Hong Kong Breakfast Noodles

INGREDIENTS
Ingredients:
7 ounces bean sprouts
salt
6½ ounces dried egg noodles
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
2 ginger slices (peeled and smashed)
1 medium shallot (peeled and cut into quarters)
3 green onions (cut into 1½-inch pieces)
1 teaspoon ginger (minced)
1 green onion (finely chopped)
sesame seeds

Sauce:
¼ cup, plus 3 tablespoons water
¼ cup dark soy sauce
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. For the bean sprouts, remove the roots and leaves with fingers or scissors. Rinse the sprouts under water and drain. Set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the dried egg noodles. With a pair of chopsticks, loosen the noodles while cooking. As soon as the noodles have separated and softened, drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients. Mix well.
4. In a large pan or wok over high heat, warm the pan and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add 2 ginger slices and cook for a minute. Add the shallot and green onion pieces. Stir and cook for another minute. Add the bean sprouts and a pinch of salt. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes. Transfer to a fine mesh sieve and drain. Remove the ginger slices and shallot.
5. In the same pan or wok, quickly clean with paper towel. Over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the minced ginger and cook until fragrant. Add the noodles. Stir for a minute and add half of the sauce. Mix well and cook until the sauce has been absorbed mostly. Add the bean sprouts and stir to mix well. Taste and adjust with a few more tablespoons of sauce if needed. The finished noodles should not be completely dried. There should be a little sauce at the bottom of the pan. Transfer the noodles to serving plates. Top with the finely chopped green onion and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Notes
Dried egg noodles can be bought from Chinese supermarkets, like 99 Ranch Market (https://www.99ranch.com) or from Amazon (https://amzn.com/B00B5HMH4E).
Dark soy sauce is very different from regular soy sauce. It is darker and sweeter. You can also get it from Chinese supermarkets or Amazon (https://amzn.com/B0001EJ4CU).
If you like spicy food, you can serve the noodles with Sriracha sauce.
These noodles make great leftovers.

Momofuku Ginger Scallion Sauce

Ginger Scallion Sauce

from Momofuku cookbook by David Chang

makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:
2½ cups thinly sliced scallions (green and whites, from 1-2 large bunches)
½ cup finely minced fresh ginger
¼ cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
1½ teaspoons usukuchi (light soy sauce)
¾ teaspoon sherry vinegar (we didn’t have this so we used mirin – it was fine)
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

Directions:
Mix together the scallions, ginger, oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt in a bowl. Taste and check for salt, adding more if needed.

Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

Butter lettuce
red cabbage, julienne
radishes, julienne
celery, julienne
apple, julienne
cucumbers, julienne
carrots, julienne

Sauce:

2 tbsp chunky peanut butter
1 tsp molasses
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp ginger juice
1 clove garlic, diced finely
1 tsp sriracha sauce
1 tsp sesame seed oil

Directions: Mix well.

Tofu:

1 firm tofu brick, drained well, squooshed, cut into 1 inch cubes

Marinade: Mixture of ketchup, sriracha, and dhana jeera (cumin coriander powder).

Directions: Cook tofu on skillet until brown on each side. Then soak in marinade for at least 30 min. Then bake in 350 F oven for 20 min. Desired tofu texture is dry. Bake until marinade has dried sufficiently that tofu can be eaten with fingers without making a mess.

Noodles:

1 package super thin rice cellophane noodles

Directions: break off a bit, soak in boiling water for 1 min, then drain and enjoy.

Putting it all together:

Lay flat butter lettuce leaf. Top with veggies. Top with noodles. Top with sauce. Top with tofu. Roll like a burrito and enjoy! 🙂

This is a Swati Original Recipe. It was mildly inspired by the dish at Cheesecake Factory. This is not a copy of that recipe, however, it is just how the recipe evolved with our personal family preferences.

Sesame Brown Rice

Medium-grain brown rice, often sold as short-grain brown rice, has a sticky texture and a nutlike aroma and taste. Asian sesame oil, which has a rich toasted flavor, complements the distinctive nature of the rice. If there are leftovers, transform them into a rice salad by adding grated carrot and a generous drizzle of rice vinegar.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups water
1 cup medium-grain brown rice
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. sesame seeds
1 tsp. Asian sesame oil
1 Tbs. thinly sliced green onions

Directions:

In a saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the rice and salt, stir once, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook, without stirring, until all of the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender, 35 to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small, dry fry pan over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds until they are fragrant and have taken on color, about 2 minutes. Pour the seeds onto a plate and set aside.

