I love my veggies.

The Safeway delivery man dropped off some broccoli crowns on Monday (yes, sometimes I do delivery Safeway) and I just couldn't figure out what to do with them. Thanks to the great dishes on Foodgawker, I was inspired to make a Warm Broccoli Quinoa Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing.

This recipe is a blend of a couple different ones I came across and I think it's going on my list of favorite kitchen experiments. Check it out for yourself :) 

Warm Broccoli Quinoa Salad

1 c quinoa

2 c water

1.5 c broccoli florets, steamed

1 scallion, chopped

1/2 tomato, chopped

1/4 c almond slices, toasted

1 1/2 tbsp carrot, grated

1 tbsp onion, grated

1/4 tbsp ginger, grated

1/2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1/4 c rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

pinch salt

Bring water and quinoa to a boil in a saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 13 minutes.

As quinoa cooks, prepare dressing by whisking together carrot, onion, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. Season with salt and set aside.

Place broccoli, almonds, scallion, and tomato in a large bowl. Pour in half the quinoa while it is still hot. Toss and stir in half the dressing. Stir in remaining quinoa and dressing. Serve immediately.

April ingredients used:  broccoli, carrot, onion, scallion

Lovelovelove the flavors and textures in this salad! Not sure how it'll taste tomorrow after being refrigerated...do I reheat? Could be weird.

I was also thinking this would be great with some shrimp tossed in there too, but it's also tasty on its own. I will definitely be making this again!

Revisiting Jeonju

Karena is in NYC this weekend to visit her sister and support Heidi through her first half marathon.  So, I thought I would hop on and write guest post for you readers out there.  Lucky for me there has been some interesting stuff in the blogs I follow.  Chris in South Korea has posted two concise and interesting posts about a weekend visit to Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do. 

Destination, Jeonju (Part 1)

Destination, Jeonju (Part 2)

I visited the city for a day during my brief TDY and enjoyed it very much.

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That reminds me of something I was surprised to see as our bus pulled into the city last March.  I had forgotten Jeonju was one of the host cities for the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan.

Check out the Jeonju Castle, home of the “dos a cero” US defeat of Mexico

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Simply Asian

Simply delicious.

 Kai-lan with Shiitakes and Tofu

1 bunch kai-lan, sliced into 1-inch pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 c oyster sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp mirin

1 tsp chili garlic paste

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp sugar

3 tbsp water

1 c shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 c firm tofu, diced

Heat oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Combine oyster sauce, sesame oil, mirin, chili garlic paste, soy sauce, sugar and water in a bowl; set aside. Saute garlic until fragrant, then add kai lan. Saute for 3 minutes, then add mushrooms and about 8 tablespoons of the sauce mixture. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tofu and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Taste and add more sauce if necessary. Serve immediately over rice.

March ingredients used: garlic, asian greens

This dish makes me happy. Partly because it's comforting and the flavors remind me of some dishes my mom used to make and partly because I love the variety of textures in one bowl. I ate mine over some brown rice so I had the crunch of the kai lan, the softness of the tofu, the squishiness of the mushrooms and a slight bite from the rice. Mmmm...delish.

Chicken, Brussels Sprouts & Taters

All playing well together.

After Saturday's successful trip to the farmers' market, I created a pretty well balanced dinner with a bunch of ingredients currently in season. Some elements were more successful than others, but I've noted modifications in the recipes below. Hope you enjoy them!

To start things off...

Mixed Greens with Fennel and Roasted Beets
Mixed salad greens
1 beet, roasted and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/4 c fennel, shaved

Vinaigrette
1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp champagne vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp tarragon
salt
pepper

Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients and toss a small amount with the mixed greens (you don't want to douse them in dressing). Add fennel, beets and avocado on top. Toss before serving.

The main course...

Green Garlic Chicken Roulade

2 chicken breasts, butterflied

1 stalk green garlic

2 1/2 tbsp plain greek yogurt

3 tbsp parmesan cheese, shredded

1 tbsp hot sauce

salt

pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Puree green garlic, yogurt, hot sauce and parmesan cheese together. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Spread 1/4 of mixture on each breast half, roll chicken up tightly and secure with two toothpicks. 

Place chicken in a baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165. Let rest for a few minutes and slice before serving.

