175. Taiwan Day 7: The Warmth of A Taiwanese Breakfast / 台式早餐的溫暖 (New Taipei: Yonghe District / 新北市: 永和區)

Despite late night drinking and embarrassing events that need not be mentioned, early morning breakfast in Taiwan cannot be missed.  Bacon, hash browns and coffee are not quite the staple here, but a Taiwanese breakfast still offers a blend of protein, carbohydrates and a soothing beverage that warms the soul and prepares anyone for the daily grind.  Diana and I stopped by World Soy Milk King (世界豆漿大王) to get our traditional soy milk breakfast before starting our day.

There are plenty of choices when it comes to Taiwanese breakfast, and many choose a rolled rice burrito called fantuan to much on for their morning meal.  Diana and I, however, like something a little less filling.  We prefer a folded flatbread topped with sesame called shaobing.  Some like to add the crispy Chinese cruller known as youtiao between the folds of the bread, but we decided to sandwich our sesame shaobing with a savory omelette style egg instead.  The toasty exterior tickles my toes... and the egg inside of it could become preferred substitute for the blaring alarm clock.

We also ordered a duo of steamed buns called baozi, a pork and vegetable one for me and a vegetarian version for Diana.

There's nothing quite like prying open a fluffy, pillowy, white round of steamed bread to find a packed ball of savory pork product in the middle.  Ahhh... this is the moment that really warms your soul.

I love to have eggs in the morning.  My American upbringing almost requires it.  In Taiwan, eggs are not often scrambled the way they are back home, they are somewhat folded, similar to how we would have eggs over easy... but not quite.  Rather than dousing scrambled eggs with ketchup or Tabasco, soy sauce is often drizzled over the top instead, and it often flows into the lava like goo of the runny golden yolk.  Oh, hell yeah.

A personal favorite, though, is still the grilled daikon cake.  If the small plates of food haven't quite filled you up yet, these floppy squares of pureed radish surely will.  They are not the most sightly of the Taiwanese breakfast options; in fact, a lot of traditional items are white or yellow colored... but the cakes remind me almost of hash browns with slightly crisp edges that I know everyone likes.

If you are skeptical about breakfast being the most important meal of the day, perhaps a stop by a traditional soy milk shop in the morning will change your perspective.  But if you can't yourself up as the sun rises in the east, no worries.  Many soy milk shops like this one are open 24 hours a day. 

Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

World Soy Milk King (世界豆漿大王)
新北市永和區永和路二段284號
No. 284, Yonghe Rd., Section 2, Yonghe District, New Taipei City

ML - 20130706

150. Bay Area - Unique Dim Sum at Tai Wu / 太湖魚翅酒家飲茶 (Bay Area: Daly City)

Many people have said that the best dim sum in America is in San Francisco's Chinatown.  These people don't quite have it right, but they are not far from where the best dim sum actually is.  San Francisco's Chinatown is home to many Chinese from southern China, specifically Canton (Guangdong) Province; there is no doubt about that.  However, the Chinese who reside there are second, third, and even fourth generation Chinese and Chinese-American that may have lost the authentic taste and traditional method of making dim sum.  Better tasting and more authentic flavors of dim sum are made by the Chinese from Hong Kong, and many of the first generation immigrants reside outside of the city.  Daly City in the Peninsula region of the Bay Area is exactly where some of the best dim sum in America is, and that is exactly where my friend Pei took me to eat.

Tai Wu (太湖魚翅酒家), apparently also called Mr. Fong's, offers some unique items that neither San Francisco's Chinatown nor the San Gabriel Valley in LA have.  We didn't order any siumai or hargow, normally staples at any dim sum gathering.  We did, however, order these mini daikon cakes that blew my mind.  The menu reads sauteed turnip cake with XO sauce (XO醬蘿卜糕), but it was so obvious that they were deep fried.  These normally flat and rectangular tiles were made into dice sized cubes, which meant that there was more surface area for crispy, golden goodness.  Holy deliciousness.

We also ordered steamed rice noodles with pork ribs (特式排骨蒸手拉腸).  The rice noodles are generally machine made and then typically rolled around shrimp or chasiu pork, but these were hand pulled rice noodles and then covered with spare ribs in a flavorful black bean sauce.  It was saucy, savory, slightly spicy, and just so delicious.

