Miss Hangrypants: snacks

Showing posts with label snacks. Show all posts

Bacon Okonomiyaki - Savory Japanese Pancakes

I had a sudden craving for okonomiyaki, a savory Japanese pancake filled with cabbage, which I haven't eaten in.... 20+ years!! I used to have Japanese neighbours when I lived in Korea and would always play with the kids. I was maybe only a few years older than them, but sometimes their mum would make me (an 8 year old then) babysit 5 and 6 year old kids. And we all know how well that can turn out... 😈

Babysitting had its perks and I was lucky to have so many home-cooked Japanese meals! The most memorable dish was Okonomiyaki, because of the dancing bonito flakes that are sprinkled on top and the peculiar tangy sauce mixed with kewpie mayonnaise. It was something I had never tried before and the flavor is something I still crave today. I hope you go grocery shopping at an Asian market and try to make this at home!

Bacon Okonomiyaki

makes 2 x 6" pancakes

1/4 cabbage
3 inch leek (white part, or use white part of the green onions)
1/2 onion
6 pieces of bacon, cut into thirds (optional if you vegetarian)

1 heaping cup of Korean jeon flour (or okonomiyaki flour; if using plain AP flour, add 1 tsp each of salt, pepper and baking powder)
2/3 cup water
2 eggs
2 tsp black pepper

tonkatsu/okonomiyaki sauce
kewpie mayo
bonito flakes
dried nori/seaweed sheets (the same nori you use for sushi)

Thinly slice cabbage so it almost looks like it's shaved by a mandolin (finely like really fine coleslaw). Do the same for onions, so you get thin half-moons and for leeks. If you don't have leeks, I would finely chop the white part of green onions. Set aside
In a mixing bowl, add 1 heaping cup (about 1.25 cups) of jeon flour or seasoned flour with addition of salt, pepper and baking powder. Whisk water and 2 eggs. Season with black pepper. Add the veggies into the flour mixture and stir to coat evenly
In a non-stick pan, heat on medium fire 1 tbsp of veggie oil. Place half of batter to pan and flatten to make a pancake. Place cut bacon strips on top and cover frying pan to allow top to steam
Fry for about 3-4 mins or until golden brown. Flip and cover again for 2-3 mins. Repeat for the rest of the batter
Serve immediately onto plate and dress with okonomiyaki sauce and a healthy dose of mayo. Sprinkle bonito flakes and cut nori

Kimchi Chili Cheese Tots

After completing my surgery rotation, I've been trying to clear out the fridge of all kinds of stuff that have been sitting in there for too long. I have a gallon sized bucket of kimchi, an assortment of all kinds of shredded cheese and a family size pack of tots in the freezer. There's just this appeal to buying bulk and making the most of my costco membership even if I'm only cooking for one! Blame it on my Asian-ness and for my love of coupons. I'm not like the coupon lady you see on TV, but I'm pretty close :P!

Kimchi reaches a point where it's pretty much too sour to eat, but perfect to cook with. Frying the kimchi also helps mellow out the sourness and spicyness, and goes well with heavier items like cheese and sour cream. So, I've made a rendition of my favorite comfort food, chili cheese tots! And added kimchi and more spice with gochugaru (Korean chili powder). It's a lot of flavors, but they really work well together.

I would serve it in a skillet so you can put easily put it back in the oven to make the cheese all bubbly and gooey. I used Revol's mini ramekins that look like they are cast iron pans, but are actually porcelain. I baked the tots in them and put them back under the broiler to melt the cheese. I love the look of cast iron without getting carpal tunnel from lifting them! They're also pretty cute and perfect size for serving appetizers. I can't wait to show you guys my next dessert post using these coming up next week!

Kimchi Chili Cheese Tots

serves 3-4 people

1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup kimchi, diced (aged)
1 jalapeño, diced
1 16oz can diced tomatoes with juice
1 tsp gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp ketchup
salt and pepper
1 16oz can chick peas
1 bag tots
2 stalks green onions, diced
Toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits, cilantro, sour cream

In a medium stockpot over medium high-heat, add some vegetable oil and diced onion. Stir continuously and add garlic, kimchi and jalapeños
Saute until the onion beings to turn translucent and add the can of diced tomatoes. To the chili, add gochugaru, bay leaf and ketchup. Simmer over medium heat until slightly thickened (about 15-20 minutes)
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F and bake frozen tots until hot and crispy on the outside (according to package instructions)
Add chick peas and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Stir in chopped up cilantro and diced green onions
Ladle a generous helping of chili over the cooked tots and sprinkle with lots of cheese. Place in oven again until cheese is melted and bubbling
Sprinkle any desired toppings like bacon bits, sour cream and garnish with cilantro, jalapeño slices and green onions

I developed this recipe for Revol; all opinions expressed are my own. I love their beautiful and creative kitchen bakeware, serve ware and cooking tools :) Thank you for the support!