Caramelized Onion and Brussels Sprout Hash
3/4 lb brussels sprouts, shredded
1/3 c caramelized onions
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp canadian bacon, finely chopped
1/3 c fennel, shaved
1/4 tsp lemon zest
salt
pepper

Heat butter in a saute pan over medium high heat. Brown bacon, then add fennel. Cook for 2 minutes before stirring in brussels sprouts. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes. Add onions and lemon zest, reduce heat to medium low and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
1-2 c fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp dill
freshly ground pepper

Heat oven to 400. Toss ingredients together and spread out on a baking sheet. Roast for 20-25 minutes.

March ingredients used: avocado, beet, brussels sprouts, fennel, green garlic, lemon, onion, potato

For dessert, Jamie and I snacked on a variety of baked goods we picked up on our walk through Chinatown:

Sweet Melon Cake (texture was a little weird...sort of like a shredded vegetable meets spongy texture) and Mini Custard Bun (not what I thought it was going to be, but not bad...moist cake with a tiny little custard bit inside)

Coconut Tart (Jamie was into this one, but I did not care for the texture. It was a moist spongy cake with a whole lot of shredded coconut) and Lotus Moon Cake (the ratio of filling to cake was weird and there was a salty surprise in the middle).

Personally, I wasn't that into any of the baked goods so I ended up snacking on one of the many oranges I collected that morning. It needed to be done.

Crabby

It's crab season and what better way to celebrate than deep frying a huge dungeness crab and enjoying the tender and crispy goodness? Sounds like a perfect Friday night to me.

Jamie flew in for the weekend and first thing on our agenda: Salt and Pepper Crab at R&G Lounge.

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I was bummed that I forgot my camera, but apparently everyone snaps photos of this photogenic sucker. Thank you, Google images, for making my life easier.

So, the crab is taken apart, dipped in a delightfully light batter, fried and then sprinkled with salt, pepper and scallions. It arrives to your table with the pieces neatly arranged under the top half of the shell that is purely for show. Fantastic presentation.

Once it arrives, and you stop drooling long enough to grab a piece of the piping hot crab, the real work begins. O yes, you still have to pick the crab apart. Inside the crispy fried shell are super tender bits of crab meat...almost completely devoid of grease. Amazing.

Of course this crab picking experience is much messier and a smidge tougher than most since your hands get coated with grease and crispy bits. Totally worth it though, especially when you end up with a succulent crab lollipop. Ahhhh!

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Not a big crab eater? Well the above photo is the best I could find to depict said lollipop. Basically we're talking about those very rare moments when you crack open a crab claw or leg and find a big honking piece of crab meat. Heavenly.

As I've mentioned before, dungeness crab meat is slightly different from blue crab meat. Clearly they are easier to pick than blue crabs (more meat for less work) and I've noticed that the meat is slightly reminiscent of the texture of imitation crab meat or king crab legs. Blue crab meat tends to be a little less...dense? I don't know. Crab is just delicious.

To supplement the crab (there were 3 of us and I'd say the crab was a good starter), we also ordered the Three Treasures with Black Bean Sauce (bean curd, eggplant and hot peppers stuffed with shrimp meat in black bean sauce) and Sauteed Pea Shoots. The bean curd in the Three Treasures looked like it was your typical fried tofu, but no. Inside the lightly fried skin was a silken tofu stuffed with a little bit of shrimp. Not really a great texture combo, but I did enjoy the tofu before biting into the shrimp.

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I must say the pea shoots might have been one of my favorite dishes of the night. I've really only had wimpy pea shoots where the stems were thin, almost like sprouts. These were exceptionally beefy looking stalks of pea shoots and they were simply sauteed with some garlic and were absolutely delicious. Note: they don't list these on the menu, so definitely ask for green veg options!

Overall, R&G Lounge was a tasty adventure and I'd definitely return to try the Peking Duck (no wimpy flat pancakes here, they use puffy steamed buns) or Crab in Black Bean Sauce (essentially the same experience as the Salt & Pepper Crab, but goopier).

Are you a crab lover? What's your favorite - dungeness, king, blue, snow, soft shell?

Spills and Thrills Along the Dumpling Road

I bike for dumplings. That should totally be a sticker on my helmet.

