Some Projects

Here are a few of the fun projects that I've worked on at USC.  For those who don't know, I'm interested in dentistry....hence the teeth impressions.  Anyway, just wanted to share these.

My dad's birthday present: grand piano, piano bench, chair, and lamp.  Less than 1 inch tall.

If you look closely you can see the strings and pages.

You can't see it, but there's a lightbulb in the lamp.

First impressions...

An old pencil I carved 21 into for my girlfriend's 21st birthday

The big 2-1!

First sutures!

Drunken Noodles Recipe

It's taken me countless kitchen messes, numerous mise en place setups, trips to the asian supermarket, experimentation with fresh vs dried rice noodles, etc. to capture that elusive restaurant-style drunken noodle that I crave pretty much around the clock.  I haven't quite reached it, and I don't believe I ever will until a high-btu stovetop conveniently falls into my possession, but this recipe reflects the toil to create the common man's best approximation.  My girlfriend loves it, so really what more should I strive for?

This here recipe is for a crowd—let's say around 6-8 hungry hungry people. Feel free to halve the amounts listed.  Find the original recipe that I have tinkered with here.  It's a lot of ingredients, but if you're familiar with Asian cooking, you know that is not uncommon.

Organization is key...especially in my apartment's miniature [sorry excuse for a] kitchen.

Tips for success:

1. Look at the recipe and group ingredients based on when they are added to the wok.  For instance, combine the sauces ahead of time that will be added toward the end.  Cut up the veggies before you start cooking.  Basically, get everything in line that you need to.  (PICTURE OF INGREDIENTS)
2. Don't soak dry rice noodles for too long or else they will turn to mush.  One of my favorite parts of noodle dishes is the texture of the noodle.  Retain its structural integrity and you will be happy you did. 
3. If you don't have any of the ingredients listed, just leave them out or make the best substitutions you can.  Use any veggies or meat combos you want.  No big deal.
4. Once you add ginger and spices, work quickly because you are working with high heat.  You want to have all the ingredients prepped so you can just throw them into the wok.

Drunken Noodles

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. Peanut oil (or veg. oil)
2 lbs wide rice noodles*
1 Chinese sausage, cubed into small bits
1 large skinless, boneless chicken breast cut up into bite sized pieces

Veggies
3-4 roma tomatoes cut into wedges
1 onion sliced into thin strips
5-6 Tbsp garlic minced
1 inch fresh ginger grated
1-1.5 Tbsp fresh green peppercorns minced up.
5-7 small thai chilies minced(only 1 or 2 if you don't like spice)
1-2 jalapeños finely chopped
1 cup packed holy basil (thai basil—makes a difference IMO)
6-8 oz. Green beans (blanched) cut into bite-sized pieces.
6-8 oz. Mushrooms cut to your liking
2 Red bell peppers sliced into thin strips
2 carrots sliced

Sauce
1-1.5 Tsp hot bean sauce
1-1.5 Tsp Chili Garlic Sauce
2.5-3 Tsp black soy sauce
3.25 Tbsp oyster sauce
4-4.5 Tsp golden mountain soy sauce (regular, low-sodium is fine)
2.5 Tbsp fish sauce
3 tsp white sugar
1 tsp rice vinegar or dry sherry

Spices
1.5 tsp ground coriander
ground turmeric to just coat chicken pieces (around 0.5 tsp)
1 tsp. thai green curry powder
0.5 tsp chili powder
0.5 tsp white pepper

*Notes on rice noodles:  I HIGHLY recommend you make that adventurous trip to the Asian supermarket to find some fresh rice noodles.  I also suggest you cook them the day you buy them, as they will begin to dry out and require soaking if left in the fridge (this is fine, but it will require soaking them, which takes some practice to nail down the texture).  They often come in half-inch strips, though I actually prefer buying the square slabs of fresh rice noodle sheets and cutting them myself to my desired thickness (1 inch).  If you can't find fresh, get dried and soak them in warm water until they are just al dente.  Trust me, they will continue to cook quickly and soften in the hot wok.  Only soak them when you're ready to add them to the wok. Timing can vary depending on your water temp, but generally just soak them in warm water until al dente—probably more on the firmer side of al dente.

