Sichuan Green Beans

My first job after I graduated from college was in the San Francisco Bay Area. The pay was awful, the job was miserable, and the commute was hellish. I had a few friends in the area and cousin Q's older brother had just started college so I had, at least, one family member nearby.

Each week, I picked him up from school and either took him out to eat or took him back to my place and cooked. While I cooked, he hooked up my VCR, assembled a bookcase, put together my canopy bed, and any other odd chores. At the very least, whenever I filled up my gas tank, he cleaned my windshield.

Once, I even made him help me bleach streaks in my hair. Not with a brush, but with that teeny-tiny crochet hook through a plastic net. He freaked out, worried that he'd poke my head, but he still did it. Ah, I love my cousin.

When we were little (I'm talking single digit age), whenever our ba noi (Vietnamese paternal grandmother) assigned me chores, I'd threaten to "de-cousin" him if he wouldn't help me. That only worked a few times though. I was evil, he said recently. Because that set a precedent for other cousins to threaten to "de-cousin" him too, and he was so afraid none of us would play with him that he did whatever we asked.

My culinary repertoire was pretty limited back then. Once, he remarked that my pork dishes tasted like my chicken dishes. Was that a complaint? No, no, he quickly reassured me. Probably worried that I'd stop feeding him. They didn't taste baaad, just that they both tasted the same.

One of the dishes that I used to cook was ground beef with green string beans. I'm sure I must have seasoned them, but it's been so long that I really don't remember. Come to think of it, the last time I can remember cooking this dish was my winter up north.

Pickled / Preserved Turnips

Pickled turnips add saltiness and crunch to to stir-fried and braised dishes. I keep two sizes in my pantry.




The preserved turnip strips are excellent in braised pork dishes. The turnip retains its crunch and the saltiness is mellowed from a long braise.

Turkey and Cranberry Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Yes, it's a lazy recipe. As I was making this, lil' sis made a face. Turkey and grilled cheese is fine, but a turkey, grilled cheese, and cranberry sandwich?

I let her take a bite.

Then she wanted another.

And another.

Turkey Vegetable Soup

Since the only time of year I eat turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce is when Thanksgiving comes around, I rather look forward to the leftovers. I eat them as is.

But when the meat has been stripped from the turkey and all I have left is the carcass, it's time for some soup. Not that you need a recipe for this...

Although I do have to say, for a flavorful, but light broth, I like to start at a roiling boil to extract all the impurities and flavor from the bones, then simmer on low for a clear broth.

Nearly Wild Rose

Nearly Wild rose is an old-fashioned single petal variety.

Heirloom Rose

Heirloom rose was one of the bare root roses I bought for $1.97 Just thorny stems in a bag with sawdust. I got lucky and the rose ended up as lovely as its description.

Christmas Dinner

Just some photos of the Christmas dinner at my oldest uncle's house.

Chicken Piccata

We love our Baked Lemon Chicken, but sometimes lil' sis and I need a quick and easy dinner. As in, ready in less than half an hour quick and easy. Chicken piccata with its lemony caper sauce easily satisfies that requirement. Butterflying the chicken breasts help them cook quickly.

Duet Rose

Duet rose has always been one of my least favorite in my collection because the petals seem rather sparse when fully opened. But it's lovely when it's only partially bloomed.

Double Delight Rose

Double Delight rose always amazes me because it blooms differently every time.

Donna Darlin' Rose

Donna Darlin' rose.

Chicago Peace and Peace Roses

The Peace rose, according to Wikipedia, is the most famous and most successful rose of all time. More than 100 million plants have been sold by 1992.



Formally called Madame A. Meilland, after its creator French horticulturist Francis Meilland. When Germany invaded France in 1939, he sent cuttings to Italy, Turkey, Germany, and the United States in order to protect it. After World War II ended, Peace roses were sent to each delegation at the inaugural United Nations meeting in San Francisco.

African Violets

More flowers on my front porch. Again, African violets used to do really well in my old house with lots of indirect sunlight. Now, I get excited if I see a few blooms.

