Spam Musubi

There isn't much to say about these tasty little snacks. Just like Hawaiians, Filipinos love Spam. Never mind about the ridiculous amount of salt and the general idea that it probably isn't all that great for your health. These handy little snacks are hands down, delicious. It's a given that we will probably be eating tons of leafy greens from the garden the next few days, but that's a story for another day.

I have a catering party tomorrow and on the menu are mini Spam Musubi bites. I've been looking for a mold to make the process go a little faster and on the same hand end up with an aesthetically pleasing product. I remember my wife buying these two spring action molds for a Filipino dessert called Porvoron. The mold
ended up working nicely on our test run so tomorrow should go off without a hitch. By saying that, of course, Murphy's Law will come a knockin' and throw a mighty wrench on tomorrow... I better lock the molds up.... to be continued....

Anyway, these little guys are perfect for pass hors d'oeuvres or even just a quick fix dinner. Instead of making them bite size, just go ahead and use half a sheet of nori and pack on the rice with a huge chunk of spam and be on with it. Of course, schedule an hour appointment on the treadmill for the next day. Your heart will thank you for it. :)

Spam Musubi

Spam Musubi

Spam Musubi

1 can of Spam sliced to 6 equal pieces horizontally

2-3 cups of steamed white rice

2 tbsp of sugar

4 sheets of nori (cut 6 strips per sheet, horizontally)

3 tbsp of Furikake optional (Japanese Rice Seasoning) (I will have a recipe for that soon or you can just buy them pre-made. even wal-mart has them)

Procedure

-dust each side of the Spam with a little sugar and fry each one until the sugar becomes a glaze. set aside

-slice each piece of the Spam in to 4 equal pieces

-use whatever mold you may have at home or shape about 2 tbsp of rice 

-dust with the Furikake

-use the nori sheet to tie the rice and the Spam together like a little belt

optional sauce: Tonkatsu sauce

-1/2 cup ketchup

-2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

-1 tbsp brown sugar

mix well until sugar is dissolved

easy peasy. Enjoy!

Flounder Cakes with Herb Yogurt Sauce

When you're trying to eat healthy, one of the things that come to mind is that maybe you should probably eat more fish than meat. It makes sense but we also have to consider the source. Many of the fish that end up on our plates at home and in restaurants are farm-raised. Salmon, tilapia, sea bass, catfish and cod are the most commonly farm-raised fish. Unlike their wild counterparts, the farm-raised ones are raised in very crowded environments which breed diseases. In turn, the water is pumped with antibiotics and fungicides which ends up inside us. Farm-raised fish are fed with cheap feed which consists of carcinogenic chemicals. Studies have also shown that the ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 is not as high as compared to wild caught fish.

Pretty sobering considering we used to eat tons of tilapia because they would go on sale for $1.89 per pound. So now we look to wild caught fish. There are also arguments saying wild caught fish isn't exactly super healthy either because of our polluted waters, but for the sake of argument, we'll go with the lesser evil. So at Costco we find a 3 pound back of Flounder filet for about $13. Same bag of tilapia for around $15. It was worth the try. I'll definitely look further in to the sustainability of flounder if it's even an issue but as for the taste, it's a mild flaky white fish that takes in flavor well. Perfect for fish cakes. Eating healthier and responsibly is an ongoing learning process for us. Feel free to chime in about it.

Flounder Cakes with Herb Yogurt Sauce

Flounder Cakes with Herb Yogurt Sauce

1 lb frozen flounder filet
1 whole yellow onion caramelized
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 tbsp of thin sliced green onions
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
pinch of black pepper
1 cup of Panko bread crumbs

Herb Yogurt Sauce

10 ounces plain Greek yogurt (2 small packs)
1 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 whole red chili pepper (seeded and membrane removed)
1 large shallot fine diced
2 tsp honey
pinch of salt

procedure
-steam the fish for 5 minutes, let cool then flake by hand. make sure to leave bigger chunks for texture
-mix the rest of the ingredients for the fish and carefully fold in the mayo so as to not mash the fish
-form in to desired size and lightly roll in the bread crumbs and fry on medium high fire until golden brown

Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

The 4 year old isn't a big fan of meat. I have a feeling she just doesn't like to chew the meat, so ever since she was able to eat solids, it's been ground meat made in to her favorites. She does get tired of the same old dish so I have to change it up. Siu Mai to Spring rolls to 5 spice pork and now....the meat ball. She calls all the food she likes her favorite. If it's red and sweet....it's her favorite. It's so hard to get this littler person to eat sometimes and I'm sure many of you can relate. Hopefully this one becomes a new favorite by the Boss Lady....

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
2 eggs
1 cup small diced red onions
4 clove garlic minced
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
4 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for an hour
brown the meatballs in a pan then finish them off in the oven for 15 minutes at 375.
you can also just cook them off in the oven for 30 mins at 375.

Sweet and Sour sauce

1 tbsp sliced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp diced red onion
2 tbsp diced red bell pepper
5 tbsp ketchup
1/8 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
(slurry: 1 tsp of cornstarch in 1/4 cup of water)
pinch of salt

in medium heat, sweat the garlic and ginger and when fragrant, add the onion and bell pepper

saute for a minute then add the ketchup and stir for another minute
add the water and vinegar and bring to a boil then add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
whisk in the slurry, stir for another minute on low heat.

Crispy Mini Spring Rolls with Mussels

When we were back in Philippines, my wife and I would go to the wet market and buy mussels for a little over a quarter per pound. When I quit smoking at the time, my body went in revolt and when I went to a Chinese doctor, I was given the longest list of foods I shouldn't be eating. Luckily mussels was not on the list and they were one of my favorites growing up. Even now, I can eat them everyday. Mussels are great that it's low in cholesterol but rich with beneficial fatty acids that help with brain function and also serves as an inflammatory. Mussels are also a great source of vitamins and minerals that assist our immune system. Lastly, mussels are a sustainable seafood. Do yourself a favor and at the same time returning the favor back by taking care of nature. It's a win-win.

Since we can only have so much steamed muscles in white wine, experiment in substituting it in other dishes. Like in a spring roll? Spring rolls are definitely a labor of love, so if making mini ones aren't your cup of tea then try it regular sized and see how you like it. The mini ones would be a great starter for a small dinner or hors d'oeuvre for a small cocktail party.

Crispy Mini Spring Rolls with Mussels

Crispy Mini Spring Rolls with Mussels

2 cups cooked mussels rough chopped. (make sure to remove the beard)
1/2 cup water chestnuts rough chopped
1/2 medium onion fine diced
5 cloves of garlic minced
2 tbsp chopped Chinese celery (may substitute Cilantro or even Flat Leaf Parsley)
1 egg
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp oyster sauce.
pepper to taste

Mix everything together and leave in the fridge, covered for at least 30 minutes

Wrapping

cut a crosswise in to 4 equal sizes

 put a little less than a teaspoon of filling

 first fold from the bottom up

 fold both sides over to make an envelope

 roll all the way up and seal the end with egg wash

Notes:

make sure to drain the mixture well or the spring rolls will explode when you fry them

you may also make these well in advance and put them in the freezer. make sure you flour the tray and the spring roll when you store it because they will stick together.

fry them at 350 until golden brown. the filling is already cooked so they can fry at a slightly higher temperature.

as usual, ENJOY! and see us again soon!

Chicken and Scallion Pot Stickers

Food Porn.

Everybody posts it for one reason or another.

25 years ago, Tim Berners-Lee was probably not thinking about millions of plates of food floating around in the old WWW. That and an equal amount of selfies...many of them coming from Philippines.... In any case, it got me thinking. I hope the art of dining isn't some dinosaur act just waiting to be extinct. Imagine an executive chef of a restaurant staring at a quiet dining room filled with a group of people all hovering over their plates taking photos over and over then sitting back down and posting it then having mini conversations with the people commenting on those photos... all along the beautiful plate gets colder and colder. Now imagine that happening in your own dining room. Dinner going end to end without saying much with your faces buried in your phone. I don't have to. I notice it happening in my own dining room.