Fresh rice noodles!

STEPS

1. Measure out all ingredients for Sauce and combine in one small mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. Chop/mince your veggies. Set aside.
3. Coat chicken in turmeric.
4. Heat 1-2 Tbsp. oil and brown your chicken (meat) pieces until just cooked through.  Remove and set aside.
5. Add more oil to pan (1 Tbsp) is fine.  Get wok REALLY hot until oil is shimmering and almost smoking.  Add minced ginger, pepper corns, and spices to oil and stir fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
6. Add onions, carrots, jalapeños, bell peppers, mushrooms and green beans.  Stir fry for only a couple minutes until the bite is just cooked out of the onion.  You don't want your veggies losing their crispness, so don't be tempted to cook the life out of them. 
7. Make space on the bottom of the wok, and add garlic and cook until fragrant (30 seconds to a minute) to remove the raw bite from the garlic. 
8. Add chicken back to wok and stir to combine.
9. Add noodles and 1/4 cup water if necessary to keep things from sticking.  Mix them in with other ingredients.
10. Add tomatoes and cook 20 seconds.
11. Add sauces and continue mixing.  At this point you will probably need two spoons/utensils to toss the wok's contents like you would a salad.
12. Finally, add basil and just mix it all together.

I know that's a lot of steps, but like I said, this kind of cooking is ALL about the preparation and knowing the sequence of adding ingredients.  It will probably take some getting used to, but that's what I love about this dish.  I have tried it over and over and finally found my rhythm.  Enjoy, you guys!

Drunken Noodles and Some Tunes

I am spent.

After a long day moving out of my apartment, I am no longer a Los Angeles resident.  And I'm not sure how to feel about it.  To delve into the complicated love-hate relationship I have with L.A. would require numerous posts, and I'm not about to bore you with the dribble of college student whining about the smog and traffic.  Or ranting about the trendy cuisine—from the inane gourmet burger debate to rooter-to-tooter eating to culinary elite's gastrointestinal assault on America (thank you Bon Appetit).  I would only be speaking to the choir by crafting a Los Angeles pros/cons list.  But I will sum it up by saying how proud I am to be a Trojan. 

Move-in Day, Freshman Year 2009

Graduation Day, 2013

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

Hiking in Will Rogers State Park

House Divided

The only thing keeping me from plopping down and watching The Newsroom right now is my keenness to share my love of noodles.  I speak, of course, of what is arguably Thailand's most valuable culinary export—don't get your panties in a twist, America, when I say it's NOT pad thai shrimp.  Or pad thai chicken.  It's Pad Kee Mow Kai, commonly known in Thai restaurants as Drunken Noodles.  I, like so many of you out there, am a creature of habit.  Drunken Noodles are my habit, and I definitely turn into a fiendish creature when I am shoveling them in my mouth.  To summarize the lore surrounding this divine dish: it's name is attributed to its purported efficacy as a hangover cure.  Key features here: flat rice noodles, copious amounts of thai basil (sure, you can substitute the Italian stuff and it will be great...just not AS great), and oyster sauce (don't get freaked out—it's used in dishes you probably eat already, so get over it and accept how it makes every asian dish better).  Later I'll provide the recipe for my best homemade version, but I have come to the sad conclusion that truly restaurant-quality stir-fried cuisine requires a high-BTU stove burner—which my current income stream of zero cannot afford me at the moment.

 My quest for the best D-Noodle, as my girlfriend and I refer to it in private (and now, in public I guess...whoops), began when she introduced me to Thai food 6 years ago.  I know what you're thinking.  How did he go 16 years on this earth without tasting Thai food?!  I get it, I'm a failure, I live under a rock, blah blah blah.  

This mouth-watering creation courtesy of Jet Tila's Wazuzu, at the Encore in Las Vegas.  Haven't tried his version yet...some day, though....some day....

To make a long story short, I have spent the past six years on the hunt for the best Pad Kee Mow Kai.  And although my search continues, I am here to share my updates and recommendations with you.  

I don't want to launch into a description of each version from every restaurant I've tried.  Perhaps there are food writers out there who can discern and articulate the subtle variations on this flavor profile (droppin' the culinary buzzwords like a champ), but I am not one of them.  I will merely list my favorites and give a brief description.

