Weekly Recipes - 5 of 5: Chicken Katsu🇯🇵

Hello again and welcome to the fifth and final release of this recipe series. This week we took a trip to the other side of the world, where fine craftsmanship oozes through society’s pores, precision and order is a way of life, and there are no shortage of traditions and delicious cuisines. The place in question: Japan!*

Chicken Katsu was the star of the show in my kitchen this week. I can confidently say that this dish blew the other four dishes out the water. Obviously, this rating is based on my abilities and how well I cooked it. It very well could have been a different story if I let a professional chef cook each of the meals in my series. However, if we’re talking purely about how my final dish tasted, then this one was leaps and bounds my favorite for a few reasons.

• I executed it the best. I didn’t have any major blunders. My shortcomings were minimal.

• While this dish was indulgent due to the deep fried goodness, it was still well-rounded — there was a carb, protein, sauce, and side of veg. This in stark contrast to some of the previous dishes in this series, such as the French Onion Soup and Risotto. My ideal dish is tasty, nutritious and balanced, and Chicken Katsu satisfied these requirements.

• There were a lot of textures and flavors — the spicy crunch from the cabbage slaw, the sweet umami saltiness from the sauce, and the perfect crunch from the fried chicken. Anything that provides my taste buds with variety and fun is a winner in my books.

• It’s a simple cook. There was not excessive technique involved nor excessive stirring (see Risotto and French Onion Soup). The caveat is that deep frying creates a bit of a mess. More on this below.

This was my first time deep frying. I’ve shallow fried before (chicken parm) but was always hesitant to deep fry because of the mess that came with it and my minor fear of causing a grease fire and burning my house down. Anyways, I can confirm that Chicken Katsu is worth every bit of the mess. And quite honestly, if you don’t want to deal with all that effort, just order it the next time you’re at a Japanese restaurant! You won’t leave regretting your order.

There were various recipes I found, but this was the primary one I followed.

*Disclaimer: I have yet to visit.

Ingredients

See image below. Aaaaand let me beat a dead horse one final time… no measurements were taken. I just went with the flow.

• Cabbage

• Green Onions — Optional. All five of the recipes I reviewed, besides one, simply had shredded cabbage and a lemon wedge on the side. However, I wanted more depth to my side, so I followed the lone recipe that suggested mixing in green onions and chili oil / crunch to create more of an Asian slaw. I missed the part about adding a squeeze of lemon — more on this below

• Chili Oil / Crunch — Optional

• Lime — The recipes suggested lemons but I didn’t have any

• White Rice

• Chicken Breasts — An alternative recipe, which is very popular, uses pork cutlets

• Panko Bread Crumbs — Make sure it’s panko. I don’t know all the science and reasoning behind why Panko is preferred, but it definitely makes for a better fry due to its flaky nature

• Eggs — I originally used two but after realizing the volume of my chicken, I added a third egg

• Flour — I used All Purpose (AP) flour

• Ketchup

• Soy Sauce

• Worcestershire Sauce — I didn’t want to buy Worcestershire because I figured I’d only ever use it for this specific recipe. However, multiple recipes included it, and I’d recommend it because my sauce was lacking a lil something

  • On a side note, why is Worcestershire spelled so oddly. I never know how to pronounce it

• Salt & Pepper

• Canola or Vegetable Oil — Use an oil with a high smoke point since you’re deep frying

The Cooking Process

This dish is relatively simple to make. It just requires adequate countertop space to prep everything. Chicken Katsu is made up of three components: rice, side of cabbage (or slaw in my case), and the fried chicken. The rice is as simple as it gets. The cabbage is also pretty easy. It’s only the chicken that takes some time, but even that is not complicated.

• 20-30 mins: Rinsing and then cooking the rice. I made simple white rice (only added oil and salt to the pot), but if you want to zhuzh up your rice, go right ahead.

• 30 mins: Prepping the vegetables by shredding the cabbage and slicing the green onions. I didn’t have a mandoline, which was preferred, so my “shredding” was done with a knife. The reason I put this task at a half hour is because I was more precautious than normal due to the current foodborne illness (cyclosporiasis) spreading throughout the country. So once everything was chopped, it was all rinsed multiple times and then dried.

• 30 mins: Putting together the slaw by adding the shredded cabbage, green onions, a few spoonfuls of chili oil, and a squeeze of lemon into a bowl. Reminder that this step is optional because you can simply serve shredded cabbage as is. However, I recommend the slaw. Also, this step only takes a few mins. The reason for the half hour suggestion is to let the slaw marinate in the flavors, which allows the cabbage to slightly soften in the juices. To be clear, it will still have a significant crunch but it won’t be rough to eat like how raw cabbage is. It also won’t be bland. Shredded cabbage by itself is boring!

• 5 mins: Making the sauce, which was a combo of ketchup, soy sauce, and Worcestershire Sauce. As with any recipe, there were variations, but these three ingredients seemed to be the consistent suggestions.

• 10-20 mins: The time is dependent on how many chicken breasts you’re cooking. Putting each chicken breast in a plastic bag and then lightly pounding (emphasis on “lightly” because you don’t want to pulverize the chicken) it until it’s flattened. See image below.

• 15-25 mins: The time is dependent on how many chicken breasts you’re cooking. Putting together the dredging station by prepping the plates or breading pans. Pouring flour in one pan, panko breadcrumbs in another pan, and cracking 2-3 eggs in the final pan and whisking it all to a smooth consistency. Coating both sides of the pounded chicken breast in the flour, then immersing it in the egg wash, and finally covering every inch of its surface area in the panko breadcrumbs. Finally placing the fully coated breast on a baking sheet with a wire rack. Rinse and repeat for each chicken breast.

• 30-40 mins: Heating up a pot with oil and letting it reach the proper frying temperature. Frying each breast for 8-10 mins depending on its thickness. Flipping the breast about halfway through its fry. Unless you are using a very wide pot, fry one breast at a time because you don’t want to overcrowd the oil and prevent the breast from frying properly.

Lessons Learned

Per usual, I have some tips and lessons learned to improve your cooking experience not just for this dish but more generally if you ever want to fry a food.

I love sauce with most foods so it is a critical component of my dishes. If you are going to make the sauce, do it properly (i.e., add the Worcestershire Sauce). Where I went wrong was not just forgoing key ingredients but also pouring WAY too much soy sauce. I kept pouring in additional amounts of soy sauce until my sauce achieved the reddish-brown hue I’d seen in other recipes. While I knew soy sauce packed a powerful punch of flavor, in the moment I was on the quest to achieve the proper hue. So I completely disregarded the ingredient’s strength and kept pouring it in until my initial batch of sauce reached a hue to my liking that just so happened to be unbearable in taste. In hindsight, the Worcestershire would’ve helped with the hue.

On the topic of sauce, I think it’s worth venturing into the more advanced version of this dish: Katsu Curry. A curry would without a doubt take this whole dish to the next level by adding body to the chicken and turning the meal into a true comfort food. If you’ve never had a chicken katsu (or pork) lathered in the Japanese curry, then you’re missing out. It’s quite a wonderful culinary experience. Of all my tips in this section, this is probably the one I’d suggest the most.

When it comes to the fry, buy yourself a thermometer. It will eliminate all guessing, and you’ll know exactly when the oil reaches the proper frying temperature. I didn’t have one, and while my chicken turned out great, two of my four pieces didn’t achieve the golden brown fry that I was aiming for. This happened because I placed the chicken into the oil before it was hot enough. As is the case with adding any food into hot oil, the temperature of the oil will drop. So aim to have the oil be hotter than actually required so that when food is added, the oil’s temp drops to the actual temp required for frying. If you still prefer going without a thermometer because you don’t want another device piled up in your kitchen drawers, then try the following method. Stick a wooden spoon into the hot oil. If lots of small bubbles gather around around the spoon, then the oil is hot enough. The oil should not be smoking — that means it’s too hot.

This suggestion is applicable for anything that’s fried. Once the food finishes frying and is taken out, place it on a wire rack or paper towels and immediately sprinkle it with salt. Fried food best absorbs salt and seasonings when it’s fresh out of the oil and piping hot. Once the fried food reaches room temp, then adding salt is somewhat pointless because it won’t stick or absorb.

When it comes to the dredging station, ensure your breading pans or plates are large enough. Don’t underestimate how wide your chicken breast becomes after it’s been pounded flat. As you’re tossing floppy chicken from one pan to another, it helps to have pans that are larger than the piece of chicken. The benefits are twofold: 1. less of the pans’ contents spill out, 2. the chicken has enough room to lay flat in the pan, instead of being all scrunched up and not properly coating. Have you ever tried mixing salad in a bowl that’s too small? Well what I’m describing with dredging is the exact same principle. You’re safe if your pan / container is excessively large, but if it’s too small, you’re screwed and have created a headache for yourself.