I have to fix that. Dining is enjoying both the food and the company. Tell stories and do it loudly. Don't just giggle. Cackle. Dining isn't trivial nor is it just a physical obligation. In my experience, Dining is Family. My fondest memories growing up was my Dad cooking up a storm on Saturday mornings and sitting from late lunch Saturday to early dinner Sunday and then it was all week looking forward to the weekend all over again. Man, I miss that.

This recipe isn't so much as the dish but a lesson for my wife and I to remember. Once all the photos have been put up to mingle with the millions of others, it's only the 2 of us, 3 am, sharing a plate of pot stickers. Dining.

Chicken and Scallion Pot Stickers

Chicken and Scallion Pot Stickers

1 lb ground chicken (mincing chicken thighs in a food processor would be the best way to go)
1/2 bunch of green onions sliced thinly (green and white part)
3 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp grated garlic
salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp green onions thick slices and 1 tsp of sesame seeds for garnish

mix then cover with and keep in the fridge for at least 1 hour

Soy-Vinegar sauce ingredients

Soy-Vinegar Sauce (to be made ahead of time and kept at room temp)

2 tbsp Kimlan Soy Sauce
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sugar
dash of white pepper

stir until sugar is dissolved. set aside

Chili Garlic oil ingredients

Chili Garlic Oil

8 cloves garlic minced
3 tbsp dried chili flakes (or 8 pieces fresh red bird's eye chili minced)
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
pinch of salt and pepper

in low heat, saute the garlic until brown then add the chili flakes. (if using fresh chili, saute garlic and chili together) once the oil starts to change to a reddish color, add the soy sauce, sugar and salt. constantly stir as to keep the garlic from burning. once a deep reddish color is achieved turn of the fire and set aside. 

Procedure

it needs to be Won Ton Wrapper

Grab one wrapper and put about a 1/2 tbsp of mixture right in the middle then wet the top two sides with water

then fold it down the middle to form a triangle

wet both sides of the bottom points

then fold the sides to meet in the middle (as if the dumping is hugging itself)

boil  3/4 cup of water and add the dumplings in

on high heat, let all the water evaporate. once the water has almost boiled off, add about 4 tbsp of oil to the pan and turn the heat down to medium.

be patient. do not poke and prod at them. let them brown. they will lift off the pan once they are golden brown. that is the time that you flip them over and brown off the other side. 

having a little bit of burned corners are perfectly acceptable. that is where the flavor is at.

very important: once they are done, pile then all in to a bowl then pour the soy-vinegar sauce over the top then sprinkle with the scallions and sesame seeds.

then... share the plate with the one you love.

Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai

A craving is a powerful thing, I tell ya. Dim Sum. It has been a while and it has taken it's toll. Back in L.A., if you wanted Dim Sum, it was 20 minutes away. Wherever you were.... there was a joint 20 minutes away and it was GOOD. Downtown L.A. or Alhambra/Monterey Park or Hacienda/Rowland Heights or Anaheim... well you get the point. Here? I haven't had any. I have been told about this "one place" in Orlando and it was "pretty good"... Look, there's just no way I was going to drive a ridiculous hour for this "one place" which was "pretty good". You're gonna have to do better than that. I want "this place is so *expletive* good that after driving an hour, you'll gladly have the grouchy waiter spill a whole pitcher of water all over your khakis because the Siu Mai is just THAT...DAMN...GOOD.

Maybe some other time...If i'm in the area we'll give it a try and with soaking khakis, tell you all about how great it was..... But not today. I'm going to knock this one out and then I'm going to teach my little girl how to ride her bike...without training wheels. Let's Rock.

