Viewing entries in
lunch

2 Comments

Elote "Mexican Corn"

Elote is also known as Mexican corn. I grew eating this as a little kid. My brother and I would be playing PlayStation or Counter Strike 1.5 when we hear the bell. Sorry, it's the bell. If you grew up in this era, you would know there is that one moment of silence, to hear that bell ring again to make sure it's the corn man. Now hurry and find a dollar! One dollar can get you a corn on a stick, brushed with some mayonnaise, lime juice, cheese, cayenne and some yellow gooey cheddar cheese which we are skipping today. Though, I'm not sure how much it runs for nowadays... $1.50?! Blasphemy!

For this recipe, I got frozen corn instead, but feel free to use the cob. AND I also made this in a dish, because it's easier to eat and I don't want spicy cayenne pepper spreading around my face. You know how that is...

Elote "Mexican Corn"

Recipe:

  • 3 cups of frozen corn, microwaved till edible.
  • 1/2 lime
  • 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup of good mayonnaise (or 1/3), it really depends on how creamy you like it.
  • 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne to mix
    • Cotija cheese crumbled on top (I used Cacique)

The recipe is pretty straight forward. I got a plastic zip bag to microwave the corn kernels. Afterwards, by opening the zip a little bit, you are able to dumb out any excess water. I then squeezed in the lime and sprinkled with salt and cayenne. Now, you mix it all together. It might be hard with your hands because the corn is still hot, so I used a spoon.

Next is the mayonnaise. Don't get that olive oil base mayo. I get it. But you want to keep it classic. After it's done mixing, just pour it out onto a dish of your choice. It may be a little watery because of the heat melting the mayonnaise. If you want, you can always pop it in the freezer for about 15 minutes to make the mayonnaise clump up again, but I think its better hot. Crumble your cheese and top off with a dash of cayenne. If you don't use cayenne, and you know you are sensitive to spicy foods, then I would leave it out and just dash a little bit as you are eating this. Just adjust along the way. This is how it is if you get it on the streets. They ask you want on your corn so there isn't really a wrong way to do this if you stick to the right ingredients. Don't blame me for any butt fire incidents though...

I like to eat this with chicken, tortilla chips, tostadas, or just as it. By the way, cotija cheese is a little robust so if you are not a big fan of cheese, I recommend getting the Cacique queso fresco it's like my favorite for all my mexican dishes!

QUICK TIP: If you are using fresh corn on the cob, remove the silks but leave the husk. In the same bag that you loaded your corns in (clear plastic that is in the produce aisle), put your corns back in and just microwave it to cook! No need to boil water. If your husks are a little dry, just moist them a little with water. I normally microwave my corn for 3 minutes (one corn). Now thank me if I changed your life.

You can always serve it for parties like I did below:

party size

enjoy the butt fires!

daiisies

2 Comments

Comment

Chile rubbed chicken

Honestly I wouldn't know what you would call this. This meal was put together because I was desperate to recreate something with chicken. I have a whole rack of spices that I'm just too chicken to try. I just randomly put spices together that I thought would marry together. Let's just say I've made this ever since AND it's EASY.

Looks like this:

"Random Chicken Dish"

Guys don't worry, the char is not bitter, its from the rub and honey.

RECIPE:

  • 4 Chicken Leg Quarters (works with breasts too.)
  • 1.5 tablespoon Ancho Chile powder - you can find this in any grocery store. I got minds there and at Marshalls!
  • 1.5 tablespoon of sweet paprika
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon of cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 tablespoon of salt (I use Kosher)
  • 2 tablespoon heap-full of honey. 
  • 1/2 a lemon.
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil.

In a big mixing bowl large enough to hold your chickens, mix in all the dry ingredients. Then, mix in the olive oil first, followed by the lemon juice, and then the honey. After the slurry has been made, you mix in the chicken and let it sit for at least 1 hour. Sometimes when my chicken is frozen, I would still lather the chicken with the olive oil rub even though it's still thawing. There's no reason why besides me being impatient. And my mind thinks it's marinading as it's thawing.

Set your oven to 370 for 45 minutes. I put my chicken in the oven when it's still warming up. BTW, for chicken breast, I did it the same way and it still came out super moist (SKIN ON). Plus, the chicken breast I used the first time was really thick.

Just to let you know, I never remove skin from my meats. I love the fat, the bad things about it that makes me feel good. Not promoting the nutrition, but remembering everything should be okay by consumption right? right?! I cry... and I love fried chicken..

LET YOUR CHICKEN REST FOR 5-10 minutes before eating it! You don't want the yummy juices to leave the bird. I like to eat this with some elote to balance the spices.

Stay tuned for Elote recipe, that will be SO-MUCH-FUN.

Daiisies

 

Comment

Comment

Cook's Torta AKA best tortas in MPK

That's right. This place is ridiculous. Even Dine LA reposted one of my pictures which you can see HERE.

