Past Creations

I found these pictures while I was cleaning out my laptop and realized that I never got a chance to post them up. Well...here they are!! Hope some of you can relate to these home-cooked meals.


Qaub...Hmong papaya salad!! Spicy, sour, salty, and sweet...
a lethal combination. My absolute favorite!!

Quab with Khob Poob...Papaya salad with noodles...
can't eat papaya salad without the noodles!





Hot Fruit Beef Jerky snack....sweet and spicy asian beef jerky.

Qaub...papaya salad. Who doesn't like?! This is obviously a Hmong dish that is common in every household. Easy to make and simple to customize. There are many ingredients to this dish but the basic ingredients are green papaya, garlic, tomatoes, lime, peanuts, chili peppers, tamarind juice, and crab paste.














A childhood snack! I haven't had these since I was 10 years old and was lucky enough to have found some in Chinatown in Hawaii. I bought all that was left (3 bags) and the originals. My husband never had them, but he says it's okay for a first timer. He wasn't use to it because it has a sweet and spicy taste. It wasn't the beef jerky that he was use to. It's more juicy than dry unlike American beef jerky. I loved it! Reminds me of when I was little and I would go to the Vietnamese store with my parents in our hometown. I crave for some, but Chinatown is too crowded for me and then there's the traffic too. A must try if you ever come across it.




Pho dub/black noodles...a common Hmong dish

Pho Dub (as my mom calls it) is basically translated to black noodles. It is made with Korean black noodles and stir fried with bamboo shoots, pork, mushrooms, and cilantro. I like to add other vegetables such as carrots or daikons. It's main sauce is oyster sauce, but I like to add soy sauce and sesame oil. It's very delicious to eat warm or cold. This dish brings back memories of being back at home with families at gatherings.



Inspired by the tradtional stuffed pepper....
Hmong Stuffed Pepper

My asian version of a stuffed pepper with a fried egg on top. What makes it Hmong is the ingredients used. The stuffing was made from beef, rice, and noodles with oyster sauce, sweet dark soy sauce, and magi sauce. Topped with an egg (I prefer more cooked than raw).

Hmong Suffed Pepper with fried egg...
so asian!



My baked eggroll cups....the healthy version of an eggroll

Traditional eggrolls, but healthier. I used the eggroll wrappings to form a cup in my muffin pan. I added more eggs to the eggroll mixture than normal so that it can also keep the eggroll moist. I then brushed the edge of the wrappers with an egg wash for the golden brown color. It tasted the same except some of the top noodles were very crispy (which I liked). Had no problem with this version...it still had the crunch, the taste, the same ingredients, but without the deep frying. So much healthier!






Traditional ham....with a pineapple glaze!!

I believe I made this for Christmas one time along with my baked eggrolls (as you can see in the background). It's a traditional ham with a pineapple glaze made from pineapple juice and honey. Nothing too special about it except that it tasted so delicious (I'm not a fan of ham). Had sweet ham at a friend's house and fell in love with the sweet and salty taste of sweet ham. It was my first homecooked ham and wasn't my last.

Korean rice cakes....ttoboki with beef

It's not a secret that I love spicy food. I basically add sriracha sauce to all my meals. Had my first ttoboki in Hawaii at a Korean restaurant. I've always wanted to try it because of the korean dramas. This dish is seen a lot in the dramas because it's a street food. It's easy to make so it's easy to serve. The basic ingredients are the hot pepper paste, honey or something sweet, soy sauce, and fish cakes (I used beef for substitution). Not a fan of fish cakes? You can leave it out. I love the texture of the chewy rice cakes and the spicy and sweet sauce. This is my kind of soul food!

Ttoboki with fried egg....now that's asian!

Okay, so I have a tendency of adding a fried egg to everything. Obviously I had to put a fried egg on ttoboki. GENIOUS!! It was a brilliant idea. My husband, who wasn't a fan of ttoboki because of its spiciness, preferred the fried egg with it. The runny eggyolk made it less spicier for him. This is obviously nothing new, but a must try when making ttoboki. 

My open face banh mi sandwhich with a fried egg....totally asian!

Never had a banh mi sandwich? Go try it then!! I make mines at home...saved myself a ton of money plus I get to have more than just one. Of course, I had to add the fried egg so I made it into an open-face sandwich. You can definitely sandwiched the two, but that'll be too big for me. This consist of a thin layer of mayo, pickled daikon and carrots, steamed pork (under the egg), cilantro (which I ran out of), and a fried egg. Nothing special, but a new twist to the usual.





