[eatingclub] vancouver

Yellow Layer Cake with Orange Vanilla Frosting

2009-11-02T22:10:00.000-08:00

[ts]
A few days ago, Boss #1 came up with the idea of making a cake. Naturally, CSC, his mother, complied.

[ts]
This was the very first time anybody in our household has made a layer cake! I guess we should thank Boss #1 for this.

[ts]
CSC made a recipe of All-Purpose Buttery Yellow Cake from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. She then chose to make the Orange variation of Quick and Rich Vanilla Frosting.

[ts]
After all that hard work by CSC, I set to work decorating the cake. I was a bit at a loss on how to finish the top of the cake when I remembered the pistachios in the freezer. I shelled some and toasted them. A quick run-through with the knife, then chopped pistachios rained on the cake.

Warning: Gratuitous cake photos ahead.

Have a slice! Or two...

Jewel-hued pistachios

Look! Ants! ;)

The ants took a big slice!

CSC and CSC-related posts
Carrot Cake
Lemon Bars
Cheesecake-Marbled Brownies
Mario's Pine Nut and Ricotta Tart
Pancakes!
Shanghai Potstickers, Faux Siu Mai and "Huo Tyeh" (aka CSC's Chinese Dumplings)
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Quick and Rice Chocolate Frosting
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with Earl Grey-White Chocolate Ganache
Yellow Layer Cake with Orange Vanilla Frosting

Recipes from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

All-Purpose Buttery Yellow Cake
Makes two 8- or 9-inch layers
Serves 8 to 12

2 3/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole milk, room temperature

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350F. Lightly coat two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans with vegetable oil spray, then line the bottoms with parcement paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light anhd fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the vanilla.

3. Reduce speed to low and beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Beat in half the milk. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture, then the remaining milk, and finally the remaining flour mixture.

4. Give the batter a final stir using a ruibber spatula to make sure it's thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes out with a few crumbs attached, 20-25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.

5. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a paring knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen, then flip out onto the racks. Flip the cakes upright, discard the parchment, and let cool completely before frosting, 1-2 hours.

Quick and Rich Vanilla Frosting
Makes 3 cups

2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Stir the cream, vanilla, and salt together in a small bowl until the salt dissolves. Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 30 to 60 seconds. Reduce the speed to medium-low, slowly add the confectioner's sugar, and beat until smooth, 2-5 minutes. Beat in the cream mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beaty until the mixture is light and fluffy, 4-8 minutes.

Orange Variation
Add 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice and 1.5 teaspoons grated orange zest to the heavy cream, vanilla and salt mixture.

Beijing Pickled Cabbage

2009-11-01T15:50:00.000-08:00

[ts]
Looking at some past photos of stuff we've made, I discovered this one. I don't even remember with what we served this. JS just happened to make some random dish from Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book Volume I.

JS and I were walking aimlessly in Taipei 101 when we saw an English-language bookstore. Finally, a store we can patronize. Browsing its cookery shelves, we were ecstatic to find Pei Mei cookbooks in English! We snapped up Volumes 1 to 3 of this series, plus 2 volumes of her Homestyle Cooking books.

Granted, this isn't a very snazzy introduction to her cookbooks, but at least we can enter this into Wandering Chopsticks' Weekend Wokking event.

about Fu Pei Mei
http://www.flavorandfortune.com/dataaccess/article.php?ID=379
http://tofuwatch.com/2009/07/decades-later-fu-pei-meis-chinese-recipes-particularly-tofu-still-inspire-who-was-she/

Pei Mei cookbooks

[eatingclub] vancouver Weekend Wokking posts:
Ravioli "Caprese": Tomato, Basil, Bocconcini
Eggplant "Clafouti"
Bibingka
Pumpkin Congee w/ Pumpkin "Beignets" & Sesame-Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese w/ Pipián Verde
Adobo Mushroom Tart
Duck and Orange Crêpes with Orange-White Wine Sauce
Almond Eggplant "Bisteeya" (Bastilla)
"Mashed Potato Beef Burger" (Red-skinned Potato Salad in Taiwanese Sacha Cheeseburger)
Korean Soybean Sprouts Pancake (Kongnamul Jeon)
Lemon Chamomile Tiramisu
Cilantro Horchata
Strawberry Cilantro Salsa, on Grilled Flank Steak
Duck Enchiladas with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Clear Oxtail Soup with Corn, Cabbage and Potatoes
Beijing Pickled Cabbage

We're submitting this recipe to Weekend Wokking, a world-wide food blogging event created by Wandering Chopsticks celebrating the multiple ways we can cook one ingredient.

The host this month is Graziana of Erbe in cucina.

If you would like to participate or to see the secret ingredient, check who's hosting next month.

Check out all Weekend Wokking Roundups.

Recipe
Sweet & Sour Cabbage Salad, Beijing Style
from Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book Volume 1

Note: This may be kept for 1 week in the refrigerator.

Ingredients
900g cabbage or Chinese cabbage
1/3 cup red chili shreds
1 tablespoon ginger shreds
1/2 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns

Seasonings
2/3 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil

Rince and cut the cabbage into shreds about 4 cm long. Put into a bowl, sprinkle with salt, mix and let sit for about 1-2 hours.

Squeeze out the salty water from the cabbage. Place cabbage into bowl and add the red chili shreds and ginger shreds.

Heat sesame oil in a pan, add the Szechuan peppercorns, and cook until they are fragrant and turn darker in color. Add sugar and vinegar, and bring to a boil. Pour this mixture over the cabbage and mix well. Cover with a lid, and let sit for about 1-2 hours, until the cabbage absorbs the flavors.

Sautéed Kohlrabi Sticks

2009-10-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

[ts]
This will probably seem like the most boring post ever, especially following an Ethiopian stew! In any case, it was something out of the ordinary enough for our household.

We bought a couple of kohlrabi bulbs a few months back, but had no idea what to do with them, not having worked with them before. Finally, I just decided to cut them into sticks and sauté them until done (soft but not mushy), with just salt and pepper for seasoning.

They looked remarkably like French fries, which could work for you, or in the case of our household, resulted in some disappointment at the realization that they were not fries.

In any case, they were pretty good and tasted pretty much like cabbage stems. If anybody has excellent kohlrabi ideas, please share. Perhaps we may buy them again. ;)

Easy Dorowat (Ethiopian Chicken Stew)

2009-10-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

[ts]
We've had The Slow Cooker Recipe Book: Over 150 one-pot dishes for no-fuss preparation and delicious eating for quite a while now. It was a gift from LSC (see links to her recipe contributions at the end of the post).

This is quite an informative and useful book, with chapters on slow-cooking basics (of course), useful equipment in the kitchen, information on beef, lamb and pork cuts, information on poultry and even game (such as rabbit and hare), prepping fish and shellfish, basic techniques for making stock, cooking soups and stews, making sauces, puddings, preserves... all in addition to the recipes within.

I've been eyeing several recipes in this book since it came to be in our possession and finally, when we had some chicken in the fridge, I seized the opportunity. I had to choose something that would be friendly to all members of the household. Since this dorowat was cumin-free, I decided it should be "safe".

[ts]
I've renamed this "Easy Dorowat" since the recipe seems to be a much simpler way to make this chicken stew. No need to make berbere (Ethiopian spice mix) and nit'r qibe (niter kibbeh; spiced butter), and the spices needed were minimal.

It's more or less a dump-into-a-pot kind of affair, our favorite. I've adapted it for stovetop cooking as our slow cooker is actually too small to cook an adequate amount for the family.

cloves; cardamom seeds still hiding inside pods; nutmeg yet to be grated

[ts]
A "safe" blend of spices: cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon and turmeric (not pictured).

[ts]
The dish starts with onions, garlic and ginger, followed by tomatoes.

[ts]
After the tomatoes have been cooking for a while, I added the spices. The chicken pieces went in next. I covered the pot and let the stew simmer.

[ts]
In the meantime, I boiled some eggs. Bet you didn't expect that, eh? (Or, maybe you did!)

When the chicken were almost done, I added the peeled hardboiled eggs into the stew.

[ts]
As a final touch, a little bit of hot paprika went in. (We didn't have cayenne on hand, nor "regular" hot paprika, so we used smoked.)

[ts]
Some sliced red onions and cilantro were needed to top the stew and it was done!

[ts]
You may have noticed that for photo purposes, I cheated and stuck in some "breakfast pita", which cannot/must not be mistaken for injera (Ethiopian bread). As this was supposed to be an "easy" wat (stew), we did not make any injera, but rather, ate the stew with plain white rice.

Wow, we actually made something Ethiopian before!
Eggplant (or Duck!) with Dried Fruit Stuffing

Recipes contributed by LSC
Ginataan
Ginataang Manok (Chicken in Coconut Milk)
Bulalo (Beef Marrow Bone Soup)
Dinuguan (Pork Innards in Pork "Chocolate" Sauce)
Papaitan (Beef Innards in Bitter Sauce)

Recipe
Dorowat
from The Slow Cooker Recipe Book: Over 150 one-pot dishes for no-fuss preparation and delicious eating

Serves 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1-inch piece ginger, peeled & finely chopped
3/4 cup chicken/vegetable stock
1 cup passata or 14oz can chopped tomatoes
seeds from 5 cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
large pinch ground cinnamon
large pinch ground cloves
large pinch ground nutmeg
3lb chicken
4 hard-boiled eggs
cayenne pepper or hot paprika, to taste
salt & pepper
roughly chopped cilnatro
onion rings
flatbread or rice

Heat oil in a large pan, add the onions and cook for 10 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add the stock and the passata/chopped tomatoes to the pan. Bring to the boil and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened, then season.

