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I cook as a hobby, and I maintain this blog primarily to keep track of recipes that my family has enjoyed over the years. I started blogging back in 2015, in response to requests from friends for recipes they had seen me post on Facebook (but that I couldn’t easily catalog). My original blog was on another platform that became less user-friendly over time. I migrated my blog to WordPress earlier this year, and I’ve spent more time than expected reformatting the migrated posts.
This blog is and always will be a work in progress. For example, I currently provide Tags for posts, but I have not coded for Categories. I also generally try to share the recipes themselves in my posts, but in cases where the recipe is not available online, I try to identify the source (e.g., the cookbook title and author) as needed. In some cases, such as where a family has shared their recipe with me but hasn’t authorized me to share it widely, I post a photo of the dish with that proviso.
I recently added a Search widget to this blog. On the desktop version, the Search bar appears prominently on the left hand side. But for some reason, it is hidden on the mobile app. If you’re on your phone, tap on the SHOW tab at the top left of the home page. That will reveal another screen with the Search bar.
I hope you enjoy exploring my blog and find some recipes to try.
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This recipe is from my friend Juju, who made it a few weeks ago. Here, I modified slightly based on ingredients I had on hand, and my penchant for marinating meats before cooking them. Marinate 1 lb boneless chicken thighs (cut into bite-sized pieces) in 1 ½ Tbsp paprika, 1 ½ tsp cayenne, ¾ tsp each microplaned ginger and minced garlic, 2 tsp turmeric, and a dash (maybe 1 tsp) fish sauce. Let sit
for 15 minutes. Separately, heat a wok, add a little oil, then saute 6 cloves of sliced garlic. When golden (be careful not to burn), add the marinated chicken and saute on medium until chicken is fully cooked.
Add enough tomato puree to slightly coat, but not overwhelm, the chicken (I added about 3 oz), and mix well. Reduce to simmer until oil rises to the top, then turn off heat. (Note: At this point, you could keep
the heat on, add a can of coconut milk, and let simmer for an additional 8 mins. We skipped the coconut milk.) Serve over noodles (traditionally, you use Canton noodles but we used egg noodles from Whole Foods), garnishing with sliced, boiled egg, lime juice, chopped cilantro, and toasted chick pea flour (besan). Mix well, then enjoy. This was delicious. (July 2014) -
Heat 1-2 tsp oil in a stock pot, then add 1 diced onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 serranos and 2 jalapenos (seeded and sliced), 1 tsp allspice, and ½ tsp cayenne pepper. When fragrant, add ½ cup uncooked long-grain white rice, 9-10 cups chicken stock, and 13 oz can of coconut milk (here, I used light). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until rice is cooked (about 20-25 mins). Add 2 cups frozen
corn, 1 ½ cups shredded rotisserie chicken (a mix of white and dark), and 10 oz drained and rinsed hearts of palm (cut into thick penny slices). Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for about 10 mins,
then serve with cilantro garnish. This recipe is from The Chicken Soup Book by Janet Hazen, one of my favorite sources for chicken soup recipes. (July 2014) -
This recipe calls for diced chicken, but we used minced chicken instead. Marinate 1 lb chicken in 1 tsp each sugar and sesame oil, 1 ½ tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp Shao-Hsing wine, 1 tsp microplaned ginger, 1 ½ Tbsp oyster sauce, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, and a pinch white pepper for 30 mins. In the mean time, heat a large wok with a little oil, a dash of salt, and some ginger. When fragrant, fold in the diced veggies in the following order: ½ cup each string beans, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and bell pepper. Sauté on high heat for a minute, then drain and set aside. Reheat wok and add a little more oil, then add 1 ½ Tbsp hoisin sauce and mix well. Add the marinated chicken, spreading in a thin layer. When browned on one side, sauté the chicken, breaking up into small chunks. When cooked, add 1 Tbsp Shao-Hsing wine, mix, and then add veggies. Stir and cook for another minute, then turn off heat. Separately, toast cashews and set aside. Serve chicken in lettuce cups, then garnish with cashews. This recipe is from The Chinese Chicken Cookbook by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. (July 2014)
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Cut peaches and plums in half and remove pits. Alternately thread on metal skewers, with cut side facing up. Sprinkle white sugar on cut side and let sit for a few minutes. Coat a BBQ grill with cooking spray, then grill skewers (cut side down) on medium-high heat for about 5 mins. Serve immediately. This dish is best when fruit is really ripe. This recipe is courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis and
available on Food Network. (July 2014) -
This recipe originally called for a 6 ½ lb chicken, but the largest poultry we found was fowl, so we gave it a try; because fowl is less tender than chicken, we added more cooking time to tenderize the meat. Combine 14 cups water, 1 bunch Chinese celery (cut into thirds lengthwise), 1 bunch cilantro (cut in half
