Blast the AC!

If I didnt know better this summer, I would have thought we were in the south or SE Asia! The heat, humidity, and random thunderstorms in the last few weeks have been very un-NY like. July has always been hot and humid but we've never experienced flash thunderstorms as often as we have this year.

So, I thought... What is better than having Taiwanese style piping hot beef noodle soup (紅燒牛肉麵) in the middle of this disgusting heat? But at least I'll have the AC on, right?

I used to slave over the stove for HOURS on end trying to braise the perfect soup base and cook the meats down to the perfect texture. This time, the Instant Pot saved me again!

Growing up, Mom would seldom make this because it would take so long but we craved for it all the time. Back in Taiwan, Ah-Ma (my maternal grandmother) actually sold beef noodle soup out of the small porch of the house that I remember visiting when I was a kid. By the time I was born, she was no longer selling it but I would hear so many stories. On top of that, my dad even got involved with the business when him and Mom were courting/dating/or even beginning of their marriage. Dad was definitely a keeper ;)

So here is my authentic version of Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup!

Ingredients:

2 lbs Beef (this can be shank, beef stew, oxtail, beef tendon, tripe, etc)

*Beef shank is what is traditionally used as that is the cut that gives the noodle soup the rice collagen-filled soup base. This time around, I used Oxtail and Beef Tendon

2 small/med carrots - cut up in one inch pieces

1 small/med Onion - halved

3 Scallions - cut in halves

2 Tomato - cut in quarters

3-4 Garlic - peeled and smashed

1 Marinade packet

1/2 cup Soy sauce 

1/3 Chinese cooking wine

1 stick Rock/Brown sugar

Water

1 TBS oil 

Toppings:

Chopped cilantro

Sauteed sour cabbage

- 1 bag pickled mustard green (thai branded)

- 2 cloves garlic minced

- sugar to taste

- 1 TBS Oil

Noodles: I used Japanese Udon Noodles which is what I had in the pantry but hand pulled noodles or any other types of Chinese noodles would work too

(tips on some of the ingredients)

Marinating packet option 1

Marinating Packet Option 2

 

Brown/Rock Sugar 

First, I put on a pot of boiling water so I can blanch my meat. This will clean the meat and rid it of any dirty blood and things. I prefer a clearer broth so this step helps me in getting there. 

The pot will start to boil and there is a pinkish/brownish foam that will be created from the boil. I strain the meat and rinse it real quick with some clean water and leave it to the side. 

Instant pot is amazing in that you can do everything in one pot! Add the oil, then sautee the scallion, onion and garlic (all the fragrant ingredients) until brown.

I then added tomato and carrots, and the beef or choice of meat. 

Add soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar (I prefer this on the sweeter side so this can be adjusted to taste). Add water until it just covers the top of the all the ingredients. 

Finally, add in the marinade packet. 

Close the lid to the pressure cooker, make sure the vent is closed.

Press the manual function and adjust the timer to 75 minutes. I thought 75 minutes was a bit long so maybe 65-70 minutes would be slightly better. 

Final Product!

Black Friday... in JULY?

So most of you, if not all of you know that a few weeks ago Amazon had their Prime Day. Some walked away with some pretty good deals. One of the biggest sellers was the Instant Pot. It is a 7 in 1 multi function cooker. You can purchase on Amazon.

Truth be told, I was definitely a bit hesitant. Reason being that I wasn't sure that I would really make good use of all 7 functions and I thought that I'd just have a one week phase with it and then stop using it. Plus my kitchen doesn't have a lot of room so it was just another appliance that I could do with out. In my research phase, I read up on a bunch of blogs and reviews - everyone had positive things to say and people seem to use this appliance regularly! So I decided to purchase the pot! It was supposed to arrive with free two day shipping but ended up getting it the next day which was a nice surprise.

Recently, I had been craving a simple chicken soup and figured I can use the pressure cooker function to cook it in a just a short period of time. It was a weeknight and I didnt have a lot of time to make a full on chicken stock/broth. I was able to make the soup in 60 minutes. Just enough time for me to work out at the gym!

The result? Better than I could have imagined!

In addition, I had so much stock left over, I thought, why not make some chicken congee in the SAME POT! So that's what I did. All I had to do was add rice, turn the pressure cooker back on and by the time I had gotten ready for bed, congee was the perfect consistency and delicious.

