Toto Isawan sa San Diego

Mabuhay!

I've been on a Filipino food kick lately.  Those down home stewed dishes with tons of fat or grilled and fried innards on a stick street food is whats been catching my attention lately.  There has to be something said about cultures that take these undesirable cuts and scraps from these animals and making them taste good, well most of them anyway.  In the picture below is a smorgasbord of offering from Totos Isawan sa San Diego.  Ihaw I believe means grilled and Isaw means the innards of these animals,  I could be wrong but take the word of a coconut Filipino (Brown on the outside white on the inside) with a grain of salt.

Lets start with the chicken feet.  I love me some dim sum and the chicken feet stewed in the black bean and garlic is one of my favorites.  When I saw these for the first time I was scared they would be tough because they looked straight grilled.  But they were slow cooked or possibly braised before grilled and they were tender and tasted like heaven!  I ate most of the ones pictured above.

On the bottom right those are called puet ni manok or chicken butt.  Yes they are the buts of the chicken and you can see the little poop shoot on the ends but the meat around it... Delicious!  Doesent have the mineraly poo taste at all just some juicy grilled meat.

The red looking balls are called kwek kwek.  Not sure if that is translated into something but the smaller ones on the right are quails eggs that have been hard boiled then battered and fried into the balls.  Chelesterol Heaven!  I probably ate the equivalent of the cholesterol of a dozen eggs because I was popping these like nothing.  They did have the bigger regular chicken eggs pictured on the left but if your going to eat a battered fried egg you might as well go all out and do the quail egg.  SO GOOD.

Now the long white tube that is skewered on the stick next to the chicken butt is chicken intestine.  Now traditionally these intestines are not washed very well and this was what was the most terrifying part to me but when you get a good char on these they taste so good.  Reminiscent of a chewier chicken skin in texture but a much more complex flavor from the minerals that were in the well.... Poo.  Really good.

There were 2 types of the pig intestines, the large and the small.  I have to say the large was really not appetizing to me.  I even had it burnt to a crisp but lets just say I felt like I could taste everything the pigs ate.  Just a smell and flavor that really was so overpowering I couldnt enjoy the flavor.  The smaller intestine on the other hand had a very nice chew and only had a slight smell of the feces haha!  I actually really liked the small intestine very much so.

Not pictured here are the fish balls.  These I felt like my company who were all true Filipinos were really drawn to because it had a sense of nostalgia for them.  My friend Nicco said when he ate it it reminded him of being on the side of the street hungry after working all day.  Now Ive had fish balls prior to this and I don't really ever remember them being great but with most of the isawan here they came with a specific sauce that each flavor was supposed to be paired with.  The most common sauce I think is called sowsowan which I think also mean to dip.  This is usually a sweet, vinegary, garliky sauce which goes great with the super rich foods.  The fish balls however had a liver based sauce which was mineraly and sweet and really took the one note fish balls to another level.  

Another dish which I would say was my favorite that I had this night that is also not pictured is called Betamax.  Kind of sounds like the fish you buy at walmart that you put on your desk but these were actually coagulated blood cakes that are grilled.  These were so good because it was like an airy mineraly cake that had a meaty taste and texture.  They were pictured because I ate them all so fast.

All in all I had a great experience,  I always appreciate trying new things and just to see my heritage and others that actually came from there appreciate these things was really eye opening.  So I encourage everyone to try it or you could wait until I open my own ihaw ihaw spot in North County!

Wulan Ramen House

You know I had to review this place.  Apparently its been all the buzz between all my Oceanside heads.  Ramen is something that it deeply ingrained in my heart so hearing that there is a decent place in my former hometown of Oceanside really caught my attention.  When rating ramen my criterium has always been the essentails of the ramen itself, the noodles, the toppings, and the broth.  Well lets just get into it then because lets be serious no one wants to hear me rant on so lets look at the food!

Pork Bao Bun

Not authentic at all.  It was braised pork shoulder with romaine and some sort of dressing.  To me it was screaming bahn mi flavors but I would say it is worth a try but I probably wouldn't be ordering this again.

Takoyaki (Octopus)

Pretty good.  I love the chewy texture of the rice batter here.  The order came with plenty of them and the flavor was really good.  You get them piping hot, so hot that the bonito on the top looks like it is still alive and moving.  The octopus wasnt too chewy and the subtle hints of ginger and sauce ont the top complimented it well.  Solid starter

Tsukemen

This is what mel ordered.  The broth (not pictured) wasn't served to us hot enough but I think the flavor was really good.  The greens and bamboo shoots give it a good balance to the dish.   The noodles seemed pretty authentic,  they had a nice chew and a yellow hue so you could tell they had kansui which most japanese ramen noodles have.

