Pineapple Curry Fried Rice

So it's been a while since my last post - I know, I am entirely to blame. I've been distracted lately with many trivial things, namely just enjoying the remainder of summer before school starts. I know I am going to miss this short period; it is truly a great feeling to be so free of duties or obligations, although I can see how it can eventually get boring.

That's another thing to think about - the upcoming school year. So far, all I've heard about second year are scary stories - how much harder it is than first year (which, as I recall, was already pretty strenuous). This year I want to succeed - but what does success mean? It's not about honoring every class, or getting top ranks in every test. That would definitely be nice, and at one point in my life, I would have definitely measured my success by my grade point average. No - I've come to realize that success means so much more than a few marks on the transcript. It's about balance. Balancing ALL the important aspects of your life, not just any one thing alone. Last year, there was a point when I dropped everything and let my grades take over my entire life. I eventually came out of that period, but I never want to go back to it again.

But I have faith and hope in the upcoming year. It'll be good, I think.

Pad Thai

So I think recently Dad has been trying to encourage me to cook more (I think he senses that I am getting restless at home), which is good news for me. I'm starting to get a little discouraged by Mom's criticism of me in the kitchen, but now reinforcements have arrived, and I re-emerge with renewed strength!

Yesterday, I was supposed to go out with Gordon for lunch and the library (he's working on his med school application, poor boy), but I decided to cancel and spend the July 5th holiday catching up on pre-medical school issues with Dad. Which means shopping for electronics (seen by me as nothing more than an unfortunately necessary evil - computers and I are not friends). Anyway, that meant I wouldn't waste my stomach on a big lunch and could therefore eat properly with my parents...which Mom hadn't counted on and so had nothing to cook. So Dad suggested I cook up my Pad Thai, which I've cooked a few times in San Diego and once for Dad in NorCal. I use Pim's recipe (seems like everyone does), which is surprisingly fast and simple. One major twist - we didn't want to buy limes, so we used the lemons from our backyard. It didn't have the EXACT same taste, but it was close enough.

Father's Day Part I - One crazy day in the kitchen

Father's Day this year was not just a day - it was a weekend. I'd have to say it was pretty fun, but seriously, in any other circumstance, I would say the effort was DEFINITELY not worth the result. Especially for my father, who places taste and quality far above presentation. But anyhoo, I was bored and had time to kill. Plus, I just borrowed an incredibly cool book from the library (hors d'oevres by Eric Treuille and Victoria Blashford-Snell) and it had so many pretty pictures, I couldn't resist.

So on Saturday, I made a Father's Day dinner that consisted entirely of appetizers. I will say one thing: I have new-found respect for caterers. Making appetizers both tasty and appealing is HARD. Even with my dad helping me in the kitchen, it took all day (well, half the day; we spent the morning making apple pie). But in the end, everything came out pretty well.

Actually, there were a few more appetizers (skewered shrimp with lemon mayonnaise, curry puffs, vegetable dips, etc.), but in my haste, I either forgot to take pictures, or the food wasn't aesthetically pleasing enough to be posted. 

Shrimp Stirfry with Thai Chili Paste

It's been finals week, so I haven't had much time to cook or post on my blog. Actually, well, I have been cooking, but it's usually just very quick and sloppy stuff - throw everything in the pot, etc. etc.

This round of finals is actually not so bad. I think it's the senioritis talking here. In fact, I just learned a few days ago that next week was finals. Yea...I have a serious case of senioritis. I got it bad. Not that it really matters at this point. Though I won't rest easy until I hear from Jefferson.

Anyway...I did promise to find another use for the Nam Prik Pao I made before. I have some left over, and I know that when I move out, I'll probably have to throw it away. But it's such a shame...especially as this batch was one of my first blog posts too! But...I don't have time to search for a good recipe!

Solution: stirfry!

Nam Prik Pao (Thai Chili Paste)

There's nothing like a mouthful of Nam Prik Pao to send your head swimming in spicy aroma. According to Chez Pim, some Thais actually coat their morning toast with this! Can you imagine eating your breakfast of bagel with hot sauce? I don't know if I'm that hardcore...but nevertheless, I'm still a fond follower of this condiment.

Continue for the recipe

Tom Yum Soup

After our epic hot pot yesterday, we had an astonishing amount of food left over. This included half a bag of squid tentacles and a whole mountain of shrimp, fish balls, fish roe-filled fish tubes, shrimp balls, egg dumplings, fish dumplings, tofu, daikon...the list goes on. Anyway, I had accidentally left out a chicken breast because I thought initially that we would have a chicken-based broth. So in the end, I had to find a way to get rid of all this meat before it all went bad.

So I made tom yum soup...except that I dumped everything I could get away with into it. It was quite epic.

Tom Yum Soup

-3 cups water

-8-10 prawns with heads still on (or more)

-3 slices ginger

-handful of kaffir lime leaves, bruised

-2 tbsp nam prik pao

-fish sauce to taste (~2 tsp)

-2 stalks lemongrass, inner white parts only and chopped into manageable pieces

-5 shiitake mushrooms, dehydrated

-Any other type of mushroom (enoki, oyster, button, etc.)

-1 chicken breast, diced

-Squid tentacles

-Any other type of addition - fishballs, egg dumplings, shrimp balls, etc.

1. Remove shrimp heads and boil in water. Simmer for about 10 minutes before removing the heads. Now you have shrimp stock!

2. Add lemongrass, shiitake mushrooms, kaffir leaves, and nam prik pao, and bring to a boil.

3. Add meat, other mushrooms, and fish sauce.

4. Just before serving, add the lime juice. Don't add it any earlier, or the soup will turn bitter.

5. Dish out and serve!