Recipe: Garlicy Baby Bok Choy

Recipe: Garlicy Baby Bok Choy

Ingredients:

4 cloves of garlic
4 lbs of baby bok choy (1 full bag probably 10 little stalks)

couple of dashes of soy sauce

Directions:

Cut and wash baby bok choy leaves. Blanch baby bok choy for 1-2 minutes in boiling hot water.Use a slotted spoon to remove the baby bok choy from the water. Sautee 4 cloves of garlic. Top baby bok choy w/ garlic and a couple dashes of soy sauce. Serve over white rice. I bought baby bok choy after seeing the cute stalks on Rasa Malaysia's site. They are cute but not cute enough to save from the budding cook's budding belly. ;)

Budding Cook Reveal:

Costco sells minced garlic for under $4. :) I thought this looked interesting and I love garlic. :D So I used this garlic in the above recipe. Doesn't the garlic look so uniformly cut? :) It was cause I didn't do it.

Recipe: Vietamese Ca Kho (Basa Fillets Fish with thick soy sauce)

Ingredients:

2 Basa Fish Fillets

3 Dashes of Fish Sauce

1 tbsp (estimated) of thick soy sauce

1 tbsp of oil for frying

Directions:

Rinse the fish under cold water. Heat tbsp of oil in saucepan. Place the fillets in the pan and fry on both sides. Squirt some fish sauce onto the fish. It will turn white in color when fully cooked. Then take some thick soy sauce and rub the color into the fish with a spoon on both sides. I estimated 1 tbsp but I'm not exactly sure. I just used it to color the fish. :) In vietnamese my mom calls this nuoc mau or color water. This makes the fish taste a little more salty. Serve over white rice. My mom likes this fish because it's boneless. And guess where it orginated from? It's a type of catfish. Answer: Vietnam

Well I searched online for Ca Kho and they say it's fish simmered in caramel sauce. However this is how my parents have ever made anything "Kho" with this thick soy sauce . :) What are your methods of "Kho"-ing or Braising ?. :)

This is my mom's recipe. When I took a bite of it, it reminded me of home and how I miss *home*. ;)

Recipe: Simmered Okras and Tomatoes

Adapted from Best Ever Three & Four Ingredient Cookbook

Ingredidents:
Dash of Cinnamon
Dash of Cumin
Dash of Pepper
1 can of diced tomatoes with onions
Okras - About like 20

Directions:
Add tomotoes to pan. Put a big dash of cinnamon, cumin and pepper. Bring to a boil. Slice up okras. Once it is boiling put okras into the mix. Mix around for 1-2 minutes. Then bring the heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes mixing once and a while until the okras are softer. Serve with rice.

My husband and I liked this dish a lot. The book said this was a Middle Eastern way of preparing okras. It had a very nice aroma. The original recipe also called for a dash a cloves and fresh coriander. I found the cook book at Costco for only $5.99. I don't usually buy cookbooks. I probably only have like 4 to my name including this one. :D But this one caught my attention. It has a lot pictures (like my favorite blogs). :) The only bad thing is sometimes it'll say buy store bought pancakes or buy pre made so and so. I think it's because it's trying to keep with being only a 3-4 ingredient recipe. Cheaters. :) I liked it though. I even brought it the gym to flip through while on the elliptical. That must of looked weird.

Well the budding cook is back and back to basics. Though my husband liked all the the exotic food I was making he has requested to eat rice again. :) So I'll be scouring your blogs for some good rice dishes. :) I already have many in mind. ;)

Recipe: Chicken Flavored Ramen and Egg

Ingredients:
Chicken ramen Instant Noodle - Maruchan (Recommended by Mr. Budding Cook)
Water per directions
1 egg

Directions: Cook instant noodles per directions and then crack and egg in it before removing from heat. Flip egg around try not to break it but make sure it's cooked.

Introducing Mr. Budding Cook - This is my husband's creation (recipe) and his picture taking. :D He isn't feeling too well lately and he wanted a soupy substance. So he made himself some ramen. He called himself the budding cook. hehe So I decided to feature him. He loves Maruchan chicken flavor. This however is Nissin. Only 12 cents at Albertson's :). He said they taste similar. Did you know that instant noodles are fused w/ oil? I saw it on the tv show Unwrapped! Why must everything good be fused w/ oil? wah...

The Riddle: Not da recipe Part II

Part of Attempt 1, out of 2 one was burnt


Attempt 2, too doughy, too glutinousy hehe


Attempt 3, i didn't have pork or chives so i put potatoes in it.. not sooo good. haha...and looks can be deceiving :D

Thank-you all for particpating in the riddle game. Click here to see your results. You were all so close. How did you guess pan fried, chives, and pork? hehe

The Answer though is.....Chinese Chive Dumplings. But these are not da Chinese Chive Dumplings. :D I actually think I had these at Dim Sum the other day. It doesn't taste exactly like the way my in laws make it though. Theirs are more doughy. :) Hopefully one day I can get the recipe or see how they make it. Everytime we come over they are all done and all we do is chomp. so spoiled

So there are some days where cooking is rewarding (jumping for joy) and some days where it's frustrating and disappointing... (eating your mistakes as my friend says she does) Making these were kinda of disappointing. Boo..:/

Your eyes can spy on how they are supposed to look here: Google Image Search :)

Will the budding cook be able to cook her next meal without disspointing results? Will she regain her confidence? Is the budding cook knocked out? Will she get up? Stay tuned. Same budding cook time, same budding cook channel .. but is she the same budding cook?

The Riddle: What is this? Part 1

my first attempt, good but not perfect too crispy, it almost almost tasted like it but no no it's not IT

Question: Have you made this? Has your mouth been able to bite into this? Your nose been able to sniff in it's goodness? Has your stomach been warmed by it? Have your eyes lightened up when you've seen it? Have your thoughts been drawn to it?

The Riddle: This is something that I've been craving, drooling over and dying to make ever since my husband's grandparents made it. It's round, pan fried and oh so delicious. When you eat it, chives (green onions) and pork ooze out. It taste best when hot. The middle is soft and the outside is crispy but not too crispy. It's of Chinese descent. You can eat 2-3 of them. Or if you are like my husband - 5. It is soft. It is yummy. It fits perfectly in my tummy. What is it?

The Answer:
I want to reveal the recipe when I've perfected it. :) So to be continued...

Please tell me what you think this is? Or if you have a recipe, make me some on your blog hehe. My quest for perfection continues. :D

Peek into my kitchen

From left to right (Seasoned rice vinegar, Sesame oil, Chinese Rice Wine, Soy Sauce, Sriracha sauce which is hot chili sauce, pepper)

From left to right: Koon Chun's Thick Soy Sauce, Chili Garlic Sauce, White Pepper Powder, Chinese Five Spice, Koon Chun's Hoisin Sauce. My Mom has the thick soy suace and Hoisin Sauce in her kitchen. :)






I will try to keep my list of ingredients updated. :) I always love sites w/ ingredient list. So take a peek into the kitchen of the budding cook. :)

A refreshing drink on a cold winters day

Smoothies. Who needs Jamba juice or Orange Julius when you can make your own? I get my frozen strawberries from costco in bulk. :) Yum this was quite refreshing. The recipe is from Mushroom Meadows. This site is very cute might I add. :)

Recipe: Spicy Peanut Chicken Drumstricks on Soba Noodles

Spicy Peanut Sauce: (Adapted from the Spicy Peanut Sauce in Teany Book)
4 tsp Soy Sauce
4 tbsp Sriracha Sauce (has a rooster on it)
2 tbsp Creamy Peanut Butter
2 tsp Sesame oil
2 tsp rice Vinegar


Soba noodle:
Place soba noodles in boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Drain and place under cold water.

Directions:
Place chicken into oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Flip chicken over for another 30 minutes. Once the chicken is pretty much cooked, lather peanut sauce onto the chicken. Bake for another 20 minutes on each side. Serve over hot soba noodles.

This was the first time I tried my peanut butter sauce on chicken. It was actually through a conversation with a friend. He said that he usually makes spicy peanut butter wings. And we found out that we use used Sriracha sauce in both our recipes. The teany book didn't specify the type of asian chilli sauce to use. And I decided to use the rooster sauce. Woo hoo I think that means that I'm really a budding cook! :) You could try variations of the peanut sauce. I think this version may be too spicy. I tried it on a group of girlfriends once over soba noodles alone and it was way too hot for them. If you want to lessen the hottness factor add more peanut butter and soy sauce and reduce the number tablespoons of hot sauce.

Related Post: Japanese Soba Ground Turky Gyozas

Recipe: Curry Puff Pastries

I got the Recipe: Curry Puff Pastries from SimCooks. It was quite easy and delicious. I modified mine a bit.

Ingredients:
Curry Mix - Used Golden Curry Mix
Potatoes
Pastry Sheets - Used Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry cost 4.99 at Albertsons. :D

Directions:
Defrost the puff pastry sheets for 40 minutes per directions. Place a towel on them so as to not dry out (Sim's advice). For one pastry sheet it comes in three rectangles, instead of rolling it into one sheet I cut out nine equal squares. Place the curry in the middle and fold in half. I used a fork to poke holes and crimp the edges. Place on a ungreased baking sheet in a 400 degree oven. Please look at Sim's blog for her detailed instructions as well. :) With the left over pieces I created different curry puff creations as seen above. Hope you enjoy. I did. I will make this again but next time for a party. :) Yummy Curry Puff Pastries are the best! yum yum

I think I want to make my own puff pastry myself next time. :) Seems like a fun exercise. Has anyone tried it? Is it easy?

XXX-Rated Naked and Glutinous Goodies

In honor of Simcook's froclicking shrimp, I decided to name my dish XXX-Rated Naked and Glutinous Goodies. :)

This dish calls for glutinous flour. While slurping up these little goodies, my husband turned to me and said "These must be fat huh?". I then looked it up on the wiki . It turns out that they are only named "Glutinous" because the flour is sticky and not because it contains gluten. :) Doesn't this look like gluttonous? Wheew luckily it only sounds fat.

I got the recipe from TT's Playing with My Food website. He describes why these little guys are called "Banh It Tran" in vietnamese meaning "Naked Pasteries". It's because they aren't wrapped in banana leaves. I've been dying to try some of the recipes here. I have a long list of recipes that I will try from all the master cooks I've been reading. :D For now I'm just the little apprentice. :)

Below is my redition. Thanks TT for all your advice.

Ingredients:
3 tsps of Fish Sauce
A couple shakes of Pepper
3/4 lb of Ground Pork
3/4 of a 16 oz Glutinous rice flour bag
2 stalks of Green onions
Warm Water

Directions:
Fry the onions. Add the fish sauce and pepper and brown the ground pork with the onions. Form dough by adding warm water. The recipe doesn't specify how much water is to be added. TT said that it is forgiving. What I've seen is that you add just enough water to make a soft dough and if you add too much water the flour becomes too sticky. In that case you would probably want to add more flour. Flatten the dough and place ground pork into the middle. Roll the dough up creating little balls. Place them into a boiling pot of water. Once the critters float to the top you'll need to cook them for another 10 minutes. You can then scoop these babies out. I didn't add a lot of ingredients that the recipe called for: shrimp, mung beans, onion oil etc. I had dry mung beans but I didn't know how to cook them. :P Boil? Oh well next time...

After they were all done and plated, the little guys realized that they were naked and asked to be covered. So I topped them with some green onions and then ate them. :)

The End (At least for them. ;))

Vietnamese Soy Sauce Chicken Drumsticks

This is my mom's recipe. It's sooo good with rice and it's quite simple.

Ingredients:

Chicken Drumsticks, Soy Sauce, Sugar, Water to boil

Directions:

Boil chicken for 20 minutes in water. Take chicken out and place in a pan. Sprinkle sugar on chicken. I sprinked about 1 to 2 tablespoons on six drumsticks. Then squirt a generous amount of soy sauce on chicken. Cover for about 10 minutes. Flip over a couple of times. Serve w/ rice.

(The above picture is before the chicken was covered. I had just finished squirting soy sauce. The chicken should be light brown in color in the end. You can also use chicken thighs. Optionally you can add green onions to the mix.)

Easy Cheesy Guacomole

Easy indeed but not really cheesy.

Ingredients:
1 Hass Avocado, Ripe (They are darker in color almost black when they are ripe)
4 tablespoons of your favorite salsa
2 teaspoons of lemon or lime to taste (optional)

Directions:
Cut avocado in half. Take the seed out. Scoop into bowl. Add salsa and mash avocado up. Add lime or lemon to taste. I got this recipe from my aunt. It's quite simple.

Budding Cooking Tip #3: Leave the seed in the bowl to keep the guacomole from browning.

Bottomless Steamed Wonton Shrimp

Adapted from Rasa Malyasia's Shrimp wontons. I even took lessons from Rasa Malyasia's wonton wrapping cooking video. :)

I tried steaming the little shrimp with my Black and Decker steamer. I got it as a wedding gift. :) I've used it to steam veggies but I thought I'd venture off and try this. The only problem is the wonton sticks to the plastic so the little bottoms fell off hence the name ;). Does anyone know what the difference is between using this type of steamer vs stainless steel or a bamboo one?

I want to start making little steamed goodies. yum yum. And was wondering if I should invest or will this do?