Quick and Easy Clam Noodle Soup

I have been very lazy lately. Sometimes, I think blogging takes more dedication than I possess with all the cooking, then revising the recipe over and over again. I'm just not really in the mood to try complicated things right now. When I'm in a slump like this, my fallback comfort food is normally a hot bowl of noodle soup.

In Asia, instant noodles are in a league of their own. Ramen shops are hugely popular. At grocery stores, you will find dozens, maybe even hundreds of options - different brands, different flavors, from different countries. On top of that people started adding whatever they could think of to the instant noodles, and publishing these "gourmet" recipes. There are a couple of flavors that I do enjoy once in awhile, but in general, I'm a little leery about all the additives and preservatives they have. Making normal noodles doesn't take much longer, even a bowl of "luxurious" noodle soup.

Whether you are a devoted clam lover, or a soup slurper, this one is for you. It's so quick and easy that there isn't any excuse to wait.

Quick and Easy Clam Noodle Soup

2 qt chicken broth
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
8 oz noodles
2 baby bok choy, or the greens of your choice
1 lb manila clams

Boil the chicken broth in a large pot.

In the meanwhile, clean the clams.

Add sugar, and cooking wine to the broth, and stir. Turn the heat down to medium. Add noodles, bok choy and clams to the pot. Cover the pot, and boil for 5 minutes.

Tada! Serve while hot.

If the noodles take longer than 5 minutes to cook, just boil them for the extra time necessary before adding the greens and clams.

Happy Anniversary

Even though I started this little blog of mine back in July 2009, I went hiatus for a few months after November. So in my heart, I consider today the 1st anniversary of this place.

Happy Anniversary!

And thanks for reading. =)

Salute

I don't know what to say. Even though those horrifying imagines are all I see on the news for a week now, I'm still in disbelief. It's difficult to grasp how in so few moments, everything you've ever owned could be washed away, everything you've ever known could be destroyed, and people you love could be gone forever. I salute those heroic volunteers who are risking their lives trying to repair the nuclear plants, those rescue workers, even all the citizens who are trying to remain calm and orderly. My heart goes out to all of you. It's times like this, I feel so small and powerless, no matter what we do, we can't go back in time, we can't save the lives lost.

It feels wrong to celebrate St. Patrick's day at a time like this. So celebrate, we don't, even though we still had a corned beef and cabbage dinner. When testing for the doneness of the meat with a fork, it should have a little resistance without clinging to the fork. This way the meat was tender, but still retained its shape when slicing. If you are wondering which cut to get, do a little research. You will find that while there are people who stand firmly by the flat cut, more people prefer the point cut. All for the same reason - the fat. The fat makes the point cut more flavorful, as long as you get a piece that's firm, not squishy. Hey, it's only once a year. Plus, there is all that veggie to balance off the meal. =)

Corned Beef and Cabbage
based on this recipe
3 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet
10 small red potatoes (about 36 oz), halved
1 onion (about 9 oz), cut into 8 wedges
5 carrots (about 20 oz), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 head cabbage (about 26 oz), cut into 8 wedges

Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Add the spice packet that came with the corned beef. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 2 and half hours (approximately 50 minutes per pound) or until tender.

Add potatoes, carrots and onions, and bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add cabbage and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.

Slice meat across the grain. (It's easiest if the meat has completely cooled.)

Hop, Hop, Hop

I still remember vividly the first time I had rabbit meat. I was fourteen. My parents were in the US, so my grandma came to stay with me in Beijing. With just the two of us, she made all my favorite food. The aroma in the kitchen was so irresistible that I often sat on a stool in the kitchen while she cooked, and nibbled on whatever that was done. One day, she braised some mysterious meat. It smelled so delicious that I couldn't wait for dinner. So grandma gave me a bowl. It was just as scrumptious as it smelled, so tasty that I couldn't stop myself. I asked for more and more, until grandma looked at me in surprise and said that there wasn't any left. I had finished more than a pound of meat ALL by myself!!! (Yes, I was going through a growth spurt. =) This mysterious meat was rabbit. I also remember grandma telling me that rabbit meat doesn't have much taste - it will take on whatever it's cooked with. While I hear a lot of people comparing rabbit meat to chicken, what I remembered was very similar to pork.

Awhile ago, I saw some wrapped up frozen rabbits at an Asian grocery store. (No, they didn't look like Thumper. There was no skin, and just like chicken, the head, feet and insides were all gone.) I bought one on impulse without a single clue what I would do with it. So there it stayed in the freezer for a few months. Quite a few! Then last week, all of a sudden I got the urge to tackle this frozen log. I read up on Judy Rodgers' Zuni Cafe Cookbook. While Ms. Rodgers explained nicely how to cut up a rabbit, the recipes all call for one type of cuts or another. I wasn't exactly up to making multiple dishes yet, so I went to the most knowledgeable source - the Internet. This recipe seems to the best rated. While I had my doubts, since Ms. Roger said that different cuts require different cook time, I marched on trusting all those reviewers.

