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Chinese Herbal Rib

This dish was something my dad loved to make and another one of those dishes that I took for granted growing up. I'm glad that I am still young enough to appreciate it and not older. I wouldn't want to regret missing out all the comfort foods that I grew up eating with my family. Having breakfast with my dad every Saturday has been something that I've been doing religiously. No matter what circumstances, even if I'm hungover, I'll still meet him for breakfast.

-- Wow... a car drove by right now with "Hotel California" BLASTING. Just saying.. that person needs to chill.

One of the things my dad loves to talk about is the food that he makes. This is what brought us to this dish that I'm going to show you. The dish consists of a herbal mix and spareribs. I will be using Pork ribs for this because that is what I have.

Herbal Mix

You can try to make your own, but honestly, unless you are trying to open a restaurant that specializes in this, just get the package. Don't trouble yourself because it's not worth it. You will probably find this mix at every Chinese market near you like 99 Ranch.

Water was filled about 1/2 way in a standard stock pot. While you are waiting for the water to boil, bundle the herbs that come with the package. I also peeled 6 cloves of garlic to be thrown in. Once the water boils, add your meat, garlic, some black fungus (Cloud ear fungus), and your herb bundle. As the ribs cook, you will notice some of the fat floating to the surface. Remove the top layer of fat with a ladle. I let it boil on medium high for about 30 minutes. I would then add about 3 tablespoons of salt and 1/2 a cup of Kikkoman soy sauce. I reduce the stove to low-medium and let it go with the lid on for 2 hours.

When the meat is fall off the bone or for tender, your dish is ready. Go grab some somen noodles and cook it with some boiling water, strain, and top it off with the herbal soup, rib and black fungus. I served this along with some pan seared baby bok choy.

You may also add some pre-fried tofu that is sold in packages to the last 30 minutes of cooking. This dish is heavenly with some hot sauce. This dish has a strong renown herb flavor, but it's something Chinese people eat and also healthy for you.

If you make this and never had it before, I would love to know your thoughts and suggestions.

Happy eating!

Daiisies

 

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Dandan’s Guilin Rice Noodle - with Mom

So. My mom calls me, twice. She asked me if I had dinner yet, at 6 PM. Ok just say it, what is it? She got a new car and said she wants to drive me. Keeping in mind that I was assuming she got the car some time this or last week. I got to her place from Pasadena within 30 minutes. As I parked and got out, she was getting ready to back out. After getting in, I looked at her like 'whhhaaattt are you doing..?'. She stops in the middle of the road as she was trying to switch to drive. I asked her "Did you just get the car today?!" she said yes in the afternoon.

AND.I.LITERALLY.JUST.DIED.

I'm not even kidding you. The seat belt fastened so quick it just took one click. And then, I kept my arms away from the doors, and sunk my body into the seat. I feared she was going to make an asian move into the intersection to merge and a car was going to slam on my side. If I had balls, they shriveled. I was so terrified! I'm not going to lie I wanted to cry. She sees a random restaurant and asked me if I would like to try it. I, immediately said yes. Especially because it was around the corner from her place and I don't want to be a passenger for more than 1 mile.

Dandan's Guilin Rice Noodle

600 E Valley Blvd Ste A San Gabriel, CA 91776

Just to start. I kind of felt this vibe as if our patronage was not necessary. Given they were fairly empty for their little shack, I felt bad to not try it while my mom wanted to leave and eat somewhere else. I'm not sure if I would come back because of that. My mom was speaking to the waitress in cantonese. I could hear it in her tone and see her body gestures that she was not into us. I don't tend to do this... but when someone upsets me and I feel disrespected, I give them the look. I have this thing I do, that I just stare. Into their eyes. Suck out their soul. And that's it. But my goal now, is to eat, pray for my safety as my mom drives back, and go.

First dish

Cold trio appetizer

You are able to choose 3 different types of cold dishes that they offer for this trio appetizer. My mom chose the seaweed, spicy pig ears, and some dried been curd. It was mediocre, not bad, but not great. A typical appetizer that I love to snack on. The seaweed is in a slight tangy vinegar, sesame marinade.

Beef Brisket rice

This dish was actually pretty good. It was stewed till tender, and it came out pretty quick. Literally, in about 2 minutes. There wasn't anything particularly special about this dish. It was just comforting and hearty. I doused this with a lot of chili oil.

What's not shown are some scallion pancakes that were also mediocre. Not sure if they made it in house, but it lacked a lot of color, and can be cooked a little longer to cook out the grease.

Not sure if I will come back because of the bad attitude. I will always try a restaurant again for their food. For service, it only takes one bad impression for me to walk.

And, honestly, this is 626. I can find this food anywhere.

Thanks Mom!

Daiisies

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Instant Ramen - Frozen Dumplings - Egg. dead.

