Photos: Ramen Arrangement: Instant Ramen with Braised Pork

Ichiban Ramen Original Flavor with Braised Pork Belly, Bean Sprouts, and Green Onions... in a pot!
And again!
Shin Ramyun with Braised Pork Belly, Poached Egg, Bean Sprouts, Green Onions, and Carrots!

Homemade Recipe: Braised Pork Belly for Ramen

Just a simple braise for pork belly to serve with ramen (goes great with instant or otherwise). Feel free to experiment to taste but I used (roughly):

• 1 pound of pork belly
• 1 part soy sauce
• 1 part mirin
• 4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
• 1 sprig of green onion (chopped into inches)
• 2 inches of ginger (crushed)
• sesame oil

Trim the skin from the pork belly. Then brown the pork belly in a pan.

Mix the other ingredients in a bowl. Taste the mixture and adjust according to your tastes. (Next time, I would add more garlic and ginger and less soy sauce. It turned out a bit too salty, so keep in mind when you taste the mixture, that the it will reduce and the flavors will magnify as a result. I might also try some apple or pear juice next time.)

Put the pork belly in a pot and add the mixture. Add enough water (or you can add canned broth if you like) to surround the meat. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer uncovered for about 3 hours till the meat is ready to fall apart. Add more water or broth as necessary to keep the pork belly surrounded but not covered. Slice however you like and serve.

If you want a more intense flavor, you can let the pork cool and store it in the fridge with the juices (after you strain it) overnight. This will allow you to skim the fat and let the pork absorb the juices. Freeze what you don't use and reheat to serve.

Review: KFC - Original Recipe Chicken Strips

Not too long ago, the Colonel (Sanders that is) replaced his Crispy Chicken Strips with the more seasoned Original Recipe Chicken Strips. The result? A blend of Original Recipe flavor with a more crispy batter than KFC's Original Recipe Chicken. The ones I got were juicy and chock full of Original Recipe flavor.

The downside is since it was chock full of Original Recipe flavor, it was no good for dipping. Dipping the Original Recipe Chicken Strips made them too salty. Since the regular Crispy Chicken Strips had more of a neutral flavor, it complemented the dipping sauces well. The Original Recipe Chicken Strips? Not so much.

They do however go great stuffed inside one of KFC's delectable biscuits. Mmmm... chicken in a biscuit...


KFC Store Locator

News: Free Small Breakfast and Coffee at IKEA - Sat., Oct. 10 to Mon., Oct. 12, 2009

IKEA is offering its customers who show up on Saturday, October 10th to Monday, October 12th, 2009, a free small breakfast (which includes scrambled eggs, two strips of bacon, and home fries and normally sells for 99 cents) and a free cup of coffee (also normally 99 cents).

The offer is limit one per customer and is not valid in IKEA Hicksville, IKEA Houston, and IKEA Direct. See IKEA store for details.

Review: Daphne's Greek Cafe - Gyro and French Fries

A Greek gyro, similar to the Turkish doner kebab, the Middle Eastern shawarma, and Mexican al pastor, is characterized by ground meat shaped into a chub, cooked vertically on a spit, and sliced thin for serving. Daphne's Greek Cafe makes a pretty good gyro. The meat is carved fresh off the spit to order and is wrapped with lettuce, diced red onions, sliced tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce (a yogurt sauce usually blended with cucumber and other stuff) in a soft, pillowy, warmed pita. I really enjoyed the warm pita and the veggies are pretty fresh.

The fries were decent, not memorable but okay.

Spotlight On: McDonald's Japan

With McDonald's considered by many, for better or worse, as the embodiment of the West, or rather more specifically, of American cultural imperialism abroad, it's worth taking a look at how the menu differs in other countries as McDonald's caters to its newer audiences. And so, I thought I'd taunt myself with pictures of limited-time, featured McDonald's food abroad (taken from their respective websites) that I'll probably never get a chance to try.

Review: Baja Fresh - Mexican Torta

Baja Fresh has their own version of a Mexican Torta (i.e. sandwich) with grilled seasoned chicken, leafy lettuce, tomatoes, and avocados on a telera roll.

I found it a bit lacking, while the roll had a good texture to it, the strips of chicken tended to shift around in the sandwich making it hard to get a good bite. Also without a sauce, cheese, or beans, which are also sometimes found in other tortas, the sandwich suffered in search of flavor although it's probably a little healthier for it.

