I Ate What? 2007 Eating Out Roundup

While many of you are probably reflecting on what you've accomplished this year, I have no deep ruminations for you. Instead, how about reflecting on a year of eating out? Anyone else got any favorites to add to the list? The prettiest. From Perfectly Sweet - Alhambra. The cutest. Puppy and panda-faced ramen. The smelliest. Stinky tofu from Pa Pa Walk - San Gabriel. The funniest. Semen tea from 85 Degrees C Tea House in San Gabriel. The healthiest. Bird's nest from a Chinese herbal luncheon sponsored by Wing Hop Fung. The most exotic (in theory if not actuality). From Uzbekistan - Los Angeles. The weirdest. Frog fallopian tubes!!! I'm saving the explanation of this dish for my newest post in the new year. ;) Happy 2007 everyone! Here's to another year of great eats. ***** 1 year ago today, my unsophisticated wine palate and travel memories of Sirens Valley wine caves in Hungary.

Sriracha Buffalo Wings

OK, this post was supposed to go up in time for ya'll's New Year's Eve parties, but you don't need a special occasion to eat these wings! In Buffalo, New York, where the wings were invented, the traditional preparation is to deep-fry the wings and toss them with a simple mixture of Fred's Red Hot Sauce and butter. And there's no better vinegary hot sauce, than the Vietnamese-American garlicky-spicy creation Huy Fong Foods, Inc.'s Sriracha chili hot sauce. Actually, they have their own recipe for hot wings, which is pretty much mine! Hmph! Well, I guess with such simple ingredients, there's not that much variation. :P

Quan Hy Vietnamese Restaurant - Westminster (Little Saigon)

Quan Hy Vietnamese Restaurant is usually one of my top recommendations for non-Vietnamese who ask me where to go in Little Saigon. It's popular with Vietnamese too so you're not getting watered down fare.



Sometimes it can be a bit much as this is "the" place to be seen in the Vietnamese community. Actually, when this location first opened up and hadn't generated as much publicity, my friend said her neighbor took all his dates here. And they were so pleasantly surprised by the decor and food that they came back... only to run into him on a date with some else. :P

Cinnamon and Coriander Chocolate?

Gingerbread chocolate, with crunchy gingerbread pieces. I can get with that. Winter Fruit and Nut ie. pear and apple, not that unusual either. But cinnamon coriander chocolate? Ack! I tasted the cinnamon, but the coriander was just soooo weird! Are you telling me the Swiss really eat this stuff?

I tried other flavors from this brand before - chili pepper, lemon and black pepper, and tiramisu.

Found for 99 cents at the Target after-Christmas sale.

Sukju Namul (Korean Seasoned Mung Bean Sprouts)

I know I said enough of the Korean recipes for a while, but what can I say? That's what I had in the fridge. The two trays of banh cuon (Vietnamese steamed rice noodle sheets stuffed with pork) that I bought for my dad's 60th birthday party also came with two big bags of mung bean sprouts. I knew we were gonna be fed a lot at my oldest uncle's Christmas party. But after the birthday party and before the Christmas party, my cousins wanted to have dinner on Christmas Eve together. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with last-minute crowds at the grocery store, so what I had available were fixin's for a Korean dinner. I made a batch of venison bulgogi (Korean marinated meat) and some banh xeo-ish pajeon (Vietnamese crepe-ish Korean pancake). I already had baechu kimchee (Korean pickled napa cabbage) in the fridge. And of course, those two big bags of mung bean sprouts. That little plate in the top photo is because it looks nicer than showing you this mound of seasoned sprouts (there's more in another bowl). And yes, we pretty much ate it all. The recipe is pretty simple. The only variation I did this time from my recipe for kong namul (Korean seasoned soy bean sprouts) was adding a few dashes of rice vinegar. Which lil' sis and the oldest '87 said they much preferred. Actually, what the oldest '87 said was that she doesn't like the bean sprouts at Korean restaurants, but she liked mine. :P Sukju Namul (Korean Seasoned Mung Bean Sprouts) You'll need: 1 large bag of mung bean sprouts sesame seeds sesame oil salt Optional: rice vinegar Wash mung bean sprouts and let drain in a colander. Boil a pot of water. When the water boils, add the bean sprouts and let them quickly blanch. Don't turn away from the stove. This takes only a few minutes. You want the bean sprouts to just soften. Drain into colander. Don't rinse or you'll get the sprouts even wetter. Just shake the colander to remove as much water as possible. Then dump the sprouts into a bowl and add a few drizzles of sesame oil, a few dashes of salt (not soy sauce so the sprouts stay white), and sprinkles of sesame seeds. I didn't measure so just taste and adjust according to your preference. Add a few drizzles of rice vinegar if you wish. Enjoy! One of my cousins made a crunchy Chex mix, spicy and regular. And the middle '87 and oldest '88 made Christmas cupcakes. After sitting around a bit after dinner, the kids were all about to take off to play rock band or whatever that video game is called, until one of the middle cousins (the one who made the Chex mix) reminded them of their manners. And so my cousins cleaned up and washed my dishes. :) ***** 1 year ago today, sweet corn tomalito.

