Vacation Vacation Vacation

Today is cloudy and cold and all I can think of is how I wish I could stay home from work.  I could drink hot tea, stay inside and clean the place up and o how nice that would be...

2.5 more days of work...2.5 more days of work...come on I can make it!

Japanese Shrimp Burger Ebi Katsu

I love it when I attempt to make a brand new recipe that not only have I never made before...but I've never eaten before.  This weekend I made a Japanese Shrimp Burger!   The prospect of shrimp mushed together in a patty that is fried in hot oil, made me both anxious and intrigued.  But life is all about pushing limits and trying new things, right? And besides, if it's supposedly the most popular item at the Mcdonald's in Japan, how can it be bad? So on Sunday I ventured forth to the grocery store, bought my ingredients to make this exciting new recipe and viola! Japanese Shrimp Burger!

It was actually quite easy.  I think next time I will not add as much sake and make sure my shrimps are more dry because when I combined my flour, I think the liquid caused my patty to be a touchy gooey but nothing too bad.

I doubled coated my patty in the flour egg bread crumb mixture to make it as crispy as possible.  
 

Top: Flour, Egg, Bread mixture is essential to crispy patties. Bottom: Condiments to put on burger.

 I used two recipes I found online and made slight adaptations of each, RunnyRunny999 and from Sumo Kitchen.

Japanese Shrimp Burger and French Fries

Friday

It's Friday. <3

Breaded Chicken

Here's a way to cook chicken that's quick and delicious.  If you have a thick cut of chicken breast, cut it in half across the plane so that each piece will cook quicker, more evenly, and have more flavor.

2 Chicken Breast, cut across to make thinner pieces
1 cup bread crumbs (I used panko)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt and some pepper or more or less according to taste
1 tsp dried coriander
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp dried parsley
(you can really use whatever herbs you like, sometimes I use different herbs)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 egg
4 tbs flour for dredging

Combine bread crumbs, paprika, salt, pepper, coriander, and herbs.  
Lightly salt and pepper pieces of chicken on both sides
Dip each piece in flour, shake off excess.
Dip in egg, shake off excess.
Dip both sides in bread crumb mixture to coat chicken.
Add about 1 tbs of olive oil to a large skillet on medium heat.
Add chicken breasts and cook on each side for about 4-5 minutes per side until cooked through.  Add more oil if pan becomes too dry.

I served with honey roasted sweet potatoes and mustard greens.

Ramen: Food of the College Students

Instant Ramen with Sliced Cabbage

It is a well known fact that Instant Noodles such as Ramen and Cup of Noodles are popular food items for college students because they are freakishly cheap, super fast, and easy to make.  Although I did eat instant noodles during my time at college, my fondest memories of ramen come not from college but from the comfort of my home, made by my dad. 

He use to add pieces of ham and eggs to the soup and serve it with thinly sliced cabbage.  A very simple meal but packed with so much flavor.  Back then I appreciated it for a quick and satisfying meal.  Now, I appreciated it for the memories of my dad's efforts to keep us full.

All done!

 Keeping in line with my quick and cheap meals.  Today, in order to satisfy my craving for cinnamon buns, I brought a package of Pillsbury Orange Cream Cinnamon Buns at the grocery store.  They are baking in the oven right now as I write.  One day, I know I'll have the time and space to make cinnamon buns from scratch, but today, these will suit me just fine. 

Pillsbury Orange Cream Cinnamon Buns. Good, but next time I'll try original.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

Beautiful view of the mountains on our way home.

Gosh...when it's cold all I want to do I stay inside, drink hot tea, and keep the heater on.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Now it's time to move on to Christmas.  It seems like each year the holidays go by faster and faster and I barely have time to enjoy it before it's gone!

I had a great Thanksgiving this year.  My whole family was together with the addition of a new sister =) hehe (sister-in-law).    We played games, hanged out, and of course had great food.  I think my dad's turkey this year was the best that he's made.  Nhat and I started a tradition last year of having our own little Thanksgiving meal together before we head home.  Last year was good for my first time, but this year was even better.  I learned from my mistakes and my meal came together quite nicely.

