Jen's Concoctions: A log of delicious culinary experiments...

Lemon Bars

2012-01-29T09:20:00.001+01:00

I really like lemon bars. They are so refreshing and are not heavy at all! (at least not to me). The shortbread-like crust with the moist top layer is such a perfect combination.
I can't bet enough lemon bars, but sadly, its quite hard to find! When have you seen lemon bars sold at a bakery?

I guess I am stuck making them myself!
It just so happened that I had 1.75 lemons leftover in my house from when I was sick with a cold last week and was living off of hot lemon water. This is the perfect way to use up the extra lemons!

For my lemon bars, I made a small batch (I used a small non-standard baking dish, that is roughly the dimensions of 5"x4") because I am the only one in the house that eats lemon bars! If you plan on having at least 2 people eat lemon bars, then you should probably double the recipe and use an 8x11 baking pan.

I prefer my lemon bars extra "lemony", so I used a lot of juice and a lot of zest.
Here were my proportions:

1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
~3/4 cups white sugar (I used a big, heaping, 3/4cup (not a flat 3/4cup) to offset all the lemon juice! :))
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1.75 lemons, juiced (or use 2 small lemons).
(Did you know: You can get more juice out of your lemon by microwaving it for 30 seconds, then pressing + rolling the lemon on the countertop using the palm of your hand.))
Zest of 1 lemon
(Please do this properly and use a zester or microplane to zest the lemon. It pains me to see zesting go wrong)
Powdered sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, blend together softened butter, 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar. Press firmly into your baking pan.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. I like my crust extra crispy!
In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cups sugar and 1/8 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs, zest, and lemon juice.
Pour the mixture over the baked crust.
Bake for an additional 30 minutes in the preheated oven.
Let the lemon bars cool, and it will firm up. Cut the lemon bars when its completely cooled and sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

Kale chips

2012-01-18T06:27:00.000+01:00

Enjoy winter veggies while they are still in season!
Like Kale!
I found some beautiful bunches of kale at thes store for only 99 cents per bunch! (Another thing I found, is that my piggies absolutely love kale.)

I used to be pretty intimidated by kale because it is such a bitter and coarse vegetable.
I have made kale chips in the past, but it came out way too fibrous, and the mistake that I made, was that I did not remove the stem prior to baking the kale.

This time, I tried kale chips again, and I thought it came out quite delicious. It tastes crunchy and nutty.
The only problem was, that I salted it too much.

I recommend only lightly salting the kale, and if you need more salt, you can add it later. You can always add more salt but its really hard to take away the salt! -_-#

Wash your kale, and shake it as dry as you can (or use a salad spinner). Remove the leaves from the hard stem and break the leaves into smaller leafy pieces. Lay the kale in a single layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle with olive oil and salt.
Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
Voila!
Enjoy as a snack or as a side/appetizer. =)

Chinese Steam Salted Chicken with ginger scallion dip

2012-01-14T23:19:00.002+01:00

I'm not sure what the official name of this dish is, maybe I've seen it referred to as "steamed chicken" or "salted chicken" in Chinese restaurants.

You've most likely had it. It's just a simple steamed chicken that is salted prior to cooking, chopped into chunks before serving, and served with a ginger-scallion-oil dipping sauce (the Cantonese seems to love these types of oil based of dipping sauces)
I don't think people realize how simple this dish is!
I've seen this dish served as an appetizer at Chinese banquet weddings, and on a recent visit to the Chinese restaurant, Jeff was tempted to order the dish at $12 per plate (which is half a chicken. Whole chicken costs double)! I suggested that we order something else, and I will make the dish when we get home.

I think $12 for half of a chicken at the restaurant is such a rip off.
You can buy a whole chicken at the store for less than half that price, and there is almost no prep work that goes into making the dish.
You can find chicken at the store for about 99 cents a pound (a whole chicken is around 4 pounds).
You can also use other portions of a chicken if you don't want to use a entire chicken, such as bone-in skin-on chicken breasts, or chicken legs.

1. The prep work:
Rub a thin layer of salt under and over the skin of the chicken, and discard the giblets.
Place a few ginger and green onion slices under the skin of the chicken.

2. Cook the chicken:
Set the chicken in the steamer and when the water boils, steam your whole chicken for about 40-45 minutes.
Use less time if you are only cooking a few pieces of chicken.
When you pierce the chicken meat, the juices should run clear when it's done.

3. Take the chicken out of the steamer and let it cool down for 15 minutes, so its cool enough to handle.

4. Optional step: make the dipping sauce:
Using a hand grater/microplane, grate some ginger into a heat-resistant bowl. Then add in thinly sliced scallions (about half/half). Then pour about half a teaspoon of salt on top of the ginger and scallions. In a pan, heat up some oil then pour the oil on top of your ginger scallion salt pile -- you should hear a sizzling sound.
And there you have it, a very typical Cantonese dipping sauce.

5. When the chicken is cool enough to touch, chop the chicken into pieces. At Chinese restaurants, they like to use the big heavy cleaver to cut through the bone. I don't agree with this method -- not only is it dangerously unnecessary (I like to keep my fingers, thanks), but chicken bones turns into sharp shards easily. No, I don't like to eat bone shards.
I simply cut the meat off the bones (similar to carving a turkey), into large chunks, then slice up the meat.

6. Plate up the meat, and serve with the dipping sauce.
Serve with steam rice.
(Note: you could also use the leftover steamer water to cook your rice, because it has the flavor of the chicken and salt in the water).

I like to eat the leftover chicken cold (rather than reheating it). This dish feeds me for several days.

Baked goods for the holidays - Russian tea cakes and good ol chocolate chip cookies

2012-01-03T02:09:00.001+01:00

For the holidays, I baked up 2 types of cookies for everyone to enjoy.
Of course, this was just really an excuse to show off my new cake stand.

Around 2 weeks ago, Jeff was telling me how he really enjoyed eating these "round" and "white" cookies. I really had no idea what he was talking about.
Apparently, these cookies tastes "good" and only appear around the holidays.
It really did not ring a bell.

After a few minutes of Googling, Jeff found that these cookies have a bunch of different names, such as "Russian Tea Cakes", "Pecan Butterballs", "Mexican wedding cakes","Snowballs" and "Pecan Sandies".
I have heard of the last name, but none of the other names that the Google search yielded.
(I'm starting to think that no one really knows the name, so people are just making names up. Lol. And, btw, Mexicans do not eat these at weddings. )

After pulling up a promising looking recipe (you can usually tell if a recipe looks pretty good based on the ingredients and the proportions), I decided to make my own attempt at making Russian Tea Cakes. (recipe at the bottom of the post).

Russian Tea Cakes waiting to go in the oven

The recipe was pretty straight forward and easy, and the result was very buttery, flaky, and shortbread-y.
I really liked it.
The only problem was that I finely chopped the pecans by running it in the blender for a couple of seconds, and that gave me pecan powder rather than chopped pecans. So next time I make Russian tea cakes, I am chopping them by hand!
I also wish that the powdered sugar (that you sprinkle on after the cookies are done baking) did a better job sticking on. I love powdered sugar....
After eating the cookie, it confirmed that, NOPE, I never seen or eaten these cookies before.
I have asked a few others about this cookie and there was a mix of answers (some have had the cookie in the past, and some did not know of its existence).

I also made chocolate chip cookies because chocolate chip cookies are my favorite cookie of all time!
You can't go wrong! And I have not met one person who dislikes chocolate chip cookies.

I actually halved the recipe....

The chocolate chip cookie recipe was also very simple and is your typical choc chip cookie recipe.
My only problem with choc chip cookies is that the cookies spread out during baking and never come out uniform!
I don't know how people can make perfectly shaped cookies every time!! If you know the secret, please share! (your secret will be safe with me).

RUSSIAN TEA CAKES

Ingredients:

	16	Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
	½	cup confectioners’ sugar, plus about 1¼ cups for coating the cookies
	2	tsp. pure vanilla extract
	¼	tsp. salt
	2¼	cups all-purpose flour
	¾	cup finely chopped pecans

Instructions:

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until creamy. Add ½ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and salt. With the beaters on low speed, mix in the flour just until incorporated. Mix in the pecans.
Using your hands, gather the dough into a ball inside the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. (The dough becomes very firm when refrigerated for a longer time, but it will soften after about 1 hour at room temperature.)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 1 or 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Pinch off small clumps of dough and roll into 1-inch balls, arranging them about 1½ inches apart on the prepared sheet(s). Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are lightly golden on the bottom and just barely beginning to color on top. (If using 2 cookie sheets, rotate them from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through baking.) Let the cookies cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes.
Place the remaining 1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl. While the cookies are still warm, roll them in the sugar to coat. (Be gentle, because the cookies are fragile.) Set them on a rack to cool. Just before serving or storing, recoat the cookies with sugar.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES:

Ingredients:
    2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon salt
    1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
    3/4 cup granulated sugar
    3/4 cup packed brown sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2 large eggs
    2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375° F.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gradually beat in flour mixture.
6. Stir in chocolate chips.
(Optional) Place the dough in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. (To me, this seems to help keep the dough from being runny, the next step easier).
Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Christmas Dinner: prime rib, mushroom risotto, and stuffed mushrooms

2011-12-31T08:54:00.001+01:00

For Christmas this year, we spent it in Los Angeles (horray! no painful east coast weather for me!), so we had our cousin and her family over for dinner.

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous prior to the dinner because I was afraid that:
1) The food will come out horrible and they will never want to eat anything I cook ever again.
2) I would not be a very good person to work with in the kitchen (I usually work solo in the kitchen, so I have no idea how to share a kitchen with someone).

To avoid #1, I looked for recipes on the internet and printed them out and followed them step-by-step (SO not my style!) to ensure nothing went wrong.... and if it did, I could blame the recipe (teehee).
For #2, I was not sure how to be a good team player! But it seemed like everything worked out just fine anyways so I had nothing to worry about.

I was very happy with the recipes for the prime rib, risotto and the stuffed mushrooms, so I'm sharing the recipe here.
We also enjoyed a vegetable side dish consisting of roasted asparagus and Italian squash (olive oil, salt, pepper, into the oven at 450 degrees for 20 minutes), which I really liked. For drinks, I served some hot pear cider (from trader joes!) and spiced it with some cinnamon sticks, star anise, and orange slices.
Sadly, I did not get a picture of the meal on my camera, since I dove right into the food.

For the prime rib recipe, I think the only thing I would change is to mince the garlic into even smaller pieces, and double the garlic-oil mixture.

For the mushroom risotto recipe, I actually did not follow all the directions. I left out the truffle oil (what am I, rich?) and the chives. I doubled the mascarpone cheese, and quadrupled the parmigiano cheese (no such thing as too much cheese!). Also, there was way too many mushrooms -- we ended up using about 3/4 of the 2 pounds of mushrooms this recipe called for.

For the stuffed mushrooms, I would probably use a little less cream cheese next time, but that's about it.

Garlic Prime Rib
Ingredients:
    1 (10 pound) prime rib roast
    10 cloves garlic, minced
    2 tablespoons olive oil
    2 teaspoons salt
    2 teaspoons ground black pepper
    2 teaspoons dried thyme

Directions:
Place the roast in a roasting pan with the fatty side up.
In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme.
Spread the mixture over the fatty layer of the roast, and let the roast sit out until it is at room temperature, no longer than 1 hour.
Set the roast on a roasting rack, over a drip pan.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
Bake the roast for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F and continue roasting for an additional 60 to 75 minutes.
The internal temperature of the roast should be at 145 degrees F for medium rare.
Allow the roast to rest for 10 or 15 minutes before carving so the meat can retain its juices.

Mushroom Risotto:
Ingredients:
10 cups Chicken Stock
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Diced shallots
3 cups Arborio rice
1.5 cups White wine
1 pound Shitake mushrooms sliced
1 pound Oyster mushrooms sliced
¼ cups Mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoons Parmigiano cheese
1 tablespoon White truffle Oil
3 tablespoons Chopped Chives
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Bring chicken stock to a boil.
In a 6 quart sauce pan add in olive oil.
Next add diced shallots and let them cook for a minute or until they turn translucent.
Add in the rice and make sure to stir so that all the rice kernels are coated with oil. Make sure rice kernels are warm before adding in the wine.
After the wine has been added reduce the liquid by 60 %, now the hot chicken stock can be added too. Just cover the rice with liquid and when the rice is beginning to stick to the bottom it is time to add in more liquid.
On the last stage of adding in the stock add in the mushrooms too.
Finish cooking for about 5-8 minutes.
When the risotto is Al dente, turn off the heat and finish with the mascarpone and parmigiano cheese, this is when you really want to stir the risotto feverishly, finally add in the truffle oil and chives.

Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients:
    24 whole fresh mushrooms
    1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    1 tablespoon minced garlic
    1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
    1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
    1/4 teaspoon onion powder
    1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel.
Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.
When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick.
Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

10 types of foodies? Now I have an idea what the heck a "foodie" is.

2011-12-27T22:33:00.000+01:00

I was never entirely sure what a "foodie" was, and never wanted to call myself (or anyone) that. In fact, I think some people actually get offended if you call them a "foodie".

If I were to describe myself, I would simply say "I really like food", or "I cook a lot", or "I really like eating", and leave it at that.

This latest post from Huffington Post finally help shed a little light on what the heck a "foodie" is.
Apparently, there are 10 types of them:

Made It Myself!
The Organivore
The Europhile
The One Upper (I hate these folks)
The Snob
The Anti-Snob
The Avoider
The Blogging Food Pornographer
The Bacon Lover
The DIYer

As I read through them, I can definitely think of people I know that falls into one of the 10 types.
I think if I were to pick one that I fall under, I would probably fall into the 1st type (but I'm not as crazy as they describe Type #1 to be =D)

----
Is everyone enjoying entertaining for the holidays?
How does one entertain for all 10 types of "foodies"??
Beats me =O

Turkey leftovers: make turkey meat floss (Rou song (肉鬆))

2011-12-13T08:57:00.002+01:00

I'm not a fan of the typical options for turkey leftovers: turkey sandwiches, turkey salad, turkey wraps, turkey burritos, turkey pasta... I can go on all day. These all seem so monotonous and not any different than just eating the plain ol turkey. (And if that's the case, then why not just eat the plain ol turkey on its own? It will help get rid of the turkey faster than "hiding" it in a sandwich or burrito.)

One thing I *am* a fan of, is Rou song (肉鬆), or as some other people call it "meat floss". This is most commonly made using pork (second most common is fish). However, why not use turkey?
One of the toughest part of making rou song is getting the meat dried. And hey... turkey is already a dry meat to begin with! You're already halfway there!

I made Rou Song out of fish a few times as a kid, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. The process is very similar with turkey, except that turkey is much easier since fish is so wet!

Here are the simple, but very time consuming, steps to make turkey Rou Song:

1. Cook The Turkey.
The easiest way to do this is to follow my World's Simplest Roasted Turkey recipe!

2. De-bone the Turkey
When turkey is cooked and has rested for at least 10 minutes, carve the turkey and save the bones for later (you can make soup with the bones).

3. Feed Hungry Husband

4. Shred The Leftover Turkey
When said husband is no longer hungry, take the leftover turkey meat and shred it into tiny pieces. Use both hands for this job!
This took me about 3 hours.
My pregnant self cannot sit in one place for 3 hours so said husband came and lent a helping hand (well, 2 hands if you want to be exact).

5. OPTIONAL: Fuzzy up the meat the meat
Get a ceramic bowl and press it against the meat in a "twisting" motion to make the meat appear more fuzzy and fluffy.
This was very time consuming, and I would totally omit this next time.
I don't need to spend an hour twisting my meat to make it look fuzzy. As long as it tastes good, that's all I care about.

6. Dry The Meat on the Stove Top
Using the largest wok or pan that you have, cook the turkey on medium-low heat, stirring every 3 minutes to ensure that the meat on the bottom does not burn.

7. Keep Stirring
Stir for about 1 hour 45 mins, or until the meat looks dried. It will take on a golden-brownish color.

8. Season Up the Dried Turkey
All you need is white sugar and soy sauce.
I like mine extra sweet, so I probably used about 1 cup of white sugar and maybe about 1/2 cup of soy sauce.
Just add them in slowly and keep tasting until you like it. =)

9. Stir Until Blended.
Keep stirring the turkey until everything is equally seasoned. Do this for maybe another 15 minutes, to let the soy sauce soak up into the meat, making the total cook time 2 hours!

The Finished Product!

It looks a lot like the pork Rou Song sold at the Asian super markets.

