fig jam & crostinis

SUMMER = JAM. I think.

Well, being from LA county where nobody cooks and from a Korean community where making your own preserves is pretty much unheard of (Costco-sized jars of Knott’s strawberry jam, anybody?), I’m just basing this theory off of my undying attachment to the Food Network (Paula Deen and The Barefoot Contessa, anyone?) and childhood books about Southern comfort food and lazy, lemonade-filled summers on your porch (my what?).

FIGS! Honestly, I didn’t even really know what a fig looked like outside of a Fig Newton until a few weeks ago. A sweet friend of my mom’s gave us a whole bowl and bag full of enormous, ripe figs from her backyard. And while we’ve been eating them furiously, they’ve been ripening like nobody’s business. Mainly because it’s hard to eat more than one because the texture is so unusual and new.

So, what is one to do with overripe fruit?  Didn’t really know how to bake them into something, so Momma Kim decided to make some jam.

DIE FIGS DIE!

This is the mashing process. The most fun part, in my opinion.

And voila, you have Fig Preserves. Woohoo. Who the hell is feeling domestic and so very Little House on the Prairie now?

Fig Jam
Yield: 3 small jars

20 large, very ripe figs
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Juice of two oranges
Simmer for about 3 hours

Mash figs and sugar to a pulp in a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil at medium-high heat. When mixture begins to boil, lower heart to medium-low and simmer for one hour.

After about one hour, add juice two oranges and add the salt to the fig mixture and simmer at about medium low for two more hours until fig mixture comes to a jam-like consistency.

This is just an estimate of my mom’s recipe since she does everything by eye but she just looked it over and says it looks about right. :)

Jam on bread gets boring. Trust me. Mix it up with these crostinis! Makes for a good appetizer or boredom snack or meal if you really don’t like to eat. But I don’t know, up to you.

Fig and Jam Crostinis

Need: fig jam, chevre (goat cheese), a crusty bread (baguettes work well), and prosciutto slices.

Spread the chevre onto the bread slices, slather with some fig jam, and layer on top with prosciutto. Creamy goat cheese + sweet fig jam + salty prosciutto all pair deliciously together.

DO YOU FEEL BOUGIE YET?

Because  I do.

But wait, it’s not over. Because who the heck eats chevre and prosciutto without something to drink. Must go find something to wash it all down….

DP? I wish.

Getting distracted by white lights and clean windows…

Oh hello, wine cellar.

Although I don’t know a thing about white wine, this is supposedly our dear President Obama’s favorite white wine. Kendall Jackson Chardonnay. Not sure about the year, but the sweet crisp flavors went well with the crostinis.

White wine and fig jam crostinis.

It’s a good idea.

Do it.

epicasiatrip: thai adventure

Thailand was probably by far my favorite country throughout the trip… It has everything you’re looking for… Crazy city life in Bangkok offset by culture and history at the Grand Palace. Amazing, cheap food everywhere, night markets, shopping malls, nightlife, and if you venture out to Phuket, the most amazing beaches you’ve ever seen. Thailand definitely had the best food… I was going crazy with the curries, the soups, Thai tea, Thai coffee, exotic fruits, the noodles… Just thinking about it makes me salivate.

Too bad it was over 100 degrees and 100% humidity and the sun was beating down so strong, my entire body broke out in sun rash, because otherwise, I loved Thailand. I was super bummed out that we didn’t get to go to Chiang Mai, but it’s okay. Next time. And there will be a next time, because I am in LOVE with Thailand.

Notable points:

Getting around:
Bangkok has decent public transportation and an abundance of taxi cabs who can take you around the city. Just make sure you tell the driver, “Meter please” so you aren’t surprised at the end. You can easily take the train from the airport to the city center and from there either cab it or take the metro to the nearest subway stop. We found a great guy with a souped up taxi to take us to the Kachanaburi province to see the Tiger Temple. He was really nice, took photos for us, had Jason Mraz playing non-stop (A+, my friend), and even bought us fruit. We tipped him pretty well and it only cost us about $20 per person for 4 people.

