MoMA PS1 Salad Garden

Hisham Bharoocha’s Udon Noodle Salad with Tuna and Shishito Peppers

NOTES

Choose your protein – tuna fish, salmon roe, grilled chicken, pork or tofu. If you are vegan, omit the bonito flakes. Bonito flakes are smoked, dried and shaved bonito fish filet. It’s delicious. All the specialty Japanese ingredients can be found at any Asian market.

Shishito peppers are an incredible snack, they require so little – lemon/lime and salt and a quick toss in a hot pan. I recommend growing them yourself! They are a wonderfully productive plant.

Prepare each bowl individually for your guests.

INSTRUCTIONS

Shishito Peppers

Heat a heavy weight pan on medium heat with 1 tbs oil. Wash the peppers and dry them off with a paper towel.

When the oil seems hot throw those bad boys in.  Don’t move them too much to get them to blister on one side.  Once they are blistered on one side, flip them over (extra points for cool-factor if you use gigantic chopsticks like Hisham). Squeeze some lime into the pan, and remove a few second after they stop steaming.  Let them blister but don’t let the color of the whole pepper start to cook.  You want a little crispy texture so don’t overcook them. Put them in a pretty plate and serve it up with a generous pinch of Maldon sea salt on top.

Udon Noodle Bowl

Boil a medium pot of water for your noodles. Drop the udon noodles in, and stir to make sure they don’t stick, cook until al dente. Drain and rinse the cooked noodles in cold water to stop the cooking process.  You can leave place in a bowl with water ice cubes to keep them cold and firm.

Wash, dry and tear your greens into a bite sized pieces. Cut the Shiso leaves into thin strips, and cucumber into thin rounds.

Place your udon noodles at the bottom of your bowls and pour 1tbs of your Soba Tsuyu on top of each one.

Wash and spin your greens, toss with salad dressing. Place a handful of your salad greens on top of each bowl of noodles. Put your protein of choice on top of the greens (we used high quality tuna fish).

Top with the 1 tbs bonito flakes (each), 1 tbs nori strips (each), and Tenkasu in the last moment before serving so these little tempura bits don’t absorb the moisture from ingredients below. Garnish with thai basil flowers if using.

RECIPE

DIFFICULTY

HARD

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
SERVES

4

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
PREP TIME

20 MINS

Salad

  • box 
    dry Udon noodle
  • tbs 
    Japanese noodle seasoning sauce (Soba Tsuyu)
  • 1/2 
    lb 
    pea shoots
  • 1/2 
    lb 
    Mizuna or baby mustard greens
  •  
    small cucumber (optional)
  • medium 
    shiso leaves
  • tbs 
    Shredded Nori (Kizami Nori)
  • tbs 
    Smoked Bonito Flakes (Katsuo Bushi)
  • can 
    Line caught albacore tuna
  • tbs 
    Tenkasu (packaged tempura bits )
  • tbs 
    Thai basil flowers (optional)

Salad Dressing

  • tbs 
    Gomadre (Japanese Sesame Sauce)
  • tbs 
    Rice Wine vinegar
  •  
     
    alternately, use pre-made carrot-ginger dressing

Shishito Peppers

  • lb  
    shishito peppers
  • tsp  
    sesame oil
  • 1/2 
     
    lime
  • tsp 
    maldon sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Shishito Peppers

Heat a heavy weight pan on medium heat with 1 tbs oil. Wash the peppers and dry them off with a paper towel.

When the oil seems hot throw those bad boys in.  Don’t move them too much to get them to blister on one side.  Once they are blistered on one side, flip them over (extra points for cool-factor if you use gigantic chopsticks like Hisham). Squeeze some lime into the pan, and remove a few second after they stop steaming.  Let them blister but don’t let the color of the whole pepper start to cook.  You want a little crispy texture so don’t overcook them. Put them in a pretty plate and serve it up with a generous pinch of Maldon sea salt on top.

Udon Noodle Bowl

Boil a medium pot of water for your noodles. Drop the udon noodles in, and stir to make sure they don’t stick, cook until al dente. Drain and rinse the cooked noodles in cold water to stop the cooking process.  You can leave place in a bowl with water ice cubes to keep them cold and firm.

Wash, dry and tear your greens into a bite sized pieces. Cut the Shiso leaves into thin strips, and cucumber into thin rounds.

Place your udon noodles at the bottom of your bowls and pour 1tbs of your Soba Tsuyu on top of each one.

Wash and spin your greens, toss with salad dressing. Place a handful of your salad greens on top of each bowl of noodles. Put your protein of choice on top of the greens (we used high quality tuna fish).

Top with the 1 tbs bonito flakes (each), 1 tbs nori strips (each), and Tenkasu in the last moment before serving so these little tempura bits don’t absorb the moisture from ingredients below. Garnish with thai basil flowers if using.

Sometimes, I get the feeling that Hisham Bharoocha travels the world exhibiting his art and playing music (he is a former member of noise band Lightning Bolt, experimental electronic music band Black Dice, and toured with Boredoms before starting his most recent project, Softcircle), for the food. I don’t blame him.

