Korean Bulgogi - Recipe

Well I made the tofu as the appetizer and bulgogi as the main, so here's part two of my dinner tonight! Bulgogi is a Korean beef dish, thinly sliced, and marinated in a soy based sauce that can be found in many Korean and Asian restaurants across North America. One of my favourite burgers is a bulgogi inspired beef patty with lettuce, tomato, onion and cheese, but that's another time.. another story. The dish can either be served in a lettuce wrap with toppings, such as fried garlic, jalapeño or bean pasta, among others, or over rice, like my dinner tonight. The bast way to cook this is hot and fast, either in the frying pan, or on the grill. The beef should be marinated for at least 30 minutes, with several hours allowing for the full flavour of the marinate to be absorbed by the beef. With that being said, we need less talk, more eating, so here you go.

Ingredients:
1 pound of thinly sliced steak
1 yellow onion
1 carrot
3 stems of green onion

Marinate/Sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons garlic
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
sesame seeds and a touch of black pepper

Extras:
1 cup of rice or;
lettuce and any of the following:
fried sliced garlic
fried jalapeño
kimchi
green onion in red pepper paste
or anything that you might find appetizing

Steps:
1) Slice the steak thin or look for the pre-sliced variety in an Asian foods market
2) Add all the marinate ingredients together in a bowl, mix well, and pour over the steak.Set aside in fridge and let marinate for a few hours.
3) Cut the onion into strips and julienne the carrot and add to marinated mixture, stirring well.
4) Prepare rice as directed on package or lettuce wraps
5) Preheat grill top or frying pan and add beef mixture. Stir well until fully cooked.
6) Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve quickly.

Happy Living!

Deep Fried Tofu - Recipe

With the end of my package of tofu in the fridge, and having had enough stir-fry, I decided to do something with it  before it met its demise. Something easy that I could use as an appetizer before dinner. This past week I've had memory flashes of one of my favourite cheap eateries in Victoria,, BC, Fujiya. Every opportunity I could get I would go there and enjoy the 3 dollar California rolls and 1.5 tofu blocks in a little amber sauce, which made me think, why not recreate one of my favourite dishes.Deep fried tofu is simple and requires limited ingredients.. All you really need is tofu (medium firmness), cornstarch and oil! I like to add a little flavour by adding a soy/vinegar blended sauce, but I would recommend an amber sauce more similar to the authentic Fujiya, if available. The result will be a crunchy outside and soft inside delight. Anyways, enough talking, more cooking.. Here you go!

Ingredients (per serving):

1/4 block medium firmness tofu
1/6 cup cornstarch (or flour if cornstarch unavailable)
Vegetable oil for frying

Sauce:
2 tablespoon soy
1 1/2 tablespoon vinegar

Amber Sauce
1/8 cup dashi stock
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon mirin

Steps:
1) Cut tofu to desired size and place on paper towel. Let sit for 15-20 and dab to remove liquids.
2) Put oil in pan/deep frying and heat to 170degrees C.
3) Roll in cornstarch until completely covered and place in deepfryer until tofu is a light brown. Remove and place on paper towel to remove excess oil
4) If making amber sauce, add sauce ingredients to pot and bring to a boil.
5) If making soy/vinegar sauce, add ingredients and set aside.
6) Arrange tofu on plate and pour sauce over.

And that's a simple deep fried tofu everyone!

Happy Living!

Brick Street Bakery - In the midst of over priced art, food reigns supreme

The Distillery District, the self internationally acclaimed village full of brick-lined streets and galleries. A common stop-over for most tourists to Toronto (I have to admit, I've taken a few first time visitors to Toronto here), it is chock-full of different galleries, restaurants, shops and cafe's, among others. Within all of that, as you enter the district, is Brick Street Bakery. A small, worn floored spot that couldn't fit more than a dozen patrons at any one time. Full of sweet treats and sandwiches, any sane person could spend an afternoon pouring over the different goodies and fresh out of the oven breads..

After much deliberation, I chose the Brick Street Club, a hot sandwich with chicken, bacon, tomato, red onion, lettuce and mayo. Not much of a change from any other Club, but what made this sandwich was the bread. It couldn't have been more than 30 minutes out of the oven it was still crispy and warm as I downed it quickly.With that being said, it did take about 12 minutes to get my sandwich, and the place wasn't what I would call roomy. I wouldn't suggest coming in if you are in a rush..

Other goodies included a variety of savory dishes (sausage rolls, pies and chili's/soup's), sweet treats (croissants, brioche's, scones and cookies), hot and cold sandwiches and a variety of baked breads all fresh out of the oven. You really come to appreciate bread and baked goods after going months with only bread from the local Loblaw's.

