mmm-yoso – Page 373

Ma Po Tofu (Ma Po Dou Fu)

May 20, 2008 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

In the comments of my post on Peng’s Homestyle Bean Curd, KevinK asked if I’d make some Ma Po Dou Fu, Chongqing-style. Now I’m not sure if this is Chongqing style, but I think it turned out fairly good. According to the Missus; "hey, this is not too bad." Translation: "This is one of the best things you’ve made in a while. You better be able to duplicate it!"

First, let’s clarify a few things. First, there must be thousands of different versions of this dish; I’ve seen it in everything from Muslim Chinese to Japanese Restaurants. In fact, Chopstix has a version they call Mabo Ramen, a very sweet, soy laden ground meat dish. But if I’m having the real deal, there are 2 things I always look for; a nice layer of red, spicy oil, and this:

The legend regarding this dish is well known, though I’ve read at least 3 variations. For me, the "Ma" stands for "numbing", which can only be provided by Sichuan Peppercorns. And for me, any place serving a classic rendition of this dish must use Sichuan Peppercorns.

This recipe is based on the version in Fuchsia Dunlop’s Land of Plenty. I’ve made a few changes. Since the Missus wanted this vegetarian, I eschewed the ground meat. In most cases, the meat is ground pork, but in Land of Plenty, Ms. Dunlop notes that in Sichuan, the traditional recipe calls for Ground Beef, which is pretty unique. No stock, meant increasing a few ingredients, and adding a few. I added Chinkiang Black Vinegar, minced garlic, and grated ginger, all of which added depth to the dish. I wasn’t able to find any Pixian Chili Bean Paste, or Chili Bean Paste made with Broad Beans, which has a much better flavor than the stuff made with soy beans. I ended up adding twice the amount of bean paste to adjust. I also used scallions instead of leeks. One last thing, I knew we had tofu in the frig, I just didn’t realize that it was firm bean curd, I’d have preferredsoft tofu. So here it is:

Ma Po Dou Fu (The Pock-marked Old Woman’s Bean Curd)

1 Block Bean Curd
2-3 Scallions cut in "Horse Ear" slices
2/3 Cup Canola Oil
4 Tb Sichuan Chili Bean Paste
1 Tb Fermented Black Beans, rinsed
2 Tb Ground Red Chilies
1 1/2 Cup Water
2-3 Tb Sugar
3 Tb Light Soy Sauce
2 Cloves Garlic minced
2 Tsp Grated Ginger
Salt to taste
Chili Oil to Taste
3 Tb Cornstarch mixed in 4 Tb Cold Water
1 Tsp Ground Roasted Sichuan Peppercorn

1 – Cut bean curd in to 1" by 1" cubes, and steep in simmering water.

2 – Heat oil in a wok over medium heat. When oil shimmers add bean paste and ground chilies and stir fry until oil turns red in color. Add Fermented Black Beans, Ginger, and Garlic and stir fry for about 30 seconds, until oil is fragrant.

3 – Pour in stock and stir well.

4 – When mixture is simmering, drain bean curd and add to mixture. Mix carefully, using the back of your wok scoop to push bean curd.

5 – Add 2Tb sugar, vinegar and soy sauce. Mix carefully, and taste. Add salt, chili oil(if desired), and more sugar if necessary.

6 – Simmer until the bean curd is well coated in the sauce, and has absorbed the flavor.

7 – Add scallions

8 – With mixture simmering add cornstarch mixture a little at a time until the sauce has thickened to the desired texture.

9 – Serve in a bowl, topped with ground Sichuan Peppercorns.

There you go Kevin, I hope it meets with your approval!

Sapa: Com Lam and Other Street Foods

May 18, 2008 mmm-yoso Sapa/Bac Ha/Can Cau, Travel, Vietnam

Here’s a photo of the Vietnamese-China Border crossing from the town of Lao Cai, which is the dropping off point from the trains arriving from Hanoi to Sapa.

Crossing over the Red River via the Ho Kien Bridge and you’d be in the town of Hekou, Yunnan Province, PR China.

We stopped by on our way back to Sapa to take a photo for the Missus’s Parents. We thought they’d get a kick out of it. And of course, while we were there, we ran into some Chinese visitors:

Who told the Missus She should visit Hekou; "you don’t need a visa, just sneak across the border, see, no problem, we do it all the time when we have visitors." Ummm, no thanks.

So what the heck does Hekou have to do with Com Lam and street food in Sapa? That’ll become evident a bit later on. Street food is quite easy to find in Sapa. Little stalls and vendors line the streets around the Main Square.

Actually, I’d be pretty generous in calling these stalls. In most cases, the set-up consists of a few tiny stools, a grill, and maybe a plastic table.

All of these little stands sell basically the same thing; grilled pork skewers, duck eggs, sweet potato, chestnuts, sometimes grilled sparrow…and Com Lam. Com Lam is basically sticky rice cooked in tubes of bamboo. We were awestruck at the immense amount of these little stands….all selling the same thing.

We chose one, manned by this young lady:

Who turned out to be Chinese, and originally from Hekou! Leave it to the Missus to find the only vendor in the whole area who is Chinese. The young lady was overjoyed when she found out the Missus is Chinese.

As she grilled our Com Lam, we learned her story. She was born and raised in Hekou, and ended up marrying a Vietnamese man from Sapa. He was a schoolteacher by trade, and makes a decent amount of money, but it is not enough for the family of three(she has a 5 year old daughter) to make a decent living. In order to make ends meet, she mans this little stand 5-7 days a week, for up to 12 hours a day during the weekends.

This was on our first evening in Sapa, and we could tell a storm was brewing. Several times the winds almost blew the umbrella off the stand, but the Missus helped her hold it in place. For some reason, it is one of my favorite photos.

