Pickling at Home

Pickled vegetables are an ideal food partner of meat dishes, especially fatty meat dishes.  The acidity of the vinegar cuts right through all that fat and indulgence.  It makes you feel less guilty, and even a little healthy for adding more vegetables to the the meal - healthy, despite that addition of a little salt.

Our last few batches of pickled vegetables have been using David Chang's recipe from his Momofuku cookbook.  He uses a delicate addition of salt and sugar, along with vinegar and water, that does not overpower the taste of the vegetable at all.  It really lets the actual vegetable shine.

When pickling, bittermelon is a staple for our fridge.  It's also fun to experiment with different vegetable and even fruits, like green mangos and green papayas.  Pickling is a great way to preserve vegetables and it lasts for a couple weeks in your fridge, so you'll always have a side dish ready to serve.

If you can't see the slide show here, check out my Flickr album: Pickling at Home

Cooking at Home

Between trips, I tend to become a homebody and really enjoying staying in and eating at home.  That allows me to occasionally try out recipes and flavor combinations that spontaneously pop in my head.  I don't really cook line by line with recipes.  I read cooking books, food articles, and blogs for ideas.  And then, I use them as a base and inspiration for my own recipe.  I get this idea in my head and flavors on the tip of my palate, and I use whatever we have in the fridge, freezer, and pantry to execute the vision.  It's like I've made myself my own cooking challenge/game.

Here are some dishes that my family and I have whipped up in the past few weeks.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinners; and mostly Asian-inspired.
Place your cursor above "Notes" below to read the captions for each photo.

If you can't see the slide show here, check out my Flickr album: At Home

Home Cooked Chinese Food

Spending the afternoon at my best friend's new place in Tung Chung naturally led to dinner at his place.  After years of friendship, it was time for him to whip up a home cooked Chinese dinner.

After walking across town between 2 grocery stores and 1 Chinese medicinal shop (for red dates) for ingredients, dinner prep was underway.  Four dishes for 3.  We all chopped, cooked, and cleaned for the meal.  It was like a family dinner.

The meal started with pork bone soup with apples and carrots which naturally sweetened the broth.  After our stomachs were warmed, we dug into the main event.  Steamed chicken with red dates, mushrooms, ginger, and so on.  Steamed ground pork with tofu and salted egg.  And seasonal greens sauteed in garlic and olive oil.  I love that the main dishes steamed.  I never knew Chinese food could be this healthy.  It's a great feeling at the end of a meal when you're full, satisfied, and guilt-free from all that you ate.  

Place your cursor above "Notes" below to read the captions for each photo.

If you can't see the slide show, check out my Flickr album: HK Home Cooking