deconstructed summer rolls

I had all these ingredients to make summer rolls but I ran out of rice wraps before I could use up all the filling. The next day I made lunch out of the leftovers; ‘deconstructed summer rolls’ or ‘cold rice vermicelli with shrimp’. I love cold noodle dishes in the summer and this is very light and refreshing. Makes a small light lunch for two.

• 6-8oz dried rice vermicelli (thin rice noodles)
• 1/2 lb shrimp (cooked and halved lengthwise)
• 1/2 seedless cucumber sliced or shredded
• 1/2 small onion thinly sliced
• 1 carrot shredded (not shown in picture)
• 1 avocado sliced
• cilantro and/or basil (or mint) chopped

dressing:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup water (more if you find it too salty)
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• 1 scallion chopped (optional)

Cook noodles according to package instructions, drain, then plunge into large bowl of cold water before draining again. Prep the veggies; you can put the carrot and cucumber thru the shredder attachment on a food processor to save time (just drain out the excess liquid). Mix up the dressing. (You can make more and store in the fridge for later use on noodles or a dipping sauce for dumplings or anything fried.) If you don’t have cooked shrimp on hand, just boil raw shrimp with shells on till they turn totally pink, rinse under cold water, peel and slice. Plate the noodles and assemble everything on top anyway you like and spoon on dressing when you are ready to eat. If you like, you can finish it off with some chopped peanuts or almonds on top.

-Lina

Happy Mother’s Day…

…and it happens to be my birthday too (happens like every other year). So we are having a big dinner with my family and I make the cake (all organic ingredients). It’s a Japanese style strawberry shortcake, meaning it’s a sponge cake base with whipped cream and strawberries.

Japanese style shortcake

sponge cake:

• 6 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

cream chantilly (to be fancy):

• 1 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

rest:

• strawberry or raspberry preserve
• 1 qt fresh strawberries
• parchment paper

  eggs and sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs and sugar till very pale yellow and is 3-4 times the original volume using a mixer. Cut parchment paper into circles to fit two 8in round cake pans (fold the paper in halves till you can’t anymore and snip the ends to fit). Oil pan with the parchment thoroughly otherwise it’d be hard to bet the bottom out of the pan. Sift in flour and baking powder, fold with large metal spoon and add the vanilla while folding. When fully incorporated pour into pans and bake for 25mins.

Beat cream and sugar till it forms soft peaks, add vanilla and beat a little more. Put away till cake is completely cooled.

Take half the strawberries (the least pretty ones) and slice into 4ths. De-stem the rest for the top.

When cakes are cooled peel off the parchment paper, spread on a thin layer of preserve, top evenly with the sliced strawberries then spread the whipped cream over. Put on the next cake layer, and thin coat of preserve. Frost cake with the remaining cream. I saved some and piped it on with just a snipped sandwich baggie (I never got the hang of using decorating tips). Top with strawberries how you see fit.

-L

san francisco food tour day 2

Day 2. Japantown! The weekend we went was the last weekend of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, so of course we had to go! There were so many people and vendors and food and did I mention people already? It was pretty crowded. We took a taxi in, and thank goodness we did. My friend Phu joined us that day and told us it took forever to find parking. There were live bands and taiko drum demonstrations among other things. The smell coming from all the fresh food being cooked, from red bean filled pancakes to the bar b q being grilled, was heavenly.

But before I begin on the food.  I was told I wouldn’t actually see sakura trees in Japantown, which I thought was boo, but my sister and I found out about the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park had tons of sakura trees and other flowers. We of course checked it out and the blossoms were still in bloom!  The full size photos are on my flickr page. They also have a mini cafe serving tea while you enjoy the view.

After our visit to the tea garden, we headed to Japantown, and we started with the spam musubi. Spam is a sort of breakfast food staple among Filipino (and Hawaiian) households. We like it fried, with rice and a fried egg. Yum. Anyways, this one stand was selling spam musubi! It was sushi rice, topped with a slice of cooked spam, eel sauce, and wrapped with a thin strip of seaweed wrapper. It was sooooo yummy. My sister and I ended up buying a couple each to save for a midnight snack of sorts. Sorry I don’t have better pics, but it did not last long enough to take photos after opening.

