Red Curry Chicken

I just love curry! I don’t know what it is exactly, maybe it the creamy coconut or the spiciness or just the aroma of the spices itself. Of course, there only a million different kinds of curries out there, but sadly to say I only had experiences Thai, Chinese and Cambodian curry. In fact I think almost every Asian culture have their version of flavorful curries. And from what I heard that it is originated from no where else but the king of spice Indian.

So I will try to elaborate some of my favorite curries recipe. And since I already started with Thai curry, I will continue until I’ve cover all of it. With Thai curry, it actually same time by using ready made curry paste that is just as good as making it from scratch. And I can tell you that most Thai restaurant use this same paste to make their curry. It makes sense since it very time consuming to grind your own curry paste, especially for a restaurant. Although, if you do find a restaurant that makes their own curry paste, let me know, because I would love to try it too!

Now as for the method of cooking this, there not much to tell you except that do not burn the coconut milk..lol It happen you know…from experience!



Ingredients:

1 Can small coconut milk (maploy)
6 Oz Chicken thigh or breast sliced into thin strip
1 Cup mushrooms or straw mushrooms
1 Cup bamboo shoots
1 Handful of basil leaves
2 Asian kaffir lime leaves
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp of water
1 to 1 ½ Tbsp of red curry paste
2 Tbsp of fish sauce
½ Tsp of kosher salt
1 Tbsp sugar

Methods:

1. Heat skillet to hot, add oil and bring to hot.
2. Add the curry paste and stir until aroma.
3. Pour the coconut milk (cream) with water and stir until all the curry paste is dissolves and blend into the coconut milk.
4. Now add the chicken, salt, fish sauce, sugar and stir until cook about 8-10 minutes.
5. When the chicken is fully cook, add the mushroom and bamboo shoots. Cook for another 5 minutes and remove.
6. Top with basil leaves.

Serve hot over steam rice or sticky rice…Yummy!

Note: Sometime Thai restaurant would add green bean and carrot to Americanize the dish, but it not the authentic version. Sure look colorful and pretty though.

Mango Sticky Rice

Ok, this is a very popular Southeast Asian dessert that could be found in most Thai restaurant. Why did I mention Southeast and not Thai, because these Asian countries are borderline close and they do adapt each other traditions and foods. Of course, the history stated otherwise, but I am not going to go into that right now. So if you haven’t noticed yet, most dishes are very similar, but with a slight changes due to the country preferences.

This being one of those dishes, but there not much to alter or change with this simple and delicious mango season dessert. Although, I noticed that the Cambodian version does have roasted mung bean on top of it. I have to admit that it is a very good combination with the creaminess of the coconut and the sweet sticky rice topped with the sweet and tangy mango.

As mention above, this is a simple and easy recipe. The only thing that you need to look out for is the sticky rice. Make sure to soak the sticky rice in room temperature water for at least 4 to 5 hours or overnight. That way when you steam the rice, it will be nice and soft yet sticky. If you like your rice hard, you just let it sit in shorter time duration. Also I would like to say that I made this many time steaming it, but yesterday I feel a bit lazy and decided to put it in the rice cooker with just about 1 hour of soaking in water. The result was pretty good, a bit more stickier and softer and takes less coconut milk. Still I have to say that I like my traditional steaming process better. It gives the rice a bit more crunchy taste and texture to it. So try both way and see which one best suit your taste bud.



Ingredients:

2 Cup sticky rice
1 Big can of coconut cream
1 ½ Cup of sugar
½ Tsp of salt
5 to 6 Mangos
Bamboo dim sum basket or it original Thai bamboo steamer

Methods:

1. Drain the rice the rice. If you using the dim sum bamboo basket, place a cheese clothe on top of it and pour the rice over it, cover. If you’re using the original Thai steamer, just pour the rice in it and cover with a ceramic plate. Fill bottom pot with water half way to the rice, do not touch the rice. Cook for 35- 40 minutes. Make sure to flip and turn it half way so that it will fully cook.
2. When the rice is done, stir it to separate it.
3. Now in a medium sauce pan, pour the coconut cream, sugar and salt and bring to boil.
4. Pour the coconut sauce over the rice and mix well, leaving about ½ cut for topping.
5. Lastly, slice the mango and place it on top of the individual portion.
6. If you like the extra creamy taste, with a teaspoon carefully drizzle it on top of the rice and mango.

Serve hot!

Garlic Butter Lobster

Those of you whom had the pleasure of eating this garlic butter lobster and enjoyed it, here a recipe for you. This is usually called a house recipe at almost every Chinese restaurant. This is a dish that often served at special banquet or wedding. The event is often considered a good and solid event when the lobster is served.
The best one I ever had was at a restaurant in Garden Grove called Seafood Cove. Of course, this place is so busy all the time and they don’t need to do wedding. If you ever had this lobster there, you can’t but wonder how they make is so good. I too often wonder how it done or what they put in it, but I never had to make any due to the fact that I can always go there for it.