I didn't have any shallot or current jelly, so I substituted with onions and grape jelly. I also added a can of sliced mushrooms to the gravy. The end result, you wonder? Well, I loved the gravy! The meat itself was good, but not as amazing as the reviewers acclaimed, and definitely not as succulent as my grandma's. (And obviously not a beauty either.) Due to the long braising time, all the pieces were tender regardless of the cut, but not quite fall-off-the-bone-tender. The flavor also didn't fully penetrate into the large pieces, such as the hind legs. Even though it was very slight, there WAS a gaminess to the dish. I'm not convinced that I want to make this dish again, but it certainly gave me confidence in dealing with rabbits that next time I will try to reproduce my grandma's version.

Hasenpfeffer (Rabbit Stew)
from AllRecipes

3 pounds rabbit meat, cleaned and cut into pieces
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
½ pound bacon, diced
½ cup finely chopped shallots
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup water
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon currant jelly
10 black peppercorns, crushed
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
⅛ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Sprinkle rabbit with salt and coat with ⅓ cup flour, shaking off excess. Brown rabbit in remaining bacon fat. Remove from skillet, along with all but 2 tablespoons of the fat, and reserve.

Saute shallots and garlic in skillet for about 4 minutes, until tender. Stir in wine, 1 cup water and bouillon. Heat to boiling, then stir in jelly, peppercorns, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme. Return rabbit and bacon to skillet. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 1 ½ hours or until rabbit is tender.

Remove bay leaf and discard. Place rabbit on a warm platter and keep warm while preparing gravy.

To Make Gravy: Stir lemon juice into skillet with cooking liquid. Combine 3 tablespoons water with 2 tablespoons flour and mix together; stir mixture into skillet over low heat. Finally, stir in thyme. Pour gravy over stew and serve, or pour into a gravy boat and serve on the side.

Quick Bread Mix

I know it's silly, but when I bake, I tend to bake multiple things. So when I made the cookies for J, I also made Williams Sonoma's Spiced Pecan Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread which I got at a really great deal. (I'm not one to buy quick bread mixes, but you know me - I can't resist a great deal. =) It was quite dense. And flavor wise, I thought this highly raved bread was just mediocre. Maybe it was me. Maybe Williams Sonoma mixes aren't for me. I had the same disappointing experience with the popular Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcakes. Granted, I didn't make the icing for either of them, but I was already under the impression that cakes and breads need to be delicious without relying on icing. Am I mistaken?

Baking Powder Experiment

J has a science project for his class. He chose to test out what baking powder does in a cookie recipe. (Yes, yes, yes, I had quite a bit of influence over his decision. ;)

After looking for a simple sugar cookie recipe with baking powder for awhile, I was surprised to find out that a lot of cookie recipes don't use any leavening agent. Who would have known that? I ended up choosing the Sugar Drop Cookie with Oil from Joy of Cooking. For J's experiment, we made 4 batches, one without any baking powder, one with half the amount, one with the specified amount, and one with double the amount.

What's even more astonishing is that there wasn't any significant difference in the end results in either the size or the taste, other than that the batch with half the baking powder was a little softer. So puzzling. Can someone explain this to me? Maybe cookies are not the best thing to test out baking powder. Maybe I should have made some muffins or cakes?

Sugar Drop Cookies with Oil
adapted from Joy of Cooking

2 ½ all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar (plus more for rolling the cookies in)
¾ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Combine the sugar and oil. Add 1 egg at a time, mix well each time. Add vanilla extract, mix well.

Add the flour mixture. Shape the dough into ½-inch balls. Roll in balls in additional sugar.

Drop the balls on a cookie sheet. Flatten a little bit.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.

Buried in Pork

A week ago, hubby's friends came to visit for a little "ski trip" at Snoqualmie which is only 45 minutes away. After a few hours of skiing and a brief tubing session, we got back to the comfort of our home, simply relaxed and chatted. When they found out I had a blog, they asked if I cooked mostly Chinese food. While I denied it, I felt a little guilty that I've been posting mostly Chinese recipes. Maybe I HAVE been cooking more Chinese lately without even realizing it. =)

I seem to have a tendency of going to the extremes. To break the streak of Chinese cooking, I made a quintessential American dish - Pulled BBQ Pork, not on a grill, but in a slow cooker. It IS still winter after all. (We are even having a snow day today. *sigh*)

This is so easy that the most time consuming/labor intensive part of the recipe is shredding the roast. =) The 8-pound pork shoulder blade roast (Boston butt) yielded so much that it could feed an army. We'd probably still be eating this next month. (Yes, I did freeze most of it.) Next time, I'd try a smaller roast. Does anyone want some pulled pork?

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork

8 lb bone-in pork shoulder blade roast (about 7 lb 10 oz de-boned)
2 12-oz cans of light beer
4 small Spanish onions (about 14 oz), thinly sliced
BBQ sauce (about 2 ½ cups)

Lay half of the onion slices in a 7 qt slow cooker.

Remove the blade bone. Put the roast on top of the onions. Top with the rest of the onions. Pour the beer over the roast.

