• 18Feb

    Asian Cooking at Home – the Cut and Paste Method

    Mekhala‘s Asian cooking pastes are organic, vegan, and gluten free, and we were lucky enough to get our hands on a few of them. Of the dozen or so available varieties, the four that we cooked with were the Yellow Curry (Thai), Red Curry (Thai), Lemongrass Turmeric (Vietnamese), and Sichuan Mala Chilli (Chinese).

    • Lemon Turmeric Wild Coho Salmon
    • Yellow Curry Cauliflower Stew

    The Yellow Curry paste worked well with coconut milk in a vegan cauliflower, peas, and onions dish. This was my second favorite of the four dishes shown here, and my dining partner’s favorite.

    We used the Lemongrass Turmeric paste with coconut milk on wild salmon, which was my favorite of the four dishes. The scallions absorbed a ton of flavor, which helped make this a tasty combination.

    The Red Curry with coconut milk and Lotus Foods Organic Jade Pearl Ramen (green noodles) was a wonderful soup you might expect to find in a restaurant, so it was nice to have it at home. This was my dining partner’s second favorite dish of the four.

    • Sichuan Mala Chilli Bacon Salad
    • Red Curry Jade Ramen

    We combined the Sichuan Mala Chilli Paste with apricot preserves and a little lemon juice, and applied it to the bacon prior to cooking. This gave the bacon a nice sweet, sour, and spicy flavor, and a color that might put off people (like my dining partner) who aren’t used to eating bright red meat.

    Whole Foods and Mom’s each carry a few of Mekhala’s varieties. I’m keeping an eye out for the Thai Basil Garlic paste. Mekhala also has a line of sauces and dressings such as Pad Thai and Thai Chilli. Once you have some of Mekala’s products in your pantry, you can use some of the recipes on their website, or experiment like we did. And yes, these dishes all involved some cutting and pastes. 🙂

    -JAY

    Editor’s Note:

    Mekhala was nice enough to send several of these products for us to review. The Yellow Curry paste was purchased at Whole Foods.

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  • 26Feb

    Gallery of Tasty Recent Dishes

    We’ve had some great dishes recently and want to highlight some of them. Featured: Kiin Imm Thai, Mama Chang’s, Marumen, Kizuna, Silver Diner, Rice Bar, Hei Hei Tiger, Bethesda Bagels.

    • Hei Hei Tiger
    • Silver Diner
    • Rice Bar
    • Marumen
    • Kizuna
    • Mama Chang
    • Bethesda Bagel
    • Kiin Imm Thai

    In no particular order:

    We were at Hei Hei Tiger (Tiger Fork’s sister) a few days before the official opening. They wouldn’t let us order the duck because they said they were still working on making it crispy, but even so, it was the best protein we tried, including the chicken, pork belly, and BBQ Pork. The bok choi was very good but was given to me in error, since I ordered the Chinese Broccoli. Those are the only two things we as a group ate that we would order again, unless they tweak the recipes (which they are working on). They had a good crust on the pork belly but, it tasted both too salty and smoky. The BBQ pork’s flavor was a little off too, and the meat was tough. Hei Hei Tiger also has a bar in front of Sen Khao.

    The meal at Silver Diner (steak, mashed potatoes, winter vegetables, spinach with garlic) was good, and definitely worth ordering again. The winter veggies (beets, Brussels sprouts, winter squash) were excellent.

    Kizuna’s ramen is really good (including the pork belly), and does not include MSG.

    Marumen’s kimchi (that little bowl on the side of the ramen bowl) is made by Grandma. The ramen house is open late, and tends to be busy.

    Kiin Imm Thai was empty when I sat down 6pm on a Sunday and was fully packed within an hour. People were eating a huge variety of delicious looking dishes. We need to try more dishes here. The place is new and promising, but small.

