Moveable Feast

>> ALEX: Coming up on Moveable Feast, we're in San Diego, California to celebrate the rich tapestry of Asian communities that call this seaside city home.

Chefs like, Phillip Esteban, David Sim, and Holly Haines are creating dishes with their own colorful spin on Asian cuisine.

First, Chef Phillip will take us to an open-air seafood market where the local fishermen gather once a week to sell directly to the community.

Next, Chef David and Holly are taking us to Specialty Produce, a culinary wonderland.

And once we've gathered all of our ingredients, we're headed to Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center for a bold and bright Asian-inspired feast you don't want to miss.

>> ALEX: Join us on a mouth-watering journey that takes us all across America, traveling from coast to coast, with America's most creative chefs.

They'll be sharing their favorite recipes... ...and sourcing the finest local ingredients.

And it's all served up at some awe-inspiring locations and parties.

It's a Movable Feast, with me, your host, Alex Thomopoulos, and together, we're celebrating ten amazing years.

>> Everyone's going to be here.

(car honks) >> Try to have fun.

>> Hey you.

(music playing on headphones) Let's go... (playing "Best Day of My Life" by American Authors) (singing along): This is going to be the best day Of my life >> Seriously?

>> (singing along): My li-i-i-ife >> ALL: This is going to be the best day of my life >> I can't believe I'm related to you guys.

>> Well, you are, so... >> My li-i-i-ife Ooh, ooh... ooh-ooh.

(glasses clink) (singer vocalizing) (waves crashing) >> ALEX: We are up, very early, to go meet Chef Phillip at the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, where local fishermen can sell their catch to chefs and other people in the community.

Now we have to get there early, because when those gates open at 8:00 a.m... (blows raspberry) ...it's on.

You're buying directly from these fishermen, so you're cutting out the middleman, and you're supporting small business.

Do you mind if I butt in here?

>> Hey, Alex.

>> ALEX: Good morning.

>> Good morning.

>> ALEX: Rise and shine, everybody.

This is your crew, right?

>> Hello, hello.

>> This is our crew.

So, they're part of our hospitality group, but they come down every Saturday to pick up fish here at Tuna Harbor.

>> ALEX: So it's like a fish farmer's market?

>> Yeah, yeah, definitely.

>> ALEX: I hear you're the man responsible for this market.

>> I'm not, I'm irresponsible for it.

(laughing) All the fishermen are doing it together, and each one of these guys is selling his own catch.

The first day we started, 1,500 people showed up.

The line started here, went all the way to the end, and all the way around.

>> ALEX: Yeah, I can see there's, like, a couple hundred people already.

>> Yeah.

You're getting the freshest fish to the local chefs, to the local community.

It does not get better than this.

>> How are you guys doing?

>> Hey, Jimmy.

>> ALEX: Hey.

>> How are you doing?

>> All right.

>> This is Alex.

>> How are you doing?

>> ALEX: Good, good, that was intense.

That was fast and intense what just happened.

>> It's like that every weekend.

>> Where's your brother?

>> Brother's selling sheepshead; he does the sheepshead fishing.

And eventually, we're going to have a big boat, and going to do everything, it's our goal.

>> ALEX: So thank you for holding some rockfish for us before it got swept away.

(chuckles) >> We didn't stop for, I don't know, 30, 40 minutes.

>> ALEX: Yeah, right.

>> It's going to be delicious.

>> ALEX: Thanks, Jimmy.

>> Thanks, Jimmy.

>> Thank you.

>> Okay, have a good one.

>> ALEX: So we started at an outdoor market, and now we're headed to an indoor market, to meet Chef David and Holly, who are taking us to a place called Specialty Produce.

This is the place that every chef in San Diego shops.

Not only are they selling really interesting produce that you normally wouldn't be able to find in a grocery store, but they're opening it up to not just chefs, but the public.

So let's go check it out.

Hello, everybody!

>> Hi!

>> ALEX: Hi, Holly.

>> Hi, Alex.

>> ALEX: How are you, chef?

>> Hi Alex, nice to meet you.

ALEX: Nice to meet you, too, I got my gloves, this is interesting.

