I am STILL on my Southeast Asian ish kick because when you buy those packs of herbs for pho or springrolls, you get so many!  I've sort of accepted that I'm going to use what I can and then the rest will go bad, but I'm attempting to make it through more of what I bought.  I'm down to the mint, and my pot of homegrown lettuce desperately needed a thinning, so a salad inspired bento it was.

1. Base of rice noodles.  I love rice noodles because they cook so fast!  Bring a pot of water to boil, add in your rice noodles (also called rice sticks.)  They only need a few minutes (4ish for these pho style ones), drain and rinse under cold water.

2. I've been using hot pot sliced pork for a quick and easy protein.   For this, I drizzled the slices with sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin, and a tsp of sugar (raw cane, in this case) in a small bowl. Add enough liquid to partially cover the meat, let it marinate for a few minutes.  Cook it in a pan until the meat is done and has absorbed the cooking liquid.  Set aside to cool.

3.  Here I've used sliced lettuce mixed with mint, and slice radishes (also needed eating from the garden) in lieu of bean sprouts. 

4. If you would like a poached egg on top, bring a pot of water to a simmer.  Oil a silicon baking cup and crack an egg into it.  Gently drop it into the water (it will float) and simmer for 7 minutes.  Remove from water and let cool, then pop that egg out.

5. Garnish as you like.  Can't go wrong with lime!  I also had a light vinigrette, the original recipe was 1/2 fish sauce 1/2 cider vinegar, but I find the fishy taste too strong.  So it's probably more like 1/3 fish sauce, 2/3 vinegar. 

Light, fresh, and healthy!    This salad is a good one to bring to work because it's tasty cold. 

Bento: Sliders and oven baked fries

Nothing says cute like the itsy bitsy version of something.  My local Fresh and Easy had a sale on slider patties which don't turn out to be all that cheap when you think about how little meat you're actually getting.  But they're pre-shaped, and cute, and hey.  Why not try them?  (Perhaps I will make my own in the future.)
The first time I made this bento I used mini ciabatta  buns.  This time I cut rounds from a loaf of wheat bread I made earlier this week and am still working through.  I included the cute cheese cutouts just because it makes me happier to know my sliders have a heart of cuteness.  Leftover cheese was consumed at a separate meal, and I think I'll make a bread pudding with the crusts.

1. Pan cook slider patties on both sides until they're cooked through.  Set aside to cool.

2. Slice up a potato into fries, toss with salt, olive oil and pepper.  Pop into the toaster over for 20 minutes at 350 and check for doneness.  Add another 5 minutes if they're not cooked through.  I like soggy fries so it doesn't bother me that they're pretty soft. :)  You could bake them for longer to get them more golden, though.

3. Use your favorite cookie cutter to get a cute cheese shape. 

4. I used a cookie cutter to cut out rounds of bread the same size as the patties.

5. Wait for everything to cool before packing together.

6. Enjoy!

Bento: banh mi(ish) sandwich

Last Christmas my sister got me a bento cookbook written by a very popular blogger (writer of justbento.com and its companion blog justhungry.com).  We've been trading emails and ideas for bentos for awhile, although her oldest son is only just getting to be old enough to bring lunches to school and my sister is really busy as a professor so I don't know how much time she has to prepare cute lunches.  I started making some of these to fancy up the lunchtime because lately, I've been so busy at work I eat at my desk too often.  A cute or fancily-packed lunch makes me feel a bit better.

And then Wei-Ling said, "Why are you not blogging about your lunches?"

So here goes!  All recipes approximate and taken from other sources. 
Today is inspired by justbento's deconstructed banh mi:

Meat: pan fry a skinless, boneless chicken thigh until done.  set aside.  mix about 1/2 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon soy, 1 tablespoon mirin and pour into the still hot pan.  when it starts to bubble, swirl the chicken thigh in the sauce until it is nicely glazed.

pickles: shred (I used a mandolin grater, cutting to small pieces would work too but don't use a cheese grater, too small) carrots daikon, apple into a bowl.  sprinkle salt (1 tsp), sugar (1 tsp) and massage for 2-3 minutes until the veggies wilt and give up some water.  rinse thoroughly.  Put into a jar with brine (1 c warm water, 1/4 C sugar, 1 C vinegar, you can adjust sugar levels to taste) and let sit for at least an hour. 

bread: traditional banh mi are served on mini baguettes, but I just put it between two slices of wheat bread.  It kind of turned into a monster sandwich.  Yum!

in the the land of pickles, the clear topped jar is king.

