Sunday, December 19, 2010

Chicken Katsu!


I love chicken katsu because there is no precise measuring needed at all. If attention and care is given, you really can't mess this one up. This recipe can also be substituted with beef or pork and still taste great. Restaurants tend to have their chicken very thin, to reduce cooking time and risk of undercooked chicken, but in the kitchen, you can have your meat a bit thicker for more substance.

Ingredients:
-chicken
-flour, salt, pepper
-whole egg
-panko bread crumbs
-cooking oil
-cabbage

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Making Sushi

Sushi is an art form of a food. It involves a lot of technique, of which I learned on my own from books, videos online, and friends. Meaning that I am not professionally instructed. I love sushi, but learning how to make it informs me if I'm overpaying at the restaurant.

Fun fact: sushi is actually pronounced zushi in Japanese.


First, cook the rice as you normally would. A rice cooker should be fine. The rice should not be burned nor mushy

Monday, October 25, 2010

OKTOBERFEST!!

Friday, October 22

Each Friday to Sunday from the last week of September to October is Oktoberfest! It's celebrated in various areas since, we're nowhere near Germany. I went to the Alpine Village location in Torrance this night and had a great time. It was with Fornia and her friends when they were in the study abroad program in Germany. We got there early around 6 to avoid the long lines later and stayed until 12ish. I took some photos of the night, but it only encompassed the first few hours when I was capable to take clear pictures.

smaller cups for fun all around

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Sushi and Philharmonic

So to determine the winner, I went googled random number generator. I went to Random.org tried it out. For the most part, it looked pretty random so I set it up to randomly choose a number between 1 and 9. And the lucky winner is... Liz


Tuesday, September 28

Anyways... this past Tuesday, I was at home and made sushi for the family. I was under a bit of a time constraint, but made way too much (2 plates worth). It took about 2 hours with a little help from my sister. Next time, I'll take more photos and give more effort to present the sushi in a better manner. The most exciting thing for me was that I made spicy tuna for the first time and it was incredibly easy. The recipe I found online just mixed the following: tuna, siracha sauce, scallions, and mayo. That's it!

my parents don't care too much about how food looks. It's like extra credit.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Free Giveaway!!!

Hey Everybody!!

Who likes free stuff? I do.. even when I was still living in an apartment in Westwood, I would always be on the lookout for furniture and miscellaneous items that other people didn't want, whether it be on facebook marketplace or the street. But an easier way to get fill your kitchen to cook a delightful meal for yourself would be to simply buy it. Whether it be kitchen tables, knives, dining ware, or stools. We all need them.

The people at CSN Stores have sponsored this Giveaway. A $40 gift card is up for grabs to their websites such as www.grillgoods.com, www.cookware.com, and www.allmodern.com. It does not include shipping, but some specials offer free shipping. US and Canadian residents are eligible to enter.
All you have to do is simply reply to this post and let me know what you might be interested in buying or would love to purchase if you had no budget limit. Make sure your Google Friend Connect or Blogger account has an email that I can respond to if you're the winner or simply add it in your post. Submissions will no longer be accepted after September 20, 2010. 11:59pm PDT. A random post will be selected as the winner. Odds of winning are contingent to the number of entrants.

Don't worry, this isn't a scam. I have a friend that has worked with them before and everyone has nothing to lose. Good Luck and Happy Shopping!

BTW, I haven't made Spam Musubi for awhile, so I might post a video up. Honestly, it's not that hard.

This is a photo from the VSU banquet I made this for back in May. Got good feedback =)

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

LA County Fair on Labor Day

Monday, September 6

For the opening Labor Day weekend, the LA County Fair had a special of $1 admission tickets entering before 1pm along with other stuff. So why not go aside from $10 parking.
If you've never gone before, it's a great way to spend a day eating fried and BBQ foods. There are also a bunch of carnival games and animals to check out. I also like to visit the convention halls filled with shopping, home and garden, and art. There really is a variety of activities to do and see. Although, you should bring an umbrella or sunblock, because can get hot.

$8 blooming onion. Is lightly fried and suprisingly tastes a bit healthy.

