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November, 2008:

Misono Wok (Super 88) – Allston

Nov 12th, 2008
by dave.
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If you went to college in the Boston area (or if you live nearby), you’ve probably heard about the Super 88 supermarket and food court. The first time I ate there was in 2002 at a Ramen stand that, unfortunately, no longer exists. Before then, I always thought ramen was something you make in 30 seconds and comes in individually sized bags. Needless to say, it was an eye-opening experience.

That Japanese ramen isn’t around anymore, but its replacement, Misono Wok, is a more than ample replacement. They serve home-style Korean food, which isn’t exactly easy to find in the city. But to be honest, until I got to Boston, I never really had a lot of Korean food, maybe because Korean food is even rarer in New Jersey!

But anyway, back to the food. When I think Korean food, the first thing that comes to mind is Korean BBQ (bulgogi, kalbi, etc), kimchi, and bibimbap. While Misono Wok does have some of these dishes available, my favorite dishes are their noodle dishes, especially the Tukboki (rice cake noodles), or Japche (glass thread noodles). I’ve also been a huge fan of the pork kimchi lately, and even tried making it myself (I’ll save that for another day).

Chicken Katsu Curry

Nov 9th, 2008
by dave.
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There are a few local Japanese restaurants, including one of my favorites Cafe Mami, that serve some very homestyle Japanese food. Simple, tasty, and cheap. And one of my regular dishes is a Katsu Curry, a fried pork/chicken cutlet with curry on top, served with a fried egg, cheese, and sometimes some pickles.

But sometimes I’m a little lazy to travel across the river to get to Cafe Mami so I tried my hand at making it myself. I do use the boxed curry though, I’ve read through the ingredients on how to make curry paste and decided it wasn’t for me (probably to the chagrin of many). I also add onions, carrots, and potatoes, to make it a heartier stew-like meal. Boiling the carrots and potatoes in advance does help too, as it lessens the amount of time to simmer the curry.

I used to make this without cheese but after reading a couple other blogs and getting some testimony, I added the mozzarella and it does actually add a lot of taste!

Chicken Katsu Curry

Serves 4-6
Time : 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:
- 4-6 chicken breasts, pounded thin
- 2-3 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup flour
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs

- 1 box S&B Hot curry
- 15-20 baby carrots, chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- Optional (A couple boiled potatoes, chopped)
- 3.5 cups water (or stock)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

- Eggs for afterwards
- Some mozzarella cheese

Method:
1. Dredge chicken in flour, eggs, then bread crumbs (Can do twice if you like)
2. Bake or pan fry chicken (bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 or pan fry for 5-10 minutes), set aside
3. Heat a sauté pan under medium, add a little canola oil, add garlic. Stir fry for 30 seconds until fragrant, add onions and carrots.
4. Stir fry vegetables for 3-4 minutes, then add water/stock. Stir in the curry mix and add boiled potatoes (if you have them)
5. Simmer for 45 minutes until potatoes and carrots are soft
6. Serve chicken over rice. Add some mozzarella cheese on top and pour curry over. Top with a fried egg if you like.

Notes:
- Can substitute the baked chicken (with eggs, flour, bread crumbs) with chopped beef chuck. Add the beef after the garlic in this case.

Chez Henri – Cambridge

Nov 6th, 2008
by dave.
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I’d been hearing great reviews about Chez Henri for over a year, more specifically about how ridiculously good their Cuban sandwich was. So, like a genuinely interested foodie, I procrastinated. But this summer I finally made it over there with a friend.

We ended up both getting the Cuban and splitting some seafood croquettes (The picture came out a little blurry so I left it out). The Cuban definitely was one of the best I’ve had, stuffed full of meat and served with fried plantain chips and a tasty homemade salsa. Definitely one of the better meals I’ve had (a little pricey though) but worth it!

Chili – For cold weather and football!

Nov 3rd, 2008
by dave.
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There’s nothing like a hearty bowl of chili on a cold day on Football Sunday. And it’s definitely good on a day where I was just doing chores around the house and cleaning! Throw everything in and simmer for a few hours. But the only problem was that I’d never cooked chili before, though from everything I’ve heard, chili isn’t exactly the hardest thing to cook :P

After searching far and wide (there seem to be hundreds of recipes!), a buddy of mine offered up this nugget. With a few adjustments (more meat) and an extra dose of spices, I think I’ve stumbled onto something! So, after a morning and afternoon of chores, I was able to finally dig into the chili that was on the stove all day :)

Meaty, hearty chili

Serves : 6-8 people
Time : 20 minutes prep, 3-4 hours cook time

Ingredients:
- 1 – 1.5 lbs ground chuck
- 1 lb pork, diced
- 1 lb beef chuck, diced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1-2 Jalapeno peppers, chopped
- 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto/kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 (8-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (or tomato sauce)
- 1 12-oz bottle dark beer
- 1 (14 ½oz) can beef broth
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1-2 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp hot sauce (or more, depending on your spicy tolerance)
- Optional : 1/4 tsp cocoa

Method:
1. Cook garlic with some oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat for 30 seconds until sizzling.
2. Add meat, cook through, add onion, cook another minute or so
3. Combine meat mixture, beans, and the rest of the ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours

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