 Monkey see, monkey do.  I went over the a food event at the SF Ferry building last weekend and tasted some delicious pickled goods from Happy Girl Kitchen, and in addition to serious pantry envy (even though theirs is a store display), I was inspired to get pickling on my own.  And, also at the ferry building I found the the jam jars I didn't even know I needed to have, but now my life feels a little more complete: Weck jars.  These seriously beautiful glass jars feature glass tops with a rubber gasket and clips to keep it all together.  A little research reveals that these are actually the types of jars used previous to the more common pop top lid jars we have today.  Probably for good reason; they're trickier to use and to get a good seal which is so important for food safety.  But, you can deny that these are just more pretty.

While googling around on how to even use these things I came across some wonderful looking pickle (both processed and refrigerator) recipes that looked so temping I had to use my jars the very next day.  It's really cool seeing your item through the tops of the lids! 

 I've got some dill and garlic pickles, and red onion pickles.  The red onion looks a bit crazy due to there being red wine vinegar in with the red onions and I think that purple red is sort of leaching out.  I can't wait to try the onions on burgers this week.  Not sure how long I can wait before popping open the dill pickles - I think I need to let them age to get to the proper level of pickledness but it will be hard!

I had to process the pickles twice.  The second time the gasket tab did the proper "stick your tongue out down" look that indicates a good seal.

Happy New Year! And, Egg Custard Tarts

Happy New Year!

Ages and ages ago in Berkeley, my sister and I each bought a copy of this old school, from the 80’s, Chinese Snacks cookbook.  I forget which store carried it, but it seemed like such a great find we couldn’t pass it up and we obviously each needed our own copy. (We lived at the same apartment at the time.)  The idea seemed so great.  Make your own dim sum at home!  Turns out that dim sum is something really not something the home cook can whip up due to the complicated preparation and the sheer time it takes to churn out any kind of edible amount of bite sized goodness.  (Like that time my friends and I witnessed an entire room of super fast cooks wrapping Xiao Long Bao in a futile attempt to keep up with demands.)     

But oh, egg custard tarts!  As my friend Jen is fond of calling the most exemplary item in a category as its “king” (the King of Potato chips being salt and pepper Kettle Chips), I say egg custard tarts are the Princess of Dim Sum.  They’re fun, dainty, and sweet, and the hit of every dim sum outing.  In fact, I firmly uphold the belief that these treats are appropriate at any time during dim sum, not just as dessert!  The savory of the other dishes brings out the sweet goodness of the egg custard tarts, and vice versa!  Plus, these things go fast so if you don’t get them off the cart when the dim sum ladies come around, they might not be there later!

Therefore I couldn’t resist another attempt at making these (my favorite dim sum dish, not that that was a question).  I’m on attempt number 2 or 3 now; they seem like so much effort that I usually let several years lapse in between.  The crust is the hard part; many restaurants (second rate…sniff) will serve egg custard tarts in a shortbread style crust, which is the cheater way of doing it! 

A most suitable snack for all times of the day.

This recipe book provides excellent directions in Chinese and English, with step-by-step pictures on how to roll your crust properly; it takes two kinds of dough, one encased in the other, and a lot of folding.  I think it must be similar to puff pastry or croissants, to get that layering effect.  Also, the secret ingredient is lard.  I wasn’t able to find lard when I made this attempt, but I used shortening (and damn the health consequences) and the texture is finally approaching the desired flaky ideal!  I made this on a whim, so I didn’t have evaporated milk powder or any dairy for the egg custard, so that was a touch pale.  But I feel OK about that because my mom must’ve liked them; she went out and bought evaporated milk powder the next day. :) 

D.I.Y. #3- The Zen of Cookies

Don't you just love days where the plan is to do nothing?  I amazed myself this fine Saturday (now Sunday) by my incredible multi-tasking of doing nothing yet accomplishing quite a lot.

