Pad Thai

Pad Thai....

I probably started helping out in the kitchen as 2nd or 3rd grader.  I'm sure my parents know when I started cooking on my own...because the kitchen was always a mess after I was through. I remember making oatmeal cookies one time and there was flour and cookie dough everywhere!  I think the recipe made about 4 dozen cookies...of which only a few were eaten...what Thai family eats oatmeal cookies?! Apparently, I was the only family member that did. 

Anyways, I digress.  The point is you would think I grew up making Pad Thai...the most basic Thai dish that is a staple of any Thai restaurant in America.  Quite frankly, I think the only time my mom made Pad Thai was for Heritage Day at school.  Growing up, the only time I really ate Pad Thai was at restaurants. 

 

However, recently, Pad Thai has been fully (re)introduced to my pallete thanks to my brother.  The past 3 summers I've enjoyed my brother's Pad Thai that he makes at his farmer's market booth. The complex flavors of tamarind (tangy), fish sauce (salty), lime, and sugar of the pad Thai sauce are soaked up by the rice noodles.

Even though my brother inspired my Pad Thai cravings, the recipe I follow isn't his recipe.  Mostly because I enjoy tasting the subtle differences in our styles of Pad Thai.  

The 3 main components to Pad Thai is the Sauce, the Proteins, the StirFry.

Many of these ingredients can be found at the local asian market (I go to Southeast Market here in SLC)

The very 1st step is to soak the Rice Stick Noodles (5 mm wide noodles) in a large bowl of water.

The Sauce:

1/4 c of Tamarind Sauce

1/4 c of warm water

2-3 tbsp of white sugar (or palm sugar if you want to be really authentic)

2 tbsp of fresh lime juice (about 3/4 of a lime)

2 tbsp of fish sauce

pinch of salt

1) Combine all the ingredients above and stir until sugar is completely dissolved.

2) Adjust to taste (I like it sweeter and add about a tsp more of sugar)

The Proteins:

1 Chicken Breast, thinly sliced

"Savory" Baked Tofu (its firm tofu soaked in five-spice), 1/8" thick slices

2 eggs

Shrimp (optional)

1) Prep your proteins and set aside for the Stir Fry.

Stir Fry!

2 tbsp of vegetable oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

chicken

tofu

eggs

noodles

bean sprouts

green onion

1) Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a wok-like pan.

2) Add minced garlic and cook until light yellow.

3) Add chicken breast and cook about 2 minutes on each side.

4) Add sliced tofu and continue cooking about 2 minutes.

5) Add 2 eggs and let sit to cook without stirring for about 2 minutes until egg whites start to cook.

6) Drain your rice noodles (that have been soaking this whole time you've been prepping) and add it on top of the proteins.
7) Don't stir too much. Rice noodles can become soggy if you move it around too much.
8) Let the noodles cook for about 2 minutes before stirring. At this point I'd switch to using tongs to toss the noddles.
9) Gently stir in the sauce.
10) Cover the pan and let sit for about 2 minutes so the rice noodles can absorb all the liquid.

11) Fold in the bean sprouts and green onion and let sit on low-medium heat for a few more minutes.

12) Garnish with cilantro (optional) and sriracha sauce (as spicy as you want it)

Hawaiian Haysticks

Hawaiian haysticks are my rendition of bbq chicken kabobs.  They aren't necessarily Hawaiian at all...it has pineapple and teriyaki sauce in it; but not an original Hawaiin recipe...that I know of.  The recipe was inspired by one of my friend's buddies who made these kabobs at a party one time. 

Hawaiian Haysticks & Steaks

The key to a good kabob is to marinate them overnight.  However, I crave these at the last minute and only get an hour or two of marination in.

The Marinade

kc masterpiece Honey Teriyaki

1/4 cup of pineapple juice (from the can of pineapples you will use later)

Siracha Sauce

4 cloves of garlic

1 lemon

1 red onion

salt

1) In a small blender or food processor,  add 1 cup of honey teriyaki sauce, 1/4 cup of pineapple juice, ~1 1/2 tablespoons of siracha sauce, 4 crushed cloves of garlic, a pinch of salt, and the juice of a lemon.

2) Blend for about 2 minutes.

3) Pour 2/3 of the mix into a 1 quart zip lock bag

4) Pour the other 1/3 into another 1 quart zip lock bag

Kabob Prep:

1) Soak 10" wood skewers in water.

2) Cut up 3 chicken breast into bite sized pieces.

3) Cut red onion into ~ 1 inch squares (I pick the more squat looking onions (seen in the background) as these tend to have a thicker skin that is great for grilling)

4) Add the can of pineapple chunks and red onion squares into ziploc bag of the smaller portion of marinade.

