farmtomynyckitchen

[farmtomynyckitchen]

Switching to medium

Since medium seems to be the forum for discussion and new ideas, I am continuing to blog over here:

https://medium.com/@chinguyen

[farmtomynyckitchen]

Ramen Lab Review

Taking a break from the usual posts to start my food adventures here.  Since i'm no longer a Yelp member (that's a whole other story for another day), I'll share my experience at Ramen Lab here:

Arrived yesterday (Thursday opening week) at 8:40pm.  Hostess (Japanese of course) told me 40 minutes.  The wait really ended up being an hour mainly because she is not very efficient at seating people.  Not to mention the place is so tight it's hard for her to even service the people sitting down (ie getting their orders, getting their bills.).  I was there by myself so didn't mind the wait although there were many eager and anxious people around me (mostly Asians)  

I almost tripped getting to my seat and had to shove people sitting in order to squeeze through them with my puffy coat.  

Now onto the ramen.  Only 2 kinds: Shoyu and some miso one.  I ordered the Shoyu.  Comes with a small piece of pork that isn't really outstanding.  IMO I like the charred pork at Totto more (not necessarily their broth though).  Noodles came al dente and nice and chewy. This was expected since they are the original ramen noodle supplier, that's one thing they should get right!

The broth was not exciting.  Now keep in mind I am the purist kind.  I don’t like super fatty, super rich broth.  I actually prefer the cleaner chicken broth kind.  Which means this place should be awesome for me.  With the first sip I did taste good clean veggie broth.  But then after that, all the sips just tasted like soy sauce that over powered the entire broth.  

The egg was egg, slightly overcooked but still has a slight orange to it.  

Will I come back?  Probably not.  Next up MU ramen to see what all the hype is about!

#ramenlab #review #ramen

[farmtomynyckitchen]

How I finally broke into tech!

Wow, I'm kind of emotionally overwhelmed by all that's happened.  As much as I kept wanting to make a career switch, I still did my final walk out of AIG in tears.  A third of my adult life was spent here!  I basically walked into this company quite young, matured my career, and now felt like I was ready to take on a new challenge on my own.  

Nine years ago I got to opportunity to live in NYC by joining AIG.  I agreed more so for the city experience.  With work being not so stressful, I had the chance to start to exploring my personal passions.  I loved to ski, snowboard, run, walk, swim.  I loved to cook, eat, talk to foodies.  I wanted to experience it all.  But then one day I decided I wanted more out of my job as well: a sense of purpose, to make a huge impact, to change the world.  And so I set off on a mission to change my destiny.  

This went through many iterations and my friends can all vouch I tried for YEARS to do this.  I learned a lot about myself along the way and one thing held true, I just kept going and stayed positive.  

Dependent Variable

How did I manage to actually make a career switch after this long?  It definitely took a lot of careful planning.  

Independent Variables

- Positive Thinking:  

I changed my way of thinking not only mentally but out loud as well.  The less I complained the better things ended up getting over time.  I was way more pleasant to be around as well I think.  

- Relationship Building

I constantly worked on building relationships with people and friends on all levels.  The more you help each other, the more we can all grow as a community!  

- Networking:

I never really applied for jobs through the traditional route and relied on my networks for conversations to learn about what is out there that could be for me.  I learned to not be afraid to ask for help.  I never took any help for granted and tried every lead possible.  Every meeting was fruitful and I learned a little bit more about what I wanted in my next job.  I learned to take constructive criticism.  

- Startup Weekend

Shameless plug but seriously these guys are awesome!  Just being around the people you want to build something with energizes you in a way like no other.  The more I hung out with them the more I knew I wanted to be part of this community!  Can't wait to recruit more members!

- Free work.  

I volunteered at multiple places that were willing to let me help out.  It wasn't complicated work and I was willing to do anything from help survey people, to optimizing websites, to Facebook ads.  Anything they needed help with I was there!  

- Get Serious

I had to mentally prioritize this new pursuit.  I had to cut out most of my leisure time for quite some time.  This meant no more going out to try restaurants, no more long hours at the gym, much less time going out.  Any time I was out it was for the purpose of networking, doing something startup related, job interviewing.  I learned how to be very efficient with my time at work so that after hours I could go figure out my life.  

