What’s a temakeria?

It’s a fast-casual style eatery featuring temaki, the made-to-order, cone-shaped “hand roll” sushi. Rice, raw fish and vegetables are wrapped in a sheet of nori, seaweed that pressed into thin sheets.

In the case of Uma Temakeria, newly opened in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan (64 Seventh Avenue at 14th Street), the soy sauce and wasabi traditionally served at sushi bars is replaced with a choice of the chef’s special sauces.

Beer, wine and saké, plus tea and soft drinks, are served.

Uma implies “delicious” in Japanese, and this idea is totally uma—a healthful, lower calorie alternative to fast food. We love it, and hope there’s an Uma Temakeria in our neighborhood soon!

Uma Temakeria (pronounced OOH-mah teh-ma-ka-REE-ah) is the first “fast-fine” sushi eatery to open in the U.S., inspired by the temakeria trend in Brazil, which began in the early 2000s in beachfront neighborhoods such as Leblon and Ipanema.

Bringing the concept to the U.S. is Cynthia Kueppers, who left Wall Street to create her vision. All ingredients, including the seafood, are responsibly-sourced, fusing a trend that is growing among American consumers.

You enter the bright space, roomy by Manhattan standards, and go to the counter, where the temaki of your choice are quickly made to order. You can take a seat to dine, or take your temaki to go.

Tofu temaki, one of the vegetarian choices. Just roll and eat! Photo courtesy Uma Temakeria | NYC.

What’s on the menu? First, there are Chef’s Temaki from Michelin-starred Executive Chef Chris Jaeckle (formerly of Ai Fiori, Morimoto and other great eateries such as Eleven Madison Park, Tabla and An American Place), with your choice of white or brown rice:

Prefer a custom temaki? The attractive, enthusiastic counter staff are eager to roll whatever you’d like. Combine your rice with:

 
Most rolls are $5.50 (vegetarian), $6.00 (with fish) or $6.50 (seasonal special); any two rolls with a delicious side salad is $14.00.

The sides are low in calories, each equally deserving to be included with your meal:

 
Chef Jaeckle, please send us the recipes for all three!

HAVE A TEMAKI PARTY AT HOME

Why are temaki (hand rolls) different from other sushi? Because they don’t require a well-honed skill to prepare. Simply grab a sheet of seaweed, add your rice and fixings and roll into a cone.

As the host, you don’t have to do much more than set out the ingredients, buffet-style. The guests roll their own (here’s how to roll temaki).

It’s a great idea for a party. So take inspiration from Uma Temakeria and add some pizzazz to your entertaining. And invite us!

It’s from CookTheStory.com, the website of Christine Pittman, a recipe developer and photographer. Check out the website for more delicious recipes.

“For this recipe,” says Christine, “you combine apple juice and gelatin and then divide it among small jars before putting it in the fridge to set. Then you mix crème fraîche with caramel sauce and whipped cream and slip it on top of the jello. There’s a layer of nuts and caramel between the jello and the crème fraîche. Oh my!”

Note that while many people use the term Jell-O generically, it is a trademark of Kraft Foods, and refers only to the Jell-O brand. Everything else is properly called gelatin.

> The history of Jell-O is below.
 
 
RECIPE: HOMEMADE APPLE GELATIN WITH CARAMEL CRÈME FRAÎCHE

Prep time is 25 minutes. The recipe can be made up to two days in advance.

Ingredients For 8 Servings

 
Preparation

1. POUR 3 cups of the juice into a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile…

2. POUR the remaining cup of cold apple juice into a large bowl. Sprinkle the cold juice with the gelatin powder. Let stand for 1 minute. Add the boiling juice to the cold juice. Stir continuously for 3 minutes and then stir in the maple syrup or honey.

3. DIVIDE the apple juice mixture among 8 jars, glasses, or dessert bowls with an 8-10 ounce capacity. Refrigerate until set, about 3-4 hours. Once the jelly has set…

4. COMBINE the walnuts with the cinnamon and ¾ cup of caramel sauce. Divide evenly among the 8 containers. (Up until this point the recipe can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep the containers refrigerated). When ready to serve…

5. MIX the remaining ¾ cup caramel sauce with the crème fraîche in a large bowl. Add about 1/3 of the whipped cream and stir it gently. Add the remaining whipped cream and gently fold it in just until it is combined (it’s alright if there are ribbons of caramel color through the cream). Divide the caramel cream among the containers.
 

These two fresh dairy products are similar, and sometimes can be substituted for each other.