Colorful tapioca pearls for Nab Vam...
Hmong sweet tapioca pearl soup/drink

 

Nab Vam is perfect for a hot day so living in Hawaii, you got to have it. The store versions didn't taste like home so I made my own....of course, in big batches. I made them with the bright colors of red, green, and yellow (street-light colors). Heat up the coconut milk with a little bit of honey and made the sugar syrup with white and brown sugar. Also add a few drops of Jasmine essence and pandan essence for smell. I usually add fruits such as melon balls, mango chunks, palm sugars, and coconut jelly, but I went with the basics this time.

Before mixing....I just love the colors!!

After mixing it up....so vibrant!

Lap Chong...chinese sweet sausage

Last but not least, my favorite kind of asian sausage. Lap chong or Chinese sausage is different from American sausage besides the fact that it's Chinese. Lap Chong is much fattier and greasier which makes it more rich in flavor. It has a hint of sweetness and saltiness that is combined perfectly together. My favorite ways to cook them is steaming, deep frying, and stir frying them. I love to steam them ontop of my rice so that the rich-flavored-oily-juice can fall onto my rice while it's cooking. I also deep fry (as if there's not enough oil in it) by itself because it's something I grew up eating. The skin gets nice and crispy and there's a burst of oil when you take the first bite. I love it!! I also stir fry the sausages with vegetables, noodles, and everything else. It is a must try and it will definitely not disappoint.



Basic Swiss Meringues

Basic swiss meringue with whipped cream and berries.

I am not one to waste ingredients especially when a recipes calls for egg yolks only. While I was making my basic creme brulee, the first thing that came to my mind to use up the egg whites were meringues. Meringues are a dessert or cookie that is made up of egg whites and sugar. It's light and airy as well as crispy. I love meringues and they are so easy to make. I only make them when I make my  basic creme brulee that way I don't waste any eggs. I usually make them in mini sizes with a piping bag because I like to snack on them plain than top them with fruits. It's good either way.

Ingredients:
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar
Whipped cream
Berries
(I have a berry sauce recipe also)

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.
**I did everything by hand just because I wanted an arm workout, but feel free to use a mixer**
Let the egg whites stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. This will make it easier to fluff it up. With a wire whisk, begin whisking the egg whites in a circular motion at the fastest speed of your arm. Add vanilla and cream of tartar and keep whisking until soft peaks form. Switch arms if you need to. Gradually add in the sugar a little at a time while whisking. Keep whisking in circular motion to incorporate air into the egg whites (air creates the soft peaks in the egg whites). Keep whisking until all the sugar is dissolved and stiff glossy peaks are formed. This will take a while depending on how fast you are whisking. Very good workout!

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop balls of the "cloud" onto the baking sheet. You can definitely pipe it if you want. It'll be prettier that way, but why waste piping bags. Using the back of a spoon, create a well in the center. Be sure all meringues are about the same size to ensure even cooking. This is where the whipped cream and the berries will sit. Bake the meringues on the middle rack for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours or until the meringes are set and dry. Turn off the oven and leave the meringes in the hot oven for about 1 hour. This will ensure any uneven cooking. Cool on wire racks. Fill the shells with whipped cream and fresh berries. I made a berry sauce which was perfect! I also made the whipped cream by hand.

Simple Berry Sauce

My simple berry sauce for everything and anything

6-7 strawberries
6-7 black berries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup water
Combine all the ingredients in a pan and bring it to boil. Simmer until liquid has reduced to half which can take up to 30 mins to 1 hour. Depends on how saucey you want your sauce to be. Let it cool before using.

Notice the bowl of heavy cream sitting ontop of another bowl
filled with ice. This keeps the cream cold and makes it easier
to rotate the bowl.

Hand-made Whipped Cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp sugar

Place a bowl on top of another bowl that's filled with ice. Pour the ingredients into the top bowl that's sitting on ice. With a wire whisk, start whisking as fast as you can while rotating the bowl to keep the cool temperature. Be sure to incorporate lots of air into the heavy cream. Keep whisking until the mixture looks like whipped cream and forms soft peaks.

For the whipped cream, I used the leftover heavy cream from making my basic creme brulee which was the perfect amount. I've whipped heavy cream before by hand in my culinary class before so I knew how long it was going to take. However, I've gotten a lot faster since then. If you have never made it by hand before, DO TRY. It's a great arm workout. It's all about incorporating air into the cream. You'll be amaze at how easy it is to make home-made whipped cream and you can customize your own.

