Spice it up. Not your regular watermelon soju

As most of my friend know, I am somewhat of an alcohol fanatic. I also want to experiment with cocktails but haven't stock up enough in my liquor cabinet to do that. But this cocktail I tried in Hong Kong was not a difficult mix at all.
Watermelon soju has been a popular thing among my friends especially during summer months. This cocktail is let's say a more complex version of it, flavor wise.

I don't really like to measure when it comes to alcohol. Be more free spirited and taste test while mixing it.

Ingredients:
watermelon juice (I used one mini watermelon and blend everything)
vodka/ soju
fresh lime juice
lemongrass (i didn't have fresh lemongrass so I used frozen ground lemongrass)
honey syrup
thai chili

With half of the watermelon juice, I mixed 2 shots of vodka, half a lime, a tsp of lemongrass, a squirt of honey syrup and half a thai chili.
Everyone likes this drink differently so you are in control of your own drink. Cheers and have a sweet hot spicy night ;)

Bring home to me. Shanghai Vegetable Rice

Home is far for me. Home cooked food is even further. My cravings are the motivation for me to cook these dishes and this shanghai vegetable rice one that I also crave and therefore always make. Although I have to admit that, my mom's rice is also unbeatable and the best I have ever had.

With the help of a rice cooker, everything is so much easier these days. This dish is the same.

Ingredients:
Shanghai bak choy (those with milky white stems)
Chinese sausage
Jasmine rice
Salt

First wash the rice and measure the amount of water. Put in a little less water than usual because there will be water in the vegetable and you don't want your rice to be soggy.

Then wash the bak choy and finely chop them. You would want at least a bag of vegetables. It will look like a lot but when you cook it they will shrink.
Heat the wok, add a little more oil than usual.  Put all of the chopped vegetables in. Add a handful of salt. Remember this will be mixed into the rice so you should definitely over salt them.
Water stored in the vegetable will be forced out when you cook it. Once the vegetables are all wilted, pour them into the rice cooker including the vegetable juice.

Start the rice cooker. Halfway through the cooking process, put in the Chinese sausage. This adds flavor to the rice. Let the rice cook through and your vegetable rice will be done!
Easy peasy :)

Hope all of you who are living far away from home can feel the love during the process of cooking some traditional homemade food you had at home.

Nothing beats homemade soymilk

Everyone buys soy milk at supermarket but the hard work you put in when you make your own changes the flavor of the ultimate product.
So here you go, homemade soy milk. Silky and delicious.

It's a two day process. First sock the soy beans overnight so they grow in size.

The next day pour the soy bean into the blender. 1:1 ratio. Start the blender until smooth. Strain the pulp and milk with a cloth bag. You can find these at asian supermarkets. People usually use them for making fish soup.


Use all of the strength you got to squeeze all the juice out of the bag. Then put the remaining pulp back into the blender. This time adding half the water. 1:.5 ratio. You don't want to put too much water because it will dilute the final product. Repeat the squeezing part.

Now all the liquid is in a pot, turn on the stove and give it a boil. THIS WILL SPILL so watch the fire. Let it cool and there you go. Homemade soy milk. You can make a batch and put them in small jars ready for your morning commute.

                 

     

Pickles

These days I have been obsessed with pickles. The process of pickling was used as a way to preserve food but then people enjoyed the resulting flavor and nowadays people from all over their world have their own style of pickling.
Koreans is one of the Asian country that has a lot of preserved food. This recipe is one of my favorite and also the easiest.
Chayote is a plant that belongs to the gourd family. In Chinese we call them "buddha's hand" since it has a shape of a close fist. I have also used it to make soup until I tried a pickle chayote at a Korean restaurant.
**One thing you need to know about this plant. It's slimy after you peel the skin off. The sap from the plant dries out the water on your fingers and your hands will be super dry. Some people will even have allergic reaction to it. Try to use gloves when you cut them**

For the pickle, we do not need to peel the skin, but we need to take out the center white part of the plant. Cut them into cubes and find a tight jar for you to store them.