Now is a different story. We don’t have a Chinese restaurant here that served that, let alone Seafood Cove. So for my birthday this year, I decided to concoct this dish up. Let just say I have intense craving for the garlic, buttery flavor of this lobster. Of course, I don’t really care for lobster, but the sauce itself is to die for. Lol

As always, making Chinese food is not hard. It all about preparation and knowing the right steps to make it taste better. Remember to coat the lobster in corn starch or flour 10 minute before so that it will have that crispy texture on the outside. And the coating helps to grab the full flavor of the garlic butter sauce to perfection. Also if you don’t have a deep flyer, invest in one! Just kidding. Lol Although it not a bad ideas for moments like these, you can use the traditional method by flying it in a pot with lots of oil enough to submerge the lobster. I see this method very time consuming and a lot more pot to clean. Beside it a lot of oil to be wasted to for one meal and reusing it is a pain.


Ingredients:

2 Medium lobsters with head, clean and cut into 2 x 2 or prefer size
1 Cup scallion chopped
2 Tbsp of minced garlic
2 Tbsp of soy sauce
1 Tbsp of fish sauce
½ Tsp of kosher salt
1 Block of butter
5 Jalapenos slice diagonally
3 to 4 dash of white pepper
¼ Cup corn starch


Methods:


1. Coat the lobster in corn starch and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Fried in deep flyer for 2 minutes.
3. In a hot wok, add the butter and melt it.
4. Add the garlic until slightly brown and aroma.
5. Add the sliced jalapenos and stir a couple of time.
6. Add the lobster and toss.
7. Next add the soy sauce, fish sauce and salt and toss a couple more time.
8. Lastly, add scallion and white pepper and remove.
9. Serve hot.

Soba Noodle

Soba Noodle is Japanese buck wheat noodle that is usually eaten cold. At restaurant it is usually server over a bamboo serving plate and accompany with dashi sauce. Some time fried vegetable tempura top it off for another great yummy flavor all together. I prefer my plain and simple so that I can savor the nice aroma and sweetness of the dashi sauce with the noodle. It a very simple noodle to make and always put a smile your eater faces. With it chewy texture and melt in your mouth flavor this noodle can be a complete lunch or dinner, for it very filling. I often make this with sashimi instead of rice it fill in the carb void.

3 Bundle of soba noodle (usually 6 in a package)
1 Tbsp grinded to paste diakon
2 Tbsp minced scallion
1 Cup bonito flavored soup base
2 Cup of water
½ Cup dried seaweed chopped into tiny strips

Methods:

1. Fill pot up with water and bring it to boil.
2. Place noodle in and cook for 7 minutes or to package instruction.
3. Remove and run cold water to stop the cooking process. Leave it in the water for 5 minutes.
4. When it cold, pick the noodle up by the handful and roll into a ball and carefully press your hand together with the noodle in between it so that you can drain the water out. Place the ball of noodle on a strainer to dry it.

To serve, place on or two ball of noodle in a bowl. Add enough bonito flavored soup base and top with dry seaweed, scallion and diakon paste. In some restaurant would add tempura vegetable or fish ball sliced. No matter how it is serve it is just so good.

Serve cold.

Sear Tuna Wrap in Black Sesame

Twice a month we would get our sushi craving by making it at home. Of course when I say sushi, what I meant is sashimi. We rarely have sushi unless in roll or wrap version. Beside the kids don’t really sushi, due to the fact they don’t like anything raw.
Yes, I said raw. I know for those of you out there that never had sushi are thinking. Is it safe? Is it good? How could you eat that stuff? I got all of that remarks and more when I tell people that I love sushi.

So here a quick tips for those of you sushi fearing people out there. Of course, sushi always seem so exotic and enticing when eating at a sushi bar or restaurant. Maybe it the atmosphere and the company or the price tag or just the though of someone making it makes it taste so much better. Even though it assumed to cleaner and safer, it not always is. But if you have no other choice for what reason make sure that the restaurant is busy, slow restaurant meant the food is not always fresh.


And if unfortunate like me where sushi bar is rarity and making at home is not an option but a must then here how to prepare your fish.

• Make sure to always buy sushi grade fish
• Clean and freeze it over night.
• Defrost in the refrigerator only. Never, never room temperature or hot water.
• Cut and serve right away when it super cold.
• As always it taste awesome with soy sauce and wasabi!


Ingredients:

1 Piece of Sushi grade tuna
3 Tbsp of black sesame
1/8 Cup of soy sauce
1 Tsp of Chinese hot sauce
1 Tsp of rice vinegar
1 Tbsp of wasabi
1 Tbsp shredded daikon for garnish

For the sauce: Mix the soy sauce, vinegar and hot sauce together.

