Tag: food

Leftover Fusion – Mexican Chorizo Fried Rice w/ Korean Hot Pepper Paste

Posted by Leo – January 29, 2011

Chorizo Fried Rice

Mexican Chorizo Fried Rice with Korean Hot Pepper Paste

I shall categorize this Mexican Chorizo Fried Rice with Korean Hot Pepper Paste as “Leftover Fusion”. Basically, it’s whatever I have in the fridge at the time.

Fried rice is a great way to make a meal out of any leftovers. The Mexican chorizo is very flavorful, so we don’t need any more seasoning. That being said, to make this a “fusion” fried rice, the secret ingredient is the Korean Hot Pepper Paste (Gochujang). It is an unique, thick paste used in a lot of Korean dishes, (e.g. in the popular rice dish – Bibimbap), and can be found in most Asian supermarkets or grocery stores.

Korean Hot Pepper Paste (Gochujang)

Korean Hot Pepper Paste (Gochujang)

The hot pepper paste adds color and heat to the fried rice. In addition, it is a healthy alternative to barbecue sauce or other spicy condiments, as it is “low in calories and high in fat fighting nutrients and chemicals”. Read more about Gochujang’s health benefits here.

Ingredients

  • 1 Mexican chorizo sausage, removed from casing
  • 1 1/2 Cups cold, cooked white rice.  The best rice to use is leftover rice that’s been lying in the fridge for at least a day. This will turn the grains firm and get rid of the excess moisture. Do not use freshly cooked rice,  as it will turn into “mush”.
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 cup of frozen peas, carrots, and sweetcorn (or any kind of frozen/leftover vegetables)
  • 2 teaspoons tomato paste
  • 2 Tablespoons Korean Hot Pepper Paste
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Salt
  • Green onions, chopped

Directions

Heat non-stick frying pan or wok (medium high – high heat). Add oil. Swirl to coat pan.

Add chorizo. Break it up with wooden spoon into small piece. Cook for 1 -2 mins.

Add onions. Cook until translucent, about 2 mins.

Add frozen vegetables. Mix well. Stir fry for another min.

Add leftover rice. Break it up with wooden spoon until grains are separated. Stir fry for about 3 mins.

Add tomato paste and Korean red pepper paste. Mix well and stir fry until the rice has an even golden orange color.

Make a well in the middle of the skillet/wok. Pour egg in the well. Stir egg until it is scrambled. Mix the scrambled egg with rice.

Season to taste with salt.

Garnish with chopped green onions.

Serve immediately.

Braised Baby Bok Choy

Posted by Leo – January 29, 2011

Braised Baby Bak Choy

Braised Baby Bak Choy

This Braised Baby Bak Choy dish (adapted from this recipe) could be a side-dish for pretty much any entrée, but it’s so good it could easily be the main attraction. The key here is the broth. Not that it’s bad with store bought chicken broth, but it’s heavenly with a good homemade broth.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chicken broth (preferably homemade broth)
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 lb baby bok choy, trimmed
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sesame oil
  • pepper

Directions

Bring broth and butter to a simmer in a deep large heavy skillet. Arrange bok choy evenly in skillet and simmer, covered, until tender, 4- 5 minutes. Transfer baby bok choy with tongs to a serving dish and keep warm, covered.

Boil broth mixture until reduced to about 1/4 cup, then stir in sesame oil and pepper to taste. Pour mixture over baby  bok choy.

A Day in the Life of a R&D Librarian (Round 6) – Wednesday

Posted by Leo – January 26, 2011

This post is written for Round 6 of the Library Day in the Life, a project started by Bobbi Newman, where librarians across the world share details of their daily activities.

I am the Research and Development Librarian at Kansas State University Libraries. It is a recently created position in a recently created Office of Library Planning and Assessment. I am beginning my 3rd year as a professional librarian.

So, what does a R&D Librarian do? I’ll chronicle my activities this week to hopefully give you an idea of this new position in librarianship.

7:15am P90x –  tough legs and back workout.  My lower back was so sored all day, I groaned every time I moved more than an inch.

