How to serve salad in a martini glass

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Chef Ji's Moon Jar in Fort Lee doesn't actually serve salad in a martini glass -- it's in the center of a plate with the martini glass upended and covering it. And on the base of the glass is a pile of chopped ahi tuna with caviar.

That appetizer is one of seven small plates or Crescent Moon Plates on a revised menu at the Korean fusion restaurant from Ji Cha, who once competed on Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen." There are six entree-size Full Moon Plates on the menu, as well, and such specials as a brie-stuffed burger.

The restaurant, which has been open only for dinner starting at 5:30, will begin serving bento-box lunches on Oct. 15.

On Saturday night, I ordered the martini-glass enhanced ahi tuna parfait with Tobiko caviar (flying-fish roe) and mesclun salad in a wasabi vinaigrette ($10.25) and what are described as shrimp scampi dumplings ($14.25). Delicious.

Equally good was Chef Ji's version of vegetable fried rice ($2) and a glass of pinot noir ($7).


Crescent Moon Plates are $6.25 to $10.25 and Full Moon Plates are $12.25 to $15.25.

Chef Ji's Moon Jar, 1636 Palisade Ave., Fort Lee; 201-363-0097. 

Shopping, cooking and dining notes

Image by skeggy via Flickr

Fish counter at a Whole Foods Market (not Paramus).

It's been fairly easy to keep eating at the level I did in Italy. There is plenty of fresh seafood available in North Jersey -- at Costco, Whole Foods Market and Fairway Market -- organic salad mix and decent produce.


Last week, I picked up two pounds of what was labeled Pacific true cod at Costco in Hackensack for $5.99 a pound. I cut the fillet into pieces, coated them in bread crumbs and chili spices and baked them at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, until they gave up their liquid and started to flake.


Two days later, I bought two dozen farmed prawns from Vietnam at Costco for $9.99 a pound (vein removed). I shelled them, marinated them in the juice of three lemons and seasoned them with red-pepper flakes, garlic powder, black pepper and a little salt. Meanwhile, I cut up sweet peppers and garlic, opened a can of diced tomatoes and boiled a half pound of organic pasta bowties from Whole Foods in Paramus.

I sauteed the peppers and garlic in olive oil, added the diced tomatoes and then the shrimp with all its marinade. When they were cooked, the pasta went in. I mixed it well and put the pot on the table with a slotted spoon. Next time, I'll drain the diced tomatoes. 

When Italians eat pasta, the sauce coats the spaghetti, tagliatelle or whatever they use, and doesn't pool in the bottom of the plate. Of course, there is always just a little sauce left over to be wiped up with bread.

Some of the large sizes at Costco make me wonder if the store expects customers to do clam bakes at this time of the year. Little Neck clams and mussels were in the fish case, but only in 5-pound packages.

Having recently returned from Italy, I couldn't pass up a wedge of Kirkland's imported Grana Padano at $8.99 a pound, a grainy, skim-milk cheese from cows that are grazing on the same grass their predecessors did in Roman times, according to the package. 

There is a great fish counter at Whole Foods in Paramus, with fresh seafood arriving seven days a week. I usually buy what's on sale, such as large, whole whiting for $4.99 a pound. My wife cut these in half to fit in the pan, coated them in flour and fried them.


My wife found farmed whole branzino for $5.99 a pound (usually $9.99 a pound). Two branzini that  weighed just under two pounds made a great dinner for three, seasoned, stuffed with herbs and lemon slices and baked in the oven.


I also love the fish counter at Fairway Market in Paramus, but I'm often put off by high prices, as I was on a visit to the store Saturday morning. I did buy four, one-pound packages of salted cod fish ($8.99) and one of salted pollack ($5.99) to compare with the cod.

I needed tomatoes, but one-pound packages of small, round Campari tomatoes were $2.99 -- too high even if they're herbicide free. Sometimes, Fairway sells three packages for $5. Why not on my visit? 