So, tell me a little bit about Specialty Produce.

>> They have everything from bulk items to specialty products.

>> It's food Disneyland.

>> ALEX: It is like a food amusement park in there.

>> Yes.

When I need inspiration and I just want something to make, I just walk around and look for random things.

>> ALEX: And where is Specialty Produce sourcing its product?

>> Everywhere locally, from San Diego and kind of, the L.A., Northern County, San Diego.

>> We told Cathy and Joe, who work here, that you were coming, so they're going to give us a little tour.

>> ALEX: Wait, hi.

>> Hey, how's it going?

>> Welcome to Specialty Produce, the Produce Wonderland.

>> ALEX: I love it.

>> So this is our fruits and vegetable museum.

>> ALEX: I'm looking at all these photos of all this different produce from around the world.

So many things I've never seen before.

>> Our passion is to distribute the knowledge of fruits and vegetables.

People nowadays, they don't want to just go to the conventional grocery store, they're looking for beyond that.

>> ALEX: And you're providing a relationship, and you're providing business, with these smaller farmers who are growing really interesting stuff, and not these just, big conventional farms.

Oof.

This is very cool.

Look at all these herbs... ...and flowers.

Ooh, berries.

>> So I think I want to add strawberries to my cake.

>> ALEX: Okay.

>> Because these are gorgeous.

And maybe these Pakistan mulberries?

>> ALEX: I love mulberries.

>> Yeah.

I always like a flower on top of my cakes, so.

>> ALEX: I'm making a cocktail.

Like a little Thai chili and coconut?

>> Ooh.

>> I think I'll get this uh, meadow sorrel mix.

Uh, the acidity of the sorrel is going to work perfectly with the laab.

>> ALEX: All right, and chef, you need some herbs?

Yes.

>> I need some herbs, uh, a bunch of veggies.

>> So we got some coriander flower right here.

>> Oh, yeah, awesome, Thanks, Joe.

>> Oh, I didn't even look over here.

>> ALEX: This is the problem with being in a place like this; you can't just choose one thing.

I was going to do a cocktail.

Now I see the bok choy, I've got these radishes... Holly over there says she has a friend that's making maitake mushroom miso, locally here, we're using that.

You just don't want to stop in a place like this.

It's just endlessly inspiring.

We have our fish and we have our produce, and now, we are on our way to Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center to put on our feast.

This place is adorable.

(chuckles) Hi, Jen.

>> Hey, Alex, welcome to Olivewood Gardens.

>> ALEX: Thank you.

Thank you for having us.

>> Of course.

>> ALEX: This is like a little oasis out here.

>> It sure is.

So we're located here in the middle of National City.

We have almost eight acres of property.

It's a place where kids, and adults, and families can participate in different programs really centered around environmental education, and nutrition education, as well.

And then, of course, environmental stewardship.

>> ALEX: I would love to know what you're growing here.

>> We grow everything seasonally and we really try to have a mix of herbs, and vegetables, and fruit; and a lot of pollinators, because we need to be sure that all these vegetables and fruits can be pollinated.

We serve almost 5,000 elementary students from every-- >> ALEX: Wow.

>> TK through sixth grade classroom in National City.

>> ALEX: So tell me a little bit about this house.

>> Yeah, this house was built in 1896 by the Noyes family, and this is a Princess Anne Victorian home.

It's really a beautiful home.

>> ALEX: Well, thank you so much for this gorgeous and delicious tour.

>> Thank you so much for being here.

>> ALEX: So I'm here in the kitchen with Chef Phillip Esteban.

We just got back from Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, got this gorgeous rockfish from Jimmy.

>> Yes.

>> ALEX: And chef, what are you going to be doing today?

>> So we're going to be doing a take on a classic Filipino dish called escabeche, which is a fried fish with sweet and sour.

>> ALEX: Love it.

>> So, when I like to break it down, I like to use a towel and kind of protect yourself.

I lift the fin, and I'll cut, kind of behind the head, around the gills, and down past the fin.

Then, we'll kind of flip the fish over and do the same thing.

(bone cracks) There we go.

