A Starving Actor

Hi everyone! So you may have noticed a long and disappointing...

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:53:00 -0500

Hi everyone! So you may have noticed a long and disappointing hiatus on this website. I’ve been trying to figure out how to revitalize my food blog and culinary exploits, and so I’m gonna spend this summer season to figure things out. So hopefully you guys will be patient and help me see through this!

I’ve been throwing some ideas around, and these are my potential possibilities:

Solely post recipes - at least once a week, really detailed and really tested, in order to show you guys a sample of what it means to cook like a starving actor like myself!
I’ve also thought about starting some form of catering/lunch service in my local school that I may use the site to post my menu items or make it interactive?
Post cooking videos (like the old ones I used to make) and make it my new project - a cooking YouTube channel maybe?
Start a supper club where once a month, a group of my theatre friends come eat and stuff - possibly video tape it and produce it, or possibly just blog about it on this website. Call it “Starving Actors” or something like that.

If you have any suggestions or comments (maybe tell me what you liked and what you didn’t like about the site from the past), or maybe any of these ideas may have tickled your fance, then please oh please tell me what you think: http://astarvingactor.tumblr.com/ask

If you still want to know my latest food-ventures, feel free to follow my Pinterest Food Board. I’ll definitely continue to use that in order to post my pictures! http://pinterest.com/starrrj/a-starving-actor-food-board/

Either way, I want to say a huge thank you to all of you guys who have continued to support my love for food! I really want to continue this, and hopefully some form of inspiration comes to fruition! Thanks again! Love you guys!

You’re probably wondering what you’re looking at....

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:49:06 -0500

You’re probably wondering what you’re looking at. Well, if you’re wondering—and hungry for it—it’s from Bop ‘n Grill. It’s their Spam ‘n Eggs Bop: their rice bowl meal with kimchi, Spam, and a fried egg. And of course, knowing me, I took it up to the next level—by adding a hamburger patty. It took me back to how I had my lunches made back in the Philippines when I was a kid. See back there, hamburger patties weren’t meant for buns—it was meant for rice. And with a fried egg and slices of Spam, you were set for the rest of the day. It’s good to know that places here still honor this unique eat.

If you want to be a confident Asian cook, you need to have a...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:54:00 -0500

If you want to be a confident Asian cook, you need to have a basic fried rice recipe. And I’m slowly starting to really hone down what my personal fried rice recipe should be like. Here’s one that I think is a step towards RJ signature status! It’s quick and easy to make, and easily customizable to whatever I can find in my kitchen. Enjoy!

Japanese Style Rice
Serves 2-3

Jasmine rice - cooked regularly, but I like mixing it with half long-grain rice to its a good blend of textures.

Diced carrots, onions, garlic, red bell pepper - sauté on butter and olive oil. Once the carrots soften and the vegetables cook, add your cooked rice and mix well. Make sure they get well coated with the oil and the vegetables are combined well with rice.

Soy sauce - two swirls around your pan should do it.

Mirin (Japanese sweet sauce) - one swirl around the pan.

Salt & Pepper - mix and combine it all well!

Sesame oil - turn off the fire and drizzle the sesame oil (simply for flavor) and give it one last mix.

Black toasted sesame seeds & chopped chives - toppings to make it pretty!

If you want to add a protein, you can add an egg and scramble it well with the rice, or add tofu/meat with the sauteing step.

starrrj: The hearings on DOMA and Prop 8 have begun today in...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:29:27 -0500

starrrj:

The hearings on DOMA and Prop 8 have begun today in the Supreme Court. Show off your support by reblogging this picture, or wearing red, or spreading the word that marriage equality is what our nation needs today!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Here’s a green recipe thats...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 13:58:00 -0500

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Here’s a green recipe thats not Irish at all, but it should definitely be the perfect drinking snack to crunch and munch on!

Fried Tortellini with Pesto Mayo

I used Spinach Tortellinis from Trader Joe’s that were already packaged and made. I coated it with flour and grated Parmesan for taste. Then, send them to your deep fryer!

The Pesto Mayo is simple a mixture of bottled pesto Genoese, mayonnaise, a squirt of Dijon mustard, a few drops of olive oil, salt and pepper, and garlic powder.

If this doesn’t help soak up the Guinness, I don’t know what will! So enjoy the drinks and the food today!

My aunt has been living with my parents for the past few months....

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 11:13:53 -0500

My aunt has been living with my parents for the past few months. A quick note about this particular aunt: she apparently owns all of the family recipes from my grandmother and just dishes them out whenever she can. So when I went home to visit, she pulled these out: puto pao.

