Jack Boling

Filipino

Filipino Lechon Kawali — The Upgraded Version

Filipino Lechon Kawali — The Upgraded Version Lechon kawali is crispy pork belly. That's the whole point. If the skin isn't crackling when you tap it with a spoon, you've failed somewhere in the process. This version keeps the traditional technique and adds the science

Filipino

Filipino Chicken Adobo — The Upgraded Version

Filipino Chicken Adobo — The Upgraded Version Adobo is the dish that defines Filipino cooking — vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and a long simmer that turns tough cuts tender. This version keeps the no-rinse philosophy (seriously, don't rinse the chicken) and adds the intelligence that makes the difference

Thai

Thai Khao Soi — The Upgraded Version

Thai Khao Soi — The Upgraded Version Khao soi is the Northern Thai dish that everyone should know about. The contrast of soft egg noodles in creamy curry broth and crispy fried noodles on top — that's the hook. This version keeps the Chiang Mai foundation and adds the intelligence

Thai

Thai Mango Sticky Rice — The Upgraded Version

Thai Mango Sticky Rice — The Upgraded Version The dessert that starts arguments. The coconut-to-rice ratio, the ripeness of the mango, the salt-in-the-cream debate — everyone has an opinion. This version settles the debate with technique. The sticky rice is chewy on the outside, tender inside. The coconut cream actually tastes like

Thai

Thai Green Curry — The Upgraded Version

Vietnamese

Vietnamese Beef Pho — The Upgraded Version

Vietnamese Beef Pho — The Upgraded Version The broth is everything. This version adds the troubleshooting, the science, the substitutions, and the weeknight hack that most pho recipes skip entirely. Same traditional base. More intelligence. Broth (Upgraded) * 5 lbs beef bones (marrow and knuckle — Central Market butcher counter, ask for "

Thai

Pad Thai — The Upgraded Version

Pad Thai — The Upgraded Version The dish that made Thai food famous in America. The version below is the same foundation — tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar, high-heat wok — but with the intelligence layer that most pad Thai recipes are missing. The troubleshooting. The science. The weeknight hack. The creative twist.

Thai

Thai Khao Soi — The Northern Curry With Two Kinds of Noodles

Thai Khao Soi — The Northern Curry Noodle Soup With Two Textures Khao soi is what happens when Burmese and Thai cooking shake hands. It's a coconut curry noodle soup from Northern Thailand — Chiang Mai specifically — and it has two kinds of noodles in one bowl: soft egg noodles

Lao

Lao Larb Mo — The Herb Salad That Changes How You Think About Meat

Lao Larb Mo (Minced Pork Larb) — The Herb Salad That Changes How You Think About Meat Larb isn't just a minced meat dish. It's an herb salad with meat in it. That's the secret most recipes miss. The herbs aren't garnish — they&

Lao

Lao Tom Yum — The Soup That Reminds You Why You Started Cooking

Lao Tom Yum — The Soup That Reminds You Why You Started Cooking Most tom yum you get at Thai restaurants in Texas is a pale imitation. It's timid. The broth is sweetened instead of sharpened, the herbs go in at the wrong time, the lime juice is added

Filipino

Filipino Lechon Kawali — Crispy Pork Belly That Cracks

Filipino Lechon Kawali — Crispy Pork Belly That Cracks When You Hit It I've had lechon at fiestas, at restaurants, at family parties. The best version has a skin so crisp it cracks like glass when you tap it. This is how you get there at home. What You

Thai

Pad Thai — The Street Food Classic Done Right

Pad Thai — The Street Food Classic Done Right Pad Thai is the dish that made Thai food famous in America, and honestly? Most of what gets served here is a polite imitation. Real pad Thai isn't just rice noodles tossed with sauce — it's the interplay of

Thai

Thai Mango Sticky Rice — The Summer Dessert That Starts Arguments

Thai Mango Sticky Rice — The Summer Dessert That Starts Arguments Everyone has an opinion on mango sticky rice. The coconut ratio, the ripeness of the mango, whether to add a pinch of salt or not — people will argue about this dish more than anything else on a Thai menu. After

