Vinolution 2012

Last Friday's Vinolution 2012 party was fabulous! After being greeted by a few of the darling and playful Atomic Bombshells, guests grabbed an empty wine glass and made their way around the room while noshing eats and drinks from some of Washington's select wineries and restaurants..even a distillery. It can't get much better than that.  

Big raindrops didn't stop the fun on the rooftop outside.. after all, this is Seattle - the birthplace of rain. We joined a few of Seattle's finest restaurants and passed out our signature duck sliders.
  

The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. showcased a tower of bite size cupcakes that not only looked divine, but tasted equally so. The pancake cupcake, topped with maple frosting and sprinkled with bits of bacon, paired surprisingly well with a sip of The Wild Sky Cabernet Sauvignon from Zero 1 Vintners.

We can't wait for next year's event!

Soft-shell crab is back!

It's soft-shell crab season and Wild Ginger is featuring two distinctly prepared dishes  :::

Vietnamese Soft-shell Crab ~ garlic, shallot, black pepper and fish sauce
Cantonese  Soft-shell Crab ~ salt, pepper, golden fried garlic and red chilies

For those of you wishing to bring the tastes of Wild Ginger into your home, here is a soft-shell crab recipe we recommended :::

To start, live crabs are the best, but they're not very easy to find. When selecting your crab, your nose will tell you what's good. Trust your instincts. When fresh, crab smells clean and astringent mimicing the scent of sea mist. To clean, hold the crab in one hand and while using a pair of kitchen shears, cut off the front of the crab, about 1/2 inch behind the eyes and mouth. Squeeze out the contents of the sack located directly behind the cut you just made. Rinse and pat dry.

For the crust:
1 cup of peanut oul
1 1/2 cups of rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 eggs

For the sauce:
1- 1/2 Tbl thin sliced shallot
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 Tbl inely sliced lemongrass
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 Tbl fish sauce
1-2 tsp sugar (varying depending on prefence)
1 tsp black pepper

Heat oil in large saute pan until it reaches 325 degrees. Sift flour, salt and pepper together. Beat eggs in separate bowl. Immerse cleaned crabs in egg misture. Drain slightly then roll into flour mixture. Pan-fry until golden bwon (use caution as oil may splatter). Drain on paper towel. Remove all oil from the pan except one tablespoon. Fry shallots in this oil on medium high heat until golden, then add garlic and lemongrass, stirring constantly until fragrant, about one minute. Add chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar and pepper and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoinings to preference. Place crabs in pan and gently turn to coat with sauce. Plate and garnish with rough chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

Don't fear the Riesling

Ask any wine fanatic and they'll profess, wholeheartedly, that summertime is synonymous with Riesling. Starting on the first day of Summer, June 20th, wine lovers all over the country come together to fill and toast glasses of Germany's Queen of all wine- Riesling. Wild Ginger doesn't plan on breaking this joyous tradition. With the longest day of the year approaching, we can excitedly proclaim Summer of Riesling is right around the corner.

The Summer of Riesling celebration all started when one bar in New York City decided to strictly feature Riesling on their glass pour menu in 2008. The project, simply started with the goal of diffusing the notion that Riesling was sweet, spawned into a country wide celebration paying homage to a misunderstood varietal.

Wild Ginger welcomes you to join the annual shenanigans!

Upcoming events:

Sandra Bernhard and the Wines of Australia

June 21 6pm | The Triple Door private suites ~ tickets here>>

Dr. Loosen/Robert Weil Winemaker Dinner with Kirk Wille 

July 6 | Wild Ginger at The Bravern

Riesling Through The Ages- 40 Years of Riesling Dinner  

July 19 | Wild Ginger

Burlesco DiVino: Wine in Rome

August 8-10 8pm August 9-10 10pm (21+) | The Triple Door ~ tickets here>> 

Terry Theise Austrian Riesling Dinner & Burleco DiVino: Wine in Rome

August 9  7pm | The Triple Door ~ tickets here>>

August Kesseler Dinner

August 22 | Wild Ginger

Australian Winemaker Dinner

September 7 | Wild Ginger at The Bravern

Oregon vs. Washington, featuring Brennon Leighton from Efeste and Matt Berson from Love and Squalor

September 14 | Wild Ginger

To make reservations for desired event call the following locations:

Wild Ginger 206.623.4450

Wild Ginger at the Bravern 425.495.8889
The Triple Door 206.838.4333

The Tastes of Wild Ginger in a Sandwich

Wild Ginger at the Bravern is now offering Vietnamese-style Banh Mi sandwiches in three unique and flavorful options.