In Phuket, we just stayed in one area and I think you need to cab it if you wanna get around the island so consider your options carefully in terms of whether you want nightlife, serene beaches, touristy vs. non-touristy.

Landscape:
Bangkok is a great city – a dirty Asian city but I love those! Great street food, perfectly safe as long as you keep your bag close to your body and make sure everything is zipped up at all times. The Grand Palace is a boat ride away but totally worth it, and I highly recommend making trips out to go to the night  markets to get some cheap souvenirs and $1 pad thai.

Phuket is amazing – I have never seen such beautiful beaches in my entire life. Really, your mind will be blown that water could be so cerulean.

Weather:
HOT HOT HOT HOT. Hot and humid, oh me, oh my. Bangkok was definitely the hottest city we went to, and I ended up getting sun rash everywhere. Bring loads of sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat. Airy, loose clothing is a must. Bring a couple cute bikinis and live out of them if you’re going to Phuket or any of the neighboring islands.

Wardrobe:
For the most part, you can walk around in a tank top and shorts, but if you plan on going into the temples (which you definitely should), bring a cardigan as bare shoulders are not allowed inside. You can either rent a wrap to tie around your waist to cover your legs or wear a skirt that goes down to your knees. A maxi dress would probably be the best option for traipsing around the old city. For shoes, I spent the whole trip in Rainbow flip flops and was fine.

Food & Beverage:
Thai food is incredible. Flavorful, spicy, diverse, and utterly complex. You’ll find so many great things to eat off the streets – everything from fresh pad thai, fried scorpions, these sweet potato balls, and my favorite, mango sticky rice. You’ll be constantly disappointed by your neighborhood Thai place. I didn’t realize Thai food was so wonderfully spicy and lemongrass-y and sour. I highly recommend getting out of your pad see ew comfort zone – explore all the weird curries, the spicy BBQ, Tom Yum Goong, and my personal favorite, som tum or green papaya salad. And eat a lot of fruit while you’re there – it’s cheap and fresh and lychee and durian and mango and jackfruit are everywhere!

Language:
Tourism is a major factor for Thailand’s GDP – about 10 million to Bangkok and 3 million to Phuket annually so almost every sign will have an English translation. Lucky you! People might not speak the best English but they are so, so friendly and very willing to help if you just ask.

Cost:
You can live off of $10 a day for food. I am not kidding. Get ready to gorge on boat noodles and satay.

Safety:
Traveling alone? You are perfectly safe here. No worries. Just don’t go to shady alleyways by yourself, but Bangkok and Phuket are perfectly safe for all tourists.

Final Thoughts:
Sex trade – yes it’s prevalent, yes it’s there. I don’t personally believe in supporting pong shows and ladyboy shows because most of them are victims, but they are popular and easy to find in Patpong and Pattaya. And as a girl, being near a ladyboy bar, let’s just say I’ve never felt so undesirable in my entire life! Except unless I was hanging out in WeHo.

Bangkok

This was one thing I was NOT willing to try.

mango sticky rice

wat arun

the grand palace

fried sweet potato balls – delicious!

som tum salad <3 (aka green papaya)

tom yum goong

floating markets

And then on to Phuket!

panang curry

maya bay – where leo dicaprio filmed the beach.

beautiful loh samah bay

our hilarious guide bringing us mai tais

chicken pad see euw

goodbye Koh Phi Phi…. I miss you. Almost more than I miss Bali.

lemon meringue cookies

I love sour stuff. I love lemons. How can you hate lemon anything?

Lemon bars. Lemon meringue pie. Lemonade. Lemon poppyseed muffins. Liz Lemon. My interchange yellow Mini Cooper – Liz Lemon, Jr. Any kind of seafood with lemons. Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo soup. Am I forgetting anyone?

Oh yes. One new acquaintance.

Say hello to Lemon Meringue Cookies. With lemon curd filling. Oh yummmm.

