Conquering the artichoke

The first time I met Artichoke, I was appalled. Not only was I poked by the claws on its green leaves, but the fine hair inside almost choked me. It took me some determination to find out how to eat it. In the process of it, I began to realize that not all artichokes are the same. The small Genovese artichoke has a bigger heart, and thus more tender flesh. The Californian artichoke is huge, but most of its leaves are too tough to be eaten. It has a very thin heart too. The baby artichoke is claimed to be a variant that can be eaten whole, but I find its leaves sometimes still too tough. I guess the Latino preserved artichoke available in grocery stores is likely a relative to the Genovese one. Where I live, the artichokes are from California. Its leaves are too hard for frying, and its heart is too small for salad. I've found that the best way to eat it is to stuff it or make a soup out of it.


Recipe: Stuffed artichoke (for two)


Ingredients:
- 2 medium to large artichokes
- 4 tablespoon (TB) minced pork
- 1 teaspoon (tp) small dried shrimps
- 1/6 package soft tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
- 1 tp sesame oil
- 2 TB chopped celery
- 2 TB chopped mushroom
- water


Procedure:
1. Boil artichokes in water for 5 minutes. Make sure they are fully immersed while boiling. After boiling, take out and let cool for 10 minutes. Cut off the stem so that the artichoke can sit on its own. (The stem is edible, and you could chop it up and add to the filling if desired.) Use a pair of scissors to trim off the top 1/4 of each green leaf to remove the claws. Open the artichoke layer by layer. After reaching the 4th or 5th layer, use a metal spoon to reach to the bottom and dig out the core together with the remaining layers of leaves. Be careful not to break the bottom of the artichoke. If there is any fine hair leftover on the bottom, scrub it off. Rinse the emptied shell. Set aside.

2. Mix pork, dried shrimp, celery, mushroom, sesame oil and 4 TB water to form a smooth paste. Then incorporate with tofu. Stuff the chokes with the fillings. 
3. Place in baking tray and bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Add 2 TB water to each filling. Then bake for another 20 minutes. 

Like me, my husband enjoys his curiosity being tickled by food. The first time I served this stuffed artichoke at home, it took him a while to figure out how to eat it. I'm so proud of him because he conquered the choke within one attempt. Just a note: if the artichoke is fresh and young, some of the leaves have edible flesh. The way to find out is to pull out a leaf, put the soft side into your month, and pull it between the teeth to scratch out any tender flesh.