Seafood Rolls
I had a recurring dream when I was seven years old. In it, I awoke to a flood in our apartment. Apparently, somebody had left the tub running. In the basement where the water was the deepest, I sat on my father's desk thrilled by the fish darting by. I cast a rubber worm into the corner of the room. I can never remember if I caught anything....
ROMPING WITH THE GOATS
Alaskan cod, canteloupe, goat cheese, and Ethiopian spices
4 pieces for 9
OO LA LA MITZVAH!
Whole wheat tempura arctic char, brie cheese, avocado, and ch'i energy
4 pieces for 9
WATER PIG
Applewood-smoked Connecticut mackerel, goat cheese, and cranberries
4 pieces for 9
BEST CRUNCHY ROLL EVER
Giant domestic scallops in a crunchy roll seasoned with Persian ghormeh sabzi and chili pepper
4 pieces for 10
DIEGO RIVIERA
Smoked Alaskan wild Coho salmon, jalapeños, papas, y espárragos
4 very picante pieces for 10
*You must believe that the southwestern United States rightfully belongs to Mexico to order this roll.
WABISABI
A roll of kimchee-seared Icelandic char, wrapped in wild-foraged pickled grape leaves, topped with wild Alaskan salmon caviar
4 pieces for 20
Wabisabi is a Japanese aesthetic ideal, one that finds beauty in imperfection and impermanence. The word is difficult to translate directly, but it has connotations of both the simplicity of living close to nature and the natural process of decay and deterioration over time; it carries overtones of mortality. Since the word describes beauty, it suggests that there is something beautiful about growing old and dying. Wabisabi can be appreciated in the autumn leaves changing color and falling to the ground, an ancient stone temple overgrown with lichen and imperceptibly crumbling, and the wrinkled face of the one you love.
This recipe is inspired by In Praise of Shadows, a book about wabisabi and traditional Japanese aesthetics by the Japanese novelist, Tanizaki. In it, he fondly recalls a Walden Pond-like experience in which he spent a summer picking persimmon leaves and using them to make wonderfully delicious landlocked-salmon sushi rolls. Inspired by Tanizaki's experience but unable to find persimmon leaves, last summer I picked wild grape leaves instead, to make my own arctic char sushi roll.
KWANZAA BONANZAA
A coconut-covered roll of fried Mississippi catfish, sweet potato, avocado, cream cheese, canteloupe, burdock, and hot sauce (of course)
4 very soulful pieces for 15
There is no cuisine that is more American than soul food. There are no people who are more significant to the creation of American culture (at least the cool stuff) than African-Americans. Soul Food is the result of a practical and creative adaptation of African cuisine to the New World.
You must be mostly African-American to order this roll.
TYGER TYGER
Mozambique tilapia or Alaskan cod, goat cheese, East African ingredients
4 pieces for 20
In William Blake's poem that begins "Tyger Tyger, burning bright," he asks the question, "Why did God create the world the way he did, and not some other way?" or, "Why are things the way they are?" That inspired me to ask the question "Why did sushi have to come from Asia?" The answer is that it didn't have to come
from Asia. It also could have originated in West Africa, because at the time that sushi developed, West Africa was the only other place that had both fish and rice, the two essential components necessary for sushi to have come into being. It was exciting for me to imagine sushi evolving in Africa because there is no place more significant for the evolution of humanity. Geneticists have shown that all humans are related to one another through ancient African relatives. In a world where different people often do not get along, it is useful to remind ourselves that we are family, after all.
The fish we most often use for Tyger Tyger is tilapia, because it is a fish of African origin. It also manages to appear in certain significant moments of human history and storytelling that help us to understand ourselves. It is believed that when Jesus performed the miracle of feeding 5,000 hungry people with five loaves of bread
and two fish, tilapia may have been the fish. Also, tilapia is the oldest farm-raised fish in the world; hieroglyphics in Egyptian pyramids show tilapia farming. And finally, tilapia plays a role in the "Aquatic Ape Theory," which postulates that the high levels of protein and omega-3 fatty acids in the tilapia found along Africa's Rift Valley helped human beings develop larger brains and make the leap from hominids to modern man.