For dessert, we chomped down on some golden and flaky egg custard tarts (酥皮蛋撻), but Pei pointed me toward these baked "durian" fruit puffs (金枕榴蓮酥).  Why durian is in quotations is beyond me, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.  Though the King of Fruits is known for its utterly unbearable odor, the pastry isn't nearly as smell as one would think.  The "durian" puree inside is smooth, creamy and has a slight hint of pineapple.  Supposedly, this type of Golden Pillow type of durian is the most common of all exported durians from Thailand.  Think about a smooth, ripe avocado blended with tropical taste and fibrous texture of a pineapple... and then enveloped by a crusty pastry.  That is what we had.  Definitely worth a try.


We also ordered the requisite chicken feet (豉汁蒸鳳爪) among other dim sum favorites like baked taro buns (芋泥雪山飽), but the unique dishes are truly extraordinary here.  Next time you look for dim sum in the Bay, check out the Peninsula area rather than heading into the city.  Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Tai Wu (Mr. Fong's) Restaurant / 太湖魚翅酒家
950 King Drive
Suite 100
King Plaza Shopping Center
Daly City, CA 94015

ML - 20130905

Post 110: Collaboration with Whisks & Ruffles - Pork Belly, Part 2

In my previous post, I shared the first part of my collaboration with Angelina Ang Lee of Whisks & Ruffles.  This post will continue with more pork belly deliciousness.  Rather than braising this time, I grilled some thinner cuts of the pork belly.  And so continues the life of an inner fatty...

I used thin cuts of pork belly strips with beautiful fat on the trim.  The pork belly was marinated with a mixture of gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), a bit of soy, sesame oil, chopped perilla (sesame seed leaves also known as shiso), and sesame seeds.  I added some ground black pepper too, but salt is not needed since the gochujang and soy sauce provide enough of that saltiness.

I faux grilled the pork belly using a Korean stone wok, which works great because it heats up quickly and retains the heat even after the stove is turned off.  The strips were cooked at medium-high heat.  The temperature must be hot enough for the fat to sizzle.  Must... hear... sizzle! Like... cooking bacon! Mmmmm... Flip the meat once only, and cook until it's brown and crisp on both sides.  If the heat is high enough, the meat will be fully cooked through because the cuts are not very thick.

Tiffany, my Chinese-American from Taiwan but also raised in Korea friend, came over for a taste test.  We ate the pork belly wrapped with fresh perilla leaves, raw sliced garlic, jalapeños, and diagonally cut scallions (see instructional clip by yours truly).  We also had sides of kimchi, yellow pickled daikon, and kimbap (Korean sushi or rice rolls) from the supermarket.  See Angelina's post on homemade kimbap to prepare your own.

I have been cutting down on some carbs lately, but the grilled pork belly would also work really well with steamed rice.  No worries, I could never cut carbs out entirely, but for now, meat and greens are good enough for me.  If the jalapeños aren't spicy enough for your taste, an extra dash of Sriracha hot sauce also helps add a spicy yet sweet flavor to your dish.  Or try Angelina's method, which is to add dried hot peppers... Indonesian style. 

Check out what Angelina came up with in the Lee kitchen using pork belly two ways.  Her double recipe storm includes a pork belly braised low and slow, which looks absolutely mouth watering.  Her second recipe is something that her mom used to make in Indonesia called babi kecap, a simmered stew of pork belly, tofu, and hard boiled eggs.  Ah, Mom's home cooking... my mouth is literally drooling right now...

Great job, Angelina.  I truly enjoyed our coast-to-coast collaboration.  Let's do it again soon! Until the next collaboration, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130221

Post 26.8: Vancouver - Day 2 (Dinner)

So after a breakfast of sushi rolls and a lunch of Japanese-American hot dog fusion, Amanda said it was time for her to show me her favorite Japanese izakaya in town.  And who was I to refuse? This girl knows where to eat!



Guu is guud.  It really is.  It even says so on the chopsticks wrapper.  And everyone knows that if it's in writing, it must be true.  Hah.



We sat at the bar, and although there's not as much elbow room at the bar as there is at a table, the bar offers a great view of the chefs hard at work.  Substitute elbow room for a glimpse into the fast-paced chaos of an izakaya's kitchen? Count me in!



