Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Crawfish Boil in NYC

I'd seen 24, 24, 24 proposal requests from Foodbuzz many times, but was always busy the day it was to happen. This month was different; I checked my schedule to find I was free, and I really wanted to participate.

What's 24, 24, 24? Foodbuzz, a food blogger community I belong to, showcases posts from 24 bloggers around the world, highlighting 24 unique meals happening around the world, all within 24 hours. When I got the email asking for proposals this month, I had only one thing on my mind. Crawfish.

























Much like a beloved food blogger in New York City, I am a fellow Homesick Texan. I miss the variety of foods from around the Gulf Coast. Among the many foods I miss, crawfish is at the top. I remember St. Patrick's Day marking the start of crawfish season in the area, and there were many times my family bonded over buckets of the well-seasoned crustacean among a bed of spiced corn on the cob and potatoes.

For this month's 24, 24, 24, I wanted to share that favorite pastime with extended family members in New York by flying in live crawfish from Louisiana and having a crawfish boil in my own apartment in Long Island City. I invited my sister-in-law Jenn, her sister-in-law Nina, and all the husbands to join the fun. Nina brought her Flip to document the process, and I even had my friend Irene help photograph the event.

If you're interested in having your own crawfish boil in an apartment, follow the steps below. You won't regret it one bit.

Update: Nina just sent me her video, and it rocks! Thanks a bunch, Nina!

Crawfish Boil With Talida from Christina Jeng on Vimeo.

Crawfish Boil

Ingredients:
Live crawfish (3-5 pounds per person)
Large steamer pot with basket
Seafood boil
Red potatoes (at least 2 per person)
Corn on the cob (at least 2 per person)
Newspaper, bibs, paper towels

Directions:























1. Order live crawfish from the Louisiana Crawfish Co. Get the party pack if you won't be able to make the spices on your own; I did and it tasted pretty good. Upon arrival of crawfish, immediately open and inspect for movement to make sure the crawfish are mostly alive.

























2. Fill steamer pot with water and bring to boil. Once boiling, dump in seafood boil according to package directions. Add potatoes and corn and boil for 15 minutes.
























3. While water is boiling, purge the crawfish. This cleans the bayou goo from the critters. Dump crawfish into a sink or big bin, fill with water and drain. Add salt liberally to the soak, and rinse a couple more times as wanted.

























4. Boil the crawfish for 5-10 minutes in the steamer basket. Potatoes and corn should be ready along with the first batch of crawfish.




































5. Put on some Zydeco music. You can't eat crawfish without it. I used Pandora to create a Zydeco playlist, and it really set the mood. Serve a lot of beer (we had a great assortment of hefeweizen) and continue to boil crawfish in batches.





































6. Instruct friends and family how to eat crawfish, complete with sucking all the good stuff from the crawfish heads.
























7. Eat, drink, and enjoy. Here are the newlyweds enjoying their first crawfish boil!




































The seasoned married couple and crawfish eaters going at it.


























The women were still eating so the husbands graciously shelled the rest of the crawfish for later use.






















Oh, the aftermath of the crawfish boil. Lining all eating surfaces with newspaper makes for a really easy cleanup.

I was very pleased with the quality of service from Louisiana Crawfish Co. They were fresh, they were huge, and the spices were spot on. From now on, when I start to complain about not being able to get crawfish in the Big Apple, I'll look back on this post and remember that a good ol' fashioned crawfish boil is not impossible, even in a tiny apartment in LIC.

Taro Bread

Tim and I had a great time in Houston last weekend - we spent quality time with my parents, ate a lot of great food, and met up with some of my oldest and dearest friends. And when I say old I mean longest relationships.

Well, it's been about a year since my last visit to Houston, and I've got a couple things to note. First, I love I-10! Last I saw it, it was still one big mess, but now it's 18 wide lanes of a smooth Texas highway. While driving there, I told Tim that I miss driving, but he corrected me, knowing that I really miss driving on nice freeways like I-10. Tim's right, that's exactly what I meant.

Second thing to note - Houston's Chinatown keeps exploding everytime I visit. Why, I remember when the only supermarkets were Diho and Dynasty, but now there are dozens of them! Dozens! And all the bubble tea shops, cafes, and bakeries multiply right along with the supermarkets. Growing up, I remember our family would frequent a particular bakery solely for their taro bread. Now, it wasn't bread flavored with taro, rather it was a loaf of soft white bread baked with a generous amount of sweet taro paste inside. The loaf was also topped with a light glaze with coconut flakes. I very clearly remember the bread, but all I remember about the bakery is that it's located in Diho square. (I might have to ask around for more details) Well that bread was the inspiration for this post. I took Julia Child's classic white bread recipe and turned it into a taro bread by filling the inside with taro paste.

Making bread is a way to teach me patience. I clearly don't have any as I didn't wait the entire 45 minutes for the bread to double in size before sticking it in the oven, thus my bread didn't come out as full as it should have. I decided to go ahead with the batch to see how it'd turn out, and thankfully it was still tasty, just lacking in the desired texture. I wouldn't change a thing about the taro paste, and now that I have a go-to taro paste recipe, I'm brainstorming what other taro goods I can come up with. I hope you're intrigued. I hope.

Taro Bread
recipe adapted from Baking with Julia

Ingredients:
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3-4 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 cup Taro Paste (recipe below)

Directions:
1. Pour 1/4 cup of the water into a bowl and mix with yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Combine the milk, sugar, and butter. Blend well with the yeast mixture.
3. Using a stand mixer with dough hook, beat in 2 cups of flour into the mixture. Mix slowly until blended then add the rest of the flour.
4. Increase speed and scrape down the sides til the dough comes together. Add salt and mix at medium speed for 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
5. Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball then place in a large buttered or oiled bowl.
6. Turn dough so it is completely coated in the fat, then cover in plastic for 45 minutes to an hour, til it has doubled in size at room temperature.
7. Butter a loaf pan.
8. Deflate the dough, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
9. Roll out into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle. Spread taro paste around the middle of the rectangle.
10. With the short end facing you, fold the dough into thirds over the paste, creating a roll.
11. Pinch the seam closed, and pinch the ends enough so it will fit in the loaf pan. Place in the loaf pan seam side down.
12. Cover the loaves with buttered plastic wrap and allow to rise again in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until they double in size.
13. Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the center of the oven.
14. Bake for 35-45 minutes until they are honey brown.
15. Immediately turn out of pans onto a rack to cool.

Taro Paste

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups small taro pieces (peel and cut fresh taro)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar (up to 1/2 cup, depending on desired sweetness)
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons water

Directions:
1. Boil or steam the taro pieces until cooked. Taro is done when a fork easily pokes through.
2. In a food processor or blender, blend the cooked taro and 1/2 water until it becomes a puree.
3. Mix the corn starch with 2 tablespoons water to make a paste.
4. Combine paste into taro puree and pour into a saucepan.
5. Cook taro puree and paste over low-medium heat, stirring in the sugar. Keep adding sugar until taro paste reaches desired sweetness.
6. Constantly stir the paste, and reduce the heat when the paste becomes thicker. Stir over low heat an additional 10-15 minutes.
7. Remove paste from heat and let cool.