Soon after my little tube of sticky rice was ready; and with skill and precision(and a knife), the bamboo was peeled back to reveal the tube of rice within.

The rice is chewy, and mildly nutty in flavor. I really like the "dip" made of peanuts, salt, chilies, and a bit of sugar. You can read more about Com Lam on Wandering Chopsticks blog, here and here on Oishii Eats. While the Missus was waiting for Her item to be ready, She learned a bit more about the young lady. Her Mom who she tries to visit every month, still lives in Hekou. Her Vietnamese is not very good, which makes her kind of isolated among all the other vendors, though she has a few "friends". You could tell that the young woman missed speaking in Chinese.

Can you see what the Missus is getting?

Yep, it’s what they call Trung Vit Long…aka Balut. Something I’ve had before, but don’t really seek out, and this version was way past it’s "due date". Egad, I can’t even describe it. Good fertilized eggs have a wonderful "juice" that tastes like the essence of the bird, this one didn’t.

I’ve never seen Balut that already had feathers…….we couldn’t make it past a mere taste. The Young lady though it was funny. At that point, the wind was whipping up, and it looked like the rain was on the way so we left. Knowing that the young woman was starving for some company that could understand her native language(the Missus told me the accent was sometimes very difficult to understand), we decided to drop by and grab a bite before leaving Sapa.

She told the Missus a bit about her life in Sapa(where men love to gamble, and a "justifiable" beating of your wife is still deemed ok by some), about having a daughter who barely knows her because she works all the time, and the feeling of being so close to your "home", but feeling so far away…..

There is a large group of covered food stalls just North of the main square, and while walking through the booths we saw this, the "pig on a stick".

It was 240,000 VND a Kilo($15/US)….there was no way the Missus and I could eat a kilo of pork meat. Somehow, we managed to let them know that we wanted a half-kilo. We chose some leg meat, and some back meat. It was pretty disappointing. The skin, instead of being crisp, was more sticky and hard, and the pork had no flavor.

Oh well, at least I got "pig on a stick!"

One last thing. Here’s your typical Sapa full service masseuse, barber, hair dresser, and most importantly ear cleaner.

Ear cleaning must be a pretty big event, he’s even got a spectator!

Hanoi: Banh My & Banh Bao

May 17, 2008 mmm-yoso Banh Mi, Hanoi, Sandwiches, Vietnam

Up North They Spell it Banh My:

Yes, in Hanoi they spell it "Banh My", not Banh Mi. And most of the stands we came across only have 2 basic types; Banh My Pate(where you choose your meat), and Banh My Trung(egg). I had thought about not doing this post since I never managed to take a good photo of the Banh My in Hanoi, even though we had a few of them. The best we had was from this little stand next to Pho Cuong on Hang Muoi Street.

The drill, at least for us was pretty easy….you order a Banh My Pate, a Baguette is put into the little toaster tucked into the side of the stand, and the lady pointed at different meats.

You nodded yes, or no to what you wanted. In this case the Cha Lua(lean pork sausage), and the Fatty Red Pork Sausage next to it. The Woman cuts a chunk of pate from the block, places it into a little pan, and heats it up to melt the pate.

We usually decline the butter. The Woman smears a good amount of pate on the warmed roll, adds the chopped meats, tops everything off with cilantro, wraps the sandwich in newspaper, bags the deal, and you’re good to go. For 8,000 VND(50 cents US).

So what’s the difference between this, and what we get here in San Diego. Well first, I found the pate to be a bit creamier, and milder in flavor. It is quite good.

The second thing is the bread:

The baguette is very light and airy. In fact, if you bit an end off, you could almost deflate the whole deal. It does have a bit of chew, and a nice light, yeasty flavor. The crust is thin and super flakey; the Missus said it explodes like a croissant. The crust is not hard and crusty…in other words, you won’t tear the dermis off the roof of your mouth.

I’ve spoken to a few people who have been to Vietnam about the baguettes; and some of them are surprised I enjoyed the bread so much. They consider it cheap bread, without substance. I think of it as heavenly, both light and flakey. In fact, the Missus and I miss this type of baguette. Everything we’ve had since we returned has seemed too hard, not flakey enough, and much too doughy.

Here’s an okay Banh Mi Trung.

We had this at the Airport in Hanoi. Pretty greasy, too much butter, and the egg was oily. The baguette was the same though.

As far as I’m concerned, this could be the "breakfast of Champions" for me:

Banh Bao:

You recognize this right away:

Classic, Chinese-style steamed bun. This one was bought on the corner of Duong Thanh and Bat Dan. It looked so good, so we stopped and asked the Woman how much it was. Unable to understand us, a young man eating on one of the stools told us 5,000 VND. Which was no problem. Except to this woman, who understood "5,000", and proceeded to give the guy a piece of her mind. She than made the sign of "four"……we still gave her 5,000 VND, but being the honest vendor she was; she gave us change! You gotta love her honesty.

The filling in these is an interesting mixture of pork, bean thread, and cloud ear fungus. And it is all topped off with a quail egg.

It can be a bit on the greasy side. But, along with the Banh My, was really great for the train ride to Sapa.

It will sit in your stomach for a looooong time.

Mountain Apples:

I was amazed to see a vendor carrying these around in her baskets.

We called these Mountain Apples while growing up in Hawaii, but I now know they are more commonly called Malay Apples. I don’t recall seeing them since I left the Islands. The Missus, never having tasted them, bought a few. And they were just as I remember, a bit tart, with crisp meat, and sometimes a mild bitter finish.

Along with calling Iced Coffee with condensed milk Cafe Nau Da, instead of Cafe Sua Da, there’s an interesting pronounciation for "R’s". Ruou, is pronounced Zeee-ot, and Rieu Ze-ew. It didn’t make much difference for us, because we butchered things pretty bad anyway. But it was made apparent when we inquired about things, and ended up spelling them. And we’d get; "oooh, Bun Ze-ew!"

