Kongnamul: Soybean Sprout Salad

Sundays are sometimes a blur. There is laundry, grocery shopping, bills, sifting through piles of random paperwork and receipts (why do I even keep these?) and cleaning the kitchen floor and then suddenly it's 4:30pm and I haven't even thought of what I should make for dinner.

I did manage to sneak in a wonderful Anusara Yoga class at Yoga Tree. It was hard work, but I felt so proud of myself for stretching through the tight spots and taking some time to breathe and clear the clouds, so to speak.

The rain clouds have been rollin in this week and it's been a little cold and gloomy around here. Perfect for some Korean Tofu Kimchi Stew. And definitely some banchan, which I like to call vegetable snacks that are generally very easy to prepare. You know I love me some Korean food.

Kongnamul is one of my favorite types of banchan. It's a crunchy soybean sprout salad with a hint of sesame.

It's really cheap, too-you can buy a whole pound of sprouts at almost any asian grocery/market for about $1.20. I like to buy the loose ones and not pre-bagged sprouts because those tend to get soggy and rancid very quickly.

Note: I made that cute little ceramic plate at Color Me Mine.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 pound of soybean sprouts
* 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
* salt to taste
* Optional: small amounts of chopped green onion, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, soy sauce


DIRECTIONS:

* Fill a medium pot about 2/3 full with water and 1 tsp. of salt and bring to a boil.
* Rinse the sprouts and discard any wilted sprouts.
* Toss in the sprouts, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.
* Drain and rinse in cold water until cooled (or plunge them into a bowl of ice water if you like it extra crunchy).
* In a bowl, combine the drained, cooked sprouts, sesame oil, salt and any other optional items you may be using.

Ta-da! So easy.

This dish will not keep more than a day or so in the fridge (it becomes soggy pretty quickly), so I highly recommend eating it up fresh!

SF Food Blogger Bake Sale: May 14

Saturday is a big day. It's the Second Annual National Blogger Bake Sale.**

Organized by the amazing Gaby Dalkin of What'sGabyCooking, this bake sale is held across several cities, drawing in cupcake eaters and brownie scarfers alike to benefit a non-profit called Share our Strength, which is dedicated to eradicating childhood hunger in the United States by 2015.


Hunger is a searing pain that snatches all thoughts and locks onto one single goal: eating. But when food supply is short, expensive or unavailable, nothing can take your mind off the uncomfortable feeling of an empty tummy. Brooke of Food Woolf shared a powerful story about her memories of being hungry as a child. And in all honesty, her story inspired me to participate in this bake sale.

I feel honored to have the opportunity to participate in such a worthy cause. I also find it incredibly inspiring to see everyone come together to get creative in the kitchen and bring their finest for the occasion. San Francisco alone raised $1700 in last year's bake sale! That is surely something to be proud of.

For you, I made an island favorite - mango bread.


A lightly spiced cake made moist and sweet with fresh mango puree and cubes of mango.


I also made Coffee & S'mores Chocolate Bark. Made with organic dark chocolate, coffee beans, marshmallow, graham cracker and maldon sea salt.


I hope you will find your local Blogger bake Sale and get yourself a tasty treat that you can feel good about. If you're in San Francisco, head over to Kiehl’s store (on Fillmore at Washington St between 12pm - 4pm) or 18 Reasons (on Guerrero at 18th Street between 10am and 6pm). I should disclose that I am also a volunteer for 18 Reasons because it is a non-profit aimed at something near and dear to my life and upbringing in Hawaii - building community through food.

On saturday, you can find my baked goods at 18 Reasons, but I will also be hawking other Hawaiian baked goods at another charity fundraiser for The Food Pantry. Can you tell I really, really, REALLY don't want anyone to go hungry? I don't.

I am returning to New Taste Marketplace with the beloved custard mochi.

Photo By Sonya Yu.

And I might tote along a few jars of pickled grapes.

Photo by Sonya Yu.

Hope to see you on Saturday!

