Three Cups Chicken Pt. 2 (三杯雞)

Hai guys. My name's Kelley. Not sure if you remember me 'cause I haven't posted in frickin' FOREVER! But that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking! I've actually cooked more in the past year than in my entire life combined (probably 'cause I've been living in apartments this year). And my cooking style has definitely developed into a more... chaotic variety. But entropy is supposed to increase, right? (or stay the same, but let's not get into thermodynamics here).

This is a recipe for Three Cups Chicken (again) but with drumsticks this time! Mini drumsticks. That were on sale at my 99 Ranch Market for 69 cents a lb. :D food on sale makes meh happy.

Oh and sorry for the crappeh picture D:

Three Cups Chicken

• 10 mini drumsticks
  
• 6 flat slices ginger
  
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped roughly
  
• 4 tbs sesame oil
  
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
  
• 4 tbs rice wine
  
• 2 tbs white sugar
  
• handful of basil leaves (that I take from pho restaurants after eating pho!)
• salt

1. Rinse the chicken and rub it with salt (to get all that gunky stuff off!)
2. Rinse off the chicken thoroughly with water. Pat the chicken pieces dry and set aside.
   
3. Heat a clay pot (or wok) on high heat and add the sesame oil. When heated, toss in the garlic and ginger and stir-fry.
   
4. Throw in the drumsticks, and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Add soy sauce, rice wine, and the sugar. Continue to stir-fry the chicken.
   
5. Place a lid on the wok and turn down the heat to low. Let the chicken simmer for 10 - 15 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked (drumsticks are a little harder to cook thoroughly).
   
6. Toss in the basil leaves and stir well with the chicken for another 2-3 minutes.

Lu Rou Fan (滷肉飯)

Looking back on the past 5 weeks of pledge quarter, I'll admit it was fun. Hanging out with my pledge siblings, getting Korean BBQ with Peter, Laura, and Steve, and many of the PhiDE events were SO enjoyable… really. But you see, I got a strike yesterday (think 'three strikes and you're out' kind of strike). My perfectionist-self kicked in and now I am rather disgruntled.

So that was my emo rant for the day. On to the food part! 滷肉飯 is an ESSENTIAL part of Taiwanese cuisine. In order to make it true Taiwanese style though, you have to use really fatty ground pork (which I didn't, because I don't like fatty foods…). I think it's really the mushrooms that give it a deeper flavor. If you just use meat, it'll just taste like… meat. Which, if you love meat, I guess is a good thing. But come on… you have to pair tastes! Pairing tastes brings out the flavors of both ingredients. Hence, don't skimp out on the mushrooms!

Lu Rou Fan (滷肉飯)

• 6 dried black shitake mushrooms
  
• 2 tbs oil
  
• 2 stalks green onions, minced
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 2-3 tbs rock sugar
  
• 1 tsp five spice powder
  
• 1/3 cup rice wine
  
• 4 cups water
  
• 1 cup soy sauce
  
• 1 lb ground pork
  
• 2-3 slices ginger
  
• 3-4 tsp salt
  

1. Soak the dried mushrooms in water until they are ready to be chopped, then chop them into tiny cubes. Meanwhile, mince the green onions and garlic, and slice the ginger.
   
2. Heat oil on high heat, then add the minced garlic and half of the minced green onions, stir-fry for about 30 seconds.
   
3. Toss in the 2-3 slices of ginger, and continue stir-frying for another 30 seconds. Then add in the 1 lb of ground pork, 1 tsp of five spice powder, and the rice wine.
   
4. Break up the ground pork into little pieces, and continue stir-frying until most of the pork is browned. Pour on the soy sauce, the water, and sugar.
   
5. Let simmer for about 40 minutes, then check to see if it's salty enough. If it's not salty enough, add some salt or more soy sauce, and if it's not sweet enough, add some more sugar.
   
6. Add in the remaining half of the green onions and stir around. Simmer for another 10 minutes, then serve with rice! Or noodles, if you want.

Shrimp and Tofu (虾仁豆腐)

I apologize for the… not-so-appetizing picture. I really need to get one of those spiffy big black cameras that give great depth of field… I currently use a digital camera, which isn’t so bad for creating memories on the go, but food blogging definitely requires better pictures than a digital camera can give. I’m so jealous! My friend Jono has a wonderful camera (but then again, he’s crazy about cameras, so he deserves it). He really does take nice pictures though. If you can, you should take a look at his photo album on Picasa! He does some pretty crazy stuff with light sticks and whatnot… I’m not really sure how it works. But it’s still cool. :D

On a different note, it’s another dish featuring tofu! As you know, tofu is by far my favorite thing… ever. That and ribbons. I love ribbons. But you can’t really eat ribbons, so… tofu it is!

