Chicken Egg Foo Young

Asians have different dishes using eggs, and egg foo young is a Chinese dish. I like to prepare this dish because it is a perfect way to enjoy a lazy weekend dinner. It is also up to each cook to prepare this dish as a big pancake or smaller one to serve individually.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp Shoaxing wine or dry Sherry
1 cup chopped chicken breast (about 1/2 of chicken breast)
2 tbs vegetable oil or coconut oil
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup Napa cabbage, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup white onions, roughly chopped
White Sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbs Shaoxing wine
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch

Garnish with chopped green onions

Directions:
To make a sauce:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine all the sauce ingredients. Whisk until the cornstarch dissolves. Bring to a boil. Adjust the seasonings and cook until thickened. Keep the sauce warm.

To make egg foo young:
Blanch the bean sprouts and Napa cabbage. Drain and set aside
Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Stir fry chicken until court about 7 minutes. Add white onions, stir briefly, and remove.

In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs with salt, pepper, and rice wine. Add cooked chicken, blanched bean sprouts and Napa cabbage and mix well.

Heat oil. Swirl to spread oil over wok. Pour eggs mixture into wok and quickly stir until mixture slightly solidifies.

 Lightly flatten to form a pancake. Cook in a low- low heat setting to prevent the eggs from burning. Hold wok and move in circular motion until egg pancake is golden brown.

 Pour the warm sauce on top and sprinkle with green onions. Serve.

Steamed Banana Cake II (Banh Chuoi Hap)

This is the second time that I made this steamed banana cake, and I love this version better. It is not just simple to make but is also exactly like the taste that I hoped to accomplish.

Ingredients:
6 medium-ripe bananas, sliced into 1/2 inch thick coins
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup tapioca starch
1/4 tsp salt
4 drops yellow food color
1 tsp vanilla

Serve with coconut milk mixture (see instructions at the bottom)
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp tapioca starch

Garnish with roasted sesame seeds, peanuts

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, combine bananas, sugar and salt. Let mixture stand for 15 minutes so that the bananas can release their nectar. Stir in tapioca starch, yellow food color and vanilla. Mix well.

 

 

Line an 8 inch round baking dish with plastic wrap large enough to cover the batter while steaming, This method will prevent the steam from adding more water into the batter.

 

 

Place the baking dish into a large steamer over medium-high heat. Cover and cook for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the steamer and let it cool completely before cutting the banana cake. Serve with coconut milk.

Coconut milk:
Combine all the coconut milk ingredients and mix well. Pour coconut mixture into a small saucepan and bring to boil. Let simmer for a few minutes or until thickened.

A Perfect Croissant

Even though a croissant is not healthy bread, no one can refuse a croissant if it is a good one. One of so many of my bad eating habits is this crispy, buttery bread. However, to defend this kind of bad eating habit, I am continuously trying to figure out how to make this wonderful bread at home with a reduced quantity of butter in the bread, but still taste wonderful. Trust me! Readers, finally this recipe make me so happy, and once again the bread machine comes into play.

Ingredients:
Poolish:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/4 tsp active yeast
Final dough
1/2 cup skim milk at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbs soft butter
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
All poolish ingredients after 12 hours (see directions below)
1 1/4 tsp yeast
Roll in butter
2 1/2 sticks cold butter

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the poolish ingredients. Mix well and cover with plastic wrap for 12 hours
In a bread machine pan, combine the final dough ingredients as listed in the order listed above. Choose the dough function and press start. When the machine stops mixing and kneading, remove dough and place in a medium size mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

 

Place the chilled butter between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper and use the rolling pin to make a square 1/2 inch thick. Refrigerate to keep the butter cool so that it doesn't harden again or melt further (it needs to be the same softness as the dough or it will break up when folded).

After two hours, remove dough from the bowl and place dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough in four different directions to form a piece of dough large enough to hold a square of butter in its center.

 Put the butter in the center and fold the four arms of the dough to completely cover the butter.

Position the dough so that it looks like a book. Roll the dough away from you into a rectangle,

keeping its corner as square as you can. Then fold the top third down and the bottom third up to make a parcel of three even layers.

Repeat the rolling, folding, and turning, trying to keep the corner layers even. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, repeat the rolling, folding and turning at least for 4 times. Each time refrigerate for 30 minutes. Now the dough is ready to use.

Before baking:
Roll out dough into a 12" x 15" rectangle on lightly flour surface .Second, cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, resulting in two 15" x 6" rectangles.

Third, cut each of the 15" x 6" rectangles into four equal-sized 3.75" x 6" new rectangles (8 total).

Finally, cut each of the 8 new rectangles diagonally, resulting in 16 triangles. Roll each triangle into a crescent shape.

