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Saturday, November 29, 2008

Thanks and Thanks Again, PLUS a Seven Things Meme

Today, I heard a knock at the door.

By the time I opened the door, the FedEx van was already pulling out of the driveway.  I looked down and, lo and behold, there was a box that had been sent by Annie's good friend in Michigan.  Inside was an apple pie from Zingerman's Bakehouse!

Zingerman's Bakehouse Apple Pie

Zingerman's Bakehouse Apple Pie

Last year, Annie had gone to visit her friend and came back with an amazing apple pie from Franklin Cider Mill in Franklin, MI.  It was far and away the best apple pie we had ever had, even beating the pie we had at Gizdich Ranch.  But Annie's friend said that the apple pie from Zingerman's was also good.  I guess this was our chance to find out how good it is.

Old School

The label on the side of the box tells us that this is an old school apple pie.  It's got lard in it, as well as butter. Aw, yeah.

Zingerman's Old School Apple Pie

 Zingerman's Old School Apple Pie

The Zingerman's apple pie crust is incredibly flaky.  But it held together reasonably well.  I'm surprised it survived the trip to San Jose!  But we're thankful it did.  This is one delicious apple pie!

Zingerman's Flaky Apple Pie

 Zingerman's Flaky Apple Pie

We like the Zingerman's pie for its flaky crust, but we like the Franklin Cider Mill's pie for the apple filling.  Either way, they're better than anything we've had here in California.  Thanks, girlfriend!

Thanks Again

Something else arrived in the mail today:

Real Vietnamese Cinnamon Bark

 Real Vietnamese Cinnamon Bark

Earlier this month, Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple gave away some sticks of Vietnamese cinnamon that they brought back from their recent trip to Vietnam.  The cool couple graciously bequeathed to us a stick of this hot spice, and we are very grateful.  I have plans to make some beef pho using the recipe on Andrea Nguyen's Viet World Kitchen.

Thanks Todd and Diane!

We've Been Tagged!

You don't normally see awards, badges and memes being talked about on the House of Annie blog. It's not that we don't appreciate the good wishes and community aspect of blogging.  It's just that sometimes life gets too busy for me to do dedicated badge or meme posts.  I feel bad enough that I can't always regularly respond to all your comments!

But since I have a little down-time, I'll bite.  Our friend Deb of Kahakai Kitchen, whom we met at our FoodBuzz dinner at Tokkuri-Tei in Honolulu, fellow FoodBuzzer and Malaysian food blogger Shirley of Sweet Like Chocolate, and yet ANOTHER Malaysian Food Buzz blogger, Zurin of Cherry on a Cake all tagged us with the Seven Things meme.  Basically, we're supposed to reveal seven things about us.

So let's see...

  1. I used to work in a 1-Hr photo store in Waikiki.  Got so efficient that I could process a roll of film in 23 minutes! (I can hear some of you saying, "what's a roll of film?")
  2. I started in the Civil Engineering program at University...and flunked out of first year Surveying!
  3. I've been to China three times and Malaysia five times, but haven't even gone to Canada or Mexico...yet.
  4. Annie plays the piano and the tambourine (and she is trying to pick up bass guitar).  I play the guitar and the ukulele (and play a mean air drum too).
  5. Annie reads more than 150 fiction/non-fiction books a year.  She typically has 3-6 books started at the same time (her current pile includes "The Man Who Ate Everything", "Best Food Writing 2007", "Breaking Dawn", "The Last Chinese Chef", "The Search for Significance", and "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles").
  6. I am an info-junkie.  I would do pretty well on Cash Cab but not Jeopardy (the literature section always gets me).
  7. Annie is afraid of heights, while I love roller-coasters.

Okay, now who to tag?

  1. Jenn of Use Real Butter.  For good, honest writing and beautiful pictures.
  2. Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple.  For being such a cool and giving couple.
  3. Pomai of Tasty Island. For constantly making me miss Hawaiian food.
  4. Bee of Rasa Malaysia. For being such an inspirational food blogging friend.
  5. JS and TS of Eatingclub Vancouver. For running an excellent and exciting food blog.
  6. Andrea of Andrea's Recipes. For creating the wonderful Grow Your Own recipe roundup.
  7. Lydia of The Perfect Pantry. For opening pantries up the world over to new visitors as well as new ingredients.

Rules:

1. Link to my blog on your blog.
2. Give seven facts about yourself.
3. Tag another seven bloggers by leaving a comment on their blogs and letting them know they were tagged and listing them (and their blogs) on your blog.

Aloha, Nate

Continue Reading: "Thanks and Thanks Again, PLUS a Seven Things Meme"...

