Joanne Bo Bo Cha Cha

I never seen or tried the Bo Bo Cha Cha with banana in it. Joanne, originally from Penang, Malaysia, was making this dessert on the Labor Day weekend. The first thought about banana in Bo Bo Cha Cha was, Very Interesting!!!! Of cos, I am a foodie, I would try anything people make for me. For those who dont know about this Malaysian dessert, it is a coconut based dessert. There are yam, sweet potatoes, taro, pandan leaf or pinescrew leaf, tapioca balls and black eye peas. Soothing and comforting dessert in fall and winter.

Lai Fun Pesto

Very chinese, using Lai Fun as spaghetti or fettucini or angel hair for Pesto entree. Gosh this is good.... Gregg loves it so much. Light, fresh and healthy. I got the Lai Fun leftover from a party, actual lai fun use in Chinese cuisine is for Asam Laksa or noodle soup. Well, my brain was electrified by the pesto, so I came out with this fast preparing dish, less than 15 minutes. Hey, Rachel Ray, step aside! So you know, you can use any kind of noodles for your pesto and tomato sauce.

"Anda Boleh"

Chef Chong's Pesto



Pesto

 This is my first time making Pesto. When I came to the States in 2005, I never heard, seen and tasted Pesto in my life. I got to know it from a dear friend of mine, Penny Eng who is a caterer and food stylist in San Francisco and her company's name is Penny Eng Event. Also I tried it out for the first time and I fell in love with it. I love the basil flavor, I am a herb guy. Then I work with Chef Neda who is formerly from French Laundry, her way of making Pesto. Tips: She puts in baby spinach in order to keep the pesto green. It is a very easy way of making it, but a bit expensive because of the ingredients. The fresh basil, the pine nuts and the grated parmesan cheese and of cos, the Olive Oil. Well, easier to get it from the store, but when you have the free stuff, especially the whole big container of fresh basil, that was what hit my head. Instead of pine nuts, I used shelled walnut. Instead of grated parmesan cheese, I used shredded parmesan cheese. Instead of good extra virgin olive oil, I used cheap brand olive oil from Safeway. You know you can use coupon and your Safeway card, right? So here it goes... my own creation. I made batch by batch using cuisineart food processor, put them in a small Glad container and freeze them. You can use them anytime by putting a container in a microwave for a minute or two. See, you have Pesto supply for months or years.

Ingredients:-

Fresh Basil
Fresh baby spinach (little portion)
Shelled Walnut
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic
Salt and Pepper

* Blend them all in a food processor. This is your individual taste of your own Pesto.


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Indian cabbage

Cabbage is my favourite vegetable especially when they are cooked thoroughly and long. I use the curry powder, cumin and coriander to spice up the indian flavor, with garlic. Easy to cook, remember always to use lid to cover the pan or pot while cooking cabbage. Cook faster.

Recipe:-

1 head Cabbage - however you want to cut it
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 Tablespoon Vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt to taste
1/2 cup water

Method:-

1. Heat the non-stick saucepan with the oil on medium high, add the garlic and stir for a few second. Dont burn it.
2. Add cabbage, curry powder, cumin, coriander and water. Put high heat, stir for a minute and then cover with lid. Let it cook for 2 minute.
3. Add salt to taste and stir well.

"Anda Boleh" Namaste

Nasi Bryani

I love this basmati rice with tomato and raisins. It reminds me of those days when I was eating at the muslim hawker stands (we called it Mamak stall), the fragrant smell of the basmati rice flowing in the air. Taste so good with the curry sauce or dahl (lentil) curry, mmmm........ yummy.

Recipe:-

2 cup Basmati Rice
Water (I dont usually measure the water, just my experience by looking at the water level when cooking the rice. So you have to follow your own instruction. Some like it little wet and some like it little dry.)
3-5 Tablespoon Prego Mushroom pasta sauce
2-3 Bayleaf
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Raisins (any colors)
1/4 stick unsalted butter

Method:-

1. Use regular rice cooker, not the fancy one like Japanese rice cooker unless you are familiar with it.
2. Put all the ingredients together, as easy as that.
3. Once done, add butter and mix well.

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Carmen's Grill

Carmen Mayo, our friend from Seattle, came back to visit her parents the other day. She invited us to go to her place and have bbq. It was just 3 of us, so I thought, great, we have zuchini, eggplant, sweet nectarine and chicken thigh in the fridge. So easy to marinate these vegetables, just use olive oil, salt and pepper, a little curry powder would be great. Chicken thigh, mixed soy sauce, olive oil, sugar, salt and Chinese 5 spice powder. Remember, chicken needs some time to cook.

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Pumpkin Cake with Cherry sauce

Looks good, right? I am the expert on keeping the ingredients from last year, use it this year. The pumpkin puree is from last year Halloween. See, dont throw it away. This pumpkin cake was my favourite, I remember my sister, Pauline Chong, loves to make this at home. I was like, what is this, So So Good! I asked her for the recipe and she sent it to me years ago. But I did not make pumpkin cake at all until today. Actually, I wanted to clear my freezer, thats why I have to use the pumpkin puree. I can use the puree for my ravioli but I wanted to make something different and for the first time. Here is the result and I love it.

Recipe soon.

Recipe soon.

Asam Laksa

At first I was thinking of making some soup from the corn broth (water from cooking the corn) but I saw some asam paste in my fridge. So I instantly thought of Asam Laksa because I have mostly all the ingredients, have some sole fillet in the freezer, lemons and grapefruit in the fridge. Have the vietnamese coriander (daun kesum) and peppermint in the frontyard. Gosh, it was so good and a little spicy for my partner, but we loved it. FYI, Asam Laksa is a very popular noodle soup in Penang, Malaysia. The taste should be sour, fishy, sweet and spicy. Try this out, easy to prepare and healthy as well. Get the Asam Laksa paste at the Asian Market in your area. If not, ask your friends who live in the big city like New York and San Francisco to send it to you. Enjoy!

Recipe:-

1 packet Penang Asam Laksa paste (any brands from Malaysia)
1 small can Sardines
4 cups Water or Chicken Broth or any type of clear broth
3-4 stalks Lemon Verbena or Vietnamese Coriander
Salt and/or Fish sauce

Garnishing:-

Leftover Roasted Chicken - shredded
Grapefruit - section
Peppermint Leaf
Lime

Method:-

1. Mix the paste, sardines, water or broth and vietnamese coriander in a pot and boil.
2. Add salt to taste. Fish sauce is optional.
3. Cook the rice noodles separately according to the instruction given on the bag.
4. Put all the cooked ingredients in the bowl and garnished.
5. Add some lime juice to taste. The Asam Laksa should be little sour, sweet and spicy with lots of fish flavor.

"Anda Boleh"