Soup, Soup, Soup!

Good afternoon bloggers! I've got another recipe from Mae's kitchen to bring to our own. We've done many Asian recipes, but one recipe we have yet to make is soup. That is what we are going to do today. This is a fairly easy recipe and I'm sure it will leave you salivating from the smell as it cooks. Let's grab our whisks, our woks, and our aprons and let's get cooking!

Wasabi Snap Peas, Daikon, and Egg Soup

You will need:

• 4 large eggs
• 2 scallions, roots and tops cut off
• 3 tablespoons rice bran oil
• 1/3 cup finely diced yellow onions
• 1/3 cup finely diced and peeled daikon
• 1 shitake mushroom, stem cut off and cap finely sliced
• 5 cups dashi
• 1 teaspoon sake
• 1 teaspoon ground sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 20 snap peas, springs removed, cut into thirds
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

1. Break th eggs into a medium sized bowl and whisk until thoroughly mixed.
2. Cut one of the scallions into half inch long batons for soup. 
3. Thinly slice the other scallion to use as garnish.
4. Place a wok over high heat. 
5. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl it around to coat the interior of the wok. 
6. When the oil begins to simmer, add the beaten eggs; they will form a disc and immediately begin to puff and bubble around the edges. 
7. Fry the egg for 2 minutes or until the center portion is no longer runny. 
8. Turn the egg and fry for one more minute, then transfer to a plate. 
9. When the egg is cool enough to handle, tear it into bite-size pieces.
10. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. 
11. When hot, add the onion, daikon and mushroom. 
12. Stir fry for 3 minutes, then add the dashi, sake, salt and several grinds of pepper and bring to a boil. 
13. Skim off the foam from the surface with a ladle. 
14. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the soup for about 3 minutes or until the daikon has turned translucent.
15. Add the bits of torn omlette to the soup, along with the snap peas, scallion batons and soy. 
16. Cook over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until the snap peas are crisp, but slightly tender
17. Lay out 4 large soup bowls and ladle equal portions of the soup into them. Garnish with scallion.
18. Enjoy!

I hope you all have a great rest of the day. Don't work too hard, or play too hard for that matter. Stay cool and come back tomorrow for another delicious recipe from our friend Mae! Happy blogging and I'll catch you all on the flip side! <3

Teriyaki Fish

Good evening bloggers! I was going through my email today and this dish from Mae popped right out to me. I am a sucker for fish and a sucker for teriyaki! I could put teriyaki and soy sauce on everything, but I don't. Anyway, we are going to be handling some fish tonight. So, let's grab our aprons, knives, and pans and get down to business!

Teriyaki Fish

You will need:

• 4 fish fillets (Wild Alaskan Salmon, Farmed Striped Bass OR Pacific Halibut work wonderfully)
• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil

FOR THE MARINADE

• 2 tablespoons sake
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce

FOR THE TERIYAKI SAUCE

• 1/4 cup mirin
• 2 tablespoons soy
• 1 teaspoon sugar

1. Make the marinade by blending the sake and soy in a dish. 
2. Place the fish fillets flesh side down in the dish and marinate for 10 minutes.
3. Make the teriyaki sauce by blending together the mirin, soy and sugar, then whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. 
5. Using a paper towel, gently blot each fish fillet on both sides to absorb any excess marinade. 
6. Place the fillets in the skillet (skin side down) and cook for 5 minutes. 
7. Turn the fillets an cook for 1 minute.
8. Transfer the fish to a large plate and peel off the skin.
9. With a paper towel, wipe out any excess grease from the skillet. 
10. Place it back over medium high heat and add the teriyaki. 
11. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer the sauce for 1 minute. 
12. Add the fish into the pan. 
13. Tip the pan slightly and spoon some of the teriyaki over the fillets. 
14. Cook them for 1 minute or until the center portion is just cooked through.
15. Arrange on plates and top with teriyaki.
16. Enjoy!

I hope you all have had a wonderful day. I will be back tomorrow with more Asian themed dinners for you to enjoy. Oh, just a little sneak peek of what next week brings... Who loves sweets? I do! Have a great evening and happy blogging!

A Delicious Version of Burgers

Good afternoon bloggers! We are keeping with the trend of Asian delights this week. Today we have another excellent dish from our resident guest blogger, Mae. This was a dish someone special to her used to make and now we are going to try our hands at it. It's a twist on burgers that I'm sure all of us will enjoy. Let's grab our aprons and get cooking!