Now the brine. It consists of 1:1:1 sugar, soy sauce and white vinegar. Put them all in a pot and bring it to a boil. Watch the fire because the brine will over boil very quickly.
Once it boils up, pour the brine into the jar of raw chayote.
They float so in order to let it soak up the brine, place a few rocks or something heavy to push them down. Seal the jar.

Let the jar sit in room temperature for  a day or two then you can put it in the fridge.

For a kick, put in a jalepeno (poke a few holes in the pepper). That should give you a sweet sour spicy delicious pickle. ENJOY!

**You can reuse the brine. Just add extra soy sauce and vinegar and give it a boil. Also use hot brine so the chayote cooks a little in the brine but remain crispy.**

Bottomless Brunch Part 2: French Toast

This is not some ordinary French Toast. This is the Hong Kong style French Toast!
You usually find them in local restaurants that serves a vary of breakfast food, milk tea and a rice plates. This is one of my favorite afternoon tea snack when I was young. 

French toast was created in European and until this day, there are still French toast served in Europe. This specialty food was brought to Hong Kong during the colonial years under British rules. It became a popular afternoon tea choice and is now part of the distinct Hong Kong food culture. 
The Hong Kong style French toast uses two slices of white bread instead of French baguettes. The most popular filling is peanut butter or jam. After deep frying the French toast, people usually add a slice of butter, syrup, honey or condense milk. 
The Asian white bread is comparatively softer and fluffier. These breads soak up the eggs a lot quicker than French bread. The Hong Kong style French toast is therefore like a deep fried scramble egg filled with melting peanut butter. AMAZING. 

Ingredients:
Asian white slices bread (you can keep the sides or cut them out)
Eggs 
Peanut butter/ Jam
Oil

This time, I did not deep fry the French Toast but instead pan fry them for a healthier version. I also cut them into small cubes and served them as an appetizer for my boozy brunch.

1) Spread peanut butter on both slices of bread
2) Cut them into 4 small cubes
3) Soak them in the egg wash 
4) Heat the oil and put in the cubes
5) Flip them till both sides are golden brown
6) Drizzle syrup or condense milk

Voila!

Bottomless Brunch

How to host a bottomless brunch party

Ingredients:
Unlimited bottle of prosecco /champagne
Juice (grapefruit, orange etc.)
Liquor (Elderflower) (optional)

Unlimited cold cuts (prosciutto, salami etc)
Crepe batter 
Cheese and ham for filling
Nutella and banana if you want sweet crepes
French toast

Conclusion: unlimited supply of drinks and food

First up: Crepe

This is the best crepe batter ever. It is chewy and thin and the smell of milk and egg is absolutely divine. 

1 cup flour

2/3 cup cold milk

2/3 cup cold water

3 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons melted butter, plus more for brushing on pan

Directions:

1) Mix all ingredients until smooth in a blender or with a whisk. Refrigerate. I put it in the fridge overnight.

2) Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Brush with melted butter.

3) Pour in 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter into the center of the pan and then tilt the pan in all directions to cover the bottom evenly. Cook about 1 minute, or until browned on the bottom. Turn and cook briefly on the other side.

4) You can then put in the cheese (i used Havarti) ham and arugula or the sweet ingredients in the crepe and fold them in half and then in a quarter. Now that is ready to be served.

I will be posting the Cantonese style french toast (西多士) on the blog tomorrow.

A year later, piggy blog revives: Budae Jjigae

A year later, a lot has happened. Friends moved, friends get married, new friends made but what ties us all together are still the love for food. Not just any food, but great homemade food. 

Summer is over and fall foliage is close to the end. With the drizzling rain in Boston, the one thing you think about is a pot of boiling hot stew. Budae-jjigae also named the Army Base Stew is one of my favorite stew. The flavor of spam and the spicy soup base with some flavorful rice cakes and ramen warms your body and your heart. Of course you will need good company but that pot of stew. THAT POT OF STEW! It makes it much better since it is very easy to prep and make. 

