At last we have made our first video.
This is our official entry to Delicious SEOUL Story. Please Share, like and view us on Youtube!
Thanks to my daughter Louise for the support and participation! This dish is heartwarming and delicious!
Sweet Sticky Rice with Pandan Custard top
Ingredients:
1 cup sticky rice, soaked overnight with water
3/4 coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
4 pandan leaves
for topping
6 pandan leaves
6 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup thick coconut milk
1tbs rice flour
1 tsp corn flour
Sticky rice with Pandan Custard Top
Procedure:
1. Place the soaked sticky rice, which should absorbed all the water, in the steamer.
2. Pour over the coconut milk and top it with cut pandan leaves
3. Steam the right until set, but not cooked through. Remove pandan leaves and discard.
4. For toppings. cut the pandan leaves into small pieces and grind using mortar and pestle.
5. Squeeze out the green juice through a fine mesh or strainer into a small bowl.
6. Beat the eggs with sugar for 2-3 miunutes, or until the sugar is completely dissolved. Sieve the mixture into a bowl
7. Whisk together the coconut milk , rice flour and cornflour, then pour on to the sugar and egg mixture and whisk thoroughly to make a smooth thin custard.
8. Stir in pandan juice. The mixture will have a delicate green tint.
Seafood-Chicken Somen Noodles
One of my comfort food is noodles. Homemade, restaurant served or instant noodles. I even remember my officemates gave me a bunch of Chinese instant noodles of Christmas. Since we are current at the heart of Japan town in San Francisco, I am able to access wide variety of noodles, soba, somen, ramen, rice noodles,Chinese noodles and a lot more to discover.
This recipe uses somen noodles and shrimp stock
Ingredients:
shrimp stock:
shrimp heads and skin (wash the heads gently, do not drain all the fats, they make all the flavor)
carrots (cut to pieces)
celery (cut to pieces)
onions (cut to pieces)
bay leaves
spring onions
peppercorns
salt
dried basil leaves
kombu (a type of dried kelp)
1 tease spoon of white miso paste (just to add more flavor)
peeled garlic
water
noodles:
somen
seafood:
scallops (gotten from shell)
shrimp (butterflied cut)
(may also use steamed green shells or manila clams)
garlic
salt and pepper
sliced chicken(no bones)
olive oil
mirin (sweet sake)
fish sauce
Procedure :
To make the stock:
Combine all the stock ingredient in a stock pot and simmer for 1 hr in low heat until all the flavor of shrimps are out , especially from the heads. Add water if necessary to maintain the stock level desired. Pour the stock through a strainer and set the stock aside for the recipe.
1. In a separate pot, sautee garlic in olive oil or sesame oil in high heat.
2. When garlic is about to turn brown, add chicken and
3. When chicken turned pale, add scallops, shrimp fish sauce and pepper, then add sake, continue sauteing until
shrimp turn red.
4. Add the shrimp stock and somen noodles.
5. Simmer until the noodles is done, about 4 to 5 minutes.
6. Finally tastes with salt and pepper.
Serve hot and enjoy (see picture for serving suggestion, top the noodles with shrimp,scallops,kelp and chicken)
Seafood Chicken Noodles
Gyoza (pork-shrimp-herbs)
When we went to Japan last 2008, I kept asking hubby how do they cook gyoza, he told me, maybe they fried it, grill it and steam it. I tried all of them, but they don’t look like the gyozas I ate at the japs restaurant.
After finding several awesome Japanese cookbooks from japantown library, I finally knew how to do it! Fry a little, steam and fry a little more. Let me try to explain it further on the procedures.
I also found out that good gyozas are flavorful, aromatic and made of veges and pork. Well, I made mine a little bit different, I used herbs, spices, pork and shrimp.
Ingredients:
filling:
grated pelled ginger
grated onion
grated garlic
chopped green onions
chopped cilantro
Japanese soy sauce
sake or mirin (sweet sake)
salt and pepper
sesame oil honey
pure honey
finely chopped peeled shrimp
ground pork
wrapper:
package of Japanese gyoza skins or round Chinese dumpling wrapper
dipping sauce (combine all ingredients):
Japanese soy sauce
Japanese rice wine vinegar
hot chili oil
honey
while cooking:
water and oil
procedure:
1. Combine all the filling ingredients and let stand for 15 mins and mix well again.
2. To wrap filling, take one wrapper and lay it flat on your hand.
3. Take about 1/2 tablespoon of the filling to the center of the wrapper.
4. Using your finger, run a thin layer of water along the inner rim of the wrapper and press both sides together, forming a half circle and make 4 tucks at edge of the wrapper.
