Anniversary Pork Chop

Gregg and I are celebrating our 3rd year Anniversary tomorrow, so I made our Anniversary dinner today. I decided to make pork chop because of it has been sitting in the fridge for awhile. I learnt from Chef Neda roasting the meat by using butter, garlic and thyme and sprinkle of salt. The end result was really good, with red wine sauce. Hope this will give you an idea to celebrate love.

Recipe soon.

Chinese Gumbo

This is what I called, Chinese Gumbo. Very quick and easy meal especially when you have less time to cook. Also when you have leftover steamed rice of any kind, Safeway roast chicken and leftover shrimps from the Memorial Weekend BBQ.

Ingredients:-

2 cups Chicken stock or any kind of stock in your freezer or pantry

1/2 cup Leftover steamed rice

3 pc Ore-Ida Tater Tots or you have leftover french fries (cut them into small pieces)

3 pc Leftover $5.99 Roast Chicken

Garnishing:-

Few Shrimps

Few Chards

Few Pea pods

(sauteed them together with cooking oil, salt and pepper until the shrimps turned red and curled up)

Method:-

1. Heat a pot with the chicken stock on high. Once boiled, add the rice, tater tots, chicken together. Cook for 3-4 min on medium heat.

2. Seasoned with salt and pepper.

3. Garnished with the sauteed shrimps and vegetables.

"Anda Boleh"

Shrimps Vermicelli on bed of lettuce

Again, I brought back some leftover from work. This time is the shrimps, used for the lettuce wrap. I know you all will wonder, what were you thinking when looking at the leftover food and other ingredients. Well, telling you the truth, the Flavors. Imagine the shrimps, with some marinade such as lime juice, cashew nuts, green onions, salt and pepper, fish sauce, and cold vermicelli. In my head, I think of it, light and healthy and tasty as well. See, seafood is always a light protein and taste good no matter how you cooked it. So when you have some shrimps at home, chopped it, add salt and pepper, some fish sauce, lime juice or lemon, a little sugar, then you will have a great meal for a day.

Recipe soon.

Crispy Miso Duck with Dried Fruit Sauce

I got this duck breast with skin from work. Usually, the way of cooking duck for Chinese is stewing them with ginger and fermented dry beans such as Miso and soy sauce. I was inspired by my mom's cooking, Stewed Ginger Duck with Fermented Soy Beans (Miso paste in America). It is one of my family tradition to have the stew on every special occasion. This time, I am making the opposite, seared the dark pretty good. Of cos, you have to marinate the duck with miso, sweet soy sauce overnight. It tastes so good with the syrupy sauce I made from dried fruit. Lets do this today, it is your special occasion!

Ingredients:-

Marinating the duck breast overnight:

2 Tablespoon Miso paste

1 Tablespoon Sweet soy sauce

1 Tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (we called it Chinese Rose Wine)

1 Tablespoon cooking oil

Dried Fruit Syrup:

2 cups Sliced or chopped some leftover dried fruit in your pantry or fridge

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups water

Methods:-

1. Heat the non-stick pan with 3 Tablespoon cooking oil, on medium high. Seared the duck breast on skin first for 5-6 minutes each side. Then seared again on the skin for a min, just to make the skin crispy and blackened. Remember, it is  not burn. Its ok.

2. Sliced the duck breast, how: put the duck breast with skin on the bottom side, cut thru the meat first on a chopping board. Check on the redness of the meat. I do prefer it done, instead of rear. Remember, always eat overcooked food then undercooked.

3. Drizzle the dried fruit syrup on top and garnished with bed of lettuce.

For the dried fruit syrup, just put everything together in a pot on medium high. Reduced until syrupy.

"Anda Boleh"

Turkey Mushroom Lettuce Wrap

The other day, Gregg and I went to RedHawk Casino on our way back from Lake Tahoe. We wanted to have the $9.99 buffet dinner, unfortunately, we arrived 5 min late. They closed. So we decided to try out the chinese restaurant there, called Pearl. We looked at the menu and surprisingly the price is reasonable. So we were seated by our waiteress, Miss Erica and greeted by the Manager, Miss Athena. We were the first customer at that time and followed by the others. See, we bring them businesses. We then ordered Chicken Mushroom Lettuce Wrap, Mandarin Pork Chop (just like sweet and sour) and Shrimps Scallops Egg White Brocolli. Honestly, they were so good! Thats why I am recreating the lettuce wrap, healthy and easy to make.

