Apr 24, 2014

Sirloin Fried Rice with Crisp Red Onions and a Hint of Japanese Seasonings (蒜香味噌牛排炒飯)

The USDA Choice grade sirloin steak was on sale at a local supermarket, from my memory it was at least 50% off. For such a bargain like this, it can be expected that the quality might be compromised. Still great meat but not supreme. So instead of cooking the beef as a mediocre steak, how about turning it into luxurious fried rice? Yes, we are having steak fried rice tonight!

Sirloin fried rice with crisp red onions and a hint of Japanese seasonings -



Ingredients (for 4 portions)?

  • 1 lb of sirloin steak
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 5 red chilies
  • 2 stalks of scallion
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter 
  • 2 tablespoons of crisp red onions in oil 油蔥酥
  • 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2.5 cups of white rice
  • Small pinch of salt

Marinade:
  • 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of miso
  • 1 tablespoon of mirin

How?

Cook 2.5 cups of white rice, perhaps use a little bit less water than usual to achieve chewier texture for the fried rice.


Discard the scallion stems and chop the remaining into smaller pieces. Save about 2 tablespoons of the chopped green parts to sprinkle on the fried rice later on. Peel and chop off the very tough ends of the garlic cloves. Chop the cloves into smaller pieces. Make sure not to chop the garlic too finely, otherwise it'll get burned easily, plus we are actually looking for those bits of garlicky bites for this recipe.


Roughly chop the crisp red onions. Discard the chili stems and finely chop the remaining.


Chop the steak into small bite size cubes. Mix together the marinade ingredients and add in the steak. Marinate for about 20 minutes.




Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan, or just enough to evenly coat the bottom. Also add in 2 tablespoons of butter. Turn to medium heat. Add in chopped garlic, scallion, chilies, and a little bit of salt to bring up the flavors.




Cook for couple minutes till the garlicky and buttery aroma come out. Watch out not to burn the garlic, if so, slightly lower the heat during this process. 


Add in the crisp red onions and cook for another minute. Turn up the heat to high power, or at least medium high and add in the beef cubes. Give it a quick stir. Cook till the beef is about 80% cooked through. 




Drizzle the soy sauce from the edge of the pan, that way the sizzling heat from the pan will further release the aroma before the soy sauce touches the ingredients.

Lastly, add in the steamed white rice in two batches. Stir well and make sure every grain is coated with the seasonings. You can tell by looking at the color, dark yellow/pale brown hue.




Once ready, plate the fried rice and garnish with the chopped scallion saved earlier.




Butter and garlic is always a good combination. Not to mention there's steak quality beef and lots of chilies used for the fried rice. You can even serve with additional freshly ground black pepper if another layer of spiciness is desired.


Apr 16, 2014

Old Vine Café - Irresistible Beef Tongue Omelet with a Mexican Flair

Old Vine Café has always been one of my favorite spots in Orange County. Breakfast and brunch are superb here, especially the dishes that come with a Mexican touch. Dinner is served from Tuesday to Saturday but I never got a chance to try it. In fact, this place is packed almost all day long during dinner hours and weekends. If you ever want to pay a visit without the wait, try your luck before lunch rush hours on a weekday. 



Old Vine Café is located at The Camp between Bristol Street and Baker Street. There are quite a few unique shops and restaurants with a hipster vibe. Wine store, tea shops, sportswear, even salon can be found in this area. My beloved (and up till this moment: the only beloved) burger joint Umami Burger is also situated at The Camp. 



Semi-opened restaurant layout with no windows barrier between indoor and outdoor seating area. 



Weekday morning before 11 is the best time to come. However, beware that the service can be quite slow doesn't matter if the restaurant is full or not. Not a big deal for me since my purpose was having a delicious and relaxing meal while soaking in the California sunshine at the same time.



Best seat to my opinion, is the indoor ones adjacent to the outdoor area, like regular window seats.



Six for sixty, where you can buy 6 bottles of carefully selected wine at a bargained price here at Old Vine Café. Not a bad choice if not sure how to pick up a decent wine with limited budget -



Menu -



Click on the picture to enlarge the view -



3 course set lunch for $22, available daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. -



Drinks menu -



Hitachino Nest beer is getting popular in California, I can see that owl everywhere. Espresso stout for the morning $7 -



The pleasant coffee beans aroma adds a nice complexity to the beer.  

2011 Riesling, Scholss Lieser, Thomas Haag, Morsel, Germany $11 - 



Rabbit mole $16.5 -



"Braised rabbit, 2 eggs, pasilla and cashew mole, fresh baked corn bread."

Where else can you find rabbit from a breakfast menu in Orange County? The meat was tender with just a tiny hint of that chocolate bitterness from the mole.

Lengua omelet $14 - 



"Slow cooked beef tongue, queso fresco and spicy tomatillo salsa."



The fork tender beef tongue together with moist omelet and fragrant salsa, totally made my morning. Even though it must be at least 20 minutes passed from the moment when the order was placed till this wonderful plate of food showed up, it was all worth the wait. 

Spanish style potatoes are included for the lengua omelet and other savory dishes. The potatoes can be substitute with cheese grits or mixed greens for extra $2. However, Old Vine makes awesome potatoes and it would be a shame to switch off to something else. 

Unwillingness to give up my potatoes that was fully soaked in Spanish seasonings with crunchy seared edges, I ordered cheese grits on the side -



Creamy and satisfying. The leftover cheese grits were boxed home and turned into the dip for my salami chips. 

House baked English muffin that comes with the omelet -



Other choices are toast or fresh baked cinnamon roll for extra $2. In addition, other house made spread including kiwi marmalade, strawberry marmalade, and apple butter.

Final bill -



The waitress took out the extra cheese grits because she forgot about it till half way through the meal.


Old Vine Café, along with The Camp is the place I would bring my friends over if they come to visit Orange County. There is quite a lot of stuff to see, to shop around, and most importantly, delicious food to help the friendships bond.   


Cindy's Rating: 7 (supposedly 8 but the service can be very..very slow)


Old Vine Café
2937 Bristol Street. Suite A-102
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 545-1411
http://www.oldvinecafe.com/

Operating Hours:
Breakfast daily from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Lunch daily from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Dinner Tuesday to Saturday starting at 5 p.m.
Dinner Sunday and Monday closed

*Reservation is highly recommended for dinner
*Old Vine Café does not take reservations for breakfast or lunch