4. Lay the bottom of the gyoza flat and let it sit upright.
Cooking :
1. Put a medium sautee pan in high heat and add little oil.
2. put 6- 8 gyozas to the pan, flat side down.
3. When the bottom turn brown, for 1 – 2 mins add 1/4 cup of water to the pan and cover.
4. Turn the temperature from high heat to medium heat.
5. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated, about 3 – 4 mins.
6. Then add little oil and continue to cook until bottom is crisp.
7. I like the sides, to be a little bit crispy too, so I turn the gyoza to the sides for about
2 times, while making the bottom crispy.
8. Transfer the cooked gyoza to the serving platter and cook the remaining ones, with same process with water and oil.
9. Serve gyoza with dipping sauce.
the wrapper
filling
the wrapper
filling on the wrapper
how to wrap
how does it look after wrapping
wrapping done
how to cook
Gyoza!
Mussel Tomato-White Pasta
Every week, we got a chance to visit the fresh wet market with countless seafood selections. One of my weekly buy is the mussels. I got them live and fresh! Now this gives me more reason to love San Francisco!
Here’s to cook this recipe. Note that seafood is always good with white wine. So I used white wine with this, while sauteeing the mussels.
Tips from the Series Pasta: Pasta does not have to be swimming in sauce, all the sauce should be absorb by the noodles, even when served warm or not hot, it still taste good and after eating one serving you taste buds will want to have more. Enjoy!
My next challenge is ginseng pasta, even though it’s just an imagination of the movie writer, it looks like a good ingredient for pasta. Will see what I can do. 🙂
Ingredients:
Fresh Mussels – cleaned
Evaporated milk
Spaghetti
White wine
Lots-of-sliced fresh tomatoes
Onions sliced
Garlic peeled, sliced or crushed
Green onions
Parmesan cheese
Basil fresh or dried
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Procedure:
Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions in a large pan of water with salt and oil.When cooked al dente, drain the pasta.
While your spaghetti is cooking, head a large saucepan and sautee, garlic, onions, and tomatoes in olive oil until tomatoes turned saucy. Add mussels, heat should be set at high, then add white wine, salt and pepper, continue to sautee until mussels open. When the wine is perfectly combined with the sauce, add water, enough to make little sauce (this must be boiling)and add evaporated milk, bring to boil and quickly toss pasta into sauce, final taste and sprinkle with basil, green onions and grated Parmesan cheese.
sauteeing tomatoes
In the pan
Mussel Tomato-White Pasta
Mussel Chowder
We’ve been to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco for a number of times and we seldom missed the clam chowder since we had it. It is just so good. . . . We usually buy one cup for $5. Last Saturday, 01/22/2011, me and my daughter Louise went for a bay cruise, and went for a clam chowder for a quick snack. This time I looked at the ingredients closer and imagined how would I make it at home. I see tiny cubes of potatoes and it taste milky. I think I got it, so I tried it at home.
My family think it was goooooodddd! So maybe you want to try it at home too.
Mussel Chowder
Fresh Mussels
Potato flour
Ingredients:
Mussels (Fresh and cleaned)
potatoes (cubed finer) if you want a little sweet taste, combine sweet potatoes and regular potatoes
butter
milk (whole fresh milk or evaporated milk)
mozzarella cheese
potato starch
salt
pepper
olive oil
green onions, finely chopped
finely chopped garlic
onions, finely chopped
white wine
water
Procedure:
1. Sautee garlic and onions in olive oil.
2. Add mussels, salt and pepper. Continue the sautee until shells open.
3. Add white wine and continue sauteing.
4. Add enough water enough for the soup.
5. Add add potato and sweet potatoes together.
6. Add butter, half of the milk and simmer until potatoes are soft.
7. While simmering the cubed potatoes. . . .
on a separate small bowl, dissolve potato starch on tap water and set aside.
8. When the potatoes are soft and the soup turned starchy, add the last batch of milk and
the mozzarella cheese and simmer for 5 mins more. .
9. Add Green onions and finally add the dissolve potato starch.
10. Stir until soup thickens a little bit and final taste.
11. Serve hot with sourdough bread or French bread.
Tips: If you bought too much mussels and you can’t cook at one time, store it in a container with ice and refrigerate, do not freeze.
