Chef's Kitchen

Each month, a guest chef gives us a tip that elevates their cooking or simplifies things in the kitchen; something a home cook might not know. They also provide a recipe that uses the tip, so you can practice at home. Our guest chef this month is Chef/Owner David Kong of Perche No. David and his wife Lily opened Perche No on lower Queen Anne in 1992 and near Green Lake in August 2006. The Queen Anne location closed in November 2006. The Green Lake location closed in 2019. But you can still get their cookbook and family story by clicking here!

David was born in Kuala Lumpur and came to the U.S. in 1978. He started at the bottom and worked his way up in numerous restaurants in the Bay area, learning how to cook all kinds of food. He took a job at an Italian restaurant in Burlingame and the rest is history. It was there that cooking became a passion, not just a job. He loves creating authentic dishes from fresh ingredients, not frozen, and often uses organic ingredients. After 27 years of owning his own restaurant, it's apparent that he learned his lessons well!

Using chicken stock to enhance dishes, by Chef David Kong

You can use chicken stock to add another level of flavor and complexity to your dishes. If a pasta sauce needs to be thinned or it's too dry, don't use water or pasta water. Chicken stock does the job! Even if it's a cream sauce, don't add more cream. That can make it too rich. Chicken stock works again! You can also use vegetable stock and, depending on how much intensity you want in a seafood dish, fish stock.

Tagliatelle alla Perche No

Serves 3

Pasta

½ cup semolina flour
2 cups high gluten flour (or All-Purpose flour)
5 organic egg yolks
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Spring Mountain water

Sauce

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
4 shallots, finely minced
21 large prawns
1 cup white wine
1-1/2 cups cream
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoons ground white pepper
1-1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese
¾ cup fresh basil, chopped

To make pasta, heap the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the center. Add the egg yolks, salt, and olive oil to the well and mix with a fork, working the flour in from the edges. If dough is too firm, add water. Knead by hand until the dough is smooth. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and let rest 1 hour.

Using a pasta machine, roll out the dough to the desired thickness. Cut into fettuccini shape.

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan and sweat the garlic and shallot (they should still have a crunch; you don't want to brown the garlic). Add the prawns and cook for 30 seconds.

Deglaze the pan with white wine. Add the cream and heat for 2 minutes until prawns are cooked.

Add salt, pepper, butter, Parmesan, and basil.

Cook pasta in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Drain well. Put the pasta into the sauce.

www.perchenopastaandvino.com

October 2019

Reprinted October 2020