Pork Stir Fry

Stir fry is a quick and easy way to use up a lot of vegetables and spend less time in the kitchen. That's why I do a lot of stir fry. This is a simple and tasty recipe that I came up with to cook something quick and easy on a busy day. I marinated the night before and cooked everything all in one pot. How can you go wrong with stir fry? You can't!

Chopped pork
2 red bell peppers, cut in strips
12 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion
2 pork chops, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 -1/2 cup soy sauce

Combine everything together in one big bowl. If you're not sure about the soy sauce, go with 1/4 cup first. If it comes out where it's not enough soy sauce to your taste, you can always add more on your plate. This is just for the marinating process. Mix everything well and let it sit over night or for 1 hour in the fridge.

Heat up a wok to high. Add in the beef mixture with the marinade. Turn the heat to medium high and stir. You will have to stir quite a bit if the heat is on medium high. If you'd like stir less, turn the heat to medium or medim low, but this will take longer to cook. Continuing stirring until pork is cooked all the way through. Lower the heat to medium low, if not already on medium low, and cook for an additional 30-40 minutes. Top with cilantro or just eat it as is with a bowl of rice.

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*

Chow Fun Stir Fry

Stir fry is the easiest dish to make. It's basically chopped up vegetables and meat with a sauce. Add noodles and it's a one pot wonder. I love stir fry noodles on a lazy day where I don't want to cook something big or spend too much time in the kitchen. Everyone who knows me knows that I love noodles. Today I made chow fun stir fry. It's basically stir fry with chow fun noodles. Chow fun noodles are basically rice noodles, but wider and a little bit thicker than regular rice noodles. Because of it's wideness and thickness, it's also a bit chewier than the regular rice noodles. However, chow fun is a noodle that everyone should at least try. It's sold in many asian markets. It comes dried or fresh.

Chow Fun Stir Fry
1 pkg fresh chow fun noodles (1 package contains 2 bags of fresh chow fun noodles)
1 cup chopped pork (amount is really up to you)
1 onion, sliced lengthwise
1 red bell pepper, de-seeded and cut in strips
2-3 stalks green onions, chopped
2 handfuls of mushrooms (amount is really up to you)
3 Tbsp dark sweet soy sauce
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce (if you really like hoisin sauce, add 3 Tbsp)
pinch of salt
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 - 1 cup water

**Can't find fresh chow fun? Use the dry ones but soak them ahead of time in hot water, drain, and then cook.**

 Heat up a wok or pan to medium heat and add the oil, garlic, and pork. Add a pinch of salt and cook. Cook the pork until it's fully cooked and add in the onions and mushrooms. Cook the onions and mushroom for about 3 minutes and then add in the rell bell peppers. Stir constantly if using a hot wok to prevent burning. Add the sweet soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Add in the chow fun noodles and 1/2 cup of water. Stir as much as you can to mix all the sauces with the noodles. If you like it more saucy then add the other 1/2 cup. Continue to stir until all the noodles are covered in the sauces. Add more salt to taste. Turn off the heat and add the green onions. Serve.

Cooking with a wok is really hard work. The wok heats up evenly and gets really hot quickly. The key is to constantly keep stirring to prevent burning. My arms were so sore after making this dish, but it was all worth it. I was short so I was on my tippy toes too.

This is a really simple dish. You don't even have to add meat. Substitute pork for chicken, beef, or just eggs. Add more vegetables if you like. Try with zucchini and eggplant. I added sriracha to my bowl and it was delish!

This is such a beautiful looking dish! This would be a great dish for Christmas because it has the Christmas color themes. Last year, instead of going with the traditional Christmas dishes, I went with dishes that has the Christmas colors; red and green. I think this dish will be on the Christmas menu this year.

