Hainan Chicken

Hello, you. Work, life, has been insanely busy for me. My internet is down, it's like 9:30 at night and I am crashing from 4 cups of coffee. I don't need help, I need sleep! But, I had a little time after work to grab a quick beer with a coworker.

Blue Moon

Just a quick gulp and catching up before headed home to deal with cleaning and cooking, but mostly cleaning. We grabbed our beers from "Rounds" in Pasadena on North Lake Avenue. 

Ok as I am writing this blog, my mom literally sent me like 10 food images. Wondering where I get my passion from.  

Going back to being busy, and tired. I was using the excuse that maybe I have allergies, and that's why I'm so tired because my eyes feel heavy, swollen, and small. But no. I need to come to realization that sleeping past 12 to wake up at 6am doesn't work anymore.  

So with that said, I needed to make something fast. Easy. Without making a mess. Something I can get done quickly, so I can eat it, and tell you about it. YOU. See how important you are? 

HAINAN CHICKEN

I got 3 Cups of white jasmine rice, rinsed 3 times. I then filled it with chicken broth as you would for 3 cups of rice. If the palms of my hands is touching the rice with my fingers flat, the liquid should come up slightly above my knuckles.

I took one slice of lime and about 6 slices of ginger to cook together with the rice. Leave it. It's done and wait for it to cook. 

The ginger scallin sauce is simple. I grated (and you can always finely mince) 4-5 tablespoons of ginger, finely chopped one large bundle of green onions (about 6 stems), and minced 2 cloves of garlic. Combine these ingredients together and dash 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Heat 1/3 of a cup of oil, I used Thrive Algae Oil because that's what I've been using lately, but you want a flavorless oil. When the oil is heated, just simply pour it into your mixture, and add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Your sauce is done!

For the chicken, I got a 4-5 pound thigh pack from the market. I trimmed off as much fat as I could so I wouldn't have that much trouble with cleaning. I boiled 1/2 a pot of water, enough to submerge the chicken, 2 tablespoons of salt to season the water, the rest of the lime slices that I didn't use, 6-8 large slices of ginger, 3 large cloves of garlic, 2 stems of green onion, and 1 tablespoon of white pepper.  Now, let the chicken boil and simmer for 30 minutes on medium.

Now. The recipe is literally something I threw together. No science. But if I didn't like it, I wouldn't spend the time to tell you about it. Laying here awkwardly writing this on my phone, sucking away my data. You eat this chicken and tell me you love it!  

Anyways, check your rice. If it turns out a little dry, pour in more chicken stock from your pot of chicken. When ready to serve, scoop some rice, take your chicken, and then slather the ginger scallion sauce over the chicken. The sauce is everything eaten together with the rice and chicken. My dad used to put the sauce in a can of sardines. Don't ask. I don't know. I don't like that. But he does. 

This is another huge staple of something I grew up eating. Quick and comforting, and as always, extremely affordable. 

now it's 9:54pm. I can still make it to sleep now! Just need to brush my teeth! 

Happy cooking and let me know what you think. 

remember that food should always be accessible!  

Daisy  

BBQ PORK HAWAIIN ROLL

With the 8 hour slow roasted pork I had left over (click here for recipe) I had enough to make 8 BBQ pork sliders. I just can't even begin with what you can make with leftover slow roasted pork. Even though my kitchen was a literal mess, the finished product was definitely worth the clean up.

I went to Ralphs grocery store after work today since it was just up the street to pick up the ingredients I needed to make this into another dish. I purchased a bag of original Kings Hawaiin rolls and a bag of "Dole Sunflower Chopped Salad" - tastes like sweet coleslaw.

In the bag of salad, it comes with a pack of bacon and sunflower seeds. I mixed the chopped salad with the sweet onion dressing that came with it, and set the sunflower seeds to the side (not used in this recipe). With the pack of bacon, I heated a hot pan to crispy the bacon up a bit. I then threw in the leftover pork butt, and watched it dance in the pan a little bit. It gets a little mesmerizing watching the cold fat slow render and melt around like lava. Now, the spices.

I added 1 teaspoon of Ancho chili powder, 1 teaspoon of cayenne, and 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika. There is no need to add any more salt since the pork is already salted. When the pork is heated through and starts charring up, add in your favorite barbecuesauce. Make sure you don't over sauce your pork.