Ingredients:-

2 lb Turkey minced (it is all depends on how much protein you preferred)

1 cup chopped shitake mushroom (you can use other mushrooms)

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup chopped onions

2 Tablespoon chopped green onions

1 Tablespoon Oyster sauce

1 teaspoon Sesame seeds oil

1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine (actually you can use white wine or rice wine or sake)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tablespoon cooking oil

Method:-

1. Heat the non-stick pan on medium high, add the cooking oil, onions, garlic and mushrooms. Stir fried for a minute until the mushrooms smells good.

2. Add in the turkey minced and chinese cooking wine, stir for 2-3 minutes until all fully cooked (when the color turned white)

3. Add oyster sauce, sesame seeds oil, salt and pepper to taste. Lastly add the chopped green onions, stir for seconds. Take it out and let it cool a little before serving. Serve with cleaned lettuce.

"Anda Boleh"

 

Friggin Fantastic Chicken

Oh gosh! It was Fantastic.... Frigging....... Good! See, Malaysian loves to BBQ at night but not in the afternoon. The weather is hot and humid during the day, and unpredictable heavy storm. Therefore, BBQing at night is the common thing to do in the country. Why we say that this recipe is Friggin Good, because of the marinade. When you combined Chinese 5 spice powder, soy sauce and sugar, those are wonders and it makes you say "Hmmmmmmmm.........so good......."

Ingredients:-

2 pc each Chicken thighs and wings

Some fresh oregano

1/4 cup Soy sauce

2 Tablespoon Sugar

1 Tablespoon Chinese Rose Wine

Pinch of Salt

3 Tablespoon Olive oil

1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice (you can get it at any Asian markets near you)

Method:-

1. Marinate all the chicken with all the ingredients in a ziploc bag, overnight.

2. Roast in the oven at 400 F for about 40-45 minutes, dont let the smoke coming out from your oven.

3. The leftover marinade, reduce it on a saucepan at medium heat. Once reduced, add some butter to make into sauce. It is good spreading on the warm rolls.

Tips:- you can bbq them too. Remember, when roast in the oven, always put the chicken on the rack. Cover your sheet pan with aluminium foil, so that easy to clean after that.

 

"Anda Boleh"

Carmelised Onions Tumeric Chicken

Today, I am making this quick chinese style chicken with just onions. Gregg and I are craving for jasmine steamed rice, so I am thinking of cooking some chicken and re-stir fried the leftover Buddha delight from Asian Wok (a Malaysian restaurant near us). Also, we loved fried capers.

Ingredients:-

2 medium size Chicken Breast - cut into cubes or chunk size

1 teaspoon Tumeric powder

1 large onion - sliced

1 teaspoon sugar

salt to taste

Method:-

1. Heat a non-stick pan with some cooking oil, prefer medium to high heat. Cook the onions first, half way cook.

2. Then put in the chicken and salt, stir fried for a min or two.

2. Add in tumeric and sugar, further stir frying it for another minute until the onions turning brown and carmelised. Add some more salt to taste.

"Anda Boleh"

Leftover Ozzo Lasagna

See, I have so much time in the house to think what I want to cook for lunch or dinner. That day, I made Ozzo with shitake mushrooms, beets top, some sage and green onions. I also made Coq Au Vin too. Pretty good and I cooked the whole packet, so that I can have leftover. So, why Lasagna? Reason is, it is another pasta and I have some old parmesan cheese in the freezer and shredded morz cheese in the fridge. Also we bought some bottles of pasta sauce the other day, perfect combination. So easy, less dishwashing. We have lots of time watching tv and relax.

To make this dish, just do it like you making lasagna. Simple and easy.

Michelle's Sweet and Sour Chicken

I got a notice from Gregg the other day about his co-worker, Michelle is coming over for lunch. Well, we have lots of stuffs in the fridge and our backyard, and luckily the chicken breast was thawed in the fridge overnight. I told Gregg that I am going to make Chinese food. Sweet and Sour Chicken because I saw the ketchup, have leftover lemon sauce from the scones and some old lemon on the counter. Since the lunch was just 3 of us, so I made a sauteed vegetables from our garden and steamed rice with fried capers. Honestly this is my first time making sweet and sour chicken in 10 years. I can say that my skills are getting better and better. Even Gregg and Michelle were so into it with the steamed jasmine rice with fried capers, eating just that leaving some vegetables behind. So comforty.... hmmmm.