Cook on low for 10 hours, flip over half way through.

Take out the onions and the meat. Discard the cooking liquid. Shred the pork. Mix the onions and the pork with BBQ sauce. Put them back in the slow cooker, cook on low for 5 hours.

Mix with more BBQ sauce if desired. Serve in sandwich buns.

We are not an onion-loving household. The 14 oz of onions practically disappeared in the mounds of pork. Feel free to add more onions. I'd even consider topping the pork with caramelized onions.

For the BBQ sauce, you can use any brand you like. I made one based on Tomato Barbecue Sauce from The Gourmet Cookbook. It yields about 2 ½ cups. If you’d like more sauce on your pulled pork, try doubling it.

Barbecue Sauce
adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

1 cup tomato puree
¾ cup cider vinegar
⅓ cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp apple juice
3 tbsp unsweetened pineapple juice
3 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 ½ tsp salt
¾ tsp cayenne
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Stir together all ingredients in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 5 minutes.

Oh, Eggplants!

Perseverance pays off!

I absolutely LOVE eggplants. It's one of my favorite vegetables. After years of tweaking the way I cook eggplants, I have finally figured out the recipe that hubby would happily eat without the "It's good, but I don't like eggplant." comment. (What a backhanded compliment! Isn't that just a nicer way of saying "not good enough to win me over"?) Even J loves it. I still need to work on D, but I'm confident that he too will come around in due time. =) Now I can buy a big bag of eggplants without any guilt thinking that I was being selfish making something that only I enjoy.

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce

3 long Chinese or Japanese eggplants (about 1.5 lb)
5 oz ground pork
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp chili bean sauce
vegetable or canola oil

⅓ cup chicken broth
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp corn starch
2 tsp soy sauce
4 tsp oyster sauce

Marinate:
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp corn starch
2 tsp soy sauce
1 ½ tsp water
white pepper

Marinate the pork in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Mix chicken broth, sugar, corn starch, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Set aside.

Cut the eggplants into 2 - 3 inch long sections. Quarter each section lengthwise. Microwave them in batches till tender. (About 5 minutes on high if they are not crowded.) Drain.

In a pan, heat 3 tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot, add only enough eggplant pieces that would fit in a single layer, cut side down. Pan fry for about 30 seconds till the sides are golden. Flip the pieces to fry the other cut sides. After 30 seconds, when the sides are golden, remove and drain. Repeat with more eggplant. Add more oil when necessary.

Leave about 1 tbsp of oil in the pan. Add garlic, when the aroma comes out, add the chili bean sauce, stir. Add pork, stir till no longer pink. Add the eggplant and the sauce. Mix and stir till thickens.

Serve with rice.

Traditionally, the eggplants are deep fried. Just like carrots, eggplants can absorb a lot of oil. Microwaving then pan-frying greatly reduced the amount of oil it takes, making it a much healthier alternative.

If you are a die hard eggplant lover like me, raise the eggplant to meat ratio, and adjust the sauce quantity accordingly. If you are a carnivore like hubby, resist the urge to add more meat. Trust me, 5 ounces are more than enough.

1 tbsp of chili bean sauce is still relatively mild. If you enjoy really spicy food, feel free to add more. I often reduce it to 1 tsp, so that my kids can partake in it.

Happy Lantern Festival

Happy Lantern Festival! I hope you all had some yummy sticky rice balls, just like us. =)

Braised Beef Noodle Soup

In Northern China, noodles are sometimes more a staple than rice. Just like Western chefs are often tested by how well they can make eggs, I always order noodles when trying out a new Chinese restaurant. What seems simple can be a true test of the chef's ability to make something ordinary extraordinary.

Having a grandma who's an expert at making all things flour, I often judge by the high standard I was accustomed to. After making my own braised beef noodle soup, I now have a new found respect for noodle making. It is so time consuming that it's probably a good idea to find a favorite noodle house, just for the sheer convenience. Don't get me wrong, the result is exceedingly satisfying and totally worth it. And when you can plan ahead, definitely give it a try. Well, since I still haven't found such a gratifying place, I will just have to continue making my own when I get the craving.

Braised Beef Noodle Soup

Braised beef (recipe below)
Beef bone broth (recipe below)
Noodles
Vegetables such as baby bok choy, or spinach

In a bowl, fill ⅓ way up with beef bone broth. Add ⅓ bowl of noodle and a couple of spoonfuls of its boiling water. Top with a few pieces of braised beef, vegetables, and a couple of spoonfuls of the braising liquid.

Beef Bone Broth

3 lbs beef bones
1 tbsp cooking wine
1 green onion
4 ginger slices

In a pot with cold water, add all ingredients, bring to boil. Continue to boil for 5 minutes till all the blood drains out of the bones. Rinse the bones clean.

In a deep pot, add the bones, green onion and ginger. Fill with 12 cups of water. Bring to boil. Then turn the heat down to low. Simmer uncovered for about 3 hours till the liquid reduces to half.