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Braised Char Siew (or Non-bake Char Siew)

Braised Char Siew (no-bake)

I've been wanting to make Char Siew for a while now. I have a go-to recipe that my friend, Maria shared with me a while ago but that recipe requires me to marinate the meat for at least 2 days or more before baking. But because I was craving some char siew immediately and didn't want to pay over $6/lb for it at the Chinese BBQ shop, I decided to try this recipe that I found at Baking Mum's blog.

So I went off to the Asian grocery store and came home with major poundage of boneless, country style pork ribs. I prepped about 2/3 of it with Maria's recipe and those are now sitting in my freezer waiting for the next time I crave char siew (I will give you that recipe in another post).

Quick and Easy...With a Couple of Tweaks

But the rest I saved for this recipe. It's really quite easy and only requires a 4-hour marinating time before cooking so if you prepare early enough, you could get it cooked the same day you buy your meat. As a matter of fact, I didn't even give it 4 hours. I only had enough time for a 3-hour marinade time before I started to cook it and as you can see from the picture, it is good enough.

A couple of comments on the recipe--the original sugar amount was much too high for me. I ended up cutting the sugar a little and still found it too sweet. I would cut it more next time so in my adapted recipe, I will just put in the lesser amount.

Also, it was not salty/savory enough for me so I added more soy sauce and also a dash of fish sauce (about 1 tbsp). And then, because I can't help myself, I also added some garlic paste from Gourmet Garden (about 2 Tbsp). I would have used fresh garlic but the meat was already braising down when I tasted the sauce and wanted to kick it up a notch really quickly and GG's herb and spice pastes are really convenient for such occasions.

Braised Char Siew

(adapted from Baking Mum's Non-Bake Char Siew recipe)

Ingredients
1000g boneless, country-style pork ribs (belly pork will also work, don't use pork that is too lean)
100g sugar (originally 140g - you might even want to cut the sugar even more)
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup light soy sauce
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp garlic, minced fine or use Gourmet Garden's Garlic paste
600 ml water
a little red coloring (I added a couple of drops of red food coloring, it's really red at first but as the sauce cooks down, it darkens).
2 tbsp oil (optional - I didn't end up using this at all because I thought the pork fat glazed itself fine)

Method
1. Mix the sugar, salt, light and dark soy sauce
, fish sauce, water and red food coloring in a bowl.
2. Add in the pork and marinate for about 4 hours.
3. Take pork out and set aside and pour marinate into a wok. Bring to a boil.

Marinated Char Siew Pork

Marinated Char Siew Pork

4. Add in the pork and bring to a boil again.

Pork boiling in char siew marinade

5. Lower heat to medium or medium-low and simmer meat, uncovered, until meat is tender and sauce has thickened. Turn the meat around a few times during the cooking process to ensure even cooking.
6. At the end, the sauce will resemble a thick syrup (in about 45 minutes to 1 hour). At this point, you can choose to add the extra oil for more sheen but I didn't find it necessary.

Braised Char Siew

7. Remove pork from sauce and slice.

Slicing Braised Char Siew (no-bake)

You can save the syrup and dilute it with a bit of water, and serve it on the side to add to your rice or meat. Any extra syrup will also be yummy with other dishes later.

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

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Continue Reading: "Braised Char Siew (or Non-bake Char Siew)"...

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

HC Dumpling (Cupertino)

Are you hungry for Xiao Long Bao?

Xiao Long Bao at HC Dumpling in Cupertino

Hu-Chiang Juicy Pork Dumplings at HC Dumpling in Cupertino

We had just finished shopping at the farmer's market and were looking for a place to eat lunch.  I remembered that one of our friends recommended this place in Cupertino Village on Wolfe Rd called HC Dumpling.  She said that their xiao long bao were pretty good, on par with the world-famous Din Tai Fung xiao long bao.  We hadn't had xlb in a while, so we decided to check them out.

In case you don't know what xiao long bao are, here's a little background. They are a Chinese steamed dumpling made of a smooth, translucent skin and a filling, usually meat.  The dumpling is unique in that a little gelatinized broth is added to the filling before it is sealed. The steaming process causes the gelatin to melt, filling the xiao long bao with broth and giving it that characteristic shape.

To eat a xiao long bao, you gently lift the dumpling up with your chopsticks, then slide the Chinese soup spoon under it to cradle the dumpling.  Top the dumpling with a little slivered ginger dipped in Chinkiang black vinegar, and lift it to your lips.  On the first bite, you want to slurp all that broth out of the dumpling.  Then eat the rest.

Hu-Chiang Juicy Pork Dumpling at HC Dumpling in Cupertino 

Xiao Long Bao at HC Dumpling in Cupertino

Our waitress also suggested her favorite dumpling, the Loofa Squash (sequa) and Shrimp dumpling. Our friend had also mentioned this dumpling as her favorite.

