In an e-mail from my good friend Mahealani:

“I just wanted to tell you that your blog made me chuckle since you were talking about weight gain and your previous entries were all about food.”

Heck, it’s no secret. I live to eat. And just for you, Mahealani, here’s another foodie post.

Dinner tonight: Chicken soup. With mizuna (goes great with ANY soup!), daikon, carrots, celery and chicken. I’ve also started eating more brown rice, since I thought I ought to be getting more fiber and whole grains in my diet.

Great for chilly nights like this one to warm the body and the soul!

Miso soup, rice, and salad

I could literally live off miso soup, rice, and salad if I had to. It’s easy on my tummy and makes me feel warm and comfy. It’s the kind of food that I was raised on, as a picky child with particular tastes, it was the one constant that Mom could count on that I would never refuse.

Some things never change. I still love miso soup.

Miso Soup
(Champuru Style)

NOTE: All measurements are approximate according to my eyeball
3 c. water
1/2 packet of hon dashi
3 Tbsp. white miso
1 egg, scrambled
1/2 block firm tofu (or 1 block silken tofu), cut in small blocks
mizuna, coarsely chopped (optional)
wakame (optional)
green onions, chopped (optional)
aburage, sliced (optional)

In a pot, heat water to a boil and add hon dashi. In a separate bowl, take a few tablespoons of soup stock and dissolve miso. Add to hot water and lower heat. Add scrambled egg. (Or if you wish to have a whole egg, do not scramble and let boil in soup until firm.) Add tofu and/or optional ingredients last. (If adding mizuna, use both stems and leaves. I add this last so it doesn’t overcook and become too wilted. Usually if I use mizuna, I don’t add green onions.) Don’t let your soup boil after you have added the miso. Serve and be cozy!

NOTE: My family’s miso soup recipe is much milder than those at a Japanese restaurant. (I think they use red miso?) You can always adjust the amount of miso/hon dashi to suit your taste buds. Some people even add carrots, onions, fishcake, and other tasty bits to their soup. It’s all up to you!

[tags]food, recipe, Japanese cuisine, miso, soup, tofu, simple, home cooking, local, Hawaii[/tags]

Who knew 1/2 tablespoon would make such a huge difference?

I am a huge fan of spicy edibles. The spicier, the better. If it can make me sweat bullets, all the better. But, I do have limits, as I discovered last night, when half a tablespoon more nearly did me in.

My turkey chili recipe calls for 1-2 Tbsp of chili powder. But what the hey, why not 2-1/2 Tbsp? Can handle!

After all was said an done, the result was flaming fireballs emitting from my mouth and beads of sweat pouring down my face. It was so good, I took seconds. Hubby’s entire head was soaked by the time he was done with his bowl of chili. But a few minutes later, I felt simply awful — like I had eaten a handful of habaneros. Fiery embers burned in the pit of my stomach, my face was flushed and I was still sweating 15 minutes later. Surely, I thought, that second helping did me in and I was going to suffer a sleepless night of heartburn and agony.

After I emerged from the bathroom, Hubby looked at me and asked with genuine concern, “do you need to go to the emergency room?”

“No,” I muttered, feeling absolutely miserable as I flopped myself on a chair. Can you imagine? Showing up at the ER and telling them my reason for being there? “I ate a batch of chili that was too spicy. Now I think I’m dying.”

After dousing the flames in my tummy with generous amounts of water, I felt substantially better. I even managed to make it through the rest of the night without so much of a tummy ache or slight heartburn. Can handle!

The question being, will I ever make that recipe with a half a teaspoon more? Probably not. 2 Tbsp is good enough for me.

Here’s the recipe for my healthy turkey chili recipe, if you want to try it out. Will you make it with half a teaspoon more?

Easy & Tasty Turkey Chili (Champuru style)

Ingredients:
2 T. shortening
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground turkey
1-2 T. chili powder
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
2 cans tomato soup
1/2 cup shelled edamame (soybeans)*
1 can corn
1 chopped green bell pepper

Melt shortening. Add onions, garlic, and turkey; brown slightly. Add remaining ingredients. Cover, cook on low heat for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

*NOTE: I hate kidney beans, so I use edamame instead. If you prefer kidney beans, substitute with 1 can of kidney beans.

[tags]food, recipe, spicy, chili[/tags]

The taste of the hearty broth weighed heavily on my mind, its flavor lingering, I could almost taste it. On the last day of my vacation, I determined that we would savor one last meal at Yotteko-Ya before I became a slave to the grind once again. (Gee, I make going back to work sound like a death sentence, don’t I?) Whatever the case, who needs an excuse to go back for some tasty ramen?

Hubby ordered the Kim Chee Chahan ($7.25 USD). He let me have a sample, but he’s lucky that my ramen came shortly after or else I might have indulged in a few more spoonfuls. That was good tasty stuff, too.

