Kitchen Slave

As geese migrate in the winter, so too must I migrate to fairer weather

2010-02-09T22:33:00.000-08:00

I've moved! Lucky for me, there were no boxes to pack. Please visit my new site at: http://thekitchenslave.com. See you all there!

Black Pepper Beef Hao Fan

2010-02-08T21:13:00.001-08:00

Tombee hates rice and I hate noodles. In order to be fair, I always alternate one day of noodles with one day of rice and so I'm always on the lookout for new noodle recipes. I saw black pepper udon on a blog and I decided to try making my own black pepper noodles, but with hao fan instead of udon. Hao Fan is a fresh flat rice noodle and comes in sliced sheets that are packaged. Usually when you purchase it fresh, it's quite hard because it's cold, so the best way to soften it is by steaming for a few minutes until the noodles are soft and pliable. Once soft, they are silky smooth and absorb sauces extremely well. Unfortunately despite its delicious taste, the noodles look quite ugly when mixed with the sauce and doesn't photograph well but I can assure you that despite the dodgy picture, the noodles are really delicious. The tenderness of the beef echoed the soft, smooth texture of the noodles and the slight sweetness in the beef from the mirin brought out the sweetness of the hoisin sauce in the black pepper sauce.

Cooking the beef with the snow peas and carrots

Black Pepper Beef Hao Fan

Ingredients
1/2lb beef, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon baking soda
900 gram package hao fan
1 1/2 cups snow peas
1 cup carrots, julienned
1 tablespoon oil

Marinade
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon cooking wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Black Pepper Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons kecap manis (indonesian sweet soy sauce)
1 tablespoon cooking wine
1 teaspoon mirin
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Marinate beef with baking soda for 15 minutes. Wash beef thoroughly of baking soda.
2. Mix marinade ingredients together and pour over beef and massage marinade into beef.
3. Bring a pot of water to boil and place steaming rack inside. Place hao fan on a heatproof plate and place on steaming rack. Steam for a few minutes until hao fan is soft. Set aside.
4. Mix sauce ingredients and set aside.
5. Heat oil in pan and add carrots. Cook for 1 minute, then add 2 tablespoons water and cover for a minute until carrots are slightly softened.
6. Move carrots to edge of pan and add a teaspoon of oil in the middle. Add beef and leave for 1 minute without stirring so that beef can brown. After one minute, stir beef around so that the second side gets browned.
7. Add snow peas when beef is 80% cooked and mix beef, carrots and snow peas together. Cover for 1 minute. Snow peas should be crisp and cooked by this time. If the snow peas are not cooked, add 1 tablespoon water and cover for another minute.
8. Add softened hao fan to pan and stir to mix noodles with beef and veggies. Add sauce and mix well so that noodle mixture is entirely coated with sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Raspberry and Maple Syrup Glazed Chicken

2010-02-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

I got the idea to use raspberry preserves as a marinade when I saw another recipe that used apricot jam as part of a marinade for chicken. I started thinking about possible preserves and remembered that I had a quarter of a jar of raspberry preserves left in the fridge and I decided to try using that as a marinade for chicken. The raspberry flavour did not come through as well as I had hoped and I could only taste hints of it in the chicken. I'm not sure if the raspberry flavour would be more pronounced if I had marinated it overnight, so I would suggest trying that. The marinade resulted in a sweet and sticky glaze over the chicken that was delish but again was not necessarily different from a honey glaze since the predominant flavour was sweet rather than having a distinct raspberry flavour. The maple syrup added a nice depth to the marinade and was complemented well by the fish sauce. Overall quite good but just not as raspberry-ish as I had hoped.

The raspberry preserves lent a beautiful red colour to the chicken

Raspberry and Maple Syrup Glazed Chicken

Ingredients
1lb chicken drumsticks, wings or thighs

Marinade
3 tablespoons raspberry preserves/jam
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
2 tablespoons sriracha chili garlic sauce

Directions
1. Mix marinade ingredients together in a large bowl and taste. Adjust if necessary, adding more mirin for sweetness or fish sauce for saltiness.
2. Wash chicken and pat dry. Make slits in chicken to allow marinade to penetrate.
3. Add chicken to marinade and mix together thoroughly. Marinate overnight or at least 5 hours.
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees and place chicken on baking sheet covered with foil. Bake for 30-40 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Throughout the baking process, brush chicken with marinade every 10 minutes. After 20 minutes, brush chicken with honey or maple syrup instead and baste every 10 minutes. Chicken is done when juices run clear and flesh is no longer pink.

Chicken Teriyaki

2010-02-05T22:53:00.000-08:00

Teriyaki ready made sauce is prevalent today and very inexpensive to purchase in grocery stores. Wikipedia states that the word teriyaki is derived "from the noun teri (照り?), which refers to a shine or luster given by the sugar content in the tare, and yaki (焼き?), which refers to the cooking method of grilling or broiling. Traditionally the meat is dipped in or brushed with sauce several times before and during cooking." The traditional teriyaki sauce, made up of equal parts soy sauce, mirin and sake is incredibly easy to make and tastes much better than the store bought stuff. You can choose to braise meats in the teriyaki sauce, grill it or bake it in the oven. I've braised some cut up chicken thighs in the teriyaki sauce in order to infuse the chicken with the sweet marinade but any method will produce delicously glazed sweetness when brushed with the marinade.

Braising the chicken in the teriyaki sauce

Chicken Teriyaki

Ingredients
1lb chicken thighs, cut into 2 sections or any other chicken parts
1" knob ginger, sliced into 3 pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green onion, cut into 2" sections
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup sake (substitute with chinese cooking wine if unavailable)
1 tablespoon oil
1 green onion, thinly sliced (for garnish)

Directions
1. In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, mirin and sake and bring to a boil. The sauce should be slightly thickened.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add ginger, garlic and green onions. Cook until fragrant, then add chicken. Cook for another minute until chicken starts to brown.
3. Pour sauce over chicken and stir to coat. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down and cover and simmer until chicken is cooked.
4. Sauce should have reduced to a syrupy glaze on the chicken but if you would like sauce to reduce even further, uncover and cook on high heat until sauce is reduced. Transfer chicken to plate and garnish with sliced green oniones.

Red Curry Squid and Green Beans

2010-02-04T20:13:00.000-08:00

There once lived a king and a queen and the king was completely attended to by his queen. She did everything in the castle and even had to spoon feed him sometimes when he became extra lazy. They were completely smitten with each other and lived in harmony and happiness. However, one day the devil came to visit the kingdom and stayed for a while. Life was difficult and the king was so distracted that he didn't even have time to let the queen spoon feed him anymore. The king and queen were unhappy and managed to evict the devil from the castle for a short period of time, but not much time had passed before the devil managed to insinuate himself back into the castle. The devil's name? You guessed it - Modern Warfare 2! I know some of you ladies out there have had the pleasure of the devil's stay, either for a short time or you may still be enjoying its pleasant company, and can commiserate with me over this intrusion into life. It's like a second wife, and gets all the attention and none of the grief. The most annoying thing about MW2? Since Tombee's hogging the TV, I still haven't been able to watch Julie & Julia! It's a tough life I tell ya...

