bok choy and carrots

There are times in every woman's life where she must make difficult decisions. When a girl's reputation is on the line, sometimes, compromises need to be made; while I generally try to keep most of what we do here culturally neutral, this week, I was forced to cross a line in the sand. Today's entry was not planned, but born out of a few divine circumstances of fate, one major contributing factor being a solitary, sad, wilted bok choy that's been hiding in the back of my produce drawer for much, much too long. It's time to take a stand and do something about it.

The Monday before last, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Sriracha manufacturing plant by a couple of buddies - it was an absolute delight, one of the most enjoyable outings I've had the pleasure of partaking in this year. Some things about the Sriracha brand that they don't stamp on the side of the bottle with their large, impressive silk-screener? One, founder and CEO David Tran doesn't spend a dime on advertising and holds no legal right to the Sriracha recipe or concept, enabling any average Joe or Jane to produce and market their own version of it. I love that. He knows his product is the best, and makes no effort to assert this fact to the competition.

Two? At the end of each free tour, every lucky fan in attendance gets to take home their very own, complimentary bottle of either Sriracha, sambal oelek, or chili garlic paste, the latter of which I chose without hesitation and solemnly vow to make last as long as humanly possible. This jar of heavenly glory is a type of magic I've never experienced before in my life; it means the world to me. Your generous gift will not be squandered in vain, David.

bok choy

carrot

sriracha brand garlic chili paste™

a packet of splenda

three tablespoons of tamari

one tablespoon of sesame oil

I know you guys are going to hate this one; the god-honest truth is that I got my weeks mixed up and didn't realize until yesterday that Easter isn't this Sunday, but next. I had my blog entry for baby Jesus all queued up and ready to go, but I wasn't about to waste it on an average Friday morning out of sheer laziness. That, and I needed to make some lunch for the afternoon; this belly isn't going to get all pink and round all on its own, that much is for damn sure.

Our sauce in its unadulterated, deconstructed form. One of my most shameful hidden secrets is that I haven't purchased artificial sweeteners of any kind since coming back from tour, instead opting to steal Splenda packets from Starbucks exclusively. I've been to many of them over the last several months. I have no regrets, just a sweet tooth that refuses to be silenced.

Here are the carrots and bok choy leaves, broken down neatly and happy to be of service. It's been two monotonous weeks of bean soup here at pinkbelly HQ; the variety illustrated here in terms of preparation and flavor was a welcome change of pace.

Here you can see me steaming the veggies in a lukewarm puddle of tap water; I do this not only because it makes them a bit easier on the ol' digestive tract, but also to soften them and increase their absorptive potential.

Once they are cooked to your liking, dump in the sauce and go to town with your spatula. Mix it all up until you can smell the garlic in the air and feel the chili paste penetrating your pores.

The final hurrah, and not a moment too soon. I had no thickening agent on hand, so after a while the vegetables did begin to weep out a good amount of fragrant, delicious liquid. I licked up every drop like the hound I am.

Of course, no fake, homemade, Asian-inspired dish would be complete without a soggy pile of white girl rice to rest delicately upon. If you think for a second I would endeavor to perform this dish for you without including that essential finishing touch, you're absolutely out of your mind.

This recipe turned out beyond delectable, and would not have been possible without the raw power of Hoy Fong Foods, Inc. backing me up and helping me shine. This one goes out to you, Mister Tran. Your sauces delight me. I'll be back for more, you can guarantee it.