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From the monthly archives: July 2008
My mom, not a serious foodie like me but a foodie nonetheless, brought me these Korean sweet potato starch noodles on one of her visits here, having tasted it when a Chinese friend brought some to their workplace. We might be traveling in less than a month, so we’re trying to use up everything in the house (I haven’t been to the grocery store in a week! Hooray!), and this just called out to me today. It may not be strictly Korean, but a mixture of my own experience, preferences and whatever’s in the pantry/fridge — 3 of my 4 kids liked it, which is quite an accomplishment in this household!
1 1/2 cups shredded beef (I used sirloin, trimmed of fat and cut across the grain)
1 tablespoon shaohxing
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup chopped scallions
2 medium-sized caps dried shiitake mushrooms
1 cup hot water
1 tablespoon salt
1 12-oz package sweet potato starch noodles
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
3/4 cup julienned carrots
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 cup spinach (trimmed, washed and spun dry)
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce, or to taste (optional)
In a bowl, marinate beef shreds in the shaohxing, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, oyster sauce and cornstarch, mixing well. Let stand in the refrigerator, covered, for 30 minutes or overnight.
Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms to get rid of surface dust. Soak them in a bowl in the hot water, about 20 minutes. When softened, squeeze out the water from the mushrooms, discard the mushroom stems and slice mushroom caps into 1/3-inch shreds. Reserve 1/2 cup of the mushroom soaking liquid, passed through a fine sieve to remove impurities.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil over high heat. When boiling, add 1 tablespoon salt and the noodles. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, and drain immediately in a colander. Rinse with cold water and set aside until needed. (Noodles may not be fully cooked at this point; that’s okay because it will cook some more when you stir it into the dish.)
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. When hot but not smoking, add beef shreds (leave marinade) and stir-fry until half-cooked, about 4 minutes. Return to bowl. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil to the skillet. Add garlic and red onion slices and stir-fry, about 3 minutes, until onion is limp and garlic is beginning to turn golden (adjust heat if garlic is browning too fast). Lower heat to medium, add carrots and stir fry until half-cooked, about 5 minutes. Return beef to skillet along with its marinade. Increase heat to high, and add the 1/2 cup of mushroom soaking water and the optional chili sauce, stirring. Add noodles, bean sprouts and spinach. Stir-fry and fold until mixed well and spinach leaves are wilted. Serve hot.
reposting from my old blog at aboutweblogs.com/asianfood now aka noodlesandrice.com
Only Pinoys would get THIS passionate about food. Yup, believe it or not — this song is about a guy walking into a restaurant and not getting any of the things he wants from the menu. It’s the nearest thing to “hard rock” you’ll ever see on this blog. And talk about uninhibited. Hee!
Here are the lyrics for your edification (as an old boss of mine loved to say) LOL. (Warning: Depending on who you ask — there is one word there that could be heard either as a cuss word, or not.)
1 16-oz package firm or extra-firm tofu, drained, cut into 1-inch cubes and patted dry with paper towels
oil for pan-frying or deep-frying
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon chili paste (sambal oelek), or to taste
1/2 cup chopped green onions/scallions
1/4 cup soy sauce (if using Kikkoman, undiluted is fine; if using a Chinese brand dilute with a couple of tablespoons of water to tone down the saltiness if desired)
2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
In a wok or large skillet, pan- or deep-fry tofu cubes in oil (preheated for a few minutes) — in batches to avoid crowding — over medium-high heat until golden, 7-10 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Discard oil except for one tablespoon. Return to heat. Add garlic and chili paste, stirring, about 10 seconds. Add green onions/scallions and tofu cubes. Stir briefly, about 1 minute, then add soy sauce and sugar. Stir another minute or two to coat tofu cubes with the sauce. Serve hot over rice. Serves 3-4.
a repost of a recipe I wrote at aboutweblogs.com/asianfood now aka noodlesandrice.com
I’m not too fond of most Asian-style salads, because I find some things are usually “off” or the combination of tastes just screams WRONG! This is one exception to the rule.