5) Add the chicken to the other ziploc bag of marinade.

6) Refrigerate for up to 24 hours

7) When ready to grill, skewer the kabobs...I usually do it in the following order:

onion-pineapple-onion-chicken-onion-pineapple-onion-chicken-onion-pineapple-onion-chicken

8) Grill on medium-high heat.

Basil Chicken Chicago-Style Pizza

It has been a while since my last blog.  August flew by while I was on my subinternship...time flies when your having fun!  Haven't had time to try a new recipe till this past week :) 

(Bought some new plates too :)

This recipe is inspired by Zachary's Pizza in Berkeley specifically their "Chicken Special" Pizza. The last time I had this pizza was probably five years ago; and I've been searching for it since (...I've moved to the SLC).  So, I decided to just make it in my new quiche pan.

I like to start off with the dough.  This dough recipe is just off the back of the package.   It is nice and quick and doesn't require an hour to rise or anything.  I just let it sit while I do the rest of the prep.

The Dough:

~ 1 3/4 c of flour (start with 1 cup then add 1/2 cups at a time till dough forms a soft ball)

1 packet of Fleischmann's Pizza Dough Yeast

1 1/2 tsp of sugar

3/4 tsp of salt

2/3 c warm/hot water

3 tbsp of olive oil

1) In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, 1 packet of yeast, sugar, and salt.

2) Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and add the warm water and olive oil.

3) Mix well and add rest of the flour 1/2 a cup at a time till it forms a somewhat sticky ball of dough.

4) Let it sit in bowl while you prepare the pizza sauce. Also, preheat the oven at 425 F (convection if you have it)

The Sauce:

1 tbsp of olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced

Roma tomatoes, sliced and halved

1 small can of Tomato Paste (Italian style - with basil and oregano)

about 1 cup of water

big pinch of salt

small pinch of brown sugar

fresh Thyme (about 5 sprigs)

fresh Basil (a small handful)

chicken breast tenders

black pepper

garlic powder

1) On medium heat, add olive oil.  When heated, but not smoking, add onions and garlic and cook for about 8 minutes.

2) Add the tomatoes, paste, water, salt, brown sugar, thyme and basil and simmer for 15 minutes.  Salt to taste.

3) In a separate saute pan, add enough olive oil to barely coat the pan.

4) Season chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and slice into bite size pieces.

5) Cook on medium heat till lightly browned on both sides.

Constructing the Deep Dish:

1) Divide your dough into 1:5 portions (as seen in the picture in "the dough" section)

2) Roll out the larger portion of dough and line your oiled quiche pan.

3) Cover with foil and then pie weights

4) Bake pie crust for 12 minutes in your preheated 425 F oven

5) Remove foil and pie weights

6) Add 3/4 of the sauce and add a layer of blend of pizza cheese or just mozzarella.

7) Roll out your smaller portion of dough very thin.

8) Layer it on top of your sauce and cheese.

9) Add the rest of the sauce and cheese on top of that thin layer of dough.

10) Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Shrimp & Shitake Garlic Spaghetti

There's a first time for everything. right?  It's rare I like my first attempt; but today, I did it!  If only I could apply to other things I need to get done at the moment!

A lot of my food cravings stem from stuff I've eaten before.  Is that how it is for everyone?  Do we only crave what we've tasted before.  I'm not sure it's possible to crave something we've never had.  Although, I do want to try anything with truffles in it.  But, I've purposely avoided trying anything with truffles in it because I don't have $500 to spend and waste trying to cook up my own truffle dish lol.

Today's dinner was inspired by cheesecake factory's garlic noodles with shrimp.  I like the light garlic sauce (sometimes it can be somewhat heavy), the shitake mushrooms, the asparagus, tomatoes and shrimp.  A google search didn't come up with a good copycat recipe; so, I had to make do and start with something.  The recipe I started with was again one of Emeril's Shitake & Bacon with Penne

I'll call mine: Roasted Shrimp, Tomato, and Asparagus in a Shitake, Bacon, & Garlic Spaghetti with Fresh Basil.

