Hiro's West LA Food Blog and Portal to Other Food Blogs

Dessert at Hirozen

2010-09-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

After a typical delicious meal at Hirozen, I found myself in shock over the dessert menu. They had Yokan!! This brings me back to when I lived in Japan. Yokan is made from red bean and comes in a jiggly jellied form. There's so many different varieties of Yokan.

The one at Hirozen came with a side of tapioka pudding.

Hirozen
8385 Beverly Blvd.
90048
323.653.0470

K-Town

2010-09-30T14:40:00.001-07:00

If you should ever find yourself in a club in Koreatown, You will likely stumble across a fruit plate. If there's one thing I know about Koreans (being that I'm Korean), we love two things when we go out: fruit plates and Crown Royal. I'm still perplexed as to why us Koreans love this Canadian import so much. I apologize for the bad photo. I was probably 10 drinks in at this point.

Bottega Louie

2010-09-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

Their food is great and reasonably priced given the location and ambience. But what I really want to talk about is the ice cube in my Dewars. It's 1 big cubic ice cube. It's simple physics: less surface area means the ice will melt slower. More bars should adapt this method. Perfect for scotch and whiskey.

Pizzeria Mozza

2010-09-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

Finally had a chance to dine at Pizzeria Mozza. What's everyone gauge when it comes to good pizza? Is it the sauce? The cheese? The crust? I'm a big fan of good chewy and thin crusts.

We tried a few interesting pizzas, one with anchovies (more people should like anchovies), and one with egg, bacon, and yukon gold potatoes. But the real winner was the caprese insalate.

Pizzeria Mozza
641 N. Highland Avenue
90036
323.297.0101

New iPhone!

2010-09-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

I'm terribly sorry for not posting for an entire 9 months. That's all going to change. I now have an iPhone 4 which has been capturing some great quality photos.

Mushrooms

2010-01-25T21:11:00.000-08:00

I made a simple appetizer using two different mushrooms: Enoki and King Oyster.

King Oysters are very meaty mushrooms. I sliced them in half and sauteed them in butter.

I also sauteed some Enoki mushrooms. The Enokis take a lot less time to cook. I typically like to put them in my miso soup.

I lightly drizzled the mushrooms with soy sauce and Yuzu juice at the very end. Yuzu's fragrance and acidity balances out nicely with the soy sauce and butter.

We hear the term Umami a lot these days. I often associate the flavor of mushrooms to have an umami quality.

Obama Water

2010-01-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

I had to show you all this bottle of water I recently purchased. I guess it's not as strange as it seems, since we're all so captivated by the next hip bottle of water. How often have we been captivated by a bottle of water because it's been filtered 50 times or because it's been melted down from the French Alps? The marketing geniuses certainly won me over.

Kimchi Tuna Melt

2010-01-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

Inspired by an item from the Kogi truck, I made my own version of their Kimchi Tuna Melt. Mine was on thick Japanese white toast with a simple tuna salad. The cheese is a Kraft American cheese (not too fancy, I know, but it melts so well). The kimchi relish I made is chopped kimchi, a dash of brown sugar (balances out the sour of the kimchi), and sesame oil. Grill the bread on a skillet with butter.

I apologize for the lack of updates

2010-01-11T21:17:00.000-08:00

A ton of updates coming, including a Ludo Bites post. I vow to carry my camera with me at all times.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

2010-01-11T21:10:00.000-08:00

I'll say this a million times: everything tastes good wrapped in bacon. The key to cooking this is using a broiler at a high temperature and letting the bacon crisp up quickly without overcooking the scallop. No salt necessary as the bacon provides plenty of salt. I placed them on a drizzle of Sriracha for heat.

Kentucky Grilled Chicken

2010-01-11T20:42:00.000-08:00

I remember the plethora of Kentucky Fried Chicken locations in Japan when I was growing up. KFC to me was always the standard in which I measured all other fried chickens. Say what you will about the KFC chicken, but to me, I take comfort in knowing that when I yearn for fried chicken (usually about once a month), there's a reliable drive-thru ready to serve me with the most consistent chicken.

I was shocked to find that the marketing people came up with a grilled chicken. The first batch of commercials featured Sandra Lee (who by the way is the perfect combination of beauty and culinary skills). If this new grilled chicken was alright by Sandra Lee, I was going to have to try it.

I went online to check out the ingredients. I was shocked to find among the ingredients: MSG, rendered beef fat (??), and anticaking agents. The grilled variety is definitely less caloric and fatty by a considerable margin, but if I'm going to KFC, I'm going all out and throwing nutritional figures out the door.

Overall, I'd say the grilled chicken was ok, but the only thing I would ever have at KFC is the original recipe chicken.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies in the World??

2009-09-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

I was at Vicente Foods in search of an afternoon snack, and I stumbled upon a big box of chocolate chip cookies. When the box says, "The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies In the World [not kidding]," I can't help but to purchase a box and decide for myself.

Were they the best cookies in the world? Not really, in my opinion. They were still good, but had no X factor that would make me say that they're the best cookies in the world. It's all subjective though, isn't it? The creators, Bart and Judy, I assume, that in their hearts of hearts, believe that their cookies are the the best in the world.