My Oldest Uncle's Christmas Party

Here are my oh so colorful Shanghai-style sticky rice siu mai dumplings again. I was making them to bring to my oldest uncle's Christmas party.


Hehe, I know I have readers who like seeing all the foods at my family get-togethers. Works for me. I get another post out of it, with minimal writing. ;)

Let's see, starting clockwise from the rice cooker with Hainanese chicken rice, my dumplings, roasted potatoes, salami and cheese appetizers, lotus root salad, tortillas and spinach dip with chesnuts (the younger '88's addition), dinner rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy.

From the far side, egg rolls, Hainanese chicken to go with the chicken rice, two kinds of soup (the chafing dish holds my favorite sup mang cua (Vietnamese crabmeat and asparagus soup), and pesto pasta with pinenuts.

Apple pie, apple tart, and fresh guavas from the garden.

Pork loin.

And roast beef.
Enjoy! I know I did. :)

Shanghai-style Sticky Rice Siu Mai Dumplings

Merry Christmas dear readers! Here's a little "present" for you. :) Aren't they cute? While I was more familiar with ground pork siu mai dumplings at dim sum restaurants, a while back Amy of Nook & Pantry had made Shanghai-style sticky rice siu mai dumplings. They were so darling that I knew I would attempt to make them at some point. And so it was that on Christmas day, I was floundering for ideas on what to post. I figured tying a chive leaf around each dumpling would make them look like little "presents." This all came together very quickly and easily due to my tried-and-tested method of lazy cooking. ;) Shanghai-style Sticky Rice Siu Mai Dumplings For about 2 dozen dumplings, although the recipe can easily be doubled, you'll need: 1 cup sticky rice 1 lap xuong (Chinese sausage), diced 1/2 cup mixed frozen vegetables 1/4 cup dried shrimp 1 package wonton wrappers 2 dozen chive leaves Put 1 cup sticky rice, 1 diced Chinese sausage, 1/2 cup mixed frozen vegetables, and 1/4 cup dried shrimp in the rice cooker to cook. 1 rice cup is equivalent to 3/4 measuring cup. My rice cooker cooks in 15 minutes. If you don't have a rice cooker, add all the ingredients with 1 cup water and nuke it in the microwave for 10 minutes. Don't worry if everything isn't fully cooked as the filling will get re-steamed again in the dumplings. Put a pot of water on to boil while you're assembling the dumplings. If you don't have a bamboo steamer, you can substitute with any mesh steamer or colander. If you don't have that, you can try upending a bowl into the bottom of the pot, and put a plate on top. Make sure you oil the plate so the dumplings don't stick. Actually, I also use oil spray on the bottom of my bamboo trays as well. Your work station should have bamboo or any other type of steam trays, your sticky rice mixture, chive leaves, and wonton wrappers. I like using square wrappers for the fold-over effect on the top of the dumpling, but round wrappers would work too. Place a small spoonful of the mixture into each wonton. Gently tighten your fingers around near the top of the dumpling. Tie a chive around the dumpling. You can stop at this point if you want a closed dumpling. But I like how colorful it looks with some of the vegetables spilling out over the top. So if you like that too, gently open the top again. And place a bit of the sticky rice and vegetables on top of that. You can alternatively overstuff the wonton wrapper, and basically do the same steps. But I think this method offers a little more control so the filling doesn't burst through the wrapper. And now they're all ready to be steamed. Steam for about 15 minutes or until the wrappers become more translucent. Here's the other method of the dumplings all enclosed. I think the dried shrimp and Chinese sausage already adds plenty of flavor, but if not, you can serve this with small dipping saucers of soy sauce and rice vinegar. Enjoy! Who else made Shanghai-style sticky rice siu mai dumplings? Amy of Nook & Pantry gave me the initial inspiration with her Shanghai siu mai dumplings. ***** 1 year ago today, I cooked Christmas colors - insalata caprese and baked goat cheese on pesto and tomato sauce.