    At Rice Bar, a Chipotle-style Korean rice and noodles concept based in DC, avoid the miso soup they give you on the side, since it isn’t very good. Rice Bar is run by a couple of really nice guys from Mongolia. We ordered Rice Noodles with Kalbi, Marinated Cucumbers, Eggplant, Radish Kimchi, and Seaweed, which was good.

    Mama Chang is an adventurous Hubei/Sichuan restaurant in Fairfax (near Marumen) inspired by Peter Chang’s mother.

    The image of of a bagel with lox features vegan veggie cream cheese. I didn’t take a picture of them, but Bethesda Bagel has secret potato pancakes. The sign for the latkes fell down, but they still have them (with sour cream or apple sauce).

    -JAY

    Editor’s Update, January 12, 2021:

    Rice Bar in Crystal City is closed for the Pandemic, but they are open in DC. The other mentioned restaurants are still open.

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  • 25Jan

    Panda Gourmet is NOT Panda Express

    On the outskirts of the city, along a busy stretch of New York Avenue, attached to a Days Inn and behind a Dunkin Donuts is where you’ll find Panda Gourmet. Not to be confused with Panda Express, this Sichuan restaurant delivers spicy deliciousness, albeit in somewhat dubious location. (Note: it’s not unsafe, just a bit rundown.)

    Friendly staff and a familiar Sichuan menu await you if you do venture there. My favorites include cumin lamb, both Chinese burgers (cumin beef and rouga mo, a pork version), the wontons in hot and spicy sauce, and the dan dan mein. Whether you choose a cumin beef burger or the cumin lamb, make sure you like cumin. Both are heavily, pungently seasoned with it, and I love it, so I love these. The pork burger is more traditionally and delicately sauced, but both burgers have a crisp wrapper that provides a nice textural contrast. The dan dan mein is super spicy and the noodles are perfectly cooked. The wontons are well-filled and make a great starter. I recently tried the egg roll on a whim (I love a good one) and it left much to be desired. In the past, I’ve had the garlic eggplant, which is soft, garlicky, and tasty.

    Takeout is available, and I’ve often done that as well, which if you’re heading 50 west from the Cheverly/Bladensburg area, it’s an easy in-and-out spot. Do note that I find the spiciness is kicked up if eating in the restaurant versus ordering take out. The D.C. area offers plenty of Sichuan options, and it can be hard to choose, but Panda Gourmet is a worthwhile addition to your usual suspects.

    -LEM (Lia)

    Editor’s Note: Yes, when she pitched the story, I did ask LEM is she was talking about the place in the mall food court. My bad.

    -JAY

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  • 03Jan

    Sichuan Pavilion is a Favorite for Spicy, Delicious Chinese Cuisine

     

    Sichuan Pavilion has long been a favorite of mine for spicy, delicious Chinese cuisine. It had been about a year since I’d been, until recently, when I went twice in one week. I forgot how much I loved it!

    Located on K Street in Farragut, it’s easily accessible. The menu offers a variety of dishes, so you can take your friends who still consider General Tso’s to be good Chinese cuisine. The service is always professional, and while the dining area tends to be a bit crowded, the decor is quite nice.

    Wonton Soup

    I tried the Wonton Soup for the first time, and found both the broth and dumplings flavorful. The Dumplings in Sichuan sauce are well-filled with pork and the sauce is not mouth-numbing hot, but has a nice kick. The Ma Po Tofu has a rich, spicy sauce and the tofu is soft and pillowy. The portion is huge, too.

    However, my all-time favorite Sichuan Pavilion dish is the Tea-smoked Duck. The duck is beautiful, with a nice layer of fat and crispy skin, and a truly smoky flavor. I could just eat the duck, but I usually give in and add the duck, vegetables, and plum sauce to the bao wrappers. But even alone, the duck is amazing. It also works well for takeout or as leftovers.

    I’ve also had the Polynesian drinks here, most recently the Suffering Bastard. The drinks are potent and reasonably priced, though there was no discernible difference between my drink and a friend’s Mai Tai.

    I’m always happy to see that Sichuan Pavilion is still popular and that the food is still as good as I remember it.