But, the show must go on. This dish was nice with a hint of spiciness. I would have added more curry paste since I adore super hot food but because Tombee sweats like an Eskimo in fur in 40 degree weather when he eats "spicy" food, I didn't add as much as I would have liked. The hoisin sauce complemented the heat in the dish well by tempering a lot of the spiciness with an almost caramelized sweetness. I cooked the beans until they were barely done and were still extremely crisp, which added a nice textural contrast to the soft squid. Of course I probably don't need to say that Tombee's food went ice cold while he was in the devil's clutches...waste of my efforts I tell ya!

Red Curry Squid and Green Beans

Ingredients
1lb squid, cut into rings
1lb green beans, ends trimmed
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 birds eye chili, thinly sliced and seeds discarded
1 tablespoon oil

Sauce
1-2 tablespoon red curry paste (depending on how spicy you want it)
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon water

Directions
1. Mix sauce ingredients and set aside.
2. Heat oil in pan and add garlic and chili pepper. Cook until fragrant.
3. Add green beans to pan and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water and cover for 2 minutes. The beans should be about 90% cooked. If not, add more water and cover again.
4. Add squid rings to pan and stir to mix with beans.
5. Add sauce and stir quickly to coat squid and green beans with sauce. Cook until squid is just cooked (do not overcook as squid will become rubbery). Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
6. Serve with steaming hot rice.

Brown Rice Peanut Vermicelli with Snow Peas, Shredded Carrots, Cubed Tofu and Spicy Soy Beef

2010-02-03T22:14:00.000-08:00

I saw these brown rice vermicelli noodles and was intrigued since I love brown rice. Of course, it was also a bonus that the brown rice noodles are healthier than the regular rice vermicelli. It tastes the same so why not eat something that's better for you? Plus it has a cool factor since anyone can eat rice vermicelli but not many people eat brown rice vermicelli ;). The peanut butter lent a creaminess to the noodles and the crunchy carrots and snow peas provided a nice contrast to the tenderness of the beef. Peanut noodles are definitely one of my favourite ways to eat noodles (even though I must admit that I'm not much of a noodle fan).

Mixing the noodles in the pot

Brown Rice Peanut Vermicelli with Snow Peas, Shredded Carrots, Cubed Tofu and Spicy Soy Beef

Ingredients
1 cup snow peas
1/2 cup julienned carrot
1/2 cup cubed firm flavoured tofu
1lb beef
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 package brown rice vermicelli

Marinade
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cooking wine
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Dressing
3-4 tablespoons peanut butter (depending on your preference)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon sriracha chili garlic sauce

Directions
1. Slice beef thinly across the grain into strips. Marinate beef with baking soda for 10 minutes. (Do not leave for longer!) Wash beef of all baking soda and pat dry with some paper towels.
2. Mix marinade ingredients in a bowl and add to beef. Leave to marinate for at least half an hour.
3. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook noodles until soft. Drain.
4. Mix dressing ingredients together and set aside.
5. Heat oil in pan and garlic. Cook until aromatic, then add beef. Quickly stir and cook until beef is 80% finished. Dish out and set aside.
6. Add carrots to the hot pan and cook for 2 minutes until slightly softened. Add snow peas and stir fry for a minute, then add 2 tablespoons water and cover for another minute.
7. Add tofu to pan and add oyster sauce. Stir to coat. Add beef back into pan and stir fry until beef is fully cooked.
8. Place noodles in a large bowl and add beef mixture, stirring to incorporate everything together.
9. Add dressing and mix until noodles are coated in the sauce. Taste and adjust as desired.

Gochujang and Chipotle Fried Sea Bass and Zucchini

2010-02-02T20:37:00.000-08:00

I luurve spicy food. Unfortunately Tombee is a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy stuff so I always have to be considerate when making something spicy. This dish was not spicy at all but Tombee said it was so I guess it depends on how much of a wimp you are ;). If you can't find chipotle peppers you can substitute with chili powder but the smokiness of the chipotle peppers just cannot be replaced.

Live action shot - look at that steam!

Gochujang and Chipotle Fried Sea Bass and Zucchini

Ingredients
2 sea bass filets, cubed (substitute with any firm white flesh fish)
2 small zucchinis, cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon oil

Sauce
1-2 tablespoons gochujang (more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
1 chipotle pepper (omit or only use half if you don't want it too spicy)
1 teaspoon chipotle pepper sauce (from can)
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons chicken broth (can substitute for water if you'd like)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cooking wine

Directions
1. Place all ingredients for sauce into a food processor and blend together until smooth. Taste and adjust sauce as desired.
2. Heat oil in pan and add minced garlic. Cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
3. Add zucchini cubes and cook until they are softened and almost cooked.
4. Add the fish cubes and cook for 1 minute.
5. Pour the sauce into pan and mix to fully coat fish and zucchini in the sauce.
6. Cook until fish and zucchini are cooked and tender.

Braised Beef Brisket and Daikon In Rice Noodle Soup With Baby Bok Choy

2010-02-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

I am officially obsessed with beef brisket. We've had it at least once every week for almost a month. What can I say? I heart beef brisket! I love eating beef brisket at Chinese restaurants and I've always wanted to learn how to make it and now that I know how amazingly easy it is, I don't think I'll order it in a restaurant again. One note about the cut labelled beef brisket - I've talked to a few people and it seems that at the supermarkets, the cut labelled beef brisket is different from the one that Chinese markets label beef brisket as. Whenever making a Chinese recipe that calls for beef brisket, always make sure that you are buying a Chinese labelled beef brisket. I cooked mine the night before so that the fat would harden on top and I could scoop it out for the fat nazi (that means you Tombee!) but there wasn't a lot so you could skip this step. The daikon added a natural sweetness to the sauce that was heavenly. I could eat just the sauce by itself on rice, it's that delicious!

Braised Beef Brisket and Daikon In Rice Noodle Soup With Baby Bok Choy

Ingredients
Beef brisket braised in chee hou sauce (recipe follows)
Rice noodles
Chicken or veggie broth
Baby bok choy

Directions
1. Bring a pot of water to boil and add noodles. When noodles are almost done cooking, add baby bok choy and cook until noodles are soft but still slightly chewy and bok choy is cooked but still crisp. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Bring broth to a boil. Add a tablespoon or two of salt or soy sauce. You want the broth to be on the slightly salty side as the noodles have no taste of their own.
3. Place noodles and bok choy in a bowl and ladle hot broth into bowl. Top noodles with as much beef brisket as you would like and hide the leftovers and say you ate it all when your boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband/dog asks you for more.

If you don't want to bother with the soup, after cooking the noodles, ladle beef brisket with mountains of sauce onto the noodles and you will have dry braised saucy noodles (which I prefer) instead of soup noodles.