Sour cream is:

 
Crème fraîche is:

Gelatin (also spelled gelatine) has been made since ancient times by boiling animal and fish bones; aspic, a savory, gelatin-like food made from meat or fish stock, was a French specialty centuries before the day of commercial gelatin, and was very difficult to prepare, relying only on the natural gelatin found in the meat to make the aspic set.

Powdered gelatin was invented in 1682 by Denis Papin. The concept of cooking it with sugar to make dessert dates to 1845 and an American inventor named Peter Cooper. Cooper patented a product set with gelatin, but it didn’t take off.

In 1897, Pearle Wait, a carpenter in Le Roy, New York (Genesee County), experimented with gelatin and developed a fruit-flavored dessert that his wife, May, named Jell-O. The first four flavors were orange, lemon, strawberry, and raspberry.

He tried to market his product but lacked the capital and experience, and in 1899 sold his formula to a fellow townsman and manufacturer of proprietary medicines, Orator Frank Woodward, for $450. Jell-O was manufactured by Andrew Samuel Nico of Lyons, New York.

Alas, sales were slow and one day, Wait sold Sam Nico the business for $35. In 1900, the Genesee Pure Food Company promoted Jell-O in successful advertising, and by 1902 sales were $250,000. In 1923 management created the Jell-O Company, Inc., which replaced the Genesee Pure Foods Company, the purpose of which was to protect the Jell-O trade name and to keep it from becoming a generic term.

That same year, the Jell-O Company was sold to the Postum Cereal Company, the first subsidiary of a significant merger that would eventually become General Foods Corporation. Lime Jell-O was introduced in 1930.

Today Jell-O is manufactured by Kraft Foods, a subsidiary of Phillip Morris, which also acquired both Kraft and General Foods in the 1980s and ultimately merged the two companies. There is a Jell-O Museum in Le Roy, New York.
 
 

Finally, we’ve found it with the excellent pierogi from Polska Foods. Yes, they are pierogis that are as good as Nana’s. We rejoice!

Many pierogis are pretty flavorless lumps of flour and potatoes, requiring lots of seasoning, frying, sour cream or whatever to become pleasing.

Polska’s dough and fillings are so flavorful, we ate them plain—although for serving to family and friends, we’d spruce them up with some melted butter, fresh herbs, or one of these 50+ ways to serve pierogi.

The line of authentic pierogi, made in San Francisco, is organic and all-natural. They are shipped frozen, anywhere in the continental U.S., from PolskaFoods.com.
 
RECAPTURING GRANDMA’S RECIPES

Tomek Piszczek, founder of Polska Foods, was born and raised in Poland and knows the real deal. “This is how we enjoyed pierogi,” he states. “All ingredients were from our garden or our neighbor’s farm. We even grew our own grain.”

A real treat, for every day or special occasions. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

After a full year of research and development, the company settled on kosher, award winning, handcrafted farmer’s cheese made without rennet and enzymes and rBST-free; organic heirloom grain and flour; fresh organic vegetables; real sauerkraut made with just cabbage and salt, and even organic herbs and seasonings.

The pierogi contain no preservatives, no MSG, no GMO ingredients, no soy, and absolutely nothing artificial. The recipes use only organic or expeller-pressed oils, and never any trans fats.

The result duplicates Tomek’s grandma’s recipes from Lubiechowa, Polanda: tasty comfort food with superb flavor.

The line is certified organic by Oregon Tilth.

A delicious all-vegetable (and vegan)
version. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE
NIBBLE.

To make the pierogis, you simply boil or steam the frozen pierogi for 8 to 10 minutes or fry or sauté them in a nonstick pan. Then, simply toss with butter, sautéed onions, bacon and fresh sage, or top with sour cream, nonfat Greek yogurt or yogurt-garlic sauce. The results are spectacular.

You can also make a sweet breakfast or brunch recipe with a topping of sour cream and brown sugar on the potato and cheese variety. The line includes:

 
Each is wonderful, and we can’t get enough!

For a retail locator, to buy online or for more information, visit PolskaFoods.com.

October 8th is National Pierogi Day.

Pierogi* are dumplings of Central and Eastern European origin, traditionally stuffed with cheese, fruit, ground meat, mashed potato or sauerkraut. They can be served boiled baked or fried/sautéed, usually in butter with sautéed onions.

Pierogi is the Polish word. In Russian the term is pelmeni (don’t confuse pierogi with pirog, the Russian word for pie); in Ukrainian it is varenyky.

The Polish word pierogi is plural. The singular form, pieróg, is rarely used since a typical serving consists of multiple pierogi.

The dumplings are usually semicircular, but in some areas are rectangular or triangular.

Here’s how to celebrate: 50 ways to eat pierogi, culled from a list of 100 ways at PolskaFoods.com.
 