I like the instruction sheet that it comes with:

"I. How to best enjoy our cookies:

These cookies are packaged in oxygen barrier packaging, -like a fine wine, these cookies benefit from "decanting"."

Pick up a box at Vicente Foods if you feel compelled to be the judge of a very bold claim.

More Mitsuwa Sushi Pics

2009-06-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

I love the beautiful red color of Ikura.

Machaca

2009-06-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

My friends know I have a terrible fear of heights. So before I got on my first flight in years, I pounded down 3 shots of Dewars before heading to the airport. While at the airport, I progressively felt the dreaded feeling of sobriety. I quickly went to a Mexican food stand at the LAX terminal to order a glass of Bud Light. While there, I noticed their menu and couldn't stop myself from ordering a machaca & egg burrito. I don't remember the name of the food stand, but the meat was really tender.

Chicken Soup

2009-06-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

Does chicken soup actually cure a cold or is it simply a myth? This article suggests that it may actually help decrease the inflammatory response with viral colds.

If you don't already have a soup pot, you should definitely invest in one. I got mine at Ross of all places.

It doesn't get any simpler than throwing chicken, carrots, onions, celery, salt and peppercorns into a pot of water. Simmer the goodies for about an hour. I like to use chicken legs and thighs (bone in).

After cooking, allow the soup to cool. I like to put the soup in the fridge overnight to let the fat rise to the top. In the morning, skim off the layer of fat, and you have yourself a nice broth.

Pasta Water

2009-02-27T14:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to an interesting article about the conservation of water when cooking pasta.

Hiro's Blog Mentioned in LA Times

2008-12-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

My humble blog site was mentioned in the online section of the LA Times:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2008/12/sampler-platt-9.html

Tito's Tacos

2008-12-20T22:30:00.000-08:00

"I love Tito's Tacos, you love Tito's too..."

What is it about jingles that hook someone in? If you ever find yourself at Tito's Tacos, you'll no doubt find a few long lines that are reminiscent of cafeteria lines in junior high. You can smell the masa from a block away. The smell teases you until you finally get to order. Here, their tacos are meat tacos on fried shells, with or without shredded cheese. Equally good are their meat burritos and tamales. Their menu is simple, and people come back for more. They're open 'till 11:30pm.

Tito's Tacos

11222 Washington Place

Culver City

310.391.5780

Beer Can Chicken aka Beer Butt Chicken

2008-12-11T21:13:00.001-08:00

Beer Can Chicken:
4 lb Whole Chicken (this one was about 4 1/2 lbs)
12 oz can of beer
Canola Oil (a light coating to help make the seasonings stick to the skin)
2 tablespoons each - salt/pepper
Herbs and seasonings of your choice

Be sure to empty out 1/2 the contents of beer first. Shove the can up the butt of the chicken. The can will help stabilize the chicken as it cooks upright. More importantly, the beer will steam the chicken from the inside.

Be sure to remove the gizzards and other stuff in the cavities.

Cook at 325, about 25 minutes per pound. BE SURE TO USE A MEAT THERMOMETER!!

Finished product. I also made some mushroom stuffing to go with the chicken.

It's a pork fat thing

2008-10-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Ramen has always been a great comfort meal for me. Nothing beats noodles drenched in a pork broth garnished with stewed pork. Santouka is doing it right by serving a very hearty and rich Ramen. And the chashu is phenomenal. As Emeril says, "it's a pork fat thing."

Speaking of Emeril, where's that guy been these days? He used to be on Food Network 24/7. The younger personalities seemed to have pushed him aside. What's up with that? Say what you will about Emeril, but he made Food Network what it is today.

Santouka
Inside Mitsuwa Marketplace
3760 S. Centinela Ave.
90066
310.391.1101

Tipping

2008-10-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

What are we tipping at restaurants these days? 15%? 20% Has the recent economic recession changed our usual tipping habits? Do we leave no tip when the service is bad? Do we ever put money in tip jars at Starbucks?

As a rule of thumb, I generally tip in the 20-25% range. Service is bad, I still leave a minimum of 15%.

And sometimes when they have me sign my receipt with a pen with a large plastic flower on it, I find myself conflicted on how much I tip I should leave.

Pho real? Pho Show

2008-08-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

Finally...
A Pho place near my house. I decided to give this place a shot, despite its corny play on words.

This section in Wikipedia made me laugh:

"A popular naming convention for phở restaurants in some localities seems to be placing a number in the name (e.g. Phở 24, whose name refers to the use of 24 ingredients, and the 24 hours required to prepare the broth).[3] There are four differing stories as to how this practice came about:

* The restaurant was opened in the year indicated in the name.
* The owner of the restaurant was a restaurateur in Vietnam before immigrating, and their restaurant was located on that street number.
* Much in the same way that one would see multiple burger restaurants with a number after them (e.g., John's #2), the number is simply present to prevent duplication in naming.
* According to the owner of a phở restaurant in Maryland, the number is one that is considered "lucky" by the owner.

Additionally, some restaurant names are unintentional (or in some cases, intentional) forms of word play on phở and fuck, as in "Phở Kim Long", "What the Phở?" and even "Phở King"."

