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.

Let's use those leftovers!: Asian Lettuce Wraps.

What's up you guys!? Sorry I've been absent the past few weeks (or couple of months), I recently changed countries and it has been quite hectic. Between moving, immigration stuff, getting a flat, settling down and starting a new job I haven't really have the time to cook, let alone keep photographic record of it all. But well, here I am, back in business baby!

And today we are making something super simple, the other day I managed to make some awesome ribs (recipe here), and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't finish them all. So, it got me thinking: what can we do with some nice leftovers… I mean, this happens quite often right?

And of course the first thing that came to mind was something on the Asian lines, something quite simple to make, and surprisingly simple. So, in like 10-15 minutes you will have a light dinner or a simple afternoon snack. Anyways, let's get to it, here is the recipe for my Asian Lettuce Wraps.

Sexy as Fuck!

Asian Inspired Tuna Burgers

Yoh Yoh Yoh people! Sorry I've been away lately. I'd like to say I was busy with a cool project or something, but to be perfectly honest, I have been just extremely fucking lazy, oh and I moved to a different flat and all that boring stuff but no matter, I am back! And I am back with a recipe that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face and make your belly full of happy thoughts.

So, the other day I was thinking: "It would be so could if I could get minced tuna steak" So I decided to go to the supermarket and ask. They usually have a pretty sweet selection of fish. However, their answer was no. But before I turned around and left, they told me: " But I can chop it, and it will be pretty much the same", I was skeptical but decided to give it a try. And the result was pretty awesome!

So when I made sure that the texture was right, I proceeded to make this awesome Asian-Inspired Tuna Burgers, sharp, sweet, sour and savoury burgers that will appeal to the adventurous and will surprise the most conservative.

Anyways, enough chitchat, here is the recipe. Enjoy. Thank me later.

Seriously, how awesome does that look?

The Beauty of Simplicity. Asian Noodles for Lunch.

Today I was wondering why some people consider cooking something hard to master, or why people overcomplicate their lives when it comes to food (well,  they do it for a fuck load of other reasons but I cannot help you with that). My experience living in Asia thought me something important: there is much beauty to be appreciated in simplicity. And let me tell you, they take it to a whole new level, it was just a confirmation of a belief I have had for years: if you have good ingredients and are prepared in the right way, your food will be great and more often than not it will not take a shitload of time or effort.

If there is something that really caught my eye about Asian Food it would be that most of the food joints that serve the best tasting food have a couple of things in common:

1. They are small places. 
2. They have spent years, if not decades, perfecting just a couple of dishes, which means that their menu is often limited to those few awesome things. 
3. Their food is dead simple to make (provided you have the right method and technique)

Anyway, all this reminiscing made me think (and crave) of my favorite breakfast/lunch I had whilst living in Taiwan, 'Cold Noodles' one of those dead simple recipes so I decided to make some, and while gathering the ingredients I recalled some traditional Japanese food that I usually have with my family during New Year's time, 'Mochi' and since I am now stuck in a small village in Spain and getting Mochi  is, to say the least, a complicated task, I decided to make some Mochi inspired noodles (a common dish in Japan as a matter of fact). 

So without further ado, here is my recipe for 'Taiwanese Cold Noodles' and 'Mochi Inspired Butter Soy Udon'.

Butter Udon

Red Curry

Sooooo, after a bit more of a month upon my return to Europe, and after stuffing my face with all the Mediterranean goodness that Spanish food represents, I started to crave a little bit of those spicy, sweet and sour deliciousness that is Asian food. However, I live now in a pretty small town in northern Spain, where people tend to be very conservative about their food and well, as it always happens in small towns, the Asian food is scarce to be the least brutal on the definition (The guys at the Oat Meal have it pretty much figured out: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/asian_food). So, what to do? What to do? Well, I tried to find out where the Asians living in town got their things, most of them ordered in bulk from big places, which to be honest didn't really work for me. It was until after a couple of weeks of continuous research (and by research I mean carefully harassing every single Asian looking person I could find; which is ok, I am Asian-ish myself) that I heard the rumors of a pretty well stock Asian Supermarket in a town nearby. So, armed with the sole promise of Asian goodies and some sort of "directions" I embarked myself on a journey (not really, it was, in fact, pretty easy to find) and the bounty was plentiful:

• Pho Noodles
• Fish Sauce
• Oolong Tea
• Sesame Paste
• Dark Soy Sauce
• Udon Noodles
• Lo-Bao
• Egg Noodles
• Szechuan Pepper
• Dry Chili
• Miso Paste
• Pickled Daikon
• Hard Tofu
• Red Curry Paste
• Rice Cakes
• And fresh chilies (a generous gift from the owner of the joint)

The Bounty