Pancit

I work with a man who is from the Philippines. Every day at lunch he has the most amazing Asian meals that his wife has made for him. I am always asking him about them and talking with him about home in the Philippines. He was so kind to share a couple of recipes with me from his wife, Pancit being one of them.

Pancit is the term for noodle in Filipino cuisine. They were introduced in the Philippines by the Chinese and were quickly adopted into their cuisine. Noodle dishes are the standard fare in restaurants and there are many different ways to cook them. Noodles represent long life and good health in their culture (you should never cut your noodles) and therefore should be eaten on one's birthday. They are commonly served at birthday celebrations and may be listed as "birthday noodles" on menus. 

Ingredients

Soaking noodles (right)

Vegetables all chopped up

Vegetables with the cooked pork in the wok

Vegetables cooked down

Adding the noodles to the chicken broth

Noodles that have completely soaked up the broth

Add the noodles to the pork + vegetables

Pork Pancit

Ingredients

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 onions, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 carrots, shredded

1 1/2 pounds of pork (you can add chicken and/or shrimp as well)

1 head of bok choy chopped

1/2 head of Napa Cabbage

1/2 pound green beans

1-2 tbsp sesame oil

24 ounces Chicken broth

Soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

salt + pepper

1 bag of Excellent brand rice sticks OR 1 bag Wai
Wai Brand rice sticks (can be found at H&L Asian Market in North Charleston)

Directions

1. Soak the rice sticks in water for ten minutes, then drain

2. Place a large sized wok (or stainless steel saucepan) over medium heat. Add the sesame oil and brown the pork (chicken/shrimp etc). Once cooked, add the garlic and onions. Sauce and then add the vegetables. Stir fry for about 15 minutes (the green beans need the longest time to cook). Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a container, cover with foil and set aside.

3. In the same pan, boil the chicken broth. Add 2 tbsp of oyster sauce and soy sauce to taste (I added about 2 tbsp). Once the chicken broth mixture is boiling, add the rice sticks and stir until they soak up all of the broth, about 5 minutes. Try a rice stick, if it is not al dente add more broth (or water) and cook until the noodles are soft and the liquid is fully absorbed.

4. Mix the vegetables with the cooked rice sticks, serve and enjoy! (Add soy sauce to your preference)

Served with pork dumplings(on the blog as well!)

Pork Dumplings

I love pork dumplings. I have tried them from many different restaurants and there is a specific type I love and it can be hard to find. This recipe is exactly on target and they really aren't very difficult to make!

If you are craving some dumplings, try and make them yourself. Get creative! You can control whats in them, and its fun to do on a rainy day. 

Ingredients

Marinated pork

(left) pork with garlic, ginger and green onions (right) cabbage added in as well

(left) adding in the egg, (right) pork with all ingredients including the soy sauce and sesame oil

the spongy dough

the dough rolled into a "log", you should have two logs

Each log should be cut into ten 1/2" blocks

Roll out the 1/2" blocks into 3-inch circles

Fill each dough circle with 1 heaping tsp of pork mixture

Moisten the edges of the dumpling with water and "pleat" the edges of the dumpling to close them

Ready to be steamed!

The steam basket in the pot of water. You may need to purchase a metal "stand" to go in between the bottom of the pot and the bottom of the steam basket. The basket will sit on the metal stand and the water will boil, producing steam, below it.

The final product, after about 15-20 minutes of steaming

Pork Dumplings
This will make about 20 dumplings 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons green onion, sliced thinly
1 cup of Napa cabbage, finely shredded
1 egg, beaten
1/2 lb of pork (you can do turkey, pork or chicken or vegetables)
2 cups of flour
1 cup of water
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil

You will need a steaming basket (you can purchase this at H&L Asian Market in North Charleston)


Directions

1. Marinate the meat in 2 tbsp of soy and oyster sauce. Let marinate overnight (preferably), but at least an hour prior to cooking.

2. In a large bowl, combine the pork, ginger, garlic, green onions, remaining 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, egg and cabbage. Stir until well mixed.

3. Add the water to the flour slowly, mixing them together until the result is a spongy dough. This is best done with your hands. Form dough into a "block" (see picture).

4. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch diameter blocks. Flour the surface of the counter and roll out each "block" into a 3 inch circle.

5. Place 1 heaping tsp of pork filling onto each wonton. Moisten the edges with water and fold the edges "pleating" them to close. Set on a floured surface until they are all ready.

6. To cook: steam the dumplings in a bamboo (or metal) steamer for about 15-20 minutes. Be sure to place a cabbage leaf under the wontons to prevent them from sticking to the steamer. Serve with soy sauce and enjoy!


Side note: You can make vegetable dumplings as well (shiitake mushrooms, napa cabbage, carrots, green onions- just sauté with olive oil prior to putting in the wonton).

Served with pancit (also on the blog!)

Xiao Bao Biscuit

I love Asian food. I think it is so interesting and so vastly different than any other type of cuisine. It's inspiring and fresh. There are always so many different layers of the dishes: sweet salty crunchy savory creamy spicy umami. I could go on and on with descriptors. 

In Charleston, we have a couple of good restaurants serving Asian cuisine but in my opinion, Xiao Bao Biscuit is the best. I have been many times and it continues to be consistently delicious, inspiring and I can never seem to get enough of it.