Cheddar Jalapeños Waffle Corndogs

Growing up in Hong Kong, I was never exposed to American "football" and football to me was "soccer". I also only had British schooling up until college, so I played a lot of British sports like squash, cricket, rugby and netball. Netball is this all girls game played in skirts and it's like basketball without dribbling. I'm not even sure why it's a sport! It's more of an excuse to watch girls jump around in skirts... :\ I was also highly uncoordinated in my teens and was never into sports back then. It all changed when I went off to college and decided to lose my freshman 15 (lol, more like 20). Now, I love running, playing tennis, and in fact, I was in my women's college rugby team for 2 years!

I wish I understood American football though. People around me are so pumped about game day, whereas, I'm more pumped about game day eats! This waffle corndog creation is from my love of waffles, mini corn dogs and all food on sticks! They are super easy to make and easy to eat too. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Also...who's playing this weekend?

Cheddar Jalapeños Waffle Corndogs

makes 8-10 waffle corndogs

1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
2 jalapeños, seeded and coarsely diced
5 hot dog
butter

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl: from cornmeal to salt. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, veggie oil and egg. Mix dry and wet ingredients together
Fold in shredded cheese and jalapeños. Cut your hot dogs in half length-wise and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Poke a skewer into the cut dogs. Unless you have a pretty deep set waffle iron (but I couldn't fit mine in)
Heat up your waffle iron and when it's ready, lather butter on the iron surface. Place two dogs in each iron square. My square waffle iron has 4x4 raised parts, so I placed the dogs in the trough between the 1st and 2nd and the 3rd and 4th, with the skewers sticking outside
Scoop the cornbread batter so that it generously covers the dogs. Close iron and cook until lightly brown and crispy outside. It will take longer than your usual waffles
Cut waffle in half and serve with ketchup and dijon mustard!

Homemade Hot Ramen Cheetos

I was introduced to hot Cheetos in College... yea, it's a little late, but I lived in a home where fruits were desserts and rice cakes studded with beans and nuts were snacks. I think it was my roommate and now best friend that always had a bag of hot Cheetos (con limón) glued to her hand and her fingers permanently covered in fluorescent orange cheese powder. She was always panting and guzzling water too, since she kinda of sucks at eating spicy food (lol, she's going to kill me). I had to try for myself and find out why she was going through all that trouble to eat them.

My first bite I had a revelation. I'd never tasted something so cheesy, but spicy at the same time. So crispy, salty and with just the right amount of heat and lingering perfume of lime. I was like, OMG I've been living such a deprived childhood!! I was so addicted to the stuff, you'd see me eating out of the bag with a pair of chopsticks all around campus (way before reddit made it mainstream). I think I ate so much hot Cheetos that my poop even turned orange/red.

I guess I got sick of it after a while, because it's been quite a long time since I've had some Cheetos! So, I've decided to go and make some myself and add something equally as addicting...Ramen! Or more like the MSG in ramen. Don't tell me you've never licked your fingers after you opened the MSG packet to make instant ramen!

As kids, it was really popular to get a bag of instant ramen, pour in the MSG, smash up the noodles, shake the bag and just eat it dry. It must be a really Asian thing, because I've never seen anyone do it here. This is my version with hot Cheetos! I'd eat these homemade cheese puffs with anything actually. They are soo good. And then you toss it into a bag and shake it up with some hot ramen spice, and it is out of this world. Literally, you will be licking your fingers (mostly because you will have salt all over them :P)

Homemade Hot Ramen Cheetos
adapted from Classic Snacks Made From Scratch
makes 3 dozen

Cheese Puffs
1/2 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup flour
2 tsp cornmeal
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded
1/4 cup Kraft macaroni cheese powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2-3 tbsp milk (or water, I used a mix of both)

MSG cheese coating
1 MSG packets from an instant ramen bag (I used Shin Ramen)
1 tbsp Kraft macaroni cheese powder
1/2 tsp cornstarch

Cheese curls: In a mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter with garlic powder for 1-2 mins. Add in flour, cornmeal, parmesan cheese and Kraft cheese powder. Stir at low speed, add veg oil and add enough milk/water until a slightly firm dough forms. Knead into a disc with your hands, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour
Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper
Break off small pieces of the chilled dough and pinch into skinny cheetos looking logs (skinnier than in my photos. I made them too thick). Place onto baking sheets (can be close because they don't puff or spread much)
Bake for 14-18 mins or until you see some brown color. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely
In a large ziplock bag, add ramen MSG packet, cheese powder and cornstarch. Shake to mix
Add cooled naked cheetos to the ziplock bag and shake gently to coat evenly