Begonias

I really love bleeding hearts, but my mother forbids me from growing them because they're unlucky. Not that that would stop me, but bleeding hearts grow better in cooler environments. These begonias, I think they're angel wings, almost look like bleeding hearts.




They're so easy to grow. Propagated from cuttings. They make fabulous house plants. In my old house, with lots of indirect sunlight, they grew and flowered like crazy. I haven't any room at all in my current house for indoor plants, so they've been relegated to my front porch.

Jungle Red Hibiscus

This is the jungle red hibiscus that I received in a plant swap with a reader. I used the tart leaves in an hibiscus leaf and pomegranate mixed greens salad and the petals for jamaica (hibiscus punch).

Pumpkin Butter

My cousin's cousin bought mini pumpkins for kids to carve and had some left over. I told her they were sugar or pie pumpkins and she could cook with them. She had no patience for such things so she gave them to me. :)

I baked one into a Pumpkin Pie with Chai Spices and turned the other into pumpkin butter.

Pumpkin butter, like apple butter, actually like all jams, is made by simmering the ingredients with spices and sugar until thickened to your liking. I cheated and microwaved the pumpkin to cook and soften it faster, then baked it for the roasted flavor.

Pumpkin Pie with Chai Spices

I love pumpkin pie. And even though the color of my pumpkin pie isn't as dark as the store-bought kind, don't be fooled. The pie was packed with flavor. The redolent fragrance of cardamom gave a subtle nuance to the normal pumpkin pie spices.

Did you know the proper way to serve pie or pizza is to have the pointy end facing the person you're serving? That's because that's the first part people dig into. Or does anyone eat the crust first?

Apple Crumble Pie

The oldest '87 requested an apple crumble pie for Thanksgiving dinner. I told her to bring one, but then remembered I had a bag of apples in the fridge that really needed to be eaten. So then I told her to come peel the apples and I would make a pie. Ha! She overslept and her middle sister came over and did it instead.

Ca Ri Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Curry) Pot Pie

I've been wanting to try a fusion pot pie for a while. It seemed a natural thing to do since using milk to create the creamy gravy in a regular American pot pie was the same as using coconut milk to create a creamy curry. Since I eat Vietnamese French bread with my Vietnamese chicken curry, the flaky pie crust seemed like the perfect foil for the creamy onions, potatoes, and carrots.

Ca Ri Ni An Do (Vietnamese Madras Indian Curry Powder)

I know there's some Indian influence on Vietnamese cuisine, but don't really know enough about when or how that came about. Does anyone out there know? Does it go back as far as when Buddhism came to Vietnam? Because I know several Vietnamese who are also part Indian, so there must be some more recent history?

Unlike Indian or Thai curries, in which I try to make my own curry paste, I only know one Vietnamese curry recipe - Ca Ri Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Curry). And I only know one type of curry powder - Ca Ri Ni An Do (Vietnamese Indian Curry). In English, it's labeled as Madras Curry Powder, which hails from Southern India.

Prince Seafood Restaurant (Wedding Banquet) - Cerritos

A few weeks after my third-cousin got married at Regent West Restaurant - Santa Ana, another third-cousin (the groom, who's first-cousins with the previous bride) got married at Prince Seafood Restaurant in Cerritos. Are you confused? The groom's paternal grandfather was first-cousins with my ba noi (Vietnamese paternal grandmother). So his dad and my dad are second-cousins. Hence, the groom and I are third-cousins.

The groom's father is also one of the siblings of the mother of the Regent West bride. My cousins and I, though, are closer to this set of third-cousins. Their father (my dad's second-cousin) lived with my grandmother for a while after his father passed away. Plus, they lived closer to us than the other cousins, so we saw them more growing up. Which really makes little difference to you, but to me, meant that I attended this wedding with a bunch of the cousins, as opposed to sitting at a table with just my aunts and uncles. More fun!

In fact, the groom and my brother were born on the exact same day.

Another random anecdote. A decade ago, I attended a wedding reception at this same restaurant with my grandmother. The wedding was on Halloween. They had a live band with a Vietnamese guy dressed up as Zorro. (The Mask of Zorro had just come out that year.) "We don't have Antonio Banderas here tonight but we have Antonio...

