Rapper John

Here's my husband. No explanation needed.



Oh, except that he made the video all by himself.

Oyster Sauce

In my last post I recommended a vegetable and said it was great with an oyster sauce mixture on top. In case any of you are interested in making that dish or are inspired to make some Chinese food because of Asian April, I feel that I must provide you with a few warnings tonight.

Oyster sauce - it's been an ingredient that I have stayed far far away from because of the first word in its name. However, it is a very popular ingredient for Chinese dishes, so after much careful thought (and self persuasion), I bought it. It has now been used four times in our kitchen and I feel that there are three crucial pieces of information about oyster sauce that you need to know:

1) It is like ketchup in a glass jar - ridiculously difficult to get out. In addition, its consistency is thicker than ketchup. In other words, do not plan on just pulling it out of the fridge - yes, it needs to be refrigerated - and pouring some in your wok like you would soy sauce. This will not happen. Here's how I propose you do it: keep it in the fridge upside down. When getting ready to cook, put it in a glass - still upside down - of hot water. After a few minutes, start the long task of getting it out with a utensil. Do this long before you need to use the oyster sauce.

This brings me to the second piece of information. When using the utensil to get it out of the jar, you will undoubtedly get oyster sauce on your fingers. 2) Do not lick any tiny amount of oyster sauce off your fingers. To say it more strongly, never eat oyster sauce on its own in any amount. If you do, this will surely destroy any pleasure you have in cooking with oyster sauce for the rest of your life.

Now that I've completely scared you away from oyster sauce, let me get to number three. 3) You will enjoy food that you have made with oyster sauce, as it tastes like you expect Chinese food to taste. Without it, the food just won't be right. Even if you have accidentally tasted oyster sauce on its own, once it is mixed with other ingredients, you will like it. So do not stay away from it out of fear.

Attention Broccoli Lovers

Here's a new vegetable for you: Gai Lan, also known as kai-lan, Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale. It's really quite delicious! The flower sections are kind of sweet, the leaves are a bit bitter, and the stalks reminded us of something between broccoli and asparagus.


We recently had it in the recipe "Gai Lan with Vegetarian Oyster Sauce" (we used non-vegetarian), from the magazine Vegetarian Times, on top of sesame noodles. Wonderful. The recipe called for boiling it, which you do with a slighted salted and baking soda-ed pot of water in order to help with the bitterness of the leaves.


Another great way to eat gai lan is stir-fried with ginger and garlic.

By the way, if you are one who truly loves broccoli - like everyone in my immediate family - and have been wondering about the magazine Vegetarian Times, April is the issue to buy and try out. They have an entire section of recipes that center around broccoli. Or the recipes will be available on VT's website in May.

He did it!

Yesterday was a big day. For almost two hours John stood in front of an audience of Trinity Western's faculty and students, defending his thesis. The result?


Many "Congratulations" and "Great job!" proclamations
for the rest of the day.

It wouldn't have been possible without this man,
John's advisor for the entire project.


Congratulations, John, on completing your master's degree!
I'm extremely proud of you.

Chinese Comfort Food

Asian April is coming along well. I am taking it a bit easier than Mexican March, with us having only tried five recipes so far. We ate this Lo Mein recipe last week. As we were eating it, John commented on how it tasted like Chinese comfort food and I have to agree. I also know I've been craving it since that night. Interested in trying it?

1/2 pound fresh Chinese egg noodles
peanut or corn oil
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, tops only, cut into bite-sized florets
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
1/2 cup unsalted cashews, optional

Cook noodles according to package directions and set aside. Put 1 Tbsp. oil in skillet and turn on high heat. Add onion and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli and red pepper, cooking until broc is crisp-tender, about 5-8 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, cook for 1 minute, stirring almost constantly. Add noodles, soy sauce, cashews, and chicken stock. Toss to mix and reheat, then serve.


Recipe "Beef Lo Mein" from The Best Recipes in the World, by Mark Bittman