Vietnamese Dipping Sauce

You know that sauce that you dip spring rolls into?  or vermicelli noodles?  That's what this sauce is for.  The recipe is from the Drive Me Hungry site.

Came out good.  Was easy; I just combined all the ingredients together.

1/4 cup fish sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon shredded carrots

1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

1 small Thai chili pepper, finely minced

Ground Beef Bulgogi

This recipe was recommended by Landon's friend and is from the Aaron & Claire site.  Two words . . . SUPER ONO.  Four more words . . . SUPER EASY TO MAKE.

Wendell and Landon ate it wrapped in lettuce.  I ate it with jasmine rice.  Twice.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 green onions (1 oz, 30g)

• 1/2 yellow onion

• 2 shiitake mushrooms (or button mushrooms) (1.8 oz, 50g)

• 1 green chili (optional)

• 1 mild red chili (optional)

• 1.3 lb (600g) ground beef

• 2 tbsp neutral-tasting oil

• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

• 5 cups steamed rice, divided

• generous pinch of toasted sesame seeds

• Bulgogi Marinade:

• 3 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp sugar

• 2 tbsp mirin

• 2.5 tbsp oyster sauce

• 2 tbsp minced garlic

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• black pepper, to taste

• small pinch MSG (optional)

DIRECTIONS

• Prep Vegetables
• Thinly slice the green onions: the white part to stir-fry and the green part for garnish.
• Finely dice half an onion and mushrooms. Thinly slice the chilies (if using). 
• Make Bulgogi Marinade
• In a small container, mix together soy sauce, sugar, mirin, oyster sauce, minced garlic, sesame oil, black pepper to taste, and a pinch of MSG (if using). 
• To a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef, mushrooms, and marinade. Give it a good mix. 
• Cook Bulgogi
• In a wok (or pan), heat the oil (2 tbsp) over medium-high heat. Once it gets nice and hot, add the white part of the green onions and onion. Saute for about 3 minutes or until they start to go brown.
• Add the beef mixture and cook for about 7 to 8 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Make sure to break up the beef and keep stirring it. 
• Turn the heat off. Add the chili peppers (if using), green onions, and sesame oil (1/2 tbsp). Give it a final mix.
• To serve, get some rice on a plate and top it off with your bulgogi. Garnish with some extra green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with some salad greens or kimchi. Enjoy~!

Vietnamese Meatballs

I combined different online recipes to come up with this dish.  It came out good. The panko gave it an Italian meatball texture which kinda didn't match so I'm gonna try leaving it out next time.

We ate it with vermicelli noodles.

I used this one.  I actually used all that I had and was so happy to find it at Foodland later because no more Asian Market on Beretania anymore and that's where I used to get it.

Vietnamese Meatballs

1 pound ground pork

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 teaspoons white sugar

1/4 cup (? maybe less) finely chopped green onions

2 cloves minced garlic

2 teaspoons finely grated ginger

1/2 cup panko

combine and form into balls; fry in oil

Sauce

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons shoyu

2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons sriracha

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

Ocean Taste

Landon brought these home yesterday from Ocean Taste.   They're at the Bea's Drive Inn location (for you old guys like me).

He said his raw fish bowls were "really, really good".  My crab bowl was good.  The shrimp tempura was dry. 

Warning:  The prices!  OMGAWD!

Lava Flow Don ($18.95)

Salmon Trio ($19.95)

Keiki Crab Salad Bowl ($9.95)

Shrimp Tempura ($3.95)

On Da Desk

I made a quick sketchbook flip through video for this On Da Desk post.  

Also FYI, I'll probably be posting less frequently for awhile.  I've been feeling lazy lately. 

Sho's Kitchen Honolulu

Wendell walked over to Sho's Kitchen on Sheridan sometime last week after shopping at Sam's and we liked it so much that he went again a second time. 

Chicken Nanban ($12)

Hoki Meuniere Bento ($16)

Unagi Donburi ($18)

Caesar Salad with Fried Tofu ($12)

Fried Tofu Bento ($12)

Wendell's Kani (Crab) Salad

Wendell made this a few nights ago.  He used an apple instead of mango.  It was veeery refreshing.  I'm thinking it would go good with some somen noodles.

The recipe is from the Simply Home Cooked website.

 

Ingredients

Dressing

• 1/2 cup Japanese mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp Sriracha
• 1 tsp soy sause
• 1/2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Salad

• 16 ounces imitation crab sticks
• 1 medium carrot
• 2-3 small Persian cucumbers
• 1 ripe mango

Instructions

• Make the spicy Mayo dressing first. In a bowl, add 1/2 cup Japanese mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp Sriracha, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar, 1/8 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Use a small whisk to combine everything together thoroughly. Then set the dressing aside for later.
• Now slice 2 small Persian cucumbers in half and remove the seeds by scraping them out with a spoon. Then slice the cucumbers into thin slices.
• Now shred 16 ounces of imitation crab meat. Then slice 1 medium carrot and 1 mango into thin strips.
• Add all the ingredients into a large bowl, including the spicy mayo dressing. Then use tongs to mix everything together. Enjoy this Kani salad chilled. 