And… it’s April already! I can’t believe it. My first year at UCLA is almost over, and I’m super excited for what’s coming up ahead. This past week I’ve been rushing for a pre-medical fraternity called PhiDE, and it’s been really fun. From the BBQ to the bonfire (my first ever!), I fell more and more in love with the actives, my fellow rushees, and the atmosphere in general. I actually just had my interview this morning… I was a little nervous, so I probably didn’t do as well as I could have, but I guess interviewing is just going to be a skill I need to practice. After all… practice makes perfect! Just like cooking. On to the recipe!

Shrimp and Tofu

½ pound shrimp

2 tsp rice wine

1 tbs tapioca starch

3 (12-ounce) cartons of tofu

2 bunch scallions

3-4 thin slices of ginger

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs oil

Salt

Pepper

1. Peel and devein the shrimp, if it’s not already peeled and deveined.

2. Rinse the shrimp in saltwater, then pat dry with a paper towel.

3. Pour the rice wine on the shrimp, mix a little, then add the tapioca starch. Stir until fully incorporated.

4. Let the shrimp sit. Meanwhile, chop up the scallions and slice the ginger.

5. Heat a wok on high heat with the oil. When heated, toss in the scallions and ginger and stir-fry for a minute (爆香*).

6. Throw in the shrimp, and continue stirring until the shrimp are cooked (when they turn orange in color).

7. Meanwhile, cut the blocks of tofu into smaller chunks (but not too small, or else they’ll disintegrate into a blobby mass of tofu, which doesn’t look good… but still tastes good!)

8. Take out the shrimp, and gently place the tofu blocks in. Stir around as gently as possible (so you don’t break up the tofu) until the tofu is well heated. Add in the soy sauce and continue stirring for another minute or so.

9. Add the shrimp back in with the tofu, and stir-fry everything (gently!) for another 2-3 minutes. During this time add in salt and pepper to taste.

10. Serve and eat with rice! (:

*爆香, or "baoxiang" is a phrase that describes stir-frying aromatic vegetables (garlic, onions, scallions, ginger, etc) in oil.

I-Hate-My-Life Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Sometimes you just want to smash something. Throw things against the wall. Scream. Peel the skin off of something. Chop things up and throw them into a steaming pot of boiling water. And guess what? This recipe requires all of those. (Except the screaming. And throwing things against the wall. You don't really need to scream to make mashed potatoes. But if you want to, I have no objections. To the screaming, I mean. You might not want to throw things against the wall. Your mom might yell at you.)

I never make the same mashed potatoes twice. I've made mashed potatoes with cream and salt, pepper and garlic, cheese and parsley, or simply milk mashed with potatoes. It doesn't really matter. I never make mashed potatoes with the same consistency, either. It depends how angry I am. Never mind that, though. In the end, mashed potatoes are mashed potatoes right?

I don't think you can get much simpler than boiling potatoes, mashing them, and eating them. Really. It's that simple. It's so simple I never even follow a recipe. It's also weird that I like mashed potatoes, because I normally don't like potatoes. I don't like potato salad. I don't like clam chowder (although I can make killer bread bowls). And I don't like baked potatoes. Oh well. It's one of the world's greatest mysteries. I have several other weird food habits that I will perhaps divulge in other posts, but for now, let's just put a cap on how weird I am and get to the recipe!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

• 3-4 russet potatoes, peeled (if you want)
  
• 1 clove garlic
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 2 tbs milk or cream
  
• Anger
  

1. CHOP the MERCILESSLY PEELED potatoes into ¼ inch thick medallions.
   
2. Heat a pot of water, then TOSS the medallions INTO THE BOILING WATER.
   
3. Let the medallions boil for about 10-15 minutes, or until you can poke through the middle of a medallion easily with a chopstick (feel free to SCREAM at this point if need be).
   
4. Drain, and place the medallions into a large pot or bowl that can withstand multiple poundings.
   
5. On a cutting board, SMASH the garlic with the side of your knife and finely mince the garlic.
   
6. Take a potato masher, whisk, fork, spoon, hand mixer, or any other object and MASH THE FLOOPERS out of those potatoes. Really. Go crazy. (This step usually takes me about 5-10 minutes depending on how angry I am).
   