My brother was the first person that actually took me here. It felt like love at first bite. Their homemade torta was the first thing that I noticed. Super fluffy, and has the consistency of a soft ciabatta with the slightest tang of a sourdough. One random week, I was craving Molcajete. Like, REALLY craving it. Molcajete is that large volcanic stone mortar and pestle (I need one now). Usually served with some steak, chicken, shrimp, grilled queso, grilled onions, and spicy salsa. Absolutely delicious and 100% comforting, with some beer or a margarita.

When searching for a spot, I noticed that Cooks Tortas also serves a Molcajete Torta. And given their selections and all the ones I've tried prior, I was confident enough to trust their concoction to be fulfilling.

Two Tortas were ordered. Of course, the Molcajete:

THE Molcajete

So far, I've ordered this Molcajete twice after having it because it's THAT amazing. This was so succulent. The meat had a strong citrus, lime flavor which I LOVE in a sandwich likes this. It actually helps cut the richness of everything else. Their salsas was slightly spicy, but may be a little spicy for those that has a lighter palate. I'm telling myself now that I need to get something else next time, but looking at this again, I don't think I can. Plus, just look at the salsa, that Queso, the roasted green chile just hanging out telling you to "eat Me... EEEAATT MEEEEE" can you hear it too?

BBQ Pulled Pork Torta

Super juicy. Simple, but one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I've had when done right (same proportions with every bite). The slaw makes this sandwich balanced. You need that refreshing crunch to cut through the sweetness of the BBQ. I highly recommend this sandwich as well.

This is located south of Atlantic going towards the 60 Freeway. Cross streets are Atlantic and close to Brightwood.

Don't forget to order their Chiles Toreado and aguas fresca. I'm probably 5 minutes away, so you'll probably see me here. Let me know what your favorite is from here and I'll make sure to try it.

Tortas Up!

Daiisies

 

Comment

Comment

Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai

It was a beautiful gloomy Saturday when we went to an Audiophile event in Newport/Costa Mesa. We checked out a few headphones and earphones. But honestly, I was spending most of my time finding a place to eat for lunch. It's pretty much because I was really hungry. All I'm waiting for are the words "ready for lunch?" (who is with me on that?).

My go to place in Costa Mesa is normally Santouka (check it out NOW) and that will always be one of my favorites until I can find another ramen shop that brings me back to a drunken night I had in Japan.. But today, today was a different day. I wanted Tsukemen.

Hot Tsukemen

We decided to try Kitakata Ramen in Costa Mesa. In no time, we were seated. I immediately ordered my Tsukemen with some appetizers to accompany our meal. My Tsukemen came out pretty quickly. You eat Tsukemen by dipping the noodles in the broth you see in the corner. I like to mix mine with the grated radish and ginger. I'll dip the pork in when I am ready to take a big slurp. I also like to squeeze some lime into my dipping sauce which is also provided with this meal. I like that the noodles were kept in a warm bath to keep it consistent with my hot option. I highly recommend this if you've never had Tsukemen. It is NOT comparable to a tonkotsu/shoyu/miso Ramen, so please enjoy this as a different category.

Chashu Tonkotsu Ramen

First and foremost it's Tonkotsu, not Tonkatsu. If you ever want to become a ramen connoisseur, you must get this right. It Pains me, to hear people say they love tonkatsu broth for their ramen. Please Google the difference now, and look that much more amaze-balls in front of your friends next time when you are eating ramen. Trust me, it drives me NUTS. The chashu was very tender and flavorful. Their tonkotsu was very light for this style. Tonkotsu normally has a beautiful meaty, hearty and fatty flavor due to the many hours breaking down the collagen in pork bones. This on the other hand, was good, but not what I would expect for a Tonkotsu ramen. If I have Tonkotsu, I want to feel that fat in my neck and put me to sleep. The flavors, still, was well balanced.

Chicken Karaage

Their chicken Karaage was pretty good as well. What makes good Karaage is the quality of the chicken, light seasoning and batter to enhance the flavor of the chicken. It's very different from your american fried chicken. It has ginger, mirin, and many other asian flavors. This is always one of my favorite Izakaya items to order when I'm drinking or just to enjoy with a big hunk of rice. When I was in Japan, the chicken Karaage was prepared from one whole chicken. We actually received a whole chicken (cut up of course), and that was definitely the BEST Karaage I've had because the chicken they used was really fresh.

Pork Gyoza with Yuzu Kosho. My favorite was the Yuzu Kosho! It was not overly salty like the other ones I've tried and it also had a strong spicy punch that is lacking with the ones I've had before. I actually mixed a little of the Yuzu with my Tsukemen as well. I like to eat my Gyoza with a lot of vinegar, splash of soy, splash of chili oil, and a whole lot of shichimi chili. 

Chashu rice bowl

Because you can never have enough good pork. I eat this with a lot of shichimi togarashi too.

If you are ever in the area, do give this place a try. There's so much more than just Ramen. If you like a certain cuisine, don't be intimidated to try more dishes further. Most of the time, what you like is the only scratch on the surface. 

Happy Eating!

 

Comment