- Never give up

I worked hard and never gave up.  I created my own energy level in the ams.  I would start off either doing abs, lifting weights, swim, run.  Anything to get my adrenaline going.  After awhile this allowed me to roll off of needing any coffee even!  

- Relax and believe in yourself

I learned to relax once in awhile and not overwork myself.  I learned to quickly follow-up on leads but did try to take some time to relax at the end of the week so I can reset myself.  

So what's next?  A chance to build out a company in the loyalty program space.  Stay tuned!  

#personal growth #startuplife

[farmtomynyckitchen]

Spaghetti Al Limone (Lemon Spaghetti) Recipe

I had the revelation this weekend why I love food so much.  Growing up, it was a way to bring our family together without the pressures of needing to find topics to talk about.  Unlike the traditional American household, we didn't sit around the fireplace for hours having random good conversations.  We really had to try to force that type of atmosphere.  My mom's version of talking was more around checking off boxes: Did you finish your homework yet? Have you gotten 100% on your exams yet? Even today the questions are quite similar: When are you getting married? When are you planning on moving back home?  

I blame it on the difference in generations.  My mom was the first one in her family of 8 brothers and 1 sister to leave Vietnam.  Her only task in life was to survive. She didn't have the luxury to choose her fate, she simply chose to survive.  Requirements to survival: food, house, family, money.  

I on the other hand had to worry slightly about money, but the others were never really a huge priority for me.  My mother helped get me to the next level: The ability to choose my fate.  I essentially moved up on Maslow's hierarchy's of needs.  And yet I still resort back to food for my safety net.  

I spent a good deal of my time this weekend on the topic of food. It started with I was invited to a "melting pot luck".  My friend has spent a good deal of time the past few years meeting all sorts of people around the world.  She finally returned back to New York and invited us all to her place to use her kitchen and have some casual conversations.  And I wonder yet again, why food?  The answer is so simple.  It doesn't matter what status you are, what color you are, what language you speak: Food connects people.  The aromatic smells fill the room and entices people to a central meeting area.  The tastes of different dishes wakes up different taste buds. The different appearances of dishes wakes up a curiosity that doesn't require words.  Food is what will bring people together.  And so it was my mission to find a perfect dish to make that would wake people up in a good way.  Unlike my previous Tumblr blog entries, this one relied on me buying a few more necessary ingredients:

I actually ended up making three dishes altogether.  I'll share the other 2 later.  

Because I was going to make this dish fresh at my friend's house that was located over an hour away from me, I wanted to prepare all the ingredients ahead of time and just plop them into a pot when I got there.  Because of that I stuck to the correct proportions of the recipe here:

Food Data Components

Dependent Variable: Spaghetti Al Limone (via American Test Kitchen)

Independent Variables:

1          lb (package) Bucatini spaghetti

Table salt

1          pound spaghetti

¼         cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

1          medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)

¼         cup heavy cream

2          tsps finely grated zest and 1/4 cup juice from 3 lemons

1          ounce finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup), plus               more for serving

Ground black pepper

2          tablespoons shredded fresh basil leaves

Cooking Formula Directions

1) Bring pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook for about 9 minutes.  Make sure to reserve about 1.5 cups of pasta water for later.  Strain pasta and place aside in a bowl.

2) Use same pot at medium heat to lightly saute shallots in a little bit of olive oil and salt.

3) Once the shallots are translucent (2-5 minutes), Add in the pasta water and cream.  Have that cook for another 2-5 minutes or until it starts to simmer for a few minutes.

4) At this point you can turn off the heat and return the pasta back into this pot.  Stir in the rest of the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, and pepper.  Make sure the mixture gets spread out evenly.

5) Cover the pot for another 2-5 minutes to let the pasta absorb the sauce.

6) At this point I had to add in probably another 1/2 cup of parmesan to really bring out some depth to the pasta.  Also if I had another lemon on me, I might have actually add in a little more lemon zest.  

7) Finally add in basil, toss a few times and serve!

The picture below includes the other dishes I will elaborate on in the next entries.  

Notes to self:

- learn how to group my blog entries and display them on the side columns.

- learn how to group some parts of my entries together (ie how do I view all the "Notes to self" in one area?

