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Homemade Japanese Miso Soup

I love Japanese food, and I’ve always wanted to make my own Miso Soup, so I finally got a package of White Miso Paste from my market, and found some bonito flakes and wakame from the Asian grocery store. They are tricky to find (well, for me at least!) but, I think it’s necessary for a miso soup. This simple homemade soup smells and tastes like miso soup when you go out to have a bowl!

Ingredients (makes 2 big bowls or 4 little bowls):
3 cup of water
3 tbsp bonito flakes
1 heaping tbsp white miso paste
1 tbps wakame
tofu cubes

To begin any soup – start with boiling some water.

When the water has come to a boil, put some bonito flakes into the water and reduce the heat, and let it steep for about 5 minutes.

Once that has steeped, you’re ready to put in the miso paste. Take a heaping tablespoon (or just 2 tablespoons) and put it into a bowl. Take some of the “soup in progress” into the bowl and mix to dissolve the miso paste so you get a dissolved and thinner consistency. Once you’ve achieved this, you’re ready to pour the miso solution into the soup. Bring the soup back up to a boil at this time, and let it boil for another 3 to 5 minutes.

By now, taste your soup to see if it needs additional salt. Add some if it needs more. To finish the soup, add the wakame flakes, and they will rehydrate and add lots of flavour into the miso soup. Once the wakame has rehydrate, you’re ready to serve and enjoy!

I also like to add some udon noodles to my miso soup, and it becomes and excellent and healthy lunch! Just boil some instant udon in the miso soup. Once the udon noodles are ready, you’re ready to eat too! If you want, you can top it off with sesame seeds, scallions or anything you like – really!

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Chili Club Thai House – Calgary, Alberta

Thai food in Calgary is actually not bad at all! I have a few favourite locations, and I can now add Chili Club Thai House to my list of favourites! It’s a small restaurant with an intimate atmosphere. It’s a great idea to make reservations if you want to go – as the line can get long due to the amount of tables.

We started our dinner with Tom Yum Soup and most places make it so spicy it’s ridiculous, but here, they made it with tons of spice and flavour, but it’s not overly spicy! I think it’s my favourite bowl of Tom Yum soup that I’ve had in the city! This delicious hot and sour soup had lots of prawns, mushrooms and tomato in the excellent broth.

I love how rice comes in individual servings in rice cups with a lid. It really helps not only with portion control, but it keeps the rice warm much longer! It’s a great presentation and a wonderful use!

The first dish that came was the Kaeng Chak Som which was a pan fried salmon fillet with coconut, chili, & lime sauce. The lime sauce was phenomenal, as it was quite different, but the lime made it really light and refreshing! The salmon was perfectly cooked with a beautiful crust on the fish with the awesome sauce. This was my favourite dish of the evening!

Then came the Panang Duck Curry which is a decadent dish of boneless roasted duck with eggplant in a thick curry. The duck was tender and juicy with a great sauce with a nice kick of heat! It made the eggplant really enjoyable.

The last dish we ordered was Musamun Beef Curry Beef chunks sauteed in Thai curry with potatoes, onion and peanuts. This was another fantastic dish, but the least favourite of mine out of the 3 dishes. I actually found that it would’ve been nicer if the beef chunks was a tad fattier so it would be more tender. The sauce for the curry was yummy, but nothing too different or spectacular. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad – just it wasn’t as good as the other dishes!

Overall, this was a wonderful place to dine for Thai food. The prices are very reasonable for a Thai place, and the quality of the food is top notch – so it’s okay to pay a little more when it’s worth it. It’s definitely worth it here!

To top off the night, they had a complimentary dessert which tasted good, and it wasn’t too big at all! It was a lovely end to the lovely evening!

Chili Club Thai House

1904 36 St SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 217-8862

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Homemade Vietnamese Sandwich with Grilled Chicken

I really love Vietnamese Submarines, and these days, it seems to be hard to find some in the city – for a reasonable price. I had to make a few modifications as I didn’t have all the ingredients, but the sandwich sure tasted great!