About

Welcome to the Kitchen

I've spent the last two years cooking through every Southeast Asian restaurant within 20 miles of Plano. Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, Indonesian, Malaysian — I've ordered the same dish at 10 different places, taken notes, gone home, tried to recreate it, and then gone back to compare. What

Malaysian Laksa — The Coconut Curry That Changes Everything

Malaysian Laksa — The Coconut Curry Noodle Soup That Changes Everything Laksa is the reason I started cooking SE Asian food seriously. One spoonful and you realize: this is what food is supposed to taste like. A creamy coconut broth, the sharp heat of sambal, the chew of rice noodles, and

Indonesian Nasi Goreng — The One-Pan Wok Masterpiece

Indonesian Nasi Goreng — The One-Pan Wok Masterpiece I've delivered enough nasi goreng around Plano to know the difference between the real thing and the sad imitation. Real nasi goreng has a char, a crust, a depth of umami that comes from kecap manis and relentless high heat in

Vietnamese Beef Pho (Pho Bo)

Vietnamese Beef Pho (Pho Bo) The broth is everything. Everything else is just supporting cast. If your broth tastes like water, your pho tastes like water. Spend the time here — 8 hours minimum, preferably overnight in the fridge to let the flavors deepen. What You Need (Broth) * 5 lbs beef

Filipino Chicken Adobo

Filipino Chicken Adobo Adobo isn't a dish — it's a philosophy. Soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns. That's the whole thing. No fancy tricks. The magic is in the slow simmer and the patience. What You Need * 2 lbs chicken thighs and drumsticks (bone-in,

Thai Green Curry with Chicken (Gaeng Keow Wan)

Thai Green Curry with Chicken (Gaeng Keow Wan) This is the curry that started it all for me. Creamy, spicy, aromatic — green curry is the gateway to Thai cooking. Don't be intimidated by the ingredient list. Once you've made this once, you'll make it

Anthropic Suspends Fable 5 and Mythos 5: What You Need to Know

Anthropic Suspends Fable 5 and Mythos 5: What You Need to Know Anthropic Suspends Fable 5 and Mythos 5: What You Need to Know June 12, 2026 — Breaking AI Policy News The Directive The U.S. government, citing national security authorities, has issued an export control directive requiring Anthropic to

SpaceX IPO: Why You Should Wait for the Correction

SpaceX IPO: Why You Should Wait for the Correction SpaceX is reportedly exploring an IPO, but history suggests the best entry won’t be on day one. Here’s why waiting for a post‑IPO correction could be smarter. Key Points * Early IPO pops are common in hype cycles * Institutional

Lao-Style Pickled Som Tam with Padaek (1‑Quart Jar)

Lao-Style Pickled Som Tam with Padaek A fermented, spicy‑sour green papaya salad that keeps 2–3 months. Crunchy, funky, and deeply satisfying. Recipe generated with AI — now ready to test in a quart jar. Ingredients | ສິ່ງທີ່ຕ້ອງການ * 2 cups shredded green papaya (packed) — 2 ຊ້ວງ ປາປາຢາຂຽວ

Daily walk at Big Lake Park Plano TX

The afternoon sun was doing that soft, golden thing it does at 3:09 PM, and I decided to just… walk. No agenda, no music, just the path and the breeze. Big Lake Park in Plano unfolded exactly the way it should: water stretching quiet, stone walls holding the shoreline

Lunch June 11 2026

Walking path — June 11 Food Logging Before the walk I had lunch: * Baked Jalapeño Mac & Cheese + flour tortilla wrap with turkey, Mayo, red onion, green onion, cheese (~350 kcal) * Signature Seelect Chewy Granola Bar - Chocolate Chip (~200 kcal) Total logged: ~550 kcal before the walk. Metrics Sent a

skateboarding

Skate Day — Oak Point Park & Red Tail Pavilion

Skate Day — Oak Point Park & Red Tail Pavilion June 9, 2026 — Plano, TX · Meepo Mini 5 — 500W Dual Hub Motors The full day in GPS: morning errand run, two skate sessions, three drives — 10.17 miles tracked The Meepo Electric longboard. Hub-driven. Meepo Mini 5 — dual 500W in-hub motors.