9:15am Arrived at office a bit later than usual as I could only move at half speed. Checked and replied some email.

Sausage, Potato, Pepper Jack Quiche @ Bluestem Bistro in Manhattan, KS

Sausage, Potato, Pepper Jack Quiche @Bluestem Bistro

11:00am – 1:00pm Lunch meeting with my colleague Lis at Bluestem Bistro, our regular lunch place, to discuss the Library Diversity Fellowship project. I’m very excited to be initiating this program with the support of my library. It is for our undergraduate students and the goals are to:

1. Help recruit and retain underrepresented students for K-State;

2. Increase the diversity of the workforce in our library;

3. Help recruit underrepresented students to the profession by introducing librarianship to them early.

1:30pm Emailed with ALA NMRT (New Members Roundtable) sub-committee to discuss how to help recruit more diverse members for NMRT. I’m Mr. Diversity today.

2:oopm – 4:00pm IM (Virtual Reference) Back Up. During some of the busier hours, we have one or two backup people on IM. But it was not too busy today, so I had some time to do some reading on some of the projects I was working on.

4:00pm Recruited members for my diversity fellowship team. Since our library’s re-organization, I’ve noticed that new task-forces and teams are formed very easily to initiate new projects. I think because we all have new roles in the library, we have a new sense of enthusiasm and are fearless in trying new things, which is fantastic.

5:00pm Ready to go home and lie down to rest my back.

A Day in the Life of a R&D Librarian (Round 6) – Tuesday

Posted by Leo – January 26, 2011

This post is written for Round 6 of the Library Day in the Life, a project started by Bobbi Newman, where librarians across the world share details of their daily activities.

I am the Research and Development Librarian at Kansas State University Libraries. It is a recently created position in a recently created Office of Library Planning and Assessment. I am beginning my 3rd year as a professional librarian.

So, what does a R&D Librarian do? I’ll chronicle my activities this week to hopefully give you an idea of this new position in librarianship.

6:30am P90x yoga kicked my butt! But I felt unusually flexible for the rest of the day.

P1020110_1

Hale Library - Despite the snow on the ground, it's a nice, sunny day today.

9:00am Mysterious technical problem with laptop battery. Problem solved mysteriously by unplugging the adapter cord and plugging it back in. Checked email. Wrote Thank You Letter to Kansas Library Association (KLA) – College University Library Section (CULS) for giving me a grant to attend the 2011 ALA Midwinter Conference.

10:00am Coffee meeting with professor friend of a Phd program I’m interested in. Doing a Phd while working full time seems insane, especially that I don’t really need a doctorate. Since when have I turned into someone who actually enjoys studying and researching? What has librarianship done to me?!

10:30am Campus secure IT training. It’s mandatory for all State of Kansas employees to attend this training. Having a engaging presenter with a sense of humor definitely made the session go by pleasantly. Lesson learned: create a strong password that is long enough and uses different characters/symbols/numbers/cases. Note to self: scrap the smart ass idea of using “unhackable” as password. Instead, maybe something like, “UnF&^%in’HacKabl3!”

P1020115_1

Lunch @Coco Bolo's - Now, that's a fulfilling salad!

11:30am Weekly lunch with department colleagues. Loved the Al Fresca Salad at Coco Bolo’s. At first, I was a bit skeptical about going to the same restaurant every week, but I’ve grown to really enjoy having our own waitress, who knows exactly what I want for drinks without having to order. I am a regular! Like those folks at Cheers! It also helps that Coco Bolo’s is a good local restaurant with personality. (I love those).

1:00pm Excited to receive a email from LLAMA President asking me to be the convener of the association’s new discussion group for new librarians. (LLAMA, Library Leadership and Management Association, is one of the divisions of ALA, American Library Association). I said yes of course! We will come up with something excellent for ALA Annual in New Orleans. Stay tuned!

2:00pm – 4:00pm IM (virtual reference). Surprisingly, no IM question about textbooks today. At the beginning of each semester, we tend to get asked a LOT about availability of textbooks.