World's simplest (and world's best) roasted turkey

2011-12-07T05:25:00.004+01:00

Up until Nov 29th of this year (several days after Thanksgiving), I thought I hated turkey.
I pick at it and push it around my plate at Thanksgiving dinners.
I avoid it at pot lucks.
The closest I ever came to eating turkey is eating Oscar Mayer turkey deli meat, and that doesn't even taste like meat (more like sodium and ambiguous meat paste mashed together into a thin disk).

After I learned that you can make turkey meat floss out of leftover turkey meat (more about that in the next post), I decided to go out and buy a frozen turkey on clearance.
Ralphs came through and had turkeys on sale at 44 cents per pound. I grabbed the last 14 pound turkey (the rest were all 20+ pounds).

I quickly scanned the web to see the easiest, simplest way to roast a turkey. All that I cared for was a fully cooked turkey that I could shred and make into dried turkey meat floss. I came across this recipe on the Food Network website: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/worlds-simplest-thanksgiving-turkey-recipe2/index.html

This recipe looked very simple, straight forward, and had plenty of postive reviews. I was very surprised by the number of positive reviews considering that this recipe did not require any brining (which seems to be every one's "trick" to making a "juicy" thanksgiving turkey. I would like to know their definition of juicy...). The recipe appeared to be just like roasted chicken recipe.

I made a some minor alterations to the recipe and did the following steps:

Rinse and dry the turkey with paper towels. Remove the giblets
Cut up 1 onion and placed it in the cavity
Salt & Pepper the interior and exterior of the bird
Drizzle olive oil on the breast.
Place the bird on a roasting rack and tent the bird with foil. (I admit, I had no idea what to do with the wings. I just let them all hang out ... lol).
Place the bird into a preheated oven for 2.5 hours at 325 degrees.
Remove the foil, and bake for another hour at 425 degrees. (Notice that I did not baste! Did you know that basting does not really help a turkey stay moist, and it actually dries it out?)

VOILA
The bird came out beautiful.
As I was de-boning the turkey (and saved the bones to make turkey soup later), I tasted a piece of the turkey, and HOLY COW, it was delicious.
It did not have that awful turkey after taste, the meat was not hard and stringy, and the meat was oh-so moist. It melted like butter in my mouth.
I called Jeff over to try some, and he agreed, that it was some damn good turkey.

We both agreed that this turkey is better than other turkeys that we have had, and I now have to retract my statement (that I hate turkey).
Here is my new statement: I like eating turkey when it is done well.

Not only was this turkey moist and tasty, but it was REALLY EASY to make.
I did not prep and brine the day before.
I did not slave over the oven all day long, watching the bird and basting.

(the funny thing is, I actually did not hear the timer go off, so the turkey roasted for longer than intended. yet it still came out good! imagine how much better it would have been if I actually heard the kitchen timer?)

In the end, I decided to save some meat turkey for eating, before making the leftovers into turkey meat floss.

I know that there are lot of people that are stuck in their own ways and think that their turkey recipe is the "tried and true" method. But the next time you see people drown your turkey in gravy, maybe it's time to try something different and see how that turns out.
Won't know 'til you try!

Sugar and Spice Pumpkin Seeds

2011-11-29T03:27:00.001+01:00

For Halloween this year, our cousin invited us over to carve pumpkins with her and her family. It was a lot of fun!
Not only did we come out with 4 amazing looking pumpkins, but I had a humongous bag of pumpkin seeds to take home and enjoy. It actually ended up being more pumpkin seeds than we could eat, but luckily, another cousin came to visit us, and he helped us eat it all.
Phew! I was just about to toss them too.

You can make pumpkin seeds both savory (salt & pepper) and sweet (cinnamon and sugar), but I always make mine sweet. Of course, going down the sweet route means a higher risk of coming out with black, bitter, burnt seeds, but when it comes out right.. it tastes soo perfect.

Here is ingredients you will need for the sweet roasted pumpkin seeds.
I had to double the recipe amount since I came out to about 2 cups of pumpkin seeds.

1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon melted butter or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Wash and pat dry your pumpkin seeds with a paper towel. Toss seeds with the butter, sugar, and spices.
Heat oven to 300°. Spread coated seeds in a shallow baking sheet turning from time to time, for about 1 hour to 1.5 hours, or until nicely browned and crunchy.
If you are using 1 cup of seeds, it will most likely be around 1 hour of baking. But because I had 2 cups of seeds and used 2 baking sheets (with 1 thin layer of seeds per sheet), the 60 mins simply was not enough. It really took close to 1.5 hours to get the seeds to our desired crunchiness.
I kept my eye on it like a hawk to ensure it did not burn and turn biter.

Seriously, the best pumpkin bread

2011-11-29T03:13:00.000+01:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving!
No traditional Thanksgiving for me (we had hot pot at home with my family), but the funny thing is, I went out today and purchased a 15 pound frozen turkey. It was on clearance at 44 cents per pound, and I plan on making turkey meat floss out of it (more on that later!).
I'm here to blog about my pumpkin bread recipe!

If you have seen me within the last couple of months, chances are, you have eaten my pumpkin bread.
I stumbled upon this recipe by accident one bored evening while surfing the web. After reading the instructions and realizing that the recipe sounded like a winner, I made the bread that very evening. After one taste, Jeff and I were in love. (with the bread.... I mean, we ARE in love with each other as well... but I was referring to the bread).

After that, we made pumpkin bread for friends, giving it away when visiting people, serving it to people that came over to our house, and we even brought a loaf to a Thanksgiving pot luck. There were a couple of weeks where I felt like I was running a pumpkin bread factory out of my own kitchen!
Every one that has tasted it have said they liked it. And what makes it so special is that, not only is it festive (for fall time), but pumpkin bread not one of those things you can easily find in a store. And another reason why I like this recipe is because even though I am a crappy baker, I cannot screw up pumpkin bread.

Ready to bake?

What you need:

15 ounce can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup water
2.5 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

What to do:
1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease two 9×5 loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, cream pumpkin, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and ground spices. Add dry mixture to wet and beat until all flour has been combined. Pour into prepared pans.
4. Bake for about 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Green onion / scallion pancakes

2011-11-10T03:03:00.001+01:00

As most of you dont remember, I made green onion / scallion pancakes (蔥油餅) back in June 2008 and I even blogged about it with step-by-step visual directions.
Of course, 3 years later, I actually forgot how to make it, even after following the steps. After a really failed attempt, I tried again.
The main problem in my failed attempt was that I added too little water to the dough and by the time I realized it, it was too late to add additional water. I was stuck with rock-hard dough.

So the key now in making scallion pancakes, is for me to slowly add more and more water until it feels very sticky. And I'd rather have sticky dough than dough that is too hard and dry, because at least, if the dough is too sticky, you can always add a little flour to fix it.

To make scallion pancakes you will need:
- all purpose flour
- hot-to-warmish water
- minced green onions
- salt (I also like to add in a little chicken boullion powder into my salt too. hehe. give it a little extra flavor, rather than just plain ol salt).
- canola oil

I don't have specific proportions for the flour and the water, for fear that I might lead you astray with dough that is hard as a rock.
My suggestion is: in a large sturdy bowl, pour in as much flour as you desire. I use maybe.. 4-5 cups of flour?
Then heat up about 3 cups of water, and just slowly drizzle it into your flour, mixing it slowly with your fingers, until it becomes very wet ball of dough. You probably will have leftover water -- make yourself a cup of tea? :)
Let your dough rest for about 10 minutes while you start your assembly line: dough, oil, salt, green onions, cutting board, and rolling pin.

Grab a small dallop of your dough, maybe about the size of a plum, and roll it out on your cutting board, until it is very thin. drizzle on a thin layer of oil, using your finger to spread it evenly on your pancake. do the same with the salt. then do the same with the minced scallions. Then either cut your dough into 8 flaps and roll them into a ball, or simply roll up the entire pancake into a ball. Set it aside on a plate.
Repeat the steps above until all your dough is gone.

These dough balls lasts for several days in your fridge, if you store it in tupperware or ziploc bag.

When you are ready to eat, roll out your ball of pancake again, into a very thin round pancake. In a skillet, heat up some oil, and fry your pancake on both sides (oil both sides!) until its bubbly, crispy, and golden.
Cut the pancake into 4 pieces using the spatula and enjoy!
It's so tasty and savory... no dipping sauces for me!

Mini Jack O Lanterns (stuffed bell peppers)

2011-11-10T02:45:00.000+01:00

For Halloween last year and this year, I made Mini Jack O Lanterns (stuffed bell peppers) to celebrate!

Last year, I was able to find red and orange bell peppers at a decent price, so my stuffed bell peppers really did look like mini pumpkins. Unfortunately this year, the red and orange bell peppers were at a ridiculous price, so green mini pumpkins it is.

The difference in bell pepepr color is not the only changes I made, I actually made a number of changes:
- I used ground turkey instead of ground beef because its healthier
- I used rice instead of bread crumbs, since rice is more filling (and cheaper too!)
- Instead of using a lot of hot sauce as the seasoning, I used garlic and herb seasoning instead.

I alloted myself around 1 hour to prepare the jack o lanterns and bake them, but turns out I needed closer to 2 hours!! I was an hour late to our Halloween pot luck.
Buffer plenty of time to cut the jack o lantern faces on the bell peppers!

The ingredients I used is:
- 6 bell peppers
- 1/2 cup of cooked white rice
- 1 egg
- 1.25 pounds of ground turkey
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp italian seasoning or garlic and herb seasoning
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tomato, chopped.

- salt and pepper.
- 1 tsp of minced garlic

Wash and cut the tops off the bell pepeprs. Discard the the seeds but keep the lid/stem. This is the top of the jack o lantern's head!
In a pan, brown the onions and minced garlic in a little bit of oil. I've seen a lot of recipes omit this step, but if you do, you will end up with crunchy-raw-semi-steamed onions!
In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients (other than the bell peppers). When evenly mixed, distribute the mixture into your 6 bell peppers, and bake the bell peppers (with their lids on) at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Shrimp with Spicy Salt (椒盐虾)

2011-10-31T07:53:00.001+01:00

It looks just like the 椒盐虾 in restaurants.
It tastes just like the 椒盐虾 in restaurants.
But what is different?
It is a fraction of the cost in restaurants, and you can enjoy it at home whenever you want! =)

This dish is actually quite simple.
For the shrimp, you can purchase it anytime at the store (stock up when it's on sale!), and store it in the freezer. Did you know shrimp stores very well in the freezer, because its shell prevents the shrimp from getting freezer burn?
Along the same vein (teehee. vein, get it?), if you are eating at a "Seafood" restaurant whose menu mainly consists of shrimp dish, then that most likely means that most of their seafood is NOT fresh because their shrimp are all frozen.

All you really need to do is know how to deep-fry in your home without making a god-awful mess or setting the house on fire.
I don't usually advocate deep-frying in home cooking since you get enough grease in your meals when eating out, but I will make an exception for 椒盐虾.

Here is a quick crash course in deep-frying in your home.

Don't waste your money on a deep fryer, unless you plan on turning into a Southerner and deep frying everything and anything.
In a deep saucepan or wok, pour about 3/4 inch of high temperature cooking oil. I use canola.
When the oil starts showing little bubbles on the bottom of the pan, it should be ready. Drop a tiny piece of flour or shrimp leg into the oil. If it starts frying, then its ready.
When you start adding the shrimp (or whatever it is you are frying) into the oil, don't overcrowd the shrimp because you want the oil temperature to stay hot. So only do a few at a time.
Drop the shrimp close to the oil, so you don't splash hot oil on yourself. (this should be fairly obvious but I will mention it anyways. I have been "splashed" by others in the kitchen who did not follow this rule).
I use old chopsticks as my "tongs" to fish out the fried shrimp. But if you own some kind of tongs or net, then even better.

Simple right?

Writing this recipe reminds me of the story of when I was in undergrad.
I lived in the apartments (a fraction of the cost of dorms), and I did a lot of home cooking because, hey, I was a poor college kid. I made 椒盐虾 twice and on both incidences, my roommates (different people on both incidences) approached me with quizzical and disgusted looks.
They couldn't wrap their head around the fact that: 1) You can fry foods at home. 2) You can fry in something that is not a deep fryer. 3) Yes, I cook and consume my shrimp with the head and shell still on 4). To make the shrimp crispy, you dredge the shrimp in flour. They really had no idea why i was shoving the shrimp into flour just to place it into oil. 5) When you are done frying, you can let the oil cool then use it later in cooking.
After having to defend my both, my cooking methods and my choice in foods, I never felt comfortable to make this dish (or any other non-Westernized dish) while still living with my roommates.

Flash forward 6 years to 2011:
I found some large head-on shrimp in the freezer.
When I was trying to think of a dish to make for dinner that evening, all I could think of, to utilize the entire shrimp (the head and the shell), was to make 椒盐虾!!
I really do enjoy the dish, and I do order it from time to time in Chinese restaurants. And I no longer live in an apartment with judgmental, close-minded roommates.
Instead, I share a house with a guy that knows Chinese food and does not question or ridicule my cooking. (his name is Jeff, if you didn't know...).

The dish was really quite easy to make, was not too time consuming (I love food that is zero prep work), and it came out tasting just like at the restaurant.

Here is the ingredients list:
- Shrimp
- Canola oil
- Corn or tapioca starch
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper.
- Green Onions. diced
- Jalapenos. sliced thinly

Here are the instructions!!
Follow closely!
1. Defrost and pat dry your shrimp.
2. Pour corn starch or tapioca starch in a large bowl.
3. Heat up your oil in the sauce pan (following deep frying instructions above).
4. Dredge each shrimp in the starch bowl, then drop into the oil.
5. When the shrimp is completely cooked, maybe about 2-3 minutes each, remove it from the oil and onto a paper-towel-lined plate.
6. When you have fried all of your shrimp, in a separate pan, heat up a little cooking oil (or you can use a little of your frying oil).
7. Add in the green onions and jalapenos until slightly cooked. Then add in all the fried shrimp.
8. Sprinkle salt and black pepper all over the shrimp, and the turn the contents a couple of times, to evenly distribute the salt, pepper, jalapenos, and green onions.
9. Serve it on the plate. So pretty! So good with rice!! (well.. everything is good with rice).

Chinese steamed trout

2011-10-23T08:52:00.000+02:00

Last week when I went to Costco to pick up some bagged salad and celery, I decided to go take a peek in the meat and seafood department to see what goodies they have.
Of course, my conscience told me to stay away because I have plenty of meat and seafood in the freezer so I should eat that first before buying a giant economy size pack of meat. But I went over anyways!!
I am SUCH a rebel, my mama would be proud.

Boy, was I glad I went over to the meat and seafood section. I walked down the fish aisle, glancing at the fish selection and prices. I first picked up the tilapia filets because typically, tilapia is one of the cheapest fish at the store. But geez, the price was $4.99 per pound! What the eff?
Then right next to the tilapia, I saw there was a sign that said $2.99. The $2.99 was for whole trout! Not trout fillets, but the entire thing! Score!
I'm Asian, so you should know that I prefer my fish intact (head on, tail on, bones still in it, the way nature intended). The fish looked pretty fresh (glossy eyes), so I picked up a pack.
I knew immediatly what I was cooking for dinner that night: Chinese steamed trout!

I searched high and low around Costco for green onions, and after asking a grumpy employee where their green onions were located, I leanred that Costco did not sell green onions!
After paying at the cashier, I walked across the parking lot to the Albertsons next door to buy 1 bunch of overpriced green onions.

After driving through the snail-paced Costco parking lot, I drove through the snail-paced streets of LA to get home.
When I got home, I debated between using my gigantic Chinese steamer, or my steaming apparatus involving my wok, a kitchen towel, and a bowl. The haphazard steaming apparatus won (ask me if you want to know details on how you can make your own steaming apparatus!).

I gathered the following ingredients for the dish:
4 whole trout
6 spring onions, thinly sliced.
2 clove garlic, sliced thinly
sea salt
(If you have fresh ginger root, you need 2 inches of it, sliced. I didn't have any).

For the sauce: 1 clove garlic, chopped
6 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
6 tablespoons Shaosing (Chinese brown rice wine)
2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon dark soft brown sugar
2 teaspoon, grated root ginger

I think the prep work is the most time consuming part!
Pat dry the fish with the paper towel then sprinkle the fish with sea salt. Set the fish aside for 30 minutes.
Make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a saucepan, and bringing it to a simmer for 5 minutes.
Set up the steamer and bring the water to a boil. Place the garlic and ginger on the fish and place the fish in the steamer. Steam the fish for 18-20 minutes.
Serve the trout with the sauce poured over and garnished with the spring onions.

Enjoy it with steamed rice. Yum.

