Thai Me Up

If I haven't made this clear before, let me make it clear now. Thai food is my favorite type of cuisine. At home, I eat at my favorite Thai place, Little Thai Kitchen, at least three times a week. Literally I'm obsessed, and I've felt deprived since I've been at school. And then I met Nino. Nino is from Bangkok, Thailand, and Nino loves food. MY TWO FAVORITE COMBINATIONS TOGETHER! The first conversation we had was about food and we hit it off from there. Tonight, Nino and I, (mainly Nino with some sous-chef work by moi) made some Thai curry. It was a green curry base with coconut milk, eggplant, chicken, basil, and chiles which we ate over white rice. It was delicious and definitely had a kick and I'm proud to say I handled the spice well. When Nino visited home for winter break he brought back powdered coconut and special curry blends. While he says the freshly ground curry mixes and freshly harvested rice taste better at home, I think we did a pretty good job. Now I have my go-to Thai chef! And now, a recipe photo collage:

Dice the eggplant into thin rounds

 Artsy close-up of eggplant

Dice the red chillies, they add heat and a pop of color

Nino's trick: Soak the chicken in salt water so it stays moist and juicy when you cook it

Boil the coconut powder in some water, add the curry paste and fry it to release the flavors
The coconut literally smells like heaven, like someone make me a perfume of this PLEASE

Add the eggplant, chicken, chillies, and some roughly chopped basil, simmer until it cooks down and thickens, add a little water as well!

Chef Nino at work

TADA!...salivating looking at this

Ya no big deal, casual presentation

And now a closer look

And even closer.

Thai me a river

xoxo

hungreegirl

Afternoon Snack

How can you get through the day without an afternoon snack? You can't, so don't even try because you're depriving yourself. Anisha and I decided to hit up Magic Carpet before psych. She went with the Magic Meatballs (**tofu meatballs in a red sauce for all you non-MC regulars**) topped with cheese, all served with a garden salad dressed in balsamic. I got the Sultan Stew Special, a stew of hearty vegetables and raisins in a red sauce over fluffy couscous. The addition of raisins were too brilliant and good, totally turning the dish into a good to a great. Obviously I tried Anisha's, (thanks NEESH), and her meatballs, like always, didn't disappoint. So grab a friend and pick yourself up with a MC snack!
Neesh's snack:

 Special Sultan Stew, yummy couscous is under there

GOOOD MORNING.

Why aren't you starting your day with Lyn's? Newsflash: TRY IT. Yes you have to wake up 7 minutes earlier, but when you get that steaming bite of bacon egg and cheesy goodness, you'll thank your lucky stars you did. I love giving people their first food experiences. Louise, my little French lady, had never tried a Bacon Egg and Cheese. I felt it was my job, no, my DUTY, as an American citizen to educate my dear friend on a large part of our culture. And Bronwen, my baby B, had never eaten from a food cart on campus until this morning. This fact had blown my mind, because I literally live off of them, and I thought I would help her in my new endeavor to make her taste every single one on campus. Well, they both enjoyed my offerings immensely. Louise is now feeling more American then ever, and B is officially a Penn student. Also, Louise just informed me that this sandwich "illuminated her rough morning." Needless to say, mission complete.
Here's a pic of mine, egg white, spinach, cheese, salt, pepper, ketchup, an sriracha on rye. OMG SO HEALTHFUL! ...nawt.

just helping the world one helping at a time

xoxo

hungreegirl.

Just Buddha-ful

Last night me and my girls went on the town and hit up the big B, aka Buddakan. Now this was my second time at Stephen Starr's highly acclaimed hot spot, and it was just as an amazing experience as the first. My wolf pack consisted of me, Ali, Bronwen, Steph, Bree, Morgan, Anisha, iAndrea, and Al's older twin sister aka her mom. We ordered dishes family style and while I did get to sample a few new things, I can contest to Big B's consistency on those dishes that I did order last time. Buddakan's focus on clean presentation combined with clean but decadent flavors never fails to disappoint my tastebuds or those of my wolf pack that I was with. You can't go to Buddakan and not order the Edamame Ravioli, skipping this dish should be illegal. Ali wholeheartedly agrees with me because I know she dreams about these on a regular basis. I honestly bite my tongue while I type this, but I forgot how good they were and it was OH SO NICE to be reminded. They're light and velvety texture is rich and creamy and is just everything a ravioli should be.

The Chicken Ginger Dumplings were great, flavor packed and sooo delicious. Bree is now the dumpling queen in my mind because she seriously went HAM on these things. Apparently chicken ginger dumplings make her animal instincts come out. 

A new dish I tried was the Asian style Caesar Salad. While I'm not a devout Caesar fan, the hint of ginger in the dressing had me a convert. It had just the right amount of dressing and the addition of spiced nuts in the salad gave it a new and welcome spin.

The Sea Bass over roasted butternut squash, haricot verts, maitake mushrooms, and a truffle was light and refreshing. The fish had that melt in your mouth quality that sea bass has when it's done right, simply sooo good. And truffles? Foget about it. 

My favorite entree we had was the Wasabi Crusted Filet. Seriously, it was ON POINT. Thinly sliced pieces of filet crusted with wasabi were arranged daintily on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes and decorated with some roasted vegetables. It was the perfect balance of heartiness yet an element of elegance and delicacy. 

The Wok Cashew Chicken was also great, a little saucy, but it was a great sauce so it worked.

The Korean Beef Fried Rice with kimchi and a sunny side up egg was awesome. It was sticky and thick and you could taste every element in it and I wanted to eat the whole bowl but had to be polite and share :( AKA hence no picture, it was eaten too fast.

Now. Dessert. Ahh, dessert. Last time I went to Buddakan I literally wrote a love poem in my review about the "Dip Sum" Doughnuts, five spice sugar doughnuts served in a Chinese take out box accompanied by a trio of blackberry jam, a rich chocolate sauce, and a gingered cream cheese. All I have to say is Do It. Just do it. In my words, just "do it" means order at least 3 orders. Fluffy, sugary, dough-nutty perfection.

We also tried the Crying Chocolate, a warm chocolate cake with a soft center and vietnamese coffee ice cream. Within seconds of touching the table, it was gone. Rich, chocolatey yet still light, it was a chocolate lover's dream. And finally the Milk Chocolate Caramel Tart; caramel ganache, milk chocolate mousse, jasmine vanilla ice cream, and caramelized bands. Can you imagine a better combination? Let me answer that, NO. 

Ya, it was a good night, certainly appreciated from my Wolf Pack because we are all severely food deprived...HA. No but seriously, it was once again amazing and now that I've been twice and have had amazing success, Buddakan can officially be added to my list of favorites and must visits in Philly.

link to first in depth review: http://hungreegirl.blogspot.com/2011/11/budda-in-muh-belly.html

hooray for doughnuts

xoxo

hungreegirl.