Couldn’t resist this little bit of summer. Especially since I spend all day in A/C and I’m trying to avoid getting sick… And…. Lemons have a lot of vitamin C. So… These cookies are good for my health? Whatever. I’m just gonna eat ‘em. The weather’s been kind of hot though so these got wrinkly and sticky overnight :( Or maybe I didn’t beat the egg whites stiff enough. Gotta buy a large start tip for the pastry bag and try this again when the weather’s a bit cooler and drier.

I tried a couple cookies while they were cooling and they were hella good. Then, I put the lemon curd on them and my mouth went into buttery lemon sweet-tartness overdrive. Then, I stuck them in the freezer and tried a cold one and my mouth is currently experiencing puckery bliss.

Little buttons! They’re so cute.

These are kind of like mini candy/cookie version of a lemon meringue pie without the crust. I already can’t keep my family away from them… My dad, or as I sometimes call him, the Diabetic, kept reaching his hand out for more while I was assembling them and he ate like four in a span of five seconds. He straight up vacuummed the cookies. Shoomp.

Not that he needs to feel guilty about it or anything. They’re gluten-free and the meringues themselves are fat-free. The lemon curd I can’t take responsibility for… It’s fatty heaven in a jar. And the recipe yields more than you need… Unless you take into account the fact that I like to eat things out of jars with a spoon. Then, I guess it’s just enough.

BUTTER? BRING IT.

Lemon Meringue Cookies
Yield: About 25 cookies
From joythebaker

Meringues:
2 large egg whites
pinch of salt
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place two racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 200 degrees F.Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Foil will also work in a pinch. Set the baking pans aside.

Place the egg whites (save the yolks for the curd) in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.  Beat egg whites, on medium speed,  until foamy.  Add the pinch of salt and increase speed to medium-high.  Slowly begin to sprinkle in the sugar.  Continue to beat eggs until they become thick, glossy and hold stiff peeks.  The egg whites will be the consistency of melted marshmallow.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the lemon zest and vanilla extract.   Spoon into a piping bag, fitted with a large star tip.  Pipe about a teaspoons worth of meringue onto the baking sheet.  Stars can be close together, as they won’t spread or puff during baking.  Pipe stars onto the two baking sheets until no meringue remains in the bag.  Using the back of a spoon, flatten out half of the meringue stars, making them as flat as possible, but not necessarily a larger circle than the original piped star.  The flattened star will become the bottom of the sandwich cookie.

Bake meringues for 2 hours, until no longer sticky , but firm and hardened.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet before filling and sandwiching.

Lemon Curd:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl and set aside.

In a medium pot, whisk together lemon juice, granulated sugar, eggs, yolks, and pinch of salt.  Place the pot over a medium-low flame and add butter.  Stir mixture with a whisk, and spatula.  The spatula will help you get into the corners of the pan, ensuring that none of the curd over-cooks too much.  Cook the curd until the butter is melted, and the mixture is the thickness of warm hot fudge.  The whisk will begin to leave a trail of whisk marks and the mixture will have the distinct smell of lemon curd.  You don’t really need to boil lemon curd… it’s probably done it if gets to the boiling stage.

Remove from the flame and immediately pour into the fine mesh strainer over the medium bowl.  Press through the strainer, leaving any cooked egg bits in the strainer, and not in your beautiful curd.

Place curd in a jar, with a piece of plastic wrap placed directly over the curd.  Place in the fridge until completely cold.

Assembly:
To fill the cookies, spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of curd onto a flattened bottom cookie.  Top with a star shaped cookie.  Place cookies in a single layer on a tray and place in the freezer for 20 minutes to an hour.  I love these cookies right out of the freezer.  You can also fill them and serve them immediately.  These cookies do not last well if willed and left to sit.

epicasiatrip: bali, indonesia

“Welcome to Paradise!” signs everywhere in Bali.

