My
god...I just realized there's been a major misspelling error on my blog for almost 3 years!!
I know, I know....
There should be way more typos throughout Food Makes Me Happy,
But this one was big..more so embarassing..
If I didn't make this spaghetti, the unforgiving error might last even longer..
( > _.< )"
Fusion or Fushion?
Am I the only that get confused over these two words?
Yes, me..myself.., the so called food blogger,
The misspelled word "fushion" has been sitting on my blog as one of the labels since 2008!!!
Man....even though the correct word "fusion" does pronounce similar to "fushion," (yes? agree? or it's just all in my head?)
A mistake is still a mistake...
-banging my brain against the wall-
FUSHION FUSION spaghetti made with leftover ingredients -
Ingredients (for 4 to 5 portion)?
1 lb of ground beef
1 cup of oyster mushroom
1 package of spaghetti
1/2 onion
2 stalks of scallion
1 small box/50 grams of alfalfa sprouts
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of Chinese spicy bean paste
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of Sriracha sauce
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Some sea salt
Some hot water
Some grated Parmesan cheese
How?
Alfalfa sprout is one of the vegetables that rarely shows up in my grocery bag,
But the girl at the supermarket mistakenly shuffled my friend's alfalfa sprouts into my bag,
Since there's no way I can return this grassy flavored veggie back to her before it got rotten, maybe the alfalfa sprouts can be a good addition with to my heavy tasting "fusion" spaghetti (I just can't get over the misspelling don't I?) -
Thoroughly rinse the sprouts and give it a few chops,
This will prevent the veggie from tangling up with other ingredients later on.
To prep all the other ingredients,
Bring a big pot of water to a boil,
Add a few pinches of sea salt into the water and toss in one pack of spaghetti,
Cook according to package instruction, but minus couple minutes,
We gonna finish cooking by stir frying the pasta later on,
Once done, drain well and set aside.
Peel the onion and chop into small pieces,
Remove the stems from the scallion and chop into small pieces,
Remove the tougher stems from the mushroom and give it a few chops too.
Have a big pan ready and turn to medium high heat,
Add equal amount of butter and olive oil along with onion, one tea spoon of sea salt, and one tea spoon of freshly ground black pepper,
Cook till the onion turns translucent, toss in chopped scallion,
You'll know it's ready when the aroma comes out and the onions are nearly burned,
Here's the key,
Please make sure the onions are either almost burned or semi-burned,
Don't be afraid, it'll add much more flavor to the dish.
Transfer the ground beef into the pan,
Give it a quick stir then pour in all the below seasonings -
Worcestershire sauce,
Chinese spicy bean paste,
Soy sauce,
Oyster sauce,
Sriracha sauce.
Mix well and cook till the meat is about 60% doneness, add in the mushroom,
Cook till the mushroom softens then pour in the alfalfa sprouts,
About one more minutes, add the already cooked spaghetti,
Let it finish cooking in the pan, until all the sauce has been absorbed by it.
Sprinkle some black pepper and grated Parmesan cheese before serving,
If spiciness is preferred, try to drizzle some Tabasco sauce all over.
Besides semi-burned onions, the butter is one other key that made this "fusion" dish successful,
It adds that sticky, buttery texture to the dish, and surprising works pretty well with Asian seasonings,
You can also try using butter and soy sauce together with other entrée, such as stir fry pork or fried rice.
Cindy's Rating: 8
I was lucky enough to dine at chef Ludo Lefebvre's number 7 "pop-up" restaurant event - LudoBites 007,It's a long and feisty passage to get a reservation at LudoBites,
No phone calls, no showing up at the door, just our old and faithful friend from the 21st century - the Internet.
Thanks to my friends who stared at the computer screens who clicked on the keyboards countless times,
The result?
We managed to get a table for 6 on a Tuesday night, at 9 p.m.,
And yes, the only available time determines when we get to eat, instead of WE decide what time we wanna dine at Ludo's,
The battle for a table is that fierce.
For those of you who doesn't know about LudoBites, please refer to the hyperlink and you'll have all the information in front of your eyes,
I can assure you that the site showcases better insights about the whole concept than my little brain can provide.
Gram & Papa's was chosen as the hosting location for event #007 -
I had a hard time trying to figure out the woman's name on that painting,
Luckily, the right person to ask was right there for me,
Kathy Bates she is,
You know?