Transfer the mixture to the ceramic cooking pot (of the slow cooker) and stir in the cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Add the chicken in a single layer, pushing the pieces down into the sauce.

**slow-cooker instructions**
Cover with the lid and cook on high for 3 hours. Remove the shells from the eggs, then prick the eggs a few times w/ a fork or fine skewer. Add to the sauce and cook for 30-45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.

Season to taste with cayenne pepper or hot paprika. Garnish with cilantro and onions rings. Serve with flatbread or rice.

Stir-fried Pork with Black Bean Sauce

2009-10-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

[js]
This is another re-discovered dish.

Our Yaya used to do one pork with tausi dish when we were growing up, but it has been more than 15 years since I've had her, or any other, version. I had bought a pork loin and decided that it would be used for the very purpose of reconnecting us with the past.

"Tausi"/Black Bean Sauce

[js]
This dish could be made with either (a) dried fermented black beans, rinsing them first and soaking them in some hot water, (b) canned black beans, what we call "tausi", rinsed first and then used as is, or (c) a prepared black bean and garlic sauce. I generally go the (c) route, buying the Lee Kum Kee brand.

[js]
I cut the pork loin into strips, the thinner the better, of course, but when pressed for time, these thick-ish strips will also do. These are marinated for 30 minutes with one tablespoon of Shaoxing wine and velveted with cornstarch, as much as need to coat the meat strips.

These strips are quickly stir-fried-seared in a very hot wok. Batch-cookery applies, although I must say I've gotten away with just dumping the whole lot into the wok.

After the pork strips are cooked and taken out, I put some chunks of tomatoes, garlic into the same wok until they're cooked through and fragrant. I then add a couple of tablespoons of black bean sauce to the tomatoes. The pork strips are then put back into the sauce to cook completely.

[js]
This brings back memories and very delicious memories at that. This is wonderful with white rice and it is such a bonus that the whole dish comes together very quickly, less than 30 minutes.

Recipe
Stir-fried Pork with Black Bean Sauce

pork loin or tenderloin, sliced thinly or cut into strips
Shaoxing wine
cornstarch

1-2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
garlic cloves, as many as you like

black bean and garlic sauce (Lee Kum Kee or other brand)

Marinate the pork slices/strips: Add a few spoonfuls of Shaoxing wine to the pork, just enough to moisten the pork. Mix in some cornstarch until it forms a paste with the wine. Adjust Shaoxing and cornstarch proportions to your liking.

Set aside marinating pork, about 30 minutes.

In a hot wok with hot oil, add the marinated pork pieces, tossing until they are 90% cooked. You may need to do this in batches if the wok is not large enough. Take out pork pieces and set aside.

In the same wok, heat oil. Add tomatoes and garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add a tablespoon or so of the black bean sauce. Put back pork strips into the wok. Toss around until the pork is cooked through. Adjust seasoning (you may add more black bean sauce if you wish).

Serve with plain white rice.

Clear Oxtail Soup with Corn, Cabbage and Potatoes

2009-10-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

[js]
Towards the tail end of corn season several weeks ago, I bought several ears of corn for the family to enjoy. I arrived fairly late to market and it was already slim pickings by then, so I managed to snag only 6 ears.

Only 6 ears was not enough for us. When we devour corn, we usually have an ear each, at least. Two ears per person is a modest serving for us. I had to figure out how to stretch these ears of corn lest a riot breaks loose.

Hmmm. . . I had some oxtails, some potatoes, and cabbage. Why not make a soup with all of the ingredients above? I must admit in all my years eating soup and eating corn, I've never had corn in soup before. (That is, a soup that had corn in it, instead of a cream of corn soup).

There's really nothing in terms of recipe for this soup. It's basic home-cooking, where we put ingredients in a pot with some water and wait.

[js]
I put the oxtails in the pot first and cooked them in water until they were almost tender, added the potatoes and then the corn. I got some local nugget potatoes because they were also available (and my favourite) and I managed to multiply my 6 ears of corn into 18 pieces of corn, by cutting each ear into thirds. I added some sliced cabbage last. Then, the soup was seasoned to taste.

It is surprising how a simple meal like this is so very, very good. The corn were exceptional! Somehow, cooking them with the oxtails made them taste very buttery, very sweet. The cabbage also made the light but definitely beefy broth itself sweet, and of course, the potatoes soaked up all that flavor.

[ts]
We are submitting this soup to this edition of Weekend Wokking. We're just sad that we couldn't do our usual "crazy" entry for the event. But, hopefully, we'll be able to someday soon, when time frees up.

This soup is similar to Bulalo (Philippine Beef Bone Soup)
Recipe below.

[eatingclub] vancouver Weekend Wokking posts:
Ravioli "Caprese": Tomato, Basil, Bocconcini
Eggplant "Clafouti"
Bibingka
Pumpkin Congee w/ Pumpkin "Beignets" & Sesame-Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese w/ Pipián Verde
Adobo Mushroom Tart
Duck and Orange Crêpes with Orange-White Wine Sauce
Almond Eggplant "Bisteeya" (Bastilla)
"Mashed Potato Beef Burger" (Red-skinned Potato Salad in Taiwanese Sacha Cheeseburger)
Korean Soybean Sprouts Pancake (Kongnamul Jeon)
Lemon Chamomile Tiramisu
Cilantro Horchata
Strawberry Cilantro Salsa, on Grilled Flank Steak
Duck Enchiladas with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Clear Oxtail Soup with Corn, Cabbage and Potatoes

Recipe
Clear Oxtail Soup with Corn, Cabbage and Potatoes

oxtail, chopped into pieces
water
nugget potatoes, whole or cut in half
corn, each cob cut into thirds
cabbage, chopped in large pieces

salt & pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce

All quantities are according to how much one wants them to be.

In a pot, add oxtail pieces and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then simmer on low heat until oxtail is tender, about 2-3 hours.

Add potatoes and corn into broth. Simmer until cooked. Add cabbage last and cook in the soup until wilted to your liking. Season the soup to taste with salt & pepper, and/or soy sauce, and/or fish sauce.

New West KnifeWorks Phoenix Santoku

2009-10-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

[js]
I have heard the injunction numerous time before, the reminder from every chef, celebrity chef and food "personality" to keep knives sharpened and sharp.

To be honest, I never thought much of it. Sure, it made good common sense and I can certainly see the wisdom of it, but it just never clicked for me. I have been going about my business with the knives we have -- and it seemed to me too that there was nothing that wrong with them. The knives cut when I need them to cut.

Suffice it to say that I have never known the pleasures of a truly sharp knife until I got the chance to use this New West knife.

New West KnifeWorks Phoenix Santoku (Cocobolo handle)

[js]
I first tried it to slice some onions -- and whoa!

Hey, slicing onions seem to be so much easier with this knife. Usually with what I have realized to be our horrendously dull knives, just getting the tops off onions requires a couple of grunts and, on some occasions, a couple of curses. The process from slicing the top off, to peeling the paper off the onions, to chopping them up finely seem to be pretty much painless.

I also used our New West knife to butcher three chickens. With our old knives, this task usually takes me more than half an hour to do. With the New West knife, the chickens were in parts in less about 15 minutes, ready for their next incarnation. The chicken carcasses were in the pot to ba made into stock.

A sharp knife does make a difference. I finally got it.

[ts]
We used this knife to do all sorts of standard chopping and slicing tasks. Slicing through little rind-y key limes, chopping leafy greens...

...slicing beef, and cutting hard vegetables like cabbage.

[ts]
Here are a couple of random thoughts.

The New West KnifeWorks Phoenix Santoku is quite lightweight with a much thinner blade, very different from a standard chef's knife. If you use a chef's knife, the Phoenix Santoku's almost-weightlessness may take a little bit of getting used to. On the other hand, it is a much friendlier knife to use for most people because it is so lightweight.

The blade of this particular knife is also shorter than the blade of a chef's knife. It's great for most purposes, but probably a little too small for some tasks, for example, cutting up a watermelon or a pumpkin.

The handle is also quite long compared to the blade. At times, the end of the handle would hit my forearm as I used the knife. Again, alternatively, there were comments in the household that the longer handle was much easier to use. (Perhaps it's just me, then; although, I don't think I have particularly short hands.)

All in all, this knife was great to use. I would compare it to a vegetable knife (such as the Global vegetable knife we have in possession). However, it does work as an all-purpose knife, with a few exceptions such as if one were to tackle a very big item, or for butchering large pieces of meat or cutting through bone.

JS and I would like to thank New West KnifeWorks for giving us the opportunity to get our hands on (literally!) one of their beautiful knives! It is quite a lovely addition to our kitchen.

Links
New West KnifeWorks website
About the Phoenix Granton-Santoku Knife

[ No Recipes ] has a great knife comparison post: The Great Knife Off

What's Cooking also has reviews of New West knives:
Super Bread Knife
Making Chopping Easy

I love this pattern!

Miso Shortribs

2009-10-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

[js]
Looking for a quick way to jazz up short ribs?

I was rummaging through our fridge a while back and found a container of half-unused miso.

I quickly mixed in about two tablespoons of miso, two tablespoons of mirin, and some brown sugar to taste. I added in a couple dashes of hot sauce and this was ready to slather onto some short ribs. I let the short ribs marinate for a couple of hours just because we had the time.