Basic swiss meringues with whipped cream and fresh berries

I've made all kinds of meringues, but I didn't start taking pictures of my food until this year. Meringues are easy to change. You can add food colorings and different flavors. Just substitute the vanilla extract. Be creative with this simple dish. The new Twix Truffle candybars are made with meringues. That's what gave it it's light, crispy texture.

I purposely made the mistake of topping my whipped cream and meringue with my hot berry sauce. It was still hot and it started to melt my whipped cream. But I don't regret it. I couldn't wait for the berry sauce to cool down so I ate it warm. It was delicious!! The warm sauce melting the whipped cream and softening my meringue, it was heaven for me. Plus, I love messy food and I loved the way the sauce and the whipped cream formed a pool around my cloud of goodness!

I thought I show you all how I come up with recipes and how I write them down. This is why it's hard for me to keep track of them and have an accurate recipe. I do lots of testing and experiments so I have lots of recipes thrown away because they did not turn out quite as good. I write all my recipes on scrap papers. Mostly from papers that I've printed for my online classes so they're a little scrunch up. I've been very busy lately so I try to do my best to experiment and post up some recipes every month. This is a recipe I've written down while making it. The top part is a recipe for my tortilla rolls which I will post up soon. The bottom part, as you can see, is my simple berry sauce. This is one of my many many handwritten recipes. Also, I only write down recipes when I remember to.

This was one of the nicer looking recipes that I wrote down...
the other recipes were barely legible

Basic Creme Brulee

Basic vanilla creme brulee

I had my first creme brulee when I was in the 10th grade. It was a green tea creme brulee and I fell in love. Great smooth custard texture and the flavor of the green tea with the carmalized sugar on top was the perfect balance of sweetness. My favorite part of the creme brulee was breaking the carmalized sugar on top. But now I love to torch the sugar. My husband has never had or heard of creme brulee and I wanted to make it for him. It's soooo much cheaper to do than ordering it at a restaurant. It's really not hard or difficult to do. My husband enjoyed the creme brulee. I made him an almond creme brulee topped with whipped cream and fresh berries. He's not into sweets, but he really enjoyed this dessert mostly because he got to use the torch. The ingredients are very simple and easy. I divided the ingredient list into sections so that it's easier for you to go along with.

***Don't throw away the egg whites!!! Make basic swiss meringues instead!!***
Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pot of boiling water (4 cups)

torch
sugar

First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees then combine the cream and the 2 Tbsp of sugar into a saucepan over medium to low heat. Constantly stir the mixture to prevent cream from scorching. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn off heat and add in the vanilla extract.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolk and 2 Tbsp sugar together until sugar has dissolved.
HERE'S THE TRICKY PART: You are now going to temper the eggs (this means slowly mixing the egg mixture with the cream mixture without making scrambled eggs). Sounds difficult but it's not.
You are going to keep the bowl of the egg mixture on the table. Hold a whisk in one hand while you are holding the hot pot of cream mixture in the other.  With the hand whisk, start whisking slowly and then begin pouring a little bit of the cream mixture at a time.  DON'T STOP WHISKING. Pour a little bit more cream mixutre and keep whisking. Pour a bit more until you know for sure that the egg and cream mixture are about the same temperature. If you're unsure, just keep whisking and pouring until all the cream are mixed with the egg. However, be sure that all the mixture are poured back into the pan so that it keeps the warm temperature. So in the end of this process, all the mixture (egg and cream) should be in the pan in which the cream mixture was in.
 ***For the last step, it's best if you place the baking pan in the oven first with the ramekins so that you would not need to place it in the oven after adding the hot water which will prevent spills***
Place ramekins in a deep baking pan to prepare it for the water bath. Pour the mixture evenly into ramekins. Pour the boiling water around the ramekins MAKING SURE NONE OF THE WATER GETS INTO THE RAMEKINS. Fill the baking pan to about 1 inch deep or until the water is half way up the ramekins.
Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the center is set. Let it cool on the counter and then refrigerate it for about 4 hours. After 4 hours, sprinkle the top with an even layer of sugar and torch it. PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH THE TORCH. If you don't have a torch, you may use the broiler (read the bottom) or eat it without the sugar crust. If you like a thick crunchy layer of sugar on top, feel free to sprinkle a lot but I find that it's great without all that sweets.