Ingredients:

6 oz of ham and bacon diced or pancetta

3 Roma Tomatoes, sliced into wedges

Asparagus (or as Jordan calls it "ass-per-grass", cut off most of the stem

Shitake Mushroom (about 8 oz), sliced

1 large Shallot, chopped

3 cloves of Garlic, minced

a handful of Fresh Basil, chopped

10 good sized Shrimp peeled, deveined with tails

Pecorino Romano, freshly grated

Spices: Salt, Pepper, Oregano, Basil, Garlic Powder

Olive Oil

2 tbsp of unsalted Butter! (duh! had to have butter in this recipe)

Barilla Spaghetti

(p.s. Thyme is pictured in the recipe but I decided to not include it.. I didn't feel it needed it)

First step as always prep veggies:

1) In a medium bowl, toss sliced tomatoes in olive oil, a pinch of salt, a few grinds of pepper, a dash of oregano, basil, and garlic powder.  Place in a cookie sheet and turn the oven on a high broil (with the highest rack 2 or 3 from the top...don't want to char(mander) them)
2) In the same medium bowl, toss asparagus in olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Add to the same cookie sheet and set aside.
3) I'd take the time now to chop and mince the other veggies.

Prep the Shrimpies & Ham/Bacon or Pancetta:

1)  Butterfly the shrimp
2) Toss in a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper (I've found that a simple pinch of salt, pepper, & olive oil really brings out the flavor of whatever your grilling or broiling)
3) Throw onto a cookie sheet and set aside.
4) Dice up some ham and bacon or pancetta if you have it.

Get a pot of water boiling for your spaghetti.

The "Sauce":

1) In a medium pan on medium heat, add the ham and bacon or pancetta and cook till crispy (or till your husband/significant other/sous chef?/line cook? gets tired of watching it) I think Jordan ended up babysitting it for 10 minutes.
Drop your pasta in the boiling water and set a timer for 9 minutes. Perfectly al dente :)
And, put your tomatoes and asparagus on the top rack of the oven to broil (mb about 5 minutes)
Also, put your shrimp in.  They will cook quick as well.
2) Add shitake mushrooms and shallots and cook for another 5-10 minutes
3) Add minced garlic and cook for about a minute (don't burn it though)
4) Add the chopped basil, 2 tbsp of olive oil, big pinch of salt, pepper, and al dente pasta. Toss with some tongs.
5) Add your roasted tomatoes, asparagus, and shrimpies.
6) Garnish with grated pecorino and fresh basil (both optional)
7) also optional is crispy cold glass of chardonnay

Quiche isn't really a Quick meal

It's just one of those days where I feel the intense need to cook. Hmm I might need to make some cherry pies too.  Yesterday at the farmer's market, I picked up a tub of frozen tart cherries.  I usually just make my cherry pies from cherries at the supermarket; but I want to see if it makes a difference if I use the tart cherries.

Ok back to the Quiche.  This one is adapted from one of Emeril's recipes.

(http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/the-essence-of-emeril/three-onion-mushroom-and-ham-quiche-recipe/index.html)  Emeril's recipes are always full fat and flavor.  My only modifications really are some substitutions.  They are kinda sad but on my budget I can't always follow recipes to a T.

I'll divided this recipe in chronological order.

The Savory Pie Crust:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp Essence (see link above for recipe. I make a batch of his essence maybe 1-2x a year. It lasts)

1/2 tsp salt

4 oz (1 stick) of cold unsalted butter (cut into smaller chunks)

3-4 tbsp of cold ice water

1) In a large bowl, combine flour, essence, salt, and butter.
2) Since I don't have a stand mixer or food processor, I just use a big whisk and mash the flour butter mixture till it resembles the coarse crumb texture a pie crust should. 
3) Add a tablespoon of cold water at a time and incorporate till it forms a ball.  I usually use about 3 tablespoons of water.
4) Lay out some saran wrap and shape the dough into a flat disk.
5) Refrigerate overnight or a least an hour.

The Filling:

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion 

1 cup thinly sliced red onion

1 cup thinly sliced leeks (I don't have four dollars so I used green onions/scallions same thing right?)

6 oz diced ham

8 oz button mushrooms (thinly sliced)

2 tsp of fresh thyme ( I cheated and used dried thyme)

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp of salt

a few grinds of fresh black pepper

1) While the pie crust settles in the refrigerator for an hour, start the filling by prepping all the veggies and ham.

2) In a saute pan/wok on medium heat, melt the butter and add the olive oil to the pan

3) Throw in the onions (red, yellow, & green) and cook down for about 8 minutes.

4) Add the ham, mushrooms, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Cook down for about 8 more minutes.

5) When most of the moisture is cooked out remove pan from heat and let everything cool.

Back to the Crust real quick:

1) Take crust out of fridge and roll out

2) Line your pie pan or quiche pan (I don't have one as I only make quiche mb 4x a year)

3) Throw back in the fridge for 30 min.

4) Preheat the oven at 350 F for the next crust step...

I told you quiche isn't quick! lol

The Quiche:

6 eggs

1/2 c of heavy cream

1/4 tsp of salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg ( I use nutmeg from my spice cabinet)

1 1/2 oz grated Gruyere, plus another 1 1/2 oz (I use Parmesan or an Italian blend... I know shameful!)