View fullsize

yes. I have a pork chalk board. I love pork, what can I say.

I toasted the Hawaiin rolls on the inside until it gets nice and crusty. Now, start layering. Beware if you are very hungry like me. You will want to pile as much of everything as you can. The crispy onions strings you see were leftovers from The Counter Burger that I reheated in my Breville convectional oven.

View fullsize

I'm not a huge sandwich gal. But if I were to order a sandwich, I would want it to have a lot of meat. No turkey. No roast beef. I want it hot and heavy. Give me a steak sandwich or non type of deal. I die a little when people want to get sandwiches for lunch. But, most sandwiches I do have are the ones I make. Just because I can put whatever the F I want and no one can say otherwise. Besides John. John will give me a hard time later when he sees this. 4 humungo sliders that I devoured. Was full after the 3rd but I kept going.

View fullsize

There you go with 3 pounds of pork but. That's 4.5 plates of carnitas and rice, and 8 bbq sliders. Not bad at all. Though I am a bit depressed seeing all these Victorias Secret models in their "Train like an Angel" mode. And here I am. Making pulled pork, laying on the couch watching the Matrix. What is this life? What is this life.

But at the end of the day. I cannot give this up. I cannot go on any diets, because I would die early from depression. There are things I need need to have: white rice, hot cheetos, french fries, burgers, steak, tacos. Beverages is all the above minus diet sodas.

Now. Going to not do anything but brush my teeth and head to bed. And dream about BBQ pulled pork. I deserved it. I've been winning on this low and slow game.

Sincerely your pork lover,

Daisy

Mui Choy Kou Yoke

If I was a comfort food, how will I look like? I've already talked about how rice is a huge necessity in my life, and without it, I would die. But, if I were to look like some kind of Chinese food, it will be this dish right here.

View fullsize

Muy Choi is some kind of preserved mustard greens which needs to be soaked and re-hydrated before you cook them. My mom should be teaching me the recipe soon, so stay put. But, the work that goes into this is pretty messy. Basically, you are deep frying the skin of the pork belly until it gets super bubbly and golden before you stew it for a few hours until its fork tender. That's how mom makes it. So that's the way. If you zoomed in, you can see the beautiful cracked golden skin from the frying, though it's not crunchy anymore. The sauce is just components of chicken stock, a few soy sauces, some brown sugar and tons of garlic. My mom likes to throw in orange peel, but I like to leave it out.

I had this for dinner last night with a little sriracha drizzled over. I ate this with a giant spoon, baggy sweat clothes while watching the Food Network. How does that not sound amazing? It's pretty cold tonight. And I can barely feel my nose and toes. If this was my last meal, I have no regrets. Why? Because this was my moms cooking. One of those "Come by, I made your favorite" type of phone calls.

So if I really did die (someone please knock on wood), just know, I died in a happy place because I've had one of my most cherished, favorite if not THE one, Chinese dish of all time.

Thank you mother even though you are crazy 95% of the time.

Daisy

Thrive House - Algae Oil

I've got to say, I was really excited when I received an invite to taste Algae Oil by Thrive. I know what it is... but in oil? I've never heard of such thing. Thrive is the first and currently the only culinary Algae Oil on the market. With that being said, their mission is straight to the point:

“Our mission is to advance nutrition through algae oil to help people live better lives”

— Thrive Culinary Algae Oil

Being at this event, we learned that the average person gets only half the daily monounsaturated fat -Also known as MUFA-. What is Monounsaturated fat? I hope it's pretty obvious by now that I am not a dietitian. All I can tell you, is that Monounsaturated fat is the good fat that we find in an avocado. The GOOD fat we are talking about here. Guess what one tablespoon of this oil gives? It's equivalent to one avocado. One. I don't know about you or if you've noticed, but avocados are expensive. And I'm sorry, I can't eat an avocado a day even though I love it. But Algae Oil? I can use that in absolutely everything. And being at this dinner proved that.

Upon entry, we were greeted with friendly smiles, and Oh My God look at that view

Gorgeous right? Tucked away in Hollywood Hills, this was definitely a million dollar view. But honestly, we were greeted with wine. A definite yes! And here I thought, I was going to eat vegetables and extremely raw green food.

No. I hear something in the background. Sizzling. The smell? Beef fat. What is it? Oh you just wait.