Larb/Larp/Laab/Laap (Lao/Thai Ground Meat Salad)

Larb, also spelled larp, laab, laap, is a Laotian ground meat salad that is also popular in Thailand. Isan, the northeast region of Thailand, is heavily influenced by Laos. In fact, the language of this region is similar to Laotian, although some people consider it another dialect of Laotian, but written in the Thai alphabet. Consequently, there are some cross-cultural influences with the two cuisines. This dish is one of them.

The Kao Kua (Thai Ground Roasted Rice Powder), which you can see in the picture below, is an important part of the salad as it helps to absorb excess moisture from the meat, and also adds a nutty fragrance and flavor.

Nuoc Mam Cham (Vietnamese Fish Dipping Sauce)

I've said before that I hardly ever make my own fish dipping sauces. After all, even though we split it up, my brother and I still haven't made much headway into the 56-oz jar of fish sauce that my mom brought down last year.

Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce) is a vital part of most Vietnamese dishes. Most Vietnamese just say nuoc mam to refer to all fish dipping sauces, but there are distinctions. There aren't hard and fasts rules, as it depends on your personal preference, so I'm grouping both of these fish dipping sauces together in case you prefer one or the other.

Bot Thinh/Kao Kua (Vietnamese/Thai Ground Roasted Rice Powder)

Bot Thinh/Kao Kua (Vietnamese/Thai Ground Roasted Rice Powder) is something I've only seen my family use a few times. Once, when my oldest uncle's wife made a vegetarian salad and sprinkled a lot of roasted rice powder. Again, when my mom made be thui (Vietnamese beef with roasted rice powder and bean curd). Ground roasted rice powder adds a nutty flavor and fragrance to salads, while helping to absorb excess moisture.

Kiki Bakery - San Gabriel (Closed)

I only go to Kiki Bakery for one item. Sure they make cute and delicious little cakes, which you can see on my Kiki Bakery - Alhambra post.



But for this post, I'm just concentrating on their breads.

Taro Dinner Rolls

Taro in the dessert at my third-cousin's wedding reception at Regent West Restaurant, segues into taro dinner rolls. I know, so lame. What can I say? Trying to make my Thanksgiving posts still relevant weeks later?

Anyway, I was inspired to make this after eating the taro mochi bun at Kiki Bakery, and thinking along the lines of slightly sweet Hawaiian dinner rolls. I figured it should be simple enough to adapt a potato dinner roll recipe. Of course, I probably should have done a test run first, but where's the fun in that?

Luckily, the rolls ended up very soft, slightly sweet, but only slightly taro-y. I didn't want to add too much taro or sweet potato because I was afraid it would affect the texture of the roll. I added in about half of an Okinawan purple sweet potato for color. I boiled the purple sweet potato together with the taro before mashing.

The rolls need several hours to rise, then shaped, then another rise before baking, so make sure you don't wait until the last minute if you plan to make these.

Regent West Restaurant (Wedding Banquet) - Santa Ana (Little Saigon)

I know I tend to blog thematically, now I wonder if I'm starting to blog by color? Is it too much of a segue to say that the cranberry posts reminded me of a recent wedding reception?



A few weeks ago, one of my third-cousins got married. What's a third-cousin? Her maternal grandfather was first-cousins with my ba noi (Vietnamese paternal grandmother). So her mom and my dad are second-cousins. Hence, she and I are third-cousins.

The wedding reception was held at Regent West Restaurant in Santa Ana. It's located on First Street, right after it changes from Bolsa Avenue as you cross the border from Westminster. So still in the heart of Little Saigon.

Cranberry Plum Hoisin Sauce

Since I was making Peking Duck-Style Roast Turkey with Flour Wrappers, Scallions, and Cucumbers, it seemed only natural to add cranberry sauce to the usual hoisin sauce that's drizzled on top.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Even though hardly anyone eats it, I always make fresh cranberry sauce to go with the roast turkey for Thanksgiving. Cranberries are low-lying shrubs or vines that grow in acidic bogs throughout the Northeastern U.S. (and Oregon!) and Canada.

