Eat ethnic

Sick of hamburgers? Try something new this summer

by Margaret LeRoux

I'm cooking ethnic this summer. No hamburgers or hot dogs at my barbecues; instead, I'll prepare arroz con pollo, beef seasoned with lemon grass, and lamb and lentils. I've been inspired by recent guided visits to some of Worcester's best Vietnamese, Puerto Rican, and Lebanese markets where the essential ingredients are available for a feast of international proportions.

First, let me introduce my guides: Nam Tran, who serves the tantalizing Vietnamese food prepared by his wife, Quyen, at the Bamboo Hut Restaurant, led me on a quest for lemon grass, ginger and basil; Linda Antoun Miller, who commemorates her Lebanese heritage with wonderful dishes from her kitchen in Holden, clued me in on her favorite sources of spices, pita bread, pastries, and meat pies; and Iris Rosas, who cooks for elders at Centro Las Americas, introduced me to cassava chips, sazón, and sofrito during a shopping trip to her favorite Latino market.

Though there are striking differences in the cuisines, I was struck by their similarities. In all three, meat and fish are enhancements -- not the focus of everyday cooking, which revolves around rice, bread, and grains. And all three cusines reflect their history and geography

Vietnam, of course, was ruled by China. So you'll find Chinese elements as well as cooking techniques: the wok, stir frying, and the use of chopsticks. Vietnam was also a French colony, so the baguettes that are sold on the streets of Saigon are as familiar as the pho or the noodle shops. Puerto Rican food traces its origins to the early Spanish settlers and is enhanced by Caribbean accents. Lebanese cooking draws on its Arabic antecedents, and many of the dishes served today can be traced to biblical times.

Each values the freshness of ingredients, and shopping trips are much more social than the typical American chore of going to the supermarket.

Sweet and tasty: Vietnamese cuisine

Nam Tran, for example, shops on Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Friday, frequenting two Vietnamese-owned markets, Ha Tien (892 Main Street) and Ha Tien III (64 Green Street), that stock different varieties of produce, fish, meats, and fresh herbs.

Our first stop is Ha Tien where Tran points out boxes of khou mon, Vietnamese potatoes. Unlike American varieties, these range in shape from long and narrow to huge and round, each with a different texture and slightly different taste.

And, he explains, Vietnamese use meat and chicken parts not available in most supermarkets: chicken feet, beef amascum -- the lining of the stomach -- and pork heart. Such meat is used in preparing soups, stews, and hot-pot dishes.

Tran spots a pail of lemon-grass stalks soaking in water. Lemon-grass bulbs look like oversize green onions, but their stiff, bamboo-like stems run from pale yellow to light brown.

"Look for a firm white bottom," he advises. "Peel away the outer husk, then chop like you would a green onion."

Lemon grass is one of the most popular of Vietnamese seasonings; its price ranges from $2.99 to $6.99 per pound. This summer, prices are high because the monsoons started late.

