Here's a way to support local farmers and get a box full of vegetables for only $15. Just go to this site to pay, then select a location close to you to pick up your box. Depending on what's coming out from the ground there's different items each week. My box included:
Zucchini
Long Neck Yellow Squash
Nice (Round) Squash
Scallop Squash
Blue Kale
Carrots
Red Beets
Green Cucumber
Armenian Cucumber
Red Potatoes
Okra
Tomatoes
Green Romain Lettuce
My personal challenge for this week is to cook each vegetable however it tastes best. Though if I get lazy I'll probably just make vegetable soup. =P
Congratulate me. I just stumbled upon the least talked about Korean roach-coach in Los Angeles. I've seen this yellow truck in Koreatown before and have heard whispers about "that stand that sells really good Korean pancakes" for years, but I only put two and two together after trying a hotteok in South Korea just recently. The crispy/fluffy bread combined with a gooey, black sugar filling got me dreaming about hiring my own hotteok peddler to follow me around all day.
I found the truck in front of a shopping center (of sorts), on Western Ave, just north of Wilshire. There was no Kogi-line to deal with -- which was fine to me --but it also meant that the pan-fried hotteoks were probably sitting around for a bit.
These are a lot flatter than the ones I had in Pusan (see pic below) which were over an inch thick, but they were just as flavorful. The ones in the motherland were also only 50 cents each, whereas these were $1.50. Still, I'm not going to complain. I'm just happy I can get hotteoks, period. Otherwise I'd have to fly back again real soon just to get my fix.
Flying Hotteok 808 S Western Ave Los Angeles, CA90005
I just got back from a quick trip to Japan and Korea. I had a lingering cold and I was coming from North America which meant I was stopped, questioned and had a thermometer stuck into me at every port of entry.
But once that was over I got to see my family and friends and enjoy all the food I so dearly missed. Bacon-wrapped mochi was a new one for me, but it works. Juicy, crispy, chewy.... more yakitori shops need to put it on the menu.
They charged a whopping $6 at the mall food-court, so we instead bought a 1/2 loaf at the next-door bakery, gutted and toasted it, then doused it with honey and ice cream. Results were pretty similar. It's really about how fresh of a loaf you can find.
Soy sauce-flavored Kit Kats, anyone? I've decided to start a Kit Kat collection. There's just way too many random flavors to pass up.
This is actually Cold Stone Creamery. I guess "MARVELOUS CREAM!" does sound better. I wonder what the nickname is...."Maba-kuri"?:
And now to the savory. This is a warm cup of chawan-mushi -- steamed egg-whites and dashi broth mixed with bits of chicken and vegetables. I thought it was quite pretty:
In Los Angeles, a 3-pack of natto will set you back $1.99. At this Japanese market it's 65 cents. Sigh:
Ever wanted to know where bamboo shoots come from? The GROUND!:
This was my first meal in Korea. My brother and I slipped into a random corner shop. The menu was completely in Korean, but that didn't deter me. The place was packed so I knew it either had to be good or cheap; It was both. I hand-signaled the waitress to give us of what the other guy was having. Out came a hot bowl of somen noodles in a very simple broth. I kept adding hot sauce and sweated out my cold:
Some street vendors may have fooled me with bland, meatless potstickers, but this cart was a gold mine for one of the tastiest desserts I've ever had. Hotteok is a fried pancake-donut filled with melted brown-sugar and chopped walnuts. Fluffy, golden, crispy. They can cook it upon order and it's less than a dollar:
This was in the middle of a busy shopping arcade. They're eating the same sort of somen soup I had earlier. Gotta love Asia. Down with sanitation codes! :
Yes, it's been awhile since I last posted. Truth is, I just started a new job. In the TV business. It's all new territory for me, so I've been busy, studying up on the industry and showing my colleagues what a hard of a worker I am (Blood, sweat, tears, etc.). Thus, blogging has been moved to the back-burner.