>> ALEX: There we go.

>> So what we're looking for is the bone line in the middle.

>> ALEX: Mm-hmm.

>> But I like to, kind of, push down underneath here... ...and cut right along that bone line.

When you look inside, you get the clean bones and the flesh right off of that.

>> ALEX: You were talking about the influence of Spanish cuisine on Filipino food.

>> Mm-hmm.

Ceviche to kinilaw?

>> ALEX: Mm-hmm.

>> Or Mexican pipin, or Spanish pipin, to Filipino kare-kare.

It's kind of the same thing, just different parts of the world, but same techniques.

>> ALEX: Same techniques, little bit of different ingredients, kind of like this escabeche.

>> The last step is we'll actually take this skin off the bottom, I pull the fish through and get a nice filet down.

Oh, there we go, check you out.

>> ALEX: Nailed it.

(both laugh) >> So, we're just going to go ahead and season the fish now.

I'll get a little canola oil on top of the fish, and then, we're going to just hit it with some salt and pepper.

We have the griddle here, kind of ripping already, so just make sure it's hot enough.

>> ALEX: While you're cooking that, will you tell me little bit about your restaurants here in San Diego?

>> Yeah, so, um, I own White Rice, which is a Filipino rice bowl concept, based on silogs; garlic, rice, and like, a fried egg with their choice of meat.

(grill sizzling) Nice and hot.

>> ALEX: And I know every good escabeche has an acidic component to it.

>> Mm-hmm, we have a little bit of citrus here to finish, but a lot of different pickles; so rainbow carrots and some pickled pearl onions as well.

So we'll be doing a little bit of salad of that.

Kind of a roasted red pepper coulis, I'll use it as, like, the base sauce.

And then, the sweet and sour, we kind of kick it up a little bit with our own house-made XO sauce, that we blend in with the sweet and sour chili.

>> ALEX: There's so many flavors going on here.

>> We just want to make sure it's nicely cooked through, and kind of, flip it once.

>> ALEX: Look at how delicate and flaky that rockfish is.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> ALEX: That's when you know it's fresh.

>> We'll get some of the herbs ready as well.

So, this is the one that we picked in the garden earlier: coriander blossoms and the fennel or the fronds that we have.

And this is kind of a little bit of a chef's blend that we get at the market, but once we kind of toss it all together, it'll be a nice little salad on top of the fish.

Put the red pepper coulis down... ...and this will just hold the fish.

But we'll get the XO and then, kind of, just spoon it over, over the fish.

>> ALEX: I love XO sauce because it's such a concentration of flavors.

>> Mm-hmm.

I'm going to go ahead and just lay some of this fish down.

>> ALEX: Where did your love of food come from?

>> Actually, my love of food came from my grandmother.

So, I grew up cooking with her.

I would always ask her to make chocolate cake and carrot cake.

>> ALEX: Yeah.

>> So like, six years old, she taught me how to make it from scratch.

So we have a little lemon oil here.

Just going to help coat this up.

>> ALEX: Delicious.

>> And this salad is just going to kind of go right over the fish.

Then, we'll add the pickled carrots.

We're just going to put them around the plate.

And then, those nasturtium leaves, we'll just go ahead and add them on top of the greens.

>> ALEX: This dish is almost too beautiful to eat.

The keyword is "almost," we still need to feast.

So we're in the kitchen now with Chef David.

We picked up all of these gorgeous lettuces and herbs.

And chef, what are you going to be making for tonight's feast?

>> Kind of a hybrid of a traditional Thai style laab, along with a little bit of a touch of Vietnamese here and there.

>> ALEX: So how do we get this laab started?

>> So, traditionally, it's made with eye of round, like a cheaper cut, but just because we want to do something a little nicer, I think we'll use a filet, which is a lot more tender.

>> ALEX: And I've normally seen laab or larb on a menu with cooked meat.

But, traditionally it is raw meat, marinated in some sort of acid to help cook it?

>> I just prefer the raw style.

I think it's a lot fresher, especially us in the summertime, it's a little warm, and I just want to have a bunch of little herbs and veggies to eat along with it.