Even the toy from kidrobot wanted a bite. heh.

Next were the pancakes filled with red bean paste. The line was forever long, but you couldn’t resist, because as you walked by, you could smell the sweetness of the pancake batter cooking. They were soft and light and filled with a sweet red bean paste.

The only line longer than the pancake line was the beef takoyaki line. Takoyaki is typically a fried dough ball containing octopus and other vegetables, but there are different variations. As you can see, this was of the ground beef variety. I’ve had takoyaki before in NYC, minus the octopus, and that was definitely better. However, for the price and considering they had to feed the masses, the beef takoyaki I had was worthy of the wait in line.

After that, we were pretty much full. We waited for Phu and co. to arrive and we just ventured out into all the shops and bought manga and cool pencils at Kinokuniya. It felt good to sit down. It was starting to get hot, but that cool bay breeze swept in once in a while making it a beautiful day to be outdoors. Once Phu showed up, it was time to eat again. They were hungry and who was I to say no to food? We decided on ramen at Sapporo-ya in the Kinokuniya center. We don’t have ramen in Houston, not that I know of anyways. And I’m not talking about the 10 for a $1 you find at the grocery store either.

My sis and I shared the bowl of soy sauce ramen with bbq. It was pretty good, in my opinion, but what do I know? The only other time I had ramen was in Hawaii and it was wayyyyy too salty. The noodles were a little smushy, but the broth and the bbq was yums. The boiled egg really added to the ramen. Maybe it was the texture or just the taste of it with the bbq and noodles, but I found every bite better when I had egg in it. Service was just okay and it’s a tiny spot, but overall, it was okay. There are probably better ramen spots in the area, and one that I’ll talk about again on day 3, but it was the closest one at the time.

This day was full of lines. Lines for pancakes, takoyaki, ramen, and then came the line for Sophie’s Crepes. It was out the restaurant and it was also worth the wait. The crepes are thin and crisp, yet soft and flaky. You can choose your own items or they have a variety of goodies to put in your crepe, from hot fudge and strawberries to ham and cheese. I stuck with the nutella, banana, and vanilla ice cream crepe. It was definitely tasty. It was a nice cool treat after a day in the sun.

It was food overdose by this time. We decided to walk it off by going to the Haight area and checking out the shops. There were tons of different boutiques and restaurants, and if you’re a shopper you might like this area. I just wanted to go to kidrobot. Bought a few toys. So cute! And after a long day of wandering the streets of San Francisco, we headed back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation before dinner. Oh yeah, we ate more. Hah.

Phu & I made a trade. Sprinkles cupcakes for Filipino banana chips. I think I’m the winner in this trade off. The cupcakes were rich and moist and Phu was kind enough to buy us all milk from the local convenient store.

And that was our 18th floor view at Hotel Nikko. Well, after getting some rest in, we headed to a sushi joint in Union Square. I am sorry to say that for the life of me, none of us remember the name. We went because a friend suggested it and she didn’t even know the name, only that it was good and we should go. The seafood was fresh, but as I stick to the cooked stuff, I ordered an ebi tempura roll and the spider roll. That was a well cooked soft shell crab.

And that my friends, was the end of day 2. It was exhausting, but it was definitely fun.  Thanks Phu, Hong & Megan for driving up from San Jose to hang out with us for the day!!

P.S. I miss it already.

– Chelle

san francisco food tour day 1

From April 17th-21st, I was in San Francisco for the very first time. My sister and I decided to take a sister trip and so we did. I call it a food tour, because honestly, we mostly ate. We saw the sights as well, but food played a large part of our trip. This will probably be a full 4 day series of all the yums we had. We arrived at 11am. Checked in by noon. Hopped on a cable car and started our “day”.

