Imitation Lobster Meatball Noodle Soup

I decided to bust out the lobster balls I had in my fridge to make a yummy noodle soup. It wasn't my favorite dish I made this week and in the future I'll probably use beef balls instead because I felt like the lobster balls had a weird flavor as well as texture. Other than that, the noodles filled me up and left me satisfied. I had originally cooked extra to bring to work the next day, but I downed the noodles down and didn't have any left for a second meal. This meal was simple to prepare.

Directions:
Bring medium sized pot filled with water to a boil. Toss in the noodles and meatballs. Cook until noodles are al dente, then rinse them with cold water to prevent sticking and stop the noodles from getting softer. Cook meatballs until they float to the top of the pot.
Cut the meatballs into smaller pieces if you feel they are too big.
Sautee vegetables of choice in a small pan.
Heat up some beef or chicken broth as a soup base.
Combine the rinsed noodles, meatballs, vegetables, and soup in a bowl. Stir and enjoy!

Bento at Sushi Ko

So a few people in one of my organizations and I decided to catch up since a few of our members had graduated and just made it back into town. We had intended to get ramen, only to find that the place was closed. With little dissent, we decided to go to Sushi Ko instead since it was nearby and a few people attested it was yummy.

I decided to get a bento. It came with two sides (I chose 6 pc CA rolls and BBQ Short Ribs), rice, 3 pc CA roll, salad, and miso soup. I think the total rang up to be about $15. It was pretty yummy too. I wouldn't give awards to the salad. I'm not too fond of the dressing they put on it because it had a strong ginger flavor to me which was a huge turn off. The rice was good, so were the short ribs. And the sushi, as expected from a sushi restaurant was fresh and yummy. The whole meal left me full with a little bit left to eat for lunch the next day.

I thought it was a bit pricey for a simple bento, but it did the job and filled me up adequately!

Shanghainese Fried Rice (Choy Fan)

This is a very odd take on a traditional Shanghainese dish. For example, due to my lack of meat on hand, I used Italian salami. Also, this is often made without any meat. I like this fried rice because it's not actually fried. It's pretty simple to make, and I don't end up with a bajillion dishes to wash at the end of the night.

Serves 1-2 people
 
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked rice
Water/broth
1 cup baby bok choy, coarsely chopped
1 cup additional vegetables (optional, type of vegetables are your choice)
1 cup meat (optional)

Directions:
- Put uncooked rice in rice cooker. Add adequate amount of water or broth and cook rice. I used a combination of beef broth and water to give the rice an extra kick.
- While rice is cooking, chop up vegetables and meat (if you choose) into small pieces. They don't have to be pretty, but 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide pieces are great. You also want them to be kind of square, so slice your baby bok choy lengthwise before chopping it into chunks.
- Toss chopped vegetables and meat into a small pan and add a little water. gently sautee until mixture is cooked through. The water will help keep it all moist (and rinses some of the saltiness off the salami)
- Add cooked mixture to cooked rice and add salt to taste.
- Mix together until vegetable-meat mixture is evenly distributed in the rice.

Super easy, right?

Wonton Noodle Soup

I will never turn down a good bowl of wonton soup. Good wonton can make any day better for me. So when I had the chance to meander to 99 Ranch and pick up some of the most amazing frozen wonton I've had to date, I couldn't resist making my own wonton noodle soup. Like most of my recipes, It's very straightforward and very intuitive.

Directions:
- Bring water to a boil. Add frozen wonton, stirring gently so they do not stick together in the pot. Gently boil until wonton float to the top are are 'plump'
- Scoop out wonton and toss in your dry noodles. Cook until just about al dente.
- Take noodles out of water, place to side, and toss your cooking water.
- Pour a liberal amount of chicken or beef broth into the pot. Once it begins to warm up, put noodles and wonton into the broth and wait for it all to come to a nice boil.
- Slowly pour the noodles, wonton, and broth into a bowl. Quickly cook vegetable of choice by boiling it in the broth. I used asparagus because since I only cook for myself, I need to eat my vegetables quickly before the spoil. Thus the excess of asparagus in my posts. I love asparagus, but not as much as witnessed in these posts.
- Stir gently and eat!

This meal left me stuffed and fully satisfied. Very happy camper.