The menu at Guu is quite extensive.  Not only does the food menu come in a laminated, ring-bound, mini-Rolodex-like, school-report format, it comes in the forms of paper (the chef's specials of the day) and wood too.  (The entire menu can be viewed from a podium-like fixture by the front door.)  From sashimi to salad, from hot oden to cold dishes, from fried to grilled... Guu has it all.  I wanted to order everything.  But I called upon Asahi-san first, as he, Sapporo-san, and Kirin-san are my very good buddies.  Amanda chose to have a Ramune mojito, which substituted Japanese marble soda pop for the mojito's traditional fizz. Cheers!



Based on Amanda's recommendation, the first item we ordered was the daikon salad.  At first I thought, "How can you possibly make a salad out of radish and have it taste good too?" Well, just throw in silky strands of shark fin, gleaming noodles of jellyfish, and curls of fried onions, and you've got yourself a salad.  Mmm... the combination of different textures blend well together... and the delicate flavors from the sea create a salad that is not too strong or overpowering.  Cobb salad, this is not.  A light and refreshing Asian-style salad, this is.



The next item that we selected was the salmon yukke.  I've only ever had tuna yukke before, so this was one of my rare encounters with salmon yukke.  And this rare encounter was almost magical.  The salmon had a gorgeous, glowing, radiant color... but I'm sure that the dark teriyaki sauce in the background helped to bring out the glow too.  What struck me  most was not the color but, once again, the combination of textures.  There was the tender and fleshy-sweet salmon sashimi that contrasted with the smooth saltiness of the teriyaki sauce... and then the slight, crackling crunch of the shrimp chips against the firm resilience from the pine nuts.  Wow, Guu... this really was guuuuud.





Beef sashimi was next.  We moved on from a red-fleshed fish to a red-fleshed mammal.  And oh, the red flesh of this cow was oh, so tender.  I wish I could say tell you how raw beef is supposed to taste, but honestly, I can't.  I only know if beef is good or bad when it's cooked.  The best bovine expertise I can provide is that the meat didn't smell like past-the-date beef from Vons, and it tasted pretty similar to the rare cut of prime rib at Lawry's.  The paper-thin slices of beef were surrounded by a ginger tomato sauce, a drizzle of mustard mayonnaise, and a sprinkling of chopped basil and green onion.  Okay, I rescind my comment.  I know how raw beef is supposed to taste.



My favorite item was the ebimayo, a signature item at Guu's Thurlow location.  The ebimayo was also Amanda's recommendation, and I know exactly why Amanda (or any Guu regular for that matter) would swoon over it.  Shrimp and potatoes are baked together in a gratin-style dish, mixed into and blanketed by cod roe, cheese, and Japanese mayonnaise...  Seeing it made me hot and bothered.  Tasting it made me melt like cheeeese.  Ahhhhhhh... and the best part was that the curled-up shrimp and the spherical potatoes were the same shape and size.  Covered under the layer of cheese and cod roe mayonnaise helped disguise the sea critter and the land veggie... I was in for a surprise everytime I forked this into my mouth.  Really though, it's easy to distinguish shrimp from potato, but... I was eating with my eyes closed.



I ordered a fifth item... the butabara skewers.  Cannot. stay. away. from. pork. belly.  If pork belly is in front of me, I will eat it.  If pork belly is on the menu, I will order it.  If there is no pork belly in sight, I will crave it.  Sweet garlic cloves separated strips of my favorite meat, and sesame seeds somehow held it all together.  Mmmm... say no more.  PORK BELLY was here.



Four dishes for two people is usually quite the meal in itself.  But I... well, if it's good, I can eat.  And if I don't destruct what's in front of me, I'd be happy to let it destruct me.  So five.  Five dishes.  Two and a half stomachs.  Countless times I heard Amanda exclaim, "How can you be hungry right now? I'm still FULL!"

Poor Amanda.  Look at the hell I put her through with my attempt to eat my way through Vancouver.  And we had yet to hit up Vancouver's annual Summer Night Market.  If that's not culinary masochism, I don't know what is.  But for now... some more digestion via walking? You betcha. 