Braised Beef

2 ½ lbs brisket (and or tendon)
2 tbsp oil
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 green onion, 2 inch long sections
5 ginger slices
1 tbsp spicy bean paste
8 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp cooking wine
1 tsp white pepper
1 oz rock sugar
2 dried red chili peppers
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
5 Szechuan peppercorns

Put chili peppers, peppercorns, star anise, bay leaf, and cinnamon stick in a sachet.

Cube the beef. (You can dice them small for easy serving to children, or cut into large chunks like restaurants do.) Blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the size.

Heat oil, add beef. Stir for a minute till the outside are slightly seared. Remove the beef and set aside.

Add garlic, green onion, and ginger to the remaining oil. Stir till the garlic and green onion become yellow. Add bean paste, stir till the aroma comes out. Add the beef back in. Add cooking wine, soy sauce, white pepper, and enough water to almost cover the meat. Bring to boil. Transfer to a clay pot, add the sachet. Simmer for 2 hours till the meat is tender.

Add rock sugar, simmer for another 30 minutes to an hour.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE tendon. So I used a mix of brisket and tendon. Raw tendon is extremely difficult to cut, either have your butcher cut it or leave it whole and cut it when cooked.

I couldn't make this too spicy for little kids. You can adjust the amount of increase the chili bean paste to 2 tbsp, and add more chili peppers and peppercorns if desired.

Here Comes the Holidays!

My parents have a big lemon tree in their backyard that produces the biggest, most beautiful lemons all year long. And best of all, they are 120% organic! While their clementines are what I miss the most about California, these are hubby's favorite. In the past, we only used the juice. Even though I felt extremely wasteful and guilty to throw away those plump lemon peels, I had no other use for them.

That is until I started making the Christmas presents last year. (Yes, I realize it's a little late to be writing about what to make for Christmas gifts, but I really didn't want my friends to find out what they were getting. Doesn't everyone love surprises?! =) In 2009, when I started reading food blogs, I fell in love with the idea of home-made Christmas gifts. So I cooked and baked, and cooked and baked some more, and gave everyone a box containing jam, cupcakes, crackers, candies, cookies, etc. totalling 9 varieties! While it was enormous amount of fun, it was also exhausting, and on top of that, I had way too much sweets left in the house. (Hubby and the kids didn't complain a bit! =) So last year, I decided to make something a little simpler but just as festive - panettones. And home made candied lemon peel is the perfect way to use the peels of the last couple of lemons from my parents.

For the panettone itself, I tried a number of recipes. Some got too hard to knead that the butter and dried fruit couldn't get mixed in evenly. Some were too crumbly. My final version is built on Joy of Cooking's "No-Knead Yeast Coffee Cake or Panettone" recipe. It's not perfect, but it is very good, if I do say so myself. To make it more buttery might require more butter than I'd like to consume. =)

Panettone

1 cup of water 105 - 110 F
2 packages (1 ½ tbsp) active dry yeast
2 cup (240 g) all purpose flour
2 ½ (300 g) bread flour
½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon rind
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp candied lemon peel, cut into tiny pieces (recipe below)
1 ¼ cup mixed dry fruit (golden raisins, raisins, craisins, apricots, mangoes, etc.)

Cut up candied lemon peel, and large pieces of dried fruit such as apricots and mangoes. Set aside.

Sift together 1 cup (120 g) of all purpose flour with the bread flour. Set aside.

Mix the yeast with a generous pinch of sugar in a large bowl. Pour in the water, and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup (120 g) all purpose flour. Cover this sponge with a towel. Let it rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes.

In the meanwhile, beat the butter until soft in a mixer. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar, and beat till creamy. Beat in one egg at a time. Mix in salt, lemon rind, and vanilla extract.

Beat in the sponge when ready. Add the flour in 3 batches. Starting at the lowest speed, gradually increase the speed. When mixed in well, add the next batch. Switch to the dough hook after adding the last batch of flour. Let the mixer run for at least 10 minutes after the dough is mixed well.

Mix in the dried fruit pieces. Cover with a towel, and let it rise for 2 hours.

Cut a large piece of parchment paper to build a 7" tall wall inside a 7" springform cake pan. Grease the bottom of the pan. Punch down the dough, and transfer it to the cake pan. Tuck in the all the fruit. (Exposed fruit pieces might get burned.) Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush the top with melted butter. Bake for 55 minutes or till a skewer through the center comes out clean.

Candied Lemon Peel

2 large lemons, washed
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar

Peel the lemons with a potato peeler to get strips of lemon peel. If there is too much pith on some of the peel, remove with a paring knife.

Blanch the peel in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse.

In a small saucepan, add water and sugar. Slowly bring it to simmer, whisk frequently, so that the sugar dissolves completely, and the syrup is clear. Add the peel to the syrup, and simmer for at least an hour till the peel is translucent and tender.

Remove from the syrup and dry for a day on a wire rack set over parchment.

Add some sugar in a small bag. Add a few pieces of peel at a time. Shake to coat the peel evenly with sugar. Repeat with the rest of the peel. Add more sugar when needed.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year! It's the year of rabbit. =)
新年好!
兔年行大運!
身體健康!
萬事如意!

