Curry Fish/ Ntses Khaub Poob

Thai curry is my favorite ingredient to use. It can't make a recipe taste bad, but I haven't been using it because my husband can't tolerate the heat. Well, it's been a long time since I had/made curry so I decided to make it and my husband will just have to live with it. I wasn't prepared to make curry so I used what I had....fish. Fish curry is a very popular dish in Thailand made with fish head. I didn't have fish head so I used fish filet...specifically catfish. It's the same process as making curry noodles, but with less ingredients so the fish can stand out more. Of course, I used red curry so the taste was mainly spicy, but it was delicious!

Fish Curry

3 filet fish, cut into chunks

1/2 cup bamboo strips from can

2 green bell peppers, julienne/strips

2 tomatoes, no flesh and chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

5-6 thin slices of fresh ginger

1 tsp fermented fish sauce *optional*

1 can coconut milk

1 tsp panang red curry (use half if preferred less spicy)

2 tsp karee yellow curry

3-4 kaffir lime leaves

2 stalk lemon grass

2 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp oil

Heat up oil in a large pot to medium heat, add minced garlic and both curry paste. Stir until both paste has browned a bit. Add bamboo strips and fermented fish sauce while stirring. Gently add in the fish and make sure fish is well coated with the curry pastes. Add sugar and lemon grass; mixing well. Next add coconumt milk. Add enough water to cover fish. Add in the rest of the ingredients: bell peppers, tomatoes, kaffir lime leaves, and sliced ginger. Bring to a boil. Taste and add salt to desire taste. Let simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Serve on top of rice.

I didn't have mines on top of rice, I like my fish curry plain
so that I can taste all the yummy curries and ingredients.

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)

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.