Our first stop for the day was Fisherman’s Wharf. We were complete tourists this time around, and we were okay with that. The weather was beautiful. Sunny, cool breeze, and not too hot. A friend of mine suggested we find Boudin Bakery (http://www.boudinbakery.com/) and get some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. It was indeed a treat. I’ll probably say this over and over, but the seafood in SF tasted so fresh. The clam chowder was rich in flavor, and the ingredients were well cooked, and the bread was fabulous. It’s also fun to see the bakers making cute animal shaped sourdough breads.

And what meal would be complete without dessert? Lucky for us, Ghirardelli Square was close by. We made our way uphill to Ghirardelli Square (http://www.ghirardellisq.com/ghirardellisq/), which has been there since the late 1800’s.  My sister and I opted for hot fudge sundaes. She had the brownie hot fudge sundae with dark chocolate syrup, while I had the original hot fudge sundae with milk chocolate syrup. I promise it tasted as delicious as it looks. Three scoops of vanilla ice cream, with three pumps of hot fudge, topped with whipped cream and a brownie.

After our tasty treat and a tiring trip back to the hotel, we took a mini break. We stayed at Hotel Nikko (http://www.hotelnikkosf.com/) in Union Square, and let me tell everyone. What a wonderful place to stay. The staff was friendly and extremely helpful with directions and suggestions. The room was gigantic and the bathroom even more so. The beds were cozy and the pillows were fluffy. Nap time was an awesome time. I can’t even say I missed my bed because this was much nicer. Hah. The hotel sports a full service spa, indoor pool, a Japanese fusion restaurant called ANZU, which we didn’t get a chance to eat at, but it’s a pretty good spot according to yelp.

Luckily, Union Square has tons of restaurants. It’s a more touristy spot, with all sorts of shops and malls around the corner, but it was definitely a good place to stay. So after an hour of rest, we ventured out to the surrounding areas and tried to get some shopping in. Shops close early in SF. 8pm on a Friday? That’s just not normal to me. Anyways, we decided we needed to eat again. And, walking back to the hotel, we spotted a sushi joint called Hana Zen (http://www.hanazenrestaurant.com/) and decided to give it a try.

My sister is the sushi fanatic, and she got her usual salmon nigiri and hamachi roll, but that night they were serving otooro, which is fatty tuna belly. Apparently, it’s a delicacy to have and it’s seasonal so you can’t get it just anywhere or any time of year. Other places we went to didn’t have it available. Anyways, the waiter convinced her to try it, and she did. She was soooooo happy because it was so amazingly good that she paid for dinner that night. Hah. I, on the other hand, had the steak terriyaki. I’m somewhat of a steak terriyaki snob and only have 2, now 3, places where I love it. I like meat medium well to well done, and usually when it’s cooked that long, the meat is tough and hard to chew. Well, the meat here was grilled, tender and juicy and it was topped with an excellent terriyaki sauce that wasn’t too tangy or too sweet. Veggies on the side along with steamed rice. It was delicious.

That my friends, concludes day 1. It may not have seemed like much, but it was definitely plenty. We knew the next day was going to be an early day, so we basically called it a night and hopped into our comfy beds. Day 2 is going to be fun filled with pictures from the Cherry Blossom Festival.

– Chelle

Scallion and potatoes

(before baking)

Here I just threw some red scallions and red potatoes together into the oven. It’s really simple and tasty. The scallions really permeate the potatoes and the olive oil.  Spring onions are in season so this would also take advantage of them and the weather (being not too warm to use the oven).

• 2lb red bliss potatoes 
• 1 bunch of scallions or 1 spring onion
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450. Cut potatoes into 4ths or 8ths depending on size. Slice scallions on the diagonal into long pieces.  Toss together with a few tablespoons of olive oil, few dashes of salt and pepper in a baking dish or cast iron pan. Bake for 25mins or till potatoes are done.