Steak Chili

2011-10-23T08:17:00.001+02:00

I think when most Americans think of "chili" they think of the greasy ground meat goo with mushy beans.
(and apparently, some Asians think that "chili" is synonymous with the word "spicy". But this is not a story about Asians and their confusion with the English language).
When I think "chili" I think more along the lines of a steak chili or chili con carne, where I can actually taste the beef and bite into it. So if I ever invite you over for a chili night, this will be the kind of chili you will be served!
And that's exactly what happened when my sister came over for dinner & movie night. We enjoyed a hot bowl of heartwarming chili with a side of tortilla chips, while our eyes were glued to Beetlejuice.

This recipe can most definitely be made in the slow cooker, but since I had some free time that afternoon, I decided to make it on the stove top. That way, the beans and tomatoes would still have a bite to it (rather than just one homogenous glop).

Ingredients:
2 large onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 or 2 pounds of steak (whatever is on sale), cubed.
2 large cans tomatoes. (I also added in some fresh tomatoes since I had some in the house)
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 cans white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Salt and pepper

If you are cooking on the stove top, make sure you are using a deep skillet, since there are a lot of ingredients and liquids in this dish!
You start by adding some oil in your skillet, then add in the onions and garlic and cook until browned. Add in the steak cubes and cook until seared/browned on all sides.

Pour in the tomatoes with liquid, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, paprika, and oregano. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Lastly, stir in kidney beans, and cook for another 15 minutes.

If you are cooking in the slow cooker, add in all the ingredients except for the kidney beans into the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 5. In the last 30 minutes, add in the kidney beans.

-----
Note #1: Enjoy the chili with sides such as corn bread or tortilla chips. Or as some people prefer..... steamed rice... =/

Note #2: Chili freezes very well!! After we finished our dinner, I immediate placed a portion in the freezer and I gave another portion to my sister which fed her 2 more meals.
I think in total, this dish made about 7-8 meals.

Note #3: The cost of the ingredients came out to around $7, so its ~$1 per meal. Way cheaper than eating out AND you have enough food to last you a few days. So you can spend your time doing more important things... like watching Beetlejuice

Homemade chicken pot pie (but not the crust)

2011-10-22T07:43:00.001+02:00

A few weeks ago, a made the wonderful decision to make chicken pot pie at home.
Unfortunately, I also made the terrible decision to double the recipe and make TWO chicken pot pies.
(see exhibit A on the right).

We ended up eating chicken pot pies for every meal for over a week, that I think it's safe to conclude that we won't be eating chicken pot pies anytime in the near future.

The ingredients inside the pot pie are typical ingredients that I usually always have around the house: chicken, carrots, potatoes, celery and onions.
The stuff I had to buy especially for this dish was the half&half and the pie crusts.
(When it comes to me and pies, i ALWAYS buy the pie crust. I am no good when it comes to making dough, and I really don't think that the time and effort that goes into making pie crusts is worth. When does someone ever eat a pie and say "this crust is spectacular. Much better than store bought" ? Exactly.

Making the actual filling is very easy. And the entire pot pie is not hard at all, just kind of time consuming since you have to make the filling on the stove, then bake the entire thing in the oven. I typical prefer cooking meals that requires only 1 heat source (the stove only, or the oven only). But hey, its chicken pot pie, so.... gotta make some exceptions :).

Here are the filling ingredients:
    1 cup potato, diced
    1 cup onion, diced
    1 cup celery, diced
    1 cup carrot, diced
    1/3 cup melted butter
    1/2 cup all-purpose flour
    2 cups chicken broth
    1 cup half-and-half
    salt and pepper
    3 chicken breasts. cubed

In a skillet, with a little bit of oil, cook the chicken breasts until fully cooked. Remove the chicken then in the same pan, saute the onion, celery, carrots and potatoes in the butter for 10 minutes. Add the flour to the skillet, stirring well, to cook out the raw flour. Add the broth and half&half to the mixture and cook until bubbly. Stir in the salt and pepper and chicken and stir well.

Here is the fun part!
In your handy dandy baking dish (pyrex), add 1 pie crust then pour in the chicken mixture. Then lay the 2nd crust on top and make sure that you make the edges of the pie crust stick together and look pretty! Cut slits in the crust to allow steam to escape, then place the pie into your 400 degree oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.

Grilled Chicken Breast with Cilantro Butter

2011-09-27T05:39:00.001+02:00

Now that I have more free time, it makes a great opportunity to eat better.
At the store this week, boneless skinless chicken breast was on sale for $1.99 per pound! Too good to be true.

Of course, one of the best ways to enjoy chicken breast is grilled, but I always get so wary that I would overcook the breast and make it dry like cardboard (since poultry always needs to be cooked completely). Then I thought "I know how to avoid that! I will use a food thermometer so I know exactly when to take the meat off the heat".

When I got home, I sprinkled salt and pepper on the chicken breast, and grilled the chicken breast on the grill pan. (I really did not want to drag the backyard gas grill out from the garage).

I grilled the chicken on each side for 5 minutes then stuck in the meat thermometer.
The outcome?
Nothing!!
The meat thermometer arrow did not move!

Apparently, the last time Jeff used the meat thermometer (which was actaully the 1st time we used it), Jeff dropped it, leaving a crack in the glass on the thermometer display.
I thought "a crack on the display. no biggie. it should still work"
But no, the entire thing was broken.

So I had to do it the old fashioned way -- make a cut into the chicken breast to see if the meat was still raw. (I hate doing this method, because I feel like too the juices are lost when the meat is poked while it's still cooking).

Apparently, 5 minutes on each side was too little, as the meat was still raw, so I had to cook the meat for an additional 8-10 minutes.

The meat did not come out too bad; it was still moist with some juices (phew), but I made sure to get a meat thermometer next time I'm at the store.

Right before the meat comes off the grill, you need to make the Cilantro Butter!
For the cilantro butter, I combined 1/4 stick of butter (not margarine), 1 tsp of minced garlic, 1 tbp of freshly minced cilantro, and some salt and pepper.

As the grilled chicken comes off the grill, place a small pat of the cilantro butter on the chicken breast, and let the butter melt all over. mmm.

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork

2011-09-21T01:34:00.001+02:00

The last time I made pulled pork in the slow cooker, I remember it being very difficult because I avoided using bottled bbq sauce, and instead, tried to add in all the flavors myself using all sorts of herbs and spices that I can no longer remember. All I can remember is, the entire process was so difficult!

This time, I decided to try slow cooker pulled pork again, but using bottled bbq sauce.
Not only did it come out tastier, but it was also more moist and just so much easier than my previous attempt at pulled pork. Moving forward, I will only do this following method:

Ingredients:
1 bone-in pork shoulder, skin and excess fat removed
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 bottle barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Salt and pepper

Instructions:
Scatter onion over bottom of slow cooker and place the whole chunk of pork on top. Add broth, cover and cook on low until very tender, about 8 hours.
When the 8 hours is up, remove the meat and onions into a seperate bowl, and discard the bone. Discard the liquid in the slow cooker.
Get 2 forks, and pull the pork apart into shreds, discarding any fat you find.
Return the pulled pork to slow cooker and stir in barbecue sauce, mustard, honey and soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 hour on low.

Sorry for no pictures!
The day I made this dish, I made it for a pot luck lunch at Jeff's company, and I had to cook the pork during the middle of the night, pull the pork at 8am in the morning, and let it cook for the last hour while I ran off to a doctor's appointment.
After rushing back from the doctor's appointment, I hastily poured the pulled pork into a glass tupperware and sent it off to work with Jeff.
It felt like the longest morning ever!
So that was why there was no time for a picture. =)

Jeff reported back saying that a lot of people enjoyed the pulled pork. horray.

Home made char siu pork > bottled marinade char siu pork

2011-09-21T01:21:00.002+02:00

If you remember from a few posts ago, I wrote about marinating pork chops in bottled marinade.
That dish came out OK, but not very close to the REAL char siu pork that you get from the cantonese reastaurant.

I finally took the time to make my own char siu marinade and took my sweet time basting the pork in the oven over and over. All that time really paid off.
My char siu pork was so flavorful, so moist, and the best part is: it tasted like the real thing for the fraction of the price!!!

The only change I would make the next time I make this, is to do a better job removing the fat off the pork chops.
I usually just buy whatever pork is on sale at the store, and remove the fat myself, which is fine and all, but I should have done a more thorough job. The fat really put a damper on my experience.

Your ingredients:
Pork- remove the bone, remove the fat. Buy about 2.5 or 3 pounds.
Hoisin sauce - 3/4 cup
Soy sauce - 1/2cup
Rice wine - 1/2cup. I don't have any so I used xiao xing cooking wine. good enough.
Honey - 1/3 cup
Sugar - 1 tablespoon
Minced ginger-1 tablespoon

Instructions:
Slice pork butt into strips. Mix together all the ingredients in a gallon ziploc bag and place the pork strips into the ziploc bag. Let it marinate overnight (the longer, the better).
The next day, heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Place a rack on top of a lined baking sheet and pour water onto your baking sheet. The water keeps the meat moist and the baking sheet will catch all the drippings.
Place the strips of pork on the rack, then roast the pork for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees Farhenheit and roast for another 40 minutes, turning and basting 3-4 times with the remaining marinade.
Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces and serve.

Frozen Tilapia is not so bad afterall

2011-09-21T01:06:00.001+02:00

Apparently I am very behind on my food blog, so lets see how many posts I can get up today!

I was always afraid to buy frozen fish from the seafood section because it's simply not fresh.
You can smell and taste that fishiness, and let me tell you something: FISH SHOULD NOT SMELL AND TASTE "FISHY".
When you pick up a fish and smell it, it should smell like water.
When you eat it, it should taste mild.
So I've been afraid of frozen fish because I have smelled that fishy smell before.

Well, on a trip to the store, there was a lady that was cooking fish and handing out samples, and let me tell you.. that fish tasted pretty DG (damn good)!
I was really surprised to find out she was using frozen tilapia filets.

Skeptical, I bought 1 pack of the frozen tilapia.
When I got home, I found that each filet was vacuum sealed.
I took out a few filets and marinated it in a little soy sauce, garlic, and xiao xing cooking wine. Pretty basic stuff.
I heated up my skillet with some veggie oil (to give the meat a good sear), and cooked the filets a few minutes on each side.
I was so surprised how the fish came out: Not fishy at all, mild tasting, and moist.
It was lovely.

Does this mean I can bring frozen fish back into my life??

(by the way, if you have any questions about how to pick fresh fish and other sea foods at the market, ask me!)

Roasted chicken with cheese stuffed baked potatoes

2011-08-17T02:14:00.000+02:00

This last Sunday, I made roasted chicken and baked potatoes simultaneously in the oven.
I also made steamed green beans on the side, but I did not bother taking pictures of that. (if you don't know how to steam some green beans, you should be worried!).

I like roasted chicken because its pretty healthy and its not hard. Its just time consuming!

The way I make roasted chicken is a 2-day process.
Day 1 is when I rub in all the salt and herbs into the meat under the skin. Don't let anyone tell you that "dry rubs" should only be put on the meat right before cooking. That is NOT true.
The salt softens the meat and keeps moisture in the meat. Something about salt attracting water molecules... I don't know, I'm not a science major. All I know is that this is not a kitchen myth, it's science.

So if you don't want your chicken breast dry, then rub on your salted dry rub the night before.

On Day 2, place your chicken on a roasting rack (breast side down, to catch the juices as it falls), and roast for 20 minutes at 450 degrees, then turn down the temperature to 340 degrees for an additional 40 minutes. Then turn the chicken over to brown the breast side, and bake for another 30 minutes.

I also baked up several potatoes at the same time as the chicken, when the oven was at 340 degrees. I pricked the potatoes with a fork, rubbed on olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper and baked in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

When the potatoes were done baking, I popped each one open and shoved a little pat of butter and reduced fat cheddar cheese . Voila! cheesy stuffed potatoes!

Fresh seafood at home

2011-08-15T09:12:00.002+02:00

When my friend Lucy visited me over 4th of July weekend, we pretty much spent the entire weekend eating.
And that is not an exaggeration.

Over the weekend, we hit up must-have dishes such as ayce korean bbq, pho + com tam, chinese roasted duck and crispy pork, sushi, dim sum, and fresh seafood at home.
These might all sound pricey, but we actually found ways to make the entire weekend very affordable, since we picked affordable places (korean town for kbbq, westminster for vietnamese, monterey park for dim sum, grocery store for duck, pork, and fresh seafood).

I think the best bang for our buck was enjoying the fresh seafood at home.
We went to Ranch99 and purchased live Dungeness crabs, live rock crabs, salmon and tuna sashimi, and live oysters. The entire bill comes out to no where near the price it would be at a restaurant. (Lucy so generously paid for the entire bill).

Then we merrily drove home and prepared all our wonderful dishes.
We sent Jeff out to the backyard to shuck oysters while us girls busied ourselves in the kitchen.

Here is the fruits of our labor, and the fruits of the sea:

Jeff shucking oysters

A hammer and screwdriver are not your typical oyster-shucking instruments but it sure got the job done.

Salmon and tuna sashimi, oysters, on a bed of ice

I thinly sliced the sashimi myself and overworked my fridge to get the crushed ice!
I should run my own 5 star restaurant.

Steamed Crabs

I steamed these bad boys in my incredibly fobby 3-tiered steamer

The entire spread

I blame jeff for constantly arranging the dining chairs as 3 seats per side,

rather than my preferred method of 2 seats per side and 1 on each end

Our lovely house guest

Lucifer

I normally don't eat a lot of seafood and shellfish, because, not only is it pricey and makes terrible leftovers, but I also don't want to get mercury poisoning.

However, for this meal, if I got mercury poisoning, it would definitely be worth it.

Chunky Vegetable Beef Stew (slow cooker)

2011-08-03T08:44:00.001+02:00

Notice that I put the word "vegetable' before "beef" in the name of my dish: Chunky Vegetable Beef Stew?
That's because this stew has way more veggies than beef. YUM!

I knows its summer time, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy stew.
Also... using the slow cooker is just way more convenient :).
When I stop working (in 3 weeks), I expect less slow cooker meals and more elaborate meals!

This stew is so hearty and so tasty, and I barely had to use any seasoning! All the flavor is simply the natural flavor from all the vegetables and beef.

Ingredients
1 large onion. chopped.
6 carrots, cut into coins. (I used small carrots. But you can use half the amount if you have large carrots)
4 potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup fresh green beans, in bite-size pieces. (I would have used more but string beans were crappy at the store)
2 pounds beef, cut into small cubes. Just use whatever beef is on sale, like stewing beef.
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups low-sodium beef stock
4 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Put everything in the slow cooker, except put only 3 tbps of the flour in the slow cooker.

Cook on high for 5 hours.

Using some of the soup, put some in a bowl and mix tog3ether the other 3 tbps of flour, and pour it into the stew, then continue cooking the stew for an additional 30 mins - 1 hour.

Yum!

Egg-dipped bread = french toast?

2011-08-03T03:26:00.000+02:00

I have heard some people call "egg dipped bread" or "eggy bread" as "French Toast".

I am not entirely sure if this is true, because the only French Toast that I know is bread that is dipped in a batter consisting of egg, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Fried in a skillet then consumed with some butter and syrup. :)
Egg-dipped bread is pretty much what it sounds like: bread dipped in beaten eggs, fried in a skillet, and eaten just like that.

Just to keep things clear, I will refer to these dishes by their separate names to avoid confusion.
I love French Toast, however, Egg-dipped bread holds a very special place in my heart.

I remember when I was very very young (younger than age 7), my mom would occasionally make egg-dipped bread in the morning. This was very rare, because we typically had cold food for breakfast (pb &j sandwiches, cereal and milk), so having a hot breakfast was such a treat. On top of that, I really love eggs, so anything with eggs in it was very special to me.

I can still remember crawling out of bed and smelling the scent of egg-dipped bread wafting through the house on a sunny weekend morning.

Now as an adult, I find myself also rarely ever having egg-dipped bread since eating a quick piece of toast in morning is just so much easier.

Today at the store, lots of loaves of french bread was sitting by the cash registers (ugh. how dare they tempt me with their impulse buys, and get away with it).
I purchased a loaf, sliced it up into 1 inch slices, dipped the bread into a beaten egg wash (I beaten an entire dozen of eggs!), and fried it up on a skillet.

I can't wait to eat them.

Creamy Cheesecake

2011-08-03T00:53:00.003+02:00

Its been so long since I've had cheesecake, that I thought that it wouldn't be too naughty of me to make some cheesecake!