If you have a free afternoon or evening, and you find yourself strolling through the distillery district, pop over to the Brick Street Bakery, you wont regret it...

For its natural ingredients and fresh bread, but for taking so long and its close quarters, I award the Brick Street Bakery 3.5 iron rings out of 5.

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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/10/1452406/restaurant/Corktown-Distillery-District/Brick-Street-Bakery-Toronto"><img alt="Brick Street Bakery on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1452406/minilink.gif" style="border:none;width:130px;height:36px" /></a>

Salad King - The local hotspot is back

Salad King.. Long known for its flavourful (should I say spicy - atleast for the general Caucasian demographic) interpretation of Southeast Asian cuisines re-opened this year (after that interesting 'fire' that ripped through the historic building) to great fanfare and waiting. I had the pleasure over this last year of spending numerous evenings and weekends on their unique bench chairs in front of a variety of different dishes. Curries, noodles, rice dishes, I pretty much made my way through most of the subcategories at one time or another (except for seafood and vegetarian). On any given day, the line up to this place can find itself going from the second floor all the way to entrance outside. Turnover is fairly fast, however, as it is my belief that many of the dishes, at least the more common ones, are pre-made and have a high enough turnover rate that they don't ever sit long. The setting is unique, almost industrial in nature, with long tables and benches, with a few booths. I believe this is so no party stays too long and keeps people moving in  and out.

Bangkok Stir Fry

Now, to the food. The price is right and the portions are good (although I feel that they've become smaller since I first tried a few years back), but by no means should you take any of this as 'Authentic Thai'. Its the 'white-washed' version of a Thai dish, and hey, I'm happy with that fact. Many of the dishes have that Chinese feel and lack the fishy taste that is more common among authentic Southeast Asian cuisines.. Instead of going through every dish I have had and all the different experiences, I'm just going to include a pictures of a few of the dishes and my favourites!

Thai Islamic Noodle

The dish I have undoubtedly indulged in the most would be Thai Islamic Noodle. For some reason, you will not find this on the menu. I really have no idea why that might be, but if you do find yourself at Salad King as a first timer, at least consider ordering the dish. In my opinion, it has to be a top three on any ones list. Ingredients include rice noodles, chicken and/or shrimp, bell peppers, carrots, onions, broccoli and a red curry sauce made with coconut milk.

Siam Noodles

Another favourite would have to be Siam noodles, which uses a peanut and coconut base sauce that is to die for. I've always been a huge fan of peanut sauce, on chicken, in stir fry, anything really..

Spicy Chicken

Here are a few more picks, if you get the chance the curries arent bad (I've had only the green curry thus far, although I'm sure they are all great) as well as the spicy chicken or beef! Bon Appetit!

Green Curry

WIth everything being said, I would have to give Salad King 3.5 iron rings out of 5 for its good flavourful food.

Happy Living!

<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/10/135083/restaurant/Downtown-University-of-Toronto/Salad-King-Toronto"><img alt="Salad King on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/135083/minilink.gif" style="border:none;width:130px;height:36px" /></a>

Deli Chenoy's - A Montreal Classic

Poutine! Who doesn't love that stuff, right? Well on a recent trip (OK, maybe it's not that recent) for my companies annual hockey tournament, we found our self in the centre of the frenchys', Montreal. I like to consider myself a connoisseur of fine poutines, and HAD to make this endeavor part of my trip.

Chenoy's has been a part of Montreal culture since 1936, and, like most deli's in the area, has a reputation for smoked meat. Needless to say, we asked the front desk at our hotel what they recommended and they said the Italian poutine, with tomatoe sauce, beef and cheese curds was to die for. So, I thought based on their recommendation, I would give it a shot. My friend, on the other hand, went with the smoked meat poutine with gravy and cheese curds. Needless to say, I had poutine envy. Although mine was good, Steven's came out pilled high with smoked meat which complimented the poutine perfectly.. I had tried Italian poutine in the past and thought we would try to go to another deli downtown to have a full smoked meat sandwich (which didn't happen), so I would go with the tomato sauce and beef variety.

All in all, not a bad experience, but I'm pretty sure you could pick up better quality poutines and different varieties closer to downtown (hey we were in the wealthy burbs, give me a break).. I would have to say, the decor is fairly outdated. This is a family restaurant, first and foremost, so please don't expect the Jack Astors or Moxies style waitress and atmosphere. Anyways, was a nice little treat and experience (my first official Quebec poutine), but a little underwhelming and I'm pretty sure there's more out there to offer!

