@_@

momopi

Well-known member
I feel a mysterious force drawing me toward this discussion forum...

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Is that a monte cristo sandwich? ;D Whatever that goodness is in the cup next to the fruit, it looks delicious...
 
I'm going to cut and paste some of my long posts from IHB to here for safe keeping.

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Update: looks like a lot of the photos won't display. <!-- s:( --:mad:<!-- s:( --> I'll have to spend some time to go back and fix them later.
 
This is my amateur spicy beef noodle recipe, stolen by carefully spying on other people's cooking through a small crack in the wall. All ingredients can be purchased from Ranch 99 locally. Apologies for the low quality of these photos, I took them with my cel phone.

You'll need a decent sized pot with lid, along with the following ingredients & spices. Let's start with the main item: beef. You can buy the pre-cut beef shank & tendon package from Ranch 99 for about $4-$5 per pack. A single package is sufficient for 1-2 people's dinner (buy more as needed). You can either use as is, or cut it into smaller, bite-sized pieces:

Beef1.jpg


Next item is a Daikon (white radish):

Daikon1.jpg


And some garlic, ginger, and green onion:

Garlic1.jpg


For the vegetable, you can use either small bok choy, baby bok choy, or Taiwan bok choy:

SmallBokChoy1.jpg


BabyBokChoy1.jpg


TaiwanBokChoy1.jpg


The above pic is Taiwan bok choy, a "hybrid". Traditionalists might prefer baby bok choy whole, but in Taiwan some restaurants serve spicy beef noodle with Taiwan bok choy chopped.

Near the vegetable and fruit section, you'll find a row dedicated to preserved veggies, ginger, etc. Pick up a pack of pickled mustard veggie: (OPTIONAL)

PickledMustard.jpg


Some people like to put fried tofu into the beef stew. It's not "traditional" per se, but does give it a good flavor. Be warned however, that if you add this tofu, you should eat the beef within 1-2 days. Any longer and the tofu might taste spoiled.

FriedTofu1.jpg


Now let's look at some sauces and seasonings. In the picture below, from the left to right, you'll see a package of hot chili peppers, a bottle of "dark" XO soy sauce, a bottle of "low sodium" soy sauce, Taiwan rice wine (for cooking), and Japanese mirin. In front of the bottles, from left to right, is a container of Vietnamese beef stock (OPTIONAL), white pepper, Japanese sesame oil, and dried star anise spice:

Seasoning1.jpg


This here is a bottle of Hunan chili paste with fermented soy bean and black beans, very tasty:

ChiliPaste1.jpg


This is a "seasoning packet": (OPTIONAL)

Seasoning3.jpg


And here's the lazy cook's solution to soup stock. From left to right, Vietnamese beef soup stock powder, Swanson chicken broth, and Lee Kum Kee chicken soup powder. You'll need at least one of these, plus couple cans of chicken soup:

Seasoning2.jpg


Some cooks also like to add a dash of Worcestershire sauce:

ttar_worcestershiresauce_01_v_launch.jpg



And of course, a package of noodle:

Noodle1.jpg



Ok, now let's put the ingredients to work.

First, we want to pre-boil the beef to get rid of any yucky stuff it might have. Open your package of beef & tendon, cut into smaller, bite-sized pieces if desired. Be warned that the meat will "shrink" since it's not on the bone, so don't cut too small. While cutting the meat, inspect for bone fragments. If you like beef tendons, buy more from the butcher at Ranch 99. Their beef shank package typically only contains 2 pieces of tendon.

Now boil a pot of water, toss in a few slices of ginger, pour a little rice wine, then put the beef in. Stir the beef for a couple of minuets, and take the beef out. DISCARD the liquid. Drain the beef.

In another pot, pour in some olive oil and heat it up. Slice your garlic cloves and toss it in. Then cut 3 slices of ginger and toss in. When the garlic is browning, toss in the beef and stir a bit, brown the beef on both sides if possible for just a couple of minuets.

Now pour in some dark soy sauce and stir. The idea here is get some flavor into the meat. Then pour in some regular soy sauce, Japanese mirin, a little sesame oil, and stir. By "stir", I mean flip the meat around inside the pot, so the flavor will get to both sides.

Toss in a couple star anise (no more than 3 recommended), couple chili peppers (crush them for more spicy taste), and 1 spoon of the Hunan chili sauce. Stir, then add some brown sugar. You can also add some pepper, but don't toss whole peppercorns into the pot. Some cooks also like to add a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Now add a couple cups of water, just enough to cover the meat in the pot. Put in a spoon of the Vietnamese beef soup stock powder (OPTIONAL) & the Chinese spice packet (OPTIONAL, not the one inside the Vietnamese soup stock can) and stir. When the water boils, bring it down to a simmer and close the lid.

