Mixed Plate: The Story of Grandma's Noodle Dish

Almost two years ago, my family had to do the sad but necessary task of cleaning out my grandparents' home when my grandfather passed away. My grandmother had passed away several years ago and he had been taking care of the house on his own. Our family had a lot of memories invested in this house; it's the home where my father and his sister grew up, and I spent a lot of childhood summers there. Time and life's adventures combined to create a situation where stuff accumulated. Lots of stuff. To put it lightly, Grandpa had collected a lot of things, and were the powers of cable TV trending to have happened a few years earlier, I think we could have had a prime candidate for one of those "Hoarders" shows. It was no small task to sort through this life of collected objects. But amid all the junk, there were still treasures worth keeping, like a large, elaborately decorated serving dish my grandmother would use for dinners and potlucks. My parents paid the price of a blackmarket orphan to have this plate shipped safely to my home, and it's sat as a centerpiece on our dining room table since the family home had its final cleaning. It wasn't yet used as a proper plate, that is, until the recent visit of my Aunty S.

Pad Thai with a heaping side of family memories - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Right now our house is a mishmash of family objects. That same hoarding mentality my grandpa had has clearly taken root in my own personal habits, but I hope to not let it get so out of hand that my stuff starts to own me. When Aunty S. visited, I showed her old photos of her and my dad's childhood organized in an album, pieced together by a narrative from her brother's weirdly good memory. I took possession of her childhood jewelry box, a beautifully painted wooden box with little drawers and a rolling two-door shutter, along with their collection of kokeshi, painted Japanese wooden peg-like dolls of varying size, plus the porcelain Japanese dolls rescued from the old glass case in my grandparents' home. Our house has become like a family museum, and I hope to keep the items in as good condition as I can, for no other reason than a sentimental crazy fear of losing memories to time's passing. And yeah, I'm probably a hoarder at heart, so consider my application to TLC and The Discovery Channel pending.

My homemade Thai carb-fest dinner - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Family keepsakes aside, I wanted to make at least one big dinner for my aunt's visit, so I made a three-course Thai meal. We're not Thai, this wasn't anything either of us grew up with, but I like the flavors and I was comfortable shooting from the hip with these dishes, so that's how the meal came to be. I made a spicy/sour coconut and chicken soup, Swimming Rama creamy peanut sauce with chicken and peppers, and a giant amount of Pad Thai. The family serving dish came into the picture, as Aunty S. mentioned she remembered her mother serving up many noodle dishes on this plate, so I thought it would be fitting that the Pad Thai be served up on this platter. Plus I didn't have anything big enough to hold all those noodles, and gosh darn it if it didn't look pretty.

Unfortunately, I didn't have anything as picture-pretty as the noodle dish for the soup and chicken with peanut sauce, but that's fine -- most family potluck dinners are a rogue's gallery of servingware, so consider this just "keepin' it real." It was a lot of food for just three people -- Auntie S., Mr. Wasabi, and myself -- but it was a rich, hearty meal to enjoy with loved ones, plus the added benefit of leftovers for several days and my not having to cook.

Washing the large dish that night, I noticed on the bottom, it still had a bit of old tape with the family name written across it, along with my grandpa's initials painted in what I can only assume to be my grandmother's nail polish -- it was a bright coral hue. No doubt these were put there to help assign ownership when plates were left at someone's house after a big potluck dinner. I often get overly precious about using fancy platters, not wanting to use them in fear of wearing them out or risking breakage, but seeing how much better they look when piled with food made me feel less fussy about letting this platter rediscover its humble, but useful place in the food universe. I saw my grandmother's handwriting and it truly felt like this plate was home.

A family feast with lots of leftovers! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

UnRecipe: Creamy Eggplant Curry and Tofu

The welcome change in weather has inspired the making of soups, stews, and in this case, curry. We're still on Vacation Countdown at Wasabi HQ, but that doesn't keep the kitchen from continuing to crank out home-cooked goodness. A recent trip to the Redmond Farmer's Market yielded some colorful items like brightly-colored peppers and adorable little purple and white eggplants. I was inspired by a recent visit to my favorite Thai restaurant, Chantanee, and decided to make a Creamy Eggplant and Tofu Curry.

