Pasta al Pomodoro (Badass asian remix)

Parents are gone, lets make some food.

I seriously just bs-ed this in about 12 minutes. Haters gonna hate.

:::Ingredients:::
I package (1 lb.) of angel hair (vermicelli) pasta
2 cans of peeled tomato
I roma tomato, finely chopped
4 small cloves of garlic, crushed then minced
1 half a large onion, or 1 small one, finely chopped
olive oil
soy sauce (I'll explain this later)
4 to 5 leaves of basil, torn into small pieces
parmesan cheese (no green can or I will cut you)
garlic salt and crushed red pepper to taste

:::Preparation:::
1. You know what to do. Boil some water, salt that ish, put your pasta in. wait to come back to boil, cook for 4 minutes.
2. Fry minced garlic in 2 tblsp. of olive oil. When golden brown, add finely chopped onion and another tblsp. of olive oil. Saute for 4 minutes while pasta cooks.
3. Add canned peeled tomato and finely chopped fresh tomato. Press with a potato masher until smooth, yet chunky.
4. Add 1 tsp. each of black pepper and garlic salt. Add soy sauce (this replaces some of the salt other chefs would use. It adds umami, I'm Asian, what more of an explanation do you need?) Around one tsp. should be good.
5. Drain pasta and mix with sauce.
6. Plate that ish, top with cheese, eat while being badass. Serve with wine and bread or something. Fxck bitches, get money, all that sort of frivolity.

Homeboy Chilaquiles

This recipe I inspired by my friend. Whenever me and the others are at her house, 4 times out of 5, we have Chilaquiles. Mind you, she's a straight up white girl. But it's easy to make, so yeah, this is my version.

Chilaquiles, by distinction, are cut up fried corn tortillas topped with a sauce, left to simmer and soften, and then topped with cheese. Flourishes and creative additions are welcome, and often encouraged.

I like rice, so it is the basis for mine. You can surely replace the rice with more fried tortilla, if you wish.

Homeboy Chilaquiles (original preparation)
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 tsp. Chicken and tomato flavored bullion
- 1 tsp. Taco seasoning
- 1/3 cup shredded cheese of choice (I used cheddar jack)
- 1/4 cup pico de gallo
- a handful of fried corn tortilla (crushed tostada, tortilla chips, homemade fried corn tortilla, etc.)

:::::Prep:::::
1. Simmer the water with the bullion and taco seasoning, until it starts to bubble. Add the rice, little by little. Then add the pico de gallo, with juice. Stir, cover, and let simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
2. Uncover, fluff. Add crushed fried tortilla and cheese, stir to combine. Cover, turn off heat.
3. Let sit for one minute. To plate, top with more fried tortilla and cheese.

Flourishes: shredded beef, pork, chicken, fried or poached egg, beans.
For meats, mix in while adding the rice and pico de gallo. For beans, mix in with fried tortilla and cheese. For egg (any style), add on top at the very last step.

It's a really easy, comforting dish. Be careful about burning the bottom of the rice, or sticking to the bottom of the pan, so make sure to leave it at medium-low to low heat.
Be careful, as well, about over seasoning. It can be very easy to over salt this dish, so keep the seasoning to it's optimum level.

Homeboy Chilaquiles

Food Truck Review: The Lime Truck

So this past Saturday was my baby cousin's 1st birthday and baptism. My uncle and aunt are pretty young and they live in Irvine, so they keep in touch with some modern trends like the food truck craze that has been prominent for the past few years.

My uncle and aunt tried numerous food trucks and picked this one for the baptism/birthday party for my baby cousin.

The menu they had there was:
Tacos: Hanger Steak, Pork Belly, Carnitas
Other: Carnitas Fries, Vegetable Curry Lavosh
Salads: Fried Chicken Salad, Kale Salad

I tried the Hanger Steak and Pork Belly tacos, with Carnita fries and the Fried Chicken salad. I stole a bite from my mom's Lavosh as well.

Well-established among the depths of the internet and (don't take my word for this, as I've only heard from my brother" the #1 food truck in the Irvine area, and the #2 restaurant in the Irvine area, which are both great attributes.

The hanger steak taco was good, well marinated and savory yet spicy, that came topped with a chipotle-spiced coleslaw. The pork belly taco was my favorite, with a prominent aroma and taste of cinnamon, topped with the same coleslaw and a house guacamole that had black beans studding the green mixture.

The carnitas fries are one of their most famous dishes, taking an American Classic and topping it with carnitas, sour cream/crema, the house guacamole, and coleslaw. Great symphony of flavors.

The fried chicken salad was prepared with spinach and other greens with a well seasoned breaded cubed chicken breast. Dressed in a light vinaigrette, this was a light and comforting salad to eat.

The wait was moderate, not too slow but not fast either. It could be a longer line when they're on the clock since this was a private event.

I'm not going to give them much of a score since this is my first food truck experience, but I will be confident in giving them a 9.0 out of 10 for friendly service, clean facilities, and above all great food.

the BEST ramen I've ever made

Oh hey, haven't seen you in like, 5 and 1/2 months, food blog. Yeah, due to schoolwork and such I don't have a lot of time for recreational cooking (sadface), but I just had a 4 day weekend, so I cooked pretty frequently.

