Nian-gao: Advancement for Year 2006

The above is a macadamia curry soup. We used this as a soup base for noodle soup using brown rice spaghetti noodle. The stuff floating in the soup is taufu pok. Taufu pok is fried tofu but it has a springy texture with more air holes than the usual tofu. It really looks like a sponge. The spongy texture of the tofu helps to absorb the soup in the tofu. So when you bite into it, the soup oozes into your mouth. I kinda of like this soup because it has macadamia nuts, it's great! Vegans and vegetarians can have this soup too.



We use gram flour (also called besan flour or chana flour or chick pea flour) to fry the orange yam and the sweet potato together. In between the yam and potato is nian-gao (made of glutinous rice flour, rice flour, coconut milk and brown sugar). Nian-gao is a must have Chinese New Year cake. Nian-gao literally means more improvement or advancement each year. Yup, this is what we hope for 2006. Both vegans and vegetarians can enjoy this dish too.

Flexitarian

Some of you may already know this, but it may be news if you don't, we are not vegans. "Asian Vegan" is actually a misnomer, a name I came up with before I was less informed about what "vegan" actually means. Although we are fully supportive of the vegan lifestyle and what veganism stands for, we do not want to misrepresent ourselves as being vegans, because we are in fact not vegans.

Many of us are aware of the benefits of following a vegetarian diet. However, most meat eaters out there, for one reason or another, are not willing to strictly abstain from meat, regardless of the benefits of vegetarianism.

We have an answer for you. To those vegans or vegetarians who object to what I am about to promote, do remember that if 2 people consume half the amount of meat they are now, it is equivalent to 1 person become entirely vegetarian.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you our new blog:
http://flexitarian.blogspot.com

We will still update this blog when we have vegan dishes to post. However, for our regular day-to-day postings, we will do that in the new flexitarian blog.

Christmas 2005

We went over to my parent's place for Christmas. They literally live 5 minute drive from us (I think my mom..."influenced" us to buy a place nearby, hehe). We had a nice time, ate dinner, drank a little wine, chatted and did the usual gift exchange. Christmas down in L.A. tends to be a lot louder and chaotic, 'cause our extended family are all down there. But this year it's just us.

Phan's beautiful, but she's very camera shy and she won't let me post photos with her in it. So I have to settle with this, the only photo without Phan in it. Here's my mom with my siblings and me. From left to right: Chris (21), Brandon (13), mom, and me. My dad's the camera man. Happy post-Christmas and pre-New Year everyone.

Peacock Lane

We took a stroll along Peacock Lane. It's actually not too far from our restaurant, just a few streets drive up. It was crowded, with alot of pedestrians and drivers moving through the street, enjoying the Christmas carolers, Santas, horse carriages, and the general festive atmophere.

To those who are not familiar to Portland, Peacock Lane is a street in the SE Portland neighborhood where everyone puts up holiday lights and decorations every Christmas. It has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. I've taken a few photos:









Notice the abdominal snowman in the picture above. No wonder they call him the abdominal snowman, check out his abdomen!




I think we passed by at least 4 Santas. I bet the kids didn't know there are actually 4 Santas, and they all live in Portland!




There was this guy in a neon robe doing his part to add more colors to the illluminated street.

Construction, Part I

Click here to see a few snapshots of the construction underway at our restaurant.

Going for a Walk

Our friend, Janet, had invited us over for a vegetarian potluck lunch on Saturday. We met some of her nice friends and everyone had a great time. After filling our tummies, we all went for a walk in her very scenic Lake Oswego neighborhood. Admittedly, I wasn't too excited about taking a walk in the cold, windy weather at first, but it was good excercise and I got a chance to snap some pictures.



We passed by a farm house that looks like it could've come out of "Little House in a Prairie". The pond there is all frozen.



One of the homes in the area had mules or donkeys (I can't tell which it is). They're very gentle creatures.

Extra MSG

Extra MSG, a Portland food blog by a devoted foodie who goes the extra mile to check out the different cuisines in every corner of Portland and beyond, was kind enough to vote Asian Vegan his best Vegan blog. That's cool, thanks!