 

-L

Fried Goodness at the Texas State Fair

A belated posting…

If your eating sentiments lean towards Templeton the Rat then the Texas State Fair is for you. A fair, is a veritable smorgasbord orgasbord orgasbord…

But woe to you who counts calories and attempts in infiltrate this epicurean fantasy world. Woe, I say! You are not wanted here, nor do you belong. As I’ve grown older I, like Remy in Ratatouille, have become more conscious of what I’m cramming in my cramhole. But once a year I revert to 12-year-old form. Back when I could have reduced logging camp cooks to tears for want of hash and flapjacks. That occasion is the Texas State Fair.

Now I have heard it said that other state fairs, specifically the Minnesota edition, are the best when it comes to the audacity and creativity of their fry cooks. Lies. In Texas, a fried peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwich is considered standard fare (pun intended). This is the Fair that invented (or at least perfected) the corn dog. (More on this later) In Texas, it takes something really crazy to generate interest. Two years ago, someone found a way to fry Coca-Cola.

So every year on the occasion of the annual Texas-Oklahoma football game I endeavor to nomnom as many unusual fried delicacies as I can find. The reason why this post is so late is it takes me awhile to recover. It’s a great time, and the pre-game tension and post-game glories are as important a part of the rarified dining experience as the bubbling cauldrons of oil and the oozing grease.

WARNING: What follows is not for the faint of stomach. Do not attempt this: you take your life into your hands.

The most exotic stuff can be found on the west side of the Cotton Bowl by agriculture exhibits (where you can view a pig with a nutsack the size of a deflated basketball, a sight to behold). As you might guess this is one of the highest traffic areas of the fair, but pleasantly also the area with the cheapest beer (another necessity). My first mission was the winner of the annual fried food contest: Chicken-Fried Bacon.

I was actually surprised this hadn’t happened earlier at the fair, it’s not exactly a new invention. The original iteration of the dish was created (like the Frankenstein monster) by Frank Sodolak, owner of Sodolak’s Orginal Country Inn in Snook, Texas, according the entertaining book Texas Curiosities by John Kelso. Solodok’s version is six double-breaded strips, deep-fried in oil, and served with a side of cream gravy. As Jayne Hurley, a senior nutritionist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, is quoted in the book:

“I’ve never heard of anything worse. They’ve taken fat, they’ve double-coated it in fat, they’ve fried it in more fat, and they’ve served it with a side of fat.”

Yes’m, and God Bless Texas. As you can imagine, Sodolak’s has been a desired road-trip destination for some time for my friends and I, but I have never made it happen. By the by, for you confused Yankees, the term “chicken-fried” doesn’t mean there’s any chicken in the dish. Just like the famous chicken-fried steak -which was invented in Texas- it refers to the way it’s cooked: fried, like chicken. (Fun fact: CFS isn’t actually the state dish of Texas, chili is. It is the state dish of Oklahoma because they weren’t good enough to come up with anything good on their own. They had to borrow from us, just like when they’re searching for college football players. Yet another example how football explains America.)

So back to the CFB…someone either took the idea from Sodolak’s or came up with it on their own (a logical assumption in an environs given to pushing the fried envelope), and figured out a way to prepare it for mass consumption. Thus we have the Fried Food Fanatics’ Holiest of Holies.

Well I’ll be damned if after all that ballyhoo…it wasn’t good. It tasted like the flimsy, artificially enhanced bacon you would get in an elementary school cafeteria, coupled with fried-chicken skin from a third-rate chain. In other words, it tasted like grease, and not good grease. I blame quality of ingredients. CFB at the State Fair was definitely the Icarus of the trip. Hopefully when I finally do make it to Sodolak’s my faith will be rewarded.

So after that disappointment I needed a beer and some dessert. I needed….

FRIED COOKIE DOUGH!! Which was easily the winner of the day. The sharp chocolatiness of the hot fudge and the chocolate chips merged perfectly with the more robust flavor of the dough. In addition, the contrast between the crispiness of the fried shell and the still-creamy dough was a revelation. I will come back for more next year.

Then it was game time. Texas won 45-35, later finished with the same record as Oklahoma, yet got shutout of the Big 12 title game only to watch OU choke in a national championship game the Longhorns could have won. I digress, but this photograph of an artifact that I found under a bleacher gives a good indication of the kind of atmosphere one can expect.