Braised Beef Brisket in Chee Hou Sauce from Christine's Recipes

Ingredients
1 kg beef brisket, cut into chunks
1 daikon, peeled and cut into 2" chunks
1 tablespoon oil
3 slices ginger
3 star anises
2 tablespoons Lee Kum Kee Chu Hou paste
1 tablespoon madras curry powder
a small piece of rock sugar
1 green onion (garnish)

Seasoning
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon corn flour
2 tablespoons water

Directions
1. Bring a pot of water to boil and blanch beef brisket cubes for 3 minutes. Remove and drain.
2.. Heat oil in pan and sauté ginger and Chee Hou paste until fragrant. Add beef brisket chunks and stir well to coat.
3. Add star anise and a bit of rock sugar. Add enough water to cover all ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Transfer mixture to a slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours. After 4 hours, add daikon chunks and cover and cook for another 2 hours.
5. By this time the beef should be fall apart tender. Mix seasoning ingredients together and add to beef. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

If you don't have a slow cooker, leave beef in pan after it has come to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for two to two and a half hours until the beef is tender, then add daikon and cook for another half an hour. Serve with rice noodles.

Chipotle Honey Soy Braised Chicken

2010-01-31T20:41:00.000-08:00

When I first started cooking, I would never know if what I made would be a hit or miss. When I succeeded in making something that tasted good I wouldn't really know what I had done right or wrong (I still feel that way sometimes!) but the biggest difference between now and then is that if a recipe turns out poorly I can make some adjustments and make it taste better. The biggest mistake I made when I first began cooking was not tasting before serving. Somehow I must have thought that things would just work themselves out and magically taste perfect without having to adjust the seasoning. Of course now I know better and I taste things several times. Another very important thing to remember is that you can always add more but you can never take back what you add so add sparingly and taste every time you add seasoning! Now onto the recipe - I love chipotle peppers and I wanted something that brought out the smokiness of the chipotle peppers while also balancing the spiciness and bringing out the sweetness of the peppers. I added chocolate to the sauce mixture because it would bring out the smokiness and sweetness of the mixture and it's similar to how chocolate is used in a mole sauce (plus any excuse to use chocolate right?). The chicken was juicy and the sauce was finger-lickin good!

Cooking the chicken in the yummy sauce

Chipotle Honey Soy Braised Chicken

Ingredients
1lb chicken pieces (I used chicken drumsticks)
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup water
chocolate curls (garnish - optional)

Sauce
3 garlic cloves
2 small chipotle peppers
1 teaspoon chipotle sauce (from peppers)
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons mirin (add more honey if you don't have any)
1 tablespoon semi-sweet chocolate

Directions
1. Place sauce ingredients into a food processor and process until completely smooth. Taste and adjust depending on how spicy, sweet or salty you want the sauce.
2. Heat oil in pan and add chicken. Cook until chicken is lightly brown on both sides.
3. Add sauce ingredients and water to the pan. Stir chicken to fully coat in the sauce.
4. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer until chicken is fully cooked.
5. Plate and scatter chocolate curls over chicken.

Handrolled Noodles and Why You Should Buy Grey Goose

2010-01-30T12:11:00.000-08:00

I needed fresh handrolled noodles to go with the Taiwanese beef noodle soup but when we went grocery shopping, Tombee drove away from the fresh noodle shop and would not turn around. He has no appreciation for my creative genius I tell you! I therefore had to make homemade handrolled noodles because the beef noodle soup is just not the same otherwise. I used a recipe from Gaga In The Kitchen. Personally I thought the noodles tasted too floury and I found it very difficult to cut the dough into thin enough noodles. Making the actual dough was incredibly easy and quick and it would be worth making the noodles just for those very reasons if you are craving home made noodles. Next time I might try adding 1/8 oil into the ratios for the dough in hopes that it would add a smoother and less doughy texture and perhaps add some more taste into the noodles themselves. I'm not sure if I did not knead enough, therefore not developing the gluten in the flour fully and that's why it resulted in a more floury taste and not enough of a chewy texture. When making these noodles, I used my trusty grey goose bottle to roll out the dough. This is probably the third time I've used this bottle to roll out dough and I'm loathe to get rid of something so useful (this is a two-in-one really as you can roll dough and drink from the bottle in between to make the job more fun) but I know I really should go and find a real rolling pin. However, it would be almost like parting two true loves; I've even written an ode to my grey goose bottle:

How I love thee grey goose bottle, let me count the ways:

I love thee for thy long and smooth curves that I can grip when rolling,
I love thee for thy matte skin to prevent sticking to dough,
I love thee for thy joyous taste when I need to quench my thirst,
And I love thee for thy magical powers in making me feel like the smartest person in the universe.

I know what you're thinking (other than that I should be a professional poetess of course) - I should get out more. But back to the noodles. I used 4 cups of flour and got enough dough to for 2 meals but again that depends on how thick or thin you slice your dough.

Very messy process

Coiled and ready to be cooked

Handrolled Noodles from Gaga In The Kichen

Ingredients
2 parts flour
1 part ice water
extra flour to keep things from sticking

Directions
1. Place flour into a bowl.
2. Make a well in the center of the flour and add some ice water. Mix flour around until water is absorbed. Keep doing this until all the water is added and a sticky dough forms.
3. Turn dough onto heavily floured surface and begin kneading until it forms a nice smooth dough, adding more flour as needed for dusting the work surface and your hands.
4. Let the dough rest for at least 10 minutes.
5. Roll the dough out into sheets about 1/8 of an inch thick. I would roll it out even thinner if you don't want very thick noodles as they expand when you boil them. If you're having trouble rolling it out, let it rest longer.
6. Flour the sheet heavily and roll it loosely into a log.
7. Cut the rolls into strips of your desired thickness.
8. Flour cut rolls heavily and stack in piles.
9. Freeze noodles if you are not ready to eat them. If you are ready to use them, place in boiling water and cook for a few minutes until noodles are cooked through.
10. Serve with Taiwanese beef noodle soup.

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup with Handrolled Noodles

2010-01-28T22:07:00.000-08:00

Tombee loves noodles in soup and I'm always trying to come up with new combinations and recipes since I hate eating the same thing twice. This is a dish that I definitely would not mind eating twice however as the broth is extremely rich and flavourful and the beef brisket is meltingly tender. I made handrolled noodles (which I'll post tomorrow) because only the chewy texture of handrolled fresh noodles stand up to the meaty broth. This was good but not quite the same as the ones in restaurants. I'm not sure how they get the perfect balance of a beefy soup with the right notes of star anise, soy sauce, and chili peppers. I may have added a bit too much soy sauce since the taste was quite prevalent. Overall though, the spice notes in the broth added a subtle layer to the soup and will more than do in a pinch if you are really craving Taiwanese beef noodle soup.

