Out & About #717 | Week #63 Quarantine Update Feat. Shrimp Pajeon

Long weekends and statutory holidays - two terms that are music to my ears. The additional twenty-four hours grant freedom, relief, and an opportunity to invest in activities that would otherwise be postponed until an era of adequate motivation and rest.

​My 9-to-5 life has morphed into 8:30-to-6:30 as of late, prompting outright indulgence in even the shortest of breaks. Generally, the Tuesday after is quite quiet, as the vast majority struggle to regain bearing.

Creations of the week included:

1) Shrimp Pajeon

​Seldom are fresh scallions found in our produce drawer. This scenario is usually owed to a need to for readily available inventory, yet insufficient desire/inspiration/time for fulfillment. With this said, one can only imagine my utter delight at uncovering crunchy, fragrant stalks during periods of minimal meetings.​

Pajeon, also referred to as a savoury pancake with Korean origins, maximizes the potential of the aforementioned freshness, lending an almost sweet take to pan-fried green onions. Truthfully, I've never been one to hop on the jeon train at restaurants, for they seemed atrociously pricey for their ingredient makeup; seeing Maangchi demonstrate the formula confirmed my suspicions, further convincing me to construct the dish at home, should a desire ever arise.

Astonishly simple with a batter of 1:1 flour and water along with a pinch of salt, the jeon came together with minimal hassle. I had also taken to incorporating a few frozen tiger shrimp into the mix for a semi-haemul pajeon: they were rinsed thoroughly and snipped into nickel-sized morsels before being scattered atop the scallions.
In hindsight, I ought to have seared the scallions for several minutes prior to ladelling the batter, and maintained a single layer for optimal texture.  The scallions in my 새우파전 / sewoo pajeon had been arranged in two layers, then flipped two minutes earlier than intended out of fear of burned batter.

The accompanying dipping sauce was not too vast a departure from the beloved gyoza ponzu: dark soy, gochukaru, apple cider vinegar, honey, and toasted sesame seeds were the base of Maangchi's; I took to the addition of fish sauce for tang and sesame oil to compensate for untoasted sesame seeds.

2) Glico Curry w/ Pork Shoulder

The dish an ideal application of Yukon Gold potatoes, though too sweet with a palm's worth of yellow rock sugar.

3) Grape Jam - filtered of skins and seeds
4) Egg Salad w/ Scallions

​5) Granola (not pictured, for it's been shown countless times before)
​
6) Matcha Shortbread

Teetering between matcha and houjicha, I settled for the former as my first foray into flavoured shortbread. No longer was cultured butter on hand, however country-style churned butter was the next best alternative. All quantities remained consistent with the original formula, with the exception of 15 g of cake flour swapped for matcha powder.
I would recommend against a small food processor, as clumps of butter and a counter graced with flour dust are inevitable with this ratio of dry to fat. Given that the recipe was previously executed using a pastry blender, adhering to the same process is recommended going forward. Albeit quite durable, the appliance's 3-cup capacity ultimately introduced more harm than help. 

​Shortbread is a cookie variety that ought be carefully watched to prevent development of colour. I've baked within the range of thirty to forthy minutes, though found that, even at the longer end of the spectrum, my scored sections don't separate as easily as they should, with the centres a tad damp for my liking. Any longer would likely risk a tough, crumbly texture, however I'm willing to re-evaluate at an even lower temperature setting at some point in the future.

7) Salted Caramel Apple Frangipane Tart

It's evident that I never seem to learn my lesson with discount produce. From carrots to strawberries to apples, I shall admit to finding myself in many uncomfortable situations that demand the immediate usage (or strategic preparation) of groceries. This time around was a 10 lb sack of Fuji apples from P.A.T.

In spite of my earnest attempts to consume the palm-sized portions, the bag remained brimming. Approximately four to five were tossed whole in the face of rotting, while several more were discarded with the reveal of rotten cores. 1.3 kg were peeled and cored, then rid of any foul parts. Suffice to say that the usable three pounds were a dismal quantity to extract from a item sold for over thrice its weight.

Tart Tatin was the original plan. But we all ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ know that my plans are never than straightforward. Rather than defrosting pie dough, I opted for a more rigid tart base, one deploying egg yolk for stability and rigidity in place of ice water for tender flakiness. The internal components would consist of frangipane infused with vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract as well as chunked apple segments slathered in a salted caramel sauce.
The frangipane was, as expected, far sweeter than I would have preferred. Chilling for a minimum of three hours also rendered it far too stiff for spreading. The tacky, golden paste would eventually leak oil, seeping into the tart bottom and inducing its degeneration.

Rendering the apples ready for use took about thirty minutes of concentration, and a bounty of neck pain. My mushtastic apple pie attempt had taught me to slice thicker, but alas, different apple varieties soften differently. Although Ontarian Fuji escaped dissolution, their firmer texture was undeniably obvious.
A Salted Caramel Sauce was prepared simultaneously using 80 g of unsalted butter in place of gelatin in Sunday Baking's glaze recipe. This formula was then streamed into the pot of cooked apples, followed by a glutinous rice flour slurry.

All aspects considered, the final output was disappointing given my input degree of precision. The upper two-thirds of the tart held up well, and thankfully did not char amidst the blind bake; sadly, the same cannot be said for the base, which crumbled upon contact, causing salted caramel juices to dispense. These juices mixed with the frangipane, which quickly overpowered nutty notes with the one-dimensional sweetness of granulated sugar.
Perhaps the largest takeaways would be:

1. Freezing crusts prior to baking nixes the need for pie weights
2. Cutting cold butter is non-negotiable
3. Frangipane is more finnicky than initially perceived; use caution in future attempts

Previously flash-frozen cookies were retrieved around the mid-week mark for a buttery dose of sanity. The selection spanned unfrosted Cocoa Ginger Cookies, Nutty Almond Cookies, and Matcha Almond Cookies - two of which were burned terribly to an unrecognizable mahogany.

Meals of the week were inclusive of takeout, and quite a number at that, my sous-chef being down with inexplicable nausea.

​I've ordered Yin Ji Chang Fen via UberEats on more than one occasion, and see no reason to halt. The congee is consistently tasty, and new ventures such as Braised Pork Knuckles and Sticky Rice w/ Preserved Meat also proved scrumptious.

< Pictured above and below:

• R3. Marinaded Pork with Chives Rice Noodle Roll / 韭黃肉片腸粉
• C18. Freshwater Fish Slices Congee / 脆肉鲩鱼片粥
• S14 Braised Pork Knuckles / 秘制炆猪手
• S24. Sticky Rice with Preserved Meat / 腊味糯米饭

• C9. Shredded Pork and Gold Preserved Egg Congee / 皮蛋瘦肉粥 >

While Hainan Chicken and Satay Skewers from Lion City alleviated the pre-work week supper struggle, quality was unquestionably compromised given the associated price tag. Delivery and service fees aside, the Pickup-denied UberEats order was a costly meal comprising of low-grade chicken parts and flareup-inducing condiments.

​The Chicken and Pork Satay Skewers were quite good, despite being on the dry side. Accompanying them was a punchy peanut sauce that would have otherwise been enjoyable if milder.

Past the halfway mark of our four-day work week came a quick round of errands. 

They were accompanied with glorious sunshine, Starbucks, and a short-lived stay in the park before being summoned back for meetings. Another delegated role, another surge in workload.

Beyond the blue skies and extended daylight hours, seasonal summer releases are always an element to anticipate. Warmer months are typically characterized by radlers, though I've recently discovered certain sours serve as a splendid change of pace.

An impromptu post-work ride granted us a view of the 403 from Confederation Pkwy and a chance to experience more of Mississauga's expanded cycling network.