The Annie Wilkes in Misery,
The Molly Brown in Titanic,
And the Roberta Hertzel from About Schmidt.
As Ludo changes menu constantly, here's our menu of the day -
Right about my head: an art work created by local chef and Matt Scofield -
Pig's head compressed and mimolette, barbeque gelée $14 -
Don't get gross out by the words "pig's head,"
Trust me, you won't even know there's pig's head inside that dish,
The taste and texture is similar to crispy pork belly skin,
If you live bacon, you'll like it.
On a side note for mimolette,
It's a type of cow's milk cheese that resembles cantaloupe on the outside with a tint of salmon-liked color on the inside.
Prawn ceviche, aji amarillo, red berries $25 -
Plancha tandoori octopus, yogurt, cauliflower, grapefruit $18 -
Amazing,
The grilled octopus was tender with a punch of heavy seasonings,
Perfect match for our little friend here, thanks to our friend -
*Slurp*~
Foie gras quesadilla, mozzarella, crispy cabbage, celery root, curry $28 -
This is definitely on my top 3 favorites of the night,
Why didn't I think about using foie gras in quesadilla while there were like 6 pieces of frozen ones sitting in my fridge!?
Egg, sea urchin, caviar, champagne beurre blanc $18 -
Not a big fan of this,
I feel like something is missing, but please, this is just my own personal taste talking.
Foie gras French dim sum, crispy kimchi, sake-black truffle cream $28 -
Foie gras tastes so good with kimchi!
This pickled veggie balances out the greasiness of foie gras,
And to compensate with the fat lost, truffle cream was put into a right place to fulfill the whole dish.
Salt crust pork shoulder, beer sabayon, imaginary choucroute, juniper berries -
Sorry,
My tongue just didn't sparkle with this one.
Epoisse cheese risotto, hazelnut, egg yolk, herb salad $18 -
Somehow all the dishes involved with egg that night failed to get my attention,
But it's ok,
All the remaining food totally won me over.
The most beautiful dish of the night,
Squid, black ash, chorizo $12 -
Look at that bright yellow and pitch black contrast,
What's even better, the taste definitely lived up to its looks.
Salt cod panna cotta, whipped fingerling potato, smoked tapioca, black olive bread $12 -
Good contrast between smooth panna cotta and crunchy "croutons,"
However, I did find the bread a wee bit too tough to bite on..
Maybe it's just my teeth..man I'm getting old.
Raw beef, rainbow carrots, shallots, red wine mayo $15 -
Even though it's more like an appetizer, somehow I find it hearty and comforting,
The red wine mayo must be the reason,
You know what? It might sound absurd at first, but I bet it'll be good serving on a bowl of white rice, like Japanese donburi.
All the above seemed not enough to fill 6 greedy hungry people, so we asked for more -
Jamaican fried chicken wings $10 -
Thoughtfully, gloves were provided so we can still enjoy the food elegantly.
Duck, cherry, spicy saucisse, beets, radish $22 -
My friend said there were two different texture of meat on the plate,
The one showing on the picture, and a ground meat version,
According to their palate, the whole duck meat tastes better,
Well, I didn't even see a bit of ground duck when the plate was passed on to me,
Call that lucky!?
My #1 choice of the day, onion tart, bottarga $10 -
This is where simplicity done right.
The dough was packed with naturally sweet flavor,
The caramelized onion also adds up to another level of sweetness,
I know we were sharing food, but a big portion of that tart ended up in my stomach, happily ever after.
Chocolate cupcake, foie chantilly $14 -
Look at that thing with tiny pieces of bacon on top,
Dense, chocolately, matched with some savory flavors,
You have to try it yourself, it can be quite an interesting roller coaster ride.
Lavender tropezienne tart, aloe vera, strawberry $10 -
Not a big fan of lavender but this one doesn't come with that strong flowery taste,
Light and not overly sweet, unlike the cupcake earlier.
I was glad it came as our last dessert selection because the tart acts similar to mint,
After all the seasonings and interesting flavors, what's left for me in the end, was a pleasant fragrance in my mouth.
Cindy's Rating: 8 (quite an experience~!)
Ludo Lefebvre
http://www.ludolefebvre.com/ludobites
Chef's Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/LudoBites
