Soba Noodle Stir Fry / Smitten Kitchen & Kimchi Jigae!!!!

Tonight was a good night. Holla!

I made Kimchi-jigae because we needed to get rid of the Oyster flavored Kimchi that I purchased on accident and was uber-fermented. And to supplement that I made some Spicy soba noodle with shiitake and cabbage.

Note to self - don't forget the dash of sesame oil in the kimchi jigae! next time I'm going to try to start off the pot with sauteing some garlic first. then i'll add in the kimchi & water.... also, try not to put the ENTIRE jar of kimchi in the jigae or else it just tastes super sour.

Note to self #2 - Smitten Kitchen's recipe was great, but the mushrooms (use fresh please) and the cabbage was way too soggy. after sauteing both, i'll remove from the pan, then simmer the sauce separately. then incorporate all the ingredients in the end.

yay.

Kurogoma Cupcakes Take 1 - Lessons Learned...

I finally grew some balls and tried making Delicious Coma's black sesame cupcakes and if you can believe it or not, it took me nearly 2 hours! Of course, I was dilly-dallying a bit and wanting to make everything perfect. I suppose there is no point in doing that since well, let's face it - it was my first time, chances are it's not going to be perfect.

Lessons Learned:

Lesson #1 - USE A DEEP MIXING BOWL! Andy's metal one was too shallow and my batter was flying all over the place, on my shirt, on the wall, on my feet. I would have loved to witness myself being sprayed with projectile icing.

Lesson #2 - Delicious Coma's recipe was a bit too dry. Not sure if I need to subtract flour or add vegetable oil. I want to replicate the texture of the Duncan Hines Strawberry cake recipe, but not sure if that is possible without adding artificial ingredients/preservatives?

Lesson #3 - Omit cream cheese in the frosting - blech. I knew I wouldn't like it but tried her recipe anyway - should have gone with my gut feeling but oh well. Hence the reason for this blog

Lesson #4 - Toast the black sesame seeds until you actually SMELL them, and don't be afraid to get them hot. I was so afraid to burn them that I kept on taking them off the stove, that it just smelled like, well cold sesame seeds. Once you grind them in the mortar & pestle, it'll actually smell like the "tang yuen" with the oozy sesame filling...

Lesson #5 - Um, try and not suck at frosting cupcakes? In other words, do anything in your power to make the cupcakes look like a 2nd grader didn't throw frosting everywhere and accidentally had some land on the cupcake. I clearly was not able to stay within the lines as a child.

Sigh - that's it for now. I'm exhausted so we're going to have to wait until Take 2...

My Goals - 2008

I just discovered this great blog, The Simple Dollar, where the blogger mapped out a month long 1-hour/day guide to getting your finances in order. Unlike many other financial organizational plans that include budget documents and spreadsheets, this one begins on a much more basic level: core values and short term / long term goals. Here is what I've been able to identify:

My core values:
Family / Love
Friends
Culture
Education / Self- improvement / Personal Growth
Financial savviness
Making a difference
Fulfillment
Creativity
Honesty

25 year goals (I will be 53 years old):
1. I want to have at least 3-4 children in college or high school. I want to have paid for their education.
2. I want to have a happy marriage, and to spend time with my husband.
3. I want to have lived abroad or traveled extensively, with home base in California.
4. I want to have a strong investment portfolio, with retirement money saved up (how much $$ I am unsure).
5. I want to be retired / at home mother. If not retired, I want to work for a not for profit organization with a mission statement that drives me.
6. I want to have a good relationship with my in-laws
7. I want to have learned Korean culture (and my husband learn Chinese culture)
8. I want my children to have a very good understanding of both cultures - to speak both languages at the very least

1 year goal (I will be 29 years old, Aug ):
1. I want to have bought a condo in brooklyn
2. I want to double my savings fund to 20k by Aug 2009
3. I want to learn how to invest wisely - including evaluate returns on my ESPP investments, my 10k schwab fund, and my 401k. Max out my Fidelity Roth IRA.
4. I want to have made a career change that is aligned with my future goals
5. I want to learn about entreprenuership in my spare time
6. I want to be pursue more creative hobbies - graphic design, photography, interior design, cooking
7. I want to read 2-3 books a month on finance and creativity
8. I want to have met Andy's parents and learn Korean
9. I want to visit my parents 4-5x, and get them to visit NYC
10. I want to be healthy

水餃 Dumplings, Take 3!

