c h u o n t h i s

Thoughts on Work

I've been wrestling with a thought lately: what would you choose as a job if you had all the resources in the world to accomplish it (time/money/people/natural resources)?

Follow up to that question: how does that compare with what you're actually doing right now?

For me - I'm not sure what the exact answer to the first question would be - but I love design (fashion, interiors, architecture, anything visual really) and I love technology (making stuff easier to do).  So something that combines those two things would be my ideal vocation.

How does this compare with what I'm actually doing?  Very little.  I'm "designing" billing systems for Google but that's pretty much all the overlap (and even that's a stretch =P).  

So that begs the question - how do I resolve that discrepancy?  Am I settling for something that is safe rather than taking a risk to go after a passion?  Am I correctly identifying passion that I can and should pursue as profession versus being overzealous about an interest that should remain a hobby?  

Don't get me wrong - this isn't a bad struggle.  I think I'm just at a point of inflection where change is a-brewing and I'm trying to figure out what the next stage in this life journey I'm going to be embarking on.  And I'm an external processor so putting it out on a blog helps me think through it a bit more. 

and as always - your thoughts/comments are always welcome.  stay tuned friends =)

StrengthsFinder

I just heard about the StrengthsFinder from a few friends while at a BBQ this past weekend and I've been completely engrossed in this book.  It's an interesting premise - that overcoming weaknesses is often considered the path towards achievement but that focus can be pretty misguided.  Truth be told, I usually evaluate my achievements based on overcoming weaknesses rather than allowing my strengths to shine through.  And while there is some wisdom in that, I can reflect on a few choices that I've made to do something that was out of my comfort zone and not in an area of strength... but I wanted to improve in that area.  I ended up being relatively successful - which in the overcoming weakness paradigm should have made me felt great.  But it really left much to be desired - because I knew that my strengths weren't unleashed... that I have more to offer.

The book goes on to further distinguish between Skills, Talents, and Strengths.  A skill being something that can be learned -like public speaking in general.  A Talent is a more innate ability like being able to motivate people through public speaking.  A strength is more of a state of being.  For example: someone who is an Activator would naturally think of using public speaking to communicate their vision  and initiate projects.

The test is composed of two different choices - like I am a good story teller vs. I am a good listener and you score which one describes you better.  It even has a 20 second time limit because the survey is trying to measure what your gut instincts place you (instead of letting you analyze too much and skewing the results based on what you think you want to be rather than what you really are).

You have to plunk down some $ to get an access code by buying a book ($22 at Borders) - but I think it's worth it.  It was insightful in at least equipping me with a better vocabulary to describe not only my strengths but the strengths that I see in others as well.  Give it a try - and share your results with me! =)

My strenghts are: 
Strategic - People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
Activator - People strong in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.
Woo (stands for "winning others over") - People strong in the Woo theme love the challenge of meetings new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.
Adaptability - People strong in the Adaptability theme prefer to “go with the flow.” They tend to be “now” people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.
Ideation - People strong in the Ideations theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

Singaporean Black Pepper Crab

via jimmychupics.smugmug.com

With the warmer weather recently I started to reminisce about past travel adventures in hot places and I got a severe hankering for Singaporean Black Pepper Crab. It's a delightfully tasty dish that's actually super easy to make!

The picture is a little blurry because I was in a rush to eat but you get the idea of how yummy this was. I used a lot of chili because I like it spicy, but you can also just use more fresh ground black pepper if you don't like it as spicy.

I made some adjustments to a recipe I found off of www.visitsingapore.com site here: http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/about_singapore/fun_s...

Ingredients
2 lbs large mud crabs or prawns, claws cracked, shells removed and cleaned. Drain to dry. Dungeness Crab also works.
4 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped (I used Thai chilis for more kick)
4 tbsp butter
10 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
10 slices young ginger
1 to 2 tbsp oyster sauce (I used fermented black bean sauce instead)
2 tsp sugar (optional)
Fresh Basil - the more the merrier if you ask me =)
Oil for deep frying

Method
Dry-fry* black pepper in a wok or frying pan till fragrant. Remove and keep aside. The crabs taste best if they are deep fried in very hot oil first – deep fry on all sides till the crabs turn red. Drain and keep the oil aside. Heat a wok, add the butter and when it melts and is hot, add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir fry for three minutes till the mixture is fragrant. Add the fermented black bean sauce and sugar and stir well before adding the pepper. Stir fry a few seconds on high heat, add the crabs and stir fry one minute until the crab shells turn red and all pieces are coated with sauce - throw in basil at very end to cook for a minute before serving.