So just a few items I had waiting for the moment to post. I hope everyone is keeping cool this hot weekend!

Jeong Won Korean BBQ – A first look

May 15, 2008 mmm-yoso Korean Restaurants

When I first noticed the sign for Jeong Won a few weeks back, I was quite interested. After digging a bit, and finding out that: 1) The former Owner of Arirang was involved(actually, I heard that it is her son’s place), who is fairly well known for her panchan in San Diego, since she produces the local panchan for Zion Market(more on this in an upcoming post). 2) After checking out the sample menu, and finding out Jeong Won that in addition to the standards, Jeong Won was doing AYCE(that would be All-You-Can-Eat) Korean BBQ a la Manna in LA. I became a bit more interested. Soon enough, I hot word through the local Seoul-underground that Jeong Won had opened. So having heard the news several FOYs(Friends of Yoso) – Candice, Howie(Who runs Foodieview), Josh, and I, descended upon Jeong Won. Only to find a cardboard sign saying that they would not be opened until May 15th. Talk about feeling like a loser. Cross one informant off my list! After that, I had decided to wait for a few weeks before checking Jeong Won out. The Missus however, had other plans. Earlier this evening, the Missus decided that She; "wanted some red meat. And isn’t that new Korean place opening today?" And so we we arrived at Jeong Won on opening day:

As we entered the restaurant, we noticed how small the place really is. Only 5 tables alongside one of the walls is set up for BBQ. The first thing we were asked was if we "were going to do BBQ." To which we gave an affirmative response. The BBQ tables are pretty large and can sit up to 6 people. The table size was a good thing, because soon after placing our order, everything started arriving.

11 dishes of panchan in all. Nothing earth-shattering, just the standard variety….but 11 of them? What was provided ranged from ho-hum to quite good.

The Baechu Kimchi(standard Napa cabbage kimchi), the backbone of any assortment of panchan was my favorite. I enjoyed 2 servings of the stuff.

It is mildly umami(nice way of saying anchovy-ish) without going over the top. Nice and crisp, just as expected. Pretty good.

The Namul was also pretty good. Nice flavor, without being too bland or salty.

The rest of it was generic standard stuff. They do ask if you want more, though.

Also with the meal was a Pajun(pancake). This was mighty fine, but also filling (hmmmmm, I wonder if this is a way to get you to eat less meat?)).

Crisp and chewy……

We had ordered 1 Kalbi(beef short ribs) and 1 Bulgogi – $17.85 each. And it all arrived on 1 plate.

Along with the meat, came a plate of mixed greens, lightly dressed with sesame oil-asian pear-kochujang mixture. This stuff was really tough and stringy, and quite bitter. Also arriving a dish of halved garlic, sliced jalapenos, lettuce, bean paste, and standard issue salt-pepper-sesame oil. And of course, rice.

After having a few problems getting the grill started(probably for the first time for actual paying customers), we were on our way.

A concave metal grilling plate was placed over the gas flame, and unfortunately, our very nice Server, in her zeal to get us going placed the cold meat on the still cold grill. Not a big thing, but it made me notice for the first time that all kinds of congealing juices would gather at the deepest end of the grill. Still, once everything got going, things were fine.

The marinade tended toward the sweeter side, and the Bulgogi was a better carrier of flavor on this evening. The Kalbi were little chopped chunks of deboned rib meat, and even though it was fairly tender, still didn’t impress me much. Also, the garlic provided were halved cloves and should have been cut thinner – when eaten with the lettuce "bossam style" it almost blew your head off. Make no mistake about it; the quality of the meat is not at the same level as any of the better Korean BBQ places. But, tell me, at how many those places will the Server come and ask you, "would you like more Kalbi and Bulgogi." We only had room for 1 more plate of Bulgogi, though we watched plate after plate of meat coming out of the kitchen (the brisket and pork belly looked good). Oh yes, free soft-serve, plum tea, cinnamon tea, "as much as you want" was what we were told.

So what were the key points on this maiden voyage:

1 – There is a 2 person minimum for AYCE table top grilled items. You can order BBQ from the kitchen ($12.85-$14.85) an order(not AYCE).

2 – The grade of meat is lower than the more expensive Korean BBQ’s (i.e. Buga), and the marinade tends toward the sweeter side.

3 – You can stuff yourself silly.

4 – Because of the size of the restaurant, I have a feeling that this place has the potential to be pretty crowded.

5 – I found the published hours of 7am(?) – 10pm to be a bit strange. 7am???

The young ladies who served us were very nice, though they looked a bit confused at times. After all it was Grand Opening. They made sure to ask us if we were really sure had eaten enough! We were the only 2 non-Koreans in the place, which was almost full to capacity when we left. The group of Gentlemen having Soju, who were the only folks in the place when we arrived we working on at least their fourth or fifth plate of meat(pork belly and brisket). That’s a lot of meat!

Jeong Won Korean BBQ
4690 Convoy St. #104
San Diego, CA 92111

Bac Ha Market

May 13, 2008 mmm-yoso Sapa/Bac Ha/Can Cau, Travel, Vietnam

*** My apologies, this is another super long post.

The Sunday Market in Bac Ha is considered to be the largest of it’s kind in the mountainous region of Vietnam near the Chinese border. Most days, Bac Ha is little more than a sleepy, dusty, mountain village, with nary a horse drawn cart roaming the main streets. But on market Sunday, the place is alive, and you can feel the electricity in the air.

There were vendors everywhere selling all sorts of goods.

Yesterday, what was a major construction area, was today filled with food stands.

All of these were making different versions of Xoi Chien, fried sweet rice snacks.

You can read about The Gastronomer’s eating Xoi Chien here.

