Noodle World

I have recently been receiving an education on Vietnamese cuisine. It all started when I moved to Calgary, and it has been getting more and more fierce. My buddy Tan seems to have applied for the position of mentor/educator and has been introducing me to a world made of more than pho broth and vermicelli noodles.

You have to understand, to my knowledge there are no Vietnamese people in Halifax. It's possible - but Halifax doesn't retain many of its immigrants, due to its economy. I'm not saying there are no Asians, but if you base your demographic research on the restaurants in Halifax you will find mainly Chinese, Japanese and Thai. There is one Korean restaurant, to my knowledge, in the Scotia Square food court which is well known for its Seoul Chicken (known affectionately as "Crack Chicken"). There is also a Thai/Vietnamese Restaurant on Barrington St. called Gingergrass, but I haven't heard much about it, and the fact that it is a blend of cuisines only goes to show the lack of supply and/or demand for Vietnamese food in Halifax. Oh yes, and I remember when  a restaurant sprung up offering "Vietnamese noodle soup". At the time all I could think was: "Who would want to go to a restaurant and eat soup with noodles in it???"

Then I arrived in Calgary. Then I escaped the suburbs. Then I arrived in CALGARY, and I was quickly introduced to pho = OMG a party in a bowl! Who knew broth could taste so good and noodles could be so perfect? And the process of adding your own basil, bean sprouts, lime, hot peppers, hot sauce and hoisin sauce... and the pleasure of using BOTH chopsticks AND a spoon! Not to mention the optional presence of tripe, tendon, meatballs, flank, brisket, and rare beef, or switching over to chicken, seafood, or satay style.

Unfortunately I have fallen in love with pho, and pho alone. But a monogamous commitment to a bowl of soup just isn't enough to to maintain a lifelong relationship with a cuisine. So my buddy Tan takes me out to lunch at Noodle World. I know, sounds like more noodles, right? Noodle World is, in fact, his go to place for pho, and I am sorta surprized I hadn't yet been there until this day. But he didn't bring me out for pho. Instead, he brought me out for an affair with Vietnamese Hot and Sour Soup. Noodle World has a lunch special for 2, 4, or 6 people, all of which feature the Hot and Sour Soup. To my understanding, "Canh Chua" actually translates to mean "Sour Soup", but they probably call it "Hot and Sour Soup" in English because it sounds more familiar to westerners already acquainted with Chinese or Thai styles of Hot and Sour Soup. The word "Canh", I think refers to soup in terms of the, I think, uniquely Vietnamese practice of putting soup on rice to make it ... well, not plain old boring rice. Kind of in the same way  white people put butter or soy sauce on their rice to make it more palatable (although I have also been told that rice is fine just the way it is and doesn't need any help, thank you very much).

This soup gets its slight sourness from pineapple, and there are chunks of pineapple involved, as well as thinly sliced leeks, celery, bean sprouts, tomato and okra. You get a choice of fish or shrimp, and we went with the fish.We forgot to ask, but the combined powers of our tastebuds compel us to think it was basa. It was perfectly tender and very delicious when dipped in the accompanying fish sauce. There was a generous amount of fish, and also plenty of rice which we combined with the soup in small bowls in whatever soup to rice ratio we preferred.

But that's not all! Our meal also came with a choice of fish or pork served in a clay pot. While eating our soup, we were greeted by a large helping of caramelized fish. It was so delicious, but quite rich. I found it exciting to have a mouthful of the rich caramelized fish, and then alternate with a mouthful of the fish from the soup dipped in the salty fish sauce.

Our meal was also supposed to come with a jellyfish sour salad and a Kim Chi salad (or maybe a jellyfish kim chi salad - I'm not sure), but without any explanation or forewarning, we were presented with a platter of sauteed beansprouts with scallion, deep fried tofu, and minced pork. Being a fan of deep fried tofu, and not so much a fan of jellyfish (all you haters know you agree with me on this one!), we had no complaints. The dish was actually flavoured very nicely and made a fine accompaniment to our meal.

