PokPok Wings

I wanted another "meat" to go with our salad dinner tonight because I just knew we needed to be "full" until breakfast. I ran across this type of Vietnamese wings purely by accident when I was surfing online. Reading further, it seemed easy enough to do.

The original version takes the marinade and cooks it down as a glaze, but I prefer my wings dry. They still came out nice!

Needed (to marinate):
2 lb chicken wings
1/4 c fish sauce
1/4 c white sugar
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 1/2 t garlic powder

For frying:
Cornstarch
Oil enough for wings to be submerged in pot/frying pan

1. Marinade washed wings in the above for approximately 2 hours, turning occasionally so that all chicken is coated. Ensure that the sugar is melted through and blended well with the fish sauce.
2. When ready to cook, drain the chicken so that it's almost dry when ready to cook.
3. Coat wings in cornstarch and fry in heated oil approximately 5 minutes if submerged. Cook until light brown.
4. Drain on paper towels.

This recipe is super easy. I worried that the wings would taste and smell fish - but they didn't! There's hint of both the saltiness of the fish sauce but more noticeable was the touch of sweetness. The wings came out super juicy and crunchy.

Enjoy!

Vietnamese Grilled Pork

It's a Saturday night and I usually try and cook something "not ordinary" (different from extraordinary, LOL). Tonight, as requested by my sister, I cooked Vietnamese Grilled Pork. We usually eat it salad style with lettuce. With help from other bloggers and recipes found online, I tweaked my version:
Needed:
1 1/2 lb thinly sliced pork butt (anything other than pork butt will be tough once grilled
1 stick lemongrass, top layer removed, and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 c white sugar
5 T Vietnamese fish sauce (I didn't use Filipino patis for this recipe)
1 T ground pepper
half a head of garlic, peeled
half a shallot, peeled
5 T sesame oil
2 T dark soy sauce

To make:
1. Place in a blender, all ingredients except for pork, to make marinade. Ensure it's smooth enough that the lemongrass is broken down.
2. Place blended marinade in a Ziploc bag with the pork. Massage the pork to ensure all slices have been coated well with the marinade.
3. Leave in marinade for at least 2 hours. It's okay to leave the marinade on the counter on a cold day. Otherwise, I recommend putting it back in the fridge to pull out when ready to cook.
4. When ready to cook, heat a cast iron grill with a little oil. Please pork slices opened on the grill until cooked. Eat immediately.

Like I mentioned above, we like to eat it salad-style:
For salad:
1 package Vietnamese thin noodles (vermicelli), cooked according to package instructions. Vietnamese vermicelli is opaque white when cooked.
1 head lettuce, sliced thinly
1 cucumber, peeled and julienned
1/2 carrot, peeled and julienned
few sprigs cilantro
Picked carrots and daikon (optional)
Thai mint (optional)
Bean sprouts (optional)

Dressing:
Store-bought Vietnamese fish sauce with chili
or make your own by adding some chili oil to fish sauce according to taste.

1. Arrange on a plate or large bowl, starting with the bottom: lettuce, vermicelli, cucumber, carrots, and cilantro.
2. Add grilled pork and top with chopped peanuts (optional).
3. Drizzle with dressing.

Mix thoroughly and enjoy!

I think this meal provides a healthier alternative and break of routine for rice-loving Filipinos like us. it's quick and easy. It's something you can let marinade without fussing too much over it until you're ready to grill the pork. The cutting of the veggies take some time, but not much. The veggies are also not cooked and provide a good source of fiber.

Japanese Coffee Jelly

Japanese Coffee Jelly is one of those things that just takes me back directly to my childhood. Growing up in Japan, this was a "staple" and then when I went to visit Japan again when my sister lived there when I was in my twenties, I made sure I had some of these. Coffee Jelly, you say? Yes! It's coffee in jelly form. Some Japanese (not just Asian) markets carry them, but since the closest one is several miles away from home, I decided to make my own:

Needed:

2 cups room temp water

3 cups boiling water

2 envelopes of Knox unflavored gelatin powder

12 T white granulated sugar

4 T instant regular coffee

1 T Kahlua coffee liqueur (Optional)

Half and half or unwhipped cream

1. Start by boiling the 3 cups water. While waiting to boil, dissolve the 2 envelopes of gelatin in the 2 cups room temp water. This step is important because you must create the gelatin granules first to ensure a nice set texture for the product. You will get a texture like cold semi-soft jelly. Add the 3 cups boiling water and dissolve.