What time is it? Whether it's 2am, 10am, or 2pm, it's always a good time to whip up a quick meal before dinner time. I went to the gym today and was starving when I got out. I was thinking about everything I wanted to eat while spinning. As I closed by eyes, I started going through what I had at home. Within no time, my hour on the bike was up. Peace out 20 miles, it's Friday and I shouldn't be at a gym.

Instant ramen, dumplings, and egg.

Ingredients are simple. Get your favorite instant ramen or whichever one you are craving at the moment. Frozen dumplings. Don't know which ones to get? Sorry I don't know either. HAH! Just kidding but not really. If you go to an Asian Market on the weekends, there will probably be samples with a lot of bags going on this blowout sale. That's when I would buy a few body bags of frozen dumplings. I am not going to pay $6+ for a bag, so wait till they go on sale for like $2.50-$3ish. It's a steal.

Timing. The first thing that I do is heat up a non-stick pan with some oil heated on medium high to high depending on how hot your stove is. I like my pan HOT (By the way, I used canola oil). I also started heating water for the ramen. Once you drop the dumplings in the pan, it will start sizzling like sh*t. This is when I would tuck my arms in like T-rex. After about 1 minute, I would add water and cover it with a lid to steam the dumplings. Add enough water where it cooks out after 3 minutes or so. If there is still water left, don't worry it will cook out/evaporate.

Once your dumplings are steaming, drop the ramen in the boiling water to cook. This will be quick. After your noodles are done, pour it into your bowl and arrange your dumplings (the bottom of your dumplings should have a nice golden brown). Now, quickly crank up the heat on the same pan you used to make your dumplings, add some oil and fry up an egg. I season my eggs with salt and togarashi pepper. Slide your egg on top of your noodles and voila, I am your BEST friend.

The egg should be crispy with a nice golden butt. The yolk should goo lusciously all around.

Comfort Food. E N J O Y.

Daiisies

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Soy Sauce Chicken Wings

I've been contemplating on making asian wings for a long time. The only thing that stops me is waiting for the marinade to fully adhere to whatever protein I am using. When I crave something, I would think about it. Constantly. If you ask me what I'm doing later or for the weekend, I'm normally thinking about dinner or what to make. Marinades are usually pretty simple to put together, but it's just the wait that kills me. Especially when some marinades are required to fridge overnight. What I love about soy based sauces is how quickly it flavors the dish without waiting too long. I finally motivated myself to visit a Japanese market one Sunday morning to pick up a few packs of Jidori (free range chicken) chicken wings. With the wings, I picked up some sake for the marinade along with some ginger and garlic.

QUICK RECIPE

  • 3 pounds of chicken wings
  • 1 Cup of Sake
  • 3/4 Cup of soy sauce (I used Kikkoman)
  • 1/4 Cup of water
  • 3 table spoons of grated ginger (more is optional, I grated probably 2 inches of ginger)
  • whole head of grated garlic
  • 3/4 cups of sugar (I used granulated white sugar).
  • 1 Teaspoon of Red pepper flakes because I like it spicy (optional)
  • 1 green onion
  • 1 teaspoon of white pepper

I got a large zip lock and threw everything inside. It is definitely the easiest especially when massaging the marinade in the chicken. The wings should be marinading for at least 1 hour before cooking. I left my wings in the fridge for about 2 hours turning occasionally (every 30 minutes). 

The wings are then cooked in a pan and flipped occasionally. I literally left the wings on until the sauce started to reduce... and reduce... till it creates a glaze on the wings and slowly starts charring on the skin. You can manage the soy sauce since the flavors do get intensified once it reduces. The smell by the way is amaze-balls. Who wouldn't love the smell of garlicky, soy ginger funk in the air! I'm sure neighbors are probably thinking 'it's gotta be the Chinese again, man I wish I can get some of whatever that is.' Yeah. I bet you that's what they are saying. 

Sesame and Green onions to garnish

The wings are done and served with some white jasmine rice which helps cut the richness of the soy glaze. I did leave the wingtips on because it was just something we did in our household when I was growing up. And... It makes me feel more masculine being able to take a huge bite. 

Enjoy and keep cooking!

Cheers.

Daiisies

 

 

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Chinese BBQ

Chinese BBQ

I remember in our household, we would have the items above weekly. Everything of course tasted better with an egg. What I loved most about this, and you may not believe it, but it's a penny savor. What makes this meal cost efficient is the rice, a hunka hunk of it! My favorite parts are the duck leg, the fatty sections in the char siu, and the charred parts from the BBQ Sausage. I remember eating a ton of this when I was younger, but not as much when I was on my own. It is something that I've forgotten, but I've found my way back to remembering the best foods from my childhood.

This screams comfort food to a lot of Chinese People! In LA, you can find BBQ chinese meats in San Gabriel Valley and a few in Chinatown. Remember, most places are cash only... or so they say.

If you have left overs, I recommend making fried rice with the char siu and BBQ sausage (or scrambled eggs, MMMMMmmMMMmm!) . I like using the roast duck in noodles.

I can't wait to devour this for dinner. What are you having tonight?

Cheers!

Daiisies

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