Foodies

I LOVE yam. So i decided to make a yam recipe. This recipe is actually really good. Its a Japanese traditional recipe that uses only 1/4 cup of flour and NO　ＢＵＴＴＥＲ．　：Ｄ
Ｉｔ＇ｓ　ｍｏｓｔｌｙ　ｙａｍ． Ｉ　ａｌｓｏ　ｓｐｒｉｎｋｌｅｄ　ｓｅｓａｍｅ　ｓｅｅｄｓ　ｏｎ　ｔｏｐ　ｔｏ　ｆｏｒ　ｇａｒｎｉｓｈ．　Ｉｔ　ａｌｓｏ　ａｄｄｓ　ａ　ｎｉｃｅ　ｌｉｔｔｌｅ　ｔｅｘｔｕｒｅ．

ｔｈｅ　ｈｏｌｅｓ　ａｒｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｈｏｌｅｓ　Ｉ　ｍａｄｅ　ｗｈｅｎ　ｃｈｅｃｋｉｎｇ　ｉｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｃａｋｅ　ｗａｓ　ｄｏｎｅ　ｂａｋｉｎｇ．

ｈｅｒｅ＇ｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｒｅｃｉｐｅ：　http://springpadit.com/lifesparalysisbyanalysis/recipe/japanesesweetpotatocake

Today we judged 4 different dishes based on: taste and plating.  The winner gets to choose ingredients first for the Iron Chef Challenge.

Winner:  Chicken Parmesan  (made by Janet, Jessica, and a little help from Mr. Li!) The judges felt that the Chicken Parmesan was superior both for taste and plating presentation.

Second Place goes to: Spaghetti & Meatballs (Iris, Vicki, and Carmen)  This dish deserves special mention for it’s excellent asymmetrical presentation.

Third Place goes to: Mushroom and Pea Risotto (Tina, Michelle, and Monica).  This dish was delicious, oh so creamy, and completely decadent but without parsley it may not have looked like the winner it deserved to be.

Finally… Last Place goes to: Apple Tart due to no-shows (ahem) in this group.  The teachers made this apple tart.  It tasted great… as long as you didn’t eat the crust!  Even Li Yan couldn’t make this one a winner!

Tune in in 2 weeks for the winners of the Iron Chef Challenge!  In the meantime, Foodies… prepare yourself mentally and physically.  Who know what you may end up making?!?!?!

Chinese:  Dumplings/Wontons / Kung Pao Chicken / Fried Rice

Thai: Pad Thai / Lemongrass Basil Chicken

Vietnamese: Salad Rolls

Japanese:  Maki Roll / Teriyaki Chicken

Indian: Kheer (Rice Pudding)

Korean: Bulgogi

Here are some recipe ideas I found for our food lab next week?

http://www.eatthelove.com/2011/02/pineapple-cakes/

http://tastesofhome.blogspot.com/2011/02/steamed-chinese-braised-pork-buns.html

http://www.maameemoomoo.com/blog/2011/01/27/kek-lapis-spekkoek-with-cranberries/

http://firstlookthencook.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/steamed-chinese-dumplings/

http://kirbiecravings.com/2010/02/chinese-egg-tarts.html

http://greencilantro.blogspot.com/2010/11/japanese-sweet-potato-cake.html

http://www.koreanamericanmommy.com/2010/09/korean-ground-beef-kimchi-puff-pastry.html

http://www.phamfatale.com/id_867/title_Vietnamese-Tofu-Stuffed-Betel-Leaves/

The second last thing we had on our menu was date crisps. This was sweet but delicious! (Although we failed in making them into balls.) It was hard to shape them into balls and kept falling apart so we just ate it like cereal.

Melting butter in small saucepan on medium and then adding dates, sugar, and egg.

The final product still in the pan.

Out of the whole menu, two of my friends thought that this was the best. I thought it was good too.I really hope you guys try it!

Heres the recipe: http://www.companyscoming.com/recipes/date-crispies/2009/1/637/

We also made spaghetti. here’s the picture:

Spaghetti not mixed with the sauce.

And a picture of our whole meal:

See the bubble tea in the corner? we made it. The tapioca too. (;

Good eh? ( : Anyways, hope you guys try out one of the recipes! All of them turned out to be good. Best out of all the cooking meets we had at least. I guess we are improving! ( ;

The Spinach! ( ; make sure to drain out as much water as possible so that it doesn't make the egg soggy.

