The Best Roast Chicken I've Ever Tasted!

My parents (and most Chinese immigrants) always complain the chicken meat in the U.S. has no flavor and don't taste like chickens because it's never fresh at the supermarket. So, I've always wanted to try roasting a whole chicken using a fresh-killed chicken. Lily's Eggs at the Santa Monica Farmers Market on Wednesdays is my favorite place to buy fresh, free-range chicken, quail and duck eggs and Lily's also sells free-range chickens that are killed the day before and never frozen. This past week, I was finally able to visit the market early enough before Lily's sold out of her free-range chickens.

The results were absolutely amazing. Not to toot my own horn but this was the BEST roast chicken I've EVER tasted; every single piece of meat was succulent and packed with rich, meat flavors. I'm sure the tasty factor was mostly due to the fact that the chicken was free-range and fresh-killed. The frozen and defrosted caged chickens that have traveled hundreds (if not thousands) of miles at the supermarkets never taste this good and the meat always taste bland unless you marinate it for a long time or douse it with sauce. I didn't marinate my chicken; I just prepped it and stuck it in the oven right away. There aren't a lot of pictures because it's really hard to prep dinner quickly by myself and take pictures too. Here are the delicious results:

The chickens are killed on Tuesdays and then sold at the market on Wednesdays. It's cleaned and vacuumed-packed. Unfortunately, they threw away the gizzard, liver and heart; that's the good stuff that I wanted to roast along with the chicken.

Weiser Farm (also at SM Farmers Market) is another favorite of mine to get potato recommendations (they have so many varieties) and whatever else they have in season. Besides delicious potatoes, the great guys at the stand recommended a very sweet and pungent onion and this strong garlic for my chicken. I forgot the variety name :P

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

-Wash the chicken (the inside cavity too) and pat dry with paper towels.

-Sprinkle garlic salt or kosher salt very liberally all over the chicken and inside the cavity too.

-Slice the onion and head of garlic in half and peel away the onion/garlic skins.

-Stuff the onion, half of the garlic, and a few fresh sprigs of thyme (I used rosemary too) inside the cavity.

-Use kitchen string and tie the chicken (Google this to learn how; I'm still learning to perfect this technique).

(The chicken is already done roasting in this picture.)

Brush the chicken with 1 to 2 tablespoons of melted butter and place the chicken breast-side up on a rack on top of a foil-lined pan. The butter will help keep the chicken skin moist and give it a nice golden hue.

Then, you can either lay sliced potatoes and carrots around the rack or roast them on a separate pan. I threw caution to the wind and decided to roast them on the same pan so the potatoes and carrots can cook in the dripped chicken juices and fat. Don't forget to sprinkle a little salt over the potatoes and carrots and if roasting on a separate pan, drizzle some oil on them.

Roast the chicken for about 60 minutes (time varies depending on chicken size and I think my chicken was around 4 to 5 pounds) and try to take it out quickly at the 45 minute mark and flip it so the skin on the other side gets a chance to crisp as well.

You can check whether it's done if the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and thigh or if you have a meat thermometer, insert it into the inner thigh area and the chicken is done when it reads 165 degrees (note: instant-read thermometers cannot go in oven from the beginning).

Let the chicken rest 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the stuffing, then cut and serve.

Most delicious Roast Chicken ever! You won't be able to resist devouring the crispy skin. Give it a squeeze of fresh lemon juice if you like.

The chicken's neck, roasted. This, along with the wings, is the best part. I wish bars would serve roasted chicken necks. It's the perfect bar food (in my heaven).

I know you can also get fresh-killed chickens at a chicken shop in Chinatown (on Broadway Ave., diagonally across from Cathay Bank) and there are a couple of places in San Gabriel Valley (one is on Garvey Ave). I can see the shops in my head but for the life of me, I cannot remember the names of the places. Ranch 99 supermarkets will sometimes have fresh-killed chickens too. However, it's just so nice to have Lily's Eggs as a source on the Westside.

dineLA: Dinner at Bazaar...and Love

Can I fall in love at first sight and at first bite? Yes, I can and I did tonight at The Bazaar!