Broth: 

• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• Hon dashi ( I ran out of anchovies and kelp but this works just fine)

Seasoning Paste for Soup Base

• 2 Tbsp red pepper powder (gochugaru 고추가루)
• 1 Tbsp red pepper paste (gochujang 고추장)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp Mirin (sweet cooking wine)
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion cubed
• 2 green onions 
• 1/2 pound pork butt (marinate in mirin and gochujang)
• 1/2 cabbage
• 1 can spam
• 4 sausages
• 1/2 pack Soft Tofu
• 1/2 cup of fermented kimchi
• 1 bunch watercress
• 12-16 Korean sliced rice cake (optional) (presoak them in cold water before you put them in the pot)
• 1pack ramen (optional)
• 1 Handful of cheese (optional)

Prepare the broth and turn off the fire when it boils. Mix all the seasoning paste in a bowl and set aside.

Arrange all the ingredients in a shallow pot. Layer the cabbages, onions, green onions and watercress on the bottom. Add the kimchi and pork and also the spam and sausages. Put the tofu and rice cake last since the rice cake tends to stick to the pot and will easily burn the bottom of the pot.

Add the seasoning paste and add 3-4 cups of soup till it barely covers the rice cake. 

Use a portable burner so you can enjoy the hot boiling soup while eating with friends and family around the table. 

Let it boil for 10 minutes and it is ready to serve! You can lower the fire to prevent it from burning.

I like to add the ramen later because I will have more space after I had some of of delicious food in the pot.

Enjoy this Budae jjigae in this upcoming cold harsh winter! 

The YOLO feast

The time when we were still young, we eat all we want, drink all we can, and live our life to the fullest. YOU LIVE ONLY ONCE became the word for 2013. 5 Piggies became great friends, and of course who could just 'hang out' without food and drinks?

A spontaneous seafood craving ended with laughters and a satisfied stomach.
First there are oysters. Freshly bought and opened at home. Then there is lobster. Sashimi alive, dipped with soy sauce and wasabi. Store bought sashimi (for those who lives in Boston, Sakanaya in Allston is the best fish market you can find in Boston. They have fresh fish that are reasonably priced) and some white wine pasta top with seared scallops. Lastly a bottle of white wine from Loire Valley to pair all these seafood.

A great night with my piggies. Although the last night with them at my apartment, I'm sure we will all reunite once again very soon, with food and their company.

White wine linguine with seared scallops
Ingredients:
One pack of linguine pasta (DiGiorno recommended)
5 Carrots
1 Onion
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Chili flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon butter

10 scallops
1/2 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoon olive oil

First boil the pasta in salted water until al dente.
Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet melt the butter over medium heat and add in the olive oil. Pat the scallops till dry and sprinkle salt and pepper. Place them on the pan and sear each side until golden brown. Do not over cook the scallops. Test them with a fork. It should still be a little spongy when pressed. Set them aside.

Now melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the garlic and chili flakes and cook until fragrant. Add in the onions and carrots. You can also add in other vegetables as well. Raise the heat to medium-high and then add wine. Cook until reduced by 1/4 about 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat and add in the pasta. Swirl in lemon juice and add scallops. Toss to combine.
You can pick out the scallops and place them on top when plating.

Enjoy! and remember YOLO~

Wonton Part 2

If you still remember my recipe for Shanghai wonton, to all vegan and vegetarians: THIS WILL BE YOUR FAVORITE POST

My roomate's boyfriend, a vegan, moved in and my roomate has turned vegan as well. Therefore, in order to let her try my delicious traditional homemade food, here is the tofu wonton.

At home, my mom add dried shrimps (蝦米仔) to this, but I am not a big fan of it and this will not fit into our healthy vegetarian wonton either. But if you want to add it, you are welcome to.

Ingredients:

1 block Firm tofu

7-10 dried mushrooms

Dried Radish

Salt

Soy Sauce

Seasame oil

First cut the tofu into big chunk and throw them into a cotton bag. (I used the ones for my fish soup, recipes for this will be up soon)
Squeeze out all of the water and make them into crumbs.
Soak the mushrooms till they are soft and cut them into tiny pieces.
Do not add in too many radishes and mushrooms, the strong flavors will cover up the soy flavor of the tofu.
Dice a piece of dried radish. It should be about the same amount as the mushrooms.
Add a pinch of salt and a little soy sauce. The most important, similar to the meat wonton, is sesame oil. This is the key for the juice of the wonton. Add a two tablespoons of sesame oil and mix all of the ingredients together. The good thing about the tofu wonton is that you can taste the ingredients before you cook them. Wrap the wontons in the store bought wrapper and cook till they float.

