Thursday 23 June 2016

What's Green And Incredible? It's Not The Hulk


When I was a teenager, The Incredible Hulk was one of my favorite TV Shows. Bill Bixby played Dr David Banner who turns into this huge foul tempered green muscular guy when he gets angry (in the process, his shirt get torn but not his pants).

When provoked, Dr David Banner would say "Don't make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry". Just like my mum when we drove her up the wall.

I would watch this show faithfully until somebody spoilt it for me. Somebody

I have two younger brothers (YB 1 and YB 2). The younger of the two was terrified of the Hulk. Apparently he had nightmares after watching the show. So my parents banned us from watching the Incredible Hulk. Bah!

One evening, feeling defiant, YB 1 and I sneaked out to the living room and turned on the TV. Volume turned off. My idea. My parents and YB 2 were in the master bedroom. We were counting on them not coming out for the rest of the evening.

Fifteen minutes into the show (on silent movie mode), we heard someone coming out of the master bedroom. Drat! YB 1 (coward) bolted into our bedroom. I couldn't follow suit because I was sure to bump into either my mum or my dad.

So I walked into the kitchen, took a glass of water and took a long sip. I heard footsteps approaching the kitchen. It might as well have been the Incredible Hulk. It was my dad. I swore he was wearing a green sarong

Needless to say, I got a harsh lecture and was sent to my room in tears. It was so unfair. If the little one was scared, he shouldn't watch the show.

Though clearly upset, I didn't hold it against my little brother (now my frequent makan kaki) because I love him to bits. Well, that's old story now. 


Anyway, green has always been my favorite color. And what's green and delicious? Chimichurri! I had my first taste of Chimicurri when I ordered The Rebellion at Ampersand. Though I was not thrilled with the too soft pork belly, I was delighted by the tasty greenish condiment.


In fact, before I got acquainted with Chimichurri, I came across this recipe for Chimichurri Chicken which led to the recipe for homemade Chimichurri.

It so happened that I bought a bunch of English parsley for something but there was a change of plans. So, instead of wasting the parsley, it was used to make this Chimichurri. 


From what I read, Chimichurri is a sauce made with flat leaf parsley, garlic, olive oil and vinegar. And apparently you can customize it with whatever you please. It's so versatile too because you can eat it with meats or make it into a dressing.

So. I decided to mix it into some pasta.


Then I thought it looked so lonesome and green. It needed pizzazz. So.


Does that look better? For sure. But seriously, even without the embellishments, the green pasta tasted awesome.


Just make sure your Chimichurri is well seasoned. Taste, taste, taste. But still, bacon brings it to nirvana status.


You don't have to follow an exact recipe because this sauce is pretty much what you make it to be. But a recipe gives you some idea of what proportions to use. So for best reference, go to here or you can follow my agak-agak recipe.









Chimichurri
Recipe source : Adapted from The Little Spice Jar

Ingredients :
- 1 cup packed English parsley
- 1 stalk spring onion
- 5 small cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 cup olive oil
- salt to taste

Method :
1. Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until you get a paste.
2. Taste and adjust seasoning,
3. Store in an airtight bottle. I keep mine in the fridge.

Note : One way to use this green sauce is to toss with cooked pasta. It's delicious!! And don't forget the bacon.

38 comments:

  1. When I saw the post title, my first guess was pesto...but chimichurri is good too :) So, Incredible Hulk was lonely and you brought his friend, Iron Man...good choice! :D

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    1. Pesto would be the Italian version with basil and pine nuts. I like this one better.

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  2. Hmm... the chimichurri that I usually see is the Felicitas version, which she adds chili flakes to give it more kick. I'm not too used to seeing a pure green chimichurri. But then like they said, this is something which every family has their own recipe so useless to argue which one is better.

    I have not tried to make this sauce myself leh... Parsley, meh... :/

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    1. I'm going to try the Felicitas' version too. Parsley I very like :)

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  3. Hi Phong Hong,

    Great story and great food!!! Green is no more the angry colour these days... Probably red because of angry birds LOL! ... but green is still an incredible colour as you and I can see in your pasta :)

    Zoe

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    1. Hi Zoe! Green is so soothing and cooling to me :)

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  4. When my girl was small, she was terrified of The X Files, just hearing the theme song on the tv caused her to throw up all over the bed, so annoying, had to clean up the mess.

