Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

Be a Wok Star!

Eleanor Hoh

Good Chinese Food in Miami at No Name Chinese

By 2 Comments

Starved for good Chinese food in Miami?  Starve no more, welcome No Name Chinese.  Opened by Asian food lovers, business partners of Uvaggio Bar & Restaurant fame, Heath Porter and Craig DeWald and helmed by Executive Chef Pablo Zitzmann Sicard and his wife and pastry chef, Natalia Atuesta. Be prepared for a refreshing take using Chinese techniques with a modern twist borrowing from Vietnam, Thailand and Japan.

Please don’t miss my guest post on Miami Curated for another perspective of No Name Chinese especially if you enjoy good wines, hint, there’s a video! 

About the decor…
You’ve guessed it, No Name Chinese not only has no name but doesn’t have a sign at their entrance.  However, when you enter, you’re immediately struck by the serene ambience. It’s bright and zen with wood floors and exposed brick walls with little decoration so you focus on the food, smart! They succeeded in creating a feeling that you’re here to EAT!

For food lovers: a huge, gorgeous marble counter with blue velvet high chairs gives you front row seat to gawk at chefs chasing high flames while they wok up tantalizing dishes.
An intimate corner flanked by a beautiful fig plant and tile mural showcasing Chinese junks and pagodas. Opposite the counter is a wall lined yellow leather banquette with mirrors above so you can catch the wok chefs in action, neato.
The main dining area has floor to ceiling glass panes with modern wood chairs and industrial looking tables.
The rear bar lounge is a lovely cozy space with green velvet high chairs and a smaller dining area.
About the Food…
No Name Chinese clearly has my vote, hats off to Chef Pablo who’s worked with Michelle Bernstein, Nobu and Jean-George Vongerighten as well as worked in Asia and Japan, learning many of the techniques he’s put into practice at No Name Chinese. I’m all for non-Asian chefs putting their twists on Asian flavors and techniques. It reflects the way I teach which is to base your dishes on technique and driven by ingredients rather than following recipes.

You’ll notice he adds seasonal fruit and citrus components to many of his dishes which is a very refreshing element instead of goopy sauces that you find in many Chinese restaurants. 

His small menus for lunch, dinner and Sunday Brunch showcase popular Asian dishes. I’d rather have less choice and GOOD food, rather than a bunch of bad food.  I got a chance to chat with Chef Pablo to find out his cooking style and his love of music. If you enjoy this video, give it a thumbs UP and subscribe to my Youtube channel to get notifications of new videos!…

There are still so many dishes to try at No Name Chinese like Salt & Pepper Shrimp or Angus “au poivre.” For Brunch, I spy Braised Brisket in Beef Broth topped with a slow poached egg and Cajun seasoning I’m dreaming about. 

PLAN OF ATTACK…
When eating at Chinese restaurants, you must have a Plan of Attack…

  1. Gather as many family and friends so you can share “family style” instead of just ordering your own dish, this way you get to experience a variety of flavors.
  2. Check menu and discuss with your server who is happy to guide you with how many dishes you’ll need. Try a dish from each section of the menu from Fresh & Light to Bowl if you love carbs or Sung for low carb but you MUST have DIM SUM because that’s Pablo’s specialty. Forget low carb for this visit.
  3. Busy and need to get back to work? Have the Sum Sum Box!

After visiting four times with friends, I have a pretty good handle of my favorites and will mark it
WA (WokStar Approved) in photo captions.

I met Cheryl Tiu on Instagram @chertiu She is an international lifestyle, food and drink journalist and fellow Asian food lover.We both love promoting Asian Cuisine and Culture.  She uses @cross.cultures an “events platform promoting the exchange of cultures through food!” and I do it through Wok Star Supper Club!  I gather people and visit good Asian fusion restaurants, so if you’re interested, subscribe to my newsletter in right sidebar. I hope to visit No Name Chinese this fall, these gatherings get filled up and I give first dibs to subscribers. —->>

Here’s my foodie buddy, Brenda Benoit Dudley, on Instagram @masalacha She’s a food writer, an amazing photographer and she calls herself “A Grenadian Soul living in Miami.” We like to visit restaurants and take photos and blog about them! It’s so interesting how we sometimes have totally different perspectives of the same restaurant, so check out her take on No Name Chinese and subscribe to her blog for her latest restaurant hops!
A Few Notes about the food…
Turnip cake
The consistency and flavor is definitely unusual, I am SO SO SURPRISED Americans like this dish. Pablo says it’s one of their most requested dish, beware, only available for dinner. I love that Dim Sum dishes usually only available in Asia during lunch time are also available for dinner at No Name Chinese, very smart. 

