Monday, March 17, 2014

Kung Pao Chicken



Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken is very much a Chinese meal and very popular in any Chinese cuisine and restaurant. This recipe is best if you deep fry the chicken, but if you don’t like deep fry just stir fry it with enough oil to coat your chicken so it cook evenly with corn starch.

To marinate the chicken
1 lb of chicken breast cut to bite size
1 t of garlic powder
1 T of cornstarch
1/2 t of black pepper
2 T of Chinese cooking wine
Let it marinate for 30 minutes

For the stir fry sauce
2 T of hoisin sauce
1 T of soy sauce
1 T of oyster sauce
11/2 T of dark soy sauce
1/2 T of sesame oil
1 T of rice vinegar or white vinegar
1 T of corn starch
1/2 to 2/3 cup of low sodium chicken broth (depend on how much sauce you like)
Mix all the sauce ingredients together and set aside

For the vegetable
2 stalk of celery cut or slices to bit size
1 carrot cut or slices to bite size
1/2 cup peanut
10 dried Thai chilies or use Mexican dried chilies
3 green onions cut to 1 inch long
1 T of minced garlic

Heat enough oil on medium heat deep fry the chicken until almost done. Take it out set aside. Take the oil out, but leave about 3 T in the wok for stir fry.
Turn the heat back on to high, add dried chilies, peanut stir fry until the aroma come out and the peanut turn color then add garlic, carrot, celery in stir fry until the vegetable are tender then add chicken, and stir fry until all combine and hot, now add the stir fry sauce and green onion in and mix well the stir fry should be thicker.  Turn the heat off.

Serve kung Pao Chicken with steamed rice.


Enjoy! 

Vietnamese Ham or Meat ball



Vietnamese Ham or Meat Ball

Vietnamese ham is very popular in many Vietnamese recipes.  You can make Banh Mi Sandwich, Banh Cuon, Noodle Soup, Salad, make to meat ball for soup  or just eat it as a snack ect...my kids eat with rice and soy sauceJ
You need to have good pork to make this ham like pork loin.

Seasoning
2 ½ lbs pork loin cut to small pieces
2 T of fish sauce
1 t of garlic powder
1 t of onion powder
1/2 t of black or white pepper
1 T of sugar

wet ingredients
2/3 cup of warm water
1 T of baking power
1 T of tapioca starch
mix and set aside
 
Note: you can use 1 T garlic salt and 1 t onion salt but don’t use fish sauce

In a food processor grind all the ingredients to paste (I mean really fine paste or else it won’t work)
when the meat turn to paste add the wet ingredients and blend until all combine.
 
Take out good quality clear plastic wrap and divide your meat into 4 small loaves. Wrap each loaf with 3 layers of plastic wrap very tightly in to round shape (do one layer of wrap at a time then add the next layer)
Lay each loaf on a steamer (depend on how big your steamer I can steam all 4 loaves) steam for 30 minutes the ham should be done after 30 minutes) turn the heat off let it cool down before you slice it.  Serve warm or cold as appetizer or snack.


Enjoy!

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Sweet Rice Flour Roll with Bean Filling (Num Krouch)



Sweet Rice Flour Roll with Bean Filling (Num Krouch)
This snack is everywhere in Southeast Asia, the filling is different in each country, for the filling you can use Red Bean paste or Yellow mung bean paste.

For the dough
1/2 cup of sugar with ½ cup of warm water (mix together)
1/2 cup of potato flake
1/2 cup of water + a bit more if needed to soften the dough
2 cups of glutinous rice flour
1 T of rice flour
1 ¼ t of baking soda
1 T of vegetable oil

Mix all of these ingredients together include the sugar water, mix well and if needed add a bit more water to soften the dough so you can roll it out. (This recipe will make at least 12 or more rice balls depend on how big you roll the dough and filling)

For the filling,
It is easy if you buy the red bean paste ready to make and just roll it to small ball or you can do it yourself with yellow mung bean.
1 small bag of clean yellow mung bean sell at the Asian store, wash, soak for at least 4 hours or longer.   Steam the mung bean until soft to mash.
Add sugar to your liking with a bit of salt to the mung bean then mash it to paste
Roll to a small round ball size and set aside, finish all the bean paste.
Wrap the dough with the mung bean filling then roll on sesame seeds (2/3 cup of sesame seeds) you can use sweet Red Bean Paste as filling also.

Take a small amount of dough and flat it in the palm of your hand get one bean paste ball put in the middle and fold the flat dough around until it is seal the bean ball completely.  Roll the ball in the palm your hand until it is look round then roll it on the plate of sesame seeds press it a bit so it is fit tight into the round dough.   Set it aside; finish the rest of the dough.
Heat 6 cups of oil on medium heat until hot
Drop few sesame rice balls into the hot oil keep turning while you fry to even the color on the rice balls. Take it out when it is golden color let it cool before serving.

