Mung Bean Pudding Dessert

Here another one of the simply yet satisfying your sweet tooth dessert. There not much to this dessert recipe. It is as simple as it gets and taste as good as it should. Yet it one of the most sorts after dessert by most Asian home. I guess the mung bean is supposed to be good for you that it gives a cooling effect to the body. Whatever the reasons are, I just simply can never resist the sticky, gooey texture of this dessert where the combination of the mung bean, sugar and creamy coconut milk just melts in your mouth and satisfying your sugar craving. Of course, there not many versions out there only the thickness that is different. I like mine very thick and gooey with lots of the delicious sweet and salty coconut cream on top of it. I got to admit that the best version that I ever had was the one at this Vietnamese dessert shop on Westminster street somewhere in Westminster, California if I remember correctly. This place makes the best dessert ever! When you walk in there you can smell the sweet aroma of all the dessert and the coconut cream. I just love the thickness of how they make it there and coconut milk is to die for! If you ever happen to be in that area, it a must stop..

Ingredients:

1 Cup of hulled yellow split mung beans (soak in cold water overnight)
4 Cups of water
1 Cup of sugar
2 Tbsp of tapioca starch 3 tbsp of cold water mix together

Coconut Milk Topping

1 Cup of coconut milk
1/2 Tsp of salt
3 Tbsp of sugar
½ Tsp of tapioca starch 1 tbsp of cold water mix together

Methods:

1. Using a steamer, line with cheese cloth and pour the soaked mung bean into it. Make a circle in the middle to have the steam distribute evenly. Cook for a good 25 minutes or until cook. Make sure do not over cook it or it will fall apart.
2. In a pot add the water and sugar and bring it to boil. Stir in the tapioca liquid and stir constantly to prevent burning the bottom of the pot. When it thicken and clear add the cook mung bean and stir lightly to mix.
3. In another small pot heat the coconut milk, sugar and salt to boil. Then add the tapioca liquid in it and stir until it thicken.

Serve hot with coconut milk topping. Great with Chinese’s donut Yao Tiew too!

Sweet & Sour Spareribs

Here a dish that really gets your mouth water just by looking at it. I don’t know what it is, maybe it the coloring or the caramel looking glaze, but it does make you just want to dig in. It doesn’t help that it totally delicious too! Now I for one don’t really care for anything sweet & sour and I was very reluctant about making this one, but alas the picture just makes my mouth water and I gave in. The best part about this recipe it that it not your typical sweet & sour ribs that in the Chinese take out. This one is restaurant style where it is deep fried first to give it that crispy outside and moist and tender inside.
As mention before, in my house we don’t really care for sweet & sour, but this dish really convince them otherwise. They really clean this dish clean! So if you really into sweet & sour or ribs give this recipe a try….you might just love it!

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine
3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp of vinegar
A couple dash of black pepper
1 Tbsp of sesame oil
2 Tbsp of water
½ Tsp of corn starch added about 2 Tbsp of water to it.
Vegetable oil for deep frying
1 Drop of red food coloring or ½ of dark soy sauce (dark soy sauce makes it brown and red makes it red coloring)

Methods:

1. Marinate with the soy sauce and rice wine overnight so that the flavor can set in.
2. The next day take the rib out and place enough vegetable oil and heat to hot. Cook the ribs for about a good 10 minutes or until golden brown and fully cooked. Remove and set aside.
3. In another wok or skillet pour the soy sauce, dark soy, sesame oil, sugar, vinegar and bring to boil and slightly thicken.
4. Now add the ribs and give it a couple of tosses to fully absorb the flavor.
5. Lastly, add the corn starch water and give it a couple more tosses until liquid is fully absorbed and thicken. Give the black pepper a couple of shake and toss once or twice.

Serve hot.

