Spicy Seafood Fried Brown Rice

Brown Rice is more healthier compare with white rice.The difference between brown rice and white rice is not just color! Brown rice and white rice have similar amounts of calories, carbohydrates, and protein. The main differences between the two forms of rice lie in processing and nutritional content. A whole grain of rice has several layers.Only the outermost layer, the hull, is removed to produce what we call brown rice. This process is the least damaging to the nutritional value of the rice and avoids the unnecessary loss of nutrients that occurs with further processing. If brown rice is further milled to remove the bran and most of the germ layer, the result is a whiter rice, but also a rice that has lost many more nutrients.As we know rice was a staple food only to Asian but now in Western world too.
I been eating brown rice for a month now.Actually I used to eat brown rice 13 years ago while was working and started to go to the gym.One of the reason why I'm eating brown rice is for health reason( my doctor told me blood pressure is above average) and the other reason is for me to lose some weight that I gained during winter.Since I'm a rice lover,I must have rice every meal except when I'm having paste or noodle ..Usually I bought Japanese brown rice but recently when I visit Korean supermarket I bought a bag of 20 lbs Korean brown rice on sale.Honestly if you never eat brown rice before,you might think brown rice is quite hard to digest or enjoyable..But once when you start consume it in daily basic you will enjoy it!!I have some leftover brown rice in the rice cooker and decided to use it to make seafood fried rice...Viola!! It's really taste super delicious!!! something for change plus a healthier version too!!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup brown rice,soak,wash and drain.
3 large egg
1 large bombay onion,peel and diced
1/2 cup bay scallop
10 medium shrimp,peel and clean
5-6 florets broccoli,diced
1 tsp ground white pepper powder
salt to taste
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp chili shrimp chili paste ( I used Tean's brand)*optional*
2 tbsp oil,corn or vegetable

Method:
1:Soak brown rice in water for 1 hour or more before cooking. Wash few time with clean water and add in extra water compare with white rice.1:2 portion.Brown rice intend to absorbs extra liquid when cooking.Use rice cooker to cook the rice if no rice cooker available iron cast pot is still acceptable..
2:Let the rice rest or cool completely before use it to make fried rice.Preferly over night brown rice.
3:Heat large skillet or pan at medium high heat with oil,crack eggs onto the pan,scramble for 2 minutes before dish out and set aside.Use the same pan,add in onion,broccoli,shrimp and bay scallop.Use spatula to stir the ingredients for 3-5 minutes.
4.Then add in brown rice and seasoning.Keep stirring or tossing the rice well for another 10 minutes .Add in scramble eggs and shrimp chili paste,mix well.Check the seasoning before dish out and serve warm.
Korean brown rice

Continue to Read More..

Roast Pork BBQ Bun( Char Siew Bao)叉烧包

It's been a while since I make my own roast pork pastry bun Chinese style a.k.a "Shao Bao" in Mandarin or "Siu Bao" in Cantonese . I have some left over roast pork,so instead of re-cook the leftover roast pork again I think I might as well make into something different or special..Most the time I store enough of baking ingredients at home,so whenever I feel like baking,it's become handy to just grab whatever I needed and mix with it,right? I adapted this recipe from Patsie Cheong of "Joy of Making Dim Sum".Overall the result of the pastry bun is really great ♥!!! I manage to make the dough extra thinner and flaky!! viola!♥

Ingredients:

Water Dough:

200 gm all purpose flour

60 gm shortening

2 tbsp sugar

125 ml cold water



Oil Dough:

160 gm all purpose flour

160 gm shortening

50 gm unsalted butter

Ingredients for Filling:

500 gm roast pork,diced

1 large onion,peeled and dice

1/2 cup green peas

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp caramel soy sauce

2 tbsp corn flour + 4 tbsp water

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

2 tbsp oil

1 egg + 1 tbsp water for brushing

4 tbsp raw sesame seeds

Method:

1:Heat 2 tbsp oil in large skillet or pan.Add in roast pork and onion in the skillet,stir-fry until fragrant..Then add in seasoning and green pea,fry for another 2-3 minutes before add in corn flour solution.Stir all the ingredients until well combine .The filling should be googy texture.Dish out and cool completely..Store in fridge if necessary.