Fawm Kauv/Steamed Rolls

Fawm kauv or steamed rolls is my husband's favorite. Probably because it's filled with just meat. I can only enjoy it with a side of a really good pepper sauce. I do love it because it's really easy and simple to make. It's a simple snack that everyone enjoys, but takes some patience to make. I've been making steamed rolls every since I was in my teens and we had always bought the premade package mix. However, this time, I made everything from scratch because I didn't have a bag of the premade package mix. The flours are really simple and I came across this recipe through a mistake. I was actually trying to make something else that uses the same kind of flours, but it didn't turn out right. Instead of wasting the flour batch, I decided to steam it since the mixture is similar to the steamed roll mixture. It turned out nice, but might have turned out better if I actually steamed it instead of using a frying pan. Making steamed rolls in a frying pan is the way I grew up doing it and it's definitely a lot easier. However, since I've been experimenting, I've actually steamed them and they turn out a lot better. I'm still working on this recipe because this was my first time making them from scratch (which was by mistake). Therefore, I don't actually have the accurate recipe for this. All I know is that it uses glutinous rice flour and rice flour plus water and a dash of salt. You can add a bit of oil, but I can't remember if I did.

I had some mistakes with this experiment. The flour mixture was a bit too thick and the texture was a little bit off. I added more water, but it still didn't turn out perfectly. Nevertheless, it was still delicious. My husband ate them all. He even packed them to work which he never wants to pack food to work. I obviously enjoyed them since I made a delicious spicy pepper sauce to dip them in. Here's the pepper sauce recipe.

I promise I will have a recipe soon from scratch. Feel free to go ahead and buy the premade steam rolls mixture. They work great too, but some packages have soil in them. This is why I'd like to make it from scracth. Besides, I was bored and I always like to know the ingredients that goes into such a simple, but delicious snack. Sorry....recipe coming soon!

Kab Yob/Eggrolls

Eggrolls...everyone has their own recipes. Some may even have a secret ingredient or two. Unfortunately, I don't have any secret ingredients...yet. When I was little, my mother would make eggrolls using her memory and taste. She never measured anything and there was never any recipes written. When she's done mixing up the filling, she'll taste it raw and spit out. I can't be a taster like her so I sniff the filling. So far, my smelling technique works for me. I grew up making eggrolls like my mother...with no recipes. Every ingredient needed was all in my head and how much ingredient needed was all in my smell. If I could smell the key ingredients then it was good. But I knew one day I'll have to have a written recipe and  a secret ingredient. I've been experimenting on eggrolls, though there isn't much ways to experiment on them. I've added different spices and sauces, but still couldn't find my secret ingredient. Also, I had to learn how to make smaller batches. One thing about making eggrolls is that I always made them in huge batches. Coming from a big family, my mom always made everything in huge batches so I learned the same thing. Everytime I made eggrolls for my husband and I, it would take me almost the whole day. Making the filling, rolling up the eggrolls, and deep frying the eggrolls took a lot of time for one person. My husband would help out, but he's not that great at it. Finally, after so many hard work, I went with my original recipe that I always make...and this time I wrote down measurements and made a smaller batch. I know many other people may have a similar recipes, but that's because we're asians. Most of our recipes will be similar. A lot of people like their eggrolls plain with salt and black pepper, but I like mines with alittle more flavor. I love my eggrolls dipped in a spicy pepper sauce and my husband loves his with a peanut sauce. But it's safe to say, everyone loves eggrolls.

Eat them while nice and hot...
But be careful!!

My package of noodles came in little bags like this.
If you can't find this brand just use half of any noodle package.
More noodles won't hurt.

4 (1.3 oz) bags bean thread noodles
1 (1 oz) bag wood fungus strips
3 cups shredded carrots
1/2 head of cabbage, shredded
1/2 bag of frozen peas
1 lbs ground pork
4 eggs
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp Maggi seasoning sauce or soy sauce
1/2 cup dark sweet soy sauce
2 tsp grated ginger
1 onion, diced
1 pack (25) spring roll wraps, frozen
1 egg yolk

Luckily, my grocery store sells the perfect amount of dried
fungus for my filling.