**Pay no attention to the fact that this is being posted just hours before the event. This is not at all indicative of how I survived my college days. Nope. No Siree. Better late than never, right?

New Belgium Beer Pairing Dinner

I'm not sure if you got the memo, but beer is the new wine. Beer dinners abound as the craft brewing industry continues to grow every year and people are coming around to the idea that the wide range of flavors in beer offer a whole new world for pairing with food. I attend no less than twenty beer festivals, drinking marathons, dinners and events each year and it initially wasn't because I liked beer. The truth of the matter is that I was determined to win the Awesome Girlfriend Award by showing infallible support for the Beer Geek. Lo and behold, I have learned some things about myself (and beer) as I welcomed beer into my life and onto my palate.

If you consider that your palate can be re-wired, you would be amazed that the flavors of food can be accentuated or even reinvented when you add in a swig of beer. The thing is, pairing beer with food is not so easy and intuitive if you aren't familiar with the various styles of beer and flavors that different hops, barley and yeast impart to those styles. Lucky for me, I live with a beer expert who was bribed offered consulting expertise in exchange for a batch of my furikake somen salad.

Unfortunately, most beer dinners (and all that I've attended) are not vegetarian (in fact, they are downright meat-centric). I decided that I would attempt a 3-course vegetarian meal with successful beer pairings. When my Fort Collins friends recently raved about attending a vegetarian New Belgium Brewing Company Beer Dinner at Tasty Harmony, I knew I had found the right brewery for my dinner.

Truth be told, my all-time favorite beer is a Wild Ale called Love 34, which was a singular batch made by New Belgium Brewing Company ("NBB"). I was blessed with the graces of Love 34 several years ago at a NBB tasting night at Toronado. The Love series of beers were Wild Ales only put into kegs for a superspecialsacred limited release (note Morgan's futile efforts to find any bottles to hoarde). Love made an appearance via some reincarnations a couple of months ago and I inhaled three Love beers that had been aged in various whiskey barrels with peach, blackberry or apple whiskey remnants in the barrels. My tormented and unrequited love affair with super rare beers continues. New Belgium is sneaky like that.

First Course:
Spelt Galette with Carmelized Onions and Blue Cheese
Paired with NBB Trippel


Ok, I am admittedly no pastry chef, but I know this to be a solid truth: well-chilled butter makes for a fine, flaky pastry crust that is nothing short of indulgence. The Trippel has a bold character that balanced the sweetness of the onions and the fruity yeast strain complemented the rich buttery crust. The notes of coriander in the beer played well with the funky character of the blue cheese.

RECIPE FOR SPELT GALETTE

* 45 grams whole wheat spelt flour
* 45 grams all-purpose flour
* 1/2 T. sugar
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 4 T. chilled butter (diced)
* 3 T. ice water
* 1 T. melted butter (for glazing crust)
* 1/4 tsp. black pepper (for glazing crust)
* 2 ounces of blue cheese (for filling)
* 2 medium onions (for filling)

The filling is comprised of carmelized onions and a small amount of crumbled blue cheese.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter (or two forks), smash the cold bits of butter into the flour mixture until it becomes crumbly. Don't be tempted to use your hands because the heat will melt the butter (note the secret about butter that is disclosed above). Add the water and mix well until you can shape the dough into ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and rest the dough in fridge for 1 hour or more. In the meantime you can whip up some carmnelized onions while you read a magazine or fold laundry.

When you're ready to bake the galette, heat your oven to 350 degrees. Roll out your dough into a rustic free-form circle. Scatter your carmelized onions onto the middle of the dough leaving about a one-inch margin around the edges. Fold the edges inward to overlap onto a tad bit of the onions and then keep folding small portions working your way around the circle. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Crumble some blue cheese onto the top and continue to bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the dough has cooked through.

Second Course:
Spring salad with fava beans, english peas, poached egg and brioche breadcrumbs
Paired with NBB Sunshine Wheat


The bright earthiness of the fava beans and peas were accented by the light, clean notes of the wheat beer. The orange peel flavor in the beer further brightened up the dish, while the slightly spicy yeast strain cut through the richness of the egg yolk. I thought this was the most successful beer pairing.