1 package baby spinach, washed and spun dry
2 cups large shrimp, steamed, peeled and deveined
1 large ripe mango (Champagne mango if you can find it is best), peeled, de-seeded and cut into 1/3-inch slices
1/4 cup red onion, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon grated zest and 3 tablespoons juice from 1 orage
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup canola oil, expeller-pressed preferred
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Place spinach, shrimp, and mango slices in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a small non-reactive bowl, macerate onion slices in 1 tablesoon rice wine vinegar for 5 minutes.
Whisk orange zest, orange juice, ginger and remaining vinegar, as well as salt and pepper to taste, in a small bowl. Whisk oils in until emulsified.
Add onion slices to salad bowl. Pour dressing over salad; toss and serve immediately.
a repost of a recipe I wrote for aboutweblogs.com/asianfood, aka noodlesandrice.com
I’ve been on a 40-day fast from Facebook, until July 29. Now I’m considering extending the fast to other online activities. I’m starting to get depressed seeing all the hatred and vitriol on the ‘net directed against Christ and His Church. Heartbreaking stuff. Sniff. I know anger isn’t the answer. And I’m increasingly getting upset and frustrated…. and yes, angry. So I’m taking a break. At least a week. Maybe 40 days. I need to get back to more prayer and less reading, esp. of current events. Sigh.
Yeah, yeah. A Catholic’s gotta do what a Catholic’s gotta do. I’d like to invite all of you to pray with me… for all who do not know Christ, for all who do not understand and choose to hate anyway, for all of us who are trying to fight the good fight, for all of us to be able to respond in love and charity, no matter what.
‘Bye for a bit.
from Catholics Asked to Tell Their Bishops to End Ban on Contraception
The danger was significant when unintended pregnancy and maternal mortality were the predominant risks, but with the advent of HIV and AIDS, it is essential that individual Catholics speak out. Catholics for Choice will be campaigning around the anniversary and for the rest of the year.
Choice people, listen up: contraception does not prevent HIV and AIDS. These are behavior-related problems. Condoms and birth control pills won’t stop their spread if people are not taught that only abstinence from pertinent behaviors (multiple partners, drug use, homosexual behavior) guarantees immunity from these diseases. Come on, you guys are much smarter than that. If anything, contraception gives people false security — please do not mislead them, especially our youth. That statement up there is a LIE and you know it. If you’re going to insist on giving people a choice, at least make sure it’s an INFORMED CHOICE — informed by the TRUTH.
Well, it’s official. The Summer Cold has invaded our family. Three of us are down. Tonight we allowed our 12-year-old to skip the family Rosary so he can sleep early — we were praying quite late because Dad and I got home around 9:30 from our dinner date (celebrating 18 years and 7 months of wedded bliss, yeah, baby!!). Well, the 6-yo who got it first pleaded that she couldn’t lead her decade because she’s got a severe case of the sniffles. Her Hail Mary’s sounded like this:
[sniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiif] Hail Mary, full of grace [sniffffffffffffffff], the Lord is with thee.
9-yo volunteered to take over and we were grateful… problem is, he’s got the sleepies, and his Hail Mary’s sounded like this:
Hail Ma[yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwnnn]ry, full of grace, the Loooo[yawwwwwwwwnnnnnn]rd is with thee….
it was one slow Rosary, I tell you. I wonder if the Saints who were hovering near were stifling yawns as well. Wait, there isn’t sleepiness in Heaven, is there?
for Paco, but Aisa may also use it after graduation — I dropped the ball on formal Logic and Philosophy studies a couple of years back. After doing Angelicum Academy’s Harry Stottlemeier, we used several books from The Critical Thinking Company. I wasn’t confident enough in my own ability to teach logic, but the Traditional Logic books (and subsequent books) look really good. I’m excited again. And mom’s excitement sometimes can make or break a particular course of study!
… primariliy to help us out with our Henle Latin studies. We finished Latina Christiana 1 & 2 last year) and have moved on with Henle, but the going has been sloooooow….. I’m hoping the study guide will put me back in the right frame of mind to tackle learning and teaching Latin at the same time. Greek has been put off for a bit…. but maybe we can do it as a fun study while we’re in Italy next year.