Chewy, mystery meat filled, greasy, fried sticky rice cakes about sums it up.

It really did seem that Bac Ha finds its "Glass Slippers" every Sunday, and is transformed into Cinderella. Or as the Missus would say, "more appropriately Yè Xiàn."

The main area of the market is a portable Fes-like maze of alleyways created by the various stands and vendors. There are areas I saw, which I considered even more ponderous than the cliffs of Pisac.

Here you can pick your poison; some Thuoc Lao for your nicotine fix. With free samples!

Or chilies, so fresh that smelling them can bring tears to your eyes, for those who think "red means go." Actually, these chilies have a nice heat, but also a sweet, fruity finish as well.

Or maybe you need a cure for what ails you.

Herbs direct from China just a few kilometers away.

Perhaps your Botox is wearing off, and you’re in need of a "freshening up". Well, let me introduce you to the "not so latest thing".

Maybe some Python Fat would be just what you need.

Perhaps you need to consummate that Vietnamese Plastic Slipper fetish you have, or maybe you’re just channeling your inner Imelda Marcos. Well, they’ve a cure for that here as well.

I know what, you’re thinking; "why doesn’t this idiot just stick with the food."

Check out the fresh Bamboo Shoots. I picked one up(it was nice and heavy), took a whiff, and I swear I could hear the whistling of the wind through the leaves and feel the cool breeze on my face.

Thinh stopped by this little snack stand….I wonder why?

This fried sticky rice cake was so greasy, that it made the Xoi Chien seem like diet food. It was also tasteless; well unless you can tell me what the taste of cardboard is.

Skirting the other fried food stands, we made our way to the market perimeter. This is where all the "real" food vendors are.

Just as in markets everywhere in Vietnam, Cambodia, and even Peru, all the prepared food vendors are organized by the type of food served.

The largest section served up pork, pork, and more pork. The pork was divided into different cuts(the belly looked really good), the ribs, skin, and even sausage was available.

Another section was indicated by this.

Apparently, that is the Vietnamese universal sign for Horse. And the large woks and pots were bubbling away.

Unfortunately(or maybe fortunately) for me, it wasn’t ready to be served.

Further on is the area serving Tiết Canh, or fresh blood soup. I was told this was pork blood since everyone was afraid of bird flu, so duck blood is not being served.

Now here’s something you can help me with. I asked Thinh what this was, and was told, "corn noodle".

It looked like something created with a gelatinous thickener, and was cut from large blocks.

As you can see, an interesting variety of food, and I’m sure I missed a lot.

Compared to other markets, the meat section was rather small. As was the selection of fish and seafood, since we were quite far for any large bodies of water.

The selection of dried fish, though, was quite extensive.

And all you need to find it is to use your nose.

And just in case you want to try your hand at making Ruou Ngo(corn wine/spirit/hootch/moonshine – or literally "alcohol"), I was told that these are the "yeast cakes" used.

So tell me, what do you think these 2 guys are doing?

Comparing notes? Contemplating Ruou futures? Deciding what numbers to select for the Fantasy Five? In actuality, this was a fairly intense negotiation session. Over what you may ask? Meet our newest model Water Buffalo, comes with all the latest features, standard.

Does that look like 7,000,000 VND(approx $440/US) worth of Water Buffalo to you? In all seriousness, it has been a tough year. The long, cold winter has taken a toll on local livestock, and water buffalo are in demand. It was fascinating watching this transaction take place. Much of the conversation and negotiation is done very quietly.

The livestock area at Bac Ha market is huge, and everything is being sold. From dogs of all ages(don’t ask).

To pigs, carried in burlap bags, on leashes, and even stacked like firewood.

By this time, the crowds were beginning to arrive, slogging the already cramped walkways. It was time to leave. Bac Ha’s main street was filled with motorbikes, buses of tourists, and people milling about. And while the market at Can Cau is smaller, and full of charm in a quaint kind of way; the market at Bac Ha is larger and much more intense.

It is a sight to behold. And we were glad to have seen it this way. You see, in addition to the nice smooth asphalt that vehicles will be driving on soon, we walked through major construction on our way to the market.

Once those buildings are completed, most of the market in Bac Ha will be moved indoors. So you’ll be able to walk on nice clean and new concrete, past well marked signs, and look out over the new man-made lake. And feel positively civilized.

Yes, it seems that the Wild Stallion that is the market at Bac Ha will be tamed. It is just progress I guess.

A few times since we’ve returned from vacation, I’ve had dreams of dusty pavements and lively swirls of color……

And have woken with the taste of Ruou on my lips. I guess I was dreaming about Can Cau and Bac Ha again………

Bac Ha: Pre-Market Breakfast, and it’s Off to Market We Go

May 12, 2008 mmm-yoso Sapa/Bac Ha/Can Cau, Travel, Vietnam

We were jarred awake from our Ruou fueled slumber by Vietnamese blaring from speakers mounted on the hill above Bac Ha. The Missus, rolling over, trying to escape the commands being issued, mumbled, "this is so Communist!" Having been raised in Qingdao, I’m sure She’d know. Raising my head, I noticed that the back door to our room was wide open! Instantly wide-awake, I started checking our belongings. After making sure that everything was in place, I’m guessing it was probably just the wind(?), or maybe Obake? After washing my face, and brushing my teeth, I noticed that the Missus had walked out to the balcony, where She snapped a few photos of the people down below. It looked like everyone was on their way to Market.

All together now, "Hi-ho, Hi-ho, it’s off to market we go!"

Not so fast. We met Thinh downstairs having tea, and he told us that things are just getting set-up. So why not grab some breakfast? Why not? We walked past various people making their way to market. Oh, and what was being blasted from the speakers? Thinh told us; "they are telling people to do their exercises!" The Missus turned to me and said; "see, I told you, this is soooooo Communist!"