But, if you go to Yotteko-Ya, you must try the ramen…

I ordered the Paitan Ramen again ($6.95 USD), but this time with a little twist: spicy soup (+$1.00) and extra noodles (+1.00). I thought the regular paitan broth was excellent, but with the added homemade red pepper and sesame oil, it was heavenly! The extra order of noodles were just a bit too much for me, but I finished it anyway. Thou shall not waste! Hubby had to roll me out of the restaurant after that heavy lunch, but it was worth it!

[tags]Yotteko-Ya, ramen, Japanese cuisine, food, Honolulu, Hawaii, McCully Shopping Center[/tags]

At the urging of a friend, Hubby and I decided to head to Chinatown in search of Mr. Zong Chen Liu, a Chinese artisan who specializes in Chinese calligraphy and brush painting, stamp carving, and a plethora of other signage and picture mounting services. We wanted to create a stone stamp custom-carved with our family name as an heirloom.

“You better go see him soon before da buggah ma-ke,” Keith told us, he got a stamp carved by Mr. Liu a number of years ago. Mr. Liu is a rare find, very skilled in his art. People have been known to come from Japan and abroad to have him carve a stamp with their name in tensho (seal script) style of kanji.

Excerpted from Takase Studios’ glossary:

Tensho (Seal Script) is the earliest form of Chinese characters that goes back to the Qin Dynasty (221BC - 206BC). The tensho script uses a single stroke width, are roughly rectangular with a height to width ratio of three to two and has a feeling of expressionless refinement. Today tensho script is used for seals that the Chinese and the Japanese use instead of a signature (these are the red stamps that appear on Chinese and Japanese art and in everything from legal forms to routine business documents).

We selected a medium-sized stone with a Chinese fu dog carved into the top of the stamp. The stone cost $90 and the custom carving was $40. $130 to create a custom-made family heirloom didn’t seem like too much to ask. The selection of stone blanks ran the gamut in pricing, from a small stone with your zodiac animal for $45, to large, ornately carved pieces that I was afraid to ask the pricing on, lest he try to persuade us to buy. Mr. Liu said it was a busy week for him, so our stamp should be ready sometime next week. We told him we would pick it up next Saturday and he assured us that it would be ready by then.

While in Chinatown, we decided that some dim sum was in order. Last night, I queried the Twitterverse for dim sum suggestions. Ryan Ozawa suggested Mei Sum which is on the corner of Smith and N. Pauahi, just a stone’s throw away from Char Hung Sut — which was also on our hit list for the day.

Admittedly, I cannot claim to be a connoisseur of Chinese cuisine, usually staying well within the realms of the common dim sum fare such as char siu bao, siu mai, fried taro, custard tarts, and the like. I definitely need to have lunch with someone well-versed in Chinese cookery so I can expand my dim sum repertoire. Nevertheless, despite the poor marks given by Ono Kine Grindz, who undoubtedly has a much more refined and educated palate than my own, I thought the food was quite good. Judging by the teeming lunch crowd that we narrowly missed, you’d think the place was giving away free food.

Chicken Manapua

Deep Fried Taro

Deep Fried Eggplant

Char Siu Bao

We also had the house specialty noodles, which I failed to photograph. It had a colorful assortment of seafood and vegetables topping the thin and slightly crispy noodles. Yum! Perhaps my favorites of the visit were the eggplant and the taro dishes. It figures that the two items that were deep fried would be the tastiest. The sad fact is that deep frying makes just about anything taste magically delicious.

A lunch for two and we managed to escape with a bill of less than $20 and obscenely full stomachs.

But, we had one more stop to make: Char Hung Sut for manapua, pork hash and ma tai soo.

Char Hung Sut is one of Chinatown’s most beloved establishments. A local favorite for manapua, pork hash, rice cakes, taro cakes, pepeiao, and my favorite ma tai soo. I haven’t found anyplace else that makes this delectable snack, so it’s a rare treat for me! Unfortunately, I was too enraptured by the experience that I failed to photograph our purchase. But, Ono Kine Grindz has an awesome review on Char Hung Sut that you simply must read if you’re a fan of good local fare.

In case you’re interested, here’s the info for the establishments that I mentioned in today’s entry:

Zong Chen Liu, Artist
Specializing in: Chinese calligraphy, Chinese brush painting, stamp carving, paper cutting, Chinese & English business signs, picture mounting and framing.
111 North King Street, Honolulu
Ph. 808.222-0292
* Next to the Bank of Hawaii, Chinatown branch. Look for the red and gold dragon columns. His small shop is in the corridor right next door, but he can often be found sitting at a table right outside selling Chinese calligraphy, jade zodiac charms, and trinkets.

Mei Sum dim sum restaurant
65 North Pauahi Street Suite A, Honolulu
Ph. 808.531.3268
* On the corner of Smith and N. Pauahi

Char Hung Sut
64 North Pauahi Street, Honolulu
Ph. 808.538.3355
* Go early for best selection, they close at 2 pm.