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup adapted from Lox, Stock, and Barrel

Ingredients
1.3 lbs Chinese beef brisket, cubed
2 scallions chopped into large pieces & extra for garnish
4 slices of ginger, smashed
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup chinese cooking wine
8 star anise
10 cardamom pods, crushed
12 whole black peppercorns
3 fresh or dried chili peppers
2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns, toasted
10 cups beef broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon five spice powder
2 tablespoons hot bean sauce
2 tomatoes, cut into quarters
3 carrots, sliced into 2" chunks
3 hard boiled eggs
Handrolled fresh noodles
Pickled mustard greens (garnish - optional)

Directions
1. Rinse the beef and then blanch in boiling water for a couple minutes until the beef stops giving off grey residue. Strain, discard the water, and rinse the foam off the beef.
2. Smash the garlic cloves and ginger with the flat side of a large knife. Stir fry the scallions, ginger, and garlic cloves in oil for approximately 1 minute until they are fragrant and softened.
3. Add the wine and boil for 30 seconds. Add the star anise, cardamom, sichuan peppercorns, dried chili, and whole peppercorns. Be careful not to boil off all the liquid when you are adding the spices; if you need more time, then turn the burner or remove the pot from the heat.
4. Add the water or stock when the mixture is cool. Add the beef, 5 spice powder, hot bean paste, bean paste, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs*, soy sauce, sugar, and salt. Bring to a slow boil. If more foam rises to the top, then skim the soup as necessary.
5. Once the mixture has come to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and cook for 2 and a half hours until the beef is meltingly tender. Add carrots and cook until carrots are soft.
6. Taste and adjust more soy sauce if the mixture is not salty enough. At this point you can either serve it now or put it into the fridge overnight so that the fat hardens on top and you can scoop it out. I scooped out about a cup of solidified fat but the fat does add a smoother mouthfeel to the soup so it's your choice.
7. If you are serving right away, you can choose to scoop out the beef and carrots and pass soup through a sieve so that all the spices are removed and you are left with only the broth, beef and carrots. When ready to serve, place noodles in bowl. Ladle beef and soup over noodles. Sprinkle with green onions or chopped pickled mustard greens and serve hot.

*If you'd like a tea egg design, crack egg shells in various places and add to the soup with the shell on. When the soup is finished cooking, peel the eggs and they should have a beautiful marbled design and should be infused with the beefy taste of the soup.

Vietnamese Eggplant with Shrimp Paste

2010-01-27T20:39:00.000-08:00

I had a sweet surprise today when Tombee brought a cupcake home for me. I was really surprised at such a sweet gesture but now I'm terried at what it means. What man brings home a nice surprise for his girlfriend unless he's committed some horrible affront? Although sometimes I guess a cupcake could just be a cupcake but I'll still keep my eyes open O.O! It was delicious nonetheless! Anyway, we have a meeting tomorrow at 7:00PM so I had to make dinner for today and tomorrow so I've been running around like a chicken without its head. At least tomorrow I won't have to worry that we won't have anything to eat. Tonight's dinner was simple but filled with flavours that complimented each other well; we had vietnamese eggplant with shrimp and gochujang marinated sea bass. I overcooked the fish because I forgot I had the broiler on but the marinade was still yummy and penetrated the entire fish. I got the receipe for the eggplant from Wandering Chopsticks. Her blog is filled with delicious Vietnamese recipes and they deliver absolutely mouthwatering food! I've made the bo pho (beef pho) and the bo kho (beef stew) and if you ever want to try making either one of those, use her recipes because the effort is completely worth it! This recipe is a unique and impressive way to serve eggplant and the sweetness of the shrimp was echoed by the sweetness in the sweet chili sauce. The creaminess of the eggplant provided a good textural contrast against the cooked shrimp paste on top. If you like eggplant, you will absolutely love this dish!

The sweet gesture that tasted as yummy as it was sweet!

Eggplant with shrimp paste ready to be steamed

Vietnamese Eggplant with Shrimp Paste from Wandering Chopsticks

Ingredients
2 Japanese eggplants
20-30 prawns, shelled
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon oil

Serving Sauce
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
fresh ground pepper

Directions
1. Cut the eggplants on a diagonal into 1"-2" slices, depending on how thick you want it. I sliced mine about 2" thick.
2. Place garlic cloves and prawns into food processor and process. Do not overmix. The consistency should be lumpy and like a paste.
3. Mix sesame oil into mixture and add some salt and pepper.
4. Using a spoon, spread shrimp paste on each eggplant slice. Transfer slices to a heatproof plate.
5. Bring pot of water to boil with a steaming rack inside. Place heatproof plate onto steaming rack and steam for 12 minute at medium high heat.
6. Drain liquid that accumulated in plate.
7. Heat oil in pan and add eggplant slices. Fry each slice until bottom is golden brown. Remove to plate.
8. Mix together sauce ingredients and drizzle over eggplant slices. Serve hot and try not to share with anyone else.

Saucy Sesame Udon Noodles

2010-01-26T22:26:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what possessed me to make Chinese BBQ pork as well as making hand rolled noodles tonight, especially when we had a meeting at 7:30PM but I obviously thought I had 5 hands to get everything done. The BBQ pork was fine since all I had to do was pop it into the oven but the noodles took longer than I thought, especially when I was trying to cut them into even strands (I'll post about that in a couple of days). We left for the meeting at 7:30 and didn't get home until 10:00PM so we didn't even get to eat until 10:30PM! By that time I wasn't even hungry but I'm glad that I had a bowl of these noodles because they are really tasty! Grab a bib because this bad boy will leave sauce all over your face (don't even try to fight it!). I like to use Tombee's favourite t-shirt for this, especially when I'm not too pleased with him that day ;). Anyhow, I pretty much threw in stuff I had in my fridge but you can throw in anything you have on hand or want to get rid off. I used frozen udon noodles instead of the vacuum-sealed packages and they were out of this world! Chewy, slippery smooth, and tender, these noodles sucked up the sauce and were the star of the dish. Disclaimer: do not make this on a first, second or third date hoping to impress because sauce on your face and on your clothes is not hot.

Studded with goodies and slathered with delicious sauce

Saucy Sesame Udon Noodles

Ingredients
3 packages frozen udon
1 tablespoon oil
Chinese BBQ Pork (recipe follows)
1 cup sliced napa cabbage
1 cup sliced asparagus
1/2 cup frozen edamame beans
handful of shrimp

Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2-4 tablespoons sugar (depending on how sweet you want)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon mirin
2 tablespoons hot bean sauce (or garlic chili sauce)
3 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions
1. Mix sauce ingredients together and set aside.
2. Bring pot of water to boil and add udon noodles and cook until udon is warm. Drain.
3. Heat oil in pan and add napa cabbage and asparagus. Cook for 2 minutes until napa cabbage is wilted and asparagus turns bright green.
4. Add a tablespoon of water, cover pan for a minute and then add shrimp and stir fry until shrimp turns pink and asparagus is tender.
5. Add edamame beans, then add a tablespoon of the sauce mixture and stir until everything in pan is coated.
6. Transfer udon noodles to large bowl or pan, then add cooked bbq pork and vegetable mixture. Stir to incorporate everything together.
7. Add sauce mixture, half at a time until noodles are well coated. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.

What did I tell you? Not a single morsel left in the bowl!

