Bun Thit Nuong (Vietnamese Vermicelli)

My recent obsession has been Vietnamese Vermicelli with grilled pork, or Bun Thit Nuong. I was first introduced to this dish by a co-worker within the last year. Actually, I had my first try of this dish a few years ago when I decided to become adventurous at a local Vietnamese restaurant. Rather than ordering my usual Pho, I decided to give a dry noodle a taste. When I did, it really was a dry noodle. It wasn't bad. It was just that nothing stood out of the dish. Who eats just salad with noodles?! So I never ordered it again on my own.

Then one day, a few co-workers and I went out to lunch. We decided to share plates so we could try different dishes. One of my co-workers ordered the Bun. She poured all the sauce on top of the dish and mixed the whole salad up. She equally plated the noodle salad dish on each or our plates and then I took my first bite from a real Bun Thit Nuong. It was love at first bite. I realized that you don't just dip the meat in the sauce. The sauce was the dressing! DUH!!! lol. The sauce, better known as Nuoc Cham, made a whole difference in the world as I knew it. Aside from getting its flavor from the grilled pork, the sauce made the dish. From that day on, whenever there was Bun on the menu, its the only thing I order. Its a large bowl of lettuce and rice noodles with all kinds of different toppings - pickled carrots and daikon, sliced cucumbers, cilantro, bean sprouts, fried onions, crushed peanuts, and grilled meat. Its so filling, but so light. And I just love it.

This recipe is actually a shortcut recipe, in that I used a prepared grilled pork, a Filipino delicacy called Tocino. It has the same flavor as the grilled pork they put at the restaurant we went to. For the pickled Carrot and Daikon, I used this recipe from Hungry Huy. However, I have since been eliminating the daikon altogether. If you aren't familiar with a daikon, please be warned that though its supper yummy, it releases a very foul odor that lasts in the kitchen for a very long time. The Nuoc cham was made using this recipe from gas.stron.o.my. This dish came out just as good as the restaurant's. I was so excited, because now I can have Bun anytime I want. Maybe one day, I'll make the grilled pork from scratch. But to get a quick fix, I'll stick with the prepared tocino. For now.

chopped lettuce
cooked vermicelli/rice noodles
prepared grilled pork or Filipino tocino
cilantro leaves
cucumbers, julienned
bean sprouts
fried onions
crushed peanuts
pickled daikon & carrots (recipe below)
Nuoc cham (dressing recipe below)

1) Layer the bottom of a large serving bowl with chopped lettuce. Top with cooked vermicelli noodles.

2) Arrange the remaining ingredients in a nice pattern, except the nuoc cham, on top of the noodles.  When ready to eat, pour nuoc cham on top of the noodle salad and toss until evenly coated. Enjoy!

For the pickled daikon & carrots 
1/2 lb. daikon radish
1/2 lb. carrots
1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 cup hot water to dissolve 5 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup water
4 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar

(note: Daikon radish emits a very foul odor, but tastes so yummy. If the odor really bothers you, you can totally eliminate the daikon radish and double up on the carrots)

1) Julienne the carrots and daikon (you can use your food processor for your convenience). Sprinkle salt and toss well. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.

2) Rinse the carrots and daikon well, and squeeze out excess moisture. Dry and add in mason jars.

3) Dissolve sugar in hot water. Combine with the remaining water and vinegar. Pour on top of the vegetables until completely covered. Seal and store at room temperature until pickled to your taste, about 12-24 hours. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks until ready to use.

For the Nuoc cham
4 large garlic cloves, finely minced
2 Thai red chilies, finely minced (or 1 tsp. red chili flakes)
1 can coconut water (or 1 1/2 cup water)
6 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1) In a medium bowl, combine coconut water (or regular water) with the sugar. Whisk until sugar completely dissolves.

2) Add fish sauce, garlic, chilies and stir until combined. Add lime juice and stir.

3) Check for taste and add more sugar, fish sauce, or lime juice as needed. Store in an air tight container and refrigerate for up to 4 months.

Spicy Thai Basil Chicken (or Turkey)

My friend/supervisor took a couple of us out to lunch a few weeks ago to a local Thai restaurant. I couldn't really decided what to order. I normally order my staples: Pad Thai, or fried rice, or Pad See Ewe, or Rad Na, or Satay or Thai BBQ. However, I figured since she was treating, I decided to go out of my comfort zone and order something different. My co-workers frequented this particular restaurant and they suggested I try their lunch special Spicy Thai Basil Chicken. It seemed everyone had the same idea of what to order because the waiter took down 3 lunch special orders of Spicy Thai Basil Chicken in different levels of spiciness. I ordered mine in a medium heat and I totally devoured my plate. I was able to save a few bites to take back to the office to eat for lunch the next day. But boy was it so flavorful. I vowed to my co workers that I was going to find them a good copycat recipe. So off I went that evening in search of the perfect Spicy Thai Basil Chicken and this is what I found from SippitySup via Pinterest.