Methods:

1. Take the piece of tuna out of the freezer and semi defrosted it in the refrigerator.
2. Roll the tuna in the sesame, make sure to cover all corner.
3. Heat the skillet to hot and place the tuna to cook about 1 minute on each side.
4. Remove from the skillet and with a sharp knife slice carefully against the grain.
5. Assemble it on the plate and carefully spoon the sauce over it and garnish with daikon, hot sauce and wasabi like in the picture above.
Chill and serve cold.

Korean B.B.Q

Yum..Yum…just typing this give me the craving for Korean B.B.Q again. Maybe I will make it again this Sunday! Anyway, this is a very easy dish to prepare, but the cooking part is a bit tedious and messy. What I meant by that is the grilling, splattering of grease, the cleaning the grill process. Good thing I have a rule in my household. I cook and the kids clean. So that will take the load of the whole ordeal of cleaning afterward. Plus this way I enjoy cooking all the more and they get to eat more wonderful dishes. That I nice trade off, wouldn’t you think?

Ok, back to the recipe. Now this recipe is what you would consider starting from scratch. If you don’t have the time or don’t want all the hassle, well here a tip for you, just use the ready bottle Korean B.B.Q version called bobbique sauce. The only tiny problem is that sometime depending on the brand it doesn’t always taste as good. Well it isn’t for me and I end up adding the oyster sauce, fish sauce and some rice wine to make it more flavorful. And it actually turned out pretty good. I only do this when I don’t have a lot of time in my hand or not enough ingredients in my pantry. So don’t be afraid to experiment a little. You’ll never know, you might find your family recipe to pass down for generations to come. That how I got most of mine recipes is through trails and errors….lots of errors..






Ingredients:

1 Lb boneless beef short rib precut into strip
2 Tbsp garlic
2 Tbsp black pepper
½ Tsp salt
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce (optional)
11/2 Cup water
1 Cup soy sauce
1/2 Cup sugar
1 Onion grated

Garnish:

1 Onion sliced and separate rings
½ Stick butter cut into cube
1 Head red leaf lettuce

Dipping Sauce:

¼ Cup low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
½ Minced chili sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp minced scallion

Combined all items together and you’ll have your dipping sauce.

Methods:

1. Grind the onion by using a blender.
2. In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients together. Set aside.
3. Cut the beef in half if desire and mix with the sauce.
4. Cover it up and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. It more flavorful this way.
5. Next day, drain the water completely.
6. Heat the grill to hot and add the butter to coat and melt the grill.
7. Add the beef to cook for a few minutes on each side.

Serve with steam rice and kimchi. I like to wrap mine in lettuce an kimchi with beef in between and dip in my special dipping sauce like shown above.

Kimchi

Watching Jewel in the Palace a long, long time ago, I learn that napa cabbage was first introduce to Korea by Chinese for medicine purpose. It supposed to be good for your digest system and stomach, because of it cooling effect to your body. Later on it become the vegetable of the poor, because if was easily grown and cheap vegetable. Thus, the poor learn to ferment it and it that how it all started the kimchi obsessions. And over the years the recipe is past down from generations to generations as it changes to the taste of the maker.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make Korean B.B.Q for our traditional Sunday dinner. Therefore I decided to make some kimchi with napa cabbage, daikon and Japanese cucumber. Using the same ingredients and process, I managed do all three kind of kimchi. Of course to get it done by Sunday, I usually soak it on Thursday night after work and finished on Friday night. Then by Sunday its ready to eat with the Korean B.B.Q. And what a Korean B.B.Q without kimchi right? A little warning, if you don’t have Korean chili powder. Do not replace it with just any other Asian chili powder. I did this once and it didn’t taste so good. Actually it didn’t even taste right or the original kimchi flavor. Sadly my husband can’t tell the difference, but I can and I have to endure a whole week of that kimchi. You named it I eat it all with kimchi….kimchi dumpling, kimchi noodle, kimchi with meat, kimchi with rice… Needless to say, it a lesson well learnt. lol






Ingredients:

1 Head of Napa cabbage
1 Cup + 1 Tsp of sea salt or kosher salt
½ Cup of Korean chili powder
2 Inches ginger clean and cut to small pieces
6 Scallions and cut diagonally
¼ Cup of fish sauce or to taste
5 Jalapenos slice your way
6 Cloves of garlic
1 Cup shredded carrot or thinly sliced diakon

Methods:

