Easy Baked Tiapila with Liquid Smoke

Fish of any kind is the easiest meal to prepare. I started the New Year with this easy and healthy recipe for my blog followers to enjoy cooking at home and also after attending all Christmas-New Year parties. It is a time to cut back the intake of fat to maintain a nice figure.

Ingredients;

2 tilapia fillets

Sauce ingredients:

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp mustard (powder is ok)

1/4 tsp paprika or cayenne

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbs olive oil or avocado oil

2 tbs ketchup

Other ingredients:

Slice of white onions, mushrooms, or other vegetables, such as zucchini

Directions:

Combine all the sauce ingredients and mix well.

Place fish on a baking pan and brush fish all over with mixed sauce ingredients.

If using onions, mushrooms, or squash, scatter them around the fish and brush with sauce also.

Bake in the oven set to 350° for 10 minutes.
You also can grill the fish. 

Orange Sponge Cake

Previously, I have posted a few recipes for sponge cake.  However, this recipe is one of my favorites because the orange juice and orange zest gives this cake a special flavor. I think this cake can be a special gift for the holidays. Friends and family will think that you are a professional baker.

  

Ingredients:

1 cup of cake flour*

1 tsp baking powder

5 eggs, (yolks separated from whites)

1/2 cup sugar

Zest from 1 orange and orange juice (1/2 cup)

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

Other items:

Parchment paper

1 cake pan

1 tbs soft butter

Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line the bottom of a 9 in. round or spring cake pan with parchment paper. Spread butter over the entire bottom of the cake pan.

Sift the flour and baking powder and add the orange zest.

Place the whites of 5 eggs in the bowl of a KitchenAid® stand mixer. Add salt and lemon juice and 1/4 cup of sugar.  Attach the whisk and turn the stand mixer to medium. Start beating the egg whites mixture until it stiff peaks (about 7 minutes). 

In another bowl, combine egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, oil, and orange juice and beat until well combined. Continue whisking mixture. Sift the flour into the egg and orange mixture. Continue to mix until incorporated.

Take small part of the egg white mixture and fold into the egg yolk mixture using the folding technique until there is no trace of the egg white. 

Continue to use the folding technique to blend in the white mixture with the egg-orange mixture. 

Gently mix them together until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

 Bake in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes.

* Remove 2 tbs flour and replace with cornstarch

Vietnamese Turkey and Rice Noodles Soup -- Pho Ga Tay

Lately, I have been using turkey more often than chicken because the turkey bones are  perfect for making broth. With this broth on hand, there are many recipes that can be made with turkey broth. Today, I will introduce the popular Vietnamese soup called "Pho", and I will use turkey as a main ingredient. I will share an easy way to prepare this soup since this is a conventional recipe. Furthermore, turkey meat is very lean, and it is also very economical for a family with many mouths to feed.  I bought one turkey for 99 ¢ per lb.. After I used most of the meaty parts of the turkey for other recipes, today I will use both turkey legs for making turkey pho. This is a quick pho, but the taste is fantastic.

Ingredients:

2 turkey legs

15 cups turkey broth

12 oz. fresh rice noodles

Spices:

5 whole cloves

5 star anise

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 stick cinnamon (2 inch length)

Other ingredients:

1 piece of fresh ginger about 2 inches

1 medium white onion

5 shallots

Seasonings:

2 tsp salt

3 tbs fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

Serve with:

Chopped cilantro, green onions, and fresh basil

Fresh hot chili and lime wedges

Directions:

Place ginger, onion (cut in half), and shallots in a baking tray and bake or broil until fragrant or browned (10 to 15 minutes). Remove the shells of onion and shallots and set aside.

Combine all the spices and pan-fry for 2 minutes. 

Place all spices in a special basket which use for this task (as in the following photo).

In a large pot, place the turkey legs, cover with cold water, and bring to boil (boil turkey legs for 3 minutes and drain). This method will ensure that the broth will be clear.

Bring the chicken or turkey broth to boil. Add the turkey legs to the broth (you may have to add more water to cover the meat). Bring to simmer and skim off any residue that rises to the surface. Simmer for 40 minutes and remove the turkey legs.

Bring the broth back to boil and add the spices basket, broiled ginger, onions, and shallots. Simmer for 45 minutes and remove all of the contents in the broth. Season the broth with salt, sugar, and the fish sauce, which will be added during the last minutes of the cooking time.

As you can see that I added celery, carrots, daikon to the broth while cooking turkey legs. This is another way to add more flavor to the meat (optional)

While the broth is cooking, shred the turkey meat.

Cook the rice noodles according to the instructions on the package.  If using fresh noodles, bring a pot of water to boil and cook the fresh noodles for a few seconds.

To serve:

Transfer the drained noodles into a serving bowl. 

Top with shredded turkey, some slices of white onions, cilantro, and green onions. Pour the broth over it. Enjoy the delicious, healthy turkey pho.