* DRY FRYING is an old fashioned cooking method where food is stir fried till fragrant in a wok or frying pan without oil.

May Flower

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Looks like the April showers did bring May flowers - at least to the Stanford shopping center!

I went by the other day and just so happened to have my camera handy and got to shoot some tulips - this one being my favorite shot of the bunch.

I don't think I really noticed how beautiful tulips are - they seem to be overshadowed by the flashier flowers like orchids or roses.

I guess it just comes to show how you can find beautiful things in unexpected places =)

Tasty Fish Tacos for Cinco de Mayo

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Wanting to be festive - I decided to ping a few lucky folks that just so happened to be online today at 5:20pm or so to partake in some ethnic eating festivities to celebrate Cinco De Mayo.  Not that I ever need a special occasion to eat/cook - but hey, it's motivating nonetheless.

The best part of Mexican food is that it's so easy - and it's a choose-your-own-adventure kind of meal where you have all the constituent parts to make whatever kind of taco you want right in front of you!

So on the spread for the evening:  corn tortillas, beer-battered pan-fried tilapia, chips, southwest salsa, sweet mashed hominy, and homemade guac.

Some notes:  remember to coat the fish in flour BEFORE throwing it in the batter.  We made do with fried crispies - but to save you some labor (and a painful cleaning job later) - remember to douse the fish in some flour to get the batter to stick to the fish before frying.

For the tortillas - put those in the oven and heat to 200 degrees and wrap the tortillas in wet paper towels - this will steam up the tortillas so they're nice and fluffy.

Hominy - they look like giant corn kernels.  Fill a pot with a can of them, add some water and bring just to a boil and then start mashing them and add sugar to taste.  I added some extra regular corn to get more corn flavor.

For the Guac - used 3 avocados, 1.5 limes, diced red onion, a good chunk of cilantro minced up, 1 serrano pepper minced up real fine and some diced tomatoes and a teaspoon of kosher salt.  And i spilled some beer from the beer batter cup into the mix but not sure if that had any real effect on the guac itself.

All I can say is yum yum in the tum tum.

My Favorite Home-Cooked Lunch

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So I can't eat lunch like this everyday. But let's say it's a lazy saturday and you have the time to cook and bond with folks at home. I think making over-sized dumplings is probably one of the most peaceful, fun, yummy things that you can ever do/eat. Here's how the Chu clan does it.

The over-sized dumplings, pronounced huh-dzz (the second word sounds like the sound a bug makes when it hits the blue light of death) are filled with any assortment of ingredients - but the perfect combination that Grandma has concocted has lean ground pork, diced chives, rice noodles, rice viengar, bits of scrambled egg and just a little bit of water chestnut.

The skin is made up of a mix of flour and hot water (the hot water is imperative) to make the dough soft and workable. After mixing the dough you really just knead it for about 30 mins - I put on a disc of Sports Night or Friends and watch an episode while I do it.

After that, you form the dough in a long cylinder about 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter. Cut off 2-2.5 inch chunks and roll them out with a rolling pin to form flattened circles of about 7 inches in diamater. fill the middle and fold over and scrunch up the sides (if you're gangster - you can make patterns).

After that - get a decent sized frying pan and put in about a tablespoon of oil per 3 oversized dumplings - and you'll want to fry at a low/medium heat til the sound of the frying is faint and the skin of the dumpling is turning shiny.

Just eating dumplings isn't enough - but because they are a bit heavier - a steamed fish is the perfect accompaniment. Any fresh fish will do - and it's super easy - you just get a steamer and steam the whole fish for about 8 - 10 minutes. Steam the fish in a plat and add soy sauce (Lee Kum Kee's seafood seasoned soy sauce is my favorite). Put some green onions and strips of ginger to cook with the fish as it steams - or cook separately with the soy sauce/vinegar sugar to make the sauce.

A plate of pickled cucumbers and some sliced up cured tofu with some thai chili would round out the side dishes. Grab a bowl of rice (or porridge if it's a colder day) and you've basically got my favorite lunch in the world.