Love Life, Hate Kittens

So lately I’ve been working from home a couple days a week and it’s the most fantastic thing you can ever imagine. However, as the person working from home in a relationship, you feel a certain pressure to cook, clean, or whatever a stay-at-home person is supposed to do. 

And this is completely related (unrelated?) but I was thinking I’d make a horrible husband. Staying at home is..boring. Great, but boring. I mean, who wants to know what the person at home does? Case in point, last month, B was stayed home sick for two days and everyday when I’d get home I’d ask, “How was your day?” when I really wanted to say, “Oh, how was laying around the house and DOING NOTHING.”

Seriously, if I was a guy. I’d make jabs all the time like, “Gee, honey..tell me about your day! Did the mailman come at 4 instead of 3? For shame.” or “HOW WAS SCRAPBOOKING?” “I CURED CANCER TODAY. HOW WAS YOUR SOAPS.”

Good thing I’m not a guy. :-/

Anyways. Point of this is uh… sorry. I forgot my point. This is a really easy recipe especially if you’re asian because both recipes share similar ingredients and both take 20 minutes tops including prep. 

Now go impress your gf/bf.

Pan-Roasted Prawns (干燒明蝦)

1lb (12-16 shrimp) with shell on / deveined if that’s your steez
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
½ teaspoon of sriracha
½ teaspoon of cornstarch or flour 
1 teaspoon of coarsely grounded black pepper
1 teaspoon of light soy sauce
½ teaspoon of Chinese rice wine
Pinch of sugar
½ tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of cooking oil

Seasoning for prawns:
½ teaspoon of chicken granule (chicken powder)
½ teaspoon of grounded black pepper
¾ teaspoon of salt

Method
1) Cut slits in the shrimps back to devein. Email me if you’re confused. Pat dry.

2) Place prawns on a plate or shallow dish. Season with the chicken powder (it’s just chicken stock powder), salt and pepper. Throw them back in the fridge if you’re cooking later. Lightly coat with the flour on both sides when you are ready to cook.

3) Heat large skillet/ sauce pan with oil over high heat, sauté onion till lightly browned, and then add in garlic and sriracha to stir fry till fragrant. Should take about 3-5 minutes. 

4) Reduce heat to medium-low fire. Melt butter, and add shrimp. Pan sear for 2 minutes or so until pink. Add in light soy sauce, coarsely grounded black pepper and sugar. Pan roast on med-low for another 2 - 3 minutes till lightly crisped on both sides. Flip sparingly.

5) Increase heat to high and add wine. Cover for 30 seconds. Serve. 

Chinese Broccoli Asparagus

1 pound of Chinese broccoli (Gai Lan)
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
5 whole garlic cloves, peeled and gently smashed but left intact
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 inch of fresh ginger, cut into 1/8″ coins and smashed with side of cleaver
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

In large skillet, toast garlic on medium high heat. Don’t burn it. When it gets fragrant, turn it down to med-low. After frying garlic for a couple minutes, turn the heat on high and add ginger for about 30 seconds. Add the gai lan or asparagus and make sure it’s coated with the garlic/ginger oil. 

Saute for 1 minute. In meantime, mix the sugar, wine and stock. Pour the mixture in the pan and immediately cover. Turn heat to medium and steam for 3-4 or until tender. You don’t want to over cook.

Transfer gai lan to plate. Add oyster sauce and sesame oil to pan and heat on high until it bubbles and thickens (1-2 minutes) and pour on gai lan. 

Enjoy :]

Kekeke. Bulbous shaft.

So I went bathing suit shopping today hoping to get a new suit to go to the lake tomorrow. Yes, lake. Bathing suit shopping is the worst. Trying to find one with minimal tanlines without being completely naked and doesn’t scream whore. 

This has nothing to do with mushrooms except for the fact that we spend so much time at this newly discovered store called Con Olio that the bathing suit place was closed by the time we were done :-/ Who closes at freaking 6PM on a Saturday. 

However, Con’ Olio was an amazing find today. Just when I’ve came to terms that I will have to go to Seattle to get my truffle oil needs, we find this lovely little olive oil store that carries an insane variety of infused oils. Garlic oil, rosemary, truffle, blood orange, persian lime, you name it. We tasted a couple and decided to go with porcini oil and their 18 year dark balsamic vinegar (yes. it’s aged. like um. scotch.) It was so smooth that you can drink it like a port! WTF.

And I was way too excited to cook tonight as a result. I know, I’m getting domesticated and old and way too aroused about oil. 

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