Below is the recipe and some photos - enjoy!

Soup: (can use pork ribs, carrots, daikon, etc)

2 corn, broken into thirds
2 organic chicken thighs - can use any part of the chicken as you wish
few slices of ginger
4-5 dried shiitake mushroom

1. soak mushroom in water - 20 minutes should be fine
2. fill up the instant pot with water to about the 6 mark
3. once mushrooms are soaked and roughtly sliced, pour the mushroom water in the pot
4. Add in all ingredients
5. Press the "soup" setting, it should default to high pressure (make sure the valve is sealed)
6. Set time for 45 min
7. Salt/season to taste

Congee:
Soup base/water/liquid of preference
Rice
Whatever else you want

1. Liquid to rice ratio is 7:1
2. Add in any other ingredients
3. Press the "Porridge" setting, it should default to high pressure (make sure the valve is sealed)
4. Set time for 60 minutes
5. Salt/Season to taste - add any toppings (scallions, thousand year old egg, cilantro, etc)

It's Been a While!

Wow, I can't believe it has really been 3+ years since I've last posted. Time certainly flies and life definitely happens.

Since 2013, I've travelled quite a bit as well as taken on some challenges both in my personal life and career.

To me, life is about the journey, and not about the end goal. The experiences and people we encounter in our lives help shape who we become. Those that have come and gone in our lives, I believe have a place and a purpose in our journeys. No matter the outcome of those relationships, always try to see the silver lining. You'll be much happier when you accept those things and see positivity stem from them. Of course, in the case that there are already positive outcomes, don't forget to show appreciation and thank those that have supported you.

Those that have followed me for some time have seen some of the transformations in both my writing and my life. For a while, I've taken on some interest in street fairs, events, "fun" things to do around NYC. It really allowed me to appreciate NYC as a whole and I enjoyed every part of sharing that with my friends and family.

So where am I going with this? Since I've [really] settled in NYC, I've had the opportunity to develop my second loves - CULTURE AND CUISINE!

In NYC, you can practically find anything and everything! If you're talking about quality, that might be a whole other ball game but generally speaking, NYC is the epitome of what we consider a culture mash up.

Anyone who follows my IG (@crewgrl19), Facebook, Snapchat (ID: crewgrl19) know that my life is consumed with trying new things, and finding the best food out there (whether it's homemade or found elsewhere).

I'll be [hopefully] posting more consistently on my adventures of Pigs and Chicks (IG: @pigsandchicks or Pigs and Chicks FB Page), cooking, and dining out experiences.

Lots of folks have asked for recipes of food I've put up on social media - I've decided to post them here so everyone can access. Would love to see the results if you decide to test out one of Luluish's receipes!

Cheers to more yummy times!



via GIPHY

Sprummer Fun in the Sun 2013

Its that time of year again! Luluish's Spring/Summer Festival list!
I'll be adding to the list as we go. The list will have events running through October.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions or additions!

April 6 - November 2013 (every weekend)
Smorgasburg - Brooklyn Flea Food Market (W'burg)
East River State Park at Kent Ave and N. 7th St.
Saturdays11am-6pm, Rain or Shine
http://www.smorgasburg.com/

April 6 - November 2013 (every weekend)
Smorgasburg - DUMBO
Tobacco Warehouse (30 Water St.)
Sundays 11am-6pm, Rain or Shine  

April 20 - Fall
Fulton Stall Market
Every Saturday & Sunday
beginning April 20 & 21 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Under the awning of the Fulton Market Building at the South Street Seaport
South Street between Fulton and Beekman Streets, across from Pier 17.
http://www.fultonstallmarket.com/information

Saturday April 27 - October
Hester Street Fair
Corner of Hester and Essex St
11AM-6PM
http://www.hesterstreetfair.com/

Long Island City Food & Flea   June 15 - November (weather permitting)
46th St and 5th Street, LIC
10AM - 6PM
http://www.licflea.com/

Saturday April 27
Tribeca Family Festival
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Greenwich Street from Chambers Street to Hubert Street
http://www.tribecafilm.com/festival/events/tribeca-family-festival-street-fair

Saturday, April 20
23rd Annual Upper Broadway Spring Festival Broadway
110-116 Sts., East Side of Broadway 

Saturday, April 20
Greenwich Avenue Festival
on Greenwich from 6th to 7th Avenue

Saturday, April 20
Sunnyside Skillman Festival
on Skillman Avenue from 43rd to 48th Street

Sunday, April 21 
Chinatown Festival 
on Lafayette Street from Canal to Leonard Street

Sunday, April 21  
Church Avenue Street Festival  
East 10th street to Argyle Road - Brooklyn

Thursday, April 25 
Foley Square Fair 
Worth Street At Centre Street

Saturday April 27-28
Brooklyn Botanical Cherry Blossom Festival
10AM-6PM
http://www.bbg.org/visit/event/sakura_matsuri_2013

Saturday, April 27 
8th Avenue Festival 
on 8th Ave. from 14th to 23rd Streets

Sunday, April 28 
Steinway Street Festival 
on Steinway from 34th to 28th Avenue

Saturday, May 4 
Lexington Avenue Festival 
on Lexington Avenue from 60th to 66th Street

Sunday, May 5 
25th Annual Broadway Spring Festival  
Broadway, 86-96 Sts., East ide of Broadway

Sunday, May 5 
Court Street "Brooklyn" Festival 
on Court Street from Union to 9th Street

Sunday, May 5 
Brighton 5th Street Fair 
Brighton Beach Ave-Brightwater Ct, Brooklyn

Sunday, May 5 
Metropolitan Avenue Festival 
73rd street to 79th street - Queens

Saturday, May 11 
Beer Balls - Meatball and Craft Beer Festival
12PM - 7PM
Tickets:http://beerballs13.eventbrite.com/# 
Alewife: 5-14 51st Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101
Saturday, May 11 
2nd Avenue Festival 
on 2nd Avenue from 14th to 4th Streets

Saturday, May 11 
63rd Drive Festival 
on 63rd Dr. from Austin St. to Queens Blvd

Sunday, May 12 
Broadway Festival 
on Broadway from 14th to 8th Streets

Sunday, May 12
Upper Broadway Festival
on Broadway from 60th to 65th Streets

Tuesday May 14
Queens Taste
6PM - 9PM
Caesars Club, Citi Field
Tickets: http://www.queensny.org/qedc/queenstaste/

Saturday May 18
Taste of Tribeca
Duane Street (between Greenwich and Hudson).
11:30AM-3PM
Tickets: http://www.tasteoftribeca.com/

May 18-19
9th Ave International Food Festival
9th Ave (42nd - 57th street)
12PM-5PM Rain or Shine 
http://ninthavenuefoodfestival.com/

Saturday, May 18 
6th Avenue Festival 
on 6th Avenue from 23rd to 14th Streets

Saturday, May 18 
Graham Avenue Fiesta 
on Graham Ave. from Boerum St. to Broadway

Sunday, May 19  
31st Street Astoria Festival 
Ditmars Blvd to 21st avenue - Queens

Sunday, May 19 
Fabulous 5th Avenue Festival 
on Fifth Avenue from St. John to 12th Street

Thursday, May 23 
Foley Square Fair 
Worth Street At Centre Street, Manhattan

Saturday, May 25 
Greenpoint Avenue Festival 
on Greenpoint from Queens Blvd to 44th St.

Saturday, May 25 
Waverly Place Festival 
on Washington Square North from University to 6th Avenue

Saturday, May 25 
Annual Murray Hill Neighborhood Festival & Taste of Murray Hill
Park Avenue, 34-40 Sts., west side of Park Ave  
May be subject to change by the Mayors Office

Sunday, May 26  
26th Annual Livable West Side Festival  
Broadway, 73-86 Sts.

Sunday, May 26 
Flushing Festival 
on Sanford Avenue from Main Street to Kissena

Sunday, May 26 
Main Street Islip Festival 
on Main Street from Rte 111 to Smith Ave

Saturday/Sunday June 8-9
Big Apple BBQ Block Party
Madison Square Park
11AM-6PM
http://www.bigapplebbq.org/

Sunday June 9
National Puerto Rican Day Parade
Fifth Ave (44th to 79th Street)
11AM

Tuesday June 11
Museum Mile Festival
Fifth Ave (82nd - 105th Street)
6PM

Sunday June 30
NYC Pride March
Fifth Ave (36th and proceeds South) 

Saturday July 20th
Earth Awareness Fair at Herald Square
Broadway between 35th-39th St
10AM-6PM

