Spicy Noodle Salad

Spicy noodle salad is amazing in the summer time. With my busy life schedule, I wanted something simple and refreshing to eat that will not required me to spend too much time in the kitchen or away from my school and son. My pantry is always stocked with noodles and my frigde is always stocked with peppers. This is a dish that I haven't made in a long time because my husband can't handle the heat as much as I do. However, since I was craving it so bad, I made it with less chilis. If you don't like shrimp and you're not a big fan of seafood, you can add shredded chicken or cold beef. I've done this recipe before with steamed pork which I prefer more than shrimp. You can find the steamed pork at any asian stores. I've also made this dish with fish balls which my husband prefers better than shrimp. They are all GREAT with this recipe. However, at the time, I only had shrimp which was still very tasty.

14 cooked shrimps
3 red Thai chili peppers, minced
1 tsp vinegar
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup water
Vermicelli noodles
cilantro, minced *optional*

Boiled the noodles as directed or boil the noodles until they're cooked as to how you like it. Once cooked, drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside and start the spicy dressing.

Combing all the ingredients together except the shrimps. Mix until the sugar has dissolved.

Single Servings:
Grab some noodles and place them in a bowl, add some shrimps on top, and add some spoonfuls of the spicy dressing. Add chopped cilantro, toss, and eat.

Big Servings: *Add as much noodles as you like, but you want to make sure that there's enough dressings to coat all the noodles*
Toss noodles, dressings, and shrimps all into one big bowl. Add chopped cilantro and serve!


*I find that it tastes best right after you mix it*

Red Curry Chicken Wings

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. I've been busy with school and taking care of my son by myself so it's been a little crazy. However, I do remember to write down recipes and take pictures of what I cooked new. Just don't really have the time to post them up.

Anywho, I am a huge fan of chicken wings. Buffalo wings, honey BBQ, or hot spicy wings...you name it. I decided to come up with my own chicken wing recipe since I think that every household should have their own unique chicken wing recipe. I was inspired by Pizza Hut's wing wednesday and surprised that they have so many varieties of wings. Never tried them yet, but I wanted chicken wings with something new and different. Voila!! I came up with thai curry chicken wings using two different thai curries. I am a huge fan of thai curries especially in curry noodles so I decided to combine the two together. I've created chicken wings that is sweet with a kick and still has all the familiar taste of curry. My husband, who can't handle much spicyness, actually enjoyed these wings very much.

Ingredients:

1 tsp yellow curry (Karee)

½ tsp red curry (Panang)

1 tsp vinegar

1 Tbsp honey

1 ½ cup water

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp brown sugar

Direction:

In a pan, melt butter and add in both curries. Stir until both curries are cooked. Add in vinegar and water. Bring to a boil and add in honey and brown sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Simmer on low to medium heat for about 30-45 minutes or until it has reduced to half its size and thicken. Let it cool for a bit and toss in 6-12 cooked chicken wings (deep fried, baked, or grilled).

This is a very simple and easy sauce for any wings. You can always add more curry if you like it hotter. Red curry (Panang) is a lot spicier than yellow curry (Karee) so add more red curry if you'd like. There's no dipping sauce for these wings because they are great on their own. But of course, you can always use the good ol' ranch sauce. I made a peanut butter sauce to dip because my husband loves peanut butter and peanut butter goes great with curry.

Khauj Piab (Hmong Rice Noodles and Chicken)

I love khauj piab. It is my all time favorite dish that I can never get tired of eating. However, I do get tired of making it from scratch. I remember the first time I had this dish. I was probably around 8 or 9 years old and my mother made this dish before my oldest sister moved to Wisconsin from Rhode Island. Back then I did not know how to add flavors to it so it was very plain, but I still loved it. A few years later, I asked my mother if she can make it again since she hadn't made any since. She taught me the next day and I have been making it from scratch ever since. It is a long process that requires patience and getting your hands dirty. I came from a big family so my mother taught me how to make big portions only, so I would have leftovers when I make this dish for me and my husband and it would sadden me to waste it. After having my son, I just had no time to make it from scratch anymore. Lucky for me, I found some rice sticks at a korean store that can be used to make this delicious dish. I still prefer having this dish from scratch, but it is tastey either way.

Korean rice cakes are used in their famous
tteokbokki recipes

1 bag (2 lbs) rice cakes, defrosted
1 cornish game hen without giblets, quartered
6 quart water
1/2 stalk lemon grass
green onions, thinly sliced
fish sauce
additional toppiings

thickening:
3 Tbsp Tapioca starch
l/4 cup water

First, boil a pot of water and cook the rice cakes until soft; stirring constantly. *The rice cakes will plump up and double in size so you can use half the bag. I suggest you quartered the rice cakes lengthwise before cooking it because quartering it after will be a slippery and sticky mess. *

My son loves eating cornish hen

Meanwhile, wash the quartered cornish hen, take off the skin (optional), and trim off the fat. Cook the cornish hen and lemon grass in the 6 quart water, skimming off any fat that floats to the top. Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. *If broth reduces in size, add more water and possibly salt to taste.*

Once cornish hen is fully cooked, take it out and let it cool. After it cooled down, shred the meat with fingers. *You can keep some meat on the bones if you have a bone lover in your family*

Add the shredded chicken back to the broth along with the cooked rice cakes. *Add more water and salt if needed* Make the thickening agent and add to the broth mixture. *Add more thickening agent if you prefer it to be thicker* Bring to a boil until it thickens up. Serve and top with green onions and additional toppings.

