Curry Masala Fondue and Garlic Naan

I'm about to start my last rotation next week! Woop di dooh! I just finished my family rotation out in the boonies of Virginia. I'll say that was interesting... There were patients that came in and was like "I fell on an electric fence, woke up and came here - No Big Deal". Another person came in with a leg half open and was like "I filled it with sawdust when I cut it with my chainsaw to stop the bleeding". Like what?!

Since I'm leaning towards the surgery side, I didn't think I was going to enjoy the rotation that much, but I really did in the end. There's something about the long-term patient care aspect, where you could potentially care for your patient from cradle to the grave, that appealed to me. But, I dunnooo.... I still really enjoy cutting and sewing stuff :P

Anyway, I had an Indian friend who left me with all her spices when she moved. SCORE! Seriously, every time I open my pantry door, it smells like India. And then I receive this fondue pot from Swissmar, and I was like yeaaaa Curry fondue! I usually find cheese fondues really heavy with one flavor profile, but adding all the spices really made in multi-dimensional in flavvahhh! It kind of resembled a cheesy chicken tikka masala (but without the chicken). And with some homemade fluffy garlic naan and roasted vegetables, it'll be a party!

Apparently, fondues are making a come back... so it's time to dust up your old pot and put it to use. Or get this heavy duty cast iron one! I love that it's cast iron because it heats the cheese sauce more evenly and not just under the flame. I was able to cook the sauce directly in the pot and then transfer it onto the set. No pouring cheese over myself by accident! The inside is also enamel coated, so you don't have to worry about seasoning it or avoiding acidic foods and it's very easy to clean. It's a classy no fuss multi-purpose pot!

Hope you guys enjoy the recipe! AAaaand, have an awesome weekend full of fun and of course...lots of cheese :)

Curry Masala Fondue

serves 4-6

2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk + 1 cup
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup water
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
3 dried red chilies
1 tsp black peppercorn (or 2 tsp black pepper)
1 bay leaf
2 cups cheese (cheddar, parmesan)

Roasted cauliflower and red potatoes

1. In the fondue pot, melt butter and add garlic and stir until fragrant. Whisk in flour and milk until it becomes a paste. Dilute tomato paste in water and whisk that in too
2. Add in spices (turmeric, paprika, cumin, chilies, pepper and bay leaf). Whisk occasionally until it becomes somewhat thickened. You could honestly mix in any kind of curry spices together and it will taste good! Thin with the extra cup of milk 
3. Add in a mix of cheese. I liked cheddar to give it some sharpness. I think adding mozzarella could work just to get the stringiness. I used a mix of cheddar and parmesan (mostly because I can't afford expensive cheese :P)
4. Now fondue is ready for dipping! I roasted some cauliflower and diced red potatoes drizzled in olive oil and seasoned with simply salt and pepper!

Garlic Naan   makes 9

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp greek yogurt
1 egg
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3.5 cups flour
4 tsp garlic, minced
ghee for frying

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water for 10 mins until frothy and bubbly
2. In your mixer bowl, stir sugar, yogurt, egg, salt, baking soda and flour together. Add yeast mister and knead 10-15 mins until smooth
3. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for an 1 hour in a warm place until about double it's size
4. Punch down the dough to release gas (my fave part hehe). Knead in garlic evenly, but don't over knead! Pinch into 9 pieces and roll into balls, cover with wrap or a towel and rest 30 mins
5. Heat a cast iron pan on medium heat. Roll out with a roller and kind of spread it pretty thin with your hands (like shaping pizza). Brush ghee on one side and place that side onto hot cast iron pan. Cover with lid and fry for 1-2 mins. Spreading it real thin allows you to get all those awesome bubbles in your naan!

I developed this recipe for Swissmar; all opinions expressed are my own. They also have a wide range of fondue pots (think meat!) and other cool kitchen stuff :) Thank you for the support!

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Avocado coconut miso soba noodles

Who's kept up with their NY resolutions?? Not me >.<! I've been on a very relaxing elective for 2 weeks and I promised myself that I would actually work out erryday all day (since I come home at noon :P). I don't know what it is, but I've been sleeping like 8+ hours a day and I still feel tired haha. I have surgery starting next week, so I probably won't have time to exercise, let alone eat and drink gahh....

Since my roommate and I are on the same rotation and both end our work at noon, we've been hitting up some all you can eat Indian buffets. No exercise and gluttonous eating is a bad combo though (naan and butter chicken is soo difficult to resist :\). So, I'm trying to be more health conscious about eating and reducing my snacking. I even got a fit bit for my birthday from the BF and it's making me feel guiltier about taking the elevator or sitting on my butt all day!

