Three Cup Chicken

Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji) 

About 2 pounds chicken wings, separated at wing and tip joints
1 ginger root, sliced
1/3 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup cooking wine
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce (or use 1/4 cup soy sauce and 1/4 cup water)
3 to 4 chunks of rock sugar (or use 3 to 4 tablespoons of brown sugar)
About 1 1/2 cup basil leaves, rinsed

Directions:

1. Heat sesame oil in a large cooking pan. Once hot, saute sliced ginger until aromatic. Add in chicken pieces and cook until slightly browned on all sides. 
2. Add cooking wine, soy sauce, and rock sugar to pan, then cook on medium heat with pan covered for about 20 to 30 minutes. Gently turn chicken pieces over every 10 minutes. Taste sauce at this point, and add more soy sauce, sugar, or water based on taste. 
3. Add basil leaves to chicken, and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve. 

Shortbread Thumbprints

I was searching for my thumbprint cookie recipe on my blog today and came up empty. I can't believe I haven't posted about one of my absolute favorite cookies yet! This cookie is a combination of almond shortbread full of buttery richness plus a bit of sweet fruit jam in the center. They're easy to make and makes the whole house smell wonderful (thanks to the almond extract!). 

This recipe is delicious as is! The only modification I make is to increase the almond extract in the cookie dough to 1 full teaspoonful. Also, when I get lazy I omit making the drizzle and eating the cookies straight out of the oven. 

A few tricks to this cookie: 

• Don't skip out on the almond extract! Substituting vanilla extract for the almond just isn't the same.
• To make perfect circular indentations in each cookie, try using the end of a chapstick tube. Wrap the chapstick tube in plastic wrap and make holes in the center of each cookie! 
• Freeze or refrigerate the cookies prior to making for 10 minutes or so, so the cookie will not spread out or flatten too much in the oven. 
• Spoon the jam or preserves into a small ziplock back, cut off the corner of the bag, and squeeze the jam into the cookie indentations for less mess. 

Raspberry and Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

1 cup butter, softened but not melted

2/3 cup white sugar

1 tsp. almond extract

2 cups flour

1/2 cup seedless jam (any flavor you like!)

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

3/4 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in 1 tsp. almond extract and flour until dough comes together. Roll dough into small balls (about 1 inch) and place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets. Separate cookies about 2 inches apart. Make a small indentation in the center of each cookie and fill holes with jam. 
3. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven, until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned. Remove cookies from oven and cool.
4. In medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, almond extract, and milk until smooth. Drizzle lightly over cooled cookies.

Lemony Lemon Bars

I adore lemon bars. They add a nice splash of brightness in otherwise cloudy and gray days in Seattle. Speaking of the weather, it feels like we're in this never-ending, eternal funk of dreariness. The sun teases us with brief, momentary sunlight, and the next moment the sky is overcast and it's raining again. There's nothing romantic about the rain in Seattle. It's a constant drizzle, especially annoying when you forget to bring your umbrella that morning! Hmm this reminds me of a Bible verse (Bible Trivia!)... What verse in the Bible relates constant, dripping rain with an quarrelsome person (woman)?

So the story behind this recipe: I've always used the Bake Sale Lemon Bars (on Allrecipes) in the past, and they do turn out great. So, one evening I'm at Ann's, and we're baking together. When Ann told me Rich has an awesome lemon bar recipe, I have to honestly say I was a bit hesitant. Thoughts that ran through my head: "I have a great recipe, do I really want to try something new? What if they don't turn out?" Turns out, Rich's lemon bar recipe is from the exact same source (Bake Sale Lemon Bars), with a few personal modifications that makes the lemon bars more tart and delicious!

Lemony Lemon Bars (with Rich's modifications)


Crust
1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened (not melted)

Filling
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
6-8 tbsp. flour
3/4 cup lemon juice
Confectioners' sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9x13 inch baking pan. 
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, and 3/4 cup butter with pastry knife or fork. Mixture should be crumbly, not doughy. Press mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until slightly golden. 
3. While crust is baking, beat eggs and sugar together until frothy. Add flour slowly (to avoid clumps) while continuing mixing. Add lemon juice and mix well. Pour lemon mixture over hot crust. 
4. Return to oven for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until lemon mixture is set. Cool before dusting with confectioners' sugar. 