This spring salad is more of an assembly of farm fresh ingredients than a recipe. I blanched some shelled fava beans and english peas in salted boiling water (no more than a minute or two) that I had picked up from the farmers market. I piled them around a bed of fresh arugula and topped it with a poached egg. Then I toasted a slice of brioche bread and whizzed it up in the food processor to make bread crumbs and topped the egg with some brioche breadcrumbs and drizzled a nice olive oil over everything. Ta-da!

Third Course:
Vegan Coconut Panna Cotta with Grapefruit and Mint Sugar
Paired with NBB Ranger India Pale Ale (IPA)


Who knew that a hoppy beer and dessert could be such great bedfellows? The coconut milk base of the panna cotta provided a sweet foundation that offset the grapefruit and the slightly bitter, tropical fruit notes of the IPA. The mint sugar rounded out the dish, providing a sweet burst of freshness and crunchy texture that augmented the hoppy and citrus elements on the plate.

RECIPE FOR VEGAN PANNA COTTA:
(Adapted from a recipe courtesy of Neil Davidson of Mission Gastroclub)

* 1 can (400ml) Coconut Milk
* 1 can (400ml) Coconut Cream
*2 T. Brown sugar
* 1 tsp. Vanilla bean paste (or vanilla scraped from one pod)
* 1 tsp. Salt
* 2 tsp. Agar agar flakes
* 1 T. Grapefruit zest
* 1 grapefruit (cut into supremes)
* 8-10 mint leaves
* 1 T. white sugar

In a heavy-bottomed sauce pot, combine coconut milk, coconut cream, brown sugar, vanilla paste, salt, and agar agar flakes. Bring up to a boil, stirring occasionally, making sure the sugar and agar agar flakes dissolve. Stir in grapefruit zest and pour into desired serving dishes (or aluminum foil muffin cups). Chill for at least four hours, or overnight. Invert the panna cotta onto a serving plate and garnish with grapefruit segments and a mint sprig. Using a mortar & pestle, mash th emint leaves into the tablespoon of sugar until well combined and sprinkle mint sugar around or over panna cotta.

Beer Dinner Success.

Note: This opportunity was made possible as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, which provided a stipend to cover the costs of food and beer. Thank you to NBB for the rewarding opportunity to explore the world of beer pairings!

Welcome to the World

People. Something very wonderful has happened. No, many wonderful things have happened.

It was Thursday night, and I was out with some friends testing some ramen at Saiwaii. The ramen odyssey in Japan last September pretty much ruined me for ramen, and I had been desperately trying to find a place to get my noodle fix. I was really enjoying my bowl of chicken broth ramen with a perfectly cooked soy sauce egg when I got a call from my mom announcing that my brother and his wife gave birth to Raidin Jack Woolley!


8 lbs. 2 oz. of pure cuteness. I skyped with them all weekend, in between feedings and naps.

On Friday, I bolted out of work to squeeze in an hour of kickboxing before spending dinner amongst friends. For the record, Elianna + Jesse + Jason + Doctor James + Chris + Eric + Neil+ Emily make for the very best dinner company. And a glaring sign that Doctor James and I are the only people left in the world who are not connected to Twitter accounts.

On Saturday, I went to the Berkeley Farmer's Market and discovered pretzel croissants made by the wonderful Bavarian joint called Oktoberfest Bakery in downtown Berkeley. It's pretzel-y aroma and salty twang made my mouth water as I sank my teeth through folds and folds of buttery croissant. I also purchased a cherimoya that was grown locally in Ventura County. You don't find these beauties often in the grocery store. This fruit has a tender creamy white flesh that tastes like a cross between a papaya, apple, and pear.