If you’re familiar with Filipino food, think of it as siopao in puto form—a Chinese spongey meat bun shaped like cupcakes. She makes these all from scratch—from the sweet meat mixture inside, boiling egg yolks for the filling, making the flour mixture for the cake, cutting little cheese squares for the top, and then finally steaming them. The result is this super spongey and filling bite, that’s apparently steeped in family history! My dad told me their mother—my grandmother—used to make these from scratch and then sold them in their little food store.

It’s good to know the food gene is still influential now, and I will one day learn this recipe and hopefully teach a new generation how to make it too!

Hey guys! Here’s an awesome cooking series I discovered:...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 18:30:23 -0600

Hey guys! Here’s an awesome cooking series I discovered: it’s called Cooking With Dog—and no it’s not what you think! Francis, a poodle who has a thick Japanese accent speaking in a French accent (yeah, that’s possible) teaches you—along with Chef—how to cook traditional Japanese dishes in your kitchen! It’s my favorite cooking series, and I spent DAYS just watching the episodes. Here’s one I’ve put into action—the oyakodon!

A chicken and onion rice bowl. It’s a quick thing you can whip up when you are craving for something filling. Be sure to watch the series, and know I’ll probably try some of their recipes too! Oishi!

Cooking With Dog Series: http://www.youtube.com/user/cookingwithdog

CWD’s Oyakodon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMJY29QMewQ

Hey guys, here’s a quick post about an awesome restaurant...

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 18:30:15 -0600

Hey guys, here’s a quick post about an awesome restaurant I found: Cité Chicago. Thanks to Groupon (and my 2 year anniversary), I was able to enjoy the French cuisine on the very top floor of the Lake Point Tower (the weirdly-shaped black building by the Lake Shore? Yeah!).

We enjoyed their Escargot Francois which, if you’ve never had Escargot before, was an awesome appetizer. The rich flavor of the sauce it’s cooked in really warms up your palate for the rest of the dinner.

For our main dishes, we got their Fruit de Mer Risotto and Duck a l’Orange. The seafood risotto tasted like it came straight out of the ocean - the risotto was creamy, and that giant scallop, crab, and blue crab were the perfect complement. The duck was something I really wanted - it’s a classic duck dish I have always wanted to try, and I’m glad I did! The orange reduction was really good with the tender duck breast.

Sometimes, we like to get classy with our dinners. And Cité definitely gave us a meal we won’t forget!

So I’m cutting back on the fried goods. I know, it’s...

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 18:30:13 -0600

So I’m cutting back on the fried goods. I know, it’s hard to hear. But before I do, I wanted to relive some of my favorite foods from the past. See, the true secret of deep frying is getting the perfect batter or fry seasoning. For me, I prefer either a chicken fry seasoning from the store, or a beer batter from home. With the chicken fry, I like using that for chicken tenders (obviously) and potatoes. With the beer batter though, I like using that as my default (since there’s far too much beer in my house) so when I get experimental, I use that—like for poached eggs!

Alas, I really should cut back - my fryer has been my friend, and will always be my friend. But I’ve decided to make sure I only go out of my way to make something fried when there’s a special occasion or when I have guests over. Nothing against you, deep fryer, I just gotta take care of myself a wee bit better…

If you’re feeling like you need some ocean comfort food...

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 18:30:05 -0600

If you’re feeling like you need some ocean comfort food here in Chicago, I suggest King Crab Tavern over by Lincoln Park—just steps away from Steppenwolf. They had a great diverse group of seafood on their menu, which makes the guppy in me jump for joy! Their garlic shrimp scampi is a great appetizer, along with some fried oysters. But nothing—and I mean NOTHING—compares to their crab cakes. They have different versions of it: stuffed in mushrooms or just a big ol’ giant patty of it. Whichever you prefer, you guys have to try the crabtastic flavor of it! They shared their trick for it: they use all of the leftover bits they get from cracking fresh crab legs and mash them all together to put in the cakes, so it tastes just pure seafood goodness.

Who says you can’t get great seafood by the lake?

It had been a while since i visited my favorite soul food spot...

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:30:10 -0600

It had been a while since i visited my favorite soul food spot in Downtown Phoenix, and when I walked into Lolo’s Chicken and Waffles, I was in SHOCK. It was COMPLETELY RENOVATED and changed from a tiny hole-in-the-wall-family-dining-room space into a huge contemporary setting that looked more like a lounge than a fried chicken restaurant. Even though they had a massive upgrade, the food was still definitely the same perfect quality—same perfectly-spiced chicken, same buttermilk waffle, and same chicken meals your soul will thank you for (like their “Hot Ghetto Mess” of fried chicken wings and fries smothered in Chicago style sauce). So even though things may look different, the same soul will never change!

