Join us for a "Wok-through" Live AMA! | The Alt-Weekly, No. 17. (Patreon)

Notes, News, and Nerdiness from JKLA World HQ

Hey Super Frienjis! Make sure to join in for my livestream starting at 10AM tomorrow (Monday, March 2nd) where I'll be answering all of your wok-based questions. And don't forget to get those questions into the AKA chat room or the comments of this post.

This has been a hectic week full of sniffles and croaky voices and coughs. Unfortunately it was also a week in which I was meant to participate in three different things that involved having a good voice which all had to unfortunately be canceled or postponed.

First I had to unfortunately cancel an interview I had planned with Naoko Takei Moore (A.K.A. Mrs. Donabe) where she was going to teach me her version of beef sukiyaki cooked in a traditional Japanese covered clay pot. Her new book Simply Donabe just came out, and it's a keeper. I'm hoping to catch up with her next time I'm in LA.

Next I had to cancel a guest spot on the Meat Dudes Podcast, recorded live at their West Seattle restaurant and butcher shop, Lady Jaye. This was doubly unfortunate as I've been meaning to get to Lady Jaye for well over a year now, and I thought this was finally going to be the week.

Finally, I'd planned a meetup and interview with the Balourdet Quartet, a stunning young string ensemble who are currently the artists-in-residence with the Seattle Chamber Music Society, and major food lovers (as all musicians seem to be). Together we were going to cook them some Phở Gà, chat about music and food, then finish off by playing some Beethoven together.

They will be around for a bit so I'm hoping we can still make this happen. Cooking and music are my two greatest passions, and I've always been fascinated by the connections between the two artforms and the immediate way in which they can express culture, history, and emotion.

And if that kind of thing sounds up your alley, stay tuned for a few upcoming presentations of my live show combining food and music, Tasting Notes. One will be at Town Hall, Seattle on April 2nd, one with The Knights in New York City on May 12th, and a third with the Seattle Chamber Music Society on July 6th. Tickets will be announced soon, and as usual Super Frienjis and Cookbook Club members will be the first to know.

Speaking of Tasting Notes, tomorrow evening, my friends Lee Kindell of MOTO pizza, Kelly Van Arsdale of Spinnaker Chocolate, and the musicians and performers of Cirque du Soleil's newest show, Echo, are putting on a special presentation of the show on their set in Marymoor. As one of those kids who learned to juggle and ride a unicycle with the hopes of joining a circus one day (or at least becoming a street performer), I am over-the-moon excited about it.

The Cirque du Soleil collaboration is unfortunately not open to the general public, but we will be recording it, so stay tuned for highlights, and make sure to catch the full show, which runs in Seattle until March 22nd. (Get tickets here.)

I'll see you all tomorrow at the Live Wok AMA!

— Kenji

What We're Eating

Last week, we got to know Community & Content Manager and Frienji-in-Chief Erin. Now, Head of Operations & Rodeo Clown Laureate Lena Davidson is popping in to tell you Frienjis about a trip to Mexico earlier this month and some of the good eats that accompanied it:

An IT outage turned our outbound flight into a surprise overnight stay at a SeaTac airport hotel. So, we did the only reasonable thing and headed to Pupusería Cabañas, a nearby Salvadoran food truck. We couldn’t choose what to order, so we didn’t: A stack of pupusas (revueltas, queso, and frijoles); a chicken tamal wrapped in banana leaf with a mild salsa; a pile of plátanos fritos with rich, lardy frijoles negros; a hefty chunk of queso fresco; and coleslaw for a palate reset. We washed it all down with a Coke under an unseasonably warm Seattle sky and were happy to have been waylaid. Try it sometime.

Then, we spent a dreamy week in Higuera Blanca—a small town an hour north of Puerto Vallarta—cooking delicious meals and enjoying remarkably fresh catch. After a nearshore fishing day with Jorge from Sayulita Pescadores, we came home with enough skipjack tuna for tostadas de ceviche and garlicky charcoal-grilled loins, cooked rare and pulled apart into tacos. No joke, it was so rich it could’ve passed for beef tenderloin. 

The community in Higuera Blanca was welcoming, warm, and loving, and our entire team is sending that love in return to communities across Mexico.

Let’s Answer Your Wok Questions!

On Thursday, I published my catch-all guide to woks which covers choosing a wok, understanding how it works, seasoning it properly, and maintaining it. Whether you’re using a traditional carbon steel model or the Super Nitrided version I created with Our Place (which is currently sold out, but you’re welcome to join the waitlist), this guide is here for you! 

Regardless of the wok you use, I want to help answer your questions! Join me tomorrow, Monday, March 2, at 10am Pacific right here on Patreon for an AKA (Ask Kenji Anything) where I'll get into all your wok questions. It will be a proper wok-through—credit to Super Frienji Brad for that pun!

Drop your questions in the AKA chat or the comments below and I'll see you tomorrow!

Thank You!

Thank you again for joining me as a Super Frienji here on Patreon. Your support makes this space possible. As always, comment down below what recipes, techniques, or topics you’d like to see me cover.