Blog Archives

Food 101: How To Make Basic Fried Rice

Let’s talk fried rice.

If you’ve had Chinese food before, you’ve had fried rice. Hell, if you’ve eaten at any Asian restaurants you’ve probably had it. Each culture seems to have its own little version of it. And for good reason too; fried rice is one of the easiest and fastest ways to convert old rice and leftovers into a tasty, nutritious meal.

 

103_1550

 

Read the rest of this entry

Recipe Time: Kare-Raisu (Japanese Curry) カレーライス

I’ve gone on about curry before. But really, what’s not to like? It’s delicious, exotic, good for you, and relatively easy to make (provided you have all the ingredients). One thing that I particularly enjoy is discovering new ways to make curry dishes. Every new one I find is familiar, but has its own little twist on it. A year or so ago, I discovered the concept of Japanese curry. It’s weird to think of it, since curry itself derives from India for the most part, and is also popular in Thai cuisine as well. But Japan? No way. But that’s where “yoshoku” comes in.

DSCF6361

Read the rest of this entry

Quick Recipe: Peruvian Style Grilled Chicken

There’s this really good local chicken place where we live, aptly called “Chicken Place”. They serve some of the most delicious rotisserie chicken you can imagine. Interestingly enough they specialize in Peruvian cuisine, and I came to learn the reason the chicken tasted so good was because of the style of seasoning they used which takes some cues from other ethnic foods like Chinese and Italian and Indian. After a little bit of research I was able to pinpoint some recipes that captured this awesome flavor, and lo and behold I produced a “close enough” version you can make at home pretty easily. It’s nothing out of this world, but it is certainly just a really delicious, solid way of preparing your chicken when you’re in the mood to grill.


DSCF2977


Read the rest of this entry

Cheat Codes: Save Your Condiment Containers For A Later Date!

Condiments are great.  Virtually every type of cuisine on the planet features some sort of condiments to go alongside its dishes. If variety is the spice of life, then condiments are the spice of food. Well… you know, besides actual spices. Afterall, french fries are pointless without ketchup and chicken fingers without honey mustard is a crime against humanity. But let’s face it, the vast majority of sauces and dressings we use are liquids that don’t hold up against the almighty force of gravity. Sure you can pour your favorite salsa out onto a plate and thrash your corn tortillas around in it like some sort of gluten intolerant caveman, but why do that when you can do better?

103_1531

For reals. Don’t be save. Not cool dude.

Read the rest of this entry

Quick Recipe: Korean Garlic Soy Chicken

Despite being big fans of Asian foods, the two of us have only recently come around to find that Korean food is really yummy. In fairness, it hasn’t had much exposure prior to the past decade thanks to the rise of Korean BBQ restaurants and other efforts to further the cuisine in western civilization. We happened upon this sort of stir fry two years ago in Jasmine, the restaurant at Stony Brook University’s Wang Center. We enjoyed it so much we ended up making a copycat version of our own that was as close as we could get it. This garlic-soy chicken has a really dark, awesome flavor bolstered by the addition of sesame oil. If you like garlic and stir fry, this is totally up your alley. Be warned though, there is a lot of garlic in there, so unless you’re like me and Meg and particularly enjoy the smell of garlic, you may need to brace yourself.

 

DSC01040

Read the rest of this entry