Beef stew

I usually don't eat beef stew when it's warm outside. But after the crazy storm the other day, I just felt like having some :) It's getting a little cool recently. Originally, I wanted to make beef bourguignon, but it would take too long so I ended up making my easy beef stew. The secret ingredient is the seasoning cubes I bought from Hong Phat Market. Next time, I'll try making it from scratch. Of course, I used my Dutch oven that made the meat super tender without putting in too much effort.

To speed up the process: I cooked the meat (about 2-3lbs) the day before. The next day, I sauteed 1 yellow onion and some garlic. Then, I placed the beef it in the Dutch oven with potatoes (4), carrots (1lbs), and celery (3 stalks). Also, I recommend adding beef broth, 1 tsp brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp of kosher salt and black pepper. I left it in the oven at 350 for 2 hours. This is the picture I took right before it went into the oven.

To garnish add green onion and cilantro

Served with white rice :)

Pasta salad

A few weeks ago, I made this pasta salad for a BBQ. Of course, it had to be simple and cheap to make :) I believe it cost me less than $10 for the whole thing that could feed 10 people or more

The marinade: 1/2 tbs olive oil, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbs balsamic vinegar, 1 tbs brown sugar, 1/2 tsp soy sauce, a few pinches of salt and pepper, 1/2 tbs sesame seed.

The extra ingredients are cilantro, green onion, red seedless grapes, and cherry tomatoes.

I boiled about 1 box of bow tie pasta

Finally, mix everything together

We had leftovers the next day with some BBQ pork kabobs. Yeah, you know how we feel about kabobs :) It tastes so much better BBQ'd.

Ruoc {Vietnamese dried pork}

So, it's been a while since I made some true Vietnamese dishes. I absolutely love ruoc'. I used to eat it like everyday for breakfast with Banh Mi when I was in junior high. Banh Mi is a French baguette style bread that usually has different types of meat and sausage filling. They're really tasty. If you're in Vietnam it's so easy to find street vendors that sell Banh Mi. There are a few places that you can get this in the Salt Lake City area like Hong Phat Market or Pho Saigon in West Valley. But you don't find Banh Mi Ruoc here just because it is a little too simple.



This is the first time I ever tried to make ruoc. I used to make them with my mom and it was not simple and usually took forever. It's actually quite easy although my way still takes a while.

First, I use my slow cooker to cook the meat (1-2 lbs of boneless ribs) for about 3 hours. The seasoning is paprika and salt & pepper. I love how I can just toss them into the slow cooker and forget about it until 3 hours later.

Then, I use the potato smasher to smash the meat that has been cooked and tenderized. Also, I use a fork to separate the meat. It's like making pulled pork.

The last step is to dry the meat by cooking it on the stove for about 45 minutes.

It is finally done. I prefer the golden brown color while some might like it more brown :)

Sesame chicken

Although chicken is not my favorite type of meat, I still like to eat it sometimes for a change. This is just a typical sesame chicken dish that I made up just like many other dishes. It's not something fancy that you could get a restaurant because it's just so simple. I'm not trying to be Rachel Ray or Martha Stewart here :) I just really enjoy cooking, eating, and creating new flavor. I know my food felt bland at times. There's always a good, an ok, and a not so good dish during my cooking trial. It's totally ok; all that matters is my guinea pig and I enjoy it and we don't get sick to our stomaches after eating them.

I always make marinade for the meat. This sesame flavored sauce contains of 1/2 teaspoon of red chili pepper, 1 table spoon of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.

I realized every picture of my marinating sauce look the same, haha. This is about 2 or 3 lbs of chicken breasts that were cut into small cubes.

The least amount of time that i usually marinate my meat is 30 minutes, I have kept them marinating in the fridge for 1- 3 days before. I don't feel there's a difference, but you might though.

Cook on the stove for about 30 mins or until the meat is no longer pink

Add some green onions and sesame seeds and cook for 5 mins

And our humble supper was served with white rice, napa cabbage, and some beans from a can :)

Sorry we don't do a lot of fun activities recently. Both Brett and I are working full-time, trying to maintain 2 properties, and working on some projects at our new home; we just don't find any free time for anything. Hopefully, once we're done moving in, we'll have more stuff to share. However, we are going to California for a short anniversary vacation and Hawaii for Thanksgiving. At least there are some things we can look forward to while staying busy making some money, hehe :)

Shrimp dumplings

We really love going out for some dimsum on the weekend. There are many types of dumplings that we usually pick out from the carts at the restaurant. I have tried to make some steam buns before. This is my first time trying to make shrimp dumplings. I wanted to keep everything simple so I didn't use too many ingredients.

Leeks: chops about 2-3 cups

Shrimp: 1 lb and cut in small pieces

Mix leeks and shrimp with sesame oil, 1 pinch of salt and pepper, some soy sauce (optional because it could get really salty).I actually put a little too much salt and pepper there :(  but Brett thought it was awesome.

Make sure to mix them well

I'm not really sure what's the best way to fold them yet. But I found the easiest way is to fold the opposite corners together

Final look of the dumplings before I put them in the steamer

It completely cooks after 10 mins or so. Make sure to serve them hot :)

After 10 mins in the steamer, they looked like this

Ready to serve and eat :)

If you are in Salt Lake City, UT, I recommend Cafe Anh Hong. We always go here for dimsum and for good authentic Chinese food. They don't speak English very well there, but it's ok because their food is amazing. I think they make the best shrimp and leeks dumplings in the whole valley :) Go there when you're in town!

