Always Be My Maybe: Homemade Pocky + A #FoodNFlix Invitation

This month, January 2020, I am hosting Food'N'Flix, the movie-watching, food-making group rallied by Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen. So for the first month of the new year, I chose Always Be My Maybe.

The movie is available on Netflix only, I believe. So, I hope everyone can access it. Or crash a friend's house who has Netflix over the next few weeks. The movie's worth it!

Just to whet your appetite, this is the story of childhood sweethearts who haven't spoken in over fifteen years. The woman is now a renowned chef and has returned home - to San Francisco -  to open a new restaurant. Her "LA restaurant is non-denominational, modern Vietnamese fusion." You hear her on the phone explaining, "The San Francisco one is gonna be a step up from that. It's trans-denominational. Yes! Yes! Transgressive, transforming, transcendent."

Always Be My Maybe is a sweet, laugh out-loud romantic gambol that's co-written by Ali Wong, a slightly raunchy Vietnamese-Chinese-American comic, and Randall Park, an actor born to Korean immigrants. I only mention their Asian ancestry because seeing a mainstream movie with a cast of completely Asian heritage is rare and revolutionary. Crazy Rich Asians is one of the only other ones that comes to mind.

Wong plays celebrity chef Sasha Tran and Park plays Marcus Kim, who works and lives with his dad and raps in a going-nowhere band called Hello Peril. Sasha and Marcus haven't spoken since high school after they lost their virginity together in the backseat of his Toyota that smelled like parmesan. But now she's back and, as his dad says, "I always thought you'd end up together."

The age-old Hollywood question: Can friends fall in love without ruining a friendship? Remember When Harry Met Sally? There are, of course, complications. Sasha has severed her engagement with restaurateur Brandon Choi (played by Daniel Dae Kim) after he cheats on her with Padma Lakshmi; Marcus has a dreadlocked girlfriend Jenny - "How does an Asian person even cultivate dreadlocks on their head?" I don't know, but a crocheting tool is involved; and, oh, yes, they still resent each other. One last impediment to true love comes in the form of Keanu Reeves who plays himself in a way that shows he has a delicious sense of humor.

These movies only work when the view is rooting for the characters. And, in this case, you are. At least I was. I hope you'll join me in watching Always Be My Maybe and are inspired into the kitchen. As Sasha is a chef, there's a lot of food to be seen and replicated.

How to Participate

I hope you'll join the fun. Watch the movie, then post about it on your blog with a link back to this post and to Food'N'Flix. Use of the logo is optional.

Your post must be current (during month of film). And of course we don't mind if your post is linked to other events...the more the merrier. Have fun with it!

Email your entries to me at: constantmotioncamilla [at] gmail [dot] com and include...

• Your name
• Your blog's name and URL
• The name of your dish and the permalink to the specific post you're submitting
• Attach a photo of any size (or just give me permission to "pull" one from your post)
• Indicate "Food 'n Flix Submission" in the subject line
• Deadline for submission: January 29th. I will have the round-up posted by the 31st.

Homemade Pocky

I have seen this movie more than a handful of times, but it wasn't until a recent viewing that I noticed young Marcus holding a box of pocky in his hand while he and Sasha are on the cable car. I've always wanted to make that. So, this was the perfect opportunity.

After watching an inspiring fifteen minute video by cookie artiste Susan Spungen, last month, I found the article: 12 Stunning Cookies that will Impress Everyone You Know that featured Spungen's recipes and more gorgeous photos of her creations. I slightly adapted her pocky recipe...

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 ¼ C flour, plus more for dusting
• 3 T organic granulated sugar
• ½ t baking powder
• ¼ C cold butter, cubed
• 3 T whole milk
• ¼ t pure vanilla paste or extract

Finishing

• 1 C semisweet chocolate, chips or chunks
• matcha powder for garnish
• sea salt for garnish
• sprinkles for garnish

Procedure

Dough
Add flour, sugar, and baking powder to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until small crumbs form. Mix the milk and vanilla, then stream into flour mixture while machine is running. Pulse until dough is fairly smooth.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball.  Divide the dough into quarters, wrap in plastic, and press into a disc. Chill until firm, but at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the dough into ¼" columns, then using your hands, gently roll each strip into a cylinder that's 5" long.

Transfer cylinders to a parchment paper or silicone mat-lined baking sheet. Keep them as straight as you can. Freeze until firm, approximately 10 minutes.

Bake until golden on edges and bottom, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Finishing
Melt 1/2 C chocolate in a metal mixing bowl fitted over a small saucepan with 1" of simmering water. Stir until smooth, then add in the other 1/2 C and stir till melted. This tempers the chocolate and will keep it shiny.

Holding a cookie stick over the melted chocolate, use a small spoon to pour the chocolate over two-thirds of the stick. Turn the cookie to coat it on all sides. Let the excess drip and scrape against the rim of the bowl. Place chocolate-coated cookie on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle with garnishes as desired. I used matcha powder, flake salt, and sugar sprinkles. Refrigerate until coating hardens.