7. At this point, if you still have lots of pent-up anger, feel free to continue mashing the potatoes even if they're already completely mashed! I like smooshing the mashed potatoes around. It's fun.
   
8. Add in the garlic, salt, pepper, and milk and mix around with a spoon. Serve using an ice cream scooper to make it look like ice cream!

BBQ Short Ribs

I'm not too sure where I stand in terms of cooking with other people. I enjoy other people's company, and I like to cook with other people, if they're the right people and I'm in the right mood. There are pros and cons to both sides. When I cook alone, I can enjoy the peaceful tranquility and focus my entire being on one task. It's my form of meditating. However, when I cook with other people, I can laugh and joke, listen to stories, and simply be with my friends.

The bad thing about cooking by myself is that it gets lonely sometimes. The silence can be overwhelming and even oppressive at times. Then, there's cooking with other people. Sometimes they can be too noisy, they don't know where the sugar, the measuring cups, the salt, the baking powder is… it's chaotic, messy, and you end up giving inexperienced people menial tasks like stirring together the flour and the salt. Not fun.

This recipe is for BBQ short ribs, from Kevin's Closet Cooking! I absolutely adore his blog. Really. Plus, I find it amusing that his name is Kevin (which is my brother's name), and he lives in Canada (the same country as my adopted brother, Matt). Plus, the photos look absolutely amazing on his blog. Really. He's a pro. Anyways, I adapted this recipe from his recipe, because I don't like ginger very much, and I didn't have a pear in the house. I'm pretty sure grapes or watermelon wouldn't have been a good substitute.

BBQ Short Ribs

• 1 ½ lbs short ribs
  
• ¼ cup soy sauce
  
• 2 tbs brown sugar
  
• 2 ½ tsp white sugar
  
• 1 tbs sesame oil
  
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
  
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
  
• 2 tbs green onions, chopped
  
• 1 tsp onion, grated
  
• 1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
  
• ¼ to ½ of an onion, thinly sliced (the optional base of your dish)
  
• 2 tbs green onions, chopped (optional topping)
  
• 1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted (optional topping)

1. Wash the short ribs under cool running water, drain and pat dry.
   
2. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl (reserve 1 tsp of marinade for the base), and then pour the marinade over the short ribs.
   
3. Mix well to coat all the short ribs in the marinade.
   
4. Put in the refrigerator and let marinate for at least 5 hours.
   
5. Make the base of your dish, slicing ¼ to ½ of an onion very thinly (use however much you want).
   
6. Refrigerate the onion in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
   
7. When the ribs are done marinating, take out of the refrigerator and let sit for about 20 minutes.
   
8. Lightly coat a pan with oil, and then heat on high heat until the pan is hot.
   
9. Place the ribs in a single layer on the pan. Cook each rib for 2 minutes on each side on high heat, then turn the heat to medium.
   
10. Continue cooking the ribs until they are slightly charred (or however you want them to be), flipping every once in awhile. Repeat until all the ribs are cooked.
    
11. To make the base of onions, lightly oil a clean pan and heat on high heat. Stir fry the onions until they are slightly translucent, then add the 1 tsp of reserved marinade. Continue stir frying until desired. (I like my onions extremely well done, so I add in ¼ cup of water while I'm stir frying to really cook the onion through).
    
12. Serve with the onions on the bottom, and the ribs on top. You could also top the ribs with the 2 tbs green onions and 1 tsp sesame seeds.

Three Cups Chicken

Dad: "KELLEY, KELLEY! I forgot to tell you something really, really important!"

Kelley: *panics* Oh no. I must have forgotten to do something for UCLA. Did I forget to submit something? Did I miss another housing deadline? WHAT DID I DO WRONG?! "What?! What did you forget to tell me?"

Dad: "The Three Cups Chicken you cooked last night was AMAZING!"

Kelley: "…"

A few things about this conversation. First of all, everything was spoken in Chinese (except the words in my head- that was in English). Second of all, I am usually a very high-strung person. And I missed a UCLA housing deadline recently and had to pay the $25 late fee. Therefore, I usually FLIP OUT when people scare me like that. Third of all, my dad enjoys freaking me out. When I was little, and I would scream for him to come and kill the spider that would supposedly eat me if he didn't come right away, he would kill the spider and then pretend to eat it. Of course, that didn't help my character very much.