Chicken Sausage Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce and Roasted Asparagus

Another simple pasta dish. Perfect thing for a "I've had a long day, I just want to eat and curl up in bed" kind of dinner. Pasta Prima has a plethora of delicious pasta flavors and I've made it my mission to try as many as I possibly can. I picked up the Chicken Sausage the last time I was at Safeway, and I'm so glad I did. This simple meal takes MAYBE 15 minutes from start to finish.

Directions
- Put pot of water on stove, bring to a boil.
- Plop each ravioli into the water one by one so they do not stick. Cook 4 minutes
- While pasta is cooking, rinse some asparagus (or vegetable of your choice), season with some salt and garlic to taste, and put in oven at 425 for roughly 8 minutes. (I used a toaster oven for convenience)
-  Pour Alfredo sauce into a pan and heat gently. Once ravioli are cooked through, gently place ravioli in the pan and heat through.
- Once vegetables are roasted through, your pasta should be ready as well
- Plate ravioli gently, place veggies to the side.
- Sprinkle enclosed Parmesan and herb packet over the pasta and vegetables. I added a bit of black pepper as well.
- Enjoy!

This was a ridiculously simple and fast meal for me to gulf down after a tiring day. And it really satisfied me!

Tacos Sinaloa: Oakland, CA

So I've been hearing a friend of mine RAVE about this taco truck in Oakland and how they have the best tacos in the Berkeley area. Apparently a lot of people think so. So one day, when I had some wheels at my disposal, I decided I wanted to check this place out.

Let me tell you something. I don't like tacos. I despise corn tortillas maybe more than I despise finals week. They don't taste that great, and they fall apart too easily. You don't get that nice flour-y flavor either. I got tacos because I heard great things about them, but I didn't expect I would enjoy them that much. I expected the same lack-luster taco with a shell that was either stale or falling apart and sparse filling.

I was gladly mistaken. These tacos were amazing. I can no longer say I don't like tacos.

I had my friend pick which four tacos I would consume that night since I'm not too knowledgeable about the meat that goes inside Mexican food further than the normal chicken/steak/carnitas offered at Chipotle. The only thing I insisted was that one of them had to be a lengua taco and the others had to be something interesting. Legua is cow tongue. And though it sounds disgusting, I've had it before and I'm really fond of it. The meat is must moister and tender than regular steak and it falls apart in your mouth. I ended up with the following four tacos:
- Lengua: Tongue
- Al Pastor: Spicy Pork
- Carnitas: Fried Pork
- Cabeza: Beef head


I wasn't that surprised to find the lengua one was my favorite. The Carnitas was good, but it was a bit too crunchy for me. The other two were yummy, but neither beat the texture and flavors I got from the lengua. I'd have to say I was more partial toward the cabeza in terms of texture, but the al pastor had excellent flavor. Each taco was generously filled so that the meat spilled out of the tortillas when you picked them up. They came with jalapenos, radishes, and spicy carrots. My fingers were covered in delicious sauce by the end and I savored every yummy bite. Definitely not a tablecloth dinner, but it really hit the spot after a long day of work followed by errands. It's always a little nice to sit back and relax and leave table manners at the door and chow down.

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of this deliciousness. However, I will attest that they were really yummy. They just smelled too good and I was too hungry to whip my phone out and snap a picture. Sorry readers. ):

They're actually TWO trucks and they have a little shelter area with tables where you can sit and eat. I asked my friend why they were in trucks if they had a building and he replied with some witty retort like "THINGS TASTE BETTER OFF A TRUCK"

So please, go check out Tacos Sinaloa if you're in the Oakland area. It's on International Blvd and 22nd! I'm sure I'll make my way out there again sometime!

Kung Pao Chicken Fried Rice

I'm in the process of catching up on blogging. I think my main issue is that I cook the food, take some half-decent photos, and then I forget to upload them, get lazy, say I'll do it later, decide to watch television instead. It really is a vicious cycle. So, here begins part one of several parts I shall publish today of meals I have had in the last week or so.

I have a tendency to collect leftovers. When I decide to eat out, it avalanches to a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth meal out in a row. And then I'm left with bits and pieces of several dishes trying to figure out what to do with all of it before it all goes bad. So in a pinch, a quick fried rice is always a useful solution. Honestly, I think everyone should know how to make fried rice. I'm serious, it's the best way I've found to use leftovers but still make a meal that doesn't taste that leftovers. This one is super simple and though you never HAVE to use leftovers in fried rice, I tossed some in.