PASTA – Korean Love Drama with Italian Cooking Theme – Love It!
I have been watching Korean Drama lately. I like their theme, plot and good, clean love stories.
Now I just finished this series : Pasta.
http://www.hulu.com/search?query=korean+drama+pasta&st=1&fs=
The Chef and the Kitchen Assistant
It is a kind of in-focus to the Italian Kitchen. According to the writer, his research found out that the
Italian Kitchen is the most chaotic of all. Japanese kitchen is peaceful, Chinese Kitchen can cook some dish ahead, while Italian Kitchen only cooks their dishes, when orders are given. Now I am increasing my interest to pasta menu, especially the seafood ones. And probably making my own pasta? I have been wanting to buy pasta maker, hmmmmnnn. . . . maybe it will be the best time soon? Will post it here if I am able to make my first pasta noodle.
This series gave me a hint of how things are prepared in the kitchen and how chef should be in control of the whole situation in the kitchen.
I was also surprise of the ginseng pasta, I thought it was a real dish, but writer later said, it’s a made up one. 🙂 But perhaps will try it too. 🙂
Enjoy the movie time, I highly recommend this series. 🙂
Black Chicken Soup in lemon grass ( in ultimate search for organic food )
The result of my organic food search has introduced me to this black chicken. It is pretty neat, tasty, healthy and nutty!
This is rare find in the US, but if you could visit the fresh wet market, you might have a luck.
Ingredients:
Black chicken (Cut into parts )
Lemon Grass (sliced)
Green Onions (chopped)
Onions (sliced )
Ginger (sliced)
Garlic (sliced)
Dried Basil
Jalapeno Pepper
Salt
Pepper
Oil
Procedure:
1. Sautee Garlic, onions, ginger, lemon grass in olive oil.
2. Add Chicken, salt and pepper, bay leaves, stir until chicken is coated with oil and a little bit brown.
3. Add water to simmer and add jalapeno pepper until chicken is tender,
4. Taste and add salt if needed, then add the green onions and dried basil.
Enjoy good tasting and healthy black chicken soup!
The sliced black chicken
Black Chicken Soup in lemon grass
Korean – Sweet and Spicy anchovies – BokkEuml
Recently I got lots of cravings on oriental taste.
We just transfered to San Francisco CA, particularly at the heart of Japan Town. It feels like heaven in terms of tastes availability. I am surrounded by vast variety of Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino and Farmer’s market. Hundreds of oriental restaurants are within our reach, but I don’t want to spend much to eat good food. So I tried them at home.
So here is one that I can’t stop eating.
Korean: Sweet and Spicy Anchovies - BokkEum
Gochujang Paste:Can be bought from asian, japanese or korean store
Vietnamese Garlic Chili Paste:Can be bought from asian, japanese or korean store
Red Pepper flakes
Ingredients:
2 cups Dried anchovies
soy sauce
sugar
olive and sesame oil
sesame seeds
Korean : 1 tbs Gochujang paste
Vietnamese: 1tbs Chili garlic sauce
Korean: 1 tbs red pepper powder
grated garlic
grated white onion
4 tbs of white wine
4 tbs of water
Procedure:
1. Heat the pan, toss in anchovies for 5 mins until
lightly toasted.
2. put the heat to low, push the anchovies at the side of the pan.
3. pour some olive oil and sesame oil.
4. add garlic and white onion, stir until light brown.
5. Add soy sauce, water, sugar and wine
6. Then add Gochujang, chili flakes and chili garlic sauce.
7. Mix the sauce with anchovies in a low heat.
9. When all the sauce are mix in and caramelized add the sesame seeds.
Serve as side dish, appetizer and can be stored in the fridge for 2 weeks or more
dried squid, boneless fish, shrimp can be used instead of anchovies
Hit the blog before 2011!
It looks like it is worth it to have some notes on my cooking adventures again.
Before this challenging year of 2010 ends, will add some cooking notes for you to try.
This time, I have been adventurous to try more oriental cooking, Asian taste has been picking up my imagination, they enter my dreams and sleepless nights. So I decided to make realities on my own dining table. 🙂
I promise to share them before this tough 2010 year ends.
By the way, 2010 was the most difficult year for us, we felt our adult bones bent to adjust to changes and brave the challenges. I pray that 2011 will be kind and supportive to our plans.
Happy New Year!
Keep Cooking ! 