You have 2 choices here. You can either close the lid completely, or leave some space on the edges. If you leave some space, the liquid will evaporate faster and you'll need to attend the pot more carefully, but the flavor will be more concentrated. Remember to return to the pot and stir every so often so the meat will cook more evenly. When the liquid level is low, pop open a can of chicken soup stock and pour it in.

Simmer the beef for at least 4 hours. When you can poke a fork through it easily, it's done. Depending on the amount of meat in the pot, it may take 4-6 hours. Do taste-test the soup, it should be salty and spicy. Add additional cans of chicken soup and water as needed.

During the LAST hour, peel/cut the Daikon into 9v battery sized chunks and toss it in. You don't want to over-cook the daikon, or else it'd turn into mush. Do not add any other veggie into the pot. If you want to add the fried tofu, you can do it now. If this is your first time, and you're not sure how many hours it'd take to cook the beef, you can cook the daikon in another pot with some chicken or beef soup stock. Just boil it on low heat for 20 mins. If you overcook the daikon, it'd turn into mush.

Your pot of beef should look like this:

Beef2.jpg


When you're ready to eat, boil 2 additional pots of water, plus a smaller pot of chicken soup (or beef soup) -- if you're using canned chicken soup, water it down (I use 1:1 ratio). Use 1 pot to cook the noodle, and another pot to (briefly) boil the veggies. Don't over-cook the veggies, or else it'd turn into mush. If you're using the pickled mustard, it must be cooked throughly before serving.

When the noodle is cooked, drain the water. Put the noodle into a bowl, add chicken soup (or beef soup stock) and veggies. Now use a big spoon to take some of your spicy beef, daikon, and beef soup & put it into your noodle bowl. Chop up some green onions and put it in. This is what it'd look like:

BeefNoodle1.jpg


You can also cook the beef in a slow cooker. If the flavors are "too much", try reducing the spices.
 
Taiwanese style pork chops (modified from web recipe)

There are 3 parts to this recipe, and 1 simplified variation. Let's start with ingredients (you can buy them at Ranch 99):

Part I:
Thin-cut pork chop with bone
Meat tenderizing hammer
Yam flour (look near fish fry powder at Ranch 99, not in the spice section)
Eggs (optional)

Part II: (raw marinade)
Five spices powder
White pepper (powder)
Soy Sauce
Powdered Sugar
Rice Wine

Part III: (hot marinade)
Ginger slices
Garlic cloves
Green onions
Rock sugar (1-2 quarter-sized pieces will do)
Soy Sauce (1 cup)
Rice Wine
Water (4-5 cups)
Chinese marinade spice packet

PorkChop1.jpg


Note: A few items are missing from above photo, & I made a mistake with the yam flour and bought the "fine" one. Compare the different packets at the supermarket and buy the coarse one instead.


Step I:
Take the meat tenderizing hammer and whack the heck out of the pork chop. Flatten it on both sides but don't destroy it.

Step 2:
Mix the raw marinade from part II and soak the pork chops in it. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

Step 3:
Prep the ingredients from hot marinade in part III. Heat up a pot with a little oil on bottom, and toss in a few ginger slices and garlic cloves (brown them). Then toss in some green onions, a piece of rock sugar, some rice wine, and a cup of soy sauce. When the hot marinade is heated up, pour in 4-5 cups of water, bring it to boil, then lower heat to simmer.

PorkChop2.jpg


Step 4:
Remove the pork chop from raw marinade and drain. Dip both sides in yam flour. You could (optional) dip the pork chop in egg batter first if you like. Pat it down after couple of minuets. DO NOT pour the wet marinade sauce into the "hot marinade" pot.

Step 5:
In a separate frying pot, heat up oil to frying temperature and carefully put the pork chop in. I recommend one at a time. Flip the pork chop once if needed. Don't over-fry the pork chop, when the exterior is nice and golden.

PorkChop3.jpg


Step 6:
Remove the fried pork chop and put it into the hot marinade pot. Simmer for 10-15 minuets before serving. You may need to bring the heat up a bit initially.

PorkChop4.jpg



=================================

Simplified version:

Skip the "hot marinade". When you remove the pork chop from the cold marinade, dip it in egg batter and pat it down with a mixture of coarse yam flour, white pepper, 5 spice powder, and any other spice you might like. Fry it until golden and serve. If you want to add chili powder, do it AFTER the pork chop is done. Many people may actually prefer this "dry" version over the "wet" version above.

=================================

The pork chop is good as is with rice or on top of some noodles. A quick and simple meal. If the pork chop has tendons on it, you might want to cut into it before frying. If you bought thick pork chops from Costco, it'd need longer marinade time to get the flavor inside.

PorkChop5.jpg



After you're done, you could use the hot marinade to make marinaded eggs. Just boil some eggs with shell, wait until egg is cool, then crack the egg shell a little bit, put it into the hot marinade pot and simmer for couple of hours (add water if needed to cover eggs in pot). Discard the hot marinade afterward if you used shell-on eggs. If you want to reuse the marinade, then remove the egg shell before putting the eggs in.