For your smoked meat poutine success and italian poutine failure, I award you 2.5 iron rings out of 5.

Happy Living!

<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/67/1095025/restaurant/Montreal/Deli-Chenoys-Brossard"><img alt="Deli Chenoy's on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1095025/minilink.gif" style="border:none;width:130px;height:36px" /></a>

Katz Deli - The King of Deli's

Well as per my last post, I took a trip to NYC about two weeks ago... One of my biggest priorities was food. New York is know for its Deli's and Katz reins supreme. This old (and I mean old) time favourite has been serving kosher-style delicatessen since 1888 and remains the go to for any one looking for pastrami, reuben, corned beef and all the other classic's you would expect. I decided to go with what makes this place so famous, the pastrami sandwich. With layer upon layer of pastrami goodness, this sandwich lived up to it's status as the king of kings. Each sandwich is pilled high on rye bread with a Dijon mustard spread for an extra kick. There are a number of other toppings available, such as cheese, what looked like coleslaw, thousand island dressing, mayo, etc. depending on what sandwich you order. We also ended up trying the soft salami sandwich. In my opinion, not as good. Like the pastrami, it was piled high with salami, but the whole thing was a little overwhelming. I would have loved to have tried the Reuben, which was also pastrami based, or the corned beef.


Instead of paying up front, each customer gets a ticket as they enter. As you get your food from every station, the sandwich artist (this is the only place I would call the sandwich makers 'artists' - sorry Subway) puts down the running total of your meal that they compute themselves. I think in the end, however, the drink server messed up on our bill, and we only paid for the sandwiches (Cha-Ching!).

The atmosphere is loud and busy. Don't take a girl here on your first date, this placed is made for a group of three or four, looking for some hefty, greasy, quality sandwiches without the huss, fuss and highbrow attitude that has accompanied so many of these new upscale sandwich shops with chipotle aioli sauce and avocado spread. But then again, sometimes that's what you need. Think of this as the Five Guys of deli's.. Without the history.

If you happen to be in the New York area, I would definitely recommend trying this place out. It's one of those places that when you think of Deli, your mind instantly thinks of Katz and its worth the experience. I do have to say though, it is a little on the pricier side (15.50 for my pastrami, I believe). So for all of those who are short on cash, drink before you get in or maybe split it amongst two people.

For having the best dame pastrami I've had and being a tourist attraction and quite the experience itself, I award Katz Deli 4.5 iron rings out of 5. It is definitely catering to a certain crowd or feeling, and the salami sandwich could have been more exciting, but still a great meal.

Happy Living!

<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/3/31390/restaurant/Lower-East-Side/Katzs-Deli-New-York"><img alt="Katz's Deli on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/31390/minilink.gif" style="border:none;width:130px;height:36px" /></a>

The Champ is Back - Momofuku Spicy Cold Noodles - Recipe

So I'm back! Its been way too long, I know, but I got lazy. I bought a new Canon 60D so thought I'd change up the flavour of the blog a little bit, add my two cents on some issues and share my photos and travel experiences (the few that I have). Anyways, todays recipe is a new favourite of mine.. Spicy cold noodles w/sausage, spinach and honey roasted almonds. If you've ever been to Momofuku in NYC, this might look a little familiar. Well that's because it is. This time I used arugula and honey roasted peanuts because of availability, but in the past having used the spinach and almonds, it makes a bit of difference.. And yes I am aware that my recent posts have all been of the Asian variety.. Its because I only seem to take pictures during this.. .I assure you though that I have a wide meal palette. To the recipe we go!!

Sauce:
2 tablespoons vegetable Oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vineger
2 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon sirachi (or more/less if you like a little extra/less heat)
1 teaspoon hoison sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients:
1 - link of sausage
200G - udon noodles
handful of spinach
1/2 cup - honey roasted almonds (again add more if you'd like)


Steps:
1) Cook the udon as prescribed on the package. Rinse with cold water several times until the noodles become cook. Set aside.

2) Make the sauce by adding the ingredients above. Mix well and pour over the noodles, stiring well to coat. Put in the fridge to cool down.

3) Cook sausage on the frying pan until done.

4) Take the noodles out of the fridge and plate by adding the cooked sausage, spinach leaves and honey roasted almonds.

That's it! A simple dish and oh so tasty! If those pictures don't make you hungry, go see a doctor immediately, there is something wrong with you..

Let me know if you have any questions and I'd be glad to clarify.

Happy Living!