My restaurant week adventure continues with dinner at The Bazaar. Bazaar is located inside the posh SLS Hotel and the restaurant decor is fun and trendy with dashes of mystery and romance. There are nooks, curtained spaces and different seating (booths, tables, low tables, outside seating, etc.); combined with the art, tarot card readers (on weekends) and amazing food and presentation, you'll feel like you're at a special dinner at a party. This is not just another restaurant to answer the age-old question of "what are we having for dinner tonight."

I went with my friend and we both ordered the $44 dineLA prix-fixe. We were pleasantly surprised that we had so many choices to pick from. Each person picks one appetizer from 5 choices, three tapas from a really long list of tapas that's organized into meat, vegetable, salad, seafood, etc. categories and then one dessert. Our adventure begins here:

This "fog" was from the "Liquid Nitrogen Caipirinha" that was made tableside. It was so much fun to watch the bartender make this cocktail. What a great way to start our dinner!

"Liquid Nitrogen Caipirinha" completed.

They definitely don't skimp on the alcohol and even though the cocktail is technically frozen, the "ice" is so smooth that I imagine that's what a cloud would taste like if I could actually taste a cloud. There is no ice crunchiness at all. Edible flowers add a beautiful touch.

"Magical Mojito"

Mojito is poured over a wad of cotton candy. Creative pairing and presentation but the drink was a bit too sweet for me and wasn't strong enough on the alcohol front.

Appetizer: "Philly Cheesesteak" ~ Air bread, cheddar, Wagyu beef

Delicious! We could've eaten ten of those each. I know...wishful thinking.

"Not Your Everyday Caprese" ~ Cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella

We added three things not on the prix-fixe menu that we really wanted to try. This was one of them and it was totally worth it. The liquid mozzarella was creamy and it's the perfect bite when you spoon it into your mouth with the sweet n' tart cherry tomato and some pesto at the same time.

"Olives ~ traditional and modern"

This was second thing we ordered extra because someone highly recommended the olives to me. You start with the traditional olives stuffed with anchovies and then finish with the liquid olives which you should savor in your mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. This was good but it was a bit too salty for us to eat two each. One of each would have been just right.

"Jamon Serrano Fermin (2oz)" ~ served with Catalan style toasted bread with tomato

You cannot go wrong with Serrano Ham and the bread with the fresh tomato topping was a very tasty pairing. I heart Jamon Serrano...seriously...see my August post about cooking fresh Iberico de Bellota if you don't believe me.

"Foie Gras Cotton Candy"

Our third and final add-on to our prix-fixe dinner and we're so glad we got it. Again, we dream of eating ten of these sweet and savory "heavens." A cube of foie gras is wrapped in the cotton candy and this is best eaten by putting the whole thing in your mouth all at once.

"Organized Caesar Salad"

This is the one tapa we didn't really care for. A thin slice of jicama wraps the lettuce, anchovy and dressing and the "roll" is topped with either a quail egg yolk or parmesan cheese. The cheese and quail egg yolk were yummy but the rest were blah.

"The Ultimate Spanish Tapa" ~ Ensaladilla rusa potatoes, carrots, mayo, tuna belly

This was tasty but it didn't blow us away. It was like a really, really good tuna salad. I guess it's a little hard to blow us away after that awesome foie gras cotton candy.

"Just Shrimp Cocktail" ~ Yeah right

I spoke too soon. This shrimp was delicious and cooked perfectly. All shrimp should be cooked like this - fresh and just done so it's not rubbery, mealy or dry. I think I need more than ten of this...twenty sounds about right.

"Catalan Spinach" ~ Spinach, apple, pine nuts, raisins

I wish all my spinach...heck, all my vegetables...could be served like this. This was bursting with flavor with the roasted pine nuts and fruit and the spinach didn't have that "irony" and rough taste/texture that it usually has.

"Beef Hangar Steak" in piquillo pepper confit

A perfect carnivore finish to an amazing dinner. The steak was cooked medium-rare as requested.