Then, I headed to Berkeley Bowl West and found some popped quinoa! Perfect to add to popped amaranth. I've been hooked on this breakfast for awhile now. Quinoa + Amaranth with some flaked coconut and a spoonful of nut butter and almond milk keeps me full for nearly 4 hours!

Sunday morning I woke up early and headed to the gym. I jogged for 3 miles on the elliptical and then swam laps for a solid 30 minutes. I am glad I got a nice workout in before I tested my chocolate limits at the San Francisco Chocolate Salon. Turns out, my limit is about forty pieces of chocolate, toffee and truffles. While there were some excellent highlights, notably some fantastic toffee from Toffee Talk, I am not sure it was worth the stomach ache and sugar daze that ensued.

I came home to rest my tummy and zone out watching Koyaanisqatsi.

Homemade SPAM Hits the Streets

You people are amazing, you know that?! Thank you for coming out to support my crazy endeavors. Thank you for appreciating the wonderful rice sandwich that is musubi. I had no idea you would profess such love for my homemade SPAM musubi. One woman said she could not believe that I am a practicing attorney by day and slinging Hawaiian food by night.

I think over 1700 people came to the night portion of the SF Underground Market this past Saturday. I'm sorry we didn't make eye contact or get to talk much. I had no idea I would be so busy that I a) did not even do a single lap around the place to check out the other vendors, b) did not get to go make silly faces at the photobooth at Sidesaddle Kitchen or eat one of her amazing raw lavender tortes, c) forgot to go to the bathroom as six hours quickly passed, and d) forgot to eat dinner (unless you count forkfuls of rice and a spoon dipped in gravy to test the temperatures).

Did you see the New York Times article on the Underground Market?! There's a photo of Neil diligently cooking his way through 120 (!) eggs made-to-order for loco moco.

I had made 86 (um, eighty-six?!!) musubi and they sold out faster than you can imagine. Sorry if you missed it! But don't fret, the homemade "SPAM" will make an appearance again in the near future. I was so excited about learning how to make it that you probably heard me shout "I made the SPAM myself!" even if you were just trying to order some hibiscus iced tea.

Many of you wanted to know how I made the spam, so I thought I would elaborate a little bit here. First, there was absolutely zero instruction online (and Hormel is quite secretive about what goes into their products). Enter Neil and his extensive experience making charcuterie. We talked about the flavors and textures we wanted to ultimately create and then crafted a way to acheive that (read: trial and error). Sometimes, you gotta go with your gut and see what happens (and cross your fingers that it will turn out the way you had hoped).

And, this is exactly how I hoped it would turn out.


First, I ground up a large quantity of pork, duck, and chicken (thigh meat) in a meat grinder. Then I stuck some pre-cooked ham into a food processor and blended it with the ground meat. I added smoked salt, sugar, a bit of curing salt and freshly minced garlic. Then, in small batches, I whizzed it all up in a food processor with some pork fat until it emulsified. Then I pressed the mixture into a baking pan, covered it with foil and put it in a water bath to cook in the oven at 300 degrees for about 3 hours until it reaches an internal temperature of 155 Fahrenheit. The water bath essentially poaches it and I rotated the pans every half hour to ensure even heating. The cooking process causes it to shrink down and the texture changes from a paste to a much more solid block. I let it cool for a few minutes and then I pressed it down with something heavy and let it chill and solidify overnight. This compacts the meat together and pushes out any air bubbles. In the morning, it was a solid brick that could be cut into slices and put into a frying pan to crisp up just like you would cook SPAM.

Voila!

I can't even tell you how exciting it felt to see the process working. I was beside myself when I saw that it looked, smelled and tasted like real SPAM, but I had the satisfaction on knowing exactly what went into it (nothing scary!). I kept saying "It's working! It's WORKING!". Now Neil and I can work on perfecting and developing an actual recipe and serving it up to you!

Keep your eyes out for its reappearance! You gotta try it to believe it.

**I also made some amazing vegan tofu-takuan musubi. I sauteed some extra-firm tofu in a sweet soy glaze and then put it together with takuan (Japanese pickled daikon radish) and seaweed seasoning.