This is what Lu-Dan (marinaded eggs) look like after you're done (web image):

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Shin-Sen-Gumi Yakitori Restaurant
18315 Brookhurst St # 1
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 962-8952
www.shinsengumiusa.com
http://www.yelp.com/biz/shin-sen-gumi-yaki tori-restaurant-fountain-valley

Next door to my favorite ramen joint in OC, is Shin-Sen-Gumi yakitori. I actually don't come here often, because I always end up next door at the ramen place.

When you come here, expect the waiters to yell at you in greeting. It's normal, so don't worry, they're not telling you to run away quickly in Japanese. When you're they'll bring you 2 menus, one looks like the sushi paper (long white paper) with lots of items on it, and another is the "regular" menu. The white slip of paper is the yakitori (small Japanese shish kabob) menu and why people come here.

Resist the temptation to order the 18 (?) piece yakitori combos. Go through the paper and order whatever you think looks interesting to sample it. You'll notice that the paper has 3 order columns for round 1-2-3. After you sample the goodies, remember what you liked and order more of them in round 2 & 3. There are many small containers of sauce and seasoning on the table, try them and see if you like the taste. The yakitori are cooked on a charcoal grill and will take some time.

You'll notice a plate of cabbage on the table. It's not like a "salad" per se, but can be used to clean your palette between different dishes, kind of like chewing on bread between wine tasting. It's also supposed to stimulate your appetite so you'd order more food. The yakitori pieces aren't very large, so it can get expensive if you order many of them -- get a bowl of rice. Most of the meat dishes are good, anything bacon wrapped is good. Veggies vary according to taste, but don't get the grilled tofu.

Be warned that the bacon-wrapped tomato is HOT and if you bite into it right away, you'd burn your tongue. Check the black board for daily specials. Last night they had a Japanese steak in garlic sauce. If you like garlic, this was meat bathed in garlic and grilled slices of garlic and more garlic. The food is a little salty because it's "beer food". Spinach in black sesame sauce was pretty good, reminds me of the tomato salad next door at the ramen place.

I don't recommend the deserts here, since it's not their specialty. But then the person I dined with was a desert chef for Steve Wynn (Wynn Resort) couple years back, so her opinions on creme brulee was probably far more critical than most.





==========

"Yaki" roughly means grilled, and "Tori" means bird. The earliest recorded use of the word "Yakitori" in Japan is from early Edo period in 1643, described as bird meat on a skewer grilled with soy sauce and sake. Here's a brief history of yakitori from a Japanese Yakitori restaurant web site:

http://www.nihonichi.jp/english/story.html

Yakitori was first recognized as a dish in Japan in the middle of the Edo Era (1604-1868) when the meat of wild birds such as ducks, quails and pigeons, which was very expensive, was cooked.

Nowadays, Yakitori is served on the skewers used for cooking, but the meat used to be removed from the skewers before serving. The custom of people picking up food with their hands did not exist because it was not considered good manners. The convention of serving Yakitori on the skewers began as part of the food culture among common folk who preferred a more casual eating style.

The people who originated the current style of eating Yakitori were farmers who visited the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in Kyoto to pray for a prosperous harvest. On the road traveling to the Shrine, the farmers would cook and eat small birds such as sparrows which the farmers considered nuisances because they ruined the rice crops. Holding a Yakitori skewer in the hands and eating the meat was easy while walking along the road, and the dish became popular.

In the Meiji Era (1868-1912), Yakitori was widely accepted as a folk dish. Wild fowl was served only at high class restaurants, while lower quality meat, bones, and organs became common dishes sold at street stands. Due to its reasonable price and wide availability, Yakitori became an essential part of folk food culture.

In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake struck Tokyo, destroying homes and requiring people to take meals outdoors. The consumption of Yakitori, which was easy to prepare with only make-shift cooking utensils, further widened at this time.

In the Showa Era (1965-1974), the quality of Yakitori sold to the public significantly improved due to the introduction of the broiler chicken. Some shops specialized in jidori chickens raised in a certain place and in a certain method while others specialized by adopting an original cooking method or seasoning.The Yakitori business created a large new market.

Today, Yakitori is a very common dish ordered at pubs and casual izakaya eating places. Simple and delicious, Yakitori is a representative folk dish that is a enduring favorite among people of all ages.