"Spanish Flan"

I usually hate flan because it's too sweet and the flan falls apart after a couple of jabs. I love this one though because I could really taste the richness of the eggs and milk and the sugar in the flan and caramel sauce wasn't overpowering. The whip cream was a nice touch too.

"Chocolate Heart"

You can never go wrong with chocolate. A chocolate river gushes out of the cake after the first jab of your fork.

My friend and I were full after dinner but of course, we had to visit the dessert shop next to the restaurant; looking never hurt. We definitely have to return for their dessert tasting or high tea and try their in-house chocolates, cakes, pastries and ice cream.

So yes, love at first sight (the restaurant and that wow-wow-wow liquid nitrogen cocktail) and love at first bite (Philly Cheesesteak) is really possible. I admit I'd love to come back here with a date; fun and delicious, that's at least half the recipe for a good dinner date.

P.S. I was dying to have my birthday dinner at Bazaar this year but it didn't happen. But hey, there's no rule against celebrating four months late and also, girl's night out is just as special. Thank you Coolia for organizing this fabulous dinner.

dineLA: RH at the Andaz Hotel

Restaurant Week (dineLA) started today with over 200 participating restaurants - some more exciting than others. I've been looking forward to trying RH Restaurant at the Andaz ever since S. Irene Virbila's glowing review in the LA Times; it sounded so delicious.

So, I grabbed a few friends for the special lunch prix fixe today. The service was wonderful - attentive and friendly - and we enjoyed a long, leisurely two hour lunch in one of their super comfy booths.

The beautiful open kitchen with lots of top kitchen gear - my dream kitchen!

Perigourdine Poached Egg with field mushrooms, foie gras and summer truffle.

This was not one of the choices for the prix fixe but I really wanted to try it so I paid $4 extra to substitute for it. Smart move because this was sooooooo good. The mix of rich flavors from the runny egg yolk, perfectly cooked foie gras and thin slices of truffles combined with the toasted chewy bread was heaven in my mouth.

I love that the dish came in a little cast-iron (porcelain outside) ramekin. I ate every last bit and had to resist every urge to pocket the ramekin and try to recreate "heaven" at home.

Homemade Crispy Petaluma Duck Confit with sauteed potatoes, green onions, garlic and parsley

Another hit for RH with this duck confit. I've never had duck confit where the skin was actually crispy AND the meat was still succulent. Paired with the potatoes, this was a delicious entree.

Rum Baba with fruit minestrone and whipped cream

This was a miss for me. The sponge cake was a bit dry and I don't think it was really soaked it rum because it tasted bland. The best part was the fruit minestrone which was a mix of sweet and tart mango and papaya. However, I tried some of my friend's lemon grass ice cream and I think she got the best dessert; I loved the strong lemon grass flavor.

I would definitely go back to RH again. I can't wait to have the Perigourdine Poached Egg again and try the terrines and the Perigord Tourrain Soup...and oh yes, having the Triple Fried French Fries again is a must (they're fried in duck fat).

RH Restaurant

8401 Sunset Blvd.

West Hollywood, CA 90069

(323) 785-6090

**Valet is $7 but everyone in my group found street parking nearby

Health Dept - Wake Up!

Just read this article in the LA Times ~ Food Fight Waged Over Refrigeration of Asian Noodles.

This is not just culture that is lost in translation; it's really plain ignorance on the State Health Department's part. They've been blindly applying archaic regulations across the board without bothering to really learn and understand that different foods require different storing and handling. And I mean really different foods. After all, this is California. This State has one of the highest concentrations of immigrants and (thankfully) has a rich diversity of foods. You just can't apply the same temperature rule to a hamburger versus rice noodles or mooncake. Wake up Health Dept and do your homework!

I'm rooting for the noodle manufacturers and we better win this one because I'm not buying cold, brittle rice noodles for my noodle soups.

Ham Ji Park ~ Delectable Pork Belly, Spareribs & Stew

The Pork Spareribs at Ham Ji Park make me seriously question why I bother to make ribs at home. HJP's Spareribs are tender, meaty and well-marinated in a rich salty sweet sauce with a gentle spicy kick.

