Moules and Yoshoku Hambagu

Two different cuisines, but both satisfying. The mussels were definitely faster to prepare, although the hambagu dinner had a twinge of nostalgia for my husband. 

 2 pounds of mussels cooked in white wine with onions, diced tomato and garlic.

Hambagu with mushroom sauce, carrots and broccoli and a side of rice.

In Japanese yoshoku (western-style cuisine), a hambagaa is a beef patty on a bun, while hambagu is more like a salisbury steak dinner. My husband loves the rendition at Hungry Tiger, where the beef patties are served on a hot plate that sizzles after the mushroom demi-glace sauce is poured on top. Greasy and gravy splatter everywhere, so the staff ties an apron on to each customer before presenting the meals, and even holds a towel up to prevent extra stains as the gravy is poured. This version was not quite right, but pretty close in taste. 

Office Lunches

We're closing on the new house, and life has been in super drive lately. Pressed for time, and perhaps spending a little too much cuddling the kittens time on the couch, I haven't packed bentos for lunch as often this month. Some of the interesting lunch options in the Farragut West neighborhood:

 Curry Laksa with chicken and curly egg noodles

Malaysia Kopitiam (19th and M St NW)

Chicken Bravo with avocado, alfalfa sprouts, tomato, bacon and cheese.

 Axian daily sandwich special

Yook Gae Yang, spicy Korean soup with rice and kimchee

Penn Grill on 20th St NW between I St and Pennsylvania Avenue

Carytown in Richmond

With the house hunt over and pending appraisal, I had a free day on the weekend to hang out with a friend. We arrived and ended up wandering around Carytown, checking out the different shops in this hipster enclave. Across from the Byrd Theater on Cary Street, we stopped for a bite to eat. Apparently the restaurant had changed the menu recently. The weather was nice, so we sat outside, listening to the impromptu drum circle across the street and watching the dogs walk by.

 The Harland Sanders

Fried chicken breast topped with bacon, cheddar cheese and ranch, with some pretty fantastic fries.

Burger topped with cheddar cheese and a fried egg with a side of curly fries.

View of the restaurant's mural from the side.

*** 

Following this lunchtime gluttony, we went to visit Maymont, which has a lovely house tour for $5. A fabulous example of the Gilded Age, the swan bed along is a sight to see. We also peeked in the Jefferson Hotel, whose staircase was inspiration for the Gone with the Wind party scene. Richmond has a more southern feel, but the areas swiftly transition from safe to questionable. The Jefferson Hotel area was quite similar to Baltimore, while the Carytown area made me think of Charlottesville. 

Re-Return to Peter Chang's in Fredericksburg

We are officially obsessed. The weekend after we had the chance to meet Peter Chang in person, the husband and I returned to Peter Chang's in Fredericksburg for dinner. I was pleased to see they were fairly busy. We even had to wait for a few minutes for a table. That gave us enough time to pick out some different dishes to try out.

 Fish with Sour Cabbage Soup $8

This is fantastic and I highly recommend it. The soup serves two, and it has a fantastic flavor. Both light and savory, it's very different from the soups you'll find on other Sichuan menus.

 Dan Dan Noodles $7

The menu says spicy, but that's not really accurate, or at least not spicy to me.

The peanuts are a nice textural addition and the noodles were once again cooked perfectly.

 Scallion Bubble Pancake $5

This is served with a curry dipping sauce, which plays off of the slightly sweet bubble pancake. I doubt that I would order it again, but it was nice to try. The pieces of pancake were actually very good when paired with the spiced beef from the dan dan noodles.

 Shan City Chicken $14

This looks like super fiery, but just avoid eating the red peppers and you'll be fine. Great flavor in the chicken.

 Shanghai Bok Choy with Mixed Mushrooms $14

Three types of mushrooms and perfectly cooked bok choy. A nice, light dish to offset the grease and spice of the other dishes we ordered.

Bamboo Fish $17

The cumin is pronounced and a welcomed element to this dish. The fish was perfectly fried, and the cilantro brightened up the flavors. Over the past few visits, we've learned that the fish dishes really shine at Peter Chang's. 

Sichuan in New York

While up in New York for a work trip, I went to dinner with a colleague at one of his favorite Chinese restaurants. It was nice to compare the Sichuan dishes to my favorite places in metro DC. While the dishes were good, I think the VA places are better.

 Dan Dan Noodles

Tasty but in such a small bowl it becomes difficult to mix the sauce and the noodles.

Pork Wontons in Spicy Sauce

Good flavor but again a small dish.

 Pork Belly with onions and peppers

Ok but nothing super special.

Mapo Tofu

This version was not nearly spicy enough and was missing the amount of ground Sichuan peppercorn I prefer.

Cooking at Home

This month has been a whirlwind. We've been so busy house hunting, putting in offers and being outbid. It was a really good experience, and possibly even a better learning experience since we didn't win our first house. With the new addition to our family, it's time for some more space. I think our cats will love being able to roam about a larger space and watch squirrel TV all day.

Even though we have been busy, we still have had some great meals together at home. It's been such a cold winter and the snow storms continue to pummel the region. One of the best meals on a cold day is nabe. With some frozen snow crab legs from Super H, I'm able to throw together a seafood miso nabe without too much effort.

 Snow crab, shrimp and pork belly miso nabe with daikon, mushrooms and cabbage.

After eating the nabe, we throw in some ramen noodles to the flavorful broth.

 On one of the snow days when the office was closed, I made a chicken pho.

