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FOOD FOR THOUGHT By
Wanda A. Adams
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| • | The art of aioli |
A request for braised short ribs with Spanish sauce brought a letter from Edie Yamada, who recalled her father's version of this restaurant dish. He was Stanley T. Y. Ahn, and he didn't measure when he cooked (great cooks rarely do) but she gave me the recipe just as he communicated it to her. I gave it a test, adding measurements and skipping the optional chilies.
By the way, this isn't technically a Spanish sauce — Spanish sauce (aka sauce Espagnole or brown sauce) is made with strong beef stock, browned vegetables, a flour-butter roux, herbs and sometimes tomato sauce, cooked together and rather thick.
BRAISED SHORT RIBS WITH SPANISH SAUCE
In zip-closure plastic bag, blend flour, salt and pepper. Place short ribs in bag and shake to coat with flour mixture. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat and brown half the ribs; place them in deep baking dish and repeat with remaining ribs, adding oil to pan as needed.
Wipe off the skillet and heat 2 tablespoons oil. Saute onions, bell pepper and garlic until softened. Stir in tomato sauce and paste and spices and pimentos, and cook a few minutes. Arrange mushrooms atop short ribs. Add beef broth to tomato mixture, stirring to mix. Pour sauce over meat and mushrooms. Cover with lid or aluminum foil. Bake in 350-degree oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until meat is tender and sauce thickened.
Makes 8 servings.
GOT THE RECIPE?
There are a lot of recipe requests in play right now. Do you have any of these? Peanut butter coffee cake, the way they made it at Kapalama Elementary School in the early '80s; for Vickie Ichioka. Braised chicken livers, as they make them at Columbia Inn; for Frank Machado.
And here's one that comes up every year or so — recipes from the Spencecliff chain, specifically, the clam chowder served at Fisherman's Wharf and the Hob Nob cafe in the Alexander Young Hotel of sainted memory; for Roger Lochbaum. He'd also like to re-create the bran muffins from the Alexander Young Hotel Bakery. (Actually, my heart would sing at the sight of ANY recipe from the Alexander Young Bakery, because I get requests for these all the time.)
Send recipes and queries to Wanda A. Adams, Food Editor, Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Fax: 525-8055. E-mail: wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
For more information about our 150th anniversary cookbook, call 535-8189 (message phone; your call will be returned). You can pre-order the cookbook online.