Watching this woman made my back hurt. I wanted to go over and help her, but she looked like she’d be able to body-slam me, and make me scream uncle, so I left her alone.

Thinh walked up to this doorway, took a peek inside, smiled, and walked in.

So of course we followed, and found a Mom-and-Pop kitchen going full blast.

One of the great things about these places is that you can get up close and personal with your food.

Of course the dining area included the standard kiddie stools and low tables(makes it easier to attain the squat-eating position), and even a communal Diếu Cày(bamboo smoking pipe), which I made sure to keep away from the Missus.

The Missus and I shared Banh Cuon and Bun Cha(15,000 VND just a bit onder $1 US):

This version of Banh Cuon had the least amount of filling of any we tried in Vietnam, but the "noodle" had a nice toothsome-elastic texture, and was not as "Sticky" as other versions. The Bun Cha, was on the chewy side, but the Nuoc Mam Cham(fish sauce based dip) added a nice savory touch.

Overall, quite a filling breakfast.

After breakfast, we found that we were still a bit too early for market. So we strolled over to Ngan Nga for some coffee. And just to "people watch".

While this young lady was getting some help adjusting her little one, her pony was eating the profits!

This Ruou Ngo(corn wine) vendor was doing some great business.

The Young Flower H’mong Women were wearing their "Sunday best", better to catch a mate with…..

Even though the Bac Ha Market is off in another part of the village, you wouldn’t be wrong if you said the entire village becomes a market on Sundays. In every corner, every nook and cranny, is a stall or table selling something. Whether something for the tourist trade.

Or fresh vegetables.

It was time to head to market.

Won’t you join us?

L & L Hawaiian Barbecue – Hillcrest

May 11, 2008 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

**** This location of L&L has closed

It used to be that I'd eat plate lunches at least 3-4 times a week. You could say it was the backbone of my diet back then. But having lived on the mainland for over a decade now(has it really been that long?), my diet has changed in some pretty significant ways. That would mean no more 3 squares a day featuring that carbo-licious staple, rice. It seems that a plate of protein with at least 2-3 carbs(or in the case of Chili Spaghetti-Rice with Macaroni Potato salad, 4 carbs) has kinda fallen by the wayside for me. And to make matters worse, when I had my latest Loco Moco craving, I realized that I hadn't had a plate lunch since January; over 4 months! My how things have changed.

I don't know why, but I always thought that Hillcrest was an interesting location for an L&L. And even though I work in walking distance of this location of L&L, I had never made an effort to eat there. But, suffering from severe Loco Moco withdrawals, I decided to check them out.

In addition to the standard issue L&L menu, this location also offers "Healthier" options. After all, this is Hillcrest.

One thing I did notice was that my Loco Moco was going to cost $8.29! But, since I made the effort to walk over……..

So how did this measure up? Using the "Modified Rubio Scale for Loco Mocos", originally developed by James Rubio, who does the food blog Big Island Grinds, here's how the scoring(on a scale of 1 thru 5) went.

BURGER: Standard burger was well seasoned, moist(!), and mildly beefy. Pretty good for a Hawaiian BBQ joint. – 3.0

EGGS: Could be more crisp around the edges, and not seasoned. Yolk was nice and runny. – 3.0

RICE: Kinda hard. – 2.0

GRAVY: On the light side, but nice and salty. Pretty decent. – 3.5

STUFFS: Too much mayo on the macaroni salad, which could have used a shake of salt. – 2.0

Total: 13.5 – Not bad for one of these Hawaiian BBQ joints.

This location of L&L was bit better than some of the other locations, so I may just have another meal here one day. The service was fine, the young lady manning the register was very nice, but a bit spacey…..she forgot to charge me for my drink, I had to remind her.

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
3803 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103

You can find my "collection" of Loco Mocos here.

Peng’s Homestyle Bean Curd

May 9, 2008 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

You may be asking, "who the heck is Peng, and why is this bean curd dish named after him?" Well, Peng Chang-Kuei(彭長貴) is a famous Hunan Chef who fled to Taiwan when the Nationalists were on the verge of defeat to the Communists in 1949. He is credited with creating what could possibly be the most well known "Hunan" dish in the Western world, which in fact was not a product of China; General Tso’s Chicken. Fuchsia Dunlop tells the story here. Or even better for more stories, as well as the commentary on this recipe get a copy of her book on Hunan cooking; Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province. I found most of the recipes in this book to be easier than those in Land of Plenty.

Just like Barbara Fisher, who made a version of this dish, and documented it on her wonderful blog Tigers & Strawberries, we love the simplicity of this dish. I took a few liberties with the published recipe. For some reason the Missus wanted a vegetarian dish, so I excluded the sliced pork and stock. Because of this, I increased the amount of garlic and dark soy sauce. Also, after cooking a few dishes from the cookbook, and reading Fuchsia Dunlop’s commentary, I added a touch of sugar to the recipe. According to the book, Hunan tastebuds are not fond of combining sweet and savory in their dishes. Adding just a bit of sugar seemed to open up the flavors a bit. I use only enough Sesame Oil to add a faint fragrance, and not over-power the dish. One more thing, if you’ve ever eaten in a good Sichuan or Hunan restaurant, you’ll notice that black beans(do not soak) are never crushed, but cooked whole. This explains what seems like the huge amount of black beans in the dish.

Peng’s Home-style Bean Curd

1 Block Firm Bean Curd, Drained
1 Tb Shaoxing Wine
3 Scallions – Green parts only
1 Red Serrano Pepper
3-4 Dried Red Chilies
3 Tb Minced Garlic
3-4 Tb Chinese Fermented Black Beans
1 Tb Dark Soy Sauce
1 1/2 Cup Water
Salt to taste
Sugar(if desired) to taste
A light drizzle of Sesame Oil to taste
Chili Oil to taste.
1 Tsp Potato Starch mixed with 1 Tb cold water
1 1/2 cup Canola Oil for Frying

1.Cut the block of bean curd in half diagonally, than lengthwise. Place bean curd on a folded paper towel, place another paper towel on top of the bean curd. Place a plate on top of bean curd with and top off with a few cans. I do this to remove excess water out of the bean curd.