Loofah Squash and Shrimp Dumpling from HC Dumpling in Cupertino

 Loofah Squash and Shrimp Dumpling from HC Dumpling in Cupertino

The loofah squash dumpling was quite interesting.  It tasted green and fresh and sweet.  It was far more enjoyable than the HC Juicy Pork dumpling that I found to be unexciting and oily.  The only drawback was, there were very few pieces of shrimp in the dumpling, and those pieces were miniscule.

Loofah Squash and Shrimp Dumpling from HC Dumpling in Cupertino

Loofah Squash and Shrimp Dumpling from HC Dumpling in Cupertino

Besides dumplings, we also ordered some other dishes.  We ordered the Shanghai Fried Fat Noodles, which all of us enjoyed.  This Bitter Melon Sauteed with Egg was intriguing.  It seems that they took hard boiled egg yolks, crumbled them into tiny pieces, and fried them along with the bitter melon slices.  Pretty tasty product, but a bit oily toward the end.

Bitter Melon with Sauteed Egg at HC Dumpling in Cupertino

Bitter Melon with Sauteed Egg at HC Dumpling in Cupertino

Overall, I'd say I'm neutral about this restaurant.  Regarding the xiao long bao here, I've had better elsewhere.  The loofah squash dumpling was good, but didn't deliver on the shrimp.  The bitter melon was intriguing but too oily.  Service was all right, but Daniel called the bathroom "stinky".

I don't think we'll be back.  If you want to give this place a try, find them on the Wolfe Rd side of Cupertino Village. (Just so you know what side of the square to stalk for parking ;-) )

HC Dumpling in Cupertino

HC Dumpling in Cupertino

Do you have a favorite place for xiao long bao? Share it with the rest of us in a comment!

Aloha, Nate

Hungry for more dumplings? Click below:

Gum Kuo Restaurant (Oakland)

Dim Sum @ Dynasty Restaurant (San Jose)

Pan-fried gyoza

Gyoza

Won Ton Char Siu Loh Mein

Continue Reading: "HC Dumpling (Cupertino)"...

Monday, November 24, 2008

Stir-Fried Green Beans with Savory Tofu and Peanuts

My mom has gone back home but there are still so many yummy recipes she cooked up that we haven't blogged about.  So here is another dish that she cooked up one day that we really enjoyed and is pretty easy to make.  She was such a lively inspiration for this blog.  We told her that we were looking for more quick and easy Asian recipes and she started to rattle off a bunch that we could do.  Here is one of them.

Stir-Fried Green Beans with Savory Tofu and Peanuts

Stir-Fried Green Beans with Savory Tofu and Peanuts

This recipe has wonderful textures and flavors.  The tofu is firm and savory.  The beans are sweet and green with a slight crunch.  The fried peanuts add a really nice crunch and yummy nutty flavor.  And the dried shrimp ties all the flavors together with its sweetness.

The first thing you would need to do is the prep your peanuts.  Buy some raw peanuts from the Asian grocery store (they sell two types, the ones with skin and without, get the ones with skin on).  Then in a dry wok, add a little oil and cook the peanuts on medium-low heat turning frequently to prevent burning.  When the peanuts are fragrant smelling and cooked, remove and let cool.  Taste a few to make sure they are nicely crunchy (and try not to end up eating them all before making this dish!). 

As for the savory tofu, you can find these in your Asian grocery stores.  They are much firmer than your blocks of firm tofu and are brownish in color from the marinate they have been given.  If you want to try to make your own, there are recipes out there on how to make your own savory tofu.  Our favorite brand, Furama, can be found at 99 Ranch Market.

Furama Brand Savory Baked Tofu

Furama Brand Savory Baked Tofu

Stir Fried Green Beans with Savory Tofu and Peanuts

Ingredients:
2 tbsp dried shrimp (hae bee), rinsed then soaked in about 1/2 cup water
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 lb green beans, chopped into 1 inch long pieces
2 blocks savory tofu (Furama brand tofu has four blocks all in one piece, use just two of the four, ie. half the package), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup raw peanuts fried with a little oil over med-low heat until brown and fragrant
2 tbsp oil
1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp chicken bouillon
salt and white pepper to taste

Method:
1.  Fry the peanuts in a little oil over low heat until the peanuts are browned and fragrant. 
2.  Soak the dried shrimp in 1/2 cup water, reserve the soaking liquid.
3.  Heat the oil in a pan, fry the dried shrimp and garlic together until fragrant and the garlic is lightly browned (not burnt).

Frying Dried Shrimp (Hae Bee) and Garlic

 Frying Dried Shrimp (Hae Bee) and Garlic

4.  Add the tofu and and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
5.  Add the oyster sauce.

Frying Savory Tofu with Oyster Sauce

 Frying Savory Tofu with Oyster Sauce

6.  Throw in the green beans.

Stir-Frying Green Beans with Savory Tofu

 Stir-Frying Green Beans with Savory Tofu

7.  Add the chicken bouillon and the 1/2 cup reserved dried shrimp soaking liquid.
8.  Cook green beans for about 4 minutes until the beans are just cooked through (they should still have a slight crunch to them).
9.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
10. Plate up and garnish with peanuts.

