Chipotle Honey Soy Braised Chicken

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.