2. Add the coffee and the sugar. Dissolve well. Then add the Kahlua, if using.

3. Transfer the liquid into individual ramekins and take care not to fill to the brim. 

4. Let set overnight.

5. To serve, pour a little (or a lot) of half and half or cream over the jelly.

6. To eat, you can cube the jelly (like I usually do) or merely scoop the jelly with cream on your spoon. Enjoy!!

Notes: This recipe yielded approximately 12 servings in small ramekins above. The number of servings will depend on the size of the ramekins, but best to keep small as this is coffee.

French Toast Casserole

On special occasions (like my wedding day) and on holidays, our someone in our home makes it a point to make a special breakfast. Mommy made this one many Christmases ago and it just reminds me that the holidays are here. This Thanksgiving, I gave it a go and it was simple! I found the recipe here. We love Paula Dean here at home and we hope you will like this recipe, too.

So delicious! If you don't finish all for breakfast (like we never do), it's still good quickly re-heated up in the microwave to go with that afternoon coffee.

Buko Pandan Salad

Buck Pandan Salad is a type of fruit salad not typically made with canned fruit cocktail but of "buko" meaning young coconut in Tagalog, and "pandan" an aromatic leaf used in Filipino cooking. It mimics the holiday fruit salad with the use of cream and condensed milk.

Having had some recently at a friend's house, I was again intrigued on how to make this dessert salad and finally gave it a go. After researching on the internet on ways to make it, I've put my own spin on it. In a good way. I tried it with tapioca pearls and "kaong" and while it is really a personal preference, it does not change the end result much.

The main requirement for this recipe is an Asian grocery store for most of the ingredients (with the exception of Knox) can be found in the Asian grocery store.

There are several ways to make it, but I've found the following works best for me:

Needed:

1 box of Knox gelatin (you will use all 4 small envelopes in the box)

3 c water, room temperature

1 c boiling water

1 1/2 t pandan flavoring (can be found in your local Asian grocery store or Amazon!)

8 drops green food coloring

1 large can Nestle table cream (approximately 13 oz)

1 can condensed milk (approximately 13 oz also)

1 bag shredded buko or young coconut (frozen from the Asian market)

1 c cooked small tapioca pearls, optional

1 large bottle kaong, optional (see link above; also found in your Asian market)

1. Make the gelatin. Place the contents of the 4 small envelopes into a bowl and mix with the 3 cups of room temp water. Mix until you start to form a soft gelatin. Then, pour in the 1 cup of boiling water and mix thoroughly.

2. Add the pandan flavoring and stir. Add the food coloring and add more, if needed, to suit your liking of green-ness.

3. Refrigerate overnight for best results. I found that it is not enough to just wait until the gelatin hardens. It's best if it's hardened overnight because the mixing of the other ingredients will make a soft gelatin break.

4. While waiting for the gelatin to harden, drain the buko from the packaging. Also, if using kaong, drain from the bottle. Mix the kaong occasionally to ensure most of the syrup is drained. If using tapioca, cook according to package instructions and drain.

4. Once the gelatin has hardened, cut into small squares. I like my squares about 1/4 inch square. Transfer the cut up green gelatin squares into a large bowl.

5. Add the table cream and condensed milk to the gelatin squares. Also add the drained buko and if using, the tapioca pearls and kaong. Mix thoroughly.

6. Let chill in the refrigerator and then enjoy!

Homemade Hamburger and Melon Ball Juice

Fourth of July suggestion! Juicy hamburger and refreshing melon ball juice!

We tried this combo a few weekends ago when we just wanted to lay back and relax. It was wonderful. As a matter-of-fact, I believe it was last holiday--Memorial Day Weekend!

The hamburger is 80/20 ground meat because we like it juicy like that. Just a few minutes before cooking, I salted and peppered the ground meat taking care not to over knead. Then, I grabbed a handful for the patty, but without forgetting to put a thin slice of butter in the middle of the patty. Grilled up on the stove then placed on a toasted bun. Housemates got to put whatever condiments (mayo, garlic aioli, lettuce, cheese, lettuce) they preferred. It was a hit!

