Beef & Spinach Stir Fry

Stir frying is a general term used to describe two Chinese cooking techniques for preparing food in a wok: chǎo (炒) and bào (爆). I used the chǎo technique, which I consider the same as sautéing, but in a wok. In this style of cooking, only a small amount of oil is needed. The oil is first heated up in a very hot wok and then seasonings are added (typically garlic, ginger, or onions). Once the seasonings are fragrant, the meat is then added and seared, followed by the vegetables along with a mixed combination of sauces (ie. soy sauce, vinegar, wine, salt, and sugar).

Rustic Blood Orange Galette

Have you ever tried a blood orange? It's a variety of orange with crimson, blood-colored flesh and is usually smaller than the average orange. I love how colorful these oranges are :).

The reason blood oranges have this unique color is because they carry anthocyanins - powerful flavonoid pigments that exist in red and purple fruits and vegetables that can protect the human body from many diseases and are very beneficial to human health. Anthocyanins are uncommon in citrus fruits, with the blood orange being one of the few exceptions.

White Balsamic Custard Fruit Tart

If you want a perfect dessert to go along with a summer BBQ or just a light dessert after a heavy meal, here's a refreshing fruit tart that will fit that bill.

I think the best season to make it is during the summer, when all the fruits and berries are plentiful and in season. It's light, subtly sweet with the balsamic vinegar accenting the flavors of the fruit. I've made this countless times with rave reviews, and I've never had any leftovers to take home.

Bourbon White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies

Ah, the simplicity of cookies. I love it when you can just create something so insanely delicious and eat it within 30 minutes, especially a chewy cookie.

 

This one, however, is no ordinary cookie - it is one of my signatures. It has been requested by friends who were visiting me, by family when I go home for the holidays, and even by a birthday boy who just wanted a plateful of these particular cookies. This cookie made it's debut a week before the Christmas of 2007, when I decided to bring some goodies in for my co-workers before the holidays.

Lemon-Spinach Chicken

It was a typical Monday evening when my shows start a smidge earlier than usual - 8pm to be exact. It was already quarter to eight, which meant I had 15 minutes to throw something together if I still wanted to catch "House".

Meyer Lemon Bars

One of my favorite buffet places ever since I was little is Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes - a place where you can have endless salads, made-from-scratch soups, muffins, pastas & more. Each month, there is a theme where one particular fruit or ingredient is featured. My favorite is strawberry month, but unfortunately it's not strawberry season for another 4 months or so :(. Right now, we are smack in the center of lemon season, evident from the many different types of lemons at the market.

*mMmm* Meatloaf

When I think of meatloaf, I think of what my [American born] friends generally call "comfort food." If you ask what my comfort food is, I'd say - a bowl of spicy beef noodle soup with thinly sliced pig ear and seaweed [yummy ^^]. But, after I made my first meatloaf, I found it to be quite comforting as well. Meatloaf has long been a standard main dish in America since 1899, according to John Mariani in "Encyclopedia of American Food And Drink". For many, meatloaf is an ultimate comfort food, bringing back pleasant childhood memories of family meals.

Creamy Chicken Pasta with Wilted Spinach

You know how sometimes you have just a little bit of an ingredient left over from a previous cooking or baking experiment, but not enough to make a second one of whatever you made before? Not to mention, your parents have told you countless times that there starving children around the world who have no food to eat, so it's best not to waste your own resources? That's me.

Chocolate Babka with Streusel

Kneading is a process of making bread dough that is used to mix all the ingredients together and add strength to the final product. When the liquid [generally milk or water] is combined with the flour, the protein in flour expands to form strands of gluten, which gives bread its texture. Kneading is also a massage technique that helps gets knots out and aids in relaxation and stress reduction.

Berry White Chocolate Scones

It's a funny thing, but I never really liked scones and it may very well be that I just didn't come across a "real" one. I thought they were generally too dry & crumbly, and often way too sweet [all that turbinado sugar or glaze over them]. I never understood why people didn't choose a muffin instead. Scones just didn't taste "fresh" - biscuits tasted infinitely better. But, I came across an exception at Longbottom's Coffeehouse when I moved to Portland.

Spicy Soy & Ginger Glazed Salmon

Oftentimes I hear people give the excuse, "I don't have time to cook." Now let's be honest - don't you tell yourself that sometimes? I know I do. When I'm lazy, I often use this as a reason to justify eating out or popping a frozen pizza in the oven. But in the end, we all know this is neither a healthy, budget-friendly, nor sustainable solution.

Since I do work during the day and I want to keep some free time for myself in the evenings [after all, I can't fall behind on those "must see" TV shows *wink*], I don't have hours to prepare and cook extravagant meals each night. That said, I also want to avoid feeding my hubby junk. So, my weeknight dinners are generally simple meals that take no more than 30 minutes of preparation + cook time. Of course, I always try to cook healthy and light [low fat, healthy oils, lean meats and always organic] and I cover the basic food groups: veggie, protein, and grains.

Matcha/Coffee Génoise Cake Roll

Génoise is a French term that describes a type of sponge cake that uses no leavening agent. The air whipped into the batter is suspended and creates the volume to make a light & fluffy sponge cake. I remember my mom buying various flavors of cake rolls from the Chinese bakery when I was little - chocolate, coffee, taro, and green tea.

Recently, I've had this craving for cake rolls. I don't know if it's because I've been making too many western desserts or if it's because I miss my family. Maybe I subconsciously felt like I was losing touch of my heritage and who I was. Either way, I decided to see if I could create one of these rolls from scratch.

$ whoami \all

Most of the time when I start reading a blog, I wonder who the person is behind all the text? Although many interesting blogs are from "famous" people who have published books, traveled the world, given a talk, own a business, or have been interviewed on TV, I just wanted to start one about what a "normal" person can create in an ordinary (not fully decked out) kitchen. In fact, everything on this blog was created in a simple apartment kitchen.

I am by no means a professional chef. In fact, I consider myself an amateur who simply loves to experiment in the kitchen. I'm a software engineer who stepped into the kitchen (for the first time) 5 years ago. My culinary adventures all began with the purchase of a madeline pan...

Hello World.

I'm starting a blog mainly to have a place to write about my culinary adventures. I wanted a place to share my love for creating food, especially baking desserts, and a place to write about foods I've tried on my travels through the world.

I've tried blogging twice before, but never kept up with it. Recently, I've stumbled upon quite a few interesting blogs, so I decided to start one focused on my own experimentations with food. Who knows, maybe third time's the charm?