Matcha Checkerboard Shortbread Cookies

Ummah 엄마 - that's what mothers are called in Korean. And I love my ummah and she loves me like crazy (well... most of the time :P). When I lived at home before college, I wanted to get out of the house as soon as possible. My mum was one of those tiger mum types. If I slept at midnight, she'd yell and tell me that while I was sleeping there were other kids up way past 2am with bleeding noses because they were studying so hard. My mum expected us to use encyclopedias as pillows and to study until the crack of dawn. Every night, she would camp out on the living room sofa and my sister and I would come out of our rooms to study on the living room table so she could keep an eye out on us. Of course, by 11pm she'd be fast asleep on the couch, except you could never tell because she sleeps with her eyes open!

Sometimes, we'd take turns to wave a hand in front of her face and make sure she's sleeping. If we were lucky, we would hop straight into bed and then hear our mum a few hours later waking up groggily and walking back to her room :P. We'd hold our breaths until we heard the squeak of her mattress sink under her weight. Sometimes, we weren't so lucky in our endeavors... And when you have a mother who sings soprano at a Korean community church, you can be sure you'll be hearing that voice for miles. Thinking about it, my sister and I probably really needed an iron fist when it comes to studying, because we were such lazy kids haha...

Despite the draconian studying, our mum was always looking out for us. Every summer when I left Hong Kong for Houston, I lugged two very full suitcases; one filled with my clothes and another filled with all my favorite home-cooked foods. She was always so worried I would starve myself even if I was already on a meal plan in college. Needless to say, my suitcases were always overweight or needed extra time in security, because I was carrying stinky things like kimchi (scared the sniffing dogs) or suspiciously dense frozen blocks of Korean rice cakes. By the time I was going to graduate, I had enough food left over in the freezer for a zombie apocalypse. But, now I'm so grateful that she can still cook and pack food for me :D

Mum - I love you and thank you that you've always been there for me.

Happy Mother's Day!

Matcha Checkerboard Shortbread Cookies

1-1/4 stick butter, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2 cup flour
1 pinch salt
3 tsp PANATEA matcha

Beat softened butter until light and fluffy. Cream together powdered sugar, yolks and vanilla. Mix flour and salt to the butter mixture until a lumpy dough starts to form. Using your hands, press the lumps and knead until dough is smooth.
Separate dough into 2 balls. Knead matcha into one ball until it is uniformly green. Separate each ball in half again.
For each ball, roll/pat into a long cylinder about 12" and then pat to make 4 sides (like a long square). Arrange them on top of each other to make a chessboard and pat lightly together.
Wrap firmly in seran wrap and pat lightly on a flat surface to make the dough log more square.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 360F. With a sharp knife, cut out 1/4" cookies and lay on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bake for 9-12mins or until slightly browning on the edges.
Let cool for at least 5 minutes.

Spring Bloom Cookie Wreaths

Hello Spring! It was an amazingly hot day yesterday in Richmond. I actually broke out into a sweat while walking up to school (sometimes my only exercise ever), and all the pretty pink flowers that bloomed in this one tree had just shriveled up from the heat and fallen off :\ I think it's going to be hot all weekend, which means I need to either get up earlier so I can walk at snail pace and avoid getting pit stains on my scrubs or refuse to raise my arms all day.

I think I was supposed to talk about the beauty of Spring and flowers, but somehow got onto the topic of sweating and pit stains (sorry!). It's also going to be mother's day this Sunday!! The day just reminds me of how expensive flower bouquets can be (and how much I love my mum :P). I think one of our pet peeves is receiving flowers. We'd much rather receive a dozen hamburgers or a cake (my mum says straight up cash please)... such romantics :\ So, I wish I could bake these lemony bright cookies for my mum instead of flowers and give her a humongous hug for being the best mum ever. Unfortunately, she is in LA and if she knows that I've been baking instead of studying, she'll have my head on a plate.

These cookies were inspired by winter holiday wreath cookies made by bon appetite (link below). I've gone an put a spring flair on them with dried flower petals I bought at a loose leaf tea store, poppy seeds and chopped nuts. They're just so pretty and motherly looking! I hope your mum loves them as much as I do!