Light and flavorful, very comforting chicken and rice noodle soup.

 More snow crab, tofu and pork belly with cabbage and garlic chive nabe.

Seafood Paella with clams, squid and shrimp.

Following our house inspection, we picked up ingredients for making a delicious paella at home with some Spanish wine, cheese and chorizo. Spending time with my husband at home with our cats is one of the nicest ways to unwind after a long work week.

Peter Chang's in Fredericksburg

For the first weekend in a while, we were not house hunting. Instead, we cleaned the apartment, hung out with the kitties, and hung out with a friend while embarking on an unexpected adventure. We had checked out Peter Chang's restaurant in Fredericksburg a few months back. It was pretty awesome, although quite a drive. We've been meaning to come back for ages, and finally made the trek. 

I was happy to see the restaurant had pretty fair to high reviews on Yelp, but take issue with the complainers who are mad that all of the food does not come out at the same time. To those whiners, all I have to say is, you're missing the point. Most Asian food is communal dining. Learn to order collectively and share. Instead of only eating one dish, you get to try bits of multiple dishes and flavors, enhancing the experience. 

We arrived after nearly an hour drive, and the dining room was nearly empty. Our friend had heard of the chef, Peter Chang, and is the type of person who asks if the chef is in the kitchen. Our waitress said yes, he is, and would we like to meet him? Um...yes please. I was also much more reticent, thinking "who am I to bother this culinary genius", and what if it's like the Wizard of Oz, and realizing the Great Oz is just an ordinary man behind a curtain? Well, those thoughts flew away when the chef and manager came over to our table. He had mistakenly thought we were Chinese, probably because of the waitress, although we were the only Asian group in the restaurant. He was really sweet, smiling at us and even came out after the food to check on if we liked it. At that point, we requested a group photo with him, which he was gracious enough to agree to. 

 Spicy and Numbing Tofu Skin

My favorite dish. Such a different flavor profile with the fresh cilantro mixed in, and the texture of yuba is perfect as an alternative to noodles. More people should use tofu skin (yuba). 

 Dan Dan Noodles

Our friend's favorite dish. The noodles were perfectly cooked, toothsome and not too mushy, with great flavor.

 Mapo Tofu

My husband loves this. Super soft tofu, not like the firmer tofu used at Hong Kong Palace.

 Beef in Spicy Sauce with Tofu Skin and cilantro in a hot pot.

This dish goes by the name, beef in spicy sauce or tender beef in fiery peppers broth at the other Sichuan joints we like. I think this is one of my favorite Sichuan dishes. This version stays super hot, thanks to the burner, and the yuba strips are a nice textural contrast.

House Special Fish

This had a spicy, vinegary flavor profile, which was a nice, subtle difference. 

***

To cap off the Fredericksburg visit, we stopped off at the shoe store where I indulged in purchasing some new dress shoes; the vaping store, where the husband was able to test out different products and e-juices; and I even managed to squeeze in a manicure. Pretty awesome ensoku. 

JET Interview Bentos

If it's February, it's JET Interview time. This year I reviewed the smallest number of applications since I started years ago. I just wasn't feeling it. Last year I only interviewed candidates for one year. This year, I decided to try two days. Highlights of reviewing applications and interviewing include ensuring the quality of the program stays relatively high, and also catching up with other alumni in the region. An added bonus is the daily lunch bento. 

 Grilled Salmon Bento

Rice, seaweed salad, broccoli and mixed vegetable goma ae.

Mixed Bento

Pumpkin, shumai, grilled fish, kinpira gobo, broccoli, rice with unagi, daikon and tuna.

Homemade Chicken Paella

We went to a Spanish-themed dinner party a few months back and I was totally inspired. The host created a glorious paella, not in paella pan (who has room for all these different specialty pans used for only one dish?), but in a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet. We have a cast-iron skillet, and one weekend in February while out picking up more cat supplies, we picked up the simple ingredients to make paella. It was awesome.

Brown the chicken legs in the skillet first. Remove and add oil and onion, garlic, bell peppers to saute until soft. Add long grain rice and coat. Diced tomatoes and chicken broth heated with saffron was added next. The chicken legs were placed on top and the skillet was moved to the oven to bake for 40 minutes.

Top with a handful of green peas.

Home Cooking Adventures

Other February food delights were more prosaic, and rather light on vegetables. 

 Beef sliders with cheddar or pepperjack cheese and tomato.

 Homemade mapo tofu with mushroom and plenty of Sichuan peppercorn.

 Weekend Brunch

With some leftover mapo tofu, just add a fried egg and some boiled homemade pork dumplings from the freezer, and brunch is ready.

Cottage Pie

So the girls have been my main focus throughout February. I love to come home and spend time with these peculiar furry ladies with tons of personality. We've also been house hunting, which is both exhausting and exciting. If we can find something soon, we'll be very happy. If not, we'll just wait until the spring season passes by and monitor the market.

My husband grew up eating primarily Japanese food, so some of my traditional American fare that I cook is unfamiliar. He's willing to try anything once, and has found a few new favorite dishes, including cottage pie. Shepherd's pie is traditionally with lamb, but I make my version with either ground beef or ground turkey. You can change the assortment of vegetables, but I like a base of onion, carrot, celery and mushroom, and then add in green peas, corn, zucchini or spinach, depending on what else we have on hand. The mash, is a combination of cauliflower and potato, which is slightly sweeter and lighter than potato alone. 

 Beautiful right out of the over.

Warming winter dinner.