Keep in mind that there are different species of basil, and this recipe is specific to Thai Basil, which can be found in many Asian markets or your local Farmer's Market. However, if you can't find Thai basil, you can always use regular basil and combine it with some mint leaves, which the original recipe suggests. Whatever you have on hand, make this now. You won't regret it.

3 Tbsp. oil for frying
15 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 small onion, sliced
1 lb. ground chicken or turkey (or you can chop up 1 lb. chicken into bite size pieces)
4 Thai chilies, sliced thin (more if you like it spicy)
juice of 1 lime
3 tsp. black sweet soy sauce (or 3 tsp regular soy sauce + 1 Tbsp. brown sugar)
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 cups fresh Thai basil

1) Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add onions and garlic and stir frequently to prevent from burning.

2) Add chicken (or turkey) and stir fry for about 2 minutes until it just begins to change color. Stir in chilies, lime juice and soy sauce. Stir fry for another minute. Season with the fish sauce. Continue to stir fry until the meat has cooked through.

3) Stir in the basil and continue to stir fry for another minute until the basil is wilted. Place on a serving platter and garnish with additional slices of chilies, fish sauce to taste, and lime wedges. Serve with steamed white rice.

Kimchi Fried Rice with Portuguese Sausage

I had my first taste of Kimchi fried rice during a recent visit to Hawaii. Hubby's cousins took us to dinner at Side Street Inn in Waikiki. I never really liked Kimchi because I just couldn't get past the strong fermented smell of cabbage. But I was on the islands and it seemed to be in a lot of the menus we ordered from. And of course, the cousins ordered it for the table, so I gave it a taste. Man-oh-man was I missing out. Yes, it did have that pungent smell. But boy did it taste ono.

I started seeing posts on Facebook of people making Kimchi fried rice and decided to recreate that yummy dish I had in Hawaii. Kimchi Fried Rice, also known as Kimchi Bokkeumbap, is just the way its sounds. Fried rice made with Kimchi. I did a search on Pinterest and came upon this recipe from Notions and Notations from a Novice Cook. It called for shrimps, but in order to make it Hawaiian style, I replaced them with Portuguese sausage, which I bought at a Japanese supermarket that sold Hawaiian items. You can also use canned luncheon meat like Spam or Polska Kielbasa or Louisiana Hot links for that extra spice. The rice came out just like I remembered. So yummy and flavorful. This has been somewhat of a staple at home for hubby and me (my daughter can't take the spice yet).

3-4 cups cold, day-old white rice
1/2 - 1 cup cubed Portuguese sausage (or Spam, Kielbasa, or hot links)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 - 1 1/2 cups kimchi, chopped (juice reserved)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil for cooking
salt & pepper to taste
fried egg for garnish

1) Heat sesame oil in a large pan over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add sausage and kimchi and saute for about 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.

2) Add soy sauce, fish sauce, and lime juice and continue to stir.

3) Add rice, making sure to break up as much of the large pieces as possible and stirring constantly to prevent it from sticking to the pan. Add kimchi juice, one tablespoon at a time, if the rice is too dry.

4) Stir in green onions and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and place in a serving platter, topped with fried egg for garnish.

Taiwanese Spaghetti

I'm always looking for creative ways to serve spaghetti pasta because I absolutely love spaghetti. Its one of my favorite things to eat. And I think I've rubbed off on my daughter because she loves it as much as I do. So when this recipe came up on my reader from Steamy Kitchen, I was intrigued. An Asian pasta. Hmmmm....

The preparation was real easy. However, I wasn't too satisfied with the flavor. Maybe my preparation was off but it needed more umph. The meat mixture, however, would probably go great as a filling for a lettuce wrap. Or maybe with real Asian noodles. But not in a pasta. Not sure if I'd make this again as a pasta dish.

1 lb. noodles or any kind
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce (or oyster sauce)
2 tsp. regular soy sauce
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. five-spice powder
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. cooking oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 lb. ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, etc.)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
8 oz can bamboo shoots, diced
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, diced
1 stalk green onion, chopped

1) Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2) In a small bowl, combine broth, soy sauces, balsamic vinegar, five-spice powder, and brown sugar. Set aside.

3) Heat wok over medium-high heat. Swirl in cooking oil. Add onion and cook for about a minute. Add ground meat and cook until almost all the pink is gone. Push meat mixture to the sides of wok. Add garlic in the center of wok and cook until fragrant. Add bamboo shoots an mushrooms in the center. Toss everything together in the wok.