It's true, I went for my second long-ish ride and once again the destination was soup dumplings in the Richmond. What can I say? I love soup dumplings. I love the cute little parcels sitting in the steamer waiting for me to attack. I love how carefully you have to bite into them so you don't scald your mouth with the juicy goodness inside. I love that there are so many places to find them in San Francisco :)

The road to Shanghai Dumpling King was a long and bumpy one. I took the same route Jamie and I took last weekend and was doing pretty well until I approached The Wiggle. Wheel got stuck, I toppled over and ta da...first big spill on the new bike. Had to happen some time, right? I just wish it didn't happen while I was all alone :\

Ladies & gentlemen, repeat after me: always wear a helmet.

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Always. I landed knees first, then hands then a little bounce to the front of my helmet. Enough for a wee bump. Now, imagine if I wasn't wearing one.

I was a little freaked out, so I called the friend I was meeting up with (who conveniently happens to be a nurse and brought me stuff to clean up with) and Jamie to make sure I had someone to talk to just in case anything went wrong. I eventually got back on my bike and pedaled my way to the meeting point in Golden Gate Park. Everything felt fine, minus the burning in my knees.

Once I stopped in the park, I lifted up my capris to find out that I had some crazy scrapes on my knees and calves. Thankfully there weren't any major gashes. Hurrah. I biked all the way to the Great Highway while friend ran and since I got to the ocean before she did, I sat and soaked up the amazing weather. Ahhh. Gorgeous!

Everyone was out and about and the waves were huge! Once friend caught up, we sat for a little while longer appreciating the scenery. Hey, it's what weekends are for!

We eventually got going again and trekked another mile to meet another friend at Shanghai Dumpling King. Luckily friend got there early (11:30ish) and snagged us a spot at a shared table. No waiting in line this time! Woohoo!

FINALLY, time to try the famed Shanghai Dumpling King soup dumplings!

We split 2 orders of the soup dumplings and an order of pan fried pork buns. The soup dumplings were good, but not as good as I expected them to be. Honestly, I think I prefer the ones at Shanghai House. The meat and soup are much more flavorful in my opinion...plus there's never really a wait. The pork buns can be skipped - mushy wrapper and not much flavor.

Afterward, friend 2 and I hopped on a bus with the intention to hang out in Alamo Square Park for a bit. I attached my bike on a bus for the first time

The video doesn't lie. It's really only 3 steps and there are labels! I promptly realized I need to work on my upper body strength since I had a rough time lifting my bike high enough.

It took longer than expected to get to the park so we paused at a random cafe for a sweet treat and outdoor seating. It was there that I got my first glimpse at this gem:

O yes. Golf ball sized bruise on the knee. Guess that explains why it hurt a little to jog. Hm. Advil + Ice + Elevation = my afternoon.

Friend split off to head to an appointment and I hung out for a little longer to soak up the sun and think about my route home. I decided to bike the whole way (avoiding the crash scene, of course) and logged in a total of 11 miles for the day. Not too shabby!

It's dinnertime

Since you can only do so much dining out/burning money, Jamie and I settled in for a nice, post ride home cooked meal. Originally we had planned on making Jenna's Chicken Parmesan with Pepperoni (totally up Jamie's alley), but as soon as we were settled and ready to make dinner, we realized one ingredient was missing.

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O yeah, that one. Kinda important, no? So we had to rethink dinner with what we had. Pork chops in the fridge, coconut ginger rice in the cabinet, salad fixins. Perfect.

I found this recipe for Miso Glazed Pork Chops on Foodgawker and modified it a bit to work with what we had in the apartment.

Miso Glazed Pork Chops

1 tbsp miso paste

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp white wine

1 tbsp mirin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

juice of half a lemon

3 boneless pork chops

Whisk all ingredients together and marinate pork for 20 minutes on each side. Heat a grill pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side.

Spoon marinade over pork and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Served with some coconut rice and a big bowl of salad

Well balanced dinner!

Inspired.

I was catching up on blogs the other day and came across quite the delicious post on Burp and Slurp, not that it comes as a huge surprise.

Turns out Sophia and her friends partied with some dumplings over winter break. Lucky.

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Her post had me drooling at my desk and craving dumplings, all before 9am. So wrong, yet so right!

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It also inspired me to throw a make your own dumpling party. Date and guests are still TBD, but I'm determined to make it happen. Think about it...it's way more interactive than make your own pizza night and you can steam or boil and snack as you go! Add a little vino, good friends, good conversation...voila! Perfect Friday evening in. Yes, I will make this happen. Soon, my blog friends, soon.

In the meantime, I'm daydreaming about the biking/dumpling adventure I have planned for Saturday while Jamie's here. Plan is to bike across the city with a pit stop at Shanghai House for some much needed soup dumpling action. Cannot wait. Nothing warms you up better than some steamed soup dumplings!