Usually, when I search for cheesecake recipes online, I always end up finding some recipe that uses sour cream, which I hate.
I have finally (after several attempts) perfected my own version of cheese cake that does not use sour cream.
It comes out so rich and creamy.

Crust
    1 cup graham cracker crumbs
    3 tablespoons sugar
    3 tablespoons margarine, melted

Filling
    3 (8 ounce) packages Cream cheese/American Neufchâtel cheese, softened
    3/4 cup white sugar
    3 large eggs
    1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions
    1 Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
    2 Combine crumbs, sugar and melted margarine and press onto the bottom of a pie pan.
    3 Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and raise oven temperature to 450F degrees.
    4 To make filling, combine softened cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beating at medium speed until well mixed.
    5 Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition; blend in vanilla then pour into crust.
    6 Bake for 10 minutes at 450F, then reduce heat to 250F and for 60 minutes more, or until the center is no longer watery.
    7 Let the cheesecake cool at room temperature then place into the refrigerator until the cheesecake is chilled

I don't have a picture of the entire cheesecake because we dug right in before having a chance to take a photo!

Marinate, cook, dinner!

2011-07-10T02:50:00.001+02:00

This last week, I made 2 protein dishes to feed us throughout the work week.
The first one was pork chops and the second was salmon steaks.

Both were so easy, because I just put the pork chops and salmon steaks in (separate) ziploc bags, and added marinade to the bag, and the let meat marinate for a couple of nights.
When I was ready to eat, we grilled the pork chops on our outdoor grill. And we baked the salmon steaks on a sheet pan in the oven at 465 degrees for 18 minutes.

What marinade did I use?

For the pork chops, I used a combination of bottled "char siu" marinade from the Asian grocery store and hoison sauce.
For the salmon steaks, I simply marinated the steaks in teriyaki sauce. That's all. I typically make my own teriyaki sauce, but I was feeling lazy, so I used the bottled stuff as well.

(Big thanks to Lucy for buying me lots of yummy groceries, including as the char siu marinde and the salmon steaks).

Both the char siu pork chops and the salmon teriyaki can be enjoyed with steamed rice and sauteed green veggies. so asian! just the way I like it!

the char siu pork chops, hot off the outdoor grill!

the teriyaki salmon steaks, hot out of the oven!
These could be made on the outdoor grill as well, but I was too lazy to take out the grill 2 times during the week!

Is broccoli beef considered chinese food?

2011-07-09T14:30:00.002+02:00

I never really considered "broccoli beef" a Chinese dish. I always joked that it was "bastardized Chinese food made by Americans". but hey, what do I know. Sorry if I insulted some Chinese region's most notable dish. hehe

Doesn't matter. It sure tastes good. I mean... broccoli, beef, how can you go wrong?

I got the idea to cook this dish when my friend Lucy made the dish herself. A lot of times, when I hear of all these wonderful dishes, I want to cook it, but when no one reminds me of the dishes, then I forget, and I fall back on basic dishes that I make over and over again.
So I was glad to switch it up and make broccoli beef for the first time in several years.

I added a twist to the broccoli beef and threw in some crimini mushrooms that were sitting in the fridge, waiting to be eaten.

You first slice up the beef across the grain, then I mix in tapioca starch, to give it the thicker, gooier, texture that is common in Chinese dishes, and marinated the meat in some soy sauce and xiaoxing cooking wine.

I cut up the broccoli and boil it until al dente.
In a skillet, stir fry the broccoli until almost done, add in the sliced mushroom and boiled broccoli. Top it all off with oyster sauce.

I always get greedy when I cook and make a huge pot full that is too full to stir, unless I want to get broccoli beef all over the kitchen floor. =/

I don't know where all the gravy came from actually. Maybe it was from the water trapped in the broccoli florets when I boiled it.

How To Butterfly Lobster Tails

2011-06-30T21:55:00.002+02:00

Yesterday was the first time I made lobster tails at home, and it turned out to be quite a success!

Lobster tails were on sale so I purchased two.

I decided to "Butterfly" the lobster tail, which is how its typically done in restaurants. To butterfly lobster tails, you are basically pulling the meat out of the shell and placing it on top the shell.

How to Butterfly Lobster Tails:

Hold the lobster tail with the top side facing upward. Using kitchen shears, you cut a line through the top of the shell all the way to the base of the tail. Don't cut the meat!. (If you can see.. I cut a line down the top lobster tail).
Using your fingers, gently (emphasis on gently!) separate the entire lobster meat from the lobster shell. but leave the tail intact, so the lobster meat is still connected to the tail part. Keep working until the entire lobster meat is separated from the shell.

Close the empty lobster shell together and gently rest the lobster meat on top.
Cut a small slit down the center of the lobster meat, and seperate the two flaps (I could have done that more....)

How to cook:

Lobster is so good on its own. So no need for a marinate or salt or pepper.

Simply preheat your oven to 450 degrees F, and bake the lobster tails for 12-14 minutes.
Make sure to check on it periodically to make sure it does not burn.

Before eating, put a small pat of butter on top (optional).

Black Bananas = Banana bread

2011-06-20T05:47:00.000+02:00

It surprises me when I hear that people toss black/overripe bananas.

What?!

What a waste!
Throw that banana in your freezer and use it later!
There are 2 ways to deal with black /overripe bananas:

Make a smoothie
Make banana bread!

I can only drink so much smoothies, and it only gets rid of banans 1 at a time.
If you start to accumulate a lot of black banana, then the best way to get rid of all of them is make banana bread! Also, I personally prefer banana bread over smoothies (taste wise) and are much more filling for breakfast too. =)

Here is what you need:
2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, ~2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas.

In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until its mixed together. Stir in the flour and baking soda then pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.

Bake in the oven at 350F for about 70 minutes, or until it's baked thoroughly.
It's soo yum!

Bugolgi at home

2011-06-20T05:28:00.000+02:00

A couple weeks ago, we enjoyed bugolgi at home!
Jealous? =)

boeuf bourguignon (beef burgundy) - slow cooker version

2011-06-09T00:46:00.000+02:00

The french dish, Boeuf Bourguignon (beef burgundy), is normally made in the oven, however fpr this dish, I decided to adapt it for the slow cooker, since it's much easier to make on a work day.
(However, one of these weekends... I *will* tackle the dish with the traditional oven method).

When I had boeuf bourguignon in France, it tasted like every other regular beef stew that I make.
But when I made my own slow cooker version of boeuf bourguignon, it tasted different than my regular beef stew, and it was very delicious!
Jeff was a fan, and we finished the dish faster than I expected! =D.
It's always a compliment when food is consumed quickly.

The ingredients list is a bit long, so be prepared to make a grocery list:
1.5 cups red wine (what a good excuse to use up that opened bottle of red wine that is sitting in the fridge!), 2 tbps dry minced onion, 1 tsp dried leaf thyme, 2 tsp dried parsley flakes, 1 bay leaf, salt & pepper, 4 pounds lean stew beef (you can cube it up, but I just threw the entire chunk into the slow cooker), 1/3 cup flour, 8 slices bacon (diced), 1 large onion (chopped), 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 box of sliced mushrooms.

In a ziploc bag, add in the wine, minced onion, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, pepper, and the hunk of beef, Marinate overnight.
The next day, heat up a large skillet with some oil and brown the hunk of meat. When carmlized and browned add the meat to your slow cooker. In the same skillet, add in the bacon until browned, then add in the garlic and onions. Add the bacon, garlic, and onion to the slow cooker. In the same skillet, add in the mushrooms and cook until it softened. Add the mushrooms to the slow cooker, than pour the red wine marinade from the ziploc bag into the slow cooker.

Turn on the slow cooker on low for about 9 hours.
Come home to a house smelling like red wine and beef! Mmm!
Enjoy the dish with some bread or some baked potato.

Fresh Strawvberry Pie

2011-06-09T00:33:00.002+02:00

It's nearing the end of strawberry season, so I had to hurry and bake a strawberry pie before the season ends!
I normally do not bake my own pie crusts because they are so much work and I can just buy a yummy pre-made one from the store.

If you are not maki ng your own pie crust, then this dessert is SO easy. and no one will have to know that it was easy to make (If you buy one of these from Marie Calendars, you are paying at least $13 for one of these).

Just make sure that if you are making the pie to give to someone, and you need it to look pretty, don't get the red jelly stuff spilled onto the pie crust! Does not look nice! oops!

To make two pies, you wil need:
2 pie shells (already baked), 2 1/2 quarts of fresh strawberries (this is about 2.5 boxes), 1 cup white sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 cup boiling water, 1 (3 ounce) package of strawberry jello.

In a saucepan, mix together the sugar and corn starch; make sure to blend corn starch in completely. Add boiling water, and cook until everything is mixed and thick. Turn off the stoveand add in the jello powder until its all melted. Let it cool to room temperature.
Wash the strawberries, remove the stems, then place the strawberries in the pie sell with points facing up. Pour cooled gel mixture over strawberries.
Refrigerate for a couple of hours until the gel is hardened.

Making your own strawberry gel tastes WAY better than the store bought stuff.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

2011-06-08T23:59:00.001+02:00

I thought I already posted about my mac & cheese recipe, but now that I look through my archive, I guess I did not!
Good thing I caught it. How can good ol' mac & cheese not make it on the blog? =)

I think both Jeff and I are spoiled from eating lots of homemade mac & cheese bakes. Now, whenver we hear people say "i made mac & cheese today", or "I ate some mac & cheese", we automatically think that they are referring to homemade macaroni and cheese bake casseroles!

But no... majority of the time, they are referring to the boxed macaroni and (fake) cheese sh*t.

Well, boxed-macaroni-and-cheese eaters, here's your chance to make your own crispy, (real) cheesey, noodley goodness. It's actually quite easy.

For your ingredients, you will need:
8 ounces macaroni, 4 tbs butter, 1/4 cup flour, salt, pepper, 1 cup half-and-half, 1 cup, 1 cup bread crumbs, 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.

Cook the macaroni, then pour the macaroni into your baking dish. In a seperate sauepan, melt the butter, then stir in flour. Add the salt, pepper, and milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add 2 cups of the cheese. When everything is melted, pour the sauce over the macaroni in the baking dish, and mix. Top it with the rest of the cheese then top it with bread crumbs.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbly.

Some toppings you can add with the bread crumbs and cheese is ham or bacon.

Sautéed Swiss Chard

2011-06-02T02:01:00.001+02:00

Recently, my sister moved to a different apartment, and was unable to take her plants with her (no balcony at the new place). So she harvested her swiss chard and gave some of the chard to me. In addition to the chard was 1 leek.

I was not sure what I can do with simply 1 leek, so I decided to mince it up, and sauté it with the Swiss chard!
After washing all the soil out of the chard, I seperated the leaves from the stem, and chopped the stem into little pieces. I minced up a little bit of garlic, and the 1 leek, and added it to a heated pan with olive oil in it. It was so frangrant already.
Add in the chard stem first as they take a while to cook, then add in the leafy green part later. Season it with kosher salt, stop cooking when the stem is tender.

The red is quite pretty.
You can also add in spinach if you like, to add a little more green to red ratio. :) spinach takes the least time to cook, so you would add that in at the very end.

Beef Pot Roast

2011-06-02T01:38:00.002+02:00

I actually made this dish a couple of months ago, but forgot to mention it on my blog!
I was making beef pot roast in the slow cooker, as a "test trial", in preparation for a beef pot roast dinner with my next door neighbors.

The photo you see here is of the "test trial" pot roast. There is no photo evidence of the actual pot roast I made on the day of, because I was running late, so I never stopped to take pictures.

Making pot roast in the slow cooker is actually quite simple. All you need is some beef (whatever is on sale. usually beef chuck roast is cheap), onion soup mix (its a powder that comes in a pouch), beef broth, carrots, potatoes, carrots, potatoes, salt and pepper. That's it!

I like to pan sear the meat first before putting it into the slow cooker, but you don't have to. I'm not entirely sure if it really makes a noticable difference once you cook it in a slow cooker for several hours. haha.
I also prefer putting the entire chunk of meat in the slow cooker whole, rather than cutting it into cubes first. up to you.
Then add in the rest of the ingredients, then cook on low for 8-9 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours.

Right before serving, slice up the chunk of meat into think slices, and serve it with the vegetables on the side.
I served it with a side of egg noodles and salad.

Pan Seared Yellow Croaker

2011-05-28T10:17:00.003+02:00

Yellow Croaker fish is a very popular fish among Chinese people.
Then why am I barely learning about yellow croaker now?!?

It's so delicious, and so easy to prepare. a quick pan sear on 2 sides with a bowl of steamed rice, and you are good to go.

On our last trip to the Asian market, they were having a special Mothers Day sale where their frozen fish was a fraction of the cost. Now, I typically prefer fresh fish but when frozen fish is on sale, then I go where my wallet takes me.

The 5 pound box of fish contained a bunch of small sized yellow croakers that were not yet gutted. The fish gutting process took much longer than the actual cooking time (especially because the fish were so tiny) so it was tedious and I had to do it gingerly.

After gutting, I simply rubbed a little salt on each side, added a drizzle of oil in a heavy pan on high heat, and seared the little suckers.
Only sear each side once (do not flip the fish several times), and turn the fish when the skin is loosened from the pan and there is a crunchy char (this is true anytime you sear anything).

Both Jeff and our dinner guest enjoyed the fish. She was even more happy with the fact that she was eating a home-cooked Chinese meal -- these are hard to come by.
I love cooking for people when they appreciate it (both the food, and my efforts). =)

French Onion Soup

2011-05-28T10:01:00.001+02:00

We recently had some dinner guests over and I served French Onion Soup as one of the side dishes.
In the past, I made french onion soup using chicken broth and white wine. It was very delicious, but this time, I decided to be more bold and use beef broth and red wine.

The verdict?

It's the land of no return. Beef broth and red wine only moving forward!
The flavor was more rich and bold.
I think everyone enjoyed the soup, and Jeff even said that its wayyy better than the french onion soup we had in France! What a compliment.

Unfortunately, french onion soup never comes out nice in pictures I take.
This picture does not do justice to how it tastes.

The ingredients consists of 1 stick of butter, about 6 onions (thinly sliced), 2 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, 1 cup red wine, 3 spoonfuls of flour, 2 quarts of beef broth, 1 sliced baguette, and 1/2 pound of grated gruyere (great prices at Trader Joes for gruyere!).

In a large pot, melt the butter and add in the onions, bay leafs, salt and pepper. I turned the onions over and over and over for about 25 minutes until it was carmelized (good food takes time!)
I then added in the wine, and kept stirring until all the wine evaporated. Remove the bay leaves and add in the flour. Cook the flour for about 10 minutes until its cooked and mixed with the onions. Add in all the broth and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

When you are ready to eat, get your oven safe bowls, and ladle in the soup, 2 slices of toasted baguette per bowl, and a TON of gruyere cheese. yum yum!
Pop it in the broiler until its bubbling and melted.

My own attempt at Pho

2011-05-28T09:46:00.000+02:00

I love pho. It's so hearty, tasty and rich.
I was excited when I was at Ranch99 and found a jar of their broth base on sale.
I bought a jar of the broth base, some beef flank, pho vermicelli noodles, and beef balls with tendons. I went the cheap route and did not buy the tendons and tripe.

Where I live, its so hard to find good pho, so making at-home pho with a powdered broth base seems a win to me!

I first simmered the beef flank in water and onions to create a tasty broth, and to cook the beef down so its softer. Then following the engrish directions on the broth jar label, I dissolved the broth powder and added in the seasonings bag. Finally adding in the beef balls to cook last. When I was ready to eat, I boiled the pho vermicelli noodles for a minute, strained, then placed them into bowls. Ladling the pho soup over the bed of noodles.

My pho does not *look* like your traditional pho, but it sure tasted like it. And making it at home is so much cheaper and so easy too. Maybe next time, I'll get the tendons and mint leaves.

Grilling is not limited to the summertime

2011-05-18T09:15:00.003+02:00

One of the many perks to living in Los Angeles is that grilling is not limited to the summertime. In fact, we grill year round because the weather is so wonderful!

Early last month, we had my sister and her husband over for dinner, so of course we had to pull out our grill! I cannot remember the reason why we got our hands on some yummy rib eye steaks, but I'm glad we did.

The steak came out so tasty and tender -- it was a big hit. Big thanks to the grill master!
I also baked up some fluffy baked potatoes and quickly chopped up a simple salad.

Yes, I know you wish you could come over to my house for dinner every night. =).

our grill master. kiss the cook! muah!

chopped salad

a little grill seasoning, and it's ready to go on the grill

Rib eye steaks are my fav cut of steak. I prefer my steaks rare or medium-rare.
The fat keeps it juicy and tasty. Cut off the fat before eating.

baked potatoes

The (under dressed) hosts!

