Pigs

I hope you still can eat some pork. =]

Baozi!

Ok, I promise this isn't turning into a "cooking blog" but I've had some time to create (literally) some pieces from a couple cookbooks from the far east. I started out with the Chiu Chow dumplings; however, that failed within 5 minutes of mixing the dough (it was a sticky mess), so I turned to the more tame-able baozi. Having never made them before, I was excited to stuff them with whatever I wanted (in this case, Chinese leftovers, eggplant. Also a tomato-based leftover that looked tasty at the time). Stuck em in the steamer and bam! They were awesome! I'm stoked to put some cheese inside one, or even some peanut butter and chocolate. We'll see, if you want to test one, just let me know, we can try it :)

I'll be sure to make some BBQ pork in the near future here, definitely.

Video 196

Definitely one of my favorite videos.

Video 89

Ricer anyone?

Video 88

Just humorous.

My "Dan Tat" Brings All the Boys to the Yard

Goal(s): Create, cook, and discover the perfect method to bake such goodness in a mini-metal pan. Dan-tat (egg tart) is the staple HK treat, hands down (Guy-dan-zai may be tied on some days...) However, this night had a one-tract mind for the simple egg tart.

My instructor and tutor: Youtube! Obviously I would not find another source quite like the old Cantonese grandma shouting out instructions to egg tart (in Cantonese) so I followed her immense tart-knowledge. Also, due to translation barriers, I also found a small tart-Asian girl teaching in quite the British accent. The tart-licious recipe and ingredients are simple: eggs, a stick of butter, flour, milk, and sugar (lots of it, too).

The tat (tah-t): I know it sounds awkward to say in English, but seriously it's worth talking like a 2 year old British baby. But why stop at just plain classic tarts? Why not fill one of those suckers up with, say, raspberry jam?! Well that's what the middle, and while I was looking for chocolate chips (which I didn't discover), I stumbled across some marshmallows. Throw 'em in! Tastes like a fluffed up tart, which was probably the best out of the "creative category" (it's showed to the right). The one on the left...we shouldn't talk about. It looks like either a Russian Palace, or a somewhat-naked volcano that literally tastes like warm vomit. Never try peaches inside the tartrium unless you know what you're doing.

But as for the method and the results, I'm pleased. I have a little piece of HK in my home (actually I have 6 or 7 pieces). However, there is always room for improvement. During our stay at HK we discovered that the best Dan-tat are magically created with a special ingredient called: vanilla. So that will definitely be added to the ingredient list. Also, Youtube failed me (I was shocked that there was something wrong on Youtube!....kidding). The temperature was too low for my HK sized tat holders. So next time, we're kickin' it up a notch! So in the end, tonight was quite a success and might have been a little tartantic for just one home, come eat all my leftovers!

But at least the Pineapple Buns turned out allright =]

Food Fin

You really can't beat food culture. It's definitely one of the biggest aspects of learning, experiencing, and appreciating a new culture, so next time your in a place not so familiar (even the South has food culture...although, unless it's BBQ Nachos, I wouldn't recommend it =), try some local food. It might be a part of the animal you've never eaten before, it may be below your sanitation expectations, and it just might look like you shouldn't eat it, but seriously, millions are scarfin' it down every day, so take a leap into their lives, at least try it.

It's true that I wouldn't want to have a full meal of live baby octopus (Korea), duck or pig tongues (China), pig ears (again, China), stinky tofu (HK), sea urchins (Philippines), or balut (ba-loot: a semi-developed duck egg, boiled, which you can either choose 18, 16, 12 day old baby ducks. 18 (the manliest...whatever that means) has no yolk and you might feel some feathers and some beak action inside...); However, it is true that these "delicacies" really are part of their culture and fun to catch a glimpse of what's special (or more traditional) for them.

But no matter how crazy you get, there will always be the basics for every day meals. Yes, Asia consumes seriously every part of the animal including the feet to the testicles to the tongue (or snout), but it's always accompanied by the typical bowl of rice or sometimes a bowl of noodles. Chinese food is vastly different than that of "American Chinese" food, but I would advocate the authentic is far superior (obviously). There's more flavors, distinctions, and all around love into your meal, even if it is in a Styrofoam bowl wrapped in plastic. But before you head over to Asia, learn to use some chopsticks, because it will build bridges like you never imagined two sticks could.

This video is just a glimpse of what we experienced during the 7-months over there. I felt slightly responsible for everybody's appreciation of food culture, so we went to some pretty local joints. Among my favorite are the Fish-head Curry (seriously scary, but seriously delicious), Singapore Crab (if you go, just ask around and you'll get some, you just pick your crab when it's alive, perhaps name him, then eat him when he's been lightly boiled and fried), egg-tarts are HK's best, the eel in Korea was probably the craziest preparation I saw over there, and the final scenes in the video are the only meal that made my intestinal tract hate me. I was out for a couple weeks, but it was worth having everthing, I mean the worst food can do is make you sick if you just try it =] But on the flip side, it can make you love the people, culture, and all for the price of a dollar-menu burger. Where's the downfall?