1) Combine all the above except the cheese and whisk till it's blended well

2) add 1 1/2 oz of the cheese and whisk

Back to the crust ( I swear it's worth all of this work!):

1) Line your pie crust with foil and pie weights (hmmm I don't have these so I just poke my crust with a fork to keep air bubbles from forming)

2) Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges.

3) Remove foil and pie weights and throw it back into the oven for 3 - 5 minutes

4) Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

                               

Final steps!:

1) In the cooled pie crust, add in half your onion, mushroom, bacon mixture (filling)

2) Add in half of your egg/cream mixture.

3) Add the rest of your filling then egg/cream mixture.

4) Sprinkle the 2nd set of 1 1/2 oz of cheese on top.

5) Back in oven for 35-40 minutes and rotate after 15 to 20 to make sure its cooked evenly!

Serve with mixed greens (or my favorite: arugula) and a balsamic vinaigrette.

Thai omlet (Kai Jeow) - a favorite comfort food

Kai Jeow is one of my favorite comfort foods that definitely brings me back to the days when my dad would cook up a quick lunch for us.  This is one of those foods that I grew up eating for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  It's kinda like how I grew up always thinking PB & J sandwiches were a breakfast item only.

What inspired me to make this today, came yesterday when my niece (Ba Bao aka Penny) mentioned how she wanted Kai Jeow.  I should have just made it for her at that moment, but I had to get going. Maybe next time! or maybe you can make it yourself now.

Anyways, here's how you make Kai Jeow/Thai omelet. You can add green onions, onion, tomato, and/or ground meat.  This is how I make my Kai Jeow:

Ingredients:

4-5 eggs

Golden Mountain Soy Sauce

Garlic Powder

Sriracha (the red bottle)

Pinch of Salt

1/4-1/2 lb Ground Turkey

Olive oil

Green Onion

Small Onion

Jasmine Rice

Get Cooking:
1) Cook one cup of Jasmine Rice (Rice cookers are life savers!)
2) Get a medium pan or wok on medium heat.
3) Cut up the green onion and onion and set aside.
4) Add a few splashes of Golden Mountain sauce and garlic powder to the ground turkey.
5) Brown the turkey and set aside.
6) Return pan/wok back to heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan (maybe an 1/8th  of inch)
7) In a medium bowl, add the eggs, pinch of salt, a few splashes of Golden Mountain Sauce, and a few squeezes of sriracha sauce.  Beat with a fork and add your green onion and onions.  Continue to beat until mixed well.
8) By now your oil should be at a good temp and cooks a test drip of egg in seconds. 
9) Add the egg mixture to the pan and then spread the browned turkey on top.

10) Cook the one side for a few minutes until the bottom is cooked
11) To flip the omlet, I just divide it into quadrants and flip each part at a time. 
12) When it's all gold brown and yummy, eat it with jasmine rice and as much sriracha sauce as you want :)

Grilled Brie & Green Apple Sandwich

I tried a new recipe this week.  Actually, I've tried a few; I've just been a bit consumed. 
Anyways, how I usually start off with a new recipes is how probably everyone else does.  Google :)  I usually look for recipes that have ingredients I like or have and recipes that are quick and easy.  I used to go all out but these days I look for shortcuts.

So for the Grilled Brie & Green Apple Sandwich, this is where I started.  http://mariannika.wordpress.com/2009/03/19/green-apple-brie-sandwiches/
And, I've modified it as I've gone along.  It's my second time making these sandwiches and here is what I've found satisfying:

Grilled Brie & Apple Sandwich with a caramelized onion "chutney?":

Ingredients:

sourdough round

St Andre Brie or Fromage D'affinois

 a green apple (thinly sliced)

olive oil (about 1 tbsp)

 a yellow onion (thinly sliced)

brown sugar (1 tbsp)

balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp)

field greens or arugula

1) Caramelized onion "chutney?" : I put the term chutney in quotes; because I always thought that referred to Indian food.  Anyways, super easy and quite necessary for the sandwich.  It brings another level of texture, slight onion flavor, and acidity.   

a) On medium heat, add the tablespoon of olive oil.

b) Add the onions and sweat down for 5-10 minutes.

c) Add the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and reduce for about 5 min.

d) Remove from heat and set aside to cool

2) Constructing your sandwich: The order I construct my sandwich seems to melt the cheese faster :)

a) lay down some slices of sourdough

b) one side the caramelized onions

c) other side apples then the brie

d) slather butter on the outsides of the sandwich (optional)

e) cook on a pan or as I did on my good 'ole george foreman grill

3) Last step: Throw in a handful of field greens or arugula.