[ts]
For sides, we made some roasted zucchini (with a bit of some other winter squash thrown in as well) that we topped with breadcrumbs and pinenuts. We also made some mashed/"smashed" potatoes.

But, who would even look at the sides when you have such shortrib beauty around? Look at them sizzle!

Sizzzzzzzzzzzle!

[js]
This was during our "PG" period: PRE-GRILL, that is. So, I grilled the shortribs on a stovetop grill.

[ts]
I told you, shortrib beauty!

[js]
Miso shortribs with zucchini and smashed potatoes? I can't say I was disappointed with the meal at all.

Recipe
Miso Shortribs

shortribs, flanken cut

ratio 1:1 of
miso paste & mirin

brown sugar, to taste
hot sauce or chili flakes, optional

Mix together equal parts of miso and mirin. Add some brown sugar, to taste (to balance out the saltiness from the miso). If desired, mix in hot sauce or chili flakes for heat.

Marinate the shortribs in the miso mixture for 2 hours or more. If pressed for time, simply coat the shortribs well with the mixture before cooking.

Grill the shortribs until done.

[eatingclub] Chicken Saltimbocca on SAVEUR.com's Best of the Web!

2009-10-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

according to SAVEUR.com

[ts]
I was puttering around our Google Analytics a few days ago -- a very rare occurrence as these "analytics" are all Greek to me -- when I noticed that on one certain day, we had an unusually higher number of visits. It was very strange indeed. On further investigation, I discovered why.

Our Chicken "Saltimbocca" post was featured on SAVEUR.com's Best of The Web!

Wow! That was totally unexpected; a complete surprise! We're so happy!

SAVEUR.com: Chicken Saltimbocca by [eatingclub] vancouver

[eatingclub] vancouver is now on their list of "Best of the Web" sites!
[eatingclub] vancouver: Chicken "Saltimbocca" (the original post)

Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup, 4 versions (Taipei, Taiwan)

2009-10-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

beef noodle soup at Yong Kang

[js]
Thinking back on our visit to Taipei last March, I can't believe how unprepared we were for that trip. We had no game plan: basically, we boarded a plane in Vancouver and landed in Taipei. We had a hotel booked and we knew we had a wedding to go that week -- but that was about it. We had no itinerary planned, didn't even do any research whatsoever.

So, we wandered and meandered through the streets of Taipei. Of course, we had to have (Taiwan) Beef Noodle Soup! We tried several beef noodle shops; this is their story.

Food Stall at Taipei 101
[js]
Our first day in Taipei, we went to Taipei 101. It is apparently the big tourist-y structure to see, but I was unclear what it was exactly that we should see there. I figured it was a big building -- and I feared it would be just another big mall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101
Taipei 101

[ts]
Just to show how beef-noodle-crazy the city seems to be, here's a funny statue in Taipei 101.

The cow is eating noodles in soup made from himself!

[js]
It's a cow in its own broth, complete with noodles and vegetables. I guess they do take their beef noodles quite seriously.

I don't know what this food stall is called. Please refer to its name in the photograph.

[js]
There was a Food Court in the basement of Taipei 101 and we decided to eat first before going on our way. I must say, food courts in Taipei are a different animal from food courts in North America. It seems to me that they still serve "real food", only quicker, not mish-mashed corn ingredients masquerading as food.

[ts]
By the way, Taipei 101 is just a big mall. There's the observatory, but it was teeming with scary, unruly tourist groups, so we didn't bother. Therefore, our visit there was very short.

[js]
We bought a bowl of beef noodle soup from the stall pictured above. We piled on the pickled mustard greens on our noodles and away we slurped.

[js]
While the beef noodle soup was better than average and had a healthy portion of bok choy, the broth here had a hint of that "Chinese medicine" taste which we both didn't particularly care for.

[ts]
Also, I wanted even thicker, even QQ-er noodles. ("QQ" is Chinese for "chewy". It's true. I don't lie.)

Onward we go!

Unknown Restaurant

[js]
Our second day, we finally got one of those free maps being given out by Metro Taipei, the subway system.

Metro Taipei

(We tried buying a real map at 7-11 or any conveniece store but were foiled by the Chinese-only maps and by the fact that the booklets were always covered by a plastic wrap and hence unviewable for those not buying. We bought a couple but they were pretty much useless.)

One of the places the Metro map suggested to go to was the Ximending 西門町 area, which was a "fashionable" part of town, full of "youthful lifestyle." We also saw the little letters on the map telling us that one of the streets was the "Street of Beef Noodle."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ximending

We're not exactly sure if we got onto this street of beef noodle but we did end up in a beef noodle shop with no name.

[js]
TS put up two fingers to indicate that there were 2 of us going to be eating. When the owner/waiter never returned with the menu or anything else for that matter, we were starting to get antsy. Were they going to let us order or are we supposed to just sit here?

[js]
After about five minutes, we had two steaming bowls of beef noodle soup. Apparently, TS's peace sign already signified our order of two bowls!

Ooooh, pickled mustard greens, so plentiful!

[js]
I loved the fact that they had a big container of the pickled mustard greens on the table. In Vancouver, most beef noodle joints are very miserly with their pickled mustard greens. In Taipei, it seems they just give it away.

[ts]
I can't really remember how this tasted exactly, except that it was very good. Umm, yeah, that's about it: it was very good.

(But, again, "skinny" noodles!)

[ts]
We went into the restaurant via a side alley entrance, and it was only after eating that we discovered their "kitchen" outside the other door.

[ts]
We looked around a bit, trying to see if they had some sort of signage, but it seems that they didn't. So, I took a picture of the street sign to take note of the location.

[ts]
If you ever wish to visit them, that's where you go. =)

Yong Kang Beef Noodle 永康牛肉麵

Since 1963

[js]
For our 3rd taiwan beef noodle experience, AL -- the bride whose wedding we were attending -- took us to her favourite beef noodle place.

[ts]
It was a busy place; full house!

There was another place a few doors down that supposedly won the title of "Best Beef Noodle Soup" in Taipei's annual beef noodle soup contest, but AL scoffs at their "win". She thinks they might've bribed the judges or something, teehee. She's bitter that Yong Kang did not win. I must say, though, that when we walked past the other restaurant, only about 30% of the tables was occupied.

[ts]
We sat at a communal table. That's a portion of our table. The little plate of noodle-like items in the background is tofu.

[ts]
Tofu "strings"/"strips." Simply marinated. Very nice and refreshing. This was served room temperature or cold.

Oh, typically, beef noodle places (and other places as well) in Taipei have several "side dishes" on offer.

[ts]
Marinated lotus root. Again, very nice and "refreshing", as it was also served room temperature/cold.

In general, most of these items are generically called "marinated". At least, that's the translation I see often.

[ts]
Steamed spareribs with rice "powder". The rice "powder" is ground-up rice with various added flavorings/spices. It comes in a mini bamboo steamer with a handle. This was served piping hot, of course! The "unknown restaurant" also carried this item; we just didn't order it that time.

[ts]
You may be wondering, "Why is the beef noodle soup so pale?" Well, in most places, beside the dark "hong shao" (紅燒, aka "red cook") beef broth, they also carry a plain clear broth. I was very curious about this plain clear broth after seeing it on various menus.

I asked AL: "What does the plain one taste like? Should I order that instead?"

I should say that when I asked this question, I was very much visibly torn and confused, with my heart yearning for the hong-shao noodle soup, yet my curiousity incredibly piqued by this clear broth.

AL did not help much. "It's just a clear broth. If you want to find out what it is, why don't you just order it, then."

She led me astray!!!!!

I mean, it was all right and all, but obviously, it wasn't that rich, complex hong-shao type broth I was looking for. I looked enviously at both AL's and JS' bowls of hong-shao beef noodle soup all throughout the dinner, feeling quite sorry for myself.

[ts]
That was what I was missing! Look at that hong-shao goodness! The broth, so dark and rich! So flavorful! I still get sad thinking about my plain broth. [sniffle]

Food place at "The Mall"

[js]
Our last day in Taipei, we were too lazy to venture too far out of our hotel. Our hotel is situated beside The Mall. Like every department store, it has a food court in the basement. We've eaten at several other food stalls in The Mall, but this time, we chose the Taiwanese place.

The Mall

[ts]
I must reiterate that as JS has mentioned, eating at these food courts is nothing to be ashamed of! ;) Actually some of the food places in these food courts are full-fledged restaurants. This place was kind of a restaurant.

Oh, if you go to "The Mall" website, then select About > Floor Directory > B2, this is the 6th item on that list of stores/restaurants.

[ts]
That teensy-teensy, tiny spoon was adorable!

[ts]
Once again, we decided to get some sides.

Bamboo shoots.

Pickled vegetables.

Tofu and various vegetables with these small fish.

What do we have here?

[ts]
Look at that goodness! I don't exactly know what type of vegetable/herb is in this. The filling also had mung bean threads/noodles, and possibly chopped tofu.

It was so very, very good. In fact, after eating this one, we ordered yet another one. (You may remember this type of "bing" 餅 from our Chinese "Stuffed Pancakes" post.)

What am I forgetting? Oh yes, the beef noodle soup!

[ts]
Lookee here...

[ts]
Our order sheet. We were quite happy to see they had "knife-cut" noodles.

[js]
Lo and behold, our bowls of beef noodle finally had these more rustic and chewy noodles. That was one thing I was missing from all the other beef noodle soups that we tried.

[ts]
Finally, my QQ dreams were fulfilled! These noodles were so nice and chewy.

All in all, we didn't eat any awful bowls of beef noodle soup during our trip.