View fullsize

Roasted Grape and Chevre Crostini

View fullsize

I was just talking with my coworkers today, about how I cannot do Goat Cheese. Just something about the earthy, grassy, musky taste of it. And I knew, this was goat cheese. But like all foods, I try to keep trying foods to appreciate why everyone likes it. Verdict? I loved the combination. The goat cheese was very mild which complimented beautifully with the sweet roasted grapes. The grapes are roasted in balsamic, rosemary oil roasted and infused with Thrive algae oil. I am definitely going to make this at my next cocktail party that I throw. I knew I should've ate more. I just should've.

View fullsize

Chicken & Haloumi Skewers

Forgive me for the camera shake. It was such a challenge to keep the chicken on the stick without it twirling around. These were fantastic. So juicy, tender, flavorful. Served with a roasted red pepper salsa with some Thrive oil. ideas? Chimichurri madness. I am so excited to make this dish on my own with the Algae Oil.

View fullsize

Mini Tacos

Not going to lie, I had 2. These are minis I know, but when you have an extensive course ahead of you, you would want to pace yourself. Simple, clean, crunchy and decadent. By the way, I was not even think that I was consuming Algae Oil. So far, the flavors are very light and balanced.

View fullsize

Dinner time

Attention! take your seats. At the table, we talked about ourselves, what our blog entails, and most importantly, what Thrive is all about. I can really see the passion in their eyes when speaking about the difference they want to make in every household, every beating heart.

Without further ado, it's time to eat.

First Course

Roasted Beet Salad - Marinated Goat Cheese, Toasted Walnuts, Champagne Vinaigrette, Roasted Beets marinated and Blended with Thrive Algae Oil.

Seared Kampachi & Ahi Sashimi - Togarashi, Citrus Segments, Lotus Root Chips, Jalapeno Ponzu, Shiso, Seared, with Thrive Algae Oil.

Beef Tataki Salad with Fall Greens - Mizuna, Daikon Radish Sprouts, Shiitake Mushrooms, Miso-Dijon vinaigrette dressed with Thrive Algae Oil.

View fullsize

Roasted Beet Salad

So yummy, and one of the best beat salad compilations I've had. Again, I'm not a big goat cheese fat, but the way they infused the oil into the cheese just made it more mild and smooth. It definitely compliments the beets an the toasty walnuts. This might just change my perspective on goat cheese because of the oil.

View fullsize

Beef Tataki

Remember earlier when I said I smelled sizzling beef fat? This was it. So on this note, Thrive's Algae Oil has a high smoke point at 485 compared to Peanut Oil at 440, to Canola at 400, to olive at 375, and to corn at 320. Is that amazing or do we need to shut the door? I am so interested to see how this will sear with my Ribeyes. This dish was extraordinary. Exceptional. The beef was beyond tender. And this was one of the best Tataki takes I've had. I loved the vinaigrette that they created, with the subtle touch of the oil to give it a slight slick. Amazing.

View fullsize

Seared Kampachi & Ahi Sashimi

This was love x's infinity. Throughout the course, everything was extremely balanced. I told the Brand Manager Joshua, that I am eating food. Like, literally. Everything that I was tasting, tasted like how it should be. Nothing was masked in any flavor, but the ingredients spoke true to itself. The serrano pepper that made my ears hot in the best possible way, drizzled with ponzu, with the shiso... it almost felt like I was having a Kaiseki.

Second Course

Tea Smoked Salmon with Crispy Skin - Soba Noodle Salad, Baby Bok Choy, Sweet Peppers, Edamame, Yuzu Vinaigrette, Wild Salmon seared and dressed with Thrive Algae Oil.

Crispy Chicken - Blistered Green Beans, Tamari Ginger Dressing, Sesame Seeds fried, baked and dressed with Thrive Oil.

View fullsize

Crispy Chicken

They delivered on crispy. This dish reminded me of something my mom or dad would make as I was growing up. The flavors of the green beans is not something you will find typically in a restaurant. I honestly, haven't flavors like these beans since childhood. It definitely made me reminisce to the foods I grew up eating.

View fullsize

Tea Smoked Salmon

This was one of my favorite dishes. I loved how the tea smoke gave the salmon this beautiful sweet seaweed flavor to the skin. There was slight peaks of Yuzu that brought the dish together, not too much, just perfect. The bok choys were also a nice texture element to this dish. I am such a happy girl.