Dinner for two?

My menu was Butter-Herbed Roast Turkey, Mash Potatoes, Roasted Yams, Green Bean Casserole, Chestnut Stuffing, and Homemade Cranberry Sauce and Turkey Gravy.  I can't wait for the day when I can host Thanksgiving for my family. In the mean time, I just keep practicing with Nhat. =)

Chestnut French Bread Stuffing

Bake and Cake

The past few weeks I have been craving a nice fluffy piece of decadent cake.  Usually when my cake craving comes a calling, I can take out my mixing bowls and spoons and whip up something in the kitchen. However, being a working woman now ;) I don't have too much time for baking.  So this past week when I found out a new Asian grocery market open up near by that had a bakery, imagine my delight!  I guess my cake craving was contagious because Nhat started craving cakes too. And so we ofcourse made a visit to the new grocery store and picked up a cake.

We decided on a Ube cake.  I love that the cake was very soft but it was a little too dry for my liking.  The ube frosting however, was delicious.

Our cake craze didn't stop there.  Nhat has been talking about a bakery that one of his doctors constantly rave about, Porto Bakery.  This past Saturday we decided to make the 40 minute drive to give it a try. I got a Cubano Sandwich and Nhat got a Slow Roasted Pork Sandwich and Chicken Empanada (spelling?).  

Slow Roasted Pork Sandwich with Fried Plantains

 

 

 

Cubano with Fried Plantains.

We also took a Mixed Berried Milk Cake home.  Too bad our milk cake melted on the drive home, but it was still good.  The cake was moist and frosting was delicately sweet.

Busy Weekend

What a great way to start the weekend.  Cupcakes!  It's a shame that they weren't that great.  But they were still pretty nonetheless. =)

Why I love weekends...
Catch up on errands.
Time to relax.
Spend more time with Basil.
Time to cook a more satisfying meal.
Simpsons 8pm every Sunday.

And what a lovely and productive weekend it was.  I wrote down a list of everything we needed to accomplish this weekend and each one was crossed off =).  I have a few highlights and lowlights for the weekend. Highlights include trying out a delicious Korean restaurant, watching Toy Story 3, roasting a tri tip.  Lowlights: Basil getting attacked at the doggy park. But she's okay. Thank goodness for that.

During the busy week I barely have time to cook a well thought out meal. But the weekend is my time to getting my culinary fix.  Having to eat chicken and fish most of the days for health and budgetary reasons, I was really craving some red meat.  Tri Tip popped into my mind instantly.  The Tri Tip recipe I used was not great, it needs some some tweaking. The side dishes, on the other hand, green beans and mash potatoes turned out great.  Simple flavors to compliment the flavorful meat.

Green Beans
Wash and trim green beans
One shallot diced
2 cloves garlic sliced
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Blanch the beans: In a medium sized pot of boiling salted water throw in the green beans for 2-3 minutes.

Shock the beans: In a bowl of ice water quickly submerged beans in the ice water to stop cooking.

Drain and set aside.

Over medium heat, add about 2 tbs of olive oil on a skillet.  Add shallots and garlic, some salt and pepper.  Stir and let brown.

Add in green beans and stir to mix all the garlicky oil!

A hearty meal to prepare me for another week.

Another Week, Another Day, Another Dolla.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween.  And if you don't celebrate Halloween, then I hope you had a great weekend.  Despite the weather supposedly going into the 90s this week, the chilly mornings are a still a reminder that we are in autumn.  I've even had to wear a scarf on my morning walks with Basil.  Once the weather starts getting cooler and October comes around, there are a few items in my cupboard that are a necessity to help me enjoy the cooler autumny wintery weather:  hot Apple Cider, hot Chocolate, teas of all kinds.

Missing: Green Tea!

