Jen's 40th Birthday and Our History of Pork

I met Jen years ago in a car when my friend SF (and founder of Put A Egg On It) pulled up for another culinary adventure. That’s what they did, piled into a car to go sample Queens, south Brooklyn and whatever far reaches they could reach. They got married. Somewhere in between, we made bo ssam for an article. And some time later, they had a baby shower. Jen requested some of pork and I obliged. I wanted to surprise her with a spicy kung pao pulled pork. Legend has it that it was so spicy, it made her go into labor!

When it came to celebrating her milestone 40th birthday, she asked if I would cook for her 20 closest friends and family. We served it up buffet style in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. All of the vegetables were fresh from the Union Square Greenmarket that morning. I was very excited to reimagine “bean salad” by tossing fresh purslane with yellow and purple, green beans, string beans, Italian flat beans, and English peas.

If you’d like to host a small dinner party, reach out on my Inquiries page.

Plunge into this Crunchy Seared Tuna Wrap

Upgrade the tuna sandwich you've been bringing to work. Transforming this familiar lunch into a convenient pocket will make everyone in the cafeteria jealous.

Things you'll need:
2 14" burrito tortillas 1 tuna filet 1/8 cup furikake 1 tablespoon pepper 1 large carrot, julienned 1 shallot, sliced into rings	1/2 cup rice vinegar 1 small cucumber, sliced into thin discs 1 tsp wasabi 1/3 cup sour cream 1 bag tempura seaweed crackers Olive oil

Combine the furikake and pepper on a small plate. If you can't find furikake, a mix a tablespoon each of pulverized seaweed and sesame seed. Add a bit of green tea powder and a sprinkle of salt.

Pat the fish dry with a paper towel. Then press it firmly into the spice mix. Repeat on the other side.

Prepare a frying pan on high heat. Pour in a swig of olive oil and sear the fish for 3 minutes on each side. 

Drain the tuna on a paper towel and let it cool. Slice into 1/4" thick pieces.

Bring the rice vinegar and a half cup of water to a boil. Add the carrots and shallot and let it boil for 1 minute. Then turn the heat off.

Mix the sour cream with the wasabi and set aside.

To assemble: Drain the quick pickled vegetables and put half of them and a few slices of cucumber in a small stack in the center of the tortilla. Layer half of the tuna pieces on top of it, this will prevent overcooking the fish when you sear the whole pocket. Then add on the wasabi sour cream and a handful of tempura crackers. If you can't find the tempura seaweed, opt for shrimp chips.

Fold the edges over the center to create a closed pentagon. Sear the pocket, seam-side down in a dry pan on medium heat for two minutes. Flip it over and brown the other side.

Enjoy it now or slice in half and let it cool completely before wrapping for later.

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Love this? It's part of my Crunchwrap party guide.

Let me know if you try it! Tag @Randwiches on Twitter or Instagram.

[Upcoming] 9/20 Lobster Takedown

 BUY TICKETS HERE. | More info.

Matt Timms chose a batch of previous Takedown winners to compete in the Brooklyn Lobster Takedown, sponsored by Luke's Lobster. We get 10 pounds of lobster meat next week and I'm ready to rumble, y'all ! The audience gets to taste every dish and choose a winner!