2.Rinse the Black Beans(do not soak) and set aside.

3.Thinly slice the scallions and seed then thinly slice the Serrano Chilies. Tear the Dried Chilies and remove seeds.

4.Remove the bean curd from plate and paper towels and cut into 1/2" by 1" cubes. (The Missus found that She enjoyed this "size", more than the oblong cuts)

5.Heat Canola Oil in a wok to approximately 375 degrees. Fry bean curd in batches until golden brown. (And form your own little "Dofu Xi’an Army")

6.Drain bean curd and set aside.

7.Drain oil from wok, reserving 3-4Tb. Clean wok, dry, and reheat over high heat until smoking.

8.Add the dry chilies and scald. Add garlic, black beans, and Serrano Chilies and cook until fragrant.

9.Add water, bean curd, and dark soy sauce, and bring to a boil.

10.Reduce heat to a simmer, taste, and adjust flavor – add salt and sugar if desired.

11.Add potato starch mixture a little at a time, until the desired thickness is reached.

12.Remove from heat and stir in Sesame Oil and Chili Oil. Top with scallions, and have at it.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Bac Ha: Dinner at Ngan Nga, and Other Stuff

May 8, 2008 mmm-yoso Sapa/Bac Ha/Can Cau, Travel, Vietnam

I was beat after boozing and eating it up at the Can Cau Market. Returning to Bac Ha, I was ready for a nap as we arrived at our hotel for the night, Toan Thang Hotel. All of the hotels in the area have basically the same set-up, a multi-functional lobby area that is used as a combination check-in, lobby, restaurant, bar, and basic hang-out area. This hotel was interesting, there was an "old" wing, complete with corrugated metal roof, and a brand new building with a faux Euro-Asian design attached to it.

In a way, this was a perfect example of what we saw in Bac Ha, a village in transition, growing quickly, a convergence of the old and new. You’d as soon see a sleek, modern mini-bus and motorbikes(with the requisite horn honking) going in one direction, and this going in the other.

Some of the streets were just dirt paths, but right outside the city, major work was taking place. The roads were being widened, and fresh asphalt was being laid.

But at the time, I had something else on my mind. Specifically, a nice leisurely nap. Unfortunately, the prospect of a visit to dreamland was to be put on hold. The Missus had caught Her third, or was it Her fourth wind, and was ready to go. I was still trying to summon up my second, or even hoping for my first wind, and perhaps some fumes. Off we went, trading my leisurely nap, for a not so leisurely walk. It’s not like you can get lost in Bac Ha, it seems that all roads end up in the same place. And it was an interesting seeing the "new" Bac Ha:

Right across the street with the "old".

Yes, folks, Bac Ha is going places….where she stops? Nobody knows.

After taking a short walk we somehow, unintentionally, ended up back at our hotel. Like I said, all roads in Bac Ha, lead to the same place. I decided to stop by the "lobby/restaurant/bar" to purchase some water, and have some tea. Here’s where I ran into(no pun intended) a bit of a gastro-intestinal "blip". I was sitting at one of the tables, drinking my bottled water, when the really nice Woman who ran the place decided to scurry to the back room and grab me a glass. The glass looked like there was some residue on it, and perhaps a good layer of some unknown detritus, which I tried to discreetly wipe off. But, I couldn’t insult her by not using the glass, so I poured water into it and had a sip. It definitely tasted a bit off…and one sip was all it took. For a few hours, my stomach made sounds like the HMS Titanic sinking into the Atlantic, I contributed to global warming in a very unpleasant manner, and there was a toilet paper shortage in room 301. Lucky for me, it was just a passing(again, no pun intended) thing. Furthermore, there was no way I was going to miss dinner! And so with the help of a few "pepto", and the stuff being sold from this pot:

I was fixed up in no time. The pot contained sugar cane simmering in ginger water. The ginger had me back in no time.

Yes, boys and girls, I hope you see the irony….I was cured by street food! By the time we met Thinh for dinner, I was ready to go…no, not there…I was ready to eat.

The restaurant selected was where we stopped for a break on our way to Can Cau Market the previous day. Like many of the places in Bac Ha, this was another Hotel/Restaurant. In this case, named Ngan Nga.

We took a table outside and were handed menus. Going down the page I read, "omelet, Pho, fried noodles, fried rice, french fries?" Say what! I didn’t make a miraculous recovery from death’s door to eat french fries! Thinh just laughed and said, "one minute, I’ll order the food." After a few minutes Thinh returned, and by that time, the Nuoc Mam Cham arrived, along with…….guess what? Salt&Pepper-Ground Chili(this one was really good)-Lime, of course.

The first dish to arrive was a plate of blanched than sauteed Chinese Broccoli(Gailan), which I was told was called Cải Làn (pretty close) in these parts. It really wasn’t anything we haven’t had before, except that this version used both soy sauce and fish sauce.

The next dish that arrived was a cold chicken dish. In this case the simmered chicken was chopped, and topped with thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves.

As I enjoy cold chicken dishes much more than the Missus, I was fine with this. The chicken was on the chewy side, as wild, roaming chicken should be. The flavor was 100% true chicken; the lime leaves added a nice citrus-sour flavor, and a dip in the chili-lime-salt concoction helped out as well.

A plate of simmered pork arrived next, mildly flavored, and leaner than what we had for lunch. The chopped pork was combined with a herb that had a basil-cilantro type flavor. Thinh wasn’t able to tell us what was used. The Missus, still recovering from the pork at lunch, passed on this one.