Like most Baja Fresh Menu items, the Mexican Torta comes with chips but for the price (around 6 to 7 dollars) I wouldn't get it again.

Review: Popeyes - Mashed Potatoes and Cajun Gravy

Probably my favorite mashed potatoes are the Mashed Potatoes with Cajun Gravy at Popeyes. Although, the gravy is a lot greasier than your typical brown or chicken gravy, it has little bits of meat and a blend of spices that give it an extra kick of flavor that's quite enjoyable.

As for the mashed potatoes themselves, they're probably whipped or instant as they contain no lumps. It's not too heavy and complements the gravy well.

So long as you're not turned off by oily gravy, you should definitely give Popeyes' Mashed Potatoes with Cajun Gravy a try.

Popeyes Restaurant Locations

Nutritional Info - (142g)
Calories - 120 (Calories from Fat - 36)
Fat - 4g (Saturated Fat - 2g)
Sodium - 570mg
Carbs - 18g (Sugar - 0g)
Protein - 3g

News: Starbucks Via Test Challenge, October 2-5, 2009

Starbucks is enticing customers to try their Via brand instant coffee (coined "ready brew") by offering a taste test in comparison to their normal house coffee in their stores this weekend, from October 2nd to October 5th. As an incentive to come in and taste test Starbuck's Via Ready Brew, they are offering an "offer card" (read: coupon) good for your next visit for a free tall brewed coffee.

Having tried Via before, I remember it being actually better than Starbuck's brewed coffee. The reason is probably that the quality of in-store brewed coffee can suffer (or benefit) from variation in its preparation whereas a vacuum-sealed tube of instant coffee will very likely always be the same.

Review: Nong Shim - Shin Ramyun Noodle Soup

To celebrate the spring we call "fall" here in southern California, I decided to enjoy a cold weather favorite of mine, Nong Shim's Shin Ramyun (aka ramen). Wikipedia tells me it's the bestselling brand of noodles in South Korea It's been very hot this September, but at least it was sort of cold tonight... well, comparatively anyway. Close enough for spicy ramen weather! A pack for a buck or less is enough for two servings.
Now a package of ramen by itself is just boring, so this time around I decided to boil some beef balls with the spice mix to start before adding some baby bok choy, spinach, green onions, the freeze-dried veggies, and the noodles.
Mmm... tasty! But very spicy and very hot if you eat it out of the pot like I did! See the steam in the third shot.

But there you go, a quick and easy meal for those who like the spicy or something to warm you up in cold weather. And for the super lazy, Nong Shim also makes Shin Ramyun in a Cup. They call it Shin Cup oddly enough...

Review: Daphne's Greek Cafe - Baklava

For those like myself who have wondered it's pronounced "bah-kluh-vah" and not "bak-la-va" and it's offered at Daphne's Greek Cafe. I didn't care for Daphne's version much. It was too sweet and soggy for my liking. I prefer it to be subtly sweet rather than dripping honey. That way, you can better taste the nuts and enjoy the crispness of the fillo dough.

Sadly, like most things, the longer it sits out, the soggier and less crisp it gets so it's hard to find baklava that I actually enjoy. But this version is no worse than most places.

Review: Chick-fil-A - Chicken Nuggets

Still no Chick-fil-A's nearby in the foreseeable future but at least they're not like Sonic and Dunkin Donuts and taunting me with their commercials. Besides their Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-A (that's "chick-fil-ay" and not "chick-fil-ah" by the way) also offers chicken in other forms including nuggets.

Unlike most fast food joints, Chick-fil-A Nuggets are made from whole chunks of chicken rather than the mechanically-separated variety which gives it a more chicken-y texture. The breading is the same stuff they use on their Original Chicken Sandwich.

There a little bit on the small size; bite-sized really but they're only lightly salted which makes them perfect for the large variety of different sauces that Chick-fil-A offers. Unlike most places which place a limit on your sauces, Chick-fil-A humors your curiousity and gives you as many sauces as you can get your grubby little paws on and my cousin got them all. Actually you can order anything on the menu and still get your choice of sauces! Ranging from Buffalo to Polynesian to Honey Mustard, I have to admit a couple of them were so similar that I couldn't really differentiate between them.

While not spectacular or a good value with the small pieces, Chick-fil-A's Nuggets are a nice change of pace from the typical fast food chicken nugget and are especially worth trying if only to satisfy your curiosity about the sauces.