family dinner

[ursamajor]

Dear internet, why did you stick a piece about eating nothing but sardines for 10 days in my feed? I mean, we like sardines well enough to have them regularly with rice for lunch (me adding lemon and capers, hyounpark adding kimchi). Or on Triscuits with mustard. We got into the habit of ordering them in bulk early in the pandemic, trying to reduce our shopping trips. But that's like, one or two lunches a week. Not every snack and meal!

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In much more appetizing news, Leonard and Sara managed to snag the four of us reservations at Ja Ban Bae, Good to Eat's monthly Taiwanese banquet-style dinner. Everything was delicious, but aside from Thanksgivings where I have a long history of going all out, I don't think we've had such an elaborate meal since pre-COVID. And they weren't kidding about hospitality and abundance, I had to tetris the fridge when we got home to fit all the leftovers in!

• 馨菜卷 (xīn cài juǎn) - Pickled Daikon Roll. Finger-size rolls of daikon wrapped in soy paper and I think nori?


• 三色蛋沙拉 (sān sè dàn shālā) - Tri-Colour Egg Salad with Cucumber Wrap. This used three kinds of eggs: fresh egg, salted duck egg, century egg.


• 古早味炸菜丸 (gǔ zǎo wèi zhà cài wán) - Tainan Style Fried Veggie Balls - definitely more fritter than ball shape, light and crispy.


• 滷蛋白 (lǔ dànbái) - Soy-braised Egg Whites. We all thought this was tofu at first! They achieved the texture with a bit of selter water, IIRC.


• 龍蝦竹筍沙拉 (lóngxiā zhúsǔn shālā) - Lobster & Bamboo Shoot Salad. Laced with a Taiwanese "mayo," but it was almost translucent? Yet thicker than, say, Kewpie.


• 翡翠海鮮羹湯 - (fěicuì hǎixiān gēng tāng) - Jade Spinach Seafood Soup. The texture of the spinach was almost mossy; blanched, pressed through a sieve, and an egg white is somehow involved.


• 老薑麻油櫻花蝦米糕 (lǎo jiāng máyóu yīnghuā xiāmi gāo) - Ginger & Sesame Sticky Rice Mi-Gao with Taiwanese "Cherry-blossom Shrimp". This was Hyoun's favorite, and I see him plotting sticky rice stuffing for Thanksgiving this year.


• 五柳枝 (wǔ liǔ zhī) - Wu-Liu Fish. Pacific white sea bass, perfectly fried, accompanied with "fried willow" (five traditional vegetables sliced thinly: shiitake and wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots, lily flowers, and we think carrots).


• 蒲瓜封 (pú guā fēng) - Summer Gourd Woven Dumpling. Strips of summer gourd woven around a giant meatball. Like, softball size.


• 五香芋肉捲 (wǔxiāng yù ròu juàn) - Five Spices Pork & Taro Roll. Fried and crispy and a good small bite before launching into the final gauntlet.


• 黃金紙包雞 (huángjīn zhǐ bāo jī) - Paper-Steamed Chicken with Sweet Corn. This made me want Southern-style dumplings to dip in the corn-chowderesque stew surrounding the chicken when we unwrapped it!


• 富貴醡醋蝦 (fùguì zhà cù xiā) - Jealous Shrimp: Sour & Sweet Fried Shrimp. Giant prawns in a sour-sweet broth, accompanied by yóutiáo croutons. Delicious and crunchy.


• 冬瓜竹笙干貝雞湯 (dōngguā zhú shēng gānbèi jītāng) - Winter Melon & Scallop Chicken Soup with Bamboo Fungus. Served in the melon.



甜點 (tiándiǎn) Taiwanese Sweet Treats:

• * 杏仁豆腐 (Xìngrén dòufu) - Almond Tofu (apparently apricot kernel tofu, historical issues in translation)


• * 鳳梨酥 (fènglí sū) - Pineapple Cake (perfect little sandwich bite)


• * 豬油海鹽巧克力 (zhū yóu hǎiyán qiǎokèlì) - Lard chocolate (chocolate truffle with lard and fried shallots)


• * 季節水果 (jìjié shuǐguǒ) - Seasonal Fruit (melon and berries, here)



• 台灣綠水仙茶 (Táiwān lǜ shuǐxiān chá) - Narcissus Green Tea, from Nantou, Taiwan

We also opened with some kind of plum kombucha, and we got the Nifudazake Tank 132 Nama Junmai Daiginjo sake for the table - they did offer a sake pairing with three total bottles, but none of us are big drinkers, so we picked the one that paired with the richest dishes.

And on *top* of all this, they also sent us home with slices of a roasted oolong burnt basque cheesecake, paired with a roasted oolong tea!