Crepes Galore

Crepes are easy, as I found out a few Sundays ago. You just wait, reclining comfortably on the sofa, and it's brought out to you, fresh off the stove! I guess I should preface, I had some hard-at-work folks in the kitchen to make this delightfuliousness happen! 

The Crew

The Crepes Recipe

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 pinch salt

1 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil + more for pan (or substitute with butter!)

Dash of vanilla extract (optional) 

Directions: 

1. Blend together eggs, milk, flour, salt, oil, and vanilla extract (if using) using either a blender or hand-mixer. Mix until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. (We didn't have the patience to wait- so chill for as long as you have will be fine.) 
2. Heat skillet with a flat surface (or crepe pan) on medium heat, and spray cooking spray on surface of pan. Pour 1/4 cup batter (batter should be thin) onto pan, tilting to completely cover surface of pan. Cook 2 to 5 minutes, turning once, until golden. Repeat with rest of batter. 
3. Filling: Fill crepes with assortment of cut-up fruit (bananas, strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, etc.), fruit sauces (See Blueberry Sauce below), sweetened cream cheese, chocolate chips, Nutella, etc. Drizzle with chocolate/caramel sauces, and top with whipped cream. 
4. Blueberry Sauce: Combine 1 1/2 c. blueberries and 1 tbsp. cornstarch in saucepan. Add enough water to cover bottom of pan. Bring to boil, stirring until desired consistency is reached. Sweeten with sugar if desired. 

The "Everything" Crepe
with mango chunks, bananas, blueberry sauce,
chocolate sauce and whipped cream on the outside!

One of the Fatties (I was the other)

Lovin' Me Some Lemon Pound Cake

Last night was one of my first free nights for quite some while! No tests, no meetings, no get-togethers. Just me, myself and I. Was planning on studying all night... and I'm sure you know how that went. Instead, decided to pull out the old (okay, it's actually almost brand-new) KitchenAid and make pound cake. I discovered a juicy lemon that's been sitting in the fridge for a while, and decided to spice things up! Lemon juice and lemon zest, yes please!

A little more about the KitchenAid: If you know me even a teeeny bit, you probably know I've wanted a KitchenAid since I was probably 5 (maybe exaggerating a little...). I just love the idea of a big, shiny machine that's completely dedicated to baking! Now that I have one, I have to emphasize the BIG part of that statement. A KitchenAid is truly a real-estate investment... of your counter space. It takes up a good portion of your counter, vying for space with the rice cooker, hot water dispenser (how Asian am I???), coffee maker, and slow cooker. I end up storing my KitchenAid in a box on the ground (won't fit in any cabinets either!). Aaaand, the thing is heavy! I dread having to heave the huge thing up, up, and up onto my counter, and back down when I'm done baking. Ah... I miss the days when I can stick my handy hand-mixer into a drawer and call it good!

However, life isn't all terrible with a KitchenAid. It's perfect for making pound cake, where you have to beat the batter to death! One definite plus- now, I can just turn the mixer on and... it's hands-free! I'm free to go dig out other ingredients, squeeze some lemons, crack an egg (or 5) into the batter while the mixer is going, the possibilities are endless! Perfect machine if you don't want to spend 5 minutes holding a mixer in your hand.

Recipe below! (Note: I found the cake not quite sweet enough, so I may increase the sugar next time to 1.5 cups.) The syrup adds a delicious lemony infusion. However, I did not make the glaze, but I'm sure it would be yummy as well! I love lemony anything! No pics today... cake was devoured too ravenously for me to get a decent shot!