Back to the fray, it was time for a break. And by break, I mean a huge turkey leg, which was probably the best one I’ve ever had. Oh, and another Shiner.

Incidentally, I’ve read that Shiner Bock, once popular in the Northeast, has suffered from a backlash due to the unpopularity of another well-known Texas export. This is unfortunate. My family has long been a Shiner fan and the brewery is only a 20-minute trip down Hwy 90 from our country house. If you don’t like the well-known bock, may I recommend Shiner Blonde (a pale lager which the Spoetzel Brewery has brewed continuously since 1909), Shiner Hefeweizen (an unpasteurized Bavarian wheat beer), or Shiner Black (a very dark brew due to its roasted malts). Besides, don’t hate on our beer. It’s not our fault, our beer laws are bass-ackwards.

Then it was time for Fried Smores, another winner in the annual contest.

As you can see from the picture, the smore (What’s a smore? A bar of chocolate and toasted marshmallow in a graham cracker sandwich so-called because you want “s’more”…you Philistine) is deep-fried and cut diagonally. It was interesting enough. The chewy, sticky and flavorful marshmallow paired curiously with the crispy crust. But the graham cracker flavor, so integral a part of the magical smore combination, was lost in the frying process. While the cookie dough was enhanced by the frying process, after eating the fried smore you couldn’t help but regret that it wasn’t just a regular smore.

While I was waiting in line for the fried smore, my cousin Grace came over with the most consistently great of fried deserts, fried Oreos.

How best to describe the goodness? Like the fried twinkie (which wasn’t sampled on this trip), fried oreos may seem exotic but they’re at pretty much every Tom, Dick, and Harry fair out there. So when I’m on a mission for exotics I tend to overlook them. But they’re a lot like that basketball player on your team that isn’t a star and no one ever talks about but all the sudden you look down and they have 12 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Fried Oreos are a consistent triple-double threat. They’re like the Hakeem Olajuwon to the wow factor and raw power of the fried Twinkie’s Shaquille O’Neal.

I would pick Hakeem/fried Oreos every….single….time. The process of being coated in batter and fried has the same effect on the formerly crispy cookie as dunking it in milk. It’s soft but not soggy, and the chocolate has become almost gooey. I’ve always thought of powdered sugar as possessing a kind of ephemeral sweetness. On most fried desserts the sugar is a kind of unnecessary accoutrement, but on the fried Oreos it does its job perfectly, putting down a perfect base sugariness to the sweetness of the cookie and the batter. Good every time, and I managed to pick a few off of Grace.

My final dessert wasn’t part of the plan, but it hit me in the nostalgia so I had to try it. Fried Honey Bun.

When I was a kid I would eat Honey Buns for breakfast every time I went to my Nana’s house. It was a flavor of my childhood, so I just had to have it fried. Unfortunately the results were predictable. There’s really no point in coating fried dough in fried dough. That’s just redundant. This dish could never figure out what it was doing. Plus the frozen Honey Bun really didn’t take well to frying, parts of it weren’t completely defrosted. Also all the powdered sugar served to do was to collide headlong with the honey and make it too sweet. Ah well, had to be done.

It was about time to go and my body was about to shut down from all the conspicuous consumption, but not before once more sampling the best (and most phallic) food the Fair has to offer…

A Fletcher’s Corny Dog. That’s “corny,” not “corn.” That would be like calling St. Peter’s Basilica “a church.” It’s not just a corn dog, it’s THE corn dog. It demands the “-y.” After you eat a corny dog, you really can’t enjoy corn dogs. They are as shadows, crude pencil drawings of the most beautiful work of art; the most transcendent concerto rendered into Muzak.

Not all corny dogs at the Fair carry the proud name of Fletchers, so take heed. The Fletcher family introduced their corny dogs at the State Fair in the late 30s. If they weren’t the first to look at a hot dog and say, “Needs to be covered in cornmeal and deep-fried,” then they certainly proved to be the best at it. They’re fried creations have proved successful enough to get the heiress to the Fletcher corny dog fortune kidnapped in December! That’s right. Some states have land barons, cattle barons, oil barons, and timber barons. Texas has all that plus corny dog barons. If that ain’t nouveau riche then I don’t know what is.

