I Can't Believe It's Not Eggs!

So that was what a friend thought this dish was made out of. It is quite deceiving with the yellow color, and the omelet like shape. It really does look like it is made out of eggs, however the taste does not taste anything like eggs. But then again we cover this thing in fish sauce so that is the predominate taste anyways. The surprising thing of all is that there is not a drop of egg in this at all. None what so ever.

Ingredients:
  1   bag of Banh Xeo mix
  1   can of coconut milk
  1   small jicama shredded
  1   lb of ground pork
  1/2 cup of wood ears (approximately)
  1   onion thinly sliced
  5   stalks of green onion chopped
  1   lb of shrimp (optional)
  1   bag of bean sprouts

 To start this off you need Banh Xeo mix. It is in the aisle with the Banh Cuon mix or all the other flour mixes at your local Asian grocery store. The mix should have a white powder and then a smaller section of yellow powder which is where the color comes from. The yellowness of this "crepe" comes from tumeric. There are directions on the back of the bag to make the flour so I would follow that. Once you mix the flour and add the green onions then you let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes.

Soak the cloud ears in some water to allow it to soften. After peeling and de-veining the shrimp I marinated them in salt and sugar. Drain the cloud ears and fry them in the pan with the ground pork. Remove from the stove and place in a bowl.

Now it's time to start making your Vietnamese crepes. I used a rice bowl to measure out exactly how much batter I needed. You will need about 1/2 to 3/4 of a rice bowl of the batter. In a frying pan with oil, place the shrimp and onions.Cook both sides of the shrimp and then add the ground pork and wood ears.

When everything is cooked get the shrimp and most of the onions onto one side. Make sure that nothing is at the center line where you will fold to obtain a half circle. Add the rice bowl of batter and make sure everything is within the batter and you have a nice round circle. Cover the pan for about a minute. Then uncover and lay down the shredded jicama and bean sprouts on one side and cover. This will take a couple of minutes but when the sides start to peel off the pan, fold the crepe in half. I cover the pan again and let cook for a little longer. Then flip onto a plate and you have Banh Xeo!

You eat this with green leaf lettuce and mints. You can wrap the Banh Xeo in the lettuce and dip in the fish sauce but I prefer to rip the lettuce and mints on top so that it is not so messy.

     

Just Like Mama ...

I never realized how much work it takes to cook until Monday... Thanks Mama! So  I decided to try and make Banh Cuon which is a northern Vietnamese rice noodle dish. Now I fully understand the amount of work she would put in just to make this dish for a family of 7 (not including herself). I know I need to take more pictures of the process, but with this dish its kind of hard to stop in the middle of cooking and snap a photo.

So let's start. First you need to buy a package of Banh Cuon flour. I bought the pre-made bag because I didn't want to buy potato starch, tapioca starch, and rice flour. The back of the bag actually has instructions on how to make it. You add 4 1/2 cups of water and a tablespoon of oil. Then you pour a small amount in a pan with some oil in it. Cover it and let the noodles cook. This is where I had multiple problems because I put to much of the mixture in the pot and my noodles were not nice and thin. Another problem was getting the noodles out of the pan. You need to flip the pan on to a cutting board and then wrap up the meat filling. In the beginning every time I flipped the pan the noodles would fold on to itself and these are very sticky noodles. So once they are stuck together it is over. Here is the package I used for the rice noodles.

This is the filling. It is about 2 lbs of ground turkey, 1 onion, and a handful of cloud ears. I fried this up with some garlic powder for flavoring.

This is an on going process. As you make the noodle you are wrapping up the previous noodle that you have laid out on the board. These noodles cook fast too. After you cover the pan the noodles should turn clear in a couple of seconds the edges will start to peel off. In the end (after many failed attempts) you should get these:

Lastly you slice up some Vietnamese meat loaf, cucumbers, and mints. Oh DON'T FORGET THE FISH SAUCE! Let's take a bite!

Kula Sushi

It's the Revolving Sushi Bar!!! It's pretty neat. You sit down and a conveyor belt with plates of sushi pass by. When something catches your eye, just quickly grab it. Each plate is two dollars and you get about three pieces of sushi. Let's take a look. So I can't remember all the names of the sushi... but I thought I'd share them anyways.Overall I think it is pretty good sushi for $2. Plus it's kind of fun to have the sushi on the conveyor belts.

Salmon Nigiri 

(Nigirizushi is the sushi rice pressed in the palms with some wasabi and a topping)

Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna 

(The crispy rice added nice texture to the sushi) 

 Which is why I went and ordered this 

Crispy Rice with Crab Meat

Typical California Roll

Spicy Tuna Roll

Spicy Scallop Roll

Caterpillar Roll (Eel with Avocado)

YUMMY! 

Spicy Tuna Roll 

Rainbow Roll

Shrimp and Avocado Roll

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

So there isn't really any coffee in these muffins, but this is what Ina Garten calls this recipe. I like them anyways regardless of the coffee or not. Look at the juicy blueberry dripping down the side. Nice and toasty too. I like to heat them up in the toaster oven before serving.

To start off you need to cream the butter and sugar together till it is light and fluffy. Also, let the butter soften outside, but don't leave it out for too long or else it will get too soft. 

Add the eggs, milk and sour cream. That's right SOUR CREAM. 

 Finally, add the flour, soda, salt, and blueberries.

Lay out your muffin cups.

Fill each almost to the top. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees. 