Three cups chicken. Doesn't that sound funny? It sounds so much better in Chinese, I assure you. One of my favorite dishes is Three Cups Squid, but I didn't have squid on hand when I tried this recipe. So, three cups chicken it is. This recipe is adapted from Rasa Malaysia. Rasa Malaysia has amazing Asian recipes. If you like Asian food (ME!), you should go check it out. The photography is pro as well. Well, when you suck at taking pictures (ME!), all photography looks pro. But no really. Their photography is pro.

Three Cups Chicken

• 1 lb chicken (I used chicken thighs)
  
• 4 slices ginger, julienned
  
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped roughly
  
• 2 tbs sesame oil
  
• 3 tbs soy sauce
  
• 1 ½ tbs rice wine
  
• 1 ½ tbs white sugar or 2 tbs brown sugar
  
• 4-5 basil leaves
  
• 1 tbs baking soda
  

1. Cut the chicken into pieces of desired size (you can use all boneless meat if you want).
   
2. Sprinkle the baking soda all over the chicken, and stir until the surfaces are covered. Set aside for 10 minutes.
   
3. Rinse off the chicken thoroughly with water. Make sure all the baking soda is gone. Pat the chicken pieces dry and set aside.
   
4. Heat a clay pot (or wok) on high heat and add the sesame oil. When heated, toss in the garlic and ginger and stir-fry (爆香*).
   
5. Toss in the chicken pieces, and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Toss in the soy sauce, rice wine, and the sugar. Continue to stir-fry the chicken.
   
6. Place a lid on the clay pot/ wok and turn down the heat to low. Let the chicken simmer for 5-7 minutes.
   
7. Toss in the basil leaves and stir well with the chicken for another 2-3 minutes.
   
8. Serve with rice! Because that's how Asians do it. ^-^v
   

*爆香, or "bao xiang" is a phrase that describes stir-frying aromatic vegetables (garlic, onions, scallions, ginger, etc) in oil.

Teriyaki Tuna Steak

I'm so excited! Tomorrow night, I am officially MOVING INTO UCLA. I get to live in a dorm called Sunset Village! I have two roommates, named Marbella and Brittany. They already know each other, so I think I'm going to be the odd one out, but hopefully we'll all get to be great friends. Either way, first year of college is exciting, but I'm also a little bit nervous.

I hope that it isn't too hard to adjust to life at UCLA. I've already gotten over the devastation of not having a kitchen where I live, but since I'll be coming home occasionally, I can just cook when I get home. (Or maybe I'll smuggle in a slow cooker or something). Although I'm moving in tomorrow, I still haven't finished packing. This blog post is just… a way for me to procrastinate some more. Packing my entire wardrobe and everything into one suitcase makes me feel as if I'm going back to Taiwan again, for another one-month adventure away from home.

Aaah. My mood these past few days have been constantly fluctuating between excitement and dread. Since cooking calms my nerves, I decided to try my hand at this teriyaki tuna steak. Plus, earlier, my mom's neighborhood friend came over and dropped off 3 yellowtail filets, and I wanted to try my hand at cooking some fish. It turned out really well. Don't forget to use the oil, otherwise the tuna steak will turn out really dry (like mine did). Aren't you glad that I make these mistakes so that when you make the recipe, it comes out better than mine did? ^-^ But it helps me as well, because the next time I make Teriyaki Tuna Steaks, they'll be even more delicious than before!

Teriyaki Tuna Steak

• 16 oz of raw tuna steak (I had 3 filets)
  
• ¾ cup teriyaki sauce
  
• ¼ cup olive oil
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1 small onion, sliced thinly
  

1. Wash the tuna steaks and cut them to desired thinness. Pat dry and put into a plastic Ziploc bag.
   
2. Pour the olive oil into the bag and shake it, distributing the oil so that it comes into contact with all sides of the tuna steaks.
   
3. Using your palm, rub the desired amount of salt and pepper onto the tuna steaks (I don't use any, because I think the teriyaki sauce is already very flavorful). Let it sit like that for about 10 minutes.
   
4. Pour the teriyaki sauce into the bag, and shake it so that the teriyaki sauce envelopes the tuna steaks. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
   
5. In an oven (I used a convection oven), broil the tuna steaks on the highest rack for about 5-7 minutes. Be careful not to over-broil the tuna steaks, or else they will be extremely dry.*
   

   If you want to grill the tuna steaks, grill on a high fire for about 5-8 minutes, depending on how rare you want the steak to be.
   