Next post: Some more Japanese... and little bit of Taiwanese

ML - 20100729/20100703

Post 3: Kimchi Fried Rice Fail means Kimchi Omelettes

Goal: Spam+pineapple+kimchi fried rice

Result 1: Spam+pineapple+kimchi omelette
Result 2: radish kimchi omelette (泡菜浦蛋)

Complete fail? Not quite. There's a very simple explanation for how my fried rice became two omelettes. I expected to find day-old rice (the kind you need to make good fried rice) in the refrigerator, but when I peered within the door... milk, eggs, orange juice, uhhh... no leftover rice? What??! I felt like a peasant during the Chinese revolution.

Okay, so time for plan B. Uhhh... Spam+pineapple+kimchi... salad? Gross. Pasta? No way. An omelette? Hrmmm... perhaps. As the least of all evils, I decided that a Spam+pineapple+kimchi omelette was doable. After all, I had just made Korean pork belly with Brussels sprouts and kimchi, and that was delicious. So if this Spam+pineapple+kimchi omelette really tastes as good (or disgusting) as it sounds, at least I would know for sure.

Ingredients:

1. Spam - Original tastes best, but Lite or Low Sodium are also available

It says "crazy tasty" on the label, hahahaha, awesome marketing, Hormel.

2. pineapple - fresh or canned (doesn't matter) but must be drained

3. kimchi and kimchi juice

4. 2 eggs - scrambled

5. salt and pepper (S&P)

Directions:

Step 1. Brown the Spam. A little bit of oil goes a long way here.

Step 2. Add the kimchi and kimchi juice, and let it reduce with the Spam.

Step 3. Toss the pineapple in with the Spam.

S&P (salt and pepper) the S&P (Spam and pineapple).

Step 4. Take out the omelette's organs.
Pour the eggs over the skillet and let it firm up.

Step 5. Put the omelette's organs back in. Attempt to fold/roll the omelette.
It gets interesting here, hahaha.

After an utterly failed attempt at folding the omelette, I came to the sinking realization that Spam+pineapple+kimchi could have made a delicious contemporary pizza a la CPK. *smacks forehead* Feeling disappointed in myself for not thinking about pizza as a possibility, I sank into my overstuffed sofa seat hoping that my kimchi omelette would taste decent at the very least.

Spam+pineapple+kimchi omelette. Good morning, America!
I covered the rip in the omelette with kimchi. You'd never be able to tell otherwise. :P

As I took my first bite, something hit me (I think it's called shock). Savory Spam... sweet pineapple... and spicy (and a bit crunchy) kimchi... all wrapped in a little bit of neutral (the egg)... delicious! But just to make sure my taste buds weren't screwing with me, for my second bite, I raced into the kitchen for a bottle of Tabasco. A dash here, a dash there... bite no. 2. Nom, nom, nom. Mmmm...! The savory+sweet+spicy combo was really working for me. More munching ensued... and a few minutes later...

Demolished. Tabasco and kimchi blood remain.
Chopsticks are more convenient than any other utensil.

I think I've just created an Asian omelette! But another realization hits. I don't think I'm the first one to have created an Asian omelette. There is a Taiwanese-style omelette that is made with pickled daikon radish (Chinese-written: 菜浦蛋; Taiwanese-spoken: tsai bho nngh). I've had this Taiwanese radish omelette plenty of times before. So I went back into the kitchen, excited to try a Taiwanese-inspired, Korean-flavored omelette (泡菜浦蛋). Instead of Taiwanese picked radish, I used Korean pickled radish kimchi. The kimchi isn't as salty or as crunchy as the pickled daikon, but it was well worth a shot.

Taiwanese-inspired, Korean-flavored. Radish kimchi omelette.
I may try scrambling the eggs with the radish kimchi inside next time.

Just as I had thought... not as salty and not as crunchy, but not bad at all. In comparison to the first omelette, the second one is physically flatter and flatter in taste as well. There isn't as much of a "Hmmm... what exactly is this that I'm tasting...?" To improve, maybe I would add another pinch of salt in the egg and then eat it with a side of kimchi (either cabbage or radish).

Surprise! A simple spinach omelette.  
I was in a mood to scramble eggs.

Gah! I've had way, way too many eggs this morning. Kimchi pizza next time? Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20100113