When I was a very very little girl we lived in London for a while.
I am old enough that this was before the gastro-revolution that’s turned England into a mecca for Mediterranean cooking done comfort style, but, ironically, I think that there was more authentic, and interesting, and veven good food, to be found then-- in the 70s--than now.

England is far to the north; the reason the vegetables traditionally get cooked to death is that they are not particualrly flavorsome left tender-cooked, or raw, or served with just a little aioli. The vegetables need the long cook, the addition of spices, of broths, a little dairy. The Mediterranean style restaurants that dominate the British landscape of today rely heavily on imported vegetables, and obviously, imported cuisine: it’s not authentic to the land, or he people.

Honestly the “nursery food” was pretty awful when I was a kid, but bangers and mash CAN be done right: it simply, like all other cooking, requires a little hand, some presence of mind.
But what I really loved as a child was the immigrant food-- the incredible curries (yes! even as a 5 yeard old!), the chaat, samosas, poori is still my great love. Having never been to India (yet), my marker for all Indian food is always London. And after 300 years, India has had an indelible effect on Britain-- there is more authenticity to eating curry prepared- even by a with britisher- than roasted red peppers

And then there were the regular (monthly?) trips to SoHo. I think it was still, then, a bit gang-landy, but it also (or maybe because) had some of that subversive chic going for it. It was simultaneously slummy and very sophisticated. And I am not quite sure what my parents were doing taking me there, but I loved the food, and still cook some of the dishes from my memory. I think the SoHo Tiger must have made me special kid food, as I haven’t come across Pork Balls anywhere else.Or perhaps Chinese immigrants in London were from a different region than those that have set up shop in the U.S.

Whatever the case, last week,while M was away, I the Pork Balls.J and I ate a whole half pound between us, and I think he would have eaten more. I served these with some steamed bok choy and rice-- but next time I think I might try one or two of the other dishes I remember from London: Mushroom Stir Fry, Spare Ribs, Fish Quenelles. The British do have good meat, and of course the fish is fantastic. So maybe we’ll just have a double portion of Pork Balls, in commemoration. They are that good.

Pork Balls
3 cloves (about 1/2 tbs) Garlic, minced
1 bunch Scallions, finely chopped
3 tbs fresh grated Ginger
Dash of Cayenne
1/2 lb ground Pork
1 Tbs Soy Sauce
1 Tsp fish Sauce
1 Tsp Brown Sugar
1Egg, beaten
1/4 c Flour (or half- and-half mix of cornstarch and flour)
1/4 c Peanut or Safflower oil

Combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, and fish sauce in a small bowl.In a separate, large bowl, place the Pork, and add the garlic, scallions, ginger, and cayenne, one by one, incorporating (by hand) after each-- try to handle only as much as it takes to mix in the spices.
Pour the liquid ingredients over the top and let rest about 20 minutes, then fold in/mop the liquid ingredients, making a large ball of the sausage, but again trying not to “pack firm”.Let marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours-- the remaining prep and cooking only takes about 20 minutes total.

Heat about half the oil in a wok or if using a deep skillet, heat all of it. Form pork into 1-2 inch balls, dip in the egg, and roll, very lightly, in the flour. Drop 4-6 balls at a time in the oil, turning down the heat after the first 3 minutes, and turning it back up in between batches. The balls take about 6 minutes each to cook. Add the remaining oil half way through if/as needed.

Drain on paper towels, and serve with rice and soy sauce. I cut a serrano up and added this to 3 tbs soy,1 tsp vinagar, 1 ts dried ginger, as I Iike things a bit spicier than J.
This dish should serve 3-4 with rice and a vegetable... or 2 very hungry people.

I didn’t use to like Mexican food. I write this with some trepidation, as I live in a large Hispanic community that is grappling with an increasing number of anglo residents, in a larger geographic area that was once part of Mexico... and it just feels disrespectful and unwilling.

Having lived here for about 4 years and in San Francisco for 10 and in California for almost 11 years, I can safely say that what gets sold on the East Coast isn’t really Mexican food, and what gets sold in chain restaurants is just accented fast food, and what gets sold North of Market Street, even, is pretty different.

About 7 years ago after watching the Shawshank Redemption for about the 20th time, M and I hopped on a plane and went to Zihuatanejo (clearly, before J was born,when we were still able to do things like that). And I can safely say I love Pacific Coast- Mexican. Tacos al Pastor. Fish Tacos. Camerones ala Plancha. The best Pina Colada I ever had. Coming home, I branched out, fell in love with La Altena. It turns out I like Mexico City food, too. I learned that lime and cilantro are usually fresh ingredients, not everything is smothered in cheese, and there is a wide range of spice (actually, I don’t think authentic Mexican food is too terribly spicy, not the way Thai or Szechuan can be).

And I have a confession: I like some faux (or faux-ish) Mexican food, too. Around the time J was born  I became addicted to a torta con chorizo verde from Nopalito (very North of Market, also, on the way to the Zoo... an easy habit to make). And try as I might I couldn’t find chorizo verde at Casa Lucas or La Palma, or anywhere else in the Mission.

And a straight google search didn’t turn up anything.

But recently, at our newly reopened library, I saw a copy of Diana Kennedy’s The Art of Mexican Cooking. While I’ve long heard of this book, new it was the “bible” of Mexican cooking, it had never occurred to me to look at it before. I don’t know why.

Anyway, she has a recipe, which I tweaked a little, and we made buns, and I bought some avocados and cabbage and made some salsa, and a corn salad, and J and I made some Watermelon Agua Fresca and I peeled a Mango for desert and it was the best dinner we’ve had in a while.

Chorizo Verde for burgers or tacos
Adapted from The Art of Mexican Cooking. I didn’t stuff and cure these, which you would do for real chorizo, but this preparation was great as a burger (tasted exactly like the sandwiches), leftovers were fantastic in a chorizo scramble, and tacos would totally work with this mixture too-- easy to crumble without drying out too much.

1 lb ground pork
2 oz pork fat (ground fat, or really finely chopped uncured bacon, pork belly, prosciutto, guanciale, etc. would work)
1/2 cup white vinegar (apple cider or rice wine work, too)
1 bay leaf
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
3 cloves
5 peppercorns
1/2 tbs sea salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander seeds
1 serrano or other small, slim green chile, chopped
1 c loosely packed, roughly chopped cilantro (or 3/4 cilantro, and a 1/4 mix of mint, basil, parsley)
1 bunch swiss chard

Directions
Steam or Boil Chard for approximately 6 minutes, drain and cool, then steam and roughly chop. Set aside.
Combine the garlic cloves, oregano, cloves, peppercorns, sea salt, cumin, coriander in a mortar an pestle and grind until loosely combined.
Set aside.
Put the vinegar in a blender and add the mortared spices, bay leaf, and chili and blend as finely as possible. Possible you could do this all in a mortar and pestle, or the mortar and pestle stuff all in the blender-- but my mortar is too small, and the blender didn’t seem to pound the spices well enough/too my liking.
Add the cilantro, then the chard, making sure that each ingredient is well incorporated before adding the next. You want to turn this into a paste, as much as you can.
Mix the fat and the pork together in a bowl, then add the spice paste, working it in by hand until evenly distributed.
Cover the bowl and marinate 2-24 hours. Form sausages or cook loose, and enjoy.