4) Pour broth mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in green onions. Serve over  noodles.

Baked Korean (Fried) Chicken

As promised, I finally tackled the task of making my favorite Korean Fried Chicken. However, this recipe isn't technically fried. I used my recipe for Baked Crispy Chicken Wings instead of double frying the chicken to obtain the extra crunchy texture I love about Korean Fried Chicken, but a little healthier. And I used the Roasted Garlic Soy Glaze recipe I found from Food Republic as the glaze for the chicken. The result is this crunchy, garlicky, finger-lickin' goodness. This recipe uses a ton of garlic. So if you don't like garlic, or are worried about kissing someone after this meal, this isn't for you. But if you really want to ward off some vampires and love Korean Fried Chicken, you have to give this a try. This makes a lot of sauce, so you can use whatever you need for your chicken and save the rest in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for use whenever you want to feed your Korean Fried Chicken craving.

prepared Baked Crispy Chicken wings, keep warm
1 cup pureed roasted garlic (see note below)
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup soy sauce
2 cups chicken broth
toasted sesame seeds for garnish

1) Dissolve sugar in white wine. Pour wine mixture, soy sauce and chicken broth in a medium saucepan. Whisk in pureed roasted garlic. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Once it begins to simmer, lower heat to medium-low. Continue simmering until the sauce has reduced to about half and has thickened a bit, about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

2)  Take about 1/4 cup of the sauce and toss with the prepared chicken wings to coat. Let sit for about 2 minutes for the chicken to absorb the sauce. Sprinkle sesame seeds for garnish and serve immediately. Store remaining sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

**Note: To make roasted garlic, cut off about a quarter of the top of the bulb of garlic. Drizzle oil on exposed garlic cloves and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Wrap garlic bulb loosely in foil and roast in the oven, preheated at 400 deg F, for 20-30 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then squeeze the cloves out of its casings. 


This recipe requires about 10-12 bulbs of garlic. 

Tangerine Beef Stir Fry

I'll just get right to the point. This dish was so awesome and so flavorful. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised how well this dish came out because it came out of Spark Recipes, which means diet food, which means bland, right? No way! This was soooo good! Who knew that Asian food would taste this good using only a few ingredients? It literally only took a few ingredients and you can use practically any vegetable to stir-fry with. And the end product is this orangey-delicious dish that tastes just as good as any other take-out Chinese food.

2-3 tangerines
1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 lb beef, cut into thin strips
5 Tbsp. oil
1 medium bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. grated ginger

1) Zest 1 tangerine and set aside. Juice tangerine to equal 1/2 cup of juice. Stir in sherry/wine and hoisin sauce and set aside. Place beef strips in a medium bowl. Add soy sauce and sprinkle cornstarch. Massage the meat so the that it is well coated with the soy sauce and cornstarch. Set aside.

2) Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, ginger, and orange zest. Cook, stirring frequently until vegetables are tender-crisp. Transfer to a large bowl.

3) Heat an additional 2 tablespoon to the skillet. Add half of the beef and stir fry until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the vegetables. Repeat with the remaining beef.

4) Add juice mixture to the skillet and cook until boiling, about 1 minute. Return vegetables and beef to the skillet and continue cooking until heated through. Serve with steamed rice.

Mongolian Chicken

I've been doing pretty good as far as making healthy recipes lately from Spark recipes. So far, I think this is my favorite recipe that came out of that website. Its a very easy recipe that only required about 10 ingredients and approximately less than 20 minutes to cook. Who could use a quick recipe like this? Me, of course. Along with many other busy and working moms out there. I was a little skeptical about the flavor of this dish because it only required very few ingredients. I figured it might end up bland again, but it is so far from that. This dish had a sweet and savory flavor that reminds me of many take-out meals. One good tip in making this dish is to make sure the chicken is still slightly frozen for easy slicing of the chicken. You'll end up with nice, thinly sliced chicken. Hubby really enjoyed this one, so I'm definitely making this quick and easy meal again.

2 boneless, skinless chicken, still slightly frozen
2-3 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar, slightly packed
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. water
chopped green onions for garnish

1) Cut chicken into thin slices. Heat a skillet to medium low and add chicken. Cook chicken until no longer pink.

2) While chicken is cooking, heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add grated ginger and crushed garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. Stir in soy sauce, water and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

3) In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water  and whisk together to make a slurry. Whisk slurry into sauce. Add sauce mixture into the skillet with the chicken. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes until sauce thickens. Top with green onions (or broccoli would also go well) and serve with steamed white rice.

