by Annette Vucinich
Among the most exciting of the new arrivals on the burgeoning Palo Alto food scene is Bruce Cost, chef, instructor, author and founder of the Ginger Club, Stanford Shopping Center's brightest new star. An expert on Asian ingredients and preparations, Cost also brings years of successful restaurant experience to the table. He is the creative father of both Ginger Island in Berkeley and the former highly acclaimed Monsoon in San Francisco.
Is his food good?
Alice Waters has been quoted as saying, "Bruce Cost is one of the greatest cooks I've ever known."
An East Coast native, Cost's interest in Asian food was advanced by a lengthy tutelage in New York city under legendary authority Virginia Lee. Transplanted to California in 1981, Cost passed the torch, conducting classes of his own and headlining at several well-known culinary schools. In addition to writing two books--"Bruce Cost's Asian Ingredients" and "Ginger East to West"--Cost has contributed to a host of newspapers and gastronomic journals. Widely acknowledged as an expert, Cost has been called upon to lecture at the Smithsonian Institution.
Enamored of delicious, authentic Asian food, Cost is not always enthusiastic about the Oriental cuisine available to us.
"There are very few Asian cooks in the United States that have been trained as cooks. Plus, unless they're in an Asian community, their audience is a difficult one. We (Americans) don't have a broad range of tastes."
An exception to his rule, Cost likes a variety of foods, particularly those specialties he has never tasted before. In 1980, he paid a visit to China and Hong Kong. His mentor, Virginia Lee, advised him where to go, writing down instructions for cab drivers.
"In China they have great restaurants, spectacular ingredients, intensely flavored vegetables. They don't use a lot of chemical fertilizers. The vegetables come into the markets black with dirt. All the seafood is live.
"Probably your average office workers in Hong Kong wouldn't appreciate some of the best U.S. seafood served in restaurants. They would think: 'This is old and dead.'"
On a more recent trip, in a little fishing village, Cost indulged in a type of sea snail that was local to the area and another odd, but luscious morsel--"a funny little crustacean like a lobster/shrimp, but kind of flat." In the markets Cost was also intrigued with the culinary possibilities of a large section of reptiles, snakes and the many game birds.
"Over there you see different kinds of fowl. We saw a pheasant, this creature with brilliant iridescent feathers. It had a long pheasant tail and head, with feathers looking like 24-carat shimmering gold. Only when it moved did you know it was alive."
The ubiquitous chicken also comes in many guises.
"Americans, we all think that God created a (single type of) chicken. We don't think of them coming out of a jungle in southeast Asia or that there are a lot of different varieties of them."
Squab is also a favorite delicacy. Cost recalls with pleasure a meal in the suburbs of Hong Kong:
"It is a huge, big place. You actually walk through these cages of game and tropical birds with old women playing mahjong. They raise pigeons and prepare them in a lot of ways. Roast pigeon is usually seasoned, hung and fried, what the Chinese call 'oil roasting.' They are served with towels and a kind of five-spice sauce. But it's the quality of the bird--very juicy."
Back home at the Ginger Club, Cost eschews high-risk esoterica and offers the more popular dishes from his repertoire. In this way he is able to retain the highest standards of quality, yet make this venture work as a business. He says Ginger Club has been well-received in the area.
"Berkeley kind of thinks of itself as a hip place where they know about food. But there is no difference in the communities in terms of adventurousness."
Cost's "tropical Asian" cuisine wows even a jaded old restaurant reviewer. Aromatic curries; fresh, exquisitely sauced steamed salmon or grilled mahi-mahi; delicate, subtly flavored won tons; hot spicy rice noodles with Manila clams and ginger; honey-orange duck with sticky rice and sausage stuffing; steamed Buddhist vegetables; or for the die-hard, a hamburger, but jazzed up with tomato/ginger salsa.
Ginger Club recipes are uncluttered, flavors are distinctive, performance consistent. Spice pastes are authentic, seeds are ground and toasted on site. To Cost and head chef David Ngo, "from scratch" and "made to order" are literal terms. Only the finest ingredients are used. Freshness is the watchword.
"I am a believer in ingredients and not so much in chefs and what they can do," Cost explains. "I would rather have a very good ingredient that has just been picked or caught and prepared by a good home cook than a genius chef who flies in his ingredients from elsewhere."
Through Feb. 15, to celebrate the new year, Ginger Club restaurant will serve any customer born in a year of the pig (1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983 and 1995), free Shanghai-style sticky baby pork ribs.
Here are three recipes reprinted with permission from "Ginger East to West."
@recname:Real Ginger Beef @quan: 1 pound flank steak, sliced as thinly as possible across the grain 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper 1 cup finely shredded ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1 teaspoon sugar 3 tablespoon shao hsing or dry sherry 1 cup peanut or vegetable oil 2 cups fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, lightly chopped and firmly packed @direc:Marinate the beef in the cornstarch, soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss the ginger with the salt and set aside for 20 minutes; then squeeze the shreds to extract most of their moisture, and set aside. Combine the sugar and wine and set aside. When the beef has marinated, heat the oil in a wok or skillet to a warm-hot temperature. Add the meat, stirring to separate the pieces. When the pieces change color, remove them to a colander to drain. (Some of the meat may still be pink.) Remove all but 3 tablespoons of the oil from the pan. (It may be strained and saved for another use.) Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil in the pan and add the ginger. Stir rapidly for 15 seconds, add the beef, and cook stirring for another 15 seconds. Stir in the coriander leaves and the wine mixture, and cook just until the dish is heated through, and serve. Serves 3-4.
@recname:Fried Chicken Wings with Ginger @quan: 2 1/2 pounds chicken wings 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce 2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoon finely minced ginger 2 small dried hot chili peppers, chopped, seeds and all 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground 2 tablespoon flour 1 tablespoon cornstarch 3 tablespoon dry white wine 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh coriander Peanut oil @direc:Separate the chicken wing sections, discarding the wing tip or saving it for stock. Toss the wings with the soy sauce and salt and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Add the ginger, chili pepper, cumin, flour, cornstarch, wine and fresh coriander and toss thoroughly.
Heat 3 to 4 cups peanut oil in a wok or heavy skillet. Add the chicken wings, about 6 pieces at a time, and fry until golden, about 5 minutes or so. Remove and drain on paper towels. Allow to sit for 10 minutes or longer and serve warm. Serves 6-8 as an appetizer.
@recname:Steamed Fish @quan: 1 very fresh, whole white-fleshed fish such as rockfish, 1 1/2 lbs., scaled and cleaned with head left on 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon light soy sauce 1 tablespoon shao hsing or dry sherry 1 1/2 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil Pinch of sugar 1 tablespoon finely shredded fresh ginger 2 scallions, including the greens, shredded and cut into 2-inch lengths Sprigs of fresh coriander for garnish @direc:Rinse the fish and dry thoroughly. Score it lightly at 1-inch intervals with a sharp knife, and rub the salt over the entire fish. Combine the soy sauce, wine, oil, and sugar, and set aside. Pour enough water into your steamer or wok to come to within an inch of the cooking rack. Cover and bring to a boil. Put the fish on a heat-proof serving platter, pour the sauce over it, decorate with the ginger and scallion shreds, and steam for 12 to 15 minutes or until the fish is just firm to the touch. Serve garnished with the coriander. The natural sauce is delicious. Serves 2-4.
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