Applesauce Bread

This quick healthy bread serves perfectly for breakfast. Save some for later because it will be gone before it comes to the table.
 
Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Wet Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup honey
2 tbs butter, softened
 
Directions:
Butter a 9" x 5" loaf pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs, applesauce, and honey together, until smooth.

Add the egg mixture into the well of the flour mixture. Stir the egg mixture and the flour mixture until well combined. Pour into the prepared loaf pan

 and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

 Let bread cool for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with your favorite jam and butter.

Easy, No-Fail Sponge Cake

Finally, I am very happy with this sponge cake recipe (in Vietnamese called " banh bong lan"). I found this recipe in an old community cookbook where elderly people met at churches and brought pies or cakes. Now, I can stop searching for the perfect sponge cake recipe because this is the right and easiest one. Feel free to add flavorful ingredients to this recipe, such as coconut, raisins, etc.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
11/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup white sugar (for egg whites)
1/4 cup white sugar (for egg yolks)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup boiling water
4 eggs, separated
2 tbs soft butter for cake pan

Directions:
Combine flour, salt and baking powder and sift three times.
In a bowl combine melted butter and hot water and set a side
Line an 9 inch square or round cake pan with parchment paper. Spread soft butter to cover the bottom and all the side

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a stand mixer, beat egg white , lemon juice with sugar until stiff (about 5 minutes). Add vanilla but do not stir. 

Beat egg yolk with sugar until light and fluffy. Pour hot water-butter mixture in the thin stream into the egg yolk with flour; continues whisking until all combine.

Lightly  Fold the egg white into the egg yolk.

 Pour batter into the prepare pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Combination Fried Rice

Fried rice was created primarily as a way to finish using leftover cold rice, meat, or vegetables. In Asian cuisines, fried rice is a snack, served in the afternoon or eaten in a train or bus; it is never served at the regular meal. Since it is seasoned and mingled with other ingredients, it would detract from rather than enhance the main dish. Fried rice has merit as a light luncheon dish or a side dish and has become very popular among Westerners in takeout menus. The secret to making good fried rice is that the rice must be cold and firm and cooks need to separate the rice with wet hands to prevent lumping or mashing during the fast stir-frying process. Long grain rice is better for these dishes than short-grain rice. I like to make fried rice using brown rice for a healthier choice. Also, my fried rice recipe is quite simple to follow using the leftovers in the refrigerator at the end of the week. My combination fried rice is truly fluffy, seductively aromatic, delicious and nutritious.

Ingredients:
4 cups cold cooked brown rice
3 tbs oil
3 large whole scallions, coarsely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked chicken (roasted chicken)
1 cup total of peas, carrots, sliced button mushrooms, and frozen kernels of corn
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
Beat the eggs well with 1/4 tsp salt. Heat wok over high heat until hot. Add 1 tbs of oil, swirl, and heat for 30 seconds (don't let the oil smoke). Pour in the eggs, and, as they puff around the edges, push the egg with a spatula across to the back of the pan as you tilt it toward you.

Repeat this pushing and tilting quickly until the eggs are no longer runny but soft and fluffy. Slide them onto a dish and set aside.

Add another 1 tbs of oil, swirl, and heat for 30 seconds. Stir in chopped mushrooms, peas, corn, and carrots (cork for 2 minutes).. Add cooked chicken. Cook this mixture for 3 minutes.

 Then rejoin them with the cooked eggs.
Separate the cold rice with wet hands. Add the remaining oil to the hot pan. Add garlic and scatter into the rice. Stir, poke, and flip with a spatula to coat each grain with oil. Add the other 1/4 tsp salt and soy sauce to taste and stir briskly for 1 minute (just to warm the rice through). Then add the lightly fried eggs and cooked chicken. Stir to mingle the two. Add the scallions.

Give the dish a few fast turns and pour into a hot serving dish. Sprinkle with some black pepper.