2:Knead water and oil dough separately.Wrap dough in ball shape with cling saran wrap and store in fridge for 30 minutes for easy wrapping.

3:Roll out water dough with the center thicker and the four edges thinner.Place the oil dough in ball shape over the center of the water dough.Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

4:Roll dough out with rolling pin in square shape and fold once.Turn dough around and roll it out one more time.Fold into 3 layers and let it rest for another 10 minutes.

5:Preheat oven to 375 F.Prepare parchment paper on 2 baking sheet.

6:Divide the dough into 18 portions,ball shape.Flatten each portion,roll out in round shape and wrap filling in it.Use 1 tbsp or more filling in the center of the wrapper,flute edges of wrapping.Bring all the edges together to form a sack and seal by giving a slightly twist and pinch with thumb and finger on the top of the bao.Repeat the same procedure until all the dough finish. Brush egg wash on the top before sprinkle with sesame seeds.

7:Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly golden brown.Remove from oven and serve warm.

Continue to Read More..

Sambal Sotong Kering (Dried Cuttlefish in Spicy Sauce)

Recently when I was in Chinatown I bought a large piece of soaked dried cuttlefish.Usually the fish seller display this type of cuttle fish in a see thru glass container.This is my 1 st buying this type of cuttlefish(brown color).I recalled yesteryear whenever I buy nasi lemak(coconut rice) at the Malay stall, I must get this type of cuttlefish in my nasi lemak .Actually I have no idea how to to prepare it..I remember my mom told me once that in order to prepare this type of cuttlefish,I must soak the cuttlefish in alkaline water ("air abu" in Malay a.k.a "kan sui" in Chinese) first..I think I made mistake when I soak the ready soaked cuttlefish in alkaline water. .Now I guess my mom said if I bought the dried form of cuttlefish then I have to soak in alkaline water first not the ready soaked dried cuttlefish..I realised I make the mistake by soaking the cuttlefish in alkaline water after I cooked the cuttlefish.To add to the mistake I made, I soak the ready soaked cuttlefish in alkaline water for 2 days!! I wonder why the sauce has so much liquid? I didn't even add a drop of water or any other type of liquid.I even used tamarind powder so no water needed to dissolve it...This type of dish supposed to be in dry form not saucy..Overall this dish is good and yummy-delicious except too saucy ..

Ingredients:
1 large piece of soaked cuttlefish(brown color)

1 large Bombay onion,peeled and sliced

2 tbsp oil
4 tbsp sambal-belacan-paste,add extra if you want extra spicy

1 tbsp tamarind powder

2 tbsp sugar

salt to taste

1 stalk green scallion,washed and cut.

Method:

1:Cut soaked ready dried cuttlefish about 2 inch each.(if you buy dried cuttlefish,soak in alkaline water first for few hours before cook)

2:Prepare medium deep pan at medium heat with oil and sambal-belacan-paste Add in cut cuttlefish ,sugar ,tamarind powder and salt.

3:Use spatula to stir all ingredients until well combine for about 5 minutes.Then add in sliced onion..Stir again for another 3-5 minutes.

4:Check the seasoning again ,add in cut scallion before dish out and serve warm with rice or bread.

Continue to Read More..