1. Wash the napa cabbage and pull each leaf and cut it in half down vertical then place it a plastic container fill with water and dissolve salt.
2. Cover it with a heavy plate or whatever heavy to put the pressure down. Making sure the cabbage is completely cover in water. Soak overnight.
3. The next day clean the salt out and drain the water out. Leave it flat to dry completely on a strainer. For a couple of hours.
4. In mortar, put the garlic, ginger grind it into tiny pieces.
5. Add the jalapeno, carrot (diakon) and scallion and lightly mesh together.
6. Now add the chili powder, salt and fish sauce, mix well almost paste like.
7. Now with gloves on, take the paste and rub all over the cabbage inside and out.
8. Lay it in a glass jar piece by piece and layer by layer until completely done.
9. Now close the jar air tight and let it fermented for 2 day for slightly sour and 3 day for sour. Do not touch or shake the jar in the process or you’ll crushed it.
10. Remember to put it in the refrigerator after opening. It last over a week.

Chinese Choy with Oyster Sauce

This dish could be use with many other Chinese vegetable such as Chinese broccoli, bok choy, dandelion stem, morning glory etc. With Chinese cooking vegetable like soup always accompany the man entrée. Most typical Chinese household in every meal you must have at least one vegetable entrée for those who doesn’t eat meat. And soup, because it supposed to be good for you heath wise. I often follow this tradition, because I just love vegetable and can’t live without soup to wash down my rice. Lol

There not much to instruct regarding this easy to make dish. Except to soak the choy really well and wash it really well. Drain and soak again to get rid of all the dirt that accumulated during it stay in the dirt. If not, well let just say that you will be chewing on lots of dirt. Yuk! Hate that feeling of dirt on your teeth. Hurt my head and ears.



Ingredients:

1 Bunch of any kind of choy cut four times
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce (fish sauce Thai style)
½ Tsp of kosher salt
2 Tbsp oil vegetable
½ Sugar (optional)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp water

Methods:

1. Heat wok to hot then add hot to hot.
2. Add the minced garlic until golden brown and aroma.
3. Add the choy, soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt and water.
4. Toss a three to four time, don’t over cook this.

Serve hot.

Shrimps and Mushroom Risotto

This is my first time making risotto. To tell you the truth I never even heard of risotto until I ran across this month Daring Cook’s Challenge host byMelbournefoodGeek and Jessthebaker. When I first saw the challenge I was afraid to try it out, but once I read through the recipes and did some research…I realized it wasn’t hard at all. Just time consuming. As always, loving a challenge, I set out to gather my ingredients. Of course, living in such a small town, I ran into trouble finding the Arborio Italian rice. Suddenly, I’m contemplating if I should take this challenge or not, and I tried to find every excuses possible weighting the pros and cons of it all. Alas, Amazon came to the rescued as I bought I first bag of this Italian rice online! For $1.29!
Ok that sounds crazy, but at least it shows how dedicated I am in getting this right.

So after almost 2 hours (stock and risotto) of slaving over the stove, I result was absolutely delicious! Of course, I not really into creamy rice, but my 2 years old seem to be loving it. She was the first guinea pig sort of say, but she finished every single spoonful of it. I am still trying to finger out why my picky eater relishing it. Maybe it the creaminess or it the shrimps and mushrooms, her two favorite items, but whatever it is, she end up finishing it up for me. Of course that would be over the course of 2 straight days. To me it reminded me of our rice porridge and I don’t really care for it, but it was pretty good once you get used to it. I might even love it next time around. Which that will be pretty soon! Anything to make my 2 years old picky eat, even it meant another day of slaving over the kitchen stove.

I also want to add that to save time, you can use store bought chicken broth. It is just as yummy!



Chicken Broth

Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken 4 + pounds
1 Large onion
2 Bay leaves
3 Garlic cloves
1 Tsp of salt
1 Tsp of black pepper

Methods:
1. With a 5 quart pot put all the chicken and salt and fill to the ¼ inches from top.
2. Bring to boil and add the rest of the ingredients and lower to medium and cook for 1 ½ or until water is reduce to ½.
3. Set aside on low heat.

Risotto recipe

Ingredients:
1 ½ Cup of Arborio Italian rice
½ Kosher
½ Cup shredded parmesan cheese
½ Cup shredded asiago cheese (optional, makes it really creamy)
7 1/2 Cup of chicken stock
6 Tbsp of butter
1 Tbsp + 1 tbsp virgin olive oil
26 Jumbo shrimp, peel and devein with tail on
1 Cup Sliced mushrooms
2 Tbsp of minced parsley
1 Medium onion chopped finely
½ White wine

Methods:

1. In a hot skillet pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
2. When oil hot, add the onion and stir until slightly brown and aroma.
3. Add the rice and stir until rice turn white.
4. Now add the white wine and stir until it is completely absorbed.
5. Next add 1 cup of chicken broth at a time stir until fully absorb, repeat again until all the 7 chicken broth is used up.
6. Before you reach the last cup of chicken broth, add the shrimp in there to cook it. Remove and set aside after fully cooked.
7. Now in a hot skillet add the last 1 tbsp of olive oil and then add the mushroom. Stir until cook and set aside.
8. When the rice is fully absorbing the last cup of chicken broth add the butter until it completely melt. Rice supposed to be el dente.
9. Lastly, add the cheese and stir until completely melt and add the shrimps and mushrooms and stir for a couple of minutes.
10. Remove and sprinkle the minced parsley and stir well. Serve hot with a nice glass of white wine.