Ingredients:-

2 chicken breast cut in chunk

2 Tablespoon cooking oil

1 cup  ketchup

2 Tablespoon lemon sauce (any kind of citrus sauce or juice you have in your fridge)

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

few slices lemon

a pinch or two salt and pepper to taste

Method:-

1. Stir fried the chicken in a hot wok with some cooking oil, a pinch salt and pepper for few minutes until little brown. Medium to high heat prefer.

2. Then add in ketchup, lemon sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil together. Stir for 2 min under low medium heat until the sauce is thick and glossy.

3. Lastly, put in the lemon slice and stir for a min.

4. Serve with jasmine rice with fried capers (you can see the recipe from my last posting).

Tips:- Chicken always better over cooked than under cooked. The more oil, the more glossy.

Halibut light and easy

Halibut is a very tasty white fish. I love it when it is seared and steamed provided it is fresh. This time, I am cooking it in the oven at 450 F so that I no need to clean the stove top from searing the fish. It is a very interesting combination of marinade, and with capers.

Recipe soon.

Chicken Hor Fun Soup

My bf, Gregg, called me at the last minute lunch, and I said, just come home and you are going to have a healthy light quick meal. So I quickly pull out the pork stock from the freezer, add some capers in it to give it saltiness olivey flavour. Then take a bunch of hor fun (flat small size rice noodle) from the pantry, a piece of grilled chicken made few days ago sat in the fridge, some sugar peas from the fridge, some sliced onions and fresh cut cilantro from our garden, making into this fabulous satisfying quick lunch, less than 20 min.

Ingredients:-

1 piece of grilled chicken breast (or just plain chicken breast) cut into cubes or chunks
2 Tablespoon Capers
1 bunch Hor Fun (Flat small size rice noodle)
2 handful Sugar Peas
1 handful of sliced onions
some fresh chopped cilantro (optional fresh mint, basil or vietnamese coriander)
3-4 cups of pork stock (can use any other stocks)
Salt to taste
2 teaspoon Rice Vinegar

Method:-

1. Heat up the stock in a pot, add in the capers together. Boil for 2 min.
2. Throw in the hor fun, cook as instructed. (would say, 2 min)
3. Add in grilled chicken and sugar peas together.
4. Add salt and rice vinegar to taste.
5. Lastly, garnish with fresh cilantro and sliced onions. Good with Sri Racha chili sauce. Make into 2 bowls of Chicken Hor Fun Soup.


"Anda Boleh"

Rice with Fried Capers, Chard curry, Halibut and Herbs Omellet

This is so Good!!!!!!! I can eat the plain steamed Jasmine rice with fried capers just like that. Easy to make, just fried the capers until it pops and little brown. Gosh, it is my comfort food and of cos, better with some chard or other vegetables curry (I used the leftover curry sauce), seared halibut and herbs omellet.

Lets start with herbs omellet:-

Make your usual omellet, stir a little so that the omellet is breaking up into small pieces. Also fried a little longer than usual omellet, so that you can see the little brown side. Add in chopped parsley, oregano, thyme and garlic salt. So so good!!!!!!

Chard curry:-

Pick some chard from your backyard, cleaned and sliced. Heat the pan with some cooking oil, cook until wilted and then add the leftover curry sauce you have at home, for about 1 min to simmer. Serve with warm steamed jasmine rice.

Enjoy My Way of Comfort Food

"Anda Boleh"

Miso with a Twist

This is a very healthy soup and meal of the day. Simple and easy to prepare, all you need is eggs, tofu, rice noodle and miso paste. I use "Shiro Miso Paste" which is lighter in color and taste. Just 2 tablespoon of it in small pot of water or stock, enough for 2 people, preparation time just less than 30 min.

Ingredients:-

2-3 Tablespoon Shiro Miso Paste or other miso paste

3-4 cups Chicken stock or just water

1 bundle Rice noodles

1 packet Firm tofu (cut into cubes or chunks)

1 Shallots (make into fried shallots)

1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar

Salt to taste

Cilantro for garnishing

2 Eggs (beat and make into omellet)

Method:-

1. Boil the water or stock, add the miso paste and stir.

2. Put in rice noodles, cook as instructed. (I would say 2 min max)

3. Add in tofu, salt and rice vinegar to taste. (it should be little salty and little sour) cook for 1 min.

4. Once done, put in a bowl, garnish with fresh cilantro, omellet (cut into any shapes you want) and fried shallots.

Tips for frying shallots: Slice shallots in a ring shape, heat up the vegetable oil in medium. Slowly browing the shallots. Once it is half way to browning, turn off the heat and let it continues browning but not burning.

"Anda Boleh"

White Pampano in Red Curry

There is a Seafood City market in Vallejo where we seldom go there to explore. Once we were there, it was a heaven for me and Gregg. I was excited to see lots of seafood especially the fish. I love Pampano and it is a luxury fish in Malaysia. Chinese usually will steam a fresh Pampano, with just ginger soy sauce and chopped green onions. Love it... so light and healthy.

This time, I was thinking of making a fish curry, due to the leftover curry sauce the other day. See, when you have some curry leftovers, always divide them in little containers, so that you can use it at any other time, with any other food you make.

Ingredients:-

1 whole Pampano fish cut in half (actually you can used any kind of white fish, ocean fish taste better)

Leftover curry sauce or soup you have from Asian restaurants

1 Tablespoon chopped parsley

Salt to taste

1 Teaspoon Fish sauce

Water

Method:-

1. To fry the fish, pat dry and seasoned with salt, both side.

2. Heat a pot of cooking oil, to deep fry the fish until really brown and little crispy. Charring the fish is much better, because we want the little charred taste in the curry, also soften the bones when go into the curry sauce. Then take out the fish and put aside.

3. Heat another pot to cook the leftover curry sauce and some water if the sauce is too thick. We need it to be little soupy, so that the fish can be soaked in it.

4. Once boiled, add the fried fish, fish sauce and parsley, also add salt to taste. Serve with the tumeric rice (recipe from last posting).

Pork Chop Capers with curry sauce and Saute Fan Kale

I asked Gregg what he wants for dinner. He said, Pork Chop. So I made Pork Chop marinated with soy sauce, curry powder, fish sauce, sugar and olive oil for at least 2 hours. He told me that he loves capers. So I thought of frying the capers to add some crunchiness and saltiness on top of pork chops. About the curry sauce, I have the leftover pampano curry sauce the other day (you can see my previous blog) and some leftover salad (diced cucumber, mixed fresh herbs, grapefruit, celery, corn, carrots and minced shallots). The Fan Kale was fantastic with the pork chops and the curry sauce. I actually seen this Fan Kale for the first time, just look like a Fan, little purpleish color. Taste good and soft when sauteed.

Recipe later.

Fast and Easy Leftover Chicken Curry Soup with Rice Noodle

Leftover curry sauce or soup from a restaurant? Easy, always easy to make it over. For South East Asian, we love to have curry with noodles. There are so many different type of noodles. This makeover, I am using Rice Noodle which you can find it at the Asian market near you. You can use others as well. The main thing here is the curry itself. Also the condiments and garnishing are important to give the curry soup a zest of life. So aromatic with fresh mint and vietnamese coriander. Enjoy it while the curry is still good in the fridge for days.

Ingredients:-

Leftover curry sauce or soup

Chicken breast

Water

Salt to taste

Garnishing:

Fresh Mint

Vietnamese Coriander

Method:-

1. Boil the curry sauce with 2-3 cups of water to dilute it. If it is a soup, maybe just 1 cup is enough.

2. Cut the chicken breast into chunk or cubes, add it in the hot simmer curry soup. Cook for 3 min until the chicken is cooked. Then add salt to taste.

3. Add the rice noodle into the soup, cook for 2-3 min until it is soft.

4. Serve with fresh mint and vietnamese coriander.

Better than Rachel Ray 30 min cooking!

"Anda Boleh"

Tumeric Rice with Chinese Sausage

You got chinese sausage at home? Easy for this recipe. I was alone in the house in this wet windy cold weather. I decided to have a quick dinner, and steamed rice is Chinese favourite. I had 3 string of chinese sausage in my fridge, have the craving to eat it. I decided to make a steamed jasmine rice (the portion is up to you, but I used 3 cups), with bayleaves (3-4 leaf) and tumeric powder (1 tablespoon) or curry powder if you have one. Fast, clean, simple and less than 30 min cooking. Put in all the ingredients in the rice cooker, add salt (1-2 teaspoon) and let it cook. Once done, just add in some butter (half stick) to make it taste better and glossy. Yummy just to eat  like that, or have fried eggs on the side. Love it... I had 2 bowl already.