Using a musubi press, I layered it all in between some freshly steamed calrose rice and wrapped it with a sheet of nori seaweed.

I was really pleased with the texture and flavor of this musubi and glad to provide a vegan option (where else can you get vegan musubi?).

I was planning on bringing more musubi to the New Taste Marketplace on April 2, but some circumstances take me away to Minnesota for the weekend. However, I promise to do my best to convince Jason to carry the musubi torch and bring more musubi for you!

March 2011 SF Underground Market

There have been a few milestones going on around here. In March 2010, Elianna and I decided to take part in the local foodie community by making some pickled grapes to sell at the SF Underground Market. Since then, Elianna has branched out to become the Executive Director for New Taste Marketplace and I have continued to share some food from the islands with the local community. I have even got a couple of reviews!

Come visit me at the SF Underground Market tomorrow. You will be so excited you did. There will be lots of food vendors with local goodies to share, music (maybe even a violinist?) and a full bar to extend shenanigans until 2 am.

If you come by, I will be slinging the best "ono kine grindz" (read: most delicious food) you can find in the bay area. Just don't ask me to "talk pidgin". I have enlisted the generous help of my friend Neil of Mission Gastroclub to help me create some impressive dishes:

Homemade “SPAM” Musubi
Special blend of pork, duck and chicken! That's right. Neil and I have figured out how to make homemade spam so we know exactly what went it in and it is De-LISH! I am really excited about learning how to finally make this in a respectable manner that puts Hormel to shame.


Soy-Glazed Tofu-Takuan Musubi
VEGAN musubi with glazed tofu, pickled radish and seaweed seasoning.

Loco-Moco
Homemade Beef Patty, Fried Egg & Miso Gravy served on a bed of Nori-Scallion Rice

Hibiscus Tea
Sweet-sour hibiscus steeped with a hint of cinnamon and island love.

I'd love to see you. Come on, pretend you're an islander, even if only for a day.

Quinn Walker Makes an Entrance

Exactly one month ago, on February 25, 2011, our dear friends, Heather & Matt, brought a little boy named Quinn Jae-Hwa Walker into this world. And they haven’t slept a wink since.

Quinn is gorgeous. Especially when he flutters open his tiny little eyes and wrinkles up his lips into a perfect little “o” shape.


Swoon.

My brother, Mark, will testify that his memory of the first three months of his daughter's life is one blurry, sleepy haze. My other brother, Chad, and his wife are having a baby in April, and I'm betting that Chad is savouring his sleep now while Hiromi is stock piling food in her freezer. It’s amazing, I'm told, how fast time flies when every drop of attention and energy is spent on making sure a baby is warm, happy and comfortable. When do you sleep? Never. When do you eat? When you remember that you haven’t eaten anything in sixteen hours.

So, Elianna and I decided to cook up a feast fit for new parents. There was even a shared google document titled "Operation Feed the New Parents". We wanted to stock their fridge and freezer with the kind of comforting food that sleep-deprived friends can reheat in seconds when they don't even have the energy to order take-out.

Left to right, back to front:

Spicy Veggie Thai Yellow Curry with Steamed Jasmine Rice

Vegan Thai Lentil Soup with Lemongrass

Pre-Grilled Rack of Lamb (courtesy of Neil and Mission Gastroclub)

Harvest Grains (israeli couscous, orzo, chickpeas, red quinoa) with Spinach

Trader Joe's Root Vegetable chips

Chicken Chickpea Soup (with homemade stock)

Fresh sweet potato bread

Banana Walnut Muffins

Lemon Yogurt Cake with Poppyseeds

It's not the best photo, but you get the idea. We were in too much of a rush to play with lighting and our friends were hungry!

To be honest, it made me feel good to do this for them. Being a new parent is no easy feat and I wanted to offer whatever support I could (which, if you know me, "support" comes in the form of food).

Happy one-month old Birthday, Quinn. We are all so blessed for your arrival in this world.