The Asian invasion...

We've moved on from Europe to Asia this week in Cuisine Across Cultures. While I long ago tired of those fast food and seedy restaurant staples like A-B-C Chicken and General Tso, the stuff we got into today is the stuff I still crave whenever I'm in an Asian establishment.

Sushi. Pure and simple you can't go wrong with Sushi. I've never met a Sushi I didn't thoroughly enjoy, and today did nothing to change that opinion. Sushi is a bit liberal of a term here, however, as fish wasn't present in our presentations. We mostly delved into vegetables, pork and shrimp. We presented both close-rolled and reverse-roll styles (the reverse is rolled in black sesame seeds to finish). All were delicious. Very crisp and fresh flavors here.

Optimizing that crisp and clean flavor were the Spring Rolls. Call me easily amused --many people do-- but I love Spring Rolls. I don't need meat present to enjoy food, and if I could eat Spring Rolls for lunch every day, I'd probably die happy. And what a sweet, tasty death it would be.

EDIT-- There was fried tofu inside the Spring Rolls. A-MAZING!

Won Ton Soup-- Mmm, mmm. If it's an available appetizer or side to a meal at any Asian-inspired restaurant, I'm getting it. I prefer them in the poached fashion, as they are in this soup, over the fried version. That's just because I do what I can to protect my girlish figure.

The Sirloin was an epic fail. I don't know if it wasn't sliced back across the grain properly, or if it was just an exceptionally tough piece of meat, but it was impossible to chew. And when it starts becoming hard to chew...you start to realize you're chewing on raw meat. I made a feeble attempt, said, "NUTS TO THIS!" and tossed my piece away. No use crying over poor product...at least not in a school setting.

Pork on a stick. 'Nuff said about that epic win.

Now Lumpia looks a lot like an egg roll...and it essentially is. This also makes it delicious. I had a friend once refer to egg rolls as the "Asian Hot Pocket." Yeah, the fried stuff isn't great for you, but it's not going to stop me from wanting to woof down five of them. Today I showed restraint and settled for two. The Lumpia is on a bed of fried rice. Our recipe was actually pretty solid...I could see myself getting down with it at a later date.

The Chicken Vindaloo (LOOOOOOOOOOooooooo...sorry, just makes me want to yell it) isn't an Asian dish at all. Chef got his wires crossed and had me prep product yesterday to make it today. As I was happily cooking away today the Chef started laughing before divulging to me his error-- Vindaloo is an African dish. To this I say oh well, because it was quite tasty.

Vindaloo tasted similar to the Curry Chicken and Lamb, probably because Tumeric was involved in each. Each had very nice Earthy tones, a spicy kick and all-around-awesomeness to them that made me quite happy to tuck a piece of each away. A bonus was involved with the chicken dish, which sat on a bed of Net Bread. Think half egg noodle, half Crêpe. It's better than plain white rice, that's for sure.

Last, but not least, up there is Sweet and Sour Pork. It tasted like any you have ever had in your life, just a bit less on the sweet-- let's call it more balanced. I don't detest the dish, but I'm looking to be more adventurous if I'm dining out at a good Asian establishment.

I'll update with pics of added dishes as the week progresses in Asian cuisine, so be sure to check back frequently!

Side note: NetFlix has me on a documentary binge as of late. I will probably create a post in the somewhat-near future to talk about some highs and lows, and about my overwhelming nerdiness for enjoying documentaries. Keep your eyes peeled for that!