Brodard's Nem Nuong Cuon Remixed

Personality-wise, Kanye West isn't someone you would want to meet your mother. Musically however, he's up there amongst the musical greats (in my book, that is). 

Take "I Wonder" for example. West has an uncanny knack for taking snippets of the classic, Labi Siffre's "My Song," then mixing in a sweet beat and lyrics to transform it into a musically delicious morsel. 

In cooking, I strive to be like Kanye—to take classic dishes and remixing them into my own. 

After a particularly (stomach) fulfilling day at Westminster where I was inducted to the wonderful nem nuong cuon (aka pork spring roll) world that is Brodard, I couldn't wait to recreate it into something new. 

First step was to relive the experience. Luckily, there was plenty of photographic evidence to review. 

Brodard's rolls are quite innocuous looking. Yet, underneath the translucent rice wrappers is a tempest of flavors and textures. First, there is the grilled snappy pork sausage with a garlicky punch. Then a shatteringly crispy chive egg roll comes into play. Best part though is that it finishes on a light note, with crisp romaine, spears of fresh cucumber and aromatic chives. You won't find any filler rice noodles here. 

If that wasn't enough, the nem nuong cuon comes with the "house special sauce," a secret concoction that makes the rolls taste even better. It's simultaneously sweet, spicy, salty and comforting. 

To recreate the rolls, I started out making the chive egg rolls, a easy task with prepared wrappers. Cutting each wrapper in half, I wrapped them around a few chinese chives loosely (goal is to get layers of crispy wafers) and glued the ends with a bit of egg wash. A minute in a hot oil bath afterwards was all it took to get them golden brown and ready. 

Next came the protein portion of the program. Instead of the traditional pork patties, I made fish pinwheels instead for a lighter summer fare. Using fish paste from my favorite purveyor, Ocean Plus Fish Market in Rosemead, I mixed in chopped green onions, chinese chives and reconstituted shitake mushrooms. Then, I spread the mixture thinly on a sheets of nori and rolled them up as if making pin wheel cookies. A slightly longer hot oil bath is then in order to cook them through. 

With the chive egg rolls and fish pinwheels ready, all that was left was to assemble the rolls. I dunked a piece of rice paper in a bowl of hot water and layer on shredded carrots, chinese chives, cucumber spears, romaine leaves, a chive egg roll and a fish pinwheel before rolling it into a neat little package. 

Oh, and before I forget, the sauce! Made a close replica by boiling the water left over from reconstituting the shitake mushrooms and adding fish sauce, sugar, grated carrots, Sriracha garlic sauce and chopped garlic. When all the flavors have melded, I thickened it with a cornstarch slurry and finished it with egg to mimic the look of Brodard's sauce. Theirs is spicier and more orange in color, to which I suspect is attributed to more chili sauce and grounded dried shrimp. 

To complete the experience, I made my own version soda chanh (lime soda) with a sugar syrup made with a mixture of white and brown sugar cooked with pomelo zest, pomelo juice and sparkling water. The perfect accompaniment to the nem nuong cuon. 

The verdict? The judge of the day, a genuine Vietnamese foodie (who was also the one who introduced me to Brodard) ate till he could eat no more. Success for team Kanye!

6 Course Tastings at Disneyland

Lately I've been obsessed with tasting menus. 

Perhaps I've been partially influenced by Sona as I visited there multiple times in the past few months to get my fill before they closed a few weeks back. Or perhaps I just developed food ADD lately. In any case, I've been attempting to recreate the tasting experience at home and wherever I go, with the most recent tasting at Disneyland. 

Most visitors to the happiest place on earth are there for the rides—I used to as well. Being in the school's marching band since I was in the 4th grade up till I graduated from high school, my friends and I would look forward to the annual trip to Disneyland where we got to spend a day at the park in exchange for performing at their parade.  We strategically planned out our days at the park, sprinting to each ride to gather up fast passes to effectively bypass the endless lines. Food then weren't so important—a quick trip to the clam chowder stand was all we needed. 