Al fresco food Get into the spirit of the season and dine al fresco. Greater Worcester has many great outdoor patios where you can eat dinner, enjoy a drink and hors d'oeuvres, or savor dessert. Following is a selection: Point Breeze, Point Breeze Road, Webster, (508) 943-0159. Hours: Mon. to Thurs. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fri. to Sat. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sun. noon to 10 p.m. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar. Boasting the biggest deck in Massachusetts, Point Breeze overlooks Webster Lake; the deck accommodates up to 200 diners. Corner Grille, 806 Pleasant Street, Worcester, (508) 754-8884. Hours: Mon. to Sat. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Cash only. BYOB. Back-yard patio with five tables, accommodates up to 15 diners. The Crooked Putter at the Westborough Country Club, 121 West Main Street, Westborough, (508) 366-0207. Hours: Lunch Mon. to Sat. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner Mon. to Thurs. 4:30 to 9 p.m., Fri. to Sat. 4:30 to 10 p.m. MC, Visa. Full bar. At lunch, a special deck menu includes salad bar, grilled swordfish, chicken, burgers, and hot dogs. On Sundays, a barbecue is offered with kebabs, steak tips, and Cajun chicken. Deck accommodates up to 50 people. Cyprian's Bistro, 284 East Temple Street, Boylston, (508) 869-9900, ext. 23. Hours: Daily 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar. The patio's 10 tables can accommodate up to 60 diners. No reservations for outside dining. East Side Mario's, 7 Boston Turnpike Road, Shrewsbury, (508) 755-0900. Hours: Sun to Thurs. 11 a.m. to midnight, Fri. to Sat. 11 to 1 a.m. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar. One of the best views in town, overlooking Lake Quinsigamond. Spacious deck with 14 tables, serves more than 60 diners. Firehouse Cafe, One Exchange Place, Worcester, (508) 753-7899. Hours: Mon. 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tues. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wed. to Sat. 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar. Patio where live music is featured on weekend nights, can accommodate up to 75. Grille on Solomon Pond, 35 Solomon Pond Road, Northborough, (508) 393-2681. Hours: Sun. to Wed. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. to Sat. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar. Lunch, dinner, and drinks are served on the patio that features 15 tables. Harrington Farm, 178 Westminster Road, Princeton, (978) 978-5600. Hours: Wed. to Sun. 5 p.m. till closing. Major credit cards accepted. Wine and beer. Hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and dessert are served on the small farmer's porch by reservation only. Mac's Diner, 185 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester. No phone. Hours: Lunch Mon. to Fri. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner Wed. to Sat. 5 to 9 p.m. Cash only. BYOB. Shrewsbury Street's only patio accommodates up to 20 diners and features regular lunch and dinner menu. Nantucket Seafood, 1 Exchange Place, Worcester, (508) 752-3474. Hours: Mon. to Thurs. 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. to Sat. 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sun. 4 to 9 p.m. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar. Newly refurbished patio accommodates up to 40; jazz brunches and gospel brunches are planned for later this summer. Peppercorns Grille & Bar, 455 Park Avenue, Worcester, (508) 752-7711. Hours: Mon. to Thurs. 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sat. noon to 11 p.m. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar. Full menu at lunch and dinner is served on the patio, which can accommodate up to 45 diners. Thursday night is "Patio Promotion Night" with live music and prize giveaways. Friday live jazz with Dick Odgren and Emil Haddad; Saturday's featured musician is John Burrows. Sterling Inn, 240 Worcester Road, Route 12, Sterling, (978) 422-6592. Hours: Tues. to Sun. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar. A beautiful flower-covered hillside is the view from the Sterling Inn's deck where six umbrella tables accommodate diners. A lighter bar menu is served along with lunch and dinner items. The Restaurant at Tatnuck Bookseller, 335 Chandler Street, Worcester, (508) 756-7644. Hours: Breakfast Mon. to Fri. 8 to 11 a.m., Sat. 9 to 11 a.m., Sun. 9 a.m. to noon. Lunch Mon. to Sat. 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sun. noon to 3 p.m. Dinner Mon. to Thurs. 5 to 9 p.m., Fri. to Sat. 5 to 10 p.m. Major credit cards accepted. Wine and beer. The patio accommodates up to 46 diners; regular breakfast, lunch, and dinner selections are served. Wachusett Village Inn Cafe & Restaurant, 9 Village Inn Road, Westminster, (978) 874-2000 or (800) 342-1905. Hours: Sun. to Thurs. 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. to Sat. 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar. Poolside patio with 10 tables accommodates up to 60 people. The regular lunch and dinner menu is served. On Mondays, a barbecue features ribs and chicken; a clambake is served on Thursdays from 5 to 9 p.m. Worcester Art Museum Cafe, 55 Salisbury Street, Worcester, (508) 799-4406, ext. 3068. Hours: Wed. to Fri. 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. AE, MC, Visa. Wine and beer. The regular lunch menu is served on the patio, which has 15 umbrella tables. Up to 90 diners can be accommodated.

"You can buy lemon grass ground or frozen," Tran adds, "but you lose the aroma, and [it] doesn't seem to have the same kick."

He shows me several different types of basil: purple leaf, which smell like radishes; mint; and fish leaf, which does indeed have the scent of its namesake. Sometimes markets carry as many as six different types of basil. Quyen uses tiny-leaf basil to season hot-and-sour soup.

Vietnamese spinach leaves are long and slender with very long stems; boc ha looks like celery, but the texture is soft, and it is often served stir fried with beef.

Then there are the popular, fresh banana leaves, also available are purple banana leaves. "We grill mackerel in banana leaves," he notes. "It keeps the fish nice and moist."