6. When the tuna steaks are done broiling/grilling, pour about 2 tbs of the pan drippings into a bowl. Add another 3 tbs of water to the pan drippings (don't add water if you like your onions rare).
   
7. Heat a lightly oiled skillet on high heat, and then toss the thinly-sliced onions onto the pan. Sauté the onions for about 1 minute then add the pan dripping-water mixture onto the skillet. Sauté until the water has mostly evaporated (again, don't sauté it as much if you like your onions rare).
   

*Remember that even after removing something from the oven, it will continue to cook for about 3 minutes, depending on how hot/what it is.

Garlic Potato Wedges

Boredom is a national tragedy. It really is. I know everyone always says "you only choose to be bored," but honestly, who chooses to be bored? It's not like I wake up and decide "today I shall be bored!" No. It doesn't work that way. After all, you can only look at so many pictures on foodgawker, you can only see so many facebook status updates before you want to rip your hair out, and after omgpop.com KILLED BLOCKLES, there's really nothing you can do. (R.I.P. blockles. He was a good friend if I ever saw one.) Therefore, what else can you do when you're bored than call your friend and complain that you're bored?

This is how our many conversations go, and always resulting in the same outcome:

"Hello?"

"Hi Sandy, this is Kelley."

"Hey Kelley!"

"SANDY I'M BORED. I'M SO BORED. SAVE ME FROM THIS BOREDOM. SCHOOL DOESN'T START UNTIL SEPTEMBER 24^th AND I'M GONNA DIE."

"I'm bored too."

"Wanna come over for a movie night? And make dinner while we're at it?"

"Sure. What time?"

"Four. My house. Be there or be a soggy potato wedge."

Okay, so I made up the soggy potato wedge part. BUT that's not the point. The point is, no one likes a soggy potato wedge! Which is why this recipe (adapted from The Purple Foodie) doesn't make soggy potato wedges. Movie nights are wonderful. Movie nights (in my universe) basically consist of calling up 4-5 people, gathering them up at my house, cooking 3-4 dishes for dinner, and then eating them while watching a movie. The night usually ends by us searching up interesting youtube videos and dancing silly dance moves to weird songs. Yup, that's what I do when I'm bored. But hey, my friends get to learn how to cook, and I get an excuse to invite people over. Spiffy, right?

Garlic Potato Wedges

• 6 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  
• 3-4 russet potatoes
  
• 2 tbs cornstarch
  
• 1 ½ tsp salt
  
• 1 ½ tsp black pepper
  
• ½ tsp garlic powder
  
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1. Combine the minced garlic and extra virgin olive oil in a small microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 1 minute.
   
2. Wash the russet potatoes and cut each potato into 12 wedges (or however many you want). I peeled my potatoes because I don't like potato skin. Place the potato wedges in a large microwaveable bowl.
   
3. Use 2 or 3 tablespoons of the warmed garlic oil to oil the surface of a large, flat baking pan.
   
4. Pour the remaining garlic oil over all the potato wedges and toss to coat. Microwave the potato wedges on high, about 4-6 minutes, shaking the bowl to redistribute the potatoes halfway through cooking.
   
5. Mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the microwaved potatoes and toss to coat.
   
6. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake at 475° F for 25-35 minutes, flipping them over once while baking.

Olive-Red Pepper Focaccia

I'm leaving for my flight to Taiwan in 11 hours!! I'm super excited for my trip, and I hope to buy lots of things and meet many people there. I've been accepted to a cultural learning program (we're learning about the Hakka culture). I don't have much to say other than I hope I get to buy everything on my shopping list!

Below is a recipe for Olive-Red Pepper Focaccia; I'm not Italian (not even close!) but it tasted pretty darn good. The recipe is from one of my cookbooks (Land O'Lakes Baking) but I changed it up a bit.