Now, after countless trips, I wanted to see Disneyland in a new light, and what better way than through food?

1st course: Corn Dog

Located in a stage coach near the fire station, this is not to be missed. Fried to ordered, the meaty frank gets a crunchy corn bread batter—heavy on the corn meal for added texture—jacket and it is incredible. Think Hot Dog on a Stick x 10. If you want to feel healthier, get some apples on the side.

2nd course: Steak Gumbo

I had already subconsciously walked to my favorite eatery, as I like to call it, chowder corner. But this day being the day to explore, my foodie partner, Lucky, chose the steak gumbo instead for the next course. A  pretty decent specimen, it's a hearty stew of rice, beef, okra and assorted veggies. But, the clam chowder still has my heart. 

3rd course: Clam Chowder

Needless to say, it was back to the OG slurry for me. A powerfully briny potage, wonderfully tempered by the mild sourdough bread, it was extremely comforting, transporting me back to my band days. 

After the chowders, a quick excursion to (the outside of) Club 33 to in order to walk off the soup. For those who don't know, Club 33 is a top-secret, membership only restaurant in Disneyland. I was lucky enough to witness 2 making their way in… evidently, you have to buzz the intercom and say some sort of password before being admitted inside. Tres cool. 

4th course: Pineapple Whip

After a few rides down my belt, it was time for dessert. Lucky recommended the pineapple whip, which I thought was a type of taffy but couldn't be more wrong. Found only in one spot in Disneyland (next to the Tiki Room), pineapple whip is a refreshing frozen soft serve made from Dole pineapples and possibly magic. I am quite sure though that it doesn't have dairy as I was fine after eating my fill—and I'm highly lactose intolerant. 

5th course: Turkey Leg

Few more rides after and a princess makeover (don't ask), we made our way back to the middle of the park to experience another Disneyland famed food item: the Turkey Leg. Slowly roasting under heating lamps, these mammoth drumsticks  are the bee's knees. Moist, salty (it was like turkey ham) and fatty, it was the trifecta of medieval goodness. As I savagely polished off the hunk of meat, families looked in horror. Note to self: find a discreet location for said feast.

6th course: Churro

Following the turkey carnage, I was in the mood for something sweet again—such is a wretched endless cycle—so we concluded the food marathon with the classic churro. Crunchy exterior, soft interior and cinnamon sugar coating, it was the perfect ending to the perfect day.

Until the next time!

* Images courtesy of Lucky

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Bake-a-Thon for Camp Footprints

My good friend, Allen, sent me a heartwarming email recently. This summer, he will be volunteering at Camp Footprints, a camp first founded in 1992 that serves kids with developmental disabilities. It's a cause especially close to Allen's heart as his uncle passed away from complications with severe developmental disabilities. So in memory of his uncle, Allen signed up to be a camp counselor and plans to raise a total of $800 to sponsor 2 kids to go to Camp Footprints.

Because of current rough economic times, it's not easy to ask others to donate when many struggle to make ends meet—I am currently in that boat. However, I want to give in my own way, and the best way I know is to cook.

For Foodbuzz's April edition of  24,24,24, I was propitiously chosen as one of the lucky bloggers to host a dinner. However, instead of a traditional sit-down meal, I took the opportunity to engineer a day of baking: a Bake-a-Thon (and following bake sale) where all the proceeds go to the benefit of Camp Footprints. Hosted at Allen's apartment, I recruited a small squadron of friends, 4 very capable bodies to bake and package camp-inspired goodies such as: 

1. Samoas Rice Krispies

2. S'more Sandwiches

3. Choco Mint Brownies

4. Trail Mix Cookies

At noon sharp, my friends and I assembled at my friend's apartment and began setting up the different stations for maximum efficiency. A cookie-cooling station was first on the list—we created a make-shift bench using my friend Lucky's beer pong table (which was dubbed the cookie pong table for the day). We also transformed the dining room table into the mixing table and the kitchen into a baking machine. 