Fish Congee Chao Ca

In Vietnam, this soup was served to people to fight their flu. The ginger and garlic infused into the broth give this soup a distinctive flavor. Personally, I can enjoy this soup every day.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. whitefish fillets (your choice)
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp fresh ginger
1 tsp fresh garlic, minced
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbs cooking wine
Broth:
2 cups fish stock
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup rice, washed and drained
1 knob fresh ginger, sliced
Garnish:
Scallion, chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Black pepper
Fresh hot chili, sliced (optional)

Directions;
Cut fish fillets into bite-size pieces and place fish in a shallow dish. Add fish sauce, ginger, garlic, green onions and cooking wine. Marinate fish for 30 minutes.

In a 4 qt pot, fry the rice and ginger with 2 tbs of oil until the rice becomes opaque.

Add chicken stock, fish stock. Bring it to boil. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let rice sit in the hot broth for 30 minutes.

When ready to serve, bring the soup back to boil. Add the marinated fish and cook for 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with salt, if needed. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, pepper, and cilantro.

Tuna Vegetable Chowder

"Dinner's ready!" is music to the ears of everybody at the end of the day. I have the recipe that will satisfy everybody's tastebuds as well, using all the ingredients which are already in most pantries.

 Ingredients:
One 12 oz can tuna, drained
2 tbs butter
1 cup skim milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 bottle of clam juice
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup white onions, chopped
1 tbs fresh chopped marjoram or 1 tsp dried marjoram
2 cups vegetables: carrots, frozen peas, corn, & green beans, cut up
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup Mexican cheese blend

Directions:
In a 3 quart saucepan, cook onions in butter on low medium heat until soft.

Stir in flour, mustard, and pepper.

 Cook until the mixture is smooth and bubbly.
Add broth, skim milk, clam juice, marjoram, and vegetables. Bring to boil, and cook for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add tuna and salt. Stir in cheese and serve.

Coconut Raisin Sweet Dinner Rolls

I love to make sweet dinner rolls using a bread machine and the Tangzhong starter (posted on Feb, 02, 2012). I add raisin in the middle of the rolls after the dough has finished its first cycle. The coconut milk adds Asian flair into this bread and can be served with dinner or eaten as a snack.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Tangzhong starter (posted on 02/02/12)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 egg
3 tbs sugar
3 tbs butter
1 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup raisins
2 tbs butter at room temperature
1 egg, well beaten for egg wash

Directions:
Place the 8 ingredients listed above in the order presented into a bread machine pan. Select the dough function and press start. The dough will be a little sticky when it is done. Try not to use flour to shape the dough because too much flour will make a tougher dough.
Spread soft butter on the bottom and on the sides of a 9" round baking dish. Divide dough into 10 small pieces as the size of a golf ball. Divide the raisins into 10 equal portions. Place in the middle of each piece of dough. Try to shape the dough as round as possible and place onto the prepared baking dish. Cover dough with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place. Let dough rise for another 40 minutes or until dough is double in size and use a pastry brush to brush dough with egg wash.

Preheat oven to 375° and bake the sweet rolls for 30 minutes.

Chicken Cooked in Tomato Soy Sauce

This year my vegetable garden produced quite a lot of tomatoes. I made several dishes with fresh tomatoes, and one of them is chicken cooked in tomato-soy sauce. The tender chunks of chicken slowly cooked in a nicely seasoned tomato-soy sauce are a good way to enjoy a simple dinner.
 
Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts and legs, skinless and boneless
Vegetables:
1 small onion, cut into chunks
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup carrots, cut into chunks
1 cup button mushrooms, thickly sliced
Sauce:
3 tbs cooking wine
4 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs ketchup
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup water
Thickening:
2 tbs water
1 tbs cornstarch
Garnish with green onions, cut into 2 inch lengths

Directions:
In a pot, heat oil over high heat. Then stir-fry onions until fragrant.

Add tomatoes and stir briefly. Add chicken and carrots.

Add sauce ingredients and bring to boil.

Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Add mushrooms in the last 10 minutes of cooking time.

Mix cornstarch and water and add into the pot. Cook until thickened. Sprinkle with green onions.

This dish is suitable to serve with cooked noodles or rice.