Cooking with Lucia - Roasted Chicken

I've never roasted a chicken before (although for many years I never owned a roasting pan), so I figured now would be the time.  To prep, start with large bowl and mix together white pepper, a little bit of oil, soy (light and dark if you have it), sugar, a bit of brandy or cooking wine, about an inch worth of cut up ginger (squeeze into the bowl), and finally oyster sauce (optional). 

Now to start on the chicken.  We had one that was between 4-5 LBs.  First thing you need to do is reach in and pull out the excess fat and guts and all of that fun jazz.  Do it from both ends.  Cut off any excess fat that you see.  Then bathe it in the mixture (insides also) that you've prepped.  Let that marinate for at least an hour and turn it midway through. 

Preheat the over to 350.

Stuff the insides with some larger pieces of ginger and green onions.

Place the chicken (drumsticks up) on the roasting pan and put it in the oven.  Then its a waiting game for the most part.  About every half hour, flip the chicken.  It should take about an hour and a half, maybe 2.  Near the end, with about 15 - 30 min left, you can brush the chicken with honey if so desired to give it a darker hue and make it a bit more crispy.  You can also, turn the broiler on near the end to get desired crispiness as well.  Finally, to check 'doneness,' poke into the drumstick.  If its bloody, its not done. 

All in all, an easier process than expected.  However, my cutting of the chicken was a disaster.  I may have to revisit that later on in this blog.

Cooking with Lucia - Beef Broth

Now that I'm home, I've decided to make a concerted effort to learn to cook more things.  I already like to cook and do most of the cooking for Kelly and I, but there are certain things I've never made and want to try to make them.  Since my mom is an awesome cook, I figure now is the time to take advantage of her expertise.  I'm attempting to make this a weekly ritual and gain more cooking knowledge.

My first cooking episode was last week.  I wanted to start with just basic beef broth.  I've already screwed this up when trying to make pho, so I thought I'd give it another try. 

What you'll need:
Large pot
Beef bones (we used beef shank)
Ginger
Salt

We start with the beef.  We started w/between 4 - 5 lbs. of beef shank.  Oxtail was also considered (I've heard that is a better, but more expensive choice), but ultimately decided on the shank.  To start out, fill and heat a large pot of water and heat on high until boiling.  While waiting for the water, you need to trim the outer fat layer from the shank. When boiling, put the beef in the pot and cover again.  Also, cut up some ginger and add it to the pot.  The ginger is used as a clarifying agent.  After a few minutes, you can start skimming the fat from the top with a ladle.  After the first skimming, lower the heat, but keep it covered.  Skimming is something you'll have to do periodically throughout.  The whole process should take around 3 hours. Near the end, salt to taste and strain.  Put it in your fridge or freeze it and use it at your convenience.

For a cleaner/clearer broth, after boiling at the beginning for a few moments, strain meat and ginger and rinse.  You can boil this in just a little water.  Then take the meat/ginger and put into a large boiling pot of water and continue as you would normally. 

Secret Menu cont'd

We went to Fortune this past Easter.  There is where I was able to confirm the 2 menus.  The green menu is only in English.  The orange menu is in both English and Chinese.  I didn't get a real good look at either menu, so was unable to see if there are 'secret' items in the orange menu.  I was actually somewhat surprised that the orange menu even had English on it at all.  I'll have to get a closer look next time and/or just aska waittress there so that I can confirm.

Secret Menu

You ever got to a Chinese restaurant and notice that there are sometimes 2 different menus out on the tables?  If you've never been to a more authentic place, you've probably never seen it.  Basically, the more asian diners there are, the more authentic the place will be.  Thats where you should eat and thats where you'll probably see the mythical secret menu. 

Now I've seen this menu quite a few times in my lifetime and admittedly am not so sure how 'secret' it really is.  In fact, by 'secret', it may just really mean that its in Chinese and I can't read it.  That being said, I've heard rumors and seen tv food shows in which they basically allude to the fact that there are other specialty items on the 2nd menus that are not seen on the english speaking ones.  I haven't been able to confirm whether this is true or not, but I'll find out and follow up on this post.  I know for a fact that 'Fortune' in Milwaukee has a 2nd menu as does 'Evergreen' in Chicago. 

Either way, both of these restaurants are excellent and the telltale sign is of course the asian diners.  So keep an eye out and follow the asians cause we know how to eat!

Tea customs

Recently, I was at Evergreen in China Town with some family (Auntie Nora, Josie, Samantha, and Christianne, my parents, and Kelly) which happens to be my mom's favorite there. Its a Cantonese/Szechuan joint.  Whenever you go to a Chinese restaurant, there are a couple of interesting tea customs to take note of.  Of course I'm no expert, but I am Chinese and have had hundreds if not thousands of Chinese meals by now. 

The first tea custom you'll notice is almost immediately.  As soon as you sit down at the waitstaff appears, they'll ask you what type of tea you'd like.  Not whether you want tea, but what type of tea you'd like.  I'm not a tea expert per se, but a couple usual types offered are oolong and chrysanthemum.  Teacups are almost always already set at the table so enjoy. 

Its customary for you to pour tea for others and elders before you pour and fill your own cup.  Once the teapot is empty all you need to do is lift the lid and keep it open.  Whenever a server notices it, they will automatically come fill it.  Thats standard procedure.

One last tea custom comes to mind.  I'm sure there are others, but as I've mentioned, I'm not expert.  This last one is particularly interesting and one I didn't pick up on until I was at least in high school, maybe college.  In a nutshell, if someone fills your cup, which will probably be often, you can say thanks, nod your head, or as most Chinese do, 'tap' the table.  By tapping, one will tap with either their index, middle, or a combination of these fingers.  I couldn't remember the reasoning or explanation for it so here a link to one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_tea_culture

Next time your at a Chinese restaurant, take notice of these and any more that I may have missed.

Chizakaya - Japanese Pub

Restaurant week every year in Chicago is just after V-day.  http://www.choosechicago.com/things-to-do/dining/chicago-restaurant-week/   It involves over a hundred restaurants throughout the city/suburbs during which they have set prix fixe menus.  Prices are very reasonable, lunch around $22 and dinner around $33 and you usually get at least 3 courses.  For the last few years, my cousin Jeff and his cousin Kent have been coming down for it because it just so happens to coincide with the Chicago Auto Show.  One year we went to Roy's (Hawaiian Fusion) and this year we went to a Japanese Pub as they call themselves, Chizakaya (http://www.chizakaya.com). 

I was pretty happy to find that the menu had 4 courses and was pleasantly surprised that there were choices to be made for our appetizer and main courses.  For the app course I chose the 'crispy pork, slow poached egg' which came in soy sauce.  It was delicious and my favorite of all the courses.  The second course was a preset 'Kushi Yaki' course.  3 skewers of salmon, chicken, and shishito peppers came.  The third course options were all noodle options.  I chose the pork tenderloin ramen in a pork bone marrow broth.  The broth was straight buttery goodness.  Finally, the dessert was fried mochi balls with a sweet black sesame paste. 

There were quite a few cocktails, sake, and beer selections on the beverage menu.  Jeff, Jane, and I shared a some sake which was very good, and clean. 

Pork tenderloin ramen in Pork bone marrow broth



LINSANITY

Just Lin baby Lin
Linnin'
All I do is Lin Lin Lin no matter what
Time to Lin

If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you've probably been living under a rock for the last 2 weeks.  This is the most excited I've been about basketball in years, and he doesn't even play for my team.  Of course by he, I mean the new basketball sensasian, Jeremy Lin. 

For those that don't know, Jeremy Lin is the new starting point guard for the New York Knicks.  He was a California state champ, played 4 years at Harvard, and got an economics degree from said university.  On the other hand, he wasn't offered a scholarship from any of his home state universities, including the one he really wanted to go to and was basically in his backyard - Stanford, went undrafted in the NBA, and was cut by 2 teams, his hometeam Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets.  He was then picked up by the Knicks and sat on their bench for awhile until injury and circumstance finally gave him the chance.  I think in his first game, he came off the bench and scored 25 and hasn't looked back since.  He's ignited the Knicks and have brought them back into the playoff picture.  They've won something like 8 out of 10 since he started playing/starting with regularity. 

His rapid rapid rise has been amazing.  Everybody and their mother have been talking, blogging, tweeting about it.  both good and bad.  Lots has been said about his heritage.  Lin is only the 4th asian player to play in the NBA.  A lot of people are wondering why he was so overlooked by so many college and NBA teams and speculate that its because he's asian.  In fact, he was recently, and might still be sleeping on his brother's couch because he didn't know if he was gonna stick around on the team.  Many coaches and players have made comments about how they didn't think he would be that good or that athletic.  The guy is 6'3, 200, not exactly a small dude. 

Along with millions, maybe billions of people (considering he's Taiwanese-American), I have Linsanity!


You can follow him on twitter: @jlin7
Here's a funny video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9yVnKQNj58

Ping Pong...the restaurant

I went to Ping Pong the other day to meet my cousin Jason and 2 of his friends because he was in town for a conference.  It just so happened to be his birthday as well.  This was my first time successfully going there.  I had tried to go there another time a few years back w/a large party, but the restaurant isn't very large and we decided go next door to eat instead. 

The restaurant was decent.  The food was good.  Its kind of pan-asian.  The menu had some chinese, thai, and general southeast asian specialties on it.  Jason had the Hong Kong chow fun.  I had a dish called butter chicken, more Indian or maybe Malaysian or from Singapore.  It was good, but spicy.  We also had a side of Chinese Broccoli w/oyster sauce.

The ambience of the place is kinda of clubby.  Its definitely has a hipper vibe, plays trance music, and has sleeker furniture and artwork.  Its also BYOB.  If you don't know what that means, its Bring Your Own Beer/Booze.  Its pretty much a Chicago thing as far as I can tell.  Most places will charge a little 'corkage' fee.  Ping Pong was a little weird in that it charged an higher corkage fee than normal, $8, but also served beer and cocktails.  Basically, I think you can only bring wine. 

All in all, I'm glad I tried the place, but it wouldn't be in my top asian restaurants in the city.

http://pingpongrestaurant.com/

Hong Kong Chow Fun

Butter Chicken

Chinese Broccoli

Jason and I

 

Making Pho

About a week after eating at Tank, I decided to attemp to make pho.  Let me tell you, it is not easy, not easy at all!  I decided early on that I wanted to try to make my own broth.  It was a total failure.  I started by browning beef neck bones in a large pot.  Then I filled the pot nearly to the top with water, a chopped onion, a few chopped stalks of celery, carrots, some bay leaves, salt and pepper.  This simmered down well over halfway for nearly a day, but never became a real broth.  It just ended up kinda greasy and had no real beef broth flavor.  In the end, I had to go buy some beef broth from the grocery store.

The other ingredients I had were rice noodles, pre-sliced ribeye, lime slices, bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms, and chopped green onion, and hot sauce.  I cooked the noodles, then added them and the beef to the broth.  The thinly sliced ribeye cooks in a minute.  Everything else I put on the side to add separately in case people didn't like it.  I did notice the green onion quite a bit while eating so perhaps I should've cooked them for a few minutes beforehand as well. 

Overall, it was a pretty good meal and not a bad effort.  A lot of ingredients can be added/subtracted, i.e. different veggies, meats, etc.  The broth was disappointing...guess I'll have to work on it.

Tank Noodle - Pho

Asians make great noodle soup dishes.  One of my absolute favorites is a traditional Vietnamese dish called Pho.  Pho is delicious!  For whatever reason, I've only recently, in the last few years, come across this great dish.  In its most basic form, from what I understand anyway, is that its comprised of a beef broth with rice noodles, thinly sliced beef and veggies and spices on the side that you can add.  At least thats the way its usually served at the places I've been to. 

Just last week, I went to Tank Noodle (http://www.tank-noodle.com) with my wife and our friends Bob and Emily.  Its a great Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant specializing in pho on Argyle in Chicago.  Its on street known as Vietnamese Street.  The menu is huge there as is typical of many asian restaurants.  I ordered the #90 which was Pho with flank steak and tripe.  They served it in a big bowl with noodles and broth.  On the side, are a variety of vinegar, soy, and chili sauces along with a platter consisting of limes, sprouts, and basil.  The meal is massive at a pretty good price of around $8.  We also had a crepe appetizer which was very good as well.  All in all, quite happy with the place, especially since its BYOB!  Gotta love that about Chicago.

Happy New Year - Gung Hay Fat Choi

Another year, another Chinese new year! This is now the year of the dragon. The Chinese new year runs on its own 12 year cycle. An animal with distinct characteristics and personalities is associated with each of the twelve years. For most in Asia, the lunar festival lasts for several days. I've never experienced it firsthand , but what I know of it, it involves lots of eating, drinking, fireworks, and downright joy and celebration.

http://www.chinesezodiac.com/

Here in the states, lots of families and friends get together to eat and celebrate. One custom for the new year is to give 'lucky' red envelopes. My own perosnal favorite, obviously, because you get money. There are lucky foods that are generally eaten customarily as well.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/stew/chi-dragon-new-year-lucky-foods,0,4771984.story

As for my own customs, I like to go out with friends for a few drinks and announce to everyone at the bar that its the new year. Its actually become a really fun tradition for me and I come to really look forward to it. So to all, Happy New Year and eat and drink lots!

First Generation

I had a surprisingly hard time trying to figure out the name of my new blog.  When deciding on starting this blog, I knew almost immediately that I wanted it to have the word 'generasian' in there.  Shortly thereafter, I decided that I wanted it to be called 'first generasian' or 'second generasian,' but ran into an unanticapated problem.  My problem was that this is a blog and hence, a first person account of things, yet I had no idea whether I was consider first or second generation asian american.  I thought about it awhile, asked a few coworkers, checked the internet, and eventually asked family. 

My coworkers had no idea for the most part.  The internet, more specifically, 'wikipedia' just made things worse.  Both results were inconclusive and muddled.  They actually made me more confused.  Here are the two links:

First Generation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_generation
Second Generation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Generation

It was actually pretty frustrating.  My family finally decided it for me and even that didn't come without some differing opinions.  I polled a few cousins and of the 5 responses, 3 of them thought we were first and 2 thought we were second.  I finally called my dad and taking into account his fatherly opinion, finally decided (hopefully I'm right) on naming my blog 'First Generasian.'

I hope that you all will enjoy, appreciate, and laugh at my lighthearted attempt at asian introspection.  I'm pretty sure that I have lots and lots of material to write about and am really looking forward to this.

Shameless self promotion time...if you want to check out my other rambling, my other blog is http://austindiesta.blogspot.com .   Its a lot more random and casual.  I hope to make this one more structured and well thought out.  Enjoy and  since its after midnight now...Gung Hei Fat Choi!