(Believe it or not, we still have some posts still to write from our Taipei trip from oh, about 7 months ago!)

Links
About Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup
Wikipedia: Taipei 101
Taipei 101 official site
Metro Taipei
Wikipedia: Ximending
The Mall

Taiwan trip 2009
Taiwanese Bakery Goods (including ChiaTe Bakery)
Dan Shui 淡水, Taiwan (including food)
Taipei Quick Eats: Mos Burger, Hong Ya Breakfast, Ay Chung Flour-Rice Noodle
Taipei Convenience Store Foods
Shilin Night Market 士林夜市 (Taipei, Taiwan)
Breakfast Buffet at the Shangri-La (Taipei, Taiwan)
Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup, 4 versions (Taipei, Taiwan)

Quick Cucumber Pickle

2009-10-09T22:14:00.000-07:00

[ts]
Oh no! We missed an edition of Weekend Wokking yet again!!! And we always look forward to trying to create something "different" using the selected ingredient too!

Seeing the roundup at Blazing Hot Wok (ingredient: vinegar), and knowing we are completely late, we decided to do this apology post. We don't have time to make anything new, so I started looking in the refrigerator to see if we had any existing dish that used vinegar. Well, we did make pork belly adobo recently (all gone now), but didn't take any pictures.

What we do have is some quick-pickled cucumbers, made several days ago with the overflow of cucumbers from the garden of our cousins, the gongs.

[ts]
No recipe to this one, as it's very simple.

I cut the peeled (because the skin was thick) and de-seeded cucumbers -- any shape is fine -- placed them in a colander and salted them. They sat for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Then, I heated up some vinegar (just plain white) and added some sugar, according to taste.

When the sugar had dissolved, I took the mixture off the heat and added in a couple of cloves of crushed garlic and a couple of chili peppers.

I waited until the mixture was not piping hot -- but was too impatient to wait for it to cool down completely -- and mixed the vinegar mixture and the cucumber slices.

[ts]
There you have it, our quickie pseudo-entry to Weekend Wokking.

[eatingclub] vancouver Weekend Wokking posts:
Ravioli "Caprese": Tomato, Basil, Bocconcini
Eggplant "Clafouti"
Bibingka
Pumpkin Congee w/ Pumpkin "Beignets" & Sesame-Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese w/ Pipián Verde
Adobo Mushroom Tart
Duck and Orange Crêpes with Orange-White Wine Sauce
Almond Eggplant "Bisteeya" (Bastilla)
"Mashed Potato Beef Burger" (Red-skinned Potato Salad in Taiwanese Sacha Cheeseburger)
Korean Soybean Sprouts Pancake (Kongnamul Jeon)
Lemon Chamomile Tiramisu
Cilantro Horchata
Strawberry Cilantro Salsa, on Grilled Flank Steak
Duck Enchiladas with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Quick Cucumber Pickle

Weekend Wokking is a world-wide food blogging event created by Wandering Chopsticks, celebrating the multiple ways we can cook one ingredient.

If you would like to participate or to see the secret ingredient, check who's hosting next month.

Check out all Weekend Wokking Roundups.

Bola-bola (Philippine Meatballs)

2009-10-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

[js]
I've eaten a lot of bola-bola in my day, but we have not tried making them ourselves for such a long time.

It must be because my godmother, Auntie B, happily fulfills our request for bola-bola. Mama would buy the meat (ground pork), and the meat returns in a foil pan already mixed in with goodies, like green onions, carrots, and our Auntie B's signature root vegetable, taro strips.

[ts]
Bola, by the way, means "ball." Although there are all sorts of meat/fish/seafood balls, when we say "bola-bola", everyone knows that it refers to these pork meatballs.

no photo of Auntie B's bola-bola

[js]
A few months ago, when Boss #2 requested bola bola, we set about making them. I looked at Yaya's recipe and her bola-bola called for mixing ground pork with carrots and jicama. I bought jicama for this very purpose.

However, I made the rookie mistake of overprocessing the carrots and jicama in the food processor. When I tried to form the meat mixture into balls, they were too soft and wouldn't hold together. We ended up making an "omelette" with the ground pork bola-bola-wannabe mixture.

For this specific batch of bola-bola, I put carrots and sweet potatoes. TS likes to tell me to put water chestnuts in place of the jicama for crunch, but I didn't do that this time. I made sure I didn't overprocess these vegetables in the food processor; I kept them in small chunks. I mixed in some green onions, soy sauce, just a touch of sugar to balance out the soy sauce -- and they were ready to form and fry.

[ts]
Wow, I knew the bola-bola mixture was a simple one, but looking at the recipe again, I am still a little surprised at how simple it is!

balls of fury!

Bola-bola draining on a steamer basket.

[ts]
Bola-bola are usually eaten with some ketchup, so a sweet chili sauce will also do the trick. Needless to say, we eat them as ulam with our plain white rice.

[js]
Bola-bola are always popular in our household and they were gone in a jiffy. There's something about these browned pork balls that is irresistible to our family.

Recipe
Bola-bola (Philippine Meatballs)

3 lbs ground pork
2 carrots, grated
2 sweet potatoes, grated
4 stalks green onions, chopped finely
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Form into balls (or whatever shape of whatever size you choose). Heat oil in a pan and shallow-fry the balls, turning as necessary to brown all sides. Remove from oil when done and drain on paper towels.

More:
[eatingclub] vancouver Chinese food
[eatingclub] vancouver Philippine food

Raincoast Crisps

2009-10-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

[ts]
A while back, we received an email asking us if we would like to sample the new addition to the Raincoast Crisps product line. We were already quite familiar with these crisps, and being asked to sample a new flavor made us feel special, and all warm and fuzzy inside. ;) So, we accepted!

[ts]
We promptly received two boxes of Cinnamon & Raisin Raincoast Crisps. Like the other Raincoast Crisps flavors, each crisp was jam-packed with seed-y/grain-y and fruity goodness.

an attempt to be like "most people"

[js]
When I found out that we were getting the new Cinnamon Raisin flavour, I was not too excited. I wasn't sure I was going to like the flavour: I only like cinnamon and raisin in small doses and I thought the combination was too common.

[ts]
Lesley Stowe Fine Foods Ltd., the maker of Raincoast Crisps, recommends topping their crisps with cheeses, dips, and various other toppings. I guess most people do this for entertaining purposes.

There I was pretending to be like most people and laid out a mini-spread of the crisps with fresh mozzarella and some kalamata olives.

In reality, we never entertain with crackers (or crisps) and dips and such. So, while we do like Raincoast Crisps -- they are very good -- we don't usually have them on hand.

But, the other reason why we try not to keep Raincoast Crisps in the pantry?

[ts]
Because that is what happens. It is not at all difficult for me to finish one box (or more) in one sitting! Bad, so bad!

[js]
The cinnamon flavour was not as pronounced as I had feared it to be, and there were enough nuts and seeds to keep the cracker interesting. I thought I would turn my nose up at the Cinnamon Raisin crisps. Instead, I started chomping away until there was none left!

For more information on Lesley Stowe's Raincoast Crisps, including the different variations/flavors available, visit their website. http://www.raincoastcrisps.com/

Pork Tenderloin Asado (Pork Tenderloin with Tomato-Pineapple Sauce)

2009-09-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

[js]
I was a tad lost what to serve as another dish for a get-together several months ago, and I had a few pork tenderloins waiting in the fridge.

I am always apprehensive when making something with pork tenderloin, especially after that one experience when we overcooked pork tenderloin and ended up with gray cardboard. That was probably the only time I experienced meat that was actually inedible.

That was a couple of years ago and I believe it was a jerked pork tenderloin. I was so looking forward to having it for dinner. When I came home, I was terribly disappointed that the pork was left in the oven to dry. There was some stomping and sulking involved that day, although the more mature side of me realized that, of course, it was an accident.

For this pork tenderloin asado, I was careful not to overcook the pork.

[ts] Pineapple juice for the sauce.

[js]
I came across a recipe for "asado" on Cookmobile's site. The recipe called for using pork loin, so we had to make adjustments in the method to ensure that our tenderloins would be perfectly cooked.

[ts] The pineapple chunks had nowhere to go, so we decided to use them as well, giving them a buzz before we did.

[js]
Although I have often heard the term "asado" in Filipino cookery, I have no fixed idea of what "asado" should taste like.

See, it seems to me that the word is used to mean different pork dishes altogether.

There's a siopao filling that we call "asado," which is a sweet-ish, brown-ish braised pork that's somewhat similar in taste to char siu, although without the more star anise-y, licorice-y aspect of char siu.

But, there's also another "asado" I came across that are thin slices of pork that are sometimes red-ringed, recalling char siu, but not at all similar in taste to char siu.

Anyways, I am getting confused just trying to distinguish and describe their different flavours, especially as it has been quite a number of years since I've had both versions of Filipino "asado."

[ts] The tenderloins were seasoned, then browned.

[js]
When I came across Lalaine's recipe for asado, I wondered what kind of asado it would be.

I knew it wasn't going to be like siopao asado and I secretly hoped that it would be the other asado that I ate in Ongpin restaurants back in Manila.

[ts] The tenderloins braised in pineapple juice, the puréed pineapple chunks, some canned tomatoes, a little soy sauce, a few dried bay leaves, a lot of minced garlic, and some chopped onions.

[ts] After braising, the tenderloins were pulled out and sliced. What a nice pink; not overcooked!