I was very impressed with the spring rolls. They were perfectly fried. The Pho on the other hand, was a bit bland for my taste, but still very passable, partly because of the convenience factor. The staff was very attentive. On the westside, I personally prefer Pho 99 on Wilshire, but I'm definitely glad there's a new Pho place.

Pho Show
4349 Sepulveda Blvd.
Culver City
310.398.5200

My obsession with fish taco - Part III

2008-08-13T15:31:00.001-07:00

Part III of my quest to find fish tacos in West LA takes me to gr/eats, a little known restaurant on Sawtelle, owned by and situated next door to Giant Robot (if you're a fan of Japanese pop culture, you have to check it out).

This fish taco is not fried, but still tasty. They use ono fish (instead of the traditional cod variety). Fish was well seasoned, and the rice and beans were fantastic.

Check out their eclectic menu).

gr/eats
2050 Sawtelle Blvd.
West LA
310.478.3242

My obsession with fish taco - Part II

2008-08-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

In Part II in my series on the beloved fish taco, I make a visit to the 'ol Brentwood Country Mart. Patrons often visit Country Mart for rotisserie chicken and ribs at Reddi Chick (I'll do a post on that place soon) and the mac & cheese and chocolate chip cookies at City Bakery. Frida Taqueria is a fairly new joint there, and boy am I glad this place exists.

Frida Taqueria @ The Brentwood Country Mart
225 26th Street
90402
310.395.9666

My obsession with fish taco - Part I

2008-08-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a nice crispy fried fish taco. El Super Taco on Santa Monica Blvd (just east of Bundy) makes excellent fried fish tacos (Ensenada style). I also recently came across a great food blog devoted to tacos in LA called The Great Taco Hunt. Check out http://tacohunt.blogspot.com
Here's the blogger's review of El Super Taco.

El Super Taco
11923 Santa Monica Blvd.
90025
310.312.6260

Just my luck

2008-08-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

My fortune cookie had no fortune inside. Does this mean I'm cursed?

The Art of Boiling Your Own Dinner

2008-06-26T16:07:00.001-07:00

Cleverly named for the boiling point of water, Mizu 212 serves a traditional Shabu-Shabu meal. Basically, they bring you raw meat (beef is the preferred meat, though I went with the pork this time around), raw vegetables, and other things that you can boil in water (udon noodles, shumai, etc.)

I loved the scene in "Lost in Translation" where Bill Murray says, "What kind of restaurant makes you cook your own food?" when he refers to the Shabu-Shabu restaurant from earlier in the day.

Mizu 212
2000 Sawtelle Blvd.
90025
310.478.8979

Asian-Ya Soy Boy

2008-06-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

I heard they recently revamped their menu, so I thought I'd check it out. Asian-Ya serves different Asian cuisines, but it's primarily Korean. They're known for their soontofu. I'm weary of restaurants with quirky names, but I have to say their food is pretty good. I looked at their revamped menu, and I was a bit overwhelmed.

I finally decided to go with their Jalapeno Curry. Next time, I will try one of their ramens and see how it stacks up to the other ramens on the westside.

Asian-Ya Soy Boy
11660 Gateway Blvd.
90064
310.312.3861

Needless to say I didn't buy this...

2008-06-19T14:32:00.001-07:00

It's a really nice looking bottle of water, but unless it gives me super powers, I won't be purchasing it anytime soon. I elected for a simple bottle Aquafina for $1.49.

I looked up Aquadeco's website and I get the feeling that they're more excited to sell you on their nice looking glass bottles than the water itself. Even more ridiculous are the accessories for the water. They have decorative sacks (a la Crown Royal) and lighted display stands that make the bottles look pretty. The website says, "more romantic than candlelight!"

Miso Salad at CPK

2008-06-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

Famous for their ecclectic California-style pizzas, California Pizza Kitchen (or CPK) serves some great salads as well. I tried the Miso Salad (with shrimp and blue crab, few bucks extra, but well worth it).

California Pizza Kitchen (many locations)
11677 San Vicente Blvd.
Brentwood
310.826.3573

Blue Marlin

2008-06-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

West LA is home to many Japanese inspired French restaurants. Sawtelle Kitchen is one. Some would consider Chaya to be in that category. I'm a big fan of Blue Marlin. Blue Marlin serves amazing pasta and seafood gratin dishes as well as some classic Japanese dishes like curry and Om-Rice (Omelet covered fried rice, usually served with ketchup or demi-glace).

Try their Spaghetti with Pollack Roe (I did a post on this a while back) or their sea urchin over rice.

Om-Rice with shrimp and chili sauce

Curry with crab creme croquettes

Hot pot lunch special (changes daily)

Blue Marlin
2121 Sawtelle Blvd.
90025
310.445.2522

Save the taco trucks!!!!

2008-05-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

My buddy Pete just informed me that there's a new legislation that now requires vending trucks to change location every hour. The penalty is a misdemeanor charge of $1,000 and/or jail time.

I personally am grateful for the services provided by hard working taco truck vendors. I frequently visit them late at night on Venice Blvd (there's a few of them near the Mar Vista Bowling Lanes). They provide inexpensive and hearty meals for hard working LA citizens.