Oh well. That glass of red wine makes us look a little bit fancy

tofu

2011-05-15T19:45:00.000+02:00

I can't think of a better name for this dish.
I was thinking along the lines of "scallion tofu", or "soy sauce simmered tofu" or "simmered tofu with scallions", but they all got too long. We will just call this dish "tofu" and leave it at that.

After returning from my Europe trip, my stomach felt all wierd. My stomach would feel hungry, but did not have an appetite for anything meaty or anything greasy. We spent the entire week eating veggies and tofu.
I was very happy with how the tofu dish came out.

Scallions were on sale at the asian market, 7 bunches for $1.
I chopped up a bunch of scallions, and sliced up 2 boxes of tofu. (we eat lots of tofu in this house. 1 box is too small!). I first browned each side of the tofu in my skillet, with a little bit of oil. It actually takes a while to brown each sides, since the tofu is cold and moist. Finally, when each side is golden is crispy, i pushed the tofu aside in my skillet, added a teeny dab of oil, and threw the chopped scallions in the oil. Once the scallions started to cook (and you can smell its yummy smell), I used a spatula to turn the tofu and scallions together. I was using high heat to brown the tofu, so turn down the heat to low, to add in the water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar. Let it simmer until the tofu sucks up the soy sauce mixture.

Oven fries

2011-04-22T05:35:00.000+02:00

I made these a while ago, but I must document this fantastic recipe.
I love french fries, but we all know they are so unhealthy. Now that I discovered that baking up yams and potatoes at a high heat can make equally delicious "fries", I'm glad I can enjoy a healthier alternative.

First, you thinly slice the yams and potatoes. Then toss them in in olive oil, sea salt, onion salt, and black pepper. Bake in oven for 475 F for 30 mins or until desired crispiness. It should be very crispy and tasty!

Yummy!
Of course, you can also use entirely yams or entirely potatoes!

Cinnamon Chicken Drumsticks

2011-04-22T04:52:00.000+02:00

Ok.. I know this might sound weird (possibly even gross), but chicken seasoned with cinnamon actually tastes really good!!
It gives the chicken a uniquely sweet flavor.
I really recommend trying it out before passing any judgments!

This dish was actually inspired by a Persian dish my sister once made .

I like chicken drumsticks the best, so I always make this dish with drumsticks. But I'm sure you can do this with other parts of the chicken too.
Its so fast and simple: I sprinkle cinnamon and kosher salt under the chicken skin, and put the skin back in place. Placed the drumsticks on a baking sheet, and baked at 415 degrees for about 35 minutes. It came out salt, sweet, crunchy on the outside, and perfectly moist on the inside.

This is my go-to dish when I am rushed whipping up a meal. ( I got home from work at 8:00pm today, and I was eating dinner by 8:45pm, because I made this dish. What a life saver!)

Steamed Dungeness Crabs. My fav

2011-04-19T05:51:00.001+02:00

Last week, after I went back to my hometown to dye my mom's hair, on our way back home, we stopped by El Monte Superstore to pick up some dungeness crabs. I like going there since their groceries is always very affordable (this is also the store where I bought the bamboo for my bamboo chicken dish).

We always get our dungeness crabs from El Monte Superstore since its way cheaper than Ranch99, or any other American place.
Sadly, when we got there, the price of crabs was $7.99 per pound!
I have gotten it for $3.99 a pound in the past from that store, but unfortunately, the prices have gone up (must be because it's not crab season?).
Oh well, we still really enjoy eating steamed crab, so it will be worth it anyways.

Once we got home, with 2 crabs in tow, I busted out my handy dandy 3 tiered steamer (but I only used 2 tiers) and steamed up those sucks. It takes probably 15 minutes, from start to finish.

The crab's natural flavor is quite delicious that I don't need any salt or butter or lemon. Plain is the best.

Baked (not microwaved) potatoes

2011-04-19T05:10:00.001+02:00

I love potatoes in almost any form. One of my more favorite forms is the baked potato -- its natural flavor is so tasty, and all I need a little butter and salt and I am in a happy mood. I also love that it goes well with most dishes.

A few weeks ago, I had my sister over for steaks (we made some rib eye on the ourdoor grill), and I also made a tossed salad. I needed to quickly think of a side dish to go with the steak. Why... of course easy-peasy baked potato would go well with the dish. Like I always say, I'm a meat and potatoes kind of girl.

When I am not cooking for guests, I don't mind eating potatoes cooked in the microwave. Its fast (4 mins in the microwave) and still tastes great, but it does not have the wonderfully crispy potato skin that baked potatoes have. Also, the potato meat is not as flaky and fluffy the way baked potatoes are.

(btw, don't let anyone tell you that you can make "baked" potato in the microwave. They don't know what they are talking about. You can make "microwaved" potatoes in the microwave, but you can only make "baked" potato in the oven. You need the dry heat of the oven to get the crispy skin).

How I make baked potatoes is really simple. Scrub all the dirt off the potatoes, poke it several times with a fork, then drizzle olive oil and kosher salt all over the potato. I baked for 1 hour on 350, placed directly on a sheet of foil on the oven rack. (If you are making more than 4 potatoes, then it will take about 1 hour 15 minutes).
Comes out perfect every time!

I enjoy a teeny bit of butter melted inside, and that's it. The salt, I get from the kosher salt rubbed on the skin (prior to baking).

Bamboo Chicken

2011-04-18T08:10:00.000+02:00

Jeff loved this dish, and I even inspired my friend to make her own version of this too.

I love bamboo but I rarely eat it since I don't go asian shopping often. And when I do, bamboo isn't exactly on my mind when I shop, I am usually shopping for staples such as green veggies, fresh fruits, and meats.

However, during my recent visit to the Asian store (to buy dungeness crabs), the bamboo was placed in the front of the store... and I also happened to be really hungry when I was shopping, so I had to buy some!

To make the dish, I first thinly sliced some chicken (I use dark meat, but you can use white), and marinated it a little soy sauce, mixed with some tapioca starch to soften the meat up (gives it the gooey texture you find in a lot of asian dishes).
I used canned bamboo rather than fresh bamboo since it's WAY cheaper, and sliced up the bamboo into smaller pieces. In a skillet, added a little oil and cooked the chicken until it was almost cooked then added in the bamboo. The bamboo can be consumed as is, so you are really merely heating it up on the stove, rather than cooking it. Add in some oyster sauce to give it the sweet flavor and xiaoxing cooking wine for an additional layer of flavor (this is optional).

The dish was light and tasty. The dish can also be substituted with beef, pork, or tofu.

Soy braised pork and sauteed bok choy

2011-04-18T02:34:00.001+02:00

Soy braised pork in the slow cooker is one of my favorite slow cooker meals. Enjoy the pork ladled over a bowl of rice. Mmm. I love asian food.

I picked up some "pork for stew" from the super market, which are end pieces of pork sold cheaply. You can also use shoulder pork blades cut into chunks for this dish as well.

Added to the slow cooker: 3 pounds of cubed pork, soy sauce, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, sliced ginger, some salt and pepper. I also added in some dried seaweed to add in some additional flavor. Slow cook on Low for 8-9 hours.

It comes out delicious and perfect every time.

Don't forget to have some vegetables with your meal everyday.
To have some quick Asian veggies to go with your Asian pork, cut up and wash up some small bok choy. Separate the stems from the leaves because stems take longer to cook.
heat up a skillet, add in olive oil and minced garlic. Add the stems in and saute until its somewhat tender. Add in the bok choy leaves and a sprinkle of kosher salt until wilted.

Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes

2011-04-11T21:15:00.001+02:00

Yes! it's another slow cooker dish!
This time, it's a side dish: scalloped potatoes.

Typically, scalloped potatoes are made in the oven, where it comes out bubbly and crunchy at the top. Although I prefer that over the slow cooker version, where there is no crunchy bubbliness, but on a work night... convenience wins. :)

I sliced up about 3 pounds of potatoes, with the skin still on. I did it manually since I don't own a mandolin slicer, and personally, those things creep me out. Usually, the recipe calls for cream of mushroom soup, but I *hate* cream of mushroom soup. I found this thing called "cream of chicken" soup at the store. Never heard of it, but willing to try it, so I threw that with the potatoes. Added cream (I use half & half, which has less fat than cream), salt, and several handfuls of cheese.

Set the slow cooker on high for 6 hours. I used a timer to shut off my slow cooker at the 6 hour mark, since I would am not home to turn it off).
The potatoes came out warm, creamy, and cheesy. Who wouldn't enjoy that. =)
Unfortunately, I made too much (I recommend 1 pound next time, not 3 pounds), and I ended up having to toss some. =(

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

2011-03-26T01:19:00.004+01:00

Here is the first food post since my hiatus!

Don't be surprised to see many slow cooker meals posted up on here. The slow cooker is such a life saver because I work such long days, it is much easier to throw together food in a pot in the morning, turn it on LOW, and have dinner ready and waiting for me when I return home.

Some people think that slow cookers are only for cold winter nights -- don't let them fool you. I enjoy meals out of my slow cooker year round. You are not limited to soups (did you know you can even bake a cake in a slow cooker?), and having a meal ready for you when you get home from work is better than no meal at all!

This was the first time I made chicken curry in the slow cooker and it came out such a success. To make it even a bigger success, when I added a dallop of plain nonfat yogurt to my chicken curry right before eating it, it came out so creamy and so rich... and Damn Delicious! Sure, you can make a dish creamy by adding fatty creams to the dish, but why would you do that... plus, the tartness of the plain yogurt adds a nice bite to the dish.

I got a head start the night before on this dish, to get the busy-work out of the way, so I can sleep in a bit longer in the morning.
The night before, I de-fatted and de-boned the chicken (I used dark meat). I discard the fat and saved the bones in the freezer (to make chicken stock in the future).

I cut the chicken into 1 inch cubes and placed into the slow cooker. On my vegetable-only cutting board, I chop up carrots and onions and add that to the slow cooker as well.

NOTE: I use separate cutting boards for meats and vegetables to prevent cross contaminatio I can't stand n00bs who don't understand that raw meats has bacteria, so you want to play it safe, even if you wash your cutting boards thoroughly.

The next morning, I scrubbed up and chopped up some potatoes. I do not peel the potatoes since the skin is delicious and I do not cut it the night before since potatoes oxidizes (just like cut apples). Add the potatoes to the slow cooker, as well as some tomato paste (i use canned), 2 tbs of curry (nothing fancy, the kind from Albertsons), and some cumin, salt and pepper. I had some leftover chicken broth in the fridge, so I dumped all of that into the slow cooker, then added some water to supplement. I also like my curries and sauces to be thick so I added 4 heaping spoonfuls of flour to the pot. Perhaps I could have used corn starch or tapioca starch, but because all my kitchen supplies are packed away neatly (our kitchen is under renovation so I need to cook out of my make-shift kitchen), I dont have my entire kitchen arsenal on-hand.

Mix everything together in the slow cooker so everyone gets a coating of each ingredient, then turn on the slow cooker to "Low" setting and let it run for 8 hours.

When I came home, the entire house smelled so good!

Give the entire pot a quick stir, then ladle a big helping of chicken curry over a bed of rice (I eat brown rice).
Don't forget to mix in the plain nonfat yogurt if you like, to add additional creamy tartness.

New look. New format.

2011-03-21T03:32:00.001+01:00

Its been 2 years since my last post, and almost 4 years since I started this blog. It's time for a brand new look & feel, and resume posting on the (somewhat) regular basis.

For those who have forgotten what the previous blog looked like, here is a screenshot:

I dropped the ball on updating the blog regularly, because the entire task was very daunting: while trying to cook an entire meal on a work night in my hungry and exhausted state, I need to take photos of every step of the preparation &cooking process? After uploading the photos from the camera to the computer to the blog, I found writing the actual blog post very difficult: I never use measurements when I cook, but when writing each post in traditional recipe format, I must include the actual measurement for every ingredient?
The entire task from start to finish was very difficult.

In the end, I could not keep any of that up and stopped blogging.

Here is my soluition moving forward:

No more step-by-step photos directions. Text only.
No more recipes in traditional 'recipe' format. This means; no exact measurements, no bullet list of ingredients, no enumerated list of instructions.
As I always remind people, cooking is not about exact steps and measurements. Cooking is about using some information (whether its a cooking technique, or dinner meal idea) and adding your own twist and creativity to your dish.
Thus, it is contradictory for me to post step-by-step directions how to cook, and how much of each ingredient.
My blog entries will now be in log or "diary" form.
Lastly, I need to keep in mind that this blog is supposed to be for 'fun'. =)

- Jen

Veggie Omelet!

2009-03-04T08:47:00.005+01:00

Omelets are great for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner!

Feel free to add meat into your omelet but I made mine vegetarian.

Veggie Omelet

Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 6 mushrooms, sliced
- 1/4 small onion, diced
- 1/4 avocado, sliced
- a small handful of spinach (I used frozen spinach since that doesn't rot in the fridge)
- a slash of milk
- salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

2. Saute onions, mushrooms, and spinach

3. Add the eggs, and turn heat down to medium heat.

4. Lift up parts of the cooked egg, to let the raw egg on top drip down and get cooked.

5. Cover with a lid, until the omelet is cooked

6. Plate the omelet, folded and half, and top with sliced avocado.

7. Serve with hash browns and bacon! yay!

Stir Fried Bitter Melon

2009-03-01T00:54:00.009+01:00

I remember hating bitter melon when I was a kid. It was so ridiculously bitter, I could not imagine anyone enjoying this dish. But slowly as I got older, I slowly learned to love the unique bitter flavor. It is definately an acquired taste.
Bitter melon is a tropical and sub tropical fruit commonly consumed in South/South East Asia, China, Africa, and Carribbean.

Stir Fried Bitter Melon

Ingredients
- 2 bitter melons
- 1 tbsp Chinese fermented black beans, (a little smashed)
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup of water

Instructions
1. Cut the bitter melon lengthwise, and gently remove the seeds

2. Slice the bitter melon into thin slices

3. In a wok or skillet, heat up the bitter melon in a little oil.

4. Add the black beans and salt, and toss evenly. Add the water

5. Cover the bitter melons and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the melons are tender and thoroughly cooked. Add more water is needed.

6. Eat as a side, with steamed rice.

Hearty Beef Chili

2009-03-01T00:06:00.011+01:00

Warm hearty chili, perfect for dinner on a cold day.
I prefer to make my chili using fresh chunks of beef, rather than the traditional ground beef. However, feel free to substitue this recipe with any type/cut of beef you prefer.

Hearty Beef Chili

Ingredients:
- 1.5 pounds of beef. Cut into tiny cubes
- 1 tsp of cumin
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp of red pepper flakes
- 1.5 cups of water (use 1 cup if you prefer a thicker chili)
- 15 oz of Cannellini beans, drained
- 24 oz of canned diced tomates
- 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
- 3 oz of tomato paste
- 1 cup of diced onions
- Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Brown the beef and onions

2. Add water, tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin, cannellini beans, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce

3. Stir, cover, and simmer for about 25 minues.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Enjoy! Also tastes great with toasted bread. :)

Pine Nut Green Beans

2009-01-21T15:26:00.000+01:00

String beans are good... but I always felt like they were so lonely!
When trying to figure out how to make string beans more exciting... PINE NUTS popped in my head.
These delicious toasty little nuts are the perfect sidekick to string beans.

Pine Nut Green Beans

Ingredients:
- 1 pound of string beans
- 1/3 cup of pine nuts
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Blanch your string beans, by throwing them in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes, or until almost tender. Drain.
2. In a dry skillet, toast your pine nuts over medium heat. Be careful, because these can quickly burn!

3. In a separate pan, add olive oil, and minced garlic.

4. Add pine nuts and string beans.

5. Toss with salt and pepper.

6. Serve

Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2009-01-21T03:33:00.008+01:00

This dish is so fancy, it's guaranteed to impress any dinner date!
Even non-goat-cheese-lovers admit to loving this dish!

Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:
- 5 chicken breats, de-boned, and de-skinned.
- 4 oz of goat cheese.
- 1 cup of bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- Salt and black pepper

Instructions:
1. Remove all bones and skin/fat from your chicken breasts.

2. Using a thin knife, carefully cut a pocket into the entire chicken breast. Try to do this, while only creating a small hole on the entrance of the chicken breast (where you stick your knife in).

