Who wants to be a chef...

... in Hong Kong?

Looking for a head chef to lead the kitchen for an upcoming American casual-dining cafe in Kowloon, Hong Kong.  Tickets?  Visa?  Accommodations?  No problemo if you've got the experience and talent.  The position is flexible for temporary (6 month minimum) or permanent position.  Must be ready to up and move to leave in the next few weeks.
English is the only language requirement.  Cantonese not necessary, but a plus.

Interviews currently ongoing.  Message me for details.  Be sure to tell your chef friends.

tofunator@gastronommy.com

Spam

Spam has always disgusted me a little.  I have mental reservations about certain food items, knowing (or rather, not knowing) what exactly I'm eating each time: sausages, hotdogs, and the like.  I'm still getting over my 9th grade education about the horrors of America's meatpacking industry, when Upton Sinclair's The Jungle was first introduced to me.  Clearly, I have opened back up to eating wieners and the all-American hotdogs, given my entry about happily pigging out on Papaya Dog's hotdogs, but Spam is a whole other level.

I remember when one of my old roommates used to fry up Spam in the late hours of the night.  I have to tell you, I don't get the same joy from the aroma of greasy, slightly pungent and heavy smell of Spam infiltrating my apartment as I do bacon.  (The smell of bacon is so delicious.  mmmm...)

My Cantonese and Korean counterparts have always recoiled in horror whenever I mention my disgust with Spam.  So, in their honor and with an open mind, I picked up the can of Spam sitting in our cabinet and proceeded to make my brother some fried rice.

Upon opening the can and seeing the block of  pink gelatin meat substance, I wanted to give up my mission.  I didn't even know how to get the thing out in one nice piece.  Complete with soggy rubber sounds as I pulled the Spam out, I ended up forking chunks at a time onto the pan and breaking it up into pieces of mush (gross!).  My roommate had left over frozen veggies, so I threw that in along with the other usual fried rice makings, onion, garlic, egg, etc.

And at the end, it wasn't so bad.  I ate through it pretty satisfied.  It was a bit easier to digest since the Spam was in tiny little bits and hardly noticable, so I think taking a bite into a giant Spam-burger still won't be on my list of things to do just yet.

Julie & Julia

I just got back from watching Julie & Julia with my brother, Laijhun. An adorable movie that had me laughing and even excited at Meryl Streep's great performance of the quirky Julia Child. I really didn't like Julie's whiny, over-dramatic character, but I can't help but relate just a little bit, eh?  ...the blogging and cooking bit that is!!! 

I don't get as excited about baking as I do about cooking, but I'm off to make citrus cookies, topped lemon icing now!

Moon eggs continued... My first video blog!

So, as continued from my VERY FIRST entry on this blog ever, I said I would post about making moon eggs.  They aren't anything fancy or anything new at all (my youngest brother informed me that these eggs-in-a-basket made an appearance on V for Vendetta too).

You just put a hole in a piece of toast and drop an egg in there.  Some like to flip it, some don't and then just serve.

I put a slight variation on these Moon eggs and fried the egg in olive oil instead and added a few things to spruce it up a bit.  I've been avoiding putting recipes up just yet, but someone requested it today.  Just for him, I will put up my very first public recipe along side my very first video.

As a disclaimer, I am actually very video shy and I'm using this super easy breakfast dish as a compromise for forcing myself to record and then upload it for all the world to see.  I will be taking time to put more time into editing this site and videos in the future.. in the meantime, let's do it raw.

as a reminder (in case you can't tell), this is NOT an instructional video or cooking demo, but simply a video blog about my curious first-time attempts. 

(recipes always only posted after a couple more tries and taste testers to confirm, don't worry :-) )
Gastronommy's Moon Eggs

serves 2, great for kitchen beginners

2 large eggs
2 slices sourdough bread
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon grated parmesan cheese
dried thyme leaves, to taste.
black pepper, to taste.

1.  Toast the slices of sourdough bread on pan or skillet until light golden brown appears.  Remove and place to the side.
2.  Heat the olive oil in pan or skillet on medium heat.
3.  Using a knife or a cup, cut a hole in the center of the sourdough slices (about 1/4 area of the whole slice).  Keep the cut out circles to the side and place the slices back in the pan.
4.  Crack each egg into each hole.  When egg whites are almost cooked through, lightly crack a bit of black pepper, parmesan cheese, then a small sprinkle of thyme for garnish and flavor.  

Notes:  Don't worry if the egg whites leak a bit out from under the toast.  It should spread a bit under the toast anyway to keep hold in the "basket."

Never underestimate the power of cheese

Break into the vaults of Italian bank, Credito Emiliano, and you'll find over 400,000 wheels of parmigiano-reggiano.

Nestled in the valleys of the Emilia-Romagna region southeast of Milan, Credito Emiliano has been using parmesan as collateral since 1953, entrusting management of the cheese to a unit called Magazzini Generali delle Tagliate.

Mr. Bizzarri said the bank offered loans for as long as 24 months, equal to the time it takes the parmesan to age, at the euro interbank offered rate plus 0.75 percentage point to two percentage points. The bank gives producers as much as 80 percent of the value of the cheese, based on current market prices.

The bank accepts parmesan as collateral for loans, helping it to keep financing cheese makers in northern Italy even during the worst recession since World War II. Credito Emiliano’s two climate-controlled warehouses hold about 440,000 wheels worth €132 million, or $187.5 million.  (excerpt from New York Times)

Parmesan is far from the only cheese making bank.  One of my cheese favorites, Roquefort, is under a 300% import tariff.  You can thank Bush regime for that atrocity.  He imposed a 300% duty right before he left office almost a year ago in retaliation to a EU ban on US beef containing hormones (a preposterous increase from the already ridiculous 100% duty in 1999).    I was horrified when I found that out.  My beloved Roquefort!
When I'm overseas, I am sure to stuff up on the appropriately priced Roquefort.. however, last week I gave in and bought a little wedge of it to feast on at home.  Delish.

photo: fermebellevuegites.com

Give me a handful of dried figs and a wedge of roquefort on any given day, and I'll be happy.  Pair it with a Sauterne and I'm in heaven.  I love the rich nuttiness with a salty peppery bite.  A reigning champ in my personal top 3 cheese list.  The other two are fellow Frenchies, but I won't reveal those until later (dun dun dun...)