Chicken-Pork Meatballs with Sriracha Mayo

Chipotle got smart and made an Asian version of itself in DC! It's called Shophouse and it is derricious. Bubs and I alway make time to go there. What I like is their super spicy sauce. Of course, not so spicy for me so I have to add in maybe a gallon of extra sriracha. But enough for bubs to sweat me a river (ew!). So Chipotle was my inspiration for these meatballs. They also work so well for making 'pseudo' Banhmi (dericious vietnamese sammich). I'll be posting later on about making a quick banhmi next! A quick factoid about cilantro, because I love them and because they are all over these meatballs!

Factoid: Cilantro Lovers Share a Genetic Trait (and so do Haters)
Cilantro is oh-so-heavenly. It's refreshing, crunchy and a lovely lime-y flavor that compliments all kinds of cuisines like guacamole, curry and meatballs (!). However, I know some hateful people that are repulsed by it. Why is it so polarizing to them? Only science can explain...

A new study conducted at the University of Toronto found that among 1,400 young adults, 21% of East Asian roots hated it and 17% of white people Caucasians hating it too. The results were published in Flavour Journal. It's possible that hater have a mutated or even an absent receptor gene for the protein that would interact with the very pleasant smelling compound found in cilantro.

It's all still speculative! There may be a genetic mutation of some sort that makes people just want to throw cilantro across the room and stomp on it, but there is yet to pin-point a single gene that's responsible. So... I guess science hasn't quite explained it yet (harhar)

Oh right, so you fussy people who hate cilantro. You can substitute it with Thai basil.

Chicken Pork Meatballs with Sriracha Mayo Dip
Makes 15-20

Green Bean Stir Fry with Sambal

This is going to have to be short post, since I'm in the middle of exams. I want to keep my promise of updating at least once a week. Besides, this is my study break...along with shopping online, reading food blogs and youtubing. I need to go to shopaholics anon or something. During exams, I keep randomly buying crap. I already spent 50 bucks on clothes. That purchase is justified since I really needed more shorts :/ But another 60 bucks on dinner plates. WHAT? Yes, dinner plates and bowls. Umm no idea?? Sometimes you just make the wrong choices on those shopping sites like Gilt or Ruelala, and they give you 10 mins to decide and then..and then... :'(

Oh and if you like http://www.gilt.com/invite/mabelcchan. That's my referral link so you can continue to feed by addiction :D

So I also bought these pretty rad skinnies from Diesel but now I'm not too sure if I should return them...

Factoid: Skinny Jeans Can Kill Damage your Health
On ABC recently, I was watching an interview with Dr. Karen Boyle from Greater Baltimore Medical Center. She's been seeing many women coming into her clinic suffering pain from wearing tight jeans. The disorder is apparently called "Meralgia Paresthetica" or when one of the nerves running in your outer thigh gets compressed. The pressure can cause tingling, numbness and intense pain. Some report a floating sensation (doesn't sound too bad) but they can't feel their lower legs :/


The news is even worse when you (men & women) wear high heels because it can cause the pelvis to tilt and increase the pressure on the nerves. We learned from our Sexual Reproduction Class this year about what it can do for men! Way-too-tight jeans for men reduce airflow around the crotchal area and make it really hot down there (in a bad way). Normally it's kept nice and cool, otherwise its infertility and a lower sperm count. 


Sorry for being the bearer of bad news. But guys really shouldn't be wearing pants tighter than women's skinnies right? 


Here's a quick vegetable dish to accompany rice. You can make it vegan/vegetarian by substituting out the dried shrimp with a little soy sauce.


Green Bean Stir-fry with Sambal

Ingredients
3 dried shrimps soaked in water until soft
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp ginger minced
2 tbsp sambal chili sauce (+ salt if needed)
3 cups green beans
2 tbsp water
2 tsp chili powder

Soak the dried shrimp in water for about 5 mins. Then mince it up real good so it is almost paste like.
This is optional for vegetarians but it gives a more umami flavor.

Mince your garlic and ginger. Trim your green beans and cut them in half.

