Long Rice Salad

Happy Labor Day!

Today is a much-deserved holiday.  Looking forward to the 4-day work week.  I've been awake since 4:45 am.  Yes, I know it's a holiday, but I had to take D1 to the airport for some kind of 1-day Key Club convention on Oahu.  I hope she brings back some yummy snack for me.  Not sure why, but I've been ono for Beard Papa (cream puffs).

A whole bunch of my friends went to Honolulu this weekend.  There was an HSTA meeting as well as a food and wine festival.  I wish I could've gone to the food and wine festival.  My new favorite Hilo restaurant, Full Moon Cafe, was there.  I missed my smoky sashimi fix this weekend.  For all you Hilo expats living away, the next time you come home, Full Moon Cafe is a must-try.  Their menu is small and changes daily, ensuring that food is only made with fresh ingredients.  I cannot get enough of the smoky sashimi.  Actually, it's a smoky shoyu with chili pepper oil.  It is kick-ass!

As I was saying, this is a much-deserved holiday for me.  I feel like I've been working like a dog.  Things at work have been hectic, and last week, one of my new coworkers announced his departure.  That leaves a big hole because we really could've used his expertise this year.  Alas, Rhode Island pays better than Hawaii, and a former Hawaii administrator has been recruiting heavily on the East side of the Big Island...she already got another administrator to move.  I wonder who else will follow the pied piper.

I also wonder what else will be placed upon my plate (as well as the other teachers) due to our coworkers departure.  Come to think of it, I wonder what his advisorship was.  And on a very personal level, I wonder who will buy his car.  He has a cute Mini Cooper.  If it had Union Jack mirrors, it would already be in my garage!

As if things weren't hectic enough, last week Wednesday my new elliptical arrived.  I was expecting it sometime this week so I was surprised to come home from work to find The Help assembling it.  The box was huge.  I'm not even sure how he managed to get it into the house without my help.  I have been trying to adjust from the treadmill (now in my neighbors living room) to the elliptical, and it hasn't been easy.  I usually walked over 2 miles each morning on the treadmill, but I've come to realize there is no such thing as "walking" on an elliptical".  It is fricking hell.  I cannot last more than 5 minutes on the dang thing, and my thighs burn at minute 3.  At minute 4, I think I went into cardiac arrest from the dang elliptical.  After 5 minutes, I gave up.  It was no better on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday either...thigh burn, cardiac arrest, give up...every single time.

And sometime between the last post and this one, Kikukat Blog surpassed one million page views.  Wow.  I really didn't expect that!  I began this blog in May 2010, just as I was closing the second darkest year (hope it won't be third darkest!) in my career.  I was looking for a way to keep in touch with faraway family and friends...people who were near and dear to me and helped keep me sane.  So for those of you who read my blog, thank you for giving me this venue to bitch, celebrate, and hang with you.  I hope to see you at the 2-million mark!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Long Rice Salad

     1 large pkg. long rice*
     1 Japanese cucumber
     1 kamaboko
     1 pkg bean sprouts
     1/2  c sugar
     1/2 c rice vinegar
     2 tbsp shoyu
     2 tsp sesame oil
     1 tsp ginger juice

Cook long rice for 5 minutes in boiling water.  If using Nice brand long rice, cook 10 minutes.  Rinse in cold water, drain and cool.  Spread in an even layer on a serving platter.  Cook bean sprouts in boiling water for 3 minutes.  Rinse, drain and cool.  Spread over long rice.  Sprinkle cucumber over bean sprouts, followed by kamaboko.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.  Combine remaining ingredients in a jar.  Shake well.  Chill until ready to serve.  Shake dressing prior to serving.

*Hawaii might be the only place where we refer to bean thread noodles as "long rice".  In other parts of the world, I think it goes by "cellophane noodles" and "glass noodles".  There are several brands to choose from, and the brand I try to buy is Nice.  The Nice noodles come in a flat pack, rather than bunched in a compact bundle like other brands.  You will need 3-4 ounces (dry weight) for this recipe.

Mike and Matsu, you guys missed a great football Saturday!

The JV played Pahoa's 8-man squad and the varsity played HPA.  The JV game was interesting, as I had never seen an 8-man game before.  Pahoa had some big boys, but the scrappy Viks managed to dominate.  Mercy rule kicked into play.  I got to see my favorite JV running back do some damage to the Dagger defense.

#11 rocks

By the time the varsity game began, it was already dark.  The Help told me my assignment was to shoot "emotion".  I think I did well.  The picture above shows elation.  It's apparent the players and coaches are happy.  I was able to capture the player getting air!

The picture to the right shows reverence and respect.  The boys listen politely as one of the coaches speaks with wisdom. 

The varsity game saw a repeat of the mercy rule, and I was most glad to see that no player was seriously injured.  As a parent, being down on the field is a little disturbing.  I do not like the sound helmets make when they slam against each other, nor do I enjoy hearing the wind knocked out of a player.  It really is spooky when someone takes a little longer to get to their feet.

But what I hate even more than the raw side of football brutality is asshole poser photographers who use flash on the field!  Apparently, the dickhead wearing the red HPA t-shirt had no regard for safety, judging from his flash bursts blinding the players (HPA player included).  Show some respect for the players, asshole! 

it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out why the Kamakani receiver missed this pass

Oh, and I almost forgot...emotion in the last picture is despair. 

Korean Long Rice Salad

I'm glad this past week was a short week (thank you, Prince Kuhio), and I'm thankful to be looking down the barrel at another short week (thank you, Jesus).