***Mushrooms are optionals. If you can't find fungus strips, just use any dried mushrooms. After hydrating them, just cut them into thin strips. Add alittle or a lot. If you're not sure, add a cup of fungus for the first try. Also, if it's too much time to shred carrots and cabbage, just use half a bag of cole slaw mix. I personally like more carrots than cabbage and the freshness of the vegetables.

Prepare ahead of time:

Soak noodles and fungus in hot water for about 30 minutes. Diced onions. Shred carrots and cabbage. (Can add more cabbage if desired) Grate ginger using microplane and set aside. Defrost wraps on counter.

Drain noodles and chop them into smaller strands. Drain fungus and throw away any hard pieces.

Filling:

Add all ingredients together except the one egg yolk. Mix with hands first to evenly break apart the ground pork. You can sniff it at this point and see if it needs more of something, if you know what you're doing. This is the part where my mother would taste it.

Rolling:
I use a fork to measure out the right amount of filling. I'm also very good at using my eyes to figure out the right amount, but the key is to have about the same amount of filling in each eggroll.

By now the wraps should be perfectly defrosted and easy to peel. Face one corner of the wrap towards you...kind of like a squared out diamond. Add the filling alittle bit below the mid point of the wrap. Shape it like a log, not too long and not too fat. Take the corner that's towards you (that would be the bottom corner according to the picture) and gently roll it over the filling. Very carefully, but tightly, roll the eggrolls upward until aligned with the side corners. Tuck in the corners (the more you tuck in, the shorter the eggroll) and continue rolling tightly until you're near the the top corner. Remember to be gentle while rolling as tight as you can. It's okay if the eggroll isn't tight, but it won't look pretty. Dab alittle bit of the egg yolk to the top corner and roll all the way until sealing the eggroll. Lay finished eggroll on its sealed side and continue making eggrolls until all fillings or wraps are done. I was able to make about 30 eggrolls which required 2 packs of wraps.

Deep Fry:
Heat up lots of oil in a deep fryer on medium heat. Fry about 4-5 eggrolls at a time so they can evenly cook and so that the oil temperature won't drop. Fry them until they're golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Set them on paper towels to drain excess oil and eat.

One Dinner Night

A nicely seared juicy medium well flank steak with a side of creamy buttery mashed potatoes...delicious!! Unfortunately, there are no recipes. I was going through my photo albums and found these pictures.  All I can remember is that they were so delicious that I still crave for them. I cooked these on special nights when I feel like my husband deserves an extra special meal...but I think it's time for me to cook whenever I crave for a nice juicey streak. I was never a steak eater until I was pregnant with my son. The first and second trimester...I was all about fuji apples. Then in my third trimester, I was all about steaks.  

I used a skirt flank steak...seasoned it and seared it
Obviously...I didn't let it sit long enough...too eager to slice it up

What's better paired with steaks than mashed potatoes...
I also added steamed vegetables but no pictures

When I was pregnant with my son, I had this strong craving for purple sticky rice. Sadly, I couldn't find it anywhere not even the ingredients to make it. Luckily, my mom sent me the ingredients and my cravings were fulfilled. Purple sticky rice is just like sweet sticky rice, but with a blend of black sweet rice. (I know, it's says black but the color is purple) You may have seen the black sweet rice made in a chinese soup dish with red beans. It's acutally a favorite dish of mines...perfect on cold school nights and late studying. Basically, the white sticky rice is dyed with the liquid from the purple sticky rice. The taste is a bit different than just plain white sticky rice.

I love eating the purple sticky rice by itself, with larb, fried eggs, or (my husband's favorite) sardines.

I mixed some purple sticky rice with the white sticky rice
both cooked perfectly...fresh out of the steamer

I love the smell of fresh cooked rice!!