According to Wikipedia (yay) Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread, typically seasoned with herbs and olive oil, and topped with whatever the heck you feel like topping it with. In this case, I had olives and red-pepper on hand, so I just chopped some up and threw it onto the Focaccia. Focaccia can be used as a base for a pizza, sandwich bread, or a side dish. Good luck with baking, I won't be back for a month! :]

Olive-Red Pepper Focaccia

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 ¼ cups bread flour
  
• 2 ½ tsp active dry yeast
  
• 1 cup water
  
• 3 tbs butter (reserve ½ tbs)
  
• 2 tsp minced garlic
  
• ¼ of a red bell pepper
  
• 7-8 small canned olives
  
• 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese

1. Combine the yeast, sugar, and water in a bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes.
   
2. Sift the all-purpose and bread flour into another bowl.
   
3. Make a well in the flour, and pour the yeast-water mixture into the middle. Stir with a wooden spoon.
   
4. Heat 2 ½ tbs of butter and the garlic in the microwave for 30 seconds, then knead into the dough.
   
5. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Let rise for 50-60 minutes.
   
6. Punch the dough down, and then knead for 2-3 minutes. Roll out into a circle about 1-inch think.
   
7. Place this dough on a greased pizza pan or jelly roll pan. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise for 30-40 minutes.
   
8. Slice the red bell pepper into thin strips and the small olives into little circles of desired thickness.
   
9. Poke holes halfway into the dough every two inches. Stuff a little bit of cheese into each indentation.
   
10. Brush the dough with the reserved ½ tbs of melted butter.
11. Scatter the red pepper and olives throughout the dough. Then top it with the remaining cheese.
    
12. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Bake for 20-25 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. (Check after 20 minutes to see if the crust is browned.)

Liang Ban Tofu (Cold Tofu)

I like soymilk. I also like soybeans. I think it's a fact that I like anything with soy in it. And although tofu doesn't have the word "soy" in it, I like it anyways. In fact, tofu is made by coagulating soymilk and then pressing this curd into block-like shapes. Eww, right? NO! Tofu is the best. It doesn't matter if it's curdled soymilk! Tofu is delicious, creamy, light, and suitable for any dish. I think they should make tofu ice cream. Okay, that might be going a bit far. But they make wasabi ice cream, don't they? Why not tofu ice cream?

There are so many kinds of tofu, and an infinite number of ways to prepare them. The kind I use is fresh tofu. There is also fresh soft/silken tofu or fresh dried tofu. Use tofu in soups, stir-fry them with shrimp, with beef, with pork, or fry them. Or you could just eat it straight out of the carton. Plain cold tofu is actually very delicious (like unflavored custard!). Although that may not appeal to you very much, you could very easily drizzle some honey or syrup over it and eat it like pudding. You can basically tofu ANYTHING.

This recipes is for my all-time favorite comfort food: simple, light, and super quick cold tofu! No cooking needed! This recipe is perfect for that hot summer day when your brain is so fried you just can't bear the idea of turning on the stove to cook (like today).

Liang Ban Tofu (Cold Tofu)

• 1 package fresh firm tofu
  
• 1 tsp water
• 2 tbs soy paste
• 4 tbs oyster sauce
• 2 tbs scallions (green onions), chopped

1. Take tofu out of package, rinse with water, and drain. Pat dry with a paper towel.
   
2. Place the rectangle of tofu onto your opened palm, and cut it lightly with a small knife into small square or rectangles of desired size.
3. Place the tofu onto a plate. You can keep it in its box shape or just toss it onto the plate (I keep it in its box shape because I think it looks neater that way). Put plate with tofu into the refrigerator.
   
4. Meanwhile, mix the water, soy paste, and oyster sauce in a small bowl. Feel free to use a different combination of sauce according to your tastes.
   
5. At this point, if the tofu is cold enough to suit your tastes, take the plate out of the refrigerator and drain any fluid that might have accumulated at the bottom of the plate. Pour the water-soy-paste-oyster-sauce sauce onto the tofu and spread with the back of a spoon or a mini spatula.
6. Sprinkle the chopped scallions over the tofu and sauce. Go ahead and make designs. Make a smiley face or a heart. Really. Go crazy with those scallions.
7. When you're done creating an aesthetically pleasing piece of art, eat it!

Finished tofu with a bowl of cherry tomatoes in the back (home-grown!)

Calories (entire recipe): 140

Curry Bread/ Karepan

I think the Japanese are brilliant. They make the cutest, smallest, most high-tech things! Except they're insanely expensive. And the cost of living in Japan is insanely high. Solution: live in Taiwan and fly to Japan every month for a weekend vacation. Out of all the foods the Japanese have invented, curry bread is one of my favorites. Of course, I also like Red Bean buns, chocolate coronets, and MELON PAN… I'll just cut it short and say I like Japanese stuff in general. Did I mention I like curry?