Cranberries are tart, with a spongy interior. There's not much to my recipe, I just boil them in apple or orange juice for at least half an hour or longer until the berries all burst. It's so simple that there's really no excuse to serve the stuff in a can.

Mashed Okinawan Purple Sweet Potatoes

Remembering how much fun it was when I made Purple Aloo Gobi (Indian Potatoes and Cauliflower), I decided to use Okinawan purple sweet potatoes again as a side dish. The almost purple-black color of the sweet potatoes became this glorious purple after mashing with butter, milk, and sour cream.


Despite its appearance, the Okinawan sweet potato is not related to ube, the popular Filipino yam used in many desserts. What's the difference? Well, one is a yam and the other is a sweet potato. :P Americans use the words interchangeably, but in fact, a sweet potato is not a yam, a yam is not a sweet potato. They belong to two different scientific families.

On Glamour's "Engagement Chicken" and Who I Cook For

Common sense would dictate that I get up early on Thanksgiving to begin cooking for 18 people. But where's the fun in that? The day before, I bought an organic chicken from the San Gabriel Superstore for $6.99. The only reason I bought an organic chicken was because I intended to make com ga Hai Nam (Hainanese chicken rice) since lil' sis was home. But whole chickens have been just as expensive lately, so I decided to make my salt, pepper, lemon basic baked chicken and update the pictures in my original post instead. Lil' sis and I enjoyed a leisurely lunch of baked chicken before running around like chickens with our heads cut off from cooking all day.

Look at that fabulously crispy skin.




And moist breast meat. Normally I don't like white meat, but this recipe turns out juicy breast meat every time. Too bad the organic chicken was rather flat-chested or there'd be a lot more breast meat to enjoy.

Fulfilled - Beverly Hills (Closed)

As I said, several weeks ago, I received an invitation to a pre-grand opening free tasting of Fulfilled, a Japanese imagawa-yaki pastry shop in Beverly Hills. Since I didn't want to go alone, I asked the owner if I could bring a guest and invited Cathy of Gastronomy along. So after grabbing some lahmajoun from Abraham Partamian Armenian Bakery, I picked her up from work.

Notice it's just a few doors down from Pinkberry? Think Japanese stuffed pancakes will take off like tart frozen yogurt? It's at least situated in the right zip code. 90210!



In the front window, you can see them making the "imas" as Fulfilled likes to call them.

Abraham Partamian Armenian Bakery - Los Angeles (Mid-City)

Several weeks ago, I received an invitation to a pre-grand opening tasting of Fulfilled, a Japanese imagawa-yaki pastry shop in Beverly Hills. Go outside of the San Gabriel Valley? Ack! Because I had to drive so far, I wanted to make it worth my while. So I decided to detour to Abraham Partamian Armenian Bakery in the Mid-City neighborhood of Los Angeles.



I was searching for an Armenian bakery in a neighborhood that's now half Latino because it supposedly offers the best lahmajoun in town. Lahmajoun/lahmajune/lahmacun, however you spell it, according to Wikipedia is an Anatolian dish of very thin dough topped with minced lamb, tomatoes, and spices. It's sometimes referred to as Armenian or Turkish pizza.

Earlier in the spring, I was inspired by this Los Angeles Times article about how Leon Partamian, Abraham's son who never married or had children, left the bakery to his two Mexican workers. Francisco Rosales and Jose Gonzales had been with him for more than 35 years. That two Mexican Americans make the best, and bake upwards of 500, Armenian "pizzas" a day definitely goes on my list of things that are "Sooo SoCal." Not that I'm suprised since I've often seen Mexicans working in the kitchens of Little Saigon restaurants.

Canh Bap Cai Bac Thao (Vietnamese Napa Cabbage Soup)

After a lot of heavy eating, I needed something light.