Sunday July 21
Fulton Street Fair
Fulton Street from Water to Gold St
10AM-6PM

Sunday July 21
Rio De Brazil Block Party
46th St between 6th and 7 ave
10AM-4PM

Friday July 26
Grand Central Carnival
41st St from Lexington to 3Ave
10AM-4PM

Saturday July 27
Festival of the Americas
6th Ave between 42nd and 57th Street
10AM-6PM

Sunday July 28
Madison Ave Summer Fair
Madison Ave between 42nd and 57th Street
10AM-6PM

July 31 to August 4
Maine Lobster Festival
Rockland, ME
9AM-8PM
http://www.mainelobsterfestival.com/

Saturday August 3
The Summer Seaport Festival
Water Street from Fulton to Broad St
11AM-6PM

Sunday August 4
Lexington Ave Summerfest
Lexington Ave between 42 and 57 St
10AM-6PM

Saturday August 10
Times Sq Summer Fair
45th Street between 5th ave to 7th ave
10AM-6PM

Friday August 16
Bowling Green Park Fair
Broadway and Whitehall St
9AM-6PM

Saturday August 17
The Great Irish Festival
6th Ave between 42 St and 56 St
10AM-6PM

August 22-Sept 2
The Great NYS Fair
New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, N.Y.
8AM-9PM
http://www.nysfair.org/

Friday August 23
Irving Place Fair
Irving Place from 14th - 15th Street
10AM-4PM

Sunday August 25
52nd Street Jazz Fair
52nd Street between 6th and 7th Ave
10AM-4PM

Saturday August 31
World Trade Center Fair
Liberty Street between Broadway and Trinity Place
11AM-6PM

Saturday August 31
Herald Sq Block Party
33rd St between 6th and 7th Ave
10Am-4PM

Sunday Sept 1
Annual Brazilian Day Festival
6th Ave between 42st and 56 St and 46th St from Madison to 7th Ave

Saturday Sept 7
Grammercy Park Neighborhood Fair
3rd Ave between 14th Street and 23 St
10AM-6PM

Sunday Sept 8
43rd St Block Party
43 St between 6th and 7th Ave
10AM-4PM

Sept 12-22
San Gennaro Festival
Mulberry St from Canal to Houson
http://www.sangennaro.org/

Friday Sept 13
Midtown East Block Party
54th St between Lexington and 3 Ave
10AM-4PM

Sunday Sept 15
Eighth Ave Festival
8th Ave between 42nd and 57th St
10AM-6PM

Saturday Sept 21
Hammer and Claws Blue Crab Fest
The Tunnel @ The Terminal Stores
269 11th Ave, Chelsea, NYC
http://www.hammerandclaws.com/

Saturday Sept 21
Broadway Autumn Fair
Broadway between Waverly Place and 14th St
10AM-6PM

Friday Sept 27
Grand Central Fall Festival
41st between Lexington and 3 Ave
10AM-4PM

Sept 28-29
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival
10AM-5PM
Cantine Veterans Memorial Complex in Suagerties, NY
http://hvgf.org/ 
Saturday Sept 28
Sixth Ave Fair
6th Ave between 42nd St and 56th St
10AM-6PM

Sunday Sept 29
NYC Oktoberfest
Lexington Ave between 42nd and 57th St
10AM-6PM

Saturday/Sunday October 19-20
Oyster Bay Oyster Festival
Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park
http://www.theoysterfestival.org/index.php
11AM-5PM

Luluish Uni Pasta vs Basta Pasta

Lately, I've been into Japanese food more than normal. Hard to believe right!? I've been going to Yuba's a lot. Their quality is jut stand up and consistent. One of my favorite reasons why I go so often. Its just a cute and quaint place and the sushi is simple, no frills, and fresh without being over expensive.

With that said, I've also been craving Basta Pasta. The last time I was there, the uni pasta was a total miss! The uni was not fresh at all and I could barely finish my entree. So I decided to make my own! It also helped that my sister bought me a tray of uni from a local Japanese supermarket. The uni was darker than I normally prefer but its known that when they package uni, they sort by color and its not that there is anything wrong with it, it just makes it prettier in the tray.