1465 South State Street 
Salt Lake City, UT 84115-6126 - 
(801) 486-1912

Fried rice

This is my fried rice with egg, ham, and Chinese sausage. Like many types of food, there are many ways one could cook fried rice. We love fried rice with lots of meat since we're 100% meat lovers, hehe :)

The main ingredients to make my fried rices are ham or spam, Chinese/Vietnamese sausage (love the sweet taste of it), and scrambled eggs.

I usually buy one pound of ham either from the deli section or the meat section, then cut them in small cubes.

I prefer to pan fry the ham with some Chinese sausage first; this step takes a little longer and is about 15 mins or so. I later add chopped green onions when the meat is brown since onions tend to cook really quick and get burned.

While the meat is cooking, I would go ahead and steam some carrots and pre-prepared scrambled eggs (I used 2) separately. It saves me some time and I didn't have to stir the meat every second. Then, add them to the meat pan when done.

Finally, I added jasmine rice, a few pinches of salt and pepper, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil. Make sure to mix them well together. Pretty easy, huh?

Winner winner chicken dinner with fried rice and some leafy green vegatables

Fried Chicken

I cook fried chicken whenever I'm too lazy too cook anything else, or if I want to blog while cooking, haha. My quick and dirty trick is to boil the chicken in water and 1/4 teaspoon of salt for about 30 mins, then pan fry them in my 'secret' sauce for 10 - 15 mins or until they turn golden brown. The secret ingredient for the sauce is ... nothing special, haha! Like my Kungfu Panda's quote?

The sauce is simply made of 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. You could replace the balsamic vinegar with soysauce if you'd like. It will give you a slightly different flavor but still good though :) The best thing about this way of cooking is that you could experiment with herbs and other seasoning to create your ultimate favorite sauce!

You could use the thermometer to check internal tempurature of the meat to determine whether or not it's fully cooked. I usually just take the biggest piece of chicken in the pan and cut into half and see if they're no longer pink.

One other thing, fried chicken is best when they have skin! Happy eating more chicken :)

After taking the chicken out, I love to put rice into the pan and make some delish dirty rice without putting in too much effort

 

Here come dinner, tada

 

Beef stir fry with mushrooms and leeks

The best way to do any kind of meat stir fry with vegetables is to do them separately first, then combine together later. That way the veggies are not overcooked, because meats often take much longer to cook. I made this dish a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I don't blog as fast or often as I cook :) It's always a good thing, right? Wouldn't it be so sad if I'd spend time blogging and left my guinea pig hungry?

Step 1: Rinse mushrooms and leeks really well; chop the mushrooms in halves and cut the leeks into 1 in long pieces

Step 2: Cut meat in thin slices then season with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, half a teaspoon of worcester sauce, a few pinches of salt and pepper, red pepper, and mince garlic

Step 3:  While letting the meat marinate, I would try to save time by stir frying mushrooms and leeks in 2 teaspoons of soysauce, one to 2 pinch of salt and pepper (try not to use a lot of sodium products if you want a healthier diet). To speed up the process of cooking the veggies, add a cup of water and let it cook for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Stir fry the beef in medium heat



Step 4b: Drain out the juice from the meat after cooking them at medium heat for 20 mins or until you don't see red meat anymore. Continue cooking them for about 5 minutes until they get a little brown, this creates a good flavor for the meat.

Step 5: Combine the veggies and meat juice and let it cook  for 5 mins.

All done in just a little over 30 minutes, oh yeah it also cost less than $10 :)

Breakfast casserole

Our favorite breakfast food is egg. There are times we often eat breakfast food for dinner. Brett and I love breakfast food, especially eggs, bacon, and sausage.

This is one of my favorite dishes to make for breakfast. It's pretty easy and delicious. I sometimes make it on Sunday so that Brett could eat them during the week. It helps us save money :) The whole thing never costs more than $10 and feeds us for a few days at least.

Another great thing about this recipe is that you could experiment with many different kind of meats and veggies. In the past, I have used ham, spam, peperoni, sausage, salami, spinach, peas, onions, zucchini, etc...In the picture, you'll see my green peas & onions combination and sausage on the side.

The main ingredients are: 3/4 loaf of bread, 3 cups of milk, 3-4 cup of cheese, 10 eggs, peas (in a can), and 1 onion (sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper)

First step is to arrange the bread that has been cut in small cubes, onions, peas, and cheese in 2 layers

Next step is to set the oven to 375. Then, I prepare the liquid mixture of 10 eggs and 3 cups of milk (make sure to beat the eggs first then add the milk), and season with salt and pepper. 

Then, pour the egg and milk onto the pan and bake for 1 hour or so and you'll see the top turn golden brown. I'll also us a fork or toothpick and check if they come out clean after you poke into the middle of the casserole.

Mine turned out pretty good that day

Happy cooking and eating everyone! I'm pretty sure our big and hungry tummies like it a lot  :)

Balsamic Pork Kebabs

We love meat--can you tell? One of our favorites is pork. We eat pork at least 2 times a week now. This is one of my very simple recipes that doesn't require many ingredients or effort. It tastes pretty decent.

The marinating sauce consists of 1 table spoon of Balsamic vinegar,  2 table spoons of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt & pepper, a few pinches of red pepper, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

The meat: boneless pork ribs that are cut into 1 in. cubes. Mix the sauce and pork together and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

 

Below is the olive oil to brush on the meat (about 1 table spoon or so). Set the oven to broil, and cook the meat for about 6 minutes on each side or until golden brown. After the first 6 minutes, I would take them out and flip them to the other side and brush some extra olive oil onto the meat to keep the meat moist.

After cooking them for less than 20 minutes, it came out pretty good:

We definitely enjoyed our dinner and had some left-over for lunch the next day.