    Never mind what colour, as long as there is bacon, count me in! Slurpssss!!!

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    1. Hulk reminds me of my students - my tagline: "Don't make me angry! You will not like me when I'm angry!" Hehehehehe!!!!

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    2. I find the X-Files theme music eerie too. Some of the episodes can be quite scary. But somehow I liked it hee..hee..

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  5. Hi Phong Hong, I believe this is good sauce for the pasta, with bacon it is value added. Nice.

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    1. Thanks, Kimmy! I like this sauce and bacon always makes anything taste lots better.

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  6. Eh I enjoy reading your story leh.. Oh yes, I agree, when The Hulk naik marah, how come pants can still fit but shirt torn habis? Weird hor.. U imagine la, grow so big liao, but pants still can fit.. Eh, biasa thing hor, when I was young, my two elder sisters also kena scolded/rotan because of me.. I remembered pouring shampoo into the water tank, and the water all become keruh.. My dad canned my two sisters leh.. But now hor, kids not the same liao.. Your pasta looks very hoiwai, but I prefer more creamy gravy.. Looks like pesto though..

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    1. hah..hah..not ngam lah if see hulk in just the underwear :D Aiyo you ah...youngest kid selalu macam tu, kan? These days, kids got a lot of say and parents pulak have to listen.

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  7. I remember Incredible Hulk, watch it when i was young, hehe....

    PH, engage me as your staff lah, hahaha... then got yummy foods to eat often, lol....

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    1. Eh, you think I cook for my staff, ah? hee..hee..hee...

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  8. I am trying to imagine the taste of this green sauce. Is the parsley or garlic taste more prominent? If parsley then I will like it. If garlic then not so much but still ok with it.

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    1. The one I made has a balance in taste. Can adjust to put less garlic but I happen to love garlic.

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  9. I watched a lot of this incredible hulk tv series too and I feel very sad that the scientist has to keep on running from one place to another.

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    1. Thinking about this show is so nostalgic. There are many more I could think of like Man From Atlantis and Charlie's Angels.

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  10. Hi Phong Hong,
    The Incredible Hulk ... Somehow I prefer 6 Million $ Man & Charlie's Angels ... Hee ...hee! I thought you make pesto ... Ok thanks for sharing this cos I've got a bunch of English parsley!

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    1. Hi Karen! Ya, I also watched 6 Million Dollar Man and Charlie's Angels. Now, I remember. Lee Majors was also my favorite leng chai.

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  11. I remember Bill..but unlike you, my parents did not object me watching this series costhey were watching with interest too! hahahaa.. And since watching that, I also used that phrase.. Dont make me angry.. you won't like me when I'm angry.. I used it on my friends to create laughter... not on my kids though, it wont work on them... hahaha

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    1. Back then, my parents did not watch TV at all. I thought they were so strange hee..hee...

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  12. Looking yummy! That bacon makes the whole bowl much more interesting! ;)

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  13. I made my first chimichurri sauce a couple weeks ago! I should have made extra to serve over pasta---what a yummy idea! I remember Bill Bixby from The Courtship of Eddie's Father (I'm dating myself!). Nothing scary in that show :)

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    1. Chimichurri is great! It's my current addiction :D

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  14. we have something in common ... my favourite colour is green too, ever since i was seven years old. but it's not because of the hulk or chimichurri ... i started to like green cos it's the colour of the good forces in my favourite cartoon, he-man and the masters of the universe, and because it was the colour of popeye's spinach, my favourite vegetable when i was a kid. heh :) p.s. i like your story about your memories of hulk, dad and little brother :D

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    1. How cute hah..hah..I used to watch Popeye too and love it that he guzzles cans of spinach and become strong to have a punch up with Brutus. But at that time I did not like spinach hee..hee..

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  15. I have not tried chimichurri pasta before, would like to try it, got the hint? Hee hee

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    1. I remember the Incredible Hulk, it was popular during the days when I was a kid

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    2. Too bad you in Singapore or else you can drop by to taste because I still have some in the fridge :D

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  16. Lol..i used to watch incredible hulk show too. I like the ld version better

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    1. So nostalgic! Old versions are always better.

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  17. I watched the tv series. Green man we called it then.

    Nice pasta.

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    1. I wonder how I would feel if I watched the re-runs.

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  18. The green looks so beautiful. I'm sure it is yummy with bacon!

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    1. I find it extremely yummy. Best discovery of the year!

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