#Italian Recipes #spaghetti #lemon

[farmtomynyckitchen]

Yelp vs. Xanga vs. Tumblr

I am not sure why I had been spending so much of my energy writing Yelp entries for the past 8 years.   I suppose it was because Yelp really cut out all the hassle of needing to learn how to blog and just gave me a super user-friendly platform to record my experiences at all the restaurants.  I didn't have to learn code and I didn't have to set anything up.  All I had to do was start writing.  Yelp would catalog everything for me so I could search by topics, location, friend's recommendations.  But I always wonder what happens to all that free data I provided them if they do finally shut down?  (update as of April 25, 2014: the inevitable has happened, Yelp finally took down all of my data and a huge portion of my identity... reflections will be in a later post)

Tumblr is not immune from this risk.  Back in high school, I used to write my travel entries on Xanga.  Once that finally shut down, all of my entries were lost.  So a question I have for people is: how do you record your life experiences electronically without the risk of having it disappear into the "cloud" along with the existence yet another blogging start-up.  Will the physical notebook always be the more superior item to keep on hand?  

Until I find a more sustainable way to both record my thoughts and share it with the world, I will use Tumblr as my voice.  

[farmtomynyckitchen]

Banh Mi Trung Op La (Vietnamese Sandwich with Egg)

This morning my boyfriend decided to be good and wake up early to go to jujitsu practice. As a result, I too decided I should make use of the gym. After all, the gym was just right upstairs! Ever since I returned from my Europe vacation, my schedule has been anything but normal. I've been trying to meet up with as many people in as many different industries as possible. I was hoping people’s motivations and connections would fuel my energy. But anyone who actively goes on this massive career transformation knows this activity can get pretty tiring. I love it when I can resort back to some of my normal routines: sleep, exercise, cook, eat.

This morning as I was doing my last few sets of curl ups, I started to think: what do I STILL have left in my fridge (which by the way, it ceases to amaze me how the amount of stuff in my fridge never gets smaller).

Food Data Components

Independent Food Variables

Frozen Wonder Bread from our leftover camping trip back in September

Country Pate from Dickson’s Farmstand

Maggi soy sauce (I can do a whole entry just talking about Maggi

1 small lone farmers market egg

Kewpie mayo (The Ktchn does a great job of explaining this)

Do chua (or Vietnamese pickled daikon & carrots)

parsley

fried shallots

Dependent Food Variable = Banh Mi Op La Trung

As I continue to blog daily, I am starting to see a pattern with my food preference. However, please note that I actually do cook other types of food as well. I tend to go through stages of food genres. This week is dedicated to Asia.

I quickly found a recipe from another fun Vietnamese blog to read:

WhiteonRiceCouple

A twist on the traditional Vietnamese sandwich. The only addition is it includes a fried egg.

Put all of those ingredients together,add a splash of Maggi soy sauce and this fancy breakfast sandwich is sure to wake up your senses for the day!

Notes to Self (I understand people can read this but I would like to log my learning process as I pick up more skills on Tumblr.)

Improve presentation of final products

#Vietnamese Recipes #bread

[farmtomynyckitchen]

Mien Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)

I've been on a kick lately to implement best practices from "Getting Things Done" so that I can find a new more meaningful job.  I got through revisiting the first concepts and successfully created an "Inbox". Then my mind started to wander once more into my fridge.  What can I make with what I have today?  

Food Data Components

Independent Food Variables

Endless really terrible fried chicken

Frozen chicken thigh

Cha Lua 

Fried Shallots

Scallions

Onion

Ginger

Garlic

Glass noodles

Egg

Parsley

Dry cloves, star anise, coriander, salt, pepper

Fish Sauce

Dependent Food Variable = Mien Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)

My mom used to make me a ton of Vietnamese dishes growing up.  Now I tend to read this website to recreate and enhance those Vietnamese recipes:

Ravenous Couple's Mien Ga Recipe

In addition, I always have to do a comparison of ingredients used on that website with one or two other ones.  

Om Nom Nguyen's Mien Ga Recipe

Cooking Model Used

I miss my mom's cooking shortcuts.  She would use a can of chicken broth instead of boiling the bones expecting it to expense just as much flavor as a can full of MSG would.  Regardless, one of my goals is to eat healthier and use more natural ingredients.  Here were my steps:

1) Brown the herbs, onion, garlic, ginger, chicken.  Once charred, place into an herb bag to be tossed in with the soup.