Please take the time to write to the LA County Supervisor's office or go to saveourtacotrucks.org.

Chameh - Korean Melon

2008-04-01T22:18:00.001-07:00

The Chameh tastes like a mild cantaloupe. The Chameh is best served chilled. Cut in half, discard seeds in the middle, and enjoy with a serrated spoon.

Bloody Mary and her cousins

2008-02-12T17:47:00.000-08:00

Some interesting variations on the Bloody Mary:

Bloody Geisha - sake replaces vodka
Bloody Maria - Tequila replaces vodka
Brown Mary - Whiskey replaces vodka
Bloody Maureen - Guiness replaces vodka

I love a good Bloody Mary. People often call it a nice hangover cure. I had one at Casa Del Mar. Theirs is called a "Mary & Ginger," a play on the names of the Gilligan's Isle women. It's made with Hangar One Wasabi Vodka, Gari (ginger), and Bloody Mary mix.

Casa Del Mar hotel bar
1910 Ocean Way
Santa Monica
310.581.5533

Yellow Watermelon

2007-11-25T18:11:00.000-08:00

No, this is not a bad watermelon. This is in fact a yellow watermelon, which tastes just as sweet (if not sweeter) as the traditionally red fleshed variety.
Here's some tips on picking watermelons.

Sashimi from Mitsuwa

2007-11-25T18:07:00.001-08:00

Appreciate the bright colors and mouth watering flavors of raw fish...

Lychee

2007-11-25T17:57:00.000-08:00

Grown primarily in China, and best between July and October, the Lychee is a sweet and delicious fruit (after you peel off the thick rind).

Udon

2007-09-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

First off, I apologize for not posting in months. I've been pretty sidetracked. Rest assured, I've been taking plenty of food pics and they will no doubt be highlighted on the site soon.

I've been rejuvenated to blog again after reading a script at the office. Nora Ephron wrote and will direct a film about Julie Powell, the woman who was responsible for the infamous food blog, The Julie/Julia Project. For those of you who do not know about Julie Powell, she took it upon herself to tackle every recipe in Julia Child's book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in exacly one year. That averaged to a little more than 2 recipes a day, I think.

On that note, here's my first contribution in a long while... Udon.

I used the Ninben brand dashi for the broth and garnished the noodle soup with scallions, kamaboko, wakame (seaweed), and fried tempura batter.

Meat Pockets

2007-05-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

I think a lot of countries have their own types of meat pockets. Wherever they're from, I love them all: gyozas, pierogis, mandus... they're all great. I especially love empanadas. I love most fried things.

Empanada's Place - 3811 Sawtelle Blvd. 90066

Pinkberry as comfort food

2007-03-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

A lot of people are now discovering this Pinkberry craze. But is it just a fad? Is this craze going away anytime soon?

Despite the space age/anime/modern interior of the Pinkberry stores that attracts yogurt newbies, I feel connected to the frozen yogurts on a more nostalgic level. To me, it tastes like a combination of two childhood favorites of mine: Calpis and Yakult (both available at most Japanese markets).

On the westside, there's a few Pinkberry locations:
Westwood
West LA (Olympic and Sawtelle)
Marina Del Rey

Corn Tortillas

2007-03-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

I apologize for being so behind on my blogs. Long story short, I lost my digital camera. I finally bought myself a nice Sony Cyber-shot. I'm sure that now that I have this new camera, I'm gonna find my old camera somewhere.

There's nothing better than making corn tortillas using masa harina. Invest in a tortilla press. They're great to have.

By the way, if you know a good carniceria on the westside, please let me know.

Tough Cuts of Meat

2006-12-19T14:47:00.000-08:00

I brought home a nice lean piece of meat. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it, since it had virtually no fat.
I decided to season it with coarse salt, pepper, and simple Italian seasoning.
You can't go wrong with mirepoix.
I seared the meat quickly, and braised it for an hour in a mixture of tomato puree, tomato paste, and vodka.

Bacon and Cabbage

2006-10-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

I didn't have corned beef, so I made bacon and cabbage instead. After rendering the bacon down, I used some of the bacon drippings to saute a wedge of cabbage. I seasoned the cabbage liberally with kosher salt, then stewed the cabbage with the bacon in salted water for 20 minutes.

Here's a close-up of it because that's how much I heart bacon.

Duk Bok Gi

2006-10-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

Duk Bok Gi is a very popular dish in Korea. Duk is essentially rice cake. Korean rice cakes are typically very doughy and chewy. It's like a dense gnocchi. It's usually cooked with cabbage and korean fish cakes (oden). Sauce is made with gochujang (red pepper paste).

Fried Rice

2006-09-10T00:15:00.000-07:00

The trick to making any good fried rice is to use cooked rice that has rested and cooled. I often use leftover rice to make fried rice. Japanese restaurants always tend to shape the rice, usually using a simple bowl as a mold. I did the same here.

Mentaiko Spaghetti

2006-09-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Mentaiko is very popular in Japan and Korea. It's basically roe from pollock, usually Alaskan pollock. Mentaiko is typically marinated with spicy seasonings.
The Mentaiko Spaghetti is a popular Japanese pasta dish. I prepared mine with butter and garlic, and topped it with nori for garnish. In keeping with the roe theme, I also garnished the dish with wasabi caviar.