Roast Leg Of Lamb

For Easter this year I’ve decided that we will have lamb instead of beef as usual. Even though traditionally lamb is the choice of meat for many home due to religious reason, but for us it just a family gathering as usually. This is a time for the kids to enjoy eggs hunt and adult to get together and enjoy the lazy Sunday meal.

Since I am having 20 guests give or take over, I’ve decided to included turk-duck-hen as another one of the main entrée. And since it was store bought, I don’t have a recipe for it. Only to follow direction.

Getting back to the lamp, I am proud to say it was a success. We didn’t have any left over the next day. Everyone love and compliments on how yummy and flavorful it was. And what makes it so much better is the garlic yogurt sauce. The creamy tangy sauce just compliments the flavor of the lamb so well.

Ingredients:

6-8 Lb of leg of lamb bone or without
1 Large onion minced by using a blender
½ Cup of garlic minced
3 Tbsp red pepper flake
1 Tbsp of kosher salt
1 Bunch of thymes leaves only
3 Tbsp of peppercorn grinded
3 Tbsp of olive oil
½ Tsp cumin powder


Methods:

1. Rub the lamb with olive oil thoroughly.
2. Mix the rest of the dry ingredients together and rub on the top of the lamb.
3. Next mix the onion and garlic and pat on top of the dried ingredients.
4. Place in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.
5. Set oven to 350 F on boil and place the lamb in a baking dish rack and cook for 45 minutes or until it reach 160 for medium rare. I cooked mine until it well done a little over an hour.

Garlic Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:

½ Cup o yogurt or sour cream
5 Clove of garlic
½ Tsp spicy mustard
2 Tbsp of mayo
Salt to taste

Methods:

1. Roast garlic until charcoal.
2. Remove and mash to a paste.
3. In a mixing bowl add the yogurt, mayo, garlic and salt, mix well.

Egg Fried Rice

When I make my Pad Kar Pao fried rice, I would make this version of fried also for my 2 years old and 12 years old who doesn’t eat anything hot. Therefore, this easy and simple fried rice goes hand and hand with the other spicy one. There not much to this fried rice, but if you like it plain and simple then this is the perfect rice for you. It also great complimenting other dish such as curry and stir fried, due to the fact that it not over powering in spices.

Of course my version here doesn’t contain any meat or vegetable, unless you count the few pieces of scallion and cilantro as vegetable. Nevertheless, it is very flavorful and tasty. My daughter likes it this way plain and simple and it doesn’t get any simpler than this fried rice.

As mention with the Kar Pao fried rice. The kind of rice and cool rice, make a great impact on the outcome of this dish. So it best to be well prepared a day ahead for your rice. You want to rice to be hard. Soft rice makes the fried rice sticky and too oily, not a good combination. Unless you like it that way and I do know a couple of people who prefer it just that way too! For me, fried rice is loose yet a tad crunchy and chewy and bursting with flavor.

* Adding Chinese sausage taste great too! Try it!

Ingredients:

3 Cups of cooked rice
3 Eggs
2 Tbsp of vegetable oil
2 Dashes of white pepper
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce (or fish sauce Thai style)
½ Tsp Kosher salt
1 Tbsp of minced garlic
½ Cup scallion chopped finely
2 Tbsp of cilantro roughly chopped
1/8 Cup of water


Methods:

1. Heat wok to hot and add the oil to hot.
2. Add the eggs and stir it until fully cook, set aside.
3. Add the garlic stir until golden and aroma.
4. Toss the rice in and pad gently until it separate.
5. Pour in the water to soften the rice and mix well.
6. Stir in the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt and stir well until rice is completely brown.
7. Toss in the scallion and cilantro and toss a couple of time and give a dash or two of white pepper.

Serve hot.

Spicy Hot Basil Fried Rice (Kao Pad Kar Pao)

One of my favorite Thai fried rice is this Kar Pao flavor. Basically it just hot basil fried rice. This flavor also taste great as a stir fried base with seafood and meat. It also awesome with fried Thai flat noodle too. I will get into that recipe later on, when I have time to make it. As for the spiciness, you can make it more spicy by adding more chilies and jalapeno. I love it super spicy, whether it fried rice, fried noodle or in the stir fried. I normally put 14 chilies and 4 jalapenos, because for me Thai food has to be bold and spicy taste to it or it wouldn’t be called Thai food. Also it good to remember that with most Asian food garlic and chilies is their essential ingredient that makes a difference in taste and the outcome of the dishes.