What would you do for a 'make your own' party?

Reading is fun.

And tasty!

Since I wasn't hosting a post-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner this year, I totally jumped at the opportunity to host and cook a feast for book club last night!

This month's book selection...

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Apparently I'm not really into reading fiction...I realized this as I searched and searched for a potential book. A friend suggested Shanghai Girls since it also took place (for a little bit at least) in San Francisco. So fitting!

It took awhile to get into the book, but once I got past the first few chapters, I found myself completely engrossed. In fact, I actually gasped on the bus while reading and almost got misty at one point!

Overall, I thought it was an entertaining read. I even found myself really hating one of the characters - she was incredibly annoying and frustrating. I'd recommend it for a long plane ride.

My imagination went wild with appetizer possibilities! There have been a couple things floating around in my head and this was the perfect opportunity to test them out.

Menu:

Edamame Miso Crostini w/Shiitake Mushrooms

Pulled Chicken Adobo over Coconut Rice Patties

Chicken Banh Mi

Tofu Banh Mi

Bulgogi Sliders with Kimchee Mayo and Cucumber Apple Salad

Zesty Baked Crab Rangoon

These were supplemented with some wine, cheese, and sweet treats from guests, of course.

Edamame Miso Crostini w/Shiitake Mushrooms

1 package frozen, shelled edamame, defrosted

1 tsp white miso paste

1 tsp chili garlic paste

2 tbsp garbanzo beans

1 tsp sesame oil

1 c shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp sherry

salt

pepper

Puree first five ingredients together with an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute mushrooms and garlic powder until mushrooms start to soften, stirring frequently. Add sherry and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread edamame mixture over toasted bread and top with some of the mushroom mixture. If desired, sprinkle with sea salt before serving.

Verdict: Not my favorite. Not at all. I didn't realize that this would end up with a really funky texture. It looked like Play-Doh...or maybe wasabi. So weird. I also wanted a smoother texture spread. Not a fan.

Pulled Chicken Adobo

3 boneless skinless chicken thighs

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

4 tbsp cider vinegar

salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp coconut milk

2 bay leaves, broken in half

1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper

1 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp soy sauce

4 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp coconut milk

1/4 c chicken broth

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp vinegar

1/2 - 1 c chicken broth

Combine first ten ingredients in a shallow dish and let chicken marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes on each side.

Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Place chicken in pan, shaking off excess marinade. Cook for 3 minutes on each side.

Pour in marinade, soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, coconut milk and chicken broth. Stir, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Let chicken sit until cool enough to pull apart. Shred chicken and set aside.

Remove bay leaves and any fatty chicken bits from the saute pan and melt butter over medium low heat, scraping up any brown bits. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Continue whisking as you add soy sauce and vinegar. Gradually whisk in chicken broth until a thinner sauce is formed.

Strain out large bits and stir 1/4 c of sauce into shredded chicken.

Coconut Rice Patties

2 c short grain white rice

1/3 c coconut milk

2/3 c water

1 tsp salt

Place ingredients in a rice cooker and cook. Allow rice to sit until cool enough to handle.

Wet hands and gently form small patties and place on a baking sheet. If you have a hard time forming the patties, gently press the rice into a mini muffin tin.

Heat oven to 350 and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Verdict: The adobo turned out DEEELICIOUS! The rice patties, however, ended up a little too crunchy since I left them in the oven for too long. Oops. Flavor was still good though...I'd even eat them as not patties ;p

Bulgogi Sliders

1 lb sirloin, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/4 c dark soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp sriracha

1 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp sugar

Combine ingredients in a bowl and let marinate for at least 2 hours.

Strain liquid and place half of the beef in a food processor. Pulse until smaller bits form, but not until pasty. Place in bowl and repeat with the remaining beef. Form patties and grill to your liking.

Kimchee Mayo

1/4 c mayonnaise

2 tbsp kimchee, minced

1/4 tsp sriracha

Mix ingredients together and let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Cucumber Apple Salad

1 /2 c seedless cucumber, finely diced

3 tbsp apple, finely diced

2 tbsp scallion, minced

salt

pepper

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp sugar

Combine ingredients and chill for at least 1 hour.

