japanamania

i came across my first muji shop in london years ago and since then i haven't been able to get enough. cool clothing, bath products and pens and pencils, all in the same place and all with that distinct, clean, simple muji style. it's heaven. i could browse the aisles for hours (although i confess i start to feel like a messier and more disorganized version of my perfect self when i'm finished). i recently discovered that the muji shops in singapore sell muji food products, too. and not just tea beverages in cool pet plastic containers and wasabi peas, but also baking mixes. brownies, pizza, focaccia, and even those chocolate yule logs with holly branches (huh???). but the funny thing is, the packages are really small. there's supposed to be a pan inside the box, too.
when i make the mix i'll post the results. for now the package sits on the shelf as a sort of kitchen curio.

what i'm eating

the best chicken recipe i've ever found

yup, it's that simple. i came across a recipe for korean chicken on aromacookery.com, a great food blog from singapore. i was dying for korean food but, since it was already 5 p.m., couldn't make anything that required a long marinade time. i found the aroma recipe (which says to marinate overnight but in fact it's not necessary).

interesting.

i'd never used gochujang as a marinade, but i thought i'd experiment with it a bit. wow. it looks a lot spicier than it is. it's mostly just savory and tasty. delicious. despite being bright red, gochujang is actually quite a mild chili paste (well, compared to chili pastes in thailand). it's one of the staple ingredients in korean cooking, so you should be able to find it in any korean food store. or find it here.

the panel of experts (consisting of a lone man named john whose primary household duty is food taster) says this is one of the five best things i've ever made. bear in mind that's not necessarily saying much, but it is really good. and easy.


korean spicy grilled chicken

1 pound boneless chicken breast, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
4 crushed garlic cloves
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/4 cup gochujang
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup water

mix gochujang, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar together in a bowl or large plastic bag. add garlic, onions and chicken and mix well to coat chicken and onions with paste.
marinate for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
heat coals or fire up your grill (or turn on your toaster oven or broiler, you can even make this in a frying pan!). grill chicken till done. DO NOT DISCARD MARINADE.
while chicken is grilling put the remaining marinade with onions into a sauce pan and add 1/2 cup of water. cook till the onions are soft and the liquid has boiled. serve onion chutney with chicken.

ok, enough about cooking and weddings...

i love the bridal websites. i read them everyday, a couple of them are on my Google RSS reader. but i was just thinking -- isn't it totally absurd that women will spend hours of their lives figuring out a way to hand make invitations in order to save $75 dollars (inevitably, this involves buying a mini printing press called a gocco and DIY brides have single-handedly saved the gocco company from rehabilitation)?

ok, in and of itself that's not totally absurd. but think about harnessing all that creative, cost saving thought towards something that actually matters. such as... finding renewable energy?

steak house dinner at home
sorry to the vegetarians!



not something you want to eat everyday, but when you're in the mood, nothing beats a steak. you can head to a local steak house but it's fun to recreate the experience at home, too (and it's a pretty easy meal to make). this meal is centered around a couple of big, juicy delmonico steaks from new zealand. here in bangkok we can get thai beef, australian beef, and new zealand beef pretty easily. for most recipes, where meat is just an ingredient, local beef is fine. but when it's the star of the show, you gotta get the best you can find and afford. to pay our respects to the steak house, i'm also making a cobb salad, corn on the cob, grilled vegetables and mashed potatoes. ok, it seems like a lot of work but in fact the meal takes about 30 minutes to prepare. since you'll be using the grill to make the vegetables and the steak, and you'll be using some of the corn for the salad, timing is everything! boil the corn early so it's ready for the salad, and start the grill in advance so you can thrown your roasted garlic in (it needs to cook for at least 20 minutes) and so your veggies can cook for while you're making the salad. while you're waiting for steak and potatoes to finish, whisk up the salad dressing (once you start making creamy dressings at home, you'll never go back to store bought).

note that all of my recipes generously serve two people.

grilled vegetables
this works with zucchini, squash, portobello mushrooms, even broccoli spears (although you should boil them for just a couple of minutes before grilling)
slice vegetables into generous pieces a little thicker than 1/4 inch. drizzle with olive oil and salt.
when grill is hot, place veggies on grill for a few minutes on each side. don't worry if there's some charring, it tastes great.

cobb salad
one ear of corn, boiled
1/2 avocado, cubed
bag of lettuce
1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled

salad dressing
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp mayonnaise
olive oil
juice of one lemon
fresh pepper
1 tbsp fresh dill

combine the salad ingredients together in a bowl. whisk mustard and mayo and slowly add lemon juice. once incorporated, add a thin stream of olive oil just to get the right consistency and mellow the flavors of the mustard and lemon juice. add fresh ground pepper and some fresh herbs. pour over salad and toss.

as long as you stick with the basic order of operations and ingredients (mayo, mustard, acid and oil) you can make an infinite number of dressings from this recipe.

garlic mashed potatoes
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into sixths
head of garlic, roasted on your grill or in the oven till tender
1/3 cup milk
olive oil
salt and pepper

boil peeled potatoes in salted water till tender
drain potatoes and squeeze in the roasted garlic. mash together with milk and olive oil. add salt and pepper to taste.

what i'm eating

people trash singapore as sterile and boring all the time, but when you live in bangkok and have to put up with the traffic, the pollution, and the general insanity, it's really lovely to spend some time in a city that's organized, clean and pretty. think southern california in southeast asia. except it's a lot cheaper, and there's a comprehensive and efficient public transportation system.

but aside from that, singapore has wonderful food. the city state has existed for barely fifty years, so there's really no specific "singaporean cuisine." but singapore does have the cuisines of the chinese, malays and indians who settled the country. yum. the annual dumpling festival was beginning just as i was leaving. bad timing.

what i've been drinking

you can still order a singapore sling at the bar it was invented in, the long bar at the raffles hotel. and singapore has tiger beer, which is more than decent. but there are also some very strange, potent things in the local 7-eleven. we're always up to try something new, although having done so, i would not recommend that you do.

yes, you read that right. green tea & whiskey. combining two lovely things to create something really terrible. and the beer's... 12.2%. is that even still beer?

a new lens

i've been hanging out in singapore for the past week. i've mostly been working and catching up with people here, but i've also been playing with my new toy, a canon 50 mm/1.8 lens. oh my, what a world of difference a few f-stops makes! so, the next few posts (as i catch up on blogging) will feature pictures with the new toy. if you have a DSLR with the standard lens kit, spent a bit of money and buy a brighter lens. it will make all the difference in indoor and night shooting!