This meal deal for two is priced at $29.95 and I think that's a pretty good deal considering this could feed 3 people! When you get the meals for 4 or 6 people there are additional components like pan fried fish or shrimp with salt and pepper. I would say this meal revived my interest in Vietnamese food, and I can't wait to go back to Noodle World to try the pho ; )

Noodle World
#114, 4909 17 Ave SE
Calgary, Alberta
403-248-5778

Seitan-ic Diaries

To me, eating out is an adventure. And anyone who knows me would probably say that cooking with me is an adventure too. I love a challenge in the kitchen, and I'm always pushing my limits to see what I'm made of. Last week, despite many warnings and naysayers, I attempted to bake beer battered haddock in the oven = BIG FAIL. I also decided it was time I learned how to make home-made seitan, if I want to take myself seriously as a vegetarian.

What is seitan, you ask? My google search directed me to this page which informed me that seitan is made from wheat gluten and is a protein rich meat substitute that has been eaten around the world for thousands of years. Also known as "Wheat Meat" or simply as "Gluten", this is very obviously no good for people with wheat/gluten allergies. But it is low in fat and sodium, and it has a meaty texture. Like tofu, it has no real flavor of its own... or if it does, we are best to cover it up ASAP.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell is that? Looks like something that should be discreetly flushed down the toilet. I was thinking the same thing. This is the first stage of seitan production. I was following the method for "Seitan Cutlets" in Veganomnicon.  Basically, you make a dough out of  veggie broth and soy sauce mixed into vital wheat gluten. Vital wheat gluten?! Oh yeah... I always keep some of that in my cupboard! They didn't even know what I wanted when I asked the hippies in the hippie food store. I said "Ya know.. the stuff you make fake chicken out of..." and I got some funny looks. I forgot that hippies keep REAL chickens in their backyards, and are probably allergic to gluten (gluten allergies are all the rage these days). It was labeled "gluten flour" in the bulk bins. Yes, it looks just like flour. Gluten is what makes flour elasticy, so when you isolate the gluten out of basic flour and mix with liquid, it becomes VERY tough and elasticy! This was one stubborn ball of dough that I was told to pound, knead and stretch into an oblong poop-shape. Then I had to cut it into 6 equal pieces, and struggle with it some more to make 1/2 inch thick "cutlets". It's hard for me to refer to them as cutlets though. The whole time I kept thinking... "Am I just going to be eating flour? Is this safe?"

Then I had to plop the cutlets into a broth bath and bake them in the oven for a while. I am a little uncomfortable with that much unprotected broth being in my oven. I was very careful taking it in and out of the oven, for fear of casserole tidal waves and kitchen tsunamis. It bothered me so much, I was quick to dump the broth down the drain as soon as I could, forgetting that I was supposed to keep the broth to store the cutlets in. Well, how bad can they be without following proper broth storage procedures? I have no past seitan-ic encounters to compare them with, so ignorance is bliss. This is what I was left with:

This definitely doesn't look like food. In fact, if I discovered this in a loved one's fridge, I would do them the favor of throwing it out as a health and safety hazard. But instead, I took a deep breath and proceeded with Veganomicon's recipe for "BBQ Seitan and Crispy Coleslaw Sandwich". I loosely followed the vegan coleslow recipe provided. Then I sliced the seiten into thinner pieces, really quite unsure what the recipe meant when it said to slice the seitan .... how? In what way? And what kind of filleting knife would be appropriate for this task? Also, the recipe requires a caste-iron grilling pan ... Who owns a caste-iron grilling pan? Really? You can also use a regular caste-iron pan, or an outdoor grill - but I don't have those sorts of luxuries either. So I had to wing it, using a metal skillet and an indoor panini press grill.

I still don't know if I should be frying these or pressing them onto newspapers to see if they'll copy the ink text. I wonder if I rolled them up into balls, would they bounce?