Here is the menu from the night we went most recently. They change their menu fairly regularly adding seasonally inspired plates.


There are several things that are consistently on the menu no matter what. One of them being the Okonomiyaki. This is a Japanese cabbage pancake. Will and I always order it with an egg and candied pork. It. Is. Amazing. It is a must order when you eat here. 

Okonomiyaki

We also ordered a special for the night which was kind of like a line of potstickers or dumplings (filled with beef and lamb) that were cooked together. You broke them apart and dipped them in soy sauce. They were crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. While we enjoyed them and it was a fun concept, we probably wouldn't order them again as they were a little bland.

The other two dishes we ordered were the ramen and a short rib noodle dish. Both were insanely good. Will and I couldn't decide which we liked better so we just kept passing them back and forth. 

Short Rib Noodle (front) and Ramen (back)

One thing I would like to point out is that I hear often that many people are afraid to try Asian food because they fear it is too spicy. While it is common for it to be spicy, nothing I have had here has been over the top. 

Their drink menu is impressive as well. They have several imported beers from Asia including a new Taiwan beer, Chang (Thailand), Beer Lao (Laos), and Saigon (Vietnam). Their mixed drinks are fabulous as well- my favorite being the Sun Wukong - its a spicy tequila cocktail with chili honey and ginger beer. 

If you like Asian food, this is a great place to satisfy the craving. Not only are the food and drinks good but being in there makes me feel like I'm back in Asia. The smell and the decor along with the lively atmosphere of many different people sharing tables full of food- it's a great thing to experience.  Go check it out- you won't be disappointed!

The Park Cafe

The Park Cafe is a neighborhood cafe right across from Hampton Park that serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch on the weekends. Prior to its opening,  Moe's Crosstown and Rutledge Cab Company were the only restaurants in the neighborhood. Once the concept behind the restaurant was released people in Wagener Terrace were really excited to welcome the cafe. Will and I bought a house in Wagener Terrace about 18 months ago so we definitely shared in the excitement. Now we would have three great places within walking distance! Karalee Nielsen Fallert has the reputation to promise and back the rumors that it was going to be a tasty spot. Once it opened we immediately headed over for breakfast. 

I got the shirred farm eggs dish with crab which I could describe as a creamy mixture of deliciousness (it is only offered for brunch now). 

Will got (and consistently still orders) the fried egg sandwich. Its a breakfast sandwich of a fried egg, cheddar cheese, spicy mayo, bacon and a healthy portion of avocado served on a brioche bun- comes with a half of a grapefruit, too. Its delicious and he is hooked.

We've been for breakfast many times now. One of my favorites is the avocado toast. They are not stingy with their avocados and I appreciate it! It has red pepper flakes, chives, olive oil and lemon juice drizzled on top. YUM!

For breakfast, I've also had the veggie mess (not pictured) which is scrambled eggs with vegetable curry, white cheddar cheese and avocado- fantastic! Brings me right back to Asia.  There are several different toasts I have on my eye to try in the future as well....if I can stop ordering the avacado toast.

For our first dinner experience, we were rather disappointed. (To note, neither of the items we had are on the menu any longer.) Everything was very bland. The experience at dinner left a bad taste in our mouth and we did not go back for awhile. 

There was an awesome article written in The City Paper that I came across where the author raved about their recent dinner experience and Chef John Amato. I knew I had to go back- and I am glad I did. 

We started with a salad special, which was sort of like a cobb salad with a green goddess dressing. It was fabulous. The vegetables were so fresh and the dressing was the perfect compliment to the flavors. Oh and it had pickled onions on it, which added a unique aspect and a ton of flavor. Nothing was overpowering the vegetables, which I believe should shine in a salad. Simple and delicious- which is what they do best.

For the main course, I ordered a special: Asian Pasta. It was delectable. The shrimp were a great size, perfectly cooked and there was a generous amount of them. The flavors were refreshing and there was the perfect amount of heat in the dish. It was similar to Pad Thai, but it was a pasta dish and I appreciated their version. 

Will ordered the marinated butchers steak with potatoes, rapini and bordelaise. This was a really hearty meal that is perfect for the cold weather. Delicious!

Close up!

Lastly, I had also heard about Park Cafe having a good happy hour. My friends, Ashley, Kathleen and I came on a week night and really enjoyed ourselves. It was so nice to sit on the porch, enjoy the weather, good food and great company. It's a great spot to just hang out for awhile as The Park Cafe has a laid back, inviting atmosphere. 

We ordered the roasted cauliflower, cheese n' crackers, field pea hummus, lettuce wraps and the pickle plate to share. Everything was delicious and I would order everything we had again. They have happy hour drink specials as well. The prices for happy hour are a steal!

After the many different times I have been to Park Cafe, I would definitely recommend it to you. We had one bad experience with the food but it was close to when they first opened up. A lot has changed since then. Its a great spot to hang out at with friends as well as enjoy a date night. They even have a "grab and go" section that you can pop in on and head over to Hampton Park with. 

My favorite time to go to Park Cafe is for breakfast and happy hour. Dinner was good, but it was a little on the pricier side. The only meal I have not had there is brunch, but I guarantee I will make a trip in the future to check it out- and so should you! I am so thankful Karalee opened up this neighborhood cafe. Will and I went this past Saturday morning and so many people were biking and walking from home to enjoy some good food. It makes me happy :)