Salmon Edamame Burgers

You will need:

• 1 one inch chunk of fresh, peeled ginger root
• 1 cup blanched, shelled Edamame
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green capsicum
• 1 tablespoon sake
• 1.5 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup panko
• 1 egg
• 4 cups oil
• 4 cup small sprig mitsuba OR Italian parsley

1. Place the chunk of ginger root in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and prrocess until minced, scraping down the sides of the work bowl one or two times. 
2. Add the shelled edamame and pulse until minced as well. 
3. Transfer the contents of the processor to a large bowl.
4. Place the raw salmon chunks in the food processor and process until ground. Transfer the salmon to the bowl with the edamame and add onion, green pepper, sake, soy, salt and several grinds of pepper. 
5. Stir the mixture until well blended.
6. Lightly wet your hands and form the salmon into patties, then set aside.
7. Put flour on a large plate and panko on another. 
8. Beat the egg, then one by one coat each salmon patty in the flour, then the egg, followed by the panko. 
9. Remove the patty from the panko and press it between your hands.
10. Heat the oil in a deep skillet and bring the heat to 340 degrees. 
11. Lower the salmon patties into the oil and fry them for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. 
12. Lay out 4 plates and arrange 2 patties on each plate.
13. Garnish with mitsuba or parsley.
14. Enjoy!

I hope you all have a wonderful afternoon. Enjoy your culture and remember, we are always up for new cultural ideas. Happy blogging and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Asian Authenticity!

Good evening bloggers! If you were around last night, we had a mash up of tons of different recipes. Tonight, I paired up with my lovely guest, Mae M. again and she shared these lovely authentic recipes with me. We are taking a bit of Asian culture and making it our own. Let's put our hands together for Mae and her recipes and let's get started!

Tokyo Fried Chicken

You will need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 inch long chunk of FRESH ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon sake
• 1 teaspoon Mirin
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups rice bran oil
• 4 shisho leaves for garnish, cut into thin ribbons
• soy sauce for serving

1. Put the chicken into a bowl. 
2. Line a small bowl with cheesecloth. 
3. Grate the ginger over the bowl, gather the cheesecloth around the ginger and squeeze the cheesecloth to release the ginger juice. 
4. You should have 1.5 teaspoons of ginger juice. 
5. Pour the ginger juice over the chicken, along with the soy, sake and mirin. Toss the chicken to coat and let marinate for 10 minutes.
6. Place the cornstarch in small bowl. 
7. Remove the chicken and blot any excess marinade from the chicken with paper towels. 
8. Working with a few pieces of chicken at a time, drop them into the starch and push them around until coated, then put on a platter.
9. Heat the oil in a wok until it's 350 degrees. 
10. Working in batches, add 1/3 of the chicken to the oil. 
11. Fry for 1 minute on each side or until the chicken is golden and just cooked through. 
12. Transfer the fried chicken to a platter lined with paper towels. 
13. Cook the remaining chicken in the same fashion.
14. Transfer the chicken to a large serving dish. 
15. Sprinkle it with the shiso ribbons and bring to the table, along with a bottle of soy.
16. Enjoy!

Simmered Succulent Tofu

You will need:

• 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons Mirin
• 1/2 cup Bonito Flakes
• 4 shisho leaves, sliced thin
• 2 scallions, roots and tops cut off and thickly sliced
• 5 cups Dashi
• 2 one pound blocks Silken OR Cotton Tofu

1. Blend the lemon juice, soy, and mirin in a small bowl to create a dipping sauce.
2. Place the bonito flakes in a small dish and the slivered shiso leaves and scallions on a small plate. 
3. Bring these garnishes to the table along with 4 small bowls for the dipping sauce.
4. Place the dashi in a deep, 3 quart oven to table casserole dish with a lid.
5. Gently rinse the tofu under cold water. 
6. Cut each block into large bite size squares and add them to the dashi. 
7. Turn the heat to medium. 
8. The tofu cubes will swell and puff as the dashi heats. 
9. When the dashi is almost boiling, reduce the heat to low and gently simmer the tofu cubes for 4 minutes. 
10. When you remove the casserole from the flames, cover it and set it on a trivet in the center of the table.
11. To serve, let each diner pour approximately 2 tablespoons of dipping sauce into a small bowl. 
12. Using a small ladle, retrieve a few tofu cubes from the hot dashi, along with a little extra dashi and add to the small bowl. 
13. Season with the garnishes if desired.
14. Enjoy!