Stir-Fried Green Beans with Savory Tofu and Peanuts

Stir-Fried Green Beans with Savory Tofu and Peanuts

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

Hungry for more quick Asian recipes? Click below:

Indonesian-Inspired Sauteed Shrimp

Steamed Egg Tofu with Ground Pork and Shrimp

Five Quick Asian Dishes: Two Tofus, Two Ways

Steamed Shiitake Mushrooms with Bok Choy and Fatt Choy

Continue Reading: "Stir-Fried Green Beans with Savory Tofu and Peanuts"...

Friday, November 21, 2008

Indonesian-Inspired Sauteed Shrimp

Indonesian-Inspired Sauteed Shrimp

While I was living in a graduate international dorm in Hawaii, I got to taste a lot of different Asian and Pacific cuisines.  This dish is inspired by my Indonesian friends, Nina and Jo, who prepared it one evening and invited me to join them for dinner.  I did not get a recipe but do remember that I loved the flavors.  I also remember that funnily enough, they called this dish their "Westernized" version of sauteed shrimp (because of the Worchestershire Sauce).  If you know what it's called and have the real recipe, please do share with me.

In the meantime, I tried to recreate this dish from my memory of it (which is pretty faulty and it was over 10 years ago).  I remember distinctly that it had a sweet and tangy flavor from the "W" sauce and there was garlic and green onions in it.

It turned out to be really tasty and very easy and fast to make.  So even if it's not completely authentic, please do try it because it was gone in even less time than it took to cook it.  Do prep everything ahead of time because shrimp cooks up fast and you certainly don't want to overcook them.

Indonesian-Inspired Sauteed Shrimp

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter
4 cloves minced garlic
1 pound large (30-35 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp kecap manis

Kecap Manis

Kecap Manis

(if you don't have this, I recommend using my thick soy sauce as a substitute but use only 1 tsp and up the sugar to 1 tsp)
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
2 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
3 stalks green onion, sliced thinly on bias
salt and pepper to taste

Method
1.  Mix kecap manis, W sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl.
2.  Melt butter in saute pan on medium heat.
2.  Saute minced garlic until fragrant and lightly browned.
3.  Toss in shrimp in one single layer.  Cook for 30 seconds and turn them over.
4.  Add the sauce and mix with the shrimp.  Stir-fry until shrimp are just pink, about another minute.
5.  Add the green onions, and toss until just wilted.
6.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Indonesian-Inspired Sauteed Shrimp

Indonesian-Inspired Sauteed Shrimp

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

Hungry for more shrimp? Click below:

Chopped Shrimp Waldorf Salad

Steamed Egg Tofu with Ground Pork and Shrimp

Pumpkin Mee with Prawns Recipe

Vietnamese Summer Rolls

Hokkien Prawn Mee

Continue Reading: "Indonesian-Inspired Sauteed Shrimp"...

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Sweet-Sour Chilli Dungeness Crab

Sweet-Sour Chilli Dungeness Crab

Growing up in Malaysia, crab was considered a special treat.  We hardly ever cooked it at home, preferring to visit a seafood restaurant specializing in cooking crabs and other seafoody things.  And the crabs we normally got there were mud crabs.  Mud crabs have very big, meaty claws, smaller bodies, and extremely hard shells.  They were very sweet but require so much work for very little gain

Over here, we don't get mud crabs, but Dungeness crabs are even better.  I love that we get so much more meat from the Dungeness, plus the shell is not as hard so it's easier to get to the meat.  I actually love Dungeness so much that I don't crave or ask for crab as much when I go home to Malaysia.

The Malaysian sweet-sour style of cooking crab, though, that I do miss.

Next to simply steaming them, the sweet-sour chilli crab preparation is one of my favorite ways of eating crab. The sauce is only slightly spicy with a sweet ketchup flavor and enriched with the delicious mixture of crab tomalley and beaten eggs.  It coats the shell of the crabs and makes every bite and lick so yummy.

Normally, they would serve the dish with a side of toasted white bread or steamed mantou which was perfect for sopping up the extra sauce.  Just writing about it makes me want to eat it all over again.

How NOT to Kill a Crab

I remember the very first time I tried to prepare this dish. I was a student in Hawaii then, with very little cooking skills. I called my mom and asked her how I should kill the crab.  She said to poke a chopstick between the eyes. Maybe this works for mud crabs but it surely didn't work for Dungeness!

Somehow, I managed to stick that chopstick between the crab's eyes.  I vividly remember the crab grabbing the chopstick with its claws and me screaming and cringing.  We finally did kill the sucker by chopping it in half but I'm never doing that chopstick trick again!

