Tiramisu

I will boldly proclaim the following as the best tiramisu recipe you'll ever encounter. It will surely impress your stomach as well as your guests. Added bonus: it's super easy!

Tiramisu:
Total time:  45 minutes (+ at least 2 hours to chill). Serves: 16. Difficulty: Easy

275 ml Heavy cream
3/4 cup Sugar
6 Egg yolks
16 oz Mascarpone cheese
50 ml Strong coffee + 1 1/2 cup for dipping (use twice the beans), room temperature
5 tbsp Coffee liqueur (or rum)
1.5 pack of 7 oz Lady fingers (each pack has 24)
Cocoa powder for dusting

1. Using a hand mixer (or by hand), whip heavy cream until soft peaks form.
2. In a separate bowl, add sugar into egg yolks. Whisk sugar and egg mixture over double boiler. (Alternatively, you can whip the mixture in a heated bowl, or even place the bowl in a container filled with hot water.)
3. In another bowl, add the Mascarpone cheese, 50 ml coffee, and coffee liqueur. Using a hand mixer, mix until smooth.
4. Using a silicon spatula, fold the whipped cream into the Mascarpone cheese mixture, then fold in the egg yolk mixture. Continue to fold until the mixture is smooth and becomes a soft custard cream that will serve as the frosting to the tiramisu.
5. Prepare the lady fingers. Quickly dip both sides of a lady finger in coffee (no longer than 3 seconds), then place them  side by side in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Do this until the bottom of the baking dish is covered, roughly 13 lady fingers. (You may add a bit more alcohol in the coffee for some extra kick, we added 1 tbsp of whiskey)
6. Spoon half of the custard cream over the lady fingers, and gently spread it until even and smooth. Dust a light layer of cocoa powder over the custard cream.
7. Repeat the process again for a second layer.
8. Cover in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 2 to 8 hours. Enjoy!

Pork Belly Buns

Ah pork belly, why are thee so tasty? This sinfully decadent dish is irresistible to all. Just look at this photo, you know you want it.

Pork Belly Buns:

Total Time: 3.5 hrs (requires overnight). Serves: 5. Difficulty: Easy-Medium

3-4 lb of pork belly (get a whole slab from Ranch, not pre-sliced)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 green onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, sliced (optional, you can seed them if you'd like)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup water
2 packages of store bought buns (from Ranch)

Condiments:
1 cucumber, sliced thinly
1 japapeno, sliced thinly
2 green onion, chopped
Hoisin sauce

1. Prepare this step the night before. Preheat the oven to 275 F. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork belly. Wrap it in two layers of foil (this is to prevent the juices from leaking) and put it on a cookie sheet or tray. Slow roast the pork belly for 2 hours. Wait for it to be cool enough, do not open the package and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight (until the juices set).
2. Unwrap the foil, the fat should be solidified. Get rid of the fat but keep some of the gelatin. Slice the pork belly into 1/4" thick and 1/2" long pieces for easy consumption.
3. Heat a pan, preferably nonstick, with a little oil and brown both sides of the pork belly, turning only once. This part is a little tricky because fat will melt and splatter. To minimize this, turn the heat down to medium and try to keep the meat away from the oil that will collect and pool.
4. Meanwhile, mix the brown sugar, rice vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and water into a bowl (this is the caramel sauce). Set aside.
5. Remove the meat to a plate. Using the same pan, heat 1 tbsp of the remaining oil (get rid of the excess). Add the garlic, ginger, green onion and jalapeno. Saute for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Pour in the caramel sauce.
6. Add the meat in a single layer and simmer for 10 minutes, turning only once (if you need to, do this in batches).
7. In the meantime, steam the buns via your favorite method. We used a rice cooker. Alternatively, you can add 1/2 cup of water to a bottom of a shallow pan or wok, and put a bowl filled the buns into the pan. Turn heat to medium high and steam for 10 minutes. You can even microwave them if you want to, just be sure to cover them with a moistened paper towel so they don't dry out and microwave them in 30 second increments so they don't get overcooked.
8. Serve with your favorite condiments.
*If you feel that this is too fatty, you can also serve your favorite veggie as a side dish. It will make you feel less guilty about eating so much pork belly.