Spring Bloom Cookie Wreaths
inspired by bonappetite

Cookie dough
1.5 stick butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs, room temp
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla

2.5 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Toppings
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp milk
handful of dried strawberries, candied rose petals, dried petal tea herbs
handful of chopped almonds or pistachios
poppy seeds

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, lemon zest and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt and then knead the dough as it comes together.
Make a smooth ball with the dough, seran wrap and flatten slightly. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight (if overnight, let it thaw a little before rolling)
Preheat oven to 400F. Generously flour your surface and rolling pin. Roll out cookie dough to 1/4" thick and cut out wreaths
Bake for 6-10 mins or until the edges slightly brown. Let them completely cool out of the oven
Whisk together in a small bowl, powdered sugar, lemon juice and milk. Dip cooled cookies face down into the icing and let the excess drip. Work quickly to decorate petals, poppy seeds nuts (whatever you like!) on the icing and pressing slightly to make sure it adheres
Let the icing completely dry (may take more than an hour) and serve. Keep remaining cookies in a airtight container and they will last for many days!

Lemon Mango Macarons

Summer holiday is almost coming to an end! I feel like I haven't had much time to really do what I want before going to school again. Like traveling to Iceland, going on the Lord of the Rings Trail in New Zealand... I wouldn't even mind Hawaii! But, I guess that's what happens when you don't plan and then you're stuck in a lab for your whole summer dissecting mice. Hmm... At least I should get my butt over to the beach while I'm in LA. I bet I'm the only person who lives in LA, who goes to the beach only once a year :\

But, I am going on a cross-country road trip soon... ONE WHOLE week with my mother. Hopefully we'll both survive. Because, mothers. Ya know?!

In the heat of the summer, I made these light and bright lemon-y macarons. Don't they just look like sunshine? ;)

Lemon Mango Macarons

makes about 25 macarons

Lemon Macaron Shells
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
2 tsp lemon zest, dried overnight
2 large egg whites (aged 2 day in fridge and 1 day at room temp)
5 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon extract
yellow food coloring (optional)

Mango Curd
1/3 cup mango, pureed and strained (1-2 medium sized mangoes)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp tsp salt
2 egg yolks
2-3 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp butter (remove from heat and add)

Mango Curd: whisk all the ingredients except the butter in a small pot. Heat on medium and keep whisking it from time to time until it starts to simmer. Keep whisking until its pretty thick and starts spitting large bubbles from the top. You want it pretty thick so you don't get your macarons soggy. Whisk and whisk! Don't let it burn on the bottom! Remove from heat and stir in butter. Let it cool and then fill up a piping bag to chill in the fridge.
Macarons:

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mat and get a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch plain tip prepared
In a food processor pulse almond flour, powdered sugar, dried lemon zest until mixed and fluffy
In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat egg whites with the whisk attachment on medium low for 2 mins, gradually adding in the sugar.
Increase speed to 7 to whip for another 3 minutes and then at 8-10 for another 4 minutes. You should be getting a stiff meringue that you can make soft peaks with.
Fold the dry ingredients in 2 batches with a rubber spatula and make smooth sweeps to the bottom of the bowl. Add the lemon extract and continue deflating the meringue. After about 40-50 foldings it should look glossy and when you drop some from your spatula to the batter, it takes about 10-20 secs for it to mold back into the mix
Fill your pastry bag and pipe batter onto the prepared baking sheets in 3.5cm circles, spaced 1" apart.
Rap the baking sheet a few times about 1 inch above the counter top to flatten the macarons and to get rid of bubbles. I also use a toothpick to pop the stray ones. Let them rest at room temp for 45-60mins. The tops should be REALLY dry and nothing should stick to your finger if you poke them.
Preheat your oven to 300 F in the last 2 minutes of the drying wait. Bake for 15 mins each pan separately, rotate pans and then bake for another 3-5 minutes. You can check they are done by lifting one macaron you can sacrifice. If the feet comes off, leave it in longer. You always want to overbake than underbake.
Let cool completely before removing them from the paper. Line up similar sized ones and pipe the chilled curd filling onto 1 shell. Sandwich together.
Let them sit in the fridge in a sealed container for at least 1 day before serving. Seriously!! They taste 100x better when the insides of the macaron shells soften a bit and the filling flavors come together.

Piña Colada Macarons

I am taking a well deserved study break (I swear I was studying!!). Complete with ooey gooey pizza, buzzfeed and blogging. I have been stuck at school for too long and the off white walls and neutrality of this place makes me feel like I'm in a mental asylum. Haha kidding. Love this school (?) :/ I would study someplace else, except we're in the middle of Embryology and Reproduction and let me tell ya...those lecture pictures cannot be seen in public. Anyhoo, only 5 more days until our last exam and then SUMMER! I am super super excited yay!