Then, Allen and Lucky broke off to the cutting area to trim out all the labels for the baked goodies. Inspired by vintage candy wrappers, I had designed one-of-a-kind packaging for each of the different items—it was seriously one of the most enjoyable design projects I've had to date!

First off, Samoas Rice Krispies. Yulree, my friend with the serious mixing-arm, was our master mixer. Paying homage to my favorite Girl Scout Cookies, I recreated the classic by adding butterscotch chips and coconut flakes within the marshmallow cereal mix. And to top it off, a drizzle of semi-sweet chocolate. 

Pretty soon, the kitchen smelled of caramel and marshmallows—it was glorious. Since the recipe makes one 9 x 13 inch pan, we made 4 batches to make a total of 24 big treats. 

Next off, S'more Sandwiches. While I love a good s'more, the time it takes to create one s'more makes it more of a every-once-in-a-while treat, so here I attempted to make them more portable, cleaner, and with less preparation time required. 

An involved operation, my friends Pauline and Lucky set off to split the graham crackers, assemble the layers and toast them in the microwave to cement the sandwiches together. All 100 of the them. We found that adding a layer of honey-chunky PB works wonders on the taste and the mechanics of further cementing the treats together. 

As the pair was working  their assembly-line, churning s'mores out like clockwork, Yulree and I learned the finer arts of tempering chocolate. First stumbling onto Mark Bittman's video a few days back, I learned that dipping chocolate is quite the art-form—when done correctly, you get a nice glossy layer of the good stuff. However, if you do it wrong, you'd get a streaky, dull mess. 

Heeding Bittman's warning and advice, we dutifully melted a few handfuls of chocolate bits till the temperature reached 115 degrees. Then removing the mixture from the heat, we "seeded" the choco-lava with more chocolate so the temperature fell to 91 degrees. Because the golden period for dipping chocolate is from 91-88 degrees, we conjured up superhuman speed to dip as many sandwiches as possible. It was a messy, albeit delicious affair.

5 o'clock and at the half-way mark! Now, we switched gears again to create the Choco-Mint Brownies. Due to time constraints, my friends and I decided upon using boxed mixes. We settled on the double-fudge brownies for moistness and prepared the batter as usual… with the exception of adding a box of chopped Andes Mints (laughing diabolically) before baking. If that wasn't enough, we also painted the tops with even more dark chocolate and sprinkled additional Andes pieces on top after cooling for more chocolatey impact.

Two hours later, with our energies almost drained, it was time for dinner! On the menu was Watermelon Aqua Frescas and Bacon-wrapped hot dogs—a little camp-inspired treat for Allen to get him ready for camp. We made the aqua fresca by blending an entire watermelon (including seeds for flavor), simple syrup, the zest of one orange and its juice together with water. Served simply with ice (or for an adult's version, add a shot of rum), nothing is more refreshing. 

For the hot dogs, we wrapped bacon around beef franks (bun-length ones are the best), then pan-fried them till smoky and crispy—which was surprisingly harder than it looks because the rebellious bacon prefer to unravel themselves from the franks. It made me appreciate well-made ones on the street so much more. To accompany the dogs, we toasted buns in the oven, sautéed onions with tricolored bell peppers and made caper-garlic aoili from scratch. 

Refreshed and stuffed, we shuffled back to the kitchen for the final item, the Trail Mix Cookie. I found a wonderful recipe from Betty Crocker and thought to share it with all of you. Of course, I'm not one to color within the lines, so I made a few minor adjustments (in parentheses). 

Trail Mix Cookies by Betty Crocker

Makes 60 cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup PB (I used honey chunky PB for flavor and crunch)

1 cup butter at room temp

1/2 cup shortening

2 tsp vanilla (vanilla bean paste adds little flecks of beans, fancy!)

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups oats (I like old-fashioned ones for the texture)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups M&Ms

1 cup peanuts (I prefer lightly salted toasted peanuts for that salty-sweet balance)

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Beat sugars, peanut butter, butter, shortening, vanilla and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, oats, baking powder and baking soda thoroughly. Stir in candies, peanuts and raisins.

