More Photos from Asia 2010

I thought I'd share some photos that I've recently edited from my 2010 trip to Asia.


A photo of the Dream Mall. It's one of Asia's largest shopping malls. [link]




Sulfur springs and hiking in the Yangmingshan National Park. [link]








Busy streets of Danshui market and harbourfront. [link]




Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China. [link]

Do you like?

Pan-Fried Tilapia Fillets with Salad, Mushrooms, and Pasta

Our refrigerator is filled with condiments, dressings, and the like. The cupboards are stocked with stuff ranging from spices (star anise, cloves, galangal, etc.), to dried packages of rice noodles, to cans of coconut milk, and to a variety of dried tea leaves. Did I mention that our freezers are packed full of seafood and undistinguishable cuts of meat? It’s quite tough to scavenge for food in our kitchen.

We (Lucy, Jimmy, Richard, Andrew and I) were looking for an easy dinner on afternoon. So naturally, we came up with some lazy ideas: McD’s, pizza, pho, or Greek food. While some of us were busy in brainstorming for take-out places, Richard suggested that we take a stroll in our nearby grocery store and just cook up a dinner instead. And so we took a stroll…

We brought back some tilapia fillets, packaged pasta and pre-made sauces, and Portobello mushrooms.

The plan of attack was to pan-fry the basa fillets simply with some salt and pepper. We’d make a salad with the cherry tomatoes and baby spinach, the mushrooms would get sautéed and simmered with some bacon, and we’d make the pasta.

The fish was seasoned with sea salt and black pepper. Someone was a bit too heavy handed with the sea salt. Despite efforts of rinsing off the salt, the cooked tilapia fillets tasted like they were in the process of curing.

A package of bacon was cooked and some of it was used for the salad. All of the bacon fat was used to make the Portobello mushrooms. It was a huge hit and will definitely make more appearances in the future.

How about a little appetizer of cherry tomato, Portobello mushroom and a piece of bacon?

The pan used to make the mushrooms was deglazed with a bit of wine. Some cherry tomatoes and one of the sauces was heated up together in the pan too. The other sauce was added to the cooked tortellini.

Most of the pieces of fish were too salty to eat, but the salad and mushrooms picked up the slack. They were both the stars of the dinner.

Bun Cha Gio – Vermicelli Noodles with Spring Rolls

My favourite summer dish is having bun cha gio at home. Although it’s not summer yet, we’ve had our first bun cha gio of the year – and it’s only going to get better from here.

The filling for Mom’s spring rolls is made of shredded cabbage, carrots, garlic and onions. (If you want to read more about making the filling and wrapping the spring rolls, just click the links.)

These noodles are the best for bun. Once the rice noodles are boiled, you’re supposed to rinse them under cold water (to stop the cooking process) and then squeeze out the water. In doing so, you divide the noodles into individual portions. I’m not a fan of the noodles they serve in pho joints. I find them too firm and wiry.

These fresh herbs: sweet Thai basil (hung que), spearmint, and Vietnamese cilantro (rau ram).

Roasted and crushed peanuts – with a mortar and pestle – also need to added. In our family, one of the younger kids usually does this.

There was a stir-fry of beef and onion as well.

Everyone likes to eat it a different way. In our house, it’s like eating chicken rice – it’s rare to find two people who like to eat it the same way. For instance, Mom would just cut the spring rolls into her bowl with the kitchen shears. I don’t like my spring rolls to get soggy in the fish sauce though. Instead, I leave them on the side and take bites as I eat. Our homemade version is much better than the stuff you find in restaurants. I'd rather eat an awesome bowl of bun cha gio only once a year than eat a bunch of mediocre or terrible versions.

A drizzle of nuoc mam, a fish sauce dressing made of vinegar, sugar, water and usually minced garlic, completes the bowl. After a good mix, the bun cha gio ready to be enjoyed.

I love how every bite of the bun cha gio is different. Fireworks of flavours go off like the scene in Ratatouille. The herbs, the roasted peanuts, the fragrance of sesame oil (from the spring rolls), and the mild nuoc mam makes the dish so exciting. All the different textures also play well; the soft noodles go so well with the crisp lettuce and crunchy spring rolls.

One last bit of spring roll left. Nom nom nom nom!

Prime Rib Dinner

Our family loves steak. I love prime rib. Luckily our grocery stores had prime rib on sale (for about $4/lb). They only appear, at this price, about twice a year – once after Easter and another at the end of summer.

A couple weeks ago, our family helped prepare a prime rib dinner with a bunch of side dishes.

Richard and Andrew made a zucchini casserole with garlic, onions, strained tomatoes (passata), and parmesan cheese. This was a hit with the family. I particularly adored the concentrated tomato sauce on top of the zucchini.

Potatoes were quartered, seasoned with Montreal chicken spices (mainly dehydrated onions, roasted garlic and salt), then baked in a hot oven to cook and crisp up. These potatoes were really fluffy and seasoned perfectly. I'd probably add a bit of cayenne pepper to the mix to add a little heat next time.

A salad of green beans, red peppers, carrots and a mandarin orange dressing was also put together.

Once the prime rib was taken out of the oven to rest, the juices in the pan were used to make mushroom gravy with a bit of wine. This was made just before we were ready to eat.

I had bought some frozen Ace baguettes for something else, but I had to bring them out for the dinner. Just as we started to make the gravy, the baguettes were briefly baking in the oven.

After resting for about ten minutes, the prime rib was sliced. Everyone grabbed a plate and filled them up with all the fixings. That was quite the spread. Cheers, to another delicious prime rib dinner!