For drinks, we had Melon Ball Juice. To make it, I got:

1 bottle of 25.4 oz sparkling white grape juice (near the Martinelli's sparkling apple cider at the grocery store)
4 cups regular Sprite
3 cups lemonade, not the powder, but already the juice in the bottle
4 cups each of balled watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe
few sprigs of mint leaves
slices lime, optional

The original recipe was from Divas Can Cook, but I tweaked it to my liking because I felt that the original recipe yielded too little. You can actually customize this to your liking as I did, adjusting the Sprite and lemonade to taste. The sparkling juice provides a great bubbly feel as did the Sprite.

To make, mix all the liquid ingredients together, then the secret is to let the melons infuse in the refrigerator to chill. The longer the chill and infusion, the better. Add the mint leaves and lime upon serving. Why? Because I found that the mint and lime give it a sour taste and not too appealing.

You can also chill a small portion of the melons to act as ice and keep the drinks cool. You've got your drink and fruit serving all in one!

Delicious!

Imitation Crab Salad

So yummy inside a buttery croissant or on a lettuce leaf, this one is just perfect for a quick Summertime meal or any season meal. LOL! Very easy to make, I made this in less than 15 minutes.

You will need:
1 lb imitation crab (approximate)
2 stalks celery
1/2 onion
3 sprigs dill
2 1/2 cups mayonnaise
3 T milk
1/2 of a lemon's juice
2 T white sugar
salt and pepper to taste

How to make:
1. Coarsely chop the crab into 1/4 inch cubes. Put in a large bowl.

2. Cube celery and onion, small enough to provide crunch, but not too small that it disintegrates. Add to crab in bowl. Chop dill and also add to crab in bowl.

3. In a separate smaller bowl, prepare the dressing. Mix together the mayonnaise, milk, lemon juice, sugar until well blended. Add salt and pepper to taste according to liking. Adjust with sugar, if preferred to be more sweet. (I like my dressing to be on the sweeter side and brings out the flavor in the artificial crab.)

4. Pour the dressing over the crab mixture in the large bowl. Toss but do not over mix that the crab breaks up.

5. Place in a sliced croissant or eat with lettuce. Yum. You can wait to chill in the fridge as it is best served chilled, but I did not/could not wait.

Not the best photo, but it's delicious, so what are you waiting for?

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Not too long ago, I had a delicious chicken salad sandwich near work. The salad was tasty, seasoned well, with just the right amount of dressing. Plus, the roll bread was oh-so-soft. I had the same sandwich another time and was disappointed because the chicken was dry and the bread was stale. I was not going back to pay $10.

I was on the prowl again for another chicken salad sandwich and the third one was worse at another place. I was not particularly fond of the cranberries and walnuts in the salad. And I barely tasted the chicken.

After about one month, I searched again for "the" chicken sandwich, only to put my order in at the third place and was instead given chicken of the sea.

My disappointments led to my creating my own chicken salad sandwich. I was determined to make it taste as good (if not better) than the first one I had. I searched for inspiration on many sites online but eventually ended up being inspired by The Pioneer Woman's recipe which I tweaked to make my own.

The result? It was delish! Moist, chunky chicken pieces in mayo dressing with a hint of dill was to die for.

You will need:

3 pieces boneless and skinless chicken breasts
2 stalks celery
2 stalks green onion
2 stems fresh dill
1 cup real mayonnaise (don't use Miracle Whip as the result will greatly vary)
1/2 cream or half and half
1 T white OR brown sugar
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Here's how to make:
1. Boil chicken until no longer pink. This should take about 20 minutes depending on your heat. Check for done-ness. When cooked, drain for about 30 minutes then slice into 1/4 inch cubes. You want to make sure that the chicken is well drained so that your salad does not become watery. Set in a bowl.

2. Slice celery and green onions like relish. Small enough, but not finely chopped. You want to be able to chew and crunch on them in the salad. Place in the same bowl as the chicken.

3. Mince dill and add to chicken bowl. Dill adds a pickle flavor to the salad, as if you've put pickle relish in it when you really haven't!

4. In a separate bowl, make the dressing by whisking the mayonnaise, cream (or half and half), sugar, and lemon juice together. Whisk well until thoroughly blended. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remember that the chicken was not seasoned, so season well. Add more sugar, salt, or pepper to your liking. Some people also add tarragon for extra flavor and you may wish to do so. I just did not have any on-hand, so it's not essential for me.