 Serves two moderately hungry persons, or one very hungry person

Ingredients:
Half a bag of Trader Joe's Kung Pao Chicken
1.5 cups of UNCOOKED rice
vegetables of choice (about 1 cup, coarsely chopped)
any other leftovers you may find lying around (I used some leftover lamb gyro)

Cook rice in rice cooker. If you do not have a rice cooker, here is a nifty way of making rice on the stove top that my mom taught me! Put rice in pot. Rinse rice a few times (2-3). Add water so that the level of water doubles the level of the rice. A good way to figure this out is to measure the level from the bottom of the pan to the top of the rice with your finger and then make sure the height from the top of the rice to the surface of water is the same. Put on medium heat until it is fully cooked.

- Once rice is just about completed, begin preparing the Kung Pao Chicken as package details. Once the Chicken is about done and you are preparing to add the vegetables, feel free to toss in any other vegetables you may want to add (I added some asparagus because I wanted more veggies) as well as any leftovers.
- When chicken and vegetables are cooked through, and BEFORE adding sauce, add the cooked rice to the skillet
- Pour sauce included in Trader Joe's Packet evenly over the contents and stir so the sauce is mixed throughout the skillet, giving the rice an even color.
- Cover the pan for 1-2 minutes to allow the sauce to heat through and flavors to meld
- Serve and enjoy!

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Roasted Broccoli and Garlic Bread

I've had a pack of Pasta Prima's Butternut Squash Ravioli sitting in my fridge for a few weeks now. I decided that today was as good of a day as any to make it, since I've had plans for it for a while now. I decided to pair it with Parmesan roasted broccoli and some "garlic bread".

Garlic bread:
- Smear one slice of bread with alouette's Garlic and Herb Spreadable Cheese.
- Bake in oven for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli:
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Pour broccoli into a bowl (as much as you want).
- Drizzle olive oil on top and season with salt. Toss so oil and salt are distributed.
- Pour into one layer on a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until tender and slightly brown
- Drizzle a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Butternut Squash Ravioli:
- Boil water
- Add ravioli one by one so they don't stick.
- Gently cook for five minutes.
- Scoop out and sautee with butter and Parmesan cheese.

Plate the three on a dish and enjoy. I really loved the garlic bread, it was subtly garlic-y without being really oily. And the texture of the butternut squash in the ravioli was delicious. It was rich, creamy. and generously filled so it oozed out of the ravioli with each bite. I'm more than satisfied.

Noodle Soup with Broccoli and Dumplings

I'm trying to eat healthy. I'm trying to stop eating out as often. I've noticed that since I moved away from home, I have a tendency to eat out a lot. I'm getting a little tired of take out, and my wallet is too. I figure by writing a blog, I'll be more inclined to cook for myself more often. I mean I'm sure at some point I'll review stuff I have had while out, and oftentimes (like for the meal I had last night), I'll pair my meal with something I've bought ready-to-eat. But hopefully for the most part, I'll be making most of my food. So last night on my way home, I walked past the small hole of a Vietnamese place I usually walk by. I was pretty hungry and I saw they had shrimp spring rolls on the menu, so I stopped in and bought an order. I'd planned to make ravioli that night (I made it tonight instead) but since I had spring rolls, I opted to go on a more Asian route and made a noodle soup. Super simple recipe, and it really hit the spot. The broth is simply soy sauce, salt, and water. It really hit the spot after a long day at work, but I'm probably biased because I'm pretty happy whenever I have noodle soup.

Instructions:
- Make your broth. Once it is boiling, add the noodles and cook as instructed.
- [Optional: Pour out the amount of broth you'd like in your soup and place to side prior to adding extra ingredients. I don't like cooking raw dumplings or noodles in my soup because of the flour that coats them]. 
- Add dumplings (or wonton or potstickers) as well as vegetable of choice. Remove vegetables when they are to liking. Keep cooking noodles until al dente, and cook dumplings until they float to the top of the pot.
- If you haven't already, spoon out enough broth to use as your soup. Place dumplings and vegetables to the side and rinse noodles with cold water. This will keep the noodles from getting too soft.
- Place rinsed noodles back on stove. Add the broth and dumplings and cook until it comes to a boil. Plate, and add vegetables to the top.

I paired it with my Vietnamese spring rolls.

Soy Sauce Broth:
- Fill pot half full with water.
- Add soy sauce until it reaches a light brown color. Add salt to taste.
- Bring to a boil

The whole meal took less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish!