Rice and Flower -- Cupcake Decorating Class

A dear friend recently discovered a cute handcrafted flowercake boutique called Rice and Flower that offers cake decorating classes, so we signed up and spent five hours today learning how to pipe apple blossoms, hydrangeas, poms, and chrysanthemums.

     

All I can say is, I have a newfound appreciation for pastry chefs who spend hours masterfully crafting their tasty artwork.  My hand was getting sore from all the piping, and sadly, most of my "good" ones were accidents rather than the norm.  Never will I ever complain again about how expensive a decorated cake is, although that said, unless it's some special occasion cake, I think I'd still prioritize taste over looks (I know it's a stereotype that fancy decorated cakes don't taste as good, but stereotypes exist for a reason!  But I shall never discriminate against any cake).

On the subject of taste, though, the class offers either traditional cake with buttercream or a Korean style rice cake with bean paste.  We chose the Korean rice cake with bean paste.  The bean paste was delicious, but I don't think the rice cake works as a cupcake.  For starters, it's a bit dry (sort of like a bread, but chewy in the middle).  It also got stale in less than a day; I could barely cut into it without having crumbs fly all over the place.  Nothing that a microwave can't fix, but that's too much effort to eat a cupcake.

Anyway, despite the challenges, our party of five had a wonderfully fun time, and I know I personally felt a teeny bit accomplished in learning something new.  While not all of the flowers turned out prettily, there was always Teacher Kim to the rescue to perform some plastic surgery if needed!  But I do think we all did a pretty good job overall; at least the pictures are totally social media worthy, in my humble opinion.

Ruby's Cafe

   

I went to Ruby's for the first time today because the menu looked amazing, and the food met my high expectations.  We went for breakfast at 9:30am, and it was empty then, but by the time we left an hour later, there was a line out the door.  I would love to go back to try other things but am now intimidated by the line (at more "normal" brunch hours)!

Between our party, we tried the egg sandwich (perfectly runny egg + hash brown in the sandwich!), the BLAT,  chia muesli, and banana bread with passionfruit butter (banana bread was so fluffy).  Everyone enjoyed their food, the portions were large, and the prices reasonable.

*Update:
I enjoyed their breakfast and was intrigued so much by the regular menu that I returned a week later.  Very happy to say that my high expectations were met.

I appreciate how well Ruby's executes on what is otherwise a very simple menu -- salads, pastas, burgers.  Normally, that menu would not catch my attention, as I don't feel the need to go to a restaurant to eat salad, and there's a lot of tough competition for pastas and burgers (plus, I'm a purist, and what kind of place serves both pastas and burgers and does it well?).  So I think it says a lot that I was actually really excited to try the salads and burgers (I hear the pastas are good too, but that's further down on my list).

• Quinoa bowl: all of the salads actually sounded really good, but I opted to try this one (with smoked salmon) since I saw so many reviews and pictures of it.  It was light and refreshing, but very filling.  My friends asked if I would order it again, and the answer is yes.

• Crispy rice bowl: this is not your normal fried rice, they mean crispy when they say crispy.  Great texture and crunch, although my friend said it got to be a bit overwhelming and heavy towards the end (so maybe better as a shared item).

• Cheeseburger: I tried a bite, and now I understand why my friend was raving about it.
• Bronte burger: not served on a hamburger bun (ciabatta maybe?  I couldn't see, as my friend who ordered was on the other side of the table); I didn't try this one, but my friend said it was really good.
• Truffle fries: so good that we doubled down on our order.
• Brussel sprouts: good, but nothing special

Only negative is the restaurant doesn't take reservations and is small, so expect a line unless you get there early.  Noise level was also high given the number of people and crowded space.

Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese (Lunar) New Year!  2017 is the year of the rooster.  CNY is a time of family gatherings and a holiday rich with traditions, but having lived away from home for so many years and residing in a country where lunar new year is not a public holiday, the holiday usually passes without much fanfare.

I was in Hong Kong last week for work, and perhaps all the decorations and overall ambiance of everyone getting ready to celebrate the new year rubbed off on me, so I decided to take yesterday off work and host my own new year's eve dinner.  Different regions (even within China) have different traditions, but here are some of the most common ones.

New Year's Eve Dinner (除夕/年夜飯):  Also referred to as the "reunion dinner," this is the most important meal and officially kicks off the festivities.

Fish is a staple, as the character for fish  (魚 yu) is a homonym for surplus (餘 yu).  The tradition is to serve a whole fish but not to finish it, leaving extra for the next year (年年有餘 nian nian you yu, meaning "to have plenty each year").

Dumplings are also common in Northern China.  The shape of the dumplings resembles traditional Chinese money (元寶 yuan bao), so it's symbolic for prosperity.  For extra fun, you can wrap new/clean coins inside the dumplings, and those that get dumplings with money will be extra lucky.  (That was fun as a kid, although now I personally question the hygiene of money inside food...)

The ruyi dish (如意菜) is made with ten different ingredients.  如意 means to fulfill one's wishes, so it's a dish with a very auspicious name.

There are many others, but I'll just note one more -- rice cakes.  The Chinese name for rice cakes (年糕 nian gao) is a homonym for high (高 gao).  The well wish to accompany your dessert is therefore 年年高升 (nian nian gao sheng), which means to rise higher each year.

Shou Sui 守歲: After the reunion dinner, everyone stays up the entire night until the new year arrives (this is called shou sui).  Legend has it that there was once a beast called 年 nian ("year"), and it would eat the villagers and cause much destruction.  Everyone used to hide in fear when the year was going to come, but then someone discovered that the beast was afraid of the color red, loud noises, and fire.  And that is why to this day, Chinese people have the tradition of wearing red, decorating their homes with red scrolls and red lanterns, and setting off fireworks at midnight.

Greetings: There's no shortage of 4-character Chinese greetings and well wishes, so here are (lucky number) eight to get started.

1. 新年快樂 xin nian kuai le -- happy new year
2. 萬事如意 wan shi ru yi -- may all things (lit. tens of thousands of things) go according to your wishes
3. 心想事成 xin xiang shi cheng -- may you achieve everything your heart desires
4. 身體健康 shen ti jian kang -- wish you good health
5. 步步高升 bu bu gao sheng -- wish you reach new heights with each step (similar to 年年高升 nian nian gao sheng rice cake saying)
6. 恭喜發財 gong xi fa cai -- wish you wealth and prosperity
7. 歲歲平安 cui cui ping an -- wish you peace at every age
8. 大吉大利 da ji da li -- wish you great luck and profit

Lantern Festival (元宵節 yuan xiao jie):  The lantern festival is the 15th and last day of the new year.  As the name suggests, lighting and viewing beautifully decorated lanterns is the main activity.  People also eat a sweet glutinous rice ball (usually a dessert soup) called 湯圓 tang yuan (or 元宵yuan xiao), which sounds similar to the phrase for reunion, 團圓 tuan yuan.  The rice balls are typically filled with a sweet filling such as black sesame, red bean, or peanut.


Other Traditions:

• Red Envelopes (紅包): The red envelopes are filled with lucky money and are typically given by adults to children, or senior managers to employees.
• Cleaning: Before the new year, people will clean their homes to symbolize "out with the old, in with the new."
• Decorations: There are way too many, so I'll just highlight two.  1) You'll often see the character for good fortune 福 (fu) written on a red square and hung upside down.  That's because the character for upside down (倒 dao) sounds very similar to the character for arrived (到 dao),  so hanging 福 upside down symbolizes 福 has arrived.  2) Couplets hung on opposite sides of a door are also very common (very traditional Chinese, although you don't see it much these days except as a CNY decoration), and sometimes there's also a complementary third scroll that goes across the door top.  My mother sent around this one in English, which I thought was quite cute:

All in all, wishing everyone a very happy Year of the Rooster!

Rice Cake (Traditional) 年糕 Recipe

Rice cakes 年糕 (nian gao) literally translates to "year cake," and cake (糕 gao) is a homonym in Chinese to the character for high (高), so this dessert is typically enjoyed during the New Year as a wish to reach new heights (年年高升 nian nian gao sheng, "rise high each year").

The dessert is usually first steamed and then battered in an egg wash and pan-fried, but it can also be enjoyed as is or in dessert soups.

Ingredients

1 pack (16 oz) sweet rice flour (I buy Mochiko brand)

2 1/4 cups water, divided

1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 1/4 tablespoons cooking oil

1 egg, beaten (for pan frying batter)

Instructions

In a pot, dissolve the sugar in half of the water over med-low heat.  In the meantime, combine the flour with the remaining water and oil and mix.  Add the hot sugar water mixture to the flour and mix well.  Pour the mixture back into the pot and stir constantly over low heat, making sure the bottom and sides don't burn, until it's a thick, pudding-like consistency.  Pour into a foil pan or glass bowl and steam for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

I had extra goji berries from my baked rice cake, so I did some decorating

When ready to serve, cut into small pieces and dip into egg wash.  Pan fry on all sides.  The batter and pan-frying gives the dessert a crispy exterior and chewy interior.