5. Pour the dressing over the chicken and other ingredients. Fold the dressing in gently and care not to over mix. As soon as the chicken and other vegetables are coated, stop mixing. As you can see in the photo below, you can tell the celery and green onions in the mix.

6. Best to chill overnight and serve with lettuce and/or in your favorite bread. I used a croissant because it's light and can still hold the salad.

Bacon tips:
I have heard some people eat chicken salad sandwich with strips of bacon. Sounds devilish and so worth a try!

Others, too, have added crumbled bacon for extra crunch. As they say, bacon makes anything better.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did! No more $10 sandwiches for me!

Albondigas Soup / Mexican Meatball Soup

I've been meaning to try this for a while now and in keeping up with our Soup Saturdays, I finally had the chance! I paired this soup with cheese quesadilla and it was perfect for a light Saturday night dinner.

Here's what you'll need to make the soup:
1 lb ground pork
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 T peeled and coarsely chopped garlic
1 egg
1 cup white bread crumbs, plain (like panko)
1 T cooking oil
1 box chicken broth
1 cube chicken bouillon
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small jalapeño, diced and removed of the seeds
1 small can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste

How to make:
1. In order to make a less than lumpy meatball, place half the 1/2 bunch of cilantro, 1/2 the onions, and garlic in a blender and pulsed until finely chopped. Then, transfer to a medium sized bowl, add the ground pork and add the egg and slowly add bread crumbs. The mixture should not be sticky nor too dry so you may not use all the bread crumbs. When you've successfully caught all the pork from the sides of the bowl, you have the right consistency. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper to taste.

2. Heat a large pot (where you will eventually cook all the soup) and drizzle the oil. When hot, form meatballs about 1 inch wide and pre-cook in the oil. You don't have to cook through, just brown all sides. You may not be able to fit in all the meatballs in one batch, so once browned on all sides, transfer to a plate.

3. Once all meatballs are browned and on a plate, saute the rest of the onions and scrape off the bottom of the pan. Add the carrots, jalapeño, and celery.  Cook until tender - about 7 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and the cilantro. Continue to cook about 5 minutes.

4. Add the chicken broth and bouillon cube. Add water, if needed, to make more soup, if preferred. Add salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs to cook through, depending on size of the meatballs. Then add the potatoes. Keep on medium heat. Don't let the potatoes get overcooked as this tastes better with crunchy vegetables.

5. Make sure it's seasoned according to taste by adding more salt and pepper, as desired. Optional: sprinkle with cheese on top prior to serving.

We served this with cheese quesadilla which was very easy to make. Simply heat butter in a pan, and lay one tortilla to heat through. Add shredded cheese (any kind of cheese would do, depending on preference). Fold the tortilla in half and allow the cheese to melt. Serve hot.

Italian Chicken Soup - courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

Absolutely loved, loved this soup that I made a few weeks ago for our new tradition of Soup Saturdays.

It was hearty, creamy, loaded, and all else. Just plain great comfort food. It's a great make-ahead recipe also. Here's the recipe that I followed and the only variation I did was to not include the cream in the pot of soup, but let each person serve their own bowl and swirl in the cream and add the cheese according to their preference.

Click here for the yummy recipe.

And who doesn't love The Pioneer Woman? :)

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Bread Pudding ala Mode

When you find yourself with more bread that you need or want, what is there to do? Make bread pudding! This can be a make ahead recipe to do when you have free time and eat it warm later. I make my bread pudding with raisins because that's how my mother made them when we were kids. Instructions below!

Needed:
10 slices of bread. I used slices approximately 5 in x 5 in
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 small box raisins, optional
4 eggs, beaten
2 c milk
3/4 white sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1 capful vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Pour half of the melted butter into the loaf pan making all sides are coated. This lets the pudding bake well without sticking on the sides.

3. Tear bread onto small pieces and place directly into a loaf pan. Drizzle remaining melted butter over the bread then scatter the raisins over the bread/butter mix.

4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and add the milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour over the bread in the loaf pan and make sure the bread is well soaked.

5. At this point, you can either put in the fridge overnight with a plastic wrap covering it and bake in the morning for approximately 45 minutes.  Or you can bake directly for 45 minutes.

6. Let cool slightly to be able to slice to serve.

Best eaten warm with a scoop of ice cream--ala mode!!