As with any good fried rice, the rice makes the difference. So when you do want to make it, make sure to cook the rice at 4 to 5 hours in advance. Or even over night would be even better. To cool it down leaved it in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

3 Cups cook jasmine rice
1 Cup beef slice
½ Tsp of kosher salt
2 Tbsp of vegetable oil
1 Tbsp of minced garlic
2 Jalapeno sliced diagonally (optional, very spicy)
8-12 Thai chilies minced
1 Cup hot basil (also known as holy basil)
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1-2 Tbsp of dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp sugar syrup (sugar thicken with water, if you regular sugar about 1-2 Tbsp)
2 Dashes of white pepper
1 Large tomato cut into 8 pieces
1 Egg white
1 Tsp of corn starch
1/8 Cup water + 1 Tbsp

Methods:


1. Cut beef 1/8 thick against the grain. Message the beef with the egg white and corn starch. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes.
2. When the half an hour done. Heat the wok to hot and add the oil until it heat up.
3. Stir in the minced garlic and minced Thai chilies until slightly golden and aroma.
4. Stir in the beef, salt, sugar, oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until beef almost fully cook.
5. Add the rice and carefully press down on it to separate it.
6. Then soften it by adding the water and mix well.
7. Then add the sliced jalapeno, dark soy sauce, fish sauce and mix so that the rice will be completely cover with the dark soy sauce and turn brownish coloring.
8. Add the tomato and toss lightly a couple times.
9. When it done toss in the hot basil and toss once more.

Remove and give a couple of dash of white pepper. Serve.

Steam Egg with Shrimp

One day I noticed that I forgot to take the meat out to thaw, so I end up clueless on what to make for lunch the next day. Looking into my refrigerator, I noticed that I have a dozen of eggs sitting there waiting for me to make dessert with. At our house we always keep eggs around, due to the fact that we are obsessed with egg. My husband and I love eggs in all shape and form, whether it pouched, fried or boil. It has become our midnight snack with our 2 years old.

So with eggs in hands and some shrimps I managed to whip up our delicious meal for the next day. I to admit that this is the best effortless and easy meal I made in a long time. Of course, my grandmother got me into this dish. She would make it once in awhile and I can’t wait to get out from school and run home to dinner. Instead of putting shrimp she would often put minced pork and scallion and it still taste as good. Although I do prefer the shrimp version better. I don’t know what it is, but the crunchiness of the shrimp with the creamy eggs and tofu just make a melts in your combination.





Ingredients:

2 Shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp of scallion chopped finely
¼ Cup of soft tofu cut into small cube
1 Tbsp of soy sauce
1 Tbsp of rice wine
2 Dash of white pepper
½ Tsp of kosher salt
6 Jumbo shrimp cut into small pieces


Methods:


1. In a mixing bowl, break the eggs and beat it slightly.
2. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, salt and white powder and mix well.
3. Add the shrimps, shiitake mushrooms, scallions and tofu in the bowl that you’re going to use to steam with.
4. Pour the egg mixture over it.
5. Place in steamer and steam for 15 minutes or until cook. Depending on the size of the bowl and the depth cook time may vary, if it no longer running then it cook.
Remove serve hot.

Preserved Lime Chicken Soup

If you never heard or had this before, than this is the time to try it. It has a sour and tangy soup that is good for winter. Great for the common cold, cough and sore throat. I made
this soup when the ever changing and cold winter gave me a sore throat and chest congestion. As soon as I took a sip of this soup, I felt better right away. Maybe it just in my head, but it does feel great right away!



For the preserve lime:

8 to 10 limes
¼ Cup Salt
Water

Steam the lime for 5 minutes. Then take it out and put it on a strainer and lay flat to sun dried for 3 days. After 3 days, bring enough water to cover your glass or plastic jar to boil and add the salt. Let cool slightly and then pour in jar with the dried lime in there. Let it sit for at least 2 months or until color changes..the longer preserved, the more sour it become, the better it is. It also great as a drink for a hot Summer day.


Ingredients:

1 Small duck or chicken
1 Preserved lime
1 Tbsp of sugar
1 Tbsp of salt or to taste

Methods:

1. Place the chicken or duck in a pot and fill up with water to cover completely.
2. Add salt, and preserved lime and cook for at least 1 hour 45 minutes until the meat is so tender that it about to fall off.
3. Remove from stove and serve hot.

Garlic Pepper Pork

Pork is not my favorite meat, but I do make them once in a while. I do like it this way. It a very simple and delicious dish to make, yet have a burst of flavor that great with freshly steam jasmine rice or regular rice. Adding cucumber it makes a great combination. The crunchiness of the cucumber and the salt just fit perfectly.