Rice Cake (Baked) 烤年糕 Recipe

Sweet rice cakes (年糕 nian gao) are a traditional Chinese New Year dessert, but this is a less traditional take on the delicious dessert.  Like the traditional rice cake, it's made with rice flour, so it has that wonderful chewiness, but it's baked like a cake, so you get a nice crunch on the edges.  On top of that, you get to top it with whatever toppings you like.  Red bean paste for me is a must, but everything else is optional.  That said, the more toppings, the prettier the dessert!

Ingredients

1 pack (16 oz.) sweet rice flour (I buy Mochiko brand)

3 eggs (beaten)

3/4 cup cooking oil

3/4 cup sugar(granulated or light brown sugar)

2 1/2 cups milk

1 can red bean paste

1 teaspoon black sesame seeds (optional)

1 teaspoon coconut flakes (optional)

1 teaspoon goji berries (optional)

1 teaspoon chopped dates (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix together rice flour, eggs, oil, milk, and sugar.  Pour into a baking pan.

Top with teaspoonfuls of red bean paste and liberally sprinkle other toppings on top.  Bake for 35 minutes or until the edges are a light brown color.

Steamed Pork Belly 梅乾菜扣肉 (Mei Gan Cai Kou Rou) Recipe

Ingredients

5-6 oz dried preserved mustard greens 梅乾菜 (mei gan cai)

1  1/2 pounds pork belly

2 slices ginger

2 star anise

1 teaspoon + 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons rock sugar

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2 tablespoons rice wine

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

The most time consuming part is cleaning the dried mustard greens, which you will need to soak for 5-6 hours and then wash and drain multiple times until the sand and dirt is gone.  (If you can't find the dried mustard greens or don't want to deal with the fuss, you can also replace with another leafy pickled vegetable, but be aware of salt level and tailor your sauces accordingly.)

Put the pork belly, ginger, and star anise in a large pot and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for ~10 minutes to cleanse the pork.  When done, heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok and add the pork, skin side first until brown.  Turn and brown other sides.  Once browned, add a teaspoon of dark soy sauce and a tablespoon of water and coat the pork.  Turn off heat and let pork cool in the wok and sauce.  Remove pork from wok and cut into bites-sized pieces.  Place in a shallow bowl.

In the wok, add a tablespoon of oil and melt the sugar.  Add the minced ginger and cook for 30 seconds.  Then add the washed preserved vegetables and stir for a few minutes.  Add remaining dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, rice wine, and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.  Spoon vegetable mixture over sliced pork.

Put bowl in a steamer and steam for 1 hour.  When done, pour off any excess liquid into wok to make the sauce.  Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer, and add a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken, as needed.

When ready to serve, place serving plate over bowl of pork and vegetables and flip it over onto the plate (so pork is on top).  Pour sauce over the dish.  Serve with rice.

Ruyi ("Good Wishes") Dish 如意菜 Recipe

Ruyi 如意 means to fulfill one's wish, so this 如意菜 dish is an auspicious dish to have during Chinese New Year.  The fun part is there's no strict recipe, but it should be comprised of 10 different ingredients (typically lots of different vegetables, mushrooms, bean curd, sometimes shredded pork).  Why 10?  Because there's a Chinese saying 十全十美 (shi quan shi mei), which translates literally to "10 whole 10 beautiful," or in plain English, 10/10 perfect.

Suggested Ingredients
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup carrots, julienned
1/2 cup green bell pepper, julienned
1 cup mushrooms of choice (e.g., woodear mushrooms, shiitake, enoki, etc.)
4 oz bean curd, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon green onions, chopped
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce, to taste
White pepper



Instructions
Heat cooking oil and add ginger, garlic, and white parts of green onions.  Stir frequently until fragrant, ~30 seconds.  Add all vegetables and mushrooms and cook.  Mix in sauces to taste.

Three Cup Chicken 三杯雞 Recipe

Traditional Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken calls for equal parts soy sauce, rice wine, and sesame oil, although many recipes today offer a variation of those portions.  Here's what I use:

Ingredients
2 pounds skin-on chicken drumsticks and thighs, chopped into 3-inch bone-in pieces
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice wine
12-15 peeled garlic cloves
10-12 thinly sliced rounds of ginger
4 scallions, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
2 fresh red chilis, stemmed and halved
1-2 cups fresh basil leaves

Instructions
Heat half of sesame oil in large skillet or wok, add garlic, ginger, scallions, and chilis until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.  Scrape aromatics to one side and add remaining oil.  Once heated, add chicken, skin side down first.  Stir occasionally until browned.  Add soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar and bring to a boil.  Reduce to low heat and simmer for another 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through.