Baked Crispy Chicken Wings

This is another great recipe I found from Spark Recipes for Baked Crispy Chicken Wings. I absolutely love Korean Fried Chicken after discovering it during a recent  trip to the Philippines, of all places. I was stoked to find Kyochon locally near my mother-in-law. So you better believe that we always stop by Kyochon whenever we visit her. When I saw this recipe, I was hoping it would have a similar taste and texture of the Korean Fried Chicken I've become addicted to. However, the flavor was not quite there. It was somewhat crispy, the way I like my fried chicken. But it lacks in the flavor category. The great thing about this recipe, though, is that its baked. So you don't have to worry about the extra calories you get from frying the chicken. The chicken gets its grease from the skin during baking, so it doesn't stick too much to the surface. I think I may use the technique in this recipe and tweak the flavor to achieve that signature sweet flavor from the Korean Fried Chicken that I love.

16 chicken wings
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine
pinch of onion powder
pinch of garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour for dredging

1) In a freezer bag, combine soy sauce, wine, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add chicken and massage marinade into chicken. Allow to marinate for 1-2 hours.

2) Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Place flour in a shallow pan. Remove chicken from the marinade and dredge each chicken piece in the flour. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes, until crispy.

Soba Noodles with Chicken Veggies and Caramelized Garlic Sauce

In keeping with my diet and with my theme of Spark Recipes, I decided to give this recipe a try. I found it while searching on the site for some recipe ideas. This dish reminds me of my Chinese Broccoli Beef Noodle recipe, except with a lot of other extra veggies and the use of soba noodles. Soba noodles is another type of Japanese noodles made of wheat or buckwheat.

The original recipe only yielded one serving, so I modified it to fit 2 meals each for both hubby and me (one for dinner, one for lunch). Feel free to play around with different types of vegetables for this dish. The original recipe used red cabbage, carrots and red bell peppers. I happened to use bok choy, zucchini, carrots and bell peppers. Although a flavorful dish, I think I'll stick with my go-to Chinese Broccoli Beef Noodle recipe. It was a much quicker recipe for me with less complicated ingredients. Because, where else can I use Tamari in a recipe? That will probably be my next goal. To find a use for Tamari.

8-10 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tsp. vegetable oil
4 tsp. sesame oil
4 Tbsp. Chinese cooking wine, or sake or dry sherry
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Tamari (dark soy sauce)
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz soba noodles
2 bulbs of baby bok choy
1/2 zucchini, sliced
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped red onion
1 stalk green onion, chopped
2 cooked chicken breast, sliced
sesame seeds for garnish

1) Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Strain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.

2) Heat sesame and vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook until dark yellow, not brown (lower heat if necessary to prevent browning). Add sugar and stir. Add cooking wine, soy sauces, salt, and pepper to taste. Allow to cook until sauce slightly thickens and bubbles.

3) Add chicken and all vegetables. Coat all ingredients with the sauce. Cook until chicken is warm and vegetables are cooked to your liking. Toss noodles in the sauce until thoroughly coated and top with sesame seeds.

General Tso's Chicken

Honestly, I've never really had General Tso's Chicken before. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen it on the menus at the Chinese restaurants we visit. Even at Panda Express. But I've seen it around the blogosphere and I've actually seen it in the frozen food section at the grocery store. And when it finally came up on my reader from Brown Eyed Baker, I thought it was high time I find out what this dish was all about.

This dish had quite a few steps to follow with the marinade and sauce, to the breading of the chicken. But I'm so glad I gave it a try. I don't have anything to compare this to, but this dish came out really good. Its reminiscent of Orange Chicken because of the breading. I'm definitely making this one again.

Marinade & Sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
4 boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbsp. oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Coating
3 egg whites
1 1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
4 cups oil

1) To make the marinade, whisk together hoisin sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, and water in a bowl. From this mixture, place 6 tablespoon in a freezer bag and add chicken. Seal and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Set aside remaining marinade.

2) While chicken is marinating, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Saute garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes until fragrant. Add 2 cups of marinade to the skillet and simmer, whisking constantly, until mixture is dark brown and thickened. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.

3) To prepare chicken for coating and frying, whisk egg whites in shallow dish until foamy. Set aside. In another shallow dish, combine cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and remaining marinade. Mix until it resembles coarse meal.

4) Remove chicken from marinade. Pat chicken dry. Place half of the marinaded chicken into the egg whites and toss until well coated. Dredge chicken in cornstarch mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer coated chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.

5) Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat until it registers 350 deg F. Fry half of the chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking. Transfer cooked chicken onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain the oil. Return oil to 350 deg F before frying the next batch. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

6) Warm sauce over medium heat until shimmering. Turn off the heat and add fried chicken pieces. Toss to coat and serve over white rice.

Rad Na

I've been asked a few times by a co-worker of mine if I had a Rad Na recipe. I honestly didn't really know what Rad Na was, but I had always seen it in Thai menus. When ordering noodles, I always go for Pad Thai or Pad See Ewe. I had recently finally decided to have a taste of Rad Na and discovered that it is similar to Pad See Ewe, but with a gravy. So now that I know what Rad Na is, I wanted to see if I could make it at home and finally let my co-worker know that I had found a recipe.

After searching for recipes, I decided to settle with this one from Thai Table. I used fresh noodles to make this dish, but next time I'll probably work with dry noodles. Fresh noodles is just too messy to handle, as they stick to the pan. I should have learned from my first attempt at making Pad See Ewe, when the noodles became overcooked and kind of soggy. However, with that experience, I was more careful in cooking the noodles this time. This recipe looks intimidating, but once you have all your ingredients together, like most Thai recipe, its all a matter of tossing everything together. The dish came out quite good. I still prefer Pad Thai or Pad See Ewe over Rad Na, but at least now I know what it is and how to make it.

1/2 lb. thinly sliced chicken, pork, or beef
4 Tbsp. cornstarch or tapioca flour
3 1/2 cups water
3/4 lb. Chinese broccoli or regular broccoli
2-3 Tbsp. oil
1 lb. fresh, flat rice noodles (or dry rice noodles, softened)
3-4 Tbsp. dark, sweet soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. yellow bean paste
1/4 tsp. white pepper

1) Massage 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (or tapioca flour) onto meat and set aside. Combine remaining 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with the water and set aside. Cut Chinese broccoli (or regular broccoli) into 2 inch pieces and set aside.

2) Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or a pan. Add noodles and carefully stir. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of soy sauce over noodles and toss to coat thoroughly. Continue to stir until noodles are heated and separated. Remove from heat and transfer noodles to a platter.

3) In the same pan, add remaining 2 tablespoon of oil. Add garlic and meat. Stir until meat is almost cooked through. Add cornstarch water and whisk thoroughly to prevent clumping. Allow sauce to come to a boil and become translucent.

4) Add remaining 1-2  tablespoons of soy sauce, sugar and yellow bean paste. Stir and allow to simmer until sauce has thickened to a gravy consistency. (note: If the sauce isn't thick enough, make a slurry of more cornstarch and water and add to gravy).

5) Add more soy sauce and sugar to your taste. Add broccoli stems and cook for about a minute. Add remaining broccoli leaves just until heated through (note: do not overcook broccoli). Season with white pepper. Place sauce over noodles and serve hot.

Tom Kha (Thai Coconut Soup)

I've noticed that I've been getting sick a lot more frequently lately. Yup, you guessed it. I'm sick again. I think this is the 2nd time in the past 6 months that I've been home sick with either a cough or cold or both. This time, this cough hit me pretty hard. I've had it for almost a week with no relief in sight. Before I had my daughter, it was rare that I would be out sick from work. I'll have a slight cold, but not enough to have to call-in sick. My motto back then was "through rain, sleet, hail, or snow, I'll still report to work." Nowadays, I get so sick that my whole body aches and I can't even get out of bed. Call it age or stress or whatever the cause may be, whenever I'm sick, I always crave for some soothing soup. And because of my sore throat, I wanted a sour soup.

I've made this recipe for Tom Kha a while ago but haven't put it in this blog yet. And I've been meaning to make it again. We order Tom Kha at our favorite Thai restaurants most often during the cold season. And when I found it in my Thai cookbook, I couldn't believe how easy it was. The only hard part was getting all the ingredients. I'm fortunate to have my office close to a Thai market where I can get most of my ingredients whenever I feel like cooking Thai food.

4 stalks of lemon grass, roots trimmed

2 (14 oz) cans coconut milk

2 cups chicken broth

1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

10 black peppercorns, crushed

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

10-12 shrimps, peeled and de-veined

1 cup button mushrooms

1/2 cup baby corn, cut into bite-sized pieces

4 Tbsp. lime juice

3 Tbsp. fish sauce

1-2 Tbsp. Thai chili paste

chopped green onions, for garnish

chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

1) Cut off the lower 2 inches from each lemon grass stalk and chop finely. Bruise the remaining pieces of stalk.

2) Bring the coconut milk and broth to boil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add chopped and bruised lemon grass, ginger, and peppercorns. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Strain the soup.