Make sure the sugar is spread out evenly

Torch the sugar using a right-to-left hand gesture until sugar is carmalized

**Broiler: After chilling the creme brulee, let it stand on room temperature for about 20 minutes before putting it in the broiler. Then place the ramekins on a baking sheet and broil it about 8 inches from the heat for about 5-8 minutes or until sugar is carmalized. Refrigerate it for 2-3 hours until firm and eat.***

Pancakes with Preserved Duck Eggs

Breakfast is an essential meal to start they day off. For me, I'd rather have breakfast all day every day. I love breakfast. My favorites of breakfast meals have to be cereal, pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, and french toast. I don't really care for oatmeal, fruits, or coffee much. I want a hearty breakfast and I usually eat my pancakes and waffles with a little syrup. Not into so much sweets. This is my take on East meets West for breakfast. I decided to make pancakes with preserved duck eggs. Something a little sweet with something a little savory that will be both be fulfilling.

In China, preserved duck eggs or 1,000 year old eggs/century eggs are very popular as a snack or eaten with porridge for breakfast. I've always heard of preserved duck eggs and always seen them in boxes at the asian markets, but never wanted to actually spend the money to buy them (incase if they didn't taste good). A few years ago, our nice neighbor gave us our first preserved ducks eggs (our neighbors were chinese). He told us to dip it in a little vinegar and eat it just like that. We did it and it was actually pretty good. The smell was horrible, of course, and looking at it didn't make things better. BUT...I am a big foodie and I'm willing to try something different and so I did. TASTES LIKE EGGS!...plus the creamy, black egg yolk texture that 1,000 year old eggs have.

The outside part that would've been the egg whites where a bit tougher than normal boiled eggs and the yolk was a lot softer and creamier. However, if you close your eyes and don't breath it in, the taste is just like boiled eggs. My husband actually liked it a lot so we started buying them. The good thing about these eggs is that it's so easy to peel. I've added this to rice porridge, noodle soups, and stir fry. I'm not a big fan of porridge in the morning (I prefer porridge in mid day so I can have the patience for it to cook) so I decided to add it to pancakes. I ate it without syrup and it was just like eating pancakes with a side of scrambled eggs (it definitely smelled like it). My husband now preferes eating preserved duck eggs with pancakes and I do too.

Yes, it looks disgusting. It looks moldy and rotten and smells horrible. From this view, you're probably feeling sick to your stomach. Looks are decieving!! For those of you who have tried it before....GOOD FOR YOU!! For those of you who likes them...GOOD FOR YOU!! This is a must try...and if you don't like it then at least you can say you've tried it. The yolk actually tastes like scrambled eggs, but it has a creamy custard-like texture. That's my favorite part. I don't really like boiled eggs and if I have to eat it, I'll only eat the yolk part so, of course, I prefer the yolk part for preserved duck eggs too.

 Pancakes with Preserved Duck

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 egg
1 Tbsp oil
3 Preserved Duck Eggs

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with the milk and melted butter. Use a wire whisk and whisk the batter until little lumps are left. Then add the egg and oil. Mix with the wire whisk until there are barely any lumps.

Meanwhile, peel the preserved duck eggs. The shells should come off very easily. Then sliced them lengthwise. You can slice them very thin (if you can) or thick (if you really like them). Heat up the skillet and ladle a spoonful of the pancake batter onto the skillet. Add a few slices of preserved eggs. Flip the pancake with the bubbles form on the top. Serve while it's still hot.

Pancake with preserved duck eggs before flipping

Finished pancake with preserved duck eggs

I decided to make faces just for fun.

This one looks like Po from Kungfu Panda!

The Dragon Warrior!! haha

I ran out of preserved duck eggs and still had pancake batter left so I added some semi-chocolate chips and shredded coconut.

Preserved duck egg pancakes and chocolate chip coconut pancakes

Everything in this picture was delicious!

**If you're not a big fan of preserved eggs then diced them up and mix them in the batter. You can also lay a few slices of the preserved egg on the skillet to get a nice crust around the edges and then ladle a spoonful of pancake batter over the eggs. I find that forming a crust around the egg on the skillet makes them taste and smell like scrambled eggs.