Cafe Campagne

I have told you about honey's weakness for duck, but I forgot to mention mine. Not only would I order foie gras at EVERY place (yes, I know that traditional foie gras is goose liver, though most, if not all, foie gras served in the US are duck livers =P) , my knees would go weak at the mention of duck too. So when I found out that Cafe Campagne, my favorite happy hour place, was offering the Twenty Buck Duck deal last month, I knew we had to go.

Hubby shared Soup du Jour ($6), a spiced carrot soup, with J. It was creamy and well seasoned. Hubby thoroughly enjoyed it, he didn’t even detect the ginger flavor that he dispises. However, cumin and ginger, such spices are more suited for matured taste buds, instead of a 6-year-old.

My Twenty Buck Duck started with Oeuf de Canard Poché. A poached duck egg sat on two thick potato slices deep fried in duck fat, with duck jus. I'm not big on runny yolk mixed into the dish, but I have to admit that it makes things better. Individual component wise, it was really bland despite the fact that the egg was flawlessly poached, the potatoes were perfectly fried. J, however, preferred this and ditched his soup.

My entreé, the Confit d'Cuisse de Canard, was a flavorful Muscovy duck hen leg confit with the skin beautifully pan fried to crispiness. Now, as much as I love duck, I often hesitate on ordering since I've had more than my share of dried out tough legs, and gamy breasts. I vaguely remember (I must be getting old and forgetful now =) visiting the Campagne restaurant upstairs during the Duck offer last year, and feeling disappointed. That's when Campagne dropped off of my favorite restaurants list. However, this time, Campagne has certainly rectified itself, even though the leg was completely intact, it was so tender that the meat fell apart at the lightest touch. The surrounding puy lentil ragout, studded with finely diced carrots, onions, and bacon, was wonderfully savory. Even the escarole pieces, soaked with the juice, was delightful. As picky as I am, I have nothing to complain about this dish! =)

Hubby's Steak Frites ($23) was roasted to a nice medium pink. It was served with garlic sautéed escarole (a little too garlicky for our liking), and crispy pommes fries. The star of the dish though, at least to me, was the Roquefort butter accompaniment. The smooth butter not only mellowed out the salty and tangy Roquefort cheese, it also made it lighter with a hint of sweetness. It was so good that even though I was already satiated with all that duck and lentils, I still couldn't help myself but smearing a thick layer of this on a large piece of bread. Yummmm!

Now, if only they have more dairy-free offerings, this would be the perfect place for us. (Yes, I know I'm greedy, but a girl can dream, can't she? ;)

Cafe Campagne
1600 Post Alley (between Pine St & Stewart St), Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 728-2233

Black Sesame Sticky Rice Balls

Oh, all that glorious sunshine, isn't it wonderful? It's no longer dark and grey at noon. Isn't it alluring? Isn't it misleading? It looks like spring is already here. But, oh wait, it's still really cold out.

I may be biased, but on a cold winter night, a bowl of Chinese black sesame sticky rice balls are the best kind of dessert. Like many Chinese/Asian desserts, it's sweet, but not tooth-achingly so. The dough is soft and chewy. When you bite in, it bursts with hot (be very careful =) sesame filling that warms you up inside and out. I often drink the broth too, even though hubby and the kids rarely do.

Chinese New Year is coming up fast. (It's February 3rd this year, in case you didn't know.) Most of Chinese holidays revolve around food, like Zongzi for the Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Jie), mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie), etc. And the sticky rice balls are for the Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao Jie). There are tiny solid ones, and bigger ones filled with a variety of fillings such as red bean paste, peanut powder mix, etc. Our favorite is black sesame.

Black Sesame Sticky Rice Balls
Makes 20

1 cup gluten rice flour (about 125g)
½ cup hot water
120g Black Sesame Filling (recipe below)

Add the flour in a medium size bowl. Add ¼ cup of water to the flour, mix with chopsticks or a spatula. When not hot to touch, knead with one hand for a minute. Add a little bit of water at a time, continue to mix and knead until all the flour is incorporated into one smooth ball. (Be careful not to add too much water, or the dough will be too sticky. It won’t affect the taste, but it’s frustrating to work with.) Separate the dough into 20 equal-size small balls.

Work with one ball at a time. Put the unused balls back in the bowl, cover with a damp towel.

Put the dough in the cup of one palm, and push up the edges with the thumb of the other hand to create half a ¾ inch diameter sphere on the bottom with ½ inch tall cylindrical walls on the sides. (Alternatively, you can roll the dough out to a 2 inch round circle. But I found the sphere-and-cylinder-shaped dough much easier for adding filling.)

Add about one tiny spoonful of filling at a time, total 6 g. Pack down the filling each time. Close the dough on top, roll it gently to a smooth ball. Repeat with the rest of the balls.

In a medium pot, bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Add the sticky rice balls. Stir once to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. After all the rice balls float, boil for another 2 minutes until the dough gets a little translucent.

Serve while hot, in a bowl with the hot water.

