Donburi with tomato rice

I really like donburi (egg/veggie/meat) over rice bowls from Japanese restaurants. The other day I came across a simple vegetarian version and decided to try it out.

Ingredients:

• tofu (medium firm)
• green beans (or other veggie of choice)
• onion
• garlic
• scallion
• eggs
• mushrooms
• chicken stock (or any stock, I didn't have dashi)
• sugar
• salt
• soy sauce

Directions:

1. chop up all veggies (garlic, onion, scallion, mushrooms)
2. whisk eggs with dash salt, tbsp or so of sugar, and a bit of stock. I didn't include soy sauce as in the original recipe. I like to control soy sauce by sprinkle some after the whole thing is done
3. heat oil in pan, then cook garlic and onion until fragrant/translucent
4. add mushrooms, tofu, and green beans and cook until soft
5. add egg mix to pan and cover with lid for 2-3 min
6. check to see if the egg consistency is to your liking
7. top off with scallion and a bit of soy sauce if you like

source recipe link: http://www.otakufood.com/tofu-mushroom-donburi/

I made tomato rice to go with the toppings. To make it, just add tomato sauce (to taste) to the water as you cook rice in a pot. pretty awesome. 

p.s. I didn't follow a recipe. I happened to have some left over tomato sauce from cooking chili previously and just decided to add it in rice and see what happens. there we go. genius stuff.

November Adventures

I met up with a group of friends in Grand Central and took the Metro north train to see our friend Doug play “Grandfather” in a production of Ragtime (with CNR Drama) in New Rochelle. As it happens, the author of the book was originally from New Rochelle and the mayor of the town actually presented the key of the city to the family! The theater was an U shaped intimidate space with maybe 100 people capacity. I was impressed with the main cast’s performance, the music, and all the turn-of-century costumes (Evelyn Nesbit’s various outfits were dazzling). As I have not read the book or seen the broadway show before, I do not know whether the production was slightly modified or not. The show made me want to look up the soundtrack and all the historical figures during that time. Who was your favorite character in Ragtime? I particularly liked Mother and Coalhouse, who may be the most developed characters throughout the story.

Food/Drinks (throughout the weekend)

• Rayuela (LES) http://www.rayuelanyc.com/
  I enjoyed the octopus appetizer and squid ink rice main course.
• Donburi-ya (Midtown East) http://donburiyanyc.com/
  the tuna/mountain yam rice was delicious although the ramen dishes also looked great. I was craving lotus roots but the fried renko was not quite what I was looking for. Also tried the crepe cake which was interesting.
• Cosmopolitan Café (Tribeca) http://www.cosmocafetribeca.com/
  I ordered the coffee and challah french toast with scrambled eggs. All items were amazing and the service was superb. The nice part about this café is that it’s quiet with soothing café music, instead of being too loud like most crowded brunch places. I liked the dark wood tables, the bar décor, and the cozy fireplace too. a very good start to the cold winter morning.