I love stumbling across dishes that manage to make the best use of my fresh ingredients, ensuring that little to nothing will go to waste and that the dish makes the best use of what's on hand. So I was very happy to find this recipe for Char Liap Liap (stir-fried bean curd with preserved radish and long beans) last night, the first Hokkien dish I've ever tried preparing.
The recipe notes it should be served with porridge, but I ate with white rice instead. It turned out rather well. I'm not a huge fan of Chinese cooking -- I find it rather boring compared to the bombastic tastes and smells of Southeast Asia and Korea -- but once in a while I crave something on the mild side and this was a good fit.
Pacific Asia Museum Courtyard, Pasadena
Well, I am back from Pasadena. My Pasadena trip marked my third trip to Los Angeles in three weeks, and this week I'll be flying to San Francisco to visit my ang moh momma, who is soon to be a taitai (woman of leisure) -- she'll be retiring in a year.
My favorite Pasadena memory was definitely the Pacific Asia Museum. The collections and exhibits were both outstanding (particularly the current exhibit on modern Korean ceramic artists), but the highlight was the museum's courtyard, seen above. There is a particularly large ginkgo biloba tree growing in the middle with its lovely fan shaped leaves. Not wanting to pluck anything directly from the tree, I was lucky to find some [quite stinky] ginkgo fruits on the ground which I've transplanted into my garden. Let's see if I can successfully grow one.