Pound your chicken more than you think. It will allow for a better fry. You don’t want your chicken to be thin as paper, but it also shouldn’t be thicker than your finger. I think my issue was attributed to my chicken breasts being excessively thick (shout out all the steroids and antibiotics they pump our chickens with here in the States). So while I pounded them heavily, there was more pounding that could’ve happened;) You can also cut your chicken in half horizontally to essentially halve its thickness, and then pound it further from there.

Frying anything makes a mess. I don’t really have tips so this is moreso a FYI. The contents from the dredging station splatter all over your countertop and then the oil from the fry pops and splatters on your stovetop. In addition, at the end you’ll need to get rid of the oil and you can’t just pour that down the drain. So all things considered, there’s a lot of wiping down and cleaning required to remove the greasy mess that ends up everywhere.

Add acidity to the cabbage slaw!! This is a must. I completely missed this step in the recipe. It’s ironic because as I was prepping the slaw and then tasting it, I asked myself why the recipe didn’t mention anything about adding a splash of lemon or lime… whoops, I just wasn’t paying attention. There is a lot of richness to cut in this dish. There’s the hefty amount of fried chicken plus the chili oil lathered cabbage, so a squeeze of lemon over the slaw, and even the chicken, is a nice touch to balance everything out.

Thank You

If you’ve been following this recipe series, I hope you’ve been inspired to either cook one of these fives dishes or to order it the next time you go out to eat. Get out of your culinary comfort zone. Thank you for reading and being part of this journey!

May your taste buds be blessed,

Soheil

Pounding the meat;)

The calm before the storm (mess).

The cutlets ready to get fried (no THC involved).

Look at them scrumptious cutlets. *Pay no mind to the few edges I cut off due to my ravenous hunger at 9:30 pm.

The final product!

Weekly Recipes - 4 of 5: French Onion Soup🇫🇷

Today ushers in part 4 of my recipe series. If you’ve been tuning in these last few weeks, I’ve been cooking dishes from around the world for my first time. This week I honed in on the savory, sweet, and decadent soup hailing from France known locally as Soupe à L’oignon Gratinée or more commonly known in the States as French Onion Soup.

I’ve been itching to try this soup, and if my memory serves me correctly, I’ve never had it. My taste buds have been in desperate need of savoring this comforting, cheesy bowl of goodness. That is the reason why I’m cooking this dish during peak Summer — right as a heat wave is passing through much of the United States. Under normal circumstances, this dish would be reserved solely for the Fall / Winter.

The final result was absolutely delicious. It’s amazing just how much you can get out of the humble ingredient known as the onion or should I say, oignon. Caramelizing onions completely changes their flavor profile and transforms them from a pungent state to a soft and sweet one. My only gripe with this dish, which is glaringly obvious, is that it’s not a full meal. It’s a fantastic starting course but if you’re anything like me, you likely won’t be satiated with just this soup. So plan accordingly if you decide to spend the multiple hours cooking this soup because you may want a separate side, or even meal, to accompany it.

There were various recipes I found, but this was the primary one I followed.

Ingredients

See image below. If you’ve seen the past blogs, then excuse me sounding like a broken recording, but I eyeballed everything. No strict measurements.

• Onions — Yellow / sweet onions are preferred. I had left over halves of red and white onions, so I tossed those in as well. The more the merrier. All in 5 onions were used: 4 yellow onions, half of a red onion, and half of a white onion

• Beef Stock — As with any dish, homemade stock is preferred. However, if you don’t have the time for all that and don’t want the watered down stock from the store, then find some bone broth. It’s much more flavorful and rich

• Gruyere Cheese

• Baguette — You’re essentially making large croutons that top the soup. So if you have a few days old bread, that is fine (probably preferred). You don’t need a fresh baguette

• Red Wine Vinegar — Some acidity to cut the richness of the soup

• Wine — Many recipes recommended this for the acidity and layering of flavor, but I did not include it for reasons I’ve shared below. Across the recipes I found, the type of alcohol recommended, or lack thereof, varied greatly

• Flour — Optional. This is to thicken the soup

• Butter

• Thyme — Can be either fresh or dry

• Bay Leaves

• Salt & Pepper

• Olive Oil

The Cooking Process

This is a simple cook. The key is to fully caramelize the onions, which takes time and constant tending to.

• 10-20 mins: Cutting up all the onions into thin or medium-sized slices. The time taken for this step greatly varies based on your knife skills.

• 10 mins: Letting the pot heat up and then adding olive oil and butter and allowing that base of fat heat up.

• 90 mins: Cooking down the onions. Regardless of how many onions you use, expect at least 60 mins if you want your onion to actually caramelize. Makes sure they are shrunk down, soft, and most of all, brown!

• 20 mins: Adding the red wine vinegar, flour (optional), and spices and stirring them all in. Then adding the beef stock and letting the soup come to a simmer.

• 20 mins: Prepping the toppings, which are my favorite parts of the soup. They make the soup more well rounded. Shredding the gruyere cheese. Making the croutons by slicing the bread, pouring olive oil on the pieces, and baking them in the oven.

• 10 mins: Pouring the soup into oven-safe bowls and topping them with the croutons and cheese. Broiling the bowls in the oven for ~5 mins until the cheese fully melts and has brown spots.

Lessons Learned

There are a few items to call out that will help you get the most out of this dish. One of them is a true lessons learned, which I’ll start with, and the rest are tips.

Research which stores carry the type of acids (e.g., alcohol, vinegar) you prefer incorporating. The addition of acids seemed like a critical element because chefs mentioned this would take the soup from good to great due to the layering of flavor and the balance the acidity brings. Across the 4 recipes I reviewed, one suggested dry white wine and dry sherry, another suggested dry sherry and cider vinegar, this one suggested brandy, and the main one I used suggested madeira and sherry vinegar. All that to say, there were no shortage of options, and I was scratching my head as I tried to figure out which one to choose. If you are well-versed in acids, then it’ll likely be easier for you to decipher the mixed suggestions and understand what flavor(s) each option brings and which flavor profile you are ultimately going for. However, I did not possess that knowledge. So I went to the grocery store with a wide list of options, didn’t find any of them, went into a slight panic, and left the store with nothing. I had to remind myself that I was not being critiqued on this dish or even serving it to anyone outside of my fiancée. So the world wouldn’t end and the dish would be just fine without a wine or specific vinegar. I called an audible and decided to simply use the red whine vinegar in my fridge. However, the key lesson here is to know which option(s) you prefer and verify if your grocer or container store carries the item. One other suggestion I read online was to only use a wine that you would actually drink, albeit a cheaper one is fine. The world of anonymous Reddit users suggested not using the cooking wines offered at the grocery store that are exclusive to cooking (i.e., you wouldn’t drink a glass of it).

I suggest checking your kitchen for oven-safe bowls. A stoneware or porcelain bowl is preferred. While those bowl types add to the aesthetic, the real reason for them is due to their functionality. You need the bowl to be an appropriate serving size for a single person, and most of all, you need it to be oven-safe to withstand the high heat from the broil. The broil allows the cheese to fully melt and then brown to a certain extent (i.e., like a pizza). The achieve that level of melt, your bowl needs to endure the intensity of an oven broil. Unfortunately for me, my bowls were too large and also, I was unsure if they were completely oven-safe, so I removed them from the broil prematurely.

If you’re privileged enough to have a range hood, or you just have a standard over-the-range microwave fan, make sure it’s running at full blast. Onions have an extremely high water content so lots of steam gets released as the onions cook down. Unless you don’t mind your whole place smelling like onions and having all that steamy humidity building onto your kitchen surfaces, then I’d suggest running your fan the whole time. On the note of high water content, be prepared for your onions to cook down to roughly one tenth of their original size. My dutch oven was originally filled to the brim with onions, and I still had leftover pieces from the prep that I could not fit in the oven. However, by the end of the cook, the onion-like jam was a fraction of its original volume.

Make sure you constantly stir the onions so the ones at the bottom of the pot don’t burn. Some browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot are fine because that adds flavor (i.e., Maillard reaction). However, don’t let the onions sit for too long to the point that the entire base of the pot blackens. See image below… Whoops, I may have gotten distracted watching Love Island… Anyways, if that happens to you, don’t lose hope and feel like your efforts went down the drain. The burnt base will absolutely ruin the flavor of your soup, but you can simply transfer the cooked down onions to a different pot. This may seem obvious, but when you’re scooping up the onions to transfer them over, make sure you don’t scrape the burn bits at the bottom.

Lastly, in my opinion, the soup is best made with an equal ratio of onion to liquid. It shouldn’t be a majority onion because then it’s less a soup and more a bowl of caramelized onions in a bit of broth. It also shouldn’t be a majority liquid because then it’s less an onion soup and more a beefy broth with a pinch of onions. Strike a balance somewhere in the middle.

The start of many good dishes: the fat(s) heated to a medium-high temp. In this case, both olive oil and butter were used.