Chicken yakitori:
v-meat3.jpg


Chicken skin yakitori:
v-skin3.jpg


Chicken meat balls:
r-1_3.jpg


Chicken wings:
v-wings3.jpg


Chicken liver:
reba.jpg


Other goodies:
sunagimo.jpg



Shichimi spicies, mixture of chili pepper, sesame, citrus peel, poppy seed oil, cole seed, hemp seed, and sansho. Used on fatty yakitori like chicken meat balls, skin, etc:
shichimi.gif


Sansho spice, aka Szechuan pepper, used with grilled meats:
sansho.gif


It's also interesting to note that: (traditionally)

Japanese Yakitori centers around chicken and chicken parts
Chinese Chuanr (kebab) centers around lamb
American grilling centers around beef

Indonesians are also known for their sate, which I'll get to in later post. I also read that chicken became the preferred Yakitori meat in Japan, partly due to European influences on Japanese poultry industry in the past.

In most Chinese cities, you can find street food vendors selling grilled lamb on a stick. The food originated from the Muslims in Xinjiang, which shows in its preference for lamb. The Chuanr "lamb on a stick" is heavily seasoned with cumin seeds and sold for as little as 1 RMB per stick. Unlike Japan, this type of food is still considered "street food" and not sit-down dining (restaurant) in China. The typical Chinese lamb stick seller rides a bicycle, towing a long box charcoal grill and an ice box. He sets up wherever he can and grills the lamb to order:


400px-Mutton_bbq.jpg


There was a little stall next to the now defunct HK supermarket in Rowland Heights that sold the lamb sticks, but unfortunately I think they've closed. With increasing number of mainland Chinese immigrants, some places are now offering this dish as well. You can also make it yourself and buy the seasoning from some supermarkets.

Since the Chinese don't have strict dietary restrictions as Muslims, eventually the selection on the stick got winder. Today you can find a wide range of foods cooked on a stick in Chinese cities and some night markets in Taiwan:

China+&+Reunion+333.jpg


A popular method of cooking shish kabeb in SE Asia is Sate/Satay. For those interested in reading the history and regional variations, please see the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satay
http://www.baliblog.com/travel-tips/sate-fa mous-street-food-in-bali.html

Because of its Indonesian origins, satay is usually made with non-pork meats. The most common meats that you'd find is beef and chicken. Other meat selections are avail, but chicken (sate ayam) is generally more popular. This is a picture of a Satay chef, you can see the resemblance to Japanese yakitori grills:

Satay_hawker.jpg


There are 3 SE Asian countries known for their satay, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Singapore's sate is primarily of Malay origin and later modified by locals. Unlike the Japanese or Chinese, SE Asian Satay sauce tends to be a little sweeter. Just a year ago, there was 3 places in LA where you can get good satay: Wat Thai Temple in North Hollywood, Durate Inn in Durate, and HK Supermarket Plaza in West Covina. Unfortunately, the first 2 are gone and the latter is status unknown. Here's a few articles from the good ol' days:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2006/01/road_tr ip_what_.html
http://elmomonster.blogspot.com/2 006/03/pondok-kaki-lima-at-duarte-inn-duarte.html

WatThaiVendors_prefRes.jpg


The weekend food fairs were made possible by SE Asian culture that's used to buying food from roadside stalls. But when imported to the US, the local city government dislike them taking business away from tax-paying sit-down restaurants, so they were forced to close. The same battle is being fought over taco trucks across the country now.

saveourtacotrucks.jpg



I'm unclear on the current status of HK Supermarket Plaza in West Covina (989 S. Glendora Ave). Some told me that they've closed but I have yet to verify it. The food court by the supermarket had several good Indonesian booths, such as Satay Fong and Janty Noodle. You could get fairly authentic sate with rice cake at Satay Fong, and the chicken & mushroom noodle at Janty Noodle is also very good. If the supermarket closed, I'm not sure what the status of the food court is.

sffront.jpg


http://www.satayfong.com/

Chicken Satay & Pork Satay (darker colored) grilled with sweet soy sauce and spices, served with moist rice cake (the white round stuff), cucumbers, lime, and dipping sauce:
p3220045.jpg



There is a Malaysian restaurant in the same plaza, outside the market's food court, called Penang Malaysian Cusine. I've eaten here a few times and the place was never full. They have plenty of seating if you want to bring a larger party.

Penang Malaysian Cuisine
987 S Glendora Ave
West Covina, CA 91790
(626) 338-6138
http://www.yelp.com/biz/penang-malaysian-cuisine-west-c ovina

penangca1.JPG

penangca2.JPG


Chicken sate:
penangca3.JPG





I've eaten many sticks of Satay in Malaysia and Singapore. Though I don't claim to be an expert, I thought the quality of chicken satay at this restaurant was pretty good.
 
Where do you get your ramen?

1. Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen, Fountain Valley
http://www.yelp.com/biz/shin-sen-gumi- hakata-ramen-restaurant-fountain-valley

2. Foo Foo Tei, Hacienda Heights
http://www.yelp.com/biz/foo-foo-tei-hacienda-heights

3. Kairakutei Inc, Tustin ($5 - good value)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kairakutei-inc-tustin

4. Santouka Ramen, Costa Mesa
http://www.yelp.com/biz/santouka-ramen-costa-mesa

5. These are the "last resort" places for me in Costa Mesa:
Kohryu: http://www.yelp.com/biz/kohryu-restaurant-costa-mesa
Mentatsu: http://www.yelp.com/biz/mentatsu-ramen-costa-mesa
Oki Doki: http://www.yelp.com/biz/oki-doki-restaurant-costa-mesa


Not recommended:
Daikokuya in Costa Mesa (inside Marukai): If you're stuck here and need to get ramen, go across the street to where the Japanese bookstore is, look for a little Japanese fast food place next to Game Stop that also serves ramen. Don't dine at Daikokuya here, the one in Little Tokyo is better.

Ebisu in Fountain Valley: Don't get ramen here, order the okonomiyaki isntead.


==========

A brief on noodles in Japan

The world's oldest noodle was found in Lajia dig site in Gansu, China. The noodle was made from millet and carbon dated to approx. 4,000 years old, during the Qijia civilization period:
1.jpg


However, local civilizations in Gansu that pre-dates Qijia, such as the Dadiwan (5850 BC), Majiayao, Yangshao, Banpo, etc. were all known to have cultivated millet and vegetables. These neolithic to bronze age civilizations had developed beyond hunter gatherers to agricultural civilizations with irrigation canals and fields. It's possible that they made noodles from millet at an earlier date, but no surviving evidence have been found.

As an interesting trivia, the Qijia civilization was centered around Lanzhou area in Gansu. Today, 4,000 years later, Lanzhou is still the capital of Gansu, and "Lanzhou Lamian", or Lanzhou pulled noodles, is popular across China, made by Hui Muslim chefs by hand. The soup base is usually beef bones and never pork, because pork isn't halal to Muslims.

Chinese Hui Muslim chef making Lanzhou lamian by hand, & beef lamian:
20090920potd.jpg



There's a popular misconception that noodles were only introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868-1912) via Chinatowns in port cities. Udon, which is a wheat based thick noodle, was introduced to Japan as early as 9th century during the Heian period, most likely a Tang-Dynasty import. The Kanji for "udon" is used for wonton-style dumpligns in Chinese today. We're not sure if it was a mis-translation by the Japanese, or the usage in Chinese had changed over the past 1100 years.

Japanese "nabeyaki" Udon:
NabeyakiUdon.jpg


During the 1500's, Chinese noodles were introduced to the Ryukyu Kingdom, now known as Okinawa. The Chinese noodles were flour based, and to this day the Okinawan soba noodles are still made of flour, unlike those in Japanese mainland, which are made with buckwheat.

Okinawa Soba:
okinawa_soba.jpg


During the Edo period (1603-1868) the Japanese were making soba noodles with buckwheat flour. Soba noodles are thin and served chilled with dipping sauce, or hot in soup. "Soba" is also a Japanese word for "buckwheat", and Japanese Soba is supposed to contain at least 30% buckwheat, except for Okinawan Soba which contains none (as mentioned above).

Japanese buckwheat soba with dipping sauce:
soba_m.jpg


After the Meiji reformation, the Meiji era (1868-1912) saw an influx of foreigners. Chinatowns popped up in port cities like Kobe, Yokohama, Nagasaki, etc. Chinese immigrants brought lamian, or "pulled noodles" to Japan during this period. These noodles were made of flour and not buckwheat, so the Japanese referred to them as "Chinese soba". In Nagasaki, Chinese restaurant owners served "Champon" noodles, which is very different in style from the lamian/ramen that we know today.

Chanpon noodles:
mmps239004.jpg


After WW2, many Japanese soldiers and colonists were expelled from China and went home to Japan. The post-WW2 period offered few economic opportunities, so some of the Japanese who lived in China for many years opened Chinese restaurants in Japan to make a living. It was around this time (late 1940s-early 1950s) that lamian/ramen became very popular across Japan as an inexpensive, but filling dish.

Ramen (lamian) as we know today:
DSC02620.JPG


In 1958, a Taiwanese immigrant to Japan named Wu Pai Fu, aka Momofuku Ando, invented the first instant noodle. He became chairman of Nissen Food products and exported his chicken-flavored instant noodle world-wide as "instant ramen". Note that although the noodle is written as "ramen", in Chinese and Japanese they say it like "lamian" and not with "R".


The creator of instant noodle, Mr. Wu Pai-Fu aka Momofuku Ando, Noodles Papa:
Ando_papa.JPG


Nissin Food's original "Chikin Ramen", the world's first instant noodle:
Chikin_Ramen.JPG


Different regions of Japan has their unique lamian/ramen flavors and toppings, which I'll get to in later post. There are also other types of noodles popular in Japan, such as somen, a thin, white-colored wheat noodle. It's commonly served during summers chilled with dipping sauce, or in hot soup during winters as "nyumen".