Carefully lift the cover of the saucepan so that no condensation drips into the rice. Drizzle the sesame oil evenly over the top and sprinkle with half of the sesame seeds. Gently fluff the rice with a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon.

Spoon the rice into a warmed serving dish. Sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds and the green onion. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma, Essentials of Healthful Cooking, by Mary Abbott Hess, Dana Jacobi & Marie Simmons (Oxmoor House, 2003).

Vegetarian Pad Thai

Ingredients
Recipe courtesy Nongkran Daks

Pad Thai:

4 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra as needed
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon (shredded) preserved radish
1/4 pound medium-size dried rice noodles (soaked 60 minutes in cold water and drained)
Water
5 tablespoons Pad Thai sauce, recipe follows
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground hot chiles, or more to taste
2 tablespoons ground roasted peanuts
1/2 cup sliced garlic chives or green onion
2 cups bean sprouts, rinsed, plus more for garnish
1 wedge lime

Pat Thai Sauce:

1 cup tamarind juice
1 cup palm sugar plus 3 tablespoons
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetarian fish sauce
2 teaspoons salt

Vegetarian Fish Sauce:

¼ cup water
2 Tbsp. raw turbinado sugar (or brown sugar)
¼ cup pineapple juice
2 Tbsp. light soy sauce or tamari

DIRECTIONS:

Pad Thai:

Heat the oil in a wok. Add the garlic and stir-fry until golden brown. Add the meat and shrimp and keep stirring until the shrimp changes color. Remove the shrimp to prevent overcooking and set aside.

Add the noodles. They will stick together so stir fast and try to separate them. Add a little water, stirring a few times. Then add the Pad Thai sauce, and keep stirring until everything is thoroughly mixed. The noodles should appear soft and moist. Return the cooked shrimp to the wok.

Push the contents of the wok up around the sides to make room to fry the eggs. If the pan is very dry, add 1 more tablespoon of oil. Add the eggs and spread the noodles over the eggs to cover. When the eggs are cooked, stir the noodles until everything is well mixed-this should result in cooked bits of eggs, both whites and yolk, throughout the noodle mixture.

Add chiles, peanuts, garlic chives and bean sprouts. Mix well. Remove to a platter. Serve with raw bean spouts and a few drops of lime juice.

A viewer, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.

Pat Thai Sauce:

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan for about 60 minutes until it is well mixed and syrupy. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

Cook’s Note: If you want to double this recipe, DO NOT double the ingredi ents, for the bulk will be too much to work with. Rather, make the dish twice. If you plan to make this for company, cook noodles ahead of time and add bean sprouts and garlic chives when you heat it up. If it is an informal gathering, it is fun to let your guests cook their own noodles.

You can buy premixed tamarind concentrate or make your own tamarind juice. Buy a package of compressed tamarind pulp at any Asian market, cut off 3 tablespoons of paste and soak in 1 1/2 cups of warm water for 20 minutes. Squeeze out the pulp and discard; the remaining liquid is tamarind juice. Store any leftover juice or noodle sauce in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer.

Vegetarian Fish Sauce:

Stir the water and sugar together in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Add the pineapple juice and light soy sauce and mix well.

Refrigerate in a glass container or jar with a lid for an hour or so. This can last up to 3-4 days.

Jujube Rolls

This is a rehash of the tongzhen recipe posted earlier in the blog.

STARTER

3 tbsp flour (King Arthur bread flour or all purpose flour)
1/2 c liquid (1/4 c water + 1/4 c milk)

Mix in saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until it becomes of pudding-like consistency. Let cool.

DOUGH

2.5c flour
1/4 c sugar
3/4 c whole milk
1 egg
2 tbsp (1/4 stick) butter
2 tsp (or one packet) yeast
1/2 tsp salt
All the STARTER
1 c candied fruit

DIRECTIONS

Using stand mixer, mix all dough for 15 min. Dough will be sticky and stringy, silky and smooth.

Cover. Let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.

TO MAKE DINNER ROLLS

Traditional rolls: Roll dough into 6 equal-sized balls. Cover loosely. Let rise 30 min. Rolls will smush together.

Glaze with milk or egg wash (1/4 c milk or water and 1 egg, mixed well). The egg wash gives a shiny finish to the rolls, the milk wash makes the rolls brown but not shiny. I use an egg wash.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover loosely. Let rise 15 min to 30 min.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 min.

Enjoy!

Cubed Radish Kimchi (V2)

I tried the Maangchi recipe. It didn’t work out. (Too spicy, too garlicky, too acidic).

Here are my proposed amendments for the next time I make this.

CUBED RADISH KIMCHI

YIELD: Makes 2 spaghetti sauce bottles full

INGREDIENTS:

4 lbs Radish/daikon/korean radish (rinse in cold water, pat dry, cut into 3/4 inch or 1 inch cubes)

Add:

2 tbsp salt
4 tbsp sugar

Let sit for 30 min.

Drain radish juice from bowl. Reserve. (DO NOT throw away!!)

Add:

1 tsp minced ginger
1/3 – 1/2 c mild coarse hot pepper flakes (tae yang cho, deol mae woon gochugaru) [DO NOT sub with paprika or Indian chile powder; it is NOT the same](First add the 1/3 cup then taste it; if you need more spice, another 2 tbsp will take it up to 1/2 c)
1/8 c soy sauce (optional)
1/3 c radish juice
1/2 apple, diced (optional, but adds natural sweetness)(I like fuji or gala apples)
1 small korean pear, diced (optional, but adds natural sweetness)(DO NOT substitute any other types of pears, it will wreck the recipe!!)

Mix well. Jar (I like glass pickle or jam jars, sterilized).

EATING OPTIONS:

1. Right away.

2. Let ferment at room temperature a few days, then fridge, then eat. (I live in Chicago, and made this in the fall, when temperatures are 30-50 F; if you live somewhere warmer, you might need less fermentation time.)

---

The above are my proposed amendments when I make this recipe again.

Below is the original recipe. 

NOTE TO SELF: DO NOT MAKE THE ORIGINAL RECIPE AGAIN.

Full recipe here: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kkakdugi

Cliff Notes:

CUBED RADISH KIMCHI

INGREDIENTS:

4 lbs Radish/daikon/korean radish (rinse in cold water, pat dry, cut into 3/4 inch or 1 inch cubes)

Add:

2 tbsp salt
2-3 tbsp sugar

Let sit for 30 min.

Drain radish juice from bowl. Reserve. (DO NOT throw away!!)

Add:

2 tbsp minced garlic (6 cloves)
1 tsp minced ginger
4 stalks of chopped green onions
2/3 c mild coarse hot pepper flakes (tae yang cho, deol mae woon gochugaru) [DO NOT sub with paprika or Indian chile powder; it is NOT the same]
1/4 c soy sauce
1/3 c radish juice

Mix well. Jar (I like glass pickle or jam jars, sterilized).

EATING OPTIONS:

1. Right away.

2. Let ferment at room temperature a few days, then fridge, then eat.

Bee Hive Cake (Cliff Notes)

Full recipe and history here: http://kwgls.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/my-childhood-cakebee-hive-cakemalaysian-honey-comb-cake-or-kueh-sarang-semut-%E8%9C%82%E5%B7%A2%E8%9B%8B%E7%B3%95%EF%BC%89/

I use my blog as kind of a baking diary, and consult it while cooking, so this is my cliff notes version of the first recipe (with sugar, not golden syrup).

BEE HIVE CAKE

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 sticks of butter at room temperature
• 1 can of condensed milk or sweeten beverage creamer (380 grams, 13.4 oz)
  • NOT sweetened condensed milk (Caution!)
• 2 cups of self raising flours
  • SUBSTITUTE WITH 2 c flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups of water
• 2 cups of blended white sugar (so that it is superfine)
  • BRITISH call this blended sugar castor sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons of baking soda
• 8 eggs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Melt sugar (by itself) on low heat in saucepan on stove. STOP when it is light brown and partly melted OR ELSE it will BURN.  It takes a LONG TIME – around 10 minutes!

Add water to saucepan. Mix. (CAUTION! SUGAR IS HOT, SO IT WILL SPLATTER!). Let cool.

In mixing bowl, beat butter (by itself) until fluffy.

Add condensed milk.

Then add eggs, one at a time.

Add dry ingredients to mixing bowl – flour, baking powder, salt.

Add baking soda.

Add cooled sugar water milk mixture from saucepan.

Mix well.

In an 8 x 8 square glass brownie pan, well greased, with parchment paper lined on the bottom, add batter.

Bake for 45-60 min until toothpick comes out clean.

Cut when completely cooled.

Enjoy!

Korean Mocha Bread Recipe (Ki Jay Bakery) [US Measurements]

This receipe looks great, I love how it is explained. I wish the recipe was written out somewhere though. And of course translated from metric, as I’m American.

