Improving Instant Ramen

Posted by Michelle on Jan 23, 2012 in Main dish, Recipes | 2 comments

Instant Noodles with homemade Japanese-style cha shu, poached egg and spinach

I have to confess that this household eats more instant noodles than should possibly be legal for three adults who are no longer in college. But hey, you eat what you gotta eat when the economy’s in the toilet, right? Luckily, all the adults have learned to be okay with this arrangement and my preschooler is pretty thrilled with the idea of noodles all. the. time.

Now before you write me and tell me just how horrible instant noodles are for you — and especially for a growing child — let me just stop you right there and say: yes I know. We make a special effort to make sure that TLE’s instant noodle meals only use a touch of the seasoning packet, are portion controlled and always include a protein and fruit/vegetable and make sure she drinks plenty of milk. So nyah.

Of course, I wish I could say the same for us adults.

I think just about everyone has their own way of making instant ramen more palatable and all the adults in my household have their own style. My husband, for example, likes his noodles with an egg broken into and cooked by the hot broth. He’s got high blood pressure so tries not to use the entire seasoning packet but still likes to spice it up with a generous splash of Sriracha. Our housemate came up with the ingenious and energy saving idea to poach an egg in the boiling water first — she adds a teaspoon or so of rice wine vinegar to the boiling water and then cracks an egg into it to poach it. After it poaches, she removes it and then tosses in the noodles to cook. She might also add a splash of sesame oil along with the seasoning.

I like my noodles without the broth. I take the noodles and boil them until they’re cooked, drain off most of the water and add about 1/4 of the seasoning packet which is plenty. Then I’ll put the pot back on the stove and add a raw egg to the mix, scrambling it and cooking it with the noodles until they’re done. For the photo above, I decided to change it up a bit. I poached my egg the way my housemate does before blanching about a cup full of spinach. Once the spinach was done, I cooked the noodles and seasoning them. Then I put it all in a bowl with some slices of Japanese style cha shu pork belly.

Not bad for broke food, really.

What’s your favorite way to dress up instant ramen?

Garlic Tofu with spicy dipping sauce

Posted by Michelle on Jan 20, 2012 in Main dish, Recipes | 1 comment

Panfried Garlic Tofu with brown rice and vegetables

Every so often, I have the urge to eat healthy. Yes, even my body knows that it can’t survive solely on delicious, delicious pork. (More’s the pity.) Whenever I feel like I’m in healthy mode, I turn to my old vegetarian standby: garlic tofu. My absolute favorite way to eat tofu is panfried so that it’s crisp and savory on the outside, creamy on the inside, drizzled with a simple but delicious spicy soy dressing.

I know, pan frying tofu when you’re supposed to be on a diet seems backwards but eating the right kind and right amount of fats is important if you eat a mostly vegetarian diet. (So I learned during my defunct 30 days vegetarian challenge. Which I totally failed after 2 weeks BUT I did learn a lot.) If you’re really squeamish about the oil, there’s always baking tofu which is just as delicious and a great snack itself. The texture is slightly different — far crispier without the creamy center — but just as tasty, though I think it makes a better vegetarian snack than a main dish. I’ve included both directions, just in case.

Whether you’re baking or pan frying, the most important thing when it comes to tofu is that you’re buying the right kind and that you prep it correctly. Staying Vegan has some great tips for tofu buying. I always buy my tofu in tubs from the Asian market though well-stocked American megamarts should also have tub and vacuum packed tofu. (Honestly, these never taste “right” to me but that may be me being picky.) Wherever you buy it, make sure it’s labeled “Firm” or “Extra Firm” — sometimes it may say “Chinese style” or label it as good for stir fry. Silken, Soft or Japanese-style tofu is far too soft for this dish.

Nutella Crackle Cookies

Posted by Michelle on Jan 18, 2012 in Baking, Cooking with Kids, Recipes | 0 comments

Nutella Crackle Cookies -- best enjoyed with a cold glass of milk! <3

One Saturday afternoon, my 3 year old The Little Empress (TLE) was running around in circles, two hours overdue for her nap. In desperation, I promised her that if she took an hour long nap, we’d do something really fun together. Her interest piqued, she paused for a half-second mid-twirl during which I quickly gave her the choice between painting or making cookies with Mommy.

“Cookies!” TLE declared, gracefully turning her twirl into an excited hop, her arms raised in glee. “Chocolate cookies!” But not chocolate chip cookies, she clarified in between hops. Chocolate cookies.

I promised that the second she woke up, we’d start making a batch of chocolate cookies. Just like that, she ran up the stairs. Two minutes later, she was tucked into bed and sound asleep.

Moral of this story? Bribery: it works.

As luck would have it, I’ve never made just plain chocolate cookies before. But I was determined to deliver. While she napped, I rifled through the pantry to figure out what we could make together and then it dawned on me: crackle cookies. I had never had them before but I love the look of them — powder sugar dusted cookies with cracks that reveal a fudgy center. Plus, they’re perfect make-with-kids cookies, from rolling the dough into balls to covering them with powdered sugar. We also happened to have on hand a large jar of Nutella. TLE loves Nutella (who doesn’t?) so I figured I’d adapt a recipe to use it.

So here we go… Nutella Crackle Cookies. Just I suspected, they were a great hit! TLE loved rolling up the dough balls and then coating them in sugar. “They’re footballs!” she declared, tossing them in the sugar with glee. Who am I to argue?

My only reservation is that they didn’t come out as white as I’d have liked. Bakerella has this great Martha Stewart recipe that came out with far more pronounced crackles that looks awesome. No Nutella in the recipe but I may have to try this for the next time I make these cookies. And yes, there will be a next time.

