Nabe = Japanese hotpot

With the arrival of colder weather, we decided it was time for our first nabe of the season.  Nabe (or nabemono) refers to the Japanese one-pot dish where all of the ingredients are cooked together.  We used a clay pot called a "donabe" and a portable burner on a kotatsu table so we could sit and eat leisurely together. You can make your nabe with a variety of vegetables and proteins.  Different nabe varieties include yosenabe, chankonabe, yudofu, sukiyaki, shabu shabu, and there are many regional variations.  We made our nabe with vegetables and cod.

 Hakusai (napa cabbage) on the bottom, with ninjin (carrots), naganagi (leek), daikon (radish), shiitake (mushroom) and enoki (mushroom)

 The broth is made from heating water and a piece of dried kombu (seaweed) on the stovetop.

 Add all of the vegetables to the nabe.  We included pieces of tara (cod) on the bottom.

 Cover and cook.

 After 10-15 minutes, transfer the nabe to a portable stove.  The earthenware pot retains the heat well.

おいしそう!

 Add shirataki noodles (konnyaku noodles) and medium-firm tofu.

 We made the dipping sauce out of a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, yuzu kosho (citrus-flavored pepper), shichimi togarashi (7 pepper spices) and raiyu (garlic sesame chili oil).

 Place some of the cooked nabe ingredients in the dipping sauce and enjoy.

At the end, we added cooked rice and a raw egg to the flavor-infused liquid in the nabe to make zousui.   ごちそうさまでした｡

Super H Mart's Food Court

Super H Mart 10780 Lee Hwy, Fairfax, VA 22030.  If you've never ventured out to the Super H Mart in Fairfax, it's worth a trip.  The produce is varied and inexpensive.  They have fresh curry leaves and lemongrass stalks, boxes of mangos, and hard-to-find ingredients for Indian curries, Japanese nabe, and Latin American recipes.  The fish area is very good.  Look at the whole fish, and you'll see clear, glassy eyes, signifying freshness.  I love it.  I also love their food court area to the right of the entrance. 

 Late Saturday night, this was the only food counter still open.  The sushi and Korean fried chicken stalls had already closed for the evening.  You place your order and pay at the counter.  Our 3 items totaled ~ $23.  When the order is ready, they'll call out your number.  Hot tea and water are available at the counter next to the utensils.

 Seolleong-tang (ox-tail bone marrow soup) soup with radish kimchee, cabbage kimchee and rice.

Yukgae-jang (hot and spicy stew with shredded beef) with kimchee and rice.

Haemul-Soondoobu (spicy seafood soft tofu stew) with kimchee and rice.

Today's Bento

With the arrival of colder weather, we've been eating a lot more lately. Even though we went for an hour run and took an 18 mile bike ride this weekend, it's good to adjust food content and quantities.  To lighten up today's bento, I made a meat-free lunch with half the amount of rice and more fresh fruits and vegetables.

 Umeboshi, quick-pickled cucumber, grapes, persimmon, mandarin orange, spicy bean sesame sprouts with pickled ginger.

Sauteed cabbage with shiitake mushrooms, garlic and ginger; edamame, and rice topped with salmon furikake.

Tex-Mex Challenge: Cactus Cantina v Rio Grande

I had a craving for Tex-Mex.  After a spree of Korean restaurants, it was time for a change.  So we headed up to the National Cathedral area to Cactus Cantina.  http://www.cactuscantina.com/ I'm a sucker for the salsa and thin tortilla chips.  Unfortunately our server was not the most efficient or pleasant.

Queso and guacamole duo ($6.95).  The chips were a little too thin to dip effectively into the molten cheese.  We should have stuck to just the salsa.

 Burrito Gordo with shredded chicken.  ($9.45)  Ok, but not remarkable.  Should have ordered the fish tacos.

Fajitas al carbon with chicken and steak. ($12.75) The boyfriend loved the charred jalapeno and butter dipping sauce.  The only downside was the plate didn't come out steaming.

Side of rice and beans.