Italian Wedding Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I based the soup recipe on Ina Garten's version and modified it to my liking. The result? Delicious alternative to a rice-laden dinner! Hope you enjoy making and eating it as much as I did:

Below are the steps for making the soup.

Italian Wedding Soup
Needed for the meatballs:
1lb ground pork
1/2 lb pork sausage, country style, no casings
2 T garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 c bread crumbs (I used Panko)
3 T parsley, finely chopped
1/2 c grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, or a blend of both
1/8 c milk
1 egg
1 t salt
1 t pepper

Needed for the soup:
2 T olive oil
1 c onion, finely chopped
3 pcs carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
10 c chicken broth (store bought)
1/2 c white wine
1 c small pasta
3 T dill, finely chopped
1 bag baby spinach, washed and ready to use

How to make:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl until well blended. You can (should) use your hands to mash them all together. The consistency should be that it forms into a large ball without much residue on your hands or the sides of the bowl. If you are left with egg or milk or other liquids, your consistency is too watery, add bread crumbs sparingly. This is because the consistency of the pork or anything else may be too liquid-y and you want almost like a clay-like form so that it will ball well and not disintegrate when cooking.

3. Form the meatballs into 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes until cooked in the center and slightly browned on the outside.

4. While the meatballs are cooking, make the soup.

5. Drizzle the olive oil in a large soup pot and when warm, add the onions, celery and carrots and let cook with lid until soft. This will take about 7 minutes. Add the wine and let sizzle. Then add the soup stock until boiling. Add the pasta to cook until al dente. Add the dill, then the meatballs. Allow to cook some more. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook no more than until wilted.

6. To serve, ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle with extra cheese, if desired. Enjoy with a breadstick or a grilled sandwich below.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Making a grilled cheese sandwich is so easy to make. Take two slices of bread and butter the inside with margarine. Layer with cheese--any cheese and as much as you would like. The more cheese, the cheesier! Each end should have a slice of bread. Melt butter in a pan and "fry" the sandwich. Each side should take about 90 seconds until golden brown. Repeat for the other side of the sandwich, starting with melting more butter in the pan. Enjoy!

Homemade French Vanilla Cappuccino Mix in a Jar

Here's my Christmas post this year! Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Christmas can always be a tricky and difficult time to think of what to give to co-workers and relatives. I've always wanted to try giving this out in years past and just have not been able to devote time to experiment on the mix. So this year, I made time and the result is a pretty awesome-flavored hot drink just right for these cold days and nights.

This really is comparable to the store-bought kind and much cheaper and fun to make. Aside from its fancy name, what is really is, and more commonly known to Filipinos, is "three-in-one" instant coffee.

The recipe below will yield about four 8 oz jars. Feel free to reduce the recipe in half or multiply to give away in individual jars. There are many recipes online for this, some are more bitter, and some sweeter. For me, this is the perfect balance.

Needed:
1 c instant coffee granules
3 c powdered non-dairy creamer, plain
1 1/2 c instant chocolate mix, rich cocoa flavor, no marshmallows
1 1/2 c white sugar
1 small box of vanilla pudding mix
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg

How to make:
1. Make the coffee granules finer by grinding in a blender to "fine." This is required so that it blends better when mixed with the other ingredients and mixes well when stirred with hot water.

2. Transfer coffee to a big bowl and add in the rest of the ingredients, mixing thoroughly with each ingredient added.

3. Transfer to an air tight jar. Decorate as appropriate for Christmas give-aways. Add a note to the jar saying, "Mix 2-3 T with 6 oz hot water." 6 oz water is about a regular coffee cup, not a mug.

Tip:
Make sure to try the mix yourself first to ensure the taste is to your liking. Adjust as needed.

Note that:
By using "rich" hot chocolate mix, the mixture is more bitter, thus the 1 1/2 cups of sugar. If you use regular hot chocolate, the end result may not be as bitter and you should cut down on the sugar.

You can also use French vanilla-flavored creamer and if you do, you should omit the vanilla pudding mix. This, too, has added sugar, so cut back on the sugar a little bit.

Garlic Butter Roasted Crabs with Garlic Noodles

It's crab season again in the Bay Area and with the news that crabs were in abundance this year, we headed off again to Half Moon Bay to get our crabs. The local Asian markets were selling crab for $4.99 a pound, so we figured, the crab men were selling them at cheaper. We were excited.