Lau Lau, an Hawaiian dish consisting of pork wrapped in Taro leaves then wrapped in Ti leaves. This specific lau lau is made up of pork belly and purple potatoes. You can find a variety of lau laus. Some made with chicken, beef, salted butterfish, and no potatoes. For some, the smell of the Ti leaves is a bit too strong but don't worry...you won't be eating the Ti leaf. I've had authentic lau laus and I actually can't even taste the salted butterfish. I guess it's there to bring a bit of a flavor to the pork since they don't flavor the pork. Getting authentic lau laus is sometimes a challenge...traffic is way too crazy sometimes so I buy mines already made at the supermarket. All I have to do is steam them. I love the purple potatoes....kind of like sweet potatoes but purple. It's now one of my favorite dish and I plan to make my own versions of a lau lau soon.

 

The big tough leaves around the lau lau is the Ti leaf that it was wrapped in

Here you can see the purple potato snuggled in pork belly meat
all covered in taro leaves.

Mother-in-law's Spaghetti

Spaghetti with no tomato sauce. Weird huh? But believe it. I've never heard of such thing until I married my husband and had a taste for myself. When my husband and I were dating, he was always talking about his mom's spaghetti. But he mentioned no tomato sauce. After marriage, my mother-in-law made this dish and I fell in love. Salad dressing....specifically french salad dressing. As strange as it sounds, it was actually very good. Over the years, I've attempted to make the dish, but it never turned out exactly like her's. I don't know where I went wrong. I've tried making this dish so many times for my husband, but he still loves his mom's dish more. I do too. I think her secret was the love that she puts into making this dish. Fortunately, I think I've got it right this time. For the first time in all of my attempts, this one came to be the closest in taste.



1 lbs spaghetti

½ lbs ground pork

Handful of chopped cilantro

Bottle of Sweet and Spicy French dressing

Salt

Olive oil

Boil a pot of water. Add lots of salt to have it taste like salt water. Drizzle some olive oil in the boiling water and add the spaghetti. Cook as directed on the box for al dente. Drain and set aside.

Mean while, heat up a skillet and cook the pork. Add a pinch of salt and cook until the pork juice have completely evaporated. Drain any excess pork juice.

Combine the pork, spaghetti, and chopped cilantro. Toss and mix all very well and let cool for about 10-15 mins. When cooled, add in the ½ bottle of salad dressing first. Toss very well until all is mixed and coated. Add about another ½ of the half dressing and toss. Ready to serve.

**I love cilantro so I added more**

Cantaloupe Glazed Pork Chops

Ok so I was craving for some honey dew melons, but I bought cantaloupes instead. I always get those two mixed up. All I remember is that one is green and one is orange hahaha. Anywho...I ended up buying 2 cantaloupes and had to find ways to use them up. I'm not a big fan of them. Well, my dear husband tried hard to eat most of them, but there were still some left. I decided to make a cantaloupe glaze for my pork chops. Have no idea how it would turn out...I never even heard of such thing. Took one deep breath and started making a glaze. Glazed my pork chops and ending results.....well it was great!! It was more than great....I loved it!!! The pork chops were sweet, but not so sweet...sweet enough to taste the cantaloupes. I'm so glad I wrote down the recipe....definitely going to try this recipe again!! It will be one of my family's recipe.

I paired this meal up with a box of potato au gratin and sauteed mushrooms and onions. I had to cheat on the potato au gratin...my neighbors were moving so they gave it to me along with other boxed foods and so I thought I'd use it. To be honest....it was weird using box meals. I haven't used them for a year and I can honestly say, homecooked meals are better. But hey...it saved me some work.

Glaze:
1/2 cup already pureed cantaloupes
3 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 Tbsp ketchup

Combine all ingredients into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to let it reduce and thicken. This will take awhile (15-20 mins), but keep watch and stir sauce so it don't burn. Once reduced, set aside and let cool.

(To puree cantaloupes, all you do is blend diced cantaloupes until it's like the texture of apple sauce. My blender was a strong blender so I didn't have to use water to help puree it, but if you need to add water then add alittle. Of course adding water means simmering the sauce a bit longer.)

