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 Made Sake Steamed Chicken

It's dinner time again! This time, I used a recipe that I've been wanting to cook for awhile now.

Sake Steamed Chicken
(FYI, it's a NY Times recipe if you're keeping count of your 20 articles per month)

I was so curious about this tender, tender chicken that the author wrote about. I've only steamed a fish before, which is a delicious way to eat fish. I've eaten boiled chicken, and so I was curious how steamed chicken could be even better.

This is a great recipe. The chicken came out very tender and very moist. The rest period after the steaming is really important. It brings the juices together and stays in the chicken.

The original recipe had only a sliight sake taste. Non-existent if you didn't know about the sake. My adjustment that I want to try next time is to marinate the chicken for a bit in the sake, and then steam it in water. I can't wait to try this again!

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album: Steamed Chicken

Home-Cooked Italian Pastas

My style of cooking is to challenge myself to not use any recipe and cook with whatever is in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. I guess that's why pastas have become my specialty - because we always have dry pasta, onions, and tomatoes in the kitchen. So to whip up a quick meal, I made a couple of pastas with the ingredients we had in the fridge. Half hour later, Buon Appetito!

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read more about each picture.

Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slide show here.

Home-Cooked Asian Food

Sometimes when I consume too much meat, or fried foods, or eat out too often, my body craves for a healthy night in. So for a detox night, we cooked some Filipino Pancit Sotanghon Guisado and Thai Green Vegetable Curry. It was a vegetarian night that was satisfying, comforting, delicious, and healthy all at the same time.

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read more about each picture.

Check out my Flickr album here if you can't see this slideshow.

Meals at Home

After going on trips and frequently eating out, it's really nice to have that balance and cook some fresh homemade meals. You know the quality of all the ingredients and you can control the amount of ingredients.

Here are a couple picture from an "Italian Night In":

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Here are a few pictures from our "Hainanese Night":

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Everyday Meals at Home

Every day meals at home. I say this every time, but seriously it's just as good (or even better) than eating out. Here are a few meals that my family and I whipped up during our week and a half stay in our Las Vegas house:

Meal #1:
Spinach Dip
When my friends visited me in Vegas for less than 24 hours, they generously brought some gifts of wine, French baguettes, and spinach dip from Draeger's (my hometown grocery in Menlo Park). I've eaten a lot of spinach dips, hot and cold. This has not been beaten. I have yet to find a place that has a better spinach dip.

Caesar Salad
My mom's specialty that she taught to me some years ago. A thick dipping-style dressing that has creamy, bold tastes.

Spaghetti
We used two kinds of pasta, tagliatelle and spaghetti. This is another recipe that my mom taught me, and that I now make whenever we crave it.

Meal #2:
Kimchi
My brother's homemade recipe.

Grilled Vegetables
Eggplants and Bell Peppers.

Grilled Chicken
Perfectly cooked and moist all the way through.

Meal #3:
Pickled Cauliflower
My mom's homemade pickled vegetables.

Sauteed Vegetables
With bean sprounts, mushrooms, and broccoli.

Spareribs
My mom's specialty recipe (she has a lot of specialty recipes) for pork spareribs. Slightly sweet with some savory flavors and a lot of deliciousness.

Meal #4:
The Wine Pairing
1995 Caymus "Special Selection" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. A well-aged, smooth Cab that paired so nicely with this meal.

Snap Peas
Sauteed with ginger.

Sauteed Vegetables
With bean sprouts and spinach

Fried Rice
Japanese style.

Greg Norman Steaks
My dad's specialty. Look at that beautiful charring!

Onion Sauce
Our classic sauce for steak. Tart, mellow, and smooth all at the same time. A perfect partner with steak.

Plated Sides
Vegetables and rice to eat!

Plated Steak
Perfectly charred on the outside and perfectly medium on the inside. A fantastic meal at home.

Meals At Home

Lunch Time
Bittermelon
Cooked in a soffritto and finished with an egg

Bok Choy

Prawns with Kamias
The prawns were another meaty variety. I love the tartness of the kamias.


Dinner Time
Mongo
Comfort soup with mongo (mung)beans and little whole shrimps. Mm!

Saba
We ordered it from Sugi. A nice pairing with soup.

Atsara
Pickled bittermelon. It's a nice contrast to the grilled fish.


Dinner Time Again
Mushroom Risotto
Topped with Black Truffle Bits

Eating In

I'm taking a break from eating meat because there is so much good, fresh seafood here. There are so many varieties of fishes, shrimps, etc. Mmm! With all these great ingredients at the market, my mom has been cooking some great meals at home.

Fruits of Late
Bananas

Papayas
40 pesos per piece! That's less than a dollar per papaya.


Lanzones
Bangkok variety. This is my first time eating this fruit. It's delicious!



Home Cooking
Sauteed Vegetables
Eggplant with long green beans.

Sauteed White Shrimps
With Chilis. Look at the color of the shrimps! The natural oils from cooking the shrimp made the dish beautifully orange.

Adobong Pusit
Squid sauteed in its own ink.

I love this meal over rice.

Sinigang
With Prawns, Eggplant, and Taro. The prawns were a large size, and the head was filled with deliciousness.

To add that sinigang-sour taste to the broth, my mom used fresh kamias (bilimbi) picked from my grandmother's tree.



Fish Soup
Made with Lapu Lapu, Malungay leaves, Mushrooms, and Chilis

Fresh Soft Tofu

Fish Soup Plated

Eating In

After a long day, it’s nice to come home, open up a bottle of wine, and cook a good meal to wind down the day.  With fresh vegetables from the farmer’s market and fresh whole sardines from the grocery, dinner had great potential.
Roasted Beets in a Garlic Vinaigrette
I love beets!  The texture and the sweetness!  Mm!

Bitter Melon
Sauteed with Onions and Tomatoes.  Every time I eat bitter melon, I feel like I’ve gone through a cleanse.  Woo – it’s a strong, bitter taste!  But, I’ve grown to love it, mainly because I know it’s healthy with plenty of nutrients.  I love my vegetables.

Furikake Fried Brown Rice
This is something that I’ve eaten since I was a child.  My parents cook everything great, including Japanese foods.  This is one of my first memories of home cooked fried rice.

Broiled Sardines
Nice and meaty!  This was a great find at the grocery.