Yay, a history spine we can be excited about again! For the past several years, we’ve been using The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia
I’ve been doing the planning and buying piecemeal for the upcoming schoolyear. The pregnancy virtually stopped all formal schooling the past couple of months. Thank goodness we school year round or we’ll never catch up. So now I still have to send in the assessment tests, put together the kids’ portfolios, overhaul the study (argh, started in March and currently at a standstill), and THEN do our planning right after… at this rate, we’ll be back to normal schedule by… hmmm…. October 
. But hey, that’s why we’re homeschoolers, right? We make up our own schedules. And anyway, the senior is still planning to graduate by August. I can’t imagine the feeling — being DONE with a schoolyear just as we’re beginning… LOL. Should be fun. I’m not sure how the younger ones will like that. DD-17 will be planning her graduation party while they have to work-work-work…
My hubby does the taxes in our household — bless his heart — since our move to Ohio our taxes have been less complicated and we haven’t needed H&R Block like we did in the past, but still, I wouldn’t want to do it myself. Fortunately, I’m one of those people who really doesn’t have to worry about the taxes — hubby takes care of it — when there’s a refund, he knows what to do with it; when we have to pay taxes, he knows how to take care of that. But neither of us knew how much of our tax dollars ended up with organizations/businesses that we absolutely do not want to support HAD WE THE CHOICE. Talk about blood boiling. Not a very fun state of mind to be in in 90-degree Ohio weather, I can tell ya.
Want more? Here’s the Stephanie Simon article: Extending the Brand: Planned Parenthood Hits Suburbia. Read it and weep. If you like charts, look here.
They’re not satisfied with Black Genocide, now they’re going after the affluent too. I wonder who’s next on the list. Asians? Mexicans? Who knows…
Note: The Black Genocide website has some very chilling facts on its introductory page, but it only stays for a minute, then it takes you to the homepage, but nobody should miss it, so I’m quoting here:
The purpose of this website is to reveal the disproportionate number of black babies exterminated by the abortion industry in America.
Although black women constitute only 6% of the population, they comprise 36% of the abortion industry’s clientele. The leading abortion providers have chosen to exploit blacks by locating 94% of their abortuaries in urban neighborhoods with high black populations.
This high rate of abortion has decimated the black family and destroyed black neighborhoods to the detriment of society at large.
Combine that with Mr. Unrestricted Abortion Obama …. and what have we got, America?
You know what frustrates me? Several Catholic teens I know are not sure they want to support Obama or McCain. And yet they are very supportive of organizations like Save Darfur and Invisible Children. I love these kids to death, but man, sometimes I just want to shake them. America needs their support. America has dying children, and sometimes I think we just don’t see them.
And let’s not forget that PP’s so good at this, it’s even “reaching out” to other countries (International PP got its start in India, but got funding from PP USA early on):
Is that scary or what?
ETA:
Wanna learn more about Margaret Sanger?
Margaret Sanger, Founder of Planned Parenthood, In Her Own Words
The Truth About Margaret Sanger
1 16-oz pkg extra-firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes and patted dry with paper towels
1/3 cup sesame seeds
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
vegetable oil for deep-frying, I used safflower
Your choice of sauce for dipping: Thai chili sauce is good, as is plum sauce or peanut sauce or a mix of soy sauce-sugar-sesame oil
In a bowl, combine sesame seeds, cornstarch, flour, and sugar. Toss tofu cubes gently in the mixture to coat. Heat oil in wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, drop in tofu cubes gently, and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels, and serve warm with dipping sauce. My kids eat this with rice or noodles, but they’re great for appetizers as well!
My uncle’s wife who’s from Pangasinan, Philippines, makes a similar dish, except that hers is more a veggie dish, with the emphasis on the snow peas. She also adds shelled peas and cashews to hers, a nice variation to this dish.
