nice try, Michelle

One thing I do pride myself on is my ability to be a resourceful cook. I love scavenging, saving money, being thrifty, and dressing like a hobo. I would love nothing more than for someone to take me foraging for food in a forest.. or to teach me how to dress a deer, roadkill or game--to be able to utilize everything from the various cuts of meat, to the bones and tendons and offals.. OOOOH! i do relish the thought.

though that will not probably happen in the near future (to Pan's relief and my dismay), one thing I am licensed to do is forage around our kitchen looking for things to put together for a meal. Since Pan is away, I was tasked this afternoon with preparing lunch for one. I think it's close to insanity to try preparing asian communal meals-- you know the 3 dishes 1 soup and rice-- every day for one person, so I try to avoid that and eat simply when he's not around. One thing I found in our freezer was some cheap sausage meat we bought in bulk in Sam's Club. Should not have bought it. No offense to sausage lovers (of every kind), we utilize sausage in various means, from cooking pastas to stir frying with potato and kale (dead good, btw, if you caramelize the onions good) and the like, but home-made is waaay better than store bought, especially when it's cheap industrial crap sold in bulk. No fault of Sam's Club, which we dearly love; I can only blame our piggish appetites and greed for purchasing it.

So.. for lunch today, I found some leftover rice in our fridge (a common sight), half an anaheim pepper leftover from a penang assam laksa dish I made for friends yesterday, (notes to come another time) and said bulk sausages languishing in our freezer for over 4 months. Gross.

So what did I do? I popped the sausages in the toaster oven for 10 minutes, on low first to defrost then then broiled them on foil, chopped the pepper up, mixed it with some rice, and popped it in the microwave for a minute twenty. After which i sliced the sausage up and mixed it into my rice.

Mmmmm.. That be some yummy shit, said my mouth after 2 bites of hot steaming rice, rich, juicy sausage and fresh, mild pepper. Then, it became a struggle to finish the dish. The greasiness of the sausage, the oldness of the meat.. Too much. I wrapped up lunch (ate it all, of course, no waste) and had to remedy the situation with a fresh orange ¡pronto! at the sink. You know when you have to rush and get some fresh fruit into your system, it means that you just had a very greasy, unhealthy lunch. It's kinda like throwing up in the sink, but instead of letting food out, you put more food in. Yep.

That fateful dish spurred me on to document this soup, which I know you will I love dearly. It's light, full of umami, and so so good for you.

It's very rare for Cantonese to cook with pumpkin; in fact, I don't think I've ever seen my mom deal with this gourd-like squash. I found this soup online and tweaked it, especially the cooking times, and I've been making it repeatedly (to Pan's dismay; he hates eating the same food over and over again). Please try it, it's fantastic.

Kabocha, Pork and Dried Scallop Soup

Dead simple soup; I've memorized the ingredients, and here is Michelle Lee to walk you through the steps!

" Hi folks! You need 3 classes of ingredients:

1) your dried ingredients, which today will comprise of dried scallops, North and South Almonds (nam hung, buck hung), and a dried octopus.

2) Pork; I like meaty pork bones. They are cheap, and very flavorful. Take care to blanch them in boiling water though, to get rid of excess grease and blood. (I boiled them for a good 5 minutes with lots of water)

3) Your kabocha pumpkin. Find one that is heavy for its size, and with a dark green rind. The rind is edible, so wash it clean before preparing it.

That's it! Season with salt and sugar at the end if you must, but I have never found the need to do so, since the ingredients provide all the savory-ness and sweetness necessary.

Method; quick, simple-like.

Blanched, cleaned pork bones, dried ingredients, cold water, bring to rapid boil.

Lower heat to a simmer, simmer away for 1.5-2hours.
The stock should turn cloudy, and your whole house will smell soooooo yummy. It's the dried seafood at work.

Add the cut up kabocha pumpkin (seeds and strings removed), and return to simmer for 20 minutes tops. The pumpkin should be firm at the center, and fully cooked. Remove unsightly octopus that has already served its purpose. Season with salt and sugar if necessary. Serve up!

