Xôi Lạp Xưởng (Sticky Rice with Chinese Sausage)

My daughter woke up from her afternoon nap and wanted to eat something besides the noodle soup that I made for lunch and dinner. She's probably tired of eating che dau trang (sweet white bean dessert) since she just had it this morning and a few bowls for the last several days.  So, Grandma suggested sticky rice. Bingo! My kids love the aroma, texture, and sweetness of sticky rice as Grandma often makes it for them for breakfast.  It was almost dinner time and I wanted my kids to have some protein beside the carbs from the sticky rice.  So I sauteed lap xuong (chinese sausage) with fresh chopped garlic, shallots,  our homegrown green onions and cilantro and soy sauce. A wonderful aroma indeed! Then I worked these ingredients into the sticky rice.  

The whole process from cooking the rice to preparing the filling took about 20 minutes but it seemed like 2 hours for my daughter who  kept saying,  "Why are you taking so long Mommy?".  Someone must be very hungry.

If you make just a small pot of sticky rice and you want to enjoy it in 20 minutes, skip the soaking and steaming process. You just need to rinse it and it's ready to cook.  As for lap xuong, I prefer to boil it first to keep it moist.  If you chop it off first and then fry it, you will find that it's dry once you bite into it.  One caveat: since I tried to make it quick, I didn't measure the water  and sweet rice.  The amount of rice and water in this recipe is only an estimate and may need adjustment :-)

RECIPE: Xôi Lạp Xưởng

*

Ingredients

2 cups of sweet rice

3 chinese sausages (also available at Costco) - boiled for 5 minutes and cut it into any size you prefer. 

2 green onion, chopped ( about 1/4 cup)

1 shallot, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2-3 teaspoons of soy sauce

1/4 cup of cilantro

1 teaspoon of oil

Fried Shallots (optional)

Making Sticky Rice

Rinse the rice and pour it into a pot.  Add about 1/2 inch of water above the rice and boil it.  Reduce the heat to low.  Stir it up and cook it for about 15 minutes.  Add a little bit more water if it looks dry to you. 

Making sausages

Heat the oil in a pan.  Add garlic and shallot.  When they turn golden brown, add sausages, cilantro and green onion.  Stir it evenly for about 30 seconds.  Turn off the heat then add soy sauce.  Mix it up.  Pour the sausage mixture into sticky rice and mix it well. 

Sprinkle some fried shallots on top of sticky rice and enjoy. 

Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa

I love fish. In the summer time, I often prepared Cá Nướng (Grilled Whole Fish) then rolled it up in rice paper with lettuce, herbs, sliced cucumber, daikon and pickled carrot and strings of noodle if you want to fill your tummy up quickly; then,  dipped it in Mam Nem or Mam Ruot (Fermented Anchovy Dip or Salted Fermented Shrimp dip).  I prefer my Mam Ruot dip over Mam Nem.  If you make the Mam Ruot dip right, it actually tastes as good as mam nem or better, but cheaper.  If you prefer a milder, less fishy-flavored dipping sauce, then this would be ideal. That's a preview for a future blog and the recipe for Cá Nướng and Mam Ruot dip will soon be posted, but for now let's talk Mahi Mahi.

Mahi Mahi is a popular eating fish in Australia and a major seller at sushi bars. The fish can be grilled or seared to bring out its wonderful taste.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend gave us a few pieces of Mahi Mahi, so I decided to make a dish to celebrate the arrival of spring and its brilliant colors.  So Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa served with a side of corn on the cob were on the table for dinner. Fruits, veggies, and fish all in one . . . how could you resist. You may also prepare this for lunch as well since it's a light dish and you don't have to worry about packing on the pounds.

RECIPE: Mahi Mahi Mango Salsa

*

Ingredients

*

Making Salsa

2 mangos, peeled, seeded and diced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional, if you like to spice up your dish)

about 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

In a bowl, combine the mangos, cucumber, bell pepper, green onion, cilantro and jalapeno pepper. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and lime juice. Taste it and adjust the seasoning to your liking.  Stir together then cover and refrigerate until serving to blend the flavors.

*

Making Fish

3 tablespoons of honey

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons of olive oil

3 mahi mahi fillets without skin on (Costco has frozen fillets)

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

In a bowl, stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place fillets into the dish.  Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinate.