3) Return the soup into the pan over low heat. Stir in chicken, mushrooms, and corn. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes, or until chicken is cooked. Add shrimps during the last 2 minutes of simmer. Stir in lime juice, fish sauce, and Thai chili paste until well incorporated. Serve hot in bowls with green onions and cilantro for garnish.

Chicken & Shrimp Pad Thai

Ever since I saw this recipe for Pad Thai from What's Cookin' Chicago?, I have been craving it. I haven't made Pad Thai since making this version, which is a little more time consuming. It requires to boil the Pad Thai sauce to caramelize it. And I don't have time for that tonight. Besides, that version was a little too dry for my taste. I like my Pad Thai to be a little more saucy. Joelen's version seemed much quicker and easier. It had a little bit of kick to it from the chili, but it was quite good. And the noodles were saucy. Just the way I like it.

8 oz Thai Rice Stick noodles

Pad Thai Sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp. tamarind paste, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water

3 Tbsp. fish sauce

1/2 - 1 Tbsp. Thai chili sauce, or more to taste

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 Tbsp. oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1/4 cup chicken stock

3 cups fresh bean sprouts

3 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro

1/3 cup roughly chopped peanuts

lime wedges for garnish

1) In a large bowl, place noodles and pour hot water over them to cover. Allow to soak noodles until noodles are softened and al dente. Be careful that they do not get too soft. Drain and set aside.

2) Prepare Pad Thai sauce by combining tamarind paste, fish sauce, Thai chili sauce, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

3) In a wok or large saute pan over medium-high heat, add 1-2 tablespoons of oil. When it begins to shimmer, add minced garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry until opaque in color, about 5-7 minutes. Add shrimp during the last 2 minutes of cooking the chicken.

4) Add chicken stock and Pad Thai sauce, stirring to coat the chicken and shrimp. Add the noodles, and using tongs carefully stir-fry the noodles to coat with the sauce. Continue to stir fry until noodles have soaked up most of the sauce, being careful not to break the noodles. Add bean sprouts, green onions and cilantro. Toss to combine. Serve and garnish with more chopped cilantro, chopped peanuts and lime wedges.

Egg Drop Soup with Corn

Its been quite hot around our neck of the woods. So what in the world am I doing making soup??? I recently discovered that my daughter loves Egg Drop soup. She had an upset stomach one day and didn't feel like eating anything. But I had to feed her something. So she agreed to eat soup. I quickly whipped up this recipe after looking at a few different versions and she loved it. She kept asking for more. Today, I decided to eat something light for dinner and made this again, which she was excited to have.

6 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 ear of corn, kernels removed (about 3/4 cup)

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil

1) Set aside 3/4 cup of chicken broth. Place the remaining broth, salt, ground ginger and corn kernels in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2) Scramble together the eggs and egg yolk in a small bowl. Once the broth begins to boil, pour scrambled egg in the broth with a steady stream while stirring the broth in one direction to create threads.

3) In another small bowl, thoroughly mix together the 3/4 cup chicken broth and cornstarch. Pour mixture into soup. Stir until incorporated. Remove soup from heat and add sesame oil. Serve hot.

Bibimbap

Last week, our friend, Reni, came down for a quick visit from Portland and we took her out for a lunch at a local Korean BBQ restaurant. We decided not barbecue our meats for fear of smelling like the grill when we finished. So we decided to order our own plates. I decided on Bibimbap, a Korean vegetable and rice dish. I've had bibimbap once before, but it was a more fusion-type bibimbap from Roy's Restaurant. So I felt a little embarrassed that I didn't know how to eat the real, authentic bibimbap. After our other friend, Vivian, took charge and added the house-sauce and mixed it all up, I was able to enjoy this light, yet filling dish.

I enjoyed my dish so much, that it inspired me to attempt to make it. And since it was a light dish, I figured I'd make it today, instead of barbecuing in the heat. The house-sauce reminds me of the sauce I use for one of my Korean tacos. So I figured Bibimbap wouldn't be too difficult to make. I looked at a few recipes and the common way of making it is by just cooking all the vegetables separately and seasoning them with sesame oil and salt. The sauce actually was similar to the sauces for Korean tacos. I finally settled on this recipe from the Food Network. It took a while to get all the vegetables cooked. I also used my Korean Bulgogi Beef recipe and chopped up the beef really finely using a food processor. The final product came out really well and I was quite pleased with the results. So was hubby.

steamed white rice
Bulgogi Beef, finely chopped

1 carrot, julienned and sauteed in sesame oil and salt

bean sprouts, sauteed in sesame oil and salt

1 lb. spinach, blanched and then seasoned with sesame oil and salt

4 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced and sauteed in sesame oil and salt

2 zucchini, sliced and sauteed in sesame oil and salt

eggs, cooked over-easy

Gochuchang paste (recipe below)

1) Place desired amount of rice on the bottom of a bowl (individual bowl or serving bowl). Nicely arrange bulgogi and vegetables on top of rice. Place an egg on top of vegetables and drizzle desired amount of Gogchuchang paste.