How to Kill a Crab

So anyway, while my mom was visiting, we managed to get some Dungeness crabs.  It is the perfect season to enjoy Dungeness crabs here in the Bay Area.  And if you've been following our blog, you know that we steamed up two crabs using Old Bay Seasoning.  But what you didn't know was that we actually bought FOUR crabs and cooked the other two in this sweet-sour chilli style. 

Now, the way it's done in the restaurants is to cut up the crab, and then deep-fry them before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.  I find that too humbug and so what if the sauce doesn't stick as well to the shell?  It clings just fine without the deep-frying in my opinion so I just avoid that first step.

Some tips for buying and preparing crab:
1.  If possible, try to get them alive from the Asian grocery store. Always check that the tank is full of crabs. If there are only a few in there, come back after Thursday.
2.  Put them to sleep by sticking them in the freezer until cooking time.
3. To simplify the cutting up part, partly steam them first to kill them (about 5-6 minutes). 
4.  To remove the shell from the body, turn the crab over and grab the triangular tail and break it.  Grab the edge of the shell near that broken tail and pry away from body.

Sweet-Sour Chilli Dungeness Crab

Ingredients

2 Dungeness crabs (about 3-4 lbs total)
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
1/2 sweet chili sauce (Sriracha will work too but if you're using that, use less, maybe 1/4 cup, and add a bit more sugar)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1-1/2 inch ginger, chopped fine
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 large tomato, cut into 8 wedges
2-3 Thai bird's eye chillies, cut in half each (optional)
2 eggs, beaten
2 stalks green onion, chopped fine (for garnish)

 

Method

1.  Prepare the crabs: Partly steam the crabs.  Remove the shell.  Save the shell (throw out the innards but save all the yummy tomalley).  Remove the gills and other inedible bits from around the body.  Cut the body into four parts leaving legs attached (about 3 legs, or 1 claw and two legs, to each body part).

Chopped up Dungeness Crab

Chopped up Dungeness Crab

 2.  Make the sauce:  Mix the ketchup, chilli sauce, sugar, cornstarch and water together in a bowl.
3.  In a large fry pan or wok, add the oil and fry the garlic, ginger and shallots over med-high heat until lightly browned.
4.  Add in the crab.

Frying Chopped Dungeness Crab

 Frying Chopped Dungeness Crab

 5.  Add in the tomato wedges and Thai bird's eye chillies, and toss for 30 seconds.

Chopped Dungeness Crab with Tomato and Chillies

 Chopped Dungeness Crab with Tomato and Chillies

 6.  Add in the tomato-chilli sauce and stir to coat the crab pieces.  Cover and cook about 10-15 minutes until the shell turns bright orange.
7.  Pour in the beaten eggs and stir and cook for another two minutes.
8.  Plate up and garnish with green onions.

Sweet-Sour Chilli Dungeness Crab

Sweet-Sour Chilli Dungeness Crab

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

Hungry for more crab? Click below:

Steamed Dungeness Crab with Old Bay Seasoning

Bun Rieu Cua

Crab Cake with Salad

Continue Reading: "Sweet-Sour Chilli Dungeness Crab"...

Monday, November 17, 2008

Gum Kuo Restaurant (Oakland)

After buzzing on all that fancy food at the Fabulous Food Festival in San Francisco, we were ready for some good old, homey Chinese food.  Besides, Annie wanted to pick up some fresh noodles, won ton and sui gow skins from Yuen Hop Noodle Factory in Oakland (that's for another post or two...).  So we drove across the Bay Bridge to Oakland Chinatown.

After picking up the fresh noodles and skins, we drove into the big Asian mall complex at 9th and Franklin.  On the ground level, in the breezeway on the Franklin Street side of the complex is Gum Kuo Restaurant.

Gum Kuo Restaurant (Oakland Chinatown)

Gum Kuo Restaurant (Oakland Chinatown)

A friend recommended this place to us a couple of years back. We hardly know anything about Oakland Chinatown, except that it is every bit as bustling as San Francisco, without all the tourists.  Most people go to Restaurant Peony, located on the second floor of the complex, for dim sum and Chinese banquets.  But people in the know go to Gum Kuo for some of the best won ton noodle soup this side of the Bay.  Everytime we come to Oakland, we stop in for a fix.

What makes their won ton noodle soup so good? Firstly, it's the won tons. They don't skimp on the shrimp!  No plain old pork-filled dumplings here.  They are very generous with the shrimp, and it makes for a savory dumpling packed with sweet, crunchy shrimp.

Won Ton Noodle Soup from Gum Kuo (Oakland)

Won Ton Noodle Soup from Gum Kuo (Oakland)

It's also about the noodles.  Their noodles are thin, Hong-Kong style noodles that aren't overboiled. They still have great chew and spring to them.   I wonder if they get their noodles fresh from Yuen Hop?

