happy birthday to the biggest kim chi lover I know!

Muscle contest!!

Happy 21st (+10) birthday to my brother Tony! 

I grew up with three older brothers in California and I was (or am?) my mom's only baby girl! I have three half siblings from my father's previous marriage however I am still the youngest out of all of them!

Tony and I are about 5 1/2 years apart...we are the two youngest. We also have the darkest features (darkest hair, skin, & eyes)...the most artistic...the best cooks (haha)...best dancers (jyeah!)..and well...the MOST stubborn.

Growing up I never thought any of us (4 siblings) looked alike at all but Tony and I were always labeled as "twins" which now I can definitely see. I actually think all four of us have very similar features from my mom and dad equally.

Over the years, Tony and I have shared many hard times that have led us to love and support each other even more. I know he won't place any judgement on me no matter what I open up to him about and vice versa.

We've been able to relate to each other in many ways including our love for music, dancing, art, and food! And from the beginning of my relationship with Ryan, we encountered some adversity for many reasons, and Tony was one to the people to support us immediately. He opened his heart to Ryan and did not place any judgement on me or him which encouraged us a lot. It was priceless.

In my family, I have worked my way the totem pole to gain respect for my ninja culinary skills. However when I was growing up, Tony was the one cooking me eggs and fancy paninis/egg sandwiches after school (yes he also shares the same love for eggs as I do). All my culinary influences are actually not from famous chefs or food network shows, but from family that have influenced me positively! Yes I still love the food channel but now my style of cooking just incorporates the creativity that exudes from the television. 


Recently Tony introduced Ryan and I to his culinary arts and love for Korean food- Kim Chi Fried Rice & that's what I am going to show you in this blog! Tony uses a korean style marinated beef with kim chi however I didn't have that on hand so I improvised and did my own version with chicken!

Chicken Kim Chi Fried Rice 

Prep time: 30-45 mins Total time: 1 to 1 hr & 15 min

Serving: 4-6 Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:

2-4 chicken breast cubed 

1/4 c GF soy sauce

2 tbsp black soy sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1/8 c corn starch 

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder 

4 cloves garlic minced

1 chopped onion 

1/4 c of chicken stock 

2-3 c kim chi (depends on how much you like) chopped
2-4 eggs (on top) fried
Sesame Oil
2 cups of jasmine rice (steamed)

Instructions:


1) Marinate the chicken with the soy sauce, black soy sauce, olive oil, corn starch, garlic & onion powder, and chicken stock. Set aside for about 10-15 minutes.

All the kim chi with all the amazing red 'sauce'

2) Start your wok or large pan on medium heat with sesame oil and the garlic and onions. Then add the meat that has been marinating and cook through for about 15 mins. Set the meat aside.

3) Add your chopped kim chi and cook for about 1-2 mins then add the cooked meat and stir. 

4) Add the rice and continue to stir as the red sauce of kim chi incorporates into all your rice.

5) While the fried rice is cooking, start frying your eggs in about 1/8 c of olive oil. Add some sea salt!

6) When rice is done, top it with a fried egg!

Finished product

We pan fried some broccoli with garlic powder and olive oil to side with the rice as well as topped it with fresh green onion!

Since I improvised, my recipe turned out GOOD but definitely not as good as Tony's! I guess when you take someone's recipe, you can't take the heart and soul they put into it! However this recipe still is very good just nothing can replace the first bite I took of his kim chi fried rice! Yum!

I hope you began to dabble in the art of Asian cuisine because it is truly an art. I can eat it all day long without getting bored! It is absolutely amazing and always very healthy (if you make it that way!). 

I hope you can find inspiration and influence from your loved ones in how you live, cook, and even dance. Maybe one day I'll be able to "dougie" as well as Tony. haha :D

I love you Tony (baloneeee) and wish you many more years to come filled with dancing and kim chi!! :D

Be blessed. Eat some kim chi. <3 md