Heat up a frying pan, add about 1-2 tbsp of oil to it. Once the oil is heated, add the garlic, ginger and paste. Fry that until the moisture from the shrimp has evaporated a bit. Around 3 mins.
I doubled the recipe so this looks like a lot.

Add the Sambal sauce and stir fry that for 30 secs.

Toss in your green beans and add the water. Give it a good stir and let it cook for about 2 mins.

Add some salt to your liking and add chili powder.
Keep stirring it so that the green beans get a good coat of sauce. Another 3 mins. It's done when the green beans are soft but still has a good amount of crunch.

Stir-fry: Beef and Garlic Chives

I think I can honestly say that garlic chive bulb is my favorite vegetable. I know... how can I be so resolute when there are 23097583 types of veggies? Well, you're going to have to try this recipe before you judge me! I made this dish with noodles. But it's brilliant without the noodles too. Just omit that and use only 1/2 of the sesame oil, oyster sauce and soy sauce. 


I'll keep my life update short since my factoid is freaking long. But a group of friends and I just finished warrior dash in MD. Pictures of that race to come! Lots of fun with great friends :)


Factoid: Love of Pork is Genetic
We've been learning about our sense of taste in our neurology class and did you know that it is the only sense out of the five that is linked to emotion? All the info from smelling stuff passes through the amygdala (area of the brain associated with emotion) before any other higher processing. There we can sort out whether we perceive that smell as good or bad. Now, research conducted at Duke University Medical Center, Monell Chemical Senses Center and three Norwegian institutions show that your love of pork, bacon strips and Wendy's baconator may just as well be in your blood.


Each person as a variation of genes of odorant receptors. That's the stuff that detects certains smells. So, while some people like the smell of swimming pool (I know it's weird, but I do), others prefer the smell of gasoline. We have a receptor for androstenone, which is a steroid related to testosterone, present in the saliva of boars. The research group conducted an experiment where groups of people with different levels of this particular odor receptor gene to take a whiff and chomp on certain pork products and rate them. 


Based on testers' reports, those with a gene insensitive to androstenone preferred the taste and smell of pork more than testers with a more sensitive type of the gene. They found pork products disgusting. So if you hate bacon, blame it on your parents!


I don't blame you if you didn't read this essay. It's a lot of words and it's only Monday :D


Beef and Garlic Chives with Rice Noodles

Garlicky spicy fragrance ~

Ingredients
Marinade
2 cloves garlic minced
1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tsp soy sauce + 2 tsp honey (or just 3 tsp Youndoo)
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp sesame oil
0.5 lb Beef sliced thinly (Eye of round, flank, ribeye whatever you like)

Stir Fry
1 clove garlic minced
1 small knob of ginger minced
Bunch of Garlic chive bulbs 2 inch long
5 large white mushrooms
250g Rice noodles (I used pho noodles, but you can use Shanghai wheat noodles etc...)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1-1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce

Slice your beef thinly into long strips like you'd see in stir-fry.
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add beef, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 mins.

While that's marinating, prepare your stir fry ingredients. Refer to the picture on the left on how much chive bulbs I used. I would say when all chopped up into 5cm sticks, it could be about 2-3 cups.

Mince your garlic and ginger. Slice your mushrooms thinly. Of course you can use other vegetables like red peppers. That would be tasty and add some color to the dish.

Prepare your noodles like it says on the packet but with less time because you'll be cooking it when you stir fry it. So if it tells you to boil it for 3 mins, maybe reduce that to 2 mins. I used pho noodles (banh pho) that you can get in any asian supermarket. Or white wheat noodles. After you drain the noodles. Add 2 tsp of sesame oil so they don't stick together.

Heat up your frying pan with some oil. Fry the ginger and garlic for a minute until fragrant. Stir fry the marinated beef for about 2 minutes (slightly pink but not all the way cooked). Add the chives and mushrooms. Stir that for another 1 min.







Add the noodles, stir and then add the 2 tbsp oyster sauce and 1.5 soy sauce. Of course you can adjust how much soy sauce you want to add. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes until your noodles are glossy brown and hot.

Serves 2!