The next dish made the dinner a success. According to Beach, this is called Cha Com:

These are fried patties or fritters if you will, made with minced pork and green rice. Man, this was good! The pork added a nice richness as only pork can; the green rice added some crunch, along with a mild nutty sweetness. Oh man this was good.

The last item was steamed, vegetable spring rolls, which we found to be on the bland side. Still, this was a pretty good meal. Of course, we had started in on the Ruou Nga(Corn wine).

Which brings us on to the next part of the night. You know by now, that magical things happen when Ruou is in the picture. At the end of dinner, our driver Mr Thang made an appearance. Already hitting the Ruou with the other driver and guides(they all know each other), he kept apologizing. Of course, this meant another refill of Ruou! Soon enough, the other drivers and guides drifted to our table, as if some unseen signal was being sent. And the Ruou was flowing! As the sun set, our loud and raucous laughter started drawing the attention of the tourists having dinner in the restaurant. But none of them wanted to have a drink with the "crazy Asians". It didn’t help when Thinh actually lit a cup of Ruou with his lighter to show us "what it was made of". With tongues loosened by the corn wine(most of these guy weighed less than 50-55 kilos – it didn’t take much), we started getting the "real dirt" on these normally serious and stoic drivers. Thang, who was to married in a few weeks, met his wife to be when he almost ran her over. They got into an argument which continued when they later saw each other in Sapa later that day. A few days later, Thang saw her teaching a class at a school….and was smitten, I guess it was love at third sight. One of the guides, who was one of the larger Vietnamese guys I met at 75 kilos(guess my weight was a popular drinking game), was appropriately named the equivalent of "Hero" in Vietnamese, and enjoyed flexing his muscles, Hulk Hogan style.

It seems that drinking with a female was foreign to these guys; this manifested itself in some fairly strange and humorous ways. Several times, the Guys raised their hands and asked the Missus, "madam, may I go to the WC(water closet)?" Ruou fueled regression? And then came the high lite of the evening. One of the drivers told us he had three wives! You read that right; three wives! Thinh was beside himself, almost rolling on the ground. He’d known this driver for several years, and didn’t know the guy had three wives. And no, polygamy isn’t legal in Vietnam. Apparently, he has a bus route that takes him to some far flung villages, and so things just kinda happened(yeah right). All was well now, for they all knew about each other….they even get together and go out to dinner once in a while(I’d love to see that)! No wonder this guy was so skinny! Since this story couldn’t be topped, we decided to call it a night. It was fun seeing this bunch of guys hanging out, and acting, well…like any group of young men. Some things are universal. Our dinner, and at least 4 refills of Ruou ran 220,000 VND( a bit less than $14/US). We staggered our way back to the hotel, where we were greeted by the Owners and staff, who asked us to have dinner, and (of course) some Ruou with them. I went upstairs and shared the last of the snake wine, and we had a few toasts before calling it a night.

It had been a full day……

And we needed to get up early in the morning!

Bac Ha/Can Cau: Can Cau Market

May 6, 2008 mmm-yoso Memorable Meals, Sapa/Bac Ha/Can Cau, Travel, Vietnam

The morning after our hike, we rose early(still jet-lagging), walked around a bit and had our Banh Cuon and Bun Cha breakfast. At 700 am we settled our tour and room tab and met our Guide for our over-night trip to the village of Bac Ha. Many people make the Sunday day trip to Bac Ha, but it's 3 1/2 (100+ kilometers)hours each way, so we thought we'd be able to miss the tourists by going a day early, and staying over night in Bac Ha and hitting the market before the crush of tourists. And we'd be able to visit the Can Cau Saturday Market to boot.

We met our guide, an amiable and very friendly young Man named Thinh, and our Driver, a very quiet(at first) young man named Thang. Meet our chariot:

We had gone the private guide and driver route. Our car was a diesel Toyota Land Cruiser, with a dead suspension, and the fumes sometimes almost got the better of us. But it was fun being able to stop whenever we wanted, and to have Thinh's vast knowledge to ourselves. We got much more out of our trip by going this route.

Once we left Sapa, and passed through Lao Cai, the road got a bit, well, rougher. Luckily, the previous night's rain hadn't been very hard, otherwise the road to Bac Ha would be washed out, and our trip canceled. We saw major road construction during several stretches of our trip, soon enough you'll be able to make the trip over nice smooth asphalt. Funny, but I think the trip will lose some of it's charm, though your spine and other internal organs may appreciate the modernization.

We passed some sparkling green tea growing(we bought some on the way back) on the hillsides:

And rice paddies in the valleys:

After a kidney crunching 90 minutes, we reached the steep and winding road up the Bac Ha Mountain range. A new road is being built, but was only one-fourth complete at the time of our trip. The weather had changed significantly as we drove through the mountains, and some of the views were spectacular.

It was much drier around here. Soon enough, we skirted more road construction and arrived in sleepy, dusty Bac Ha Village. Remember this photo, and compare it to the same shot in a future post.

After a short "break", we made our way to Can Cau Market. We passed the terraced mountains:

Except in Bac Ha it's corn, not rice, that is king. Can Cau Market is approximately 20 kilometers North of Bac Ha, and we had to pass through one "bird flu" inspection/disinfection station on the way to market.

Stepping into the market at Can Cau is like being instantly immersed in a different world. The market itself occupies several "levels" of an hillside. Food stalls occupy one level:

Dry goods, hardware, herbs occupy another:

And livestock can be found in the valley below:

As we walked past the "food court" and up the stairs, dodging "tipsy" older men walking on unsteady legs, we passed the vendors selling them the treasured local ~~moonshine~~ Ruou Ngo(corn wine). You can see the plastic gallon containers in this photo.