Stir Fried Herbs Chicken

This is a favorite among many Southeastern Asian for it many herbs and ingredients. What interesting about this dish is that the combination of the herbs aroma makes you just wants to chow down more than you desire potion. Although it not hard to make, but if you making the herbs from scratch and using your hands it can be tiring and time consuming. The easiest way is to buy the ready minced lemongrass and using an electric blender. It works and it time and life saving! Of course, everyone will have their version of this dish. Even the restaurants added their own flavor to it. Here my version. Enjoy making it and eating it!


Ingredients:

6 Stalks of lemon grass sliced to it thinnest possible. Or ½ cup of ready minced version.
1 Lb Chicken wings or drumstick clean and cutting into 2” sizes. It taste best when use part with bone in them.
4 Cloves of garlic
I Thumb size turmeric or ½ Tsp of powder version
1 Handful of kaffir lime leaves
4 or 5 Thai chilies pounded to open
3 to 4 Jalapeno sliced
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Large onion cut into four
1 Handful of holy basil
1 Tbsp of vegetable oil
2 Tbsp of fish sauce
½ Tsp of dark soy sauce
A couple pinches of kosher salt or to taste

Methods:

1. Combine all the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and pulse for 4 times or until blend. Sometime adding a little water makes it easier to blend. When it minced and blend thoroughly add the garlic and turmeric and pulse 3 more time.
2. Heat a nonstick pan to hot and add the oil. When oil it hot add the herbs mixture and Thai chilies and stir until aroma.
3. Add the chicken pieces and stir in the fish sauce, salt, oyster sauce and dark soy. Stir occasionally so the chicken will not be burnt on one side.
4. When the chicken it fully cooked, usually a good 20 minutes or so add the jalapeno and onion and stir for another 5 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and add the holy basil and give it a couple of tosses.

Serve hot with fresh steam rice.

Fish Cake

If you love fish cake, here a good one for you! Fish cake is often consider as an appetizer because it on that section in all of the Thai restaurant, but in reality it is also great as the main dish with rice too or that how I often eat it. A good fish cake should have the following characteristic, crispy on the outside and moist and chewy in the inside, just the way I think every fish cake should be. Of course, this is not a hard dish to make, but if not done right it just tasted like rubber! And believe me I had some of those before! It was very hard to swallow it, let alone enjoy it. So here my famous version, by famous I meant with the family wise. They just ravish this dish and rave about it. A big smile is the way to a chef heart as I always say…..


Ingredients:

1 Package of fish paste
2 Tbsp of red curry paste
1 Tsp of paprika
1 Tbsp of fish sauce
2 Tbsp of tapioca starch
1 Cup of Asian green bean cut into small pieces (optional)
Handful of kaffir lime leaves sliced into thin pieces
¼ Vegetable oil for frying

Cucumber sauce or salad

1 Cucumber thinly sliced
2 Tbsp of white vinegar
1 Tbsp of sugar
Mix together set aside. Great with fish cake and satay alike.


Methods:

1. Using electric blender add the fish paste, curry paste, fish sauce, paprika and tapioca starch and pulse 3 to four time or until fully blended.
2. Scope it out and add the lime leaves and cut green bean and mix well.
3. In a frying pan add the oil and bring to hot.
4. Rubbing a little oil on your hands, scope a spoonful of the fish paste mixture into your hand and roll it into a ball. Then flatten it with your palms to about ¼ to ½ inches in thicken.
5. Drop the fish paste into the hot oil and cook until golden brown. Make sure to turn it over so that it will not get burn.

Serve hot with cucumber sauce and with steam or sticky rice.

Thai Beef Jerky (Nua Sawan)

This is the perfect take snack for every occasion. You can never have enough of this, especially when it served with sticky rice and the tangy garlic vinegar sauce. This is one of the must have dish everything I do eat Thai food, because it just tasted so good with freshly cooked steam rich or sticky rice! Of course there the hardcore beer drinking that loves this as their finger snack.
Unlike the our American’s beef jerky where you just bit into it, this one you have to pull it in strand and it taste just heavenly this way. Great snack for on the go when you need to have pack some light food on a road trip.

