KZCAKES: chinese

November 03, 2013

KZ takes Chinatown

November 03, 2013

Chinatown in New York City is definitely an interesting place. It's like walking through H-Mart City. Perhaps for some, this m...

Chinatown in New York City is definitely an interesting place. It's like walking through H-Mart City. Perhaps for some, this may somehow not sound like a dream-come-true, but for me, as you may have guessed, it is very much like wandering the isles of a massive asian market, picking up things you've never seen before, seeing things of all shapes and sizes, all for an unbelievably good bargain. Roaming the streets is like roaming isles. For me, it's kind of wonderful.

I scored some fresh dragonfruit from an outdoor stand. I've only ever seen them be upwards of $4 each, and for a mysterious fruit for which I had no agenda, it's always been out of my budget. But not today. $1.50 for this baby-football-sized, barbie-pink and lime-green-finned magical fruit.

It seemed to be at a perfect ripeness when I cut it up this morning to have alongside my breakfast burrito. It was sweet, but without any intense flavor. It was surprisingly mellow considering it's flashy skin and fins. It has black seeds like a kiwi, and had a similar texture to cantaloupe.

Also, rambutans!

It's like a lychee, but spiky and pretty. The globe-like ball in the center is super sweet and chewy almost like gummy candy. Very crystal-ball-like. You know there's got to be something good in there when it's covered in spiky pink armor. Went to a Vegetarian Dim Sum restaurant with friends there too, but forgot to take pics. Use your imagination for the rest of the post to see how it looked.

December 05, 2012

KZ Eats World

December 05, 2012

Over the past few weeks I've been plugging along cooking from Vegan Eats World trying all the bookmarked recipes and checking off wha...

Over the past few weeks I've been plugging along cooking from Vegan Eats World trying all the bookmarked recipes and checking off what I've made, a fun habit I've made of all my favorite cookbooks. Most of her recipes are super authentic and so require trips to international markets for ingredients like sauces, certain produce items, noodles and spices. I had shied away from some of these recipes in testing because I was intimidated by the long list of unfamiliar ingredients. But now, after realizing I have a giant asian market 5 minutes from my house, and also several great indian markets nearby as well, I decided to get adventurous and check out these nearby spots.

The asian market was completely amazing. I found almost everything I needed there. I left with a very long receipt with many many bottles of soy sauces, vinegars, bags of spices, varieties of asian greens, and noodles of many sorts. I probably had close to 30 items... maybe more. The most expensive item I bought (organic green jasmine tea-- best thing ever) cost only $3.50! A ballin' haul, if I've ever carried one. A word on ingredient scavenger hunting: It is the most exciting thing for me. When I have written down something I need for a recipe to snag if I ever came across it, and search high and low for it, but then finally spy it, I pounce. It reminds me of a young monk in training, sitting in the lotus position, waiting until the time is right to catch a fly in his hand (he of course, lets the fly go, to give a happy vegan ending to my story). It's a strange way to get high on life, I know, but nothing quite excites me as much as when I know my pantry is incomplete and I have finally found the missing piece to complete it. Weird? Some of you must understand me.

The first thing I made was bao! These are pictured in her book and look pretty enticing. I've never had bao in a restaurant, nor at all, before making them. I was suprised to find that the fluffy bao dough is essentially pizza dough, which made me feel adequate enough to tackle it without hesitation. They were tasty, though I am adjusting to the anise flavor in five-spice powder, read- I don't like it. I'm trying to like it. Help me like it. These are filled with seitan and chinese-style barbecue sauce.

They look cute too.

I tackled the thai dishes in the book, Pad Kee Mao, Pad See Ew, and Pad Thai with avocado and spicy greens. This is Pad See Ew with rice noodles, as I did not find any fresh Ho Fun noodles. Are they like a China-town-only kind of find? Help me find them! My favorite of all the thai dishes was Pad Kee Mao, also called Drunken Noodles. I guess they call it that because it has like 5 required soy sauces. But that's okay, you already know how a complete pantry makes me happy. It was spicy and delicious, as thai food often is.

Not the best shot of my Pad Kee Mao.

Lately I have been super sick with a sinus infection and cold. As I write this, I am in bed, buried in a blanket with my green tea close by, surrounded by piles of tissues as high as the piles of gold you might find in an ancient temple you arrived at by magic carpet, a nose redder than fresno chiles, and nostrils as rough as elephant skin. Gross. So anyways, the only thing I wanted to eat was a curry from Terry's new book. The Pumpkin Coconut Curry, to be exact. Luckily, I had earlier made a haul from the Indian market which meant I had everything I needed to make this at my fingertips. Alongside, I made the Sri Lankan Coconut Roti, which, as I'm sure you have realized by now, rocked the house.

Here's a portion of my successful haul from the Indian market. My favorite part of these trips are getting home and laying out all your new finds and admiring them in a nice and large accomplished pile. Once I am back to health, I will surely hit up the closest middle eastern market and make beautiful beautiful things happen with my amazing finds. P.S. Get Vegan Eats World if you haven't already!