Beard Papa's

2006-08-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

If you've never had a Beard Papa's cream puff, you're truly missing out. This is a cream puff like you've never tasted before.
A big presence already in NY (with 4 locations), Beard Papa's has made its way to the westside with a location on Sawtelle, just north of Olympic.

Beard Papa's - 2130 Sawtelle Blvd. #110, West Los Angeles
310.479.6665

Chili Cheese Dogs

2006-07-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

What really goes inside a hot dog? We all hear horror stories about all the fillers that go inside a hot dog. My theory is that as long as I don't see how they actually make them, I'll continue eating hot dogs without the fear of the unknown. I'm a huge fan of Hebrew National and Nathan's beef franks.

Musubi and the Art of Picnic Foods

2006-06-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

The Japanese love their Musubis. Like sandwiches, they're great picnic and on-the-go snacks.
Oms/b in NYC is helping to spread the Musubi culture in the States. Until they have one out in LA, I'll be making my own:

Ao Ji-so and Shiba Musubi

Wasabi Furikake Musubi

Salmon Musubi - my favorite

Wrap them all in seaweed, and you're good to go. I also made a dill red potato, red onion, and green onion salad (also a good picnic food).

Prosciutto and a New Pepper Grinder

2006-06-16T00:36:00.000-07:00

I had the deli guy cut me some thinly sliced prosciutto (turned out to be about 1/2 a pound). Here's what I made with it:

Prosciutto and corn pizza

Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, generous with the fresh ground pepper, cooked in olive oil and butter

Rib eye steak with a terragon and garlic gravy to go with the prosciutto wrapped asparagus

Fried Spicy Shrimp Roll

2006-05-27T00:24:00.000-07:00

I was worried about how this would turn out, but it turned out great!

I made a Spicy Shrimp Roll, but before I cut it into pieces, I fried one side of the roll on a skillet with peanut oil and butter to make a crispy shell. Since I sprinkled on some sesame seeds on the roll, both the rice and sesame toasted up nicely.

Spicy Shrimp filling consisted of first cooking chopped shrimp with Togarashi, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. After cooling, I mixed it with scallions, mayo, Sriracha, and wasabi.

Philly Roll

2006-05-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

What could be more "fusion" than a Philadelphia Roll? It's essentially a salmon roll with avocado, cucumber, and cream cheese. Be sure to cut the cream cheese when it's really cold. It's easier to cut into strips. Here was the prep work.

Having an assembly line ready to go is essential in sushi making. A sharp knife is important too.

I'm a big fan of smelt eggs. Rather than putting them in the rolls, I decided to just throw them generously on top.

Yes, this is how much I actually ate. I was hungry.

Reddi Chick BBQ

2006-05-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

Reddi Chick at the Brentwood Country Mart is home to some of the best rotisserie chicken on the Westside. I know a lot of people are fans of California Chicken Cafe, and they definitely have good chicken too. But sometimes, you want some fresh-out-of-the-fryer french fries piled on top of your chicken.

Yesterday, I had their ribs and fries basket.

Reddi Chick
225 26th Street, Brentwood
310.393.5238

Mongols Westwood

2006-05-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

My roommate is a master at the art of Mongolian BBQ stacking. How it works is, you get an empty bowl and one trip to assemble your food. You start with the meats (usually sliced and frozen), then you load up your favorite vegetables. At the end you pile on some noodles and spices, and they cook it for you on a huge circular heated table.

If you stack your food right, you can easily make 3 whole meals out of your trip. Great for the budget conscious. Order one to go.

Mongols
1064 Gayley Ave, Westwood
310.824.3377

Hiro's Spicy Miso Soup w/ Dumplings

2006-05-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in my last post that I bought a lot of dumpling wrappers. So I made more dumplings, but shaped them differently. I usually shape them this way when using them in soup.

For the soup, I made a shrimp broth using water, sake, and shrimp shells I saved in the freezer (Emeril always talks about shrimp broth, so I thought I'd try this). Cook dumplings in broth for 5 minutes. Add miso to taste. To make it spicy, I used Go-chu-jang. Add tofu and enoki mushrooms, garnish with green onions.

Gyoza

2006-05-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

I bought a butt load of dumpling wrappers, so I went on a gyoza making rampage.

My filling consisted of:
Ground pork (the market ran out, so I chopped up a pound of pork chops in the chopper)
Napa cabbage, shredded (the key here is to add some salt, let sit for 30 minutes, then squeeze out the excess water)
Green onions
Soy sauce, Pepper, Ginger

I fried the gyozas with peanut oil in a skillet, then steamed them by adding water.

Dipping sauce:
Soy sauce
Rice wine vinegar
Green onions

Guacamole

2006-04-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

My lunch consisted of homemade guacamole and a Rolling Rock.

There's a lot of theories about the prevention (or at least the slowing down) of avocados oxidizing and turning brown quickly. Like apples, you can postpone the browning by adding an acid (in this case, a lime). There's also an urban legend about using the avocado pit to slow the browning as well. Either way, just to be safe, I used both.