Black Sesame Filling
50 g sesame powder
50 g sugar
25 g fat (such as unsalted butter, or lard, or shortening)

Mix all the ingredients together.

You can use this filling for the buns too. Fill each bun with about 16 g of loosely-packed filling.

More Shrimp

When I made the Roasted Broccoli and Shrimp, I defrosted a whole 2-pound bag of shrimp. Roasting all of them seemed to be a bit too much, so I only used half. The other half went into this delicious chowder. Hey, I just added two stunning entries to my shrimp repertoire!

Of course, I wasn't going to throw away half of the shrimp shells and use only the rest for the shrimp broth. This might have made my broth more flavorful, but I'm certain that half of the shells would have been adequate as well. This was based on Pete Wells' Red Shrimp Chowder with Corn recipe. Are you the type to run out and buy all the ingredients for a recipe? Well, good for you! Unless I planned way ahead, which I seldom do, I'm too lazy for that, so I often improvise. Luckily, Pete's recipe is so good that even with all my changes, it was still wonderful with the sweet and tender shrimp chunks, thick and hearty vegetables, and savory and aromatic broth. A perfect one pot meal for a cold winter night! My only complaint is that it took over 2 hours to make with all that boil and simmer, boil and simmer, boil and simmer. I often underestimate the cooking time, so this meant a very late dinner, though an extremely satisfying one that was totally worth the wait.

Red Shrimp Chowder with Corn

Serves 4 to 6

4 cups water
1 pound shrimp, shelled, chopped into pieces roughly ½ inch thick, shells reserved
2 cans of corn kernels
1 tsp dried basil
4 slices thick cut bacon (about 4 oz), cut into ½ inch pieces
2 small Spanish onions, cut into ½ inch dice
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
Salt
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks
1 bay leaf
1 14-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped, juice reserved
Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a medium pot, bring the water, shrimp shells and basil to a boil, simmer for about 20 minutes.
2. In a large pot set over medium heat, fry the bacon. When the bacon is crisp, fish it out with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Saute the onions, garlic, parsnip and carrots in the fat until softened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Strain the shrimp-flavored broth into the pot. Add the potatoes and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Using the back of a wooden spoon, crush a third to a half of the potato chunks against the side of the pot. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and juice, return to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes more.
5. Add the shrimp, stir well, taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and black pepper to taste. (The shrimp will cook from the heat of the soup.) Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with some bacon.

Broccoli, Broccoli, Shrimp, Shrimp

I know, I know. It's been quiet here for over a week now. But I haven't forgotten about you, cross my heart. Just the opposite, in fact. The other day, as I was in the kitchen slicing away, phrases describing the dish popped in my head, all by themselves! =) That's when I realized that this little blog of mine is taking over the way I think and prep. I don't mind it though, not one bit. =)

Anyways, the reason that I have been silent isn't that I stopped cooking. It's just that most of the new dishes I've been making are not exceptional. I didn't want to bore you with something ordinary. Now, on second thought, maybe I should just write about everything. This blog is my journey after all. How can one make remarkable dishes EVERY time? Of course, there will be missteps. But before I go down that route, I have something fabulous for you.

My kids love shrimp. And they absolutely adore broccoli. It's as if Melissa Clark created this recipe just for them. This is quick and easy, and very tasty. The recipe calls for whole coriander and cumin seeds. I didn't have any whole cumin seeds, so I substituted with ½ teaspoon of ground cumin, which worked out very well. The coriander seeds, on the other hand, weren't all that pleasant to bite on. I wish I used ground coriander as well. The flavor would probably be better absorbed too. The 1 ½ teaspoons of salt called for sounds like a LOT of salt. (Sorry, that's by no fault of Miss Clark. I didn't pay enough attention, and missed the crucial word "kosher".) Next time, I think I will reduce it to half. I also got lazy, and didn't zest any lemon. But that doesn't seem to affect the flavor at all. Everybody loved it! With the exception of D - the spices are probably a little much for a 3-year old. The broccoli was wonderful, but some bits got a little burned, so I would probably reduce the roasting time to 8 to 9 minutes as well.

Regardless of these modifications, this recipe is definitely a keeper. In the winter, there is the added benefit for warming up the kitchen with a running oven. =)

Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp
based on this recipe

Serves 4

2 pounds broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (or ¾ teaspoon regular salt)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon hot chili powder
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss broccoli with 2 tablespoons oil, coriander, cumin, 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon regular salt), ½ teaspoon pepper and chili powder. In a separate bowl, combine shrimp, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, remaining ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or ¼ teaspoon regular salt) and remaining ½ teaspoon pepper.

Spread broccoli in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 8-9 minutes. Add shrimp to baking sheet and toss with broccoli. Roast for 5 minutes, toss again, flipping over the shrimp. Roast for another 5 minutes until shrimp are just opaque and broccoli is tender and golden around edges. Serve with lemon wedges, or squeeze lemon juice all over shrimp and broccoli just before serving.

Got Milk?