There is a story that appears in East African folklore, the Hebrew Bible, and the Quran about the Queen of Sheba; this story was my inspiration for the recipe of Tyger Tyger. The Queen of Sheba traveled to Israel to meet King Solomon, having heard tales of his great wisdom. She brought with her gifts of spices from her home, now widely believed to be Ethiopia. For the dish, we incorporate a dozen different Ethiopian spices that she may have given him. We also use a grass grain called teff, which is the central grain of the area, as rice was only cultivated in West Africa at the time. We make the teff into a sourdough crepe and fill it with sheep's milk cheese because when this story took place, many of the people of this region were sheep herders.
DR. PHUEY'S SUSHI SONATA
Catfish, peanut butter, banana, avocado, honey, goat cheese
4 pieces for 20
The Importance of Peanut Butter
In fifth grade, my classmate Norberto Ortiz brought the best lunches ever to school. His lunchbox was a treasure trove containing the kinds of food that I wished my mother was American enough to feed me; ham and cheese sandwiches, peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches, Twinkies, boxed juices, Oreos, Cheese Doodles, and other great stuff like that.
My lunches were a source of constant internal struggle for me, and I felt that
I was at war with my clueless mother who made them. All that I wanted was the type of lunch that everybody else had. What I got for lunch was quite different: little rice balls filled with pickled plum, and sushi. Holy crap, no!
By lunchtime I was always famished, so I had to eat my despicable rice balls. It made me crazy that something I hated so passionately tasted so delicious. I tried to scarf my lunches down in hiding, hoping nobody would witness me eating the strange food concoctions that my mother had so carefully prepared for me.
Dr. Phuey had streaks of white in his helmet of jet black hair. He was a French Vietnamese scientist who lived next door with his French wife, Teresa, who was a good friend of my mother's.
"An Asian with a French accent, what a curious thing," I thought to myself, not thinking that it was at all odd that my parents spoke English with Chinese and Japanese accents.
Dr. Phuey used to take me fishing off of a pier in West Haven. Usually, after a few hours of catching lots of nothing, Dr. Phuey would unwrap his favorite sandwich that he had prepared especially for us.
I would always eat it, appreciative of the fact that he had gone out of his way to prepare food for our trip. But I never really got into his sandwich recipe. I liked ham sandwiches, but his combination was unusual because he used peanut butter instead of cheese or the usual condiments.
A whole year went by and by now I was in the sixth grade. Somehow, word got around that my mom packed me the coolest lunches in class, so I started to get to swap my rice balls and sushi with my classmates' Twinkies and such.
In the summer that followed, Dr. Phuey and I would go fishing again, this time catching more fish. And, his ham and peanut butter sandwiches started to grow on me too.
When I have children, I hope to teach them to appreciate the unusual. I hope they appreciate the uniqueness in themselves and others. Above all, I hope that they learn to appreciate peanut butter and ham sandwiches.
There are endless possibilities for food, as there are for our lives, if we would only make the effort to look around and change our perspective.
THE LOST TRIBE OF CHIANG
Peat moss mud-preserved Chinese duck egg, figs, dates, raisins, goat cheese, pomegranate, cinnamon, spicy red pepper, honey, pistachio, and extra virgin olive oil
4 pieces for 20
The Chiang Min people of Northwest China claim to be descendants of Abraham. This is my interpretation of their version of sushi that incorporates a traditional preserved Chinese duck egg and the Seven Species of the Hebrew Bible and was created with help from Micah Fredman. This roll was created in honor of Rabbi Jim Ponet and his incomparable wife, Elana, who are so wise that they must really be Chinese.
BLACK-EYED SQUID
Connecticut squid and broccoli rolled in grains, simmered in fruity white wine and seafood stock and then tossed in squid ink
4 black pieces for 15
RIDE THE WILD DONKEY
Maine lobster, canteloupe, apricots, and brie cheese rolled in California sushi rice and steamed in Sauvignon Blanc and wild mushroom stock
4 pieces for 18
RABBIBABA
Tempura Icelandic char wrapped in potato skin infused with arctic char bone stock and topped with toasted havarti cheese and lemon dill sauce
2 pieces for 14
