More Mochi Please!

A while back, I had bought this packet of glutinous rice flour a.k.a. sweet/sticky rice flour and it's been sitting in the pantry for quite time. At one point, I bugged my in-laws to read the directions (since they were written in Chinese!) so we could make Tang Yuan (sweet soup dumplings filled with black sesame paste!), but they kind of ignored my request. They did decide to open the packet and use some of the flour to make something - I can't quite remember what they used it for!
Anyhow, there was still flour left over and I figured I should probably do something with it before it expires next month! So what does one make with glutinous rice flour? MOCHI :) (and of course Tang Yuan, but that discussion will be saved for another day...) Before I go on, you maybe asking what is Mochi. Well, all you really have to know is that it is a type of mildly sweet Japanese rice cake. It's often round, white and filled with some type of paste - generally red bean paste. It's quite sticky and chewy when you bite into it because of the glutinous rice!
Since I had quite a bit of dessicated coconut left over from making coconut milk, I decided to attempt making coconut mochi! I also made homemade red bean paste :). After searching the internet, I learned that the to make mochi, you have to first 'cook' the glutinous rice batter before stuffing it with red bean paste! Some people used a shortcut method to cook it - the microwave! I did it using the traditional steaming method.

MOCHI Recipe

Glutinous rice flour (or you can buy something called Mochiko)
Water
Coconut Milk (for flavor)
Red bean paste (make your own or buy it!)
Dessicated coconut (for dusting mochi in)

I had about 1.5 cups of rice flour to work with. I added bout 1tbsp of coconut milk (but I would add another tbsp for a more intense coconut flavor) to the flour and then gradually added water until the flour mix was batter-like. That is it, it formed into a thick liquid batter. Then I steamed the batter until it is solid. It's very sticky so you should wear plastic food preparation gloves and work with it on saran wrap. Work with it while it is still warm. Spoon out about 1 tablespoon of the sticky cake/dough, form a ball, then flatten it to make a circle. Place your bean paste (this you'll have eyeball it a bit, maybe like a little more than 1 tsp) in the middle and pull the edges of the cake/dough over the paste so that it is wrapped inside of the cake/dough. It's just like making dumplings, only this time you just make it into a slightly flat ball. Plop it into a plate of dessicated coconut, roll it around and viola! you have a mochi. Enjoy on the same day you make it, if possible. Otherwise you can wrap them in saran wrap and save them in the fridge for another day :).

I still need to work on my mochi wrapping skills. Not too bad for a first timer I guess. I was able to make 5 total (one disappeared into my stomach!)

  

The Versatile Portebello Mushroom

Ah, the great and gigantic portabello (portabella) mushroom (scientific name: Agaricus bisporus). Did you know that the portabello mushroom is just the 'mature' form of the brown cremini mushrooms? I didn't until I read it on Wikipedia! I always thought that the portabello mushroom was a different species of fungi, that is, that it is different from the typical white button and brown cremini mushrooms we find in the supermarkets. But, I guess it isn't so different after all. I learn something new everyday!

Anywho, portabello mushrooms, as with many vegetables, can be cooked in a variety of ways. You can broil, bake, grill and saute them! The best part is, whichever way you choose to cook them, they will always come out delicious! When I was in the supermarket, there was a sale on portebello mushrooms and I just couldn't resist. So, I decided to buy a pack of two and broiled them in our fancy smart convection toaster oven (another of those nice wedding gifts!). It was a really simple and healthy dish that added to the main course.

Broiled Portabello Mushrooms

2 Portabello Mushrooms - washed with stems removed
Red Bell Pepper - washed, seeded and diced
2-3 Cloves of garlic - minced
A dash of Kosher Salt
A dash of Black Pepper
Olive Oil to coat the mushrooms

Coat mushrooms with olive oil, add salt and pepper. Mix the diced bell peppers and garlic, add some salt and pepper if you like and set aside. Place the mushrooms, stem side facing down, into the oven and broil on High for approximately 2-3 mins. Turn them over, add more salt and pepper if you want, and broil for another 2-3 mins. Add the bell pepper garlic mix to each mushroom and broil on for another 2 mins. The mushrooms should appear somewhat wrinkly and should be tender when they are ready. Serve while it's nice and hot! Enjoy!


I placed my mushrooms on a bed of spinach :).

Third Time's a Charm - Right?