Since I forgot to document my first two attempts at making dumplings from scratch, I am going to record my latest experience on this third batch so as to not forget everything like I usually do. Surprisingly, I have made 4 lbs worth of dumplings over the past 2 weeks and my tired little fingers are feeling a little bit like those of an exploited chinese factory laborer. On a positive note, I think I have gotten the recipe to where they actually resemble good dumplings! Here is the (rough) recipe for 2 batches dumplings - 1 chive and 1 mushroom/shrimp:

chive dumplings
1. prep your veggies, cut your chives and ginger
2. mix your pork in a mixing bowl, add (a) little by little, stirring each time to make the meat soft (mixture "a" = water, veg. oil, rice wine, and chicken broth). this will all make the meat more tender.
3. when the mixture is of the consistency of tuna tartar, must be kind of runny but still hold together, add soy sauce until you see the color turn brown
4. add the ginger and chives and a dash of sesame oil
5. wrap!

mushroom/shrimp dumplings:
1. repeat #1 & #2 from above
2. when the mixture is of the consistency of tuna tartar, must be kind of runny but still hold together, add light soy sauce (eyeball this?) but maybe 1-2 tablespoons
4. add the ginger and shrimp, mushrooms, and a dash of sesame oil. careful not to mash the shrimp as u want it to hold shape when you eat it.
5. wrap!

Initial reaction on test dumpling - pretty soft texture! score!
Next time - add small dried shrimp and probably marinate the meat in the soy a bit more.
General learnings - don't be afraid to SEASON!

woohoo

Things I want to try...

Alright, this post is a long time coming. Time to face the music and finally get cooking!

1-dishes i want to learn
魯肉飯
涼麵
上海菜飯
咸魚雞粒炒飯
魚丸湯
韭菜合
tuna tataki over rice here
agedashi tofu here
salt grilled sanma (mackerel) here
hamchikama (grilled yellowtail collar) here
the korean egg souffle

2-cool things I want to try
師子頭
但仔麵
炸漿麵
蔥油餅
sesame cupcakes also here
guava cupcakes here

3-high(er) difficulty
bibimnengmyun
vietnamese pork chops
takoyaki

this is a running list, so that's it for now.

Ventures out of Manhattan

Now that I have been spending more time in Jersey City and firmly planted myself in Andy's apartment like a barnacle on a searock, I want to try to cook as much as possible and use the time that I have to "practice" (this is his passive-aggressive way to tell me that my cooking needs some work). Compared to my cramped Manhattan kitchen and 1x1 ft counter top, I am living the life of luxury now at Grove Pointe. Yes, I am going to say it, I love Middle America (haha, just kidding about Jersey being Middle America).

The reason being this: I went to 3 Asian delis all within an 8-10 minutes walk, all of which stocked ridiculously fresh produce which cost me about 50% of what it would for in Manhattan. Basically if I were in the city I'd be paying a 200% markup for a dried-up, sad-looking excuse for a pepper, whereas in JC they are actually fresh, and plump! Imagine that. Anyway, my biggest and proudest find was Nha Trang Market where they sell a variety of Chinese celery that I have not seen anywhere on the eastern seaboard in all my 9 years of living here (yes, people, these kind of things excite me!). I guess all I needed was an Asian supermarket.

Another thing I like about JC is that it brings to me a strange sense of nostalgia. This area clearly has a large immigrant presence (hello indians!), and when I see these families, I am reminded of my parent's own journey. It makes me so happy to see them in their traditional garb, speaking their language, and cooking their food (my hallway reeks of tumeric or tikki masala, I swear). The other day, I found out one of my neighbors is a large Taiwanese family because they were loudly eating dinner at the table and had propped open their door to release the smoke in their apt. Forgivable, yes, but hello, have you heard of the window! Haha, just kidding - nuttin' but love for the Taiwanese.

curry bread, holla!

welcome to my blog, karepan (カレーパン) - dedicated to one of my favorite japanese snacks: the curry bread. if you have never been lucky enough to eat one of these scrumptious snacks, imagine piping hot, savory curry baked (or fried) in a thin, but crispy donut bun, with flecks of crispy breadcrumbs stuck to the outside of the bread. when you take a bite, the curry oozes out and you get a mouthful of savory goodness. the curry bread is so beloved in japan that they actually made it into a cartoon character, Anpanman. oh the japanese, gotta give it to them for making a superhero out of a pastry. even the famed iron chef morimoto has an appetizer dedicated to this guy on his menu at his nyc restaurant, morimoto. i guess the curry bread is moving up in this world. mmmm delicious.....