Hisham is an attentive and insightful person, always scanning his surroundings for potential photo ops (@Softcircle has 53k Instagram followers), taking a closer look at everyday life and street culture that clearly filters into his artwork, his clothing designs, print work and infinite commissions. He is a rare individual who somehow seamlessly bridges the gap between some of the most experimental music I know (I can contribute any hearing loss I might have to the raucous Lightning Bolt shows I attended in college) with major fashion names like Dossier Journal  and Solange Knowles.  When Salad For President was in its nascent phase, I knew that eventually, I would lure Hisham Bharoocha to my table. Hisham doesn’t just love to cook, but he has a passion for Japanese food that is contagious. So, Hisham invited friends Riked Dreir, Vivan Thi Tang and Naoko Maeda to join us on the roof, as he made this ambitious dish using the greens, herbs and peppers grown in the MoMA PS1 Salad Garden. I made this noodle bowl last night in preparation for the post, and it was just as tasty as I remember.

Hisham in His Own Words

Julia: You are  musician, a visual artist, a musician, sometimes a fashion designer. Is there a hierarchy for all these aspects of your practice, or do you try not to distinguish between them?

Hisham: I grew up experimenting with all of these media, so that’s how I ended up becoming a professional musician, artist and designer.  I’ve tried to get edit down these pursuits in the past, but I end up coming back to them all.

Playing music comes most easily to me, but making a living from music is difficult (considering the kind of music I make). But it’s important for me to keep doing it.  In terms of things that come naturally to me, visual art comes next, and this is how I make most of my income. I am genuinely interested in design, but mostly, I do it because it is how I pay the bills. Creative production is not a luxury for me, but necessary for my mental sanity, as well as my financial survival.  That’s just my reality.

Julia: You brought a pretty wild pair of Puma sneakers to the rooftop with you, a collaboration you did with Solange Knowles? Tell me about those.

Hisham: Solange is a cultural ambassador for Puma and she is art directing a collection for them. She asked me to design a shoe alongside designers William Okpo and Gerlan Jeans.  I love these two designers, they are so special.  Solange has amazing taste and she keeps it a family affair; I love that approach to her work. We  each designed our own shoes for a collection called “Girls of Blaze”.   We have a new collection coming out this fall which should be rad.

Julia: You are a member of the legendary Japanese band, Boredoms. I saw the 88 Boadrum concert at the La Brea Tar Pits, and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. It was an experience more than a show, in my mind. Tell me about how this project came about?

Hisham: Before I joined Boredoms as a touring band, I helped them to organize organize a large scale drum performance called 77 Boadrum. This performance occurred in Dumbo, Brooklyn on July 7th, 2007, and began at 7pm.  This was the most special performance I have organized and played in my entire life.  Boredoms had the concept to have the band perform with 77 drummers on trap kits, on a day that all the number would align (07/07/07).  The number 7 comes up a lot in Japanese history so this was an important number for them as a band based in Japan.

That lead us to organize 88 Boadrum the next year, which took place simultaneously in L.A. and NYC (88 kit drummers playing on 08/08/08 at 8pm).  Boredoms and I led the performance in L.A., and we asked our friends Gang Gang Dance to lead the performance in NYC. I wish I could have been at both performances at once.

Julia: You taught me a few things about Japanese food culture as we ate salad. What is the phrase that you say before you eat?

Hisham: When you begin a meal in Japan the person receiving the food says, “Itadakimasu,” which is both, “Bon appetit!” and “thank you, I am now receiving this food.”  This is a secular blessing of sorts, and it is said by everyone.  When I am in America, I say, “Itadakimasu” under my breath; it feels wrong not to say it, as it’s our way of saying, “thank you for creating this meal for me.”  At the end of your meal you say “Gochisousamadeshita.” Gotchso means feast of delicious meal, so when you combine it with samadeshita it means, “I enjoyed the delicious meal you presented us with.”

Julia: What is the etymology of the word “shishito?”

Hisham: Shishi means Lion and to is a foreshortened way to say Togarashi, which means hot pepper.  The pepper is named as such because it resembles a lion’s head? To me, the pepper looks more like a lions tail than head, but go figure…Lions are not native to Japan.

Julia:  Where do you go in NYC to buy japanese groceries? everyone always says Sunrise Mart, but I just can’t believe that SoHo is really the best destination for this…

Hisham: Sunrise Mart is actually really good for this stuff.  In Williamsburg you can go to Midoriya.  You can find everything you need to make Japanese food at these little markets.

Julia: What is the best/most memorable salad you have had while traveling? I know this is tough, you have been practically everywhere in the world, so just pick one that stands out.

Hisham: Easy! There is an amazing Japanese coleslaw at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Tokyo called Teppen in the Nakameguro neighborhood. I also love Japanese potato salad which, when made right, has all the best textures. If you go to a really fresh Izakaya in Japan you’ll often find a Mizuna salad and I love it when they put fresh tofu on top, with all the toppings I used on my udon salad.  Home cooking style in Japan is the best.