"Anda Boleh"

Sticky Rice Dumpling with Leftover curry sauce

Kampar is famous of its sticky rice with bbq pork and curry sauce. Little introduction about Kampar, small town in Perak State of Malaysia, my Kindergarden, Primary and Middle School year. Very multi-cultural. Mostly every weekends, my family and I would go to the Kampar Market for food and sticky rice with curry sauce was one of them.

This picture shows the Vietnamese sticky rice dumpling with meat and beans in it, and on top of it is the leftover makeover curry sauce I made. We Chinese called it "Jung". Well, I made this because of some Jung leftover from the Chinese New Year celebration, Auntie Yau gave it to me. She is a Vietnamese and they used the banana leaves to wrap the jung, square in shape, adding the pork and some pinto or black eyed peas in it, seasoned with salt. So to reheat the whole banana leaf wrap sticky rice, take away the banana leaves and put on a plate. Heat it in the microwave oven for about 2 min.

About the leftover curry sauce, I got the it from the Asian Wok, a Malaysian restaurant in our neighborhood. I love their red curry sauce, so thick and flavorful. Here in my fridge, I have some persimoms chutney I made. So I mixed them together in a pan, reduce it a little. Then spooned on top of the warm dumpling which I cut into small square size and Wola!!!!

Love it.

"Anda Boleh" (You Can).

Pancit Noodle

Malaysian loves having instant noodles such as Maggi and Cintan, and every household has few packs at home for a fast satisfying quick meal. I went to Seafood City supermarket the other day and got some instant noodle, Pancit brand. I dont know how it taste like and tried making it for quick lunch, my style. The picture shows it all, very similar to Maggi and Cintan instant noodles in texture wise. However, the seasoning is abit bland for me. Therefore, I made the thick dark soy sauce noodle with beansprouts, brocolli and fried egg. The seasoning is just a teaspoon of each: thick dark soy sauce or they called sweet soy sauce (just like molasses), fish sauce, oyster sauce and pure sesame oil. Add in little garlic salt to taste (optional).

Method:-

1. Boil a pot of water, hot. Cook the instant noodle first for 2 min.

2. Add in the vegetables (your choice) into the pot, cook for a min. To maintain the crunchiness of the beansprout and brocolli. (Asian loves crunchy vegetables).

3. Once cooked, drain it.  Put it back into a big bowl or platter or use back the pot for mixing all the seasoning together. Add in some shallots and garlic oil if you have some.

4. Fried an egg and garnish with cilantro or cut green onions or red pepper.

"Selamat Mencuba"

Healthy stewed Mushrooms

I remember my Mom loves to cook the dried shitake mushrooms with meat and vegetables. It tastes so good with steamed Jasmine rice. For chinese, dried mushrooms are a delicacy and luxurious food. We prepared them in many ways, but this time, it is my way!  You can actually get those dried mushrooms at the Asian market. You can keep these mushrooms for a long long time, in cool area cabinet or freezer. Anyway, you have to soften the dried mushrooms in a hot boiling water, for a faster process. Or else, you have to soak the mushrooms over nite with hot water. I made stewed dried mushrooms this time, it is comparable with other comfort food in the States, meaning easy to prepare and can eat for few days but Healthy, Easy and Delicious! Just throw everything into a pot and let it cook until the sauce is reduced to little thick. Lets get started!

Ingredients:-

2 handful Dried Mushrooms - soften and cut
5 slice Young ginger
2 Chilis (can substitute with dried chilis)
Half Onions - chunk
4 Whole garlic - peeled and smashed
1 cup Soy sauce
1/4 cup Cooking wine
2 Tablespoon Sugar
3 cups water (from soaking the mushrooms)

Method:-

1. Put all the ingredients in a non-stick pot. Dont cover! and cook on medium heat.
2. Let it boil and simmer until you can see the sauce is thickening, not too thick tho. Some gravy for yuor steamed rice.

Ps: you can use slow cooker, but use less water.

"Selamat Mencuba"