The hubster's birthday was this past weekend and so, being the awesome wife that I am, I decided to make a cake. Not just any ol' cake from the box. No, it had to be made from scratch and it had to be the chiffon/sponge/Chinese bakery style kind of cake. This wasn't my first time attempting to make this kind of cake. In fact, it was the third time and  This time, however, I was determined to have it come out nice and "fluffy", like it is suppose to be. The key to making the cake "spongy" is in the egg whites. You definitely need to beat those egg whites until you can form 'stiff' peaks forming! Oh and make sure you beat them in a metal bowl instead of a glass or plastic bowl. The first time I didn't beat the egg white long enough to get the peaks and the second time I beat them in a glass bowl! This time I did everything properly and I'm happy to say that my cake came out just right :).

Made it in a Bundt pan since it's the only non-stick pan I had!


A slice of my cake :)


I decided to make it a chocolate cake since the hubster likes chocolate, hence the brown/tan color of the cake. When I squished it down, it bounced back to it's original form - like magic!

Even though I have a recipe from my grandma's friend for sponge cake, I decided to follow (though I did make a few adjustments) the King Arthur Chiffon Cake recipe. I did compare the two recipes and didn't really find any major differences. I guess the chiffon cake recipe is pretty much standard! Anywho, I'm pretty proud of myself for getting it right this time around! They do say third time's always a charm! ;)

Feeling crabby tonight... :P

What I mean is, we're having crab for dinner tonight :P. Specifically, I will be making Thai crab fried rice as per requested by the hubster. We first tried this dish at Thai Ginger (one of two Thai restaurants in Pullman, WA. I know, we had so many places to choose from!) and the hubster really enjoyed it. There's no doubt that the restaurant version is geared towards the American taste palate, thus being a wee bit sweeter than a traditional Thai version. However, this is just my assumption since I have never been to Thailand and have never tasted 'real' crab fried rice. I have searched the internet for what some claim to be 'traditional' Thai crab fried rice recipe and have tried various versions. Aside from finding similar recipes, I've also learned that Thai street vendors cook fried rice with butter or margarine!! Believe it or not, I actually tested it and surprisingly, it's not that bad. Whether butter is actually used in Thai fried rice, is still questionable. Perhaps one day, when I travel to Bangkok, I'll be able to verify it somehow.

Anyhow, the recipes that I've found mainly called for fish sauce, white pepper, garlic, green onions and of course, crab meat. They also referred to a sauce called Nam Pla Prik, which apparently is served with the fried rice. If I remember correctly, I don't recall our crab fried rice being served with this sauce every time we ordered it, so I wonder what it would've tastes like... In my version of the recipe, I will be adding soy sauce and ginger, and I'm going to fry the rice with butter because I like it! Oh and a wee bit of curry powder to give it a kick. Yes, I'm weird like that. 

My version of Thai Crab Fried Rice

2.5 cups of rice - for the best results you should use 'leftover' rice because it's not as wet
Crab meat - canned or frozen or fresh - I use 2 cans of crab meat
4-5 cloves of garlic - minced
small piece of ginger - minced
green onions - diced
2 eggs - beaten then scrambled
Fish sauce
Light Soy Sauce
white pepper
curry powder
Shaoxing wine
Oil for frying
2 Lime wedges
2-3 Tomatoes (depending on how big your tomatoes are) - sliced
Chopped cilantro for garnish

In a small bowl, add about 1 tbs of fish sauce, 1 tbs of soy sauce, 1/8 tsp of curry powder, 1 dash of white pepper and about a 1 tsp of Shaoxing wine. These are all estimates because I eyeball my ingredients. You can always add a bit more. I tend to make my food on the bland side - trying to be healthier. Heat oil in a wok or deep skillet and fry green onions, ginger, garlic until fragrant. Add rice and fry for 2 minutes or until it's hot. Add scrambled eggs and crab meat. Fry until everything is mixed and hot - I usually scoop a bit out to see if it's hot. If it is then it's ready. Spread sliced tomatoes on a plate - you really don't have to if you want to :P. It just makes the dish more aesthetically pleasing. I like to place blanched cabbage pieces in the center with tomatoes spread around the edge of the place and then place the fried rice is placed right in the center, on top of the cabbage. Garnish with cilantro. Squeeze lime juice from lime wedges onto the rice before serving.

Enjoy!!

My shell plate waiting for the crab fried rice :)

Final product!