Red Cooked Pork ( Hong Shao Rou) 紅燒肉

I got the idea of cooking Hong Shao Rou when I was visiting the doctor office.While waiting for hubby to see his orthopedic, I flip over an issue of Saveur magazine feature about Essential Stir-Fry Recipes.It's about how Chinese cook their stir-fry dishes with high flame or heat from the wok 镬气. One of the recipe that caught my attention was "Hong Shao Rou". Most of the time I cooked my mom version of braised pork belly but not the fancy Chinese name of "Hong Shao Rou".The different between my mom version and this dish was to crystallized sugar first before braising the pork belly. The common Mandarin name for this dish is “hong shao rou”, or literally, red cooked meat.Hong Shao Rou is a typical Hunan or Shanghai dish that is very popular in China.The name comes from the color of the soy sauce and crystallized sugar combination in which the meat is slow cooked.I hardly can find this dish in any Chinese restaurant in US.I understand red cooked pork was Chairman Mao Zedong favourite dish.Red-cooked dishes often include a mix of meat and vegetables and are similar to a western stew. Here is my version of Hong Shao Rou 紅燒肉..Enjoy!

I adapted the recipe to suit my taste..
Original recipe HERE

Ingredients:
3 lbs pork belly,cut into cube
2 tbsp oil
4-5 cloves garlic,peeled and chopped
2 inch ginger,scale the skin and sliced thin
2 tbsp caramel soy sauce or premium thick soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
4 pod of anise
3 tbsp shaoxing wine
salt to taste
Method:
1:Heat medium size wok or stockpot at high heat with oil ,ginger,star anise and garlic.(preferly use stainless steel wok but I used hard anodize stockpot)
2:When ginger and garlic is slightly brown or fragrant,add in sugar to caramelize.Add in pork belly,caramel soy sauce,shaoxing wine and salt.Toss all ingredients until well combined.
3:Reduce heat to medium low,cover, and simmer until pork is tender, about 40–50 minutes. Check the seasoning.
4:Uncover, increase heat to high, and cook, stirring, until liquid reduces .Thicken texture or absorb to the meat.
5:Remove from heat ,dish out,serve warm with steamed rice or mantau(plain pau)

Continue to Read More..

Gingko Nut and Bean Curd Soup

I love any type of "tong sui" a.k.a sweet soup..but rarely make it often because I'm the only one who going to eat it.But since I bought few prepacked clean gingko ,still sitting in my fridge I better make some sweet desert soup for myself..Gingko nut has a high starch content and is low in fat.The fruit of the ginkgo tree are plum-like.It is thought these trees originated in Northern China and are so old they are referred to as 'living fossils;' it has been said they watched the dinosaurs roam the earth.These nuts are widely used in Asian cookery.Ginkgo nuts are used in soups, stuffings, desserts, dishes containing meat and poultry, and vegetarian dishes, as well.Recently I heard mostly the tree planted by the city along the side road in NYC park and resident area are gingko nut tree..too bad when Fall arrived gingko produce large number of fruit and it's scatter all over the sidewalk . Western people complaint that the gingko nut smell of rancid butter or human feces.I guess they don't know how to appreciated this gem! For us Asian those gingko nut are priceless,right?

Ingredients:

3 liter water or more

1/2 pack fried soy bean sheet,about 2 sheet :soluble type

150 gm gingko nut (bai guo),clean and shelled(I bought ready clean nut at chiller section)

2-3 eggs white,beat lightly with fork

rock sugar or regular white sugar to taste

3-4 leave pandan(screwpine leave)

Method:

1: Soak bean curd sheet with water for 30 minutes or longer.Prepare medium stockpot with water at high heat.

2:When water rolling boil,add in bean curd sheet and gingko nut.Reduce heat to medium and let it boil for 45 minutes to 1 hour.If more water if needed.

3:Check the gingko nut and bean curd sheet,if it's soft and disintegrated well, add in rock sugar..Let it's cook for another 30 minutes before remove from heat.

4:Serve this desert warm or chill.

Continue to Read More..

