Sweet Breads With Oat Crumbs

I like to make bread for dinner or sometimes with a crunchy topping is well served at breakfast. The oatmeal topping in this recipe adds extra crunchiness that will melt in your mouth.
Ingredients:
The dough
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs shortening
1 tbs chia seeds gel
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tsp active bread machine yeast
The topping
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 tbs all-purpose flour
3 tbs dark brown sugar
1 tbs white sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup soft butter

Directions:
All the ingredients must be at room temperature. Add dough ingredients into the pan of a bread machine in the order listed above. Select the dough setting and press start. After the kneading cycle, let dough rise in the machine. Remove dough from the machine and punch the dough down to remove some air. Let dough rest for 5 minutes before hand-shaping.

Preparing the topping: In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine all the topping ingredients. Mix well. With a fork, cut butter into pea-size pellets. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Place dough in a lightly buttered 9 inch square baking pan. Using the fingertips, gently press the dough to spread it evenly to cover the bottom. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth. Let rise until double in size.

Preheat oven to 350 °. Make light indentations with fingertips on the surface of risen dough.

Sprinkle evenly the topping over dough. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until topping is lightly browned .

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack completely before cutting into 9 equal squares.

Chicken Cooked In Soy Sauce

A simple cooking liquid, but very tasty, makes this chicken dish so tender and delicious.
Ingredients:
1 lb of chicken breasts and thighs
2 tbs coconut oil or peanut oil
Vegetables:
1 cup Yukon potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces (1 medium size potato)
1 cup carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup white onions, wedges
3 clove garlic, slice
Cooking liquid:
2 cups chicken broth
4 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs sweet dark soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tbs dry sherry
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs honey
Thickening sauce:
2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Garnish with chopped cilantro and green onions

Directions:
Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Heat coconut oil. Fry chicken until golden brown. Remove from the pan. In the same pan, fry the potatoes, carrots, and onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Remove from pan . Add cooking liquid into the pan and bring to boil
In a stew pot, place chicken, potatoes, and carrots and pour the hot boiling cooking liquid into the stew pot.

 Cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes; Mix the thickening and add to the stew pot . Continue to cook for another 5 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Sprinkle with cilantro and green onions and serve with cooked rice.

Stuffed Baked Salmon Fillet

I like to prepare fish because it is quick and healthy. In my family, we eat salmon almost three or four times a week, and I don't want to use the same salmon recipe in the same week. I shop frequently at Costco, and the stuffed salmon sold there is very good. I created this stuffed salmon recipe to mirror the one at Costco. Because I don't know all the ingredients that are stuffed inside Costco's salmon, I am guessing what they are. It looks like it is stuffed with imitation crab and some bread crumbs. I don't have all the ingredients on hand, but my substitution of mini scallops and shrimp will have the same seafood flavor. The following is my recipe for baked stuffed salmon.
Ingredients:
Four 6 oz salmon fillets
The stuffing:
1/2 cup cooked white rice
1/2 cup mini scallops
1/2 cup shrimp, peeled, deveined, and roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped minced onions
1 clove garlic, minced
3 green onions, chopped
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder or paprika
Sauce:
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbs olive oil
Dot with 2 tbs butter
Fresh chopped tarragon and parsley

Directions:
Pat dry the salmon and use a sharp knife to slit open the salmon enough for stuffing.
In a nonstick pan, add oil and sautéed white onions and garlic until fragrant. Add celery and carrots and cook for 5 minutes or until wilted. Add shrimp and scallops, stirring for 2 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Remove from heat and let it cool.
In a mixing bowl, combine egg, cooked rice and green onions. Add cooled shrimp mixture into the rice and mix well. The stuffing is now ready. Divide the stuffing equally into four portions and stuff neatly into salmon. Place stuffed salmon onto a baking dish. Brush salmon all over with sauce using a pastry brush. Then dot the top of salmon with butter. Cover with tin foil and bake salmon in preheated oven set to 400° for 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve

Easy Breezy Butter Cake

There is nothing better than a quick, simple basic cake recipe that can be easily converted into a fancier cake for a wedding, graduation party, etc., using different frosting. However, bringing family and friends together for an afternoon tea party with a piece of simple butter cake is special. This easy, basic yellow cake is the most important cake that everyone needs to learn at the beginning of baking.
Ingredients:
Dry ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
1 to 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup milk

1 cup dried fruit, such as raisins or cherries (if desired)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° and butter and flour a 9" x 9" cake pan.

