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.
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Qaub...Hmong papaya salad!! Spicy, sour, salty, and sweet...
a lethal combination. My absolute favorite!! |
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Quab with Khob Poob...Papaya salad with noodles...
can't eat papaya salad without the noodles!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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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).
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Hmong Suffed Pepper with fried egg...
so asian! |
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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Colorful tapioca pearls for Nab Vam...
Hmong sweet tapioca pearl soup/drink
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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.
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| Before mixing....I just love the colors!! |
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| After mixing it up....so vibrant! |
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| 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.
