Sandbagging the David Chang way

sandbagging - "To force or coerce someone to do something."

The Free Dictionary

"Hiding the strength, skill or difficulty of something or someone in a sport or competition" Wikipedia

I'm struggling a little today. Well I have all the past week really because of various minor troubles bubbling around, which have limited my powers of thinking coherently. So perhaps those two definitions above apply. I'm sort of forcing myself to write a post every day - except when I obviously can't because other things are taking up my time. It's a tick in the box to show that I have actually achieved something in the day, and besides I feel good when I've written one - well if it was a reasonably good one - I know they all aren't - of course.

I'm not so sure of the second definition. I guess I tend to downplay the food I put in front of the people I have cooked for - listing all the things that went wrong in the process, why it didn't turn out how I hoped. But then I and probably all of us ordinary mortals - realise when we do these everyday tasks that we shall never achieve perfection.

I'm not quite sure what the relationship is to actual sandbags however. Maybe it's because a sandbag is such an ordinary, humble thing, which can, in fact achieve great things. Although not always. They often fail.

Priya Krishna is the co-author of this book - well I think she listened to David Chang talk as he cooked, took it home and edited it all into something that made sense. So yes - co-author. Her introduction, sort of explains the process:

"How the hell was I supposed to take the ramblings of this man who spoke mostly in philosophical ideas and sports metaphors and David Foster Wallace speeches and turn them into an actually useful cookbook?"

Which makes me wonder whether the 'I' in the subtitle of the book on the cover is really her not David Chang, whose "whole philosophy is underpromising and overdelivering." - i.e sandbagging. And when you turn over the page you see "What he wanted me to do was sandbag", going on to explain that the term is:

"also used in kitchens, referring to the necessary evil of sometimes having to cook dishes ahead of time to keep up with a busy service. Sandbagging is about being clever and juidicious - getting ahead so you can win - but too much of it can feel hackish. In homecooking, sandbagging means you take whatever you've got, even if it's not the top-shelf stuff, and find creative, resourceful ways to turn it into something delicious."

Which is one of the things that is getting me down today. Contemplating that pak choi problem, combined with the discovery that in my fridge is a container of 'already made from almost nothing' leftover fried rice and that piece of pork sizzle steak that I took from the freezer yesterday. So it's now not as simple as starting from scratch. Somehow or other I have to combine the two.

I know it's stupid to spend so much brain energy on worrying about this, and then even more on writing about it. I mean it's a totally trivial problem. Whatever I do it will be eatable and I can tick the thrifty and sustainable boxes as well as the one that tells me I have fed my man with something relatively healthy, not to mention my own induced compulsion to write about it all.

It's probably all due to old age, and not having so many absolutely necessary things occupying your life and your brain - such as a job, running a home, bringing up children. We have time, and it's probably in human nature to find something to worry about. We can't quite believe that we can just relax and enjoy ourselves.

David Chang's book has been sitting on my desk for a while now. I have already written a little about it - David Chang, my microwave and I - how it's a somewhat unsatisfying thing, that I don't really know what to do with. But it has several little yellow stickers poking out of it because there are a few things in there worth commenting on. Like today. And as I think more about it I grow somewhat more appreciative of its attitude. And besides Chang himself says:

"There aren't any recipes in here, at least not in the traditional sense. But don't panic. ... My hope is that after some time, you won't ever need to refer back to this book again. ... You are welcome to read this book as many times as you want, but I want you to be so good at cooking that you won't even need it anymore."

Or as Priya puts it:

"I'd go back to Dave's apartment, complain about how the recipe didn't work, and the answer was always the same - It works. You've just got to stop expecting to have instructions to blindly follow. You need to understand what makes the dish work, and go from there."

It's true that there are not many recipes but here is the one that he describes as 'probably the best recipe in the whole book' Cook corn in ... corn.

It's not online and it's almost not really a recipe so here it is in full:

"Blend about 2 cups of frozen corn kernels and 1 cup of whole milk, or broth in a food processor or using an immersion blender. In a large pan, warm a knob of unsalted butter over medium heat. Add the blitzed corn and the kernels from 4 ears of sweet corn.

Season with salt and black pepper, plus any number of seasonings (mayo and cotija! miso! chaat masala!), and cook for a few minutes until the mixture thickens up and the corn is cooked but still maintains its crunch. From here, you can add ... herbs! lime juice! frozen shrimp, mussels and broth and turn it into a chowder! Go wild. Or you can leave it as is, and serve it as a side for grilled fish, lobster, or shrimp. Or simply serve it over rice."

Priya doesn't quite agree:

"I would say that while I thought it was good on its own, it felt almost more like a flavor base or a condiment than a stand-alone thing - it's pretty rich, like eating pimento cheese with a spoon (nothing wrong with that). But when paired with pasta as a sauce, or used as a base for a soup, it feels more balanced."

So is what I am about to go and do sandbagging? That is combine a leftover meal of fried rice, with flavourings which I cannot now remember, with some fresh pak choi and a slice of pork sizzle steak. I think I'll marinade the pork in those things that Than Truong talked about yesterday - garlic, chilli, ginger plus some kind of spicy or flavourful sauce, chop up the pak choi, fry the meat, fry the pak choi and then throw in the fried rice. Maybe some chives, chilli and chopped peanuts on top? A bit of everything - probably too much of everything. But it will have to do. Hoping I'm underpromising and that I will eventually overdeliver.

Every now and then, however - indeed at the moment - I do like to cook something new from a recipe - or just something from scratch. I feel I have been using up or reheating leftovers all week. Which is sometimes fun, or relaxing, but it's also a bit boring. I need to find something new and interesting. Preferably that includes pak choi. Maybe this salmon dish from Coles - No fuss salmon laksa tray bake except it's got coconut milk in it and jarred laksa paste. Maybe I should just go with the coconut milk - what the hell. David might actually find he likes it. The laksa paste is a bit of a worry though because it might be hot. I should find a recipe for that and just tone down the chilli. I'll see how brave I'm feeling tomorrow.

YEARS GONE BY

March 6

2025 - The Bahamas

2024 - Do, should teenagers cook?

2023 - Do as you're told

2022 - Nothing

2021 - Missing

2020 - Missing

2019 - Lucky dip - a recipe

2018 - Nothing

2017 - Potatoes and the Irish