When I went home for the holidays, my mom surprised me with a...

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 13:28:26 -0600

When I went home for the holidays, my mom surprised me with a treat from my childhood—La Paz batchoy! It’s a delicacy from my mom’s hometown—a pork broth soup with homemade egg noodles, pork belly, liver, pork rinds, green onion and an egg that cooks in the hot broth. Her family kept this recipe, and she brought it to the big city when she moved when she was older. She opened a restaurant in Manila, and now she’s taking the recipe to the states—and voila! I was able to try it and it took me back to when I spent days tending my mom’s restaurant growing up. Thanks mom for the flashback!

Someday, I’ll learn this recipe, and let the tradition live!

It’s that time of the year again where we force ourselves...

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 19:00:27 -0600

It’s that time of the year again where we force ourselves to eat and recook all of our holiday leftovers. In my family’s kitchen, we had a HUGE tub of leftover chocolate fondue. So, I figured why not make something out of it.

With just two disposable pans, I crushed some Oreos and pretzels, then poured over the melted fondue. Then I set it in the fridge for a few hours, and voila! Instant chocolate bark!

Now the fondue I had was basically melted chocolate and oil, so it melts easily when you eat it. If I was in the mood to fix it, I’d probably add more chocolate or maybe milk to help solidify that. But since I’m lazy, I opted not to and just kept my bark pieces in the freezer forever - and pull out a piece whenever I needed something sweet to cleanse the palate!

See what fun you could do with leftovers?

When you do Filipino theatre, you get “eating” as a...

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:00:22 -0600

When you do Filipino theatre, you get “eating” as a part of the rehearsal and performance scheduling. And such was the case when we performed for our playwright at a quaint coffee shop and diner in Chicago’s South Loop (a little northeast of Pilsen) at a place called Station E Café. The company I worked for was the first catering event they did at their place, and I’d say it was a success. Why? Because of this little gem:

This is their homemade molé sauce, and it’s probably the best molé in the world. It’s a lot sweeter and thinner than usual molé, but poured over rice and your choice of pan-seared tilapia or pork lumpia rolls… Holy crap. I had two plates. I tell you, that night, I’m sure the chef saw before his eyes the epitome of “a starving actor.” I’m not sure if they have this dish on their daily menu, but based on their Yelp page, a lot of people love their sandwiches and breakfast menu as well! If it wasn’t so far away from me, I would come all the time! If you need a place to go when you’re in that part of the city, be sure to stop by! Tell them RJ from CIRCA Pintig says hi!

Hey everyone, here’s a hearty pasta that’s sure to...

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 19:30:09 -0600

Hey everyone, here’s a hearty pasta that’s sure to be a hit for your Sunday appetites! I love making carbonara—it’s quickly become my favorite go-to pasta to make if I’m feeling the need for some heavy-duty loving. And here’s how you can whip it up!

I basically followed Nigella Lawson (my favorite chef) and her super easy way to make her pasta carbonara, but here’s how I edited it:

I added a few greens since I was craving some (and had some in the fridge that needed to be cooked!) so I added cooked green beans and broccoli to the pasta when it was all finished.

I didn’t use any wine or cream, like Nigella does in her recipe, and I also went with just good ol’ hearty thick bacon for my meat instead of her pancetta. Unlike hers though, I added onions and garlic to the pasta by simply adding it to the bacon fat when I was done cooking the bacon bits I’d save for later.

I wonder though if I should use cream next time for the sauce—maybe that’ll lighten the sauce up and won’t just taste like eggs. Which, I mean, isn’t a bad thing. But maybe next time I could try that! See the problems that come up when you have a sparse kitchen? I really don’t buy heavy cream anyways, so… I work with what I have!

So, if you’re feeling like you need a big ol’ bowl of pasta that will make you feel all warm and tingly all day—this is the pasta you need. Enjoy!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to take the time to tell you all to...

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 19:00:09 -0600

Hey everyone, I just wanted to take the time to tell you all to have a happy holidays! The holidays is the season to eat and be merry, so I hope you all have a fun, safe, and most importantly… DELICIOUS holiday season!

You’re probably wondering what this post then has to do with the holidays… Well, it was the only new picture I had with me in it and with food, so I figured, why not! This was taken at a Korean sports bar in Rogers Park called Yeowoosai where they not only serve you giant hot plates of kimchi fried rice (with spam and eggs!) but a heaping plate of popcorn chicken (also with their own spicy version too!) with their house specialty sauce! This place was awesome, you guys. Not only is hearty Korean soul food the best food to have at a bar, but the music they played were all K-Pop. Yes, it will suck you in and make you want to listen to only K-Pop forever.