The kids also can’t get enough of this dish too. Or maybe it just that all kids tend to love anything meat! Whatever the reason is, I could always count on the plate to be empty.



Ingredients:

1 Lb center pork cut
3 Tbsp of garlic minced
½ Tbsp of white pepper
2 Tbsp of fish sauce
1 Tbsp of sugar
1 Tbsp of oyster sauce
1 Tsp of dark soy sauce


Methods:

1. Place all the ingredients with the pork and message it together thoroughly.
2. Marinate overnight for intense flavor.
3. The next day set oven to 425 f and place the on the middle rack and cook for at least 45 minutes.

Serve with steam rice and sliced cucumber.

Shark Fin Soup

Shark Fin Soup

Beware animal lover, you might not have the stomach for this..

I have been contemplating for awhile now, about posting this dish. One I don’t want to offend anymore by writing this, but I feel that this is our way of life for thousand years. For Chinese’s culture shark fin is a delicacy that can only be indulge in on special occasions such as wedding, birthday, and New Year day. Often at wedding it would be served before the main entrée arrive. It is often the representation for all the dishes to serve after it, for it will be judge on how good the banquet is by the quality of the shark fin soup. The thickness, the flavor and the more shark fin the better. And so is the price tag. It also the most anticipated soup by almost everyone whom enjoyed it. Of courses, there would always accompany with whisper that it good for the women skin and good for the men strength. Then in Asian culture that are many things that does this!

With so much going on today on how the shark fin are obtained. I will make a note to try the imitation version. From what I heard that it is as good, but first I must find a place where they sell it online.

Ingredients:

1 Package of ready prepared dry shark fin (soak for an 1 hours in cold water)
1 Tbsp of minced ginger
1 Tbsp of scallion
1 Tbsp of sesame oil
¼ Cup of corn starch
¼ Cup of cold water
1 Cup of crab meat
8 Cup of chicken broth (cooked chicken overnight for the broth or use can version)
2 Tbsp of rice wine

Topping sauce:

White pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Cup red vinegar,
1 Tbsp cognac
1/8 Cup soy sauce

Methods:

1. In a hot wok put the sesame oil, minced ginger and scallion and cook until slightly golden.
2. Add the chicken broth and bring go boil.
3. Add the shark fin and crab meat. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. At the last 3 minutes stir the corn starch into the water and pour into the hot soup.
5. Stir until the soup until thicken for at least the remaining 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Remove and drizzle some of the red vinegar sauce with some white pepper and serve.

My Version of Phnom Phenh Noodle Soup

My Version of Phnom Phenh Noodle Soup

This is the noodle that I grew up with in our house. I remember this version ever since I was little and my grandmother would take me to this outside booth in Thailand and we would share our bowl of noodle once in a long while. Then when we first came to Long Beach, there was no such thing as a noodle house or Chinese restaurant. So we always end up making our own noodle at home. And that occasion would be maybe four times a year. I never learnt how to make it then, because I was too young and the process took too long. I was always willing to eat and never willing to help my grandmother cook. That why I only caught on to a couple of my favorite dishes from her.

As I grew up and have my own family, I learn to make this noodle for my family too. Even though by then Long Beach have plenty of restaurant and noodle house. And the saying still goes that eating out uses too much msg. Which I don’t use in my cooking at all, due to the fact that it is already in the soy sauce and fish sauce…if you haven’t noticed by now. So with trials and errors I have learnt to improve this recipe. Of course, you have to remember that even with the same exact recipe, the outcome will still be different due to our difference in taste. As for the name it depend whom you ask or where, for it also known Thiew Chieu noodle.

This noodle bring back old memories growing up. I just love how the house would fill wit this intoxicating aroma early every morning, making me looking forward to Sunday.



Ingredients:

Soup:

5 liter water or bigger
5 Pieces of pork neck
3 Pieces of pork shoulder bone
3 Pieces of chicken bone
4 Tbsp of chicken broth (powder form)
1 Cube of pork flavor soup base
2 Tbsp of sugar
1 Tsp of white pepper
1 Tsp of black pepper
3 Star anises
1 Large onion
1 Inch ginger
1 Dried Squid
3 Tbsp of dried shrimp
3 Cloves garlic
2 Whole preserved turnip cut into two pieces
2 Tbsp of preserved vegetable (comes in jar shred)
¼ Cup of fish sauce or add to taste
½ Tbsp of sea salt

1 – 2 Pack dried of fresh noodle

Meat garish:

8 oz of rib eyes beef sliced thinly
8 oz or one flap of beef tripe cooked and sliced into stripes
1 Pack beef ball
1 Pack fish ball
1 Cup of shrimp devein and peel
½ Cup of cook pig kidney (optional)


