The Japexican take on a Korean Classic; Kimchi Fried Rice

So you are a smart person and you followed the last blog post and made some delicious Kimchi, by now you have been eating Kimchi every day, having it as a side dish with virtually everything, salads mostly and next to some fried sausages (as it cuts through the fat beautifully while cleaning your palette), you have most likely added them to a burger and you have been a little more adventurous and have most likely added it to a Bloody Mary or Michelada. Good job. But you are running out of the fermented goodness, a small portion remains at the bottom of that big jar, a good amount of red kimchi juice is covering that last bit of cabbage and it is getting a little cold outside, this is just the right time to try this one out. Crispy bacon, rice and a hint of spice is exactly what you need to lift your spirits. So, while you start preparing your next batch of Kimchi, you should give yourself a few minutes and enjoy my take on Kimchi Fried Rice, thank me later. 

If this does not satisfy you, nothing will. 

The Japexican Take on Fermented Goodness: Kimchi.

Kimchi can be a little intimidating for the uninitiated, think about it, a little portion of unidentified stinky and spicy vegetables may be a little off-putting for some, but the Koreans have been at it for  hundreds of years, and they seem to be doing alright. 

Fermentation is one of the best ways of preserving food, by creating the right condition for good germs to grow we prevent the growth of nasty and harmful ones, allowing us to keep food for a very long time (the yummy flavors are just a tasty cherry on top of the cake) this was particularly important in Korea, where winters can be really harsh and months can go by without fresh produce.

Even today, many Korean families gather together in November to prepare huge batches of Kimchi to last the whole winter, in summer, lighter less fermented Kimchis are prepared and consumed with salads. Kimchi is so embedded in Korean food culture, that new houses are built and sold with a Kimchi fridge. But hey, I don’t blame them, it is fucking amazing, it goes great with grilled salty meats as its sourness cuts the richness and fat of meat, it goes great on the side of any rice dish, it goes great as part of a nice pork belly stew, it goes great on top of some korean tacos or why not, just on top of a rice cracker (I confess I do this more often than not). So hey, why not give it a chance, after you overcome the funkyness you will discover a nice, complex and delicious little thing that goes well with everything.

And as it turns out, we are now re-discovering the benefits of fermented foods, apparently Kimchi is great for your gut, aids in digestion and is, a real superfood… but honestly, who gives a fuck when the thing is so goddamn delicious? So, without further ado, and before hipsters ruin it for the rest of us, here is my no fuss Kimchi recipe. Thank me later.

Kimchi ready to start fermenting.

Special for the sweet tooth; Japanese Cheesecake.

Cheesecake is, by far, one of my favorite desserts; it is simple to make, super versatile and is extremely hard to fuck up. While I was living in Taiwan, I got introduced to Japanese Cheesecake (yeah, in Taiwan, not Japan), an odd and amazing cousin of the cheesecake we all know and love. It is a fluffy, light and wobbly goodness with a very subtle flavor, perfect to finish any meal.  It basically is the lovechild of cheesecake and soufflé.

Lately I've been seeing it popping up a lot in western style bakeries and in more and more of your Facebook feeds, so I thought, fuck it, let's get a recipe out there that is easy and delicious. So, get off your couch and gather ingredients, because when you are done with this you will be impressing even the most picky of your friends, the secret behind this is, that it looks so fancy and hard to make but in reality it is simple as fuck. So, here is the Japexican way of making Japanese cheesecake!

Khalua is optional but highly recommended. 

Look at that fluff!

Eating out Amsterdam: Awesome Tacos @ Coba

As a Mexican I feel a little weird about writing a review of a Taco place in English, it is double weird if that place is in Amsterdam, it is triple weird if the Chef is not Mexican and it is just a whole lot weirder if in the entire establishment there is only one Mexican staff member, all of these are true at Coba, but in the middle of all this weirdness, there are only good things I have to say about this place. And before I continue, let me tell you that this place in Amsterdam Noord is not only worth the trip, but a must. 

Mexican food outside Mexico tends to go two ways; either cheap and other than some use of jalapeños and selling Coronas not authentic at all, or high end often times pretentious. Some adventurous chefs and cooks that attempt to find the middle ground end up with huge menus that try to compile the entirety of Mexican cuisine and present it in a way that a foreigner would enjoy; needless to say that must of those attempts fail miserably.

I am glad to say that the People at Coba are not only successfully walking the middle ground, but killing it!   By offering a small but ever changing menu they can allow themselves to explore different parts of Mexican cuisine without compromising on quality of ingredients and execution.

A Japexican jerky, Beefjerky.

So lately I have been trying to eat a lot healthier than usual and it has been pretty good so far, except for the moments when I'm craving a snack (which luckily is usually salty), man those moments are hard. I was also looking for a good way to pack up some extra protein in my day. Dry meat is amazing, it is light, savory and chewy, and most of all it is mostly protein. I used to have some beef jerky but paying 6 bucks for a tiny bag of jerky is not my idea of a bargain. There's got to be a better way.

I was surfing around Amazon and found this great little gadget, a low power food dehydrator / yoghurt maker for about 50 bucks. And I thought to myself, 'let's give it a try', I can make jerky, dry fruits and veggies and maybe even yoghurt. I first tried the fruits with relative success. The yoghurt making works like a charm, though the little containers are a little troublesome to wash, but it took me a while before I actually forced myself to make the jerky, and boy o boy was I missing out, it turned out to be fucking A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, way better than any store-bought bags, and certainly cheaper.

I did the math and making about 300 grams of jerky will set you down less than 10 bucks, and this is including the meat, spices and electricity to run the dehydrator. That should be  about  6 portions of 50 grams with around 20 grams of protein per portion… not bad at all. So I am now basically making one batch every week and combining the meat with some roasted nuts and dried fruits to make a super awesome little snack.

Alright, enough introductions, here is the Japexican jerky.

PS. You don’t have to use a dehydrator, you can set your oven at the lowest temperature and it will work pretty well, it will just not be that efficient.

Look at that gorgeous and delicious meat.