Tiramisu with Japanese Matcha Green Tea

I made it too easy to guess what this is huh? Doesn't it look like an alien landscape, all weirdly green?


After discovering how quick and easy it was to make tiramisu, I decided to try making a matcha green tea tiramisu. The version I had at Italian Tomato was actually not that spectacular - not much green tea flavor and rather dry. And in looking at the photo again, I think my green tea tiramisu looks tastier! :) Lil' sis kept urging me not to do it because she remembered not being impressed with their green tea tiramisu either. But I promised her I'd make a normal one just in case. As it turned out, we ate all of the cake and regular tiramisu and there was just a small portion of this left. Two of my cousins had dibs on the leftovers.

I like my green tea bold in flavor, no subtlety here. The green tea is very bitter so I was worried about how it'd turn out, but the sweetness of the whipped cream evened it out. If you want to drink the leftover green tea, I'd advise adding lots and lots of sugar.

Tiramisu with Japanese Matcha Green Tea

For a 2-quart-sized bowl, you'll need:

2 cups matcha green tea, dissolve 2 tblsp matcha green tea powder in 2 cups hot water
1 16-oz package Sara Lee poundcake, or 1 package of ladyfingers
1 to 1 1/2 cups whipped cream (If buying packaged, allow to soften to room temperature before using and decrease sugar to 1/4 cup.)
1/2 cup sugar (1/4 cup sugar if using packaged whipped cream, since it's already pre-sweetened.)
1 8-oz container mascarpone cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
matcha green tea powder for dusting

Boil 2 cups water and add 2 tblsp green tea powder. Stir and let cool in fridge.

Whip cream. A 1 pint container should give you enough whipped cream for this recipe. Or do what I did and buy 1 quart, and turn the remaining whipped cream into butter. Set aside.

Spoon about 3 tblsp of whipped cream into a bowl of the mascarpone cheese and 1/2 cup sugar. If you're using packaged whipped cream, decrease sugar to 1/4 cup, unless you have a really sweet tooth. Beat the mascarpone, sugar, 3 tblsp of whipped cream, and 1 tsp vanilla extract until softened.

Then with a spatula, gently blend 1 cup of whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Taste and add up to another 1/2 cup until it's to your liking.

Now you're ready to start assembling.

Cut the poundcake into 1-inch wide strips. Using chopsticks, or your fingers, dip the poundcake into the green tea. I like my tiramisu very moist so I make sure all sides of the poundcake are covered. Lay the pieces until the bottom of the bowl is covered. Add a layer of the mascarpone/whipped cream mixture. Sprinkle a light layer of green tea powder. Add another layer of the tea-soaked poundcake. Then another layer of the mascarpone/whipped cream.

Dust with matcha green tea on top.

Chill in fridge at least an hour before serving.
Enjoy!

Seaworld Seafood Restaurant BBQ & Dim Sum To Go - Rosemead

As I said, I've stopped off at Seaworld Seafood Restaurant BBQ & Dim Sum To Go in Rosemead twice now for my brother's wedding and my dad's 60th birthday party. It's a separate entrance, just to the left of the restaurant's main door. It's great for when I want restaurant-quality dim sum for take out.


Mmm. Roast ducks displayed in the window. One duck is $12.95. Right now this is my favorite roast duck to-go place. The marinade has a slight honey flavor, not dark and soy saucy like Sam Woo's.