Milk isn't a staple in the Chinese diet. When I was little, milk only came unpasteurized in glass bottles. The only way we'd consume it was to boil it in the morning for breakfast. To this day, my parents will only drink warm milk. Even I, after all these years, haven't gotten quite used to cold milk. So to me, the unquestioned pairing of a glass of cold milk with cookies is only an American concept instilled through all those "Got Milk?" commercials.

With all that blabbering about milk, you'd think that's the subject of this post. Nah, I just wanted you to understand what an unbeliever I was. Then you will be able to grasp the strong impact I felt when I tell you that THIS super chocolaty cookie converted me! Something as rich as this, I wouldn't even start without a glass of that white liquid standing by. I've always been a hard core chocolate lover, but this cookie is so chocolaty that even I can't consume more than one at a seating without falling into a chocolate coma. (And my cookies are only half the size of what Bret Thompson recommended.) I almost felt guilty gifting such decadence. (Not really. =)

I happen to have some Pepperidge Farm soft baked dark chocolate brownies in the house. (Yes, you caught me. I'm still hoarding store bought junk food in the pantry. =P) After a side by side comparison, I have to say that the Pepperidge Farm one is sweeter, but not as chocolaty, and more artificial tasting. So if you are a die hard chocolate fan, don't miss out, make yourself a batch, quick!

Milk's Ooey-Gooey Double Chocolate Cookies

Makes 36

1/4 pound (4 ounces) unsweetened chocolate
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound bittersweet chocolate (chunks or chips)

In a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the unsweetened chocolate and butter. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

In the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a fork, combine the eggs, vanilla and sugar. Mix just until incorporated and set aside.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.

Add the melted chocolate to the egg mixture and mix just until combined. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients and mix just until combined, then stir in the bittersweet chocolate.

Cover the batter with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to chill thoroughly. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Drop spoonfuls of the dough on a greased, parchment-lined sheet pan, leaving 2 inches between each.

Bake until the edges of the cookies are just set and the center is still soft, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Place the cookies, still on the parchment, on a rack and cool slightly.

Bruuuuuuuulée

Unless you are serving soufflé or flambé, most desserts can be prepared in advance. With that said, I can't explain why I chose to make crème brulée. It just came to me as soon as I started planning. Maybe deep down, I have a fascination with torches. =)

I'm sure there are many people who love the "food scientist" Alton Brown. I'm one of you. Alton's recipes are always so straightforward. Same with this one - it completely de-mystified crème brulée. It's so simple and delicious that you will never want to pay $9 at restaurants again. Hubby isn't a big fan of caramelized sugar, so sometimes we even have the crème without the brulée. That's good eats too. =)

I forgot to take a picture. But a crème brulée is a crème brulée. They really can't look very different. If you'd like to watch how they are made, you can watch Alton doing his magic.

Crème Brulée

1 quart heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 cup vanilla sugar, divided
6 large egg yolks
2 quarts hot water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium sauce pan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top.

Divide the remaining 1/2 cup vanilla sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Pop Pop Pop Ooooover

Every year we go to the Ls' for Thanksgiving. This probably sounds silly but what I look for the most year after year are the popovers. Each time, I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. And if there were enough to go around, I might even have seconds - talk about blatant gluttony. =)

This December, I finally busted out my popover pan that's been sleeping at the bottom of the bakeware drawer. After looking through a few versions, including Neiman Marcus' and Peggy Knickerbocker's, I ended up going with the one from allrecipes.com. Not only because it's validated by thousands of cooks out there, but also because without hordes of eggs and mounds of butter it's the healthiest of them all, if there is ever such a thing as "healthy popovers". Another bonus of this recipe is that it's very forgiving. Whether you forgot to beat the eggs first, or the batter was a bit lumpy, the popovers would still come out perfect! You really can't mess it up.

Popovers
adapted from this recipe

Makes 6

2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp butter, cut into 6 pieces

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease the popover pan cups, add a piece of butter in each cup.

In a medium bowl beat eggs slightly, Beat in flour, milk and salt until just smooth; being careful not to overbeat. Fill custard cups 1/2 full.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for 17 minutes more. Immediately remove from cups and serve piping hot.

Cup of Soup

I used to make the tomato soup from What to Expect When You're Expecting which started with a roux, then mixed with evaporated milk, etc. Every time, hubby would exclaim that it was the best tomato soup he's had, and he normally doesn't like tomato soups. When D got diagnosed with diary allergy, I stopped making this soup, and sort of forgot about it.

When I was planning on the dinner menu, the idea of a cold soup struck. I thought it would be an elegant course served in coffee cups, and all the prep work could be done ahead of time. Bingo! This recipe comes from Appetizers, Finger Food, Buffets and Parties. I omitted the crouton and chive garnish, instead swirled a little bit of heavy cream on top. (I'm no barista. My swirls didn't start out perfectly, and got shaken out even more between the 5 feet from the kitchen to the dining table. Maybe this is just not something I should attempt. *sigh*) This makes a bit more than 4 servings, coffee cups OR soup bowls.

While this soup wasn't bad, I have to agree with hubby that it was no rival to the one from What to Expect. Now I just have to figure out a non-diary tomato soup that can measure up. A challenge, I love that!