This place really is paradise. Beautiful. Mild weather. Cool breeze. Gorgeous Balinese temples and powder white sand. Although I don’t think I’ve seen any beaches more beautiful than the ones in Cancun, Bali is a close runner-up.

Notable points:

Getting around:
We stayed at a villa that provided a shuttle and usually took a taxi back from Jimbaran or Ubud or wherever we were. If you want to explore other parts of the island (which you definitely do), just be prepared to take a lot of taxis! Taxi taxi taxi!

Landscape:
Bali is great for nature-lovers. Beautiful beaches, great mountains for hiking, lakes, water activities, they’ve got everything! And the weather is very temperate and not as hot as the rest of Southeast Asia. Lying out on the beach is wonderful and there are a ton of people renting out surfboards and bodyboards and offering lessons.

Weather:
See above – paradise. But pack an umbrella just in case – you just never know.

Wardrobe:
Anything goes – light khakis, maxi dresses, something to cover your legs for the temples, bikinis, tanks. Bali is perfection.

Food & Beverage:
A lot of mee goreng (fried noodles) and nasi goreng (fried rice.) There are a lot of chicken dishes here but I’m not too sure about the vegetarian options. If you go to Jimbaran beach before sunset, you can reserve a spot right on the beach and watch the sunset while eating a nice fresh seafood dinner. It won’t be cheap but for the view and the quality of the food, it’s a great deal. Watching the most amazing sunset, toes in white warm sand, while digging into clams and crab was one of the best experiences of my trip.

Language:
English everywhere! No worries about this one. Bali is full of honeymooners and tourists.

Cost:
Relatively cheap – I recommend splurging on a nicer villa that is closer to the beaches. The US dollar can definitely take you a far way here and despite the locals capitalizing on the surges in tourism, Bali is seeped in culture if you look in the right places. Hotels and villas aren’t that expensive compared to the level of accommodation. We stayed in a two-bedroom villa in Seminyak for  $200 a night which wasn’t too bad for getting a private pool, two spacious bedrooms, and breakfast every morning. There are definitely a lot more upscale villas next to the beach in the area but considering we were traveling on a budget, it was a pretty awesome deal especially since we got free shuttle service to Kuta and Legian beach.

AND You can get hour-long massages, pedicures, and hot stone massages for less than 20 USD pretty much anywhere. HEAVEN. I want to go back for my daily massage… Sigh. My shoulders are full of tension from all this mad studying. I could really use a Thai or Balinese full-body massage right about now.

Safety:
Bali is incredibly safe. The only time I was scared was when I was in the monkey forest and the little devils came too close to my sunglasses.

Final Thoughts:
I recommend staying in a villa – you get privacy, spacious accommodations, breakfast made for you in the comforts of your own room, and your own private pool possibly for skinny dipping ;).

A nice touch at our private villa with a private pool. :)

Avocado juice with chocolate syrup. It kind of sounds gross, but it was surprisingly addicting. It was creamy, rich, and just sweet enough. Quickly became my drink of choice whenever I could find it.

Satay

Fried Bee Hoon noodles.

Bintang – Indonesian pilsner. Malty and pretty delicious! Apparently a subsidiary of Heineken.

Jimbaran!

Seafood dinner on Jimbaran beach facing the sunset. Paying for the view but it was worth it. Huge prawns, calamari, clams, crab, baked fish, and the most beautiful sunset in the world.

See those little fishing boats out there? They bring in the super fresh seafood daily for people to grill and eat while watching the sunset. Doesn’t get any fresher than that.

Ibu Oka – famous warung in Ubud selling Babi Guling: suckling pig. Anthony Bourdain recommended this place… So, of course we had to try it. Place was PACKED.

Succulent suckling pig meat… Crispy pork skin… Rice… And mothereffing spicy ass peppers. I was seriously breaking a sweat after eating this.

Another famous place… The Dirty Duck Diner. Skinny little roasted duck… Sadly this place did not live up to it’s fame. Nice view of the rice paddies from our little dining terrace though.

