This week.... Indian.....

This week I made my favorite Indian dish, Chicken Tikka Masala. I actually got the recipe from Food Network and it was by Guy Fieri. The ingredients and recipe can be found here. The recipe looks a little complex, with all the different spices, but I assure you it's not. I like to use chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken, just so I can skip the skin. I've actually made it about ten times now.  There's so many flavors going on and it's just awesome. You can find the spices at any local Indian grocer, and they're almost always cheaper than any big grocery store.

I decided to make this dish because I really enjoy Indian cuisine. I worked with my husband in Iraq for three years and I got the chance to eat authentic Indian food quite often. We had many friends from India and Sri Lanka that would cook curries, dahl (spiced lentils), and masalas, every night.
At first, I hated the thought of curry, which is similar to masala. I don't like curry powder, so I never really tried the dish named after it. But, once I tried the authentic version, I was hooked! The only problem was that the food that our friends would make would be SOOO hot that it would make you cry. So, after we told them it was a bit too hot, they started making less spicy batches just for us.

Anyways, I highly recommend that you try this dish.  You will not be disappointed!

Week 1, Korean.......

This my first entry and for week one I chose to make my favorite Korean dish.  It is called Samgyupsol.  It's pork belly that's usually made without adding much more than sesame oil and garlic.  I found a recipe that included red pepper paste, which is one of my favorite ingredients, so I used that.  In the picture, the bowl on the left is the pork, the bowl on the right is kimchi.  If you don't already know, kimchi is cabbage packed with spices and then fermented.  I didn't make the kimchi; I bought it at an awesome Korean grocer in Matthews called Pepero.  The way that you would normally eat this would be to take a lettuce leaf, put some rice, pork, and kimchi on the leaf, and roll it up like a taco.  Trust me, it's excellent.  Here it is..............

The reason I chose Korean food was because I lived there for two years.  It's definitely my favorite type of food.  All across Asia, and especially Korea, the spices that are used in the dishes would make anyone cry.  I can't tell you how many times I have been in tears while eating there!  
Anyways, I'm thinking about Indian this weekend?  Not sure yet.  I'll let you know!

Weekly Food Adventure

Hello! My name is Irina. I am from Kyrgyzstan and I Love Food!!! I grew up cooking because we didn't go out to eat too often. I guess I've always loved to cook. 
I have had the opportunity to travel all over the world. Along my travels, I have tried many authentic dishes. So, over the next few months I plan to attempt a weekly food adventure through different countries that I have traveled to.