Somen:
somen.jpg


Eating chilled somen by sliding it along bamboo pipe with cold water:
800px-Nagashi_somen_by_tas%20teful_tn.jpg


The many varieties of ramen

Generally speaking, Japanese ramen (non-instant, restaurant style) can be classified by soup base, location/origin, and type of noodle. Rameniac has done an excellent job on a ramen styles write-up, scroll down on this page and check the 22 different ramen styles by origin:
http://www.rameniac.com/ramen_styles/

Since they didn't elaborate on the soup styles, I'll go over them briefly here:

Shoyu: Shoyu means soy sauce in Japanese. This type of soup base is usually clear and brownish, made from chicken and veggie with soy sauce added, typically served with straight or curly noodles.

bc5f5781fa6c9cb1_m.jpg


Miso: This is basically Sapporo style soup base, made with miso, chicken, or fish. The soup base is thick and oily, typically served with thick or curly type noodles.

images_pic-medium-25513-miso_ramen_with_extra_pork.jpg


A variation of the miso ramen is the spicy miso:
3dd1858c8f297f63_m.jpg


Shio: Shio means salt, this soup base is made from salt, chicken, veggies, fish, seaweed, and sometimes pork bones. The soup is clear and yellowish, and never boiled. If you order this and the soup looks white-ish, you know the cook boiled the soup base.

ramen_santouka_05.jpg



Tonkotsu: This is a pork bone soup base, made by boiling the pork bones until the soup turns white-ish. Typically served with straight noodles, Hakata style.

333974273_6a7469622e.jpg


Recently there have been other creations, such as this "curry ramen" with curry soup base:


Sometimes the ramen restaurant does a "fusion" soup base, such as tonkatsu-shoyu.

LA Times ran an article on Santouka ramen a while back, worth reading:
http://xml.latimes.com/features/printedition/food/la-fo-rameniac2jan02,1,5623810.story?page=1
 
Lamian in Chinese cuisine today

There are many varieties of noodle in Chinese cuisine. I'll touch up on a few lamian styles briefly.

Generally speaking, there are 2 main styles of wheat Lamian (hand pulled noodles) in Northern China, Lanzhou and Shandong. Lanzhou lamian is usually made by Hui Muslims, and thus their food must be Halal (permissible). The soup base is usually beef or mutton, clear colored, with salt and some green onions. You won't find pork because it's Haraam (forbidden), and the soup will usually not contain soy sauce. The reason is because soy sauce typically contains 2% alcohol, and alcohol is forbidden to Muslims. Asian restaurants in Muslim countries have to use special Halal soy sauce.

Here's some pictures of chefs making Lamian by hand. The best tasting noodle is always the freshly made stuff, machine-made noodles at the supermarket just can't compare:



You can also find many YT videos on lamian making:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7vjtZkwUzk&feature=relate d

Here's the finished product, notice the soup is clear-ish:
dsc04946.jpg


With hot chili sauce added:
628801429_511c34f3f4.jpg



The second type of "northern" lamian is Shandong, which is usually made by ethnic Chinese chef and not Hui Muslims. There's a stereotype that says Lanzhou lamian tends to be "round" while Shandong lamian is "flat", but the shape is really up to the chef making it, or the machine used. Shandong Lamian doesn't have to be Halal so the soup base could contain soy sauce. However, it's rare to find it served with pork chop. Here's an example of machine-made Shandong noodle, stir fried with soy sauce and other seasonings:



In addition to hand-pulled noodles, there's also a "knife-peeled" variation called Dao Shao Mian (daoxiaomian). Here's a video showing the "knife peel" process:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoU3uypJwXA


There are 2 popular regional versions, central Shanxi (San-shi) and Xi'an (Shi-an), though I'm not really sure what the difference is. @_@ Knife-peeled noodles tend to be flat and wide. Like Lanzhou Lamian, when made my Hui Muslims it's Halal and typically served with simple beef soup. But when served by Chinese chefs, they may add soy sauce and other spices:
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Over the years, Northern noodle making traditions spread south, and many Southern provinces have their own unique noodle dishes today. Here's a noodle chef in Shanghai making hand-pulled noodles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTfC5tDlOqo&feature=relate d


Up until the 19th century, many Han-Chinese avoided the consumption of beef, because it was considered immoral to kill and eat an animal that labored for you on the farm. This cultural sentiment was exported to Japan, where consumption of beef was illegal until Meiji era. Thus, Han-Chinese preferred pork over beef, while non-Han Chinese like the Hui ate beef and mutton. Here's an example of knife-peeled noodle served in Taiwan, with pork sauce topping:
20051006182625.jpeg



However, with the coming of modern era, cows were replaced by tractors, and our beloved moo-moo's were eventually accepted as food by Han-Chinese. A very popular Chinese noodle dish today is the Szechuan Spicy Beef Noodle, with chili oil added to the soup base for that extra kick. You can find this dish in many Chinese restaurants today:


This style of noodle was brought from retreating KMT forces in 1950 to Taiwan. Over the years it had became extremely popular in Taiwan, and entire magazine issues have been published in Taipei dedicated to the best bowl of beef noodles. The noodle is usually served with some veggies, fresh or preserved, along with beef and beef tendons. It's possible to order with only beef or beef tendons only.

