Yawatahama Champon (八幡浜 ちゃんぽん)

It was really hard to decide what to make for Yawatahama. I wanted to bring you something not just uniquely from Shikoku in origin, but Yawatahama itself. However, I was a bit stumped. A lot of what makes Shikoku cuisine unique is the island itself. For instance, the most famous local food of Shikoku is sanuki udon because the island has the best wheat production in Japan. However, that dish hails from Kagawa prefecture, not Ehime prefecture where Yawatahama is located.

Citrus is a huge part of Ehime's agriculture, however I don't have access to the more unique citrus that Japan has. I could do a citrus recipe, even though it's summer and citrus is at its peak in winter, and call it good. But there's not a lot of recipes for citrus that are unique to Ehime because the citrus is normally just eaten simply and the fruit is savored in its original form, and I've already blogged about that. I'd basically be slapping together a marmalade and making a flimsy connection to Yawatahama, something I didn't want to do. I could do a recipe of a nearby city, like Imabari or Uwajima, instead of Yawatahama. I found some awesome regional foods when I researched, however they still weren't strictly from Yawatahama.

I guess I stressed over this so much because I felt so connected to Yawatahama when I visited. My family is buried there. My family lived and died, and continues to live, there. Our creaky old ancestral house stands firmly on its soil. A tiny portion of my soul, my very essence, I think was left on that hilltop surrounded by graves and citrus and the smell of the ocean. A bigger portion was left in that house where I shared tea and smiles with family. It's only natural I wanted to share some of Yawatahama's soul with you.

I'm not normally this cheesy, but truly it was a special experience.

So really, the choice was made for me. If I was going to share a bit of Yawatahama's soul, I was going to have to get serious about creating a dish I've never actually eaten: Yawatahama-style Champon.

Taberu Rayu English Muffins

This is one of my infamous not-sure-if-it-even-counts recipes because there's really nothing to this recipe. It's more instructions of assembly than a true recipe, but that's the sort of thing I excel at. Some days even the microwave takes too long, you know?

It's no secret I've been in a funk lately. My nature tends towards introspection, analysis, and the esoteric on a good day. That's just the way I am. But sometimes my mind, which most people deem as a gift, lazily spirals into morbidity, melancholy, madness.

The most important thing for anyone to do is simply what they can do now, and not focus on what they could have done. You have to find happiness not tied to measurable things; happiness not tied to titles or success or how you stack up compared to other people. You have to just live.

So fuck it. Let's make some English muffins.

626 Night Market 2014

I cannot wait for this weekend's OC Night Market, so I decided to celebrate by sharing my adventures from last month's 626 Night Market. I went last year and blogged about it, but this year was even more fun!

My mother decided to join me for a night, and I really enjoyed it. It's always nice to go to an event like this with someone new, because they will invariably try something completely different than you would normally. My mother especially is adventurous, and there's the added bonus of her being a much better photographer than me, especially for crowd shots.

I also went with the same buddy from the DTLA Night Market post, as well as Mr. Mochi on a different day. I have way too much fun at these events, sometimes when I'm full I just like sitting there and people-watching. Nearly everyone is having a blast, and watching people get excited over a special food is fun to watch.

Taberu Rayu (食べるラー油)

To explain what Taberu Rayu (食べるラー油) is, I really have to back up and explain what rayu is. Rayu is sesame oil that has been infused with chilies until it is a nice glowing orange-red. It is delicious mixed with vinegar and soy sauce as a dip for gyoza and often seen in ramen shops that serve dumplings.

Taberu Rayu, on the other hand, starts with that same hot chili oil base, but it has crunchy bits in it. Minced fried garlic, fried onion bits, sesame seeds, even bits of almonds are included for a chunky crunchy condiment that can be spooned or mixed into just about anything. On top of ramen, spooned on a bowl of plain rice, even outlandish ideas like putting it on ice cream have surfaced in Japan.

OC Night Market 2014

Last year, my favorite event I went to was 626 Night Market. I practically wassailed through the stalls, sampling foods from all over the world: Japanese takoyaki, Chinese bing tang hulu, Taiwanese bubble tea, and more hapa fusion food than you can imagine.

This year, the team behind the 626 Night Market got even more ambitious and brought the night market experience to Orange County in May.

I wanted to share my experience with you, because I am excited that their next stop in their smorgasbord is downtown Los Angeles this weekend, June 20th and 21st.

Since undoubtedly I talk way too much, I'll be doing small captions and mostly photos for this post, with a short bit at the end about my overall experience at the OC Night Market. All of the food posted was so good, I'm almost glad that the OC Night Market was only one weekend because I would get huge if they were regularly available all in one spot.

Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken

If you follow me on Pinterest, you might have come to the conclusion that recently I've become obsessed with slow cooker recipes. There's so many recipes on Pinterest for slow cookers, but until my birthday I didn't have one. So now that I have one, I must admit I'm obsessed.

Mr. Mochi got me a very colorful Crock-Pot for my birthday, and I must say he did a great job. Everyone who has seen the slow cooker says that it is definitely a perfect fit to my tastes. I love bright colors and it goes well with my kitchen.

After unwrapping, I immediately demanded that my mother hand over her recipe for lemon chicken. She even surprised me and picked me up some chicken thighs from Sprouts to get me started.

I'm not a huge meat fan. In fact, I've never even cooked chicken in this apartment we've been in for going on 3 years. I'm the type that likes popcorn chicken because there's little to no chicken in it. Crazy, I know. If Mr. Mochi is craving chicken, he is in charge of picking up a rotisserie chicken from the market or heading out to eat for wings.

I love it! The only crock-pot with orange hehe!

But this chicken is delicious. The chicken is slow cooked until it is almost shred-able, and the sauce is made for spooning over rice. It tastes like cheap take-out Chinese. And I mean that in the best way possible. Definitely not authentic, but has that comfortable sticky sweet-and-sour combination that is so crave-able!

This recipe is a little more work than some slow cooker recipes, where you literally just dump ingredients in a slow cooker, but the little bit of extra prep really makes the chicken better.

Tsukimi Ramen (月見ラーメン)

Last night was the Harvest Moon! That means it's time for moon-viewing festivals and the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival!

The Japanese version of the Mid-Autumn Festival is called Tsukimi (月見), or the honorific Otsukimi, which literally means "moon-viewing." It's definitely toned down compared to the Chinese festival, but both are celebrated around the same day: the 15th day of the 8th month according to the lunar calendar, also known as the full moon that occurs closest to the equinox.

Traditionally it is celebrated with seasonal autumn food such as chestnuts, green soybeans, taro, and sweet potatoes. Another important tsukimi food is tsukimi dango (sweet rice balls), which are often placed on an altar along with sprigs of susuki (pampas grass) and sake as an offering to the moon to pray for an abundant harvest.

The Tsukimi Burger looks pretty good!

While the full moon has come and gone, there's still plenty of moon out for you to party under! My one Japanese professor at UCLA told the class really, the whole week is an excuse to drink sake outdoors under the moon.

You can make your own moon-viewing treats at home, just by putting an egg on it. Tsukimi udon and soba are two traditional bowls of noodles that feature an egg that gets poached in the hot broth. The yellow egg yolk is supposed to resemble the moon, hence the name. McDonalds in Japan even gets into the spirit of the occasion and has their tsukimi burgers, which feature a fried egg.

Here's a quick and easy recipe for your own moon viewing party. You can definitely use soba or udon instead, I just chose ramen because it is by far the easiest Japanese noodle to find here in America. Plus I love ramen.

Yuen Yeung Popsicles

I wasn't kidding when I told you I was obsessed with popsicles recently! I've been trying to create fun flavors that I can't buy in the supermarket. My latest brainwave was taking the drink Yuen Yeung and turning it into a dessert!

Yuen yeung, also known as yuanyang, yinyong, or yinyeung, is a super tasty and easy to make drink. Yuen yeung, named after the opposites-attract nature of Mandarin ducks, is milk tea and coffee mixed together, and can be served either hot or cold. This drink hails from Hong Kong, where it was originally served with street food, then it graduated to being served in tea cafes. In fact, this drink has become so popular that Starbucks in Hong Kong had a Yuen Yeung Frappuccino!

I so want to try one!

Since the coffee/tea hybrid is usually made with Hong Kong-style milk tea, it can be very rich because it is made with evaporated or condensed milk. I usually prefer frothier and lighter bubble milk tea when served chilled because that uses milk instead, but I knew that Hong Kong-style milk tea was totally the way to go in this case because it would make the end result totally creamy like a fudgesicle!

Of course, I couldn't resist throwing in a twist and adding in some spice just for a little stronger tasting ice pop. I threw in a couple star anise in with my tea, but I think cinnamon or even cocoa powder would be a great addition!

Strawberry Bing Tanghulu (冰糖葫芦)

I mentioned in my 626 night market post that I had tried a street sweet from China that I was dying to share with you all, bing tanghulu (冰糖葫芦). When I first saw this sweet-on-a-stick, I was mesmerized by it. It looked like a person took fruit and made them into jewels, the way they glistened!