3. Mix your goat cheese with about 2 tsp of black pepper.

4. Divide the goat cheese mixture into 5 equal parts (since you have 5 chicken breasts).

5. Stuff the chicken breasts with the goat cheese, being careful not to tear the meat.

6. Sprinkle the top and bottom of the chicken breasts lightly with salt and pepper.

7. Beat your egg in a shallow bowl.

8. Dip the chicken breast in the egg, then coat in the bread crumbs.

9. Place the breaded chicken breast in the pan.

10. Turn when the bread crumbs turn golden.

11. Place the entire chicken breasts into an oven, at 365F for about 20 minutes, or until chicken breast is fully cooked.

12. Enjoy your meal! The melted goat cheese will ooze out of the moist chicken breasts.

Toasted Butternut Squash Seeds

2009-01-21T03:28:00.005+01:00

I just realized that I posted about Butternut Squash mash, but not recipe for toasted butternut squash seeds!!

These sweet crunchy treats make a wonderful snack after dinner.

Toasted Butternut Squash Seeds

Ingredients:
- Seeds of 1 butternut squash
- 2 tsp olive oil
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- 2 tsp of brown sugar

Instructions:
1. Rinse and pat dry the butternut squash seeds

2. Mix the seeds together with the oil, cinnamon, and sugar.

3. Toast at 350F for 8-10 minutes, or until toasted.

4. Yum

Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon

2009-01-03T21:05:00.009+01:00

Bacon is delicious! And so is brown sugar!
Put them together, and you get deliciousness^2!

Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon

Ingredients
- 1 lb. bacon
- 1 cup of brown sugar

Directions
1. Lay each strip of bacon on a paper towel, blotting each slice dry.

2. Pour the brown sugar into a wide plate, making an even layer of brown sugar on the plate.

3. Coat both sides of the bacon in the brown sugar. Make sure you press the sugar into the bacon.

4. Preheat your oven to 435.

5. Place the bacon onto a sheet pan.

6. Place the bacon in the oven, until brown and glazed (15 minutes or so). You can also use the broiler, which takes less time.

7. Transfer to onto paper towels to soak up any excess grease.

Simple Butternut Squash Mash

2008-12-26T02:49:00.009+01:00

Butternut squash so sweet and so delicious, I have no idea why I never make it more often!

Butternut squash is so commonly overlooked as a dish to make during the holidays.
But here is a little secret: it is quick and easy to make.

Make this dish as a side for a holiday meal, and you are sure to WOW the crowd.

Simple Butternut Squash Mash

Ingredients:
- 1 butternut squash - roughly4 pounds
- 3 tbsp of brown sugar
- Water

Instructions
1. Cut the butternut squash in half, and remove the seeds. Save the seeds for toasting later :)

2. Cook the butternut squash.
You can do this by steaming this for 30 minutes, or covering the butternut squash halfway with water, and cooking in the microwave for 15 minutes.

3. When the squash is done cooking, let cool, and peel off the skin.

4. Mash the squash in a bowl, and mix in brown sugar. You can also use maple syrup in place of brown sugar.

5. Enjoy!

Seafood Vegetable Medley

2008-12-26T00:00:00.007+01:00

I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday season, filled with lots of warmth, love, and FOOD!!

Here is a dish that is much lighter than typical holiday fare: seafood and vegetable medley!
A lot more figure friendly, and it won't put you to sleep!

Seafood Vegetable Medley

Ingredients
- 1 pound of shrimp
- 0.5 pounds of imitation crab meat (or any other seafood ingredient of your choice)
- 3 ounces of fish, cubed
- 1 cup of chopped veggies. I picked asparagus and edamame
- 1 tsp of oil
- salt for taste. About 1 tsp, more or less depending on preference.
- 1 tsp of tapioca starch
- 0.5 cup of water

Instructions
1. Heat the oil in the skillet.
2. Add all the ingredients, except for the shrimp, since shrimp cooks faster than the rest.

3. Stir for about 3 minutes.

4. Add in the shrimp.

5. Stir and add the salt.

6. Dissolve the tapioca starch in the 0.5 cup of water and add to the skillet. This creates a thickened gooey gravy.

7. Heat on medium high until boiling.

8. Serve

Yellow + Italian Squash for Halloween

2008-11-01T23:26:00.004+01:00

For Halloween this year, I went over to a friend's apt for a small get-together.
He was grilling chicken and sausages at the party, so I offered to bring over some type of vegetable dish (to offset all that meat!)

I decided to cook up a squash dish. I usually prefer Italian squash, however, to make the dish a bit more colorful, I added some Yellow squash too!

This recipe is very easy and requires practically 0 preparation time.
After a busy long day at work, I had enough time to squeeze into my Halloween outfit, whip up my squash dish, and head over to the party!

Yellow + Italian Squash for Halloween

Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of squash (italian & yellow)
- 1 tbsp of seasoned salt (less if you don't like it so salty)
- 1 cup of chicken broth or 1 cup of water + 1 chicken bouillon cube
- pinch of salt

Instructions:
1. Peel and slice the squash into strips. I actually like to leave half of the peel on, for more fiber, without eating all that hard bitter peel.

2. In a skillet, heat up a bit of oil.

3. Toss in the squash and seasoned salt + pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly.

4. Add the water/broth and cover the skillet.

5. Let the squash simmer until they are cooked thoroughly (takes about 10-15 minutes). Be sure to stir occasionally, so all the squash has a chance to soak up the broth.

6. Scoop it onto a plate, and bring the dish over to a Halloween party!

Chicken Chow Fun/Rice Noodles

2008-11-01T10:33:00.005+01:00

This is an Asian noodle dish, where the noodles are thin, flat, white, and made out of rice. These are usually referred to as rice noodles or "chow fun" (I think the name is derived from a Cantonese pronunciation?)

I prefer my chow fun with beef, but since I rarely cook beef in the household (I just consume beef when dining out), I used dark chicken meat instead.

Chicken Chow Fun

Ingredients:
- 1 pound of chicken meat. Cut into strips
- 3 eggs
- 1 package of rice noodles. These are usually freshly made and warm at your local Asian market.
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp of oyster sauce.
- 1/2 cup of onions, sliced. I actually forgot the onions when I made the dish, so please do not make the same mistake
- chopped green onions (optional)
- Veggies of your choice. I chose some leftover cooked broccoli I had lying around.

Instructions:
1. In an oiled skillet, add the chicken strips and onions + green onions until almost cooked.

2. Scramble some eggs in the same skillet.

3. Add the rice noodles.

4. Add the veggies, soy sauce and oyster sauce, and mix.

5. Cover and let the noodles cook for 8 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

sloppy joes

2008-10-13T04:04:00.004+02:00

I crave sloppy joes, about, once every 10 years.
How about you?

Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 can tomato sauce (8 ounces)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup of water

Instructions:

1. Ground the beef

2. Add the onions and cook until translucent

3. Add the rest of the ingredients, and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Scoop into toasted hamburger buns

Chinese Chicken Curry

2008-10-13T03:23:00.003+02:00

Curry is pretty good.

I love thai curries, (my fav!) japanese curries, indian curries, chinese curries... hmm. these are all Asian.
Is there such a thing called European curry?
If so, I would love to try some of that!

But for today's recipe, it is a Chinese chicken curry dish. But I think I added so many veggies, it's probably more a veggie dish rather than chicken dish!

Chinese Chicken Curry

Ingredients
- 8 legs of chicken meat (you can also use any other meat of your choice)
- 2 potatoes, cubed
- 5 carrots, chopped
- 3 tbsp curry powder
- dash of salt
- 1 cup of water
- 1/2 of onion, chopped

Instructions:
1. De-bone the chicken, and discard the fat/skin. Reserve the bones in your freezer to make chicken broth.

2. Cut chicken meat into bones.

3. Cut up veggies.

4. In an oiled skillet, toss the chicken and the onions until the chicken is cooked on the outside

5. Add the potatoes and carrots and salt. Stir.

6. Add the curry powder and water. The water should cover the veggies + meat.

7. Boil then simmer for about 20 minutes.

8. All done! Phew that was easy. Enjoy with rice.

Shapely Steamed Buns (man tou)

2008-10-12T08:25:00.004+02:00

I love eating steamed buns (pronounced "man tou" in Chinese).
What is also fun, is making the steamed buns.
What is even more fun, is making the steamed buns into fun shapes and sizes!

What to learn more about steam buns/man tou?
Mantou sometimes known as Chinese steamed bun, is a kind of steamed bun originating from China. It is typically eaten as a staple in Northern parts of China where wheat rather than rice is grown. Made with milled wheat flour, water and leavening agents, they are similar in nutrition and eating qualities to the white bread of the West. A similar food, but with a filling inside, is baozi.

Last weekend, I took the time to make some fresh homemade steamed buns.
Below are the proportions and instructions.

To see my Steamed-Bun-Making photos, go here:

Making Steam Buns (Man Tou)

http://picasaweb.google.com/xJenniferLinx/MakingSteamBunsManTou

Steamed Buns (Man Tou)

Ingredients:

- 4 cups of flour

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1.5 cups of warm water

- Slightly less than 1 tbsp of yeast

Instructions:
1. In a cup, pour the yeast into half a cup of warm water. Sit for 15 minutes

2. Mix together the flour and sugar

3. In a giant mixing bowl, make a hole in the center, and pour in the yeast mixture, and the remaining cup of warm water

4. Thoroughly mix the ingredients together.

5. Cover the bowl and let the dough sit for 15 minutes.
6. Knead the dough.

7. Return the dough to the bowl and let it sit in a warm room for an hour or two. The dough should rise.

8. Knead the dough.

9. Roll the dough into small buns. You can also make the buns into creative shapes and sizes (look at my photo gallery for my shapes).

10. Get your steamer ready by boiling some water.

11. Line the steamer with a wet towel, or paper towel, and set your buns in the steamer, about 2 inches apart.

12. Steam for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

How Long Is That Food Good For?

2008-09-30T22:57:00.001+02:00

nbc has a slide show, on how long food lasts.
I recommend everyone to stop and watch it!

http://www.nbc11.com/slideshow/health/14221271/detail.html

Black Bean Chicken

2008-09-22T23:34:00.005+02:00

As a kid, I hated black beans in my food.
But lately, I decided to buy a package of black beans to give black beans another chance, and now I am in love!

What is "black beans" anyways?
It is also called Chinese fermented black beans, and is a flavoring most popular in Chinese cuisine. It is made by fermentingand salting soybeans. The process turns the beans black, soft, and mostly dry. The flavor is sharp, pungent, and spicy in smell, with a taste that is salty and somewhat bitter and sweet.

Please note, this recipe uses actual black beans that I got from Chinatown. Not to be confused with the "black bean sauce" cheaters use. =P
Real chefs use the actual black beans...

Even Wikipedia says so! :
"In Chinese cuisine, a condiment called black bean paste or black bean garlic sauce (蒜蓉豆豉酱) is made from douchi, as well as garlic and soy sauce, a typical combination used for seasoning a dish. This paste is commercially available in glass jars from companies such as Lee Kum Kee, although most Chinese restaurant chefs prefer to use actual douchi to prepare such sauces rather than using commercially available black bean paste."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douchi

Black Bean Chicken

Ingredients:
- 8 chicken drumsticks, or about 1 pound of your favorite chicken meat
- 3 tbsp of black beans
- 1 tsp of oyster sauce
- 1 tsp of soy sauce
- 1/4 medium onion, chopped
- pinch of salt and pepper
- optional ingredient: green bell peppers
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- sprinkle of water

Instructions:
1. De-fat and de-skin your chicken meat. Didn't I do a great job? :) (save the bones in your freezer. Make broth later).

2. Chop the onion and any other veggie you decide to toss in.

3. Run your knife through the black beans. You can also smash the black beans with the side of your knife.

4. Add oil to the skillet, and toss the onions and garlic until golden.

5. Add the chicken to the pan, and toss until the chicken is cooked on the outside

6. Add the salt and pepper to the chicken.

7. Add the sauces and black beans to the pan. Stir until it is evenly mixed.

8. Add a sprinkle of water, turn the heat down to medium-high, and cover. Let simmer for about 8-10 minutes or until the meat is thoroughly cooked.

this recipe goes great with fish too!

Salmon Cakes

2008-09-20T04:18:00.004+02:00

Was my last post seriously the olive oil post from over a month ago?
Wow!
Time flies...

I was fortunate last week, to find time aside to make some salmon cakes.
I've been wanting to make some type of fish patty dish for quite some time!

What better fish is there to use other than salmon?
It's high in Omega-3 fatty acids, high in protein, and high in vitamin D. yum yum.

Salmon Cakes.

Note: You can form them into large patties and serve between hamburger buns.
Or you can be like me and form them into mini patties and enjoy it over rice (I enjoy everything over rice...)

Ingredients:
- 4 salmon filets (about 3-4 ounces each or so)
- 1/3 a large onion
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup corn or tapioca starch (I also added a few tbsp of flour on top of this too)
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs
- 3 eggs
- sprinkle of any of your favorite herbs
- 1 tsp hot sauce

Instructions:
1. Cook the salmon in the microwave (about 3-4 minutes per side). You can also broil the fish in the oven if you desire so.

2. Flake the cooked salmon, until you have a big bowl of salmon flakes!

3. Mince your onion

4. Throw in all the ingredients and mix very well.

5. Make sure the mixture is sticky, so it can form into patties. Heat up oil in a skillet.

6. Form your patties, and place them on the skillet.

7. Cook the salmon until it's golden brown on each side.

8. Line a plate with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

9. Enjoy!

Drop that butter! Use olive oil instead!

2008-08-14T21:44:00.009+02:00

As much as I agree that food tastes great with tons of butter,
I really do not recommend consuming a lot of butter.

Believe me.. I've seen other people cook ...
They use tons of butter in their cooking without realizing how unhealthy it is, just because they are either:
(a.) following a recipe
(b.) that's how (insert name here) always made it.

Well, hey, guess what.
Times have changed -- your waistline and arterial walls are not as thin as they used to be.

Drop that butter! Use olive oil instead!

You can most definitely substitute olive oil for butter in your cooking and baking (yes! baking too!) without compromising the recipe.
I do it all the time.
Not only does my food taste great, but I feel a lot better (inside and out).

So please do not be afraid of breaking out of the confinements of a recipe, or how so-and-so used to make it.
Instead, just follow these easy conversions for a healthier dish!

Butter/Margarine to Olive Oil Conversion Chart

1 teaspoon butter = 3/4 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter = 2 1/4tsp olive oil
2 tablespoons butter = 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup butter = 3 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup butter = 1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup butter = 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup butter = 1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup butter = 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup butter = 3/4 cup olive oil

Not yet brave enough to do a full transition?
That's fine. Baby steps.
Use half-butter and half-olive oil in your cooking and slowly transition over =)

French Toast! YAY French Toast!

2008-08-10T03:20:00.005+02:00

Breakfast food is soo yummy.
I just wish I could get up early in the morning to actually enjoy breakfast!

French toast is one of my favorite breakfast items!

Enjoy French toast topped with powdered sugar or maple syrup. I did neither, since I really need to go to the grocery store..

Rich French Toast:

Ingredients-
- 6 slices of thick bread (I actually used 12-grain whole-wheat bread, because I try to be healthy... kind of odd french toast in the end, but it's healthier! hehe)
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- butter

Instructions:
1. Mix together the eggs, milk, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.

*NOTE*
I had trouble dissolving the clumps of flour, since I was stirring by hand with a tiny teaspoon.
Using a larger wooden spoon may help. Or use an electric mixter

2. Melt 1-2 tsp of butter on a hot skillet or griddle.

3. Dip your bread in your egg batter, for about 20 seconds per slice. Let the excess drip back into the batter bowl.

4. Lay down your bread onto the buttery skillet.

5. Flip the toast over, when it's golden

6. Cut the toast in half, diagonally and remove from the heat, when its golden on both sides.

7. Follow steps 2-6 until all your toast is used up!

8. Enjoy all that oily goodness. Don't forget the syrup and powdered sugar!

Tomato Beef Stew

2008-08-02T08:33:00.005+02:00

I never realized what a great combination beef and tomatoes are!
The tomatoes' sharp flavors combines well with beef's robust and meaty flavor.

This dish was inspired by the dish my ex-boss made recently at a potluck, and it also reminded me of a more soupier tomato and beef stew dish my Dad used to make at the restaurant he owned.

Based off those two inspirations, I created my own dish with my own input and ideas!

