Another Greek Pasta Salad

I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I am having guests for Thanksgiving.  None of my guests are blog readers, and that's a good thing.  They won't know how I worked my tail off this weekend, trying to tidy up the house.  I am still not done, but I think I now have the mess at a manageable amount.

Truth be told, I did not spend ALL weekend cleaning.  Against my better judgement, I turned the TV to the UW-Utah game, thinking I would watch for a few minutes then get back to cleaning.  No such luck.  I got suckered in, and, 2 glasses of Kraken and Diet Coke later, I found myself screaming with a few seconds left in the game.  What a nail biter.

Throughout the game, my phone kept going off with updates about another football game.  The HHS football team played Damien Memorial High School for the Division I state title.  Not nearly the nerve-charged game as the UW game, but still exciting, especially since Damien drew first blood.

I was pleasantly surprised at how many friends were at the game.  Not friends who live in Hilo, but friends who live in Honolulu.  Several sent congratulatory messages via Facebook.  One of the well-wishers was someone I worked with nearly a decade ago.  She is lucky enough to be retired now...ahhh, someday.  But hearing from her brought back memories, and that's when it occurred to me that her recipe for Greek pasta salad would make a nice addition to my Thanksgiving lunch.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Flo's Greek Pasta Salad

     1 lb thin strand pasta (angel hair, vermicelli, spaghettini, etc.)

     1/2 c vegetable oil
     3 tbsp lemon juice
     3 tbsp mayonnaise
     3 tbsp Greek seasoning (Cavender's is what we find here)
     1 can olives, sliced
     1 small jar pimientos, larger pieces sliced
     3 tbsp thinly sliced green onions

Cook pasta according to directions on box.  Drain and cool.  Combine oil, lemon juice, mayonnaise and Greek seasoning.  Mix with cooked/cooled pasta.  Toss in olives, pimientos and green onions.  Chill overnight.

Continuing the highlights of my recent Hokkaido trip..........

Sapporo, Japan

October 9, 2017:  Day 1

 

The Keeper made my hotel arrangements for me, and he chose a hotel which offered a complimentary breakfast.  Aside from "suite" type hotels, I am not accustomed to having breakfast provided, and I was quite surprised at what was on the buffet line.  Of course, I didn't take too much food since I knew we would be having breakfast at the Jougai Ichiba.

Jougai Ichiba was on The Keeper's itinerary.  It required a short hop on the train to get there.  I'm not sure which stop we got off, but I know we headed west from the Sapporo station.

Jougai Ichiba is also known as the Hokkaido curb market/Sapporo Central Wholesale Market.  I'm not sure why, as I did not see a curb anywhere, but vendors do have their goods on the sidewalk.  Vendors were very welcoming, suggesting we try the different foods.  I really wanted to buy a crab to eat, but I didn't know how long I'd be out.  And I certainly didn't bring my favorite weapon of choice (Joyce Chen kitchen snips).

Most of the vendors were selling either seafood or fruit.  Some of the seafood businesses had counterpart restaurants which offered to prepare the food for you.  That would've been fun to try, especially since I discovered that I like uni (sea urchin).  Perhaps I need to say that I like the taste of uni in Japan.  I've had uni in Hawaii, and it was either yucky or only okay.  But the uni sample the vendor let me try was sweet and buttery.  Yum.  I knew I would need to have more of it later.

The sweetheart of the fruit offerings has got to be the melon which every fruit stand proudly displays...yubari king melon.  The melon looks similar to the cantaloupes we see in the supermarkets.  But the yubari melon is more globular, and somewhere in size between a softball and a bowling ball.  There is usually a "T" shaped stem attached.  The orange fruit is extremely fragrant and sweet.  This fruit has the distinction of being the most expensive fruit in Japan.  I could probably eat one by myself (as a meal), but it would be my luck that I am allergic to musk melons.  I did allow myself to accept a sample from a vendor, but I quickly rinsed my mouth after eating it.

As promised, The Keeper took us to a restaurant above the shops.  From the picture menu, I selected the kitamae don.  I thought the uni and ikura would make me happy, but it was the raw scallops which put a huge smile on my face.  They were sweet and delicious.  It's hard to believe that I live on an island surrounded by water, but the seafood in Japan is superior.

After breakfast, we made our way back to the station, stopping at a 100-yen shop.  It was my first time at one of these shops.  Wow...the things one can find there!

We went back to the Sapporo station and made our way on foot to check out the old government building.  From there we walked down to Odori Park.  Most of us could not resist buying grilled corn.  The corn was so tasty.  It had just the right combination of salty and sweet.
















In spite of being full from breakfast AND corn, we stopped at the Ramen Yokocho in Susukino.  This was where Anthony Bourdain ate when he was in Susukino. 








The Keeper and I decided to try the the chashu grilled pork spicy miso ramen at Teshikaga Ramen (this is not the restaurant which borders the street).  The ramen was a little oily, but that was to be expected.  There were at least 3 types of pork in the ramen:  a spicy ground pork, cubes of soft pork, and the grilled pork belly slab.  And as you can tell from the picture, I was still in denial.  I still thought I liked corn in my ramen.