Zesty Baked Crab Rangoon

1 package wonton wrappers

1 egg

4 oz cream cheese, softened

6 oz crab meat

1 tbsp scallion, minced

1/4 tsp Maggi seasoning or Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp lemon zest

splash soy sauce

squirt sriracha

salt

pepper

Combine cream cheese, crab, scallion, Maggi or Worcestershire, lemon zest, soy sauce, sriracha, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. Spray with nonstick spray and set aside.

Lay out wrappers and place a teaspoon of the crab mixture in the center. Swipe egg on two sides of the square wrapper, fold over to make a triangle and pinch sides to seal. Fold corners in to meet each other and seal with egg.

Bake for 5-7 minutes on one side, flip and bake for another 5 minutes or until golden brown.

MUCH better than my first attempt.

Also, courtesy of Saigon Sandwich (my fave)...

Chicken Banh Mi and Tofu Banh Mi. It was my first time trying these flavors and I think I might stick with my standard roast pork. Ta da.

Have you read anything fun lately?

soju monster galbi

first off, i apologize for no pictures.  karena always harps on me for pictures in my posts, but the sad fact is that i have no pictures for the subject below.  if you want to see pictures of korean barbeque it is quite easy to run a google search.

i never imagined how difficult my korean food withdrawal would be now that i’m back in the states.  sure, i can find it in northern virginia, but somehow it doesn’t taste the same.  maybe some places hold back on the copious panchan.  maybe it is because a three-dollar dish in korea becomes an eight-dollar dish here.  maybe it is because the cabbage is not grown in the dirt patch between the restaurant and the road.  i dont know; there are probably lots of reasons.  luckily, i can fall back on the teachings of my subcontractors to get me through the serious cravings. 

you see, towards the end of my tdy at one base, the weather started getting nicer.  so my subs and i decided to start grilling for lunch.  we figured that since we humped through 83 inches of snow, negative temperatures, and double-digit wind speeds, we deserved some of the good life.  what did we do?  we grilled!!  i would usually buy some meat the day before and let my guys marinate it over night.  then we would find a nice grill overlooking the base and sit down for a nice lunch. 

i wish i could describe the mountains of beef and meat products that usually found their way to the table.  i remember one day i bought eight packs of hot dogs, seven steaks, about four pounds of short ribs, a box of potato chips, and two packs of soda.  that was just from me.  my guys brought fish, corn, kimchi, bean sprouts, and soup.  looking back on that afternoon, i’m not sure we were too productive.  haha.  whatever though, that was a delicious day.

i miss those barbeque afternoons, which is one reason i’m glad i had my soju monster scribble down his marinade.  my soju monster was a special sub.  the other guys didn’t hate working with him, but they didn’t particularly enjoy working with him.  he was an old, crusty, former korean marine.  crabby.  temperamental.  bossy.  short-tempered.  prone to yelling.  yes, soju monster was all of those, but we developed a great bond and were able to work together.  i quickly learned that i needed to entice him with coffee, cigarettes, and long nights of soju drinking.  when he realized i wanted to involve myself in the culture and experience korea, he opened things up for me. 

that is a round-about way of me getting to the point of this story.  my buddy, tater, and his wife have thrown a couple of grilling events since my return.  i want to share my experiences from korea with most people, so i always insist on brining my galbi.  it is always a hit, and today was no different.  someone said my galbi were the best ribs they’ve ever eaten.  right now i’m a little on cloud nine and wanted to share the soju monster’s recipe.

soju monster galbi

five pounds korean-style short ribs (also called l.a. cut)
1 3/4 cups of soy sauce (i use low-sodium)
1/2 can of dark soda (coke/pepsi/etc – use this to tenderize if ribs are a bit tough)
1/4 cup sesame oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
five to six cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
three to four scallions, washed and chopped  
one tbsp crushed red pepper flakes (use more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
two or three korean peppers, deseeded and chopped
two tbsp toasted sesame seeds

mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  taste and add extra seasoning as needed.  place one layer of ribs in 9x13 baking dish.  ladle an even amount of sauce over ribs.  place another layer of ribs in baking dish.  ladle sauce on top.  repeat until no ribs and no sauce remains.  place in refrigerator for one day.  on the second day, remove ribs from refrigerator and reverse order (i.e., place bottom ribs on top and top ribs on the bottom).  refrigerate one more night.  grill and serve.  you can cut between the joints for a more finger-friendly option as some people may not like ribs hanging out of their mouth.  serve with many cold bottles of jinro.