With the holidays less than a month away, I know I need to be more health conscientious of my eating so that I don't feel guilty when Thanksgiving comes rolling around!  This morning I had a healthy breakfast with low-fat cottage cheese, fruit, and a little sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. You can buy cinnamon sugar in the store but it's so easy to make and probably cheaper also. You basically just mix cinnamon and sugar in whatever ratio you prefer.   Sweeter? Then just add more sugar than cinnamon.  You can store it in an air tight container for a very long time.  I think I've had my cinnamon sugar mixture for months.

You can use whatever fruit you have available.  I usually like berries also.

How To Carve a Pumpkin

Nhat and I woke up early this morning to start our Insanity Workout and let me just say that it's going to be a long 60 days.  I realize that we definitely need to be more strict with how we eat.  I couldn't even do the whole fit test.  And I actually run 3-5 days a week!  This is a completely different level of workout than I'm used to. I need to be on top of my health.  Nhat was able to do more of the fit test than I was, but he wasn't feeling too good afterwards.  hehe.

On a more happy subject, I finally carved my pumpkin!  I've only carved two in my lifetime, this being the second one.  I wanted to give a tutorial just for fun.  This is a basic tutorial for beginners who need a little guidance on the basics of how to carve a pumpkin.  =)

1. Pick a pumpkin.  I like round fat ones.  Nhat actually picked this one out but he did a good job.

2. It helps to have the right tools.  You can use stuff you have at home such as a knife and spoon, but these pumpkin carving tools make life so much easier and they're very cheap.  We bought these in a set that came with a little booklet with pumpkin face templates. You can also find templates online.

3. Using a serrated tool, carve a circle on the stem side of the pumpkin.  Make sure the circle is a good size so you can fit your hand through it to scrape the insides of the pumpkin.  My circle could have been a bit larger.

4. Using a large spoon or scraping device, scrape the seeds out of the pumpkin and save for later use or discard.  It is important to scrape the seeds to prevent the pumpkin from rotting and will also give your pumpkin a more clean look.

5. Find a template and using tape, attach to the pumpkin.

6. Use a sharp tool to poke along the template to make an imprint onto the pumpkin.

7. Remove template and use a serrated tool to carve the pumpkin face.

8. Insert a candle with holder inside pumpkin.

9. Enjoy your fun pumpkin!

 

Note: This whole process took me about 1.5-2 hours.  Take your time when using sharp tools, be safe, and have fun!

Life is Good.

Wow, it's been more than a month since I've posted.  I slept until noon today.  First time in weeks that I've been able to sleep for so long.  My life has been a little hectic with work, my brother's wedding, my birthday, crazy weather and just adjusting to the changes.  Now that I feel things have settled down a bit I will have more time to do things I enjoy.  Speaking of things I enjoy ... I'm going to start taking piano lessons soon!  I'm so so soooo excited.  I just bought a digital piano yesterday.  A Casio CDP 100 with stand and bench for 450.00  I figured that was a good price for someone who is just beginning to learn piano.  It has the full 88 weighted keys so it gives me the feel of a real piano.  

I put the stand and everything together yesterday and it looks so beautiful.  I can't help but stare at it whenever I see it.  Sometimes I just peek into my room just so I can get a glimpse of it.  I can hardly wait for the day when I can just sit at my piano and play a flawless melody.  The piece I want to learn first when I'm ready is, Ballad For Adeline.  I've always wanted to play it since I first heard in in college many years ago.  And I've tried to learn on my own, but I was limited with the smaller keyboard I had at home. 

Casio CDP 100

I have so much excitement inside of me.  Fall is my favorite time of the year.  So much activities and holidays.  The colder cloudy weather is such a nice refreshing change from the hot summer days.  It's like a breath of fresh air.  It reminds me of my childhood, and starting elementary school, and doing assignments, and reading books.  Right now I'm looking at a nice fat pumpkin sitting in the corner of my living room floor, just waiting to get carved. =) But that will be for later this evening after we've done our grocery shopping and errands. 

