Tasty Oven-Baked Fish

With just a few on-hand ingredients, surprisingly, tasty fish can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. whitefish fillets, such as tilapia, flounder, or swaii
Sauce
1/4 cup nonfat yogurt
1/4 cup sweet pickles
1/4 cup white onions
2 tbs dry sherry
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp black pepper
Other
3 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
Chopped cilantro

Directions:
In a blender, blend the sauce ingredients until combined.

 

Brush the baking dish with canola oil. Place the fish fillet onto the baking dish. Top with mushrooms. Bake the fish in the preheated oven at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Easy Brownies

This brownie recipe is very easy to put together to entertain surprise guests, and within 30 minutes brownies can be served.

 Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 oz baking chocolate
1/3 cup butter
2 tbs chia seeds gel (1/4 tsp seeds with 2 tbs water)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a bowl, combine flour, salt, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, and chopped walnuts. Mix well

In a double boiler over medium heat, melt butter and two oz chocolate. Let cool.
With a handheld mixer, beat the melted chocolate/butter mixture with sugar.

Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat well.

 Use a spatula to stir in the flour mixture. Just mix until incorporated.

Do not overmix the batter. Pour into an 8” x 8” baking pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Let cool before sprinkling with powdered sugar.

Chicken Stir Fry with Cauliflower in Sweet and Sour Sauce

This adaption of a sweet and sour, stir fry dish from Chinese restaurants will easily transform a boring dinner into an extraordinary one.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 tbs cooking wine
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 tbs ketchup
1/4cup vinegar
1 tbs sugar
1tsp honey
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp pepper flakes
Vegetables:
1 cup cauliflower, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
1 total cup of green and red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup white onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro
Serve with hot cooked rice

Directions:
In a bowl, combine chicken., cooking wine, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
In pot of boiling water, cook cauliflower for 1 minute. Drain cauliflower in colander. Immediately transfer it to a bowl of ice water until cooled. Then drain the cauliflower well and pat dry with paper towels. Set cauliflower aside.

 

For seasoning sauce: in a bowl, combine broth, tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes. Stir in cornstarch. Set sauce aside.
In a wok set over high heat, drizzle in 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add chicken pieces. Stir-fry until they look pink (1 minute). Transfer stir-fried chicken pieces onto a plate. Add remaining oil to wok. Toss in garlic and stir-fry until fragrant (15 seconds). Add red and green peppers, onions, and cauliflower. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Re-stir seasoning sauce and add to the wok. Add chicken and stir-fry until it is white in the center (1-2 minutes). Serve immediately.

Salmon Bake in Spicy Sauce

Proper seasoning is the key to a tasteful dish. I have introduced an easy sauce can be used as a marinade for the fish or for dipping.

Ingredients:
Sauce
1 tbs hot chili paste
1 green onion, thinly chopped
1 tbs ginger root, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs sake
2 tbs vinegar
2 tbs sesame oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbs cornstarch
Two 6 oz salmon fillets
Baking dish
1/2 cup thinly sliced white onions

Directions:
To make sauce:
Heat about 2 tbs of oil in a saucepan. Add chili paste, ginger, garlic, and green onions and cook until fragrant. Stir and add the rest of the sauce ingredients and cook until thickened. Remove and let cool.

To prepare fish:
Place fish onto the baking dish. Pour 1/4 cup of the sauce over fish. Top with white onions. Preheat oven to 400° and bake fish for 20 minutes. Serve.

Vietnamese Ma Po Tofu

The reason that I named this recipe, Vietnamese Ma Po Tofu, is that this dish is very popular among the Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Lao, etc. cuisines that are making it in their own versions. Chinese food dominates the world with its excellent technique of cooking. Therefore, although some other countries like Vietnam have similar dishes, like Ma Po Tofu, their recipes still belong to the Chinese cuisine. The Vietnamese are living on the same continent, of course, and will use the same spices when it comes to cooking, but they always have to call their food Chinese dishes. This practice has become a habit for many years. I would like to break this habit now by introducing this version of Ma Po Tofu and name it "Vietnamese Ma Po Tofu” or “Ground Chicken Cooked with Bean Curds”. Believe me, this recipe is much healthier and less salty than the Chinese Ma Po Tofu.

 Ingredients:
1 pack of tofu
1/2 lb of ground chicken or pork
1/4 cup chopped white oions
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
Spices
2 tbs miso paste
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs sake or dry sherry
1 cup water
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chili flakes
Thickening
1 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs water

Directions:
Cut tofu into 1 in. cubes. Bring 3 cups of water to boil and parboil the tofu for 5 minutes. Drain the parboiled tofu and set aside.
Mix spices ingredients together and set aside
Mix the thickening agents in a bowl and set aside
Heat oil in a sauté pan and then add white onions ,ginger and garlic paste. Cook for 1 minute. Add ground chicken and use a wooden spoon to break the meat. Stir and cook until there is no trace of pink. Add the mixed spices and bring to boil.
Add tofu and green onions. Cook for 2 minutes and add the thickening agent mixture. Cook for another 2 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Serve.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe on the Sunset magazine website. As usual, I got back on the quantities of sugar to fit my taste.

 Ingredients:
Dry ingredients:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 stick butter at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Other:
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°.
In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.
In a stand mixer bowl using the medium speed, beat all the wet ingredients until well combined. Turn the speed to low and add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Drop teaspoonfuls of entire batter onto the cookies sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges of all the cookies are slightly brown. Let cool completely before storing in a cookie jar.

Chicken Wonton Soup

Wonton soup is one of my favorite snacks soups that I enjoy in the afternoon. Good soup starts with good stock, and in my kitchen chicken stock is always available. The filling can be ground pork or chicken, and today I use ground chicken for this recipe. This simple soup will make everyone happy!

Ingredients:
Filling:
10 oz ground chicken
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cooking wine
2 oz chopped water chestnuts
3 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water and finely chopped
1 small shallots, chopped
1 tsp fresh minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp pepper
1 green onion, chopped
Broth:
10 cups good chicken stock
1 tbs cooking wine
1 piece fresh ginger, smashed
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt or to taste
2 button mushrooms, sliced (optional)
Skin:
1 pack wonton skins (about 40 skins)
Garnish:
3 green onions chopped
Any kind of green vegetable, such as spinach or baby bok choy, cut into pieces

Directions:
In a bowl, mix the filling thoroughly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Put about 1 tsp of the filling in the center of each wonton skin. Diagonally fold the skin in half to form a triangle. Bring both end points together. Moisten one inner edge overlap and pinch the ends together to hold.
In soup pot over medium heat, add water and bring to boil. Add the wonton and let cook until the wonton float on the top. Remove the wonton and place the wonton into a serving bowl.
Bring the broth ingredients to simmer. Add the bok choy or spinach and bring to boil. Ladle the broth and vegetable over the wonton. Sprinkle with chopped onions and serve.