I added chopped peanuts since the hubster chopped too many for another dish we were making

A woman and her KitchenAid stand mixer

I had always wanted a KitchenAid stand mixer, but they were just way out of my budget! So when we were putting gifts on our wedding registry, I decided to put the KitchenAid onto the list even though I didn't really expect to get it (because it's so expensive!). I was hopeful and surprisingly enough, my dream came true! Not only did I get the stand mixer, but I also received a bunch of attachments that go along with it. Equipped with my new KitchenAid stand mixer and attachements I feel like I can do anything! That is, anything related to cooking :P.

So far, my in-laws (who are now back in China - :D) and I have been playing a lot with the pasta attachements and the food grinder. We love it, actually I should say they love it since they're the ones who have been using it to do all the noodle and dumpling preparation. It makes things much easier. Now that they have left, I've decided to test my newly acquired skills in noodle making as well as play with the KitchenAid.

In my previous posts on noodle making, my attempts to make noodles from scratch weren't all too successful. Each time I made the noodles, they came out hard even after I cooked them for quite sometime. When my in-laws made the noodles, they seemed to come out perfectly. Not too hard and not too soft.

According to my mother-in-law, the key to making good noodles is in the dough. It should not be too soft but rather, somewhat hard. That being said, what do I mean when I say 'too soft, or somewhat hard'? That's a good question and it takes a wee bit of trial and error to figure it out. For me, 'too soft' means that the dough is as soft as your earlobe. When I made noodles last night, I made two batches of dough using the KitchenAid.

I really like the KitchenAid as it makes the dough for me, but I think it uses more water than I want in order for the dough to form. I used 1 cup of flour and then I added about a total of 3/4 cup of water since the dough wasn't forming. So for my first round of noodles, the dough was as soft as my earlobes after kneading. I used the pasta attachments to roll out the noodles and those worked really nicely. After cooking the noodles, they were actually OK - a wee bit hard but not too bad. Using the pasta rollers were really helpful as I could make the noodles really thin. If I did everything by hand, I think I would end up with the same results as my previous attempts.

The second dough I made was 'harder'. I used about 1.5 cups of flour and added about 3/4 cup of water, possibly a little less than that. I had to 'help' the KitchenAid a bit to form the dough since I didn't want to add more water. The noodles came out good - not as hard as the first batch. I still need some practice but at least I can make better noodles now! Next time I will try using the egg noodle dough recipe from KitchenAid and see if it tastes better! I definitely have to say, I love having the KitchenAid - not only does it make things easier, it's also fun to use!!

Below are pics of the KitchenAid, fresh noodles and the final dish :). Enjoy!

Hand-rolled Oat Flour Noodles - Not your typical noodle making method

           For the past 5.5 months, my in-laws have been living with us and we certainly have had our days. Half the time they are trying to tell us how things should be around the house, the other half of the time, we're telling them what they shouldn't be doing! Although there have been some tense days with them staying with us, I have to admit, they have definitely been helpful around the house, especially in the kitchen. One of the perks of living with the in-laws (and being unemployed ...) is that I get to learn a bunch of cooking techniques! AND I get to eat some things that I've never eaten before (which is more exciting than the actual cooking :P). The other night was one of those nights where I got really excited to see and taste something different - hand-rolled oat flour noodles! I've only ever heard of hand-pulled wheat flour noodles, and I've seen how those were made and have tasted them before. But hand-rolled noodles?!?, this was a completely new to me.
            These noodles are called 莜面 (oat flour) and originate from the Shanxi province in China. In general, this province is known for it's noodle dishes. I've been to Datong, China, a city within the Shanxi province and where my husband and his family are originally from. I can say that I definitely remember eating delicious noodles of all sorts, but I don't recall eating this particular type of noodle. I guess that is what happens when there too much to do and see with not enough time! Anyhow, I'm glad I got to see first hand how these noodles are made. Pretty neat to watch!

            The dough recipe itself is pretty simple - oat flour and boiled water (yes, according to mom-in-law, you must use boiled hot water in order to make the dough). Unfortunately, I can't really tell you the proportion of flour to water (they generally eyeball the amounts!)...yet. I'll have to try making it myself first and then I'll post the proportions later. After making the dough, she pinched off two pieces of dough and then started the rolling process with the palm of her hand. She rolled two noodle strands simultaneously with one hand - amazing! I was just mesmerized with watching how she did the whole process so gracefully and quickly. After she made all the noodles, she steamed them instead of boiling them. We had ground lamb with broth and some other veggies to go with the noodles - yum.