Lemon Pound Cake
Cake Batter
1 cup butter, softened but not melted
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar (next time, I will increase sugar to 1.5 cups)
1 1/2 tbsp. lemon zest
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tbsp. lemon juice
5 eggs, room temperature

Syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Batter: Preheat oven 325 degrees F. Grease 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and dust pan with flour, tapping out excess flour. Mix (or sift) flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Stir lemon juice and sour cream together in another bowl. 
2. Toss sugar and lemon zest together in large mixing bowl. Add butter, and beat at medium-high speed until smooth and light, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs while mixer is on low-speed, scraping down bowl after each addition. Continue on low-speed and add one-third of flour mixture, followed by one-half of sour cream mixture. Alternate flour and sour cream additions, until all is added to batter. Scrape down sides of bowl. Mix on low until smooth, about 30 seconds.
3. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, and smooth top with spatula. Gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and toothpick test comes out clean, 55 to 75 minutes. (I baked my cake for almost 70 minutes). 
4. Syrup: Stir sugar and lemon juice together in saucepan over medium-high heat, until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 2 minutes, remove from heat, and set aside. 
5. Glaze: Whisk confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, until smooth. 
6. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes, then remove cake from pan. Using a toothpick, poke holes in the top of the cake, and pour glaze over tops and sides of cake. (Alternately, you can simply brush glaze on if you don't want holes. I find that poking holes allow more of the glaze to seep into the cake.) 
7. Cool cake completely before drizzling glaze over cake.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I needed a pick-me-up today. Baking (and eating) my fav- chocolate chip cookies- usually does the trick! I remember when I first started baking, my chocolate chip cookies were always failures. They would flatten and spread into thin crisps in the oven, and then turn hard and crunchy afterwards. Yuck! I like my cookies soft and chewy! I finally discovered what I was doing wrong... after years of trial and (mostly) error. In the past, I would bake the cookies until they were golden brown all around. Wrong! It's imperative to take the cookies out of the oven as soon as the edges turn golden, even if the tops still look soft. Believe me, the cookies will finish cooking on the hot baking sheet even after they're out of the oven. The recipe below gives the chewiest, yummiest chocolate chip cookies (especially when they're fresh out of the oven)... just don't overbake them!

Who doesn't like fresh chocolate chip cookies? :D

Chocolate Chip Cookies 

3/4 cups butter, softened
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 cups white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets with cooking spray. 
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until creamy. Mix (or continue beating with mixer) in flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix in chocolate chips with a spatula or wooden spoon. 
3. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, so dough is easier to handle. 
4. Take dough out of the fridge, and scoop dough with large spoon, roll into balls, and place on cookie sheets. Cookie dough should be about 2 inches apart. 
5. Bake for 15-17 minutes in preheated oven, OR UNTIL EDGES ARE JUST TURNING BROWN. Remove from oven, and cool on baking sheets for 5-10 minutes before enjoying!  

Sesame Noodles

I needed a fast and easy meal for lunch today. I pulled up a sesame noodle recipe from my Allrecipes recipe box, but made some modifications to make it even easier! It's the perfect one-bowl meal, in fact I just ate it straight out of the mixing bowl today. Yummy! Also, if you don't have one ingredient, you can substitute something else! For example, I used the Thai Kitchen's Pad Thai Sauce (instead of chili sauce) because I had it available in my fridge. You can try Sriracha or skip the chili sauce altogether, if you don't have it.

I was pleasantly surprised by the dish (and perhaps I was just really hungry)! I usually like to follow recipes (and other reviewers suggestions- I read every review possible before making a new recipe!) exactly, but today I put on my chef's hat and made it up on the go! My brother would be proud!

Also, to make it into a more complete meal, try adding shrimp or shredded chicken and some veggies. This recipe is extremely versatile!

Sesame Noodles (serves one)

3 oz. package linguine noodles
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp chili sauce (I used Thai Kitchen's Original Pad Thai Sauce since I had it on hand)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp salt
2 green onions, sliced
1 tsp sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Cook noodles according to package directions. 
2. While noodles are boiling, in a medium-size mixing bowl combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, chili sauce, cayenne pepper, and salt. Whisk vigorously to combine oil and other ingredients. 
3. Drain noodles, and toss hot noodles with sauce. Sprinkle green onions and sesame seeds on top of noodles before serving. 
4. Optional: add cooked shrimp, shredded rotisserie chicken, and/or stir-fry veggies such as broccoli, snow peas, baby corn, mushrooms, etc. 