Chinese-style BBQ pork (Char Siu)

Posted by Michelle on Jan 16, 2012 in Main dish, Recipes | 1 comment

There are exactly two dishes in my repetoire that is universally loved and accepted by all the adults and the preschooler in my household. This is one of them: Chinese-style BBQ pork, also more commonly known as char siu. Whether part of fried rice, on top of ramen, stir fried with noodles or part of a rice plate, Chinese BBQ pork is always a welcome addition to any meal at this house.

One of my favorite ways to eat char siu --- with rice! <3

Aside from its versatility and the fact that making it at home saves me from a trip to the Asian BBQ counter (which isn’t bad but I always spend way more than I probably should,) another (and perhaps best) reason for making your own char siu at home: BURNT ENDS. Strictly speaking, burnt ends traditionally refer to American beef brisket BBQ but in this case, I’m talking about the charry, fatty char-siu’y goodness of fatty pork that’s been cooked to carcinogenic perfection.

Meaty goodness -- yes please!!

YUM.

A few years back, I found my first recipe for char siu from a now defunct Singaporean blog. I printed it out and have kept it as part of my prized recipe collection. The original recipe called for two types of soy sauce, plus maltose which gave the char siu its lovely sheen and distinct sweetness. I loved this recipe but didn’t make it very often since dark soy and maltose weren’t typically kept in my pantry.

Then one day about a year ago, I stumbled upon this recipe for Chinese-style BBQ Spareribs from Saveur. I was a bit skeptical but I had a hankering for char siu and couldn’t pass up the fact that the marinade was made out of condiments I kept staple in my pantry.

I’ve changed up the recipe somewhat from Saveur’s original, notably by omitting the food coloring and not using spareribs. I know the food coloring is traditional but honestly, the beautiful mahogany color that you get from the soy and the hoisin in the marinade is beautiful enough.

Instead of spareribs, I use boneless “country style” pork ribs, about 1 1/2″ ~ 2″ thick. More of the meat, none of the bone — what’s not to love? If you can’t find “country style” ribs, just get pork butt and hack it up into strips 1 1/2″ thick… that’s all “country style” really is anyway. If you’re squeamish about pork fat, you can make this out of pork loin which is healthier for you but will tend to dry out. Whichever cut you use, trim the extra fat off of the outside. It’s delicious but too much fat means you get a mouthful of lard when you’re eating and that’s no fun.

Bishop Ranch Food Trucks

Posted by Michelle on Dec 31, 2011 in Featured | 0 comments

Mmm, food trucks. I’ve always loved them but I’m pretty late to the party when it comes to the not-so-recent phenomenon of awesome gourmet food on trucks. They just started getting big right around the time The Little Empress was born. Alas, a lack of funds plus a very cranky little one doesn’t exactly make a great food truck stalking combination.

My friend Shiny decided to take a Bueller Day recently and invited me along to go visit one of her favorite food trucks Chairman Bao during one of its weekday stops at the Bishop Ranch business park in San Ramon. When we arrived we were happy to say that there was not just Chairman Bao but Arki Truck, Cabana Dave’s and That’s Sweet! Dessert Truck there as well. Lunch AND dessert! Awesome!

Shiny and I pulled up to Bishop Ranch a few minutes before the trucks officially opened for business. Chairman Bao already had a queue going; Shiny told me that when she had visited the truck at Off the Grid and a food event in Sacramento, lines for Chairman Bao could get epic. She had even witnessed one lady who had gone so far as to take a folding chair to wait in line! Talk about hardcore!! Luckily, we only had to wait about 5 ~ 10 minutes in total. I couldn’t help but notice that the line was slow going mostly because of some glitches with the iPhone based card reader. (Wouldn’t investing in a more stable payment system be prudent? Hrm.)

I am of the belief that God put pig on earth for man to eat and be happy. My love of pork and all the goodness that pork can be is the single thing standing between me and a life of vegetarianism. Seriously. I could pretty much happily give up just about any other animal-based protein out there but man oh man, let me keep my oinky. And of all of the parts of the pig, the greatest parts are a toss up between the crispy skin of lechon or the striped lean and fatty goodness of pork belly.

So naturally when I saw “braised pork belly” on the Chairman Bao menu, I couldn’t help but order it, right? I was tempted to order two but I figured that would be too much of a good thing so I decided to go with what my friend Shiny recommended — the garlic tofu with miso greens.

Imagine my surprise when I wanted seconds… of the tofu, not the pork belly! Yeah, it amazed me too. It was a fantastic combination of flavors, textures and temperatures: soft, sweet and chewy bun, hot, savory, crisp AND creamy tofu, the cool crisp slightly bitter but moreish miso dressing on the bok choy.

Truth be told, two of those Chairman Bao buns should have been more than enough. They were tasty and I wanted dessert, too. But I couldn’t help but notice that Arki Truck sold a fried chicken sandwich that somehow seemed to be calling my name. I decided to get it anyway, just for a taste, and I would wrap up the rest to take home to The Hubs ™.

Can I just talk about the donuts for a second? These were two beautiful pillows of butter and sugar soaked ethereal GOODNESS. OH MY GOD. These pictures don’t do them nearly enough justice.

Food truck survival guide:

Get there as early as possible!!

Bring a bag.

Bring something to drink. Most of the food trucks will sell something to drink but unless the truck is selling something they made themselves, you’ll find most of it to be way overpriced. (Um, $1.50 for a can of Coke? Seriously? No. )

Brown Butter Holiday Spice Cookies

Posted by Michelle on Dec 12, 2011 in Baking, Recipes | 0 comments