slow braised red grouper in sake 紅燒紅石斑 - part 2

I went back to 99 Ranch Market to buy more of the red grouper steak. Actually the title of this post is misleading as I took no photo of the second pot of slow braised red grouper in sake.

mini love - part 35

A few more cheap thrill toys for the Mini arrived. The parts that I procured for the Mini are piling up. Many of these would not be installed until Spring.

fried smelts

This is so delicious. I just fried up a handful of these smelts. The hard work is cleaning the tiny fish of their guts and a much gill as feasible. I just drudged them lightly with dry flour and on the went into hot oil. I first fried them in small batches. Then I fried them the second time all together. Once they are crispy just sprinkle salt and pepper and they are delicious. More delicious than the typical fried farm raised shrimps not to mention that much healthier. I think this is a $0.99 snack.

slow braised red grouper in sake 紅燒紅石斑

I went back to 99 Ranch Market to do a bit more shopping fun. I was eager to find out some products from Taiwan that have been mostly unobtainable here in Portland, Oregon. This time I made a point of touring the entire store. I skip the usual junk food and ready made frozen food. I wanted to take stock of what they have and what they don't have. I would really like to find some good cooking wine from Taiwan, but I knew they most likely don't have any.

mini love - part 34

It has been a great weekend in the progress of taking care of a few loose ends on the Mini. One of these is the oil pressure gauge adapter which to my horror was leaking oil. I have since decommissioned the oil pressure gauge until I have time to investigate, arrives at a satisfactory solution and recommission it.

mini love - part 33

I have been bothered by a mild case of rattles ever since the installation of the Milltek exhaust. I took advantage of the dry day this weekend to investigate.

slow braised skate wing in sake 紅燒魔鬼魚翼

As soon as I spotted the fresh skate wings at 99 Ranch Market I knew I have to have a piece. While I never cook skate wing successfully before I have very good idea what I would do with it. The piece I picked came in at 2 pounds.

99 ranch market

The opening of this new Asian supermarket in August this year completely escaped my radar. It's called 99 Ranch Market. Evidently it is owned by Taiwanese. I only found out of its arrival to Portland while reading a local newspaper online. I was very skeptical but nevertheless I want to go and see it for myself ASAP. It is not far from my part of town.

go pro hero 5 black blank screen of death

I have this GoPro Hero 5 Black camera a few weeks now. As I purchase it for using in the Mini on the tracks I have not really put it to use, except perform a suite of checks to make sure the camera functions as I expected. Overall I am quite pleased with it, though there are some shot comings. It is supposed to be a keeper.

home made char siu 叉燒 pizza - part 2

I made a third char siu 叉燒 pizza as I still have quite a bit of tomato sauce that I made scratch from one can of whole tomato. Even with this forth pizza, there is still enough left for a fifth pizza. This is the second char siu 叉燒 pizza that I feel that I really have gotten the recipe and technique down. I now just buy the pizza dough from Trader Joe and save so much time and effort. Their fresh dough is extremely good and cheap.

mini love - part 32

I thought I would write a post about the legacy audio system in the Mini. Shortly after I took delivery of the Mini back in 2004 summer, I installed this Sony Minidisc system.

home made char siu 叉燒 pizza

I was at Trader Joe and I saw these prepared pizza dough. There are three kinds, an organic white, wheat, and white flour. The choice is easy and I picked up 2 bags of one made with white flour. I didn't have any plan as what kind of pizza I would make.

mini love - part 31

Patience pays. I have systematically assembling the components to configure a A/V recording system for used with Harry's Laptimer. I want to get the best deals possible and so far I managed quite well. Most of the pieces were procured from Amazon when I spot the prices dips. Sometimes the difference is over 50%, like the case of the PLX Kiwi 3 bluetooth ODB dongle.

home made char siu 叉燒

I made another batch of home made char siu 叉燒. It is so easy and takes very little time to prepare. Char siu means roast on a spit. I refrain to call it Chinese barbecue to conjure the images of the disgusting red sugar glazed meat commonly found in the west to appease the sweet tooth.

mini love - part 30

There are a lot of pieces of parts for the GoPro Hero 5 Black camera to configure the way I want for used with Harry's Laptimer. I have been procuring the pieces serially instead of all at once. Some of the part selection only becomes more apparent only after I have receive others. It is better to specify them right the first time, instead of wasting money for parts that does not fit.

hairy gourd 毛瓜

I made a few variations of a simple stir fry dishes with this one hairy gourd 毛瓜. I like hairy gourd if it is cooked just right and it is still a bit crunchy. A stir fry hairy gourd is best with very few ingredients, and seasoning chosen so not to obscure the gourd's mild sweetness.

storm drain

The storm drain in front of my driveway has deteriorated markedly this past rainy season. I noticed cracks on the pavement around the drain basin where some rainwater entered instead of being channeled into the storm drain. I knew sooner or later subsurface erosion will cause the pavement, and my driveway to sink.

mini love - part 29

In my well laid plan to equip AV equipment in my Mini the street car named Desire, I put a number of products on the Amazon wishlist. I do this so I can pounce on the items when I see a good deal.

home made char siu 叉燒 and glutinous rice

I was not planning to make this batch of char siu. The piece of pork was sitting in the refrigerator and I had to do something with it before it passes its prime. I want something simple, and I decided why not make char siu with it.

mini love - part 28

To prove out my concept of assembling a GoPro camera mount for used with Harry's Laptimer I invested in this 1 inch ball base. This forms the foundation of my GoPro camera mount that will be secured to the head rest of the passenger seat. One of my objective is to be able to use the camera with a passenger.