Put them in the freezer if you could not finish them. I will recommend you cook them all first then freeze them because the wrapper will not crack or stick to the pan. You can also pan fry them and dip them in chilli oil! (my personal favorite)

Now if you want wonton, there is a vegetarian option for you. ENJOY!

Guac, the all time favorite

Guacamole. A Mexican sauce made popular among Americans for chips and all kinds of things is a quick and delicious appetizers before meal or snack before drinks.
It is colorful and definitely easy to make.

Ingredients:
2 Avocados, pitted and mashed
2 Roma tomatoes
1 Red onions
Lemon
1 tspoon Cumin powder
Cayenne pepper powder

One raw corn for corn guacamole

First mash the avocados. You can mash it till it is all smooth or leave small chunks to add texture to your dip. Cut the roma tomatoes to bite size pieces. I am not a big fan of raw onions therefore I cooked it a little first and decrease the spiciness of raw onions. You can also substitute it with yellow onions or shallots if you want. Squeeze half a lemon and sprinkle around one teaspoon of cumin powder. Add a pinch of salt and add cayenne pepper to your liking.
You can use corn instead of tomatoes as well! It will add a sweetness and chewiness to this guacamole.
Definitely taste along the way!

                               

POSTGRAD...

       It has been almost a full year since I write this blog. Throughout this year I have accumulated a lot of food photographs but my laziness took over and I refuse to write new updates. In light of my graduation, I began to look at my life and decide what I should continue to do and what I shouldn't. Food photography has become my hobby. I also began to read 4 hour chef, recommended by a friend who also loves to cook. I must say, I am quite talented with languages and this summer, I vow to continue with my french and pick up Korean as well.
      I started studying Korean through Rosetta Stone and even though it was long, I definitely enjoyed it... (now i just need to get it on my computer instead of others....)
Therefore this post will be dedicated to my korean friends and my best piggies. ( I will always remember those nights at MD ;)
Here is a korean blog that I adore!! http://www.maangchi.com

First I made a rice dish that I saw watching Kimchi family. (this is a great korean drama using all kinds of kimchi to tell the story, the food in the drama looks amazing!)
Soy Bean Sprout Rice/Kongnamul Bap

Here are the ingredients:
Pork (I used pork butt)
2ts soy sauce
1ts rice wine/mirin
1/2 sesame oil
1ts sugar
1ts corn starch
Soy bean sprout
Kimchi, coarsely chopped
1/4 Onions
Vegetables (optional)
Short grain rice

Sauce:
4tbs soy sauce
1ts sesame oil
2 ts hot pepper flakes
1 clove garlic
1 green onion
1 egg (optional)

                                                          

       

First you rinse the rice and soak it with water for about 10 minutes. This will make the rice fluffy and soft. During that time, you slice the pork and marinate it with a little soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, rice wine/mirin and corn starch. Corn starch will keep the pork moist even after stir frying. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Heat the pan with a little oil and start stir frying the onions and vegetables. Then put in the pork and then the kimchi. Stir fry till the pork changed color.

Put them in a pot and add in water and your rice. The ratio should be 1:1. Lastly cover the pot with bean sprout and cover the pot. Bring the water to a boil then lower the heat. This will take around 20 minutes. Try not to open the cover during that time. When the rice is done, mix them and add in the sauce. You can add a fried egg when serve.

For the side dish, I made

Pan fried tofu with spicy sauce / 두부부침양념장 / Dububuchim-yangnyeomjang

Here are the ingredients:

1 pack of firm tofu

1 tbs soy sauce

1 ts hot pepper flakes

1 ts sugar/honey

1 chopped green onion

1 clove of minced garlic

1 ts sesame oil

roasted sesame seeds (for sprinkling)

First slice the tofu into 1/4 inch thick rectangles. Use paper towel to absorb the water. (To make it golden brown, the tofu has to be patted down)

Then heat up 2 tbs oil in a pan. Add the tofu and lower the heat. Cook until one side is old brown (around 5 minutes) then flip them over. You can make your sauce while waiting for the tofu. 