[ts] To give the sauce a certain richness, we whipped out the liver spread! I was quite scared at this point, as I hate liver. But, JS insisted that we not omit this step. I guess I should be grateful that we didn't use "real" liver. I whisked the liver spread into the sauce.

[ts] The liver-enriched sauce, poured over the sliced pork tenderloins.

[js]
I can't quite say it is "the other asado", but I do like this dish. It was very flavourful, with bright, sweet notes coming from the pineapple and a very umami background coming from the liver spread. The liver spread really added that je ne sais quoi that made the whole dish for me.

More:
[eatingclub] vancouver Philippine food

Recipe from The CookMobile
Pork Asado (Braised Pork Loin in Tomato-Pineapple Sauce)
http://thecookmobile.com/pork-asado-braised-pork-loin-in-tomato-pineapple-sauce/

Chinese "Leftovers" (September 2009)

2009-09-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

Chinese herbs n' stuff

[ts]
Ack, we haven't been able to come up with posts during this week! I have pictures ready, but they don't have copy yet. I really don't know what's keeping us so busy.

So, in the meantime, here's another edition of "Leftovers" -- and I believe if you see the pictures, you'll see why they didn't get their own posts.

Sweet and Sour Pork
This is CSC's sweet and sour pork. It was very good! Unfortunately, these pictures were taken very early in our blogging career. Perhaps we will make this again and take new photos, then post it with the recipe.

Frying of pork

left: prepped onions & peppers, prepped sauce
right: cooking of the dish

Very good!

Frog Leg "Kung Pao"

So muscular!

The "kung pao" is in quotations because it didn't turn out quite right. The dish was still tasty, but in an "other Chinese" kind of way, not a kung pao way.

Honey Walnut Shrimp

Shrimp in a honey-sweetened mayonnaise sauce, with candied walnuts. Always a crowd-pleaser.

Mama's "Si Boot" (四物 Si Wu) Soup with Duck Leg

"si wu" blend

[ts]
四物 "Si wu" is a blend of Chinese herb-/medicine-y things. That up there has wolfberries (goji berries), white peony root, Chinese foxglove root, Chinese Angelica root, and Szechuan Lovage Root.

Actually, I only knew about the wolfberries; I didn't have the faintest clue what the other ingredients were.

This page was helpful:
http://www.sacredlotus.com/formulas/get.cfm/chinese_formula/si_wu_tang

"Si boot" is the Fujian (Hokkien) pronunciation of "si wu".

四 -- "Si" -- actually means "four", so I don't know if this pack that my mother bought is actually "si wu", or some other blend of ingredients, since it has 5 components.

But, all our life, Mama would call this concoction with wolfberries "si boot". So, who knows!

http://www.sacredlotus.com/herbs/get.cfm/chinese_herb/gou_qi_zi_chinese_wolfberry_fruit_matrimony_vine_fruit/highlight/wolfberry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfberry

Chinese medicine thingies are a big mystery to me. Because of that, and because of the fact that there is no picture of the finished product, we couldn't write a post about this soup.

Whatever this blend of "herbs" is actually called, making a soup is dead simple. There's some water, there's some meat... In this case, a couple of duck legs.

Boil, then simmer. Done!

Yes, it does get scary-dark like that. Honestly, I can't stand the Chinese medicine taste, although some people do like these medicine-y soups a lot.

That's all the Chinese "leftovers" we have for you today.

More:
[eatingclub] vancouver Chinese food

Broiled Sardines with Beet Greens and Beetroot; Wild BC Seafood Fest; Steveston Fish Market

2009-09-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

[js]
TS had this Wild BC Seafood Fest pencilled into her calendar, and lacking anything better to do on a sunny Saturday afternoon in late August, we decided to head on over to Steveston (Richmond, BC) to partake.

The event starts at 11 in the morning and ends at 4 in the afternoon and we got there at around 3. Somehow, we dawdled and dawdled until it was almost too late. We got there too late to see the cooking expo being given by the Provence team. Still, we managed to score some tasty eats from some of the vendors there.

[js]
I don't think I had a proper lunch before going to the Fest, so I eagerly ordered a sockeye salmon burger from the Seaside Shack family. I was very pleased when I bit into the burger: although it was a tiny bit dry, it was very tasty, with a mouthful of salmon in every bite. This was pure salmon, no filler, and I love me my sockeye salmon.

[ts]
I wanted to order the tuna burger but they were sold out. No matter. I wasn't really hungry.

[js]
We also saw the [C] crew, headed by Chef Robert Clark, serving up some pink salmon tacos and we grabbed one to share.

[js]
It was served with a lime wedge which we promptly squeezed all over the taco. The shredded cabbage, which was pickled, went surprisingly well with the salmon.

[ts]
There were other booths/vendors, but no need for photos. We just so happened to buy a couple of bunches of beets from a vendor.

[js]
Then, we saw this sign.

[ts]
6 sardines for $5! We were quite happy to be scoring such a deal!

With some sardines in hand, we realized we had to leave pretty soon, seeing as they're perishable. However, since they were frozen, and since we were already in Steveston, and since we haven't been there for 10 years, let's say, and since it appeared that a lot has changed (a lot more shops), we decided to stay for a little while longer and get out of the fest environs to walk towards the fisherman's wharf.

Were we glad we did!

[ts]
That, my friends, is the fish market!

[ts]
As JS and I remarked, "So this is where they hide the fish!"

There were quite a number of shrimp vendors; there were snapper for sale, sole, etc. But, more importantly, there were halibut and tuna fishermen! We almost always never buy halibut and tuna because they are just too expensive. But, pricing here seemed to be very reasonable.

[ts]
There's tuna for sale. The catch was, of course, that one had to buy the whole fish. Tuna is big! But, now that we know a source for not-ghastly-expensive tuna, we can actually imagine making something-tuna at home.

The largest ship there.

[ts]
Ah yes, that above is the largest ship there. One might say, the rock star of the boats. They were completely sold out of their rock star item, black cod (also known as sablefish).

Oh, walking along the boats, we spotted one selling sardines. They were selling 8 fish for $5! That's 2 more fish than the vendor at the Wild BC Seafood Fest for the same price! Man! We had no choice, we had to get the 8 sardines.

So, we go home with our loot of 14 sardines and 2 bunches of beets. I thought that we should make a dish using both of the ingredients for a BC-tastic meal. ;)

Blurry photos for "sensitive" readers? Or perhaps I just couldn't take good photos? Hmm...

[ts]
First thing, cleaning the sardines.

[js]
Just thinking about having to gut and clean the sardines made me want to chuck the sardines altogether. However, I persevered, consoling myself with the fact that there are only 14 sardines to be gutted and cleaned. I put on the gloves and got to work.

[ts]
Second, prepping the beets.

[ts]
I used both the roots and the greens. I must say, they were the dirtiest greens I had ever come across.

[ts]
To cook, the beets went into water with a touch of vinegar. The beet greens were washed multiple times, then were finally wilted in a wok with some garlic.

[ts]
I decided to make a salad using the wilted greens and the cooked beets, so I diced some red onions (pinkish purple, like the beets!) and picked a few mint leaves for that purpose.

We had some not-too-sweet raspberry sauce we made a while back sitting in the refrigerator, lonely from being left alone all this time. In keeping with the red-pink-purple theme, I decided to use that to make raspberry vinaigrette. I simply mixed together the raspberry sauce, some vinegar and/or lemon juice, some olive oil, then seasoned with salt and pepper.

Beet Greens and Beetroot Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

[ts]
As for the sardines, we simply broiled them, like we do with our mackerel: a generous amount of salt, some oil, and then we wait until the skin blisters. Of course, if you have the grill ready, that would also be very nice indeed.

See:
Grilled Pike Mackerel and/or Broiled Pike Mackerel

[ts]
I guess you could say that that Saturday afternoon was well-spent after all.

BC Salmon Marketing Council
http://www.bcsalmon.ca/

Canadian Pacific Sardine Association
http://www.bcsardines.com/

Wild Canadian Sablefish Association
http://www.canadiansablefish.com/

Philippine Beef Salpicao (and a Spanish variation)

2009-09-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

[js]
Coming up to another deadline, and being totally overwhelmed currently by daily-living-things to devote more time to the blog, we have to take some liberty with this Spanish entry for Regional Recipes.

You see, I first had beef salpicao when I visited Manila several years back. I don't remember the restaurant but I do remember a dimly-lit room with red-checkered tablecloths. I remembered the name of the dish up to now, because aside from being vaguely Spanish-sounding, I remembered digging into tender pieces of beef in a buttery, garlicky sauce with gusto. All that deliciousness somehow got hard-wired into my consciousness.

I was craving something garlicky and buttery and I had a couple of sirloin tip roasts in the fridge. Okay, sirloin tip is not exactly beef tenderloin, but it would have to do. I happen to like the big, beefy flavour of sirloin anyways.

I wanted to make my beef salpicao similar to the one I first tasted so I went online and looked for some recipes. I was apprehensive when I saw that some recipes included Knorr (or Maggi) seasoning and Worcestershire sauce, but given that Knorr/Maggi and Lea & Perrins are often used in Filipino cuisine, I decided to go ahead with them.

[js]
Preparing the beef salpicao is fairly straightforward. I mixed my Knorr, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, garlic, pepper, and paprika together with the cubes of beef I had cut up. I let the beef marinate for a couple of hours.

When it was about dinner time, I heated up some oil and started searing the pieces of beef in very hot oil. The key is to get the pieces of beef seared well: in fact, what I wanted to achieve was a kind of caramelized crust on the beef, to contrast with the soft, tenderness inside.