It's more of a meat salad than anything.

>> ALEX: Mm.

You are a chef at Kingfisher, which is a very popular Vietnamese restaurant here, and your background is Chinese and Cambodian.

>> Yeah.

>> ALEX: How, how does your culture influence the way you cook at the restaurant?

>> There's a lot of similarities with ingredients, uh, technique on what we're cooking; it's very fresh, lots of herbs and veggies.

>> ALEX: What excites me most is the balance of these bold flavors.

>> Yeah.

>> ALEX: The acid, the herb, the spice, the umami.

It reminds me of, like, an elephant on a tightrope?

>> Yeah.

Bold flavors, but it's all about the balance of the bold flavor.

>> ALEX: It's so beautifully balanced, yeah.

You've got all that meat minced up.

How are you going to marinate it?

>> We're just going to cook it in lime juice a little bit, almost like ceviche, um, just enough to kind of, coat it through.

And then we're just going to let this sit for 20 minutes.

So, Alex, if you want to get started with the sauce for the laab.

Three or four big cloves of garlic, same with the Thai chilies.

>> ALEX: I love Thai chilies.

They have such a unique flavor and such a unique heat.

>> It puts off an amazing aroma, I think.

So let's add sugar first.

Maybe, like, six tablespoons?

It's kind of like the Vietnamese nuoc mam.

It's kind of like a fusion of both.

>> ALEX: Mmm.

>> It's a lot sweeter than the traditional Thai sauce.

So that looks good.

Um, let's add the fish sauce and the lime.

I think we'll go about three tablespoons of fish sauce, and then about, maybe double that of lime juice.

>> ALEX: Okay.

>> And then we'll taste, see where we are.

Yeah.

So, let's check on our meat.

We just want the meat to become a little opaque, and that's kind of where we are now.

We can drain the juices, we can cut some of our herbs, mix everything up and plate it.

>> ALEX: Okay.

Where did your love of food come from?

>> I think it starts with a lot of our moms or grandmas.

So my mom is an amazing cook.

There was a time where we didn't have a lot of money.

My parents were working a lot, so it was just me and my two brothers, and I had to cook for them.

So that's, essentially, where I learned how to cook, and I developed my love for cooking was providing for my brothers and for, for people that I love.

(chuckles) >> ALEX: That's so sweet.

>> Here we have some, just some Thai basil and mint.

So Alex, if you want to grab your sauce.

>> ALEX: A big, bold salad.

>> Yeah.

So from here, in my opinion, I think this is what makes laab, laab: is toasted rice powders.

And it'll kind of break down and soften up instantly as soon as it hits, I'm like, that's laab to me.

>> ALEX: Yeah.

>> And then, also, this is lemongrass.

Another thing that isn't traditional, but I really like it, being from California, is a really nice olive oil.

It adds a really nice mouth feel, and then, I really love the olive flavor as well.

>> ALEX: It's herby, it's pungent, the lemongrass, the sugar, it just rounds all these big bold flavors altogether.

>> We're going to plate it really nice with some garnishes: Persian cucumbers, radishes, jalapeos, mint, basil, cilantro, and some nice acidic sorrel and some fried shallots.

>> ALEX: Love it.

Well, thank you so much, chef, and I cannot wait to eat this at the feast.

We're here in the kitchen with Holly Haines, and what are you going to be making today for our feast?

>> Today, I am making a bibingka tres leches cake.

So it's sort of a mash-up between Filipino bibingka cake-- it's like a, a rice cake cooked in banana leaves-- and tres leches.

So I do like a coconut milk, condensed milk, heavy cream soak... >> ALEX: Oh.

>> ...with the bibingka cake.

>> ALEX: Okay, so how do we get it started?

>> So first, we need to start with the banana leaves.

We have banana leaves that have been cut and cleaned.

We're just going to pass it over the flame and you'll see it start to change color.

>> ALEX (gasps): Ooh.

Why are you cooking this cake in banana leaf?

>> It actually perfumes the cake a little bit.

>> ALEX: No way?

>> Yeah.

It's a nice little earthy... ...flavor that it imparts to the cake.