Chinese BBQ Pork from Rasa Malaysia

Ingredients
1lb pork butt (cut into 4 pieces)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons oil

Char Siu (BBQ Pork) Sauce:

3 tablespoons maltose
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon Chinese rose wine
3 dashes white pepper powder
3 drops red coloring (optional)
1.5 teaspoon five-spice powder
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Directions
1. Add all ingredients for the sauce in a sauce pan, heat it up and stir-well until mixture is well blended and is slightly thickened and sticky. Let cool.
2. Pierce the pork butt in a few places with a sharp knife or the tines of a fork. Marinate the pork butt pieces with 2/3 of the sauce and the chopped garlic overnight. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil into the remaining sauce. Keep in the fridge.
3. When you're ready to cook the pork, preheat the oven to 375 degree F.
4. Place a cooling rack onto a baking sheet, then place the pork onto the rack. Bake the pork for 15 minutes, basting with the marinade still in the bowl that the pork was marinated in. Turn and cook for 10 more minutes, basting once more. Check for doneness.
5. Remove tray from oven and let pork sit for 10 minutes until juices have settled. Slice the char siu into slices and pour the reserved sauce over and mix together until all the pieces are coated in the sauce.
6. Add to sesame udon noodles or eat with rice.

Saucy meat on saucy noodles...it doesn't getter better than this kids

Spicy Korean Chicken Stew

2010-01-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

Every weekend I go grocery shopping at a small Chinese grocery store in Vancouver. Now I'm a person that has been mistaken for a 16 year old before, so imagine this kind of person pushing a shopping cart in a market where every other person uses a small basket. Fast forward to checkout time. Tombee and I are very conscious about being green so we always bring our own reuseable bags. He always bags because otherwise it would take me ten years since I absolutely must bag according to type of food (anal retentive much?). Our cart is absolutely stocked to the top every single time and the people waiting in line behind us fidget impatiently or else just openly glare at our inconsiderate lollygagging at the checkout. I can just see what they're thinking at this point - "My gosh those two must have a large family to buy so much groceries." We are a family of two. But I have a picture that will explain everything.

Tombee's lunch box (left one) and my lunch box (right one)

Now, in case you didn't quite understand the extent of our gluttony, here's another picture with a box of tissue for comparison:

Really, with lunches like that (and don't even get me started on dinner!), no wonder we rack up a grocery bill that would feed a family of 6 in a week. I personally think that being Asian, our genes have been encoded to ~~hoard and devour~~ store food in case of a famine in the future. I have been called a monster before...many times actually. I secretly think I have a tapeworm that forces me to eat and never be satiated but I've never gotten it checked out because what would happen if that weren't true?! That's my story and I'm sticking to it! The reason for that tangent was because I needed an explanation for why I used 3.5 pounds - yes you read that right - 3.5 pounds of chicken to feed 2 people. I am including the original recipe as I don't think anyone else would ever be able to eat 3.5 pounds of food (this of course doesn't include our vegetable dish and the ever crucial bowl of rice) but if you also have a tapeworm in your stomach, just adjust the recipe accordingly by tripling it (that didn't sound so bad until I said it out loud...).

The magic ingredient. Delicious, just buy it! (1.1lbs - go big or go home right?)

Look at that peppery spicy goodness

Spicy Korean Chicken Stew from Anjelikuh's blog
Ingredients
2 - 3 chicken thighs, cut
3 large potatoes, cubed
2 medium carrots, cubed
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups of water (or enough to submerge the chicken and vegetables)
Spring onions or chilis for garnish

Sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons hot pepper paste (gochujang)
1 tablespoon Korean red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons sugar
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions
1. Heat oil in pan and add onions, potatoes, and carrots.
2. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, then add chicken.
3. Cook for another 2 minutes until chicken is slightly browned.
4. Cover with water until vegetables and chicken are almost covered.
5. Bring to a boil. Mix sauce ingredients together and taste. If you want it spicier, add more red pepper flakes, and more sugar if you'd like it sweeter.
6. Add sauce ingredients to pan and bring mixture to a boil again.
7. Turn heat down and simmer for 20-30 minutes until chicken is tender. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
8. Plate in a pretty stone pot to impress guests.

Obviously I didn't cook this in the claypot. Do you really think 3lbs of chicken would fit in here?! Use it to impress guests...they'll never know. Deliciousness is more important than honesty

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

2010-01-24T21:35:00.000-08:00

I've made banana chocolate chip cookies before but when I saw a recipe for peanut butter banana cookies, I was intrigued. I love peanut butter and bananas, especially on toast or in a crepe with nutella. Definitely my mana! These cookies definitely did not disappoint. They were chewy, soft and redolent with the taste of bananas. I put in one and a half cups of peanut butter but the taste was still quite subtle. I think I would try putting in even more peanut butter next time to bring out the peanut butter flavour even more. The original recipe called for 3/4 cup of butter but I substituted 1/4 of applesauce for the butter in order to make it slightly healthier. I also found the cookies a tad too sweet so I would reduce the sugar by half a cup next time but that's my personal taste as I don't like things to be overly sweet. I added chopped pecans and mini chocolate chips to the batter to add more texture and make the cookies even better. I only added the pecans to half the batter as Tombee doesn't like pecans but the recipe below is for the full recipe. You could add almonds, peanuts, butterscotch chips or even white chocolate chips if you want. The sky is the limit when it comes to what tastes good! I got about 80 cookies out of the recipe but I did make mine only about the size of a tablespoon as these spread quite a bit. I baked mine for 15 minutes to retain a soft and chewy texture but if you want a firmer cookie, bake for about 17-18 minutes. The cookies do set after they have cooled, so don't be worried when you take them out of the oven and they seem like they aren't cooked yet.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies adapted from Food Geeks

Ingredients
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/4 cup applesauce
1 1/4 cups peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 medium extra ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the margarine, applesauce, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
3. Peel the bananas, break into smaller sections and drop into the mixture; mix well (some small banana chunks are okay).
4. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. Sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together.
6. Add flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and beat just until combined.
7. Add pecans and chocolate chips and mix together until pecans and chocolate chips are fully incorporated into the batter. Use a cookie scoop or drop by the spoonful onto parchment lined cookie sheets.
8. Bake for 15 minutes - they will not be golden brown when removed from oven. As they set they will turn slightly firm.
9. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for five minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Pour a glass of milk and eat cookies with relish while still warm, making sure to lick fingers of melted chocolate.

Satay Fried Sea Bass and Asparagus

2010-01-21T20:34:00.000-08:00

Satay BBQ sauce is delicious! This sauce is usually used as a dip when having a Chinese hot pot dinner but it is absolutely fantastic when stir fried with vegetables or meat. I use it as my secret weapon ingredient for that extra zing when I want a dish that's easy to make but tastes like I laboured for hours over. The asparagus provided an almost neutral, light balance to the slight spiciness and saltiness of the bbq sauce. The bbq taste fully penetrated the fish chunks and were perfectly cooked - creamy and smooth.

