Spicy Fish Soup

I wrote this recipe at the end of summer when I felt like using the last of my fresh herbs that were still available from my garden. This soup is similar to the Thai soup, Tom Yum Koong. I make kelp stock for this recipe, but water or chicken stock will be fine to make this soup. 

Ingredients:

Two 8 oz. Cod fillet, cut into cubes

Vegetables:
6 button mushrooms, quartered
1 cup white cabbages
1 cup sliced asparagus
Stock ingredients:
4 cups kelp stock or chicken stock
1 lemongrass, cut into 1 inch long pieces
4 line leaves
4 sliced fresh ginger
4 dried chilies
Zest of one lemon
Seasoning ingredients:
2 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs lime juice
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chili paste

Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro or basil

Directions:

Bring the stock with the rest of the ingredients  to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove and discard the solids. Add mushrooms, asparagus  and cabbages and cook for a few minutes. Add fish  and bring back to boil. Add the seasoning ingredients and taste to your liking. Serve by ladling the soup in a serving bowl and sprinkle with green onions and basil. Serve with rice on the side

Crispy Fried Egg Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables

The crispy fried egg noodles dish is popular in Chinese restaurants. Sometimes this dish is also called chow mein. On the menu of my family’s restaurant for nearly two decades, crispy fried noodles was very popular, and today I will introduce this dish in my cooking blog. Its formula is quite simple because this is how I always introduce my way of cooking to everyone who enjoys cooking, but seldom has all day to prepare meals. Most of the dishes that are made in restaurants can be prepared in our own kitchen, and I feel confident that they will turn out very well. Look for vegetables that are usually in the refrigerator, such broccoli, white cabbage, carrots, etc. Also, in the absence of egg noodles, instant noodles, which I believe is usually available in most pantries, can be substituted. Chicken, beef, or fish is suitable for preparing this dish. Or, simply use your imagination because this is just a cooked dish to serve myself. As the famous chef, Emeril Lagasse, always says, "This is not science, it is a cooking show".

Ingredients:
Two 2 oz fresh egg noodles or instant noodles (discard the spicy bag)

 

6 oz. chicken breasts and legs, sliced
10 small or 5 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbs cooking wine, dry sherry or sake
1 tsp soy sauce
Oil to fry noodles
Vegetables:
(about 3 cups total) broccoli, white cabbages, carrots, celery, sliced mushrooms, 1 cup of bean sprouts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 white onion, cut into wedges
2 green onions, chopped
Sauce ingredients:
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper


Cilantro for garnish

 
Directions:
Place chicken in a bowl. Add cornstarch, soy sauce, and wine and mix well. Let marinate for an hour.
Blanch the noodles in boiling water for 1 minute and drain.

 

 

Heat about 1/2 cup of peanut oil in a wok and fry noodles until crispy and set aside.

 

 

In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients and set aside.
Bring a pot of water to boil and blanch the vegetables for a few minutes and place in ice cold water to stop the cooking and drain.

 

Clean wok and add 2 tbs oil. Heat until oil almost smoking and add chicken.

 

 Cook for a few minutes. Then add garlic and onions.

 

 Cook until the chicken is no longer pink. Add shrimp and mix well. It should take about 1 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink. Remove and keep warm.

In the same wok, add another tablespoon of oil. Heat until smoking and add blanched vegetables and sauce and bring to boil. Return chicken and shrimp back into the wok. Mix well. Re-season with more salt, if needed. Add green onions and stir to combine. 

 

 

 

Place crispy noodles on a serving plate, and after dividing the chicken and vegetables equally, pour them on top of the noodles. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with hot chili soy dipping sauce.

  

 

 

Asian Turkey Noodle Soup

I think this kind of soup is perfect for using the leftover turkey from the big Christmas meal. I always crave for Asian hot spicy soup after I had a Western meal with basically plain taste, such as mashed potatoes, creamy green been casserole, and all the cheese and crackers. The cold and rain outside my windows in the Pacific Northwest where I live especially make my yearning for a big bowl of noodle soup more intense. However, the turkey bones after carving the meat are a good choice to create a big pot of a good broth to start this recipe. Personally, I can eat this soup without any meat, but why not drop some of the roasted turkey meat if any remain from the party. Pho is the famous Vietnamese soup, and I created this recipe based upon some of the ingredients that are used to make Pho. Also, the Bun bo Hue is quite popular too, and some of the ingredients to make this soup are also in this recipe, as well. Cooking is fun when using your imagination to create some dish with some simple ingredients that sit in the pantry. I hope this recipe will satisfy after the big Christmas party is finished.

Ingredients:
10 cups turkey broth
Spices:
4 star anise
4 cloves
1 piece of ginger
4 garlic cloves
4 dry red chili

1 large onion, roasted

1 large tomato
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/2 tsp Korean chili powder
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Vegetables:
Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, etc. (whatever you have on hand)
Noodles:
I use egg noodles, but rice noodles are also good

Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro
Some other herbs, if available, such as basil and mints

Directions:
To make turkey broth:
Place all the turkey bones in a pot and add carrots, celery, onions, and cabbage. Fill pot up with water (water level depends on how big or small the turkey bones are). Bring water to boil and skim off any residue that arises on the surface.

Turn to simmer and allow to simmer for 2 hours. Allow water to cool and then drain the broth. Discard the solids. Use about 10 cups of this broth for this recipe and freeze the rest of the broth for other recipes.

Place both ginger and garlic in a mini food processor and grind into a paste.
Chop the tomato real fine
Chop half of the roasted onion into  pieces.
In a medium pot, add oil and heat oil until hot. Add star anise, cloves, chopped roasted onions, hot dry chili, and garlic-ginger paste.