I have a serious addiction to Korean BBQ; I need help. I've been on a Ham Ji Park binge lately (3 times in a month?) and super cheap certificates from Restaurant.com doesn't help me. Oh well, just got to workout more! The Core Performance Center is currently my best friend, 5 days a week, if not 6 :)

The Pork Neck Stew is full of spices and heartiness. The meat is soft and falls off the bone. It's absolutely delicious with a bowl of rice. Trust me, you'll want that rice to soak up every bit of that stew. It's comfort food at its best.

Black Pork Bacon. BBQ till crispy and the fat is delicious. Go workout before AND after you enjoy this.

Marinated Sirloin Beef. Fat is well-marbled and I like the light marinade. The onions and green onions are a nice addition to the grill.

The beginning of the carnage. Disclaimer: it's really hard for me to remember to take photos when the food arrives - it's exciting and I'm hungry you know...

There are two Ham Ji Parks in the Koreatown vicinity. I've only been to the 6th St. location so far because parking is so easy there ($2 valet and plenty of street parking on 6th or Catalina).

Ham Ji Park

3407 W 6th St
Ste 101-C
Los Angeles, CA 90020

(213) 365-8773

and

4135 W Pico Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90019

(213) 365-8773

Oxtail Stew: Comfort Food That Keeps You Warm

Ah. Been busy. Been sick. Had some fun in between.

This just means all the posts I've been meaning to write has been snowballing and I better tackle some before it drives me crazy in the back of my mind!

Oxtail Stew is one of my favorite comfort foods especially for the Fall and Winter seasons and I love to cook it for Sunday dinner when I have a couple of hours at home. My Uncle Ricky has taught me many important carnivore dishes over the years and he initially taught this to me as a Beef Short Rib stew so feel free to use short ribs if oxtail is not your thing. Both have become my favorites for Sunday dinners.

The first time my uncle showed me how to cook this, I was amazed that he was just eyeballing stuff and throwing them into the pot. After having made this many times, my "recipe" is not really exact because I eyeball everything now too. But that's okay. That's why sometimes cooking is more relaxing than baking because it doesn't always have to be exact.

Shop for your ingredients and have them handy on your kitchen counter.

Mix flour, kosher salt and black pepper in a large bowl and set aside. Or, use a large rubbermaid with a lid (useful later).

Rinse oxtails and pat dry with paper towels.

Use kitchen scissors to snip away excess fat and tough sinewy parts and discard.

Toss the oxtail in the flour mixture. I like using a large rubbermaid container and I just put the oxtail in in batches and put the lid on and shake - the oxtail comes out evenly coated every time.

Heat a large pot (or use a separate pan) and add canola oil. Sear the oxtail on all sides. Try not to crowd the oxtial because it won't sear properly. Sear in batches if necessary.

When it's pretty much seared, add diced onions if you like onions melted into the sauce of your stew. Or, you can save the onions to add last. I tend to do both.

Add chicken stock, stewed tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a medium boil and turn the fire on low and simmer for 2 to 2.5 hours total. Don't put a tight lid on the pot. Either tilt the lid to let out steam or use a lid that has a small hole for ventilation.

At the1.5 hour mark, add the cut carrots. After 15 minutes, add the cut potatoes and stew for 30 more minutes. Carrots and potatoes should have been peeled and cut (about 1 to 2 inch pieces) beforehand. Tip: If you can, get fresh carrots (with the greens still attached) at the Farmers Market - the sweet carrot flavor will really come through.

Check for doneness by inserting a fork into the oxtail; the meat should separate pretty easily. At that point, you can add mushrooms and sliced onions if you like - I did both here.

Stew for 15 more minutes after adding mushrooms and your stew should look like this. Do a quick taste test; add more kosher salt if you think the taste needs to be adjusted.