The onions after ~10 mins of cooking down. I forgot to take a picture at the very beginning but originally there was not enough room in the giant pot — for reference, this is a 5.5 quart dutch oven — for all the uncooked onions.

The onion volume significantly decreased. Still more cooking necessary to achieve the proper caramelization.

Ooops, I got distracted by Love Island and let the onions burn. The final level I cooked the onion down to is shown in the smaller pot.

Red wine vinegar, flour, spices, and broth all added in.

The croutons!

The lighting was way off, the bowl was not fit for its purpose, the cheese needed to brown, and the presentation was subpar. But the taste was delicious! And that’s all that matters.

Weekly Recipes - 3 of 5: Risotto🇮🇹

Hello again, and welcome to part 3 of my recipe series. This week I practiced the art of the fold by way of cooking risotto. It was an arduous yet therapeutic process.

I have no ties to risotto and have probably ate it only two or three times in my life. It rarely pops up on the menus of Italian restaurants I visit here in the States. So there is no deep connection I have to the dish. However, the reason I was drawn to cooking it was because of a video I watched from one of my favorite chefs, Adam Byatt, enthusiastically making this simple dish. It highlighted the simplicity of the ingredients and the star of the dish being the most humble of ingredients: rice — arguably the most popular and widely consumed ingredient in the world? (someone fact check me) What stood out to me was the dish was less about the ingredients and more about the technique / methodology. The art of cooking risotto well is all based on allowing the rice to soak up the flavor (stock) in incremental batches (ladle pours of the stock). And hence, I wanted to attempt the cook.

Of the 3 dishes I’ve cooked so far in this series, this was the simplest one. However, what took me by surprise was the amount of time it took to properly cook the rice through. There are some key lessons I want to pass along so you don’t spend an hour and a half folding the rice continually. That is not an exaggeration.

There were various recipes I found, but this was the primary one I followed.

Ingredients

See image below. As mentioned throughout this series, nothing was measured and it was all eyeballed. In my kitchen we treat it more as an art than a science.

• Arborio Rice — A short-grained rice with a high starch content is critical. Carnaroli rice was recommended, and I believe it is the most authentic rice option. However, Arborio works great and it was the only option my grocer offered

• Yellow Onion

• Celery — Some recipes included this as a base and others didn’t

• Chicken Stock — A lot of liquid is necessary. You can either use a stock (chicken or vegetable) or water. There was not a consistent option across recipes. However, I’d suggest a flavorful stock because that results in a tastier risotto

• Parmigiano Reggiano

• Butter

• Mushrooms — Optional. Not all recipes included mushroom. However, I highly recommend them because they add a nice umami to the dish and more importantly, a nice textural contrast to the wet rice. A meatier mushroom is better. My grocer was out of King Oysters so I settled with Portobellos

• Cod — This is not traditional (or even common) whatsoever . However, I couldn’t have my full meal consisting of solely rice… granted a flavor-packed, fatty rice but still just rice, nevertheless. I needed some form of protein, so I thought a white fish would be a good option since it wouldn’t overpower the dish

• Cilantro — Not pictured below. Again, this is not traditional (or even common) whatsoever. However, I realized last minute I had extra cilantro leftover in the fridge and thought it would top the cod well

• White Wine — Many dishes recommend this, but I did not include it. The acidity is supposed to balance the richness of the dish

• Salt & Pepper

• Olive Oil — I’d suggest a flavorful oil like olive oil rather than a neutral oil like canola oil. The rice absorbs these flavors and this dish is all about allowing the rice to cook and simmer in the tastiest flavors

In case you were wondering, Zoup makes delicious bone broth.

The Cooking Process

This is a simple cook. The key is around the technique and to never allow your rice to sit. Remain attentive and avoid multitasking.

• 30 mins: ~15 mins prepping the veg by finely slicing the onion and celery (and in my case, also the cilantro). Make sure the pieces are tiny. See image below. ~5 mins rinsing and drying the mushrooms. ~10 mins grating the parmesan. I decided to grate the whole wedge so that added a bit more time. See image below to see the difference in volume between parmesan in solid wedge form versus fully grated.

• 20 mins: Sautéing the veg for ~10 mins until it turns translucent or lightly browns. Then pouring the rice in and sautéing it without any liquid to allow it to toast. My preferred recipe mentioned waiting until there is a cracking sound, which signifies that the rice is partially opening. This ultimately allows the rice to soak up the broth. I also added some butter at this point to build some flavor into the rice and to prevent it from burning.

• 90 mins: Pouring one to two ladles of broth or water into the rice and stirring continually until it reduced and the rice absorbed ~70% of the liquid. Repeating this process continually until the rice was no longer hard and finished cooking. The recipes I used said the process took ~25 mins but because of the sheer amount of rice I added originally, it took me much longer. More on this below.

• 5-10 mins: Taking the rice off the heat and incorporating parmesan, butter, and/or any other high-fat, creamy ingredient (e.g., mascarpone — not traditional but Adam suggested it in one of his versions).

• 20 mins: Cooking the mushrooms and cod separately.

Lessons Learned

Overall the cooking process for this dish was more straightforward than the other two dishes I cooked in this series. However, I had a major blunder this go round, which resulted in a much more significant lesson learned. I’ve also included some other minor lessons learned and tips below.

Do NOT be greedy, glutinous or careless like me and add more rice than necessary. This will increase the cook time exponentially (maybe linearly, but it did not feel that way at the hour and fifteen minute mark…) and is the reason why the specific step in the process of cooking the rice took me 90 mins instead of the intended ~25 mins. I finished at 10:45pm, which was not ideal… Anyways, I cooked 1 pound of rice, which was half of the full container I bought. I’d recommend about a third of that. I poured the rice into a small bowl and used one and a half of those bowls. See image below to reference the bowl size. I should have used half of a single one of those bowls. This matters because as I mentioned above, the key to this dish is to continually fold the rice over in the liquid. This folding process allows the rice to absorb the broth and to cook evenly. When your pan is crowded due to an excessive amount of rice, it creates a taller layer of rice, which results in the rice at the bottom cooking more, while the rice at the top cooks less. Avoid this uneven cook because it will ruin your final dish . While the continual folding process mitigates this issue, the more rice in the pan, the more difficult it is to prevent the uneven cook. Additionally, as you progress through the cook, the rice absorbs more liquid and the volume in the pan grows — even with much of the liquid evaporating. This results in the content in your pan edging closer to the brim, and you are at the risk of pouring the rice over the edge as your fold it. And lastly and most importantly, the more rice in the pan, the longer it takes to cook. You don’t want to spend all night folding rice, so don’t pour excessive amounts of rice!!! Err on the side of less than more.

This is related to the above point, but ensure you continually stir / fold the rice. Don’t ever let it sit. The whole cooking process for risotto is a labor of love. Letting the rice sit and trying to do something else in the kitchen will result in the rice unevenly cooking — with certain pieces turning tender and perfect, while others remain hard. Show restraint and avoid multitasking. That other task in the kitchen can wait. Never neglect the rice!

Use lots of liquid and ensure it’s flavorful (i.e., brother is better than water). My blunder of using excessive rice naturally resulted in more liquid being needed. I originally thought the full quart of bone broth would be more than enough. I quickly realized how wrong I was. I not only used all the bone broth, but I also filled the jar with water another one and a half times. All the water was used. So all in I used 80 ounces of liquid, which is more than half a gallon! This additional liquid was needed because at the 30 minute mark of the folding process and I realized the rice was still extremely hard and undercooked. So keep pouring in liquid and letting it reduce until the rice is cooked to your liking.

I recommend finely chopping the vegetables. Added bonus: it’s a chance to also practice your knife skills. The vegetables are meant to serve as a base of flavor. They are not intended to be little bite-sized chunks accompanying your rice.

Don’t rinse the rice. For other dishes you may be used to rinsing your rice until the water runs clear, which indicates the starch is removed. However, risotto requires all the starch possible, so do not wash the rice. The more starch the better. The starch enables the emulsification process that results in the ideal end product: a wet and creamy rice. The starch is what allows the broth and fats to turn into one cohesive layer that coats the rice.

Lastly, I recommend adding mushrooms to this dish. I know they are not everybody’s cup of tea. However, the taste of the mushrooms compliment the chicken- and parmesan-flavored rice very well. And to be quite frank, as tasty as the rice ends up being, eating just rice by itself is flat out boring. Topping the rice off with something — whether that be mushrooms, an egg yolk or protein — makes for a more well rounded dish. Don’t be boring!

Images of the cooking process and final output are below. As it is starting to become a consistent theme across this series, presentation is not a priority of mine. While I know what good plating looks like, I could care less about making my dish look pretty after being in the kitchen for 3 hours. I just want to eat.

Stay tuned for more dishes!

Look at that knife work. Pretty good for an amateur, if I do say so myself.

A wedge of parmesan fully grated. Look at that volume. Yum.

Sautéed veg. Don’t let yours burn like mine did. Whoops.