There was one vendor who caught the Missus's eye:

This lady was selling Indigo dyed rice. The Missus wanted to try it out, and with the help of Thinh purchased some. The Missus only really wanted a taste, and had Thinh try to explain that to the woman, but she insisted on giving the Missus her money's worth!

Indigo rice is eaten for good luck, and really doesn't have much additional flavor. It was very pretty though.

Speaking of pretty, as you probably notice in the photos, the attire of the Flower H'mong is distinctly colorful and vibrant. Flower H'mong scattered in villages in the area all come to the Saturday market. Another thing we noticed is that compared to other "markets" Can Cau is relatively "quiet".

You can't help but be enchanted by the bright colors of the Flower H'mong:

It's not only the Flower H'mong who stand out. Blue(Green) H'mong women are also easy to identify, by what else, their bright blue embroidered skirts, leggings, and tunics.

Since Can Cau Market is close to the Vietnam-China border, you'll run into Chinese vendors selling items like herbal remedies.

And of course many of the H'mong sell brightly colored textiles.

It seems that you can get any of your necessities at Can Cau.

Of course, not everybody was happy to be here. This little piglet wanted nothing to do with any of the proceedings. I really don't blame the little critter……

We had noticed that all of the tourists had cleared out by this time. It had gotten pretty hot, and most of them had headed back to their buses. But for us; it was lunch time. We had made it very clear to Mr Thinh, that we didn't do the "tourist eating" kind of thing. And he guided us to the eating area, low benches(after sitting on those little stools in Hanoi, I was getting good at this squat-sit kinda thing), on a patch of dirt shaded by tarps….just like we wanted…..

Directly to our right, the lounge lizard crowd was going strong. This was their "Friday Happy Hour", and they were sure hitting the Ruou pretty hard.

Thinh told us to wait, and got up to grab our food. I did tell him one thing; to please skip the Thit Cho. It really, ahem, didn't look very tasty. Thinh told me, he doesn't care for it anyway.

Thinh returned with a bowl full of simple boiled pork(he couldn't find any Thang Co – Horse meat stew).

Along with a bag of sticky rice, and the standard issue chili paste-lime-salt-herb dip, this was a simple, yet fatty dish. I enjoyed the mild chewiness, and thought the fat parts had some pretty decent flavor. The Missus was kinda grossed out over the look of the dish. This is free range pork, with a decent fat content, it is not the "other white meat".

We also got a piping hot bowl of soup; a clear broth with a strong white and black pepper flavor. The hand cut noodles were a nice al dente, though this pork was on the tough side.

When it comes down to it, I'd take this over Northern Pho any day of the week. The one item that came with the soup that the Missus loved were the simple pickled mustard greens. Salty and sour, the Missus said it reminded Her of childhood.

Now this is where it gets interesting. We had noticed that people were starting to pay more than a passing amount of attention to us. After a few minutes; 2 gentleman of the Giay people spoke to Thinh. Thinh came back to us and said; "they told me that they want to have a drink with you, because tourists never eat with them. They are very happy and proud that you would eat the same food". What can you say? Of course, we were obligated to. So we had first one, than another, than another round. I had Thinh get them a refill of their Ruou(at 8,000 VND – 50 cents, it's a bargain). Ruou Ngo is pretty smooth with a mild finishing bite. After a few more rounds, everyone became less inhibited, and the conversation(with Mr Thinh's translation) flowed. We were told that "they don't believe you're American. They say that you cannot be American, you don't look like Americans. Americans rarely come here, and those that do are afraid of the food, and won't drink with them. They take their pictures and leave right away." This was a common theme for us through the trip, "no, no, you cannot be American, Australian maybe?" In the end, we settled for, "ok, tell them, I'm Japanese, and the Missus is Chinese." About this time, the Missus asked if She could try and have a smoke with one of the men's bamboo smoking pipes(Diếu Cày). The crowds started gathering, I guess the show was about to start.

Thinh prepared the tobacco(Thuoc Lao), and the Missus sucked harder than an Oreck Vacuum Cleaner, and you could hear the water in the bottom of the pipe start to gurgle. And then it was; "cough, cough, choke, gasp, gag, blech" and a whole range of gagging and gasping noises(In her spasms, the Missus accidentally blew a smoke ring!). The ~~Mucous's~~ Missus's beet red face told the whole story. "Whoa, that was strong." By now the Missus had become a real novelty(an Asian no less) in this conservative society where women don't smoke, nor drink in public. In celebration of the Missus's (lack off) smoking prowess we had a few more rounds. Because I was starting to enjoy the Ruou a bit too much, I knew it was time to leave. We paid our tab (30,000 VND – just under $2 US), and as we were leaving the proprietor of the pork stall came by with the standard issue used plastic water bottle filled with Ruou. Thinh explained that he wanted to have a drink with us. He made a toast which Thinh translated, "to Vietnamese and Chinese, we are brothers and neighbors, and brothers sometimes fight, but in the end we are still brothers".

We were told an old joke about Can Cau Market. "In the mornings, the people arrive, the husband is walking, and the wife rides the buffalo. In the afternoon, the people leave, the wife is walking, the husband is sleeping, laying across the buffalo." Well, this "husband" really needed an afternoon refresher by now.

This had been one of the more memorable experiences of a trip full of memorable experiences. Can Cau Market seemed a million miles away from Sapa; still unspoiled, the people work hard during the week, and enjoy life on Saturday at the social center that is the Can Cau market. These are good country folk, tough, sincere, and under the hard earned calluses, warm and generous. It was hard for us, and is still difficult for us to fathom. The exotic market, the colorful people of the Hill Tribes, eating, and drinking firewater with the locals. These are the things you read about, that happen to other people, to have lived it ourselves made us feel blessed. Days like these make it all worth while…….

I realize this humongous post may be a bit hard to digest, but I hope you enjoyed it!