Here's a totally vegan dish with healthy buckwheat soba noodles. The soup is actually very creamy from the finely mashed avocado (using the amazing smood masher from Dreamfarm), coconut milk and lots of umami from a touch of miso paste and shiitake broth. That's the water the dried shiitake is rehydrated in. I usually keep a few mushrooms in water in the fridge, because I can just add a little bit of the mushroom broth into any soup I'm making and it will add some depth to it. I even add it to some sauce bases like if I'm making spicy Korean rice cakes (tteokbokki) or steamed egg (gaeran jjim).

I made a gif!

Avocado Coconut Miso Soba Noodles

adapted from tastingtable
serves 2-3

handful dried soba noodles
1 cup mashed ripe avocado, about 1.5 avocados finely mashed
2 tsp lemon juice
4 dried shiitake mushrooms rehydrated in 1 cup water
1 cup water
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 tbsp white or red miso
salt to taste (I added about 3 tsps)
pepper to taste

Toppings
1/2 firm tofu package, cubed
pinch of cornstarch
2 tsps soy sauce
1 tsp sesame seed oil
1/2 zucchini, cut in quarters
rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, sliced
few slices of avocado
sesame seeds

1. Make toppings first: In a small nonstick pan, heat a little bit of oil in medium heat. Sprinkle cornstarch on each side of the tofu cubes. Add tofu to the hot oil, and add soy sauce and sesame seed oil. Gently turn them so that the cook on all sides until golden brown. Set aside and keep the pan hot. Toss the zucchinis in there with a pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Once blistered on the edges, set aside. Lastly, sauté rehydrated shiitake mushrooms with a pinch of salt as well until cooked through
2. Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside in a colander
3. In a small saucepan, combine shiitake water, water and coconut milk on medium heat. Using a fine mesh strainer, add the miso so that it loosens easily. Bring to a simmer
4. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the mashed avocado. I used an immersion blender in the end to make it super creamy. Whisk occasionally until it thickens slightly (about 3-4 minutes). Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Makes about 3-4 cups of soup
5. Pour avo broth into a bowl, fold noodles into it to coat. Garnish with sautéed tofu, zucchini and mushrooms. Sprinkle with black pepper, sesame seeds and serve

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Homemade matcha udon noodles

I thought making udon would be like making kalguksu (or Korean knife noodles), but it definitely required a lot more arm muscle. Maybe it's because I tried to make 4 times the amount and my biceps have atrophied from disuse :( I did have a lot of fun stomping on it though. Yas, with my feet. Don't worry, the dough was heavily wrapped in a sturdy gallon ziplock bag ;)

But, you seriously need your body weight to smoosh the dough down. If you have kids then use them, plus you'll also get them tired so they'll sleep early! Tiring out my little brother out everyday by making him fetch things used to be my strategy back in the days (not because I was lazy haha).

I separated the dough in half so I could have normal udon noodles and some matcha ones. For the matcha noodles, the flavor shines if the broth is kept simple (like the soy sauce dashi one below). I may have to up the amount of matcha though by about 1/2 to 1 tsp next time and try a cold udon version. I also prepared a miso version by diluting the broth I made below in a 1:3 ratio with water and adding miso paste to it. When you try the freshly made noodles, the texture and flavor is so so so......handmade(?), unique(?), bouncy (haha it's hard to describe), I guess all the arm grease and time that went to making this was worth it!

Matcha Udon Noodles

adapted from instructables.com
serves 4-5

Noodles (Sanuki style)
2 1/2 cups bread flour (plus more to dust)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsps salt
1.5 cups water, at room temp
1 tsp culinary grade panatea matcha (for 1/2 the dough)

Broth
5-8 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in 2 cups water overnight
1 5x5" piece of kelp (aka konbu or dashima)
3 cups water
10 pieces dried shrimp
10 pieces dried anchovies
1-2 tbsps soy sauce (or to taste)
1 tbsp mirin