Topping:

1 Whole garlic (minced and added into hot oil until golden brown)
½ Bunch of cilantro chopped
3 Scallion chopped
2 Cup of bean sprout
Preserved vegetable topping as desire…
White pepper

Methods:

1. Place the bones in a big enough pot for your family. I used a 2 gallons plus. Fill water to top add the salt and place on the stove on high.
2. Bring it to a rapid boil and removed all scum and fat on the top.
3. Add all the soup ingredients.
4. Lower to medium and let it cook for another 1 hour and 45 minutes at least.
5. Make sure to add the salt, fish sauce and sugar to taste.
6. After meat are tender, turn off the stove and let it cool.
7. When it finished cooling place it in the refrigerator over night.
8. The next morning put reheat on the stove on high.
9. As the soup is reheating add the beef and fish ball, and put enough water in another clean pot and bring to boil.
10. Cook the noodle no more than 1 minute.
11. When it cooked use a noodle strainer and pick up the noodle and let the water drip and dry the noodle.
12. As soon as you place the noodle on the bowl add the oil and garlic right away so it doesn’t stick together.
13. While the water still boiling cook the beef and shrimp and add it on top of your noodle. Add the beef tripe and kidney too.
14. Add all the desire topping on like the preserved vegetable, cilantro, scallion bean sprout.
15. Now slowly and carefully pour the soup on top of it. Sprinkle a couple dash of white pepper and your ready to eat!

Bamboo Salad

This is one of my first Thai dishes that I love and learn to make. This pickle bamboo salad it originated in more of Southern Thai called a ha E San. E San foods are rich in spices and flavor. It is very good in it being very bold, spicy and lots of herbs. I love almost all the E San dishes and had learned to make most of them.

If you’re wondering how I of Chinese heritage, love to cook Thai food. Well it simple really. I used o owned a long time ago, over 15 years to be exact. And running beside from running the business, I love to sneak into the kitchen and learn from the chiefs there.
Since there fours chiefs I learn everything from them. One of them is an old lady that I called grandma that teaches me traditional methods to make desserts, salad, curry and craved fruit and vegetable into roses. From the other chiefs I learn to make all kind of fried rice, stir fired dishes and my favorite fried noodles!

Therefore I may not be a chief by degree or certified, but I consider myself to be very knowledgeable in Thai cooking. And over the years I think I had learned to perfected it!



Ingredients:

1 Bottle of pickle spice bamboo shoot
1 Tbsp roasted rice ground to fine
1 Tbsp of fish sauce
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
½ Tsp kosher salt
5 Thai chilies minced (this is super spicy)
2 Clove red scallion thinly sliced
3 Tbsp cilantro chopped into ½ length
Hand full of mint leaves sliced in half


Methods:

1. Open the bottle of the pickle bamboo and drain out he water.
2. Put it in a pot and cook for a couple minutes.
3. Remove from the stove and put in salad mixing bowl.
Add the fish sauce, salt, lime juice, grounded rice, minced chilies, scallion and mixed well. Add more fish sauce or lime juice to your tast

Mochi Ice Cream Filling

Here another version to the previous mochi recipe. This is a very yummy chewy and creamy dessert after a nice meal. Or in my kids case, they like to indulge in it at anytime of the day! This is our favorite Japanese ice cream dessert because it unique flavor and texture. Can’t go wrong with this easy to make dessert! Although, it tended to get really sticky and messing, but there nothing corn starch can’t do!

This time I decided to play with the recipe a little and use the Japanese mochi flour instead of the Chinese version flour previously. Also, I didn't added the wheat starch for fear that it would be too soft. And the result was absolutely so good! Another reason that it amazed me is that it stay soft the next day. This flour is a whole lot better than the first glutinous rice flour I used. Maybe it is soft or chewier, but the taste is more refine. Beside from the point, it is a lot easier to work with this flour. As you can see the different in the picture of the above and the one below. The first one is harder to mold into a nice ball and shape the mochi and the second is a beauty...Need I say more!? I am sold..from now on it will only be this mochi flour!

For the mochi skin follow previous mochi recipe:




Ice Cream Filling:

Use any flavor ice cream such as strawberry, vanilla, green tea, mango etc…. I used Haagen Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond…yum, yum…Best ice cream ever!
This is a to die for…the sweet chewy texture compliment the vanilla and chocolate cover almond perfectly!

Make sure to scoped the ice cream into quarter size ball in advance and leave it in the freezer for at least 1 hours so that it will become frozen and hard.

Make sure the dough is cold, by leaving it in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour or more after removing from the microwave.

Always use corn starch on hand so that it won’t stick to your hand. If you want rub a little oil on your hand so that the ball is nice and smooth and easy to blend.

And follow the same step are the first mochi recipe.