As mentioned above, I used one and a half of these smalls bowls worth of rice. That is WAY TOO MUCH. Use much less.

Toss in some butter for flavor.

An hour and forty mins later… The final product (pre-plating) with the parmesan incorporated.

The final product (without cod).

The true final product, inclusive of mushrooms and the non-traditional ingredients (cod and cilantro).

Weekly Recipes - 2 of 5: Khoresh Bademjan🇮🇷

A Monthlong Personal Culinary Journey

Welcome back to part 2 of my recipe series. This week’s focus takes it back to my roots, where I made a popular Persian dish called Khoresh Bademjan.

By way of the Persian culture being so historic comes a rich food scene. Generations upon generations have passed down their recipes and the result is a culture where food and cooking is deeply engrained in everyday life.

Many of you who may be unfamiliar with Persian food may still know about kabobs. These skewers of grilled meat are an extremely popular dish served not just at Persian restaurants, but Middle Eastern restaurants all over. However, lesser known outside the Persian community are Khoresh’s. A Khoresh is a stew over a bed of rice. There are too many types of Khoresh to count, but this week I chose an eggplant, beef (more traditionally lamb) Khoresh.

So putting it all together we have Khoresh = stew and Bademjan = eggplant.

Growing up I would’ve ranked Khoresh Bademjan in the middle tier on my totem pole of Persian dishes. However, as I’ve gotten older, it’s risen through the ranks. I think part of that is because I’ve grown to like eggplant much more. A shout out to this Khoresh, as well as eggplant parmesan, baba ghanoush, and any fried eggplant appetizers with a good sauce.

There were various recipes I found, but my late father’s recipe and this one were the primary ones I followed.

Ingredients

See image below. As mentioned last week, nothing was measured and it was all eyeballed. We go off vibes in this kitchen. Kidding… sort of.

• Boneless Beef Stew Chunks — Lamb shank / shoulder / leg is the most traditional route. However, I don’t think I’ve ever bought lamb from a grocer or butcher, so I don’t have a go-to spot to buy it. And to be quite frank, I don’t trust my local grocer’s (Mariano’s) sourcing for lamb or know if they even carry it. What I do recommend is that regardless of the meat you choose, make sure it’s bone-in. It adds flavor. My grocer offered only one type of stew meat and it was boneless beef

• Eggplants — Go with thinner or smaller eggplants (e.g., Japanese eggplants) if your grocer offers different varieties

• Small or Medium Tomatoes

• Yellow Onion

• Basmati Rice

• Limoo Amani (Dried Lime) — This is an extremely niche product. So if you’re like most of us who are not near a Middle Eastern market and don’t care to venture to one for a single item, then lemon juice or a lime will suffice. However, there is a fairly obvious flavor difference between the substitutes and the real thing

• Tomato Paste — Some recipes recommended it, some didn’t

• Saffron — Did you really make a Persian dish if it doesn’t have saffron in it? I guess in my case my final dish is disqualified. Sorry, I didn’t want to take a mortgage out to procure the most expensive spice in the world. Jokes aside, saffron is is a staple in Iranian dishes because not only is it a fragrant flavor, but it also adds a beautiful color to your dish. Case in point: the traditional way to prep the platter of rice served as the base for many Persian dishes is to have saffron water poured over the top of the rice to make the top layer yellow. See this image

• Turmeric

• Water

• Salt & Pepper

• Oil — Whatever you use for high temp cooking

The Cooking Process

It’s not a complicated cook but it does take some time. For many stews, especially Khoresh’s, that is no surprise because it takes time to cook the various ingredients that make up the stew. And it also takes some time for all those flavors to marry.

• 60-120 mins: Peeling and slicing the eggplants and then salting them and allowing them to sit to draw out their moisture. The longer they sit the more they sweat (i.e., their water content is released). The whole point of doing this is to intensify the eggplant flavor during the cook and to dry it out, which allows for better browning during the sauté, which again brings flavor.

• 25-30 mins: Dicing the onion and then browning it in the pot. What follows is adding the stew meat to the same pot and browning it as well. Pouring the water in at the end to allow everything to simmer.

• 30-40 mins: Sautéing the eggplant slices until they brown. Brown = flavor (i.e., Maillard reaction). Given the volume of eggplant used in this dish, you likely will need to do this part in 2-3 batches so you don’t overcrowd your pan. There should be no slices on top of each other. Each slice should have full contact with the pan.

• 10-15 mins: Slicing the tomatoes in half and then sautéing them in the same pan used for the eggplant.

• 60-180 mins: Letting the stew simmer on low heat for two to three hours. Adding in the eggplant and tomato to the top layer — ensuring they are somewhat submerged — roughly at the halfway point.

Lessons Learned

Cooking this dish brought me back to my childhood. Ooooeeey I love a home cooked dish! There is plenty of room for improvement to get closer to my parent’s level of mastery.

To start, let's discuss the importance of having a reliable source for your ingredients. Find a grocer, butcher, farmer’s market or other vendor that sources quality meat (e.g., in this case we’re talking lamb shank or a bone-in beef stew meat) and eggplant. Listen, by no means am I saying you need to be Farm to Table, but ensure your ingredients aren’t shit and that they’re halfway decent. More importantly, ensure that they actually sell those two ingredients where you normally shop. Earlier I mentioned my dilemna of not having a lamb source, as well as a very limited selection of stew meats. I was able to manage with what I found but when it came to the eggplant, that’s where I fell short. My grocer had a grand total of 4 eggplant on the shelf — all of which were mangled and beat up. They had indents and were bruised with soft spots all over (image below). So I didn’t exactly have the creme of the crop in terms of selection. And more importantly, they were “Globe” variety, which was the exact opposite shape / size I needed. While this lesson learned may sound like me venting, what I’m trying to get across is the importance of ensuring you get the correct ingredients. That starts with ensuring you have a reliable source so that you can avoid settling for inferior products OR having to go to multiple sources.

Beware of the wasteful and time consuming nature of sweating out vegetables. I used two large sheet pans, which can take up a great deal of countertop space. More importantly, I ran through what felt like half a roll of paper towels to pat dry the fronts and backs of the ~12-15 large slices of eggplant. And I went through this process twice because I resalted after the first dry-off. A more seasoned chef likely has better tips on how not to be so wasteful with the paper towels, how not to take up so much kitchen space for this one part of the prep, and how to not to make a mess due to spilling salt all over the damn kitchen. One note on the salt part: use a kosher salt. It will save you lots of time and mess. Do not use a salt grinder because it takes forever and creates more of a mess given the larger, coarser pieces of salt bouncing off surfaces (e.g., food, pans, countertops) more easily than a “traditional” salt.

Use less water. I poured way too much water after browning the beef. Some people like the stew to be more brothy / liquidy (I’d argue that then is a loaded soup). However, I stand firmly on the opposite side. There should not be a bunch of loose liquid. It should all be reduced.

This isn’t a lesson learned from this go round but rather from past cooking and eating experience. As with any stew, the flavors set overnight, and the leftovers usually taste better!

Another tip is to have the optional Sabzi Khordan plate on the side. While I say “optional”, it’s basically tradition to serve this side platter as an accompaniment to Persian dishes, especially Khoresh’s. I grew up having all the herbs and veg (e.g., radishes, green onions, sweet onion slices) with every dish and would stuff my mouth with bunches of herb and onion after every bite of the main dish. You’d think I was a rabbit… anyways, I digress.

Ok on to the most important lesson I learned: make the Tahdig — don’t be lazy. It’s worth it!! Tahdig deserves a whole separate post / recipe. However, for those unfamiliar, it’s a crunchy rice. It’s SUPER popular in Persian dishes. It’s a bragging point, a sense of pride, and for many, the highlight of this dish and many other Persian dishes. I equate it to the guilty pleasure that comes with eating dessert, but it’s like a “savory” dessert. Why I think it’s so critical to have with this dish is not because of tradition. It’s because the crunchiness provides a textural balance. When you serve the dish, you scoop the rice onto your plate and then pour the stew over it. As you progress through your meal, the rice gets mushier because it drowns in the stew broth. Additionally, the stew already has very softened ingredients in the eggplant and beef. So adding the Tahdig brings a nice crunch to the dish.

Image of the final output below. Once again I could’ve improved the presenation significantly.

Stay tuned for more dishes!

The bruised eggplant selection I had to work with, as mentioned above.

Weekly Recipes - 1 of 5: Jollof Rice🇳🇬🇬🇭

A Monthlong Personal Culinary Journey

I love to eat, and I excel (heavy emphasis) at eating. I also love to cook, but I don’t excel at cooking.

In the spirit of experimentation and growth, I am starting a new PACT (see previous blog for more info on PACTs) where I cook a different recipe for the first time each week over the course of five weeks. Each new recipe is paired with a blog, which will highlight the ingredients, the process, lessons learned and my overall thoughts on the dish.

In general, my blog covers various topics — by no means is it a cooking-specific blog. However, over the course of the next 5 weeks, this page will be cooking focused. So let this be the commencement of my cooking series.