Fish sauce, or nuoc nam, is one of the most common ingredients in Vietnamese cooking, as basic a condiment as soy sauce is to Chinese cooking. It's made from fresh anchovies and salt, layered in wooden barrels, and fermented at least six months. Tran notes that he prefers the Squid brand. Among several varieties of chili paste, another essential ingredient in Vietnamese cooking, Tran favors the Rooster brand.

Ha Tien stocks noodles in a variety of widths; Tran says he prefers the thin Hanoi noodles over thicker varieties.

At Ha Tien III on Green Street, he spies a package marked "beef tender" and drops it into his shopping basket.

I ask for a translation, and he explains it's beef cartilage used in soups as a thickening agent.

He spies a box containing thick knobs of fresh ginger and scoops several into his basket, then he adds a bag of sticky rice and his shopping is done for the day.

When the Trans prepare beef teriyaki, they use the following sauce:

Teriyaki Marinade

1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 onion, diced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
3 slices ginger, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix together; marinade beef or chicken overnight. This recipe makes enough for three pounds of meat.

The following recipe showcases lemon grass:

Stir Fry Chicken with Lemon Grass and Chili

2 lbs. skinless and boneless chicken
2 stalks lemon grass, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon oil
black pepper to taste

Sauté garlic and lemon grass, then add chicken and stir fry until chicken is cooked through. Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to cook until juices evaporate. If desired, add 1/2 teaspoon thick soy sauce for color.

Spanish affair: Puerto Rican food

If you want a Puerto Rican cooking lesson go to the Tropical Plaza (1000 Main Street) and ask for Luis "Junior" Navarro. The 30-year-old Navarro literally grew up in Spanish markets, selling plantains and cassava with his father in Jamaica Plain. Years later in Puerto Rico, he learned how to use the ingredients he'd been selling. Today he willingly shares his recipes and love of his ethnic cuisine with his customers.

Puerto Rican cooking draws on the history of the country. There are elements from the Spanish, who arrived there with Columbus, Creole from the Arawaks, and Tainos who were the original inhabitants of the island. Influences from the island's Caribbean neighbors are also prevalent.

"People who are unfamiliar with Puerto Rican cuisine are usually surprised to learn it's not spicy like Mexican and Central American cooking," Navarro says. "We base our cooking on ajies; sweet peppers, not hot peppers; cilantro; and recao, the leaf of the coriander plant," he says.

Sofrito is another staple of Puerto Rican cooking. It's a mixture of onions, oil, garlic, coriander, oregano, and vinegar, which seasons everything from beans and rice to chicken and pork. At the Tropical Plaza, you can buy the ingredients to make your own sofrito or take home a ready-made sofrito from the freezer.

You'll also find canned and dried green pigeon peas, the essential component of arroz con candules, sometimes called the national dish of Puerto Rico. At Centro Las Americas where people gather for lunch most weekdays, Iris Rosas cooks huge quantities of arroz con candules; it's the most popular dish she serves.

"I learned from my mother, and I use her recipes," Rosas says. On Mondays she shops, loading up her cart with cases of beans and 25-pound bags of rice.

At the Tropical Plaza, Rosas considers the assortment of squash, adding malanga (a long, tubular vegetable that she will add to boiled salt cod) and green bananas for bacalao, another Puerto Rican specialty. While in the squash section, I make the acquaintance of calabaza, a round, orange squash that looks and tastes like pumpkin. I am also interested in two varieties of the starchy root vegetable called yautia: blanca (white) and lila (purple).

Iris persuades me to buy a package of sazón, a mixture of cumin, powdered garlic, and annatto, which gives rice a beautiful, bright yellow color and mild chili flavor. On our way out, Navarro offers us a coconut ice, which tastes like a frozen piña colada without the rum. It's delicious and cooling on a hot summer day.

If you're inspired, try these recipes for arroz con candules and bacalao, courtesy of Navarro.

Arroz con Candules

3 cups rice
1 can pigeon peas (don't drain)
2 envelopes sazón
3 cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon corn oil
Small piece of smoked pork

Put all ingredients in a large saucepan, cover with water about two inches above the rice. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook about 30 minutes until rice is fluffy.