Grilled Chicken ~ $8

Fresh herbs, sambal mayo, pickled cucumber, yam and daikon

Grilled Pork ~ $8

Cilantro, hoisin mayo, pickled cucumber, yam and daikon

Veggie ~ $8

Fried tofu, pickled daikon, carrot, green papaya, zucchini, wasabi mayo, lettuce

All served on Viet style baquette. Sides include choice of Sweet Potato or Thai Sweet Chili Pop Chips and chieu salad: cabbage, carrot, red onion and Thai basil, for $2. To-go sandwiches and sides can be ordered online and picked up Monday-Friday 11:30am-2pm at Wild Ginger at the Bravern. Check out the detailed menu and give em a try here>>

Photos courtesy of Mat Hayward Photography

Lemongrass

It's Springtime, blossoms are tickling noses while the scent of freshly cut, sun kissed grass floats through the air. 

Indigenous to Southeast Asia, lemongrass is an essence of Spring that dances its way into culinary creations year round at Wild Ginger.  Hidden under layers of tough outer leaves, is a pale yellow stalk that is sliced and doused into dishes to create a vibrant lemony aroma.    

Each Spring, we gather as much lemongrass as possible and store it all year. The perennial grass provides signature Wild Ginger dishes, such as the Seven Flavor Beef and Green Curry, a brilliant, unmistakable zest. 

Specialty Lamb Dishes at Wild Ginger

We're creating three house-made, speciality dishes using whole, organic lamb that is fresh from Shibui Farms in our backyard on Vashon Island. Each succulent lamb dish will integrate the authentic cooking styles, flavors and aromas of Southeast Asia.  

Indonesian Roast Lamb tenderloin marinated in cinnamon, coriander, cumin, garlic, shallots and sweet soy for two days, a lamb tenderloin is then roasted and served with exotic, aromatic rice and Indonesian soy lime dipping sauce. 

Rogan Josh, a Malay curry dish, will include chunks of fresh lamb leg meat marinated in yogurt, red onions, nutmeg, and cardamon before being slow cooked with fresh tomatoes and served with aromatic rice.  

Last but not least, Singapore Lamb Soup will be made from a seasoned stock of lamb bones. This rich and enticing soup features heady lamb mingled with the flavors of curry leaf, clove, cinnamon, and revitalizing ginger in each bite.

These speciality dishes will be available until all three lambs have been gobbled up... We suggest coming in soon!

Wild Ginger Does Seattle Restaurant Week

This year, Wild Ginger decided to explore the tastes, textures and smells of Seattle Restaurant Week Spring 2012. With 150 different restaurants to choose from, it was impossible to get to them all, however, we happily hit up some neighborhood favorites and here's our recap.

Seatown Seabar and Rotisserie ~

A big ole heap of fresh clams and mussels

Chocolate cream explosion with all the crunchy, ooey-gooey makings complete with a steal mini-pitcher filled with chocolate fudge sauce

(we had fun with this one)

The Coterie Room ~

We were mesmerized by the vibrant purple romaine salad with chèvre and pine nuts and steak tartare with arugula and egg yolk on a bread canoe.

But the rhubarb, anise and hyssop tart was the best part of it all

Mistral Kitchen ~

Mad Hatcher Farmers chicken w/ mole negro, ricotta and cilantro

Stunning passion fruit terrine, with citrus pavlova, garnished with sweet pickled ginger and drizzled with cilantro syrup.

(it's all about the cilantro)

Lecosho ~

The cornmeal-crusted catfish sandwich balanced with cajun spices, shredded romaine, and remoulade was pure crunchy, spicy goodness.

The Pacific Northwest foliage you fearfully avoided as a child, nettles, turned into a earthy pesto and doused on house-made cavatelli sprinkled with a generous portion of fresh peas and burrata cheese.

We couldn't fully experience Seattle Restaurant Week without trying our exclusively designed dessert, a delicate, yet rich, orange cheesecake on cardamom graham cracker crust with roasted pineapple and drizzled in caramel sauce.

After meandered through pages of menus, licking the sweet and savory remnants off numerous forks and spoons, and relishing seemingly endless courses, a content Wild Ginger says a heatfelt, "thank you."