The magic ingredient

Satay Fried Sea Bass and Asparagus

Ingredients
1lb asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 2" sections
1lb sea bass, fresh or frozen, cut into 2" chunks
1 tablespoon oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons bullshead bbq sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1/8 cup water

Directions
1. Heat oil in pan and add garlic. Cook until fragrant.
2. Add asparagus and cook for a minute. Add water and cover for 2 minutes.
3. Add sea bass chunks and stir to mix with asparagus. Cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add bbq sauce and stir to coat. Cover for another minute, then add soy sauce and chili garlic sauce. Taste and add more soy sauce or bbq sauce as desired.
5. Plate and serve with fluffy rice.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Turkey Breast, Ham, and Avocado Sandwich with Cranberry Mayo

2010-01-20T20:02:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make. While I'm seemingly confident when barking out amounts for ingredients, I'm actually a total fake. I have no idea how much I actually put into dishes when I'm cooking because I never measure anything. I just add a bunch of ingredients together and when it looks about right, then I stop. Now, that's not to say I have no idea what I'm talking about, but merely that I approximate how much I use. Maybe it's because I cook a lot that I know approximately how much a tablespoon is when I'm dumping in spices or sauces but I do think I'm fairly accurate in the measurements I give. This is the result of having an Asian mom, as Asian moms are infamous for never measuring anything. You can imagine how difficult and frustrating this can be to someone trying to learn how to cook. Then again, my mom is pretty clueless when it comes to cooking so maybe she really was telling the truth when she would say she didn't know how much of each ingredient she used! Anyway, back to the soup. It was creamy, smooth, light yet hearty, and slightly sweet from the vegetables. It's also super healthy since it's just vegetables and broth. Can't beat creamy and healthy! I used beef broth because that was what I had in the fridge but you could use any kind of broth you want. The sandwich was yum, yum yum! I don't like sandwiches and that's why when people at work see me eat sandwiches, they're always shocked, but usually the reason I don't like sandwiches is because they're boring or too loaded with mayonnaise and butter. This sandwich was perfect. The cranberries brought a sweetness to the sandwich that cut through the creaminess of the mayonnaise and avocado and balanced the saltiness of the turkey breast and ham. You could even add tomatoes and cucumbers to make it even healthier.

Cooking the vegetables after roasting

Roasted Cauliflower Soup adapted from Anne's Food

Ingredients
1 cauliflower head, cut into florets
1 potato, cubed
1 carrot, cubed
1 onion, cut into quarters
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
500ml beef stock
400ml water
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place cauliflower, potato, carrot, onion and garlic cloves on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Bake until vegetables are soft and golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.
4. Heat pan and add vegetables. Cook for 2 minutes. Add beef stock and water. Bring to boil and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Transfer vegetable mixture to a blender and blend soup in batches. Alternatively you can use a hand blender to puree soup. Soup should be thick, creamy and smooth.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with crusty bread or sandwich.

Cranberry Mayo

Turkey Breast, Ham, and Avocado Sandwich with Cranberry Mayo

Ingredients
4 slices multigrain bread
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
1 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
4 slices turkey breast
4 slices ham
1/2 avocado, sliced

Directions
1. Mix cranberries and mayonnaise together. (If you want it slightly spicy, add chili powder as well.)
2. Spread each slice of bread with mayonnaise and cranberry mixture.
3. Place 2 slices turkey breast and 2 slices ham on a piece of bread. Repeat with a second slice.
4. Place sliced avocado on both slices of bread with ham.
5. Cover bread slices with additional slices. Press down gently and slice sandwich in half.

Steamed Silk Tofu Topped with Shrimp and Asparagus

2010-01-19T20:45:00.000-08:00

Tofu is something I really love (seems like I love everything doesn't it?). Some people say it's tasteless but I think tofu has a naturally nutty taste, plus it absorbs the taste of any sauce it's cooked in extremely well. There are so many different types of tofu available as well that you can create endless dishes using just tofu as an ingredient. I'm partial to soft tofu because I love the silky smooth, melt in your mouth texture. I used regular soft tofu but you could use egg tofu as well for a more eggy taste.

Sweet yummy, ooey-gooey sauce

Steamed Silk Tofu with Shrimp and Asparagus

Ingredients
1 tube soft tofu
10 shrimp, peeled
5 asparagus shoots, ends trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
1 tablespoon oil

Sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
1 teaspoon mirin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water

Directions
1. Mix sauce ingredients together, except for cornstarch slurry. Set aside.
2. Slice tofu into 1" thick slices and place on a heatproof plate. Place a steaming rack inside a wok or a large pot and fill water to 2" below steaming tray.
3. Heat water to boiling and place plate with tofu on steaming tray. Steam for about 5 minutes until tofu is hot. Drain water that is released from tofu.
4. Heat oil in pan and add shrimp and asparagus. Cook for 2 minutes until shrimp is almost cooked and asparagus is tender.
5. Add sauce ingredients and coat shrimp and asparagus well with sauce.
6. Cook for another minute until shrimp is fully cooked. Add cornstarch slurry and stir quickly as the sauce will thicken. If you want it more saucy, add another 1-2 tablespoons of water. If you'd like the sauce thicker, add more cornstarch slurry.
7. Top steamed tofu with shrimp and asparagus sauce and sprinkle green onions and serve hot.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies & A Rant

2010-01-18T21:53:00.000-08:00

I live with a potato sack who, not only does not appreciate sweets and desserts, but hassles me to sleep....at 9:40PM! Not only is said person messing with my creative genius but he doesn't even enjoy the goodies I make. I bet Einstein's wife never hassled him to go to bed when he was working on his theory of relativity! Luckily for me, there are plenty of other victims...er...I mean volunteers who are willing to play guinea pig for the things I make. And now back to your regularly scheduled program.

I got this recipe from TS and JS of Eating Club Vancouver. It's a Martha Stewart recipe (my hero!except for the whole prison thing...) and it was super easy to make. I used a milk chocolate ganache and a raspberry chocolate ganache to fill the thumbprints and I have to admit, I am an absolute genius (I didn't create the theory of relativity but isn't delicious food just as important?!)! The raspberry chocolate ganache was absolutely divine! Smooth, creamy, sweet but not overwhelmingly so, with the dreaminess of raspberry that just skims the palette. I don't even like chocolate and I was tempted to eat the whole bowl of raspberry ganache with a spoon. I had some left over after filling the thumbprints and I'll use it to make raspberry chocolate truffles. And I know who won't be getting any either ;)! The recipe says it makes 70. I got about 60 out of the batch using a tablespoon but you can make them smaller or larger as you please.

Chocolate Thumbprints from Martha Stewart Living magazine
Makes 70

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons coarse salt (like kosher)
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar, plus more for rolling
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350◦ Sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a small bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium, and add yolks, cream and vanilla. Scrape sides of bowl. Beat in flour mixture until just combined.
2. Roll balls using 2 teaspoons dough for each, and roll each in sugar. Place 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. With the handle of a wooden spoon, press gently in the center of each to create an indentation. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are set, about 10 minutes. (If indentations lose definition, press centers again.) Let cool slightly on baking sheets. Transfer cookies on wire racks, and let cool.
3. Spoon warm ganache into center of each cookie. Let stand until firm, about 15 minutes. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.