[tags]Chinatown, Chinese cuisine, dim sum, Char Hung Sut, Mei Sum, stamps, chops, stamp carving, Honolulu, Hawaii, culture, heritage[/tags]

Yotteko-Ya Kyoto Ramen
McCully Shopping Center
1960 Kapiolani Blvd. #214, Honolulu, HI 96826
Phone: 808.946.2900

Yotteko-Ya is one of those cozy establishments that I would have never discovered, if not for the recommendation from a friend. The word-of-mouth phenomenon can absolutely make or break your business in Hawaii. Fortunately for Yotteko-Ya, only good things can be said about the service, the ambiance and the delectable fare at this quaint Japanese restaurant located on the second floor of the McCully Shopping Center.

Paitan Ramen
Paitan based soup. Topped with 2 slices of homemade chashu

The claim to fame of this ramen shop is its homemade soup. According to their menu:

Eat Yotteko-Ya’s Ramen and look younger!

Our homemade soup is simmer for over 10 hours with the choicest pork, the freshest chickens and 10 different vegetables and spices. This meticulous process produces a uniquely thick collagen rich stock that will actually help prevent aging of skin and joins.

So, please enjoy our soup to the last drop and look younger!

Yasai Ramen
Shoyu-based soup. Topped with vegetables and 1 slice of homemade chashu

I don’t know if consuming that bowl of ramen made me look any younger, but it sure tastes good. Dare I say, the best in Hawaii? The soup stock is definitely hearty and tasty, reminiscent of the richest, most decadent bowl of ramen I’ve consumed at Jangara Ramen in Harajuku, Japan. Ramen of this quality is hard to come by in Hawaii, since it takes hours to make broth this thick and delicious. The noodles were excellent — and you can order them “local style” or Japan style. According to our server, the local style yields softer noodles.

Ebi Mayonnaise

Check out their ala carte menu for some side dishes to complement your steaming bowl of ramen. I highly recommend the Ebi Mayonnaise. Next time we hit Yotteko-Ya, we’ll make our way down the ala carte menu. Perhaps sampling the Ebi Chili Sauce or the Karaage chicken.

If you’re not in the mood for ramen, you can order something from the gohan (rice) menu with their array of different rice dishes including yakibuta chahan (fried rice with chashu and vegetables), curry chahan, garlic chahan, chashu chahan, or kim-chee chahan for those craving something a little spicier.

Speaking of spicy, you can also kick your ramen up a notch by ordering your soup with Yotteko-Ya’s homemade red pepper and sesame oil mix. And, if you’re really famished, order a large-sized portion of noodles for just a dollar more. I think I’ll do that on my next visit.

It’s so good, it’s gone!

Do you have a favorite ramen shop? If so, share yours!

[tags]Yotteko-Ya, ramen, Japanese cuisine, food, Honolulu, Hawaii, McCully Shopping Center[/tags]

At my in-laws’ house, it is customary to begin the new year with a steaming bowl of ozoni. It should be the first thing to hit your stomach on new year’s day. Mom-in-law says it’s good luck. I don’t know whether it’s good luck or not, but it sure tastes good. She makes a simplified version of this traditional soup and I’ll share the recipe with you so you can begin your own ozoni tradition for your family!

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 cans of chicken broth
1 can of Hokkigai (surf clam) - chopped
1 kamaboko fishcake - sliced
1 bunch of mizuna - coarsely chopped
mochi
shoyu to taste

In a large pot on medium heat, simmer chicken broth and liquid from Hokkigai. Add chopped Hokkigai clams, sliced fishcake, coarsely chopped mizuna and a few dashes of shoyu to taste. Finally, add the mochi. (If your mochi is dusted with mochiko, it’s a good idea to rinse it before adding to the soup to prevent the broth from thickening too much.) Cook on medium heat until mochi is soft. Serve and enjoy!

NOTES:
* I usually put no more than 4 large mochi in the pot at a time to prevent them from sticking together and becoming one huge clump of mochi.
* Depending on how hungry your family is, you can always add more chicken broth and mochi to stretch the recipe.

In case you’re not familiar with some of the ingredients, here are some photos.

Hokkigai (surf clams) come in a can and can be found in the Asian foods section of your grocery store. Just a warning, they are quite expensive. This year, one can cost me $15.77 at Don Quijote. Mom-in-law saw them selling for $23 at Star Market, so it pays to shop around.

Below is what the clams look like before chopping.

Red and white kamaboko fishcake

Sliced kamaboko

Mizuna (Japanese mustard greens) has a very mild flavor

Shoyu (I use Aloha Shoyu exclusively, the low-sodium variety)

Mochi

If your mochi is dusted with mochiko, be sure to rinse the mochi before putting in your soup. Otherwise, it will cause the soup to be too thick.

Serve and enjoy!