Dd's Chicken Tinga Tacos

 

CHICKEN TINGA TACOS

 

1 ½ tsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1-2 chipotle peppers, in adobo sauce, chopped

½ tsp. oregano

½ tsp. cumin

¾ c. fire roasted tomatoes, crushed

¼ c. chicken broth

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

3 c. cooked (rotisserie) chicken, shredded

Service: flour or corn tortillas (warmed), avocado, cilantro leaves,

chopped red onion, cotija cheese (crumbled), lime wedges

 

In a large skillet over medium heat sautee onion in oil until tender. 

Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in chipotles, oregano, and cumin. 

Cook 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a 

simmer, cook 7 minutes. Blend mixture using an immersion blender 

until smooth. Add chicken, stirring until warmed through, about 5 

minutes. Check for seasoning, add additional salt as needed. 

Garnish as desired. Serves 4.

Message to Russia

Teruya's Andagi

Wendell went to Teruya's Andagi two days in a row!  Yay!  I totally love the 9-item veggie bento.

Veggie Bento ($8.95)

Large Roll Bento ($10.00)  Includes shrimp roll and garlic chicken roll.

Tofu Patty ($2.00)

Chicken Karaage Bento ($7.95)

Garlic Chicken Roll ($3.00)

Shrimp Roll Bento ($7.95)

Donut King

I went to Donut King back in July.  I wasn't paying attention when I chose these and was a bit surprised when the cashier rang up and my bill was over $15.

In retrospect it looks like except for the plain glazed in the lower left (Wendell's), the donuts were around $4.25-ish each. 

My grandniece(?-nephew's daughter) Kylie enjoyed the chocolate/marshmallow one, and my cronut was super ono.  I only got the 4th donut so that they would give me a box (that's how it goes there).  I shoulda picked a cheaper one. 

Sakana Grill

Wendell picked these up the other day from Sakana Grill.  I really, really liked the first dish.  It has shoyu pork, eggplant and tofu.  I'm wondering if I can make it myself.  We'll see.  

Just FYI, the place opens at 2:00 pm, but "the kitchen opens at 3:00", just in case your husband is already on his way there when you call at 2:00 to put in your order. 

Also, I'm not real sure if the prices below are current.  I looked them up online.  And I think because I didn't say "plate" these are ala carte items and didn't come with rice, which kinda worked out 'cause there was more to share.

Nasubi Chanpuru ($15).  ❤️  ❤️  ❤️

Tonkatsu ($15).  This was just okay . . .  maybe a tad overcooked?

We think this came with the Tonkatsu . . . not sure.

Fried Saimin with Spam ($14).  Good; I liked the noodles, but it was a bit black-peppery.  I coulda done without it just fine. 

Day by Day

 Little by little.  Village by village.  Liberation comes.

Dd's Osso Bucco

OSSO BUCCO

Adapted from Dd’s Table Talk

 

2 veal shanks, 3-inch thick, 1# each

garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper

flour, for dusting

1 TB+ 1 TB olive oil, divided

½ medium carrot, chopped

1small onion, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste

2 c. beef stock

2 c. red wine

½ tsp. dried thyme

2, 3-inch orange peels

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Generously season shanks with garlic salt and pepper. Dredge in flour well.

In a saucepot over medium high heat, brown shanks in olive oil. Remove. 

Add remaining olive oil into saucepot; sauté vegetables and garlic.  Stir in tomato paste until well combined. Return shanks into saucepot. 

Add stock, wine, thyme and orange peel. Bring to a gentle simmer.  Cover; leaving lid slightly ajar.  Simmer 2 hours. Turn shanks over every 30 minutes.

 

Transfer shanks to a serving platter.  Bring sauce mixture to a boil and reduce. Check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed. 

For service spoon sauce over shanks.  Serves 2.

Epicurean Cutting Board

I bought this cutting board over 40 years ago from Sur La Table in Seattle.  I always wanted to get a little bigger one, but thought that it was just too expensive.

Well, after all these years, I finally got one.  It's an early birthday present from Landon.  

I mostly like it because it's thin and lightweight, although this particular model turned out to be a little thicker than I expected.  Maybe 'cause it's double-sided with a juice groove.  

I also like the density and smoothness.  And the puka.  It makes it easy to grab on to. 

I'm so happy!