Sift the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Using a KitchenAid stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add one egg at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add vanilla. Beat in the dry ingredients, alternating with flour and milk in batches-beginning with flour and ending with flour. Fold in the dried fruit at this time (if using).

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Spicy Fish fillets with Sweet and Sour Sauce

This is another popular recipe from my family's restaurant, the Vietnam Little Home, I scaled down the quantity of ingredients and moderated the recipe into simple instructions for preparing this hearty meal at home. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Marinade:
1/2 lb fish fillets (catfish, sole, blue fish or tilapia), sliced into 2 inch pieces
1 tbs cooking wine
1/2 tsp salt

Vegetable:
1 ripe tomato cut into wedges
1 cup white onions, sliced into thin strips
Spices:
1 tbs fresh chopped ginger
1 tbs garlic, minced
2 dry red chilies

Coating:
1 egg, beaten
2 tbs water
1 tbs cornstarch
1 tbs all purpose flour

Sauce:
1 tbs cooking wine (dry sherry)
2 tbs ketchup
2 tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs soy sauce

Thickening:
1/2 cup water
2 tsp cornstarch

Garnish with green onions, cilantro

Directions:
Marinate fish with wine and salt for 30 minutes.
Have all the ingredients ready in separate bowls next to the stove. Heat oil for frying. Dredge fish in coating completely.

 Place in the hot oil and fry until brown on both sides (this should take about 5 to 8 minutes).

Remove from the pan and set aside on a warm serving plate. Drain all but 2 tbs of the oil from the pan. Add the spices and then stir for a few seconds or until fragrant. Add the white onions.

 Stir again and add the tomato wedges.

Pour the sauce into a hot wok. Re stir again and bring to boil. Let cook an additional minute or so.

 Add the thickening to the tomato sauce and bring to boil again. Continue to cook sauce until thickened.

Pour over fish and sprinkle with green onions and cilantro. Serve with rice.

Cinnamon-Apple Quick Bread

This quick bread with a combination of apple and dry fruits certainly is a good way for brightening a day. Pack a few slices for and afternoon snack without feeling guilty.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups apples, peeled, cored, and shredded
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dry cranberries
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

Directions:
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon in a mixing bowl.
Combine shredded apples, raisins, and cranberries in another bowl and mix well.
In a medium bowl, beat well the sugar, egg, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the sugar-egg mixture. Fold in the apple-dry fruit mixture.
Transfer the batter into an 8" x 4" loaf pan. Coat with cooking spray. Bake in a preheated oven set to 350° for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing the bread from the loaf pan onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Vietnamese Carrot and Daikon Pickle Dish

My mother created this simple pickle dish to accompany many other dishes in our family's Vietnam Little Home restaurant. I remember that every time we made this pickle dish, it always needed a large quantity of carrots and daikons so that this pickle dish could then last for a few months. I think that a simple way to cut the carrots and daikons is to julienne them into the shape of a matchstick, and the best equipment to help for faster cutting is having a mandoline. After enjoying the sweet-sour crunchiness of this pickle , some other Asian dishes will not be complete without using it. I cut down the quantity of ingredients for the recipe here so that it will be easier to prepare in the home kitchen.
Ingredients:
1 lb. carrots, julienned (2 inches long and 1/8 inch wide)
1 lb. daikons, julienned (2 inches long and 1/8 inch wide)
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt

Directions:
In a large colander, place the julienned carrots and daikons and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of salt. Let carrots and daikons soak with salt for 1 hour.
In a saucepan, combine water, vinegar, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let the vinegar cool off.
After 1 hour, wash the soaked carrots and daikons. Squeeze out the excess water and place them in a clean jar. Pour the vinegar over them and close the lid. The pickle dish will be ready the next day.