Chilled Tomato and Sweet Bell Pepper Soup

Serves 4

2 red bell peppers, halved, cored and seeded
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 ½ pounds ripe well-flavored tomatoes
⅔ cup red wine
2 ½ cups chicken stock
salt and ground black pepper

Cut each red bell pepper half into quarters. Place skin side up on a broiler pan and cook until the skins are charred. Transfer to a bowl and cover with a plate or pop into a plastic bag and seal.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently until soft. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the peppers and roughly chop the flesh. Cut the tomatoes into chunks.

Add the peppers and tomatoes to the pan, then cover and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook for another 5 minutes, then add the stock and salt and pepper and continue to simmer for 20 minutes.

Process the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour into a clean glass or ceramic bowl and let cool thoroughly before chilling in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. When the soup is cold, season to taste.

Pear and Blue Cheese Salad with Candied Pecans

I would be the first one to admit that there is nothing creative about my menu. Why risk anything to change a classic combination such as crisp pear, tangy blue cheese, and sweet and crunchy candied pecans? Besides, when it comes to cooking at home, I value taste much more than creativity. (Yes, I'm just looking for excuses for my lack of originality. =)

Pear and Blue Cheese Salad with Candied Pecans

Makes 6 servings

1 Romaine lettuce heart
2 red or green leaf lettuce leaves
a handful arugula leaves
2 pear, peeled, cored and sliced
4 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup pecans

Vinaigrette:
based on this recipe
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

In a skillet over medium heat, add 1/4 cup of sugar. Stirring frequently until sugar has melted. Lower the heat to medium low, add the pecans. Mix and stir for another minute. Careful not to burn the pecans. Transfer nuts onto waxed paper. Allow to cool, and break into pieces.

Blend oil, vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, mustard, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Cut the lettuce leaves into similar sized sections, about 3-inch long.

On chilled plates, lay out lettuce and arugula, fan out pear slices, top with cheese, and pecans. Drizzle with the vinaigrette.

Personally, I think Korean, Yali and other crisp Asian pears work better in salads than Bosc, Bartlett, or D'anjou pears.

Parmesan Icebox Crackers

Next to the Brie en Croûte is another Williams Sonoma recipe that I've done a few times - the Parmesan Icebox Crackers sans the pepper and rosemary. They were the token savories in my 2009 Christmas gifts.

Rosemary-Parmesan Icebox Crackers

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. coarsely ground pepper (optional)
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt, pepper and rosemary and pulse twice to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 pulses. Add the cheese and pulse twice to combine. With the motor running, pour in the cream and continue processing until the dough forms a single mass.

Transfer the dough to a work surface and roll into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.

Preheat an oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the dough into 1/8-inch-thick slices and place on the prepared baking sheet. If desired, using miniature decorative cutters, cut out the center of each slice, then place the cutouts on the baking sheet. Bake until the crackers are light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack. When the crackers are cool to the touch, transfer them to the rack. Makes about 24 crackers.

Cutting the hard dough seems too tough, so I normally wait for the dough to come to room temperature. However, the log will not retain its shape during slicing. Luckily, the dough is very pliable that you can just reshape the crackers before baking.

Baked Brie en Croûte with Apple Compote

I have made Williams Sonoma's Baked Brie en Croûte with Apple Compote a number of times now. Unless you are making the puff pastry from scratch, this is a quick and easy recipe with great results. It's best served warm when the pastry is flaky, the cheese is oozing, and the apple pieces are as comforting as a freshly baked apple pie.

Baked Brie en Croûte with Apple Compote

This appetizer can be made up to 2 weeks in advance. Assemble the pastry, cheese and apple compote, but don't brush the dough with the egg wash. Instead, wrap the pastry tightly with plastic wrap and freeze until ready to bake. Then brush the frozen pastry with the egg wash and bake in a 350°F oven for 45 to 50 minutes.

1 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
1 round Brie cheese, 6 to 8 oz. and about 4 1/2 inches wide, slightly chilled
10-inch round of puff pastry dough, rolled out to 1/4-inch thickness
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbs. water
Plain water crackers for serving

In a 2-quart sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the apples and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender and have released most of their liquid, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the sugar and cardamom, stir to dissolve and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, 12 to 15 minutes more. Remove from the heat and let the apple compote cool to room temperature.

Preheat an oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

With a sharp knife, cut the cheese in half horizontally. On a clean work surface, place one half of the cheese, sliced side up, and evenly spread 1/2 cup of the apple compote over it. Set the other half, sliced side down, over the compote and spread 1/2 cup compote over the top.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and set the cheese in the center of the dough. Fold the dough up over the sides of the cheese, pleating the upper edges to fit snugly around the cheese. Pinch the dough together in the center to seal. Brush the dough evenly with the egg wash and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake until the pastry is golden all over and crisp, 40 to 45 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then transfer to a platter along with a sharp knife and the crackers. Serve any remaining compote alongside.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I wish you all a yummy year! =D