2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet; flatten slightly with fork.

3. Bake 9 to 10 minutes (I baked mine for 12) or until light brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

120 cookies later at midnight, we were finally finished! 12 hours of baking—we are true marathoners. To cap the night off, those of us who hadn't yet overdosed on sugar celebrated with freshly made ice cream sandwiches and once once we all switched gears to put Allen's apartment back together. 

With our cache of baked goods, our goal is to sell them all (Today at the LA Yelp Elite Event, kudos to Allen for spearheading this!) to be able to sponsor one child to camp. 

Thank you to my friends for giving day of your time to embark on a sugar-filled adventure with me. It was a crazy day, especially during the home stretch as we were falling from our sugar highs, but we pulled through and came out victorious! 

Until the next time.

* Images courtesy of Lucky.

LudoBites 4.0: Experiencing the Twilight Zone

On rainy days in elementary school, our teachers would pop in VHS tapes (remember those?) of classic Twilight Zone episodes to keep us kids entertained during recess. Those black & white stories were fascinating and I must admit, a little scary. Not because they show gory details, but the way they leave you hanging with the ending, your imagination was your greatest enemy. 

One especially memorable episode was called "The Eye of the Beholder." It starts out showing a young woman with her head completely bandaged as she was undergoing face surgeries to look normal. Yet failing for the 11th time, she was sent away from society to live with people with the same "condition" outside of city limits. It was then that the camera panned to the "normal" people, who all sported pig snouts, whereas the young woman was the one with the beautiful face. 

It was a powerful episode for me as it got me pondering: what is normal? 

You see, for the longest time, I've been secretly in love with food. Before this blog—before having a reason, so to say, to take photos of food, I've been quite self conscious about outwardly showing my enthusiasm for a wonderful meal. And even now, as I've gotten more comfortable with sharing my love of food and taking countless photos of particular epicurean delights in public, I always saw myself as an oddity.  The eccentric one who stops others from taking their first bite until she got that perfect shot. Yes, I'm that friend.

I've slowly started to own up to my quirks, yet it wasn't tell last night where I felt at home. Thanks to Will from FoodDigger, I was invited amongst other food enthusiasts to preview Chef Ludo's latest incarnation of the much anticipated LudoBites 4.0, housed in Gram & Papa's in downtown. It was there where I got to meet others who equally (if not more so) adore food as much as I do and we spent the night enjoying Ludo's newest creations, discussing the benefits and setbacks of DSLRs for and most of all, walking on air to be meet others who share the same passion. It was an unbelievable evening. 

And the food, it was anything but forgettable. 

1. Tartine with "3 fat textures"

The night started with a warm crusty loaf of baguette studded with crunchy salt crystals and 3 saucers each featuring a different form of fat: clarified butter with chiblis, emulsified brown butter and creamed lard with honey and lavender. Each delicious in its own right, but I kept going back to lard, which was floral, sweet and rich—it's the new butter. 

2. Carrot salad with saffron Anglaise, pickled pearl onions, citrus and mustard powder

Next up was an in depth study of carrots, with the specimen prepared 2 ways: gastrovac'ed and marinated. The gastrovac'ed carrot was curious indeed, for although it tasted fully cooked, it retained the texture of one that was almost raw—it was the best of both worlds. As for the wide ribbons of citrus-marinated carrots, they had a nice zip that paired nicely with the sweeter cooked ones. Because the trio of fresh citrus segments (we were advised to eat it peel & all) added even extra tang, I thought the dish was complete even without the Anglaise.

3. Egg, potato mousseline, lobster and borage flower

Our meal went up exponentially through the roof with this. Whimpers and moans could be heard throughout our table as we tasted the magical combination of butter poached lobster, swimming in a heady broth made from the shells and tomalley, then layered with a soft boiled egg and an avalanche of velvety butter-whipped potato puree. 

If I wasn't in public, I would have literally licked my bowl clean. I almost did in fact... as documented by Elliot from F for Food.