4 t-bone pork chops
2 Tbsp oil
Salt and pepper

Heat a pan on medium heat and add in the oil. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops. Once the oil is hot, carefully lay the pork chops in the pan. You want the pan to sizzle when adding the pork chops so that it can give a nice sear on the outsides, sealing in the juice on the inside. Leave it alone for a few minutes allowing it to brown nicely. Once the pork chops are browned, flipped them over and do the same. Once both sides are nicely browned, take them out and set them on paper towels and pat dry.

Preheat the oven for 450 degrees. Glaze the pork chops on both sides and bake in the oven for 7 minutes. Glaze them again and continue baking for 4 minutes.

(I was able to prepare the boxed potato au gratin, have it baked in the oven and bake the pork chops at the last 10 minutes. Both turned out great and it was good planning. While they were baking, I was able to slice up an onion and mushrooms and sautee them in butter. Everything was nicely done and ready to serve at the same time. Great planning huh!)

**You can see the cantaloupe glaze**

Sweet Braised Pork/ Nqaij Qab Zib

I love this recipe. This was one of my childhood favorites, but my mom only made it every once in awhile. When I met my husband, I found out that this was one of his favorites, too, but his mom doesn't make it too often. I made it my goal to make this recipe with my own secret ingredient so that I can pass it down to my kids. My mom's version is very easy and simple, therefore, the taste is also easy and simple; nothing exciting. Sadly, I will not share the secret ingredient with you all.

Marinate:

2 lbs pork belly, cubed

1 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp ginger, grated
¼ cup sugar
½ cup dark sweet soy sauce
*secret ingredient

Mix all together and marinate for 2 hrs…1 hr the least.

1-2 cup sugar
½ cup dark sweet soy sauce
2 star anise
½ stalk lemon grass
1 tsp salt
4 hard boiled eggs, optional

Cook sugar in pot until caramelized. Add marinated pork including marinade to the carmalized sugar. Be careful. Let cook until carmalized sugar is completely dissolved. Add enough water to cover the top of the pork. Bring to boil and simmer for 2-3 hours; adding water a little at a time just to cover the pork. Half way through simmering, add lemon grass, star anise, and salt. Take the shells off the eggs and drop them in slowly into the pot. Continue simmering until liquid has reduced below the pork meats. Liquid can be reduced in half for a thicker syrupy sauce. Serve on rice.

Honey Bamboo Stir Fry Pork

I love bamboo, especially when they're fresh. My mom have tons of fresh bamboos preserved in a jar, but after moving away, it was hard for me to get fresh bamboos. When I lived in NC, I would have to drive about 6-7 hrs. away just to get a few jars of these delicious fresh bamboos. They wouldn't even last me a month.

I use these bamboos in my red curry noodles, in my black noodles stir fry, and in whatever I crave. Being in Hawaii now, it's hard to find them fresh so I buy the canned bamboos. I don't like them much. They have this salty taste and texture is different. However, I found a way to change it's taste. The texture, obviously, can not be changed.

Ingredients:
1 can sliced bamboos
2 thin sliced pork chops
2 cup chopped daikons
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced *optional*
salt
1 Tbsp oil

Slice pork chops into bite size pieces. Pan fry them on medium heat with garlic and ginger. Add salt. Add diakons and soy sauce. Stir until sides of pork and daikons are slightly browned. Add in oyster sauce and stir. Taste and adjust with salt if needed. Dish it on a plate and set aside.

Using the same pan, add oil and turn heat onto medium. Drain out the bamboo liquid and add it to the pan. Stir for a few minutes until sides are slightly browned. Add in the honey and a pinch of salt. Stir until the honey is fully coating the bamboos. Add hoisin sauce and stir until sides are more browned. Add the pork mixture back in and stir for a few minutes. Serve and enjoy!