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stems

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

Chilled Chicken Noodles in Sesame Sauce

Today I got a new cookbook! Yay! It is a Wei-Chuan Cookbook with many pretty pictures.This recipe is one of the noodle dishes that looked pretty good. It isn't really soupy. It's more of a dry noodle with sauce. To tell you the truth I think it needed a little more flavor, but it was still good. Here take a look at my new book.

This is the cover of the book. It's got a nice plastic cover to prevent any damage.

 This is Baked Seafood Rice. Doesn't it look just delicious? Ok back to my dish now.
 So first you are going to have to slice the carrots and cucumbers. If you want you can shred the carrots.

Next, boil a whole chicken and shred the meat. Cook the noodles and combine in a bowl.

Then, it's time for the sesame sauce. Once you combine all the ingredients you should get a nice brown sauce.

Now you're ready to eat!

Ingredients:
   -  1 lb Chicken
   -  2 eggs
   -  3 tablespoons sesame paste

   -  1 teaspoon ground garlic

   -  1 tablespoon each of sugar an vinegar 

   -  2 tablespoons each of soy sauce and sesame oil

   -  7 tablespoons of reserved chicken stock

   -  1 tablespoon of chili oil

   -  1/3 noodles
   -  1/2 cup each of shredded cucumbers, lettuce, and carrots
   -  cilantro

Place chicken in a pot of water. Bring water to a boil and then lower heat to medium and cook for about 25 minutes. Remove and let cool. Shred the meat and reserve 7 tablespoons of the chicken stock for the sauce. I used the rest of the soup to make any noodle dish you want.

Beat eggs and fry thinly. Swirl the beaten egg in the pan to get a thin pancake. Shred the eggs as well.

Place the items in brown in a bowl in the order listed and stir mixture till smooth. Taste and adjust as needed. This is the sauce that will flavor you're noodles.

Boil water to cook noodles. When done immerse in cold water an separate portions out. Add chicken, eggs, cucumbers, and carrots to each portion. Finally, pour on the sauce and enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls with Coffee Maple Glaze

This time my sister and I decided to be ambitious and work with yeast... It was actually quite fun except for the fact that we started at midnight and stayed up till 3 in the morning waiting for the dough to rise. We found this recipe off of Pioneer Woman (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/). For one batch we decided to add two granny smith apples.


I'm not exactly sure why, but the center decided to pop out of the roll. Look at all the cinnamon!

This is the flour, sugar, milk, oil, and yeast mixture that you have to let rise.


Roll this out in to a large rectangle.


Sprinkle on the butter, sugar, and lots of cinnamon! This is our version with sauteed granny smith apples.


Good o'le fashion plain jane cinnamon rolls. I prefer the apples. Makes me feel like this is a tiny bit healthier?

Now you roll this up. Start by rolling it towards you then pinch the end to the dough to seal it. AND finally get ready to BAKE BAKE BAKE!! Just hold on for fifteen more minutes...

Apples??? Or....

No apples???

Ingredients:
1 quart whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 packages active dry yeast
9 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
about 4 sticks of butter
2 cups sugar
16 oz of cinnamon
2 granny smith apples

Maple Frosting:
2 lbs powdered sugar (we used 1 lb so our frosting was watery.. but still delicious!)
2 teaspoons maple flavoring
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup brewed coffee
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix the milk, oil, and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture which is heating it just before the boiling point. Turn off heat and allow to cool for 45 minutes to an hour. When the mixture is warm add both packets of active dry yeast. Let sit for a minute then add 8 cups of the flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for an hour.

After rising, add the last cup of flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir mixture together. Here, you can cover and put in fridge for a day or two. IF it starts to rise and overflow just punch it down.

To prepare rolls sprinkle a large area of surface with flour. Use half the dough to form a thin rectangle. Drizzle 1 stick of melted butter over the dough. Sprinkle about 1 cup of sugar and about 8 oz of cinnamon. At this point you can add the diced granny smith apples as well. To prepare the apples lightly saute them in butter and sprinkle sugar till tender.

At the opposite end, begin to roll the dough towards you. Pinch the seam to the roll.

Butter the round cake pans and cut the roll into 3/4 to an inch thick. Place them in the pans leaving some space for the dough to rise for 20 minutes. Then bake in oven at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

For the frosting, mix all ingredients and stir until smooth. Since ours was so watery we added cream cheese to the mixture. Adjust as needed and drizzle it over the rolls.

Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

I've neglected this for too long now. But guess what Summer is here!! Well at least it is starting to feel like it. So I started to cook again. Fun stuff. This time it comes from Giada de Laurentiis Everyday Pasta.

Sorry I didn't get to take pictures of the process, but let me tell you its soo cheesy! I changed her recipe a bit depending on what I found in stores etc.

Ingredients:

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1 inch strips

2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 summer squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces

4 cremini mushrooms, quartered

1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1 inch strips

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound of penne pasta

3 cups marinara sauce

1 1/2 cups grated smoked mozzarella

1/4 cup parmesan, plus extra for topping

1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 450˚F.

On a baking sheet, toss the bell peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onion with the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add salt. Add the pasta and allow to cook for about 6 minutes. Do not completely cook the noodles since they will cook in the oven. Drain in colander.

In a large bowl, combine the pasta, roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, mozarella, 1/4 cup of parmesan, the peas, carrots, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Gently mix with a wooden spoon until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.

Pour the pasta in a greased 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish. Top with the remaining parmesan and the butter pieces. Bake until the top is golden an the cheese melts, about 25 minutes.