Ingredients:

2 Pound of beef (using the chewing type such as chuck roast, beef sirloin) cut to long strip about 2” wide
2 Tbsp of minced garlic
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp of sugar
1 Tbsp of rice wine
½ Tsp of salt
1 Tbsp of black pepper
½ Tsp white pepper
1 Tbsp oyster sauce

Sauce:

1 Tbsp of sugar
2 Tbsp of white vinegar
2 Cloves of minced garlic

Mix and you have a sauce!

Methods:

1. Place the beef in a metal bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, fish sauce, salt, black pepper, white pepper and oyster sauce.
2. Message it thoroughly for a minute or so.
3. Now cover it up and refrigerated it overnight.
4. The next day, set your over to lowest setting possible and place the beef on top of a rack and keeping the oven door ajar and let it sit for 2 to 4 hours. Another option is to sun dried it if you have the right cover up and netting.
5. When it dry you can freeze the rest that not use.
6. To cook this just
7. heat enough hot to hot and cook for 5 minutes. Do not over cook or it will be burnt. After remove from the oil. Towel dry and slightly pound it so that it will be tender and not to hard when it cold.

Best serve hot. When it cold it tend to be teeth breaking and lost it true flavor.

Vegetarian Pad Thai

Ok here a very popular dish that you will see in every Thai restaurant. There something about this noodle that everyone just can’t seem to resist. With it sweet and tangy flavor and chewy noodle texture accompany with eggs and tofu just melts in your mouth. Of course, when not done right it is tasteless and dry, tasting more like dried cardboard than noodle. I am not a sweet main dish person, but this noodle caught my attention once upon a time when my chef first cook it for me at my once upon time Thai restaurant. The way he made it was makes the noodle look so tempting all glossy and moist. Of course, after one bite, I was hooked on Pad Thai! And the long process of pestering him to finally teach me how to make and what is his secret ingredients. Needless to say, if he is reading this he won’t be too happy that I am leaking his secret ingredients out! But you know what they say about sharing is caring…and I am sure he wants his wonderful recipe to be acknowledged and enjoy by other Pad Thai lover out there! Whoever you guys are….


Ingredients:

1 Serving or ¼ package of medium size fresh or dried rice noodle
2 Tbsp of Pad Thai sauce
1 Tbsp of fish sauce
1 or 2 Eggs (optional)
1 Handful of bean sprout
2 Tbsp of cold water
½ Cup of hard tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes
½ Tsp chopped cooked peanuts
3 Steams of cilantro
A couple dash of white pepper
1 Tbsp of vegetable oil

Pad Thai’s Sauce

1 Package of ready peel tamarind paste
1 Cup of sugar
½ Cup of Sambal Oelek fresh ground chili paste (find it in sauce section in Asian market)
2 Cup of boiling water

• Bring the water to boil. Pour the water on the tamarind paste and let it sit for 30 minute or so.
• After the required time, it should soften and fall the tamarind will fall apart.
• Now using a spoon or hand mash the tamarind until it thicken and strain it through a strainer to remove all skin and seed.
• In a medium pot, pour the tamarind juice, sugar and chili paste and bring to boil.
• When it boiled lower the heat to medium and stir occasionally until the sauce is thicken.
• When it done you can put it in a plastic container and or seal tight and refrigerate it for up to 6 months.



Methods:

1. If you’re using dried noodle, make sure to soak it for 1 hour first then soak it boiling water for 30 seconds or so to soften the noodle up. Fresh one can be cook right away or if you like it softer soak in boil like the dried noodle. Do not soak in boiling too long or the noodle will break apart and gets mushy when cooking it.
2. Heat wok to hot, than add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot add the tofu and cook until light golden brown.
3. Move the tofu aside, add the eggs and scramble it until cook.
4. Add the noodle, fish sauce, water and Pad Thai’s sauce and toss the noodle until fully mix together and the sauce is coating the noodle all over. Do not over stir it or it will break apart.
5. When it fully cooked add the cilantro and white pepper and give it a toss or two. If you like your bean sprout to be cook add it now.