4:30pm Faxed the 2011 ACRL Conference registration! When the fax took forever to go through, I exclaimed (to no one in particular), “Who uses fax machine anymore?!” (Seriously!) “Apparently, you do,” the answer came immediately from my very observant colleague Sara. Ahem… anyway… so looking forward to Philadelphia!

Beef and Crunchy Green Beans Stir-Fry

Posted by Leo – January 24, 2011

Beef and Green Beans Stir-Fry

Beef and Crunchy Green Beans Stir-Fry

If you have some stir fry sauce made ahead of time, this is such a simple dish to cook. Perfect for workday dinner.

Ingredients

  • 8 oz beef round tip steak, tenderized, and sliced to bite size.
  • 10 oz of green beans
  • 1 red bell pepper, julienne
  • 1/2 cup Stir Fry sauce (recipe here)
  • 2 Tablespoons oil.

Directions

Blanch green beans for about  3 mins. Put in ice water immediately to stop the cooking process so the green beans stay green.

Heat pan. Medium High heat. When pan is hot, add 1 Tablespoon oil. When oil is hot, add beef. Stir fry for about 2 mins. Remove to plate.

1 Tablespoon oil in pan. Stir fry red pepper for 2 mins.

Add green beans. Stir fry for another 6 -8 mins, or until the green beans are cooked but are still crunchy.

Add beef, and stir fry sauce. Cook for another 2 mins.

Serve immediately.

All Purpose Dark Stir-Fry Sauce

Posted by Leo – January 24, 2011

Martin Yan's China

Stir frying is already one of the easiest ways to cook. Imagine having the sauce ready as well. Then it’s just a matter of throwing whatever in a hot wok, stir around a bit, and then add the sauce. And voilà! Dinner! So it pays to make the sauce ahead of time, perhaps on a weekend? It doesn’t take long at all.

This is a fantastic all purpose stir fry sauce adapted from Martin Yan’s China cookbook that goes really well with beef, chicken, vegetables, noodles, rice, and pretty much anything you have in the fridge. It’s a thick, rich, gravy-like sauce.

This recipe makes 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Keep it refrigerated, and it’s good for up to 1 week.

Seasoning

  • 1 cup chicken broth (preferably homemade)
  • 1/4 cup oyster sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
  • 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 Teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons water

Mix broth, oyster sauce, wine, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper in a bowl.

Place wok or skillet over high heat. Add oil. Add garlic and ginger, stir until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add seasoning and cook, stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Add cornstarch mixture and cook until sauce boils and thickens, about 1 minute.

Oven Baked Panko-crusted Chicken

Posted by Leo – January 21, 2011

Oven Baked Panko-crusted Chicken

Oven Baked Panko-crusted Chicken

Now that I have opened the box of panko, I can’t help but putting it on everything. What I love about panko is how crispy it gets while remaining light. It feels healthier than regular breadcrumbs, which leads to this healthier, low-fat alternative of fried chicken. There is no need to deep fry or even to use any oil, since baking the panko crumbs can achieve a similar kind of crunchiness. The use of low-fat buttermilk tenderizes the chicken but doesn’t compromise the taste. The cayenne pepper offers some heat and the dried thyme adds complexity to the flavor. The result is both delicious and satisfying. And the best part – guilt free eating!

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Marinade

  • 1 cup low fat buttermilk
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • lemon juice (half a lemon)

Breadcrumbs Mix

  • 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Coat chicken thighs in marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight (ideally), or at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Remove chicken from marinade. Shake off excess liquid. Dredge in the panko breadcrumbs mixture, turn to coat evenly. Shake off excess crumbs. Place coated chicken pieces on a non-stick baking sheet. Spread the chicken out

Bake until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand, uncovered for about 5 minutes to crisp.