What I liked best about this dish, is that it's so healthy, and it can be refrigerated into tupperware containers, served over a bed of rice or pasta, for well-rounded sack lunch meal at the office! :)

Tomato Beef Stew

Ingredients:

- 3/4 pound of boneless beef (I just picked the cheapest cut of beef at the store =D)
- 5-6 medium tomatoes (I used roma tomatoes)
- 3 oz of tomato paste
- 2 tsp of soy sauce
- 1 tsp of brown sugar
- 1/3 of a large onion (I used had a gigantic onion, so i used about 1/5 of that =P)
- sprinkle of olive oil
- sprinkle of salt

Instructions:

1. Gather all your ingredients. Be sure to rinse all your produce and meats before starting.

2. Cut the beef into thin pieces or slices.

3. Mix the soy sauce and sugar in a bowl, and marinate the beef slices in this marinade for about 15 minutes.

4. Dice up your tomatoes and onions.

5. In a large skillet or wok, heat up some olive oil, then add your onions.

6. Saute the onions, then add the marinated beef

7. When the beef is almost cooked, add the tomatoes.

8. Stir the tomatoes until the juices start flowing.

9. Stir in the tomato paste, and bring the food to a bowl

10. Turn down the heat to low, and simmer for about 40 minutes.

11. Serve your tomato beef stew over a bed of rice of pasta, or place it in a tupperware for tomorrow's sack lunch!

French Green Beans

2008-07-20T05:18:00.009+02:00

Vegetables are definitely something I need to have more of. It's just so hard because it's so hard to always have fresh vegetables on hand! Veggies go bad so fast...

But don't get me wrong, I do love vegetables though!
The colorful dark ones are the best. They are more flavorful and are more nutritious than the pale, sad, ones (like lettuce).

One of my favorites, of course, is the delicious green beans. Just a dash of s & p (salt and pepper) and I can eat a plateful!

Sauteed French Green Beans

Ingredients:
- 12 ounces of extra fine french green beans (very tender!)
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1/4 cup of onion, coarsely chopped
- salt and pepper for taste
- 3 cups of boiling water
- 1 tbsp of olive oil

Instructions:
1. Bring 3 cups of water to boiling

2. Chop your onion.

3. Mince your garlic

4. Blanch your green beans, by boiling your green beans in the water for about a minute.

5. Drain your green beans and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.

6. In a skillet, heat up your olive oil, then add the garlic and onion.

7. When the onion is golden, toss in the green beans.

8. Add your s & p and toss some more.

9. You're done! Quick and delicious!!

Miso Salmon Steaks

2008-07-20T04:53:00.010+02:00

Miso is one of those things that I love but I rarely have!
And when I do have miso, it's usually in such small and subtle amounts, like in miso soups.
I want some miso that I can really dig my teeth into!
My Miso Salmon Steaks are the answer to my cravings!

And for those out there who have no idea what miso is:
"Miso (みそ or 味噌, Miso?) is a traditional Japanese food produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and the fungus kōjikin (麹菌, kōjikin?) (the most typical miso is made with soy). The typical result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso soup called Misoshiru (味噌汁, Misoshiru?), a Japanese culinary staple. High in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals, miso played an important nutritional role in feudal Japan"
-- (lazy Jen stole this from Wikipedia... hehehehehe)

Miso Salmon Steaks

Ingredients:
- 3 salmon steaks (about 4 -5 ounces each)
- 3 tbsp of miso paste (I prefer shiromiso/"white miso")
- 1 tsp of soy sauce (I actually used more in my original recipe, but the result came out too salty so I am cutting the soy sauce amount down to only 1 tsp)
- 2 tsp of brown sugar

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, thoroughly mix together the miso paste, soy sauce, and brown sugar

2. Place the salmon steaks on a baking sheet.

3. Evenly spread a layer of the miso mixture across all 3 salmon steaks.

4. Heat your oven to 400 degrees, and bake your salmon for about 20 minutes, or until the edges are crunchy and the fish meat is flaky.

5. All finished! Enjoy with steamed rice =) YUMM. loooove miso.

Ice Cream Baseballs

2008-07-20T04:35:00.008+02:00

Here is an idea for a quick and simple dessert: Ice Cream Baseballs!

Or you can also call them ice cream ping pongs... golf balls.... soft balls.... volleyballs.... depending on the size you decide to make 'em!
Volleyball sized for me please =D

This recipe is basically scooped ice cream rolled into crushed cookies of your choice, for example graham crackers, oreos, vanilla wafers, rice crispies.... the options are endless!

Ice Cream Baseballs

Ingredients:
- 4 scoops/balls of ice cream (2 per person). Any flavor ice cream.
- 1 - 2 cups of crushed cookies (depending on the size of your ice cream balls). I used graham crackers
- chocolate syrup

Instructions:
1. Break and crush your cookies, and lay the crumbs onto a flat surface, such as a large plate or cookie sheet.

2. Scoop our your ice cream, using a spatula to help shape the ice cream into perfect round balls.

3. Set the ice cream baseballs on top of the crumbs, and coat the ice cream with all the crumbs.

4. Set the ice cream into the freezer for at least 15 minutes. This can also be done before dinner
time, so the ice cream will set in the freezer as you enjoy dinner, and will be ready by dessert time!

5. Set the ice cream into serving bowls and drizzle with chocolate syrup!

Pan Seared Tofu with Scallions

2008-07-12T21:03:00.005+02:00

I found another set of pictures buried in my camera!
This time it's a tofu dish!
Yum, I love tofu. I should have tofu more often! It's healthy and also filling!

Pan Seared Tofu with Scallions

Ingredients:
- 1 box of 'firm' tofu
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 3 stalks of green onions/scallions. Use both the white and the green parts.
- 2 tsp of soy sauce

Instructions:
1. Cut tofu up into cubes and slice the green onions.

2. Generously oil the skillet, add the green onions, and and tofu.

3. Cook each side of the tofu until golden.

4. Add the sauce and mix evenly.

5. Enjoy with rice!

Such a simple recipe! It's only somewhat time consuming, to wait for the tofu to fry golden. But difficulty-wise, it's so easy!

Garlic & Herb Roasted Chicken

2008-07-08T10:00:00.022+02:00

Today, I had dinner at my ex-boss' house. It was a pot-luck themed dinner (where I brought in some dishes I made at home) even though it was just Lake (my ex-boss), Jeff (my boyfriend), and me eating. A really small get-together with a lot of food..... works for me! :)

The items I brought was: whole roasted chicken and scallion pancakes (recipe previously blogged here: http://jensconcoctions.blogspot.com/2008/06/scallion-pancakesgreen-onion-pancake.html).

Everyone loved the chicken, and Lake made sure she kept some of the chicken for lunch tomorrow!

I loved Lake's russian dish of tomato beef. I shall try out her recipe soon, and blog about afterward. So check back soon, for that recipe!

NOTE: this dish is a 2-day dish, so don't intend on making this on a work night! Save it for a weekend activity or romantic date night.

Garlic & Herb Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken (about 3-4 pounds)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp of any of your favorite dried herbs. I used basil.
- 1 tbsp of any of your favorite fresh herbs. I used finely minced parsely!
- 1.5 tbsp of salt-free garlic & herb powder
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 3 cloves of whole garlic, punctured.

Instructions:

DAY ONE:
1. Wash your chicken and remove the giblets. Pat dry your chicken with a paper towel. Dry the inside cavity of your chicken by stuffing a paper towel inside.

2. Using your fingers and a knife, carefully seperate the skin from the chicken, starting for the breast meat down to the legs. Make sure you do not puncture any holes through the skin. Use the knife to cut away the connective membrane.

3. In a bowl, mix together the salt, herbs, and garlic powder. Reserve 1/5 of the mixture aside.

4. Using your hands, evenly spread the herb mixture underneath the skin across the whole chicken, massaging the herbs into the meat.

5. Using the reserved mixture, dump the herb mixture into the cavity of the chicken and rub the herbs into the inside of the chicken. Drop the garlic cloves into the cavity.

6. Your hands should have excess herbs and salt stuck on it. Use it to wipe the excess herbs onto the outer skin of the chicken.
=) nothing goes to waste when I'm cooking!

7. Set your chicken into the fridge, and let it marinate overnight or for at least 6 hours. The salt also helps soften the chicken meat.

DAY TWO:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Drizzle and rub the olive oil onto both sides of your chicken.

2. Place your chicken, breast side down, on a roasting rack, with a roasting pan underneath to catch all the juices. The chicken is breast side down, so as the chicken roasts, all the juices will drip down into the breast, softening the breast meat.

3. Place your chicken into the often, for 20 minutes.

4. At the 20 minute mark, turn the oven down to 335 degrees F and roast for 40 minutes (you can use either 325 or 350 degrees, if your chicken is smaller or larger than mine).

5. At the 1 hour mark, turn the chicken over to brown the breast meat.

6. Roast for an additional 30-35 minutes. Puncture the thickest part of the meat (I check the thigh meat), to make sure the juices run clear.

7. Let the chicken sit for 10 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute. Isn't that beautiful?

Size of Jeff's head!

8. Serve the meat, and reserve the bones and carcass to make brothy soup! The bones should already be tasty enough to give the soup a lot of flavor and seasoning.
See. Nothing goes to waste when I'm cooking!

The pot-luck for 3 came out wonderful!
We also enjoyed red wine during our meal, and Cheesecake factory cheesecake for dessert.

Seafood Baby Bok Choy

2008-07-07T05:37:00.009+02:00

I am so behind on recipes!

I did not realize how behind I was until I checked my camera!

This dish is so refreshing and light.

I used fish pollock for the seafood component of this dish, but feel free to substitute using other seafood, such as mussels, scallops, or shrimp.

Seafood Bok Choy

Ingredients:

- 4 bunches of baby bok choy
- 6-8 ounces of sea food. (I used fish and cut it into cubes!)

- pinch of salt

- 2 tbsp of tapioca starch

Instructions:

1. Chop up the baby bok choy

2. Massage the flour into the seafood.

3. Blanch the bok choy in boiling water for 2 minutes and drain.

4. Well oil your skilled, and fry up your seafood until almost cooked (about 3 minutes on the skillet)

5. Add your bok choy and salt to the seafood and stir.

6. Add a splash of water, so the veggies are moist..

All done! yum!

Bacon Wrapped Mahi-Mahi

2008-06-20T03:15:00.005+02:00

Let me clear this up:

Mahi Mahi, also referred to as "dolphin fish" are NOT dolphins.
Dolphin fish is NOT a dolphin. Dolphins are mammals, and are protected from being fished.
Mahi mahi is a white fish, with a firm texture and mild flavor.

I decided to wrap some Mahi Mahi steaks with bacon, because hey... everything tastes great when wrapped in bacon! Broil for 7-10 minutes on each side, and *voila* tasty fish!.
Mahi-Mahi is great for grilling, and so is this recipe!

Bacon Wrapped Mahi-Mahi

Ingredients:
- 4 Mahi-Mahi steaks, about 5 ounces each, or so.
- some black pepper.
- 8 strips of bacon.

Instructions:
1. Lightly pepper your fish steaks. No salt is necessary in this recipe because bacon already has enough salt.

2. Wrap your fish with bacon, and place in a baking pan.

3. Set your broiler on high, and broil each side for 7-10 minutes.

this dish is so ideal for those busy evenings.. and very filling too.
oh, look how beautiful that is...

Sweet Mung Bean Soup

2008-06-17T01:22:00.004+02:00

I hated mung beans as a kid.

But for some reason, I love them now!

And that just works out perfect, since they are healthy and filling.

I love mung bean soup as a cold sweet dish for dessert. I cannot have it any other way. It's so easy too!

This dish is prefect for summer time. According to the chinese (me!), mung beans has the "cooling" effect. So not only is it good for a hot day, but if your body is full of "heat" or "fire", eating this will be good for you, to combat the flames! hehehe.

Sweet Mung Bean Soup

Ingredients

- 7 ounces of dried mung beans

- 13 cups of water

- 13 tbsp of sugar (more or less depending on your preference).

Instructions

1. Soak the beans in a big bowl overnight, or for at least 5 hours.

2. The next day, rinse the beans and place into a large pot.

3. Add 6 cups of water and bring the beans to a boil.

4. After boiling for about 5 minutes, the water should have a light green hue.

5. Pour this light green water into a large bowl to cool, and dissolve 6 tbsp of sugar.

6. Pour this mung bean water into a juice bottle, and chill until cool. Enjoy this as a drink.

7. In the meantime.. Pour 7 cups of water back into the pot with the mung beans and bring to a boil.

8. Simmer the mung beans for about 1.5 hours, or until the beans split open.

9. When the mung beans split open, dissolve 7 tbsp of suger into the soup, and let the soup chill in the fridge.

10. Enjoy the cold mung bean soup and mung bean drink on a hot day!

Brunch Egg Scramble

2008-06-11T23:11:00.006+02:00

If you have a lot of ingredients that you want to get rid of, make a scramble!

Brunch Egg Scramble

Ingredients:
- 1 large tomato
- 3 to 4 eggs (depending on size)
- 1/4 cup of milk
- 3 slices of bacon
- 1/4 slice of spam, chopped.
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup of shredded cheese of your choice
- if you have any other ingredients.. spinach.. mushrooms.. sausages.. add them in!

Instructions:
1. Dice the tomatoes

2. Cook the bacon on the stove, until crunchy. Drain on a towel

3. Dice the spam and bacon. I used old spam that I cooked the other day. You can use uncooked spam.

4. Add the salts, milk, and pepper to the egg, then beat.

5. Add oil to a skillet, fry up the tomatoes and spam. Then add the bacon.

6. Add the eggs into the skillet.

7. Scamble. When fully cooked, top with cheese until melted.

enjoy with toast!

Braised Trio –Shitake mushrooms, chicken, and tofu

2008-06-10T22:42:00.021+02:00

The soy-sauce braised trio consisting of shitake mushrooms, chicken, and tofu is so warm and delicious when served over a bowl of white rice. This dish is a favorite for my boyfriend and I, because we are both a fan of Asian shitake mushrooms. The dish is definitely not the same without the mushrooms.

Braised Trio –Shitake mushrooms, chicken, and tofu

Ingredients

1 cup of shitake mushrooms, pre-soaked in water, sliced in half.

1.5 pounds of chicken legs

3 cups water

½ cup of soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 chunk of fresh ginger

2 cloves of garlic

1 packaged cube of firm tofu, sliced into cubes.

extra water for boiling the chicken

Instructions:

1. The night before, soak the dried shitake mushrooms in water, so they soften.

2. The day after, drain the mushrooms, slice in half.

3. Boil the chicken legs in water for about 5 minutes, until foam emerges from the chicken.

4. Toss the foamy water and wash the chicken legs under running water.

5. Place chicken in a pot, add the 3 cups of water and ½ cup of soy sauce.

6. Bring the pot to a boil, and then add the sugar, ginger, mushrooms, and garlic.

7. Cut tofu into cubes. You can either add the cubes directly into the stew or fry up the tofu cubes until golden on all sides (yum!) then add into the stew.

8. When boiling, lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 25 minutes, turning the occasionally.

9. When finished, the chicken leg tendon should pull away from the joint bone, and meat should fall off the bone.

Serve the chicken, mushroom, and tofu in a bowl of steamed white rice. Ladle some sauce into the rice.

Scallion Pancakes/Green Onion Pancake

2008-06-10T22:13:00.010+02:00

Scallion pancakes are a Chinese dish, is a salty non-leavened flatbread folded in oil and green onions. The name in Chinese translates to “Scallion Oil Pancakes”. I always loved these as a kid. Now, I can make them myself, anytime I want! And so can you!

This dish is fairly time consuming, but it makes a great family activity!

Scallion pancakes

Ingredients:
- ¼ cup of vegetable oil
- 1 cup of hot water
- 4 cups of all purpose flour
- 4 stalks of green onions/scallions, diced finely.
- 5 tbsp of salt (or if you are me, make a mixture of 3 tbsp of chicken boullion powder with 2 tbsp of salt).
- Extra flour to flour your hands and large cutting board.

Instructions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and water together. Make sure the dough is not so sticky that dough sticks badly to the mixing bowl. Add more flour or hot water accordingly.

2. When the dough is thoroughly mixed, let the dough sit in the bowl for about 20 minutes.

3. Break the dough into 4 pieces.

4. Roll out 1 piece of dough onto a large cutting board. Flatten the dough into a large round pancake shape, about 1/8” thick.

5. Add a thin layer of vegetable oil to the whole surface of the pancake.

6. Add a thin layer of the salt mixture over the whole surface of the pancake. Lightly rub into the oily pancake surface.

7. Add a thin layer of chopped scallions onto the surface of the pancake.

8. Slice the pancake into 6 (or 7 or 8, depending on size) flower petals with the center of the pancake unsliced.

9. Fold each petal on top of the pancake center, each petal going on top of the previous petal.

10. Your pancake ball will now have 6 layers. Roll the pancake into a ball, then use the rolling pin to flatten the dough into a flat 1/8” thick pancake again, set aside.