My guacamole:

Avocado (1 large, or 2 medium, ripe)
1 diced Roma Tomato (I like the Roma for this because they're firm, and the juices don't run out)
1/4 diced White Onion
Cilantro
Lime
Kosher Salt
Garlic Salt
Pepper

Venezuelan Hot Dogs

2006-04-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

In honor of SEVEN Velezuelan pitchers starting in the major leagues on the same night, I decided to make Venezuelan Hot Dogs, inspired by George Duran's recipe from a recent episode of "Ham on the Street."

Toppings and condiments consist of crushed potato chips, chopped onions and cabbage, ketchup, mustard, and mayo. I skipped on the mustard. There was already too much stuff on it. The hot dog is buried under the chips.

Basic White Bread and its Evolution

2006-04-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

Sara Lee recently came out with a bread with the taste and texture of white bread, but made from "the goodness" of whole grains. Until I figure out their recipe, here's my attempt at the classic white bread without the whole grain goodness.

Malia

2006-04-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

For my friend Karen's birthday, we had a nice dinner at Malia on Main St. in Venice.
Edamame with hot chili oil
My rack of lamb
Karen had the ravioli
Cantaloupe and Lychee Martinis

Malia turns into a cool club around 10pm.

Malia - 2424 Main St., Santa Monica
310.396.4122

Lasagna

2006-04-16T23:35:00.000-07:00

I'm not a huge fan of ricotta cheese, but I do love a good lasagna. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I saw a recipe in an old cookbook I had called "Savor the Flavor of the Edina Country Club." Their "No Fail Lasagna" was really simple to make, and more importantly, NO RICOTTA! Another great element here is that there's no boiling the noodles prior to baking. You just layer the dry pasta and the sauce cooks it in the oven.

Using one of the mother sauces

2006-04-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

We're incorporating bechamel, one of the ""five mother sauces," to make a compound sauce: nacho cheese sauce.

I know that nacho cheese sauce is more of a novelty that you'd find at a Taco Bell over an authentic Mexican restaurant, but Ihappen to love nacho cheese sauce.

To make Bechamel (white sauce), heat equal parts flour and butter to make a roux. This eliminates the taste of any rawness from the flour. Add scald milk, whisk while simmering, and that's your basic white sauce. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste.

To make the compound sauce, all I did was add shredded cheddar. Here, I would also add jalapenos, but didn't have any at home.

I used chicken for my nachos today. I dry rubbed some cumin, salt, and pepper, seared the chicken thighs, then covered the pot and simmred in low heat in its own juices.

Canned corn replaced olives as topping today.

A Chronicle of 365 Meals - afoodyear.com Review

2006-04-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

I'm a relatively new food blogger. I'm still learning html code and picture taking techniques among other things, to bring to you, my audience, a presentable site. I hope I'm doing an ok job at it thus far.

I want to take a second to praise some of the veteran bloggers out there who are doing some amazing and creative things with their sites. A majority of these sites are maintained by food lovers. They're not chefs, restaurant managers, or professional food critics. These guys simple love food, and the art of preparing food through trial and error. Most importantly, they love to share their experiences.

One site in particular really caught my eye recently. Ken Sloan runs a really ambitious site called A Food Yearthat chronicles his daily dinner experiences. This is a guy who understands how difficult it can be to put together a uniquely different meal each and every night, but he's going with it, and doing an awesome job.

Here's a great quote from his site: "I believe that since we must eat to survive that we should make food a bigger part of our lives. I hope to inspire people to cook in their kitchens beyond the microwave and pry them away from the reliance on boxes, cans and delivery services as their primary food source. I understand that finding time in our fast paced society to prepare dinner every night is difficult, but it's extremely important."

And it's extremely important because variety really is the spice of life, and we shouldn't be eating the same meal day in and day out, even if it means taking yesterday's leftover rice and making fried rice cakes out of them the next day.

Another interesting thing he mentions is that he's actually saving money by preparing his own meals over dining out. I'm still learning to be more cost effective when I shop for food. I'm pretty good about how to shop, but I always have to buy that bag of chips for the ride home.

Please check out his site as well as other food blog sites listed (or not yet listed) in my links section. Let's continue to support and learn from each other.

Pizza

2006-04-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

I normally use Trader Joe's premade pizza dough, but I decided to make my own dough today.

I really like Ciccero's Pizza when I don't feel like making m own pizza. They have a "buy one get one free" special.

Ciccero's - 11651 W. Pico Blvd, West LA
310.477.7758

Curry in a Bread Bowl

2006-03-30T14:45:00.000-08:00

Inspired by a post on aromacookery.com, I decided to take some leftover curry I made two nights ago, and put it in a sourdough bread bowl.

Japanese curry is is usually a thicker based sauce than the traditional Indian curry. Japanese curry also doesn't use coconut milk. I usually keep my curry simple: beef (usually short rib meat), carrots, and brown onions. My favorite curry spice mixture is Vermont Curry from House Foods.

There are three great curry restaurants in West LA, and they're all on Sawtelle Blvd: Hurry Curry, Blue Marlin, and Sawtelle Kitchen.

