LS freshman shares love of food

Benjamin Mok, Contributing Writer

LS freshman Nairan Wu looms over his roommates in his cramped, tiny Third North kitchen. Despite hailing from Shanghai, Wu is not a big fan of Chinese food. Instead, he prefers Japanese or Italian food, although most of the time he enjoys his own simple, hearty home-cooked meals. These meals range from exquisitely simple dishes to strange combinations that may produce skepticism — until the first bite.

Wu said he prefers to trust his own instincts rather than relying on a cookbook.

“It’s just too much trouble to have a book with you, and recipes don’t work because if the chef is actually very good, they won’t bother taking measurements unless they’re running a restaurant,” Wu said.

Wu’s replies to questions about the origins of his cooking ability are mysterious and succinct, as if there were some great secret he dared not let slip. He said he doesn’t remember when he started cooking, and that hunger was the simple factor that drove him to cook his own meals. Though he doesn’t have specific answers about his culinary history, Wu opens up when the subject of discussion is a specific dish or recipe. He keeps a specific range of special recipes up his sleeve – each dish been perfected through regular preparation and constant refinement.

Wu said his favorite fish recipe is for Saikyo Yaki Saba, or Miso Saba Fish.

“It’s a very common recipe in Japan,” Wu said. “It’s good family food, but also good for drinking and generally everything.”

The dish is shockingly easy to make, and perfect for bare-bones dorm kitchens. All you need is saba, an oven and some patience.

Despite all the recipes and amazing dishes he often cooks up, Wu said he is unsure about becoming more serious about cooking.

“Maybe, if my other plans don’t work out” Wu said.

An aspiring linguist, Wu dabbles in many different passions, even film-making. Yet for Wu, cooking will always be something he does — and if he opens up a restaurant, he said he knows the perfect location.

“East Village, catering to hungry students,” Wu said.

 

Wu’s Saikyo Yaki Saba  (Miso Saba Fish)

Ingredients

4 filets Saba, skin on

1/2 cup sweet sake, miri

1 tbsp. cooking sake

1/2 cup regular/white miso

1 tbsp. sugar

  1. Mix the two types of sake with the sugar.
  2. Add the miso to the mixture.
  3. Slice each filet of fish sideways to ensure the marinade permeates the entire fish. Place the sliced fish inside the mixture and leave it to marinade for at least six hours in the refrigerator.
  4. When you are ready to cook the fish, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
  5. Place the fish in a baking dish inside the oven. Let it sit around for 10 minutes, continuously checking on it.
  6. Turn the oven heat on high, allowing the non-skin sides of the fish to be lightly toasted. Be sure to keep an eye on the fish, as it can burn easily.
  7. Reduce oven heat back to low, and wait until the fish is fully cooked or until the fish becomes golden and crispy to the touch.

 

Email Benjamin Mok at [email protected].