I got the stewed beef brisket and won ton noodle soup.  The brisket has been simmering in broth for hours, making it very, very tender. And all that delicious beefy flavor just makes the broth so sweet.  Put a little hot chili and oil in there, and you're in heaven!  The only thing I wish they'd add would be more choi (green vegetable).

Stewed Beef Brisket and Won Ton Noodle Soup from Gum Kuo (Oakland)

Stewed Beef Brisket and Won Ton Noodle Soup from Gum Kuo (Oakland)

Like many Chinese restaurants, they have a selection of roasted meats hanging in the front window.  There were lots of people standing in line to get some char siu, roast chicken, or roast duck to take home.  After we finished our meal, Annie bought some of the roast duck heads (4 for a $1!) to take home.

Why? Well, that's for another post of course...

Aloha, Nate


View Larger Map

Hungry for more Chinese Eating Out? Click below:

East Lake (San Jose) Again

Dim Sum @ Dynasty Restaurant (San Jose)

East Ocean Restaurant (Alameda)

Hong Kong Saigon Seafood Restaurant (Sunnyvale)

Joy Luck Place (Cupertino)

Continue Reading: "Gum Kuo Restaurant (Oakland)"...

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon

Winter squashes are one of the things I love about this season. Their flavor, color, texture is so "fall-like" and comforting. And they are delicious too! We recently used a squash variety called "Fairy Tale squash" for my mom's pumpkin noodle soup.

And just the other day, I made butternut squash soup. I have to say, this butternut squash soup is EXTRA special simply because we grew the squash ourselves. And it's EXTRA, EXTRA special because it was the ONLY butternut we got from that whole vine. Sigh...I'm not meant to grow anything besides tomatoes.

Our One and Only Butternut Squash

 Our One and Only Butternut Squash

But for the only one that we got, it was pretty huge and pretty tasty. I roasted that sucker for an hour in my oven and then scooped out the very orangey flesh into my pot for this soup. We got so much soup that we ended up eating it for 3 days!

I adapted the recipe for this soup from Epicurious (the recipe originally called for Kabocha squash--which we've also done and is just as delicious). We tweaked it a little by adding ginger which gives it more warmth which I really like.

What I like about this recipe (besides the yumminess) is that it's very easy. Most of the work is just waiting for the squash to roast in the oven and then cool enough to work with. The rest of the ingredients are easy to prep and quite fast if you have a stick/immersion blender.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup


recipe adapted from Gourmet Magazine, October 2000 Issue


Ingredients

1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
1/4 lb bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used 3--can never use too much garlic)
1 inch ginger, peeled and rough chopped
3 1/2 cups chicken broth (about two cans)
3 1/2 cups water
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
A little heavy cream for stirring in at the table (optional)

Method
1. Preheat oven
to 400 F.
2. Drizzle liberally some olive oil over the squash halves and season with kosher salt.

Butternut Squash Halves

 Butternut Squash Halves


3. Place squash halves on a sheet pan (easier if you use some aluminum foil to cover the pan and then brush with oil), cut side down in the middle of the oven, and roast for an hour. Cool and then scrape flesh from skin.
4. In a 4-quart heavy pot, throw in the bacon and cook it till brown and crisp. Transfer bacon onto paper towel to drain.
5. Add onion to bacon fat in the pot, and stir until the onion has softened. If you need to, add more oil.
6. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

Cooking Garlic, Ginger and Onions in Bacon Fat

 Cooking Garlic, Ginger and Onions in Bacon Fat


7. Add squash, chicken broth and water and simmer for 20 minutes to blend flavors.

Simmering Roasted Butternut Squash for Soup

 Simmering Roasted Butternut Squash for Soup


8. Using a stick/immersion blender, blend the soup till it is smooth. Add more water to thin it out if it's too thick.

Blending Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

IMG_7130


9. Stir in vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
10. Ladle into bowls and drop in some crispy bacon and drizzle with some cream.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon and Cream

 Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon and Cream

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

Hungry for more soups? Click Below:

Barley with Fuchok and Gingko Nuts

Pork and Eggplant Soup with Tomato and Shiso

Lazy Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho

Bun Rieu Cua

Continue Reading: "Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon"...

Monday, November 10, 2008

Getting Buzzed at the Fabulous Food Festival

Saturday, we attended the first annual Fabulous Food Festival in San Francisco's Concourse Exhibition Center.  As in our TomatoFest experience, we got to go as "foodie correspondents" for FoodBuzz.  The Fab Food Fest was a craft foodie's showcase, with over 120 vendors featuring gourmet chocolates, sauces, baked goods, utensils, and other treats.