America's Love for Mayo Salads

2006-03-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

Americans love their mayo-based salads: Chicken Salad, Tuna Salad, Potato Salad, Pasta Salad, Lobster Salad, Waldorf Salad...

The list is endless. I'm personally a big fan of the egg salad (though sometimes I really hate that hard boiled egg smell). What I'm not a big fan of is the amount of mayo used in most places to make an egg salad. I made a different version of the classic egg salad today that incorporates just a small amount of mayo (just barely enough to wet the indredients). I used some ingredients that focused the flavors away from the mayo:

Dill
Olive oil
Mustard
Ground pepper
Garlic powder
...and some sweet relish for tang

Hiro's Pulled Pork Sandwich

2006-03-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

I took a stab at making my own version of a pulled pork sandwich. The Carolinas are famous for their slow cooked pulled pork sandwiches. They are traditionally served on a bun with a heaping of cole slaw in the sandwich. The BBQ sauce is also very important. In North Carolina, the BBQ sauce is usually vinegar based, whereas in South Carolina, the sauce is more mustard based. I attempted to make a BBQ sauce that incorporated both vinegar and mustard.

My interpretation of this dish is Asian inspired. The slaw is a mix of cabbage, carrots, and scallions. The slaw dressing ingredients are as follows (I just eyeball everything like Rachael Ray. No measuring spoons here. Just mix dressing to your own liking:

Soy Sauce
Rice Vinegar
Sesame Oil
Wasabi
Mustard (I use a Japanese variety)
Ground Pepper
Ginger
Shichimi Togarashi(seven spice pepper blend)

Always remember that with any salad or slaw, you don't want to drown your veggies in the liquid. Pour and toss just enough for a nice even coat.

I used a small pork loin, and rubbed it with a simple blend of salt, pepper, and brown sugar. I also put some garilc cloves inside the meat to infuse it during the slow bake. Always let the meat sit for a few minutes after cooking so the juices won't run out of the meat. After it's rested, just start "pulling" the meat into pieces.

I took the garlic cloves from the pork, and I used them in my BBQ sauce. I mixed together ketchup, rice vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, ground pepper, some of the juice from the cooked meat, and brown sugar.

I took some Japanese white bread that I bought from Mitsuwa Market and toasted them lightly in butter.

Mitsuwa Marketplace - 3760 Centinela Ave, 90066
310.398.2113

Ramen - In All Its Glory

2006-03-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

Let us take a second to appreciate this beautiful dish called ramen. Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup dish loosely derived from the Chinese "mein." Like pasta, ramen noodles have a certain chewy yet delicate texture and helps fulfill our carb cravings. Before I ramble about my love for ramen, it's important here to not confuse authentic ramen with the instant variety we find in supermarkets. What we're talking about here is soup stock that takes almost an entire day to prepare, topped with slowly cooked pork (cha siu) and vegetables.

Although there are many ramen variations, the classic ramen is the shoyu (soy sauce) ramen. Every restaurant has its own recipe for their base broth, but it generally consists of slowly boiling pork, pork bones, leeks, and other vegetables. There's a certain art in parboiling meats and veggies as well. The shoyu broth is essentially a compound broth that combines the base with soy sauce. Another popular variation is the miso ramen, which is a compound broth that incorporates the base with miso paste. The traditional shoyu ramen is topped with (from bottom left) spinach, bean sprouts, seasoned bamboo shoots, egg, scallions, and pork.

One of my favorite films of all time is "Tampopo," directed by Juzo Itami. This film revolves around a woman's determination to achieving the perfect bowl of ramen. There's also a great message about the universal appreciation of food in this film for all you foodies out there.

West LA is fortunate to be graced with a few ramen restaurants. You can find me at Yokohama Ramen at least once a week. Another great ramen joint is Ramenya on Olympic. There's also a few nice ramen shops on Sawtelle Blvd. as well. Cheers to good ramen!

Yokohama Ramen - 11660 Gateway Blvd, West LA
310.479.2321
Ramenya - 11555 W. Olympic Blvd, West LA
310.575.9337

Ono Grinds and Nijiya Market

2006-03-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting fact: Hawaii has the highest per capita consumption of Spam in this country. Hawaiians love their Spam. They put it in every possible recipe they can think of. It's a fascination as well as a way of life, similar to how the people of Gilroy praise their garlic. From the eclectic vault of unusual Spam dishes emerges one very focal dish in Hawaii: the Spam Musubi.

This is comfort food at its finest. You have your rice and meat (though some would say meat is a loose term when referring to Spam). It's sort of like a poor man's sushi. The meat and rice are wrapped in a sheet of seaweed. Variations have rice seasoned with furikake (which is dried seaweed, sesame seeds, and seasonings), or brushed with a little teriyaki sauce. The Spam is usually fried on a frying pan for a slightly crispy texture on the outside. You can also buy Spam Musubi molds that help make perfectly rectangular Musubis. A more cost effective way is to just use the Spam cannister as the mold.

If you're not in the mood to make these musubis at home, stop by Nijiya Market for a quick musubi (under 2 bucks), or treat yourself to a Hawaiian brunch at Rutt's Inn (I'll have to do a separate review of Rutt's Inn sometime in the near future). Ono grinds in West LA!

