. Boxes of this instant curry can be found in supermarkets stateside in the "Asian foods" aisle. Likely brands that one will come across are S&W and House Foods Inc.
While following the directions on the back of the box provide favorable results, there are a few alterations/tweaks that will make this your own personal expression of curry:

• less water for a thicker stew and more concentrated flavor
• adding garam masala powder
  
• using local farmers market vegetables that reflect a different curry for every season! My favorite winter curry consists of entirely root vegetables.
• I usually find that the more onions I add, the more complex the curry tastes especially after several days. Slice them thinly so that most of the onion melts away. These days I use at least four onions.
  
• adding fruit such as apples or pineapple can add an unexpected twist (both are great paired with pork)
• experiment with different types of meat. possibilities include: pork cutlet dusted in panko & fried, stewing beef, chicken thighs, and shrimp. For vegetarians, fried tofu dusted lightly in flour is delicious (be sure to add the tofu on top at the end, otherwise the breading will get soggy).
  
• try serving with brown rice instead of the more traditional white. some Asian and gourmet markets (Wild Oats) sell sticky brown rice which works a little better than the usual dry brown rice out there.
  
• at curry restaurants, you will often have a small portion of Japanese pickles on the side. These can be found at Japanese markets such as Mitsuwa in great variety.
  
• most importantly: reduce, reduce, reduce! the longer the reduction time the more delicious your curry will be!

Tips:

• serve with milk or Japanese beer

• curry makes me sleepier than turkey does. . . .don't make this if you have studying to do afterwards!
• for dessert try a glass of Calpico (Japanese yogurt drink) and orange slices.
  

The Magnificent, Awe-inspiring, The One and Only, OUR Hole Mole

It only seems appropriate to have our first real entry all about our favorite Mexican place ever--Hole Mole. And Holy it is! Despite the fact that there are now several Hole Mole locations in the LBC (and one in Whittier), our favorite location is still "the original" located on 4th and Obispo. Liz was the instigator of our trips there and thank sweet baby jesus for that. She first introduced me to her burrito, THE Burrito, the raison d'etre for a good portion of my life. What you do is order the BRC (beans, rice, cheese) burrito and then you pay to add on sour cream and guacamole. It may sound boring to people who have to consume meat at every meal, but you simply have not experienced the sublime melt-in-your-mouth sensation when all ingredients are combined. The beans and rice themselves are the so-called meat and potatoes of this dish. Fluffy rice cooked in a tomato broth literally shines with just the right amount of oil. The creamy refried beans make you feel warm and satiated. The guacamole adds zest and color while the sour cream ups the sex, especially when it mixes with their house-made smokey red chile sauce (located at the salsa bar). The ingredients are dexterously wrapped in a large flour tortilla and toasted per request (sometimes when I forget to request for a toasted burrito, they would to my satisfaction, do it anyway) making the outside flaky and lightly browned. The initial mouth to tortilla greeting, accompanied with a saliva-y anticipation, can be broken down into a strata of collaborating flavors. After piercing the crunchy, flaky crust, your mouth sinks into the perfection that is THE burrito. And it is goooood.

Note that trying to order this burrito at other Mexican eateries will not produce the same results. . . . .I mean shit, we've tried! Believe me, when I was living in Eugene, Oregon for a year, I tried in vain to order a burrito in the same fashion, but it was a mealy, tasteless, lump of poo. Ok, ok, it wasn't poo, and granted we are talking about Oregon here, but come on! Eugene, having such great local produce, meat and dairy, should really look to improving their selection of world cuisine.
Alright now that I have given full homage to THE burrito, it is important to note other items on the menu. Tuesday is a big day for Long Beach, because it is the day of the 1 dollar tacos. Their dollar taco offerings include: fish (fried in the ensenada style and now grilled is available as well), chicken, al pastor, carne asada, and carnitas. Our personal favorites are the al pastor for its well seasoned and juicy bits, and of course, the original fish taco.

One of the most characteristic offerings at Hole Mole is their battered chiles. they are a medium sized yellow chile pepper broiled and then generously sprinkled with a tangy lemon seasoning that accentuates so well the true pepper flavor. Be careful though! They are extremely hot, and will burn your balls off, so don't eat the seeds. A cup of their sexy creamy horchata should help out your burning tastebuds, because even without the seeds the peppers are pretty hot. Liz always eats at least 7 of them, and then can't talk for 5 minutes; self-admittedly masochistic, ha. But at least that tells you how delicious they are.

Another good find at Hole Mole (and cheap!) are the crunchy carnitas tacos- only $1.50 for 2! They're loaded with pulled pork meat, drizzled with a creamy pink sauce best described as addicting and topped with loads of lettuce, tomatoes, and shredded cheese. Amazing!

There is no shortage of marvelous things to order at Hole Mole, but we've shared with you only our favorites- otherwise this blog would go on for days. So please, go forth and feast on the wonder that is Hole Mole. And let us know if our blog aided or inspired you to try our favorite neighborhood taco spot.

Welcome to Two Dirty Spoons: How they got dirty

Liz and I are two young blooded epicures who have been living in Long Beach going on 5 years. One day (today) we decided to start a blog based on the goings on of our everyday "food lives". Not only are we focusing on our passion for cooking, but we want to show you our local culinary discoveries, whether it be a Zagat rated restaurant or an El Savadorian joint that specializes in bad-ass pupusas.