1. Noodles: dissolve salt in the water and set aside. Mix the flours together in a large bowl. Add salt water to the flour and mix with your hands until a shaggy dough is formed. If it doesn't come together, you can add a little water each time. The dough will feel hard and crumbly, just try to knead it so it comes together.
2. Put the dough in a gallon size zipper bag and stomp on it until it is flattened. Like use your feet and stomp! I seriously tried to knead with my hands and a kitchen aid mixer, but the dough is just too hard. Once it has flattened. Take it out of the bag and separate the dough into two pieces. For one half, I kneaded in 1 tsp matcha. This will be difficult and it will looked streaky (but no worries, it will blend all together with subsequent stomping)
3. It will still be hard at this point. So with half of the dough, roll it up like a cinnamon roll and place it back in the bag to stomp and flatten. I alternated between the two halves of the dough, so that I could give the dough a rest for 10-15mins if it was too difficult to work with. You'll be stomping on this about 5-6 times until the dough is really smooth and rubbery
4. On the last flattening/stomping, pinch the edges of the dough together to make a ball, it may not come together on the bottom but as long as the top is smooth, it's okay. Wrap the dough in seran wrap tightly and place in a warm area for 2-3 hours. I preheated my oven slightly and switched it off to mimic a really hot summer.
5. While the dough rests, time to make the broth! In a large pot, place rehydrated shiitake and the water it was soaking in, kelp, 3 cups water, shrimp and anchovies. Bring to boil and let it simmer for 15 mins. Add soy sauce and mirin and adjust to taste. Fish out the shiitake to slice up and use for later and then strain your broth.
6. Now the dough should be well rested (you can test this by checking if it remains indented after you poke it)! Dust your work area with a generous amount of bread flour. Working with one ball of dough at a time, roll to a rectangle that is 3mm thick. Fold the long edges in like you would fold a letter in thirds to put in an envelope.  Cut 5mm thick strips for noodles. Toss cut noodles in bread flour so they don't stick.
7. To cook the noodles, bring a large pot of water to boil and then place them in there for 7-8mins. Separate them with chopsticks at the start and middle of boiling because they can stick together. Drain and serve with the broth, plus toppings including green onions, naruto (Japanese fishcake), mushrooms or eggs
8. You can store the cut noodles in the fridge for 2-3 days.

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Seafood Soft Tofu Soup - Haemul soondubu

Every time I finish an exam I promise myself I will get soooo much sleep and hibernate for 2 days... I NEVER do! I think I get too pumped and relieved afterwards, that I feel like jumping up and down like a caffeine-crazed hamster. Because I don't get to cook or bake as much during rotations, I almost always start my studying-free weekend by wreaking havoc in the kitchen. I start pulling out all the bowls, spoons and pans. Flour is flying everywhere. My heart is pounding from the adrenaline and I can't manage to think straight. "Should I crack the eggs first? Should I mix the dry stuff first? Where are my spices?" I imagine I look like a headless chicken running in circles in the kitchen while head bopping to Korean pop music :P

Now I'm pretty mellow :P since it's about 1am here. I don't really have a post to put up, but I wanted to share something I eat on the reg. I always crave hot and spicy soups and soondubu has got to be one of my faves. I keep a huge batch of soup sauce (recipe below) in the freezer and it doesn't freeze up or become a hard block. It actually stays paste-like and all I have to do is drop a spoon in boiling water (just like making miso soup). The lighting wasn't bad that day and I snapped one picture, because I prefer my soups hot :P! Ok I'm so going to sleep now.. after I fold up two months of laundry I piled up on my bed :'(

Seafood Soft Tofu Soup - Haemul soondubu

serves 2-3

8oz clams
4oz medium shrimps
1 bunch green onion
1 pack (110oz) soft tofu
1 egg

2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp Korean Chili powder (gochugaru)
1 tbsp garlic minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
salt and pepper
1 tsp sesame oil

1. Heat pot with 2 tbsp oil on high heat, and add the gochugaru, minced garlic and soysauce. Fry that up and it should resemble a paste. 
2. Add 1/2 cup water (not too much okay?).
3. Add in the clams and shrimp. Wait until the water starts boiling... Sometimes, I just use whatever frozen seafood I have in the fridge. For example, the soondubu I made for the pictures actually has bits of frozen octopus and squid. I always vary my soup with whatever I have on hand.
4. Then add in the packet of soft tofu. 
5. Taste and if needed, you can add a pinch of salt. Let that boil for 5 mins.
6. Add a pinch of pepper, crack in an egg and add 1 tsp sesame oil. And you're good to go!

Soondubu is extremely variable. I also like to add in here 1/2 a small onion diced and 1/2 a zucchini at step 2 and let it simmer until they are soft (before you go onto step 3). You can also make it vegetarian/vegan by not adding the seafood and add in diced potatoes too. 

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Spicy Tomato Soup

You know those days when you think your day at work is going to be extremely short and you don't pack lunch or bring that many snacks...and suddenly you're there until way past dinner time. Today was just one of those days!! And, hypoglycemia people, makes you act like a crazy person. It's actually one of the most common cause of altered mental status in the ED, so we're required to check blood glucose levels on every altered patient that comes in.  I started from hungry this afternoon, which quickly escalated to hangry, and then to almost borderline crazy.