Ingredients:
1 French Roll or similar bun (crusty outside, soft inside)
1 chicken breast or 2 chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 or 2 slices of cucumbers
cilantro
pickled carrots
chili pepper (optional)
onions
soy sauce
fish sauce
white soft cheese (I use mozzarella cheese)

To make this, I actually made my own pickled carrots, which is really simple to do. Some people have a mixture of pickled daikon and carrots, but I opted for just carrots as that’s the way I’m use to! If you’re making it, make this step at least an hour ahead of time.

Pan sear the chicken thigh or breast with some oil, salt and pepper. Once it’s cooked, take off the stove and let it rest.

In the mean time, cut your bun, spread one side with mayonnaise and the other side with a few shakes of soy sauce and fish sauce, and salt and pepper.

Place the meat on the bun, and top it with some cheese and bake until the cheese melts in a 350F oven, which takes a few minutes. Then, take the submarine out of the oven, and top it off with the pickled carrots, cilantro and other fresh vegetables. (I usually don’t put the raw onions on as I’m worried about onion breath at work – if I’m having this for lunch) Put the top of the sandwich on and you’re ready to enjoy!

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Homemade Chinese Roast Pork Belly – Siu Yuk 燒肉

Home Made Crispy Skin Pork Belly – Siew Yoke

Okay, this isn’t something we eat a lot of at all, but I really wanted to make it, and it’s Roast Pork Belly. I bought my strip of pork belly with bone in and skin on from the Asian grocery market, and we just got a small slab.

Ingredients:
slab of pork belly
1 or 2 cube of fermented bean curd
Chinese Five Spice (五香粉)
White Pepper
Salt
Rice Vinegar (or white vinegar)

The first thing is first, you gotta clean your meat – so rinse the pork belly off well with cold water, and pat it completely dry with paper towels. You do need to make this a few hours ahead, so plan ahead!

Once the pork is clean, make the marinade for the pork belly by smashing a piece of the fermented bean curd until it’s a paste. Add to the paste the Five Spice, and White Pepper.

Prepare the meat now, by stabbing the skin with your knife – not through the entire skin, but you want lots of punctures on the skin. If you want, cut the actual pork meat so marinade gets through. I didn’t do this as my pork belly has bones.

Then, rub the marinade all over the pork belly EXCEPT the skin. Leave the skin part dry for now with nothing on it. After the marinade is on the pork, rub the salt onto the skin, and do a really good job of it. Try to get it into some puncture holes if you can! Put the entire slab of pork belly onto a wire rack with a line tray underneath and refrigerate for a few hours – or even overnight.

After you’ve marinated for a few hours, take the pork belly out of the fridge while you wait for the oven to preheat. Set the oven to 400F, and then put the pork belly into the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes and pull it out to brush some rice wine vinegar on the skin. I brush it again after another 20 minutes. Then, continue letting the pork bake until almost thoroughly cooked. To finish the cooking, change the oven setting to broil and give it another 20 minutes for the skin to become fluffy and crunchy.

When the baking has competed, take the pork belly out of the oven and let it rest for 10 a few minutes for the juices to redistribute in the meat, then slice and serve!

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French Market – Orleans

My parents really like to go to Las Vegas, and I do follow them a few times when they go. They seem to really like the more “economical” priced places to eat – probably because how often they go. I found myself a little off the strip on Tropicana Avenue at The Orleans hotel, walking into a buffet called French Market.

The buffet is actually huge as there are many “stations” from different parts of the world. I did find that the buffet selection remains more or less the same through the days of the week. The stations feature Italian, Mongolian, Barbecue, American, Seafood, Mexican and Chinese cooking, as well as an oversized dessert bar!

I’ve got to say, I really enjoyed the selection. Even though there’s no way I could try a little of everything, I did get a huge plate of food, soup and dessert!

Overall, it’s a fabulous place to enjoy lots of food – and quite a large selection. The price as mentioned was really reasonable, and I believe my parents had a “B-Connected” loyalty card which gave them a discount as they qualified for “Young at Heart” coupons. Even without coupons, I was really happy with the price I paid!

French Market (Orleans) on Urbanspoon

French Market – Las Vegas

4500 W Tropicana Ave
Las Vegas, NV
(800) 675-3267