This recipe is made in two parts. Part one is making the bread dough and letting it rise. Part two is making the crackly sweet mocha covering (called a biscuit), which is rolled out with a rolling pin (like an Indian Roti!) and wrapped around the bread dough.

Mocha Bread – (a little overdone :() The baking time has been adjusted to ensure that if you use this recipe, your bread won’t come out overdone like mine. (It’s burnt, but still tastes great!)

BREAD DOUGH RECIPE:

2 c bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 tsp dry yeast

Mix dry ingredients.

1 c milk
2 tsp instant coffee
1 egg

microwave wet ingredients for 40 sec

Mix wet and dry ingredients in kitchenaid bowl.

Start kitchenaid. Mix.

Add:

2 tbsp (1/4 stick) butter (room temperature)

Kitchenaid for 9 min.

Add:

1 handful chopped walnuts
1 handful cranberries (dried)

Kitchenaid for 2 min.

LET RISE until double in size, around 30-60 min. While the bread dough is rising, make the biscuit below.

BISCUIT RECIPE:

3 tbsp butter (room temperature)
1/3 c sugar

Mix.

Add 1 egg. Mix.

Add:

1 tbsp milk
2 tsp instant coffee.

Mix.

Add:

1 c all purpose flour (sifted)
1/2 tsp baking powder.

Mix wet and dry biscuit ingredients.

Refrigerate biscuit dough until bread dough finishes first fermentation.

The video does not specify how long the first fermentation is. I’d go with 30 minutes.

Divide fermented bread dough into 4 round balls.

Roll out each ball of bread dough with a rolling pin into a circle (like a pie crust) about 8 inches in diameter.
Roll up like a fruit roll up (or like how you do cinnamon rolls).
Pinch ends and wrap under the elongated loaves. This makes it look cute and professional.

Now you need to roll out the biscuit dough into a flat disc (like a pie crust) and cover the bread dough rolls.
Roll the biscuit dough between two sheets of plastic wrap because it is sticky and unmanageable.
The biscuit dough is rolled into roughly a 9 inch diameter circle.

Wrap the biscuit dough around the bread dough loaves.

Let dough rise a second time. The video doesn’t say how long, I would go with 30 minutes again.

Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 20-25 min.

Enjoy!

Korean Mocha Bread Recipe (Ki Jay Bakery)(Metric)

This receipe looks great, I love how it is explained. I wish the recipe was written out somewhere though. And of course translated from metric, as I’m American.

This recipe is made in two parts. Part one is making the bread dough and letting it rise. Part two is making the crackly sweet mocha covering (called a biscuit), which is rolled out with a rolling pin (like an Indian Roti!) and wrapped around the bread dough.

Mocha Bread – (a little overdone :() The baking time has been adjusted to ensure that if you use this recipe, your bread won’t come out overdone like mine. (It’s burnt, but still tastes great!)

METRIC:

BREAD DOUGH RECIPE:

300g bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6g dry yeast

Mix dry ingredients.

110 g milk
10g instant coffee
1 egg

microwave wet ingredients for 40 sec

Mix wet and dry ingredients in kitchenaid bowl.

Start kitchenaid. Mix.

Add:

30g butter (room temperature)

Kitchenaid for 9 min.

Add:

1 handful chopped walnuts
1 handful cranberries (dried)

Kitchenaid for 2 min.

BISCUIT RECIPE:

40 g butter (room temperature)
60 g sugar

Mix.

Add 1 egg. Mix.

Add:

1 tbsp milk
2 tsp instant coffee.

Mix.

Add:

150 g all purpose flour (sifted)
1/2 tsp baking powder.

Mix wet and dry biscuit ingredients.

Refrigerate biscuit dough until bread dough finishes first fermentation.

The video does not specify how long the first fermentation is. I’d go with 30 minutes.

Divide fermented bread dough into 4 round balls.

Roll out each ball of bread dough with a rolling pin into a circle (like a pie crust) about 8 inches in diameter.
Roll up like a fruit roll up (or like how you do cinnamon rolls).
Pinch ends and wrap under the elongated loaves. This makes it look cute and professional.

Now you need to roll out the biscuit dough into a flat disc (like a pie crust) and cover the bread dough rolls.
Roll the biscuit dough between two sheets of plastic wrap because it is sticky and unmanageable.
The biscuit dough is rolled into roughly a 9 inch diameter circle.

Wrap the biscuit dough around the bread dough loaves.

Let dough rise a second time. The video doesn’t say how long, I would go with 30 minutes again.

Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 20-25 min.

Enjoy!