Unda Quesadillas and Big Buddhas

I love those rare Sundays when the sun is shining and you realize as you slowly roll out of bed, that there is nothing you have to do; no bills or work projects, or errands that just have to be taken care of. Today was one of those glorious days, so I decided to take full advantage of it. This meant making myself a delicious unda-style quesadilla and exploring the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

First order of business: have as lazy a morning as possible. After dozing for a while, I finally decided to rise from bed at about noon. This was followed by not getting out of my pj's and surfing the Internet for an appropriate amount of time. My lazy morning could have gone on longer, but the weather was too perfect. How can one sit still with a day like this?

The promenade along the harbor which is, conveniently, behind my apartment building

Second order of business: Make myself lunch. I had wanted to make an unda-style quesadilla for a while since I read about it in my favorite food blog http://www.101cookbooks.com/. Unda essentially means egg in Hindi, and a very common dish in Indian food is roti (flat bread) cooked with a scrambled egg so an unda-style quesadilla is a quesadilla made from a tortilla which is pressed into scrambled eggs which has almost set. Basically it's an omelet stuck to a tortilla and then filled with all kinds of yummy goodness.

The great thing about the egg is that it makes it much more substantial than your traditional quesadilla, and also means that you can use less cheese. I, the cheese-a-holic, cannot believe I'm saying this, but most quesadillas have too much cheese in them. A good quesadilla should not be a gooey, greasy mess, but rather a balance of crunchy textures and fresh flavors from the vegetables, crispy starchiness from the tortilla and tangy chewiness from the cheese. Add the rich sweet flavor and fluffy texture of egg and you have a wonderful, satisfying lunch. I topped the quesadilla with guacamole and was a very happy camper for the rest of the afternoon.

Recipe:

Unda-style Quesadilla

makes one large quesadilla

3 tsp canola oil

1/4 medium white onion, finely julienned

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup cabbage julienned or shaved

2 eggs

1 tbsp milk

1 large corn tortilla

2 tbsp aged cheddar cheese grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Guacamole (recipe in next post)

Heat half of the oil in a medium-sized, non-stick skillet over medium heat. When the oil begins to shimmer slightly in the pan, add the onions and saute for a few minutes until the onions start giving off moisture and begin to turn translucent. Add the garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper and saute for another few minutes until the onions are cooked but not caramelized. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whip the eggs, milk and salt and pepper together until the eggs and milk evenly combine.

Once the onions are garlic are cooked, turn off the heat and add the cabbage. Stir the cabbage together with the onion and garlic mixture for about a minute and transfer to a bowl or plate. Set aside. You don't want to over cook the cabbage, just lose the slightly bitter flavor to raw cabbage, and the residual heat from the pan should do the trick.

If you are using the same pan, wipe it out with a paper towel and add a bit more oil. Turn the heat down to medium low, and once the oil is heated, add the egg mixture. Swirl the egg around the pan so that the bottom is evenly coated, as you would for an omelet. Let the eggs cook for about 2 minutes until the underside is starting to set but not brown and the top of the egg is still a bit runny. Take the tortilla and gently press it into the eggs. Let cook for another minute until the egg has set onto the tortilla. Flip the whole thing so that the tortilla is touching the pan and the egg is on top. Turn the heat up to medium-high so the tortilla starts to crisp up and brown a bit.

While the tortilla is browning, sprinkle to vegetables and cheese onto one half of the unda-tortilla. Fold the stuffed tortilla in half and press down a bit with your spatula. Cook for another 1-2 minutes flipping once, until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately, preferably with guacamole or other tasty sauce.

Just look at all of those yummy veggies falling out of that quesadilla!

Third order of business: Go exploring! After my tummy was happily filled with tasty food, I decided that it was high time I went to the monastery to see what all of the fuss is about. If you read most travel guides of Hong Kong, the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas is usually on their list of best places to visit. The temple/monastery was built in the 1950's and no, it does not contain 10,000 Buddha statues, it contains almost 13,000.

The site was built on a hill in the New Territories, to the north of Hong Kong proper. This affords a beautiful view of the landscape that makes up this most-dynamic of cities.

I was profoundly moved by this place. Although it was in the middle of Hong Kong suburbia, it radiated a sense of peace. The smell of sandalwood incense mixed with fresh pine evoked countless memories from my childhood summers spent in the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico. I was moved by the individuals who came to offer gifts to the memorials of their ancestors which populate the inner spaces of the temple complex. I intend to return often to offer what little resources and reverence I can.