Drew got a wonderful deal from one of the boats--6 good-sized crabs for only $50! Each crab weighed approximately 2.5 - 3 lbs, so we got a steal!

We love the An Family's Secret Recipe for roasted crab so much that through the years, I've tried to make my own spin. It's basically roasted with lots, and lots, and lots, of garlic and butter. What's not to love?? For those who have gone to San Francisco's Tanh Long in the Sunset District and its sister restaurant, Crustacean's on Polk Street, which can also be found in Southern California, you know what I mean when I say that their crabs are de-lish!

So, here's how I made "their" Roasted Crabs:

Ingredients:
3 (almost large sized) 2.5 - 3 lb crabs, boiled in hot salt water for approximately 30 minutes, drained, then chopped.
1 whole garlic, cloves peeled and chopped finely
1 stick butter, melted in a small pot on the stove
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/2 T freshly ground pepper
1/4 t white sugar

1. Set aside the boiled crab and let cool. Then, clean (remove the fins and sharp body parts) and crack into serving size pieces. After lifting the shell, I usually crack the body into 4 sections. I also pound on the leg shells to allow the butter sauce to penetrate the crab meat. Arrange in an oven-proof dish.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.

3. With the melted butter still in the pot, add the garlic and over low heat, let infuse. Do not use high or medium heat as you will end up reducing the butter's volume. Let infuse for about 5-7 minutes to allow the butter to have a distinct garlic taste. Add the bouillon cube and crush well, mixing thoroughly. Add pepper (more for a more pepper-y taste) and the sugar. Dissolve completely.

4. Pour butter mixture liberally over the crabs. Add dash pepper and garlic salt, if desired. Be cautious to use sparingly. Put in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes. Do not leave longer than 30 minutes or the crabs will dry up.

5. Serve hot with garlic noodles or warm rice.

6. Be prepared to eat using your fingers and have lots of napkins handy.

And now, for the Garlic Noodles:

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked noodles (preferred, Asian Egg Noodles, blanched with hot water)
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 garlic, cloves peeled and finely chopped.
1 T oyster sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T white sugar
Parmesan cheese

1. I did not have Asian Egg Noodles on hand, so I improvised with Angel Hair Pasta and it was okay. Not quite the Asian flair, but it was still good and served as a good side dish to the crabs. If you are using the cooked, pre-packaged Asian noodles from your favorite Asian market, do blanch it quickly with very hot water to remove excess oil and saltiness from the noodles. Set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Infuse with the garlic for about 5 minutes. Lower to low heat and add the oyster sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar. Mix well.

3. Take the Egg Noodles and add the garlic sauce sparingly, careful not to over-sauce the noodles. The noodles should be very lightly coated with the sauce. Add Parmesan cheese sparingly.

4. Serve as a side dish to the roasted crabs.

Enjoy your homemade "Secret Recipes!"

Red Curry Salmon

There's a Thai restaurant near my work and I've just been absolutely addicted to their Red Curry Salmon. There was one week I ate it twice that same week for lunch. Talk about addiction!

Well, since I seem to be spending too much at the restaurant, I decided to see how difficult it was to make the dish. To my surprise, it's quite simple!

I have to admit, the restaurant's had a more distinct flavor--probably from having the curry "sit" or "cure" for a while. Nonetheless, what follows is delicious and most of all, so simple to make and takes no more than half hour and it's ready!

Needed:
1 T canola oil
1 - 2 T Thai red curry paste
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can coconut milk
1 lb salmon fillets, cut into chunks
7 - 8 basil leaves
salt to taste
Thai fish sauce, optional
1/2 T white sugar
Sliced vegetables: your choice of asparagus, baby corn, green beans, red pepper, green pepper, yellow squash, or all! Maximum of 4 cups vegetables combined as a ratio for the sauce and salmon

How to make:
1. Heat oil in a large pot with lid. Saute the curry paste first, then the chopped onion. Cook until onion is transparent.

2. Add coconut milk and allow to boil softly. Continue to let boil and add vegetables--place the harder-to-cook vegetables in first and cook (for example, put in green beans first as they are firmer in texture and will require longer to cook). Then, add the other vegetables gauging which ones will need to cook longer and putting those in the pot before the others that will take lesser time to cook. Let simmer to let the vegetables cook, until crispy (not mushy).