Bacalao

Soak a piece of dried, salted codfish overnight in water, drain, and add fresh water. Bring to a boil, cook about 15 minutes, drain.

Meanwhile, prepare the root vegetables:

1 lb. yams
1 lb. yautia
3 green bananas
2 green plantains
2 lbs. malanga

Peel and cut the root vegetables into bite-size chunks; cut the plantains and bananas in half. Put yams into a pot large enough to hold all the vegetables, cover with water, bring to a boil, and cook for five minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and bananas and cook until tender.

While vegetables are cooking, drain the water off codfish, cut into bit-size chunks. In another sauce pan, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons oil; add one medium onion, chopped; cook for several minutes to soften the onion; add 1 medium can of tomato sauce and the codfish. Simmer while the vegetables, bananas, and plantains cook. Serve them alongside the codfish.

All in the family: a Lebanese meal

The preparation of Lebanese food is more than putting ingredients together. For cooks who trace their ancestors to the villages of this country, it involves treasured rituals. In many households there are memories of generations of women who spent the better part of the day preparing the evening meal.

Authentic Lebanese cooking was very labor-intensive in the days before food processors. Kibbe, the national dish, took hours of grinding fresh lamb and fine bulgur with herbs and spices using a mortar and pestle. The dough for homemade pita bread, rolled flat and tossed into the air like pizza, is now more likely to be purchased fresh from the bakery.

Linda Miller remembers being mortified as a child when her mother packed bag lunches of kibbe in pita bread.

"I didn't want to be different," she recalls. "I wanted peanut butter and jelly like my friends."

Today, when Miller shops for the essentials of Lebanese cooking, she heads to Hamilton Street. There, Mike's Middle East Market (61 Hamilton Street) is a treasure-trove of ingredients, from bulgur -- dried, cracked-wheat kernels -- to zahtar, a mixture of sesame seeds, powdered sumac, and thyme that's sprinkled on pita bread, salads, and yogurt. Across the street, and a few doors up, is Lee's bakery (98 Hamilton Street), the source of meat, spinach, and cheese pies, as well as a variety of Lebanese mezze -- appetizers such as babaganoush, tabbouleh, and stuffed grape leaves -- and dessert pastries. Then there's George's Bakery (318 Grafton Street), which makes "the best pita bread in the city," says this experienced Lebanese cook.

We meet for my introduction to Lebanese ingredients at Mike's, a small, family-run grocery. Here you'll also find dried Basrah lemon from Iraq; jars of bright purple, pickled turnips; bottles of scented, orange-flower water and rosewater that give a distinctive taste to Lebanese and Syrian pastries. There are also jars of kalamata olives, and in the refrigerator case, cheeses like feta and labne, a cross between yogurt and sour cream and very tasty when spread on pita bread.

Small, brown coriander seeds sold by the ounce are sautéed with vegetables and meat. Linda notes that coriander is featured in a favorite recipe of her mother's, "bami," a combination of whole okra, fresh tomatoes, and ground lamb seasoned with coriander. Linda's version of mujaddarah, another staple of the Lebanese cuisine, requires dried lentils (Mike's has several varieties), rice, and onions.

Owner "Mike" Yousef shows us a bag of Syrian pepper, a mixture of seven spices including allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and white and black pepper. He sells dried mint by the bag or in smaller portions. Used in tabbouleh (a salad of bulgur, parsley, tomatoes, onion, and lemon juice), mint also flavors another popular Middle East salad: sliced cucumbers with yogurt.

Yousef demonstrates other uses for the ingredients. A paste of fine bulgur will soothe a teething baby's gums, he says, and a steeped mint tea will help a fussy baby (and its parents) sleep.

For a quick preparation of hummus, a dip for pita bread and vegetables, you can buy canned chickpeas and purée them with olive oil or tahini (sesame paste), garlic, and lemon juice. Mike's also has dried, salted chickpeas, a no-cholesterol version of dried roasted peanuts. There's even a candy-coated variety of chickpeas in a rainbow of colors, for a sweet, low-fat snack.

At Lee's Bakery, sisters Ann Ansara and Salweh Maloof preside. Here you'll find trays of fresh meat pies, spinach pies, cheese pie, and a display case full of beautiful little cookies and pastry -- I loved them all: kaak (butter cookies), sambousik (nut-and-sugar-filled butter cookies), ghribee (pretzel-shaped butter cookies), and baklava (layers of phyllo dough filled with ground nuts and honey, drizzled with rosewater).