I wanted to try Polar lemon-flavored seltzer at 12 cans for $1.99, but inadvertently purchased Polar Dry Orange, which contains 6% orange juice, according to big lettering on the package. To my horror, I read the small lettering of the ingredient list when I got home, only to discover it also contains high fructose corn syrup, the first time I've seen a seltzer with it.


I picked up Marco Polo red-pepper spread (spicy) from Turkey for $2.99, compared with a similar product from Macedonia on the shelf above for $4.99.

 Australian beef

The ShopRite sales circular that came with the paper is offering Nature's Reserve, grass-fed, free-range beef from Australia for $3.99 a pound with a store card, through Saturday, Oct. 9. You have to buy several pounds of it -- the whole beef tenderloin for filet mignon -- and trim it before cutting it into small steaks or thin slices for Korean barbecue.

Here is a link to the U.S. federal trademark registration of Nature's Reserve beef in 2003. The producers say the cattle are never confined and no additives are used: Nature's Reserve Australian Beef

Last month, the Coles supermarket chain in Australia announced it would not sell beef containing hormone growth promotants. That has upset beef industry groups, including the Australian Beef Association and the Cattle Council of Australia, because smaller cattle will sell for less. 

At lunch one day in Italy, I met two Australian women who were traveling without their husbands and children. I asked them about Australian beef. They were not familiar with the Nature's Reserve brand, which apparently is sold only in the United States.

But one said beef producers are now confining cattle in feed lots and feeding them grain for the kosher and halal markets in the U.S.

Chef Ji's Moon Jar in Fort Lee


Chef Ji Cha, who competed on Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" TV reality show a few years ago, has revised the menu of her Korean fusion restaurant and is preparing to open for lunch starting Oct. 15. I had dinner there Saturday night, and will report on the meal in my next post.

At Chef Ji's Moon Jar in Fort Lee

The George Washington Bridge linking Fort Lee and Manhattan.

 (Image via Wikipedia)

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

There are dozens of barbecue, tofu, cold-noodle and other types of Korean restaurants in North Jersey, but now, a chef trained at The Culinary Institute of America and tested under fire on Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" has broken the mold with Chef Ji's Moon Jar in Fort Lee.


Ji Cha, 36, turns out big flavors in this small, strip-mall space on Palisade Avenue, in sight of the George Washington Bridge (former home of Greek To Me, which moved down the street into its own building).

I didn't count them Friday night, but there are probably 25 seats at tables and a bar in the simply decorated but chic room.

The limited menu offers small plates of Asian-inspired food, all under $10, in a bow to the sluggish economy, plus specials, such as my perfectly cooked miso-sake fillet of sea bass served over spicy noodles with seaweed salad ($18.99). 

I also tried one of the small plates, portobello "fries," lightly breaded pieces of mushroom served with an aioli ($6.25).

Other small plates include hoisin duck, dumplings, scallops wrapped in bacon and Korean BBQ sliders with Korean cole slaw. 

A couple at the next table raved about several of the small plates they had sampled, including the sliders, duck and scallops.

Another special Friday night was a cheese-stuffed hamburger, and Chef Ji offers a five-course tasting menu for $36 or $45 with wine.  

The bar turns out specialty drinks, such as the large, sake mojito with fresh mint that cooled me off ($9 or two for $9 during happy hour). Bottles of wine are under $30. 

Service was helpful but not polished. Just when I needed a refill of tap water, Chef Ji was there with a pitcher, and she also cleared my table. All the hard surfaces can make conversation difficult when several tables are occupied.


The bar-restaurant takes its name from a mild, fermented Korean rice wine called makgulli -- Moon Jar. The chef offered me and other diners a small tumbler of it after our meals. 

I was told makgulli was made by Korean farmers, reminding me of their American counterparts in the rural South who gave us moonshine and stock-car racing.

Chef Ji's Moon Jar, 1636 Palisade Ave., Fort Lee; 201 363-0097. Dinner only. Call for hours. See link below:

Chef Ji