Vietnamese Bun or Korean Bimbimbap?

I have about 3 more days until I board the plane for China. My dad wants to go out for Pho tomorrow, and we're spending Saturday in SF using accumulated travel points to stay at the hotel so we can catch our 6am flight on Sunday. So I figured we ought to have a fairly light meal so that if there were any leftovers my dad would be able to finish them off during his midnight cravings (instead of the ice cream he always tries to sneak past me).

Anyway, we had leftover mifun and cucumbers and beansprouts...so I figured I could pull together a Vietnamese bun. However, when we got to the market, my dad thought it wouldn't be practical to buy basil or mint, seeing as they were packaged in big bunches at we obviously could not finish in one night. So it ended up as more of a bimbimbap...with rice noodles? I don't even know what I was making near the end. Either way, it was pretty good.

Malaysian Seafood Laksa

Well it's been a while since my last post...and I have a lot to update on. First of all...

GOT INTO JEFFERSON!!!! Looks like I'll be headed to Philly for the next four years of my life (for better or for worst). Good thing is I'll be within walking distance of the Liberty Bell, the original White House, Reading Terminal Market, and...CHINATOWN!! The people were really nice...the two adcom members Dr. Callahan and Brooks (the very same people who attend every interview day) personally call every admitted student to give them the news. Talk about personal. I think I may have given Dr. Callahan a headache. The conversation went something like...

Dr. Callahan: I just wanted to let you know that you've been accepted --
Me: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH OMGGGGGGGG AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
DR. Callahan: -- to Jefferson Medical College...

Yeah...she probably went temporarily deaf for a second or two.

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!

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

At last, an excuse to use my sourdough starter. I admit, I'm truly a Carb Fiend...give me a loaf of bread and I'll melt in your arms. Unfortunately, I know that eating so much white flour has negative health consequences (my mom reminds me every time I go home), so I usually try to balance my bread intake with whole wheat.

Beef Chow Mein

Today, I realized that I was out of food...but I was really too lazy to go out and shop. So I looked into the fridge and found....Napa Cabbage! The universal savior of the kitchen. And in the pantry...Egg noodles! Actually, it's some package my mom gave me...I don't even know if there is an English name on it...but if you're interested, look for the package design. It also comes with a sauce (different flavors for each package). The one I chose was "Sichuan Spicy Hot" flavor.

As for the rest...I just used one of Moonjung's supersized mutant Korean carrots (don't ever introduce an anti-GMO activist to Zion Market...they'll go nuts at the produce section) and added a bit of oyster sauce. And voila! Dinner is served.

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!