Stir-fried Soy Tofu Sheet

I love anything tofu, so when I spotted this soy tofu sheet, of course I wanted to buy and try to cook it.  I had it before at a potluck party and it left me with a good impression.  I loved the texture of this tofu sheet and loved that it kept its shape really well even when you stir-fried it. It also took on the flavor of the seasonings well.  So, here is my version and I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

1 packet of sou tofu sheet, cut into long strips and separated it.

1 medium size yellow onion, sliced

2 jalapeño, sliced into strips

2-3 stalks of green onion, cut into 2 inches length

Thumb size ginger, thinly sliced

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

Black and toasted white sesame seeds, to suit

Lao Gan Ma chili paste, or homemade chili paste. chili oil, about 2 Tbsp. or to suit

Hoisin sauce, about 2 Tbsp.

Premium dark soy sauce, 1 Tbsp.

1/2 tsp. mushroom powder, optional

Sesame oil, about 1 tsp.

1 tsp. cane sugar

Soy sauce, to taste

Method:

1.  In a hot wok, add oil.  Add aromatic, ginger, white part of the green onion, then garlic, yellow onion and jalapeño, stir-fry until fragrant.  

2.  Add the sliced soy tofu sheet, mixed well.  Add the rest of the seasonings, season to taste.  Lastly, add the green part of the green onion, mixed well.  Turn off the fire and add the sesame seeds.  Mixed and serve.  It can be served hot or cold from the refrigerator.  Enjoy!

Homemade No Knead Baguette

Here is my no knead baguette.  If you want the recipe, just google no knead baguette and the recipe will show up.  I think this only used 4 ingredients and let it proof overnight, then shape, proof again and bake.  Very easy and delicious especially when you air-fry it in an air fryer 350"F for 3 minutes.  Then, spread with your desired spread and enjoy!

Thai Style Glass Noodle Cold Salad

In this warmer weather, I would love to make some cold dish for my girls.  I found that if I make hot noodle soup or Chinese herbal soup, I would sweat after I finish it and that is definitely not welcome when I already hot to begin with.  Hence, making a cold noodle dish or cold salad is ideal.

I just shredded some leftover chicken breast into strips, add some roasted peanut, thinly sliced cucumber, thinly sliced reconstituted wood ear fungus (parboiled it), thinly sliced carrot, some chopped cilantro, some chopped garlic and some toasted sesame seeds.  Place everything in a large bowl and season to taste with fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, sea salt, chili oil and sesame oil.  Mix well and enjoy it cold or as it.

Peach Macadamia Milk Jelly

Warm weather lets you crave for something cold.  Instead of grabbing an ice-cream from the freezer, cold jelly would be your other option.  Of course, you can use any milk or any fruit of your choice to create this jelly.  Get inspired from this and play with your own creation!

 

Ingredients:

1 little macadamia milk

10g agar-agar or jelly powder

3/4 cup cane sugar

28oz canned peach, drained and cut into cubes

Methods:

1. In a bowl, add in cane sugar and jelly powder, mixed well with a whisk, set aside.

2. Pour the milk into a large saucepan and turn up the heat.  When heated and before boiling, whisk in the sugar and jelly powder mixture, whisk well until the sugar dissolved.  Turn off the heat and set aside.  Then, add in the cut peach cubes.

3.  Pour into the mold of your choice or just a rectangle pan (like picture shown above) and let it cool on the countertop.  When cooler, put it in the refrigerator for around 2 hours.  Cut and serve as desire.  Enjoy!

Air-fried Ground Chicken with Portobello Mushrooms

 

I loved my air-fryers and yes I have two.  One for cooking the main dish and the other one for cooking the side dish so that my complete meal could be done around the same time.  I love to eat my food hot as you can tell.  Usually we steam this dish but I air-fry it instead.  It's quick and easy and it turned out delicious.  Please do enjoy this easy recipe using an air-fryer!  And of course you can substitute the meat with pork or beef or shrimp as well (pork mixed with shrimp sound excellent too), or any meat you desire or what you have in your refrigerator would do.  It would make such a great Chinese New Year dish or a dish to impress your friends at a potluck party!  Such a great finger food too!

Methods:

One chicken breast, ground and season with some oyster sauce, sesame oil, garlic powder and white pepper, set aside.

Around 12 or 13 organic Portobello mushrooms, take out the stems and wipe clean.

Scoop the seasoned ground chicken into the Portobello mushrooms and top each piece with a green pea for decoration.  You can use the frozen green pea or the frozen carrot for colors.

Then, place them in a layer into the air-fryer, spray with avocado oil and set the temperature to 400'F for 10 mins.

In the meantime, heat up a small saucepan with 1/2 cup of water, add 2 Tbsp. of oyster sauce and 1 Tbsp. of mirin and boil until dissolved.  Thicken the sauce with some cornstarch water (1 tsp. cornstarch plus 1 Tbsp. water).  Keep stirring until thicken, once thicken, set it aside.

Once the mushrooms are done, take it out and place on a plate and scoop the thicken sauce on top of each mushrooms.  Serve hot!

Homecooked meal

 

What can be more satisfying then a delicious homecooked meal made with love?  I love to provide my girls with a nutritional balance meal whenever I get the chance.  With the two air-fryers that I have, cooking a meal is so much easier and faster.  I air-fried the asparagus in one and air-fried the miso cod in another air-fryer and I time it so that both finish cooking at about the same time.  Here's how you get warm food and not one cold dish with your meal.  I also time the beancurd knots to hit start button on my air-fryers to cook.

Served it up with my turmeric, black pepper and coconut oil rice!  Yummy in the tummy every time!

Seasoned Crispy and Fragrant Beancurd Knots or Tofu Knots

Well, I love almost all variety of tofu products.  I love beancurd knots because it holds it shape well when braising. Before this, I mostly use it in braising my soy sauce chicken or pork.  It goes well with rice with some homemade chili oil.  And then I saw a video of a different way of cooking dried beancurd roll.  I didn't have dried beancurd roll but I did have this dried beancurd knots that I could use.  Hence, here this recipe is born.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my girls and I.  Happy cooking!

Xmas Fruit Cake

Ingredients:

2 bags of candied papaya and pineapple from Dollar Tree, cut into smaller pieces

Equal amount of raisins, peels of any lemon or orange if have

Soak the above with 1/3 cognac and 2/3 apple juice for a week.

1 stick of unsalted butter, soften

3/4 cup of dark brown sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

3 Tbsp. 100% maple syrup

1/2 tsp. salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove

3 eggs

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Methods:

1.  Preheat oven to 320'F.  Line the 8" square baking pan with parchment paper.

2.  Beat soften butter and brown sugar until fluffy.  Add in olive oil, beat well.  Add in syrup, beat well.  Add in the seasonings and one egg at a time, beat until combine.

3.  Use a spatula and stir in the dry ingredients.  Lastly add in the soaked fruits along with the juices.  Mix well.

4.  Pour into the prepared pan and cover the top with foil.  Bake in the oven for 2.5 hours.  Take it out and set aside to cool completely.  Wrap it with foil and let it age for a week before serving.  Can be freeze in the freezer to enjoy it later.  Just bring it back to room temperature to serve.  Enjoy!