Welcome Chef Kha Lu of Hay Market restaurant in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood to the culinary kitchen at Macy’s Valley Fair, 2 p.m. June 20.
Lu, who also operated the popular Kansui Ramen pop-up inside that restaurant, will join me to cook up one of his specialties. You’ll get to taste the dish, plus take home the recipe.
Oatmeal for dinner — a comfort dish even naysayers will love.
A typical day at my house:
(Rip, rustle, rustle, as I open a package that arrived in the mail, this one containing sample tins of Flahavan’s Irish Steel Cut Oatmeal.)
Me to my husband: “Oh, look, it’s oatmeal! You like oatmeal, right?”
My husband: (Snorts, shrugs.) “Eh, yeah.”
After all, he eats it for breakfast at least a couple times a week. But of course, I’m in the mood to do something different with it.
Me: “Guess what I’m going to do! I’m going to make savory oatmeal for dinner with it!”
My husband: “WHY?!?!?”
Me: “You cook it like risotto. That sounds really good, doesn’t it?”
My husband: (Makes a face, shrugs, looks at me cross-eyed.) “If you must…”
Yup, that response is typical, too, whenever I want to cook up something a little different from the norm. But at least he’s a good sport about it, right? Well, sort of.
Planet Rice Quinoa & Sprouted Rice Power Blend, raw on plate, and cooked in the bowl.
Being Chinese-American, I grew up on white rice. And nothing but.
Black, brown, red and even bamboo-green rices were non-existent in my parents’ kitchen.
That’s why these other types intrigue me so much now. So when I had a chance to try samples of Planet Rice’s sprouted rices, I happily did so.
What is sprouted rice? Just what it sounds like: rice that has been soaked in water until the grains sprout ever so slightly.
The result is a softer texture. Not only that, but studies have shown that the sprouting increases the amount of fiber, B vitamins, and magnesium, as well as Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, an amino acid that can help lower anxiety and blood pressure, and afford deeper sleep and improved cardiovascular functions.
Who wouldn’t want more of that, right?