Now that I can make macarons.... can't stop, won't stop making 'em! Dreaming about summer, fun in the sun with cocktails...and piña colada in macaron form :)

Piña Colada Macarons

makes about 25 macarons

Macaron Shells
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
2 large egg whites, ages 1 day in fridge and 1 day at room temp
5 tbsp granulated sugar
handful of unsweetened shredded coconut

Details on making shells Boston Cream Pie Macarons

Pineapple curd filling
2 egg yolks
1 cup pineapple juice, canned
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp butter

Pineapple Curd: whisk all the ingredients other than the butter in a small pot. Heat on medium and keep whisking it from time to time until it starts to simmer. Keep whisking until its pretty thick and starts spitting large bubbles from the top. You want it pretty thick so you don't get your macarons soggy. Also, I forgot I was making it and it burned really quickly in the bottom. So keep whisking! Remove from heat and stir in butter. Let it cool and then fill up a piping bag to chill in the fridge.
Macarons:

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mat and get a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch plain tip prepared
In a food processor pulse almond flour and powdered sugar until mixed and fluffy
In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat egg whites with the whisk attachment on medium low for 2 mins, gradually adding in the sugar.
Increase speed to 7 to whip for another 3 minutes and then at 8-10 for another 4 minutes. You should be getting a stiff meringue that you can make soft peaks with. Try not to over beat.
Fold the dry ingredients in 2 batches with a rubber spatula and make smooth sweeps to the bottom of the bowl. You do want to deflate the meringue and after about 40-50 foldings it should look glossy and when you drop some from your spatula to the batter, it takes about 20 secs for it to mold back into the mix. Don't over mix or it will a runny and watery mess!
Fill your pastry bag and pipe batter onto the prepared baking sheets in 3.5cm circles, spaced 1" apart.
Rap the baking sheet a few times about 1 inch above the counter top to flatten the macarons and to get rid of bubbles. Let them rest at room temp for 45-60mins. The tops should be dry and nothing should stick to your finger if you poke them.
Preheat your oven to 325 F in the last 2 minutes. Bake for 15 mins each pan separately, rotate pans and then bake for another 3-5 minutes. You can check they are done by lifting one macaron you can sacrifice. If the feet comes off, leave it in longer. You always want to overbake than underbake.
Let cool completely before removing them from the paper. Line up similar sized ones and pipe the chilled curd filling onto 1 shell. Sandwich together.
Let them sit in the fridge in a sealed container for at least 1 day before serving. Seriously!! They taste 100x better when the insides of the macaron shells soften a bit and the filling flavors come together.

Boston Cream Pie Macarons

Yay It's the weekend! And the weather is perfect and I'm slightly less stressed than usual :P I've been baking all morning and finally tackled making macarons. This was my first time baking them too. I know I'm a little behind the macaron blogging game, but the price of almond flour and everything else can quickly add up. Food and feeding my ever hangry state has turned my pockets inside out. I'm going to seriously live on carrot sticks next. Although, I did do that once and turned yellow-orange. True story. That's how the bf met me. He thought I was normally orange in color. I don't really know how anyone can be attracted to an oompa loompa. But hey! Everyone for everybody ;)

Since this was my first time making macarons, I was surprised at how easy they were to make! And when I saw feet. I was like YEESSSS!! It does take a little bit of prep because you used aged egg whites but otherwise they are pretty simple... as long as you follow a good recipe.

Some notes...I did one batch with a silicon mat and one with just parchment paper with a template I printed off the internet (3.5cm diameter). I thought it was easier using parchment paper and the shells weren't as hollow. Although, the shells slide right off the silicon mat whereas the paper stuck a little. If you ever wanted to make macarons, you really should. Nothing to be intimidated by. Heck, if I can, I'm sure you can too :)

Boston Cream Pie Macarons

Makes about 20 macarons
adapted from shopsucre
Macaron Batter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
2 large egg whites, ages 1 day in fridge and 1 day at room temp
5 tbsp granulated sugar

Custard filling
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup flour (or 1.5 tbsp cornstarch for gf)
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
5 tbsp butter
1 cup powdered sugar

**or the lazy man's custard: 1 box instant vanilla pudding powder, 3/4 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup powdered sugar mixed into 3 tbsp whipped butter (I used this recipe for my pictures)

Chocolate drizzle
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate

Custard: whisk all the ingredients other than the butter and powdered sugar in a small pot. Heat on medium and keep whisking it from time to time until it starts to simmer. Keep whisking until its pretty thick and starts spitting large bubbles from the top. Remove from heat and let it cool. In another bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Fold together custard and butter mix. Chill in a piping bag.
Macarons:

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mat and get a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch plain tip prepared
In a food processor pulse almond flour and powdered sugar until mixed and fluffy
In the bowl of your stand mixer (if you have one, or just an egg beater bowl... I really don't recommend whisking by hand!), beat egg whites with the whisk attachment on medium low for 2 mins, gradually adding in the sugar.
Increase speed to 7 to whip for another 3 minutes and then at 8-10 for another 4 minutes. You should be getting a stiff meringue that you can make soft peaks with. Don't over beat it or bad things will happen (apparently...)
Fold the dry ingredients in 2 batches with a rubber spatula and make smooth sweeps to the bottom of the bowl. You do want to deflate the meringue a bit so squishing to mix to knock out some air is okay! After about 30-50 foldings (I didn't count but everyone talks about that magic number). I just did it until the batter looked glossy and when you drop some from your spatula to the batter, it takes about 20 secs for it to mold back into the mix. Don't over mix or it will a runny and watery mess!
Fill your pastry bag (hold it up in a tall glass..makes life so easy) and pipe batter onto the prepared baking sheets in 3.5cm circles, spaced 1" apart.
Rap the baking sheet a few times about 1 inch above the counter top to flatten the macarons and to get rid of bubbles. Let them rest at room temp for 45-60mins. The tops should be dry and nothing should stick to your finger if you poke them.
Preheat your oven to 325 F in the last 2 minutes. Bake for 15 mins, rotate pans and then bake for another 3-5 minutes. You can check they are done by lifting one macaron you can sacrifice. If the feet comes off, leave it in longer. You always want to overbake than underbake.
Let cool completely before removing them from the paper. Line up similar sized ones and pipe the chilled custard filling onto 1 shell. Sandwich together. Heat milk in the microwave or small sauce pot, remove and stir in chocolate until it melts into a thick sauce. Drizzle onto assembled macaron tops. Let them sit in the fridge in a sealed container for at least 1 day before serving. They don't taste as good fresh out because the inside of the macaron shells need some time to soften and for the filling flavors to come together.

Custard Creme Puffs (Beard Papa style)

I am a serial worry wart. I must be the largest, most crumbly and flaky worry wart you'll ever meet (ewww but true :\). I constantly worry about stuff at least 10 years into the future and 5-10 years in the past. If I don't have anything to worry about, that's a big worry too! I'm surprised I don't have any white hairs, or even any hair.

Currently, we have all these 4th year medical students matched to their residences doing Q and A sessions. Total mistake to attend any of these, especially when they serve strong coffee and sugary pastries. I'm already stressing about what I want to do (which is I HAVE NO IDEA), while extremely jittery from coffee and sugar. I think I may have stress ate 2 cookies and 3 danishes (maybe not think... I did :P). I like to rant, but the internet hears me out haha.

I'm sharing these creme puffs I made a while ago. Their pillowy softness and creamy centers just mellow me out. You know?! Already feeling zen...

Custard Creme Puffs

Chocolate Chip & Almond Cookies

Who doesn't love a good cheesy chick flick? Don't deny it! My friends and I just watched "My Sassy Girl", an old Korean romcom last weekend. I think this must have been my 10th time watching it. My bestie and I used to watch this at least twice every year in college :P (that and "Across the Universe", Jim Sturgess you know? *swoon*). This Korean movie was such a hit that they made a Hollywood remake, which is just AWFUL. Can't recreate that Korean charm in American women lol ;)

I was going to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies for the movie night. But, I had ran out of regular chocolate chips so I had to borrow some mini ones from my roommate. And then I thought, let me just substitute sliced almonds too. Turned out to be a wonderful creation!

Chocolate Chip & Almond Cookies

Roasted Garlic Hummus

The few days after any holiday is absolutely the worst. My mind is still on holiday, but my school is not! All I want to do is lie around, eat in bed and watch trashy TV. This weekend is going to be all about catching up and maybe some procrasti-baking :P

I am a super garlic aficionado, minus the bloating and gas (what!? :X). I've tried it in all forms...roasted, fried, deep-fried, raw, boiled, barbecue-d, even fermented (black garlic anyone?). If I ever meet a vampire in an alley, I will be so ready. Unless, it's Edward Cullen...is Twilight still relevant or is that so 2013? Anyway, I had too many garlic bulbs lying around threatening to shoot green stems, so I popped them in the oven and made hummus! This totally satisfies my garlic cravings and makes me extremely kissable :D

Roasted Garlic Hummus

2 heads garlic
2 tbsp tahini
1 can of chickpeas
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp cold water
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut a little bit of the tops of the garlic bulb and put in foil. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap tightly. Roast for 1 hr
Remove and let it cool until you can touch it
Blend chickpeas in a food processor into a stiff paste (I used an immersion blender)
Add tahini, lemon juice and salt. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins and into the processor. You can adjust how garlicky you want it. Blend to mix
Add the ice water and blend until smooth (3-4 mins)
Serve with olive oil and enjoy with pita chips and veggies