________________
*Also spelled perogi, pierogy, perogy, pierógi, pyrohy, pirogi, pyrogie, or pyrogy.
 
 
PIEROGI & DIPS

 
 
PIEROGI TOPPERS

Boil, fry or sauté the pierogi and serve:

[1] Pierogies topped with melted Cheddar (photo courtesy Lewis & Neals).

[2] Pierogies freshly made and ready to boil (photo © Karolina Grabowska | Pexels).

[3] Pierogies with sautéed apples (photo © Mrs. T’s).

[4] Garnish your pierogi in different ways (photo © Markus Winkler | Pexels).

[5] A classic garnish of butter and onions (photo © Mrs. T’s).

 
 
MORE ELABORATE PREPARATIONS

 
This should keep you busy through the next National Pierogi Day!

One of our favorite Korean dishes is bibimbap (pronounced BEE-bim-bop), a comfort food recipe that’s easily customizable to your tastes. It combines rice, protein, fresh vegetables and spicy Korean barbeque sauce.

The dish is traditionally made, mixed and served in a Korean stone bowl (also called hotstone or dolsot). You can use a regular skillet and a dinner plate.

With a stone bowl, the rice on the bottom becomes extra crisp and crusty and is considered a bonus, like the socarrat on the bottom of paella pans.

Already low in calories and healthful, if you substitute a [nontraditional] whole grain for the white rice, it becomes a very nutritious dish. Consider black, brown or red rice, or barley (bap is the Korean word for cooked rice). Quinoa fans: Go for it!

Below are five easy steps to making bibimbap at home from Bibigo, maker of Korean pantry products.
 
 
RECIPE: EASY HOMEMADE BIBIMBAP

Ingredients

 
 
Condiments

 
Optional Garnishes

 
Preparation

1. COOK the rice and vegetables. Slice the raw vegetables.

2. MAKE the marinade: Combine soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and pepper in a mixing bowl.

3. COMBINE the marinade and protein in a skillet over medium-high heat, and stir frequently until just cooked through. If you are using cooked vegetables (bean sprouts, mushrooms, onions, spinach, e.g.) you can cook them in this skillet.

4. PLACE the rice in bowls or on plates, and top the rice with the cooked protein and cooked vegetables, reserving the cooking juices. Arrange raw and cooked vegetables atop the rice. Mix the pan juices with the gochujang sauce.

5. FRY the eggs sunny-side up and place one on top of each bowl. Right before eating, toss in the gochuchang sauce. Garnish to taste and serve with gochujang sauce.
 
 
CHUSEOK, “KOREAN THANKSGIVING”

[1] Bibimbap served in a traditional stone bowl, with a ramekin of gochujang sauce (photos #1 and #2 © Bibigo).

[2] Bibimbap served on an American dinner plate instead of a bowl (photo © Bibigo).

[3] Gochujang sauce, a Korean hot paste or sauce (photo © Chung Jug One O’Food).

[3] Kimchi, spicy fermented cabbage with optional other vegetables. You can make your own or buy it at Whole Foods, Asian markets, and other stores (photo © TriFood).

Most people travel back home for the holiday to the head of the family (usually the grandparents’ home). There is always a large gathering of family, delicious foods to eat, and often a gift for the hosting family.

The gathered family may also hold a ritual during Chuseok to pay respects to their ancestors. This is usually done with a memorial table holding an offering of food and drinks.

You can certainly make bibimbap for the occason. Traditional popular foods include:

 
 
ABOUT GOCHUJANG PASTE

Gochujang (pronounced ko-chu-JONG, also translated as kochujang) is a Korean hot chile pepper paste, spicy, but not too hot. It is made from glutinous (sticky) rice, red chiles, fermented soy beans and salt.

Gochujang is one of the three indispensable condiments in Korean households, along with doenjang, bean paste, and ganjang, Korean soy sauce.

The popular condiment is used in bibimbap as well as in bulgogi (barbecued meat wrapped in lettuce leaves), tteokbokki (a snack food made from soft rice cake and fish cake), and in salads, stews, soups and marinated meat dishes.

You can also spread it on burgers and sandwiches for some fusion flare, use it as a breakfast condiment with eggs or hash browns, or mix it with soy sauce, rice wine and a bit of brown sugar to make a delicious dipping sauce.
 
 
MORE!

> Here’s a different recipe for bibimbap (photo #4).

> The history of bibimbap.

> Bibimbap with SPAM instead of beef.
 
 
______________

*Bulgogi is thinly sliced, marinated and grilled beef. The word literally means “fire meat” in Korean.