When ready to eat, garnish with sesame seeds and sesame oil and mix all ingredients together.

Gochuchang paste

4 Tbsp. gochuchang (Korean red pepper paste)

1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

3 tsp. sesame oil

4 tsp. water

1) Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated.

Indonesian Shrimp Fried Rice

This recipe popped up on my reader the other day from What's Cookin' Chicago? and looked really yummy. I've been looking for a savory dish to make and add on to my blog, because I've noticed that, lately, I've been making a lot of sweets. I need to make more new dinner recipes. And what's not to like about fried rice. This was pretty easy to make. You can make this into a spicy dish by adding some red pepper flakes or diced jalapeno into the sauce. But because my daughter would be eating this, I omitted the spice. Hubby actually asked what makes this dish "Indonesian." I assumed it was the sweetness and spice of the sauce. Whatever it is, this still came out quite good and Hubby and daughter were really pleased with this dish.

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. light or mild molasses

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. fish sauce

1 1/4 tsp. salt

4 eggs

3 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. vegetable oil

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

12-14 extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 cups left over cold rice

1/2 cup frozen peas & carrots, thawed

4 green onions, sliced thin

lemon or lime wedges

1) In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, molasses, soy sauce, fish sauce, and salt. Set aside.

2) In another small bowl, whisk together eggs and 1/4 tsp. salt. Heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat. Pour eggs into pan and allow to set. Pull the cooked edges towards the middle and tilt the pan to allow runny eggs to coat the bottom of pan. Continue to do this as need until no runny eggs remain.

3) With a spatula, carefully flip the egg to cook the top side. Remove from heat and break into pieces. Set aside.

4) Heat the remaining 3 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over over medium heat. Saute onions, stirring constantly, until translucent. Add shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, until they turn opaque. Push shrimps to the side.

5) Crumble rice into middle of skillet. Cook rice and shrimp until rice is warmed and slightly toasted, about 5-7 minutes. Add sauce mixture and toss to coat. Stir in peas, carrots, and eggs. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add green onions and remove from heat. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with lemon or lime wedges.

Sweetfire Chicken

I was searching for some new recipe ideas one day and I came across Christine's Kitchen Chronicles. She had a copycat recipe for Panda Express' New Sweetfire Chicken. I haven't had their Sweetfire Chicken, but I have had my fair share of Panda Express dishes that I'm not afraid to admit. You really can't blame me. When I'm tired, lazy and am looking for a nice warm meal but I don't want to slave over a stove, I turn to my local Panda Express to feed my hungry family. Don't get me wrong. Real, authentic Chinese food is what I prefer. But Panda Express is a good alternative to satisfy a craving for Chinese food.

I've been in a main dish funk lately. I haven't made a good meal since last memorial day weekend when I made Barbecue Turkey burgers. And even before that, I don't think I made a good meal. You'll always find dessert recipes every other day on this blog, but main dishes are becoming almost scarce. So I was actually relieved to find this recipe to help me get out of my funk. And what a great recipe it is. Very quick and easy. And yummy. Hubby was real pleased with this one.

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks

1 cup all purpose flour

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

salt & pepper to taste

3/4 of a red bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1/2 of a small onion, sliced

1 1/2 cups drained pineapple chunks

1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce

vegetable oil for frying

1) Pour enough oil to cover bottom of frying pan. Heat oil.

2) In a gallon ziplock bag, mix together flour, cornstarch, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper. Add chicken pieces and coat evenly. Once oil is heated, add chicken pieces. Discard leftover flour mixture. Cook chicken for 4-5 minutes, stirring several times. If pan gets dry, add a little more oil. Once chicken has browned and cooked, remove from heat and set aside.

3) Add bell pepper and onions to the frying pan and stir fry for about 3-4 minutes. Add sweet chili sauce and stir. Immediately add cooked chicken and pineapple chunks. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Serve over white rice.

Pasta with Thai Peanut Sauce

I love the Thai Chicken Pasta at the Cheesecake Factory. When I first ordered it, I thought it would be something like Pad Thai, which I also love. But its definitely far from being Pad Thai. Its a pasta with a Thai peanut butter sauce. I came across this recipe from The Nest which I frequent often for cooking advice, toddler advice, or just browsing about anything that has to do with married life or life in general. Its where I got my ideas for our wedding almost 8 years ago.