Valentine's Day 3 Course Dinner

Happy Valentine's Day! Every year that comes by, I can't seem to figure out what to get my husband. He has everything he ever wanted or need (yes, he is spoiled). I know cooking a nice dinner is always something cheap to do, but he loves food and I love cooking. This year I decided to make something that I've never tried before, but only thought of. My husband's a beef kind of guy so beef stew it is! The only difference with my beef stew is that it's made with sweet potatoes and bell peppers (I like a sweetness in my meats). I then topped it off with a pair of pan fry polenta rounds and strips of fresh basil to bring out the earthiness of the flavors. Best part: it was cooked in a crock pot so I had free time to do other things. We started off this 3 course dinner with an appetizer of artichoke bruschetta. It was a light start which made us even hungrier for the entree. We then ended the dinner course with a delicious cold raspberry cheesecake.

Artichoke Bruschetta (this recipe serves 2 people or about 4 people)

6 oz jar of artichoke hearts

7 oz jar of roasted red peppers

4.25 oz can of chopped black olives (optional)

Olive oil

Grated parmesean cheese

Fresh basil

Baguette (I bought a small one just enough for me and my husband)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice baguette in diagonals about 1/2 inch thick and place them on a baking tray. Drizzle olive oil and bake for 10 minutes until crispy.

Take the artichokes out of the jar and chopped them into smaller pieces. Do the same with the roasted red peppers (if you don't use all the roasted red peppers, it's okay). Mix them both in a bowl. Add a small pinch of chopped black olives (olives are very strong in flavor so it can be eliminated, but it provides a saltiness to the mix). Drizzle about a 2 teaspoon or less of olive oil. Sprinkle some grated parmesean cheese and mix well (parmesean cheese does not have to be grated, but it was all I had; can add shaved parmesean cheese on top for a more parmesean flavor).

Drop spoonfuls of artichoke mix onto slice baguettes. Take fresh basil and, starting from the tip of the leaf, roll fresh basil and thinly slice through the roll to create thin shreds of basil. Sprinkle basil strips on top and serve. *The longer the artichoke mix sets on top of the baguettes, the more the bread soaks in the flavor*

Beef Stew with Pan-fry Polenta

2 lbs cubed beef (used prime rib)
oil
1 clove garlic

Stew:
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and dice
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 onion, thin slices
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup red wine
1 chicken boullion cube
4-6 cups water
salt and pepper
fresh basil

roux:
1/4 cup water
1 tsp corn starch

Sautee beef in heated pan with drizzle of oil. Add grated garlic and pinch of salt. Brown the sides of beef a bit. (Do not cook all the way)

In crock pot, add onions at the bottom, potatoes, garlic, thyme, oregano, beef, wine, chicken boullion, water, and salt and pepper. (Can add more salt and pepper later to taste later)

Turn crockpot on high for about 6-7 hours. On the last hour, add the roux mixture. Towards the last 30 mins, add the bell peppers. Taste to see if needs more salt or pepper.
Take fresh basil and, starting from the tip of the leaf, roll fresh basil and thinly slice through the roll to create thin shreds of basil. Set aside.
Meanwhile, start on polenta. (I couldn't find the polenta where I can make it from scratch so I bought premade polenta)

Pan-fry Polenta:
Premade polenta (comes in a round tube-like form)
Olive oil

Cut polenta into thin slices (circles). Heat a pan with oil and brown both sides of polenta slices on medium heat (about 5-8 minutes). Sprinkle salt on top of one side.

Serve beef stew, top with polenta and fresh basil strips.

Raspberry Cheesecake:

Crust:
9 sheets of graham crackers
4 Tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulverize graham crackers until grainy like texture. Add melted butter and mix. Press graham cracker mixture to the bottom of a 4 ramekins or 8x8 baking pan (I used 2 ramekins for individualized servings, but had enough to also make an 8x8). Bake crust for 10 minutes and set aside.

Cheesecake:
2 (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 pack of fresh raspberries
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp almond extract

In a mixer, cream together sugar and cream cheese. Add vanilla extract. Add one egg at a time making sure to incorporate the egg thoughout the mixter and scrape down the sides every now and then. Once all eggs are added, blend until the mixture is smooth with barely any lumps.