11. Repeat steps 4-10 until all the dough is used up.

12. Heat up a well oiled skillet.

13. Place pancake in the skillet. Flip the pancake when golden.

14. Pancakes are done when both sides are golden.

15. Slice pancakes into wedges, and enjoy!

Chinese Pork and Cabbage Pot Stickers / Pan Fried Dumpings

2008-05-29T21:40:00.008+02:00

I love pot stickers (also known as pan fried dumplings). They're so crunchy on the outside, and tasty on the inside.
And making the pot stickers makes a fun afternoon activity too!

I definitely will make these again sometime soon.
I chose to make pork and cabbage dumplings because they are very basic ingredients, and it's very hard to go wrong. It was my first time making these, and I didn't have any recipe or guidance to help me out, so I was very nervous.

But now that I have made the dumplings with a very successful and delicious outcome, I will definately make more dumplings and switch up the ingredients. Ingredients that I will definitely use in the future are: chicken, shrimp, chinese chives, green onions... what else?

Chinese Pork and Cabbage Pot Stickers

Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of ground pork
- 1.5- 2 cups of cabbage, finely shredded and chopped (this is the hard part!). amount of cabbage depends on how much veggie to pork ratio you want. (i joked around that I was making cabbage dumplings with an essence of pork. hehe!)
- 1 tsp salt
- 4-5 tsp of soy sauce
- 1- 2 tsp pepper (white or black, your choice)
- 2 tsp tapioca or corn starch
- 2 - 3 tsp of minced garlic
- Extra flour to coat the pans for dumpling storage.
- 2 packets of store-bought dumpling wrappers/skin. (You can make the skin yourself too, but I'm not thaat patient.)

Instructions:
1. Chop the cabbage.

2. Mix in the salt into the cabbage and let sit for 10 minutes. Then squeeze out the excess water (i used a paper towel to get the water out).

3. Mix all the ingredients together (except the excess flour and dumpling wrappers). Stir until thoroughly mixed.

4. Lightly flour some cookie sheets.

5. Get the dumpling wrappers and fill it with enough meat mixture, making sure that you don't put in too much that it oozes out when you close up the dumpling.

6. Use a little bit of water to wet the edge of the dumpling, so when you close up the dumpling, it stays closed (like an envelope!)

7. When closing the dumping, bend the edges so it has a scalloped look.

8. Continue until all dumping wrappers are used. For me, I prepared the perfect amount of meat mixture with the perfect number of dumpling wrappers!

9. Set the made dumplings onto the floured cookie sheet.

Pan Fry the Dumplings:

9. Generously oil a nonstick pan or wok, and heat oil up on high.

10. Place dumplings into the pan, standing up.

11. When dumplings turn golden on the bottom, cover the dumplings 1/3 to 1/2 way up with water, and cover the pan. Turn heat on medium.

12. Let the dumplings cook in the boiling water and steam until almost all the water is gone.

13. Remove lid, turn heat to High, until all water evaporates.

14. EAT!

Pinto Bean Bacon Soup

2008-05-29T21:32:00.004+02:00

a warm, hearty, filling soup

Pinto Bean Bacon Soup

Ingredients:
- 1 cup of pinto beans, dry
- 4 cups of water
- 1 tbsp of salt to taste
- 4 -6 strips of bacon
- some chicken or pork bones to make broth.

Instructions:
1. To decrease cooking time, soak pinto beans over night. Not a requirement, but who has the time to sit around at the stove all day?
2. Set bones and 4 cups of water to boil then simmer for about 30 minutes to make the broth.
3. Add the soaked pinto beans. Cook for about an hour.
4. Fry up bacon, and break into small pieces.
5. Drain bacon and add bacon to the soup.
6. Add salt to soup.
7. Cook for about 45 minutes or until beans are soft and cooked thoroughly.

Whole Steamed Fish

2008-02-24T10:01:00.005+01:00

Ok.. so..
the dish tastes better than it looks, and the whole fish did not look as disgusting in real life, as it does in the pictures!
I usually have no problem cleaning, cooking, and eating a whole fish, but once I uploaded these
whole-fish photos off my camera... I think I might have a problem cooking whole fish from now on!!

Anyways, for those who don't know, this dish is very chinese. So go for this recipe if you want an asian meal.

Whole Steamed Fish

Ingredients:
- 1 fish of your choice (I used milkfish, since it was on sale =D) about 1-2 pounds
- 2 stalks green onion, sliced
- few slices of gigner
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- salt
- some soy sauce if you want (i did!)

Instructions:
1. Make sure your fish is fresh, gutted, scaled, with incisions across the meat. This allows meat to cook more thoroughly, and easier to take a chunk of meat off when eating.

2. Place fish on a plate. Place half the ginger and half the green onions on top and inside the fish.
3. Pour vinegar over fish.

4. Place fish in a steamer, and steam for about 25 minutes. Around 15-20 minutes if your fish is thin and lightweight.
5. When fish is done, take the fish out of the steamer, and discard any juices. This will reduce the fishy flavor.
6. Heat up the vegetable oil, then fry up the remaining green onion and ginger and few drops of soy sauce.
7. Pour this mixture over the fish. It should smell very fragrant.

8. Consume with steamed white rice.

Whole Stuffed Camel

2008-01-19T00:05:00.001+01:00

I was introduced to this lovely recipe for camel today!!

Stuffed Camel

1 whole camel, medium size
1 whole lamb, large size
20 whole chickens, medium size
60 eggs
12 kilos rice
2 kilos pine nuts
2 kilos almonds
1 kilo pistachio nuts
110 gallons water
5 pounds black pepper
Salt to taste

Skin, trim and clean camel (once you get over the hump), lamb and chicken. Boil until tender. Cook rice until fluffy. Fry nuts until brown and mix with rice. Hard boil eggs and peel. Stuff cooked chickens with hard boiled eggs and rice. Stuff the cooked lamb with stuffed chickens. Add more rice. Stuff the camel with the stuffed lamb and add rest of rice. Broil over large charcoal pit until brown. Spread any remaining rice on large tray and place camel on top of rice. Decorate with boiled eggs and nuts. Serves friendly crowd of 80-100.

Shararazod Eboli Home Economist, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
http://home.tiac.net/~cri_d/cri/1997/camel.html

Leftover Turkey? Make turkey soup!

2007-12-04T08:36:00.000+01:00

When I made the Thanksgiving turkey, after the turkey was carved, I immediately bagged the carcass (with vegetable stuffing) and threw it in the freezer.

I finally decided to take the turkey carcass out and make soup out of the bones, leftover turkey meat, and vegetable stuffing.
Nothing beats hot brothy soup on a chilly evening!!

Brothy (Leftover) Turkey Soup

Ingredients:
- 1 Thanksgiving turkey carcass. (and any other leftover turkey bones you have)
- Handful of excess Thanksgiving turkey (in chunks or shreds)
- Vegetable stuffing from the turkey carcass' cavity
- 3 stalks of celery, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 Italian squashes, sliced
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3 tsp salt
- 6 cups boiling water
- Add any herbs if you desire. I didn't, but you sure can.

*note: salt and pepper amount varies depending on your preference, and also on the saltiness of your turkey bones and meat. Adjust accordingly*

Instructions:
1. If your turkey bones/leftovers were in the freezer, defrost your frozen goods.
2. Tear your turkey carcass into small pieces, so they fit into your pot.
3. Fill a pot with 6 cups of water, and bring to a boil.
4. Submerge your turkey carcass, vegetable stuffing, and any turkey bones, and boil for about 40 minutes. This creates the broth for your soup.
5. Skim off any foam or fats on the surface of your broth.
6. Wash and chop all your fresh vegetables

7. Place the carrots and onions into the soup, and boil for about 8 minutes.
8. Toss chopped celery and leftover turkey meat and boil for about 3 minutes.

9. Toss in Italian Squash and bring soup to a boil.
10. Add the salt and black pepper and herbs (optional)
11. Let soup simmer for another 10 minutes, or until desired vegetable tenderness.

12. Soup is done! You can either discard the turkey bones from the soup or enjoy your soup while gnawing on the turkey bones.

Breaded Pesto Pork Chops

2007-11-28T04:55:00.000+01:00

A quick post, a quick recipe!
Perfect for pesto fans, such like myself.

Breaded Pesto Pork Chops

Ingredients:

- 3 pork chops

- 2 tbs basil pesto (store bought is fine!)

- 3/4 cup bread crumbs

- ¼ cup parmesan cheese

- salt and pepper

Instructions:

Wash and pat dry your pork chops
Sprinkle your pork chops with salt and pepper
Thinly coat the pork chops with pesto
Mix parmesan cheese and bread crumbs together in a separate bowl
Coat the pork chops in the bread crumb mixture.
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Place pork chops in a oiled baking pan, and spray the top of the pork chops with cooking spray, to make the bread crumbs crunchy.
Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes, and then decrease temperature to 350 for another 20 minutes. Turn the chops halfway.

All done! Close-up shot:

Popular Pumpkin Pie!

2007-11-28T04:11:00.000+01:00

I made 2 pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving this year, that received many many praises!!

I also personally feel that these pies were the best pumpkin pies I have ever had, and this was my first time making pumpkin pie too!!

I hope every thing I make in the future will just get better and better.

Popular Pumpkin Pie
for this recipe, I actually followed the recipe printed on the Libby's Pure Pumpkin can but made a few alterations and revisions to the recipe, to my liking :)

Ingredients:
- 1 canned pumpkin, 29 oz. (I used Libby's canned pumpkin)
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp ground ginger
- 4 jumbo or large eggs
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cans (2 fl oz each) evaporated milk
- 2 pre-made deep dish pie crusts (you can find this in the frozen section of the grocery store.
You could also make your own pie crust at home, but I feel that is too time consuming and not worth the effort.

Instructions:
1. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, salt, and ginger.

2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then add the vanilla and canned pumpkin. Mix.

3. Combine the sugar and spices into the pumpkin mixture.

4. Mix while slowly adding the evaporated milk.

5. Stir and mix thoroughly.

6. Pour batter evenly between the 2 pie crusts.

7. Preheat the oven to 425 F.

8. Bake pies for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 F and bake for another 50 minutes.

9. Stick a toothpick down the center of each pie. If the toothpick comes out clean, then the pie is done!

Serve with whipped cream if desired. Let pies cool before serving

*note* if you feel that the pie comes out wetter/soggier than you would like, you can add 0.5-1 tsp flour to the pumpkin batter prior to baking.

Such a delicious dessert

Jeff's Yummy Smashed Potatoes

2007-11-25T08:48:00.001+01:00

Jeff made the mashed potatoes for our Thanksgiving dinner, and they were wonderful!
Perfect saltiness and texture. Not too dry at all =)
He should contribute to this blog more often.. =D

Jeff's Yummy Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of potatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup half & half

Instructions:

1. Wash and scrub potatoes.

2. Peel and cut the potatoes into 1 inch cubes.
3. Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes or until potatoes are thoroughly cooked.

4. Drain the potatoes and mash.
5. Add half&half, butter, black pepper, and salt, and mix/beat until seasonings are evenly distributed. An electric hand beater could also be used, but Jeff used his arm muscles instead =D
6. Add more salt or pepper if desired.

(Don't forget to enjoy this with Jen's homemade gravy! =D)

Homemade Gravy from the Turkey!

2007-11-25T06:36:00.000+01:00

Gravy is not the healthiest, so please consume in moderation.
Of course, a Thanksgiving dinner is not the same without gravy made from scratch, so the following is a recipe for the gravy that I made!!

Making Homemade Gravy Requires the Following Steps:
Step 1: Create the turkey stock
Step 2: Cook the stock with the turkey drippings.

How to make turkey stock:

Ingredients:
- Turkey giblets (located in cavity of the turkey)
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 celery
- 4 cups of water

Instructions:
1. Get your turkey giblets (neck bone and organs) from the turkey.

2. Chop giblets into chunks. The neck bone may require a large kitchen cleaver and arm muscles.

3. Chop the vegetables

3. Throw vegetables and giblets into a pot.
4. Pour 4 cups of water into the pot, and bring mixture to a boil.

5. Turn the heat down and simmer for 1 hour.
6. After the hour, strain the solids and keep the broth. Discard all solids.

7. Congrats! You just made turkey stock!

How to make Turkey Gravy:
1. Skim oil from the turkey drippings, on the bottom of the roasting pan.
2. Scrape all the dark bits loose from the bottom of the roasting pan. These dark bits add the dark color and meaty flavor to gravy!

3. Turn on the stove, and heat the turkey drippings on the stove, be sure to cook using the same pan that you roasted the turkey in.
4. Pour turkey stock into the roasting pan, and stir the stock and drippings together.
5. In a separate bowl, get 4 tablespoons of flour or corn starch and add just enough water to dissolve the flour.
6. Slowly pour the dissolved flour into the gravy and stir, until all lumps are gone. Pour enough flour until the desired gravy consistency (you may not use all your flour, or you may need more).
7. Simmer the flour in the gravy for 10 minutes, to get rid of the raw flour taste.

The gravy is now done!
Enjoy with mashed potatoes and turkey!

Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey!

2007-11-25T06:08:00.000+01:00

I gathered information from many turkey websites and turkey recipes, and I created my own very delicious turkey this year!
Very very successful with many many praises!
I definitely would follow this recipe next year too =)

Here is the Thanksgiving dinner I made for my boyfriend Jeff and I (quite a lot for only 2 people!)

Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey

Ingredients:

- 1 young turkey (around 15 pounds)

- ¾ stick of butter (room temperature)

- 1 stalk of celery

- 1 carrot

- black pepper

- juice of 1 lemon

Instructions:

Brine the turkey the night before, following the turkey brining recipe posted below.
Rinse the turkey clean of the brine. Pat dry and loosen the skin from the turkey. (the giblets already be removed and set aside to make turkey stock)
Using clean hands, rub butter under and over the turkey’s skin.
Sprinkled desired amount of black pepper all over the outside and inside of the turkey.
Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the cavity of the turkey.
Place chopped celery and carrot into the cavity of the turkey, then cover the turkey’s cavity with a piece of aluminum foil.
Ensure that the turkey’s legs are tied together, any flaps of skin around the neck are pinned down, and the wings are tucked against the turkey.

Roasting:

Preheat the oven to 425 F degrees.
Melt the remaining amount of butter, and brush a layer of butter all over the turkey.
Place turkey into the oven, BREAST DOWN on the roasting rack and roast for 30 minutes. Be sure there is a pan below the roasting rack, to catch the drippings to make gravy.

11. * Note * a turkey should roast for 15-18 minutes for every pound of turkey. I took a bit longer, because I kept taking the turkey out to check on it =P
12. After 30 minutes reduce the temperature to 350 F degrees and roast for 2 hours.
13. If the turkey seems to be browning too fast, then place a tent foil over the turkey.
14. After the 2 hours, brush a thin layer of melted butter over the turkey, and reduce the temperate to 325 F degrees for the remainder of the cooking time.

15. If you would like the turkey breast to be browned, then turn the turkey breast side up during the last 30 minutes of roasting
16. Always check the done-ness of a turkey using a meat thermometer. Thigh meat should be 180 F degrees, and breast meat should be 170 F degrees.

Once the turkey is done roasting, remove the turkey from the oven and let it stand for 20 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.

Braised Pork in Soy Sauce (non-thanksgiving recipe)

2007-11-22T02:43:00.000+01:00

There has been a hunk of pork sitting in my freezer begging to be eaten.
Luckily for me, my boyfriend also likes meat braised in soy sauce.
(He liked the time I made Braised Chicken in Soy Sauce.... unfortunately, I did not document that recipe on this blog).
So here is the braised pork recipe to make up for it!

Braised Pork in Soy Sauce

Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of pork
- 3.5 cups boiling water
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 slices of ginger
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce

Instructions:
1. Defrost and trim fat off your chunk of pork.

2. If your pork is bone-in, then debone the pork, then cut into small cubes.
(Save the bone for later use, like making soup broth!)

3. Blanch your pork in 3 cups of boiling water.
(To blanch, is to boil your food, in this case the pork, in water for about 30 seconds). I do this to rid the meat of any foam.

4. Wash your pork pieces under cold running water.

5. In a seperate pot or saucepan, boil the remaining 1/2 cup of water, soy sauce, brown sugar, and garlic.

6. When sauce boils, submerge the pork cubes in the sauce. If there is not enough sauce, then ad some more soy sauce and water.

7. Simmer covered for about 15-20 minutes, or unti fully cooked.

Enjoy the pork on steamed white rice, and be sure to also pour the sauce onto your rice.