Category: Vacaville

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Lumpia

For 2009, I’m trying to take on more Filipino food in the kitchen.

Nearly a decade ago, my dad showed me how to make chicken adobo. I’ve also tried to make panict on my own with disappointing results. (My mom says I need to get the pancit flavor packet from the Filipino store. I think I can find an online recipe to make it from scratch. We’ll see.)

Over the last few years, I’ve figured out how to make different types of dishes, from paella to chili. However, Filipino cuisine has not been a priority for me. I think it’s because my family cooks up all my favorite dishes on my So Cal visits. Some day, I will have my own kids to raise. I want them to grow-up with the same yummy aromas I remember from my childhood. So, I need to figure out how to make my favorite foods in my kitchen.

I started with lumpia.
My First Lumpia

Last month, I made this batch of lumpia for the first time.
Continue reading “Lumpia”

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Comfort Food on the Silver Screen

Growing up, I remember craving instant ramen for breakfast. My dad wouldn’t let me. He said it didn’t have any nutrients.

As a grown-up, I eat instant ramen whenever I want to – breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s my comfort food for all seasons. After a bad day at work, slurping up the noodles makes me feel better. When I have a cold, the savory broth soothes my throat.

I have this “anything goes” attitude when it comes to my instant ramen. I like to add fried eggs and butter to the hot noodles. I also mix in leftover veggies to the broth.

This is one of my favorite ramen mash-ups: Chicken mushroom-flavored powder, salami slices and Dijon mustard. Yum!
Ramen and Salami

When possible, I love fresh ramen. My favorite spot for handmade noodles is Sapporo-ya in San Francisco’s Japantown. This is my personal ramen heaven: a window seat at Sapporo-ya, where I can do some people-watching on the street below and gazing at steam rising from a big bowl of hot broth, noodles, veggies, meat and seafood.

Now my comfort food is taking center stage in a new movie, “The Ramen Girl.” I found out about the film on the Official Ramen Homepage

If I didn’t have any attachments in the U.S., I’d head to Japan and learn how to make the perfect bowl of ramen.