Baked or Grilled Chicken Drumsticks

The barbecue of East Asia has always been a favorite throughout the world. Skewers of grilled meats sold on the streets are very common. The Vietnamese cuisine has a special BBQ sauce that is very tasteful by marinating all kinds of meat, such as pork, beef, or chicken, but pork is the most common meat for the skewering techniques. Today, I will introduce a barbecue marinade recipe that is delicious. The meat marinated with this sauce will be very tender and moist after baking or grilling. Use this sauce to marinate all kinds of meats.
Ingredients:
4 lbs. drumsticks
 BBQ marinade sauce ingredients:
1 tbs chopped lemongrass
1 tbs chopped galangal 
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tbs honey
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp salt
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs fish sauce 
2 tbs vinegar

Directions:
Wash and drain the drumsticks. Use knife to slit each drumstick a few times.

Combine all the BBQ sauce ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Place chicken in a Ziploc bag and pour the sauce mixture over the chicken. Refrigerate overnight or for a few hours.

Preheat the oven set to 350°. Line a baking sheet with foil to save time for cleaning. Place chicken on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to30 minutes. Turn the meats once half way through.
Prepare the BBQ grill and grill the meat.

 

 

Easy Raisins-Nuts Oatmeal Cookies

For me, a good and healthy snack is this chock-full of nuts cookie. I know it will have some sugar and butter. However, baked cookies are and America tradition and much loved, and they are easy to make. One should have many favorite cookie recipes immediately available to make. Most of the cookie recipes are easy, so kids can get involved. I like to make a batch of cookies to warm up my kitchen and to give away to whomever just drops in.
Ingredients;
Dry ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts (your choice)
Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup softened margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Directions;
Preheat oven set to 350°. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Use a handheld mixer to beat the egg, both sugars, and vanilla in a medium bowl until fluffy.
Combine the dry ingredients and mix well.

Stir the dry ingredients into the well-beaten wet ingredients and stir well.

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of batter 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookies sheets.

Bake 12 to 16 minutes or until cookies are lightly brown around the edges. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Cassava Sweet Rice (updated)

Since mastering the pressure cooker, I've changed a lot of recipes for devout readers who visit my blog. Today, I will update the cassava sticky rice recipe by using a pressure cooker. With a pressure cooker and rice cooker, this dish will be finished very quickly. I use coconut milk when cooking cassava because coconut milk is good for our health. In addition, coconut milk will make cassava taste creamier with natural fat. The following is a recipe for making a very rustic dish which is quite easy to make. This is a fantastic dish for breakfast.

Ingredients:
For the cassava:
1 cassava
1 ½ cups coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
For the sweet rice:
2 cups sweet rice, long or short rice
1 tsp salt
1 to 3/4 cup water
For the scallion oil:
3 green onions, diced
1/4 cup oil
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp sugar

Directions;
Peel the cassava skin and wash. Cut into 2 inch sections, and then cut in half. Place them in the pressure cooker.

 Add coconut milk, sugar, and salt. Follow the instructions for safety.

 It will take 5 minutes to completely cook or 3 minutes to partly cook the cassava. Let the cooked cassava cool off and cut into cubes.

Wash the sweet rice and add the cubed cassava and mix well. Add salt. Place the sweet rice-cassava mixture in the rice cooker and add water.

Close the lid and turn the dial to cook setting.
While the sweet rice is cooking, put the scallion oil in a microwave safe bowl and cook the green onions for 30 seconds.

To Serve:
Scoop the cooked sweet cassava rice onto an individual serving dish and top with scallion oil. Serve on the side with soy dipping sauce.

 

Cooking with a Pressure Cooker

People visiting my blog may think that I am doing advertising for Costco. This supermarket is actually very convenient for those who cook like me because of the convenience of one-stop shopping. Life is very fast and busy these days, so to have a good, healthy food for the family without spending too much time, I suggest mastering the use of a pressure cooker. Usually, this kitchen appliance costs around $70, but last month at Costco it sold for only $20. I recently read about the history of the pressure cooker. Numerous dangers could happen while cooking, so I feel reluctant. However, because the price is so cheap, I thought I should also give it a try. I cannot exaggerate the feeling of happiness that I feel when cooking beans using a pressure cooker. Asian families, such as mine, are used to cooking all kinds of beans for a variety of dishes. Depending on the type of beans, big or small, using a pressure cooker will take about 7 to 10 minutes. Asians also usually eat rice. They often own a very expensive rice cooker that costs about $100 to more than $200. Costco also sells a rice cooker that has many uses for only $30. After the beans are cooked in a pressure cooker, just mix the beans with sticky rice and put it in the rice cooker, and you will have a good breakfast that is very fast and convenient. The convenience of using a pressure cooker is not just the cooking time but also keeping the nutrients in foods intact, which is a significant advantage for the pressure cooker. By the way, today I will share an easy meal for breakfast by using both a pressure cooker and an expansive rice cooker from Costco. It is a sticky black beans recipe, and hopefully this article will help to save time and also to bring delicious but nutritious food to your loved ones.


Ingredients;
For the beans:
1 cup black beans
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups water
For the sweet rice:
2 cups rice
1/2 tsp salt
1 ¾ cups water

Directions:
Soak the beans overnight. Drain and place beans in a pressure cooker. Add salt and 2 cups of water. Read the pressure cooker manual for your safety and start to cook.  I found that with soaked black beans, it takes 7 minutes. You find it necessary to adjust the cooking time for each type of beans that you use.
After the beans have cooked, drain the beans. You might want to use some of the cooked water ready remaining. It will make the rice more colorful. 
Wash the rice and mix well with cooked beans. Place them in the rice cooker and add water and salt. Stir to mix and close the lid. Follow the cooking instructions. I use the susi function, and it turned out perfectly. The amount of water necessary will depend on the kinds if sweet rice that you use, therefore you need to adjust the water as well.

