Summer Salad w/ Orzo & other fun stuff...

The Boston heat wave has been brutal and required my apartment's thermostat to stay on 79 at the highest - it was sitting between 72-75. This definitely makes me wonder how I managed the Saigon heat last May. And plus this serves  to remind me that the summer is almost over and my birthday is almost here. How scary! On top of that, I'm still waiting for the confirmation on this moving business... so crazy... I'm only moving about a mile away to a new apartment if everything goes as planned. And back to the same building I've lived at twice before at two different times in my life. Maybe the 3rd time's a charm like however the saying goes.

My dear friend Sue is putting together my birthday dinner and Lola is already planning on baking my birthday cake with all the fixin's I like. As always, I also like to keep my birthday low key and intimate. I really just want to celebrate it with close friends who know how my past year went down (or up) and are there to reflect on the positives with me. I know, I'm quite cheesy. In any case, we are going to one of my favorite places in Harvard Square, Russell House Tavern, so I can't wait.

I got a bit off topic but the weather completely cooled down today, which reminds me to eat my greens. Nothing quite nicer than a summer salad for dinner on a Sunday night to make Monday mornings feel more welcoming. Seriously.

The orzo should really be the main character... I had to order this brand online. I probably didn't need to but it was hard trying to find a Greek market in town and accessible via the T.  They do come in different grain size as you can see these are the "large" - I've definitely used mediums before. 

The AUDITION. Why? I didn't end up using everything you see in this photo. Originally, I wanted to call this post, the summer salad with everything but the kitchen sink. 

Fresh crisp greens always make my day brighter and healthier. :)

Gotta' rinse that celery heart... rinse it well, girl (boy). 

Slice 'em up beautifully... or not... or however you like to slice 'em. 

We all need a lil' heat in our life. What's romance without the heat? I don't understand the connection with romance and salads but I'm sure you get the gist of it.  Don't worry, these peppa's* aren't hot - nothing like the tacos from hell at Tremont 647 on taco tuesday. I sat there crying for a good 30 minutes.

*seriously, you non-Boston folks, please do not say to another Bostonian, "whoa, you don't have the Boston accent" - not everyone from Boston has an accent. what the heck... 

That taco from hell make these guys seem like the wimps of the peppa'** family. 

**seriously, I do not say the word like that in real life. 

Slice up some beautiful tomatoes. Yes, I'm extremely cheesy today - I think everything is beautiful!

Lookin'*** good. 

***seriously, I do drop my "g's" sometimes. i often say "keepin' it real, son"- yup, with the comma and all. 

The only thing summer about the salad is the peach. Man, I hate to cut peaches.

I try to do this first (slice it?) then break it apart with my bare hands. It ain't no easy task. 

This was the best I could do under the circumstances. 

But my slicin' skills came in handy and it don't look so bad after all. 

Pickles are the true secret to a delicious salad. I can't imagine eating salads w/o pickles anymore. It adds such a nice punch and kick. I know, I am using ninja terms to describe food because that's how versatile I am. 

With the amount of TJ products in this one post, you'd think TJ paid me to do this. But no... I'm just a huge fan and they're about 5 blocks away from me. 

I don't care how big you are or how often you take lipitor - but when it comes to cheeses. Full fat only. Anything else is just a lie. Who wants to live a lie? I know I don't - neither should you. 

This salad is just getting prettier and prettier.

Now, the orzo, slivered almonds, and dried sweetened cranberries. 

I added some fresh ground pepper and sea salt then toss it all together. Toss toss!

Go feed your soul. 

In the mean time, it is summer and rosé is my drink of choice. This bottle was a recommendation from Central Bottle which is a super cute liquor store near MIT and Central Square. They carry different types of cured meats, cheeses, and breads as well. Do check it out. 

As you can see from the cork, the bottle was stored properly. Thank you.

Pouring myself a modest glass and you can see my reflection! 

Anyway, that's all folks. ENJOY!

Pork, Shrimp, and Fish Dumplings w/ Shiitake Mushrooms

I have made dumplings more time on this blog than anything else.  I should start a dumpling wholesale business.  Seriously, I mean it.  You can start placing orders.  I can't help it - they're just so fun to make and makes my heart flutter with joy.  If my heart can flutter... or makes my heart beat with joy?  Whatever, you get the point. These are a lot more dim-sum like than any other ones... I think because of the protein density.

On another note, I'm going to Stockholm in September! To visit my old roommate from Israel.  I have not seen him in over 5 years so I totally can't wait.  He's now a make-up artist at Christian Dior.  I totally can't wait.  Let me pull up some throwback photos.

This was us at some ultra cool hookah lounge somewhere in the old city of Jaffa

Us in Jerusalem (there are very few photos of me wearing sunglasses)

Us in Taba, Egypt

Oh! Just looking at these photos make me so excited and can't, can't wait to see him in Stockholm and see his new life there! 

It must also be something about Israel that I decided to make both pork and shrimp - damn, I'm just missing a dairy product in this thing. 

