Mixa Little Suga In Ma Tea

Quick dinner @ Emmy's Spaghetti Shack in Bernal Height, SF.  This place looks like a total dive bar when you walk in...but man, their spaghetti & meatballs is pretty damn tasty.

 **Alex Sheh Band @ Mission Coffee**

Off to the windy city tomorrow.  Woot!

Birthday Bapsang

Me: Hey D, it's your birthday this wknd?

D: Yes

Me:  Pick one - #1 dinner at a resto or  #2 dinner at my place

D: #2

Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop

Saw Landon Pigg @ Cafe Du Nord tonight, one of my favorite venues in SF.  I was completely mesmerized by his ghostly sounding voice.  One funny thought Cyn and I had was that he sorta reminded us of Ashton Kutcher. Tee hee. 

*Pix taken with my new iPhone app, Hisptamatic. :-)

Spicy Pork (고추장 돼지불고기)

Marinated pork for a friend's birthday dinner this Wednesday.

Ingredients

1 lb thinly sliced pork loin

3 tablespoon gochujang (chili paste)

1 tablespoon gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)

3-4 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 onion, sliced 

1 tablespoon corn syrup

1 tablespoon mirin 

1 tablespoon fresh apple sauce/juice

1/2 tablespoon sesame seed oil

1 teaspoon pepper 

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients above and mix well.

2. Marinate overnight in the fridge.

3. Grill or cook in a frying pan over high heat until well done.

Crown & Crumpet

Tea time at Crown and Crumpet in San Francisco.  It was a beautiful and semi windy day in the city.   :-)

Black Pepper Chicken

Recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Ingredients

8 oz chicken breast (I used thigh meat)

1 onion, sliced

1 red or green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoon soy sauce, use 1 tablespoon to marinate the chicken
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon freshly milled black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon Maggi seasoning (I used 1/2 cup of chicken stock instead)
1 tablespoon veggie oil

Directions
1. Marinate the chicken strips with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of mirin for 10 minutes.
2. Heat up a wok and add cooking oil. When the cooking oil is hot, add the sliced onions and minced garlic.  Cook for 2-3 mintues.  Add the bell pepper and black pepper.
3. Cook for 1 minute and add in the chicken strips. Continue to stir-fry until the chicken is cooked.
4. Add in soy sauce, Maggi sauce, sugar, and continue to stir-fry until the onions are caramelized.  I added a dash of white pepper to kick it up a notch! BAM!

해바라기 - 행복을 주는 사람 (1983年)

내가 가는 길이 험하고 멀지라도
그대 함께 간다면 좋겠네
우리 가는 길에 아침햇살 비치면
행복하다고 말해 주겠네
이리저리 둘러봐도 제일 좋은건
그대와 함께 있는거
그대 내게 행복을 주는 사람

내가 가는 길이 험하고 멀지라도
그대 내게 행복을 주는 사람
때론 지루하고 외로운 길이라도
그대 함께 간다면 좋겠네
때론 즐거움에 웃음짓는 나날이어서
행복하다고 말해주겠네

Squid with Oyster + Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients

1 squid, cut into rings and cooked in boiling water for about 10 seconds

1 tablespoon veggie oil

1/3 cup carrots

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/3 cup bamboo shoots

2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1/4 onion, sliced

1 green onion, thinly sliced

3 Thai peppers

Sauce- mix the following ingredients in a bowl

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 1/2 tablespoon black bean sauce

1 tablespoon mirin

1-2 teaspoon fish sauce

Directions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat.  Add oil and garlic slices, onions and carrots.  Cook for 3 minutes.

2. Add squid, green onions, Thai peppers, bamboo shoots, and the sauce.  Cook for 2 minutes.

3. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top and serve over rice.  I also added a few drops of sesame seed oil.

                                              

Lavender Honey

Bought 3 different pepper plants -  Cayenne, Jalapeno, and Thai peppers.

Happy Sriracha sauce for my big bowl of beef pho.

Good Day

Morning: Picked up flowers (only $4!), cherries, and dates at the farmer's market.

Afternoon:  Laundry

 

Evening: dinner @ Florio Bar & Cafe

Ended up at this place after we coudln't get a table at SPQR.  :(

After dinner, we went to my friend Joanne's choir concert followed by a glass of vino at Long Bar. 

Ga nite.

となりのトトロ

Almost done!

 Everyone should have a favorite Miyazaki film.  Mine is 'My Neighbor Totoro', obviously.

Green Chicken Curry

Recipe from Epicurious
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup sliced shallots (about 5 large)
1 3/4 teaspoons Thai green curry paste
1 (14 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into thin strips
1 large orange bell pepper, cut into strips
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil plus sprigs for garnish
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice plus wedges for garnish
I added 1/2 can of bamboo shoots

Directions
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and curry paste; stir until shallots soften, about 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and fish sauce; bring to boil. Add chicken and bell pepper; stir until chicken is just cooked through. Stir in chopped basil and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide curry among bowls. Garnish with basil sprigs and lime wedges.

Chicken with Basil (Gai Pad Graprow)

Recipe from Temple of Thai

Ingredients

1 lb boneless chicken thighs, coarsely chopped (I used minced chicken breast -came out a bit dry.)

4-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2-3 shallots, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp peanut oil for stir-frying
2 tsp black soy sauce
1-2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 cup fresh Thai basil
2 small kaffir lime leaves (I used 1/2 tablespoon of lime zest)
5-10 Thai chillies (prik kee noo), chopped and pounded with a mortar and pestle
dash of ground white pepper

Directions
Heat a wok until the surface is smoking hot. Swirl in the oil to coat the wok surface. Wait a few seconds for the oil to heat, then stir in the garlic, followed a few seconds later with shallots. Stir another few seconds before adding the chicken. Stir-fry a minute or two, or until most of the chicken has started to change color on the outside and is no longer pink.
Toss in the chillies and slivered kaffir lime leaves.  Sprinkle black soy sauce over the mixture and stir-fry another 15-20 seconds. Then add fresh basil leaves and fish sauce to taste. Stir and mix well. Stir-fry another half a minute, or until the basil is wilted and the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with white pepper. Stir and transfer to a serving dish, or spoon directly over individual plates of plain steamed rice.

Asia Trip III - Langkawi, Malaysia

Langkawi sunset

Asia Trip II - Cambodia

 

Stir Fried Noodles - the owner of this joint started out with a small push cart.  I'd have to say this is the best thing I ate on my trip.

                                            

 

Visited Angkor Wat - it is a truly amazing place. Pictures don't do justice for this place.  You just have to go see it. 

 

Asia Trip I - Hong Kong

 

I thought I would never say this...but I'm officially dumpling'd out. I think I ate at least a dozen dumplings/day.