After doing several days of our vacation posts, I kinda feel like an over-enthusiastic Dad showing off picture after picture of his kids…..so I thought we’d give it a break for a bit…..
Santouka opens in San Diego:
I enjoy the ramen at Santouka, and have been wishing they would open here in San Diego. In fact, about the time that Kayaba had opened, I had heard that Santouka was to open in the spot next door. But time passed, and I had pretty much given up; until I saw the sign that announced Santouka’s Grand Opening on Friday April 18th. So yesterday(April 18th), I thought I’d wander in at about 11am to check things out, and possibly grab a bowl……and was met with this loooong line of people.
It stretched from the order window….around the dining area…into Mitsuwa! Being that I’m not quite the "Rameniac" as the Rameniac, and not even as dedicated to my noodle as Jeni who waited in line when Santouka opened on Centinela, I just didn’t have the 2 hours to wait in line, place my order, wait for my order, and probably eat on the floor since I don’t think the dining area has enough seating. But, I think you need to know; I was told that Santouka was giving away coupons for a free bowl with a purchase through today(April 19th). Me? I’ll wait till next week some time.
Santouka – Now open in the Mitsuwa Marketplace
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd
San Diego, CA 92111
Now here’s the scary part: By coincidence, The Delicious Life has a post on Santouka dated April 17th. If you scroll down to the bottom of the post, there’s a section with links……and there’s a link to my post on Santouka. Now that would be a nice coincidence, but read what it says:
"~ Kirk of mmm-yoso wants a Santouka in San Diego (Feb 2007)"
Scary….very scary……….
My Fourth Grade Beef Teriyaki:
Since returning from vacation we’ve been eating at home a lot….nothing fancy; lots of stir-fried vegetables on the Big Kahuna. But I’ve been craving some really weird stuff…things I haven’t even thought about in a while…..for some reason, I just wanted the BBQ Beef(teriyaki beef) from Rainbow Drive-In. I ignored it, until the "want", became a "need". So I decided to just make some reasonable facsimile.
While shopping for the meat at Zion Market (#3 sliced Rib Eye), I realized that I’d been making this for the better part of my life…..in fact it is one of the first things I learned to make…right around the Fourth grade or so.
So, I decided to make it just the way I remember…….down to the "grated garlic" – no knives for a 9 year old, better some grated knuckles, than lopping a finger off. No mirin, which I use now, quite rare, and very expensive in those days, just good old Dark Brown Sugar. Not quite as sweet, with nice ginger overtones. Much of which, Food Historian Rachel Laudan attributes in her wonderful book The Food of Paradise, to several factors; Japanese "teriyaki"(or course), the Chinese influenced ginger and garlic, and of course, "King Sugar". I think every family has a recipe like this….in fact, if you wonder what Hawaiian BBQ really is…….
So without further ado……my Fourth Grade Teriyaki(BBQ) Beef – don’t blink, you’ll miss this uber-easy recipe:
3/4 Cup Shoyu(soy sauce)
3/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1-2 cloves garlic grated
1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 – 2 lbs sliced rib eye
– Combine ingredients.
– Combine with meat, coating well. Marinate overnight
– Over medium heat fry/saute in a skillet
Like a said, don’t blink or you’ll miss it.
A few other things:
– If you over marinate, the meat will end up being mushy. Depending on the meat, you can get away with a little as 4-6 hours.
– Great on the grill, this’ll cook really fast.
– After thinking about it…yes, this is very Bulgogi-ish, so throw that in as a point of reference as well!
– Great as a sandwich! I love the BBQ Beef Sandwich at Rainbow Drive-In, though they tend to slather on too much mayo. Leftovers in the pita for me….
– My current recipe uses mirin, sake, and sometimes something to give a bit more zip.
– And yes, this is soooo easy, that you may be wondering why you’re wasting your valuable time reading this!
One more thing:
I didn’t know Rachel Laudan has her own Blog, She now lives in Mexico, and her posts are always entertaining, so check it out!
Hope you’re having a great weekend!