The Fried Dough Ho

It was a very fortunate day, Sara and Cassandra were able to get me special access to the kitchen area and photograph the station where the chefs create the dough and fry them. There is a long, flour-covered work station and trays of the dough can be seen waiting to be worked and sliced before heading to the deep fryer. Unlike the Western-style commercial fast-food deep fryers which so many McDonalds workers are accustomed to, there are no inset baskets in which the dough is placed. These men of talent carefully hold a long-handled wire strainer and extra long chopsticks to grasp and hold the dough as it is cooking. They have to be careful to not allow the dough to sink to the bottom of the cavernous vat of scalding oil. It is hot, demanding work and while appears easy, requires deft and skill. What a fabulous day to just skim the surface of Chinese fried dough. According to Sara, I’ve got a long way to go in the exploration and I can’t wait to continue.

I grew up with a Father from the south and was well-indoctrinated with his version of hushpuppies. They came from a box mix that I am not even sure is still on the market these days. Dad would make them whenever we had pan-fried trout or catfish or other southern delicacies that he recalled from his youth in Albandy, Georgia. He would tell me the etymology (which I later learned was printed on the side of the box), about how these cornmeal-based fritters’ name came from hunters or fisherman who would throw them to their canine companions to quiet them; literally, “hush, Puppy!” A slightly savory batter, the best hushpuppies I’ve had are studded with scallions and made with buttermilk, fried to golden goodness and served with butter.

At San Francisco’s 1300 Fillmore, southern cuisine is elevated to a more elegant setting. I have dined often on their shrimp-and-grits, fried chicken, and braised short ribs. It was a quiet evening when I stopped in to the bar area for a quick bite and saw shrimp hushpuppies on the appetizer menu. Somewhat anticipating bits of chopped shrimp in the cornmeal batter, I was surprised to see that the dough completely encased a whole shrimp, with the tail protruding out. The coarse hushpuppy batter was acting more like a tempura batter than its own vessel, but I was pleasantly surprised by the tenderness and richness of the batter. Served with an ancho chile remoulade, I found the flavor rich and not too overpowering for the delicate taste of the shrimp. Not a traditional hushpuppy by any means, but still quite enjoyable!

It was an odd night at Yoshi’s in San Franciso. I was actually hanging out in the lobby area, selling jewelry in an attempt by ArtNowSF to host an evening of art and music. Sadly, most of the people arriving at the jazz music venue that evening were more interested in whomever was performing that evening than my jewelry, the amazing glassblowers, the guerrilla t-shirt designers and graffiti artists. We artists sat there, occasionally peddling a trinket here or a bauble there, but mostly we were left to our own devices.

Fortunately, the waitstaff were pretty accommodating in providing service and after a brief chat with the chef, I was quickly satisfied with a really incredible lobster salad. I had read about a warm doughnut through Michael Bauer’s review on SFGate. He was fairly enthusiastic about them and for a professional critic to specifically name a fried dough as worthy, made it that much more intriguing for me.

And while they were enjoyable, I am not sure they are quite as superlative as Bauer seemed to think. What he said was, “Her warm doughnuts – better than fresh-out-of-the-oven Krispy Kremes – are served with a creamy whiskey sauce.” It is no surprise that I don’t particularly think that Krispy Kremes — fresh-out-of-the-oven or otherwise — are especially noteworthy, so that might have been him just filling fodder in his column space. And mine were not served with a creamy whiskey sauce, but a coffee-flavored sauce that showed no hint of alcohol. And there was a separate shot glass of strawberry sauce with a chocolate-covered Pocky stick there for — well, it was there for something; I’m not quite sure what.

The powdered-sugar-dusted pillows were fluffy and warm, but I also found then surprisingly dense and leaden. I am very curious as to what sort of batter or dough was used for the confection. They weren’t bad, necessarily, but just heavier than I anticipated. If a fried dough is going to be cakey, than it should be rich and tender and these were not. The rumor is that they no longer exist on the menu and perhaps that is a good thing.

The Ferry Plaza is a bit of a food mecca to die-hard foodies. There are dozens of stores offering any form of culinary delight, from meats to mushrooms, from macarons to Malbec.  I Preferiti di Boriana is one of the specialty stores offering a variety of products but truthfully, I don’t know what else they sell — I only go there for the Bombolini.

My BFF (Best Foodie Friend), Lisa, joined with me on the stunningly Spring day — which helps considerably so that I can taste more than one flavor without being too gluttonous. And she and I were completely in sync in wanting to taste the Raspberry filled and the Custard.

The wonders of this offering lies in its light cake which is tender and airy. Dusted in granulated sugar, there is no greasy sensation whatsoever and the cake is substantial enough to stand up to the fillings. Of the two, I was surprised that I enjoyed the creamy custard, moreso than the raspberry. It does not taste remotely synthetic or mass-produced, like so many custards. It is not overly sweet and the richness of the egg is definite.

The raspberry jam, is also very good, but somehow the extra sweetness of the jam, combined with the sweetness of the sugar on the exterior makes it that much more overpowering in sweet, while the custard mutes that sweetness.

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It was a pretty special day. Actually, it was pretty mundane as I was at home working on some jewelry when I glanced through the day’s events online, only to discover there was a Polish Festival going on at that very minute in Golden Gate Park. I had to get there fast — it was already 2:00 in the afternoon! The trip was a total gamble. I checked out a car and drove pell-mell through the streets of San Francisco, hoping against hope that part of the traditional foods being offered at the festival might be Pączki, the Polish version of a jelly doughnut. When I arrived, there was a long line of people waiting to get into the building. I got in that line and waited too — then I noticed a guy who just sauntered by and just walk in. I asked the security guard what the line was for (assuming it was the entrance) and was told it was for food. Before I am going to spend an hour in line for food, I at least wanted to see if they had what I was looking for…

The line for hot food was incredibly long. Upwards of an hour plus, if not longer. It winded its way into the large room with banquet tables where many were already feasting on boiled dumplings, sausages, and more. But then I saw it – up against the back wall was a very long table set with sweets. Fortunately, that table didn’t require the tickets that were sold for the hot food and a young girl — probably 9 or 10 years old — was taking cash for the desserts.

What I was looking for came au natural (no filling) or with plum filling. And nearby, I saw a gentleman working furiously to fill these Pączki. And very fortunate for me, Edmund was more than willing to help me learn more about this ethnic specialty. (more…)