Dessert

Flourless Chocolate Cake - Black Sesame Brittle, Mandarin, Green Tea whipped Cream. Cake is baked with Thrive Algae Oil.

View fullsize

This cake was so moist. It felt like a Molten lava cake. The center was slightly wet with crusty edges. Not trying to freak anyone out, but this opened up my palette and I was hungry again. I don't even know how this is possible... to taste so freaking good, but it did. And I hate myself for loving everything so much.

As we are finishing up the rest of the wine, some guests were headed out as Ubers were being called. Me? I just wanted to stay in this house. They have enough oil to last me a while.

The end results? I am definitely going to start using Algae Oil. I am extremely pleased and impressed by this product, and how pure the flavors were to the dishes that were created. Not only that, it's better for the planet. At Thrive, they believe in nourishing people today and for generations to come with the earth's resources in mind. Their target for Thrive Algae Oil will be one of the most sustainably produced cooking oils, with more Thrive Algae Oil per acre of land, and a low carbon and water footprint, than nearly all other cooking oils.

Currently, you can only find Thrive Algae Oil at a Los Angeles Gelsons Market. But don't worry, you can always order their oil at their website: http://www.thrivealgae.com/buy-now/

View fullsize

I can't wait to share some culinary adventures with this product. It really reflects a lot of purpose with my blog, Food Within Reach. You don't always have to eat out to have a fantastic meal. Thrive proved that with their oils with their Gourmet, but yet simple meals.

Stay tuned for recipes you see above.

View fullsize

Go get your Thrive Algae Oil today!

Daisy

Hong Kong Baked Pork Chop

Ok. This is a really simple recipe with what I can find at home (and you should too). Baked Pork Chops are one of the dishes I order when I would dine in at an Asian Cafe in Alhambra/San Gabriel area. Why? Because it's always one of the safest dishes to order. Kind of like.. ordering Pad Thai at a Thai restaurant or Pho in a Vietnamese restaurant. Get it?

Back to pork chop.

View fullsize

I got 4 slices of pork probably totaling 2 pounds. I seasoned both sides with salt, white pepper and a little garlic powder. The chops were dusted light with some flour.

Heat up your pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil (or your oil of preference) and cook pork until nice and golden on each side.

For the rice portion of this dish, I made fried rice. Just a very basic garlic fried rice. I sauteed some minced garlic in the same pan as my pork (I have a large Scanpan), and dropped some white Jasmine rice that I made (3 and a 1/2 scoop was rinsed and cooked on the dryer side). After most of the moisture is cooked out of the rice, 6 eggs were beat before dousing it over the rice. The rice was just seasoned with salt, soy sauce and white pepper. Feel free to throw in some frozen peas and carrots if you have any, I was just salvaging what I had at home. 

The fried rice was cooked on high heat until the most of the moisture was gone. This is not my official fried rice recipe, so chill if you don't like this. Feel free to use plain white rice as well.

The tomato sauce was made from:

• one 28oz (or around this size) can of crushed tomatoes
• mixed with 1/2 a cup of ketchup
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of sugar (the tomatoes I had were tart)
• 3-5 minced garlic (depending on how large your cloves are)
• 1 teaspoon of white pepper

Everything was cooked down for about 15 minutes.

Layer your fried rice (or plain rice), top with a layer of your tomato sauce, layer your pork, add more sauce, top with cheddar cheese, and then put it in your broiler for 10 minutes.

View fullsize

Enjoy while it's still hot!

Yes, there isn't anything crazy about the recipe. This again, is something you should be able to find in your kitchen. For the tomato sauce, you can find more ingredients to add in and the same goes for the fried rice. The tomato sauce for this is supposed to be sweet, so don't freak out. I love to add carrots to the to the tomato sauce and let the sweetness of that carry over the sauce. You can also splash a little cream in your tomato sauce to thicken it a bit as well.

Honestly, this dish is basically fried rice, with sweet tomato sauce, fried pork with cheese melted on top.

Feel free to share your recipe. I've been really busy, so a dish like this where I don't have to think hard on specific ingredients is my go to. There are many versions to make this, but I don't have time to marinade anything, and I definitely don't have some seasonings that recipes asks for... but this was comforting! So yeah, I don't care.

I have enough for lunch it it only costed be less than $10 for 4 meals. Stay tuned for a fried rice recipe.

Daiisies