Even though work weeks are short, it never ceases to amaze me at how much things can go wrong within a short week.  Argghhhh.  I started off my week at a school to try and help them analyze their data.  We spent 30 minutes discussing what "curriculum" is/is not.  Just fill out the damn form!!!  If that wasn't bad enough, a counselor yelled at me because SHE is computer illiterate.  This is the same counselor who marveled two years ago at how much she learned in our training, declared she didn't need any training this year (to the point where she walked out), and is now screaming because she doesn't know how to enter data into the computer.  If this is how she behaves with data entry, can you imagine how she is with students?  Spooky. . . I wouldn't want her to have anything to do with the Ds.  The icing on the cake was finding a screw in my tire.  I had to drive The Help's car to Naalehu for a meeting on Friday.  Doesn't it just suck when you're not familiar with the instrumentation on the dash?  Because I couldn't locate the cruise control, I had to be really vigilant when driving through the national park...didn't know if the Redline would pick up the rangers lurking amongst the ohia.

I'm still waiting for my new toy to arrive (the website now says ship date April 16).  At this rate it should arrive before the new school year starts (likely July 16 for those of you working in the south).  Summer vacation sure ain't what it used to be (thank you, idiots who voted YES).  Just thinking about that makes my blood boil.  Now that a proposed schedule for the school year is out, I'm once again reminded that my non-work time will be ever-more valuable.  Need to think about what I can do to plan ahead for meals and/or save time on weeknights.  Enter the marvelous world of take-out...

While Cham Cham Restaurant remains atop on my list of Korean restaurants in Hilo (and yes, they do offer take-out), there are times when food courts and pick-up places in malls might be the fast option. Now this is definitely something I miss about Honolulu. . .there are just so many of these Korean take-out places to choose from.  Even Palama Supermarket has a kick-ass take out counter (and you can buy your own kim chee inside the store first).  Korean take-out choices in Hilo are rather slim but the food is decent.  Before I go on, I went to Cham Cham again this week so here are a few more pics of what we got.

banchan. . .bottom right was pipinola shoots

fish juhn & spicy pork w/2 mandoo on the side

tong kal bi

garlic shrimp with noodles

My favorite part about Korean take-out places is getting to choose the sides.  Once you place your order, most places will allow you to choose four sides (two for mini plates).  I will always choose bean sprouts because they are available all the time.  The long rice is a more difficult to come by, as not every place has it, and even when they have it, its often too peppery for my taste.  With a little forethought, the long rice can be prepared in advance at home.

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Korean Long Rice Salad

     5 pkgs (@1.785 oz) Nice brand long rice

     1/4 c sugar

     1/4 c sesame oil

     1/4 c shoyu

     1/4 c oyster sauce

     3 tsp sesame seeds

     1 clove garlic, minced

     1/2 tsp tabasco

     1/2 tsp pepper

     green onion, chopped

Soak long rice in warm water for 10 minutes.  Cut strands into thirds.  Boil long rice for 10 minutes.  Drain well.  Combine sauce ingredients and mix with long rice.  Chill overnight, tossing several times while long rice is cooling.  Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
Don't be alarmed at the amount of long rice called for. . .you're not feeding an army.  Nice brand packages are fairly small, so this will make enough for a side dish. 

Almost Thanh Long: Roasted Garlic Heaven

Three years ago, almost to the date, I was fortunate enough to take a trip to the Bay Area for the New Teacher Center Symposium.  (It had been Super Bowl weekend back then too, but I no longer get all hyped up, as age-wise, most of the players could be my sons.  I might have been called "cougar" at some point in my life, but even I have limits.)  One of the highlights of that trip was dinner at Thanh Long, a quasi-Vietnamese restaurant on Judah Street in San Francisco.

For years before, I had heard stories about the legendary roasted garlic crab served there.  I didn't give it too much thought because I grew up eating crab with a mayonnaise-shoyu dip.  But I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to try it.

The restaurant was nothing special in appearance, but the food (in addition to the roasted garlic crab, Co and I split a plate of garlic noodles) was out of this world good.  As soon as I got home, I searched the internet for a copycat recipe.  One of the blogs, Rasa Malaysia, had a copycat recipe, so I decided to give it a try.  Two years later, its become my go-to recipe for crab (and for garlic noodles too).

If you're ever in San Francisco, Thanh Long is a MUST try.  Their snooty sister restaurant, Crustacean, also serves crab, but the relaxed atmosphere of Thanh Long is more conducive to getting down and dirty with crab.  Trust me. . .with this crab, you will WANT to be in an environment where you can just dig in.

Rasa Malaysia's recipes for Roasted Garlic Crab and Garlic Noodles can be found here.  I use 1/4 the amount of black pepper because I don't usually care for pepper.  I've made the crab with both dungeness and king crab.  For ease, I prefer king crab.  My wallet prefers dungeness.   

The above link will take you to recipes for both roasted garlic crab and garlic noodles.  When I make roasted garlic crab, I always make the garlic noodles.  I'm not sure if its for nostalgic reasons or not, but it goes well with the crab and tastes so good.  The local Chinese store sells fresh noodles (Shandong Fresh Noodles), but spaghetti works great too.  I also try to have a baguette nearby for mopping up all the tasty sauce.

Uncle Edz

Although I've never tried it, extra jumbo shrimp could likely be used in place of the crab.  I know that Thanh Long serves garlic prawns, and my BFF tells me he prefers the prawns to the crab for ease of eating.  When it comes to eating, shopping and Trivial Pursuit, my BFF is hard to beat!

And while I do love cats, a jaguar is more my speed. . .a black one (preferably an XKR-S), especially if I was looking for something young, sleek, and ultra-hot!