Quail Eggs, Kumquat & other Asian Gems

Radishes.

One of the reasons why I love coming to H Mart so much is for the vibrant produce. Check it.

Yes, those are Quail Eggs.

Kumquat, my sour pucker of choice.

Scanning the leaning tower of Fuji.

Pineapple (Express?).

This is a Bust

Ever wonder what happens to a foodie after her refrigerator and boiler system decide to shut down within the same week?

Refrigerator down = black coffee, by default. Not bad.

On the other hand, heater down = cold showers, no laundry, no washing dishes (not sure whether to be grateful for that).




Some thoughts on lo-tech living:

Concerned readers should be somewhat relieved to hear that I haven't been subsisting on ramen and nutella alone, though I really do love nutella. Back in the old days (think wayyy back, before refrigerators were invented), people stored their food in caves, cellars, snow and even ice. Goods were packed up in canned jars to preserve the freshness.

When ice boxes came onto the scene in the early 19th century, explosive methyl ether, ammonia and zinc were all used as refrigerants before more energy efficient alternatives were invented in the 1970s. Then, in the late 1800s to 1929, toxic chemicals (methyl chloride and sulfur dioxide) took a turn for the worse. After a methyl chloride leak that led to several fatalities, three American companies combined their resources to discover Freon, which is used in most standard compressor refrigerators today. General Electric and Gibson were influential in the refrigerator market.

Electrolux introduced the first electric refrigerator in 1923.

Refrigerators have now become a necessity. It is the No. 1 most used appliance in America and more than 99.5% households use one.

The evaporative cooling box caught my eye. You can create this with just 5 dollars or so, using everyday items lying around the house. It's especially handy for camping trips. Take out your hammer, scissors and staples and get ready to drill!

Pics from when the refrigerator was still working:

Koryodang Cream Pan, $1.25 (H Mart)

Old Fashioned Plain Cheesecake, $34 for whole (Pocono Cheesecake Factory)

Locations:
H Mart
400 Hillside Av
Williston Park, NY 11596
516.699.0270
www.hmart.com

Pocono Cheesecake Factory
Rte 611
Swiftwater, PA 18370
570.839.6844
http://poconocheesecake.com/

Korean Food, Sarangheyo!!!

Among my friends, it's widely known that I have a hearty appetite when it comes to Korean food. Kalbi, bulgolgi, bibimbap, sundubu chigae, duk bok gi, haemul pajun, kimchi bokum bap, pat bing soo, kochujang...I love it all!

On my last visit to the Korean grocery store H mart, I thought I'd try a Cream Biscuit. The pastry and dessert section seems to have more variety on Saturdays. A flood of customers brushed elbows with me trying to get their packets of curry, marinated meat and nori. Maybe they sensed the snow blizzard was coming and decided to stock up on supplies while they could. (Snow later blanketed the town 13" deep. I shoveled for one hour, but that's another story.)

Cream Biscuit ingredients: All Trumps (Gold Medal flour), Yeast, Sugar, Butter, Biscuit, Eggs, Custard Cream. I'm not sure why, but I somehow expected the biscuit to taste more like a cream puff. Boy was I wrong -- one bite of the custard cream and I thought I was eating don tat, Chinese egg custard. Good stuff nonetheless. The biscuit was soft and fluffy, and the custard was light, non-oily, with a touch of sweetness.



Flushing, that bustling hearth of Chinese and Korean tasties, is also the purveyor of Koryodang Bakery. You can often find older Korean ahjushiis and ahjumas mixed in with groups of high school students hanging out at Koryodang, all of them chowing down on pastries and coffee or tea. Across the street from Koryodang is its competition, Bakery de Paris, a Korean-owned bakery with a French touch. You've got to try their sweet potato bread, raisin twists and butter cream buns. My grandfather will have seconds of the sweet potato bread, even though he's a diabetic. While Bakery de Paris may be a bit pricier than other bakeries, the quality is well worth it.

One bite of the Cream Biscuit and I'm in egg custard heaven.

Bite-sized morsel of kim bap.

Kim bap is one of my favorite finger-food appetizers. Similar to Japanese tori maki, kim bap is made with sticky rice, crab, nori (seaweed), carrot, daikon (pickled radish), spinach, eggs, rice and sesame seeds.

Don't shrimp on freshness.

The shrimp isn't Korean per se, but it was purchased from H mart. Just pan-fry for a few minutes on both sides, then dip in your preferred cocktail sauce. The outside is crispy and salty, the inside moist and flavorful. The most important thing about picking shrimp is to make sure it's fresh. That's what defines so-so shrimp from spectacular shrimp!