Heat vegetable oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Remove fish from the dish, and reserve marinade. Fry fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish can be flaked with a fork. Remove fillets to a serving platter and keep warm.

Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistently. Spoon glaze over fish.  Top with Mango Salsa and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Gỏi Đu Đủ Khô Bò Gan Cháy (Vietnamese Papaya Salad with Beef Jerky and Liver Jerky)

* * *

*

I was busy preparing for my second daughter's birthday and didn't have time to post any new entry recently.   I am always excited when my two darlings's birthdays come around.  

I always like to spoil them and give them memorable birthday parties as life can be full of surprises and who knows what tomorrow will bring, so why not make the best of everything for my children when I can, especially when they're at such an adorable age. On March 11th, my youngest daughter turned 2. As always, everyone in my family  are involved in preparing for the birthday party. My husband hung up the garlands, Grandma  prepared the balloons, and I had the best job . . . deciding what food to serve. 

 You can see from the pictures that the party was a success and my daughter had a blast as evident by her beautiful smile throughout the party. We had plenty of food and the guests really like the variety.

A photo slideshow by Smilebox

One of the dishes I  made for the party was Papaya Salad with Beef Jerky, an appetizer favorite. My husband would love to sit out by his koi pond with the sun beating on his face and munch on this dish with a bottle of cold beer. A friend was at the party and requested me to post the recipe on my blog, so here it is.  I bought the soft and sweet beef and liver jerky  from Vua Khô Bò store (translated The King of Beef Jerky) in Westminster, Orange County.  I can't find these types of beef and liver jerky here in Sacramento, so whenever I have a chance to go to Cal So, I would buy some to bring home. 

RECIPE: Green Papaya Salad with Beef and Liver Jerky

Ingredients

*

Preparing Dressing

1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce 

3 tablespoons Rice Vinegar or Regular Vinegar

1 cup Hot Water

4 tablespoons of Sugar

4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1/2-1 teaspoon Paprika, optional

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, optional 

In a large bowl, stir sugar in hot water until dissolved.  Add the remaining ingredients except Sriracha hot chili sauce into the sugar mixture and mix it well.  It's best to leave the sauce overnight so that the garlic releases even more flavor. Discard the garlic before serving. 

Adding paprika is an option

*

Preparing Papaya

1 Green Papaya (pick a long one without any soft spots on it.  It's easier to hold on the long papaya while shredding it)

3 teaspoons of salt

About 1/2 pound of  shredded or whole Asian-style  soft and sweet Beef Jerky, use a scissor  to cut into about 1 1/2 cup strips

About 1/4 pound of Liver Jerky,  use a scissor  to cut into about 1 1/2 cup strips, optional

1/4 cup shredded fresh Thai Basil Leaves

Peeled the green papaya with a vegetable peeler, cut them in half and discard the seeds.  Cut each half lengthwise into quarters.   Using a slicer to shred the papaya pieces.

Got this Kitchen Aid Slicer from Bed Bath and Beyond

Put the shredded papaya in a colander, add salt, and use both hands to mix it up and massage it thoroughly to release the slime from papaya.   Let  sit in a colander for about 15 minutes.   Rinse it under cold running water to remove the salt  then  squeeze out the excess moisture with a few  full hands of shredded papaya.  Make sure you extract enough water from papaya without completely crushing it.  

Transfer papaya to a large plate.  Add  some Thai basil  and mix them up.  Garnish the top of papaya with shredded  beef jerky, liver jerkey and a few of Thai basil leaves.   Serve the dressing on the side and have guests dress their own salad.  For those who can toterate spicy, drizzle some Sriracha hot chili sauce over your dish.

Enjoy!

Bánh Củ Cải Trắng (Daikon Radish Cake)

One of my favorite food bloggers is Andrea Nguyen.  She is a writer, a cooking teacher and the author of Into the Vietnamese Kitchen and  her recent  cookbook Asian Dumplings which was just published in September 2009.  I knew of her since the last couple years when I was in the middle of making Gỏi Đu Đủ Khô Bò Gan Cháy (Papaya Salad with Beef and Liver Jerky) and my  Beef didn't turn out like Beef Jerky at all.  So I searched the web to find the secret to making beef jerky, but I didn't find what I was looking for.  Subsequently, I discovered Andrea's blog, so I decided to email and ask her instead.  Surprisely, I received her reply immediately.  She's very good at answering anyone's questions and that make her a great cooking teacher, in my opinion.   Since then, we comunicated through emails; I followed her through her blogs and facebook.  I wanted to thank her for all her great recipes that she shared with everyone through her blogs so  I sent her a bag of our homegrown chili peppers.  I didn't expect it but she spent her time writing about it and posting pictures of my gift and my vegetable garden.  That was very thoughtful of her.  