$7 mountain of fries w/ chili. wasn't a fan of the chili on these fries, but it is definitely a huge brick!

$8 pork pulled sandwich. delicious

$9 tri-tip sandwich. Dad loved it

saw a joey, it was adorable scratching itself

emu, ugly looking thing. made sure not to keep my distance and not get pecked

this vulture, flashing the bird in front of it

what my sister won from a mini basketball shoot-$5

what I won for my sister from a quarter toss-$2

It was a great time overall. I'd go back just for the BBQ...maybe....
Be sure to check back next week and look for a giveaway I'm hosting.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Bye Bye NorCal

Sunday, August 22

Before departing NorCal and Iris, we got some breakfast first at Hobee's. This place was really good! Their portions were sizable and very filling. The coffee cakes were tasty as well. Although their mexican/breakfast tortillas was far from authentic, it tasted like a fulfilling breakfast.
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my quesadilla w/ chorizo
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blueberry coffee cake
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country style hash browns on the side.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at Cupertino, my bus had decided to leave... =( We tried to catch up to it in San Jose before it left it's last stop, but the GPA was to slow and we ended up driving in circles.
We headed back to the dorm to figure what we were going to do for the rest of the day.
We ended going to BevMo for the first time and were happy. I recognized a lot of the wineries I looked up but didn't get to go to. We were also shocked that most of the wines at the wineries may have charged more than at BevMo.
Afterward, we went to watch Inception! I'm behind and I know almost everyone has seen it. It was pretty good. I have my own opinions on it, but it'd take more of a discussion to explain it.
We went home and I had to spend the next few hours figuring out how I'd get to cupertino on my own because Iris had to go to work super early. I made the best of what I had and that's all that I could ask.

NAPA Valley

Saturday, August 21

After planning the itinerary for this day all week, we ended up doing only half of the things on my list, but we still had a great time and learned so much more about wine.

Relative Itinerary:
9:00am leave Stanford dorm
11:00am-12:30pm Beringer Heritage Tour ($35/person)
12:30-1:30pm sober up/wander around Beringer Vineyard
1:30-2:30pm lunch at V. Sattui's deli ($10/person)
2:30-4:15pm Premium wine tasting at V. Sattui Vineyard ($5/person w/ two for one coupon)
4:15-4:30pm drive to Downtown Napa
4:30-5:15pm wine tasting at Wineries of Napa ($10/person including BBQ)
5:15-5:35pm got lost walking around
5:35-5:55pm drive to Uncorked at Oxbow
5:55-8:30pm eat and wine tasting at Uncorked at Oxbow(FREE!)
8:30-9:30pm drive to Wisherman's Wharf
9:30-10:00pm order seafood
10:00-11:00pm drive to Stanford dorm

A day trip to Napa = 4 wine tastings + 1 tour + 1 lunch + 1 dinner + gas + toll road + fun = $90/person for two people

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came late to the vineyards, but still made it
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the five different wines we tried. Iris really loves the oak flavor
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got to do our tasting in an awesome place in the mountain
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do not enter?
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the deli selection: so hard to choose
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prosciutto panini: very salty, but still good nonetheless
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lasagna: not fully reheated, but tastes like lasagna!
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cod crockett: so good!
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wine tasting inside V. Sattui, the pourers (Jordan and Lisa) were so entertaining and knowledgable. Loved finishing with the Port and Madiera! That dessert Zinfandel was amazing as well.
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driving to the next destination! with a BAC under .08 of course
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the "BBQ" that came w/ our food at the 3rd place... disappointed...
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loved the free meatballs and wine! got several glasses of Cabernet Franc
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crab bread @ Fisherman's Wharf
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Crocodile!!
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finished clam chowder and fried shrimp: delectable late night snack
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clam chowder in the car results in spillage... Sorry Iris!

Lessons Learned:
Dessert Wines are amazing. I'll be looking out for more Ports, Madeiras, and Sherries.
Make sure food is secure in car before driving.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

San Francisco Escapade

Friday, August 20

Iris had to go to work early in the morning, so I stayed in the Stanford apts. and planned out my day. Didn't leave until 11:00 and really craved some food.