Jollof Rice is the focus for this week. A West African staple that I’ve seen pop up on my timeline many times. I’ve seen the back and forth from different nations (especially Nigeria and Ghana) where their each claims they have the superior version. I cannot comment on which country deserves the crown due to my lack of experience. However, I can comment on the fact that Jollof Rice is quite a popular dish and that there are certain aspects that remind me of the Persian dishes I grew up eating. E.g., flavor packed rice, the extensive use of tomato and tomato paste, a rice and meat dish.

There were various recipes I found, but this was the primary one I followed.

Ingredients

See image further below. Nothing was measured. I just eyeballed everything.

• Chicken Thighs — Bone-in, skin-on was recommended. However, I already had boneless, skinless thighs

• Basmati Rice — Long-grained, parboiled rice was recommended. However, I already had a giant Costco bag of basmati

• Red Bell Peppers

• Roma Tomatoes

• Red Onion — Depending on the recipe, I saw recommendations for either red or white onions. I chose red to stay consistent with the red / orange color theme of the ingredients making up the sauce

• Habanero Peppers — Scotch Bonnet was the recommendation, but my grocer didn’t carry them

• Ginger

• Garlic

• Tomato Paste

• Chicken Broth

• Chicken Bouillon Cubes — Maggi Cubes were recommended, but my grocer didn’t carry them

• Curry Powder

• Thyme — Some recipes recommended sprigs of thyme. However, I kept it simple with jarred thyme

• Bay Leaves

• Salt & Pepper

• Oil — Whatever you use for high temp cooking

The Cooking Process

Fuck. That’s what went through my head as I entered hour 4 of the prep / cook process. This recipe took much longer than I anticipated. On the surface it sounded simple: flavored rice and some meat on the side. However, that could not have been further from the truth. A majority of the time came from the rice, specifically the sauces that served as the flavor base.

Caveat: Part of the time consuming nature is also obviously due to my lack of experience.

• 30-40 mins: Making a pseudo chicken stock. This stock is then used when cooking the rice

• 15-20 mins: Shallow frying the chicken

• 75 - 90 mins: Making the Jollof base. ~10 mins rinsing and prepping the veg. ~30 mins roasting the veg in the oven. ~10 mins blending the sauce and cleaning the blender (very annoying). ~30-40 mins reducing the sauce by half

• 30-40 mins: Frying the tomato paste and onion, then adding the base sauce and letting that simmer, then finally adding the spices and stock and letting it simmer further

• 40-50 mins: Rinsing the rice and cooking it in the base / sauce

Of course there was more time spent prepping ingredients and cleaning the chaos in the kitchen. However, the above breakdown provides an idea of the main stages of the cook.

Lessons Learned

The recipe was delicious. However, I would love to taste a properly cooked version from a pro (African mom or auntie) to experience the true flavor and consistency of the rice.

A key lesson I learned is to prep more. No, I’m not referring to cutting veg, removing excess fat from the meat, etc. When I refer to “prep”, I mean studying. Prior to getting in the kitchen, I recommend reviewing a recipe top to bottom, ideally more than once. Watching a video version is optimal. I’ll be following this tip for future recipes. Nothing worse than constantly pulling out your phone to rewind a part of the cooking video in the midst of cooking in a chaotic kitchen with dirty hands.

Following recipes annoy me, specifically measuring ingredients, especially the spices. It feels meticulous and takes away from the fun. It’s more effort for marginal improvement in my opinion. Hot take? I find winging it (reasonably winging it) to be easier and more enjoyable. I follow the mantra of cooking being more of an art than a science, which is the opposite of baking.

The Jollof base sauce was definitely a labor of love. As I was reducing it, the sauce constantly popped and splashed all over the stovetop, backsplash, and my cooking apron. The remedy was to constantly stir it. However, don’t underestimate the wrist fatigue that comes from stirring a pot nonstop for 30 mins lol. Before you suggest lowering the temp to prevent the popping, I did in fact do that. However, I think the sauce was already so hot due to the veg roasting in the oven and going straight into the blender and then right into the pot. Also, lowering the temp too much slows down the reduction process. A more seasoned chef probably has better recommendations. Just be prepared for either a mess in the kitchen or worn out arms… or both.

I used boneless and skinless chicken thighs because that’s what we already had. However, I strongly recommend using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. This will create more flavor, and the shallow fry will work better with the skin . Also, this will make the chicken look better for plating. Because the most important thing to remember when presenting a dish is: we eat with our eyes first. The skinless and boneless thigh I served looked quite ugly (unappetizing) to be frank.

The final rice output was very flavorful and tasty. However, once the rice had cooked in the sauce, it had a stronger tomato paste flavor than I anticipated. Prior to adding the rice, the sauce flavor was more robust and absolutely mouthwatering. I’m not sure what went wrong here.

My biggest lesson learned: ALLOW THE RICE TO FULLY ABSORB THE SAUCE. It should not be clumpy or sticky. The issue here is that I don’t know the solution achieve that rice consistency. All I know is that my rice didn’t absorb all the sauce. I failed miserably. It may have been due to using too little water and cooking at too high of a heat? Or maybe too much rice? I started with three cups but added an additional two because I thought there would be too much sauce at the end when I saw the excess of sauce drowning my original three cups of rice. Or maybe using basmati rice instead of the suggested parboiled rice? Or too much water? Or I didn’t blend the sauce enough? Or some other reason? Who knows the solution but the lack of absorption was the major flaw of my final dish.

Image of the final output below. I know… it’s a bit underwhelming.

Stay tuned for more dishes!

Why Coffee Table Books Deserve More Love

And Why You Should Actually Read Them

[This blog can also be found on my Substack. P.S. plenty of pictures below]

The Perfect Recipe

Coffee table and photo books (CTPB) are good for the soul. The recipe is perfect: entertaining while insightful, evocative, aesthetically pleasing, inspiring, wanderlust-inducing, creative, conversation-starting, calming. So why then are they not more common in households? Why are they missing from most book club conversations? For the cases where they have found an abode in someone’s living room, kitchen or foyer, why is their typical function only decorative where the pages have not seen the light of day since the purchase date?

My Growing Interest

These types of books have shot up the rankings of my format (genre?) hierarchy to #1, and it’s not remotely close — CTPB are winning by a landslide. Second place is at a distance — think 90’s Jordan versus all other competition, Google Search versus Ask Jeeves and Bing in the 2000’s / 2010’s, the Roman Empire in their heyday, you get the idea.

Over the last few years my interest in CTPB has grown significantly. When friends and family ask me what I want for my birthday or Christmas, I often find myself requesting a CTPB. I find tremendous joy opening the pages and being immersed in a different world. The range of CTPB I have dabbled in varies from architecture and decor to fashion and art to sports and travel. While these topics spark my interest, the subject is not necessarily what sways me to CFTB. Sometimes the book’s cover photo, its overall look or the catchy title lure me in. A well-manicured CFTB is enough for me to dive into an obscure topic.

1 Picture > 1,000 Words

Have you ever had a friend intensely describing something to you — a breathtaking landscape from a recent vacation, an intricate dish at a restaurant or one they cheffed up themselves, a unique hotel lobby from a recent work trip, a state of the art stadium they recently watched a game or concert at or a stunning dress? While you would say the friend is painting the picture quite well, there is only a certain level of visualization you can reach for the simple fact that you were not there yourself to see it firsthand. Now in that same scenario have you ever had that friend reach the end of their depiction and realize they have a picture they can show you instead? As long at the photo was half way decent and not taken on a potato, more times than not, the photo was the only description needed. It finally clicks for you — the photo brings their description to life.

I propose a slight modification to the classic idiom, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. What seems more fitting: “A single picture is worth far more than a thousand words”. Why describe when you can show?

Now don’t get me wrong, there is something beautiful about an author’s vivid narrative that can teleport you to the scene where you feel exactly what is happening, smell all the aromas, and see everything playing out. It is enthralling. People who excel at explaining something in that manner are gifted, whether is be via their writing or speaking. However, I estimate a picture does as good of a job, if not better, in roughly eight or nine of those ten scenarios

I guess for me, to see is to feel.

The Case for the CTPB

That leads me to the crux of my pitch: the combination of descriptive text with captivating photos in a book is how flawless execution (description) is reached. That is where the CTPB comes into play.

Lining each page of a CTFB are rich photos paired with text that offers context a standalone image simply cannot.

Beyond just the descriptive factor, let me elaborate on the “perfect recipe” I mentioned above:

• Entertaining while Insightful: CTPB sometimes get a bad rap for simply being pretty but having minimal substance. However, if you actually go through the book end-to-end, there is still a story told and a lot to be learned on said topic. I think the key to gaining the “insightful” part is to actually read the full book rather than rapidly flipping through the pages just for the pictures.

• Evocative: With powerful images come strong feelings and memories. The pictures coupled with the descriptions often raise strong emotions in me, whether that be excitement, curiosity, joy, sadness or other feels.