So this post is really about one of my favorite dishes that I learned from her; it's Andrea Nguyen's delicious Daikon Radish Cake recipe.  I followed her recipe and only adjusted a little bit such as increasing the amount of lap xuong (chinese sausages) and dried shrimps.  I also prefer spicy vinegar soy sauce dip over oyster sauce or plain soy sauce.  I am sure her original recipe is great but I changed it a little bit to my liking.  The Daikon Radish Cake turned out beautifully and deliciously.  This Daikon Radish Cake tastes so good when it's still hot and crispy.  Just dip it in the spicy vinager soy sauce or your favorite sauce and and enjoy. Yummy!

* * *

*

RECIPE:  Bánh Củ Cải Trắng (Daikon Radish Cake)

Luo Bo Gao

Serves 6 to 8 (makes 2 dumplings)

*

Luo bo gao is a dim sum dish made with daikon, or winter radish. Daikon is juicy like an apple, shaped like a large, white carrot, and has a smooth radish flavor. To make the batter for luo bo gao you need to cook the daikon, break it down, and mellow out its flavor while concentrating its essence. You can eat this fresh from the steamer, but it’s most popular sliced and lightly seared for a crispy skin.

 *

For the Dumplings

2 cups white rice flour, preferably from China or Thailand

¼ cup wheat starch

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

10 to 12 small or medium dried shrimp, soaked in hot water to cover for 30 minutes

1 pound daikon radish

1 link Chinese pork sausage (la chang), chopped very fine (about ⅔ cup)

3 scallions, chopped fine

I used 2 chinese sausages and about 20 of medium dried shrimps

For Cooking and Serving

(I used vinegar soy sauce with hot sauce)

Grapeseed or other neutral oil to coat the cake pans and the skillet

Oyster sauce or hot sauce

Equipment

(I used my steamer and 1 square cake pan)

2-inch-high steamer rack

Two 9-inch round cake pans

Pot large enough to hold both the rack and the cake pan when covered

*

1. Make the Batter: Combine the rice flour, wheat starch, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and set aside. Drain and finely chop the shrimp.

2. Peel the daikon and grate it through the small holes of your grater onto a kitchen towel. Bring together the ends of the cloth and twist to squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can into the bowl. Measure out the collected juices and add enough water to the juice to make 3½ cups.

My cooking assistant is my Mother-In-Law who is a great helper.

She used her hand to squeeze out the liquid instead using the kitchen towel. Three balls of daikon you see in the picture are 3 pounds of daikon after 

grated and squeezed out the liquid

3. Pour the daikon liquid into a medium pot. Add the grated daikon and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Mix in the sausage, scallions, and chopped shrimp, cover, and cook for 5 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Slowly add the rice flour mixture and whisk continuously until free of most large lumps. The batter will be thick and sticky and a little lumpy.

4. Steam the Dumplings: Place the steamer rack in the pot, add 1½ inches of water to the pot, and bring to a boil over high heat.

5. Brush both cake pans with a little oil and divide the batter between the 2 pans. Dip a spoon into cool water and use the back of the spoon to smooth out the surface of the batter.

6. Carefully place one of the filled pans on the steamer rack, cover, and steam for 40 minutes. The other filled pan should be covered and left sitting at room temperature while the first one cooks, or it can be cooked simultaneously in another pot.

7. Remove the pot from the heat. Carefully lift the pan out of the pot, place it on a folded kitchen towel, and allow the luo bo gao to cool to room temperature. Cook the other filled cake pan.

8. Unmold the luo bo gao and gently turn it onto a cutting board. Cut each dumpling into 8 equal slices. (Do not slice the luo bo gao if you are planning on serving it later. They can be refrigerated, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 days.
Slice and fry just before serving.)

9. When ready to serve, coat a large skillet with oil and heat over medium heat. Carefully place the slices of luo bo gao in the pan and cook until their bottoms are crispy and golden brown, about 4 minutes. Turn them over to brown the other sides. Serve with a side of oyster sauce or hot sauce.