Stir in basil and serve over rice.

Steamed Whole Fish Recipe

Ingredients
1 whole white fish, such as sea bass or flounder (~1.5 pounds), cleaned with head and tail intact
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons ginger, finely julienned
1-2 green onions, finely julienned
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon cooking oil
White pepper, to taste

Instructions
Rinse fish under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.  Combine soy sauce, ginger, white parts of green onions, garlic, sesame oil.  Pour half of the mixture over the fish and marinate for 30 minutes.  Steam fish for 7-8 minutes.  Discard excess liquid from steaming.  In a small saucepan, heat cooking oil, then add the remainder of the sauce mixture and simmer until it sizzles.  Pour sauce over the cooked fish.  Top with white pepper to taste.

Steamed Meatloaf 蒸肉餅 Recipe

Ingredients
1 pound ground pork
5 oz soft tofu, cut into small squares
1-2 stalks green onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons chicken broth
salt and white pepper, to taste

Instructions
Mix all ingredients together until it's a pudding-like consistency.


Steam for ~20 minutes or until cooked.  Serve over rice or noodles.


Or get creative...I stuffed it into an avocado too.
 

Taiyaki

 Prettily made dessert, but looks and sounds better than it is.  I tried the Straight Outta Japan -- matcha and black sesame swirl with wafer and mochi toppings and red bean filling.  

The ice cream texture was surprisingly creamy, but the taste was relatively weak/bland.  There are other places with better green tea and black sesame flavored ice cream, soft serve, or snow ice.

The taiyaki itself was could've been crispier on the outside; it was a bit on the cakey side for me.

Finally, I love red bean and was wondering the whole time where the red bean filling was.  There's only a small spoonful at the very bottom for your very last bite, after all the ice cream is gone.  I would've appreciated more red bean spread throughout the taiyaki.

Overall not bad, but does not live up to the hype.

Mole

Decent Mexican spot on the UES. We started with the sopes (corn cakes topped with choice of protein, bean spread, lettuce, onions, sour cream, and lots of cheese) and the pozole soup . I quite enjoyed the sopes; all the flavors blended together nicely, and I liked the texture of the corn cake. The soup was ginormous; a bit salty but lots of goods. Then we had the Tacos Taco Taco, which was the winner of the night for me, and the cochinita pibil, which was way too salty but would've otherwise been good (well cooked pork, very tender).

I didn't think to order the sizzling fajitas but regretted my decision after seeing and smelling it, so I'd be interested in going back to try that.

Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken 鹽酥雞 Recipe

Ingredients
1 pound boneless dark meat chicken
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce (for color)
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon Chinese 5-spice powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Coating:
1 egg
2-3 cups sweet potato starch (if not available, all-purpose flour and breadcrumbs will do)

Instructions
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.  Mix all ingredients together and marinate for at least 30 minutes.  When ready to fry, beat 1 egg into chicken mixture.  Pour sweet potato starch in a separate bowl and dip chicken into the flour.  Fry until golden brown.

Pork Chops with Vegetable Rice 排骨菜飯 Recipe

Ingredients

Pork chops:

• Bone-in pork chops (4-5 pieces, ~3/4" thick)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice wine
• 1/2 tablespoon five-spice powder
• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
• Flour for coating --  I prefer to use grainier starches, such as sweet potato starch, but normal flour or cornstarch will do as well; optional to add a bit of breadcrumbs for texture too
• Vegetable oil for frying

Vegetable rice:

• 2 cups white rice
• 2 heads baby bok choy
• 2 cups chicken or beef stock
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Pork chops:

Combine all ingredients (except for flour and vegetable oil) and marinate pork chops for 1 hour.  When ready to fry, remove pork chops from marinade and coat in flour, dusting off excess.  Heat oil in skillet.  Cook pork chops until golden brown on both sides.

  

Vegetable rice:

Wash rice and cook in the chicken/beef broth.  While rice cooks, lightly stir-fry garlic and baby bok choy.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in vegetables to cooked rice, add salt and pepper to taste, cover pot, and simmer over low heat for another 10-15 minutes until excess moisture has dried off.

Fish Cheeks

I'm not Thai, but Fish Cheeks seems like pretty authentic Thai (at NYC prices).  The coconut crab curry was our favorite, with big chunks of crab meat and good spice level. The goong aob woon sen (baked shrimp, pork belly, glass noodles) was also good comfort food.  Fried chicken appetizer was only okay though; a bit dry...dipping sauce was good but can get that anywhere.