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Beans, Rice, Life 2.0

A Taste of Cambodian Cuisine

I've had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Demaz Baker, a local chef and author of A taste of Cambodian Cuisine .


This book is full of traditional recipes using ingredients that can be easily found at local Asian markets. I've tried a few of the recipes and they all bring back flavors and dishes from my childhood.

One of my favorite recipes from this book is Amok, a Cambodian national dish of Steamed Fish Stew. I made it for my parents and they loved it!

The fish marinade is made with thinly sliced fish in coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce and kaifir lime leaves.

The fish is then added to a banana leaf bowl lined with lightly steamed greens. You can make the bowl by cutting and folding the banana leaves into your desired size & securing the sides with toothpicks:

Once you've filled the banana bowls, add a little garnish- steam & enjoy:


You can get the full recipe by purchasing her book. For more information, please visit her site.

Keeping squirrels out of your garden!

I sprinkle a little cayenne pepper on my plants to keep the city squirrels out my planter box.

Pressure Cooker

Great film- I highly reccomend it for anyone who's ever been curious about culinary school. This documentary follows the stories of 3 high school students in Philly competing to win a scholarship to culinary school.

How to Cut a Pineapple

Feeding the Soul of a City

I picked up this really dope book from busboys the other day. It features recipes and stories from workers, graduates & volunteers of the DC Central Kitchen, including renowned chefs Jose Andres (Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel, Cafe Atlantico), Anthony Bourdain (No Reservations) & Michel Richard (Citronelle, Central) just to name a few.

One of my favorite recipes is Marianne Ali's Pineapple Ginger Soup. The sweet pineapple pairs perfectly with the fresh ginger and is given a slight kick with a bit of ground cardamom. Marianne, the Director of Culinary Job Training's story is equally inspiring. After recovering from a 20 year heroin addiction, Marianne requested a position with the training program and has since worked her way up.

Checkout this video for information on how valuable this program is to our community:

All the recipes are easy to follow and range from simple dishes developed by high schoolers to kicked up classics by top chefs. They even have a beef stew recipe for 2,500 servings!

The stories will inspire you, the recipes will excite you and you'll feel good to know that 100% of the proceeds support programs of the DC Central Kitchen. The book can be purchsed directly through the DC Cetral kitchen here

DC Food Blogger Bake Sale this Saturday

As part of Share our Strength's Great American Bake Sale, myself and food blogger's across the country will be joining together for the first annual National Food Blogger's Bake Sale.


Nearly 1 in 4 children in the US do not have enough food to eat. Join us this Saturday April 17th as as we raise funds and awareness for childhood hunger. For those of you in the DC metro urrya, we'll be over at Eastern Market (blue & orange line) from 9am to 12 noon selling all sorts of delicious goodies. I'll be holdin' it down from 10am to noon along w/ my homegirl Marie from Lunching in the DMV

For more info on how you can contribute check out Share Our Strength's site. Look forward to seeing you all there!!!

Shout outs to Colleen at Foodie Tots for puttin' it all together!

**Update: It was great meeting/ spending time with other local food blogger. I'm so glad to share that we raised over $600 for SOS on Saturday! Everyones baked goodies were delicious!!! Dskco's Almond Pound Cake was awesome as was LivelovetoBake's Triple Chocolate Cake Balls and Mrs. Wheelbarrow's granola!!! I look forward to following you all!

Casa de Feijuada

I damn near had a food coma after eating all this:
Feijuada... Brazil's national dish- a stew made of black beans and a combination of many many many different smoked and sun-dried meats-- mainly pork, smoked sausages and beef. Originally created by Africans as a way to use leftover/ undesireable meats such as pigs ear, feet, tail. Don't let the ingredients fool you- this dish has been perfected over hundreds of years. The the stew is slow cooked in a clay pot for hours melding the flavors of the beans and smoked meat perfectly and making the meat fall apart tender.

Starters:

Crusty bread w/ butter & cheese, olives & smoked sausages

Traditionally served with a ton of sides. Our meal included: white rice, collard greens minas gerais style, fried manioc, farfoa, oranges & pork rinds.

Plated for you right at your table:

Also, this is where I had that AMAZING Brazilian Fish Stew I told y'all about and had to re-create at home (check it out in my older posts)
For dessert: pumpkin & coconut compote, banana compote, and milk compote.

And if all that wasnt enough, your meal includes complementary lime and passion fruit cocktails all night (batida).

The art of drinking young coconut water (água de coco):

Coconut water,the juice found in young (green) coconuts is an excellent rehydrator and had many nutritional benefits. It contains more electrolytes than sports drinks and contains tons of natural sugar, salt and vitamins including potassium, calcium, protein, fiber, and magnesium. In fact, it has the same salt concentration as human blood and has even been used as a substitute for plasma transfusions.