Plain khauj piab with green onions and fish sauce.

I like my khauj piab with black pepper, fish sauce, green onions,
chili and garlic pepper, alittle bit of sugar, dark sweet soy sauce,
alittle bit of soy sauce, and lots of sriracha sauce.

Tomato Tofu Stir Fry

This is a dish that will always remind me of my mother. I remember when I was little, she would use a whole chicken (bones and all) and cook it with tomatoes and green onions. It was definitely one of my favorite dishes of all time. You get the nice juicy chicken pieces, especially the bones, and the tangy-ness from the tomatoes. Serve it with a hot scoop of rice and I was in heaven. My husband had never had anything like it before. I cook it a lot for him since we've been married and we can never get tired of it. Honestly, you don't even have to use chicken. You only need 2 main ingredients: tomatoes and green onions. Try it with eggs (my most favorite), pork loins, beef short ribs, or tofu. Just 2 ingredients and you can make so many different dishes. My husband loves it best when my mom uses chicken feet. Sounds gross, but it was delish! That's all he talks about. Sadly, I can't get much chicken feet here in hawaii unless I buy a live chicken. But this is a must-try recipe...you will love it. It's very easy to make and very few ingredients, but tastes great. It's like tomatoes and green onions were meant for eachother...kinda like me and my husband teehee =).

Chicken Tomato Stir fry with Tofu

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes

2 green onion stalks

1 pkg (10 oz) extra/firm tofu

4 boneless chicken thighs

2 Tbsp oil

2 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper

3 Tbsp sweet dark soy sauce

Prep: Skinned the boneless chicken thighs and chop them up into bite size pieces. You can definitely use boned chicken thighs and keep the skin on. You can even use a whole chicken, but boneless chicken thighs were all I had so I had to mention it.

Slice tomatoes into thin moon-shaped slices and set aside. Wash and cut up green onions to about 1/4" and set aside. Mince garlic and set aside. Cut tofu into bite size pieces and set aside.

Cook: Heat up skillet pan on medium heat with oil and add the garlic and chicken. Cook chicken until sides start to turn brown. Add in the tomatoes and cook until tomatoes have released all it's juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then add in green onions and stir. Add in the sweet dark soy sauce and stir until all is cooked and has come together nicely. Add the tofu last and don't stir as much so that tofu doesn't break apart. Let the tofu soak up the tomato juice for a bit until most of the juices have gone down and it's done. Serve with fresh cooked rice. (the longer it simmers, the tastier it is...but becareful not to burn it)

I do have a secret ingredient that makes my dish taste a bit different and more flavorful from my mother's, but I can't share. =)

All that it's missing is a bowl of rice

This tastes even better the next day or later on in the day. My husband literally asked me to make this dish for him everyday so he can pack some to work. I'm surprised he's not tired of eating it. Try this recipe with other ingredients that I've mentioned above. You will start to love this tomato and green onion marriage.

Green Tea Chicken and Rice with Green Garlic Sauce

I love drinking tea, but lately I've been drinking coffee. Plus, I like drinking oolong tea more than green tea. My husband bought a box of green tea awhile ago. He's not a fan of drinking tea, but he thought he should start. Well, the box of tea was still on the counter unopen so I decided to use it in some of my recipes. I came up with this cold green tea chicken recipe from this one chinese restaurant in China Town in Honolulu. I ordered this chicken dish that was served cold and plain with a green garlic sauce. It was delicious and taste just like home. I was inspired to make this recipe with a twist.

Chicken Broth:

8 cups water

8 green tea bags
1 Cornish hen, halved
½ onion, diced
Salt
Ice bowl water

Green Garlic Sauce:
2 clove garlic, finely minced (try 1 clove to begin with first)
2 tsp grated ginger
Handful of cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp olive oil

Salt

2 cups uncooked rice, rinsed well

Bring 8 cups water to a boil and add the 8 tea bags. Let steep for 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, start on the green garlic sauce. Put the minced garlic, ginger, and cilantro in a mortar and pestle. Pound until cilantro have broken down. Add oil and pinch of salt to taste. Mix well and set aside. (add sriracha sauce and fish sauce for a spicy green and red sauce)

Add Cornish hen to the pot of green tea and bring to a boil. Skim off any fat foam that floats on top. Once it boils, add the diced onions and salt to taste. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until hen is fully cooked. Take out the Cornish hens and put them in the ice bowl water for about 1 minute. Take hen out and set it aside to dry.

Make stove top rice as you usually would, but replace plain water with the green tea chicken broth. Once rice is done, fluff and serve with cold green tea chicken and green garlic sauce.

my green garlic sauce was very garlicy and the rice infused with the green tea....

and the cold chicken....yummmm oh!!