For the sauce, add all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix them together. Taste and adjust accordingly.

Once the tofu is ready pour the sauce on top and sprinkle it with roasted sesame seeds.

This is it! One delicious Korean meal! 

잘 먹겠습니다!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MONSTER

The one person that can actually make me start my blog again-- Cathryn the neighbor. This was a month ago when the neighbor deciding what to eat for her birthday. Since then posts on facebook are related to cakes recipes and restaurants. We at last decide on making an orea cream pie, but because after telling them and knowing the recipe myself, we abstain from making a big pie, but instead made a mini one just enough to satisfy her. The recipe is simple and this post is dedicated to the birthday girl. (she is craving fat and sweet again and i am not there for her) 


Yields a 9x13 pie 1 big pack of OREO (separate them and only use the cracker) 
1/2 cup of butter 
8 ounce cream cheese 
1 cup powdered sugar 
1 heavy cream 


Crushed all of the OREO and split them in half. For the pie crust, melt then butter and mix in the OREO. Use you hand, press down the OREO mix onto a non-stick pan and put it in the fridge. Start mixing the cream cheese and powdered sugar until it is soft and fluffy. Whip the heavy cream and add them into the mix. Pour in the rest of the OREO and mix. Pour the pie in the pan and sprinkle some of the left over OREO for decoration. Put the pie in the fridge for around an hour or two and the pie is ready!

  
 

Enjoy and happy birthday once again.

龍年團年飯 之 蛋角 Chinese New Year Eve DInner-- Egg Dumplings

The night before Chinese New Year, family gathers together to cook a big meal and enjoy the night before a new year starts.
In Boston, my family joined me and my roomate for a feast as well. Although i miss home and all those cold appetizers and hot soup and dessert, I created a lovely night with my friends.
In preparation for this night, i pre-made the egg dumplings because school work is starting to pile up.
Ingredients are very easy to get, but the process takes a while.
Yield around 25-30 depending on size
Ingredients:
A dozen of medium sized eggs
Around 2 dollars of ground pork
Seasoning:
light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, white pepper, sugar, corn starch

First mix the ground pork with the seasoning. These are the basic ingredients for Chinese to marinate meat, sometimes without the oyster sauce.
Do not add too much of each, preferably more sesame oil.
After mixing everything in, add about 1/3 cups of water, little by little. This makes the pork more fluffy and juicy. The corn starch will also help contain the juice of the meat.

Set that aside. Beat the eggs with a fork. Do not over-beat because we do no want too many air bubble created with pan frying the egg.

Heat the Chinese wok (or you can use a non stick pan) ( the Chinese wok is better because it has a natural concavity that will help shape the egg.
Put in a small amount of oil and when the oil is heated, pour in a soup spoonful of egg. Try to make the egg as round as possible. Once the egg start to bubble up, take the pan away from the fire and scoop in some pork. Do not put too many because the egg might break.
Put the pan back on the fire and fold the egg in half. Seal all sides before the egg is all cooked through. If there are some openings, try to put a little bit more egg to seal it. Then pan fry it until both sides are golden brown.
You have to be very patience when making these dumpling because the egg breaks easily.
I made around 25 dumplings but it really depends on how big you make it.

You could put them in a box layered with parchment paper if you are not going to eat them right away.
To eat:
There are a lot of different ways people eat egg dumplings, but i put them in soup.
Make a pot of chicken soup, with chicken broth or whole chicken, cut up some cabbages and cellophane noodles, give it a boil and add in the egg dumplings. It will take around 5-7 minutes. Then it is ready!

There are so other pictures of my dinner, if you wanted the recipe of the other food, feel free to contact me :)
Once again Happy Chinese New Year!!!

DRUNKEN CHICKEN

STIR FRY OKRA WITH SACHA

LOTUS LEAF WRAPPED PORK RIBS