Okay, now they sorta look like food! Grill marks - ah yeah! After cooking them in the skillet, I tossed them in BBQ sauce and threw them on my grill. I would normally make home-made BBQ sauce, but this was enough of an adventure so I did take some short-cuts, like using packaged preshredded coleslaw mix, and Bullseye BBQ sauce (I just quickly pretended I didn't see the part about the glucose-fructose on the label).

The recipe specifically said to use any type of roll besides "too soft" hamburger buns. Well, I ignored that bit of information as well, and used some "too soft" hamburger buns. Once toasted they held up well to the coleslaw and BBQ sauce. The verdict? The seitan was a little chewy to me at first, but after a few bites I didn't mind. I kept thinking "Oh god, I hope this is edible... I hope this is actually food". But I am still alive to tell the tale, with no subplots of heartburn, nausea, indigestion, upset stomach or diarrhea - Hey!

I figured I could cut down on the fat content by just using the grill, and omitting the frying-in-tons-of-oil-because-they-stick-to-the-skillet-really-bad step. I tried slicing them differently too, and this cut was definitely easier to achieve. I made sure to brush lots of peanut oil on my non-stick grill, just in case.

                                                        Still kinda looks like silly putty.

 I have come to the conclusion that grill marks can make anything look like food. And when you slather things in sauce, they tend to taste pretty good too. I am a big fan of the Buffalo chicken sandwich, popular here in Calgary and probably elsewhere, and I think I could adapt this recipe to something a bit more fiery and ... ranchy? I think the seitan would enjoy being smothered in Franks Red Hot sauce and ranch dressing. Just not sure how'd I'd cook the seitan. The BBQ sauce, when grilled, gives the seitan a nice charred BBQ'd texture on the outside, and that's a good thing.

So how would I go about doing this next time?

Next time I would make a non-vegan coleslaw, because I love that zing you get from real mayonnaise! I would make home-made BBQ sauce, or find a brand without glucose-fructose. I like the strips better for the cut of "meat", and double grilling for the method. I might try to find a more interesting crusty bun to put the participants into. And I certainly will not throw out the broth! My next question, which will be answered soon enough is, how do these seitan cutlets freeze? To be continued...

To make seitan cutlets:

1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten

1/2 cup cold vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix ingredients in a bowl until clumpy.
Knead for a few minutes until you have one elasticy bastard.
Roll into a log.
Cut into 6 equal pieces.
Knead and stretch and flatten these into 1/2 inch thick cutlets.

Put in a casserole dish and cover with 6 cups of hot broth and 3 tbsp soy sauce.
Be careful not to splish spash the broth bath... but stick it in the oven and let it relax for half an hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Apparently you should turn these over with metal tongs.
Then bake another 20 minutes. 

Drain in a colander.

Now they are ready to be sliced and grilled, and smothered... and grilled.... bon appetite, if you still have one.

Shibuya Izakaya

So... from what I gather, an "Izakaya" is a Japanese drinking establishment that serves tapas style food for sharing. So you pile in with your work buddies, drink some beers or sake, and mow down on tempura, sushi, tataki, BBQ squid, and oysters... or at least, that's what my co-workers do. We frequent Shibuya quite a bit. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are oyster nights (and coincidentally, our days off) so you can get $1.25 oysters in servings of 6. They come with ponzu sauce, sliced green onions, and lemons for squeezing.

Shibuya does have that lounge atmosphere. There is at least somewhat of an open kitchen, sports on the TV and loud tables of families and friends downing sake. Usually there are pop beats playing in the background, but on this particular night the music wavered between Akon and........... Christmas music. We never did figure out why....

The sushi isn't the shining star here, but it's passable. We ordered the Spider Roll, which featured deep fried soft shelled crab, and the Unagi Melody Roll, which has big slices of freshwater eel, topped with avocado and fish roe. Inside is the crispiness that can only be tempura flakes. Pictured here is the Unagi Melody Roll, with some other small roll I can't remember. I didn't get a good picture of the Spider Roll due to lighting issues.