               For now I'll just share some photos of her making it (once I get the video posting figured out I'll put a video of her making it up too)! Maybe it's me, but it's so fun to watch the noodles being made! AND they're yummy!

Mom-in-law rolling out the noodles from the dough - she was making two noodle strands with one hand!

Rolled out noodles ready for steaming!

Random non-cooking post!

It's been a while since I posted! What can I say, I was planning my wedding! Now that I'm married (!!!), I can post again :).

This is going to be the first random post that has nothing to do with cooking. I'm doing it because I really really want to show you my (and my friend's) DIY talent :P. Since I had quite a bit of free time, I decided to make my own wedding save-the-dates, invites and programs. It took some trial and error and a bit of internet surfing before I finalized the designs. It's a good thing I didn't have a lot of guests because these DIY projects do take some effort and time to finish. In the end, I think they came out pretty good and I was able to get them out on time. I was also able to save some money. My next project is the thank you cards! Once those are done, I'll post an image of the final product!

My good friend and bridesmaid is quite crafty and she made my wedding cake topper!  

Below are my fabulous paper crafts and her cake topper!

Inside of my wedding invites. I had to have a pocket! They ended up being a tad heavy with all the stuffing.

Wedding invite and save-the-date calendar

Wedding programs - Fan design

So cute!

Handmade cake topper on my wedding cake :)

Oodles of Noodles - Chinese Beef Noodles

For the Chinese beef noodles, I used beef stock and made braised beef shank. Instead of making noodles from scratch, I just used the packaged dry wheat noodles that you can get from any Asian market! I'm lazy! This version of beef noodles is one that my in-laws make, so it's not exactly the same as other beef noodle recipes out there.

Soup Base ingredients:

Beef stock - I fill up a medium sized pot with it, usually enough for 2 bowls of noodles
5-6 Star anise
White/light green chopped sections of 2 green onions
Chopped dark green sections of green onions for garnish
6 Dried lily flowers - wash and rehydrate them
1-2 plum tomatoes - chopped
Soy Sauce
Black Vinegar
1.5 inch piece of ginger
Sliced Braised beef shank (or you can use beef from beef stew)
Cilantro for garnish

Bring the beef stock to a boil and add the ginger, white/light green sections of green onions, and the lily flowers. Add soy sauce and black vinegar - amounts for these is really by tasty you want your soup to be. I generally pour in approximately 3.5 tbsp of soy sauce and about 1 to 1.5 tbsp of vinegar. If I want it to be more salty, I'll add some salt. Let it boil for 1 min or so and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 30 mins and add the tomatoes. Let it simmer for another 30 mins or so. While the soup is simmering, cook your noodles in a separate pot. Prep your noodle bowls - add the cooked noodle, along with the meat and other veggies (e.g. bok choi, yu choi etc...). Pour in your soup and garnish with cilantro and green onions. Eat up!

Braised Beef Shank

Prepping the noodle bowl

Yum! Chinese Beef Noodles

Oodles of Noodles - Tonkotsu Ramen

I made my noodles from scratch for this dish! Tonkotsu Ramen is a pork based Japanese soup noodle. I definitely bought the Tonkotsu flavored ramen packages many a times, but after realizing that I really shouldn't be eating packaged ramen since they're not all that good for you, I've decided to make it from scratch.


After a bit of searching, I came across a few ramen noodle recipes, but I also looked it up on Wiki to see what ramen noodles are made from. According to wikipedia ramen noodles are made from wheat flour, alkaline mineral water (kansui, lye water, available at most Asian groceries), salt, and water. For all the recipes I found, people have added an egg, and/or substituted the kansui with baked baking soda. Yes, baking soda that is baked at 250 degrees. Since I could obtain kansui pretty easily, I opted to use that in my noodle recipe. People also use pasta machines to make the noodles, but my pasta thing-a-ma-jig is kind of broken! So, I did it the old fashioned way, cut the dough by hand. The outcome of my noodles - meh... I think it might be because I used all-purpose flour instead of bread flour. The texture should be chewy/springy and I believe you need a flour with high wheat gluten. Either way, I'll be making them again until I get something I really like.

Hand-made ramen noodles. Since I used kansui (aka lye water) to make the noodles, I boiled them, drained and then boiled them a second time to reduce that lye water/soapy taste.

