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.

Shepherd's Purse and Tofu Stew

Last summer, I had taken a picture of this stew that my mom made with Shepherd's Purse or ji tsai - a native vegetable of Shanghai, where she grew up. It's a recipe I always fall back on, partly because it's cheap and easy to make, and partly because it's my form of comfort food - stuff that I grew up on. The funny thing is that this picture got accepted on Foodgawker, while my very first photo of it did not. I suppose one thing I did change was something I read off another blog a while back. When you have a stew-like object that consists of a medly of protrusions that make the surface of the dish convoluted, it's better to try to use light to reflect off of it. Usually, you want to avoid reflections, but if you notice, this time I really tried to incorporate that in the photo. It's not a pretty dish, I have to admit (what with the tofu all chunky), so if I had simply rid myself of the reflecting light, I would definitely not been able to portray the pure delicious-ness of it as well. 

Unfortunately, you can only find the frozen variety of Shepherd's Purse here in the U.S. but for things like stew or stirfry, that doesn't downgrade the taste too much. Last year, when I visited Shanghai before medical school, I got to see and taste fresh ji tsai for the first time...it was amazing! Usually, Shanghai people use this vegetable for humbler dishes like this tofu stew or stirfried with rice cakes - but even then, you can taste a distinct difference just by adding the locally grown variety into your diet. 

<-- Here is what it is supposed to look like. I actually thought it was a weed when I first saw it. At some point, I'll put up a picture of the frozen package label, too. 

Pickled Snow Cabbage Stirfry

This should be my last post of the first weekend before medical school classes start! As I mentioned in my last post, I've decided to do some mass-cooking every weekend to sustain me throughout each week (which would be time-efficient and cost-efficient), but seeing as all I had made so far consisted of vegetables, I figured I better add some meat to my diet.

Speaking of vegetables, my dinner last night consisted entirely of vegetables and high-fiber rice. It was a big mistake - I tried running this morning before breakfast and nearly died from the hunger pains (it didn't help that I felt as if I were in a sauna - August in the East Coast = mass humidity).

But it was okay, because after going to Church, I met up with my friend Julie, whom I have not seen in 4 years, and we actually pigged out quite a bit in an Indian buffet. I've never been to an Indian buffet, and I've heard some rather interesting stories about them, but the restaurant we stopped at was actually really good. It was nice catching up and acting silly with someone similar to me again. Oh, and after seeing the UPenn campus, I am officially envious. That place is beautiful.

Shanghai Stirfry Gluten (KaoFu)

This is officially my last full day in California. My last day!! I'm pretty excited about flying out tomorrow, but to be honest, I'm also a little sad to be leaving the place I called home for the past 20 or so years of my life. Although I've been gone for most of 4 years and have really spent only the past 3 months here in NorCal, it really had started to feel like a stationary home once again. Plus, it's been nice being with my parents after so long away in college.

Yesterday, I visited Hunter's Point during my run for the last time (at least for a while). There is this really steep hill about a mile or two from my house that I've gotten to running or walking up every day after dinner. It's quite a workout, but when you get to the top, view makes it all worthwhile. The place holds a lot of memories for me: from the ridiculous 5am sunrise runs to the exciting explorations of unknown paths to the occasional solo time of contemplation on a lazy afternoon. It encompasses everything I love about my hometown - peaceful, innocent, and beautifully naturesque in a very down-to-Earth sort of way. I don't think I'll ever find that again in the East Coast.

Tofu Skin Rolls

Okay, I admit that it's been a "somewhat" long time since I posted, but we've had guests over and things have been a little busy. And I got just a little bit lazy (there, I admitted it). But now I'm back, after taking a few photos here and there. 

On another note, I've been reading up recently on running, and there was one thing that caught my attention the other day: "Most people think that because they run they do not need any other form of exercise". Oops. That...describes me.

So I've made a promise to myself to not only run, but also begin strength exercises to target the muscles of my legs and hopefully improve my running ability (and gain a better sense of muscle balance). I tried for the first time yesterday, and let's just say it was a pretty humbling experience. Once I head to school, I'll be able to make a better job of it at a real gym.

The other day, our family friends from San Diego drove up to spend a night with us. Mom got overexcited, like she usually does when guests come over, and began a major brainstorm of all the dishes she wanted to add to the dinner menu. It was kind of funny watching her do mental backflips organizing everything because it turns out that our friends (who had originally come to visit their children in Santa Cruz) didn't have time to eat more than one dinner with us. Well, they had breakfast, but we bought it at the local Asian market, so that didn't count.

Anyway, there was one dish that I particularly liked...it doesn't have any special ingredients, but it's definitely unique and kind of fun to make (it's almost like a Shanghai-form of dim sum). Mom found the recipe on the back of our hon-dashi packet. You have a combination of meat, mushrooms, and shepherd's purse vegetables shaped into long cigars and then stuffed into tofu skin. They're fried, then braised in a thickened soy sauce mixture.

Sichuan Pickled Vegetables with Pork (Zha Cai Rou Si)

Okay, so I admit; this picture isn't the greatest one I could have taken. I actually don't like the dull brown, and the green onion wasn't vibrant enough to add a good contrast. Then again, I had planned originally not to put this up, because although the dish is extraordinary, it just doesn't have the most aesthetic appearance.

So what exactly is it? It is the classic example of Chinese comfort food. It's one of the few recipes I happened to learn from Mom (for some reason, she really discourages me from cooking and we get into occasional fights in the kitchen about that...kind of the opposite of what you'd expect right?). Pretty much, it's a conglomeration of various ingredients put together into a stirfry that is surprisingly tasty. The hero of the dish is Sichuan pickled vegetable (or Zha Cai), which we buy in precut strips in plastic packages. I'm not sure how it's made, but I think it's somewhat similar to how Koreans pickle their kimchi.

Anyway, Mom cooked it up while Dad was out for his convention, and we ate it with Japanese soba noodles. Simple enough dinner, but it was absolutely delicious. And the great thing about it was that it tasted even better the next day as leftovers. Mmm...comfort food...hopefully they'll have Zha Cai available in Philadelphia...

Shepherd's Purse and Tofu Soup

It's funny how you can eat something all your life and never know what it's called. There's this particular vegetable native to Shanghai that I've literally been raised on from my mom (being a Shanghainese-raised girl herself). To me, it's always been known as Ji Tsai. They only come frozen here in California, and the label always says "Chinese water spinach". However, I know that Chinese spinach is really kongxing tsai or onchoy, which is a completely different vegetable.

BaBaoJiang

The other day, Mom made BaBaoJiang, which pretty much consists of a stirfry of the following 8 different ingredients with Chinese Black Bean sauce:

1. Baked tofu
2. Wood ear fungus
3. Edamame Beans
4. Pork (mixed with cornstarch and dark soy sauce)
5. Dried chrysanthemum flowers
6. Rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms
7. Dried shrimp (Shami)
8. Peanuts

All sprinkled with green onions.

I don't exactly know the recipe, but I thought the picture looked cool. Maybe I'll ask Mom next time how to make it.