Easy Rum and Fruit Muffins

Christmas is a time when people give each other fruitcake as a gift. Most of my friends always tell me not to give them a fruitcake. However, they love my rum and fruit muffins. I use the easy Vitamix® method to make most of my muffins. I like this recipe because it still reminds me of the fruitcake that not many people enjoy. However, these muffins certainly are a welcome gift. Here is a gift from me to you. Happy holidays!

Ingredients:

2 cups cake mix*

2 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter

1/4 cup rum

1 ½ cups total of raisins, apricots, figs, cranberries, and prunes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line a 12 muffin tin with paper liners.

Chop figs, prunes, and apricots to raising-size pieces and soak them with rum for 1 hour.

In a mixing bowl, add cake mix and whisk well.

In a Vitamix® or other blender container, add eggs, sugar, milk, and oil.  Blend for 30 seconds.

Pour the well-blended egg-milk mixture into the cake mix (use a hand whisk to blend gently). Add rum -soaked fruits and continue to blend gently until combined.

Scoop the batter into the muffin tin paper liners (3/4 full).

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

You will now make your friends happy!!

*You can make a cake mix by adding 1 ½ tsp. baking powder to 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Add a pinch of salt to this mixture.

Easy Snowball Cookies

Every Christmas, snowball cookies are presented either as a gift or as a table centerpiece. This cookie has many names, such as Mexican wedding cake, Russian tea cake, or sandy cookies. I do not know why this cookie has so many names. I guess it depends on who makes it and for what occasion.  For Christmas, they should be called snowballs because they look like snow.  I will share this easy recipe now so that everyone can prepare these cookies at any time.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 stick of butter (at room temperature)

1 cup total of roasted pecans or walnuts or both*

1 tbs sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup to 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Use a food processor to chop the nuts into small pieces (add 1 tbs flour into the nuts before grinding them to prevent them from becoming a paste).

Place soft butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and use a handheld blender to beat the mixture well or melt the butter and add to the flour, nuts, and vanilla and mix together with hands or spoon. Now the dough is ready to form the cookies.

I use a small ice cream scoop to scoop dough into a small ball (roll around to form a small ball).

Place on the baking tray and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Let cookies cool off and roll each ball in the powdered sugar. You may have to roll the cookies twice with powdered sugar to get the really "white snow" effect.

* I both types of nuts because I love them, but you can use one or the other.

Fish with Sautéed Zucchini and Yellow Squash

For the first time during the 10 days in 1984 when my family arrived in a Thailand camp before we could come to the United States, we were served zucchini soup or stir-fried cucumber with shrimp and eggs, but mostly eggs. Those ten days are happy memories for me because we left the Vietnamese communist-controlled country to join with my father again after almost 10 years after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Today, those flashback memories serve me to create this recipe that mirrors the stir-fried cucumber with shrimp and eggs. It is an easy and healthy recipe for a lazy weekend.

Ingredients:

2 tilapia fillets, cubed

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup white onion, sliced

2 tbs oil

3 cups total of zucchini, yellow squash, and mushrooms, sliced

Stir-fried sauce ingredients:

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 tbs fish sauce

1 tbs soy sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar or honey

1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in wok. Stir in garlic and onions until fragrant.

Add fish and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the vegetables.

Add stir-fried sauce ingredients and bring to boil. Stir and cook for 2 minutes (adjust the seasoning to your liking) and serve with cooked rice.

Easy Healthy Vegetable Egg Foo Young

Most people love egg foo young from a Chinese fast food takeout because we are busy and this dish is very convenient to order before dinner time. However, Chinese egg foo young in the restaurant is a deep-fried dish; because of that, there too much oil in this dish to be considered acceptable for a healthy diet. Making egg foo young at home is very easy, and you will have total control of what is inside this dish. This dish is very tolerant of its filling ingredients – from meats, seafood, or just whatever vegetables are available.  Today, I will introduce an easy way to create this healthy dish at home with simple cooking methods so that everyone can make it.  In Vietnam, most women are good to excellent cooks; egg foo young is an easy dish to prepare to test an Asian woman’s skill at cooking; so if a woman fails this test, Asian tradition blames the mother.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

Pinch of salt, sugar, and white pepper

1/4 tsp light soy sauce

Vegetables:

1 cup total of mushrooms, diced pea and bean sprouts

1 green onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

Gravy ingredients:

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 tsp oyster sauce

1/4 tsp soy sauce

1/8 tsp sugar

Pinch of white pepper

Equal amounts of cornstarch and water for thickening (1/2 tsp))

1 tbs of oil (peanut or vegetable oil)

Directions:

Beat eggs in a bowl with all the seasonings. Add the vegetables and mix well.

Place the gravy ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil.  Stir in the thickening and adjust the seasonings to your liking, and set aside.

Heat 1 tbs of oil (peanut or vegetable oil) in a nonstick skillet.

Pour in egg-vegetable mixture. 

Turn heat to medium low and cook until just set. Flip the egg.

To serve:

Place egg foo young on a serving plate and pour the gravy on top