The Marvel of the Slow Cooker

I cannot believe it took me this long to discover The Slow Cooker. It probably is one of my favorite kitchen tools already! It churns out good food without you inputting lots of time! Definitely win-win! (Favorite quote from Letters to Juliet... anyone recognize it?)

I found the perfect slow cooker recipe weeks ago, but have been too busy/lazy/too-much-leftovers-in-fridge to make it until today. Today was perfect, since my first class began at 11:30 (and I finished at 12:30!). Before class, I opened up a few cans, chopped up an onion and a few cloves of garlic, and then dumped (not an elegant word, but pretty much described the process) everything into the crock pot. And that's it! When I got home in the afternoon, lunch was waiting! Plus, Ben just said I have "some serious talent in cooking" while chowing down on the soup. My life is complete!



Chicken Tortilla Soup in a Slow Cooker

2 frozen chicken breasts (I used Costco frozen chicken breasts- so they were pretty large)
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce (I used green enchilada sauce)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 can (4 oz) chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1/2 tsp chili pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cup frozen corn

Sour cream
Avocado, sliced
Lime juice

Directions: 

1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, garlic, and corn into slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, then add chili pepper, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on high setting for 3-4 hours (or low setting for 6-8 hours). 
2. After 3-4 hours, remove chicken breasts. Roughly shred chicken breasts. (I simply cut into chunks.) Toss shredded chicken back into slow cooker. 
3. Garnish soup with dollop of sour cream, avocado slices, and lime juice to taste. Serve with tortilla chips, if desired. 

Christmas Morning and The Crustless Quiche

The Ideal Christmas Morning:
Waking up early, full of excitement for the day to begin. Running downstairs to be with family and opening presents in front of the toasty fireplace. Holiday smells and warmth from the kitchen permeating every room.

Yep, that's how the movies always show it, so why can't I have a little part of it?

I woke up Christmas morning knowing I was headed off to work in a few hours. But I made the most of the few hours I had. I was an inventor and creative mind this morning, concocting the most delicious quiche (if I do say so myself), which made me feel super productive. But then again, what doesn't taste good with bacon, cheese, and eggs? Happy holidays!

The Crustless Quiche

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 roma tomato, diced
3 strips of cooked bacon, roughly crumbled
5 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cup cheese (I used a mixture of Parmesan and Cheddar)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin pan. (Make sure to grease sides and bottoms!)
2. Heat oil in saute pan. Toss in diced onions and cook until onions are soft and translucent. (My onions ended up a bit charred- result of too little oil and too much heat too fast, but it was fine nonetheless). Toss in tomatoes, and cook until moisture is gone. Add a 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste. Remove mixture from heat.
3. Season beaten eggs with a dash of salt and pepper. Add in onions, tomatoes, bacon, and cheese. Stir until combined.
4. Pour mixture into muffin tins, filling each muffin tin until 2/3 full.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

Comfort Food: Coconut Curry

Decided to add a foodie post to the emo one (See: Standing at the Edge). This is definitely one of my go-to recipes when I crave good home-cooked food, but am short on time. Plus, this makes lots of leftovers, so perfect for the school week!

Coconut Chicken Curry

2 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch chunks (I use two of the large, frozen ones from Costco)
Splash of cooking wine
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp curry
1 onion, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups peeled, cubed potatoes and/or carrots (1 inch chunks)
1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce (optional)
Sugar and salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Season chicken pieces with cooking wine, salt, and pepper. 
2. Heat oil and curry powder in large pot. Be careful to not burn the curry! Add more oil if necessary, to prevent burning. Add onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent. 
3. Add chicken, stirring chicken to coat each piece with curry oil. Cook until chicken is white on the outside. 
4. Add potatoes and carrots, coconut milk, diced tomatoes with juice, and tomato sauce (if using) to pot. Stir to combine. Partially cover pot and simmer on medium heat, stir occasionally (especially if using stainless steel pot), for 45-60 minutes, or until curry thickens. Add sugar and salt, to taste

The first few times I majorly burned the curry oil (second step), because I was heating the oil and curry while cutting and prepping all the other ingredients. The curry turned black and I had to completely start over! To avoid this, prep everything (cut chicken and season, cut potatoes/carrots, open cans) before starting to cook. Watch the pot, and add more oil if necessary! Also, I have left the tomato sauce as optional. I use it when I have it on hand, but I feel the curry is delicious even without.