Fabulous Food Festival in San Francisco

Fabulous Food Festival in San Francisco

As you can see, the place was pretty packed with people sampling all the different foods at each vendor's booth.  That was probably the most unpleasant thing about this whole event. The aisles were just a bit too claustrophobic for our tastes.  There was lots of jostling and elbowing going around in the traffic bottlenecks, especially surrounding the savory food booths like Aidell's Sausage and Spring Hill Jersey Cheese.

Sold on Sjaak's

Along the outer edges of the exhibition, however, things were much quieter and more relaxed.  There, we found the Sjaak's (pronounced "shawk" - I hope I got that right!) Organic Chocolates booth.  All of their chocolates are certified organic AND fair trade, which means it's not only good for the body, but good for the Earth and good for the farmer as well!  They even have a line of vegan chocolates which do not contain milk, butter, eggs or gelatin.

Sjaak's Organic Chocolate Truffles

Sjaak's Organic Chocolate Truffles

Besides these assorted truffles, they also have chocolate bars as well as "bites".  We sampled their dark chocolate peanut butter cup which was AMAZING.  The peanut butter had just the right saltiness to balance against the chocolate, and the slightly bitter dark chocolate had a nice, lingering finish.  We were sold!

Sjaak's Organic Chocolate Bars

 Sjaak's Organic Chocolate Bars

One other thing to note is that they sell a line of "Nepalese" boxed chocolate sets. When I asked Jessica, the salesperson, why they were called "Nepalese" boxes, she explained that the boxes are actually made by a women's fair trade cooperative in Nepal.  The material they use is not tree bark but bark from the lokta bush, a sustainable tree-free fiber.  Very cool.

(Order online thru November 30, 2008 and get 15% off your order when you use coupon code Fab15!)

More Cool Stuff

We walked up and down the aisles, sampling as we went, and finding lots of interesting as well as not-so-interesting items.  Here's one that I haven't seen in stores before: mushroom powder from Oregon Mushrooms. At $13.00 for a 4 ounce bottle, that's a pretty expensive seasoning. But I imagine that a little goes a long way.

Chanterelle and Lobster Mushroom Powder

 Chanterelle and Lobster Mushroom Powder

Another item that made us pause was this peanut butter-filled, chocolate-dipped pretzel that was rolled in toffee chips from Marin Chef in Novato.  We popped them in our mouth and went, "WOW!"  These were seriously good snacks.

(Get 20% off your order of $40 or more when you order tins online and use coupon code BOXTINPROMO!)

CJ's Stix: Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels, Hand-Rolled in Toffee Chips

 CJ's Stix: Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels, Hand-Rolled in Toffee Chips

Sniffing Out the Spice Hound

Our main reason for coming to the Fabulous Food Festival, though, was because we were invited by our friend and fellow Malaysian ex-pat, Tammy Tan of Spice Hound.  We met Tammy at the Los Altos Farmer's Market, and struck up a conversation. She's a great person - fun, engaging, and passionate about spices.  She has a wide selection of fresh, whole spices as well as spice blends that she makes herself:

Spice Hound's Spice Blends

Spice Hound's Spice Blends

What really sets her apart, though, is her vast assortment of sea salts.  She doesn't just have the standard fleur de sel from France. Her collection of finishing salts span the globe, from Hawaii to Japan, Australia, and the Mediterranean.

Aguni Japanese Sea Salt, Murray River Pink Flake Salt, Cyprus Mediterranean Flake Sea Salt

Aguni Japanese Sea Salt, Murray River Pink Flake Salt, Cyprus Mediterranean Flake Sea Salt

The one Annie was most interested in, though, was the large slab of Himalayan pink salt. It looked like beautiful, translucent, pink marble. You can heat it up in the oven or on a grill, and the slab will retain enough heat to cook whatever you lay on top of it. The slab will impart a slight saltiness to the food.  Me want!

Unfortunately, these slabs are quite expensive.  A large slab will set you back $60.  We would like to boost the economy, but $60 for a salty, pink rock is too rich for me.  We did, however, contribute to the economy somewhat by buying up a load of Sjaak's chocolate, three finishing salts, and a neato ceramic grater from the Garlic Grater booth.

Ceramic Grater, Spice Hound Finishing Salts, and Sjaak's Chocolate Bites

Ceramic Grater, Spice Hound Finishing Salts, and Sjaak's Chocolate Bites

After an afternoon spent eating all this fancy food, we needed something less...fancy.  So we headed over to Oakland Chinatown for some good, homey, Chinese food.  But that's for another post...

Aloha,  Nate

Hungry for more festivals?  Click here:

Gizdich Ranch Apple Butter Festival (Watsonville)

Getting Buzzed at TomatoFest

Getting Buzzed at TomatoFest, Part 2

The Difference Between "Made in Hawaii" and "Hawaii-Made"

Continue Reading: "Getting Buzzed at the Fabulous Food Festival"...

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Malaysian Chicken Wings: Two Ways

It's football* season! Have you had your chicken wings yet?