lengthwise), 12 shallots (peeled), about 3 inches of ginger (smashed and sliced lengthwise), 8 scallions (cut into half lengthwise), and 1 ½ Tbsp salt in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add ½ cup Shao-Hsing cooking wine, then add the whole chicken (here, fowl), breast side up. Top off with additional water as necessary (here, we added 4 more cups water and
3 more inches of ginger). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, covered for 25 mins (we added an additional 20 minutes to account for the fowl, which has tougher flesh than chicken). Turn chicken over,
then cover and simmer for an additional 20 minutes (we added an additional 25 mins). Remove about 3 cups stock for separate use, then turn off heat and allow the chicken to rest, for 20 minutes. While the
chicken is resting, combine 2 ½ cups broth with 2 cups rinsed long-grain rice, then cook the the rice until tender (about 20 mins). Separately, combine the remaining ½ cup broth with 3 Tbsp each light
and dark soy sauce, 1 Tbsp Chinese white rice wine (here, we used Japanese rice vinegar), 2 tsp sesame oil, and 1 Tbsp each minced garlic and microplaned ginger, 2-3 chopped scallions, 1 Tbsp sugar, and ¼ tsp white pepper. Serve the chicken with the dipping sauce, broth, and the rice. The fowl and dipping sauce recipe are based on Chicken Poached with Chinese Celery in The Chinese Chicken Cookbook by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. We served the broth-cooked rice and the broth based on a Hainanese recipe that we have made in the past. (July 2014) -
Preheat oven to 400. Wash and scrub four Korean sweet potatoes, dry off with paper towels, and then place two sweet potatoes on a large piece of foil (enough to create a foil pocket for two sweet potatoes). Lightly coat the skin of each sweet potato in olive or neutral vegetable oil. Gently wrap the foil so that you create a pocket, with the outer edges sealed tight (so that no oil or potato liquid leaks out). Repeat the same foil process with the remaining two sweet potatoes. Both foil pockets can be placed, seam-side up, on the same baking sheet, either on the middle rack or on the lower rack (do the latter if you are concurrently roasting another dish). Oven-roast for 45 minutes. The skin and flesh both are edible, so there is no need to peel the skin before serving. (July 2014)
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Preheat oven to 375. Hull 1 pint strawberries and place, cut side down, in a baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp brown sugar. Bake for 30 mins. This recipe is from Cooking Light. (July 2014)
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Preheat oven to 450. Cut 6 peaches (here, white nectarines) and 6 plums into quarters (removing pits), then place cut side up in a large baking dish. Sprinkle ½ cup sugar (here, I used homemade vanilla sugar) over the stone fruit. Garnish with 2 small containers of pitted cherries (or raspberries), then place in the middle rack of the oven for about 20 minutes. Then turn on the broiler, and place the fruit under the broiler until it releases its juice (monitor this stage carefully; I did not and it got a little charred). Remove from oven, the sprinkle with 2 Tbsp orange juice and serve. This was a refreshing and simple dessert, perfect for the summer. This recipe is from Ina Garten and available on Food Network. (July 2014)
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Cut 6 zucchini into thick diagonal slices, then marinate in ¼ tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, juice from 1 lime, 1 Tbsp fish sauce, and 2 Tbsp canola oil for about a half hour. Grill until both sides are browned (about 8 mins). I serve this a side dish to accompany the chicken. (July 2014)
This recipe is from Andrea Nguyen’s Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors (Ten Speed Press, 2006).
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Marinate 2 ½ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (trimmed of excess fat) in ¼ tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, 1 ½ tsp black pepper, 1 Tbsp fish sauce, juice from 1 lime (about 1 Tbsp), and 2 Tbsp canola oil. Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes (or in fridge for 2 hours).
Line a sheet pan with foil, then place a grill on top. Lightly spray the grill with oil. Place chicken pieces in a single layer, smooth side up, on the oiled grill. Broil in oven on High until browned, then gently turn over pieces and broil (reduce broil setting to Low if there is too much splattering) until browned; total broiling time about 18 mins. When chicken has slightly cooled (enough to be touched with getting burned), cut each thigh into horizontal ½ inch slices, then place on serving plate. Serve with jasmine rice and dipping sauce (juice from half a lime and ¼ tsp salt and 1/8 tsp white pepper). (July 2014)
Note: Instead of marinating whole (boneless and skinless) chicken thighs, you also can use boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into “fingers” (see top photo) before marinating them. Once broiled, these chicken fingers can be served as is, without being cut into ½ inch slices.
This recipe is from Andrea Nguyen’s Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors (Ten Speed Press, 2006).
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