Sushi Hand Rolls

I love sushi. It may be the one food that I can eat everyday and never get tired of! Homemade sushi can be just as delicious as sushi in restaurants.

Hand Rolls

2 cups rice (long-grained)
4-5 tbsp. sushi vinegar (basically a white vinegar and sugar mixture)

Sheets of sushi seaweed, roasted (nori)
Cucumbers, cut into strips
Avocado, sliced and sprinkled with lime juice to prevent browning
Apples, cut into strips and sprinkled with lime juice to prevent browning
Cooked large shrimp
Imitation crab meat mixture
Egg omelet, sliced into strips
Yellow radish, cut into strips

1. Wash and drain rice. Add 2 cups of water to rice (1:1 ratio of cups of uncooked rice and cups of water). Cook rice in rice cooker.
2. After rice has cooked, transfer rice to large bowl to cool. Add sushi vinegar to rice and mix well. Cool rice before using. 
3. Assembly: Each person can make their own hand rolls to their own specifications. Spread sushi rice on 1/3 of nori, and place toppings on rice. Roll into cone or into long roll. 

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This recipe isn't very "recipe" like, because it has so many variations depending on each person's preference. However, I usually am a very meticulous step-by-step, recipe follower, so when recipes say "to taste" or do not give specific quantities of ingredients, I get lost.  

Therefore, for reference, this is what I usually do: (but feel free to experiment on your own!)

Crab Meat Mixture (pictured below)

1. Usually I use about 4-6 oz of chunked imitation crab meat. Defrost the imitation crab meat using the microwave, drain if necessary. Roughly chop into smaller pieces. 
2. In a bowl, mix imitation crab meat with 1/3 - 1/2 cup mayo (use more or less depending on how creamy you want the mixture to be). Add Sriracha sauce- a little goes a long ways! If you do not eat spicy (like me), just add a squirt (about 1 tsp.) of the sauce. 

Shrimp

1. I use frozen, shell-on, raw medium-sized shrimp. Place shrimp in bowl, and microwave for 3-4 minutes, until shrimp is pink. Drain shrimp, and peel off shell. 

Egg Omelet

1. Beat 2 eggs in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2 tbsp milk. 
2. Heat oil on non-stick pan on medium-high. Pour egg mixture into pan, and let the liquid set (bottom turns lighter/white). Flip egg pancake over. Cook till egg is no longer runny. 
3. Remove egg omelet from stove, and cut into strips. 

Spam Musubi (pictured below)

1. Cut spam into strips. Marinade spam with equal parts of soy sauce and hoisin sauce for 10-15 minutes. 
2. In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Cook strips about 1-2 minutes per side, until slightly charred. 

In picture: spam musubi, imitation crab mixture, avocado slices, cucumbers, yellow radish

Legit Chicken Katsu

This is a delicious, simple katsu recipe! My friend Ann shared it with me, and it tastes just like the restaurant version! 

Chicken Katsu

Chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

Egg, beaten

1/3 amount flour and 2/3 amount panko

Frying oil

Bulldog katsu sauce for dipping

1. Pound the chicken breasts with a meat mallet. Generously salt and pepper both sides of each chicken breast. 

2. Dip each breast in the egg mixture, then dredge each breast in the flour/panko mixture. Coat thoroughly. 

3. Heat frying oil in nonstick pan. Once oil is hot, place chicken breasts in oil. Flip breasts over halfway through and cook until there is no pink in the middle of the chicken. Cooking time may vary depending on thickness of chicken breast. 

4. Enjoy with katsu sauce over rice.

When I made this at home, I used peanut oil, which supposedly is healthier when frying. I used enough oil to cover the chicken breast when placed in the pan. Tongs are handy when placing and turning the chicken in the hot oil! Also, I used a paper towel to soak up any excess oil after pulling the chicken out the oil. 

The katsu sauce (shown below) is amazing; it tastes very similar to the sauce at Ichi Bento's! I was able find it at a local Asian store.