A canh is a light Vietnamese soup. It's not really meant to be a full meal but eaten as an accompaniment to an entree and a vegetable side dish. A light, flavorful broth and a few greens are all that's really needed. Sometimes, I'll even add some rice into the soup to soak up the flavors.

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with an Asian Fusion Twist

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite American holiday. I think it's less commercial than some of the other holidays. Except for the mad rush for turkeys, what you're really left with is a holiday that pays homage to being thankful and to gathering with family. And of course, the food. Can't forget about the food.


This is the fourth time I've hosted Thanksgiving dinner. As we've gotten older, there's less and less occasion for the cousins to gather. This year, I fed 18 people. So despite the full day of cooking that usually entails, I actually enjoy hosting. I usually make one or two turkeys, mashed potatoes and gravy, and stuffing. Other dishes might vary from typical American sides to ethnic ones. Someone usually brings a pie or two to finish off the meal.

Really, all my cousins want are the core dishes -- the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and pumpkin pie. After all, Thanksgiving really is the only time of year we eat all of the above. But this year, I decided to mess around a bit with tradition.

Charlie's Trio Cafe - Alhambra

In trying to clear up some of the pictures that have been sitting in the queue too long, I had forgotten about my lunch last summer when Norwegian cousin was visiting, she and her friend had wanted salad or something light for lunch. After running through various options, I don't remember exactly why I settled on Charlie's Trio Cafe in Alhambra.

Lasagna with Meat Sauce

When I made my Vegetarian Lasagna with Broccoli, Kale, and Zucchini, I had lightly boiled the noodles. After baking in sauce for 45 minutes, the noodles got mushier than I'd like. I know I've heard before that you don't have to boil the noodles first because they'll absorb liquid in the sauce while baking. So I decided to give it a try and make lasagna with dried noodles. Not the kind that's advertised as no-bake, just straight-from-the-box regular old dried lasagna noodles.

I couldn't wait for the lasagna to cool down before cutting (or eating!), but somehow I think the gooey cheese and unstructuredness of this piece looks infinitely more appealing.


This piece was cut the next day, and the pasta had absorbed even more sauce overnight so it's not as saucy as I generally like, but still perfectly good.

Vegetarian Lasagna with Broccoli, Kale, and Zucchini

Broccoli. It's the vegetable that everyone loves to hate.

When my cousins were little, I used to sneak broccoli into lasagna by chopping it into small pieces and thoroughly mixing it into the tomato sauce. Even though they eventually found the pieces, they still liked the lasagna too much and continued eating it anyway, broccoli and all.

Cue evil laugh. *Bwahaha.*

That's one way to get kids to eat their vegetables.

Broccoli Bacon Pasta

This recipe was created when I dug through my freezer to use up leftovers. The frozen broccoli was already soft, and after being boiled and tossed with the noodles, took on an almost pesto-like quality that ended up working really well. Of course, you can certainly use fresh broccoli instead, but lil' sis really dug the pesto-like consistency of this dish.

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens (Rose Garden) (Spring) - San Marino

The Rose Garden at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. Unfortunately, both of us forgot to charge our camera batteries. So we had to try to sneak in a few quick photos, let the battery recharge, take another photo. I'll have to come back to get more photos some day.

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens (Japanese Garden) (Spring) - San Marino

When I last left off, HH and I had walked around the Chinese Garden at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. We then continued on to the Japanese Garden.




Rather than go into a spiel about the history of Japanese gardens, you can read the Wikipedia article. And Discover Nikkei has an article about the inconsistencies.

Since the Japanese garden was completed in 1968, it has a much more settled feel than the Chinese Garden.

Regional Recipes #2 (Japan)

Moon Bridge, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens (Japanese Garden) (Spring) - San Marino

Japanese cuisine has always been a bit intimidating for me. While I love to eat sushi, making it always seems so difficult. Fortunately, Japanese food is about so much more than sushi. It's about presentation and delicacy and ... Ack! That's even more intimidating!

Luckily, I can always depend upon other food bloggers to make cooking look easy. The recipes submitted for the Japanese round-up of Regional Recipes showcased the diversity of the cuisine with fried, simmered, soup, and dessert dishes.