Nijiya Market - 2130 Sawtelle Blvd, West LA

Rutt's Inn - 12114 Washington Blvd, Culver City
310.398.6326

Ode to Trader Joe's

2006-03-10T23:56:00.000-08:00

On the menu tonight: Roasted garlic and button mushroom pizza

By the way, there's nothing more satisfying than roasting your own garlic. Slice off the top of a head of garlic, drizzle some olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. The cut side goes down on a piece of aluminum foil (for easy clean up). Garlic goes in the oven at 350 for about an hour. Your house will smell like garlic heaven.

Trader Joe's ready made dough is the best alternative to making your own dough from scratch.

Trader Joe's has many locations in West LA: 3212 Pico Blvd., 10850 National Blvd., 3456 S. Sepulveda Blvd., and 9290 Culver Blvd.

There will be more Trader Joe's conversations to be had in future blogs, but right now, I'm going to go enjoy my pizza. I leave you tonight with Trader Joe's approach to genetically modified foods.

No More Orange Drinks and Beefaroni

2006-03-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

An article in The Mercury News describes the Santa Clara Unified School District's efforts to curb junk food eating in their schools.

It's amazing to think back to my days in kindergarten, eating beefaroni and drinking those "orange drinks". In high school, the only things in the vending machines were sodas and candy bars. My high school years were spent while on a sugar and caffeine high.

It's sad that decision makers are often faced with sacrifing health and well-being for cost effectiveness. If school boards in this country have a hard time replacing textbooks, they sure as hell can't spend a few extra bucks to buy orange "juice" over orange "drinks." I hope more schools will take some initiative and find ways in their budget to take health more seriously. The diabetes rate in this country is mind boggling.

What's With the Egg Sushi?

2006-03-06T11:50:00.000-08:00

So what's with the egg (Tamago) sushi on the menu at sushi restaurants? Does anyone ever order it? Is it merely reserved for sushi beginners who are afraid to try raw fish?

There's actually a very specific reason why sushi chefs offer egg sushi. In Japan, many sushi purists judge the quality of a sushi restaurant not by the quality or freshness of the fish, but by the effort and care that goes into making these egg omelets. Purists will order the egg first, and decide if they will ultimately finish their meal or simply walk out.

These egg omelets are traditionally made with eggs, dashi (a bonito and kelp broth), mirin (sweet cooking wine), and sugar. The omelet is mostly sweet, but has a slight savory aftertaste from the dashi. The texture is also something that chefs take pride in. There's a certain firmness and jiggle point that needs to be achieved.

As a kid growing up in Japan, I always liked egg sushi because it simply tasted good. I think the logic behind the purists' thinking is that any chef who puts so much care and effort into something that most people don't typically order is probably a very meticulous and thoughtful chef. I can see that in Japan where fresh fish is abundant, one would need something other than the freshness of fish to judge a good restaurant. Next time you're at a sushi restaurant, order the egg sushi first.

My contribution for tonight's Oscar Party

2006-03-05T23:21:00.000-08:00

I'm calling my contribution to tonight's party "Mini Thanksgiving Treats." I first prepared a corn bread stuffing using corn muffins, sage, celery, onions, toasted almonds, chicken broth, and Italian sausage.

Next comes the turkey portion. I cut up lean turkey breasts into little medallions. I dredged the meat in a light flour and spice mixture (sage, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper) and fried them lightly in olive and canola oil (to bring the smoking point higher). The dressing goes in buttered muffin tins and placed in the oven until a slightly crisp top is formed. The fried turkey medallions go on top with some Craisins (you gotta have the cranberry to get the full Thanksgiving effect). If you let it sit properly before serving, the dressing comes out clean and in a nice mold.

Pizzicotto Review

2006-03-04T19:40:00.000-08:00

I'm generally more partial to Northern Italian meals over Southern. In the Northern regions, butter is favored over olive oil, and homemade pasta is favored over the dry variety. Most Italian restaurants in America, from what I've been told, generally incorporate both Northern and Southern influences in their menus.

I had the pleasure of dining at Pizzicotto in Brentwood this evening. There is a wide variety of pasta dishes, including various stuffed pastas. I elected to try their lobster ravioli (at the suggestion of our waiter). The basil complimented the dish very well. The richness of the creamy sauce with the lobster filling was excellent. Definitely a good chemistry of various Italian regions.

This clam appetizer dish cooked in a wine sauce and topped with bruschetta was also a solid dish. Their wine list is pretty extensive as well.

My only complaint is that being a small restaurant, it can get a little cramped. Some may call it quaint, but I prefer to call it claustrophobic.

Pizzicotto - 11758 San Vicente Blvd, Brentwood
310.442.7188

2006-03-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Hiro's West LA Food Blog. This site will be a forum for all things culinary in the West LA area (which for this site will include Santa Monica, Venice, Marina Del Rey, Culver City, Century City, Westwood, Malibu, Playa Del Rey, Pacific Palisades, and Bel Air).

I do not in any way claim to be a critic or an expert on food. However, I am very much fascinated by food culture and value other people's opinions on food culture, and I welcome everyone's comments.

So with that said, on with the food blog!

-Hiro