Well, until tomorrow, I bid you a good night. Stay tuned for more amazing recipes from more friends like Mae! I'll catch you on the flip side. Happy blogging!

Mind Exploding Recipes That'll Make You Ask for More!

Good evening bloggers! I have a super special treat for you all tonight. Here's what's going on... I have a great group of friends and family on facebook. We love sharing ideas and what not. Well, tonight, I asked them for their favorite recipes. We have some recipes from Mimi D., Rona Q., Mae M., and Amanda S. So, with that being said, let's get in the kitchen and start cooking!

Poppy Seed Chicken

You will need:

• Chicken tenders 
• 1 can Cream of chicken soup
• Butter
• Ritz crackers 
• Sour cream
• Poppy seeds

1. Cook the tenders according to the package instructions.
2. Mix the soup, sour cream and seeds together, then add some water. 
3. Crush the crackers. 
4. Smear butter in bottom of dish, then add the tenders in after being cut into pieces.
5. Pour the poppy seed mixture on top of chicken, then pour the crackers on top. 
6. Add a small amount of melted butter on top. 
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 mins. 
8. Serve with rice.
9. Enjoy!

Pancit Bihon

Stir Fry Rice Noodles

You will need:

• 1 pound rice noodles
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• Lean pork, fat trimmed (optional)
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce or salt
• 1 pound small shrimp, shelled and de-veined
• Vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, sliced or minced
• 1 small head of Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 3/4 cup julienned carrots or use half a pack of broccoli slaw
• 2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce 
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Start by soaking the rice noodles in warm water for 15 minutes or until softened. 
2. Remove the noodles from water and drain.
3. Boil the chicken and the pork in a cup of water and 1 teaspoon fish sauce or salt until tender, about 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and take out the meat to drain and cool. 
5. Reserve the broth.
6. Shred the meat into small pieces and set aside
7. Heat oil in a wok or a large saute pan.
8. Saute garlic and onion until they are carmelized.
9. Add together the shredded cooked meat, shrimp and soy sauce and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
10. Over high heat, add the vegetables and 3/4 cup of broth. 
11. Stir fry for about 2 minutes.
12. Reduce the heat to low and add the softened rice noodles, tossing gently until cooked through and well blended, approximately 3 minutes.
13. If the noodles seem dry, add more broth.
14. Serve immediately.

Pasta stuffed Acorn Squash

You will need:

• Acorn Squash, halved length-wish and de-seeded
• Roma Tomatoes
• Whole Garlic Cloves
• Ground Turkey or Beef
• Penne Pasta
• Salt
• pepper
• Preferred seasons for meat 
• Fresh Mozzarella cheese
• Diced onion
• Minced garlic

1. For The sauce: Line each pocket of a muffin pan with aluminum foil. 
2. Take each roma tomato and cut an "X" in the top and stuff a whole clove of garlic inside. 
3. Fold foil around each tomato to hold in heat. 
4. Bake at 350 for about 1/2 an hour. 
5. Remove the tomatoes and put into a sauce pan. 
6. Crush together to make the sauce, seasoning with salt and pepper and anything else you like in your spaghetti sauce. 
7. Heat through, stirring as needed, until the sauce is created. 
8. You may add sauce or more tomatoes to create more if needed, just keep tasting to season.  
9. For The Squash: Cut the squash length-wise. 
10. Each side will be your “bowl”. 
11. Fill baking dish with about 1/4” water. 
12. Set the squash “bowl-side” down in the preheated oven, still hot from cooking the tomatoes. 
13. Cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the outside of the squash is still firm enough to hold shape, but soft. 
14. Remove and set aside. 
15. Do not shut off the oven.
16. For The meat: Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
17. Add minced garlic and diced onion, and saute. 
18. Add salt and pepper. 
19. Add the ground meat and brown, seasoning the meat as you prefer. 
20. Bold, Italian tastes are very effective with this dish!
21. At this point, make your pasta.
22. Mix some of the sauce with the pasta, just enough to coat the noodles.
23. Fill each squash “bowl” halfway with noodles. 
24. Take the rest of the sauce and meat mixture and spoon onto the noodles. Bowls should be “heaping”. 
25. Place bowls onto cookie sheet or baking dish. 
26. Take the mozzarella cheese and cut in into cubes. 
27. Lay cubes generously over the pasta . 
28. Cover each bowl with aluminum foil, making a “tent” so that it does not touch the cheese and return bowls to oven, cooking long enough to melt the cheese and heat the bowls back through, which is usually 5 to 10 minutes, as everything should still be generally warm.
29. Serve!