Cute Kimchi Fried Rice Bento

Hello from Los Angeles! Now that I'm back home, I feel extremely lazy. It took every ounce of effort to put up this blog post. But, this one is so cute I just had to do it. I made these for the bf before I left Richmond. I think he was studying or something, so I made him lunch. Gosh, best gf ever :P

I'm just soaking up all the sun before I go back to school. It is soo sunny and beautiful in LA. I can walk outside in my t-shirt and shorts and eat strawberries the size of my palm. Le sigh... definitely don't have very long until I'm back to the freezing weather :(

"Octopus" Dogs on Kimchi Fried Rice

makes 10
serves 3-4

Kimchi Fried rice
1 medium carrot, chopped finely
1/4 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup old kimchi, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup kimchi juice
1-2 tbsp Korean chili paste (gochujang) - depending on spice level or optional
2 tsp sesame seed oil
2 cups cooked cold rice

ball park hotdogs
1 slice American cheese
black sesame seeds
ketchup
mayonnaise

Kimchi fried rice balls: In a large frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Fry garlic until fragrant, add onions, kimchi and carrots. Fry until the kimchi is soft (about 3-5 mins).
Stir in the chili paste (optional) and then break up the rice into the frying pan. Stir around until the rice is heated through (about 3-5 mins). Add the sesame oil and stir. Set aside and let it cool.
Octopus: Cut 2" long pieces from the ends of the hot dogs, then make 1" deep slits at the cut ends (make a slit pattern like an asterisk*)
In a small pot, bring water to boil. Drop the cut dogs in for about 30secs or until their "legs" curl. Dry on kitchen towels with them standing up.
Using a circle punch, cut out small circles from the cheese to make "eyes". Press a sesame seed into it. Stick eyes onto the octopus dogs using a little mayo
Assemble: to roll the fried rice into balls, get some plastic wrap, drop 3-4 tbsp of rice onto it and wrap and mold a ball with your palms. Repeat until no more rice
Squeeze some mayo and ketchup on the fried rice balls. Take a toothpick and poke through the legs of the octopus dogs. Stick that onto the tops of the fried rice balls and you're done!

Persimmon Chai Cake

Two weeks until I'm back to sunny palm tree filled Los Angeles. I feel like I do a lot of complaining about the weather in Richmond... what can I say? We're a little stuck-up about the weather. I'm hoping to go to the beach and get some surfing in! Hopefully, I haven't forgotten how to use my muscles. I feel like I have wasted away half my body from sitting in a chair 24/7 :(

Just wanted to post this recipe before our an exam on Friday. I had a lot of chai packets so I wanted to make a tea infused cake. Plus, a lot of dried persimmons lying around. Makes a very moist and subtly cinnamon-y spicy cake. Definitely a success! I also learned saying tea and chai is redundant... I've been schooled!

Persimmon Chai Cake

makes 1 loaf

1stick 2tbsp unsalted butter
3-4 teabags of chai (I used 3 twinings ultra spicy chai)
Scant 1 cup white sugar (like 2 tbsp less than a cup)
1 2/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
6 oz (1 single serving cup) plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs
1.5 cup of dried persimmons, chopped (fresh would work well too)

Preheat oven to 325F and line a loaf pan with baking paper
Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium heat with the teabags in it. Let it sit for about 10 mins
Meanwhile, mix all the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, spices, baking powder & soda) in large mixing bowl
Squeeze the butter out of the teabags. Careful not to rip them though! Add yogurt and beat eggs until blended
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until just mixed. Fold in the chopped persimmons.
Bake for 1 hr - 1hr 20 min. Top may brown at 1 hr but inside the cake might not be done (test with a knife through the middle). You can cover the top with foil until it's done in the oven

Easy Kimbap - 김밥

The weather has been one fickle lady. Ear numbing cold one day, hot booty shorts weather the next. I just want to go on a picnic by the river, but I don't want to have my teeth chattering louder than my talking. I can't wait for it to be 80 degree weather! Is that around 25 celsius? I still can't use Fahrenheit, BECAUSE IT DOENS'T MAKE SENSE. Like foot, inches and yards. Whaa???