3. When the vegetables are cooked, add the salmon. Do not stir and just allow the salmon to cook in the sauce. Stirring will cause the salmon to break up.

4. Season with salt or Thai fish sauce according to your liking. Add a bit more red curry, for desired spiciness. Add sugar to enhance flavor. Cook for another 5 minutes. Salmon does not take very long to cook and if left too long, will become chewy and dry.

5. When ready to serve, ladle salmon, vegetables and sauce in a bowl. Stir in basil leaves.

6. Best served with warm white or brown rice. Or even Thai sticky rice (I'm sorry, I don't know how to make. LOL!)

Leche Flan Ice Cream

Others may call this recipe, "Caramel Ice Cream," but when I made it, to me, it tasted so much like "Leche Flan Ice Cream" so I've renamed it, as well as put my twist to it. You will see that the ingredients really is what you would use to make leche flan.

As with my previous ice cream recipe, I used my Old-Fashioned Ice Cream maker to churn this ice cream. While other homemade ice cream recipes say that you don't really need an ice cream maker, you will have to check on the ice cream regularly to stir and ensure that ice crystals do not form. For me, that's just too much work. LOL! With an ice cream maker, you can churn the ice cream and then just finish off freezing in the freezer.

This type of homemade ice cream is custard based--meaning, using eggs and milk as the base for the ice cream.

Needed:
1 1/8 granulated white sugar (1 cup separated for the caramel)
2 1/4 c heavy cream (1 1/4 c separated for the caramel)
1/8 t salt
1 t vanilla extract
1 c milk (I used reduced fat milk)
3 large eggs

How to make:
1. Heat the 1 cup of sugar in a heavy saucepan. Over medium heat, stir constantly until all sugar has melted. Do not over stir. Once the sugar has melted, simply swirl saucepan around to ensure even heating. Continue to melt until sugar turns golden brown. Turn heat down.

2. Add 1 1/4 cups of cream to the heated, melted, caramelized sugar a little at a time. Be careful when adding because the caramel will boil over once the cold liquid is added. Continue to add over low heat until completely combined. Transfer to a bowl, add salt and vanilla then allow to cool.

3. In another saucepan, mix together milk, remaining cream, remaining sugar and bring to just about boiling. Do not let boil. Remove from heat.

4. In another bowl, whisk eggs and add milk mixture slowly. Be careful to not add all at once because the heated milk will scramble the eggs. Add remaining milk and combine thoroughly. This is now your custard base. Return base to saucepan and heat to 170 degrees Farenheit on a cooking thermometer. If you don't have a thermometer, bring to a point where the mixture sticks to the back of a spoon.

If you remain in the heat longer, the eggs will cook thoroughly and you will have to start over again.

5. Strain custard into a fine sieve to rid of lumps. Collect custard in a separate large bowl. Once all custard has been strained, add cooled caramel mixture and cool at room temperature.

6. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

7. Churn mixture in ice cream maker per manufacturer's instructions. The consistency will be that of soft-serve ice cream.

8. Continue to freeze in freezer until hardened.

9. Enjoy within one week.

Tips:
* Your ice cream maker canister and mixture must be really cold to make successful batches.

* Place mixture/base in freezer just before churning in ice cream maker. This gives the mixture a bit more chill for better results.

* It's best to let ice cream harden more after churning.

* Plan ahead for the ice cream making process. I typically make the mixture/base a day before, leave in the fridge overnight, then churn the next day. I let harden in the freezer about 4 hours for best results.

Enjoy!

Homemade Ice Cream

I absolutely love ice cream and what better way to feed my love for this dessert than to make my own! A Bed Bath and Beyond wedding gift card resulted in an Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Maker. I have never made ice cream before and this process is fun, relaxing, and reminds me of science experiments! LOL!

I made the basic vanilla ice cream as below. I researched many recipes online and this one proved to be the easiest. It's also not custard based, so the result was simple and lighter than custard mixtures. I was very happy with the texture and the ice cream maker really does let it have the store-bought consistency and without crystals.

Needed:

1 c milk

3/4 c granulated sugar

pinch salt

2 c heavy cream

1 t vanilla

How to make:

1. Whisk together with milk, sugar, salt until sugar is completely dissolved.

I whisked this by hand using a wire whisk. You can also use an electric hand mixer, but there is really no need to when this can be done by hand.

2. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla until completely blended.

3. Chill until very cold. Be careful that this mixture does not freeze up.

4. Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

5. Pour mixture in ice cream maker and churn until almost firm. You can add chocolate chips or nuts at this point prior to finishing, but should be added only when ice cream has thickened like soft-serve ice cream. 

Ice cream pictured above includes chocolate chips and walnuts. I did not toast my walnuts and in hindsight, I should have. Without toasting, the walnuts tasted raw. You can also bake the nuts coated in sugar for candied nuts.

6. Finish freezing in an air-tight, freezer-proof container.

7. Serve within one week.

Semi-homemade Salmon Teriyaki

While teriyaki sauce marinades can be easily bought from grocery stores or markets now-a-days, it's always better to put your own twist to these store-bought conveniences. Here, to use for the salmon filets, I enhanced the sauce:

1 cup teriyaki sauce (any brand will do. I used Kikkoman.)

1 T white sugar

1 inch ginger, peeled slices thinly or grated (I sliced)

1 T garlic, finely chopped

3 stalks green onion, sliced thinly

Mix all of the above and marinate the salmon in it for about 1 hour. Turn the salmon midway to ensure even distribution of flavor. Do not marinade too long as the fish will get too salty. Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes uncovered. If your salmon is thick, ensure that fish is cooked through. Broil on high for 5 minutes for a smokey flavor on top (optional).

Serve with vegetables for a healthy, easy dinner.

Posted with Blogsy

Chicken Tinola

On cold days, there is nothing better than warm soup for the soul. Last night, my attempt to make Tinola was a success! Again, I always love the way my mom makes it, so for this to come out tasting even half as good is considered a huge success for me.

Here's how I made it:

Needed:

2 lbs chicken, cut into serving pieces

2 inches ginger, peeled and sliced thinly

1 medium onion, chopped

2 T crushed garlic

1 T oil for sauteing

3/4 c patis

4 c water (or rice water)

1 bag spinach, washed

2 medium chayote (sayote) peeled and sliced into 2 in pieces

How to make:

1. In a large pot with lid, saute garlic, onion, & ginger in oil.

2. Add chicken pieces and patis and let chicken cook in its own juices. Stir occasionally to allow even cooking. This will take about 10 minutes.

3. When chicken is no longer raw on the outside, add (rice) water just enough to cover chicken. You may not use all 4 cups. Let chicken cook through. This may take up to 30 minutes over medium heat.

4. Add the chayote to cook with the chicken. The chayote may take up to 10 minutes to become tender. Check the chicken and chayote for cookedness. Taste the broth to check if more patis may be needed. Soemtimes, people want a more patis taste, so adjust to your preference.

5. When chicken and chayote are cooked through, add spinach. Spinach will cook quickly so you can just cover the pot with its lid and let the spinach wilt.

6. Make sure you don't overcook the chicken. Serve with hot rice with patis on the side, if preferred.

Posted with Blogsy

Oven-Baked Catfish with Tomatoes and Celery

This oven-baked catfish is so easy to make, it will literally take you no more than 10 minutes to prepare and an hour for it to bake.

This is good when you don't have time to cook, don't have the energy to think of what to cook, and to eat on cold days (like what we've been having in Daly City lately).

You will need:

2 medium-sized catfish (freshly caught is better)
2 celery sticks, sliced 1/2 inches thick
2 tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste



To make, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Then:

1. Clean catfish well and lay flat in any oven-proof dish. Make sure the dish is deep enough to allow for the fish and the broth to fit in.

2. In the fish cavities, insert 2-3 celery sticks. By doing this, you ensure flavorful fish inside.

3.  Next, lay the tomatoes on the fish. Then, season the fish with salt and pepper.

4. Pour enough water to cover the fish almost entirely. You don't want the fish buried in the water. Allow for some fish to be "steamed" so the entire fish won't be "swimming" in the water. Pardon the pun. Depending on your dish, you may or may not use all of the water asked for above. You may also need more. Just make sure the fish is covered and a bit of the fish above the water.

5. Bake covered in aluminum foil for approximately 1 hour. You don't need to keep checking on it. The fish will bake and steam in the broth while the tomatoes and celery giving it flavor.

6. Take caution in opening the dish for steam will escape that is quite hot. Serve hot.