The heat is ON for spicy eggplant curry - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I particularly enjoy the combination of Thai flavors; it's always a satisfying mix of sweetness, complex spices, some heat, and a little bitterness. I took the chopped peppers and eggplant, cooked them down, and mixed in a dollop of store-bought red curry paste with some fresh lemongrass stalks. A can of coconut milk was added, then tofu, chopped Thai basil, and fresh spinach at the end. Everything simmered for a bit, letting the flavors combine and melt down the vegetables before ladling it over some basmati rice. I often speak of our low-carb household, but for curries and stews, I can't just eat them on their own -- sometimes I need my rice, dammit. Don't get between an Asian girl and a bowl of rice. You won't win, so just forget it, Atkins.

Something else to note, if you have a local farmer's market, now is the perfect time to search out some really nice vegetables. We're seeing a lot of unique squash and those eggplants we found were so adorable, I almost didn't want to cook them. I say almost because while I gave them a pause for admiration of their cuteness, I still hacked them up and threw them into a searing hot wok. In the rock-paper-scissors politics of food, cuteness is beat by hunger. Tummy satisfaction agrees with this choice. *burp*

Cute vegetables preserved for posterity before being om nommed - photos by Wasabi Prime

Happy Hour Haunt: To Naga, With Love

Suffering Bastard, Corpse Reviver, Artillerymen's Punch, Coral Dove -- no, we didn't hit Emerald Downs to watch the ponies after work on a lazy summer evening. These are a small sample of the unique anthology of cocktails on Chantanee's drink menu. The Prime has covered the newly-relocated Bellevue Thai favorite in older blog entries, but the highly-touted bar area, Naga, had not yet been christened by the entity that is the Happy Hour Martini Mafia. The whole gang was unfortunately not able to convene, but we few, we happy few (yours truly, GGirl, and Mr. S), met for a short spell to sample this Eastside oasis and see if the buzz surrounding Naga was worth the hullabaloo. No need to wait for a dramatic pause, I believe we have reason to raise a glass in celebration, for we have a winner. Please pass the spiced nuts.

Jules from Pulp Fiction would agree, this is one tasty beverage - photo by Wasabi Prime

Naga's happy hour runs the standard 4pm to 6pm, and it offers a recession-friendly discount on its impressive menu of signature cocktails, so instead of going for a typical brewski after workski, give one of these refreshing little dittys a try. These aren't syrupy, overly-fruity affairs with oversugared rims in unnatural Crayola colors. I had the pleasure of experiencing the Kaffir Fling, a drink created by Canadian bartender David Wolowidnyk in ye olde year of 2007 -- they include the drink's provenance on the menu. Booze and a history lesson -- shazam! A mix of vodka and lime with a hint of sweetness, this simple sour is topped with a frothy head of egg white and a sprinkle of ginger spice, with a fresh kaffir lime leaf nestled in the cloudy foam. These are no mere drinks, they are libations.

Eat, drink, be merry, and then drink some more - Photos by Wasabi Prime

In the swirling sea of cosmo-poma-tini-whatevers that swarm most bar menus, it's a rare blessing to enjoy something made with such deliberate care, as they possess a nuance and layering of flavors that are as interesting to the palate as a gourmet meal. The bartender was extremely knowledgeable in the many glittering bottles of liqueurs, spirits, and other potables within the bar's liquid library. There were many drinks being sampled, from the more familiar mojito, to obscure variations on an herbaceous julep. Among the display of bottled bitters, there was one pear-shaped flagon of murky amber liquid that had a cobra, entwined with another small snake within the bottle's glass belly. Yes, for reals. We skipped a taste of that one, but we sampled a photo or two -- apologies for the seemingly drunken focus. A digital SLR, a digital SLR -- my kingdom for a DSLR!

Not to forget the solids to go with the liquids, the Martini Mafia sampled the nibble-worthy Sundried Pork and Beef and Thai Spiced Mixed Nuts from Naga's bar menu, and then indulged with the Crispy Garlic Chicken and some fried rice from their dining menu.

Yes, that's really a snake in a bottle. And yes, that's really chicken on the plate - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Chantanee was wise to bring in the wisdom of mixologist Andrew Bohrer to bless the Eastside with an amazing offering of drinks that I have never heard of, but want to get to know better. He also has an impressive blog, Caskstrength, which goes into great detail over the artistry and philosophy of life behind the bar. Cheers to Mr. Bohrer, Chantanee and Naga, as well as my Martini Mafiosos who could make it out for the night!