Crispy Panko-crusted Tofu Fingers with Toasted Sesame Seeds

Posted by Leo – January 20, 2011

Crispy Panko Crusted Tofu with Toasted Sesame Seeds

Crispy Panko-crusted Tofu Fingers with Toasted Sesame Seeds

Tofu is one of the most common ingredients in Chinese cuisine – we even have tofu desserts! I remember going to this restaurant called Kirin Court  in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong quite frequently when I was a kid, and I would demand the same dishes every single time. One of them was their Braised Tofu (紅燒豆腐) – so delicious!  The restaurant is long gone, but I can still remember the taste and the silky soft texture of that tofu dish, and I miss it. What I am trying to say is, I love tofu. Therefore, it’s really hard for me understand why such deliciousness receives so much contempt in America.

But, everything tastes great fried, right? Perhaps this “tofu fingers” dish is a good introduction to the yumminess of tofu. Think of it as a vegetarian version of fish fingers. I like Japanese panko breadcrumbs (which is all the rage right now) for the crispiness, but any kind of breadcrumbs would do.

Ingredients

  • 1 block firm or extra-firm tofu, drained (wrap tofu in paper towel, put a small plate on top of it for about 25mins), and cut into 8 “finger” shaped slices
  • 3 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Green onions, thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons oil

Mixture:

  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup Panko crumbs
  • Parsley, chopped
  • Toasted sesame seeds

Directions

Place tofu on plate. Drizzle over sesame oil and soy sauce.

Dip in beaten egg, and then in the mixture.

Heat skillet (medium high heat). Add oil. When the oil is hot, add tofu, fry each side for about 3 minutes or until browned.

When the tofu is done, drain on paper towels.

Garnish with green onions.

Can be served with a variety of dipping sauces – hoisin sauce, chili sauce, bbq sauce, sweet and sour sauce… pretty much anything you want.

Hoisin Sauce Chicken

Posted by Leo – January 17, 2011

Hoisin Sauce Chicken

Hoisin Sauce Chicken

After the best Barbeque day ever on Saturday (Erika and I visited 4 (!) barbeque restaurants in Kansas City. I’ll definitely blog about those places later), I wanted to mix it up a bit with some Chinese bbq flavors. This recipe is adapted from Aida Mollenkamp’s Easy Pork with Hoisin Sauce. I happened to have some chicken thighs in the fridge, so I decided to make this a chicken dish instead. Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬) is kind of a Chinese barbeque sauce. It is used in such dishes as Peking Duck, and a lot of stir fry dishes. I like the Lee Kum Kee Hoisin sauce, which is excellent and can be found in most mainstream supermarkets.

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken thighs
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1/4 cup dry sherry or shaoxing wine
  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
  • Toasted sesame seeds
  • Thinly sliced green onions
  • 12 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths

Directions

Pat chicken thighs with paper towels, rub with some sesame oil, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place a medium skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon sesame oil. When oil shimmers, add chicken thighs and cook until browned and cooked partially, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Remove chicken to a plate, return skillet to stove, and add garlic. When garlic is fragrant, add green beans and stir occasionally until browned, about 3 minutes. Add sherry and hoisin sauce, stir to combine, and cook until beans are tender and sauce is reduced slightly and sherry smell is cooked off, about 4 minutes.

Return chicken to skillet, turn to coat in sauce, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Cover skillet and cook until the chicken thighs are done, about 10 minutes over medium heat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions to garnish.

Week 45

Posted by Leo – November 28, 2010

November 5 – November 11

Films watched:

  1. Woman on Top (2000)
  2. Step Up 3D (2010)
  3. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
  4. 9 to 5 (1980)
  5. Tortilla Soup (2001)
  6. Lovely, Still (2008)
  7. Waitress (2007)
  8. Ratatouille (2007)

Books Read: None

Screenplays Read: None

More food movies this week. The ridiculous Woman on Top seems to take place in an alternate universe cause I don’t understand any of the characters or their actions and behavior. Tortilla Soup is a passable remake of the excellent Eat Drink Man Woman. Waitress is charming and Ratatouille once again demonstrates that the people at Pixar are master storytellers. Step Up 3D also takes place in an alternate universe where people “dance battle”, but it is fun to watch for some amazing dance choreography.

Pick of the Week:

Ratatouille

2010:

Total films watched:  297 (in 315 days)

Total books read:  15 (9 to go)

Total screenplays read: 35 (19 to go)