So you've never had fresh coconut water before? Here are some tips on how to get the most of every nut--

- start by cutting the top of the coconut. Some people like to cut the coconut in thirds and drink it from the boat like vessels. Either way, its gotta be fresh or it loses some of its flavor and health benefits
- drink the deliciousness!
- Crack the coconut if you haven't already and chop off a small portion of the outer shell to use as a scoop (about the size of your four fingers pressed together)
- use the shell you cut off like a spoon to scoop out all the yummy coconut meat (young coconut meat is still soft enough for you to scoop out easily by hand)




There you have it a super healthy, natural and refreshing drink!

If you dont want to go through all that work (even though its definitely worth it), you can also find frozen young coconut at most international markets. As a child, this was my all time favorite drink & brand:

Note* the freshly frozen coconut is MUCH better than the canned stuff (nutritionally and taste wise)

Galetos! (baby chicken)

One of my favorite meals in Brazil had to be the Galeto's (both my 1st & last meal). Its a simple dish-- baby chicken brushed with a lime, vinegar, garlic solution and slowly charbroiled over an open fire- simple and delicious! As the juice from the baby chicken drips into the charcoal pit, the flame rises creating a thin crispy skin and wonderful smokey flavor. The frango (chicken) meat is fall off the bone tender and juicy -- absolutely amazing! The galeto's are served with a totmato onion-salsa, oil, vinegar, and salt.

My favorite spot was: "Quick Galeto's" a modest dine in bar located one block from Copacabana Beach. Check out the video below:



They also had all sorts of other grilled meats, sides and salads-- their beef skewers w/ green peppers and onions is also a winner. They even add bacon strips to the meat making the beef taste even smokier!!!
Grilled Beef Skewers w/ green peppers & onions


Hearts of Palm, tomato, avocado, onion salad

And of course galetos!


And the elderly owners are too cute ;)
http://www.quickgaletos.com/

Brazilian Fish Stew-- BRL Version

While in Rio I had the most amazing Fish Stew ever. I bought some Brazilian ingredients and so that I could recreate it at home. Here's what I came up with:



Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb white fish- such as bass, halibut, or tilapia
4 cloves garlic
1-2 shallots (or 1 onion)
1 green onions/ scallions
1 inch piece ginger
4 Tb cilantro
1/2 lime
4 Tb dende oil
2 Tb Extra virgin olive oil
1 Tb tomato paste
1 cup seafood stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup coconut milk
hot peppers (optional to taste)
salt n' pepa
1-2 tomatoes

Directions:
1) Chop the garlic, ginger, scallions, shallots & cilantro
2) Place the fish in a plastic ziplock bag and build the marinade by adding the olive oil, 1/2 the dende oil and half of the garlic, ginger, scallions, shallots & cilantro. Let the marinade sit for about 2-3 hours
3)Heat the remaining dende oil in a pot and add the rest of shallots, green peppers, ginger, and garlic. Let this cook for a few minutes. Add the fish with remaining marinade and lime juice. Cook on both sides.
4) Add seafood stock, white wine & salt and pepper to taste and let simmer. Add tomato paste and stir until dissolved
5) Add coconut milk, tomatoes, hearts of palm & peppers
6) Serve w/ fresh cilantro and steamed rice

**A few notes**
- I changed the written recipe from the video so that everything is cooked in the same pot--- one less dish to wash!
- Although I used a filet for the video, I would reccomend using a fish steak as it will hold better in the stew
- Feel free to add other items such as hearts of palm (very Brazilian & you can get them canned of jarred at the market) or shrimp (MMMmmmm)
- The stew in the video is a little lighter in color than you might experience. I reccomend using less coconut milk than I did in the video. I adjusted the written recipe to reflect the correct amount.
- Dende oil is very strong and high in fat so try not to go overboard with it

Life's a Beach w/ Treats!

If you want to live like a true carioca (native of Rio), you gotta know Rio beach food. Rio de Janiero has one of the most beautiful beaches in the world- soft sand, beautiful warm water, and of course great food!

What could make any beautiful beach day better? BBQ!!!



Food on a Stick: Beach vendors go around w/ with hand held charcoal grills in one hand (above) and a cooler filled with either meat, cheese or shrimp on a stick and grill your food right there on the spot-- Ahhh, the life!!!
Shrimp on a stick served w/ fresh limes:
2 sticks for R$5 ($2.50 US)



Mate Gelado:
Nick being the Baltimorian that he is was overjoyed to discover the matte man. A guy walks up and down the beaches with 2 ice cold kegs- one filled with iced tea (or matte) and the other filled with lemonade. For R$2 (or US $1), he lets you fill up whatever proportion of half-and-half (or Arnold Palmer) you prefer.

Other great beach and/or street vendors:
- Corn on the cobb with as much buttery goodness as you can brush on
- Tapiocas: crepes made on the spot and filled with anything from cheese to coconut
- Roasted Nuts
- Fresh coconut water
- Caipirinha-- a national favorite drink
(more on the latter 2 in future posts)

...and of course beer (SKOL!)

Bom-dia Brazil!!!

I just spent an amazing week in Rio de Janeiro- Brazil and want to share some of my cultural and culinary adventures with you all!

A little background on Brazilian food--
Brazilian cuisine is a unique combination of three main cultures: Native Indians (aboriginals), Portugese (colonizers), and the Africans (slaves). The ingredients and cooking techniques of these people are all integrated into the food that is Brazil.

While Brazil has a very diverse immigrant community, including the largest Japanese population outside of Japan (Sao Paulo in secific), most of these other cultures have retained their own culinary identity and are not as integral to Brazilian cuisine.

Over the next few weeks I'll be blogging about all things Brazil and sharing with you the deliciousness of Rio de Janeiro!

Fried Turkey & Cabbage Wontons

Most traditional recipes call for ground pork but I happen to have ground turkey at home plus this is a leaner/ healthier alternative... without sacrificing taste!

Ingredients:

1/2 small cabbage (about 8 oz)

1/2 tsp salt + 1/4 tsp

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger, grated

3 scallions, chopped

1/2 lb ground turkey

1/4 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 Tb soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:

1) Toss cabbage w/ 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Let it stand for 15 minutes (this draws the moisure out) & squeeze out any access liquid

2) Combine turkey, garlic, ginger, scallions, soy sauce, salt, sesame oil w/ cabbage until well mixed

3) Place a bit of the mixture in the middle of a wonton wrapper & fold according to the directions below & seal w/ egg mixture

4) Deep fry until golden brown & cooked. Serve w/ soy dipping sauce (below)

Folding Wonton Dumplings:

- Place the wonton on a flat surface in a diamond position

- Add a small spoonful of the mixture to the center of the wonton (be careful not to over stuff)

- Brush the edges w/ egg

- Fold the wonton in half so that the bottom corner of the wonton fold over the top corner to form a triangle & seal

- Fold the right and left corners together and seal w/ egg


Soy dipping sauce:

soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt-- combine ingredients to taste

Strawberry Basil Sorbet

This Strawberry Basil Sorbet recipe only calls for 5 ingredients (strawberries, sugar, basil, lemon juice & salt) and is all natural. Its a great way to treat yourself to a healthy dessert for the New Year!

Ingredients:

3 cups strawberries (cut in half, stemless)

2/3 cup sugar-- I used all natural cane sugar

1/4 cup basil, coarsely chopped

2 tea fresh lemon juice

pinch of salt

Directions:

1) Combine the strawberries, sugar & basil and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes-- you'll know they're ready when a thin glossy syrup coats the strawberries


2) Add everything (mixture, lemon juice & salt) to a blender or food processor and let 'er rip

3) Cover & refrigerate the mixture (2 hours or more)

4) Pour the cold puree into the ice cream maker and churn

5) Place in freezer safe container and sit in freezer for at least 2 hours.

And thats it- you've got fresh all natural sorbet at home!

**update: I redid this same recipe w/ fresh mint instead of basil and it turned out just as great!**

Fried Tofu with a Soy-Lime Dipping Sauce

Tofu is normally not on my regular shopping list but i decided to pick some up to experiment with. After playing around with a few ideas, this fried tofu recipe ended up being one of my favorites.

I coat the cubes of tofu with cornstarch which gives it a really light airy crunch. Pair that with my fresh soy-lime dipping sauce and its a great snack.

Fried Tofu with soy lime dipping sauce

Ingredients:

Tofu

Cornstarch

Soy-lime dipping sauce:

Soy sauce

Lime juice

Rice Vinegar

Salt

Directions:

1) Drain all the juice from tofu and pat dry with a paper towel.

2) Cut the tofu into one inch cubes and coat liberally with cornstarch

3) Deep Fry until golden and crisp

4) While the tofu is deep frying, combine all the ingredients to make the dipping sauce. I didn't put measurements so you can make the sauce to taste. I typically put larger quantities of soy sauce and lime juice. If you want your sauce a little sweeter, try adding some honey to the mixture.

(Better than) Carryout Orange Chicken

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)

• 1 chicken breast
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tb Peanut/Canola Oil ( for the wok-additional oil needed for deep frying)
• Flour (for coating chicken)
• 1 Orange (1/2 cup of the juice and zest from rind)
• 1/4 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 Tb of corn starch
• 2 Tb Soy Sauce
• 1 Tb Honey
• 1 inch Ginger Root- finely chopped
• 1 clove Garlic- finely chopped
• 1 Scallion- chopped
• 1 Chili Pepper- finely chopped
  

Directions:
Sauce-
1) Make Sauce: Combine orange juice, chicken broth, cornstarch, soy sauceinto a measuring cup and mix well--set to de side

Chicken-
2) Dice chicken into bite size chunks
3) Coat in egg batter, then flour. Repeat again
4) Fry coated chicken & degrease

Combine-
5) In a wok with the peanut oil, add: ginger, garlic, spring onions, hot pepper, & orange zest
6) Once flavors release, add the sauce mixture and simmer until bubbling and thickened
7) Add chicken with broccoli and coat until completely covered

Crispy Wasabi- Basil Tuna Rolls

This tuna recipe is the 'effin' best- No Drake. Plus, its super easy to make!

Ingredients:

• Tuna Steaks-- the real stuff, non of that canned chicken from the sea ish
• Wasabi paste
• Basil
• Spring roll wrappers
• Salt-N-Pepa
• Oil- for deef frying

1) Season fresh tuna steak w/ salt, pepper & wasabi paste

2) Arrange the spring roll wrappers so that the corner is facing you and the seasoned tuna steak is horizontal at the bottom of the paper


3) Put some fresh basil on the tuna


4) Wrap the tuna- tightly rolling up, fold right & left corners in to the center, continue to roll to the top; seal w/ beaten egg

*see my spring roll video for tips on how to roll


5) Deep fry 'em to your preferance- I like my tuna rare/ medium-rare

Califonia Luu-uuv

So I spent the last week and a half trekking through Cali and of course you know I was on the lookout for some good (and cheap) eats. I started off the trip in SanFran & the Bay area, worked my way south and finished off in San Diego.

This was my first time in the west coast, but I will most definately be going going back back to Cali Cali... I loved it!!!! SanFran's got so many interesting neighborhoods with tons of character and of course lots of great food. Here are my favorites from each neighborhood--

Chinatown:

Easily one of the best I've been to... it shits majorly on the Starbucks flooded "Chinatown" we have here in DC. Aside from bangin' restaurants, markets and tea shops, there's some really dope retail and gift shops. One of my highlights was this fortune cookie factory that was hidden away in a small alley:

... I gotta get my hands on one of those cookie presses. Mmmm.... hot off the press cookies!!

The Wok Shop on Grant Ave was also one of my fav's :)

Chef Jia's (just outside of Chinatown) has one of the best Chinese food spots ever... and for de cheap! All of this was $5 + it comes w/ a bowl of hot and sour soup. Forget $40 a day... let's aim for 25!

The honey chili chicken had a thick batter and was perfectly fried, then coated with a sweet and spicy chili sauce- awww, man!

SF = best farmer's markets ever. I would love to spend my lunch break like this everyday:

Fisherman's Wharf:

Boudin's Sourdough bread factory at the Wharf was awesome. They've got fun bakery demonatrations and you can peep the whole factory from outside or sourdough museum. Check out their cute little bread animals & see them make it on site

And you can't go to SF & not get a sourdough bread bowl, mmm Mmmm... just thinking about it makes me salivate- No Pavlov
*focused*

Golden Gate Park:

Be sure to pack your own food... there are endless picnic spaces here. Also stop by the Japanese Tea Garden for some warm tea w/ wasabi rice crackers and cookies.

Mission:
I had some of the BEST Cambodian food here ever... easily the best I've had since being in Cambodia.

This sour beef salad was the BEST. The meat marinated in a citrus, chili's, sugar and fish sauce and served rare/ uncooked (similar to ceviche). It's later tossed with beansprouts, peppers, carrots, mint and other goodies before its served over a bed of salad.

They also have imported beer from Thailand and they make an AMAZING Lemongrass Iced Tea... (which I will be making at home from now on until the end of summer :) The service was top notch and the owner was super sweet. All adding to the wonderful experience.

Delicious + Affordable = all smiles :)

Japantown:

This sushi place was pretty cool. The sushi circles the table on a floating boat and you just pick what you like.

The concept was really cool, but you have to wonder how long some of the food had been sitting on those boats. Also, since the place was pretty packed it seemed as if the chefs (who were preparing the sushi in the center of the table) were sort of in a rush to get the food out and I think they skimmed on a quality a tad.

If you're in SF, definately take some time to checkout the Oakland scene. Its accessible on public trasportation (the BART) for a few bucks.

House of Chicken and Waffles in Jack London Square was one of my highlights:

Each dish is named after family members of the owner with portraits of each member painted the interiors walls. I had Paige's Palette: 2 Southern Fried Chicken Wings, 1 egg and a waffle... MMMMmmm! The waffle has a slight cinnamon taste that went perfectly with the maple syrup.

We need more joints like this in DC.

Check out pt deux of my California post where we make out way down south to San Diego