***

The next night I met the girls at Rio Grande in Ballston.  Rio has a similar menu, but it's location in Ballston always has a longer wait for a table than Cactus Cantina.  http://www.unclejulios.com/ 

 Hornitas margarita with Grand Marnier ($11)

 Chicken flautas ($11.95)

 Chicken fajitas ($16.95)

Shrimp quesadilla ($13.95). The shrimp were a little too oily.  Wish they would have a spinach quesadilla on the menu as a regular item and not a special.

***

In Cactus Cantina v Rio Grande, the restaurants have very similar menus, but Cactus has a few more non-meat items like spinach quesadillas, spinach enchilladas and seafood enchilladas, and prices are a little lower.  Service was much better at Rio Grande from the initial greeting onwards.  Rio makes a better margarita, but the wait for a table can be much longer.  In the end, I prefer Cactus Cantina, with a different server.

Choong Hwa Won in Annandale

My boyfriend and I have been eating our way through Annandale lately.  It's hard to think of another area with so many interesting and affordable options.  Last night we tried out a Korean-Chinese place recommended by his coworker.  Choong Hwa Won is on John Marr Drive, right behind the Popeye's and near Il Mee and Shilla Bakery on Little River Turnpike.  It's super casual and open until midnight.

 The English explanations for each menu item are ok, although it helps to know a little about Korean dishes.

We were there for the jjambong, spicy red pepper soup with noodles.

 The service was fast, efficient and nice.  The kimchee was good, and I liked the pickled daikon. Never figured out what the dark paste in the middle was.  They serve a warm barley tea when you arrive which helps on cold November nights.

 Large fried dumplings ($7.99).  They were not panfried, but deep-fried with a taste that reminded me of egg rolls.  Inside was a mixture of bitter greens.  Good.

 #31 Sam Sun Go Chu Jham Bbong ($9.99)

This is a fiery red hot pepper soup with shrimp, squid, scallops, mussels, vegetables and noodles.  The server will cut the noodles with a pair of scissors if you'd like.  Excellent and spicy.

#28 Sam Woo Gan Jha Jang ($8.99)

Shrimp and onions in a black bean sauce

 The noodles come on the side with cucumber, and the server will cut them for you with scissors.

All mixed together.  It tastes better than it looks. I wanted it to be spicy, it was not. 

***

I heard about jjanjangmen from my Korean friend who told me about Samos in Baltimore.  I trust his judgement and had wanted to try jjanjanmen for awhile.  Online reviews about Choong Hwa Won rave about the jjangjanmen and jjambbong.  Maybe I'm just a spicy gal, but I liked the jjambbong a lot more than the jjanjanmen. 

The portions are huge.  They provided smaller bowls and my boyfriend and I shared our respective choices with each other.  I would skip the mandu the next time and order a steaming, spicy bowl of #32 next time.  Even without anything else, I doubt I could finish the whole bowl by myself. But I would have a good time trying. 

Today's Bento

Persian cucumbers (much smaller and crunchy) with miso paste, tangerine, cavatappi pasta in tomato sauce and lighter eggplant parmesan.  The eggplant was coated in a flour, egg wash and panko mixture, then baked for 40 minutes at 350F instead of panfried in oil.  It takes a bit longer, but the crunchy texture from the panko was nice.  With a little tomato sauce topped with mozzarella and grated parmesan cheese between each layer, I assembled the eggplant stacks and baked for another 30 minutes.  A lighter, meat-free lunch.

Shilla Bakery in Annandale

Shilla Bakery is located at 7039 Little River Turnpike in Annandale.  http://www.menusarang.com/xe/397  When we parked, we noticed some damage to the storefront that looked like a car had tried to make a new entrance way to the bakery.  Maybe they couldn't wait to eat some lovely desserts and breads?

 They make a wide variety of cakes.

 They also have individual-sized desserts in a variety of chocolate and fruit flavors.  My boyfriend picked up a green tea mousse cake that had a layer of adzuki (sweet beans).  It was light, delicate and delicious.

 The Speciality Coffee Cake and the Pig and Bear were very cute.

They also had anpan, breads and sho-cream or mini cream puffs.  Really a lovely destination for people with a sweet tooth or two.