>> ALEX: Where did your love of food come from?

>> Oh, I was just hungry.

(Alex laughs) And, um... ...food's so good.

>> ALEX: Yeah.

(both laughing) It's so good!

>> Ah, wait!

So, I originally just started trying to recreate recipes I had at restaurants, and then people started asking me for my recipes.

I was like, "Oh, I guess I'll start writing some recipes," and now I'm here.

So then we're just going to line the leaves.

Now we have to whip some egg whites.

>> ALEX: And you're whipping those egg whites for body in the cake, because the rice flour tends to be a little dense?

>> Yes.

>> ALEX: And those egg whites are just going to give it a really nice light texture.

>> Yeah.

If you wouldn't mind beating the egg yolks and sugar together?

>> ALEX: The consistency of the egg yolk and the sugar completely changes.

>> Yeah, it should be like nice little ribbons falling from the beaters.

Then we're going to add in the milk and some vanilla.

I measure vanilla with my heart.

(Alex laughs) I, I will never use a measuring spoon or a cup.

>> ALEX: That's good vanilla.

>> Yes.

And then, I'm going to mix the dry ingredients together.

All-purpose flour, rice flour, kosher salt and baking powder.

Just going to whisk those together.

Okay, so we're going to add the dry ingredients to the yolks.

Low speed, until it's just combined.

Now we're going to take half of the whites trying to lighten up the batter just a little bit, and then we'll fold in the rest of the whites.

>> ALEX: I'm really curious to know about the San Diego food scene here.

>> San Diego does not get the credit it deserves as a food city.

A lot more Filipino food, a lot more Vietnamese food.

It's beautiful seeing, you know, traditional American desserts getting, you know, a Filipino twist or that sort of thing.

We're just going to pour that batter.

So this is going to go in the oven, 325, for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

It is cooled down, and now we're going to make the tres leches to pour over it, so... Coconut milk, heavy cream, and sweetened condensed milk.

>> ALEX: Mm.

>> Yeah.

>> ALEX: I love the addition of coconut milk in this.

>> And the most important part: you got to measure the vanilla with your heart.

>> ALEX: Don't mind if I do.

>> Beautiful.

>> I'm going to poke some holes into the cake.

>> ALEX: The crumb on this.

>> So now, we could just pour that over the top.

>> ALEX: The whole thing?

>> Yeah.

>> I think the vanilla bean paste makes the milk soak kind of taste like melted vanilla ice cream.

>> ALEX: Mm-hmm.

>> So now we're going to add some whipped cream.

>> ALEX: Okay.

>> So that's mascarpone, heavy cream, some vanilla, and then, a little bit of sugar.

>> ALEX: I have a feeling this wouldn't be a Holly Haines cake without a little color.

>> I love an edible flower.

We eat with our eyes first.

>> ALEX: Yes!

All over?

>> Yeah, just start putting stuff on there.

>> ALEX: Okay.

(Alex gasps) >> Look how beautiful that is.

>> ALEX: It's so pretty.

>> Any fresh seasonal fruit you have... >> ALEX: Yeah.

>> ...would be great on here.

>> ALEX: That is gorgeous.

>> I think we did good.

>> ALEX: Party people!

It's cocktail time.

And with all these bold, bright Asian flavors on the table, I needed to create a cocktail that complemented our meal, perfectly.

A Thai chili, ginger, lemongrass, coconut margarita.

So I'm going to start with a simple syrup.

I've got some water that has come up to a simmer and I'm going to add some honey.

To that, I'm going to add four inches of ginger that I've peeled and sliced.

The zest of one lime.

I'm going to take a stalk of lemongrass, and you don't want to put this lemongrass in straight away.

You want to get it a little bit bruised.

Take the back of your knife.

This will break open the lemongrass, and allow all those oils to release, and give your simple syrup a really nice flavor.

Then, I'm going to add some Thai chilies, but I don't want to chop this up and get the seeds in here.

So what I like to do is just take the tip of my knife and just poke a few holes in it.

It's going to release the flavor and the spice of the Thai chili.

And let this steep, almost like a tea, for about 15 or 20 minutes.