• Aesthetically Pleasing: This is a straightforward one in my eyes. There is a reason CTPB are the most prominent book format used as decor. They tend to be highest on the aesthetic totem pole. The photos are breathtaking (sexy!). The book materials (e.g., pages, cover, binding) are typically premium. The cover photos capture your eye. The packaging is unique. Need I say more?

• Inspiring: There are two angles for me that bring inspiration whenever I read a CTPB. The first is that the photos provide a sense of whatever the photographer and author are experiencing. And that secondhand experience only fuels my hunger to experience whatever is being depicted even more. It inspire me to try it, to go there, to practice it, to feel it. The second aspect is that CTPB are typically interesting topics and not some mundane subject like traffic cones… though with the right photography and descriptions, maybe even those street nuisances can become fascinating.

• Wanderlust-Inducing: I love to travel and experience new places and cultures. So even if the CTPB itself is not directly about traveling, but there is a reference to a cuisine from a foreign land, a stadium in a different country, or a material item showcased in another city, then it evokes a sense of wanderlust. It makes me want to hop on the next flight, train or bus to that destination so I can experience firsthand whatever the CTPB is highlighting.

• Creative: Imagery gets my creative juices flowing. I think this one goes hand-in-hand with the Inspiring bullet. The different photos, paired with the interesting topics, open my eyes to new subjects. They also help me think outside the box.

• Conversation-Starting: This one hits close to home because there have been many times I get overly excited from something that catches my attention, and I immediately text a friend a photo of the page or show my fiancée a part of the CTPB that really spoke to me or that I think would interest her. What better way to spark conversation than showing a companion something stunning, which has plenty of description baked in and requires no further explanation.

• Calming: This is likely not the first descriptor that comes to mind for a CTPB. However, I often feel a sense of relaxation when browsing through the pages. I can’t quite pinpoint why this is the case. Maybe it’s a combination of all my distractions melting away as I immerse myself in whatever topic is at hand. Maybe it’s because I find it fun to mesmerizingly flip through the pages and let all my stresses evaporate. Who knows… all I can say confidently is that CTPB bring me peace of mind.

Read Them Too

If you already have a CTPB, I urge you to actually look through it. Don’t let it collect dust. They have so much story to tell! Look at the photos in full. Actually read the words that accompany each image. The words weave the pictures together into a cohesive story.

If you do not have a CTPB, I urge you to buy one, rent one from a library or simply borrow one from a friend. Start with one in a topic you are interested in, or better yet, get out of your comfort zone and dive into a whole new world. Whichever route you choose, I promise, you will not be disappointed.

If you are part of a book club, I urge you to spice things up and propose a CTPB so it becomes the topic of conversation the next time your group reconvenes.

Some CTPB I Have Enjoyed

Below are some of the CTPB in my collection.

Excuse the quality of my photos. They don’t do justice to the CTPB and actually seeing the content in person. By this point I had lost steam, so my cropping and angles were not the best. And the sunlight was continually changing so certain books have shadows cast on them. Anyways, enough excuses.

I have also included links to each book should you be interested in purchasing them. As always, these are not affiliate links. So I gain nothing from your purchase… besides personal joy, of course.

The Tennis Court by Nick Pachelli — Link. (Nick suggested ordering from here if you want a signed and personalized version. You just need to do so in the order comment)

1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz — Link

Tom Ford 002 by Tom Ford — Link

This book is structured where each chapter is introduced by a few pages of text. Then the remaining chapter is exclusively photography — no accompanying words. For this book, it made more sense to highlight the photography-only pages. Also, some of the photos may take you by surprise… they’re definitely provocative ;)

Tom Ford is a marketing, fashion and creative genius in my humble opinion.

10 by The Local Project — Link

The Mamba Mentality by Kobe Bryant — Link

The Oriental Carpet by P.R.J. Ford — Link

These are my fianceé’s and I have yet to dive into them. From left to right:

Live Beautiful by Athena Calderone — Link

Lady Bird by Greta Gerwig — Link

Call It Home by Amber Lewis — Link

Same story as above.

House Rules by Myquillyn Smith — Link

Joie by Ajiri Aki — Link

8 Months of Daily Habit Tracking

I started tracking my daily habits during H2 of 2025. 8 months of habit tracking have passed and it has been a fun ride checking boxes, tracking metrics, and capturing my daily highlights. My habits journal houses all the “data” and the data paints a picture of how I live on a daily, weekly, and even monthly basis. There is a lot to gain from such a simple daily observation and notation. I want to share some of those findings. 

Off the rip let me just say I gained lots of inspiration from Peter McKinnon (YT link) in starting this exercise.

Why Do I Track?

So what is the point of all of this? It boils down to a few reasons.

1. Priorities — Choosing what I track throughout my day creates prioritization. Of the hundreds of things (e.g., activities, habits, metrics) that I can track, the prioritization forces me to align my interests and habits to my day-to-day routine. Instead of focusing on a wide breadth of things, the daily structure allows me to cast my net a bit narrower and focus on the things that provide the most value to me (i.e., growth, enjoyment, health).

2. Consistency and Discipline — “What’s measurable gets managed”. Firstly, this mantra was important when I was determining what habits to track. They need to be measurable — something that I can check the box against. If it is not trackable, then my way of determining if it is complete is arbitrary. Secondly and more importantly, having a set of habits and activities to track creates accountability and focus, which creates consistency. Consistency is something worthwhile we should all strive for in different facets of our life. And to remain consistent over the long term, discipline is required. While I am by no means the most disciplined, it is a trait I value greatly.

3. Enjoyable and Insightful — There is no deep explanation here. I just straight up find it fun. The tracking is fun. The challenge of it is fun. And the insights I gain are fun.

What Do I Track?

It is an obvious answer on the surface level: habits, duh. However, what exactly does that look like? It varies based on the habits and details you want to track, so the tracker’s structure is infinite. My journey focuses on tracking 4 categories, which I outline below. One other callout is that my habit tracker follows a monthly format. So each month I take two pages of a journal, and the left page captures my daily recap and theme for the month, and the right page tracks my habits and sleep.

• Daily Recap — If my day had a title, it would be this. This is the highlight of my day. It is summary-level so that means only a single line. Nothing more. While sometimes I list 2-3 things within that line, the highlight typically forces me to reflect on what was either the most prominent or memorable aspect of my day. It can be positive or negative, and this is important because not every day is roses and rainbows, so capturing the highlight (lowlight) of a crappy day is completely fine. Sometimes my days were mundane so there was no significant highlight. And that is also fine. However, one major benefit of the daily recap is it forces reflection. In a world where we are inundated with one piece of content after another — whether that be via social media, smartphones, or more traditional news — reflection is ever more valuable. The daily recap forces a pause on time to look backwards and perform an exercise that requires minimal effort but provides tremendous value. Reflect on what went well, what went poorly, what was fun, what you did not enjoy, what you learned, what you want to repeat, what you want to change, a moment of nostalgia, a moment of learning. The list can go on but the key is: a bit of daily reflection goes a long way.

• Habits — This is what I find the most fun: the capture of actual habits and activities in my day-to-day. Marking an ‘X’ on the boxes I complete versus leaving the boxes for the habits that did not occur turns into a game. I felt excitement when I went through a day and was able to check all the boxes (i.e., each habit occurred or was completed). So what exactly did I track? 

  • Outside: Getting outside for at least 20 minutes per day. It took the take the shape of commuting, walking to get groceries, sitting outside to catch golden hour, exercising, going for a casual post-lunch stroll. There were many more ways I checked the box, and beyond that the options to get outside are endless. However, the key is that it can be as casual or as intense as you want it to be. All that matters is getting outside. And why I find that important is because of the amount of time I typically spends indoors (e.g., wfh, sleep, Netflix and chill, working in an office, etc.) and how it makes me feel cooped up. Getting outside is a nice release and some fresh air (and sunlight if I am lucky to catch a nice day) does wonders to my mind, body, and soul.

  • Workout: Exercise is the ultimate release for me, and I like to rotate between running, tennis, and weight lifting. There are other exercises I enjoy — hiking, swimming, hooping, boxing, jump rope — but partake in much less often. The science is endless on why exercise is incredibly beneficial to our health. I recommend Peter Attia’s book Outlive (link — no, I don’t get paid for this lol) for some insightful metrics on exercise and its effects on healthspan. Aside from all the health benefits, I also find working out or playing sports very fun. (maybe you can equate having fun to better mental health, which I guess would tie everything back to some form of health)

  • Reading: It feels like reading a book is a lost art (hobby) nowadays. However, nostalgia is not the driver for reading. It is an aim for me to learn something new each day. With the inundation of short form content, less of what I take in has depth. Depth is good. So I find reading — whether that be a book, magazine, online news article, or novel — to be the antidote to a lack of depth. In many cases it allows me to go beyond a surface level of understanding and properly absorb content (i.e., not jumping from one TiK Tok / Reel / Short every 30 seconds). Now do not get it twisted, I still consume plenty of short form content. So I am not some role model who does not touch social media, but I can say without hesitation that I always feel better after consuming long form content than short form content.