4. Foie gras-croque-monsieur with lemon turnip chutney

Brought back from LudoBites 2.0, this is panini version of Helen of Troy as I can imagine battles fought over this beauty. Impeccably made, it features toasted squid ink bread spread with a creamy cheese and arranged with delicate slices of proscuitto and slabs of dreamy foie gras terrine. Initially, I ate my portion plain, but as I passed the half way point, the tangy lemon turnip relish was invaluable in keeping the richness in check. 

5. Burgundy escargots, garlic flan and green jus

An unique take on the ubiquitous "escargots in garlic butter and parsley," Ludo starts out with a luxurious custard infused with garlic, then he adds a note of freshness with a green jus made with parsley. The dish was than capped with plump saute snails. Fabulous dish, even if it followed an impossible act. 

6. Columbian River king salmon confit, spring cabbage, orange skin & Juniper berries

This was one of those instances where the sum wasn't better than its individual parts. While the salmon was fantastically poached  in a temperature-controlled olive oil bath until perfectly rare, the Juniper and lemon aspic lent a peculiar texture that unfortunately took attention away from the fillet. The limp cabbage side didn't help the case either.

7. Poached Jidori chicken, crispy skin with hazelnuts, garden vegetables and bacon Royale

For the last savory course, we all got to experience Ludo's childhood. He explained roast chicken with cream (Supreme de poulet) is a classic in French homes, particularly in his region, so here he recreated the dish for us. With a twist, of course! 

Like a true scientist, Ludo isolated each component of the dish and re-engineers them to make it the best it could be. Take the chicken breast for example: we all love crispy roasted skin, but to do so often means sacrificing moisture from the meat. Ludo solves the problem by poaching the breast in a roulade for an unadulterated succulent chicken "fillet mignon" if you will. Then for the clincher, the skin is then fried with hazelnuts and crumbled on top of the "fillet." Perfection. 

The best way to eat the dish is to have a bite of the chicken (be sure to get a few fragments of the skin chips—sorry, that did not come out right), a smear of the bacon royale, which is the cream sauce in custard form, and a piece of the fresh leek salad. Repeat as needed.

8. Brie Chantilly Napoleon, honey comb, balsamic, frisee salad

As a note, our meal was paired with exquisite wines, courtesy of Jill from DomaineLA. However, because I am afflicted with ADD (Asian Drinking Disorder), I refrained from most of the pairings until the cheese and dessert course. That's right, even as a one drink wonder, there was no way I was going to miss out on dessert wines. 

So, to accompany the impossibly fabulous cheese plate, Jill poured a flute of the Coteaux du Layon. A sweet white wine, it's made with Chenin blanc grapes that were left on the vines till they are over-ripe, to the point where some have rotted (in Jill's words!) for a complicate, honeyed profile that tasted faintly of St. Germain. 

The sweetness of the wine and the honey comb went exponentially well with the Napoleon of brie. Hand-whipped for a total of 2 hours by Holly of Michelin Project, the brie took on a smooth, buttery texture. It was a dream when paired with the peppery frisee, crunchy toast points and balsamic syrup. My 2nd favorite of the night!

9. Dark Chocolate souffle, black pepper milk chocolate ice cream and chocolate cream

The evening concluded with another study, this time in chocolate. Not unlike the "3 fat textures," the dessert studies the cocoa bean in 3 different temperatures and preparations. The hot element was the airy dark chocolate souffle, with its molten interiors. If that wasn't chocolately enough, there was a saucer of warm bitter chocolate sauce for pouring. Then to complete the trifecta, a milk chocolate ice cream with a real pepper kick. The pepper was critical in this dish from being one-noted as was the smoky Banyuls. 

With that comes the end of the roller coaster ride that was LudoBites 4.0. I can't wait to get back on! Now if I could somehow find a reservation... 

Much thanks to Ludo, Krissy and Sydney for a meal of a lifetime, to FoodDigger for organizing said meal, Jill for the excellent wine pairings and to all my dining partners!

LudoBites 4.0 @

Gram & Papa's

227 E 9th St.

Los Angeles, CA 90015

213.624.7272