To assemble the buns:
Add a bit of hoisin sauce to the buns, then add a slice of cucumber, some green onion, and if you'd like, a slice of jalapeno. Finally, add the pork belly. Take a picture, and nom away!

Knights of the IKEA Table Reunite

For the love of food.

What could we make with left over white wine, cream, parsley and chicken? The answer is something spectacular! If I had to guess, I'd say the sauce is French influenced, but it's what makes this dish special. This rich and creamy dish is perfect for a date night or a weekend dinner. 

Braised chicken in a white wine and cream sauce, served with mushrooms and mashed potatoes. With a side of Brussels sprouts.

Total Time: 2 hrs. Serves: 4. Difficulty: Medium.

Braised Chicken:
3 lbs of chicken thighs (we used 3 pieces of thigh and 4 drumsticks)
3 tbsp of unsalted butter
2 tbsp of flour
1 bottle (750 ml) of white wine
1 cups of chicken broth
1/4 cup of coarsely chopped parsley (separate into 2 equal halves) + 1 tbsp for garnish
1 large clove of garlic, chopped (4 cloves of garlic if making mashed potatoes)
3 stalks of green onion, cut into 1" length
1 tbsp sugar
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup of heavy cream or cream fraiche (+1 cup for mashed potatoes)

1. Melt 3 tbsp of unsalted butter in a 6 qt dutch oven or pot.
2.  After the butter melts, brown the chicken over high heat, turning only once, for 10-14 minutes. Transfer chicken onto a plate.
3. Stir flour into delicious chicken fat and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add wine, chicken broth, 1/8 cup parsley, 1 clove of garlic, green onion, and sugar, and chicken. Cover and bring to a boil, then bring the heat down to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
5. Whisk together the egg yolk and heavy cream together. Set aside.
6. After chicken is cooked, transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Cover with foil.
7. Bring liquid to a boil over high heat until reduced to 2 cups, about 4-7 minutes.
8. Reduce heat to low, wait 2 minutes then spoon some braising liquid into the egg yolk mixture. This is to ensure the heat will equilibrate and the eggs do not get cooked. Then stir the mixture back into the braising liquid.
9. Heat but don't boil the mixture, constantly stirring, until sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. About 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. This should yield a smooth, creamy sauce.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sides:
Mushrooms:

12 oz of cremini mushrooms, quartered
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/8 cup of parsley

1. heat a pan with 2 tbsp vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, saute the mushrooms on high heat until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add the remaining half of parsley, cook for 30 seconds and remove from heat.

Garlic mashed potatoes:
3-4 russet potatoes, about 2.5 lbs
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of parmesan cheese
1. Peel and dice the potatoes, making sure they're about the same size.
2. Boil a large pot of water in a sauce pan (you can add salt if you'd like). After the water boils, add the potatoes.
3. Maintain a rolling boil and cook until the potatoes fall apart when poked with fork.
4. Meanwhile, heat the heavy cream and garlic over a medium sauce pan over medium heat until about simmer. About 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Drain the potatoes. Mash and add the cream/garlic mixture and parmesan. Stir to combine. Salt and pepper to taste.

To serve the chicken, add some mashed potatoes, layer it with some mushrooms, add the chicken, and spoon a generous portion of sauce over the plate. Garnish with parsley.