Chicken Pot Pie

During last Christmas, I had an opportunity to make treats for my husband's coworkers.  Since I had lots of puff pastries in the fridge, I decided to make Chicken Pot Pies.  After googling for the best Chicken Pot Pie recipe, Ina Garten's five stars rating with over 400 user's reviews recipe was the overwhelming favorite.  I was eager to try her Chicken Pot Pie recipe and the result was quite tasty.

My husband's coworkers enjoyed them tremendously. One of them even wrote a note saying that it's the best chicken pot pie she's ever had. Today, while I was looking through my food pictures, the Chicken Pot Pies I made still looked so good (thanks to Ina Garten's recipe). So I thought I would share this with my blog readers.   Below is Ina Garten's best Chicken Pot Pie recipe.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

* * *

*

RECIPES: Chicken Pot Pie

*

Ingredients

3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on

3 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade (I used canned chicken broth)

2 chicken bouillon cubes

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup heavy cream

 2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes

1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups)

1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions  (I skipped it)

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

*

For the pastry

(I bought my puff pastry from Cash and Carry, therefore, I didn't have to make it from scratch)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

*
Preparing Chicken

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

*

Preparing Filling

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

*
Assembling Pot Pie

Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

 

Enjoy!

Cà Ri Vịt Quay (Roasted Duck Red Curry)

It was lunch time. My daughter and I went to a friend's house for cháo gà (chicken porridge) but instead ended up with a bonus dish of delicious roasted duck red curry over steamed rice.  I personally don't like curry in general but her Roasted Duck Red Curry was so good that I was inspired to replicate the dish  for my family to try, especially for my dear husband who is a curry fanatic.  I plan to make this dish for my youngest daughter's 2nd birthday.  So if  you cannot make the party, below is a recipe for you to enjoy.   

This Roasted Duck Red Curry recipe is very simple to prepare.  You can make a pot of this delicious curry in about 20 minutes.  There are many kinds of vegetable that would go well with curry.  However, yellow curry tends to go well with potatoes, avocados, onions and carrots. 

Red curry pairs well with pumpkin, pineapple, mangos, bell peppers, bamboo shoots, brocolli, carrots, eggplants and tomatoes.  Green curry goes well with bamboo shoots, green beans, eggplants,  bell peppers and carrots.

As for meat, chicken, duck, beef or pork will make great curries. If you like  seafood then prawn, scallop, mussel, grilled salmon and calamari are a great combination.  

The only ingredients missing from my dish and I think they enhance each other's flavor well are sweet mangos, basil and kiffer lime leaves.  I would eliminate bamboo shoots for the mango.  The result was a satisfying  marriage of fruits, vegetables and herbs marinated in the sweet aroma of roasted duck and coconut milk. My mother-in-law enjoyed her bowl with a whole loaf of bread.  Yum!

* * *

*

RECIPE: Roasted Duck Red Curry

*

Ingredients

1 roasted duck, deboned and cut into 1 inch strips (you can find it at most Chinese supermarkets and ask them to chop it into small pieces),

2 cans of 14 oz chicken broth

1 1/2 cans of  13.5 oz  coconut milk (about 3 cups)

1 can red curry paste (use less if you can't toterate spicy curry)

 1-1 1/2 cups of red or yellow  bell pepper (add more if you preferred)1-1 1/2 cups of sweet onion

1-1 1/2  cups of pineapple (add more if you preferred)1 can of precut bambo shoot

1-2 whole riped sweet mango, cut into 1 bite-sized piece (optional)

1 cup of  red tomato, removed seeds, cut into bite-sized cubes (optional)a few kiffer lime leaves, shredded (optional)

2-3 sprigs of basil, use only basil leaves

2-3 tablespoons of fish sauce

*

Preparation

Bring coconut milk, chicken broth, curry paste to a boil. 
Add the rest of the ingredients except basil leaves and stir well.  Taste and adjust to your liking with more fish sauce.  When the curry starts to boil, add basil leaves

and remove it from heat.
* * *
*
Enjoy a bowl of Roasted Duck Curry with steamed rice.  I personally like to eat it with French bread.  Some people like to eat it with noodles.  To each her own I suppose. Just remember, this is a high calorie, high cholesterol dish so watch your waistline.

Bon Appetit!