 

I say twenty minutes because the kabocha will have a tendency to dissolve into the soup, turning it into a halloween-orange liquid. Some people like it, others (Pan) don't. I think it's nice when there is a slight tinge in the broth, but any more than that and it's like eating a pureed pumpkin soup, which this is not. One thing I do do (not doo doo.. whatever) is slice off the pointy tips that tend to dissolve ultra quickly into the soup, since the surface area exposed to hot liquid is very high, hence rate of dissolution is very high. Should I draw a graph to explain this? Do I have to? Please say no.

 Just some artistic shots. Here, some pieces of pumpkin, along with its innards, delicately tossed on its deathbed. It is called "Abstract Art: Kabocha, Loved, Dissected, and Revealed.".

'But what about the proportions?' Do I hear you say? Indeed. I think a ratio of

# of servings	Water (litres)	Dried Scallop (pieces)	North Almonds (heaped tsp)	South Almonds (heaped tsp)	Dried octopus (piece)	Meaty Pork Bones (oz)	Kabocha (oz)
2	1	6	1	1	0.5	8	6
4	2	12	2	2	1	16	12
6	3	18	3	3	1.5	24	18
8	4	24	4	4	2	32	24

is a good approximation. Approximation I say, because I'm not very sure. I mean, the size of your dried scallop or the quality is probably different from mine. How meaty your pork bones are different from mine. What if you decide to use ribs? Some like to add lots of those fried almond anyway, other don't. Fuck. Isn't this post useless? Heck, just try it anyway!

As you can see, the kabocha I bought weighed in at a staggering 1lb 13 ounces. I did not use all (I followed the guide above); I cut myself a nice wedge and steamed it for a snack. "

I'm back with more food ideas!

a long hiatus..

so many things have happened..

1) Pan's father passed away after a long struggle against lung cancer. We were all there during his passing, which was, without going into too much detail, blessedly short but also very painful for all of us. We miss him every day.

2) we have been shuttling back and forth between bloomington and ann arbor, trying to move forwards with a deal with UM hospital. Pan's working hard on this, and he's currently not in town trying to structure a deal. Cryptic? let's just say nothing state-secret-esque, but I'd do best to leave business to business, unlike this person.. I do feel sorry for him.. Haha not really..

3) I'm effin' twenty five. TWO FIVE. what the heck just happened here? My birthday was great, spent with friends in ann arbor, hard cider, good old patron silver tequila shots, and monopoly deal. I loved it. But honestly, where the bleep did my life go? I'm twenty five! -sob-

And although I've been silently suffering from having to apply for jobs and be denied the opportunity to work in the field I would love best, I have been secretly amassing a variety of easy, quick meal ideas for you; I mean this website.

Ideas like.. Lacinto kale salad with a peppery, garlicky, mango dressing! Savory, entirely accommodating and easy tung oh soup! How about a selection of steamed toufu dishes that appeals to everyone?

Thank God for simple Chinese meals, or else this crazy energy in the kitchen would just grow and radiate and kill everyone around me. Everyone else but me, cuz i'd turn into a crazy, frothing-at-the-mouth monster welding a chopper. Yikes!



so let's start with the latest yummy little thing.. this beautiful veggie that all MUST spring to get. and "spring" indeed heh heh, because this delicate vegetable is seasonal and also survives in the cold (not like this cold weather is ever going to end..).

TUNG OH SOUP

Tung-oh, or shingaku in Japanese, is a wonderful veggie that you ought to try. A member of the crystanthemum plant, you'll be able to spot them in the Asian veggie isle by the characteristic leaves. Don't go plucking them off the flowers from the floral department though, you little hipster. That be different!

I've gotta warn ya though, it's a little of an acquired taste, but once you've learnt to appreciate it, it's delicious and will leave an indelible mark on your heart. How does it taste like? A delicate, subtle, herbal taste that I feel tastes closest to wild celery (not that I've ever tasted wild celery.. but.. JUST BELIEVE ME ON THIS.)  Recipes for Tom has a lovely write up on shingaku and also provides several Japanese recipes for it, which I highly encourage you to take a look at.