That really got me wishing I had packed some hot soup in my bag before I left home! I also started using the stairs more, so I can get more steps on my fitbit. I'm in a "who-climbs-more-steps" challenge with my friend, and I am seriously losing super badly. And, he keeps sending me those taunts via the fitbit app (Rude >:O haha)! This soup is super easy to make and the spice warms up your belly in no time! Serve it with toasty grilled cheese, and you will be one less of a hangry lady person.

Spicy Tomato Soup

adapted from epicurious.com
serves 3-4

1 jalapeño, coarsely diced (seeds included for spiciness)
1 thai bird's eye chili, diced (or substitute with another jalapeño)
1 medium white onion, coarsely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 can chicken or veggie broth
28 oz diced tomato (Italian)
1-2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream

1. In a sizable pot, heat up 1 tbsp olive oil and saute onions, chili peppers and garlic until onions are somewhat translucent (about 3-5mins)
2. Drain 1/2 of the diced tomato liquid and then add it to the pot. Add chicken broth. Let that simmer for 35-45mins. Add cumin and Salt and pepper to taste
3. Use an immersion blender or work in batches in a blender, blend all until smooth
4. Let simmer for another 5-10mins. Taste and season again if needed
5. Serve with sour cream and grilled cheese of course!

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Sweet Red Bean Soup [단팥죽 - Dan Pat Jook]

How can it only be Wednesday! Getting over hump day is like pulling teeth. Also, we are currently learning about the gastrointestinal tract and nothing can be more exciting than learning about bowel movements for 2 months *roll eyes*. This exam next week is going to absolutely awful. I definitely don't have enough hours in the day to study. And I'm now a 2 cups of coffee a day drinker. From zero to TWO cups a D-A-I-Y-E (sorry, Zoolander reference)

How much do you like to hear people whine? Can't stand it myself... lol :P I haven't had time to bake lately, other than more cream puffs (different filling than last time) and yeasted donuts last week. Recipes soon to come! Today, I'm sharing a traditional Korean soup/porridge that is made of red bean. I cannot get enough of red bean. I just love it on everything...shaved ice, in steamed buns, by spoonfuls :)  I will sing you that red bean song all day. I will!!

Sweet Red (Adzuki) Bean Soup - 단팥죽

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Miyeok Gook {미역국} - Korean Seaweed Soup

I think my mum is tired of setting up the table and then having me take half an hour to snap photos.. haha just like my poor bf. But it's mah birthday so my way or the high way!

Anyhoo, it's a tradition to have this soup on your birthday and lots of other delicious noms. I also got money from my relatives, although my mother said I'm way too old to be receiving anything. Boo.. :(

Miyeok Gook - Korean Seaweed Soup

makes 4-6 servings

100g flank steak
5g dried seaweed (Miyeok), rehydrated in water for 1 hour
6 cups water
2 tsp youndoo (or 2 tbsp soysauce)
salt
1 tsp sesame oil (optional addition at the end)

• Boil the 6 cups of water, add some salt, put in flank steak and simmer for 1 hour 
• Keep simmering the soup, but take out the steak (should be fully cooked) and shred with 2 forks 
• Cut rehydrated seaweed into 2 inch squares, rinse under cold water
• Place seaweed and shredded steak back into the soup. Add salt and youndoo (or soysauce 2 tbsp) to taste
• Boil another 10 minutes and serve

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Southwestern Chili

Yay to the weekend. To pumpkin patches, to corn mazes, to hayrides... I love fall. But it feels like the dead of winter here >.<  I checked the weather this morning and it said 0 Celsius. Omgee (also yes, I still use celsius because I'm civilized and I had British schooling all my life). That is the coldest it can ever get in Hong Kong (where I grew up) or LA. I'm used to either tropical or desert weather. I feel like whipping out my Uggs, but everyone would find me absolutely ridiculous. Why is everyone so opposed to Uggs? Actually, throughout high school I was so adamant about never wearing those hideous sheep clogs and swore to all my friends that I'd rather amputate my legs than be seen wearing them.  BBBuuuuutt, that was when I lived in Hong Kong. Now, if I don't wear them in the East Coast, my toes will fall off and I will probably really have to amputate my foot.

I digress... :) To battle the cold, I made something nice and warm, stick-to-your ribs chili. Delicious with some home-made cornbread.

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