Raspberry Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients
4oz milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces
175ml heavy cream
1-3 tablespoons raspberry jam

Directions
1. Heat cream in a small pot until boiling.
2. Add cream to chocolate and let sit for 1 minute.
3. Gently stir chocolate and cream mixture until well mixed. The consistency should be smooth and not too thick.
4. Add raspberry jam to taste. I used 3 tablespoons because I wanted a strong raspberry flavour, but you can add 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the right flavour.
5. Spoon into thumbprint. If you find it a little bit too runny, you can refrigerate for 30 minutes until it thickens and then spoon our pipe ganache into cookies.

For the chocolate ganache, do the same as above but omit raspberry jam.

Green Peppers with Beef

2010-01-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

This was a great quick and easy dinner. Simple but tasty! I'm not a fan of green peppers usually but the tartness of the green peppers brought out the sweetness in the marinated beef and the crispness of the peppers contrasted well with the tenderness of the beef.

Stir frying in the pan

Green Peppers with Beef

Ingredients
1lb beef, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red chili, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 green peppers, cut into large chunks
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional)

Marinade
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon shao xing wine
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions
1. Sprinkle baking soda over sliced beef and leave for 10 minutes.
2. Wash beef thoroughly of baking soda. Dry beef with paper towels.
3. Mix marinade ingredients and pour over beef. Coat beef thoroughly with marinade.
4. Heat oil in pan and add minced garlic and sliced chili. Cook until fragrant.
5. Add beef to pan and cook for 2 minutes until beef is slightly browned.
6. Add peppers to pan and mix beef and peppers together. Stir fry until peppers are cooked but still crispy. Taste and if desired, add soy sauce.
7. Plate and serve.

Tom Yum Fried Green Beans

2010-01-15T23:19:00.000-08:00

Tom Yum paste is magical. Just a little spoonful makes everything taste so much better and brings depth to a lot of dishes. I love to cook meat dishes with tom yum paste but lately I've been adding it to veggies and I can't seem to get enough. This dish is simple yet tastes good enough to eat on its own with rice.

Tom Yum Fried Green Beans

Ingredients
1lb green beans, ends trimmed
1 tablespoon oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1-2 tablespoon tom yum paste

Directions
1. Heat oil in pan and add garlic and cook until fragrant.
2. Add green beans and stir fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add 1/4 water and cover for a few minutes.
4. Check to see if water has dried up. If it has and beans are not cooked, add more water.
5. When beans are tender, add soy sauce and tom yum paste and mix until beans are coated in the paste. Taste and adjust tom yum paste and soy sauce as desired.
6. Serve with rice.

Japanese Kare

2010-01-14T21:10:00.000-08:00

I love all curries, and Japanese kare is no exception. I used the ready made paste this time but I found a recipe for home made spice paste so I might try that next time. I didn't have any onions but I've added it to the ingredient list anyway.

This is the instant curry paste I used

Japanese Kare

Ingredients
1lb chicken pieces
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, cubed
2 potatoes, cubed
1 sweet potato, cubed
7 mushrooms, halved
Glico curry paste, medium hot

Directions
1. Heat oil in pan and add onions, carrots, potatoes and sweet potato. Stir and cook for 2 minutes until vegetables slightly soften and brown.
2. Add chicken pieces and mix vegetables and chicken together in pan.
3. Add enough water to half cover the chicken and vegetables in pan. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add mushrooms and cook another 5-10 minutes until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender.
5. Add as much or as little of the curry paste as desired and keep tasting after each addition. Turn of heat and cover and let sit for 10 minutes to allow curry to thicken and flavours to develop.
6. Serve with rice.

Chili Con Carne

2010-01-13T17:39:00.000-08:00

I'm personally not a big fan of chili but my tombee loves it and I always aim to please. Plus, it's always nice in winter to have a steamy bowl of chili to warm you up. I made this in my slow cooker but if you don't have one, just simmer it for 2 hours until it thickens. I made this the night before, then let it sit in order to fully develop the flavours. Tombee loved the chili and I think the chocolate addded a sweet taste and silky mouthfeel to the chili. I made southern buttermilk cornbread from Andrea's blog to go with the chili and I loved the corny taste of the cornbread. However, I found it a little dry and crumbly but since I haven't had much cornbread, I can't compare to other types. When I was searching for a cornbread recipe, most of them included sugar as an ingredient but I thought a savoury, rather than a sweet, cornbread would taste better. I'll definitely have to try a sweet cornbread in the future to compare and see which I like better. Andrea's southern cornbread did go really well with the chili and I ate more cornbread than chili while tombee ate a bite of cornbread and two bowls of chili, and then ate my bowl too!

Chili con Carne

Ingredients
4 tablespoon oil
1lb ground beef
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 can whole tomatoes
3 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon sauce from chipotle peppers
1 chipotle pepper, minced (optional if you like your chili really spicy)
3 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kernel corn, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoon chili flakes (reduce or leave out if you don't want it spicy)
2 tablespoon chili powder (reduce to 1 tablespoon if you don't want it spicy)
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoon paprika
1 tablesoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 square bakers chocolate
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a pan and add onions, green pepper, red pepper and carrots and cook until vegetables are soft. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. Add remaining 2 tablespoon in a pan and add garlic. Fry until fragrant, then add ground beef. Break up large pieces of ground beef, then add spices. Mix with meat and fry until mixture is fragrant.
3. Add vegetable mixture back into meat, then add tomatoes, beef stock, chipotle and chipotle sauce, tomato paste, and sugar. Mix until well combined. Taste mixture and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the drained kidney beans and corn and bring everything to a boil. Transfer mixture to a slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours. Alternatively, you can simmer chili for 2-2 1/2 hours until liquid dries and mixture becomes thick.
5. Add chocolate and stir to completely melt and mix the chocolate in. Taste and add salt and pepper if you'd like.
6. Let sit overnight to allow flavours to develop and reheat when ready or serve right away with cornbread.

Homemade Oreo Cookies

2010-01-12T22:05:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon Smitten Kitchen's website a few months ago when I was looking for a recipe for red velvet cake. The red velvet cake was delicious and I constantly went back to Smitten Kitchen's website and I'm a big fan. Her recipes practically beg to be made and I've bookmarked quite a number of things to bake. If you haven't visited her website, then you should definitely take a minute and check it out because it is a gold mine of delicious looking food! I made some changes to her recipe because I didn't have some of the things on hand. I've posted the recipe with the changes that I've made but if you want to see the original, head on over to her site. I made these with a rounded tablespoon and flattened each circle to 1/2" thickness so that they were about the same thickness as a regular Oreo cookie. Since mine were quite small and thin, I only baked them for about 5 minutes in my oven to retain a soft and slightly chewy center but if you'd like something crispier, more like real Oreo's, then bake for about 7 minutes. I saved myself one and took the rest to work and everyone said they were delicious and even better than real Oreo cookies!

Chewy, soft and moist with a creamy and sweet filling.