    -LEM (Lia)

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  • 21Jul

    Dinner at Mala Tang

    A few months ago, JAY wrote an article on the opening of a new Sichuan restaurant called Mala Tang, located in Arlington.  Upon his recommendation, I went there for dinner a couple weeks ago.  The restaurant validates parking, so feel free to use the parking garage if you drive in.  The inside of the restaurant consists of a U-shaped dining space with a central bar.  Mala Tang does have outdoor seating as well, but the hostess told me they weren’t doing hot pots outside on the night I visited.  I’m not sure if that meant they never do, or if some issue prevented it on the night in question.  About ¾ of the tables were full when I arrived, and it only got busier.

    After looking at the menu, I decided on chrysanthemum tea and a hot pot.  They offer two levels of spiciness for the broth: mala or mild, and I chose mala.  I’m a fan of spicy food, but I dislike having what feels like a nuclear reaction in my mouth.  Mala turned out to be the perfect choice.  The level of heat in the broth was exactly what I look for in a dish labeled as “spicy.”  A few chiles and pieces of scallions were floating on the broth when it arrived at the table.  A thin film of red chile oil washed over the spices.  With the hot pot came 1 small and 3 tiny bowls.  The small bowl contained house-made soy sauce, which tasted amazing all by itself.  The tiny bowls had slices of a miniature green hot chile, Chinese barbecue sauce, and spicy bean paste.  The server who brought my food told me to mix the contents of the tiny bowls with the soy sauce according to my preference.  After trying each, I added the barbecue sauce and bean paste to the small bowl.  The green chile proved a too hot for my taste.

    While I was busy customizing my soy sauce, the server was placing trays of food on the table.  I ordered chicken, bamboo shoots, button mushrooms, and house-made noodles to go with the hot pot.  I didn’t realize that rice came with the hot pot, hence the noodles.  All the food came thinly sliced and there was a ton of it.  Really, it was enough for three people.  The flavor the broth imparted on the food was spicy, but almost floral.  The soy sauce was less spicy, but with almost a garlicky taste.  Oddly enough, both went very well with my tea.  Bright yellow, it tasted delicately floral with a peppery note at the finish.  The selection of meats is fairly standard, but they also offer a variety of seafood.  The vegetable list encompasses familiar (potato) and strange (lotus root) choices.  If you visit Mala Tang, I have two suggestions: 1) bring someone to share the food and 2) try at least one vegetable that you’re not familiar with.

    -TKW

    Editor’s note (JAY):

    I’m hosting the September Food Blogger Happy Hour at Mala Tang on September 7th.

     

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  • 28Apr

    Mala Tang’s Soft Opening is Monday!

    Chef Liu having lunch at Mala Tang.

    Chef Liu Chaosheng (of Hong Kong Palace) is launching Mala Tang, a Sichuan hot pot restaurant Monday.  While the restaurant’s soft opening is on Monday, I was lucky enough to try a few of the Xiao Chi (small plates) today.

    The spicy wontons (ground pork, house made soy sauce, mapo tofu) topped with ground pork, and cold spicy dried beef (with sesame seeds and ground Sichuan peppercorns) were excellent, and had the fragrant and floral spiciness associated with authentic Sichuan cuisine.  I’ve had all of these dishes before, but even if I hadn’t, I’d be able to tell that they are very good and very authentic.   Really, who else makes their own soy sauce and tofu?

    I NEED to try the hot pot and dan dan noodles next time.  The restaurant has individual burners set up, since they thought it would be more friendly to an American audience than one large hot pot per table.  I’m fine either way, but I have really good memories of a long gone Queens Sichuan restaurant (Lion Pavilion) that had amazing dan dan noodles, and I’m hoping Mala Tang’s are as good.  I’d settle for half as good, if I hadn’t already tried some of Mala Tang’s food.  Everything I tried at Mala Tang was delicious so I have high expectations for future visits.

    -JAY

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