I don’t think I can really do it justice. However, a word of caution: Yes, there is a ketchup dispenser, but if you put anything but mustard on your corny dog a native Texan has the legal right to sock you in the face. It was in the original list of grievances that the Texan delegates listed in our Declaration of Independence from Mexico signed on March 2, 1836, at Washington-on-the-Brazos.

As always at the State Fair, there is one that got away. I couldn’t find fried guacamole. “I’ll be back next year,” I groaned to myself on the ride home, popping Tums like they were Pez, “if I don’t die right now.”

by Alex (who’ll get an avatar eventually)

finger foods & football

It’s no big secret I love Texas football (University of Texas that is). So, it was only fitting that my turn to cook was the night of the Fiesta Bowl (UT v. Ohio and thank goodness we won). I cooked up some eggrolls, made fish tacos, and an artichoke parmesan dip with baguette slices. I didn’t really cook much, although there was plenty of food.

This is actually a tip from Michael. Use Gordon’s original battered fish fillets. Cook in oven as instructed. Once ready, cut up the fish, and then a few fresh limes, tomatoes, lettuce and serve with flour or corn tortillas. The cream sauce in the middle is from Chuy’s (http://www.chuys.com/). It’s their famous jalapeno cream sauce and it is fabulous with everything. It’s especially tasty with fish tacos.

They sell this awesome garlic & herb butter at my local store. I had them slice up a baguette and when I got  home, I spread butter on all the baguette slices and put in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until crispy.

I served this with artichoke garlic dip.

Ingredients:

• 1 clove of garlic (minced)
• 2 cans of artichoke hearts (sliced and diced..as small as you can get it)
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup of mayonnaise (i don’t measure but if the artichokes aren’t covered in mayo, you need more)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mince your garlic. Drain the cans of artichoke hearts and then dice them as small as you can get it. Place both garlic and artichokes into a bowl. Add the 1/2 cup mayo and the 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese. Mix well. If needed, add more mayo. Once mixed, place into a baking dish and put in oven for 20-30 minutes, or until slightly browned. Serve with either crackers, baguette slices, or even tortilla chips.

And then there was lumpia, which are Filipino eggrolls. Lumpia is made mostly of meat, and are much smaller than your normal eggroll. My mother made these from scratch. I’m usually the one who makes them, but for New Year’s she said she would. They’re awesome because you can freeze what you don’t cook and they’re good till…forever. hah. Anyways, she had an extra frozen batch from New Years and they are the perfect finger food, so she gave me the rest. They were deep fried to perfection. ^_^ Her exact recipe is secret, but there’s ground pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, green onions, carrots, and then seasonings.

They were fantastic. All the food was pretty good and gone by the end of the night. For dessert, I found the yummiest chocolate ice cream bon bons. So good! The game had a happy ending, so we were all happy campers. Jumping up and down. I apologize to my neighbors for our loudness.

-Chelle

Broiled Sardines with Lemon and Herbs

It’s our 1 year anniversary today! It kind of snuck up on us so we didn’t plan anything. But the sardines are really really good.

Broiled Sardines with Lemon and Herbs

• 8 sardines
• 1 lemon
• 2 tsp (or more) coarse sea salt
• 1 heaping tsp coarse ground pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• sprigs of fresh thyme, oregano, or rosemary
• chopped parsley to garnish

Preheat oven to 450. Or if your broiler is separate, preheat that.

Cut Lemon in half and then into eights, altogether 16 slices. I prefer organic lemons in this situation because you will want to eat all of the lemon (with peels).

Prep sardines, I like to cut off the heads then gut them and rinse them under running water to scale them.

Pour oil, salt, and pepper into broiler safe dish, I used a cast iron pan.

Rub each fish inside and out with the oil/salt/pepper.