  • Writing: I am very inconsistent with this habit, but writing — whether that be field notes, a gratitude journal, an ideas journal, a blog, taking notes, a letter — is the perfect solution to decluttering my brain and expressing myself. Writing is also the trustworthy companion I can always count on. Whenever I am solo and feel the need to express myself, I can easily grab some pen and paper (or my phone) to jot down whatever is in my head. 

  • Water: Hydration is good. Drink water. I will spare you the endless reasons of why water is so beneficial for our bodies, but I aim for at least 100oz a day — ideally a gallon.

  • No Sweets: Having the biggest sweet tooth definitely does not help. I love sugar. In an imaginary world where there are no side effects to a poor diet, then I would easily be downing a pint of Ben & Jerry’s every single day. Anyways, the science is shocking in terms of how bad added and artificial sugars are. Dr. David Kessler, a pediatrician and former commissioner of the FDA who faced the tobacco industry head on in the 90’s, provides a summary of the negative side effects of sugar and ultraprocessed foods in this 60 minutes piece (link). It should be telling that someone who focused so heavily on combatting tobacco is now raising the alarm on ultraprocessed foods, which often contain great deals of artificial sugars like high fructose corn syrup. As much as my break up from sugar pains my soul, I know it is necessary for my healthspan. I now satisfy my sweet tooth by consuming more natural sugars via fruits and honey…and the occasional ice cream or dessert at a restaurant;) (Ooooo how I could crush some bread pudding right about now, but I digress…)

  • No Money Spent: Spending money is very fun. Getting the receipt or paying my credit card is not. So I aim to spend less than $10 a day. Despite being frugal, this habit is surprisingly the one I find the most difficult to follow. Over the course of a month, I tend to average only ~5-7 days of successfully not spending more than $10. Good ole capitalism and all the temptations that come with it lol. Anyways, this mindset of aiming to save more than you spend can benefit everyone. 

• Sleep — Honestly, while I do find it beneficial to track my sleep, half the reason I monitor it is because of the aesthetic variety and visual balance it brings to my tracker lol. The line graph adds a pop to the page and does a good job complimenting the mundaneness of the Xs and the text. Aside from that pointless reason, sleep is critical to our bodies and is often neglected by most of us. I aim for 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkley, paints a great picture of just how important sleep is in his book Why We Sleep (link — again, not an affiliate link).

• Theme — this is a 1 liner of the overarching objective for the month. With all the distractions in life, the monthly theme reduces the chances of me wandering aimlessly. I find that with anything I want to accomplish, I benefit when there is a clearly defined vision / mission / end destination from the get go.

Themes from My Tracking

• My sleep tends to go to s*** when traveling. No surprises here. However, outside of that my sleep is fairly consistent.

• On average my habits are more inconsistent on the weekends. I believe that is due to me being less routine-based on the weekend since I am partaking in more activities. As a result, I sometimes prioritize those weekend activities over working out, getting outside, reading, and writing.

• As mentioned above, spending less than $10 a day is a challenge. Even if I stay inside for most of the day and I also cook, the temptation of ecommerce is an easy way for me to click away my money.

• Staying consistent with my habits requires discipline. Plain and simple.

• When reviewing my Daily Recap, it was honestly shocking to see just how much I had done over 8 months. I immediately thought of Gates’s Law but at a much smaller scale. He says, “Most people overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in ten years.” In my scenario, I tend to overestimate what I can accomplish in a day or even a week, but over the course of multiple months, it is surprising how much I am able to get done. (not trying to brag, simply stating an observation)

What Does it Look Like?

See the images below for how I structure my habit tracker. Again, you can structure yours however you please. P.S. I blurred out certain details that are confidential or personal.

Conclusion

If you made it to the bottom, I appreciate you reading:) Now I challenge you to take one or two of the things I mentioned and adopt them into your daily practice.

March 2026. The most recent month’s habit tracker. I include this one since it was the closest thing to a blank template I had. I was too lazy to mock up a full template since it requires a lot of ruler work ha.

January 2026

September 2025

July 2025. My first month of habit tracking.

36 for 36: One Shot of Film a Day for 36 Days

The objective: capture a daily shot on my film camera for 36 days. Get better at photography. Get more creative. Get accustomed to snapping pics — no matter the day or situation.

Why 36 days? Because a roll of film has 36 more exposures. [Skip the next paragraph if you don’t care for technicalities.]

Technically speaking, most rolls of film have either 24 or 36 exposures. I gravitate to the 36 exposure rolls of films because I don’t have to reload and develop the film as often . “Exposure” in photography terms means the amount of light that reaches a camera’s light sensor (or frame of film for film photography). To keep it simple think of an exposure as a shot or a photo snapped.

I embarked on this experiment on my pursuit to go from a mediocre, amateur photographer to a slightly less mediocre, amateur photographer. The structure of the experiment was inspired by the idea of a PACT from the book Tiny Experiments by Anne Le Cunff. In a nutshell, Anne’s perspective was to have more of an experimental mindset and to focus less on the rigid goal setting frameworks we are accustomed to and to instead approach the world and life from a lens of curiosity. As it relates to your typical goals, place emphasis on outputs (e.g., “write one new recipe every week until the end of the year”), rather than outcomes (e.g., “publish a cookbook by the end of the year”). I could go in much more detail about this book but that’s not the intent of this blog. It might finally be time for me to join a book club…

Over the course of 36 days, I took far more than 36 photos. Some days resulted in 10-15 photos b/c I was on a roll (pun intended). Anyways, I wanted to share some of what I picked up over this 36 day window.

• Reps: The quotes about practice are endless… “Perfect practice makes perfect”, “10,000 hour rule”, “Practice is the bridge between your abilities and success”, etc. However, regardless of the quote and how you want to frame it, the message is consistent: repetition is necessary to improve at something. So that is just what I did. The increase in the quantity of my shots did not guarantee an increase in the quality of my shots. Instead the increased reps improved my eye’s ability to spot a worthy shot. An added bonus was that the more time I held the camera, the more I tinkered with other settings, which eventually opened my eyes to shooting manually. There’s no way to bypass the work, so get the reps in.

• "I don’t want to carry this thing everywhere”: That thought went through my head often. Most film cameras are from back in the day, so they are not as sleek and slim like a smartphone that slips right into your pocket. They are not discrete so they are either hanging on your neck or in your hand at all times. You become more conscious of having it on you and in turn it forces you to think about what would be a good shot, irrespective of where you are. Another bonus was it became habitual to bring my camera with me more often, whether that be going to the grocery store or a full on event with friends or family — the “epicness” of the setting did not sway me. As the saying goes on social media, “You know I keep that thang on me”, and having the camera on me more consistently helped me miss out less on opportunities to capture a worthy shot.

• Creativity: This one was the biggest positive. It is easy to get a good shot when your setting is vacation, a breathtaking spot in nature, a fun event with friends or family, a place with impeccable lighting, or you’re simply out and about with plenty of subjects. You know what is not so easy? When your creative juices are not flowing or your day has consisted of being completely inside or your lighting is shit. Those factors forced me to think more out of the box and look at things from a different perspective — trying new angles, using the self-timer setting more, capturing subjects I would never otherwise think to, or snapping a pic in settings I wasn’t used to. What that looked like in practice was me putting the camera on the ground and staring down at it from above when taking a pic, using the self-timer mode to get a shot of myself on a solo hike, taking a pic of a random drink, snapping a pic in the pitch black of a full moon, or taking a pic of myself mid-shave… It was a random assortment of ideas but the point is that these situations or scenes I snapped were unconventional when compared to the types of pics I usually captured.

• Consistency > Perfection: When you seek perfection, you either burn out or just never get the practice in. In this scenario, that is waiting for the perfect setting to take a photo. That can result in pictures few and far between. In the long run, you improve in any arena when you are consistent. The quest for perfection is typically a hinderance. So go ahead and snap that shot everyday even if it you don’t have the ideal set up.

I hope reading this sparks some of your curiosity and gets you to either experiment with something new or get back into an activity, skill, hobby that you’ve been neglecting. Go for it!

As for me, I will keep this photography thing going while embarking on another PACT. But in the meantime, expect more A1 shots from me. Disclaimer: beauty is in the eye of beholder;)

P.S. All shots below are over the course of the 36 day period. 1/1/26 - 2/5/26.