There you have it. Carbs, Protein and Veggies all in one pot :)

Oh, of course don't forget to plate it with a nice plate of steamed rice. Rice or a thick, crusty French bread is the perfect side dish pair with a stew because it'll soak up all the delicious, rich sauce. I cheat; I'm Chinese so I have two main entrees - rice and stew!

Shopping List for Oxtail Stew

(remember, measurements aren't exact but it's okay...it's cooking so eyeball it!)

• 1 Oxtail - about 3-4 lbs (Western markets will have it all cut up already; Chinese markets tend to have the whole tale at the meat counter so make sure you ask the butcher to cut it - you cannot do it at home!)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1.5 tablespoon kosher salt (have extra to salt stew later if necessary)
• 0.5 tablespoon black pepper (fresh ground if possible)
• 2 cans Stewed Tomatoes (I like Del Monte Original Recipe)
• 3 - 4 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 box/8 oz of crimini mushrooms (or any sturdy mushroom that'll be good at soaking up the sauce)
• 1 medium potato
• 1 medium brown onion
• 0.5 to 1 lb of carrots
• 1 - 2 tablespoon Canola oil - to coat pot/pan

To Parboil or Not to Parboil?

I am squarely in the camp of not parboiling pork spareribs when I cook ribs at home. A lot of recipes recommend parboiling to soften the meat but I think that removes a lot of flavor from the meat. So, my solution is to slooooooooow cook my ribs. It's not hard, it just takes time.

I live in an apartment with no access to a grill so I can't exactly make BBQ Ribs so here's my recipe for Apt Slow-Oven Baked Ribs. It takes at least 4 to 6 hours of cooking time and 24 hours to marinate but the results are worth it. Tender, juicy, fall-off-the-bone meat that beats any ribs I can buy from a restaurant in LA.

I prefer spareribs over baby back ribs because it is meatier and less expensive. Choose a piece that's 3 - 4 pounds. A smaller piece is fine too but if you're doing all this cooking why not make more for friends or for a couple of meals?

The recipe will most likely give you extra dry rub. Save it in an airtight container so you can use it again in the future.

Wash and pat dry the ribs using paper towels. It is really important that you remove that tough membrane on the back of the ribs. Take a spoon and work your way under the membrane and slowly rip the whole thing off.

Ribs sans membrane. Use kitchen scissors to trim any leftover membrane and excess fat. As the ribs cook, fat will drip onto your pan so trim the excess fat or else you might have to take your pan out and pour out the fat.

Rub the dry rub all over the ribs (front and back). Wrap tightly in foil, put it on a tray or in a plastic bag in case of leaking and put it in the fridge to marinate for 24 hours.

After marinating, remove foil, pat away any moisture and excess dry rub and place the ribs on a rack on top of a tray. Bake at 275F for 4 to 6 hours. It may take the full 6 hours depending on the size of the ribs and oven temperature (I finally bought an oven temp gauge and found out my oven runs 25 degrees lower than what it's set for). Ribs are done when two ribs can easily be separated by hand (the ribs in the pic above are done cooking).

Okay, final stretch. To finish, add BBQ sauce. I like to use Bull's Eye Original Barbecue Sauce and for a spicy kick, I mix in a little tabasco sauce before I brush it on the cooked ribs (tabasco optional). Of course, brush sauce on both sides of the ribs.

Set the oven to broil and place ribs in for about 5 to 7 minutes. It will look bubbly as the fire heats the sauce. Then, take it out and flip and broil the other side. Monitor the broiling very closely by looking through your oven window. You don't want the ribs to burn; you just want the sauce to soak into the ribs. So, if it looks like it is burning, take it out immediately even if the time isn't up yet

Apt Slow-Oven Baked Ribs done! I served it with fresh corn from the farmers market and rice. I'm Chinese so I must have rice :)

Recipe for Dry Rub

(I mixed and matched dry rub recipes I've used in the past)

• 3/4 cup of white sugar
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup salt (I prefer Kosher which I think brings out the meat flavors better but regular salt is fine too)
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 2 1/2 tablespoons of black pepper (fresh ground if you can)
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Store extra dry rub in an airtight container for future use.