My Dad's 60th Birthday Party

Sorry the pictures are so blurry. I was standing at the top of the staircase and zooming in so you could get a sense of the whole length of the table, or rather two long and one round table placed end to end. This is how it's been like for the past few holiday parties, but this time, we were celebrating my dad's 60th birthday. I previously wrote about why lil' sis and I are such daddy's girls here. Close-ups of the food below. My mom made suon nai xa (Vietnamese venison ribs with lemongrass). And venison tendon Chinese herbal stew with shiitake mushrooms, goji berries, and I couldn't identify what else. Since it turned out so well when we got stuff catered for the home ceremony at the family wedding last summer, I decided to do it again. The banh bot loc (Vietnamese shrimp dumplings), 100 dumplings for $23, and banh cuon (Vietnamese steamed rice noodle sheets stuffed with pork), $2.75 a lb, are from Banh Mi & Che Cali Restaurant in Alhambra. As well as the goi du du (Vietnamese papaya salad), $20 a tray, and banh beo (Vietnamese steamed rice discs), 100 pieces for $18. I also picked up 5 roast ducks and 5 pounds of roast pig from Seaworld Seafood Restaurant's BBQ and Dim Sum To Go in Rosemead. The banh hoi (Vietnamese steamed rice vermicelli sheets) is Minh Phung brand, delivered fresh and still warm to the San Gabriel Superstore at 11 a.m. My sister-in-law's mother brought the Pineapple Fried Rice. She carved out two pineapples to make four bowls. I'm lazy and just put it in my pineapple-shaped ceramic bowl. And of course, no birthday party is complete without the cake. We got the shell cake, chocolate cake with mixed fresh fruit filling, from Kiki Bakery in Alhambra. I made another tiramisu, but lil' sis couldn't wait until dinner and decided to make a mini-tiramisu that she just had to show you because it was just so cute. I also made this. Can you guess what it is? ***** 1 year ago today, I began my "fun food" category with spotted dick pudding and kalonji seeds.

Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Chili Sauce)

Looks like an avocado health shake huh? But that green is loaded with all these peppers. Hmm. You can't tell by the photo but the peppers were pretty big. Ground up to make aji verde (Peruvian green chili sauce). The dipping sauce is served with bread at some Peruvian restaurants. I am so, so susceptible to food cravings. After reading Dylan of Eat, Drink, and Be Merry's post about Pollo A La Brasa's wood-fired chicken with a photo of their aji sauce, I had to have some then and there. Since it was at least a half hour's drive in either direction to the closest Peruvian restaurant, I set out to make my own. I figured Alejandro of Peru Food would have a recipe and sure enough I found his green Peruvian hot sauce. His recipe included just the basics -- cilantro leaves, jalapenos, salt, oil, and garlic. I wanted my sauce to be a bit creamier and thicker so I added mayonnaise. If you want to be really authentic though, substitute the amount of mayonnaise in my recipe with oil and keep blending until the oil becomes "mayonnaise." The aji pepper is a type of Peruvian chili pepper, but the word is also used in parts of South America for all peppers. Since I couldn't find aji peppers here, I substituted with jalapenos. I also tossed in several other varieties of chili peppers just for fun. Obviously, adjust the amount of chili depending on your spicy tolerance. For some reason, when I ate this right away, it had a nice spicy burn on my tongue. But left overnight, it just became a mild green sauce. As it's a sauce, I'm just giving estimations to start with. Add more mayonnaise or oil to adjust creaminess and thickness until it's to your liking. Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Chili Sauce) Adapted from Alejandro of Peru Food's Green Peruvian Hot Sauce For several dipping bowls of sauce, you'll need: 1 bunch of cilantro As many chili peppers as you can stand. The recipe generally calls for about 3 jalapenos. 1 clove of garlic Salt to taste, about 1/2 tsp to start Olive oil, about 1/4 cup to start Mayonnaise, about 3 tblsp to start (Substitute with oil and blend until it becomes creamy if you want to keep this more authentic.) 1/4 cup water Optional: Freshly squeezed lemon juice or white wine vinegar if you want a bit of tang. Some recipes call for cilantro leaves only, but I threw in the stems as well to add some liquid to the sauce. I know cilantro is an acquired taste, so substitute with iceberg or romaine lettuce if you want a neutral taste but want to retain the green color. Halve and de-seed the chili peppers. Make sure you wear gloves or thoroughly wash your hands afterward. And don't rub your eyes! Puree all the ingredients in a blender, food processor, or hand immersion blender. It's like making pesto, start with the basic portions and adjust according to your taste. What worked for me was roughly those amounts. Add mayonnaise for creaminess. You can add water too if the sauce appears too thick. I've seen some recipes that called for white cheese or nuts, but felt those were too strong in taste since the versions of aji sauce that I've liked were light in flavor, with just an undertone of spiciness. Serve with bread for dipping. Enjoy! ***** 1 year ago today, Food Choices, Fu Lin Chinese Restaurant, and Burrito-Sized Egg Rolls in Salzburg.