Remove, add the peanut, cilantro and bean sprout, serve hot.

Lod Chong

Love..love!! This particular dessert more than I can explained. The funny thing is that it not even chewy! And we all know how much I love anything with a chewy texture. Although it lack the chewy texture, but it deliver in other areas to makes you just fall in love with it, such as the soften of short noodle like strains that just slip through your mouth and down your throat, just leaving the creamy coconut milk sweet linger and yearning for more. Come to think of it, the reason that I love eating this thoroughly satisfying dessert, because of the memories that goes with it. I will always remember the first time eating it in Cambodia from a street vendor. My grandmother bought me my first bowl and that was the sweetest most precious things I ever taste after many years in starvation and away from modern civilization (actually survived the killing field). So this one dessert brought back so many heartwarming memories.

This is the one dessert that you will only see at private gathering such as birthday, New Year or special occasion, because it is time consuming to make and very intimidating for those that never made it before. So if you happen to stumble upon this dessert as a house guest, consider yourself lucky…because you must be special!

The pandanus squeeze

* Note: Adding tapioca flour gives the texture of slight tougher taste, without makes it softer and just the right soft and slight chewy texture.

Ingredients:

1 Cup of rice flour
3 ½ Cups of red limestone water
1 Tsp of pandanus squeeze
½ Tsp of pandanus liquid flavor
¾ Cup of palm sugar
2 Tsp of tapioca starch mix with 2 Tbsp of cold water
1 Can of coconut milk
¼ Tsp of salt

Methods:

1. Use ½ canister of red limestone and add 7 cups of water. Let it sit overnight.
2. Before you do anything get some ice and put in bucket with cold water.
3. Next day take the half of that water 3 ½ cups and pour through a cheese cloth and into a non stick pot.
4. Now add the rice flour, tapioca starch, pandanus flavor and squeeze and knead with wooden spoon until it fully mixed together into liquid form.
5. Over medium heat, place the pot and stir continuously.
6. When the batter turn bright green, thicken and almost glossy looking it done. The texture when you pick up the spoon should run like the gooey slime. About 25 to 30 minutes.
7. Placing the salim’s presser only 2” inches about the ice water, gently and slowly pour the batter into it little at time. Now give it a hard but short press. Once the batter hits the cold water it will holds it shape. Continue until you finished with all the batter. Let it sit in that water.
8. Now in a small pot add the coconut milk, palm sugar and salt and bring to boil and remove from heat.

Serve room temperature or add some ice for a cooling dessert. Enjoy!

Fish Maw Soup (Kra-Paw Pla)

This soup is very similar to shark fin soup in texture, but it has a sweet and sour tasted that like hot and sour soup. Although, it a very popular street vendor soup, but you will not be able to find it in your Thai restaurant menu. I guess it the time consuming part and all the ingredients can be pretty costly. Even I don’t make it often, but when I do, it never fails to get lots of compliment and satisfaction from both parties. I like mine very sour and spicy. Of course, I tried many versions and after much experimenting I find that this is the most tasteful one thus far. Great for that cold winter day where you need a good soup to comfort your taste bud and soul.

Ingredients:

1 Small chicken (cook, save the broth and pull the meat into shredded pieces)
5 Dried shitake mushrooms (soak in hot water for 1 hours or so, cut into thin slices)
1 Package of dried dish maw (soak in warm water until soften then cut into small bite size)
1 Cup bamboo shoots
1 Cup of slice Jacama (adding this gives it a nice crunchy texture)
1 Can quail eggs
½ Cup vinegar
3 Tbsp of corn starch add about 3 tbsp of water to it
1 Tbsp of soy sauce
2 Tbsp of fish sauce
3 Tbsp of sweet soy sauce
1 Tsp of white pepper
1 Bunch of cilantro cut into 1’ section
1 Tbsp of sugar
6 Cup of chicken broth
1 Scope or cube of chicken flavor soup base

