Rau Den Xao Chao (Vietnamese Amaranth / Chinese Red Spinach Sauteed with Fermented Bean Curd)

When I first blogged about rau den (Vietnamese amaranth) back in October 2008, I boiled it, the way my ba noi (Vietnamese paternal grandmother) taught me. I had tried sauteing it once, but there wasn't enough moisture for it to work. Or perhaps, my limited cooking skills weren't able to make it work back then.

Then in March 2009, while having dinner at my brother's house, I tried sauteing it again with good results. Actually, he had invited me and lil' sis over because he had bought some fresh smelt that he wanted to batter and deep-fry. We showed up and he hadn't even started cooking yet. I even brought over the oil, but he still had to run out to buy more. Before he ran to the store, he showed me a bag of rau den that he had bought at the farmers' market and asked if I could do something with it.

Memorial Day Weekend Barbecue

I asked cousin Q's older brother if he was going to throw a Memorial Day barbecue. It's tradition! I said.

Since when?

Since he hosted last year's Memorial Day barbecue! And every other year, right? I have proof! I can go back through the blog and prove it, I insisted. Except, umm, when I did go back, I realized 2008's Memorial Day barbecue was hosted by my brother and 2007's Memorial Day barbecue was held at my oldest uncle's house.

Oops. :P

Maybe I confused it with when cousin Q's older brother hosted the July 4th barbecue?

So let's make it a tradition! Yeah? :P

Xa Lach Thit Bo (Vietnamese Steak Salad)

Most of the time when I make a steak these days, I usually just eat it with an iceberg lettuce salad and ranch dressing or rice. My quick and lazy meal. But earlier this week when I did that, the simple dinner just didn't satisfy me.

I started to remember the Vietnamese steak salad my mom used to make when I was young. Except she served it untossed, a little more nicely laid out sort of like the picture below.



I know she used some of the extra marinade for the dressing, but remembered it tasting, well, more. So I called up my mom and asked her.

Ask Wandering Chopsticks 9

What's up? says my adorable little niece. :)

I smile every time I look at this picture. She's soooo cuuute!

Taste of Brazil - Los Angeles

Cousin Q first mentioned Taste of Brazil to me long ago as a non-churrascaria Brazilian restaurant in case I wanted to try it. Last September, I finally went with Tony and Mrs. SinoSoul and their friends.

I did not realize there would be live music that night. And two big tables celebrating a birthday. All Asian people too. In a Brazilian restaurant? What was going on? The combination of live music and raucous eaters meant WE HAD TO TALK LIKE THIS TO BE HEARD. And I did not like that.



Nonetheless, we persevered.

Brazilian Papaya Creme

This recipe is so ridiculously simple that I feel like I should just call it one of my "non-recipes," except this really IS the "recipe" for Brazilian papaya creme!

Earlier this year, I received an email from Lauren who does PR for the Texas de Brazil Churrascaria restaurants. It was a bunch of suggestions for Carnivale, including the recipe for Brazilian papaya cream. The ingredients? Papaya and vanilla ice cream with creme de cassis, a black current liqueur. I was sure it was a super-cheat recipe, but saved the email anyway.

A month later, I dined at Fogo de Chao - Beverly Hills. When it came time for dessert, the waiter recommended their papaya creme, which was a blend of papaya and vanilla ice cream with creme de cassis.

Wait a minute!

That's really the recipe!

Penang Asam Laksa (Malaysian Penang-Style Tamarind Fish Soup)

After recently eating Penang Asam Laksa (Malaysian Penang-style Tamarind and Fish Soup) at Yazmin Malaysian Restaurant in Alhambra, and last summer at Banana Leaf Restaurant in Milpitas, and making asam laksa from a package, I figured I was finally ready to try making it myself.

I knew there was tamarind, lemongrass, galangal but you know I prefer ginger, belachan (Malaysian shrimp paste) which I usually substitute with Mam Ruoc (Vietnamese Fermented Shrimp Paste). MalaysianFood.net had a pretty adaptable recipe which confirmed which ingredients I thought I needed for the soup.

I think it's the combination of tamarind and shrimp paste that makes me liken asam laksa to a cross between Canh Chua Ca (Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup) and Bun Bo Hue (Vietnamese Hue-Style Beef Noodle Soup), which makes it understandable why my Vietnamese palate had a craving for it one cold and rainy night.

Yazmin Malaysian Restaurant - Alhambra

Along with giving me the calamansi, when I met up with Pink Candles at Ridgemont High I suggested Yazmin Malaysian Restaurant in Alhambra because I knew she liked to try new cuisines. Also, it gave me a chance to revisit the restaurant and to finally blog it.