I took the CalTrain from Palo Alto to San Francisco. I was surprised at how comfortable this train was and relatively simple to manage, aside from the zone thing. ETA: 1 hour
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runs every hour

After i arrived, I had a little trouble finding where my bus was to take me to Fisherman's Wharf. I found a free map with the Muni lines and took a different route than my originally planned one. Took an hour to get there since the bus was packed and there was tons of traffic. Would have taken about as long as if I were to walk, but without the exhaustion.
I scoped out Pier 37 and 39 to see the prices and see anything different. Overall, the clam chowder all tastes great. I settled at Pier Market and was satisfied.
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low on clams, but still hearty.
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my lunch-side view as I scarf my chowder

As I walked back towards Pier 37, I saw an antique arcade museum. This place was filled with old school arcade systems that don't exist anymore and are still operational. I did recognize some of the games and that brought back memories.
A mother and son were playing this knock out game but took forever to K-O. So some stranger and I took over their unfinished game. The winner: Me.
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I'll knock you out!

As I continued on Westward, I got a Crab Sandwich. It did not compare to what I remembered 2 years ago, nor did the filling compare to something similar I had in Paris. But it was okay. I also got some more food along the way. It was something I had to do while up here.
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Crab, Mayo?, pepper, spring onions, cilantro, and bread.
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the sight and smell of fresh seafood everywhere
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the looks of a fish market overrun by tourism
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Calimari and Chips... disappointingly cold, and low on bread, but the squid itself was amazing

Along the Pier there were private boaters that offered tour services as low as $5, but it did seem kinda shady since it only took a small group at a time. Some tours even included some fresh fish for you to take home.
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straight from the bay to your tummy

After my fill of good and disappointing food, I headed to Japantown. It was definitely much nicer than Little Tokyo in LA. I was limited on time so I only explored the Japan Center/Mall. They had a ton of trinket shops and food, yet they all seem to have carried different products to sell.
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loved the interior of the mall

I was short on time to explore more, because I didn't want to miss happy hour oysters at Oola Restaurant and Bar. I walked there and had plenty of time to order. I was a little annoyed with the place, although they were extremely nice. Perhaps it was also because I was tired and had dinner by myself. I was expecting large savory oysters, but at $1 each, I was delusional. When I ordered my beer, the bartender pour the entire can, but it kept foaming out of the glass and just made a big mess. I had to drink some of the foam to stop if from overflowing. BLEH!
The truffle fries I ordered weren't mixed well. It was extremely salty on top and bare on the bottom. wtf? The hamburger was amazing though. The bread seemed to be similar to a croissant, but held better. Could not complain.
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Happy Hour Oysters tend to be smaller
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truffle fries and hamburger
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meat: medium, taste: well-done

Oh what a day... Unfortunately, when I returned to Stanford at 9pm, the free shuttle service had ended. I roamed the dark energy-saving campus and eventually got to the dorms by 10:00pm. I took a picture of the campus map and used a compass to navigate myself. Anxiety runs high when your cell phone and camera are low on battery.

NorCal for the weekend

Thursday, August 19

It's been a summer since I've seen my past roommates and we all missed each other so we planed to meet up before it got even more difficult to have a rendezvous.
10:30am: USAsia charter bus from Monterey Park to Cupertino since they have buses running each day at a flat rate of $50 ($5 off roundtrip).
6:00pm: Arrival
6:30pm: Iris picked me up. off to SF to eat
7:30pm: Arrival and meet up with Fornia
8:00pm: Seated at Barbacco Restaurant
8:30pm: finally decided what to order
10:00pm: met with Erika and Alex at an Irish Pub nearby
11:30pm: Au revoir mes amis... =(

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brushetta: duck liver pate w/ balsamic roasted cherries; smoked lonza w/ peaches, basil, and spring onion; house cured sardines w/ radish and salsa verde. Very interesting take on all. cherries with pate was a bit odd.
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salami spread
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aracini- risotto croquettes filled w/ braised pork, mozzarella and peas. DELICIOUS
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fried brussel sprouts: AMAZING!!
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paccheri, rustic pork ragu, parmigiano reggiano
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penne pasta w/ poached tuna, olives, capers, roasted peppers
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my lovelies