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They see me rollin': Ice cream tacos are the hot way to stay cool in SoCal
Think of them as Choco Tacos re-imagined.
Sweet Cup in Garden Grove is one of the newest ice cream and boba joints in SoCal. The shop opened its doors just two months ago. Since then, it's been rare to find a down moment.
Owner Kenny Tran gave the grand tour to Take Two's Lori Galarreta and Austin Cross.
How did this idea come about?
Kenny Tran: We sat down one day and we thought about something new and creative for rolled ice cream and that would be ice cream tacos. I make up my own recipe. It's just in my head that it has to look a certain way and it's going to taste a certain way.
You look like a really young dude. How old are you?
Kenny Tran: I'm 29, actually.
How did you come to have Sweet Cup?
Kenny Tran: I've been working in boba shops and tea lounges for a while. That's where I got my experience mixing flavors. Before even doing a product it's just in my head that it's going to be this way, this is how the execution is going to be, this is how I'm going to decorate it.
I know you've only been in business for a month now, but given the success that you've had, any plans to expand?
Kenny Tran: Yeah. We're actually looking for more locations and then we have people around the world asking to franchise Sweet Cup — so as of now we're actually working on it.
Press the blue play button above to take the audio tour and to learn more about how Sweet Cup came about.
Think you know Spam? Not like it's being cooked at the OC Fair
The OC Fair is known for culinary adventure. Think deep-fried butter, cinnamon roll sundaes, Krispy Kreme hamburgers and, new this year, a Unicorn Leg.
By comparison, Spam almost seems ho-hum.
But leave it to the OC Fair to mix things up.
This Saturday is the Spam cooking contest, and chefs near and far are challenged to come up with interesting new ways to prepare the infamous canned meat.
Peggy Linberg won last year's contest with her coconut curry recipe, Sir Can-A-Lot.
"I'm kind of known as the Spam queen in my neighborhood," she says.
Linberg knows all about its reputation among some people, though.
"It makes that weird noise when you pull it out of the can. You know, pluoup!" she jokes. And its color and texture aren't all that appealing at first glance, either.
Cook it right, however, and it can be amazing.
"In many of my contests I will shred it and fry it up, because then it looks like bacon. There's just so many different ways that you can use it," says Linberg. "It just got a bad rap!"
Some great L.A. chefs are fond of serving Spam, too.
Sugarbloom Bakery's Sharon Wang bakes up a delicious kimchi Spam musubi croissant, and Roy Choi has a kimchi Spam rice bowl on the menu at Chego.
"It shows the versatility of Spam," she says. "You can slice it and put it in a macaroni salad, or you can take it high-end and let Roy Choi do his thing."
Sir Can-A-Lot Coconut Curry, By Peggy Linberg
- 1 can Jalapeno Spam
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 peppers from a small bag of multicolored peppers (red, orange and yellow)
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1-1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
- 2-1/2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 lime, zest and the juice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 cans coconut milk (13.5 oz.)
- Cooked rice
- Cilantro for garnish
- Remove the Spam from the can and divide 2/3 and 1/3. Slice the 2/3 portion into strips and then cut in half. Put 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a nonstick pan and lightly brown the Spam. Remove and put on a paper towel. Shred the other 1/3 on the coarse side of a grater and put in the same pan. Fry on medium heat till the pieces are crispy. Put them on a paper towel.
- Add the other 1 tablespoon coconut oil to the same pan and add the diced onion. Saute over medium heat till soft. While it is cooking, seed and destem the 3 peppers and dice. Add them to the onions. Add the curry paste, garlic, and ginger. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the brown sugar, zest and juice from the lime, and 1-1/2 cans of coconut milk and the fish sauce. Add the sliced Spam and heat.
- Cook rice as usual except add the 1/2 can of coconut milk to the liquids.
- To serve, put the rice in a small mold and place in the center of a bowl. Ladle the hot curry around it and sprinkle on the shredded Spam and garnish with cilantro.
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CSU system drops remedial classes, placement tests
It's official - no more non-credit remedial courses at Cal State schools.
Over 25,000 freshmen take the courses each year, which are designed to help students who do poorly on placement tests in math and English. But the university system is dropping those placement tests, too.
Cal State administrators became convinced the remedial classes might be doing students more harm than good. Many students ended up dropping out after realizing they'd been taking classes that weren't getting them any closer to graduation.
Instead of giving placement exams, schools will look at things like SAT scores and high school grades to figure out how to place incoming students in classes.
The new plan will go into effect for the 2018 academic year.