So I'll start back in June 2008 when I first went to Yazmin with cousin Q and his younger brother.

Calamansi Juice

Why yes, it is a lazy "recipe" post. :P

Earlier this year, I met up with Pink Candles of Ridgemont High who was nice enough to bring me a bag of calamansi, these tiny sour citruses that are popular in Filipino cuisine. Calamansi are sour, really, really sour. In a pinch, my mom uses it in place of lemons or limes in Nuoc Mam Cham (Vietnamese Fish Dipping Sauce).

I don't cook much Filipino food, so the easiest thing for me to do was to juice them.

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve

Recently, Gourmet Pigs and I went to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve because I've lived in California too long not to have done this.



I know it's California's state flower, but the California poppy is just a "meh" flower for me. But field after field and hill after hill of them and the California poppy is really something else!

Orange Dust from Angry Asian Creations

Speaking of oranges, or rather citrus, recently Lan of Angry Asian Creations sent me a container of the orange dust she made and blogged about.

"It's magic," she says.



And indeed it was.

Grapefruit-sized Shasta Gold Tangerines

Last week, while at the Alhambra Farmers' Market, I thought I saw ugly oranges and asked what kind they were. Turned out, they weren't oranges, but super large tangerines. Shasta Gold tangerines.



How large?

How to Decorate a Onesie with an Appliqued Patch

Finally finished sewing the dim sum patch onto the onesie that I started at the baby shower for my little niece. Since I've been getting hits for decorating onesie ideas, I figured I'd show you how I went about this.

Don't Fence Me In Quilt

Dissatisfied with my Frowsy Flowery Quilt, I brainstormed for another design. Since my first log cabin quilt was a little uneven at spots, I wanted to do another log cabin, but more orderly. Or maybe my libra brain wanted something more structured?

So on January 6, 2008, I started again. I dubbed this one my "Don't Fence Me In" quilt.

Frowsy Flowery Quilt

Right after I finished my Sushi/Dim Sum Quilt on December 16, 2007, I started combing through my stash of floral fabrics to start another quilt. I know! It has been a while. I just wasn't feeling this one.

Finishing Your Quilt: Basting, Quilting, and Binding

When the older '88 was finishing up her "Happy Sailing" quilt, she said she couldn't find my info on how to finish it. That's because I never blogged it. :P

And gosh, it's been more than two years since I've quilted anything! I took a little more care to baste, quilt, and bind my sushi/dim sum quilt than I did with my previous ones so I think it looks much better.

The Older '88's "Happy Sailing" Quilt

It only took three years, but the older '88 finally finished the quilt she started long ago. She dubbed it "Happy Sailing."

So cute, yeah?

Dau Hu Chien Sot Ca Chua (Vietnamese Fried Tofu with Tomato Sauce)

I've always thought it odd when people cook tofu as a meat substitute. Sure. Sure. Tofu has lots of protein. But I'm talking about the taste here. I like the taste of tofu. I like it plain. I like it fried. I like it added to meats, not in place of, but simply because tofu soaks up the flavor of so many sauces.

So when Sijeleng of Javaholic, host of last month's Weekend Wokking garlic round-up, chose TOFU for this month's challenge, it was time to do this simple dish.

Last March, as in '09 and not two months ago, one of my readers asked for a recipe for tofu with tomatoes. Tomatoes or tomato paste? Fried or not? How can he recreate his mom's cooking?

Umm. He knows I'm not his momma, right?

All last week, someone kept searching for Dau Hu Chien Sot Ca Chua (Vietnamese Fried Tofu with Tomato Sauce). Well, sure, I've got a recipe for Dau Hu Chien (Vietnamese Fried Tofu) and another for Ca Chien Sot Ca Chua (Vietnamese Fried Fish with Tomato Sauce). An industrious person would cobble the two recipes into what he or she needed.

But I know how lazy you guys are. So I give you two fried tofu versions -- lightly battered in rice flour and deep-fried, and unadorned and pan-fried. Gluten-free and vegetarian-friendly too, just use all rice flour without corn starch and substitute vegetarian "fish sauce" or soy sauce.

Minx Restaurant and Lounge - Glendale (Closed)

I've seen the white sails of Minx Restaurant and Lounge from the freeway many times and wondered what the venue was like. Was it a restaurant? A club? Turns out, it's both.

Portland From Glendora Rose

My poor garden has been so neglected this year. I need to take better care of my roses. This is the only bloom I can remember snapping of Portland from Glendora rose. And it's not even that nice of a picture. She's had much better days.