(Credit: Matt Duckor)
Paul Qui is building a small restaurant empire in Austin, TX. He won acclaim for his Japanese-by-way-of-Texas cooking at Tyson Cole's Uchi and Uchiko and is planning no less than three new restaurants in Austin, including an yet-to-be named "flagship" restaurant (he's "leaning towards" Qui). But that doesn't mean he knew what he was making when he visited the BA Test Kitchen recently. (He was in New York to put on a dinner at City Grit, where we've been known to throw a dinner, too.)
"I've never made this dish before," said Qui, who is impossibly shy for a chef who got his big break by winning season nine of Top Chef. It's something he's calling "Sweet Corn Chawanmushi V.1." It's version one, of course, because this is his first time making it. "I've made chawanmushi, but I wanted to make something that's quick and sweet." Find the recipe below.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
2 ears corn, cleaned
1 small knob of ginger, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 cups simple syrup
2 ripe peaches
3 large eggs
1 Thai chili, minced
PREPARATION
Remove corn from cob, set kernels aside.
In a small saucepan, bring corn cobs, ginger, and simple syrup to a simmer, then cook over medium-high heat for about ten minutes. Strain liquid into a bowl and divide.
Chill half of the syrup on ice. Cut peaches into medium-sized chunks and place in bowl with remaining syrup. Set aside
Whisk eggs with Thai chili. Mix equal parts chilled syrup with the egg mixture and pour into ramekins (about 2 ounces each). Add a handful of fresh corn kernels to each. Cover ramekins with plastic wrap and place in double boiler or a pot of boiling water with a mock "shelf" placed in it. (You want the bottom inch of the ramekins to be submerged in the water.) Cook for ten minutes and then turn off heat. Let rest for five minutes. Remove from pot and let cool. Then refrigerate for one hour.
To serve, top the custards with ginger-corn simple syrup-marinated peaches.
--Matt Duckor
Note: This recipe has not been tested by the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen.