Recipe - Authentic Pad Thai

In keeping with my Southeast Asian theme over the last week (see Pho Mi 99), I decided to make an Authentic Pad Thai recipe that I had gotten a loooong time ago. Ive always loved to eat pad thai, but whenever I made it just got one of those shitty jar Pad Thai sauce, which really just doesn't do the trick. So I decided, why not.. There aren't really many ingredients in here that are too hard to find, and in fact, you probably have or are capable of getting the majority of them within a couple of blocks radius of wherever you are. It ended up being capable of easily filling three people up and having left overs for two lunches the day after. Anyways, please try this because, in my opinion, it was the closest thing to Thailand I'm ever gonna get..

Ingredients

300g (10 oz) rice noodles
3 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon garlic - chopped
1 tablespoon dried shrimp (can use fresh, although you may want to use more than 1 tbsp if fresh)
1 cup tofu/chicken
3/4 cup full sized shrimp or prawns
6 tablespoons chicken stock or 1.5 cans of chicken broth
2 eggs - beaten
3 tablespoons roasted peanuts (or more if you like lots)
1/4 cup chives
1 cup bean sprouts
1 lime - cut into wedges

Any other fresh vegetables you want to add

Sauce

3 tablespoons sugar (raw sugar or brown sugar)
3 tablespoons fish sauce 
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons tamarind juice (find at any Chinese food store)
Steps

1. Put the oil in a wok (or large frying pan) and fry the garlic, dried shrimp and tofu/chicken until the garlic turns golden brown (and chicken is cooked if you use it).

2.Let the rice noodles sock in water for about 5-10 minutes

3.Add  noodles to the wok. Keep stirring over high heat while adding the chicken stock a bit at a time until the noodles are soft (if you run out of chicken stock and the noodles are not yet soft enough, add water).

4. Turn the heat down and add the sauce. Stir well to combine.

5. Next add the eggs and stir-fry until they are cooked and well combined with the noodles. 

 
6. Add the vegetables (bean sprouts, chives) and the peanuts.

7. Stirfry to combine, then put on a plate. 
8. Garnish with lime wedges and more peanuts.

9. It adds a bit of a different (and nice) taste to squeeze a little lime juice on the phad thai before eating.

Pho Mi 99 - Burnamthorpe and Grand Park Dr. - Mississauga

So this is a place I had been to several times and in my girlfriends sickness, decided to take her out for some warm soup. BTW if you are broke, and need lots of food, hit up any Vietnamese restaurant and get a large bowl of Pho.. For only a dollar extra, you can go from a small to a monstrous portion, which my girlfriends brother attempted to take down. Pho Mi 99 is a fairly good place, with a cozy atmosphere that always seems to be busy, but not so crazy that you have to wait for a seat. They "apparently" also use no MSG in their foods, but I have yet to confirm this fact. They seem to be a little disoriented with the whole "starters" idea, however. We ordered two plates of spring rolls, only to have the pho come out almost immediately and the spring rolls ten minutes later. They were pretty good though, I have to admit. I got a Pho with meatballs and chicken.. somewhat different then normal, the chick dipped in the hoison like sauce and what I assume to be sirachi was pretty damn good. It would have been pretty bland without, so I ended up using a lot of sauce. All in all, a nice little (and cheap) meal. If you really wanted to push the boundaries, you could probably get one large bowl per two people, and that would make for a veryy cheap meal.. Anyways here are some pics.. as always with my shitty iPhone (my bad).

I give this place 3.5 iron rings out of 5 for its inexpensive yet still fairly tasty meal..

Onion Rings Poutine

What happens when you take two of gods most precious gifts and role them into one? You get onion rings poutine.. This was to die for.. Any poutine lover has to take a try of this twisted classic. The onion rings, cooked to perfection in a crunchy batter. Way better than any freezer bought, or for that matter restaurant onion rings.

Ingredients

Onion Rings

• 1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk, or as needed
• 1 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• seasoned salt to taste
• 2 cups+ oil for frying or as needed 

Poutine

• 1 pouch gravy mix
• 1 cup water
• 1 package cheese curds

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a pot for deep frying.

2. Remove the onion skin and cut into rings. 

Onion Rings

3. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Flour and salt mixture

4. Whisk the egg and milk into the flour mixture using a fork.

Egg and Milk mixture

5. Dip the onion slices into the flour mixture until they are all coated and dip the floured rings into the batter to coat, then shake slightly over sink or tinfoil to remove excess batter or until the batter stops dripping. 
6. Spread the bread crumbs out in a bowl and place rings one at a time into the crumbs, and scoop the crumbs up over the ring to coat. The coating should cling very well. Repeat with remaining rings.
7. Begin to make gravy mixture as desciribed on package. Most use 250ml water to package gravy. Stir constantly until begins to bubble and cook for one more minute over medum heat

Onion rings in breads crumbs

8. Deep fry the rings a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain. 

Onion Rings frying



Completed Onion Rings

9. Drizzle grazy over finished onion rings and sprinkle cheese

Onion Rings Poutine



Bon appetit

Yum Yummmmm

So its a new year.. and I thought with a new year would come new types of food..wrong! So as you can guess, my first restaurant review will be of a Korean chicken restaurant located on Bloor Street West called Ahjookuh. Just steps from Christie station, and, therefore, within walking distance of my place. This place caters to the yum yum chicken enthusiast in all of us. I think its actually called yang nyum.. but who really cares, because this shit is delicous. Although not as spicy as its made-in-korea counterpart, its still got a little kick. At Ahjookuh you can get two different types of yum yum.. dry, which is then dipped in a salt and pepper mixture, or with sauce on. The sauce is a kind of sweet and tangy mixture with an Asian flare. You have the choice of either one or both. Of course yum yum isnt the only thing that they serve, you can get a variety of other korean dishes.. but who really cares about those.. Again, these pictures were unfortunately taken using my piece of crap iPhone, but you get the idea. the chicken here comes with a small side plate of pickeled radishes.. Its nothing to celebreate about, but provide a nice little inbetween when talking down saucy chicken.. This is also not a first date place.. the decor and atmosphere is nothing to celebrate about.. Its all about the food.. Ok, now to my take on Ahjookuhs yum yum chicken.. For any deep fried chicken lover, it will take your experience to a whole new level. After trying this stuff, you will struggle to go back to the likes of a KFC or Popeyes... Lightly breaded, extremely juicy, although it lacked that extra spice that I came to love while travelling Korea. Being a spice enthusiast, I found it a bit disappointing in that sense, but overall it was a great little bite. And hey only costs 22 bucks to feed 3 people! This did not include beer, which is something like 10-12 bucks extra for a pitcher. Anyways I give this place 4 iron rings out of 5! If it was a little spicier, could have earned more, but I think everyones tastes buds are different, and North American tastes wouldnt have necessarily been able to take it.. but hey I say if you cant take the heat.. get out the kitchen..

Recipe: Fresh Spaghetti and Meatballs

As promised, here is my first actual entry that consisted of me making food in preparation for this crap I'm doing right now. I wanted to do something a little more exciting that spaghetti and meatballs, but others in the family don't have as exciting taste buds as mine.. Nonetheless, until I return to TO, I'll have to deal with it. Much like the turkey dinner I pounded over the weekend, meatballs make for a great day after meal in the form of a meatball sandwich. The thing I like best about this meal is all the fresh ingredients and how the meatballs are cooked in with the sauce... they became so moist and tender. If they were ribs, they'd be falling off the rack.. Of course there can be lots of changes made.. If you like a really sweet sauce, add more sugar. If you like an extra kick, through in some chili garlic sauce or frank's.. Other than that, please enjoy! The picks were taken using my iPhone (Original 3G so camera sucks..)

I got a little over excited and dived into the meal before taking the first picture.... my bad

Ingredients

Pasta Sauce

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 (16 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 
  
• Meatballs

• 1 pound ground round
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/6 cup chopped fresh oregano

• 1 (16 ounce) package uncooked spaghetti

Directions:

Step numero uno.. Sauce.. Start off by chopping up the onions and mincing the garlic as shown below... Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat, and cook the onion until it's lightly brown. Mix in the 3 garlic cloves and cook for another minute. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar and 1/4 cup oregano.. Bring the sauce to a boil, seasoning with salt and pepper, then reduce heat to low and simmer. 

Step numero deu.. Meatballs.. Mix together the ground beef, bread crumbs, 1/6 cup oregano, 2 cloves garlic, parsley, eggs and parmesan cheese.. Season again with salt and pepper as required. Roll the mixture into small balls and put into the sauce.. Cook the meatballs in the sauce for around 40 minutes or until they are done.. Since I don't have a thermometer for meat, I found the best way to check is to take a meatball out of the sauce and cut in half.  

Step numero tre.. cook the pasta. This is (I hope) the easiest step for everyone. Bring a pot of water to a boil and throw in the package of spaghetti.. If theres only a couple of people eating.. obviously a package might be a little much, so dictate how much you need appropriately. Cook about 9 minutes or until al dente, and drain. Serve under meatballs and sauce.

Jagalchi Food Market

Just watched the Canucks run show over the Flyers.. so in celebration I will continue the onslaught of blog entries. This will be my last Korea related food entry and centered around the Jagalchi food market in Busan, South Korea. So what was so special about this moment? Well if you like raw fish.. it was something else.. including the raw octopus. Although it wasn't my first time eating raw octopus, it was still interesting... usually it is eaten with a dipping sauce consisting of sesame oil, salt and pepper.. When dipping, the octopus reacts to the salt in the dip and starts to have a mind of its own.. squirming around on your chopstick making it difficult to eat for any non-asian. To continue, there was also a variety of other raw fish and things that were just crazy.. some i put in my mouth and spit right out.. It was like eating tire rubber.. Much like other Korean dinners, we also had a bunch of other side dishes... although these were more seafood oriented.. I specifically remember small crab legs in red pepper paste.. I honestly don't think there was any meat in them whatsoever.. Or maybe I just sucked at getting it out, which very well may have been the problem.. We also got to walk around the fish market where they had all these open air stalls with fresh fish.. really interesting and much unlike anything we'd have at home in the super market.. Anyways I have prepared my first recipe oriented dish tonight, Spaghetti and a Meataballa.. its really tame but delicious! So check it out later:) Here are the pics from Jagalchi though!

Trying to get a hold of the octopus... fail

Our sushi boat

Bins upon bins of fresh seafood

Going down...

Jagalchi market get 3 iron rings out of 5.. It was definately interesting and different.. but after taking down some Tokyo sushi a few weeks before, just doesnt quite make the top grade..

Korean Barbecue and Pork Belly

Korean BBQ has to be one of the most exported korean dish available.. I on the other hand, had the chance of experiencing it without the "export" part. Most often the dishes are prepared at the table and consist of an assortment of meats and side dishes. That is why I have gone ahead and combined the bbq and pork belly posts together.. They are both cooked sitting down at the table.. In Korea.. these had to be by far my favorite meals, other than Korean fried chicken or "Yum Yum" chicken.. But thats a whole other story. For anyone that has had Korean BBQ or Pork Belly you know it is delicious.. you wrap it up with a lettuce leaf and throw in a little garlic, some bean paste, kimchi and of course meat and shove that sucker right in. These dishes are accompanied by a variety of side dishes that you pick at throughout the meal.. pickled this, pickled that, some tofu.. just a bunch of different things..

Here is the Pork Belly on a cast iron cooking grill.. 

Pork Belly with garlic, green onion with hot pepper paste and bean pasta wrapped in a lettuce leaf


And here is some more at a different restaurant in Seoul.. They also had sausage too!

I give these places 4.5 iron rings out of 5..