Turnip cake has a special meaning for me, my mom’s Malaysian spin was to pan fry in the wok with pounded red chillies and scallions with crispy edges and dip in chili sambal and rice vinegar, oh my, so good. Just writing this brings back such fond, fond childhood memories and now I’m going to have to hunt down some to fry! 

Smashed Cucumber Salad, Jiaozi and Shiu Mai
I learned how to make these 3 dishes at Pablo’s cooking class in Wynwood, video and blog coming soon!  One of my colleagues at the class used the Smashed sauce for steak, who’d have thunk?

Love this article, “What’s the difference between Gyoza and PotStickers”

WA Clockwise: Crudo Yusheng, fish changes daily, interesting to have strawberries with fish but works; Smashed Cucumber Salad, toss for the sesame cream at the bottom; Shrimp Dumplings and Xie & Xia Noodle Salad with Shrimp, Crab, cold buckwheat noodles and an exquisite spicy peanut dressing, make sure you toss well so all the flavors meld together.
WA Turnip Cake, interesting combination of Japanese OKONOMIYAKI STYLE (a savory pancake) and a popular Chinese dim sum called Lo Bak Go. Topped with KATSUOBUSHI (bonito flakes) and Kewpie Mayo, a version of Japanese mayo made with rice vinegar. Only available at dinner time!
WA Mr. Lee’s Jiaozi, named after the dumpling master Pablo learned from in Hawaii. These are substantial dumplings, juicy inside and crispy outside. Fear not, I will share how to make these soon.
WA Grass fed beef with oyster sauce, pickled cucumber, scallions, picked onions, fresh strawberries, red chillies to wrap with Bibb Lettuce or mooshu pancakes. Sarina, the bar manager who’s super efficient, gave us both to try!
Kung Pao Chicken with Szechuan peppercorns,Tianjin chilies, smoked cashews, orange slices garnished with cilantro and scallions. My friend, Brenda ordered it.
Wok Shaken Farm Chinese Eggplant with maple and black bean sauce, crushed nuts and herbs.
Crispy potatoes, special dish Pablo sent over, my friend, Brenda was in heaven!
Duck “a la Hoisin”, Magret duck breast, seasonal fruit (Asian pear), leeks, pickles and cucumber with mooch pancakes, a very interesting combination.
WA Walnut tart got it spot on with the crunchy tart and baby meringue pearls and not too sweet, def order this, I’ve had it twice, so good!

Mapo Tofu, Wok Star Style

By 2 Comments

Mapo Tofu, literally translated means “pock marked grandma’s tofu”, don’t ask me why! I guess there’s a slight resemblance to pock marks? The beauty of this dish is you can adapt it to however you like it, spicy or not at all, with tri-colored bell peppers or with ground pork or just plain.  And that is what being a Wok Star is all about.

What a great one dish dinner, so easy and fast for weeknights! Tofu is a great protein substitute for vegetarians and vegans. If you’re lucky to have any leftovers, take it for lunch and just reheat with some quinoa and have with a side salad!
I’m working on a video and will post up soon!

 

A friend made a really good point about “recipes” I never even thought about…you end up with all the condiments you don’t know what to do with afterwards. So, with that in mind, I’ve applied my easy, NO-recipe, NO-measuring technique to this Mapo Tofu dish and used seasonings that already come in your Wok Star Kit.

Typically these are seasonings for the Mapo Tofu sauce if you want to try…

  • Black fermented soy beans
  • broad bean paste
  • Chili oil
  • numbing szechwan peppercorns

After experimenting with Mapo Tofu 3 times, it’s best to use firm tofu and not the silken. Nasoya was the only brand I found in my local markets. I actually prefer the ones at the Asian market but they are not NON-GMO or organic.

You always have OPTIONS…
– add more sauce if you love to eat with rice, noodles, on its own or with other dishes
– add more spice with chili oil, chili peppers, chili flakes or chili sauce
– add meat, typically ground pork but other options are ground beef, turkey, chicken or lamb 

Make it totally vegetarian/vegan and ‘stretch’ the dish
Add tri-colored bell peppers for a pop of color.
Hate chopping?  Single and don’t want to buy 3 bell peppers?