Brussels sprouts
1 lb of Brussels sprouts, halved
2 strips of bacon if you have it, otherwise use 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 zest of a lemon + the juice of 1 lemon
1. Cook bacon until crispy, take it out the pan and cut into 1/4" pieces. Side aside. Alternatively, heat up to 2 tbsp of vegetable oil.
2. Use remaining bacon grease, saute the Brussels sprouts over med-high heat, for about 10-14 minutes, until both sides are browned. Stir occasionally.
3. When the Brussels sprouts are nearly cooked, add the zest and lemon juice, as well as the bacon strips. Salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

Take a picture of your hard work and consume!

north

drove all over town to see friends and family. bad headache that morning, either from being sleep deprived, driving hundreds and hundreds of miles, or seeing hayward everywhere.
after almost a thousand miles of what seemed like aimless driving, kar and i decided to take the bart to the city along with my friend from sixth grade, katrina. it was exciting at first, until i realized the walk from the station to the restaurant was more than 15 blocks of up and downhill. i nearly died after 7. im glad i didnt because i got to eat oysters. i might have just found the reason for living.

bypassed internet security!

hells yes! but it's still not able to directly upload to blogger, so I must hot the images on a different website.

I'll figure it out.

I went to town with two friends and I got a Bailey's Irish Cream. It was great, but my ears exploded with red hot heat. I'm thinking now drinking alcohol in 35 degrees Celsius weather is a not too great of an idea.








in other news, this brand of instant noodles has my name all over it. I bought one. will blog when eat.

Peru

Day 1: Went to a bunch of musems, got ripped off by cab drivers and tour guides, saw a good chunk of Lima. AKA: Off to a expected start in a strange country. The hostel I'm staying in is pretty cool. "For What It's Worth" by the Buffalo Springfields is playing. Not so shabby, eh N? I could pretend to be brave and say I know what the fuck I'm doing, but the truth is it's pretty damn scary being in a strange country, currently by myself, without really knowing what to do. But I'll tough it out.

In keeping with the central theme of food of this blog, I will comment on the first Peruvian meal I had, called Lomo Saltados, basically marinated beef (or pork, wasn't really sure, tasted like beef by translator says pork) cooked with onions, can't upload pictures here, so just go google it yourselves. The flavors was very strong. The dipping sauce for the french fries was made from fresh jalapenos, so needless to say my mouth burned afterwards. Overall it was quite delicious =D. Anyway, it's 3 in the morning now, I need to get to bed. Wish me luck on another day of adventures, y'all!

place cards

lincolnberry, dena the athlete, philip, merr and bunny, kar sleeping, chad the dj, gabe and his grill, lai being...lai, and i am a cleaning robot

soup for the soul

fresh noodles

1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 cups flour
1/2-1 cup water

1. Mix and knead until dough smooths out.
2. Divide into small portions and roll out thinly. Flour both sides generously. Fold and cut noodles into 1/4 inch slices.
3. Cook noodles in boiling water for 5-10 minutes.


spicy beef stew

5 tablespoons soysauce
2 tablespoons rice wine
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons chili paste
1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder
1 pound beef, cubed
4-5 cloves garlic
green onion
ginger
star anis
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1/2 teaspoon clove

1. Brown the beef in vegetable oil. Take out the beef and fry ginger, garlic, and chili paste in the same pan.
2. Add beef stock, soysauce, rice wine, sugar, white pepper powder, star anis, clove, beef, and cook in medium heat for 30-40 minutes.
3. Cook bok choy in the stock, and then add the noodles.
4. Garnish with green onion.

but wait, you're not in china yet

OR AM I?
What is this, you ask!? No, it's not the remains of an extinct dinosaur from the Whatthefuckistic period. It's the awesomeness of Black Chicken hitting you in the face.
My grandpa laughs, especially at the burnt Wintermelon and Ham. It is so funny, it doesn't even have soy sauce in it. But wait, there's more! If you join us in the next five minutes we will offer you a free gift-Phoenix Talons! Yes that's right, Phoenix Talons. My mother soaks them in special alcohol she gets...from somewhere.
My cousin 孟凡 invites you to join us next time. We might even throw in a free bowl of rice. Looks tantalizing, doesn't it? Almost like... food.

redefining sundays

our loot from the hillcrest farmer's market

dinner at la jolla shores later that day

improvised fondue at P's humble abode