Especially since my parents left no food in the house, and I had no money.

But yeah, I got home from school a few hours ago. Caught up a bit on Doctor Who, watched Space Jam, and took a nap.
Greatest 3 hours of my life.

For dinner, I had to fend for myself since my parents were at work.

And I fell upon THE GREATEST semi homemade recipe for Ramen.

the BEST ramen I've ever made

:::Ingredients:::
-1 packet of instant ramen (gourmand's demise, but I was lazy) +the bullion packet it comes with
-1 large button mushroom, diced (yields 2 tbl.)
-2 tbl. of diced onion
-1 tbl. of Butter
-1 tbl. of prepared tomatillo salsa (sometimes advertised as salsa verde)
-1 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce
-dash of Soy Sauce
-salt and pepper to taste

:::preparation:::
1. Melt butter in a sauté pan, and place diced onion. Sauté, and season with salt and pepper. When thoroughly sweated, add diced mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce. Heat through, add tomatillo salsa, and turn off heat.
2. Cook instant ramen accordingly, using half of the bullion packet.
3. When ramen is thoroughly cooked, add your mushroom/onion mixture. Top with soy sauce. Let return to simmer, plate in ceramic Japanese bowls with Japanese style chopsticks.

So yeah, it's inspired by Southwestern steakhouses. Pretty damn good, butter added a smooth texture. Sautéed mushrooms and onions, and soy added umami. Tomatillo added a tinge of sour heat. Raisins in Worcestershire added sweetness.

So basically, most if not all of the flavor profiles were in this bowl of noodly badassery.

And now I'm reveling in the foodgasm, watching the alcohol episode of Glee.

I can hear the Parent Unions screaming murder from hear.

Peach and Chicken Arugula Salad

Very Simple, but very flavorful. 5 ingredients.

Ingredients
1. 1/2 a large peach, or 1 small one
2. 2 cups of Arugula (or you could switch out half of the arugula with Romaine)
3. 1 oz. of Cooked Chicken, Cubed
4. 1 tsp. of Olive Oil
5. 1 tbl. of Blackberry Jam
+ Salt and pepper to taste


Preparation
1. (chop romaine if using, and) Place Arugula on plate.
2. Saute cubed cooked chicken in olive oil until crisp, and then flip.
3. Dice peaches according to size of cubed chicken, then place on top of arugula.
4. Place sauteed chicken on top of salad.
5. Mix blackberry jam with olive oil, and warm in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds.
6. Drizzle on top of salad. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 1, great for lunch or light dinner.

Lumpia Shanghai and Bonfires

So on Wednesday, my friend decided to have a bonfire and had everyone bring foods. I wanted to put some effort and actually bring something made from home (there were 12 bags of chips--I'm not even joking) so I rummaged through my pantries, searching for an idea. My friend asked me to bring something savory since most people would be intent on bringing cookies or something of the like.
I flipped through various cookbooks trying to think of something to make. Maybe tortilla cups with ground beef...
No, there's no ground beef. Maybe something with a graham cracker crust, I have a lot of those...
Oh shit, she said something savory...

*brainstorm*

I opened my freezer door and started frantically taking things out. Sure enough, I found packets of Filipino deliciousness all the way in the back. Lumpia Shanghai, in chicken and pork varieties. I thought they were going to be more of a chicken crowd (everyone there was white except for me--Welcome to orange County...) so I decided to make those. I went to sleep, making sure to be awake early so I can get ready. I was showered and ready by 11 am, smelling of Fiji scent Old Spice deodorant. Then I get a text from my friend saying "**** is not going to be at the bonfire until about 3 or 4 so I'll pick you up then"

Slightly saddened at my early franticism, I sat down in my living room and watched some movies. A session of the Breakfast Club and a Transamerica later, it was 3 pm. I got up, fetched my lumpia from the freezer, and got our deep fryer from beneath the sink. I started preheating my oil at 400 degrees fahrenheit, and breaking up my frozen-together-lumpia with a scraper blade. With success, I waited for my oil to heat up.

I fetched some sweet chili sauce from the pantry, and prepped a few tupperwares ( a large one for the lumpia, and a small one for the sauce).

In the small tupperware, I mixed :
~1/3 cup of Sweet Chili sauce
~about 1 tbls of Sriracha sauce
~1 packet of ketchup (from any fast food place--mine was In-n-Out)
~1/2 tbls of Honey
~and a dash of soy sauce

I put the cover on a zhoozed (zhuh-zd) it up a bit before frying up my lumpia. I fried it in 3 batches, lining my tupperware with sheets of paper towel to soak up the oil. I separated each layer with another sheet of paper towel. My friend soon there after came to pick me up.
Everyone raved about the lumpia. Its about the only Filipino food that is slightly familiar to Americans. Imagine their faces when I show them balut, dinuguan, or No. 5 soup.
But that's for another time.
I came home smelling like bonfire, and in turn, my clothes, hair, bedspread, and room smelled like it for a couple of days as well. Suffering from only 5 hours of sleep, I soon went to bed about 3 hours earlier than I usually did. I woke up the next morning in a daze, wearing my clothes from last night, my contact lenses still on, and smelling of smoke. I chalked it up to it being summer.