[js]
After searing the beef, I put them into a wok and melted a pat of butter with the cubes.

we HEART garlic

[js]
I also made some garlic chips for strewing all over the beef cubes. This dish is especially good with steaming white rice.

Spanish variation
[js]
When we plated our beef salpicao, I thought it looked very Spanish indeed. Of course, this is not surprising since Filipino cuisine has some roots in the Spanish. The not-so-Spanish elements in this version of beef salpicao, I suppose, would be the Knorr/Maggi seasoning.

To make the dish even more Spanish, I probably would omit the Knorr and lessen the Worcestershire sauce and use a combination of smoked sweet and hot paprika instead of the Hungarian paprika we used.

More:
[eatingclub] vancouver Spanish

Recipe
Beef Salpicao

3 to 4 pounds beef sirloin tip (or beef tenderloin)

Marinade
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Maggi or Knorr seasoning
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon paprika (such as Hungarian)
garlic, as much as you like

butter, as much or as little as you like
garlic slices, as much as you like

Cut beef into cubes, about 1-inch in size. Marinate beef in all the ingredients for at least 2 hours.

To cook, heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. In batches, sear the cubes of beef until well-browned. Set aside. When all the cubes are browned, add them back to the pan and add butter. Cook until butter has melted and the beef is cooked.

Meanwhile, fry garlic slices in olive oil until lightly browned. Be careful and do not let the garlic burn!

Strew garlic chips over the beef and serve immediately. This is great with plain white rice.

Spanish variation:
Omit Knorr/Maggi seasoning in the marinade.
Use only 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce in the marinade (instead of 1/4 cup).
Double the amount of paprika in the marinade, using a combination of Spanish smoked hot paprika and Spanish smoked sweet paprika. Proceed with the rest of the recipe.

We're submitting this to Regional Recipes, a blogging event created by Blazing Hot Wok that celebrates food from all over the world.

The region for this edition is Spain. The round-up will be hosted at Blazing Hot Wok and will be posted around/after September 20.

Regional Recipes information

Our Regional Recipes posts:
Greek Meatball Soup (Giouvarlakia)
Simmered Saba Mackerel with Daikon Radish (Saba Oroshi-ni)
Thai Fried Chicken
Roast Pork Belly with Puy Lentils
Beef "Ribbon" Kebab (Pasanda Kabab) with Cilantro Chutney
Canadian Onion Soup with Oka Cheese
Muffuletta
Börek with Beef Filling
Korean Pork Bulgogi (with Muu Namul, Kong Namul)
Lobster Congee from a Lobster Feast
Pork Jowl (Pork Cheeks) with Brown Sugar Rub
Beef Salpicao

Boiled Saba (Burro Banana) with Condensed Milk

2009-09-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

What went wrong?

[js]
Long before I knew the meaning of the term and long before it became the name of a chain of clothing stores, I never realized the pleasures of living in a banana republic.

Make that, a many-kind-of-banana republic, with different varieties of bananas widely available.

In our household, we preferred the variety called "lakatan," a smaller, yellower, sweeter version versus "latundan," long-ish, large-ish with a whiter flesh.

If I'm not mistaken (and please correct me if I am), the "latundan" is similar, if not the same, variety as what is sold here in North America, the Cavendish.

Now that there's the hegemony of the Cavendish, I find myself yearning for other bananas, but not having any remedy, we've had to make do. In fact, my godmother now makes her "turon" (banana spring rolls) with these regular bananas instead of "saba," which is another banana-like fruit that used to be quite prominent on our table.

[js]
Going through the produce aisles of our Asian supermarket one day, I saw that they had what has been labelled as "burro," which looked similar to "saba."

I immediately thought of one of my favourite snacks, "minatamis na saba," which is just saba boiled in a light sugar syrup. I used to eat it with crushed ice and some milk, possibly evaropated milk, poured on top. I was getting excited about the possibility but had to contain myself.

After all, I should be a tad wary, because I remember way, way back, being newly landed in a strange land, the one time we craved for "minatamis na saba," we ended up with something quite awful. My mother must have bought what looked like "saba" and cooked it -- but it wasn't the same fruit at all and we just couldn't eat the "minatamis na ewan" (boiled who-knows-what-fruit in sugar syrup).

Which is to say, this "Nenita" might be a ringer. . .

[ts]
So, we forged ahead, boiling these burro bananas in water sweetened with a little bit of brown sugar.

[ts]
We seem to remember that saba needs to be boiled for quite a while, so we cooked ours in the slow-cooker. After a long while, we checked and were quite surprised and taken aback to discover that the bananas had taken on a reddish hue!

Whoa! What's with the color!? I remember that boiled saba is actually a brown color. We were very puzzled.

As for the taste, the bananas themselves didn't seem to have sweetened at all after cooking in the light syrup. I tried to salvage it by adding condensed milk, but the bananas themselves were quite disappointing.

What went wrong?

I mean, is there more to minatamis na saba that we don't know about?

[ts]
A mystery, this.

[eatingclub] vancouver Filipino food

Roast Eggplant "Paneer" "Curry" & "Tandoori" Chicken

2009-09-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

[ts]
Roast Eggplant "Paneer" "Curry" & "Tandoori" Chicken:
with so many quotations marks, I should just call this something else entirely, right? ;)

(Yes, I am a self-confessed quotation mark addict. "Bisteeya", "Caprese", "Singapore Noodles", "Clafouti", "Streusel Brittle", "Duck Coop Pie", "Beignets", "Fish n' (Banana) Chips". Etc. Etc. Etc.)

A long, long while ago, I read something in the paper about Bal Arneson and her cookbook, Everyday Indian: 100 Fast, Fresh and Healthy Recipes . As the title suggests, the premise of the book was that one can make these updated, modern Indian dishes easily and quickly. When I saw the book being sold at Costco with a very agreeable price, I went ahead and bought a copy.

nice colors!

[ts]
We happened to have some eggplants lying around, so the "Baked Eggplant with Paneer" seemed like a good recipe to start with. Instead of baking the eggplants and heating up a large oven, I decided to keep the heat to a small area and roasted them over a burner.

[ts]
After peeling them and mashing them, I was ready to start. I measured out my spices, and prepped the onions and ginger.

[ts]
I didn't actually have garam masala on hand, so I made my own ghetto version with some cumin, coriander, black pepper, and a touch of cinnamon. The recipe also called for turmeric, so I added that as well.

[ts]
I started by cooking the onions and ginger, then it was just a matter of adding the rest of the ingredients: tomatoes, spices, and green chili pepper. They cooked for a bit, then the "paneer" went in at the last minute.

Yes, as you can see, that is not paneer. We had these mini bocconcini, so we used those instead.

[ts]
As promised, this dish did come together quite easily and did taste very light yet filling.

We decided to go with our Indian theme and marinated some chicken in our butter chicken marinade, since I've heard that the marinade is the same as for tandoori chicken.

Although, thinking about it, I just realized that it's the tandoori chicken marinade that can be used to make butter chicken, but not necessarily vice versa.

Oops. I guess I really do need to use those quotations marks around "tandoori"! Especially since, of course, we did not use a tandoor as well!

In any case, my marinade consisted of yogurt, lemon juice. garlic, ginger, onions, my ghetto garam masala, and some salt and sugar. But, I think the butter chicken recipe needs to be a post for another day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandoori_masala
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandoori_chicken
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter_chicken

[ts]
We grilled the chicken and, even though they look scary now all covered in yogurt like that, the yogurt eventually fell or "burned" off during cooking. Oh yes, as you can see, we didn't bother with the red coloring.

[ts]
And that's it! Grilled quote-unquote tandoori chicken, with a roast eggplant quote-unquote paneer quote-unquote curry. With some rice, it made for a mighty nice, easy, "Everyday Indian" meal.

Recipe
Baked Eggplant with Paneer
from Everyday Indian: 100 Fast, Fresh and Healthy Recipes

4 eggplants
2 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoon grated ginger
2 cups cubed tomatoes
1 green chili, finely shopped
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cubed paneer, panfried

Preheat oven to 350F. Place the eggplants on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Peel off the skin and mash the eggplant gently with a fork.

Place the oil, onion, and ginger in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, green chili, garam masala, turmeric and salt, and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Gently mix in the eggplant, reduce the heat to very low, and cook for 1 minute.

Mix in the paneer, cover the dish, and let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken and Rice

2009-09-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

A Wordless Post, as wordless as we can make it.

[js]
Sometimes a little chicken and rice does a body good.

In the pot:
1 whole chicken, cut into parts, dusted with paprika & oregano, browned;
Garlic & onions;
Diced bell peppers, green & red;
Homemade chicken stock (made from its brethren);
Turmeric, a little bit for color;
Parsley;
And of course, jasmine rice.

Salt & pepper, too!

Easy one-pot meal.

[eatingclub] vancouver Chicken
[eatingclub] vancouver Rice

Cincinnati-style Chili, Five Way

2009-09-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

[ts]
We caught an episode of Cook's Country on TV one day, the theme being "Midwestern Favorites." Frankly, I had no idea what Midwestern Favorites could be, so I was very curious.

Bridget and "Bow-Tie" (their nickname for Christopher Kimball) first made Chicago-style Ribs. That was very intriguing as I didn't know such an entity existed! Afterwards, Julia and Bow-Tie made Cincinnati-style Chili. I remembered that I do know about Cincinnati-style Chili, seeing some show or another featuring the dish on the Food Network years ago.

[ts]
It looked so good! We saved the show on our PVR and then, finally, a couple of weeks later, we had the opportunity to make it.