Tonight we're making burgers.  Not too healthy, considering we had chicken wings yesterday.  But Nhat and I are starting a workout routine starting Monday.  You may have heard of it, The InsanityWorkout.  I know it's going to burn my calories like no other, so I need to eat more.  I don't want to lose weight, just get a little more toned.  Nhat, on the other hand, cholesterol levels are not so good, so he needs to lose weight and get healthy.  I know, I know, chicken wings and burgers isn't helping his cause, but we eat health most of the time! Insanity is a super intense 60 day workout routine...eek. I'm a little scared.

A little birthday treat! The mango chiffon cake on the right is addictive.

You Gain Something and Lose Something

Something I miss since I've started working more hours is going to the library on a weekday.

Feeling like Fall and Fish in Tamarind Sauce

Wow...I've been completely busy lately and haven't had time for much.  Finally I seem to be caught up with my life.  Here is an old post sitting in my draft that I can now publish. =)

Labor Day has barely just passed and it's already starting to feel like fall.  Yesterday, I woke up to a gray sprinkling skies that if had appeared a month earlier, would have been quite depressing.  But today, it fitted beautifully into my September morning. 

I've been so busy lately with working and some other things involving Nhat's car accident.  I haven't had much time to cook, but this weekend, I was determined to get some home cooked food into our bellies.  This recipe was inspired by a Thai restaurant that Nhat and I went to over the weekend to meet my friend and her fiance.  We saw a dish for Sea Bass and Tamarind Sauce.  We have a huge block of tamarind that we've bought and used throughout the years and fish and tamarind sauce was very intriguing.

The next day I search online and apparently fish and tamarind sauce is a very common and authentic recipe in Thailand.  I found a recipe that seem easy and I had all the ingredients so I went with it.
My results..a delicious, sweet, tangy and spicy fish dish.  Since I measured out the ingredients by eye, I accidentally made my sauce a little too sweet...but it was still delicious nonetheless.  I think this recipe is normally made with a whole fish, but I had fillets which worked out great.

I'm so happy I have another fish recipe to add to my repertoire.

Cuban Cuisine

Last week was probably one of the most busy and tiring weeks Nhat and I have had in a long time.  With Nhat's car accident and being short one car, all the driving I've had to do made it difficult for me to have the energy to cook.  As a result of last week's schedule, we ate out EVERY single day last week!

I was actually happy to finally have time and energy to cook today and not have to eat out.  Living here, I haven't actually found a place nearby that I think is a great and affordable restaurant.  But last week we decided to try a Cuban Restaurant that we've always passed but never tried.  And now I don't know why we never tried it.  It's probably one of the most decent restaurants that Nhat and I have eaten at since we've moved here.

I ordered a slow roasted pork dish and Nhat got a beef dish.  Delish!

Slow Roasted Pork

Beef Dish..(I forget what it's called)

Korean Beef Short Ribs, Galbi

Ahhhh....It feels great to make some money right now...even though it's just minimum wage.  So far I have 64 bucks to my name baby! = p

I really love where I'm working right now.  I love that it's so close to my place.  I love that the environment is so laid back.  I love my hours. And I  LOOOOOOOVE that the people I work with and for are super nice.  The business is owned by this nice Korean couple who  have genuine love for each other that I can see.  He calls her "Hunnie" and she tells me 'He always make me laugh".  It's refreshing to see that kind of pure and loving relationship.

Beef Ribs, kind of pricey, we may have gotten ripped off

Ironically, this past Sunday I made Korean BBQ Beef Short Ribs, Galbi.  And it was good. =)  I used the recipe from trifood dot com.  The only change I made was instead of an Asian Pear, which we were told by the produce clerk, in a DUH sort of way, was "not in season"....so we got a large Fuji Apple.  The point of using this fruit is to tenderize the meat and I think it worked perfectly fine.  You're suppose to use thinly sliced rib pieces for this recipe and luckily we went to a Korean grocery store which sold thinly sliced meat pieces! =)  It's actually not hard to make...just a lot of preparation.