 Stir and cook for about 4 minutes or until the spices release their fragrances. Add chopped tomato. Add 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp Korean chili powder. Cook for another 5 to 7 minutes or until the tomato is soft.

Add the broth and the other half of roasted onions and bring to boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 30 minutes so all the spices have time to flavor the broth.

Season with more salt or fish sauce, if needed. Remove cloves and star anise (it is a little challenging at this point). Discard the roasted onion too.

If using leftover turkey, cut turkey into whatever shape that fits your taste and place in the broth just before ready to serve.

Bring a pot of water to boil and blanch the vegetables and set aside. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions and place on the bottom of a serving bowl.

 

 Top with blanched vegetables and some turkey meat. Ladle the broth over and sprinkle with green onions and cilantro. Enjoy.

 

Chicken Picante and Rice

Yesterday, my friend and I had lunch at an Applebee’s restaurant near my house. The food was good, and it gave me the idea to create this meal today. It is simple. Use a store-bought picante sauce, any brand-name picante that fits your taste is okay. The quinoa-cranberry rice that was served with the meal yesterday at Applebee’s impressed me more than the lime chicken. Therefore, I just make picante chicken with my cooked quiona rice instead of the lime chicken. I think the chicken picante will be tastier than the lime chicken by far and goes very well with quiona-cranberry rice. After baking the chicken, feel free to top it with cheddar cheese or any kind that suits you. I personally like to keep my recipe on the healthier side by keeping it a very lean dish without cheese topping. Here it is!!

Ingredients:
Two chicken breasts
1 ½ cups picante sauce

1 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chopped white onions
Salt and pepper to taste
Quinoa-cranberry rice ingredients:
1 cup combination of quinoa, red rice, and brown rice
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp honey
1 tsp coconut oil(optional)
Other ingredients:
Chopped cilantro and green onions
Lime wedges

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°.
Pound the chicken evenly or use the knife to butterfly-cut the chicken breasts.

Place chicken onto a baking pan. Mix picante sauce with garlic, onions, salt, black pepper, and olive oil (taste the sauce before adding salt to the sauce). Pour sauce to cover chicken. Bake in the

preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
While the chicken is happily baking in the sauce, rinse the quiona rice and place into the rice cooker.

Add chicken broth and dried cranberries and then season with some salt and honey.

 Close the lid and turn the cooker on. The rice will be done in 1 hour or less, but it depends on the rice cooker manufacturer that you use.
Place some of the quiona- cranberry rice on a plate with chicken picante. Sprinkle with cilantro and green onions. Use lime wedges for decoration or squeeze their juices over the rice.

Vegetarian Congee (-Cháo Chay Thập Cẩm)

Porridge is always an easy dish to make and suitable for every age from babies to the elderly. According to my Asian philosophy, mixed vegetarian congee is the best breakfast for the entire family, simply because of the way and the value of the ingredients included. Usually in the morning when our stomach is empty, a bowl of porridge is easy to digest, and if the porridge is made with quality ingredients, it supplies excellent nutrition to the body throughout the day. Start the day happy. If we nourish the body with good food, it will be the soul’s salvation.

Ingredients:
6 cups good vegetarian broth
1/3 cup rice, washed and drained
1/4 cup oil
8 oz. tofu
1/2  cup of corn, carrots , daikon (cut to the size of corn kernels), and soybeans (edamame)
1 small sweet potato or taro diced
3 cups of a combination of fresh, sliced mushrooms: oyster, shitake, and button
1 small white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt, black pepper, and sugar to taste
Garnish with:
Chopped green onions, cilantro, and crispy shallots
Fried skin tofu (optional) Chinese crispy crullers (dau chao quay)

Directions:
In a medium pot over medium heat, add 2 tbs of oil and add rice. Stirfry the rice until opaque. Add broth, sweet potato, corn, carrots, daikon and soybeans, and bring to boil. Cover pot and turn the heat off.

In a sauté pan, add the rest of the oil and increase temperature to hot. Divide tofu into half. Cut them into small bite-size pieces and fry half of the tofu until brown. Remove from oil.

After one hour, uncover lid, add fried tofu and fresh tofu. Bring to simmer. season with salt and black pepper

While the congee is simmering, in the same sauté pan used to fry the tofu, rmove some of the oil and add white onions and garlic. Stirfry until fragrant.

 Stir in mushrooms. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook until mushrooms are wilted. Add to the congee and bring to a boil for a few minutes.

Laddle soup into a serving bowl. Garnish the soup and serve with fresh chopped hot chili and Chinese crispy crullers.

Flaxseed and Nuts Bars

I give these bars to my friends, and they love them. These flaxseed and nuts bars are so easy and healthy for snacking. I cannot postpone writing this recipe in my blog any longer because all my friends want to learn how to make them. Here it is – the simplest way to create a healthy snack for yourself and a wonderful gift for friends.

Ingredients:
1 cup flaxseed meal
1/3 cups of each  nuts: almonds, walnuts, and pecans
1/3 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tbs margarine or butter

Directions;
Place nuts in a food processor and blend until fine (you might need to blend them individually).

In a baking pan, place flaxseed meal, sesame seeds, and ground nuts. Bake in a preheated oven set to 350° for 5 to 7 minutes. Be careful not to let the nuts burn.

Line an 8” x 8” baking pan with foil and grease the foil with 1 tbs of margarine or butter.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add honey, sugar, and coconut oil. Simmer until the sugar dissolves and starts thickening.

Remove the flaxseed and nuts and place them in a mixing bowl. Pour the dissolved sugar mixture onto the baked flaxseed and nuts and mix well.

Pour this mixture into the prepared baking pan. Pack mixture down and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove and let cool before cutting them into squares and storing in a glass jar or Ziploc bag.