After three weeks of travel, we caved and ordered a pizza at 10 p.m. White Garlic Pizza tasted pretty freaking awesome with the Bintang.

Ayam Goreng – Indonesian fried chicken

Ikan Bakar – charcoal grilled fish\

Dreaming of going back to Paradise again…

Life seemed so perfect back then.

epicasiatrip: singapore revisited

HOLLA back in a familiar looking place. Last year when I visited Singapore, I did two posts about the food I had there. And honestly, I don’t know what it is about Singaporean food but I dreamt about the noodles, seafood, and roti prata that I had there for months afterwards…

Singapore is such a strange little country. Or a city-state rather. An incredibly small island (?) chilling south of Malaysia without any natural resources but an amazing blend of Malay, Chinese, and Indian culture and food all in an English-speaking Westernized setting. Quite a strange place and even after my second visit there, I can’t seem to quite put Singapore into words.

It’s so clean, prosperous, and Western, it almost doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of Southeast Asia. Probably the cleanest urban center you may ever see in the world. Second to none, except maybe Japan. Some might find it boring… Too cookie-cutter clean and sterile. But for someone looking for the best food in Southeast Asia in one place, Singapore is the place to be.

Getting around:
Singapore is known for its amazing infrastructure – the underground will take you wherever you want to go. They’re constantly building new stations and the country is so small that navigating the subways and buses will be super easy. It’s about a dollar for each trip.

Landscape:
Incredibly Westernized. You’ll get fined for littering, chewing gum, or anything unseemly so keep that in mind. Preserve the atmosphere!

Weather:
Singaporeans say that they have four season – hot and hotter and wet and wetter! Or was it hot, hotter, even hotter, and freaking hot? Pack an umbrella for sure. It tends to rain in the middle of the day which is good because it cools down significantly. Or you can always escape into one of the many shopping malls and wait it out for an hour or two.

Food & Beverage:
I love Singaporean food. See below for the many photos… You MUST get Singaporean chili crab and you MUST get their famous fishhead curry. Oh, and laksa. Oh, and roti. Basically, go to a hawker center with as many people as possible and eat as many things as possible. Indian, Chinese, Malay, you want it, they’ve got it. Hawker centers are a great way to go on a budget and the food there tastes so much better than any other restaurant around.

And GET SOME KAYA TOAST. Love that junk.

Language:
English is the official national language here!

Cost:
Singapore is relatively expensive compared to the rest of Southeast Asia. I’d say comparable to the U.S. – $1.50 for a subway ride, $10 for a basic meal in a restaurant, $10 for a cocktail, etc.

Safety:
Are you serious? This place is probably safer than wherever you’re from. Unless you’re from rural Japan.

Final Thoughts:
Alcohol is expensive in Singapore because they have a “sin tax,” so I’d say try a Singapore Sling just for kicks but get your beer kick in Thailand or Indonesia. Singapore is a good landing pad for anyone on their way to the rest of Asia.

 

Kaya Toast at Ya Kun. :) I love this stuff with the soft-boiled eggs. Kaya jam is a sweet cocunut jam spread on toast with a lot of cold butter.

Laksa! <3 Spicy seafood noodles.

BBQ stingray

Fish Head Curry. You can only find the Indian version of this curry in Singapore. It’s the whole meaty head and collar of a red snapper cooked in spicy curry broth that’ll hook you with the first bite, and it is to DIE for.

Tian Tian Hainan Chicken and Rice. Endorsed by Tony Bourdain. You bet you ass it was good. Might look plain but the rice is cooked in chicken broth and full of flavor.

Black Carrot Cake. Kind of like Chinese dimsum turnip cakes, not like carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

Petronus Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur during our small day trip.

Singapore Sling.

This is me terrified of our waterfall Flaming Lamborghini. This is one of the scariest things I’ve ever consumed in my life. Possibility of scorching my threat with flaming alcohol? SURE! SIGN ME UP!

 I felt like a BAMF afterwards.