Testing self-timer while practicing tennis solo dolo

Snooping around the former Goat Farm

My fiancée :)

Hazy day at Bitsy Grant

4:30am in the lobby of an Istanbul hotel… long day of travels

Backgammon. iykyk

My latest fixation

Framing the shot with the wooden beams

Feeling like Harvey Dent

Scrum-diddly-umptious

Iran forever and always

Horses are majestic

Chase bldg

When the Sun hits

Atlanta “snow day” (those specs are the “snow” lol)

Shout out Thursday Boots

Very random but I was digging this. Like I was saying earlier, beauty is in the eye of the beholder ;)

My (Failed) Travels to Iran in Jan ‘26

I just attempted to travel to Iran in January 2026 as a first generation Persian-American. The timing could not have been worse — intense protests kicked off, there is a full scale internet and cell blackout, and some even claim a revolution is in the works. What transpired resulted in a crazy 72 hours.

The reason for writing this post is threefold:

• Raise awareness about Iran — both culturally and based on current affairs

• Highlight my failed travel experience

• Get my thoughts "on paper”. My mind is racing after the information overload I experienced, so expressing it all would benefit me. And to be quite frank, I am a yapper and have always been very willing to share because I find it therapeutic and I also love connecting with people.

This post is split into three part (shown by the bolded titles) so hopefully there is some semblance of organization to my storytelling…

A. Why Travel to Iran in the Midst of Chaos and Uncertainty?

That was the predominant theme behind all the questions my sister and I received leading up to this trip. And they are very fair.

The week or two prior to this trip, protests had broken out across various cities so people feared our safety was at risk trying to go at a time like this. As a result, I had endless debates — internally in the depths of my own mind and with family — leading up to the trip. Literally up to the last few hours prior to leaving my home in Atlanta. I did not think it was possible to be this stressed prior to a trip… and I have had quite a few stressful lead ups to trip, but none compared to this one.

Anyways, to answer the main question above:

• My employer has granted me an extended sabbatical. So what better time than now to visit Iran? Current events aside, I speak from the perspective of a great deal of flexibility with my time.

• Both my parents are dead. So a large part of my connection to Iran and its culture died with them… Ok I’m being slightly dramatic but a lot of truth lies in that statement. They were my main link to Iran so it is much more difficult now to speak Farsi with someone, hear stories about their time in Iran pre-1979 revolution, learn about cultural norms, eat all the delicious, homemade Persian meals, especially the less mainstream ones not served at the restaurants, etc.

• My last visit was 24 years ago. I last stepped foot on Iranian soil as a 7 year old in the Summer of 2002. So I remember very little.

• There is a bit of soul searching involved. I yearn to go back to my motherland and be reconnected with my roots.

B. What Ensued During the Chaotic 72 Hours of Travel?

So logistically, it was Atlanta to Istanbul to Tehran. Our flight from Istanbul to Tehran took off the night of January 8. At this point things finally felt REAL. Against all the odds, we were going to make it to Iran. My excitement was through the roof — I felt like I was on top of the world. At last, returning to the motherland!

Well we were a mere hour into the flight when the captain says we have to turn around because the Iranian airspace has been shutdown. It took all us passengers by surprise and everyone was up in arms. Questions were being hurled left and right — What is going on?, Why is the airspace shutdown?, What are we going to do because I have to XYZ?, What do protests on the ground have to do with the air?, Was Turkish Airlines not privy to this information prior to our takeoff?, etc.

Once we touched back down in Istanbul — much to our dismay — what took place over the next 24 hours was chaos. It was coordinating with gate agents and customer services representatives, getting rebooked onto alternate Iran flights, those rebooked flights getting canceled as the airspace was still shut down, struggling to be booked into a hotel to squeeze in a quick power nap, getting shuttled back and forth between the Istanbul airport and hotels, certain Iranian’s trying to rally all of us to take a bus for the roughly 24 hour trek from Istanbul to the Iranian border, flying to Van (a small town near the border of Turkey and Iran), checking if Mahan Air had flights, and various other ideas were proposed to somehow get us to Iran. It was madness.

For my sister and I, we faced the grim reality that we were not making it to Iran after all. After multiple rerouted / cancelled flights from Istanbul to Tehran, we realized it truly was not logistically possible. Our travels were cut short and we headed back to the States. That was a tough pill to swallow. However, for a majority of the passengers on our failed flights, they did not have have alternate places to go — Iran is their home. I joined a WhatsApp group chat with a handful of them and as of the time of this writing (morning of January 12 EST), they are all still stranded. And trust me when I tell you that they have exhausted just about every option available.

C. Takeaways: The Good and The Bad of Iran

Until this point, this post has focused on my experience. However, in my eyes it is critical to raise awareness about this amazing country that so often is misrepresented online and in the news. I do not have one cohesive theme here so rather, I have bulleted some key points.

1. The Bad: Internet and Cell Blackout — I realize this fact is not widely shared. However, as of the time of this writing, the government has cut all internet and cellular activity for close to 96 hours. This is highly alarming and is a clear tactic to quell people’s voices and not let the world see what is taking place over there. People are unable to communicate from Iran to the rest of the world. And to my understanding (this is not fact checked), they cannot communicate within the country. Given the hyperconnected world we live in, this idea of no communication is difficult to imagine. However, here are a few scenarios to make it more real. People there seeking freedom from the oppressive regime want to share the injustices being carried out to the rest of the world, but they cannot. People, like myself, are seeking peace of mind that their family members are safe, but we cannot communicate with them. People there are seeking some form of aid, but they cannot reach the outside world.

2. The Bad: The Regime — There is a lot I can say here. Enough for a separate post about the religious dictatorship that is the current regime. When I say “religious dictatorship”, let me be clear that they completely misconstrue Islam and it is not a true representation of the religion. If all my writing up until this point has not already jeopardized my chances of stepping foot back in Iran, then this likely will. The regime is maniacal and oppressive. The one item I want to call out is that traveling there is not black and white unlike most other countries. What do I mean by this? If you travel to another country, as long as you have completed the checklist of items (e.g., passport is updated, you paid a fee or obtain a visa, you filled out an e-form), then in a majority of instances you can enter the country just fine. However, entering Iran for someone like me is a bit tricky. I am a dual citizen. As a male citizen, you must serve in the military. To receive military exemption you previously had to pay a fee but nowadays you send your Iranian passport to the consulate in DC (we unfortunately do not have an embassy) to obtain a military exemption stamp. However, even with me completing the necessary steps, there was still a very real chance of me being held by Iranian Customs. This could occur either at the point of entering Iran OR being called back to the airport or some government office once I was already in Iran traveling around OR the scenario I was told about the most: being held on my way out of the country and not being able to leave. This is what I mean when I say traveling there is not black and white. You never know what can happen.

3. The Good: The Iranian People’s Resilience — Whether it is the Iranians within Iran or the ones outside of Iran, time and time again I have observed an incredible resilience in the people. It is very admirable. I witnessed it as a child with my parents and family. I witnessed it this past weekend in the airport amidst all the unknowns and challenges my fellow passengers faced. I witnessed it from countless stories I have heard over the years. In my opinion, the reason cannot be pinpointed to one single thing. I believe there are a few key factors: A) When you are under the rule of an oppressive regime, you must be scrappy, you must be able to endure, you must find a will to live in order to survive. B) It is a byproduct of A, but the hyperinflation there has made it damn near impossible to survive. You see your life’s work and savings lose all their value. You try to buy basic products and they cost a fortune. “At the time of Iran’s 1979 revolution, the US dollar converted to about 70 Iranian rials. By early 2026, it surged past 1.4 million rials, meaning Iran’s currency has lost roughly 20,000 times its value over four decades.” Source. C) For the Iranians living abroad, I think the immigrant mindset plays a huge part into being resilient. When you lose damn near everything you had as a result of the fleeing the country, you basically have to start from scratch. And a great deal of the Iranians I have met in the US and elsewhere are a well educated bunch who had to resort to whatever means to survive. I witnessed this with my own parents.

4. The Good: The Society and The People — It is critical to separate the people from the government. What I mention here is anecdotal, but I hear countless stories from the limited, non-Iranian tourists who visit Iran about how friendly, warm, and welcoming the locals are. The locals welcome non-Iranians with open arms and my understanding is that many locals feel joy seeing non-Iranians visit their country and experience their culture. Just this morning I saw a touching story of a Japanese man who just visited Iran and was welcomed into people’s homes. I think this story (source) sums up what I am explaining pretty well. The second part of this is the society. It is a shame how much the country has been rundown since its peak pre-revolution. It used to be booming with tourism. It was the premier country in the Middle East. And if we go way further back, the country is so rich in culture, advancements and critical discoveries in science, technology, math, medicine, poetry and much more. I will be honest, I am the furthest thing from a historian so I am not very knowledgeable in this area, but I do know there is a lot of great things Persian society has contributed to the broader global society.

Hopefully this helps you gain a new perspective on Iran. Thank you for reading:) Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like to chat further.

P.S. If you hear the word “Persian”, often times people are using it synonymously for “Iranian”. I am guilty of this. However, if we are being technical, there is a distinction. Iranian is a nationality but Persian is an ethnicity.

Us in Hartsfield filled with joy and excitement, for what we thought would be a successful trip to Iran…