Now, I've got some simple syrup right here, some ice, two ounces of canned coconut milk, the same amount of lime juice, freshly squeezed, two and a half ounces of tequila.

Put something on top, shake it up.

(ice cubes rattling) Take a little bit of lime on each glass, dip it in a little bit of sugar and salt.

Make sure this is half-and-half.

I like to garnish with a little Thai chili to let people know, hey, this might be hot.

And finish it with some fresh flowers.

There you have it: Thai chili lemongrass coconut margarita.

So as you remember, at Specialty Produce, I couldn't help myself, I had to grab some bok choy and radishes.

And what I wanted to do was create a compound butter with some miso paste.

I do a one-to-one ratio, miso to butter, and I'm just going to saut the bok choy lightly, in the miso butter with a little bit of dark sesame oil, a little fish sauce for an added salty punch.

Four to five minutes, just until the bok choy is tender, and garnish it with some beautiful toasted sesame seeds.

All right, we're ready to feast.

Welcome to our feast.

To start everybody out tonight, I made a coconut lemongrass ginger and Thai chili margarita.

>> Cheers, guys.

>> Cheers.

>> ALEX: Everybody, if you'd like to find a seat at the table, uh, we're about to start our feast.

(indistinct chatter) Hello, everybody!

Welcome to our feast!

(cheers and applause) We have quite the feast for you this evening.

>> Ooh, my goodness.

>> All right.

>> Wow.

>> Wow... >> Wow.

>> So colorful.

>> Oh, beautiful.

>> Let's get that again, Phil.

>> Thank you.

>> ALEX: We have spent the entire day gathering ingredients all around the San Diego area, and I am so lucky to have been able to cook with three very talented chefs.

Chef Phillip, what did you create for tonight's feast?

>> Tonight, I did a variation of a sweet and sour Filipino dish, called escabeche.

The fish was caught by Captain Jimmy, glazed with the sweet chili sauce, and pickled carrots with fresh herbs on top.

>> ALEX: And Chef David.

>> I made a laab today, so it's kind of a hybrid between like, a Thai and Vietnamese style with plenty of fresh produce from Specialty Produce; Thai chilies, fish sauce, garlic, balanced out with sugar and lime.

>> ALEX: And Holly is going to bring us home with a dessert.

>> I made a bibingka tres leches cake, traditional Filipino rice cake baked in banana leaves, and also made it tres leches with edible flowers and strawberries that we found at Specialty Produce.

>> ALEX: The flavors are unbelievable, and I hope that you all enjoy, so dig in, everybody.

(indistinct chatter) >> Yup.

Okay.

>> It's so good.

>> Dessert first.

>> Okay.

(indistinct chatter) >> ALEX: I want to thank everybody for coming to our feast tonight, and I want to thank these three incredible chefs for sharing their time and their talents with us, and a little bit of their culture.

Jimmy, thank you so much for what you do in providing local fish to the local community.

Maribel and Specialty Produce, thank you so much, everything was so fresh.

And to Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center, Jen, thank you.

Thank you, thank you for hosting us.

And If you would like any of these recipes from today's episode, make sure to go to moveablefeast.com.

And who knows, maybe next episode, we'll be feasting in your city.

Cheers, everybody.

>> Cheers.

>> Cheers, everybody!

(chatter, laughter) >> ALEX: For more information about this episode, recipes, and behind-the-scenes fun, make sure you go to moveablefeast.com.

Follow us on Instagram, and don't forget to like us on Facebook.

We'll see you next time on a Moveable Feast.

>> Major funding provided by: >> Everyone's going to be here.

(car honks) >> Try to have fun.

>> Hey you.

(music playing on headphones) Let's go... (playing "Best Day of My Life" by American Authors) (singing along): This is going to be the best day Of my life >> Seriously?

>> (singing along): My li-i-i-ife >> ALL: This is going to be the best day of my life >> I can't believe I'm related to you guys.

>> Well, you are, so... >> My li-i-i-ife Ooh, ooh... ooh-ooh.

(glasses clink) (singer vocalizing) (waves crashing)