In the mix:

1.5lbs of ground pork

2 cups of minced tilapia

1.5 cups of minced shrimp

1 cup of minced shiitake mushrooms

1 egg

3 Ts of fish sauce (oyster brand)

2 Ts of sugar

1/2 T of chopped chili peppers

Pile of cleaned and gutted shrimp - gosh, these things are so high maintenance. I would definitely hire someone to clean shrimp for me. 

Mincing it until it turns paste-like. 

Just like this. 

Rinsing these suckers and squeezing them well. 

Minced shiitake mushrooms. 

Nice and firm tilapia filets. I really don't like tilapia on its own so I think it was perfect to add them into the dumpling mix. 

All minced up.

These guys are very spicy so use with caution. 

Adding the fish sauce.

I used this brand but you can use whatever else you have on hand like the two crabs or three crabs or four... whatever.

Add a few drops of vinegar. Do it. I promise it will help your dumplings taste better and super terrific. 

Combine super well.  At this point, I just put my hands in there and made sure that it was all well mixed together. 

My set up. I was making a ton so I really needed to take a seat. For wrapping instructions, do visit any other links to my previous dumplings making adventures. 

I made about five plates like this and plan on freezing most of it. 

This was the best photo I could take with very dirty hands as you can see... they were definitely yummy and reminded me of the ones I get at dim sum. 

ENJOY!

Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup

If you've never had bitter melon before, let me reassure that it is bitter and is an acquired taste. When I was a kid, I couldn't fathom how anyone would find this tasty and enjoy eating it. The Vietnamese name for this gourd literally mean suffering. However, Asians just believe that anything bitter, tastes like crap, etc. is good for you. Asians believe that bitter melon is good for your chi - improving blood flow, etc. But as I got older, I began to enjoy this dish a lot more and yes, at times, think that my body needs it to balance out my chi. Like today, I have not been feeling well and home resting. I am waiting for some test results to come back and maybe then know what the heck is wrong with me. For now, I load up on bitter melon soup.

Broth:
I used pork bone broth that I made some time ago and froze but feel free to just use plain water. The stuffed bitter melon when cooked will create a nice broth on its own.

Filling:
Ground pork, ground shrimp, wood ear mushrooms, rice vermicelli noodles, scallions, and an egg. Seasoning includes fish sauce, sugar, and a little salt. The filling is always about meat to everything else ratio - if you like a really dense filling then add less of everything else, etc.

In a large pot, cook your broth. If you use water then add your water and allow it to cook on fairly low heat (between 3-4). Your goal is clear broth and high heat makes cloudy broth - no bueno. 

Some of the ingredients that you'll need. 

I used the "phoenix brand" but I'm convinced that the red label is synonymous with rice vermicelli that all other brands use a red label - it's really hard to know which one is the one you used last anymore.

Cook the vermicelli according to the package's instruction.

With a pair of scissors, cut the noodles until there're all in 1 inch pieces.

I was lazy and since I don't own a food processor, I decided to improvise, again. I could have easily chopped the wood ear mushrooms and scallions but I decided to throw it into a blender to see what would happen. Well, this happened. It's not bad or anything - it's just a lot more fine than I would want it. 

Peel and gut your shrimp. Man, this is the FIRST time I've ever used shrimp on this blog and now I know why. They're super high maintenance. 

I found it easiest to cut it in half with my pairing knife for efficient cleaning. 

WHOA. This took a while but now they're all nice and clean. 

It took a lot of work so I really just wanna' admire it a bit more before it goes on the chopping block.

With a cleaver, chop it until it turns into a paste like substance. See?

Throw everything into a large mixing bowl. Add some fish sauce, sugar, and salt. 

Add an egg. With your hands, combine everything. 

You should have a small plate filled with fish sauce. I'll explain why later but it's necessary to the success of your dish.

Cut your bitter melons into halves. 

With a pairing knife, begin to gut it. Is that right? Well, you get what I mean. Just be careful not to cut yourself or cut through the melon. Take your time. 

Oh yeah! 1/2 down and many more to go...

Such a proud moment. I also ran water through them. 

Now, begin stuffing. I found the ends of the fork and spreader helped a lot. 

It's okay if it's not stuffed all the way to the end - get as close as you can.

The fatter half was much easier to stuff. 

Once you're done stuffing, dip each end of the melon in the bowl of fish sauce just like this. Press hard down on the plate. I was told that this was the secret to making sure the filling stays in the melon and doesn't fall out while cooking. I don't know if that's true or not but instead of taking the risk, I do this each time I make this dish. 

Flip it around and do the same to the other end. 

At this point, your pot should be nice and hot but not rolling boiling. Place your stuffed bitter melon inside the pot and be careful not to burn yourself. I needed to do some broth cleaning, obviously.

Notice that right now the bitter melon is still very green - the color is going to change once it is fully cooked. 

Clean your broth occasionally as it cooks on low heat for 45 minutes to an hour. 

After an hour, it becomes a lot more dull and not as bright... almost translucent but not quite.

Remove and serve! You can eat it just like this or serve over rice. 

It should be quite tender. 

You can easily slice it as well.

ENJOY!