My to-do list today looked consisted of:
1. Go to the bookstore

2. Make pancake breakfast

3. watch some tv

4. make cookies

5. start packing up the apartment

Thoere must be some Zen saying about how not TRYING to accomplish a lot means you'll be relaxed enough a hell of a lot done.  I feel like I really managed to filled up my day and be extremely productive despite waking up at 11 am and managing to watch Face/Off, Casino Royale, AND Bones AND Fringe.  The packing jitters are starting to set in, when I have to decide what I can pack now to make life easier for myself and what I won't be able to live without for the next 2-3 weeks.  Gah.  The anxiety is rising, although my subconscious must be very concerned about my shoes - I dreamed the other night that it was deathly important I pack all my shoes FIRST.  But I decided in the end that considering the next week will be eaten up by dance rehearsals, I can safely start packing away less used cooking equipment.  I don't exactly see myself making sponge cakes anytime soon.

The crowning achievement of my day, though, must be the cookies.  I've been promising Amy I'd make my Auntie Ellen's chocolate chip cookies ever since she told me about Levain Bakery in New York -  apparently famous for their chocolate chip and walnut cookies.

WELL...I've been eating Auntie Ellen's cookies since childhood and I have to say, this is my favorite CCC of all time.  Just the right balance of nuttiness, chocolate, not overly sweet, and somehow, her cookies always remain nice and firm (I was using the Tollhouse recipe for ages, but whenever I bake that, it always melts into a giant cookie puddle.)  I don't make them as well as Auntie Ellen, but a few more practice batches should do it!  So simple, so good.  Next time I'm thinking of substituting pistachios for the walnuts just to see how it turns out.  Enjoy!

Auntie Ellen's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 measuring teaspoon baking soda

1 measuring teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 measuring teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375⁰ F.  In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, beat until creamy.  Beat in eggs.  Gradually add flour mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Drop by level measuring tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 375⁰ F. 9-11 minutes.

D.I.Y #2 - onigiri

Oh!nigiri!1!  

Have you ever been watching an anime and seen the characters chowing down on onigiri and thought, damn that looks good!  I want some, but how do I make them?  Here’s how!

What are onigiri?  Basically, onigiri are rice balls with a filling (fish or picked vegetables, wrapped in seaweed for easy handling.  They are especially delicious grilled, as the rice gets nice and crispy.  That’s all – rice and filling.  I’m 90% sure the compact hand-held aspect (and cute shapes) add even more to the flavor.  The cuter a food is, the more delicious, right?

Ingredients

 1. Fresh, hot steaming rice.  You can mix some sushi vinegar in it if you like, although that is a bit untraditional.  The rice must be hot and steaming, or else it won’t stick together.

 2. Filling of your choice.  I’ve used some lightly salted salmon as the filling for mine, you can choose your own to taste.  If it is meat, pre-cook your meat and cut into small pieces.

To assemble:

1. Onigiri making is easier with molds, but you can use your hands to make triangular shapes as well.  Fill up the mold half way with the rice and insert a piece of meat.

2. cover with rice and compress

3 Flip out onto a plate.

That’s it!  Between each ball rinse out your mold in cold, salted water (and also your hands) to keep the next ball from sticking.  The salt in the water will add a bit of flavor.   Wrap and seaweed and enjoy!

I like my rice crispy so I decided to grill these. I whipped up a quick sauce of 1/3 soy sauce, 1/3 sesame seed oil, and 1/3 mirin.  Maybe there was some vinegar in there too.  Brush some onto each side of the onigiri and throw it on the grill…

(If you don’t have a grill, broiling also works pretty decently too.)

Lastly, proceed to stuff into your face, and enjoy! :D