  

"Cotton" Mushrooms Topping for Vegetarians

In vegetarian dishes, the “cotton” mushrooms topping is welcome to vegans because it is convenient and easy to prepare. The cotton mushrooms topping has a variety of uses. It can be served for breakfast when making sandwiches or placed over sticky rice or cooked Ramen noodles for a wonderful taste, and it saves a lot of time in the morning or dinner. We all know that all kinds of mushrooms are nutritious for the body, but especially because the fungal-mushroom’s protein can be substituted for meat. Therefore, when making a vegetarian dish, mushrooms are always a main ingredient to present. Fresh shitake mushrooms is a main ingredients to use for this dish. I also use the king oyster mushrooms as well. I hope that this vegetarian cotton mushrooms topping will be shared with your family.

Ingredients:
1 lb. king oyster mushrooms
1 lb. shitake mushrooms
Spices:
1 tsp mushroom seasoning
2 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vegetarian oyster sauce
2 tbs vegetarian fish sauce

Directions:
Remove the caps of the shitake mushrooms. Save the mushroom caps for other uses. Just use the bottoms of the mushrooms for this recipe.
Cut the king oyster mushrooms the same length as the skitake mushrooms.
In a pan, add 3 cups water and the spices. Bring to boil and add both types of mushrooms. Cook for 20 minutes. Drain and let cool. Squeeze out the excess water until all the mushrooms are dry.

In a KitchenAid® or other blender, place the mushrooms and shred (you may have to use your hands to shred the mushrooms into thin strips.. Use whichever way works for you so long as it is not a gift to someone that needs to look pretty. The taste is the same with either the long or short strips of mushrooms.
In a large sauté pan, add about 2 tbs of oil and pan- fry the mushrooms until completely dry. Adjust the seasoning during this time. Use salt instead of soy sauce because the cotton mushrooms need to be dry.

Put in an airtight container to last for years.

Stuffed Eggplant with Chicken

We all know that the eggplant is a fruit, and vegetables are good for people who have high blood pressure and cholesterol . Eggplant, if known how to prepare, gives not only a healthy food to our body, but when combined with pork or chicken would be a fantastic meal too. I use with most of my eggplant recipes the large Italian or Western eggplants. The long Japanese or Chinese eggplants are used for the Asian recipes. However, the benefits for consuming eggplants of either kind are the same.
 
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
200 gr ground chicken
2 pieces dry fungus, soaked and chopped
1/4 cup Oil to pan-fry
Marinade ingredients: 
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallots, minced
1 tsp salt
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
Tomato sauce ingredients:
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbs chili flakes or cayenne
Salt,  sugar, and fish sauce to taste 
Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro
Serve with rice

Directions:
Slice eggplant about 2 inches diameter. Slit the eggplant to create the pocket. Soak in  salted water for 30 minutes then drain.

In a bowl, combine the marinade and add chicken and fungus. Mix well.

Stuff the meat into the eggplant.

Heat oil on a nonstick pan. Add stuffed-eggplant and brown well. Remove.

 

In the same pan, add white onion and garlic. Stir to cook for 3 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and ketchup. Cook until the tomatos are softened.

Return the fried eggplants to the pan.

 Adjust the seasoning with salt, fish sauce, and sugar. If too dry, add some water. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with onions and cilantro.

Mackerel Stew with Lemongrass, Garlic, and Coconut

In the Vietnamese cuisine, the mackerel in particular or other fishes are very popular dishes in the meal of Vietnamese families. Typically, a savory dish such as this one is served with cooked rice and a shared mostly among poor families due to the fact that the fish might not be enough for large families with many children as was my family. While living in the US, I realize that the braised fish is no longer an economic dish as in Vietnam. For that, I will modify the way to prepare this dish from the traditional way to a way for my foreign friends so that they can enjoy a savory dish without feeling that too much salt needs to be added. I hope with this way of cooking this recipe gradually becomes accepted into a Westerner’s community. Mackerel has natural sweetness, and the fresh coconut water in the stew sauce makes a nice blend with other spices thus creating a unique dinner choice possibility for all families.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. mackerel
Spices:
5 garlic cloves minced
2 tbs minced lemongrass
2 shallots, minced
2 fresh hot chili, chopped
1 tsp chili flakes
Stew sauce ingredients:
11.5 oz. coconut water
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs honey
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp blackstrap molasses
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tsp salt
Other ingredients:
Black pepper
Green onions, chopped
1 lemongrass cut into 3 inches pieces
Oil to pan-fry
 
Directions:
Gut the insides of the mackerel. Wash and soak the mackerel in water mixed with vinegar and salt for an hour. Drain and pat dry.

Mix all the spices in a bowl. Put half of the spice mixture inside and outside of the fish with some salt. Marinate fish for a few hours or overnight. 

Combine the stew sauce. Mix well and adjust the seasoning to your liking and set aside. 
Heat about 1/4 cup of peanut oil in a sauté pan.

 Add fish and brown the fish on both sides (this step will help to reduce a distinct smell from the mackerel). 

 

Stir in the other half of the spices. Stir and cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Pour in stew sauce. Bring to boil. Add lemongrass stalk.

 Turn the heat down and simmer 40 minutes to 1 hour could be longer in a low temperature (ca kho is always tastier when it cooks over low heat and for longer time).

 Partly cover the pan. Adjust the seasoning to your liking with more sugar, fish sauce, or soy sauce. Add green onion at the end of cooking or when the sauce has been absorbed. Serve fish with rice.