Hmmm. Curry. Hmmm. Bread. What better way to consume my two favorite foods than by combining them together? Don't deny it! Food combining is awesome. Look at all those great combinations out there… Chocolate and Strawberries, Strawberries and Ice Cream, Ice Cream and Fries… Yes. Ice cream and fries. Never tried it? Better start soon. You're missing out. The warm crunch of the French fry surrounded by cold, creamy, luscious ice cream. Yum. Seriously, try it.

And while we're on the topic of trying, this is my first time making curry bread. It turned out okay. Of course, I've never actually had authentic Japanese curry bread, but… the one I made today was good enough for me! I tried both ways- fried and baked. I'll admit it. I've never fried anything before. Hot oil scares me. It's all hot… and popping… and hot… yeah. But for the sake of the Karepan, I conquered my frying-phobia and viola! By the way, I personally believe that frying yields a more delicious karepan. The baked ones aren't so good… See results below.

A few notes about this. I got this from Kevin's Closet Cooking (uber-awesome food blog), but the dough was really sticky, and I had to add probably another half cup of flour in order to barely manage it. Most likely my fault of some sort, so please don't take offense. Therefore, I have changed the ingredients (less water) somewhat according to my experiences.

Karepan (Curry Bread)

• 2 tsp yeast
  
• 1 cup (and 2 tbs)warm water
• 3 cups flour
  
• 2 tbs sugar
  
• 1 tsp salt (I use salted butter, so I didn't add any salt)
• 3 tbs butter, melted
  
• 1 cup curry
• 1 egg
  
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  

  
  

1. Combine yeast, warm water, and sugar in a bowl for 10 minutes (proofing).
   
2. Sift the flour into a separate bowl. Make a well and pour in the water mixture. Stir vigorously until a raggy dough forms.
3. Pour the melted butter onto the dough, and knead until fully incorporated (about 3-4 minutes).
   
4. Dump the dough onto a lightly-floured counter, and turn the bowl over to cover the dough. Let it rest like this for 20 minutes to autolyse.
   
5. When the autolyse is finished, flatten the dough slightly with your fingers and at this point, sprinkle the salt onto the dough and knead until incorporated (3-4 minutes).
   
6. Place the dough into a bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Let rise for about 60-90 minutes.
   
7. Knead dough for two minutes, then place back into bowl and rise for another 60-90 minutes.
   
8. Meanwhile, take your curry (thickened by cooking it over a low fire until it loses water content) and cut larger chunks of vegetables into fourths and mashing them.
9. After the second rise, take the dough out and knead for 3-4 minutes. Cut the dough into 7-8 pieces (depending on how thick you want your karepan to be. I did 7).
   
10. Take the egg and milk, and beat it until mixed.
11. Take a piece of dough and roll it out into a 5-inch circle. Place a spoonful of curry onto the middle of the circle. Brush the edge of half the circle with the egg mixture and then fold it over to make a dumpling.
    
12. Seal the dumpling shut, then push the seal to one side. Brush the entire dumpling with egg wash (or just one side of it, if you're too lazy), and roll in a plateful of panko bread crumbs. Place onto individual sheets of waxed paper.
    
13. When done, let them rise for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil for frying or preheat the oven to 350˚F (if using oven, skip the panko bread crumbs).
14. If frying, slide the karepan dumplings, wax paper and all, into the hot oil. Fry for about 1 minute on each side, or until the panko bread crumbs are browned. Drain on paper towels.
    
15. If baking, place the karepan dumplings onto a baking pan and bake for 23-25 minutes.
    
16. EAT!
    
    
    

My Mother’s Curry

This morning I was going to make karepan, or "Curry Bread". I woke up at 11:00, thinking today would be a relaxing day. You know, a blissful day dedicated to Me, Myself, and I. And the karepan, of course. My brother/dad or both (it's a conspiracy!) decided otherwise. Today in fact was not allowed to be a Tofu-day. It was a whisk-Tofu-off-to-Dad's-warehouse-to-perform-manual-labor-by-packing-14400-(literally)-bouncy-balls-into-boxes.

Oh my goodness. There were so many. 400 boxes of 6 cartons of 6 bouncy "Comet Balls". That had to be taken out of the boxes, checked (for quality control), placed back into the boxes, taped together, and then stacked against the wall. 400 times 6 times 6 = 14400. My arms hurt. And guess what? NO PAY! Well, they did buy us lunch. Ah well, that's what family is for… right?