Anyway, one of my favorite picnic foods is kimbap. All kinds of things wrapped up in an easy to eat morsel. It's actually super easy to make, maybe a little bit more prep time. But once you have your mis en place (oh fancy words), rolling it up is a breeze! If you want more detailed instructions, you can take a look at my old blog, MD cooks for 2. (A truly embarrassing old blog)

Kimbap - 김밥

makes 6 rolls ~3-4 servings

2 cups of uncooked rice
3 eggs
1 pack of yellow picked radish
1 pack of picked burdock (or you can use a cucumber for crunch)
3 medium carrots
1 bundle of fresh spinach
1 pack of ham (or any meat or no meat if you're keeping it veg)
6 sheets of nori (sushi seaweed is different from small packs of seaweed, make sure you get the right one!)

sesame oil
salt and pepper
sesame seeds

Wash and cook rice as directed on the package in your rice cooker. You want to use freshly made rice for this. Once cooked and cooled to room temp, add 2 tsp sesame oil and 1 tbsp sesame seeds and fluff up the rice with a paddle. Don't mush or overwork it though.
Peel and julienne carrots and cucumber (if using that instead of the burdock root. but don't peel the cucumber!). Cut your ham into thin long strips
Bring to boil about 2-3 cups of water in a saucepan. Add a pinch of salt (this makes spinach greener when blanching). Blanch the spinach for about 1 min, rinse with cold water and squeeze out all the water. Season with a pinch of salt and 1-2 tsp of sesame oil
Heat about 1 tbsp mix of olive oil and sesame oil. Fry your julienned carrots for about 1 min, salt to taste, set aside. Next fry up the ham just to heat through.
Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt, and pour onto an oiled non stick frying pan on low-med heat. Let it cook until it looks partially done on one side and flip to cook the other side. Cut into 1/4" strips
Assembly: On a sheet of seaweed placed on a sushi mat, add a thin layer of rice and leave about 1 cm at the top. Line up each prepared ingredients in the middle (look at the picture above). Roll the kimbap to tuck in all the filling (away from you) and quickly roll it to let the rice stick on the seaweed. Using the sushi mat, knead lightly and roll a little to keep the kimbap in place. Repeat until out of ingredients.
To serve, oil your hands with sesame oil and run along the roll of kimbap. Cut to 1/2" with a sharp knife. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top for garnish

Hong Kong Egg Tarts

Chinese New Year is one of my favorite holidays. Mostly because I get gobs of money from everyone in my family and from all my friend's parents too. You get to buy new clothes for the new year. There is exorbitant amounts of good food. Omgee I miss Asia so much! Now that I'm here, I get zero money and zero new things :'(

I decided to make these egg tarts...but... it was kind of a disaster. I mean the custard came out wonderfully. The pastry not so much. I definitely overworked the dough and I could already tell it pretty elastic and not butter. But I couldn't be bothered to re do it (serious inertia problems). If you do make these, I think a good buttery pie dough for the bottom would also work really well.

Happy New Year of the Horse! 新年快乐!!

Hong Kong Egg Tarts (蛋挞)

adapted from Table for 2
makes a dozen mini tarts

Pastry
250g Plain flour
2 tbsp castor sugar
1 egg yolk
150g butter

Custard filling
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup boiling water
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

In a food processor, whirl butter with egg yolk and sugar
Add flour and mix well. (may need to add more if it feels sticky, but don't go crazy)
Roll into a tube, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour - overnight
Cut dough into 12 equal pieces, and roll out to 5-10" circles between 2 sheets of parchment paper
Line your tart molds and repeat for the rest of them. Refrigerate until you need to fill them up
Custard: melt sugar in hot water, add milk to cool it, salt and vanilla. Add the eggs in too
Strain the custard twice. Super important to get a delicate custard!
Pour into the cold tart crust
Bake at 355F for 25-30 mins

Roasted medley: Tomato, Mushroom, Garlic and Feta

Holy Moly, I'm freezing my buns off! I'm a live-on-the-equator kind of girl and the tropics is in my blood (does Hong Kong count?). In Richmond, it's like the North Pole decided to migrate here. I've been looking like a stuffed penguin everyday or the abominable snowman. Either way, highly attractive...

Luckily, my utility bill is included in my rent. My roommate and I have been blasting the central heating until we're almost sweating in our t-shirt and shorts. And I've been taking hot showers until I look like a prune :P Also, lots of oven usage. Roasted wintery dishes FTW!! This dish is super delish with some crusty bread or even pita chips (especially those crack-like Stacy's Pita Chips)

Roasted Tomato, Garlic, and Feta

makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients
1 small onion, sliced into thin wedges
5-6 cloves garlic, halved
3-4 slabs (5oz) of feta cheese
10 on the vine tomatoes (slighty larger than a cherry tomato)
1/2 cup button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 350F
Place sliced onion on a greased roasting pan and drizzle olive oil over them. Roast for 15 mins.
Place feta cheese and garlic sliced on top of the onions, crack some pepper and toss over the chopped rosemary and thyme. Then place vine tomatoes and mushrooms, drizzle a little olive oil all over.
Put back in the oven for another 40-50mins. Serve with splashes of balsamic vinegar. Salt if needed (otherwise feta is salty enough)