The soup broth on the other hand came out a wee bit better than the noodles....

Tonkotsu Ramen

Pork stock (I made it with pork neck bones and pig trotters: see my oodles of noodles post for stock making)
Kombu
Minced garlic cloves (2 - 3 cloves)
Sesame oil
Miso paste (2-3 tblsp)
Sesame paste (2-3tblsp)
Soy Sauce (2 tblsp)
Salt to taste

Add the kombu, miso paste, sesame paste, soy sauce and salt to pork stock. Bring to a boil and simmer. While it's simmering you can add other ingredients such as baby bok choi, enoki mushrooms, char siu, a soy braised egg, shredded seaweed. Simmer until your other ingredients are cooked/heated. Cook your noodles separately, drain and rinse the noodles and place them into your bowl and pour in your soup. Fry the minced garlic cloves in the sesame oil until brown and add to your bowl of noodles. Enjoy!

Bowl of tonkotsu ramen

Oodles of Noodles

Noodle and pasta dishes are my favorites! You can cook them any way and they are still delicious (provided that you have the right combination of ingredients). Given the extra time that I now have (since I've been done with school and haven't quite found the right job... yet), I've become a wee bit obsessed with the notion of 'hand-made' foods. I've tried my hand at making bao and bread loafs, and have made dumpling wrappers before (though I can't say I've mastered them just yet). Now I'm giving noodle making a try! In terms of soup noodles, I'm completely satisfied with how I've 'mastered' some of the different types of broths. For the noodle aspect, let's just say I'm getting there...slowly. The only problem with making soup noodles is the amount of time that goes into the stock/broth (there is a difference between stock and broth, which I didn't learn until now :P Stock = made by simmering bones, meat and veggies for long hours, generally you brown the ingredients first, Broth = same process only no bones and generally no browning beforehand) making as well as the noodle making. But certainly one can always make a big batch of broth and freeze it for the future. Same goes for the noodles - just make a lot and then save the extras in the fridge.

I'll share the recipes that I've tested for Beef Pho, Chinese Beef Noodle Soup, and Tonkotsu Ramen in a 3 separate posts. This first one covers stock making and Beef Pho.

The Beef Pho and Chinese Beef Noodle Soup use beef stock as a base and the Tonkotsu Ramen uses pork stock as a base. Making the stock is really simple, but it take awhile to simmer.

Making the stock:

Bones - People have suggested to use leg bones, short ribs and such. I tend to use what I can get at the supermarket which is usually neck bones, ribs, feet and sometimes, beef marrow bones
Water - Have more water than bones and fill the pot to about 1-2 inches from the top
Large Yellow Onion (I use either a 1/3 of the onion or half of it)
Green Onions (white/light green parts) 
Ginger (about 1-1.5 inch piece - bigger if you have a huge pot)

Blanch the bones first for about 5 min, then wash them thoroughly. Once they're washed, put them into the pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 3 hours. While it is simmering, "char" the onion, green onion and ginger. I usually just use the broiler to get them slightly burnt, but you can fry them or grill them. I remove any big black parts afterwards. Once you done the charring, throw them into the pot of simmering bones.

Beef Pho (Vietnamese Soup Noodle) Ingredients (Medium Pot)

1 to 2 bags of bean sprouts

Thinly sliced yellow onion 
Thinly sliced beef (I buy the shaved beef steak!)
Sliced beef tripe (not the honeycomb, blanch first)
Beef tendon balls (I like to cut them in half, boil separately first)
Chopped cilantro
Thai basil
Lime wedge
4-5 Star anise
1-1.5 inch Cinnamon stick 
5 whole cloves
3 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 inch of rock sugar
Beef stock (Enough to fill the medium sized pot)
Bahn Pho noodles (Cook separately according to package directions - make sure to rinse well in cold water after draining)

Put the star anise, cinnamon stick and whole cloves into a tea ball (that way you don't have to pick them out when you eat your noodles!) and put in with the beef stock. Add the fish sauce and rock sugar, beef tripe and beef tendon balls and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the bean sprouts, yellow onions and sliced beef. Simmer for about 1-2 minutes.

Have your noodles ready in bowls and pour in the broth. Garnish with cilantro, thai basil and fresh squeezed lime juice if you like :). Enjoy!

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Experimented with my original cheesecake recipes!