 

 

 

 

Brush the croissants with the egg wash. The croissants can be baked immediately or covered with plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator to be baked in the morning.

Pre-heat oven to 400°. Bake for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 325° and bake the croissants further for another 10 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Potatoe Quinoa Cakes

This morning when I looked in my refrigerator, I found cooked quinoa and mashed potatoes left from making bread yesterday. Wow! I realized what I could do with all of good food for my breakfast by combining both quinoa and potatoes and also clean out of my refrigerator at the same time. The texture of quinoa after cooking remains very crunchy. If I added quinoa to mashed potatoes and some other spices, I could transform this into some delicious, nutritious meal. I started looking for some fresh herbs and spices that can go well together. Normally, if my recipes do not turn out well, the wild birds in my garden have a fun day, but not this one. After making these cakes, I dropped them off for my neighbor to try, and she approved of their taste. I think you will agree.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups mashed potatoes
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup chopped mushrooms (your choice)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped sweet white onions
3 green onions, chopped
1 tbs fresh basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup coconut oil or grape seed oil
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Serve with sausages or bacon (optional)

Directions:
In a sauté pan over medium heat, add 1 tbs of coconut oil. Stir in white onions and garlic. Sauté until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are wilted (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat.

In a mixing bowl, combine quinoa, mashed potatoes, beaten eggs, green onions, fresh basil, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and the sautéed mushrooms mixture.

Form the mixture into 8 patties and roll each patty with panko to completely cover each patty.

 

 

In a sauté pan over medium high heat, add the rest of the coconut oil until hot. Carefully drop each patty into the hot oil (do not crowd the pan).

 Fry each side for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown.

These cakes can be served with fried bacon or sausages on the side.

 

Oatmeal Hamburger Rolls

Owning a bread machine has given me a lot of joy. I am not an expert baker, but the bread machine helps me feel like one. I make all kinds of bread, from a simple white bread to something more complicated, like croissant dough, and each time I do, I get more confidence in trying something different. These oatmeal rolls are another bread machine creation and can replace simple hamburger rolls for an extra healthy way to eat.
Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
3 tbs butter
1 tbs sugar
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Brush the top with 2 tbs melted butter

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a bread machine's pan, except the melted butter. Select the dough setting and press start. When dough has finished the first rising cycle, the machine will make a sound. Turn off bread machine, remove dough from bread pan, and place onto a floured surface. Gently roll dough into an 18 inch rope.

Divide dough into 8 equal pieces.

 Shape each piece into a round ball, flatten slightly, and place onto a large greased baking sheet.

With a sharp knife, cut an X into the top of each roll.

Cover with kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for another 45 minutes or until double in size.
Preheat oven to 375°. Brush each roll with melted butter and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or split in half and fill with ham, cheese, or any other filling that you like.

Hawaiian Shoyo Chicken

I learned this recipe from Hawaiian chef, Sam Choy. His recipe uses chicken thighs, but I like to use chicken breasts and reduce the portion of sugar in mine because I think it is healthier. This is a fast, easy, and delicious dish, which is very popular in Hawaii. The Chinese five spice powder, along with other ingredients, gives it a big flavor.

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts
Sauce:
1/2 cup good soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/2 cup fresh orange juice and orange zest
2 tbs honey or brown sugar
1 tbs fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp five spice powder
1/4 cup water
1 tbs cornstarch

Garnish with fresh chopped green onions and cilantro

Directions:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine all the sauce ingredients except the cornstarch and the garnishes. Bring to boil and add chicken breasts.

 Bring to simmer and skim off some of the scum that rises to the top. Simmer for 5 minutes. Cover with lid and turn the heat off. Leave chicken cook in the hot sauce for 15 minutes. Remove chicken and let cool off.
Drain the sauce through sieve. Use 1/2 cup of the sauce and bring it to boil. Whisk the cornstarch with 2 tbs of water and add to the sauce. Whisk until the sauce is thickened into a glaze
. Slice chicken into 1/2 in strips and place chicken strips onto a baking dish.

 

 

Drizzle the glaze over chicken and place under broiler for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions and cilantro. Serve over rice or enjoy as it is.

Tuna Baked In Tomato Sauce

Any white firm fish fillets will be good to prepare this meal, and homemade tomato sauce is the perfect choice for dressing up this dish in no time.

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz Tuna fillets
1 cup homemade or store-bought tomato sauce
1 tbs fresh oregano, finely chopped
1/4 cup sliced white onions
1/4 cup sliced olives
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Fresh dill, chopped for garnish
1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°.
Mix tomato sauce with oregano.
Spray cooking oil into a baking dish. Place a few onions on the bottom of the baking dish. Place into baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with some more onions and olives. Pour the tomato sauce over fish. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with fresh dill and lemon juice and serve.