The 3 eggs+1 egg yolk we used for the wraps.

This is the squid filling. We used the frozen squid you use for hot pot so it was chunkier that the original recipes squid filling.

Frying the egg wrap again after wrapping it. This was not part of the original recipe but we did this because we added to much filling and it was coming out so we fried it with more egg to close the wrap.

Another picture because the other one was fuzzy.

Heres the link for the recipe: http://eggwansfoododyssey.com/2011/03/13/egg-spinach-and-squid-roll/

We also didn’t steam the egg wraps because we didn’t want it to be soggy as well so the cooked (boiled) the squid before hand.

Hope you guys try this out!

So its march break! Like always, my friends and I gathered to cook a meal. Lunch again this time! ( : One of the thing’s on our menu was Shrimp and veggie stir fry. Just because the shrimp we made last time tasted soo good and because we wanted some veggies in our meal.

Here’s the recipe ( we took the corn out because we couldn’t buy it) :

Ingredients

• 1⁄3 cup reduced-salt soy sauce
• 1⁄4 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 11⁄2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 500 g large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 250 g broccoli florets
• 1 large red pepper, cut into strips
• 1 large yellow pepper, cut into strips
• 120 g snow peas
• 100 g whole baby corn
• 1⁄2 cup sliced water chestnuts
• 4 green onions, cut diagonally into 5 cm pieces

Directions

1. Blend 2⁄3 cup water, the soy sauce, wine, cornstarch and ginger in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large wok or large deep frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Stir-fry the garlic until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until pink, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the broccoli florets to the wok and stir-fry until they are bright green, about 2 minutes. Add the red and yellow pepper strips and snow peas and stir-fry until they are just tender but still crisp, about 1 minute longer.
3. Return the shrimp to the wok. Add the baby corn, water chestnuts and green onions. Pour in the sauce mixture and stir-fry the shrimp and vegetables until the sauce thickens and boils, about 1 minute. Serve.

preparation time 20 mins
cooking time 10 mins
serves 4

Recipe from: http://www.besthealthmag.ca/recipe/shrimp-and-vegetable-stir-fry

I was very excited to receive my new recipe book!  I love being organized AND I love food so this is a perfect addition to my life!  This is a personal recipe book that helps you organize your own favourite recipes by writing them into the book on index cards that are organized by type of dish (for example: soups, pasta, seafood, meat etc.). Love it!

For dinner last night, I made grilled mussels with curry butter with barley-stuffed peppers.  I had never made mussels before and they actually turned out to be fantastic.  I added a small onion to the recipe (just ’cause I like onions that much).  Very colourful and tasty!  I would recommend this recipe for sure!

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/grilled-mussels-with-curry-butter/Detail.aspx

My brother and I didn’t know what to have for dinner. But then we found sushi paper and vinegar! So I decided to make Onigirl, Japanese rice balls with filling inside.

I decided to make an egg filling instead of something sweet and basically made up the whole recipe. Here’s what I did.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1tbsp sushi vinegar
• 1 sheet 14×22 cm sushi nori paper cut into 4 strips (5.5 x14 cm)
• 1 cup rice
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 2 eggs
• 2tbsp minced cilantro leaves
• 1 tbsp cilantro steam cut into small pieces
• some salt
• some salt water
• some oil

Method

1. cook rice in a rice cooker with the needed amount of water (I added a little more water so that the rice will stick together more)
2. Meanwhile, beat eggs in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and the cilantro steams and mix. Heat a saucepan over high heat with some oil and scramble the eggs. Set aside ( I suggest covering the eggs so that it stays warm)
3. When the rice is almost finished cooking, add the grated carrots and mix. Let the rice finish cooing
4. Once the rice is done, remove from rice cooker into a bowl. Add the sushi vinegar and mix throughly. Add the cilantro leaves, sesame seeds, and a pinch of salt and mix. Separate rice into eight even sections.
5. Dip your hands in the salt water (this will allow the rice to not stick to your hands). Take one section of the rice in your hands and flatten it out. Make a well in the middle of the rice. Put some egg filling in the middle. Take another section of rice and cover the filling. Squeeze the rice together into a ball and shape the edges to form a triangle                                           .
6. Wet a strip of seaweed with the salt water. Wrap it around the rice.                                                                 
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 with the remaining rice and filling. Enjoy!

Makes 4 Onigirl.