I took notes while watching the episode, but I noticed that they would leave out the measurement of a few ingredients. Very crafty indeed. In any case, it was easy enough to guess.

I made the sauce: no browning or boiling of the ground beef beforehand, and the only flavorings were oregano, cinnamon and allspice. It was quick, needing only about 15 minutes of simmering.

And that was it! Very easy.

[ts]
I have transcribed the recipe below, as it's not available from Cook's Country.

To make this a "five-way", we ate our chili with spaghetti, kidney beans, diced raw onions and cheddar cheese. And, I think it does have to be assembled in that specific order!

Start with spaghetti and top with the chili...

...then add the beans, diced onions (raw)...

...followed by grated cheddar cheese. We used strong cheddar.

Here's a massive serving.

[ts]
It. Was. Good.

Imagine spaghetti with "sauce" -- already good by itself -- with heartiness added by the kidney beans, a fresh crisp flavor from the onions, then the strong cheddar to add some saltiness.

Now, we -- especially our brother, who insists that serving this over spaghetti is "weird" -- are looking forward to topping hotdogs with this chili!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_chili

Recipe
Cincinnati-style Chili
as seen on Cook's Country;
written recipe as transcribed by TS of [eatingclub] vancouver

2 onions, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups tomato sauce
2 cups chicken tock
brown sugar (a touch, 1-2 tablespoons)
cider vinegar (a touch, 1-2 tablespoons)

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

accompaniments:
cooked spaghetti
kidney beans
diced onions
grated cheddar cheese

Heat some oil in a pot. Sauté diced onions until softened and a little brown around the edges. Then, add the garlic, tomato paste, chili powder, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper. Cook for about a minute.

Add the tomato sauce, chicken stock, brown sugar and cider vinegar. When the sauce starts to bubble, add the ground beef. Break up the beef into small pieces with a potato masher.

When the sauce resumes bubbling/boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the beef is cooked.

Serve on top of spaghetti, and then, in this order, top with kidney beans, diced onions, and cheese. Enjoy!

Blueberry Tres Leches Cake

2009-09-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

[js]
We wanted to make a dessert with our blueberry haul from our Blueberry Dinner. Originally, I kept pushing for a cheesecake of sorts because -- well, I happen to love cheesecake.

TS, however, was equally adamant about not making cheesecake. The closest thing to cheesecake we can agree on, that is, a cake but without cheese, is a tres leches cake. Imagining biting into that berry milky sweetness with a gorgeous blueberry hue made my eyes glaze over and rendered me quite ineffective.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tres_leches_cake

I'm not proud to say this, but I really didn't have anything to do with the making of this cake.

[ts]
We've made tres leches cake once before, after seeing it done on Good Eats. We thought to give this one a blueberry twist by adding whole blueberries in the cake, as well as making the "three milks" blueberry-flavored.

[ts]
That above is the cake batter studded with blueberries. While it was in the oven, I made the blueberry milk.

[ts]
I heated some blueberries in the microwave with a sprinkle of sugar until they became saucy, then buzzed them. I added the saucy blueberries to a mixture of evaporated milk, condensed milk, and plain milk.

[ts]
After the cake was done and let cool, I started the fun part: poking! There's my two-chopstick poking method.

[ts]
The blueberry milk got poured onto the perforated cake and and the cake sat in the refrigerator overnight.

[ts]
Whoa, the cake was swimming in the blueberry milk!

Actually, while our first regular tres leches cake had the right amount of leche, this blueberry cake had a tad too much! I had to pour off a bit of the blueberry milk even after the cake's overnight soaking. I just realized now that I added about a cup or so of extra milk!

[ts]
The cake was a little too saturated, but that didn't matter to me because I still liked it like this: very, very milky.

[js]
I come only for the eating. We served each slice with a handful of fresh blueberries.

This was delicious! As I imagined, the cake was rich, creamy sweet, and the little tang from the blueberries.

Recipe
Tres Leches Cake
recipe from Good Eats
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/tres-leche-cake-recipe/index.html

My comments are in green & italics.

For the cake:
Vegetable oil
6 3/4 ounces cake flour, plus extra for pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces sugar
5 whole eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-and-half
I used whole milk instead of half-and-half.

For the topping:
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
I didn't bother making the whipped cream topping.

Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour a 13 by 9-inch metal pan and set aside.

Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary.

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined. I added a couple of handfuls of blueberries to the cake batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. This will appear to be a very small amount of batter.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.

Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:
Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half in a 1-quart measuring cup.

I heated a couple of cups of blueberries with a bit of sugar in the microwave until saucy. I buzzed the saucy blueberries, and added them to the milk mixture.

Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake. Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Topping:
Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed. Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. I didn't bother making this whipped cream topping.

Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Breakfast Buffet at the Shangri-La (Taipei, Taiwan)

2009-09-04T02:04:00.000-07:00

One of the many stations at the Shangri-La breakfast buffet.

[ts]
This post is quite delayed because I was too afraid to tackle the number of photos for it. But, after much procrastination, I finally buckled down and processed them.

This is the breakfast buffet at the Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan.

I remember during our childhood (in Asia) being taken to hotel breakfast buffets. They were big spreads! With good food, I should add. Then, coming to Vancouver, I was immensely disappointed that first time at a hotel buffet. Is it just me, or are buffets (breakfast or otherwise) not that great in North America? (Granted, I haven't been to any in Las Vegas.)

[ts]
The breakfast buffet is located in the "Café". Don't let the name fool you. Go inside and take a look at the smorgasbord.

[ts]
Excuse me, wha-?

Oh, too much food all at once, now, eh? That's not even all of it! Needless to say, we were quite giddy with excitement upon seeing this. We went a little buffet-crazy the first time around.

Here's a little slower-paced tour of the breakfast buffet.

The Beverage Station

Some beverages to get you started.

They have your usual juices, including vegetable ones. (Left to right: orange, grapefruit, tomato?, celery?, carrot)

They also have cold milk coffee and cold milk tea. (That's water on the far left.)

For coffee, or any espresso-based drink, please order from a server.

[js]
They had an espresso machine beside the cold coffee and teas and I took a chance to press a couple of the buttons while grabbing myself a juice.

I was beside myself because the coffee was fresh, the juices were fresh: this was going to be breakfast in style!

Nice fancy jars for milk: whole, 2%, skim. For drinking, or for cereal.

[ts]
Cocoa Rice Krispies!!! Cocoa cereal is a weakness of mine. Ah, cocoa-y goodness. There were other cereals also available.

Fruits, fruits, and more fruits

This is a benefit of being in a tropical country, right? (Wait, is Taiwan a tropical country?)

[ts]
We have there some carambola (starfruit), watermelon, oranges, honeydews, pineapples, dragonfruit, unknown cherry-colored fruits, passionfruits, grapefruits, guavas, cantaloupe, cherimoya... I don't know if I'm leaving anything out.

[ts]
A sample plate of fruits: dragonfruit (didn't care much for that), sliced guava, pineapple, and cherimoya. In the background is my cold milk tea.

The cherimoya was soooooo sweet! This is a different type from the "cherimoya" -- called atis -- we ate during childhood in the Philippines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherimoya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar-apple

Sliced guavas with salt. Too bad they didn't have coarse salt, as that's way better.

Western Breakfast

They had a variety of "Western breakfast" items, of course.

Breads

Many different kinds of breads.

Pumpkin seed bread.

Random bun. I'm not sure if this was in the "Western" section, or the "Eastern".

They even have a toaster for making toast. They had sliced sandwich bread (white, whole wheat, etc.) beside it. Of course, the requisite jams and such were also nearby.

Cold Cuts & Cheeses

[ts]
We didn't really partake much from this station. I believe they had various cold cuts available, a couple or so types of cheeses, bread for slicing, probably some fruit compotes and such, nuts, dried fruits. . .

Viennoiserie (Pastries and Baked Goods)

[ts]
They had Danishes, mini muffins, some loaves (banana and another). Croissants, etc. etc. etc. Your usual suspects in a viennoiserie display.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viennoiserie

[js]
I didn't really have anything from the viennoiserie. I had to save stomach space for the things I truly liked.

Chocolate Fondue
Oh, they also had a chocolate fondue! I can't believe I don't have a picture of that.

Hot Food, Western

[ts]
That above -- bacon and hash browns, plus ham sliced-to-order -- is only a section of the Western hot food section. There were also sausages, grilled half-tomatoes, a strata, and other items.

My sample "Western hot food" plate.

Oatmeal

Oh yeah, there was oatmeal too.

Omelette Station

[ts]
What self-respecting breakfast buffet would be without an omelette station!? The different items to fill one's omelette: onions, ham, mushrooms, tomatoes, bell peppers...

...and cheese. There is an omelette in the works right there.

Pancakes

[ts]
Of course there were pancakes! Here I topped mine with maple syrup and chocolate sauce (from the chocolate fondue), and some fruit preserve thing (I forget what kind). This didn't come out as pretty as I would've liked. But, still delicious!

Waffles

Waffles, too! I took to topping mine with blood orange jam and ricotta cheese. The maple syrup and slice of starfruit were just for show.

French Toast

[ts]
With pancakes and waffles, could French toast be far behind?

It's sharing the plate with an apricot pastry, half of a passionfruit and some guava slices. That there in the background was a "yogurt" drink (think Yakult).

The Table

[ts]
Let's take a little breather for a moment and sit at the table. I ordered black tea too.

Don't rest too long as there's still more to the breakfast buffet!

