What makes something kismet and what makes it coincidence; is it blind faith or a desire to control the narrative? I’ve been ruminating on this for the past week whilst maintaining a new routine that involves me writing until 2am, bags under my eyes, regular post office jaunts, a semi-regular pilates habit, trawling through my Spotify for 2015 playlists and consuming many bags of dark leafy greens.
In the absence of any kernel of sense in an absurd world, I did what I knew, which is to crisp up rice in a pan with butter. Except this time I made it with vegetables and not chicken, and vaguely followed a recipe from one of David Chang’s Los Angeles restaurants. The late, great Jonathan Gold didn’t mention the mushroom crispy rice by name, but he did call Chang’s culinary aesthetic “Cracked Perfection” which might indicate the foundations of how this recipe tastes.
I used their recipe as a guide, and this was #1 of what I imagine will be a countless number of versions I intend to make, so I must pay homage to the original. I made a few minor tweaks but the essence remains the same: a riff on the Korean nurungji rice, similar to the chicken roasted over rice that I make for friends when I need some culinary validation, adapted from Esther Choi. What I like about this recipe is how the sweetness of the caramelised onions mingles with the umami miso. All that richness is cut through by rice vinegar and a lime vinaigrette that marinates the cabbage whilst your rice is baking.
I served it up to four friends 30 minutes later than I said I would because I think the rice needs longer than Chang told me. They went back for thirds. I believe it could have been better. Cracked perfection sounds about right.
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