Asian Flavors

I was inspired recently by a friend to start writing about some of my cooking ventures. So this will be a new addition to the blog. Come and see some good recipes that I have tried and loved.

Tonight, I made an asian themed meal for my friend Irene, who frequently gets to be the guinea pig on new recipes. Here they are:

Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Pork Patties (Bun Cha)
and
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)
from Fine Cooking Magazine
serves 4
time: 20-30 minutes

Salad

• 8-9 oz rice vermicelli noodles (package said 'rice sticks')
• 1/4-1/2 cup julienned carrot (1 carrot)
• 1/4-1/2 cup julienned jicama or daikon (I used jicama, could possible use cucumber too)
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 lb ground pork (it is pretty fatty, but yummy! I may try ground turkey next time)
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion
• 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce (this was my first time using it, very smelly, but important for this recipe)
• 1 cup torn lettuce (I used red lettuce, recipe said romaine)
• bunch of torn mint
• bunch of torn cilantro
• salt and pepper

Sauce-- I would recommend cutting this in half, I did not and had lots!

• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 sliced hot red chile- serrano (I omitted this)
• 1 cup water (I think next time less water, maybe cut it half)
• 1/2 cup fish sauce (used alittle less bc I was put off by the smell)
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (used alittle less)

Soak noodles in a bowl of warm water about 10 minutes to separate. Place them in a salted pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, and drain. Set aside to cool. Put carrots and jicama in a colander and sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt. Let sit for 10 minutes, then squeeze their liquid out and add to sauce ingredients. For the pork patties combine pork, scallions, 2 tsp sugar, 1 1/2 tp fish sauce, and some salt and pepper. Mix and make into small 2 inch patties. Grill patties on greased grill pan 5-7 minutes each side (you could probably use a regular pan too). Then place the warm patties in the sauce. Assemble platter: first noodles, then greens on top, then patties, and top with sauce. You may want to do this individually so the lettuce doesn't wilt much, and people can control the amount of sauce they put on (hint: not too much). I let everything cool off to serve.

Irene: "Very refreshing, perfect for the hot summer. The noodles are nicely seperated (N: I think the first soaking is key). I love fish sauce!" Nicole: "I love love love the pork patties. I ate one plain to make sure they were ok- delish! I think this would just be good too as pork patties in lettuce wraps"
King: "Fresh"

Asian Style Salad
from allrecipes
serves 4-10
time 15 minutes

Dressing: combine all of the below ingredients, and serve on the side of the salad

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon hot chile paste (I omitted this)
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2-3 tablespoons of juice from canned mandarin oranges

Salad: combine the below ingredients

• 1 chopped cooked chicken breast
• half a head of romaine lettuce, or a combination of romaine and cabbage chopped
• 1 carrot thinly sliced
• 1-2 green onions, chopped
• handful of chopped fresh cilantro
• handful of crunch chow mein noodles
• handful of canned mandarin oranges

Irene: "I like the thick creamy peanuty dressing" Nicole: "I love this dressing- it tastes like the fancy restaurant style asian salad dressing."

Thai Iced Tea

from a blend of several recipes
serves 2
time 20-30 minutes

I only was only able to find thai tea in a thai grocery store, but I didn't look at a Ranch 99. If you are a friend in the LA area, and are as obsessed with this drink as much as I am I can give you some tea, just ask. I bought 2 pounds of the stuff! It was $2 a pound, so now I can have thai iced tea for 10 cents for the next 10 years!

Tea

• 5-6 tablespoons of thai tea
• 2-3 cups of water
• 2-4 tablespoons of sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons of evaporated milk or condensed milk (use less sugar)
• ice

Everything is an estimation with this one. Steep tea in hot water for 15 minutes. Strain out loose tea with a coffee filter (or paper towel) and strainer. Add sugar to taste. If using condensed milk, add it when the tea is hot and also use less sugar as it is already sweetened. If using evaporated milk, after sweetening tea, chill it in the freezer for 15 minutes, then add evaporated milk. Serve over ice. For rainbow color effect above, put evaporated milk in glass first, then ice and tea.

Irene: "Tastes like professional thai iced tea." Nicole: "I love thai iced tea, and this is the exact thing!"

the people have spoken

www.thebubbleproject.com

Ouch

I have been battling tension headaches for the past few weeks. Today's is particularly bad-- 12 hours straight of headache and the 6 aleve that I have taken throughout the day haven't helped. My headaches are most likely caused, at least in part, to me subconsciously clenching my teeth when I sleep, and sometimes when awake. This behavior is particularly frustrating because it seems that I should be able to stop it. I have already left one job in part because of the stress headaches. Now what am I to do?

This brings me to a bigger issue- the chemical dependence that Americans find themselves in so easily. Two years ago I was taking a preventative prescription medication to address my tension headaches. There is also the option of wearing a small mouth guard while I sleep that prevents me from clenching my teeth. The problem lies in this: the medicine is covered by my insurance, the mouth guard is not (and actually most dental plans do not cover such devices). So what am I to do? Spend $5 on a co-pay for the meds, or $350 for the mouth guard?

Sounds like I will be adding another pill to my daily chemical fix.

Owned!

Taking risks

So I get my hair cut about once every year, because it is simply what I can afford. It is always embarrassing going into the salon that one time and telling the stylist "yes I know, my hair is in terrible shape and there are lots of split ends". And when this year's trip rolled around I decided to go big. I realized that I hadn't paid for a hair cut in 3 years. Last year was free because of a Locks of Love donation, and the year before was a free home-owners promotion courtesy of King.
So this year, I colored my hair for the first time, an then the big mistake: a perm. I know, I know, you are screaming at the screen "What was she thinking?" Well, I have to say that I was misled to think that I could have Carrie's luscious locks with a little chemical perm. Boy was I wrong. Oh, but the good thing is that I got a refund on the money I spent on the perm since it was obviously not what I wanted. So the damage (at least pocketbook damage) isn't that bad.