Capoeira

Rhythm of Brazil.

I ran into the JHU Capoeira practice on the campus. I have been always fascinated by this artistic martial art but never had a chance to observe right next to it. Not sure if individual movements belong to categorized forms but it seemed very improvisational and freestyle performance. Even though I was little worried about their joints, it was a two thumbs up performance!

Extremely flexible.

She is not in contact with ground at all!

I love seafood. Especially being a beginner vegetarian, my major protein source is fish. Unfortunately, Americans seem to have very limited cooking methods for fish compared to Asians. Most cases, people here deep fry fish, ruining the unique flavors of fish. Fortunately, Americans developed with variety of marinades in compensation for poor fish cooking skills. I have tested different marinades for seafood plates because it is one of the simplest way of suppressing "fishy-smell" while boosting "fishy-flavor," yet still allows various heating methods such as steaming, baking, frying, etc.

I am satisfied with most marinade formulas so far, except the fruity ones. This week, I gave one more chance to fruity-fish marination using citron preserve. Long story short, the fruit-flavored marinade for fish failed my test again. I get the idea of suppressing the smell of fish with the flavors of fruits, however, it does not work well in reality. Fruits and fish are not the best combination (in my opinion). But it could be just me so I am still posting my citron mackerel.

Citron Mackerel
adapted from Momo
(serving 2)

• 2 fillets Spanish mackerel
• 2 carrots
• 5 roots green onion scallion
  
• 1 onion
• 1 jalapeno pepper (omitted)
  

• 3 Tbsp citron preserve (유자차)
  
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp oyster sauce
• 2 tsp Japanese apricot extract (매실청)
• 1 tsp sesame oil

1. Chop the mackerel fillets into 2-3 pieces.
2. Julienne carrots, an onion, and green onion scallions.
3. Heat a wok on a low heat and pour the citron preserve and warm up.
   
4. Pour the rest of the sauces into the wok and mix them well.
   
5. Pour the vegetables into the pot and boil until the sauce smears into the vegetables.
6. Add the mackerel pieces into the wok and boil until they are cooked (approx. 10 min).

Citron preserve, in general, is made for preparing tea.

Still not buying fruit-fish combo...

The First Win!

Midfielder Park Ji-sung gave South Korea a 2-0 lead. (AP)

World Cup is "the most popular sports event on earth." Moreover, it is like a time machine to me because the past events in my life is often recalled by the memories World Cup games. It works just like the greatest-hit songs. This is why "hit me baby one more time" reminds me of my junior high (a bad example though). Anyway, I am impressed that Korea had its first win in World Cup 2010 against Greece, who was once the European Champion. Especially watching the BEAUTIFUL second goal by Park felt like a pint of ice-cold beer after 5K in mid-summer. Go Red Devils!

Luce and her family in Jacksonville.

I visited my cousin Luce last Christmas. She is a wonderful wife and mother, but most importantly, she is a great cook. She is busy working so cannot afford too much time for a family dinner. Her recipes are simple, yet they are healthy and blends together well without losing individual taste of each recipes. It took a while to get a tube of wasabi paste, a key ingredient to her best dish, and I am finally trying this out.

Udon Noodle Salad

adapted from Kitchen Lab(serving 1 person)

• Udon noodle
• 2 oz spring mix
• 1/2 tomato
• 3-4 stems asparagus
• 4-5 cocktail shrimps, cooked
  
• 4 tsp soy sauce
  
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 tsp rice wine-vinegar (미림)
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp wasabi paste

1. Mix all the sauces in a bowl. Make sure wasabi is completely dissolved.
2. Cut up the tomato into a few pieces.
   
3. Steam the asparagus for 4 min or microwave for 30 sec. Cool down.
   
4. Heat a pot of water. When water starts to boil, add the udon noodles and boil for 4 more min. Drain water and rinse with cold water.
   
5. Put spring mix, udon noodles, and prepared dressing from #1 into a salad bowl and mix.
6. Decorate the dish with tomato, asparagus, and shrimps.

Wasabi salad dressing

udon noodles were thinner than I expected but it blends better with salads

added a few droplets of ginger dressing on asparagus

Wine Recycling

"Sour rotten juice." That is how my roomie Kendal describes wine. Seriously, don't offer him any wine because a goldfish would appreciate it more.

Russino brought a bottle of red wine about a month ago. I and Kendal are not big of drinkers so it was about to go bad. I decided to prolong its life by making Vin Chaud with it. Vin Chaud is usually served warm and used as a cold medicine back in old days in France. I wasn't sure about drinking "a glass of warm wine."

The first sip was quite a surprise. It tasted little dull after blowing all the magic (alcohol) away but such taste indeed emphasized the fruity flavor and rich scent of the cinnamon. I am still not sure whether a glass of Vin Chaud can cure your cold but now I know some French recipes actually work (j/k).

Vin Chaud
adapted from Sweet Room

• 1/2 or 2/3 bottle wine
• 1 orange (I used two)
• 1 lemon
• 1 Tbsp. clove (omitted)
• 1 Tbsp. honey (I used sugar instead)
  
• 2 tsp. cinnamon powder
• Slice a lemon and oranges

1. Slice the citrus
2. Push clove pieces into the peels of sliced citrus
3. Pour the wine into a pot and add the prepared citrus, honey and sprinkle the cinnamon power.
4. Boil the wine for 20 minutes on the lowest hit. Make sure to simmer, i.e. you shouldn't see any bubbles.
5. Filter out the citrus and the herb remainders.