Topping sauce

1 Tbsp of rice vinegar
1 Soy sauce

Fresh ground chili paste to taste

Methods:

1. In a medium pot pour about 7 cups of water, chicken soup base in with the chicken. Bring to boil and shimmer it for at least an hours or so for better flavoring.
2. When it fully cooked remove the chicken and strain the broth to remove all fat and scum.
3. Then pull the chicken meat into shredded pieces and set aside.
4. Now to prepare the fish maw, after it soaked, boil it for 5 minutes removed and cut into small pieces. This is optional, but in doing this it remove the smell and soften it further.
5. In a medium pot, pour the chicken broth, fish maw, mushroom, soy sauce, sweet soy, fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, bamboo shoots quail eggs and sliced jacama and bring to boil.
6. Now slowly add the liquid corn starch and let it boil and thicken.
7. Turn off and add the white pepper and cilantro.

Serve hot with or with it topping sauce and chili sauce.

Chinese Beef Stew

If you’re looking good home cooking beef stew for this cold winter months, look no farther for here a recipe that promise to warm you up. Nothing beats a good bowl of stew for comfort in such a dreary cold winter season. I love that the spices in this stew give this traditional beef stew a “kick” as often called by my husband. There not much to this recipe, except that it does required some time to cook it. Once it done, the beef and carrot just melts in your mouth. Excellent source of nutrients and flavorful favorite! Goes great with rice or noodle too.


Ingredients:

1 Pound of beef stew chunk cut into 2 inches cube
1 Pound of beef small intestine clean and cut into 2 inches length (optional)
6 Carrot cut into 2 inches length
½ Tsp of five spices
2 Tbsp of rice cooking wine
1 Tsp of black pepper
1 Tsp of white pepper
½ Tsp of kosher salt
½ Tbsp of dark soy sauce
2-4 Tbsp of soy sauce or to taste
2 Star anises
2 Tsp of brown sugar
4-6 Cup plus 4 Tbsp of water

Methods:

1. In a medium pot heat to hot then add the brown sugar and 4 Tbsp of water and stir in the wine, salt, soy sauce, dark soy, peppers, star anises, and five spices. Stir until it mixed well.
2. Add the beef and small intestine, stir for a couple of minutes or until it brown.
3. Now add the water and bring it to boil. Once you bring it to full boiling point, lower the heat to medium and let it shimmer for a good hour plus. Depending on how tender you want your beef to be, you can shimmer it to desire tenderness.
4. Now it you want to add some carrot, the time to do it right when the beef to add. Carrot taste best when it nice and tender in stew. The plus part about putting carrots is that it actually gives the natural sweetness to your soup.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Mango Pudding

When mango season in, I often stock it up. Once because I just love mango or anything with mango in it! As long as I can remembered, I always love eat thing ripe, fragrant fruit. My favorite memories would be the taste mango’s roll up that my grandma used to make for my after school snack. And then there all those ripe mango that we often eat after every meal in place of dessert. It would be mango everyday when it in season and it would often be what I look forward to most to dinner time. That how obsession with mango and all the dessert I love to make with it. As I grew older I would tried every kind of dessert that have mango in it and attempting to make and perfecting it. This one is just plain and simple, yet so refreshing and good for you. Great to for those hot Summer day after a nice meal. Or a beautiful table display for dinner parties or get together. Great way to leave an impression!


Ingredients:

2 Ripe large mangos
1 Packet clear gelatin
½ Cup of hot water
1/3 Cup of sugar
Strawberry for garnishing

Methods:

1. Scope the mango into a blender and pulse three or four time until it fully blended.
2. In a hot heat the water to boil then add the gelatin. Stir quickly until it fully dissolved.
3. Now add the sugar and mango and stir until fully blend.
4. Pour into desire mold or cup.
5. Let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour or so.
6. When it harden remove and garnish with strawberry.

Serve cold.