7.343
13 (Tue) December 2016
Chelou Lamb Kebab Kubideh
3.25
at Hossein
(see most recently 7.331 Tandoori Chicken …)
-Serendra Piazza, BGC-
with W and the Boys
Breaking it down : chelou = rice, lamb = young sheep, kebab = grilled, kubideh = minced, so it’s minced lamb, grilled on a skewer, served with rice.
The lamb was surprisingly tender, juicy, tasty. Could eat them all night, a shot of cold vodka and a scoop of tabouleh in between. Forget the rice.
As much as I appreciate some good middle Eastern spiced meat… I am mostly in love with the rice that it’s served with. Perfectly separated and soft and pillowy. And so delicately fragrant. Just, totally one of my favorite things. A bowl of basmati rice (maybe some saffron) and a pat of butter (or even just a bit of olive oil and salt)… Ugh, I’m making myself really hungry.
funny though how subjective rice is. just had an argument with W the other day, when DJ said that he prefers “steamed rice” (he means the fluffy rice in chinese restaurants) over “bap” (meaning korean sticky rice), and she kind of shrugged him off, and i asked why she was being so dismissive, and she was like, “well, what would he know about rice?” — which is total crap, because DJ clearly knows food, even at his age. koreans think that japonica (ooo, but don’t call it that in korea!) is inherently superior per se to all other types. i’ve even heard someone — a self-professed “foodie” — claim that koreans have a higher culinary sense than chinese (and presumably everyone, except maybe the japanese) because koreans eat better rice.
Woah, I cant believe I never responded to this… I know already that DJ is going to be a pretty amazing culinarian one day. I have to admit…. I’m on his side though: pillowy, soft, silky rice (I’m thinking basmati, mainly), sometimes totally trumps Korean sticky rice. But we never just eat rice alone. It really depends on what accompany’s it. For example, I’m absolutely in love with Jasmine rice lately. You? My preference changes regularly.