Find recipe here

Pork Shogayaki

I'm always looking for new, unique, and homey dishes to cook.  When I watched this video on Cooking With Dog Youtube Channel, I wanted to try it right away.  It's a pork dish cooked with the usual Japanese flavors of mirin, sake, and soy sauce.  It's so simple and easy but the flavors taste very warm and comforting.  I doubled the sauce because I like a lot of flavor and I think I used a bit more garlic also. =)

Pork Shogayaki from Cooking With Dog Youtube Channel
slightly adpated
4 thin slices of pork
1 1/2 T flour
salt and pepper
2 t of crushed garlic
1 t of minced ginger
 2 t soy sauce
2 t sake
2 t mirin
1 t sugar

Preparation
Sprinkle a litle bit of salt and pepper on both sides of meat.
Lightly dust flour on each side.

Prepare the sauce
Mix ginger, garlic, soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, and set aside.

On medium heat add about 1 tsp of sesame oil on skillet and move around  to spread the oil.
Add pork. Once brown on one side, flip over to other side.
Add sauce and move pan around to have sauce cover all the meat.
For the best instructions watch the video from CookingWithDog.

Super Fluffly Pancakes and a little more

I feel like it's been quite some time since I've last blogged.  It's really because I haven't cooked much lately and when I did cook, the meals weren't too special.  Lately I've felt a bit lazy and kind of out of it.  I'm not sure why but I feel that part of me has passed for now.

Despite my under the weather feeling, I've done some exciting things recently.  Nhat and I went hiking for the first time (unplanned and unprepared and NOT advisable), but we survived since it was only a short hike.  At least we had a bottle of water hehe.  The most important thing I remember from all the survival shows I've watched is to STAY ON TRAIL so we made sure we did that.

This is a little waterfall we saw on the hike.

Unforgiving mountains

And some exciting news...(kind of), remember that list I made a while back of all the jobs I've had?  You can add Jewelry Assembler to it now.  It's a part time job working in a warehouse, but at least I'll be able to save up money for baking school or a wedding....kekeke. ;)

I made fried chicken last Sunday with buttermilk and the results weren't great, but I had left over buttermilk.  So today I decided to make some pancakes.  I found a recipe on foodnetwork dot com and I really think this is the easiest and best pancakes I have ever had.  The recipe is for blueberry pancakes so I just left out the blueberries since I didn't have any.  I also cut the recipe in half because it was just Nhat and me.  Cutting the recipe in half, I made 5 pancakes, which was a perfect amount.

Buttermilk Pancakes for the Cookworks on Foodnetwork dot com. 
1 cup all purpose flour
1/8 cup sugar
1 1/8 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/8 cup melted butter and extra for cooking

Preparation
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt

Beat buttermilk, eggs, and butter.

Combine dry ingredients to wet.  Be careful not to over mix.  My batter was lumpy and very thick.

In a skillet on medium heat add a little bit of butter and scoop 1/3 cup of batter into pan.

Cook pancakes on each side for about 1-2 minutes.

You can see I need to work on flipping the pancakes. =)

Chance is the first step you take, luck is what comes afterward.  Your kind of chance makes no sense, it is only an excuse not to blame yourself.  If you don't take a chance, someone else will give you his luck.  And if you get bad luck, then you need to take another chance to turn things from bad to good.  Of course everything is connected. - The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan

Salmon Cakes

I woke up at 8:30AM today, and it's been a LOOONNGG time since I've woken up that early on a weekday. I went to a job interview today but it's not as serious as you think. It's for a small project that consists of lots of filing. Not sure if I got the job or not considering the interview was really short...but we'll see. It's not a big deal if I don't get it. He said he will call this weekend to inform those who have been hired.

On a far more important note, yesterday I made salmon cakes. I've made salmon cakes before but the ones I made yesterday were by far the best. Maybe it's because I got some tips from Ina Garten, well not personally of course, I actually went on the foodnetwork website and found her recipe for salmon cakes.  Her show Barefoot Contessa is probably my favorite show of foodnetwork.  Her recipes always seem so flavorful and fresh.   I didn't use her exact recipe because I didn't have all the ingredients, but one major thing I've learned since I've started cooking is that you must learn to adapt in the kitchen.  A major concept that I took from her recipes was sauteing the veggies in some butter before you mix all the ingredients.  Cooking veggies first brings out the sweetness of the vegetables and gives you a much more complex yet flavorful cake.