Still in the neighborhood, but below the Grafton Street rotary is George's Bakery, the oldest Middle Eastern bakery in Worcester. Current owner, George Elhoussan, learned to bake from the original George.

Customers line up for round loaves of fresh pita bread early in the day; by mid-afternoon, you'll have to settle for imported whole-wheat pita.

Elhoussan has expanded the bakery's offerings to include meat pies, tabbouleh, hummus, babaganoush, stuffed grape leaves, kibbe, and cookies. We sampled sable, a delicate butter sandwich cookie filled with apricot jelly.

Following is Linda's recipe for mujaddarah, rice and lentils:

Mujaddarah

Rinse 3/4 cup lentils in a strainer; place in a saucepan, pour enough water in to cover them. Bring to a boil, cover, and let stand.

While lentils cool, brown two medium onions (chopped) in a small amount of olive oil.

Drain lentils and add to browned onions; add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup long-grain rice, add enough water to reach about two inches above the rice. Turn heat up to medium, cover, and cook 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with a green salad.

Another main dish features lamb and bulgur:

Burghl

1/3 to 1/4 lb. lean lamb meat (about 2 or three shoulder lamb chops)

Remove meat from the bone, cut into small cubes, brown in clarified butter with 1 chopped onion (medium size) until the onion is golden brown.

Add one cup chopped celery, 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes, and water to 3 inches above the meat mixture. Bring to a boil; add 3/4 to 1 cup coarse grain bulgur. Cook until most of the water is absorbed; salt to taste.

Skill of the grill A new way to think of marinades Barbecue chefs today understand the value of a good marinade and the way to combine ingredients from different cuisines: lime juice from the Caribbean, olive oil from the Mediterranean, and chilies from the Southwest give an exotic taste to burgers or chicken breasts. Old-fashioned tomato-based barbecue sauces just don't cut it anymore when you can buy cranberry-maple chipotle grill sauce or make your own habenero chili-apricot salsa. Not in the mood for a back-yard barbecue? There are plenty of area restaurants that have tapped into the nouveau grilling trend. At Nantucket Seafood in downtown Worcester, for example, John Dufault is the new executive chef who knows his way around a grill. Dufault learned his craft at Tatnuck Country Club during a post-college summer job. There, he worked under the direction of his brother Chip, head chef Chris McCook, and Jack Corey (who later became chef at the Restaurant at Tatnuck Bookseller). "It was a turning point for me," Dufault says. "These guys were all so into cooking, it made me realize that's what I wanted to do." By the end of the summer, Dufault decided to pursue an internship under the auspices of the American Culinary Federation at Maxwell Silverman's. From there he went to the Plaza Club as sous chef, supplementing his on-the-job experience with continuing-education classes at Johnson & Wales University. He returned to Tatnuck Country Club as sous chef when his brother left to become chef at the Balsam's Resort in New Hampshire; and when McCook later went on to the Union Club in Boston, Dufault was named head chef. Earlier this year, Dufault left Tatnuck to join the Coolidge Group, which purchased the Firehouse Cafe. In May, the group added Nantucket Seafood to their holdings. Admitting it's been a daunting task to run two kitchens, the energetic chef nevertheless has already revamped the Firehouse menu, adding several bistro selections and salads. He will soon be adding enhancements to Nantucket's menu, too. In the meantime, Nantucket's patio has been spruced up and dining al fresco will be emphasized. Dufault's affinity for grilling should be a natural fit with Nantucket's customers. "Grilled fish is by far the most popular request we have," he says. "Quick cooking over high heat lends itself so well to seafood. The heat caramelizes the natural sugars, creates a nice, crisp texture on the outside, and, at the same time, keeps the fish moist and tender." Dufault uses a quick marinade of fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and pesto. And he is mindful of the balance of sweet, salty, bitter, and tart. "Keeping a good balance among these flavors is the basis for good cooking," he says. Dufault intends to add a grill to the courtyard between Firehouse and Nantucket. "I think the delicious scent of food cooking on grill will be an attraction," he says. "I like the concept of cooking as entertainment -- open kitchens are now so popular, but, after all, the first open kitchen was the barbecue grill." -- ML