The lighting made it hard to take good pictures, but the biggest obstacle of all was my co-workers trying to stick their hands and fingers and chopsticks into every picture I tried to take! Oh, the plight of the budding food blogger! Nobody understands our compulsive photography and obsessive restaurant selection.... I even got criticized for having an undeveloped palate, of all things! ... because I didn't know the BBQ squid was in a teriyaki sauce. I didn't think I liked teriyaki sauce, but it is so tasty with the BBQ squid at Shibuya. Many people I talk to say the BBQ squid is better at Globefish, but I prefer it at Shibuya.

Another thing we always order at Shibuya is the tataki. They offer salmon, tuna and beef tataki. I opted out of the beef this time, but gladly participated in the tuna.

I had heard that the Black Cod at Shibuya was awesome, so I had to try it this time. Suprizingly, it has sort of a maple syrup taste to it, but it is cooked and flavoured nicely and I would order it again.

 It was fun to capture this restaurant that my co-workers and I frequent so often. It's not the best of the best, if you are looking for sushi, but it is affordable, tasty and fun - highly recommended. Why else would we keep going back?

Shibuya Izakaya
453 16th Ave NW
403-277-8823

5 Guys Burgers and Fries

Well, I do seem to be on a bit of a hamburger quest. My friend Kevin must have enjoyed his Boogie Burger, because he asked me where we were going for a burger this week. I had been getting many recommendations for 5 Guys Burgers and Fries, so that's where we went.

This place was busy! The line-up formed around bags of potatoes, munched on complimentary peanuts and crunched the shells under foot. Nothing fancy here. This place is corporate American, but they have a good system. The ingredients are fresh. Real potatoes sliced up into real french fries. Real beef with no filler. No nonsense. Place your order, take a number. There must have been 10 line cooks at work in the entirely open kitchen. There are no frills. Your fries come in a cup, that overflows into the brown paper bag your order comes in. The fries are excellent, and a regular size is plenty for two people, especially considering a regular hamburger has two patties! If you want a single burger, make sure to order a "Little" one. While you wait, you can fill up your own pop and grab little cups of white or malt vinegar, or ketchup if you prefer. It's crowded, but there is a large seating area and we didn't have trouble finding seats.

If you order your burger "All the way", it will come with mayo, mustard, ketchup, pickles, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and grilled mushrooms. You can also get raw onions, jalapenos, hot sauce, BBQ sauce, steak sauce, relish ... green peppers? You definitely have some freedom with your order. Kevin has a strange habit of ordering his burger with just pickles and onions but no condiments. When I am testing a burger I try to keep it pretty simple, but in either case they got my order very wrong. I wanted it "All the way" with no tomatoes and no grilled mushrooms. I have nothing against either item, but I didn't want my burger to be too sloppy and I wanted to taste the meat. I looked at my receipt and it said I wanted grilled mushrooms and not onions. But I love grilled onions!! So I went to the counter and explained the problem. I got a thumbs up from one of the line-cooks, apparently in charge of my particular burger. But when I got my burger, it had both tomatoes AND grilled mushrooms on it, but alas, no grilled onions. I'm not really one to complain, so I chomped into this massive meaty delight.

Actually, that's Kevin's burger. That's why there are no condiments squirting out of it. Just hunks of pickle. Those ARE some hunky pickles, I must say. But look at that meat! That is real meat! I could taste meat... charred meat ... charred juicy meat ... why is this such a rare experience in the fast food burger scene? I thought my burger was going to be impossibly sloppy, but it was actually manageable (I took off the tomatoes. Don't worry, I still ate them). The cheese could have been a bit more melty. But the beef was the star of the show here. At Boogie's Burgers the bun stole the show for me, but here it's all about the beef. It's not cheap. A regular cheese burger is almost 8 dollars, and that's not including fries and drink. There are no meal deals here, and you wait a little bit longer for your food. But you know what? It's worth it. Real food served fast from a corporate chain. Who woulda thunk it?

5 Guys Burgers and Fries
33 Heritage Meadows Way
Calgary, AB
(403) 252-3373
 5 Guys Burgers and Fries