A few notes before hand. For the sake of getting as close to authentic as possible, try not to use ground pork. Grab a pack of pork stewing meat, which is usually pork shoulder and mince it yourself. Don't worry if you have bigger pieces than others. That's the whole point of it. You'll end up with a better texture and a juicier dumpling because ground pork will tend to dry up on you. Another is MSG. Oh the evil MSG. If it makes you sick? Omit. If not.. well put it this way, if you ended up going to the Dim Sum place, you would have consumed much much more than your conscience would allow you if it was you putting it in your dish... either way it's up to you. Last thing, do not use wonton wrappers. Make sure it says Shu mai or Siu Mai and it has Hong Kong style and or thin wrappers. They are yellow and most of the time square. Trust me there is a huge difference and you will be much happier with the end product.

Siu Mai

1 lb pork, minced
1/4 lb shrimp peeled, deveined  and rough chopped
2 tbsp rough chopped reconstituted dried shiitake mushrooms
2 tbsp rough chopped water chestnuts
1 egg white
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Xiao Xing cooking wine
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp MSG
(carrot for topping) optional

Mix everything thoroughly then cover and keep in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Stuff the wrappers and should come out between 16-20 dumplings. Steam on high for 10 minutes.

Give the recipe a shot. Leave us a comment and let us know how you like the recipe! Thanks and see us again!

Lumpiang Sariwa (Fresh Vegetable Springroll)

Woke up today craving for some deep fried vegetable egg rolls. Filipino style of course and I was motivated enough to make it.  This is a dish we usually make in a big batch and store in the freezer. I had the ingredients on hand so I started the process and halfway through peeling the carrots I just remembered I don't have the wrappers. Fantastic.

After a little pantry diving I found these tucked away in the back.

Add caption

Looks like lunch will be a little healthier today. It won't be your traditional Filipino fresh lumpias, but I think this version is lighter and just as good.

Note that the ingredients and measurements in this recipe is very flexible. Substitute and omit as much as you like and tailor it to your taste, but we had this for lunch and I can tell you, we loved it...except for the little one. I'm still working on that one to eat more vegetables.... but that's another post.

This tool right that I picked up at the Asian market is worth it's weight in gold when it comes to prep for this dish and the uniform cuts will make for even cooking of the vegetables.

 Lumpiang Sariwa filling:

3 cups shredded Japanese sweet potato
3 cups shredded carrots
2 cups shredded jicama
2 cups sliced green beans
2 cups bean sprouts
1 medium onion think sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 cup rough chopped Chinese celery leaves (or cilantro)
1/2 cup sliced green onions
salt and pepper to taste
vegetable oil

<sup>Make a habit of organizing your ingredients before you fire up the stove so as to avoid forgetting things then  running around the kitchen yelling to your wife (or husband) where the fish sauce is. In the professional kitchen we call this your Mise en place. (French for putting in place)

Turn the heat up high and when  the oil is hot (but not smoking) sweat the onions then garlic until fragrant. (do not brown)
Follow it up with the green beans for about a minute
Toss in the carrots and the sweet potato and stir for about 2 minutes
Add the jicama and about 30 seconds later add in the oyster sauce, fish sauce, salt and pepper.
Stir for about a minute then add the bean sprouts and rough chopped herbs. 
shut the fire off and stir.

At this point the vegetables will still have a delicate crunch to them but not raw. Transfer the mixture in to a tray to cool it quickly.</sup>

^{Once the filling has cooled to touch, make sure to drain it.}

^{Warm water is best when reconstituting the rice paper.}

 It is not necessary to wait for the wrapper to be completely soft in the water. It's much easier to work with when it is still a bit stiff.

^{Pat dry to remove excess water}

^{and to finish}

 

Here is a great recipe for Nuoc Cham, a Vietnamese dipping sauce from the folks at Sunday Night Dinner

Nuoc Cham 

And here is our lunch. 

It doesn't hurt to have a vegetarian meal once in a while. We, like the rest of you are at least trying to eat a little cleaner. Plus making this meal had plenty of filler for the compost bin. :) Let us know what you think of this recipe and visit us again soon!