The flavors of this dish was quite yummy. However, the consistency of the sauce was too thick, that it dried out pretty quickly. I like my Thai pasta to be pretty saucy. I may modify this recipe by lessening the peanut butter and adding some type of broth to make it more saucy.

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup light unsweetened coconut milk

3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed orange juice

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

a pinch ground cumin

a pinch ground allspice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 lb. spaghetti, cooked al dente and drained

1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro for garnish

1) In a medium saucepan, whisk together peanut butter, coconut milk, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, orange juice, ground ginger, crushed red pepper, cumin, allspice, and salt until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently for about 2 minutes. Add shrimp. Continue cooking until mixture begins to boil and shrimp has turned pink in color. Remove from heat. Toss in cooked spaghetti until it is well coated. Serve warm and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Crockpot Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)

Pho (pronounced fuh) is a Vietnamese Noodle Soup. The first time I had Pho was a few years ago when a couple of co-workers of mine suggested we have it for lunch. It never really appealed to me before, but I was always up for trying something new. So I went along and I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated. Then my co-workers recommended I try the beef brisket Pho. They showed me which condiments to use and how to eat it and I was hooked. It was the perfect meal for that chilly day and it totally hit the spot.

I don't have Pho often because soup, as per hubby, isn't filling for him. But Pho restaurants are popping up all over the area with clever names like Good Pho You and Pho King (yeah, I got a laugh outta that one too). I once attempted to make Pho a few years ago. The original recipe required me to leave the broth to boil over low heat overnight. But fearing that I may burn the house down, I decided to slow cook it in the Crock Pot instead. It came out okay, but not pho-bulous (lol). So I never tried to make it again because I figured I should leave pho-making to the experts. Then I recently came across this Crock Pot Pho recipe from Steamy Kitchen that inspired me to make it again. And plus, I've been craving it for a while.

The Crock Pot Pho came out pretty well. However, it was hard to season the broth after cooking because it was really too hot to taste. So I had to play with the fish sauce and guess the taste. Overall, the dish was okay. I even got my daughter to eat it (minus the raw meat in it, of course).

Broth

4 lbs. beef bones

1/2 onion

4 inch section of ginger, sliced

2 cinnamon sticks

2 tsp. whole coriander seeds

1 tsp. fennel

3 whole star anise

3 whole cloves

1 cardamom pod

9 cups water

2 1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce, or to taste

1 tsp. sugar

16 oz dried noodles, cooked according to package directions

1/2 lb. flank, london broil, sirloin or eye of round steak, sliced as thinly as possible

lime wedges

cilantro, Thai basil, mint

2 hand fulls of bean sprouts

hoisin sauce

Sriracha chili sauce

1) Bring a large stock pot with water to boil over high heat. When it comes to a rolling boil, add beef bones and boil vigorously for 10 minutes.

2) In the meantime, heat a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add spices and toast until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Dump the spices into the crock pot. Return frying pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add ginger slices and half of an onion. Cook until the ginger is browned on both sides and the onion half is nicely browned and softened. Add ginger and onion to the crock pot.

3) When the bones have pre-boiled, discard the bones and rinse briefly to clean. Add the bones to the crock pot and fill with water to just 1 1/2 inch below the surface of the bones. Add the fish sauce and sugar. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Taste and season with more fish sauce if needed. Strain broth through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the solids.

4) To assemble the bowls, distribute noodles and thin steak among 4 bowls. Ladle hot pho broth in the bowls (the hot broth will cook the thin steak). Serve with lime wedges, cilantro/Thai basil/mint, and bean sprouts. Season with hoisin sauce and Sriracha chili sauce to taste.

Mongolian Beef

I'm craving another good Asian beef recipe for dinner tonight. Perfect to use up some of the sliced beef I bought at Costco over the weekend. Then I remembered that I had saved this Mongolian Beef recipe from What's Cookin' Chicago? for later use. It looked pretty simple to make and I love Mongolian Beef. I love how tender the beef always is when I eat Mongolian beef at local Chinese restaurants. This one came out pretty good. It almost tastes similar to my Beef Pepper Steak. I'm not quite sure if this is the Mongolian Beef I was looking for, but it was pretty close. I may continue looking for another Mongolian Beef recipe.

2 bunches of green onion, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 lb. lean beef, sliced thin

salt & pepper to taste

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. onion powder

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. oil

1 onion diced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1) Season sliced beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Sprinkle cornstarch over beef and toss to coat. Set aside.

2) Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until softened. Add meat and cook until browned. Stir in oyster sauce and soy sauce until well incorporated. Just before serving, add green onions and toss to coat. Serve with steamed rice.