So it may not be the most Christmas-y post, but hey, I like doing things different here! So hope you guys have a great holiday season, and be sure to eat and let me know what you guys had, or maybe even send some pictures and recipes of what you’ve made! Can’t wait to hear from you all!

This past fall, I was involved with a Filipino-American...

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 18:24:31 -0600

This past fall, I was involved with a Filipino-American production, and one thing that stuck to me after that entire process was the rebirth of my appetite for Filipino food. With that in mind, I ended up making my own lumpiang shanghai (Filipino pork egg rolls) and it came out pretty well! I used this recipe from one of the best Filipino recipe websites Panlasang Pinoy with a few minor adjustments to best fit the state of my kitchen.

I nixed the green onions (didn’t have any, oops!) and used wonton wrappers instead of spring roll wrappers, so I could make smaller lumpias in a bigger amount. It definitely gave it a much thicker and crunchier bite, which I didn’t mind one bit! Hopefully I get to somehow create my own recipe by making this more and more—I keep getting requests from friends to feed them lumpia!

This summer I went to New York for a few days. Literally an...

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 18:30:28 -0600

This summer I went to New York for a few days. Literally an eating marathon. Here were some of my favorites from that amazingly delicious trip!

When I was writing about how I was in New York, I got a text from a friend of mine in Chicago saying that I needed to find the best cheesecake in the world—Junior’s. So, I did. After watching a Broadway show, I walked down a few blocks to get myself a slice of the best cheesecake in the world. I got their Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake. I guess I don’t need to tell you if it was good or not—it IS the combination of my two favorite cakes in the history of all cakeries. So… Yes, it was quite pleasant.

I never thought I could do a vacation where it was totally all-eating. I really hope I can set time (and money) in the future to do more culinary escapades like the one I had this summer. Yeah!

Here it is, this year’s Thanksgiving post! Like usual, it...

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:21:26 -0600

My mom and my aunt, the chefs of "Okra Garden." Clever name, right?

Happy birthday, dad!!!

Here it is, this year’s Thanksgiving post! Like usual, it was used to celebrate “let’s cook as much Filipino food as possible” for a night. But it was a little extra special this year—not only was it catered by my mother’s catering company (cleverly named “Okra Garden”) that she started a few weeks before the holiday, but it was also my father’s 60th birthday! A LOT of reasons to celebrate, which meant a LOT of food to eat! So here’s a rundown of the food we had—some you may not have seen before!

Two kinds of “lumpia” - one with vegetables like potato and bean sprouts, the other is your classic “shanghai” made with pork.
Soy sauce short ribs - my aunt boiled the meat in the soy sauce marinade with garlic, ginger, and other stuff to flavor it. Then she grilled them while she let the marinade reduce to become its sauce. It was freaking delicious. No, seriously.
“Arroz Valenciana” - it’s a Spanish paella variation that is very famous in certain parts of the Philippines. The rice is stickier than the usual paella, and filled with different vegetables.
“Embotido” - the Filipino meatloaf as I like to call it. The best part is that it has hard-boiled eggs inside it. That, and the banana sauce ketchup!
Fish fillets - my aunt made homemade fried fish nuggets with an amazing garlic mayonnaise sauce.
“Kare kare” - a peanut stew cooked with tripe and beef. Classic!
An assortment of Filipino desserts: rice cakes and cassava cake, which is a cassava root and coconut milk concoction.

I tell you, my mother and my aunt will have a LOT of success with their newly formed catering company with this kind of menu. They kind of took my dad’s party as a way to advertise, because they got orders for parties as soon as the night was over! It makes me happy to know that the fruit didn’t fall far from the tree. Hey, maybe someday I could open my own catering company…

This summer I went to New York for a few days. Literally an...

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:02:32 -0600

This summer I went to New York for a few days. Literally an eating marathon. Here were some of my favorites from that amazingly delicious trip!

After a heavy dinner one night, I wanted something sweet to finish the night strong. And, of course, my good friend took me to an Italian bakery—no, sorry, THE Italian bakery. Veniero’s was literally like an Italian baked good museum because they had an amazing display of their pastries and cakes as soon as you walk in the store.

Lobster tails.

Tiramisu.

Cannolis. Like… Real cannolis.

Strawberries and cream.

Holy mother of God, those baked goods. Needless to say, my heavy dinner just got a dose of an even heavier dessert. And could you blame me if these were what welcomed you to the store? They’re all beautiful works of baked art.

To this day, I still can’t get over that lobster tail…