Stuff a small sprig of herb in each fish along with 2 slices of lemon. Depending on the size of the fish it might not really fit but it’s ok if it’s all hanging out. If using rosemary, use sparingly, it can be overpowering here.

Turn on broiler and put the fish under it for 15-20mins, maybe longer depending on size of fish. It’s done when the fish skin is golden/crisp and the lemons are slightly caramelized. 

Sprinkle on some parsley and the end.

The lemon juice and olive oil with the fish creates a bit of sauce and it’s great with some rice, couscous, orzo, or pasta.

-L

Midnight breakfast sandwich

My late night meal, because I’m on my nocturnal schedule. 

Some sauteed pre-sliced mushrooms and baby spinach with garlic (salt & pepper) with two sunny side up eggs in a freshly fried bun* topped with some shaved Parmesan. All done in roughly 15 minutes.  :) I had almost everything on hand prepped, and a wok full of oil left over from making falafels and of course the dough.

*Using some stored dough, take a small handful, shaped into a flat disk and deep fry medium high.  If the oil is too hot or the shape too thick the center might remain raw and doughy.

I always save a good chunk of old dough to mix into the new dough and over time my dough has developed a nice flavor.

The yolks made it more of a fork-n-knife sandwich.

 

I find it harder to cook late at night now because we keep our new puppy Monty in the kitchen. He would wake up, I’d take him out and back, then he stares at me and subversively beg for food. 

 - Lina

Feels great to be back

mmm adobo!

It was my turn for dinner again this past Monday. I decided I would cook some Filipino food for my friends. I chose pork adobo with rice as the main meal, a simple salad to start with, and a white chocolate cake from a new favorite bakery of mine.

Adobo is pretty simple dish to make. You can use either pork or chicken, but that night was a pork night. It’s one of my favorite dishes, and no matter how I try, mine will never be as delicious as my mother’s. I have no photos of the finished meal, because we were starving and just ate…all of it.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of pork butt (sure you could use other pork parts, but trust me, this works best)
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 1/3 c. soy sauce (dark soy sauce is awesome for this)
• 1/3 c. vinegar
• 1/2 c. water (should be enough to cover pork)

-Make sure you wash down the pork and pat it dry with a napkin. Then, you’ll want to cut the pork into about 1/2 in. thick slices. With the pork I used, I cut it first into about 5 sections. Then I cut each section into 1/2 in. thick slices. Place pork in pot. Mince 1 clove of garlic and add to pot. Add the soy sauce and the vinegar and mix well with the pork and garlic. Add water. Place on stove on med/high heat and cover. After it’s been boiling about 15 minutes, remove cover and turn heat down to medium. Stir occassionally and cook for another 15 to 20 min. You will know when it’s done when 1. the pork is tender and 2. most of the water has evaporated and you’re left with a nice, dark sauce. If the sauce still looks too watery, turn heat down to med/low and allow it to simmer until not so watery. (I’m so sorry there’s no photo to describe it better) Serve with rice and enjoy! If you really want to go homestyle, serve it with a fried egg. =)

I made a simple salad. I’m no good with making fancy salads, but I did know that Angela & Mike liked the veggies. I’m so thoughtful. ha! So I used green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and cucumber and served it thousand island dressing.

And, in my local Korean grocery store (HMART – 1302 Blalock, Houston TX 77055), there is a bakery called Tous Les Jours. I’ve bought other baked goods from there before, and the breads have always been so yummy and soft and just so tasty. I figured their cakes would be decent, so I bought a small white chocolate cake. It was that soft spongecake often used for Asian cakes, with the tastiest and lightest buttercream icing, and topped with white chocolate shavings. It was delicious. I am going to be buying more cakes from there, let me tell you. The cake was light and fresh. It didn’t feel too heavy and it was perfect for our meal. It also comes in the cutest box with a complimentary plastic cake knife.

P.S. my food blog partner, Lina, and her husband came to visit me last week and we had the most fun time. I made shrimp lumpia and will share that recipe next time!

– chelle