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January 29, 2005
fried okra
A friend of mine posted a yummy-sounding recipe for fried okra. Check out his photographs, too.
Posted by amanda at 01:32 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
January 09, 2005
Upgrade
I just upgraded this to MT 3.14--- so if you have issues with the templates and general function, let me know. I just did a very cursory fixing up, so, let me know if things are not clear or suggestions on how to position things...
Posted by alejandra at 05:15 PM | Comments (20) | TrackBack
January 07, 2005
spicy fruit salad
This is a more-or-less original recipe, though heavily inspired by this avocado/mango/papaya salad they have at Bodeguita Del Medio on California Ave. in Palo Alto. They have excellent mussels there, by the way. So, the avocado and mango stay the same. I love that combination. Since I couldn't find any compelling papaya I got some kiwis instead, which lend a certain amount of tartness. I also thought about using cucumbers for something less sweet and more texture-varied. For the dressing, I basically made the dressing I'd use for a Thai cucumber salad. I warmed up some rice vinegar and water (maybe half and half... just so long as the vinegar is not too overpowering) on low heat on the stove and added a few spoonfuls of palm sugar. I don't know the exact measurements and really it's just the kind of thing that should be done to taste. If you don't have palm sugar, light brown sugar is a fine substitute. Let it cool to warm but not hot, and gently toss the fruit with it. Now cut up some chili peppers. I have a bag of Thai chilis in my freezer, affectionately called "mouse shit peppers" in Thai (prick khee noo) but serranos would also be fine. Mash them up really good with some lime juice, in a mortar and pestle if you've got it, to the point where you think the lime juice is spice-infused enough to probably dissolve plastic (you *are* using ceramic bowls, right?). Toss that in with the fruit as well. Now let it all marinate for at least 30 minutes. The lime juice should keep the avocado from turning brown. I had this with some vaguely caribbean tilapia (recipe taken from the Moosewood Restaurant cookbook), mashed sweet potatoes, and plantains'n'black beans'n'sour cream.
Posted by amanda at 07:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
homok seafood
I recently learned this from my mom. This is thai food that is not for the faint of
heart. Looks like a scary custard, tastes delicious.
mix all this stuff together, in the order listed. We mixed the flour
with a little bit of coconut milk first so it would blend in smoothly.
Add some fish. We used smoked salmon, which was pretty tasty, but
really, you can add anything to this. My mom says pork is really
tasty, but I've never had that. Tofu and/or vegetables would probably
be fine. Fresh fish, shrimp, squid, mussels, scallops, or some
combination will be good. Since we had the smoked stuff, we used a
little less of the salty stuff. Stir it around for a few minutes,
give it a little time to soak into the fish or meat.
Traditionally, this is served in this really cute clay dish with
little indents. We don't have one of those. What we did have was
these little disposable foil baking cup things.... like very miniature
cake pans, but they'll hold about a cup of stuff. Basically, you want
containers that are roughly the size of the indents in a muffin tin.
Little bowls would probably be fine.
Line these containers with cabbage leaves. My mom was very insistent
that I should use the particular kind of cabbage she had, which is not
regular cabbage, but she didn't know the name of it. Google image
search, makes me think it's savoy cabbage
We cut off slices of the thick stem-sorta-stuff so the leaves would be
more maleable and then microwaved them for a couple minutes first so
they would lose some water. *Then* we lined the containers with them.
Put a few torn basil leaves in the bottom.
Then spoon in the fish and curry mixture till the container is almost
full. The stuff will expand just a little bit when you cook it.
To make it look pretty, put a little puddle of the thick coconut milk
on top. A wee garnish of the sliced kafir lime leaves or lemon grass,
some slices of fresh hot or sweet pepper, depending on your personal
taste.
Steam for 30 minutes. Serve with rice (and some fresh cucumbers if
you made it spicy).
Posted by amanda at 07:09 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
January 02, 2005
Pho part 2.
I was still craving pho, so went to another place today for lunch- Hung Ky (which Ammon thought sounded a little dirty). The place was very vietnamese centered-- meaning, everyone who was vietnamese got their food before us... but they also don't know english very well. The pho seemed to have too much of the anise taste, though a tiny bit bland. I had to add rooster sauce. They did, however, give lots of meat-- the most of any other place I have been to. The sirloin was a little tough-- overall the pho was quite good, but no where near turtle tower quality. The staff was very friendly, despite the language barrier tried to make conversation to make sure we were happy. There is also a big screen TV with surround sound and we got to watch the ms vietnam pageants. Hung Ky, 337 Jones St. (between Eddy and Ellis); (415) 674-8278. Open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.
Posted by alejandra at 08:05 PM | Comments (21) | TrackBack
PHO!!
I have always been a big fan of Pho-- At one point in my life I would eat it once or twice a week. An excerpt from an sf gate article explains the perfect makeup of pho quite well: The broth should be balanced so it's not too sweet or salty. Sweetness is often the telltale sign of MSG, the flavor enhancer Vietnamese call "sweet powder," and this was evident at several restaurants we tried. The noodles that dwell beneath, tangling around everything, also have to be just right. Pham says a true pho should consist of 1 part noodles to 4 parts broth, but Americanized versions tend to load up on the noodles, even though that can make for a bland bowl. And good pho, should NEVER have clumpy noodles! Turtle Tower, 631 Larkin St. (at Willow Street, between Eddy and Ellis); (415) 409-3333. Open 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m. daily (closed on tuesdays). After the pho, I went to watch the aviator, which was an excellent movie, Ammon's friend Buzz wrote a review, and I am too lazy to write my own. After the movie we went for more pho at Pagolac. Pagolac was more of a full service restaurant, rather than a pho place. We ordered catfish in a clay pot, which was just the right amount of sweet and salty, as well as a bowl of pho. There were only two choices of pho- we had the beef. The meat was thinly sliced but somewhat tough. It had a good flavor, but was not as high quality as the meat at Turtle Tower. The noodles were of good texture, and the broth flavorful. It had a slightly too salty taste so we did have to put in some rooster sauce and all the herbs, but it was very tasty. The other food on the menu seemed to be very good--- you could roll your own spring rolls, and they had the 7 course meat meal for 13.95 a person. The ambiance of the restaurant was very simple and elegant. It was modern, and of good taste-- a good place to take a date if you felt like pho but didn't want to seem cheap (though it was very cheap there anyway). It is also open until 10pm! I will go there again for some good vietnamese cuisine, the catfish was delicious. Pagolac, 655 Larkin St. (near Ellis); (415) 776-3234. Open 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday.
Good pho can be delicate or rich-tasting, spicy or subtle, loaded up with condiments or unadorned. Its success lies in a balance of well-made broth, noodles, beef and accents. And it has to be hot enough to steam up your glasses. In both traditions, a great broth is clear, almost transparent. Star anise and other spices shouldn't dominate, but serve more as undertones, says Mai Pham, Chronicle columnist, author of "Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table," and chef-owner of Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento.
SOO anyway, on New years day, i had a huge craving for pho. We went to little saigon to turtle tower. MY GOD. I have never tasted pho so good, and I have been to many pho places. The noodles were wide, soft and slippery, the broth clear, but flavorful. There were no bean sprouts and mint on the sides, but that is because it is of the northern vietnamese tradition to just have lime and chile. I could drink the liquid for days and days-- this is the type of thing where I wish I could puncture a hole in my stomach and insert a refuse tube so I can guzzle uncontrollably. The beef was of very high quality and looked to be ribeye rather than the usual sirloin that is used in other places.
There is also a new location on Geary Street near 22nd.
Posted by alejandra at 12:20 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack