Food Recipe: Congee, again!

So I tried to be inventive and figure out how to make this dish on my own. Unfortunately, I should really stick with making traditional American/Italian comfort cuisine. Sometimes I can handle a taco, but you know anything else just throws me.

This picture is not what my congee looked like. It was much more gloppy and less overall appealing. I put 13 cups of water with one cup of rice vinegar into the 50s rice maker with two cups of medium grain rice. This was a bad idea. About four-fifths the way into the rice cooking, I realized I should've left the lid half off so the water could actually cook down.

The next bad idea was trying to recreate the century egg from Bay Leaf Cafe. I went ahead and steeped three bags of green tea into a pot of hot water for about 15 minutes. Then I boiled the eggs for about 20 minutes.

I successfully died the egg shells a funky brown color and made the eggs looked disease. This was clearly not enough tea time to actually have any effect on the egg.

In the end, I determined the congee was edible and served it up with some steak strips, onions, boiled egg and sweet red pepper. My thought was this would taste like a hearty breakfast dish perfect for dinner.

Ava was a good sport and ate some. She even said it was good for a first try. My roommates are amazing!

I think I'll try congee again. I just need to do some more research before I boil anything again.

Food Review: Adventurous Chinese cuisine at a Southern cafe

When CBC and I went to Bay Leaf Cafe, I tried this incredible dish called "congee." It is a delicious rice porridge served with ginger and an egg hard boiled in tea. The server said congee is a traditional breakfast dish from China and at his recommendation I tried it out.

The rice was warm, soft and about the consistency of a risotto. Mmmm...just the memory makes me want to go back for more. The rice seemed to have some sort of vinegar in it as a seasoning at first it was a little off-putting, but then when I got some of the fresh ginger with the vinegary rice there was an awesome blend of savory, bitter and sweet going on.

The century egg was somehow boiled in a tea until it turned dark purple. The egg looked a little intimidating, but ended up being much better than any other hard boiled egg I've ever tried. So good! This is a dish that changed my life, people.

We also had fried pickles because CBC just had to taste how delicious this amazingly Southern dish is. Once again, Bay Leaf delivered and I have to tell everyone to try out fried pickles. They are amazing!

CBC had the catfish po'boy. It was pretty good, but it didn't win mad adventure points like the congee or fried pickles. The ingredients were all fresh. And the sandwich wasn't dry and it wasn't mushy--it was just right.

Our server was amazing! He's definitely my favorite at Bay Leaf. I just can't remember his name. Maybe, Michael? Or Caleb? Something Bible related. Anyway, man with red hair was fantastic.

Bay Leaf Cafe, I love you. Please prove the statistic wrong and stay in business. Salt Lake City needs you. I need you.

Now, excuse me I'm off for some congee experimentation.

An Eastern Weekend

Oh yes, my friends that's what I said. This weekend Ava, Erin and I sampled cuisine from China, Japan and Thailand.

China
First stop on this train: China. Okay, I'll admit this isn't authentic Chinese food, but it's my favorite. Once again, I was feeling lazy and ordered delivery from the Dragon Diner. That wonderfully fabulous restaurant delivered again with egg rolls, fried rice, sweet and sour pork and sesame chicken.

The egg rolls were good, but a little dry. The fried rice was full of flavor with ham, shrimp, carrots and peas with a good helping of teriyaki sauce mixed in. The sweet and sour pork was pretty good, the sauce had a little less sour and more sweet than I anticipated. The big chuncks of pineapple with the deep fried pork bites were a great combination.

My favorite dish is the sesame chicken. It's always excellent from the Dragon. The chicken is tender and full of flavor, deep-fried and coated in sauce .I love this chicken. For $30 it was a great night in with my best friends.

Japan
Next stop: Japan. On Friday night, we went to Sapporo in Downtown. Ava and I love this place, but it was Erin's first visit. We sat at the sushi bar where John was the chef. John actually remembered us from our last visit and once again was friendly and talkative.

I ordered the Montoc roll for $12.95. It was a little much for me. The wasabi tobiko was way more wasabi than I can handle. I like spice, but I can't handle that much heat. Luckily, John had used the tobiko as a garnish across the top of the sushi roll and I was able to scrape it off and enjoy the asparagus and yellowtail.

Ava ordered the Rainbow Roll. This roll had a combination of several fish giving it it's name and color. It must have been delicious because she devoured it in about 20 minutes. And using chopsticks. I am so impressed by her Japanese skills.

Erin ordered the Chef's choice shashimi roll. And for the undecided this is a great option. John created eight rolls using eight different ingredients. There was salmon, shrimp, mackrel and yellowtail along with the other ingredients I couldn't identify or don't remember. It's like a sample tray of sushi.

Thailand
Last stop: Thailand. On Saturday night we were treated to homemade Thai food. Pau made a wonderful meal. It was amazing! I haven't had much Thai before and I have never been impressed, but this meal changed my mind. For the first course we had a chicken coconut soup with big chuncks of carrots and mushrooms. It was very rich and hearty. Pau said it is a traditional winter dish in Thailand.

For the main course we had a very spicy curry with shrimp. Apparently, the shrimp head is a delicacy. It's kind of crunchy and a little bit stringier than I expected. It tests gamier than the rest of the shrimp. Almost like an oyster, it was surprisingly good. It also came from the most giant shrimp I have ever seen in my life.

The curry was very hot. Pau said it was medium high heat. I'm pretty sure I coudn't survive what she would consider hot. It was great flavor, but the heat was nearly overwhelming. I had to have water close at hand.

For dessert we had deep-fried bananas and ice cream. Yum, yum, yummy! Pau used a mixture of flour and water for the breading then rolled the banana in bread crumbs. It tasted like there was honey drizzled on top, as well. It was sweet and delicious.

In three days, we had three great meals three different countries. Each meal was it's own unique experience and I can't wait to eat some more. This weekend, I'm looking forward to another adventure in cuisine. How was your food weekend?

Chinese Take-Out a.k.a Awesome Late Night Food

I think it's apparent, but I'm going to play Captain Obvious and tell you anyway: I eat a lot. Not only do I eat a lot, I often eat late at night. I don't know why other than I don't feel hungry until 9 p.m. Maybe that's because I eat non-stop from 7 to 7. Maybe it's work, painting, friends and family distancing my face from my food. No, it's definitely my snacking tendencies. Regardless of my eating habits, it is time to talk about the best import since coffee...take-out!

There are three different Chinese fast food places I want to talk about.

SAMPAN
675 East 2100 South #C
801-467-3663
http://www.esampan.com/
The first is Sampan at their Sugar House location. Sampan came highly recommended. As I recall their delivery was quick. Plus, the kid at the door was very friendly and didn't complain about being paid half in cash, half in check. The food was okay, but not much better than Panda Express. Considering the price range, the recommendation, the delivery and the food, Sampan ranks last. You can expect to pay between $10 and $15 a person for soup, egg rolls, rice and an entree each. Honestly what rankles most is the price. If Sampan were half the cost, I would have twice the love.

THE DRAGON DINER
1331 East 3900 South
801-272-9333
The second place we tried take out from was the Dragon Diner in Holladay. This was by far and away my favorite take out. I called at 9:59 p.m. on a Saturday night. They close at 10. The girl on the phone took my order. By 10:45 I had a hot delicious bag of deep fried wonder in my hands. The price is right, too. For about $7 a person you get soup, egg rolls, rice and an entree. The food was very good with lots of vegetables and great flavor. I tried the moo goo gai pan, beef and broccoli and sesame chicken. The sesame chicken was my favorite, but the veggies in the moo goo were cooked to a perfect crispy tender state. They didn't skimp on the broccoli with the beef. I want to order from this place again.

CHARLIE CHOW'S
255 East 400 South
801-328-3663
http://www.charliechows.com/
Charlie Chow's Dragon Grill in Downtown was the third Chinese place we ordered take out from. The boy on the other end of the line was very friendly and helpful. He recommended the imperial chicken. For about $9 a person you get soup, rice, spring rolls and an entree each. I had the hot and sour soup, the imperial chicken, the orange peel chicken and the sweet and sour chicken.

For the appetizers, I found the soup to be below my expectations. I've had better and the emphasis was on heat rather than a balance of sour and heat. The spring rolls were dry and seemed a little overcooked. The rice was surprising good after the drought of the soup and rolls. Charlie Chow's ham fried rice was easily the best dish of the night.

The entrees seemed to be influenced by an emphasis on spice rather than flavor. The imperial chicken was very heavy on the ginger (pickled, from the flavor). The orange chicken suffered the same fate of over spiciness. The chicken had great flavor, but after three bites I could only feel the spice in my throat. The sweet and sour chicken was my favorite. The chicken is breaded and cooked separately, the sweet and sour served on the side.

The delivery guy was abrupt, but on time. Overall, I will order Charlie Chow's again, if the Dragon Diner goes out of business.