Taipei Beef Noodle Festival 2005:
http://www.tbnf.com.tw/en/main.htm

Various Taipei beef noodles:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yusheng/sets/712553/

Taiwanese "pork chop noodle", with fried pork chop on top instead of beef. This is one of my favorite dishes, sometimes the fried pork chop is served on the side.
IMG_1327.jpg



In 1988, a Chinese-American businessman from California opened a chain of beef noodle shops in China called "California Beef Noodle King USA":
http://www.cb-noodleking.com/



The owner looked to American fast food chains like KFC for inspiration. I ate at one of the chains in Beijing last year and it was pretty good value for the money, about $1.25 USD for a bowl of beef noodle. So, like "Taco Bell", you can say that America is now re-exporting ethnic foods back to China. <!-- s;) -->;)<!-- s;) -->
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A brief on Phở

This is an attempt by non-Vietnamese to describe (briefly) the history of Phở, and a few popular regional varieties. Apologies for any inaccuracies.

To summarize history, prior to arrival of the French, Vietnam was like many of her Asian neighbors, refraining from consumption of beef. The family cow spent most of its life laboring in the rice paddies, it was just immoral to kill it for meat. Then the French came and Moo-Moo's became fillet mignon and pot-au-feu. End of history lesson.

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The Vietnamese wasted no time in adopting to French tastes in beef. The first phở b?, or beef noodle is reported to have been served between late 1800's to early 1900's, in the provicne of Nam Dinh, just SW of Hanoi. The dish quickly spread to Hanoi, then to other cities. Phở b? was served with clear beef bone soup base, with banh pho, a white rice noodle. If you could afford it (back then), your bowl came with slices of beef, or various beef bits and parts (tendon, tripe, oxtail, etc).



Generally speaking Phở is considered a northern Vietnamese dish (Pho Bac = Northern Pho), with some Chinese and French influences. Purists prefer to eat it without a lot of garnish or sauce, because they consider the soup base to be most important, and should NOT be contaminated in flavor by adding lime juice, hoisin, or chili sauce directly into the bowl. Purists don't even like bean sprouts. If you see a plate of onions on the side, put some chili sauce on it and eat it with a spoon (along with some soup), but don't put it inside your bowl.

During the mid 20th century, Vietnam was divided between North and South via 1954 Geneva Conference. An estimated 2 million North Vietnamese moved South, increasing the popularity of Phở in Southern Vietnam. The South Vietnamese added their own preferred garnish, such as bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, lime, hosin sauce, etc.



Over time, various other ingredients are added, such as beef balls, seafood, chicken, etc. My favorite variety is chicken, which is made with clear chicken soup base (no beef bones):




Now let's briefly go over the 3 main regions of Vietnam, and their local Phở varieties. Wikipedia also has a good write-up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Vietnam


Northern Vietnam

Phở b? (beef noodle), which we've already covered. Bun, a thin rice vermicelli, typically served in dishes like B?n Cha (with grilled pork), and B?n Than, which is a chicken noodle soup.

B?n Cha, note the rice vermicelli is served "dry" on a plate. You can read more about it here.

tsnbunchaspread.jpg


B?n Than (chicken noodle soup), in this picture the soup hasn't been added:



Central Vietnam

Central Vietnam is famous for their B?n B? Huế, which is served with pork-beef-lemon grass soup base, and bun noodles (roundish rice noodles). In addition to the beef, be warned that this dish may come with pig's feet, pig's blood cubes, and other goodies like steamed pork and shrimp paste. The spicy lemon grass soup WILL STAIN if you get it on your shirt. You can read more about it here. There's a few restaurants in Westminster that serves Central Vietnamese dishes, I'll post them later in this thread.

Two versions of B?n B? Huế, note the noodle looks different from typical northern Phở:

2586131345_5c3db0073a.jpg


Other Central Vietnam dishes include M? Quảng, from Quang Nam province. The traditional style use a yellow-ish noodle, but these days I've seen it served with white noodles. You can read more about it here.


And there's B?n măng Vit, which is served with bamboo (măng) shoots and duck: (quack quack)



Southern Vietnam

As mentioned earlier, the South Vietnamese adopted their own styles of garnish to Phở. In addition, they have local noodle styles, as well as those influenced by Chinese immigrants, Thai-Khmer (Cambodian), and possibly Chăm.