Enjoy!

Sriracha Crab Rangoon



Sriracha Crab Rangoon
1 pgk of cream cheese
2 cup of minced crabs meat fresh or frozen
2 green onions minced
1/2 t salt
1/2 t sugar
1/4 t pepper
1 t Sriracha Thai chili sauce
1 pkg of wonton wrappers (48)

Mix all the ingredients together until well combined.
Lay wonton wrappers on the palm of your hand put one teaspoon of mixture in the middle seal edge with water then pinch all side to seal.  You can wrap it anyway you like as long as it is seal.
Heat enough oil on medium heat until hot fry few wontons until it is golden take it out and let it cool before serving.   You can serve with Thai sweet and chili sauce as appetizer.

Enjoy!

Kale Chips



Kale Chips

If you like seaweed you might like kale chips it tastes about the same to me and it is good for a snack. 
1 big bunch of kale (wash and let dry torn the leave but don’t chop)
2 T of soy sauce
1 1/2 T of sesame oil
1 t of sugar (more or less up to you)
Pepper and salt to taste
Mix all the ingredients together until well combined.

Lay the kale leaves on baking sheet and bake at 300 degree for 30 minutes or until it is crispy.  Take it out let cool before serving or keep in a jar for later. I add toasted almond and nut to my kale chip after it done baking.


Enjoy!  

Banh Cuon (Vietnamese Rice flour roll)



Banh Cuon (Vietnamese Rice flour roll)

1 bag of Banh Coun rice flour mix
4 cups of water
1 T of oil
1/2 t salt
Mix the rice flour batter and set aside

For the filling
1/2 lb of ground pork or shrimps
1 cup of tree ear mushroom soak, wash, minced
1/2 white onion minced
1/2 cup of minced shallots
1/2 cup of minced green onion
3 T of minced garlic
1/2 cup of oil to fry the onion, shallots, and green onion, garlic

In a fry pan or wok heat ½ cup of oil until hot on medium heat
Add garlic, shallot, green onion, and white onion fry until all the onion turn golden color
Drain on a paper towel set aside, take the left over oil out and keep it for stir fry later on
In the same wok add 1 T of oil cook ground pork until almost done than add all the fry onion to it, mix well season with salt, sugar to your taste.  Turn the heat off set aside the filling.
In a none stick fry pan (it has to be none stick) add a T of oil heat until hot on medium heat spoon the batter mix (about ½ cup or less depend on your pan) spread all over the fry pan and cover cook for 3 minutes or until the batter came out without sticking on the fry pan, lay it on the plate and spoon the filling in the middle fold on each side set on a serving plate or platter. Repeat the remaining batter and filling until all gone. Serve Banh Cuon with cucumber,herbs, Vietnamese Ham, sweet Vietnamese fish sauce.


Enjoy!

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Sweet and Spicy Cream Cheese Sriracha Wonton



Sweet and Spicy Cream Cheese Sriracha Wonton

1 pkg cream cheese (if you warm the cream cheese for 15 seconds it is easy to mix)
1 t sugar (more or less up to you)
1/2  t Thai Sriracha Chili sauce
1 green onion thinly slice
25 (1pkg) wonton wrappers

Mix all the ingredients together set aside
Put 1 t of cream cheese filling in the middle of the wrapper brush a bit of water around the edge then fold all side and pinch it together to seal.  Continue until the filling is finished.
Put enough oil to deep fry the wonton, turn the heat on medium until hot then add few wonton at a time deep fry until golden brown but not burn, take it out and let it cool before serving. Be careful cream cheese wonton can burn your tongue.  You can  serve with Thai sweet and Chili sauce or just eat it the way it is.


Enjoy!  

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Chicken Panang Curry




Chicken Panang Curry

1 lb of chicken breast cut to bite size
1 small Yam or potato cut to bite size (about 2 cups)
1 cup sliced carrot
1/2 yellow onion slice
1/2 red bell pepper slice
1 can of coconut milk
2 ½ cup of water
2 T Panang Curry paste
3 lime leaves thinly slice
1 to 2 T of sugar (if you use yam only use 1T)
2 T fish sauce
2 T Roasted crush Peanut
1 cup Thai basil for garnish or put in curry

In a medium pot add half can of coconut milk and 2 T of curry paste stir until bubble
Add chicken cook until chicken no longer pink then add ½ cup of water to it stir for a minute or so
Add potato, carrot, the rest of coconut milk and water to pot mix it well until the curry is boil then add sugar, fish sauce, Lime leave, continue cooking until the potato is tender then add crush peanut, yellow onion, bell pepper to pot mix and cook for few more minutes, taste and adjust the curry to your taste.
Turn the heat off let it cool down a bit then add Thai Basil to pot (you can garnish it later if you like)
Serve Panang curry with French bread or Rice.


Enjoy!