Meanwhile, in a blender, blend fresh raspberries with sugar and almond extract. Drain out the liquid discarding the seeds. (If not sweet enough, add more sugar) *sauce can be used for a ton of things; I used it to make mixed drinks*

Pour the cheesecake mixture into the baked crust. Drop spoonfuls of raspberry mixture on top. Take a tooth pick and make swirls throughout the raspberry drops and cheesecake. Add more drops if needed. Bake in a water bath at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour until cheesecake is no longer jiggly. Have it rest in the fridge for about an hour before serving. Top off with more raspberry liquid and whip cream if desired. (a water bath is placing the actual dish on a larger and deeper dish and adding water to the larger dish only until it's half as tall as the smaller dish; make sure the water is not poured into the cheesecake dish)

Korean Sushi

I love japanese sushi as much as the next guy, but when I found out about korean sushi I was hooked. Very similar to japanese sushi, but warmer and more fulfilling. Also, no raw fish which I'm not a big fan of. Korean sushi is like eating a meal wrapped up in a nori. I love making this for my husband, it's his favorite. He prefers this over japanese sushi. Traditional korean sushi or kimbap is made with pickled daikon, blanched spinach, and sauteed carrots. I didn't have pickled daikons, spinach, or carrots in hand so I substituted with dou chua which is vietnamese pickled daikon and carrots. It's very easy to assemble and all ingredients can be found at your local supermarket.

All the ingredients for the marinade

Marinate:
thinly sliced beef
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp dark sweet soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce

Mix all ingredients together very well. Cover with saran wrap and refridgerate for about 1 hr or over night.

* I used beef chuck sliced thinly across the grains. You can use any beef. Also, I used minced ginger and garlic from a tube which made life so much easier. If you can't find dark sweet soy sauce....eliminate it and use honey.



Sushi:

2 cups uncooked rice

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds

4 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper

Dou Chua (check my recipe: easy banh mi)

Nori wraps

Rice: If you are using instant rice then follow the directions on the box. If not, scoop up 2 cups of uncooked rice. Wash out the rice with water until the water is becomes clearer. Cook the rice according to your rice cooker. My rice cooker says for every cup of rice add 1 1/4 cup of water. When rice is cooked, dish it out onto a bowl. Add the sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds. Mix well, but don't smash the rice and set it aside.

My husband is not a big fan of sesame oil and sesame seeds
so I added enough to give it flavor but you can always add more

Eggs: Beat the eggs. Add salt and black pepper to your desire (about a pinch of salt and pepper per egg) and cook on a oiled skillet. Keep it round...not scrambled. Push in the edges of the egg omelet towards the center while tilting the pan so other raw egg parts can  be cooked. Keep as round as possible. When majority of raw eggs are partially cooked, carefully flipped the whole thing over and let cook for a few minutes. Dish out onto a cutting board and slice in 1/2 inch strips. Set aside.

It's a bit tricky to flip this whole thing, but practice makes perfect.

Meat: Take out the marinated beef and cook in medium heat. Cook until sauce has reduced or until beef is fully cooked and sauce is thickened.

I think it's best to cook the beef until all the liquid has disappeared,
that way the sauce won't interfere with the rice.
It's okay if there's a little sauce.

Assembly:
Lay grid side of nori wrap facing up. Spoon a few spoonfuls of rice onto the nori and flatten evenly as much as you can. Add a layer of beef strips, a strip of egg, and some duo chua. Roll up nori wrap, tightening as you roll but being careful not to tear the wrap, and seal with water.

Lay all ingredients just below the half way point of the wrap.

Viola!! Then slice about 1/2 inch thick and server with soy sauce diluted with either vinegar or water. Making it sure took quite a bit of time, but it was well worth the time and effort.

I was able to make 6 fat sushi with all ingredients...woot hoot!

Spinach Quiche

It was the weekend of July 4th and I didn't want to wake up early to make breakfast. So I decided that I'll make a quiche and we'll have it for brunch. Quiche are one of my favorite things to make and eat. It's so easy yet so filling. You can make all kinds of quiche. My favorite is with spinach...and I mean lots of spinach. You can definitely add meat such as ham, bacon, hot dogs, or sausage links. I made an easy vegetable quiche the night before and stored it in the freezer for the next morning. I spent the night before making the pie crust and filling. Everything homemade from scratch is always better and it was great!! This is something my husband can make for me from scratch!

recipe for pie crust: http://leboredom.blogspot.com/2011/03/asian-veggie-pot-pie.html

This recipe makes 2 crust so remember to divide the dough in half. You can always buy a 9 inch frozen deep pie crust.

6 eggs
1 cup milk
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained (you can add about half for starters)
1 cup shredded swiss cheese

Mix eggs, milk, spinach, and cheese together. Sprinkle in some salt and black pepper. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min. or until center comes out clean. ***You can add other fillings but make sure all fillings total up to 2 cups only***