So here's my version of Salmon Cakes adapted from the fabulous Ina Garten:

Salmon Cakes makes 4 salmon cakes
1 salmon fillet about 6-8 ounces
1/2 cup diced onions
1/3-1/2 cup diced bell peppers
1 heaping T capers, chopped
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t lemon pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
pinch dried parsley
pinch dried dill
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 T butter
fresh basil for garnish
mayo lemon sauce
salt and pepper

Preparation 
Season salmon fillets on both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat a pan on medium heat.
Add about 1 T of olive oil and fry salmon on each side until just cooked.
Allow to cool then put in fridge.

On the same frying pan, melt the butter then add the chopped onions and bell peppers.  Add the pinch of dried parsley and dill and cook until onions because soft and chopped capers and turn off heat. Put veggies in bowl medium bowl and set aside.

With a fork, flake the cooked and cooled salmon into little pieces.  Add to the bowl of veggies.  Add the cayenne, lemon pepper, garlic powder and chopped capers and mix.  Add the bread crumbs and mix.  Add the egg and mix again.  With your hands form three inch patties and pack tightly.  Allow to sit in the fridge for a few hours.

Mean while, mix 1/3 cup mayo with half a juicy a lemon and some zest.  Stir until smooth. That's your sauce!  So simple and so good (trust me).

When you're ready to fry your salmon cakes, take out the cakes and season the top side with salt and pepper.

On a skillet on medium heat, add olive oil, and fry the side that has been season with salt and pepper first.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes.  Season other side with salt and pepper then carefully flip over and fry other side.  Seasoning the cakes on the outside with salt and pepper gives it a nice crust.

 

Are You Happy?

Happy - A Documentary Trailer from Wadi Rum Productions on Vimeo.

Pho, need I say more?

I cant believe we're already well into August!  I feel like summer barely just started and now fall is quickly making it's way in.  I'm not really complaining though, autumn is my favorite time of the year.  But I'll save my rants of autumn once we actually hit autumn.

This weekend was a good weekend.  It was Nhat's first weekend off in a while so we had plans to do a lot of things like go to the beach or take a drive to the Vietnamese district about 50 minutes away, but instead we just stayed in, rented a total of three movies and went out to eat.  The highlight of my weekend was on Sunday, when Nhat requested Pho.

Now Pho holds a very special place in my heart.  It is one of those dishes where since learning how to make it, it has made me feel as if my life, since I've moved away, has not been a complete waste.
I think why pho is so special to me, as it probably is to many other people, is because when I think of pho, I think of my family.  I think of my parents working in the kitchen to perfect their broth, and I think of my family sitting together, slurping the broth, and enjoying the addicting flavors of our culture.  So I'm happy that my first food post on this blog is Pho.

I've made pho three times and each time I'm learning more and more of how to make it better.  This  time, my efforts has been my proudest.   Pho is actually very simple to make, it is just a matter of combining the right combination of spices, sugar, and salt to get the perfect broth to suit your taste buds. Although I'm happy with my Pho broth, I'm actually still working on it to make it even better, so no recipe yet.  But I have posted pictures on how I enjoy my Pho!

Spices- the right combination and amount of spices is crucial in the broth!

 

 Plate of herbs to is essential: Basil (preferrably Thai, but another will work also, we had Sweet Basil), Saw Tooth Herb (also called culantro or Ngo Gai), beansprouts (I'm not a fan, so I don't buy it), limes.

 About one onion thinly sliced then soaked in vinegar.  Chop up some cilantro and add to the onion mixture, you can also add scallions but I didn't.  This adds great texture and DELICIOUS tangy crunch to the Pho.

About 1 T of Hoisin Sauce and 1/2 T of Sriracha Chili Sauce to dip the pieces of beef.  To me, this is essential.

One of the best things about Pho is that you usually always make enough to have it a second day. =)