Malaysian Barbecued Chicken Wings and Fragrant Chicken Wings

Malaysian Barbecued Chicken Wings and Fragrant Chicken Wings

Chicken wings are a favorite football season food. The National Chicken Council estimates that 2.55 BILLION pounds of chicken wings will be consumed IN 2008. Of that, 90 million pounds were consumed just during Super Bowl weekend alone.

But if you're like me, you've had many a chicken wing that was seriously over-fried, dried out and chewy. Then those hot wings were covered in hot sauce to make up for the lack of any other flavor. Instead of suffering through another batch of fatally flawed wings, try making these two recipes for chicken wings.


Grilled or barbequed chicken wings are very popular in Malaysia. In almost any hawker center or food court, you will often see one stall selling nothing but grilled chicken wings. And they are so yummy. Grilled perfectly with that touch of honey and soy- and oyster-based sauce, they are the perfect anytime snack.

While at the grocery store recently, I saw some chicken wings for sale and immediately thought of this Malaysian barbecued chicken wings recipe. I snapped up the whole tray (about 25 wings total) and brought it home. As I was thinking of how to use up all these wings, I started looking at my other cookbooks and found a second recipe called Fragrant Chicken Wings that sounded good to me .

So instead of marinating my chicken wings in just one marinade, I decided to do them both. The Malaysian Barbecued Chicken Wings recipe I had done before and knew them to be good (try them smoked if you can--it kicks up the flavor even more). The second would be new to me but looking at the ingredients, I knew it would be a winner and I was right.

I recommend that you marinate your chicken overnight for optimum flavor penetration. As a matter of fact, the first recipe can be marinated as long as 3 days. If you want, I'm sure you could use chicken thighs or legs for the marinades but nothing beats the wings, I guarantee!

You can cook the chicken wings on your grill, in your smoker or if it's too cold to fire up your grill (is there such a thing, Nate would ask!), you could bake these and finish them off with a quick broil to give them that nice charred flavor.

Grilled Malaysian Barbecued Chicken Wings

Grilled Malaysian Barbecued Chicken Wings

Barbecued Chicken Wings


recipe adapted from "The Food of Malaysia" by Wendy Hutton

Ingredients
6 large chicken wings (I find that you could use up to 10 with the same amount of marinade)
1/2 tsp Chinese wine
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 Tbsp dark soy sauce (I told you, you'd find this sauce useful in many of my recipes, go get thee some!)
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp honey
salt and pepper to taste (well, I just normally put in a big pinch of kosher salt, and shake my white pepper vigorously for 5 seconds--does that help?)

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients
and marinate the chicken wings for 6 hours, up to 3 days. I find a ziplock bag really handy for this purpose--just squeeze out all the air and massage the marinate into the chicken wings. Flip around once or twice before cooking.
2. Grill it on your barbeque until golden brown and cooked or bake at 425 F for about 20-25 mins and finish with a 2-3 minute broil for added color.

Fragrant Chicken Wings

recipe adapted from "Sensational Starters and Finger Foods" by Wendy Hutton

Ingredients
1 kg (2lbs) chicken wings
2 stalks (or 3) lemongrass, outer fibrous layer removed and only bottom third of stalk used
2 (or 4, hee hee) shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 large red chillies (more or less depending on how spicy or not you want it)
2-3 cloves garlic (I always add more--4?)
1/2 inch galangal, sliced (I didn't have any so I just used about a thumb-sized piece of ginger instead)
1 Tbsp oil
1/4 tsp tumeric powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp fish sauce

Ingredients for Fragrant Chicken Wings

Ingredients for Fragrant Chicken Wings

Method
1. In a food processor, grind the lemongrass, shallots, red chillies, garlic, galangal (or ginger) until fine (use the oil to keep the blades turning and to help it become more paste-like).
2. Add the tumeric powder, sugar, salt and fish sauce to the paste.
3. Coat the chicken wings with the marinade, mixing well to ensure even coating. Again, using the ziplock bag method is best for me. Marinate for at least 2 hours but overnight is best.
4. Grill on your barbeque until golden brown and cooked or bake at 425 F for about 20-25 mins and finish with a 2-3 minute broil for added color (didn't I just say this earlier?).

Fragrant Malaysian Chicken Wings

 Fragrant Malaysian Chicken Wings

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

*American football, that is. Yes, it seems a little weird calling it football when most of the time the ball is being thrown or caught. I've learnt to live with this silliness and correct myself whenever I'm thinking soccer (which is the real football!).

Hungry for more chicken dishes? Click below:

Rendang Chicken

Stir-fried Cumin Chicken (Ayam Goreng Berjintan)

Braised Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic

Thai Green Curry

Roast Chicken with White Bean Stew

Continue Reading: "Malaysian Chicken Wings: Two Ways"...