Now this is where my mind gets a bit fuzzy.  Perhaps it's from too much eating, but our next stop was the Shiroi Koibito chocolate factory.  I cannot remember how we got there.  I think we went underground and caught a subway/train.  I think.  I am pretty sure the chocolate factory isn't too far from the Jougai Ichiba, where we were earlier in the day.  But The Keeper said we needed dessert.

The Shiroi Koibito chocolate factory is known for the famous shiroi koibito, a cookie sandwich.  Two langue de chat buttery cookies are sandwiched together with white chocolate.   It reminds me a little of the Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies.  In addition to shiroi koibito, the factory also has "Candy Labo", the hard candy division.  The Keeper, Nakaz, and I bought a bunch of things from Candy Labo.  I haven't eaten my Candy Labo yet, but I sent some "magic candy" to Heather, a knitting friend in Kansas.

We took a walking break and sat down to dessert in the restaurant of the factory.  The Keeper ordered a gigantic parfait with shine muscats.  I didn't think I could eat something so large, so I settled on something which I had been wanting to eat for nearly 2 decades:  baumkuchen (layered sponge cake).  My dessert would've been fine, had I not been urged by The Keeper to try a shine muscat.  I figured I wouldn't like it, since I don't eat grapes, but the shine muscat turned out to be something other-worldly.  I have never eaten anything so fragrant.

And I don't think I ever ate so much food in a single day.  Little did I know, we weren't done yet.  The Keeper told me that there was a place in one of the malls adjoining the Sapporo station which served tonkatsu even better than Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin (Waikiki).  I found that hard to believe, so I told him to bring it on.  We ended up at Tonkatsu Wako.

The Keeper was right.  The tonkatsu was  tender with a crisp, light and airy coating.  But to be perfectly honest, I prefer the dressing (for the cabbage) at Bairin.  The dressing at Tonkatsu Wako was not the sesame-mayo dressing I was expecting.  It was more like a ponzu.  I like ponzu, but NOT with tonkatsu and cabbage.

And finally, after all this eating, we made it back to the hotel for, what I hoped, would be a good night of sleep.

Won Bok Salad

I'm finally ready to begin my vacation!

We managed to survive the 4-day workshop so now I'm just waiting for my stipend.  I hope it will come by Fall Intersession.  Actually, the workshop itself was palatable, and the characters at the workshop made the time go by faster.  We sat according to schools, and I was totally amused by one of my colleagues who used the post-its (courtesy of the district) to fashion a doll-figure.  And of course, the same colleague who always shows up late for work  showed up late for most of the workshop, arriving late in the morning and arriving back late after lunch.  Arriving late after lunch was puzzling since this was one of the few workshops I attended recently which actually provided lunch for participants (at no additional cost to the participants).  What I'm getting at is there was no real need to leave the premises for lunch, even for vegetarians, as the workshop organizers were very accommodating to non-carnivores, providing a vegetarian option daily. 

Lunch being provided was a most generous gesture, but I was appalled by the behavior of some of the other attendees.  When the workshop ended for the day, instead of making for the door, they made a beeline for the leftover lunch area and grabbed what they could carry.  One dude I know, on his way out, suggested I go grab a styrofoam container (like the 2 he had in his hand).  I told him, "no, thank you".   I glanced at the food area and saw hands grabbing for the remaining containers.  Why do people do such things?  By that time, the food had been sitting out over 3 hours, and for me, that is several hours too long for comfort.  My fear of eating rotten food shifted into overdrive.  Gross!

One of the workshop presenters, who arrived a day later than scheduled, was from Missouri, and now I'm wondering if people from Missouri have a tendency to talk fast.  A former coworker was from Missouri, and she spoke a mile-a-minute too.  Another coworker deemed her speech pattern as "not even pausing to take a breath".  My pal GP grew up in the state just south of Missouri and his speech was like maple syrup. . .smooth and slow.  Does the Mason-Dixon line have an impact on speech speed?  Anyway, having to listen to a fast talker, no matter where they are from, is grueling.  And perhaps that's why I came home exhausted on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days. 

Speaking of the characters at the workshop, I think a former coworker put a curse on me with the evil eye.  Yeah, I saw her giving me stink eye throughout the workshop, even going so far as to talk shit about me to another colleague.  #whatevers #getalife #yourbossisontoyou  After 4 days, my back, neck, and shoulder were killing me.  I used Aleve to dull the pain, but I gave in and gave Sai Fon a call.  After an hour-plus of near-death pain on Friday, I was finally able to move without too much agony.  It's been 3 days since the session with Sai Fon, and I'm much better now.  

And sometime during the 4 days I spent cooped up in the workshop, the weather underwent a change and it became summer!  We enjoyed several days of 90 degree water temperature (my swimming threshold is 87 degrees).  It was nice to splash around in the afternoon after sitting all day.  I'm hoping Mr. Sun sticks around for a while.  D2 has a few friends coming over tomorrow so it would be nice if they could enjoy the water.