After the Manchu conquest of Ming Dynasty, many ethnic Chinese immigrated from Guangdong to Vietnam. About 85% of them lived in the south in 1970's, and are referred to as "Hoa". They typically spoke Cantonese or Teochew. These Chinese immigrants also brought with them Southern style Chinese noodles to Vietnam, typically referred to as "mi" in Vietnamese, as well as flat/wide Chinese noodles for pan frying, and clear noodles used in Hu Tieu Thanh Xuan and Hu Tieu Mi Kho. But the Vietnamese "B?n" noodle is totally indigenous.

Here's a picture of Hu Tieu Mi Kho, made with clear noodle (aka "glass noodle) and egg noodles. Typically clear noodles are served with seafood, but can also be found with beef/pork or combination with seafood:
phoking09.jpg


"Glass Noodles":
phoking25.jpg


Crunchy Chinese egg noodles (mi):
phoking14.jpg


Here's another Southern dish, B?n ri?u (crab meat noodle soup). This version is topped wtih crab and shrimp paste:


Bun Thit Nuong, rice noodles with pork and veggies -- Recipe here. This dish is served with cold vermicelli noodle, sometimes with sliced marinated cucumber, daikon, carrot, with veggies and sprouts added, and toped with marinated pork and served with fish sauce on the side. In the photo below, some of the veggies went into the sauce. @_@


Bun cha gio, or noodle with fried egg rolls (cha gio = fried eggrolls). This dish is usually served with cold vermicelli on bottom, topped with veggies and cut fried eggroll, with fish sauce on the side:



Here's a Southern dish with some Chinese & Khmer (Cambodian) influence, Hu Tieu Nam Vang, aka Phnom Penh Noodle Soup (recipe here). This dish could be made with a variety of different noodles, but the soup is pork bone based and not beef or fish. Go here for more info: http://www.noodlepie.com/hu_tieu/index.html
hu_tieu_nam_vang_3.jpg


Here's another variety of Hu Tieu noodles, Hu Tieu My Tho. My Tho is a city about 70 km SW of Saigon. This dish is made with pork bone soup stock, ground pork, pork bone/ribs/knuckle, clear, roundish medium chewy noodle, and somewhat fatty:
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Hey Momopi

You posted this on the old board. Its going to get wacked before
I can find out where this is at.

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Thats not a drink its a meal. Tell me its some place local and not Mexico.
 
Man, this is why I am addicted to the forum. Momopi, you should start a thread giving us advise on those various ingredients sold at 99 Ranch. I see so many of them on the shelves and have no idea what the ingredients are used for. Thanks!
 
[quote author="reason"]Man, this is why I am addicted to the forum. Momopi, you should start a thread giving us advise on those various ingredients sold at 99 Ranch. I see so many of them on the shelves and have no idea what the ingredients are used for. Thanks![/quote]

If you like, you can take some photos and post them here, and I'll explain it to you. Or, we can take a field trip to Ranch 99 in person. I live in Oak Creek, about 5 mins from Ranch 99 on Jeffery, or 10 mins from Ranch 99 on Culver.

Sometimes I buy herbs from the herb shop across the street from Ranch 99 on Jeffery. Ranch 99 tries to cater to broader Asian demographic and doesn't carry some stuff that you'd find in TS Emporium.

Herbal+Chicken+Soup+3.JPG
 
[quote author="momopi"]If you like, you can take some photos and post them here, and I'll explain it to you. Or, we can take a field trip to Ranch 99 in person. I live in Oak Creek, about 5 mins from Ranch 99 on Jeffery, or 10 mins from Ranch 99 on Culver.[/quote]

I hear 99 Ranch is a good place to get a cheap breakfast on the weekend. Just sayin'.

If Momo wants to revive the Momopi Food Experience trips, I'd be down with that.
 
My friends and I sometimes meet at Cedar Creek for brunch or dinner. I've never had a less than excellent meal there. The sausage and cheese strata is yummy.
 
[quote author="evalseraphim"]
[quote author="momopi"]If you like, you can take some photos and post them here, and I'll explain it to you. Or, we can take a field trip to Ranch 99 in person. I live in Oak Creek, about 5 mins from Ranch 99 on Jeffery, or 10 mins from Ranch 99 on Culver.[/quote]

I hear 99 Ranch is a good place to get a cheap breakfast on the weekend. Just sayin'.

If Momo wants to revive the Momopi Food Experience trips, I'd be down with that.[/quote]


Ranch 99 @ Culver serves Chinese style breakfast in the morning, 7 days a week. The other places nearby only serve breakfast items on weekends.

The trick with Ranch 99 @ Culver is, when buying breakfast, don't go "too early" -- wait 20 min after opening. The food court people are still prepping when the market opens and they need some time to cook. Certain items are actually cooked elsewhere and delivered to them in the morning.

When buying dinner there, don't go "too late". Unlike other Chinese take out places, they don't fill the bins until closing. Whatever they cook, once it's gone, it's gone for the day.
 
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