Ambitious Delicious(ness)

Before we bid farewell to winter, I wanted to share this simple hot and sour recipe. This is one of my favorite soups to eat whenever I eat Chinese food, which I realize, is not very often. But now that I know how to make it, I can enjoy it anytime I want!

All of the soups I’ve had at restaurants use cornstarch as a thickener. While I don’t mind it, I didn’t want a big pot of gloppy soup so I omitted corn starch. It’s up to you!

I would recommend cooking pork on the frying pan, then deglazing the pan for extra flavor. Sorry to say that I actually ended up omitting a few ingredients that I didn’t have on hand (bamboo shoots, pork, white pepper).

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Have you ever tried making the same recipe multiple times unsuccessfully? It’s one of the most frustrating things I’ve experienced. My otherwise capable self does not like this feeling of not knowing how to do something to seemingly easy.

One time, I spent an hour boiling tomatoes and then slaving over the sauce. I ended up with a sauce that was so full of liquid that you could have poured it into a cup to drink. I tried adding flour to make it thicker (until it congealed in the fridge and grossed me out). Then the next time, I added cornstarch, which turned out even worse!!

I made a couple of changes to see if I can fare better this time. And luckily, I did. Instead of using a stainless steel pot, I used to a thick anodized saucepan, thanks to a generous gift from a friend (thanks R!). I also tried using canned tomatoes this time, mainly because I didn’t want to waste good tomatoes again like last time.

Speaking of tomatoes, there is a shortage of tomatoes due to bad weather in Florida. Fresh tomato prices are on the rise so a lot of restaurants are starting to feel the pinch. Chicken wing prices have also gone up but for some reason, it doesn’t make me as sad.

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Pad Thai, as you know, is quite a popular dish when it comes to Thai food. The spices in this dish is a melodious combination of tartness, sweetness, and saltiness. I’ve always wondered what ingredients went into making a delicious plate of pan fried noodle goodness. Have you?

I recall going into a Thai restaurant with my friend S about 5 years ago. Like any other smart New Yorker, she looked up a Thai place in Manhattan. We ordered Pad Thai there and I distinctly remember being disgusted at our noodles! We both swear that the major ingredient was ketchup. Major fail!

Interestingly, when I asked her if she remembered the name of the place, she said it was Topaz. I was so surprised because they have such good noodle dishes now! I never would have imagined that a place could turn themselves around like that. It’s a good lesson in not banning a restaurant forever based on one experience.

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Please take a moment to update your readers with my new RSS link!

If you don’t use one already, it’s a great way to read a bunch of different websites from one page, and get updates as they come. Google has a reader for free and it’s easy to use. Click here for details.

Thank you!

“I’m buying these because I hate them,” I said, as I bagged up a pound of Brussels sprouts at Wegman’s (aka best grocery store ever but not in NYC). “Not sure what I’m going to do with them but wish me luck!”

I’m not sure why I never had a taste for this small, cabbage-like vegetable. But I never liked them.

Not too long ago, while dining at Recette with Robyn, and there were 5 Brussels sprouts on my plate. I could only stomach 2 of them before giving the rest to her, since there is no point in wasting food.

So what made me give Brussels sprouts another chance?

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Here’s another quick recipe for you. The truth is – I’ve been busy lately, and find myself having to make dinner solely based on the ingredients I have on hand. It’s like a self-imposed Top Chef quick-fire challenge. Except my meals are not fancy, Padma is not here, and of course, there are no judges except for my starving belly.

This dish contains ginger, some fresh herbs that I had frozen from my CSA share, along with a hint of sesame oil. I found imitation crab legs in my freezer, so I threw them in there for color and protein. And if you did not know that topping off any dish with a well-cooked white and a slightly undercooked yolk equals a happenin’ party in your mouth – well, now you know. Looking at this picture makes me want to make this again tonight!

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Somehow, I managed to cook a green meal the other day. I don’t mean green, as in environmentally friendly, but a monochromatic meal.

I made this delicious meal on the spot using some Thai basil, along with steamed Yu Choy vegetables as a side dish. I didn’t even realize how green my meal was until I took a photo. As we often eat with our eyes, it was not as aesthetically pleasing to look at, though it tasted really good.

Instead of a non-green colored produce for garnish, all I could find was a lonely walnut. So there it is. Maybe my meal would be more appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day? In any case, this would definitely fall under the category of “delicious weeknight meal in under 20 minutes.” (If you make the pesto in advance, even quicker!)

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[I want to thank each and every one of you for clicking away for Haiti! Unfortunately, I'm unable to know how much was raised until later. I promise to keep you all posted!]

I recently came across this interesting article in the Huffington Post called Why My Food Is Always Gonna Look Better Than Yours. The author, Denise Vivaldo, states that her food pictures look so good that they “make vegans crave meat and forget about their animal friends.” Sounds great, right?

But if try to eat her food, “you will die of food poisoning.”

She points out that a lot of inedible ingredients are used to get the photos to look just right. After all, her goal is to get people to go out and buy the food she photographed! Fortunately for me, there is no shoe polish or glue in my kitchen, and I’m glad that I can eat the food afterwards!

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Happy Friday, everyone!

Continuing with my Thai meal from my last post, I’m going share a recipe for chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce. K did a great job putting the skewers on and grilling the chicken while I was running around making the entree . It made me happy that everyone seemed to enjoy the meal!

A while back, long before I started blogging, my friend J gave me this cookbook called Kao’s Thai Cuisine for my birthday. It contains some really easy to follow and delicious recipes. I finally got to use a recipe from the book. Thanks again, J!

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[Thanks to everyone for your support in helping me raise funds for Haiti. I can't thank you enough! Please keep clicking!]

Last time I made green curry, I added too many bamboo shoots, causing the curry to be extra sour (gross). This time, I got rid of bamboo shoots altogether and focused on slow cooking a flavorful curry. I achieved this goal by slow cooking the curry for about 3 hours total. The end result was a thick, hearty, harmoniously flavored curry that I am super excited to share about!

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