1) Lotus of Siam (Las Vegas, NV—website here): Granted, I strayed from my usual "drunken noodle with chicken" and opted for the more indulgent "crispy duck drunken noodle," but substitute any protein and it would be the run-away winner.  Simply put, I dream of this.  It's off the strip in a funky little strip mall, but ABSOLUTELY worth it!

Unfortunately, what happened in Vegas...is still in Vegas and not in my kitchen right now.

2) Thai Corner Express (Los Angeles, CA—website here): ATTENTION USC STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF!  For those who aren't aware of Mercado la Paloma, it's the building with the big mural across from the DMV (just east of the 110 freeway).  Most who already DO know this place probably flock to Chichen Itza for its cochinita pibil.  If you haven't tried it, make sure you do, but only AFTER you've tried the D-Noodle at Thai Corner Express.  I've celebrated completing almost every final exam in college with a piping hot plate of noodles here.  I even spent my last birthday eating here by myself (it sounds pathetic, but I was sick, I had just finished a midterm, it was a Wednesday, and I didn't actually want to hang out with anyone—I just wanted some noodles and some me-time).  Priced at $7.50 (nearly half that anywhere else), it's a hefty bargain.  It's consistently incredible.  The owner of Thai Corner, Lisa, is a sweetheart and the Mercado is just an oasis in the neighborhood around USC.  I've tried almost everything on their menu, but I won't make any further recommendations ONLY because I lack comparisons to other Thai restaurant dishes (but everything I have tried is delicious, minus the spring rolls).  Sorry for the yelp review here, but I hope you get a chance to try this one! 

Hits the spot each and every time

3-tie) Jitlada (Los Angeles, CA—website here): Although Jonathan Gold touts the green mussels, I don't care for shellfish, so I ordered my "usual."  Located in Thai Town in LA, this one is amazing.  

3-tie) Thai Bros (Laguna Beach, CA—website here): Best in Laguna Beach.  Now, I must admit I have an emotional attachment to this place, as this is where my girlfriend and I go for our anniversary every year (though we do not limit our visits to once a year...it's more like once every two weeks).  Objectively though, Thai Bros consistently delivers a spicy, delicious drunken noodle.  They have other standouts on the menu too: Pavilion Rice (can't go wrong here—generous with the Chinese sausage!), Ginger Scallops, Garlic Tofu, and Orange Roughy (I tried this before I knew about its being overfished and having high mercury levels...darn, it was SO good).  Given the countless times I've eaten here, I should have a picture of this one, but the restaurant has dark lighting and I'm not keen on being that guy who lights up the place with his flash.  Besides, I'm usually distracted by my gorgeous date!

4) Laguna Thai by the Sea (Laguna Beach, CA—website):  Delicious drunken noodle and probably the coolest vibe of all the restaurants on this list, in my opinion.  Also, this one is the spiciest version I've tried, so beware and if you're sensitive to heat, just ask them to tone it down for you.

5) Thai This (Dana Point, CA—yelp site):  Although the drunken noodle is good, it doesn't quite measure up to the rest on this list.  I included it here pretty much so that I could tell you to order the American Fried Rice.  It comes with some delicious slices of fried chicken that casts this fried rice into a different stratosphere.  Also has a nice ambiance about the place.  

So there you have it folks!  I will be sure to update my search for noodle nirvana as I remember to take photos and as I make my way to more Thai restaurants.  I find it fitting that on my last day technically living in LA, my dad and I parked the budget truck and devoured a hot-off-the-wok plate of pad kee mow kai before heading home.  It's rare that I am able to share a plate of these noodles, but I had no problem doing so with my honorary Trojan (see image below)—sharing both the food and a moment that marks the end of a one chapter and the beginning of a new one.  Who knows, maybe I'll be back in LA for dental school next year!

In his dreams...seriously though, I'm pretty sure he dreams about this moment.

It's a bit late, but I'll post MY recipe for drunken noodles tomorrow some time.  I'll leave you with a song I wrote for my mom this year for Mother's Day.  It's called, Over the Falls, and I hope you guys like it!

-Graham