Shrimp and Snow Pea Stir-Fry (Cha How Lang Tao Nung B’kong)
adapted from a recipe in The Elephant Walk Cookbook
For 4-6 servings
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled, deveined and butterflied
1 pound snow peas, topped, tailed and de-stringed
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir-fry until just beginning to turn color, about 15 seconds. Add shrimp, snow peas, fish sauce and sugar. Continue stir-frying until shrimp are just cooked through and snow peas are crisp-tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Season with the freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot.
1/4 cup coconut cream
2 tablespoons red curry paste (I’ll have a recipe up sometime)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 cups pineapple wedges (fresh preferred, but canned is acceptable)
lobster tail meat from a 1 1/2-2 lb. lobster, sliced into 1/2 inch medallions (you may used precooked)
3 makrut/kaffir lime leaves, 2 torn apart and 1 shredded
1 tablespoon tamarind puree
1 cup Thai sweet basil leaves
1 large red hot pepper, sliced finely
Simmer coconut cream in large skillet or saucepan, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until oil separates. Add curry paste and stir well; cook for 2-3 minutes. Add fish sauce and sugar and mix well, cooking another 4-5 minutes. The mixture should be darker in color now; if not, keep cooking a few more minutes until color has turned. Add coconut milk and pineapple. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until pineapple has softened. Add lobster tail meat, lime leaves, tamarind puree and basil leaves. Cook 5-6 more minutes or until lobster is just cooked through. Garnish with basil leaves and hot pepper slices, and serve hot over rice.
Two of my favorite writers — Rod Dreher and Michael Pollan — talk food. Must read!
Some helpful resources:
Slow Food USA
Local Harvest
Eat Wild
And information:
a YouTube Playlist: Torn From the Land: The story of the take over of American farmers’ land by financial manipulation of world grain, interest, prices. The end result was the acquisition of family farms by corporations for 5 cents on the dollar.
Plus, how timely is this? Archbishop Migliore: Investing in Sustainable Agriculture
This Japanese tofu dish is a modern rendition that I found in “Japanese Cooking” by Kazuko and Fukuoka (published by Barnes and Noble) — the combination, surprisingly (to me), works, especially the the use of butter and garlic chips. Two thumbs up from my kids. I’ve adapted it to suit our measurements here (US).
1 16-oz package extra-firm tofu, drained, wrapped in paper towels and weighted down with something heavy to remove excess moisture — prepare this about half an hour before cooking
For marinating:
1/4 cup chopped scallions
5 tablespoons sake
5 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
5 tablespoons mirin
2 large cloves of garlic, sliced thin lengthwise
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4 inch “pats”
Mix marinade ingredients in a bowl. Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes after draining, and marinate for 15 minutes, folding occasionally to distribute flavors.
When ready to cook, drain tofu, reserving marinade. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet. Add garlic slices and stir-fry until golden; remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Add 2 butter pats to the oil, then the tofu cubes. Fry tofu until a nice golden brown and crisp on the edges/sides, about 5-8 minutes on each side. Add the reserved marinade and fold gently. Remove from heat. To serve in the Japanese manner, arrange tofu cubes on a plate. Pour a bit of the sauce over, and top with a pat of butter and a few garlic chips. (The butter melted before I could take a pic!)
1 16-oz package firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
For marinating:
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 teaspoons thin soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced ginger
For the sauce:
1/3 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (you can use a combination of your favorites, I used shiitake here)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
chopped hot red pepper (which I didn’t use because they didn’t want it spicy today)
Marinate tofu cubes in the sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper and ginger for half an hour, stirring every now and then to redistribute flavors.
Mix stock with soy sauce, cornstarch and sugar in a bowl.
Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir-fry until just beginning to color. Add mushrooms, increase heat to high, and stir-fry 4-5 minutes or until mushrooms are just cooked through. Give the stock mixture another stir and add to the skillet, stirring. Decrease heat to medium and gently fold in tofu cubes until well-coated with the sauce. Adjust seasonings and serve hot, sprinkled with scallions and hot red pepper.
Note: vegetable or other stock may be substituted for the chicken stock