The recipes, in alphabetical order...

My House Was Broken Into And My Laptop Was Stolen

Dear readers,

My house was broken into and my laptop was stolen tonight. :(

Thit Bo Kho Mang (Vietnamese Braised Beef with Bamboo Shoots)

Dried bamboo provides an earthy component to this braised dish. While I would normally use pork, I happened to have beef on hand and it worked just fine.

Making caramel sauce is a must for this dish to provide color and flavor to the meat. If you're not going to do this step, then skip the sugar in the recipe as the coconut juice will provide plenty of sweetness on its own. The coconut juice will mostly cook off, leaving behind a slight sweetness to add depth. If you don't want any coconut juice at all, then simply substitute with water.

How to Make Nuoc Mau (Vietnamese Caramel Sauce)

Nuoc mau (Vietnamese caramel sauce) is an essential component to many braised dishes. The direct translation is "colored water" and it adds deep color as well as a slightly sweet, deeply rich flavor to a dish. It takes only about 10 minutes to make, yet time and again, I hear how people are afraid to make it. It's just burnt sugar.




The only tricks are to use a heavy-bottom pot (I'm using my enameled cast iron pot) and to monitor and make sure there's enough liquid to burn the sugar, without scorching it. If it seems too dry, simply add more water and stir again.

Just regular white sugar works best so there's no need to get fancy. After the caramel sauce darkens, add the meats and stir to let the sauce color the meats. Then add water and braise.

Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo shoots are one of my kitchen essentials because they're so versatile. They can be braised, stir-fried, and made into soups or curries.

I have yet to try the really fresh bamboo shoots, this kind that look like they were cut from the forest floor.


So what I usually buy are bamboo shoots in brine, pickled, canned, or dried. You can find them in most Asian grocery stores.

Let's Talk Turkey!

So while I was in line at the Yum Cha Cafe side of the San Gabriel Superstore, waiting for my half-duck to get cut up for my Thai red curry with roast duck recipe, I noticed a sign for turkey with free sticky rice for $35. So that's what I'm doing this year.




You'll have to check back in to see what I'm going to do with the turkey. I think it's supposed to be cooked Peking duck-style. Other barbecue places will do this same thing, but you have to bring in a turkey. Here, they provide the turkey for you. (Much thanks to the super-nice random Chinese guy who helped translate and asked the cashier the exact details for me!) Anyway, so it'll be an 8 to 12 lb turkey with a side of sticky rice.

Thai Red Curry with Roast Duck, Bamboo Shoots, Eggplant, and Pumpkin

As I said, I had a curry craving. Since I was already at the San Gabriel Superstore, I figured I'd experiment and make a red curry with roast duck. I think that's also because I had a weird craving for roast duck. Weird, only because I hardly ever eat roast duck.

Thai Red Curry Paste

Recently, I had a major craving for Thai curry, red curry in particular. And as I stood there in the aisle at the San Gabriel Superstore reading the ingredients of the canned curry pastes, I decided I could make my own for better and cheaper.

The main reason why I prefer to make my own Thai curry paste is because I don't like the taste of galangal. I know purists will say it's essential, but the taste is so overwhelming in packaged pastes that I just don't like it. And actually, even though it's not "authentic," I much prefer the taste of ginger. I also sub regular lime peel for kaffir lime peel since the latter is harder to find.

Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Base Stew)

According to Wikipedia, Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Base Stew) was invented as a way to use up surplus products from U.S. army bases after the Korean War ended. It is similar to Soon Dubu Kimchee Chigae (Korean Soft Tofu Kimchee Soup) with the addition of Spam or hot dogs. I usually make this when my Baechu Kimchee (Napa Cabbage Kimchee) is getting too ripe and/or I need to clear out the fridge.

Start with the kimchee base and toss in anything you wish. This particular evening, I added tofu, cabbage, onions, Spam, Ggakdugi Kimchee (Korean Pickled Radish/Daikon), fish balls, tiny dried fish, ramen, and half a can of beans (I had half a can leftover, it's a common army product, and Wiki even said it could be included).