As you can see, my sister couldnt wait to try it so she took a few bites. That ended up being a good thing since she gave me the idea of making pasta! She didnt think these uni were up to par with the ones we had gotten before so this was the spark of the idea. After work, I went to the grocery store to pick up a few of the ingredients. Like many cream based sauces, I used the basic ingredients. These included heavy cream, garlic, shallots, olive oil, and salt. The shallots and garlic had to be chopped super fine because i didnt want it to be super chunky.

After the uni sauce was prepared (it tastes a lot better than it looks!), I just mixed it up with some cream in my pan and threw in some pieces of uni for a more rustic texture. Then threw in the pasta, making sure it was al dente, mixed it up and plated it. There you have it - luluish uni pasta! Take your vote!

Basta Pasta Uni Pasta

Luluish Uni Pasta

Layover Tokyo en route Taipei!

Will be posting soon!

Summer heats up in Espana and London!

Early 2012, bunch of friends and I talked about going to Europe. The initial plan was to go to the Tomatina Fest. We've been on an international festival kick. We talked about it for a bit but timing just didnt work out. This year our focus was Ibiza and the 2012 Summer London Olympic Games!

We knew that Ibiza would be our last stop before the London games so we planned backwards. We played with a bunch of options of where to fly into and fly out of but we finally decided on roadtripping!! International driving is pretty intimidating since there is a language barrier and the roads are structured differently. We first flew into Madrid, which wasnt my top choice since I had been dying to go to Barcelona.  My biggest recommendation when traveling abroad with a big group is to get phone service! We wasted too much time waiting to gather everyone and this happened in Germany too. Time is money especially when you dont have a lot of time! After we found everyone, we headed to check in at Petit Palace Italia on Gran Via. Hotel was good, nothing spectacular but it was nice because we were all together and had our own bathroom to share. Our first stop was Plaza Mayor and then of course headed to Mercado San Miguel.

  

As we all know from my previous blogs, that I'm a total foodie so this was the best first stop! The first thing when you walk in is mounds of fresh fruit, smoothies, different tapas, and  pan con tomato, last but not least, A LOT of jamon!!!! Anyone who was with us can tell you how obsessed I am with jamon! I'll just let the photos do its talking. After tasting the first pan, we immediately fell in love with anguillas (baby eels). Texture was smooth, not fishy at all, a little chewy and great flavor with toast.

 

We didnt really have much time to explore each city in depth as we were driving throught 5 cities in 5 days. The next day, we went to pick up our car rental. This was an absolute nightmare. We had to split up because we had six people, three in each car. We had no way of getting in touch with each other and my group took about two hours to find where the actuall car rental office was. It was nicely tucked away on the upstairs corner of a train station which had a very obscure entrance. The estimated time when we left each other was about 45 minutes to an hour... when we finally got the car, we circled aroud a traffic circle and just parked and thankfully the other car just kept circling until we found each other. My friend Iris and I were the drivers of the trip so we coordinated our GPS' and headed to Bilbao. Bilbao is about 2-3 north of Madrid and we were there to see the Guggenheim. Cute little town but we didnt get to spend much time there as we stopped for an hour and half and continued onto San Sebastian which was a short drive of an hour.

San Sebastian is the perfect retirement town. When we arrived and started to find our hotel, I knew this is a place that I'd have to come back and visit when I was older. It was gloomy as we arrive around early evening but in the morning, the sun was bright, the water turquoise, the sky was blue, and the sand was sparkling. Needless to say, we didnt spend much time here either. We did have an awesome dinner at Bernardo's Restaurant in the old town. We had these little seafoody creatures called barnacles and they were actually really good! I'm definitely looking forward to coming back to San Sebastian.

After San Sebastian, we start driving south towards Valencia with a night over in Zaragoza. Zaragoza is a very different type of city. It was a bit more medieval and had a lot of history and definitely a quieter city compared to Madrid or from what I've heard about Barcelona.  We had an awesome 4 bedroom apartment in Zaragoza and it overlooked town with a huge double balcony. We eventually made it to Valencia which is also a very historic town. We had to have paella of course and it was super tasty! This is where we did most of our souvenier shopping, it wasnt anything too crazy though. We did have a really nice duplex apartment in Valencia. We mainly walked around town, checked out the beaches, the port, and went to the really cool museums that were around.

Finally, the last leg of our Spain trip had finally arrived! We were flying out of Valencia to Ibiza via Ryan Air! Stay tuned for updates on Ibiza, Ushuaia and Pacha Ibiza!