clay + cook: candelabras + cilbir, curry, chinese

After my week in Washington, D.C., April seemed to drag. I threw myself into canoe paddling and started to make a candelabra like the one I made below last year. I just entered the ceramics category for the San Mateo County Fair, and if I can't get a pot done, then I'll enter the one below into the fair. Right now I've got 4 different candelabras and candleholders in progress at the community studio.

 

Once back in California, I also aimed to re-create my favorite breakfast in D.C. I bought labneh and added grated garlic, chopped dill and mint, and tiny bit of cumin to it. I sautéed savoy cabbage.

 

I roasted Romanesco broccoli or Roman cauliflower along with some canned artichokes.

And my Turkish breakfast with Cecilia's sourdough bread turned out delicious. Later that weekend, I also cooked an Indian curry to use up more of the bounty from our garden.

 

And because my Dan Dan was such a disappointment with equally underwhelming cucumber salad in D.C. even though thankfully it came with a generous pour of Chardonnay….                  

I aimed to make my favorite version because I guess I don't care about authenticity either. I suppose like adobo, every cook makes the recipe differently. I started with ground pork that I seasoned with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorns, white pepper, Chinese pickled mustard greens AND pickled jalapeno and later combined with scallion and garlic fried in oil to make the chili oil with red pepper flakes, ground star anise, ground coriander, ground cumin, Madras curry powder, sesame seeds as well as more Sichuan peppercorns. Then brown the meat and add it to tahini, more soy sauce, smooth peanut butter, light brown sugar, chicken powder, balsamic sauce and even more grated garlic. I decanted my instant Dan Dan mix into a few jars to share with a couple neighbors and made my own low sodium chicken and vegetable bone broth, ready for the day to cook the dish. 

 

I cooked Momofuku eggs and sliced some Savoy cabbage.

 

Next boil ramen noodles and cabbage together--it's how I incorporate more vegetables into a meal and save time and cooking water.

 

While the noodles and greens were boiling for 3 to 4 minutes, I microwaved the chicken broth and instant Dan Dan Mix and added the cooked noodles and vegetables to the bowl. Lastly a sprinkling of chopped scallions and cilantro.

And then it was time to dig into my glorious bowl of my Dan Dan.

My complaint about the Dan Dan at Renren Lamen & Bar in D.C. was that it was dry. Their food was really also not flavorful.