Italian Wedding Soup

You will need:




FOR THE MEATBALLS:

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork or turkey
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

FOR THE SOUP:

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped or 1 small frozen box
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces soup pasta, acini de pepe or orzo pasta

1. For the Meatballs: Add all the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the ingredients together using your hands until evenly distributed.
2. Form meat into small meatballs by rolling in your hands.
3. Place the meatballs on a lightly greased shallow baking pan. 
4. Place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned.
5. For the Soup: Cook soup pasta as directed on the package. 
6. Do not overcook; the pasta should be firm when added to the soup.
7. Drain the pasta after cooking.
8. While the pasta is cooking add the chicken broth to a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
9. If using fresh spinach, add to the boiling broth and cook for 5 minutes or until spinach is tender. 
10. If using frozen spinach, drain well before adding to the broth.
11. Add the meatballs and pasta. 
12. Bring the soup back to a simmer.
13. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and serve.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies

You will need:

• 4 eggs
• 3 cups confectioner's sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1.5 cups pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Separate 4 eggs, keeping just the whites in a bowl on the counter to warm up to room temperature for around an hour. 
2. Once egg whites are in room temperature, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
3. Whisk together in a large bowl the confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder, and coarse salt.
4. Add and stir in the chopped pecans, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and the Bittersweet chocolate chips
5. Whisk the egg whites just for 20 seconds to loosen them a bit
6. Add the egg whites to the bowl and stir slowly just til moistened, no longer.
7. Use an ice cream scooper to scoop the batter on to the parchment lined pans or silpat mats 
8. Depending on the size of the scoop you might get 24 to 36 smaller cookies.
9. Bake for 13 minutes, then turn the trays around and bake another 12 minutes for a total of 25 minutes.
10. Cool on wire racks. 
11. Store them in a container with an air-tight cover.

I hope you all had a splendid time getting to "know" my friends through their recipes. If you enjoyed this, I might have to ask for more in the very near future. Have a great night and happy blogging!

The Summer of Yum!

Good evening bloggers! Tonight, we have a special Summer recipe to prepare tonight. As most of you wonderful cooks and foodies know, summer squah is currently in season. It's an absolutely delightful vegetable to work with when you can find it in stock at your local market or supercenter. Our meal tonight is... drum roll please?

Summer Squash Chicken Alfredo

You will need:

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 (8 ounce) package uncooked rigatoni pasta
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 1 small yellow squash, sliced
• 1 cup Alfredo sauce
• 1/4 cup milk
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes, softened and chopped
• 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Lightly grease a baking dish. 
3. Place the chicken in the prepared baking dish, and coat with the garlic. 
4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear, then cool and chop the chicken. 
5. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. 
6. Place the rigatoni in the pot and cook for 10 minutes, until al dente, and then drain. 
7. Place the bacon in a skillet. 
8. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. 
9. Drain, crumble, and set aside. 
10. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the zucchini and yellow squash until tender and lightly browned. 
11. In a small bowl, mix the Alfredo sauce and milk. 
12. Place the chicken over the cooked pasta. 
13. Pour Alfredo sauce over the chicken and top with the zucchini and squash. Sprinkle with sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, Parmesan cheese, and almonds.
14. Enjoy!

I hope you all have a splendid evening and I will catch you all on the flip side. Happy blogging and happy eating!

Beef Bulgogi

Good afternoon bloggers! Welcome to another exciting edition of Everyday Meals! Today we will be tackling a Korean dish called Bulgogi. Bulgogi is marinated barbecued beef, but chicken and pork have been known to be used. Bulgogi literally means "fire meat". It's also the terminology for how it is cooked, over an open flame. Bulgogi is said to have originated during the Goguryeo ear, between 37 BC and 668 AD.  Well, enough history. Let's get to the grill and start cooking!

Beef Bulgogi

You will need:

• 1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2.5 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Place the beef in a shallow dish. 
2. Combine soy sauce, sugar, green onion, garlic, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and ground black pepper in a small bowl, and pour over the beef. 
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. 
4. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil the grate. 
5. Quickly grill beef on hot grill until slightly charred and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
6. Enjoy!

See? This wasn't one of our normally longer dishes, but it is just as tasty! I hope you all had a fun experience and I will catch you on the flip side. Happy blogging and have a great weekend!