Zucchini Kimchi

1000g | Zucchini | 100%

Slice the zucchini on a mandoline into 3mm slices

90g | Sugar | 9% (separate into 40g and 50g portions)

26g | Salt | 2.6%

Over a colander, toss the zucchini in 26g of salt and the 40g of sugar. Allow to drain over a bowl in the fridge for 12H.

85g | Garlic | 8.5%

80g | Fish Sauce | 8%

75g | Light Soy Sauce | 7.5%

60g | Korean Chili Powder | 6%

45g | Scallions, minced | 4.5%

50g | Sugar | Remaining from the first step

Combine the garlic, fish sauce, light soy, and chili powder in a quart container and blend into a smooth paste using a stick blender. Fold in the minced scallions and reserve in the fridge overnight with the draining zucchini.

Sanitize a container (glass jar, plastic container with lid, or cryovac bag). Mix the drained zucchini with the paste thoroughly, making sure to coat every slice. Pack the zucchini into the...

Tamago (egg) + yaki (grilled). Tamagoyaki is usually best known as the subtly sweet, savory rolled egg you encounter at the sushi restaurant. It is filled with tender layers and is an egg lovers dream. Could it get any better?

Enter the castella style tamagoyaki. Probably best known from the stunning sushi documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”, the castella style is similar to the aforementioned Japanese dessert, a spongecake-like texture with darkly browned top and bottom. It is similar in texture to a dense souffle but still quite spongey and light. This savory version is flavored with mirin, soy, dashi, sugar, and salt. Below is a clip from the documentary showing it in it’s perfected form, gives us something to strive for.

Jiro’s recipe relies on pureed shrimp and a difficult to source ingredient known as nagaimo or Japanese mountain yam. You’ll see the nagaimo in the video...

Our beginnings are not steeped in years of culinary tradition and experience. In fact, we have little to no formal culinary training to speak of. Our presence is purely derived from the curiosity and joy that accompanies the exploration of the culinary world.

Today, we are at a unique crossroad where science, technology, and food have collided. This collision has unlocked many new techniques and technologies but has also created many more unanswered questions. If we can now understand the once mythical processes behind fermentation, can we make a better product? A product that comes from unconventional sources, a product that combines the old with the new, a product that can stimulate more questions.

This is the ethos of the RFL. Study, learn, and examine the old. Boil it down to it’s essence. Rebuild it in a novel and modern way. Rinse. Repeat. More importantly, we strive to make...