Stir-fry Green Baby Bok Choy with Minced Meat

Green Baby Bok Choy or sometimes it's called as Taiwanese Baby Bok Choy is one of the most popular vegetables grown and sold in any Asian supermarkets in US and A. This vegetable is also called Shanghai Bok Choy, Ching-Chiang Choy or Ching-Kang Choy in Asia. Mostly this fast-growing hybrid vegetable version is developed has tender green leaves and crispy green petioles. Green Baby Bok Choy has become the most used vegetables in various Oriental dishes due to its excellent flavor, texture and size.This type of Bok choy have tender leaves and crispy thick petioles are very delicious, good for stir-fry and soup cooking.

Ingredients:

1-1 1/2 lbs green baby bok choy,remove each leaf and washed

300-400 gm minced pork or any meat + 2 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp corn flour

2 cloves garlic,peeled and chopped

2 shallot,peeled and sliced

1 tbsp premium oyster sauce

1 tsp chicken bouillon powder

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

Method:
1:Wash baby bok choy thoroughly,to remove soil..it's advisable to soak baby bok choy in cold water for few hours before cooking.
2:Heat wok or large skillet at high heat with oil.Add in garlic and shallot,fry until fragrant,then add in minced meat mixture.Fry for 2-3 minutes before toss in clean baby bok choy.
3:Add in seasoning,toss all ingredients well for 5 minutes.Or use spatula to mix the bok choy well .DO NOT OVER COOKED vegetable.
4:Immediately dish out and serve warm.

Continue to Read More..

Roast Soy Sauce Chicken

When I was clearing my freezer,I found I still have 1 qtr of left over braised-chinatown-soy-sauce-chicken. Since the soy sauce for chicken is still good,I would like to reuse again..Instead of braising soy sauce chicken like before this time I try the roasting method:Roasting soy sauce chicken..To my surprised ,roast soy chicken taste much better than braise chicken,maybe the soy sauce is well season or old enough.

Ingredients:
1 qtr braised-chinatown-soy-sauce-chicken
or
2 cups water
2 cup soy sauce for marinate chicken (it's written on the label,by LKK)
3 pieces star anise
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick cinnamon
2 inch old ginger,bruise and smashed
5-6 cloves garlic,peel and smashed
2 tbsp sea salt
*cook about ingredients*

1 whole chicken,about 4 lbs,clean,remove feathers or epidermis (yellowish outer layer of dead skin ) and set aside.

Method:

1:Clean and remove feathers or epidermis from whole chicken (yellowish outer layer of dead skin ),Cut the whole chicken in the center on one side(butterfly cut) and set aside.*as shown in the photo*
2:Marinate whole chicken in cooked soy sauce in a large container overnight.
3:Preheat oven to 375 F.Prepare baking tray with aluminum foil..Place marinated chicken on the tray.
4:Roast chicken for 45 minutes or to 1 hour..Remove cooked chicken from oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before cut and serve warm.

Continue to Read More..

Chicken and Dried Tofu Skin Soup

I bought a pack of dried tofu skin or soy bean sheet long time ago,thinking of making dessert soup with it but tomorrow comes and go.The dried tofu skin still sitting in my pantry,as they said out of sight out of mind,right? Well,while cleaning and re-arranging my grocery in the pantry I decided to make chicken soup with dried tofu skin..This soup is not bad at all.It's has smooth clear soft tofu skin taste like jello!! Thumb up!!

Ingredients:
5 liter water
1/2 pack dried bean curd sheet(crunchy type)6-8 pieces drumstick,cleaned or any part of chicken
1-2 carrot,peeled and cut 2 inch
1 tbsp ground white pepper
salt to taste
handful cut scallion



Method:

1:Soak dried tofu sheet in water for 30 minutes or longer.Prepare water in large stock pot at high heat.Seive soaked tofu skin into the stock pot.

2:Boil tofu skin for 30 minutes before add in carrot and chicken drumstick.Reduce heat to medium and continue simmer the soup for another 1 hour.

3:Add in pepper powder and salt.Remove soup from heat.Check the seasoning.Dish soup into a bowl,sprinkle some cut scallion and serve warm.

Continue to Read More..