Homemade Oreos adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients
For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 - 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a mixing bowl, using beaters, thoroughly beat the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. On low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue mixing until dough comes together in a mass and can be formed into a dough.
3. Take rounded tablespoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, flatten the dough to 1/2" thickness. Bake for 5-7 minutes, depending on how crispy you would like your cookies to be. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, beat in the sugar and vanilla, adding 1/2 cup of icing sugar at a time, periodically tasting the cream until you reach the desired sweetness. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. You can also use a teaspoon or an offset spatula to cover one cookie with cream and then cover with the second cookie. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

Scrambled Eggs with Chinese Sausage

2010-01-11T22:03:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just need a little something extra to round out a meal. I love this simple yet bursting with flavour dish. It's quick and easy and is something most people keep stocked. You could also substitute ham for the sausage if you don't have the chinese sausage on hand.

Scrambled Eggs with Chinese Sausage

Ingredients
4 eggs
salt and pepper, to taste
1 chinese sausage, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon oil
green onions

Directions
1. Beat the eggs with a fork until smooth. Add salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in pan and pour in eggs.
3. Wait until edges of egg are set, then stir around. Keep doing this until entire mixture is set but not completely cooked.
4. Push eggs up side of pan and add chinese sausage.
5. Cook until sausage is lightly browned, then quickly mix egg and sausage together.
6. Mix in green onions, stir and serve.

Chili Garlic Eggplant with Shredded Bamboo Shoots

2010-01-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

I love eggplant but I always have such a hard time cooking it. I've only cooked with the Japanese eggplants, the long, thin kind, and the one time I attempted Eggplant Parmesan using regular eggplants, I had to throw away the dish because it was so awful. With the Japanese eggplants, I like to steam them for a couple of minutes so that they soften but still maintain their shape. If I don't do this, I find that the eggplant never gets soft enough for my taste. I added shredded chili bamboo shoots because I had some in my fridge and I thought the chili bamboo shoots would go nicely with the chili sauce for the eggplant.

The jar of chili bamboo shoots I used.

A close up of the bamboo shoots.

Chili Garlic Eggplant with Shredded Bamboo Shoots

Ingredients
1lb Japanese eggplants
1/2 cup chili bamboo shoots
1 tablespoon oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1" knob of ginger, cut into tiny matchsticks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 cup water

Sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon hot bean sauce

Directions
1. Place a steaming rack inside a wok or deep pot and fill with water to 3" below top of steaming rack. Bring to boil.
2. Cut eggplants into 3" long wedges and place inside a heatproof plate.
3. When water in wok boils, place plate with eggplant onto steaming rack and cover. Steam until eggplant is tender (a chopstick can easily be pierced through the skin) but still maintain their shape. Remove from wok.
4. Heat oil in a pan. Add minced garlic and ginger and stir fry until fragrant.
5. Add eggplant and stir fry for a minute.
6. Mix sauce ingredients together and add to pan.
7. Stir eggplant unti fully coated with sauce.
8. Add bamboo shoots and 1 teaspoon of oil from jar and mix until incorporated throughout.
9. Stir together cornstarch and water until cornstarch is dissolved and pour into pan.
10. Mix eggplant quickly until cornstarch slurry is absorbed and mixture has thickened and taken on a glossy appearance.
11. Serve and enjoy!

Garlic Stems with Mock Duck

2010-01-08T17:31:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by reading a blog a few weeks ago (and for the life of me, I can't seem to remember the name) where the person used mock, or vegetarian "duck". As I had never tried it before, and it looked so duck-like in the photo, I had a strong urge to try it and I looked for it at the grocery store and luckily I found some. I kept wanting to open the can to taste it but couldn't figure out what I should make with it. Earlier this week, I had some garlic stems and wanted something to add to it to make it heartier and I immediately thought of the mock duck. When I opened the can the "duck" had little raised dots on the "skin" just like real duck does and it smelt like soy sauce. The verdict? The texture is quite soft and the primary taste was of soy sauce. Not very duck-like but quite good nevertheless. It makes a good addition to a dish when you just need something a little more substantial. You could also use it to make noodle soup with mock duck and some bok choy.

Garlic Stems with Mock Duck

Ingredients
1lb garlic stems
1 can mock duck, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 cup water

Directions
1. Wash garlic stems and trim ends. Cut to desired length. (I usually like to leave mine at 3".)
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the minced garlic. When garlic is fragrant, add the garlic stems.
3. Stir fry for 2 minutes until the garlic stems look dry. Add water at this point and cover pan with lid for a few minutes.
4. Uncover and check to see if water has dried. If the garlic stems look tender yet still crisp, add the soy sauce and oyster sauce and stir to coat. If the garlic stems are still not tender, add a bit more water and cover for another 2 minutes.
5. When the garlic stems are coated in the soy and oyster sauce, add the shredded duck and stir fry until the duck is heated through.
6. Serve with rice and enjoy!

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

2010-01-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that I absolutely adore Martha Stewart. Her recipes always turn out spectacular and her crafts are amazing! I made these black-bottom coconut bars and took them in to work and needless to say, I had none left. I did, however, get a request to make a whole pan for one of my coworkers - they were that good! The bars have a rich chocolate brownie base and are topped with a deliciously creamy coconut mix.

Yum-o! Look at that deliciously flaky coconut...and the mouthwatering brownie base...

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars from Martha Stewart

Ingredients
Chocolate Base
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

For Coconut Topping
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 package sweetened shredded coconut (7 ounces), 1/2 cup reserved for sprinkling

Directions
1. For chocolate base: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a slight overhang; butter bottom and sides of foil (not overhang).
2. Place butter in a large microwave-safe bowl; melt in microwave. Add sugar and salt; whisk to combine. Whisk in egg, then cocoa and flour until smooth. Spread batter in prepared pan.
3. Bake just until sides begin to pull away from edges of pan, 10 to 15 minutes (do not overbake). Let cool slightly while preparing coconut topping. Keep oven on for topping.
4. For coconut topping: In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla. Gently mix in flour and coconut (except 1/2 cup reserved for sprinkling).
5. Drop mounds of mixture over chocolate base; spread and pat in gently and evenly with moistened fingers. Sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup coconut.
6. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Lift cake from pan, peel off foil, and cut into 24 bars. Store in an airtight container 3 to 4 days.

*When baking the coconut topping, I kept checking the doneness because I was worried that I would overbake the brownie base but don't be worried because it was so moist that it could have handled an extra 5 minutes in the oven.

**I baked the coconut topping for 30 minutes but when I put a toothpick in, the dough was still a bit wet but I took it out anyway because I was worried about the coconut burning. After cooling, the coconut topping firmed up and was really creamy.

**To make this healthier, you can substitute the butter for applesauce instead. The results are still moist and result in delicious brownie heaven!

A New Year's Resolution

2010-01-06T17:37:00.000-08:00

I've wanted to start a food blog for a while now and what better time than a new year right? I've been a lurker around food blogs for a long time and now I'm finally plunging in by creating my own. I love to eat (who doesn't?), cook and bake, and it seems like I'm in the kitchen all the time. When I'm particularly tired, grumpy or lazy, I feel like I'm a slave in my own kitchen. However, at other times, especially when the dishes turn out amazing, I feel like I'm the master of the kitchen and food is my faithful slave! This blog will capture all the yummy (and not so yummy) things that I attempt to make so wish me luck!