Correction: my dad gave me and my brother $70 to go buy Bin Bin Konjac coupons. yay!

And so, this post concerns my mother's curry. I love her curry. In fact, I ate it for lunch yesterday. My favorite is CHICKEN CURRY! But sadly, we only had beef in the house when I was making this curry. Therefore, this is beef curry. Please feel free to use chicken instead of beef~! Also partly inspired by my friend Austin, who likes curry with large chunks of potatoes in it.

My Mother's Curry

• 2 medium sized onions (or 1 large onion)
  
• 1 large potato
  
• 4 relatively skinny carrots (or whatever suits your taste)
  
• 2 cups ground beef (or chicken, roughly cut into quarter-sized chunks)
  
• 1 package Vermont curry (I use mild with a touch of honey and apple)
  
• 1 tbsp rice wine (if you have it; if you don't, don't worry about it)
  
• 6 cups of water (more or less)
  
• honey (optional)
  
• apple (optional)

1. Mix the rice wine with the ground beef/ chicken pieces. This gets rid of that icky raw meat smell. Sauté the beef/chicken/whatever on a pan until mostly cooked (the outside should look cooked, but don't worry if the inside is still partly raw). When done, put the beef/ chicken onto a pan and set aside. (leave the fire on and don't wash the pan!)
   
2. Meanwhile, peel onions, potatoes, and carrots. Roughly chop them and place them in separate bowls.
   
3. When the beef/ chicken is done, toss the onions, potatoes, and carrots onto the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 or 2 cups of water into the pan, so that the vegetables are partly simmering in the water. After 10 minutes, pour the contents of the pan into a larger pot (the one you want to cook your curry in), and add the rest of the water.
   
4. Boil the vegetables for another 10 minutes.
   
5. Meanwhile, open the box of curry and take out one of the packages. Open it, and chop it into 6 pieces (or more if you want to; this helps it dissolve faster into the water).
   
6. When the vegetables are done, add the curry sauce chunks into the water + vegetable mixture. Cook over a low fire for about 10 minutes, or until you can poke a chopstick easily through a large potato or carrot chunk. Add two tablespoons and the grated apple if you want to at this point.
   
7. Throw in the relatively cooked beef/chicken into the pot, and stir until mixed. Keep cooking until the curry is the desired consistency, then turn off the fire and eat with a heaping bowl of rice!

Thin Crust Pizza

Let's start with this. How about let's begin with some of my baking stuff. I mean sure, I upload pictures onto Facebook, but I never actually post the recipes anywhere I remember... I write them on post-it notes or on the back of scratch paper, make the recipe, and then lose it somewhere... usually in the trash can.

So, let's use this blog as a chronicle of all the things I've baked... ^-^ no one has to read this, okay? Sort of like... my own personal recipebook. Besides, saving these as word documents on my computer would be kind of lame, wouldn't they?

Pizza. After all, this is what new bakers should start with, right? I love reading foodie blogs... their stories are so interesting, the pictures and their exquisite details, the trials and triumphs are so wonderful. Therefore, this recipe comes from Convivial ! (I'm so jealous of the kitchenaid mixer ;_;)

Er.. Wait, that didn't mean I wanted to BE a kitchenaid mixer. Just that I wanted one. Yeah. >_<

Here's the recipe:

Thin Crust Pizza

• 3/4 cups warm water
• 2 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 cups bread flour
• 1/2 tbs of honey
• 1 tbs of salt
• 2 dashes of oil (4 tbsp?)

1. Proof yeast with warm water and the 1 tsp sugar.
2. Sift the flour into a large bowl, make a well, and pour the yeast mixture in.
3. Mix together with a wooden spoon, knead into a ball, and leave on counter, covered with the bowl, for 20 minutes.
4. Squeeze honey onto the dough, lightly sprinkle it with salt, and knead until fully incorporated.
5. Add a dash of oil onto the dough, and knead until fully incorporated.
6. Dash some oil into a bowl, and cover the dough ball with the oil in the dough, then cover with a damp tea towel, and let rise for 40 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
8. Using a spatula, dump the dough out onto a lightly floured counter, and knead once or twice.
9. Roll out the dough into a circle, place onto pizza pan (and stretch the dough to fit pan as needed).
10. Spread sauce and desired toppings on. Bake for 10-12 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.