I've seen it spelled various different ways in English, from bing tanghulu, bingtang hulu to just tanghulu, or sometimes even bing tang hu lu (apparently just insert spaces according to your fancy). Any which way, fruit on a skewer that has been coating in a thin layer of hard candy is deliciously craveable. The conflicting textures of the hard candy and ripe fruit, crunchy/soft, and the opposing flavors, sweet/tangy, make it a delicious treat!

My twist on Bing Tanghulu, not dipped whole but drizzled!

626 Night Market!

I had an absolute blast this weekend at the 626 Night Market held at the Santa Anita Park in Arcadia California! Billed as the largest Asian night market in the United States, I couldn't resist checking it out. They boast over 150 vendors, food stalls, food trucks, music acts, and even non-profit organizations, so I figured it would be a fun night out with tons of fun food to share with you all!

Admission is only $3 ($2 if you get there before 6pm) so it's relatively cheap, and the individual food prices were pretty reasonable. I recommend bringing cash, some vendors accepted cards and some were cash-only. And of course, make sure to bring a big appetite! Just walking to the event, you could smell delicious things wafting to the parking lot.

Yuen Yeung

Yuen yeung, also known as yuanyang, yinyong, or yinyeung, is a super tasty and easy to make drink. Yuen yeung, named after the opposites-attract nature of Mandarin ducks, is milk tea and coffee mixed together, and can be served either hot or cold. This drink hails from Hong Kong, where it was originally served with street food, then at cafes. This drink has become so popular that Starbucks in Hong Kong had a Yuen Yeung Frappuccino!

To me, nothing is better before class than grabbing my favorite pineapple bun warm and toasty from the Chinese bakery next to my college and swiping a yuen yeung milk tea from the boba cafe next door. Fortunately for my waistline, I don't indulge in that combination as often as I'd like, but it is one that I suggest everyone try at least once.

Starbucks Ad!

I've made milk tea for this blog before, but traditionally yuen yeung is made with Hong Kong style milk tea, which is made with evaporated milk and sugar. This obviously will make the milk tea even creamier, so for this recipe I made it with condensed milk. There is some contention on using condensed milk versus evaporated milk and sugar, but I happen to have condensed milk in my cupboard so that's what I always use and I'm not too ruffled if I am not completely authentic.

Marbled Tea Eggs (Cha Ye Dan)

Tea eggs are perhaps the prettiest eggs you are ever going to see besides those painted for Easter, and tea eggs taste better.

Usually found as a street food in China, tea eggs are cracked hard boiled eggs that are heated in a mixture of spices, tea, and soy sauce for a period of time until the egg white gets infused with flavor. The pretty marbled pattern is the by-product of the shell being left on and the flavoring seeping through the cracks. You can completely peel the eggs and therefore bypass some of the steeping time, but I love the look of the marbled eggs.

The best thing about this recipe is you can let them steep as long as you like. The Chinese American bakery near my school has a crockpot of these simmering nonstop, and nothing is tastier than walking to class munching on one. The longer you simmer, the more deeply the flavor will penetrate. I know cooks that will let the eggs steep overnight in the cooking liquid, and who knows how long they simmer in that crockpot at the bakery to achieve such deliciousness!

I like these tucked into a bento, or chopped and mixed with a bit of mayo for an interesting egg salad. Try them warm and cold, I like both.

Mapo Tofu: The Japanese Version

Mapo Tofu is actually a Chinese dish brought to Japan. This easy-to-make dish consists of ground meat and chunks of tofu enrobed in a spicy oily sauce flavored with fermented chili and soybeans.

Sometimes you will see mapo tofu by different names: mabo tofu or mabo doufu, but it's all the same thing.

Despite its Chinese origins, it is super popular in Japan. The original Chinese-style mapo tofu is blazing hot and complemented by the mouth-numbing effect of the sichuan peppercorns.

The Japanese-style is a bit more laid-back, a bit more umami than face-melting. I love how the nuttiness of the sesame oil takes on a funky fermented kick from the use of miso and fermented chili bean paste.

Picture courtesy of Amazon

This dish has become such a part of Japanese cusine you can even buy the sauce in pouches almost like Hamburger Helper with a helpful slogan "Just add tofu and ground meet!" emblazoned upon it. Even if you buy the "hot" version it is still laughably mild.

If you're craving the spicy Sichuan Mapo Tofu, I recommend checking out these recipes (here and here) by mapo tofu aficionados.