Thanks to the warmer weather, I am ready to have salads for dinner!  I made this for a leisurely dinner on Saturday.  I prepped the ingredients for this salad on Friday, so it was easy to throw together after a late afternoon swim.  I've brought this salad to potlucks because it was easy to keep the ingredients separated until serving time.  I've eaten several versions of this salad, and it makes a tremendous difference when the noodles are toasted.  The noodles stay crispier longer and have a nice, slightly nutty flavor.  It is important to not toss the salad too far ahead of serving, as the noodles will get soggy after a while.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Won Bok (Nappa) Salad

     1/4 c mayonnaise
     1 1/2 tbsp sugar
     2 tbsp rice or white vinegar
     2 tbsp vegetable oil
     1/2 tbsp sesame oil
     1/4 tsp black pepper
     2 tbsp butter
     1 pkg instant ramen (doesn't matter what flavor)
     2 tbsp sesame seeds
     1/2 won bok (nappa) (about 1 lb)
     2 stalks green onion, sliced thin

Whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, oils, and pepper.  Cover and keep chilled until ready to serve.  Open package of instant ramen and remove seasoning packet (save for another use).  Crush ramen into small pieces.  In a skillet, melt butter.  Add ramen and sesame seeds.  Stir constantly until ramen is golden.  Remove from skillet and place on a plate to cool.  Slice won bok in 1/4" pieces.  Just before serving, toss with green onion in a large bowl.  Add dressing and ramen mixture.  Toss well.  Serve immediately.

This amount serves 2-4 people.

I grew up eating "won bok", but I realize others may call this particular cabbage by alternate names.  Many local Japanese people will call it "makina" or "nappa".  Perhaps a more proper term is "hakusai".  Supermarkets will also use "Chinese cabbage".  Some cookbooks refer to this is "celery cabbage".  Unlike regular cabbage which is globular (except for the type sold at Costco, which is flat...another mystery), won bok is an elongated, giant bullet shape.  The leaves are light green and curly, and the stem is white.  This is the same cabbage we use in batayaki  and potstickers.

Almost Goma Tei: Tan Tan Noodles

Aaaaahhh.  Nice to finally be on vacation.  In spite of having the time to cook, I really don't feel like cooking.  I'm blaming it on the holiday hype.  Still being in the recovery phase of an illness which has festered since Halloween, the 1 hour I spent in Target pretty much zapped my energy.  Meals are gonna be the product of the shortest distance between two points, a.k.a. minimal effort.

As you know from my earlier post, I have a deep, deep affinity for Goma Tei's Tan Tan Noodles.  It seems like I'm not the only  one.  Someone named Robyn Goong wrote to the Honolulu Star Advertiser's food lady, Betty Shimabukuro, and asked her to come up with a copycat recipe for the ethereal Goma Tei version.  You can read the article and get the original copycat recipe here.

The difference with my recipe lies in the amounts of black bean chili sauce and sesame oil to add and in the process by which the sauce ingredients are added to the stock.  Since I hate to see seeds and chili pepper casings in my food, I had to strain the black bean chili sauce so I could get the heat with out the seeds and casings.  Yes, I know, the OCD is coming out.

And speaking of my OCD. . .those of you who know me well are aware that I hate to touch anything cold and slimy or oily with my bare hands.  I tried to be very neat with the sesame paste, but in my effort to get to the paste by delicately plowing through the oil layer, I somehow ended up spilling most of the oil layer on the jar and onto the granite counter.  I got the counter cleaned up and decided I would wash the bottle with dishwashing soap so it wouldn't be all oily when I put it away.  I guess I didn't cover the bottle good enough because in the process of washing the bottle, the bottle opened up.  Not only did the sesame paste (not just the oily part) spill all over my WHITE jacket sleeve, but the soap from the sponge ended up inside the partially filled bottle.  FARCK!  

But after the first bite of the noodles, it was all worth it.  The broth had the same "dirty" look as the Goma Tei version.  The thinly sliced roast pork was a good approximation of the spiral slab of pork belly.  And really, its way after Labor Day. . .wearing white is a fashion faux pas.

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Tan Tan Noodles

     4 c chicken stock

     1/4 c shoyu

     1 tbsp sugar

     2 tbsp sesame paste

     2 tsp black bean chili sauce

     1 tbsp sesame oil

     11 oz fresh noodles, boiled and drained.

     greens, blanched (won bok, baby bok choy, etc.)

     roast pork, sliced thin

Heat chicken stock.  When stock begins to simmer, add shoyu and sugar.  Add 2 tbsp stock to sesame paste.  Mix well, then add back to stock.  Place black bean chili sauce in a small sieve.  Spoon hot stock over sauce.  Discard seeds and chili pepper casings which remain in the sieve.  Add sesame oil.  Keep stock at a simmer.  Divide drained noodles between 2 saimin bowls.  Top with greens and roast pork.  Ladle soup over all.