But I love pouring out my thoughts, especially on the topic of gastronomy, and so as long as I have fingers and tastebuds I'm going to blog whenever I can. Just not as frequently as before. =(
A few weeks back, I got this cool gadget from Japan. It helps boil eggs into different shapes: hearts, diamonds, purple horseshoes... er, I mean, stars. It took a few tries to get the egg into shape, and it'd probably take a few months to really master it. It ain't no joke.
The theme song is by Chara, one of my favorite Japanese singers. =)
In other news...
Anyone interested in FREE KOGI BBQ??! They'll be at a powersliding (!!) event next week, April 15 from 3 to 5 pm at Santa Monica Pier. Check out the flyer here.
"Umami." The word is like a mythical creature -- a unicorn -- that came about after some guy with bad eyesight saw a horse being chucked from a two-story building. Was that for real? Does it truly exist?!
The word does exist in Japanese, but I think we food purveyors Stateside have managed to blow the description into Loch Ness-size proportions. The fifth taste? For reals?
Real or not, the owners of Bottle Rock have done well melding this hip concept with a satisfyingly gourmet burger: a juicy patty layered with high-brow selections of cob-smoked bacon and aged manchego (Triple Pork Burger); Italian truffle cheese and truffle glaze (Truffle Burger); and grated artisan cheddar (Hi-End chili Burger). Embraced with fresh vegetables and a blissfully soft bun, it's a bargain at $8-$11 (Most are $8).
What you see both above and below is the Triple Pork Burger, highly recommended by the waiter who rushed to clear off a table for Mikey and I after a feet-numbing 45 minute wait. The place is tiny, probably fitting no more than two-dozen. My recommendation: Get there before 6 pm.
There's a selection of sides -- hand-cut fries, sweet potato chips, roasted garlic potato salad -- each presented in petite Japanese lady-size portions ($2-$3). The ketchup is homemade with hints of unique spices throughout, just like the burger.
I didn't have a mind-blowing epiphany after digging into this so-called fifth taste. Though I caused my left eyebrow to twitch a little, forgetting to breathe as I inhaled my dinner in record time. Umami, unicorns, leprechauns, I dunno. But it's definitely a tasty burger.
Triple Pork Burger with onion rings
relish, on the house
Umami Burger 850 S La Brea Ave Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323) 931-3000
Considering the number of Okinawans living among the Japanese American population, you'd think a platter of sauted bitter-melon (aka, goya) would be served alongside teriyaki bowls here in Southern California. Yet only recently has Shin-Okinawa Izakaya hit Torrance's dining scene, dishing out a bountiful selection of crave-worthy comfort food like tempura-fried sweet potato, juicy chops of pork belly (rafutei), and a hot bowl of soba with sliced kamaboko (fish cakes).
Soki-soba
rafutei
tofu tsukune
I might've said this before and if I did then I really mean it this time: It's like you're in Japan when you're here, whether it be the flavor of the broth, the brush-stroked wall menu, or the bar-snack offerings of sliced pig's ear and monkfish liver (an kimo). I associate pickled squid and grilled innards with smelly-drunk businessmen, which is probably why I never touch the stuff, but every other Japanese person I know can't seem to get enough of it.
So for the rest of us there's all kinds of carb-heavy treats like Okinawa Soba, somen champuru (stir-fried vermicelli and vegetables), and for dessert, everyone's favorite Okinawan donut, sata andagi -- a fist-sized ball of sugary dough deep-fried until golden.
sata andagi
Arabiki pork sausages
Red Sweet Potatosticky balls
Like most izakayas, each plate runs between $5 to $8 at portions meant to accompany a mug of beer. Though it's also worth trying their selection of cocktails mixed with awamori, the island's poison of choice. Few places outside Japan serve stuff like this, so get it while you can.
Hiraya Chi (savory pancake)
Grilled pork sausages
Shin Okinawa Izakaya 1880 W. Carson Street Suite #A Torrance, California, 90501 (310) 618-8357
I found this candy pack at Mitsuwa market the other day. It's really weird. It's made to look like a tray of takoyaki (panfried octopus balls), but is actually a gummy candy you make yourself. There's one glitch in this video. Can you find it?
