1/31/2012

In the bento: rice, carrot, cabbage stirfried with enoki mushroom, pork shoulder, shrimp and pork balls.

Cranberry Buttermilk Cake

I don't seem to have luck on cake these days. This cake recipe was posted with a very appealing picture attached, which I decided to bake the moment I saw the picture. But my cake was not as good as I expected. The top was very nice hot from the oven. After rest for a night, the cake was dry and hard, like a scone. I still ate it with my cranberry sauce, but it fails the name of cake.

1/19/2012

In the bento: rice, stir-fried carrot, stir-fried cabbage with enoki mushroom, oil soaked tomato, roast chicken, pan-fried gyoza.

1/18/2012



In the bento: rice with oil soaked tomato, stir-fried collard green with carrots, pan fried egg, pan fried gyoza, chicken breast with satay sauce

Satay Sauce

Satay sauce is very versatile in cooking. It promotes flavor of all meat and vegetable. Also, it is a great sauce to add to any sandwich or sub. I made a batch tonight and used in my chicken sub. It is so yummy.

Gyoza with Ground Shrimp and Pork Filling

Frozen gyoza is very handy if running in a hurry or out of food stock. When I have time, I like to prepare my own filling and make a bunch of them so I can freeze some for later convenience. The filling made with ground shrimp and pork is an all time favorite in my family. I seasoned the filling based on the memory. Because the shrimp is fresh enough, simply salt, ground ginger, cooking wine, egg white, corn starch and tiny sugar will do the work to bring the nature flavour out. I made the shrimp broth by cooking tne shell to accompany the gyoza. It was just like mom used to make.

Fancy Instant Noodle

Instant noodle is considered junk food usually. I can't deny it tastes good and easy to prepare. When I was a kid, I liked it a lot, and at some running morning, I ate it as breakfast. But now, I don't eat it, unless I was awfully craving it. This simple dinner was prepared by adding more stuff to nutrition the pure noodle. There are carrots and onion added in the broth, and some sliced marinade beef topped on the top.

1/17/2012

In the bento: rice, carrots, stirfried cabbage with enoki mushroom, roast chicken, butternut squash pan fried gyoza.

Miso-Maple Syrup Marinaded Roaste Chicken

After successfully roasting the first chicken, I had high confidence to roast the second. Here it is, perfectly juicy and tender, with crispy skin outside. I made the lose paste of miso, maple syrup, mirin, ginger and soy sauce. The chicken was massaged all over with the paste and sit over night. I baked it in my all time favorite cast iron pan, which turned out beautiful!

Home-made Yogurt

Yogurt is good for health, only if that is real yogurt. The flavored yogurt cups found in the market are usually thickened with additive. I can't help doubting how much real stuff it has in the cup.  Making your own yogurt is easy and fun. Simply 2 ingredients: milk and real plain yogurt, can make the best yogurt you have ever had. Though I always have issue with temperature control to make the perfect yogurt, I can eat it without worrying how much additive my body consumes.

Stirfried Rice with Shiitake and Dried Scallop

Dried shiitake mushroom is a good source of fiber. It stores well because it's dried, which if the green vegetable is running out of stock, this mushroom can be used as a fiber savor. I soaked some last night and use it to stir fried with rice. Also, I soaked some dried scallop in wine and added them in to give more in depth flavor. The rice is also flavored with garlic and soy sauce, with some tomato added at last. Very delicious! The bowl holds the rice the another new gift from the holiday. Love it!

Black Truffle Oil

Every one knows truffle is expensive (€3,940 per kilo in a retail seller in 2009), and yet people love it. Truffle is the thing that a little goes a long way, and there must be someone smart enough to come up the idea of extracting the flavor via oil. That's how I can enjoy it without exhausting my wallet. Though truffle oil is only olive oil infused with truffle, it gives everything a kick by just drizzling a bit on the top. I will not say this small bottle is cheap (3.4 fl oz cost over 10 bucks), but compare to the real mushroom, it's much affordable. I am thinking of idea using it in mind...