2) Add a little over 2 bowls of water.  Season with salt, fish sauce, lime and add in the herb bag.

3) Soak the glass noodles in cold water.

4) Scoop out the fat scum at the top from time to time.  

5) Take the chicken out after maybe 5 minutes.  Debone the chicken and toss bones back into pot.

6) Soup should realistically be done after 20 minutes.  Like most soups, the longer the bones simmers the better.  

7) Make a quick omelet with your egg and cut into slivers.

8) Start arranging your bowls.  Drain the water from the noodles.  Lay all your ingredients on top of the noodles (chicken, cha lua, egg).  Blanch them in hot water if you want the noodles slightly softer.  Otherwise put them right into the bowls.  

9) Pour enough soup to cover the noodles.  Garnish with parsley, scallions, fried shallots.  Season with salt/pepper.  Squeeze lemon or lime to finish off the dish!

Notes to self:

I successfully took pictures throughout the cooking process.  

Hyperlinks now work.

The subject lines in bold are not showing bold once the entry is publicized.  

Copyright my pictures 

Personalize my background and fonts on Tumblr

#Vietnamese Recipes #leftover chicken

[farmtomynyckitchen]

Homemade Japanese Curry

For the past few weeks I have been on a mission to make some drastic changes in my life: find a job that has meaning, grow relationships that matter, cut out things that I felt were not adding value either professionally or personally.  Because networking and looking for a new job were taking a huge chunk of my free time after work, I chose to reduce my time in the kitchen where I would normally "de-stress" for many hours on end.  This practice didn't last very long. I am notorious for using the kitchen to procrastinate and have somehow always found my way back to this comfort area.  

Tonight, after 10+ hours at work doing yet another PowerPoint presentation for yet another layer of management, I somehow garnered enough motivation to stop this nonsensical cycle.  I quickly raced out of the office to attend an event showcasing startups focused on data analytics.  Surely these companies would be much more exciting to learn about!  The event turned out to showcase startups alright but just didn't seem to peak my interest in terms of innovation.  It seemed to just highlight yet another social intelligence company.  I can speak and understand the lingo, but my heart, tummy, and brain were quickly finding excuses to bring me back home into the kitchen.  And so home I went.  

I love working through food related challenges, especially when it comes to finding ways to cook up what I have left in my fridge.  I hate wasting food so I am always researching new recipes to add to my Evernote.  As I formulate how to write this first entry, I realize I will be structuring my entries going forward, similar to how statisticians at my current job build models.  

Food Data Components

Independent Food Variables = Ingredients in my fridge & home

cut onions

parsley

yams

leftover really terrible dry fried chicken 

chanterelle mushrooms

basmati rice

thai basil

pepper

salt

Japanese Curry Roux

scallions

Dependent Food Variable = Final Dish

My mind works in mysterious ways.  Like variables into a food model, I put those ingredients into my brain and the dependent variable: “ Japanese Curry” comes to mind.  Anyone who knows me knows Japanese food is my favorite food.  But I still can’t explain why I crave Japanese curry.  It has no strong spices most people associate curry with, no heat, and is actually sweet and very artificial.  Yet the creamy gritty texture was exactly what I needed for comfort food tonight. 

Cooking Model Used

Assumption: I assume people reading my blog are capable of estimating proportions. (After all, these are recipes typically with leftovers.) There will be no measurements with the recipes I provide.  I’ll also try to provide an estimate on timing.  Usually for ingredients it will be equal portions (ie if you cut ¼ cup of yams, then have about the same amount of onions, chicken, mushrooms, etc). 

1)     Lightly oil pan.  Use fried chicken skins as substitute for oil if available

2)     Lightly sauté onions, yams, fried chicken skins at medium heat

3)     Add just a little bit of water to cover ingredients halfway

4)     Cover pan to simmer and soften yams

5)     Once yams have softened, add a little more water

6)     Add ¼ cube of Japanese curry roux.  I used this brand.  My Japanese friend used to mix a couple of different brands together.  Start with a little at a time to thicken the roux.  A little goes a long way. 

7)     Add basil near the end.  Season with salt and pepper as desired.

8)     Garnish with parsley and serve with rice.

Total cook time for 2 portions: 30 minutes

Note to self:

Take a picture of my final product before devouring it!  Til next post!

#Japanese Recipes #leftover chicken