This soup I am dying to share with you make records for myself to remember is simple in that there are only 3 main points to remember

1) You need a meat to flavor the soup. This can be a delicate white, non-oily fish (like tilapia or flounder), chicken (breast is more ideal), a lean cut of pork (minced, loin, picnic or.. you get this right?) or beef balls-- the frozen, Vietnamese type. Pan and I go crazy for these. Umami-ballzzzz to the max.
2) Chosen meat needs to be seasoned with with sesame oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce. salt and sugar optional. The quantities of which depends on how salty/sweet/savory/bland you prefer your soup.
3) Ginger. Ginger. Ginger. Use a generous, healthy knob of ginger, sliced, in this dish. Like the seasonings, if you are crazy for ginger, use a very generous knob, if not, scale it down a little. but this dish definitely needs ginger to balance the astringent taste of the tung oh. A very generous knob would be the size of my thumb, for a two-to-three person serving.

Oh, sorry make that 4 points

4) Don't use too much water for this soup. Think of it as a very brothy veggie dish. Too much water and you'll be diluting the awesome flavor of this veggie. So start off with enough water to simmer the ginger and meat pieces in it, then adjust as you go.
 

OK! So, now that that's out of the way, this part is simple-dimple. Of which i have none. :C no dimples on my sweet cheeks.. on my face???  Here are two examples for two tung oh soups I've cooked recently. They both feed two or three, depending on how many side dishes you are serving, and whether you're feeding a big hungry lad. Like Pan.

Example #1 : Tung Oh with Pork Soup 

Marinate 300g of lean pork (I used butt), sliced thin, with 1 tbs of oyster sauce, 1 tbs of soy, and 1/2 tbs of sesame oil. Let it sit. 
Slice ginger.
Bring pot with 2 cups of water to boil, add sliced ginger, let it boil rapidly for 5 minutes, add marinated meat. 
While that cooks, clean and prepare veggies. (About 250g; or 12 big stems worth, is enough for 2 people) Slice off bottom 1/2 inch, trim off yellowing or unhealthy leaves. There are two ways to prepare this veggie-- the easy way, and the more traditional way. The easy way dictates that you chop the stems in 1-2 inch pieces, then chop the remaining length of leaves in half, while the traditional method requires you to strip the leaves off each stem, and then snap the stems into desired length. 

I'd say each has it's benefits. The first method is quick and fuss free, but then the veggies might result in a not-so-easy-to-eat tangle. The second ensures that each bite of veggie is more enjoyable. If I were you, I'd decide based on how much time you have, and your energy level for that day. There are times when I! NEED! TO! GET! THIS! SHIT! DONE! NOW! and days when I'm like.. oh tung oh. I would like to write a haiku about you. and rhyme it at the same time..  

Don't forget to rinse the prepared tung oh at least 3 times though. This veggie, like many other asian vegetables, can be quite gritty, which is not nice when you're enjoying the broth and want to write a ditty.

Where were we.. oh yes, once the meat broth comes to a boil, let it simmer for about 10 minutes while you prepare the veggies, and once you're good to go, toss the whole colander of rinsed tung oh in, close the lid, and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring to make sure all the veggies get to simmer in the broth. Add more water if you'd like, season to taste, and serve. 

I like my tung oh stems soft; some like them crunchy. I would rhyme this but it's lame, and I'm too cool for that. Seriously, though. Cook it for as long as you want.  

 

Example #2 : Tung Oh with Beef Balls and a Tomato


 Now that you've gotten the hang of it, here's the recipe, quick-style

1) Boil ginger, beef balls, seasonings, 1 tomato sliced, in water, 5-10 minutes. 

2) veggies, trimmed, add in, 10 minutes. 

done. 

try them both. The tomato adds a delicious tang and umami to it. Fish is also very commonly used; the sesame oil marinade and tung oh helps mask the taste of any fishy-ness, so this is a very common Cantonese soup. Enjoy! Spring's almost here!