Octo Vinaigrette - Momofuku

Octo Vinaigrette... When I first saw this, I thought.. 'Oh.. an eight ingredient vinaigrette ?' Turns out I was wrong, it was a vinaigrette for octopus. But it also works well on most meats including fried chicken.

I've made similar vinaigrettes before for duck salads with soy sauce, lime juice, chilli, spring onion and coriander. This Vinaigrette uses rice wine vinegar instead and does not call for any spring onions or coriander. So I was pleasantly surprised with the depth of flavors when I tasted it. This is definitely one vinaigrette I will be making again. :)

Octo Vinaigrette

From Time Out New York - Makes about 1 Cup

From Kevin Pemoulie, creator of this vinaigrette, one of the world’s finest condiments and food-improvers—a sauce so good it makes anything taste better: So, the “octo vin” is how she’s formally known. I think of it as an interesting flip-flop of a traditional vinaigrette in that the ratio of vinegar to oil is reversed. It’s designed to hold up to the char of the octopus and to dress the seaweed, which, unlike lettuces, requires a very forceful, pungent sauce. I wish my prom date had worn a pungent dress. If we used this to dress a salad, it would probably be too strong. However, it is really fucking delish with meats: grilled or fried. We served it once with whole fried sole. We’ve served it with grilled hamachi collar. And, obviously, the Fried Chicken (page 89).

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 tablespoons ginger (finely chopped)
• 1 fresh bird’s eye-chilli (seeded and chopped)
• 1⁄4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1⁄4 cup light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil
• 1⁄4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Combine the garlic, ginger, chilli, vinegar, soy, grapeseed oil, sesame oil, sugar, and a few turns of black pepper in a lidded container and shake well to mix. This will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.

NOTE :

• When preparing the garlic and ginger for this recipe, make sure to take your time and work your knife skills: small, even pieces of garlic and ginger (not the mush that a garlic press or a ginger grater creates) really make a difference. Big bits of raw garlic can have an acrid sting; chunks of ginger will deliver a too-spicy blast and can be unpleasantly fibrous.