"Eastern" Breakfast

The steamers scream "Asian".

Steamed Items / "Dim sum"

[ts]
There were some steamed buns, siu mai, etc. But, I didn't think dim sum would be a specialty here, so I don't really have pictures of those items.

Japanese section

The buffet had a little Japanese section: miso soup, chawanmushi, some hot foods like stir-fried pork with ginger (or something similar), etc.

Miso soup, a packet of seaweed, some glazed chicken drumette (if I remember correctly), and stir-fried pork.

Some condiments. I frankly do not remember what these items are.

Chawanmushi

[ts]
I got myself a packet of seaweed...

...and topped my chawanmushi with one of the condiments, and torn pieces of the seaweed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chawanmushi

Hot Food, Chinese

[ts]
I don't have many pictures of these Chinese hot food items either! That above is... I don't know... is it supposed to be some taro item? There was also fried rice and/or stir-fried noodles, tofu items, stir-fried greens...

A tofu dish.

Some more Chinese hot foods. Another tofu dish, a stewed egg... Is that another tofu item? There's an eggy thing. I'm sorry, I really can't remember. Probably because I was focused on the following two sections.

Congee

[ts]
Congee!!!! Look at all those Le Creuset pots with congee: plain, fish, pork... I think the other two are different items altogether. I know one of the pots had hot/warm soy milk.

Oh, don't worry about that Mexican hat in the background. The Café was having a special Mexican week buffet available during lunchtime. We didn't try it.

[ts]
The best part about eating congee is the condiments. There's Taiwan peanuts (so good), kimchi, pickled green beans, some other pickled things, salted eggs (far right)... but most importantly, pork floss!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_floss

[ts]
My go-to congee combination: pickled green beans, pork floss and Taiwan peanuts.

[ts]
Of course, they had you tiao (Chinese doughnuts) to go along with the different kinds of congee. On my plate, there's also some sautéed greens and a steamed bun.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_tiao

[js]
I've forgotten how much I love congee for breakfast. I must have had congee every time we partook of this breakfast buffet. Congee is light and satisfying, comforting and flavourful all at the same time.

"Dan Dan" Noodle Soup

[ts]
Finally, I saved the best for last! This was our absolute favorite item in the entire gigantormous buffet.

They have a wonderful broth, then the diner chooses the type of noodle and the "toppings" that go into their bowl of noodle soup.

The toppings available: duck, oyster mushrooms...

...bean sprouts, kangkong (water spinach), ...
(That is the blurriest picture ever.)

...some sort of balls (fish balls, perhaps), kani (imitation crab), and an unknown one on the far right.

[ts]
The young man at the "dan dan" noodle soup station. Teehee, we like his surly ways. We've christened him "sungit" (Tagalog; pronounced soong-it), which roughly translates as "One who is surly/grumpy/cranky." As with most of the people we've seen or dealt with in Taipei, he's a very efficient worker. =)

There he is, pulling out noodles out of boiling water. He places the noodles and whatever toppings you have chosen into your bowl, then the delicious broth, and tops it with the "dan dan" mixture. It's some sort of bean thing.

Next stop, the condiments.

[ts]
We have there some (top row, left to right) minced garlic, chili oil, soy sauce; (middle row) chopped cilantro, minced onions, sesame oil; (bottom row) sliced green onions, fried shallots, and Thai bird chilies.

[ts]
That's JS choosing her condiments. She has thick noodles for this bowl (one of many) of "dan dan".

[ts]
One of my bowls. I chose vermicelli, the duck, oyster mushrooms, beansprouts, and kangkong (water spinach). The brown things that look like minced pork is their "dan dan" mixture. The condiments on that bowl included minced garlic, Thai bird chilies, onions, green onions, cilantro, and fried shallots. I may have threw in some of the other ones as well.

[ts]
I don't know if this really qualifies as dan dan noodles -- perhaps it's a different version? -- but whatever it was, it was sooooo good.

That broth, that broth, that broth!

Then, when the garlic hits the hot bowl of goodness? Whoa.

We kind of want to go back to the Shangri-La in Taipei just to pig out on that dan dan noodle soup station!

God of Breakfasts
[js]
It's like the god of breakfast sat down and thought, now what else can they possibly want from a breakfast buffet? I've given everyone everything they could ever want to eat in the morning.

Ah, breakfast buffet. . . Seeing this makes me want to go back to Asia.

[ts]
I recall writing down the different items on offer at the breakfast buffet, but I can't find my notes! =( Trust me when I say that there are still items missing from my show-and-tell above.

So, there you have it. That's how a breakfast buffet should be.

Links
Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Taipei
Café at Far Eastern

Taiwan trip 2009
Taiwanese Bakery Goods (including ChiaTe Bakery)
Dan Shui 淡水, Taiwan (including food)
Taipei Quick Eats: Mos Burger, Hong Ya Breakfast, Ay Chung Flour-Rice Noodle
Taipei Convenience Store Foods
Shilin Night Market 士林夜市 (Taipei, Taiwan)
Breakfast Buffet at the Shangri-La (Taipei, Taiwan)
Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup, 4 versions (Taipei, Taiwan)

Chinese "Stuffed Pancakes" (Bing 餅) with Potato & Garlic Chive Filling

2009-09-03T00:08:00.000-07:00

[ts]
This dish started out Korean, then ended up Chinese.

I wanted to make Korean Braised Potatoes, so I set about doing so. Here's a mix of soy sauce, sugar, a touch of vinegar, and some coarse Korean chili flakes (gochugaru).

[ts]
The recipe I used called for maltose. Whoa, look at that! It was so thick and stiff!

[ts]
The potatoes went into the wok, I added the soy sauce-based liquid, and braised the potatoes. When they were halfway cooked, I added the maltose diluted with a little bit of water. The hope here was to have the sauce thicken and act as a glaze for the potatoes.

[ts]
Unfortunately, I had to leave the house at this juncture, so I turned the heat to "sim" and hoped for the best.

When I returned, the potatoes were already mushy, but the sauce hadn't become glazy at all! It was bizarre, given, how thick that maltose was. You would've thought the liquid would have no trouble thickening up.

The potatoes tasted perfectly fine, but it wasn't what I was hoping for.

I had to think of plan B.

[ts]
We happened to have garlic chives in the refrigerator, so I thought, why not make garlic chive pancakes (like we did before)?

But, to use up these mushy potatoes, I decided to make a "cake" stuffed with a mixture of potato and garlic chives. I don't know what to call this in English; all I know is that this is still a type of "bing" (餅), a term that encompasses a whole range of food items, provided they are some sort of disc shape.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_(Chinese_flatbread)

potato & garlic chive filling

[ts]
I mashed the potatoes, added chopped garlic chives and proceeded to work on the hot water dough.

This hot water dough is truly genius. So easy and so fast!

Yes, it really is just hot water and flour. Add enough water to the flour until you form a dough. I rolled out a roughly round shape (operative word is "roughly", as you can see), placed the potato-chive mixture in the middle, wrapped it up, then flatted the cake into a fat disc.

These fat discs are so adorable!

[ts]
They were simply pan-fried, then good snacking was had by all.

Recipes

Chinese Stuffed Pancakes

Mix together:
hot water
all-purpose flour

Add enough water to the flour to form a dough. Knead a few times, and it's ready.

Roll out small circles of dough, fill with any filling, pinch together the edges and press gently to form a disc.

Pan-fry each side in oil over medium heat until dough is cooked.

Korean Braised Potatoes
Since these didn't turn out as I had hoped, I'm not including the recipe. But, in general, should you wish similarly-flavored potatoes (to eat by themselves, or as a filling for Chinese pancakes, or for any other purpose), these are the ingredients.

Adjust each ingredient according to your taste.

potatoes (cut in whatever shape/size you wish)

Mix together:
minced garlic
gochugaru (Korean chili powder/flakes)
dark soy sauce
vinegar (small amount)
sugar

Add potatoes and mixture above to a pan. Boil liquid then turn heat to low.

Mix together:
maltose
water

Add this to the cooking potatoes when the potatoes are about halfway done. Let simmer until the potatoes are tender and the liquid has reduced. Season to taste.

Sambal Mini Eggplants and Campari Tomatoes

2009-09-02T00:08:00.000-07:00

[ts]
We picked up these really cute eggplants with a streaky pattern one day, with no thought to their application.

[ts]
They sat on the counter until I knew I had to use them, or else!

I had originally thought that perhaps we could do a Szechuan eggplant dish, but, I was too lazy. So, I opened the fridge and spied our never-been-used jar sambal belacan. Perfect! I had been to a Malaysian restaurant a few days before and had some sambal eggplant. So, that's what I decided to make.

[ts]
We also had some campari tomatoes lying around, so I thought to add them as well.

I was thinking of just throwing everything into the wok, but, on second thought, decided that I couldn't be that lazy.

So, I started by frying the eggplant slices first.

left: eggplant slices in the wok
right: fried eggplants draining on paper towels

[ts]
I took the eggplant slices out of the wok, then, in the hot wok, I added some sambal belacan paste and stirred that around for a few seconds. The halved campari tomatoes went in next, then the fried eggplant slices. I seasoned with a touch of salt and a pinch of sugar, and that was that.

[ts]
I think my dish needed a bit more sambal belacan; I was afraid it was going to be too spicy for other people in the house. But, this was very nice indeed. I do like my foods very boldly flavored.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambal#Malaysian_Sambal

For other Malaysian dishes, including how to make sambal belacan from scratch, visit My Asian Kitchen (and her sister blog, Beachlover Kitchen).