The Mega Pig

This was their most expensive ramen because of the size.  I would say it is a moderate portion but I do eat like a monster.  I love how they give you 2 different types of cooked eggs although I am a big fan of a soft poached and would have preferred that.  I am always happy with egg yolk in general though.  They give you 2 types of pork belly a traditional sliced and smoked and a chasu or rolled marinated style and both were very good.  The broth has that 2 soup broth or double dip and David Chang likes to call it and had very good flavor.  I understand that you have to over season because the noodles will pull a lot of the salt flavor out but mine was really way too salty.  I did try this bowl of ramen twice and both time I had to dilute the borth with water.  But I do say I really did enjoy it both times.  I hope I dont hype it up too much because there really isnt anything comparable to it in the area besides underbelly in downtown SD which I havent had the pleasure of trying.  But I am confident in saying that this is a solid ramen spot.

Pastry Chef Attempt

 Sweet is always something I have great inner struggle with.  Do I not finish my delicious 10oz char grilled porterhouse so I can fit some sugar in my belly?  Usually the answer is no but when you have a wife who is pregnant and has super enhanced taste buds you have to start liking the sugar.  This dish was from a little event at work for a meet and greet with a man named Richard Lederer?  Apparently he was hot stuff in his time and he is pretty picky with his food.  Anywho this was the dessert course I made for his menu and it was pretty well received.  Check the recipe below

 



Hibiscus Poached De Anjou Pear

serves 1

 

De Anjou pear Fresh 1/2 each

Blood Orange Sorbet

Orange Peel from 1 Orange

Granulated Sugar 3 Cups

Water 3 Cups

Hibiscus Tea 1 Package

 

Bring a pot of 2 cups of water to a boil and add 2 Cups of Sugar to make a simple syrup.  Add the packet of hibiscus tea and steep until it picks up color.  Peel and Half the pear making sure to remove the seeds and place in the poaching liquid along with orange peel.  Lower heat and poach until soft about 12-15 Minutes.  Remove and cool down.  Take the orange peel and quickly fry until it picks up color and immediately coat in granulated sugar  Scoop a coronel of blood orange sorbet and place on top of poached pear.  Place candied orange peel on top as garnish.

 

 

Hibiscus Poached De Anjou Pear with Blood Orange Sorbet and Candied Orange Peel 

 

The tangy sorbet was perfect to cut through the sweetness of the pear and orange peel.  Its a lighter refreshing type of dessert and it was pretty well received.  Give it a try friends.

Happy Birthday Daddio

 

Happy Birthday Daddio!

 

     To tell you the truth my dad and I had an interesting relationship growing up.  He was a very strict man who thought of the world in a very black and white approach.  His way was always the right way and for his son who was pretty much thought of the world in the same way (after all I am his offspring) didn't exactly see eye to eye.  I know his father was the same way if not worse with him and I took me many years to finally appreciate that.  Through all those layers of manliness is just a man trying to do the best for his family.  He is a selfless man that sacrifices so much for his family. Now at my ripe age of 30 can get along with this man that I spent resenting because he was so hard on me for 20+ years I feel like I have this new best friend that has always been there that I never knew I had.

 

     Which bring me to my Dads Bday.  Perks of having a chef for a son is you get to tell him hey I want some good steak.  I told my rent that I would take care of everything and headed to the store.  Unfortunately there wasn't a very good selection of steak at the store we went to so I had to settle on a nice fillet.  Trimmed and portioned it into some nice 6oz steaks just some salt and pepper and an open fire was all this steak needed.  In Filipino tradition you always eat  a long noodle of sort which represent long life,  I just listen to my mom so I made a spinach linguine with a tomato buerre blanc sauce.  I have to say I was impressed with myself and made a pretty good dish for my pops.

 

Spinach Linguine

 

AP Flour 2 Cups

Eggs 3

Olive Oil 1Tsp

Pinch of Salt

Fresh Spinach Blanched 1 Cup

 

Tomato Buerre Blanc

 

Tomato Sauce 1 Cup

White Wine 1 Bottle

Garlic 1 Head Peeled

Shallots 2 each

Whole Pepper Corns 1Tbs

Bay Leaves 5 Each

Thyme Fresh 1 Sprig

Cream 2 Cups

Butter Unsalted 1 Lb

 

Start with the pasta as it needs time to rest.  Blanch the spinach and blend with a bit of the blanching water.  On a cutting board place a pile of the flour and make a well with your hands.  Add the rest of the pasta ingredients and kneed to incorporate.  Cover and let rest for 30 minutes minimum.  Roll out your pasta gradually making it thinner.  I used a #3 setting on my pasta roller for the linguine.

 

For the reduction sauce Take the peeled garlic shallots peppercorns thyme and bayleaves and sautee in a small sauce pot with a little bit of oil.  Once you see some color add a bottle of white wine (I used Chardonnay) and reduce until almost all the water has evaporated and you get close to a syrup.  Strain the reduction and add back into the sauce pot and bring to a boil.  Add the heavy cream and reduce again by about 70%.   Then add the tomato sauce and reduce again by half to really get those flavors layered into the sauce.

 

I start with a boiling pot of salt water and strainer for my pasta and a big sauté pan to toss the pasta.  I like to cook my past a bit in the sauce so you really pick up all those flavors.  I start with some minced garlic and shallot. and a bit of olive oil,  once I see a bit of color on the garlic immediately put in the spinach and give it a couple tosses and deglaze with the reduction sauce.  At the same time I am cooking the pasta so by the time the pasta is close to being done I can go straight from the boiling water to the pan with the sautéed vegetables and sauce.  What you are doing when using this technique is you are naturally thickening the sauce with the pasta starches and really getting the sauce to stick to the pasta.  Add a cold pad of unsalted butter and toss to finish.

 

Not the easiest dish to make but so worth it if you put in the effort.  Happy Birthday Dad!  Love you man!

 

 



Char Grileld Fillet over Spinach Linguine with burst tomatoes

 

The whole dinner 

 

$1.25 garlic Bread don't hate 

 

 

Chirashiventure

There is always one dish I use to gauge how certain restaurants run. Chirashi is always perfect because you get to see plating, freshness of ingredients, and flavor all in one bowl.  Ive had rushed chiraishi bowls with the sushi rice thrown in without any care and horrible knife skills are so apparent that you feel like you are eating scraps.  1. You can tell the restaurant is staffed and 2. You might not to know where and how the fish you are eating has been there.  This is especially important because you are eating it raw.  This dish was from hana sushi which is a small chain believe it or not.  I can confidently say this was the best chirashi bowl ive had in the san diego and temecula area.  The dish was beautiful and the sashimi cuts thick and luscious.  They even added in tamago or sweet egg which was one of my favorite types of nigiri when I was younger.  A little ponzu and wasabi this off and at 21 dollars I thuroughly enjoyed this dinner.

  

Chrashi Bowl from Hana Sushi

Mels Pregnancy Craving

The nice thing about working with your significant other especially when you are prego and he happens to be director of food service/executive chef is you get to crave something and boom!

Funny thing is that mel out of no where asks for a monte cristo in the middle of our lunch rush.  Well you know you gotta take care of the baby so of course I oblidged.  Check out the recipe below.

Monte Cristo

For sandwich

Sliced Roasted turkey 2oz

Sliced Black forest ham 2oz

Gruyere cheese 2 slices

Texas toast 2 slices

Raspberry preserves 1oz

Mayonnaise 1oz

Tempura Batter 4oz

Sugar .5cup

Water 1cup

For french toast batter

Whole eggs 2oz

Whole milk 2oz

Ground Cinnamon 2tbs

Ground Nutmeg tps

Combine all batter ingredients until well incorporated and set aside.  Pre heat griddle to medium high heat.  Take the Texas toast and generously dip into batter and straight to hot griddle.  Once you see some color flip and put a slice of gruyere cheese on each.  Finish cooking the french toast and melting the cheese at the same time.  Spread mayonnaise on on alice and raspbeerry preserves on the other.  Finish assembling the sandwich with the deli meats and take off the griddle.  Wait a minute to cool and tightly wrap the sandwich and refrigerate for 15 minutes so the sandwich doesent fall apart when frying.  Prepare tempura batter by combining water, sugar, and tempura mixture.  Take the sandwiches then dip in the batter and quickly fry in hot oil.  Dust with powdered sugar.

Its messy for sure but well worth all the effort so you dont always have to go to disney land for a monte cristo.  Works especially well if you are pregelnant according to the wife.  Much love and enjoy!

Ramped Up Ramen

Spicy Egg Drop Style Miso Ramen

So I know what you are thinking.  Another recipe to make top ramen.  Well what makes this different than all the other ones out there on the internet?  All I can say is please do your belly and taste buds a favor try this recipe yourself.

This has been a culmination of trial, error, and experience.  I feel I strike a diverse balance of robust but restrained flavor here. It hits a nice blend of different asian styles and ingredients that all compliment each other and creates very balanced flavor profiles, and yes it I just top ramen!  So now that I talked it up here is the recipe and I hope you all like it as much as I do.

2 packages top ramen

(I like 1 beef and 1 pork flavor)

2 whole eggs

2 tbs cornstarch

4 cups of water

1tbs red miso

1 tsp sesame oil

1tsp gochujang chili paste

1 package of roasted seaweed

1/2 cup of frozen peas, carrots, and corn kernels

In a soup pot put water and incorporate cornstarch while still cold.  Turn on heat to high and add seasoning packets from too ramen and bring to high rolling boil and broth starts to slightylly thicken.  In a small cup crack the eggs and scramble and slowley pour into the very hot boiling broth forming ribbons of egg.  After egg is cooked about 30 seconds place noodles in broth making sure to break noodles apart as it softens.  Add sesame oil, red miso, and frozen vegetables and stir.  When incoporated add gochujang before serving to avoid scorching the chile paste.  Pull noodle first in bowl or nest when plating so you have all your vegetables and egg visible and not covered by your noodles.  Finished with sliced roasted seaweed strips and enjoy friends.  The little man sure did!