Get a box of ready chopped tri colored bell peppers available at your local market. I saw at both Publix and Winn Dixie in Miami area.

 
 

SAUCE:
TSPC which as you know are…
Tamari (San-j brand), Sherry, Pepper (white), Cornstarch
2 tsp. Koon chun brown bean sauce
Shake of chili flakes (any brand)
Dash of sesame oil (instead of chili oil)



 

INGREDIENTS:
1 box firm tofu, choose NON GMO/Organic
2 scallions chopped for garnish
handful cilantro, chopped for garnish
2 cloves garlic chopped
thumb size ginger, chopped


I recently made this as a vegetarian dish with tri-colored bell peppers garnished with alfafa sprouts at Fullei Fresh’s Grand Opening and not one morsel was left. John, an attendee mentioned it was his first time ever eating tofu and he was surprised how delicious it was! 




 


Photos were taken by Wok Star Mary at the Grand Opening, thanks so much for taking these great shots!

METHOD:
1. Make sauce in a bowl
2. Cut tofu into cubes
3. Fry garlic and ginger in oil, add sauce, add tofu, add more chili flakes for color
4. Sprinkle scallions and cilantro, done!

 

Fullei Fresh Marketplace, a community space for healthy living

By 1 Comment

Who’d have thought right here in Miami, we have an organic hydroponic sprouting farm?! It was started by Manny Wong, a Chinese family from Cuba.  Fullei Fresh grows a variety of organic sprouts as well as bean sprouts AND it’s hydroponic which means NO pesticides or bacteria! AND organic, WOW, so happy. . .I was always hesitant to purchase sprouting greens because I was wary of how and where they were grown.  I was thrilled to visit their “farm” and get the tour.
So excited to be invited to give a slide presentation and cooking demonstration at their Grand Opening of their community space for healthy living.  There’ll be loads of health related talks, demos and activities from experts in their fields, all are welcome!

Fullei Fresh Marketplace Grand Opening
Saturday, April 14, 10-4pm
12:45pm is my cooking demo!
Click here
Free with registration…

I hope you’ll come and support this community project. Bring the whole family and make it a day, there’ll be food trucks I believe. You’ll get a chance to learn more about them and possibly get a tour. 

I’ll be making a very popular dish…Mapo Tofu, spicy and addictive and stir fry Bean Sprouts (something I get asked constantly!) 

Mapo Tofu with red bell peppers for some color. Blog and video coming soon.
You’ll learn how to stir fry bean sprouts so they’re crispy, crunchy at my cooking demonstration at 1pm, see you there!
 

 

Olivia, Manny’s daughter gave me a tour…

Manny has won many awards as well as been certified for teaching others how to sprout!
Talk about hydroponic sprouts, wow, is anyone into sprouts? They are tenfold more potent than vegetables, can’t wait to try broccoli sprouts. I am going to eat as much of these sprouts as I can! Excited to try other sprouts like beet, sunflower, daikon and clover sprouts, I didn’t realize there are so many varieties! Yay, 2018 is a year for trying new things!

Fullei Fresh sprouts are available at numerous Whole Foods, Fresh Market and I saw them at Laurenzo’s Market in North Miami.
Here are just some ways I’ve been using those amazing sprouts…
Alfafa sprouts immediately upgrades my hubby’s delish wok omelet into a gourmet dish, yum!
Dynamite, perfect for cold night here. Topping broccoli sprouts on my beef soup was awesome, gave a nice accent and zing. Soup was made in slow cooker with very meaty beef necks, onions, and garbanzos. When reheating, I like to add noodles and some fresh vegetables like Bean Sprouts, Bok Choy and tomatoes for some color.
Don’t you love these red beet sprouts on avocado? Adds a pop of color to any dish, they are slightly bitter but I don’t mind. Tip is to add vinaigrette which will temper the bitterness.
Garnish your lunch with alfafa sprouts!

Thanks Fullei Fresh for introducing me to these baby sprouts.

Do share ways you use baby sprouts in comment below! And remember to register, see you this Saturday, April 14!
Disclosure:  I was given sprouts by Fullei Fresh to experiment with.  I just really like supporting local businesses who focus on good, healthy products.