Easy Asparagus Tart

This asparagus tart is very easy to make. If you can't get fresh asparagus, frozen ones will work fine. Pair with a salad, or a nice juicy piece of steak.

INGREDIENTS:

1 sheet of puff pasty
1 box (5.2 oz) Boursin cheese (Garlic & Fine Herb)
1 bag of frozen asparagus spears (you can also use fresh ones)
PAM butter cooking spray
Lemon zest
Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F. Thaw puff pastry.

Unroll and spread Boursin cheese on top of the pastry. The cheese spreads much easier when it is in room temperature.

Leave about half an inch on each side.

Arrange asparagus spears on top of the cheese. You can arrange the spears in alternate orders.

Continue arranging the asparagus spears until you have covered all the cheese.

Fold the sides and tuck them neatly to form a square tart. If the edges are not sticking, try using some water to moisten the dough and then crimp them. Spray PAM Butter cooking spray evenly on top of the tart. A quick dash of black pepper on top of the asparagus.

Bake at a 400°F for 20 minutes. Add lemon zest on top once the tart finished baking. Serve warm.

Goat Cheese Crostini

This is an easy to prepare appetizer that's quick and simple. Great with wine or as party appetizers. You can prep batches of these beforehand and toast them before serving. Thanks for this recipe, Nate!

1 baguette
Goat cheese, preferably spreadable
Sliced almonds
Honey
Truffle oil (optional)

Preheat oven at 400 degrees F. Slice baguette lengthwise, about 1/2 inch per piece.

Brush the top of baguette slices with some truffle oil. Spread goat cheese on top and sprinkle on some sliced almonds. Drizzle with honey.

Toast in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the almonds started to brown. Serve warm or room temperature.

Turmeric Fried Chicken

Turmeric fried chicken is a delicacy of its own. Marinated with turmeric, it is fried until the meat is slightly dry. Most people wouldn't want to eat dried up fried chicken. Most people are not Malaysians. Turmeric fried chicken are usually found in Indian or Malay food stands. They are generally eaten with rice or with nasi lemak.

I like making these with turmeric powder instead of fresh turmeric. Turmeric powder draws out the chicken's moisture while fresh turmeric makes it soggy when marinating. Thus, chicken marinated with turmeric powder will be crispier and drier (yes, drier ... and we like it that way). Because this fried chicken is intentionally made to be crispy and dry, I'd suggest not using chicken breasts. Any other part of the chicken is fine. Be careful when working with turmeric because it stains anything it touches (esp. clothes)

Ingredients:
6 drumsticks (you can use wings or thighs)
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons salt
Oil for frying.

Clean chicken pieces and cut slits all over. The more surface area you have, the more spaces you marinade would stick (Translation: It would be yummier).

Add in salt and turmeric powder.

Mix well and let it marinade for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.

Heat oil in a pot or wok. Fry chicken pieces over medium heat. Make sure you do not crowd the pot or wok with the chicken or it would steam instead of deep frying. Fry for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is crispy. Drain on paper towel before serving.

Easy Curry Puffs

I'm not really that into baking and I hate measuring ingredients so anything that calls for making a dough, rolling the dough flat and cutting them into discs is basically a deal breaker for me.

Then there's frozen empanada skins to the rescue! If you can find frozen empanada skins in your supermarket then making these "puffs" are a breeze. They are usually found in the frozen aisle (d'oh!) and usually by the Mexican products. Here I used Goya frozen empanada skins. The filling for curry puff is easy to make. Grandma likes her curry puffs really spicy and Vance sure wouldn't mind spicy curry puffs so I actually added more curry powder into the paste. You can, of course, adjust the spiciness of the filling to your liking by adding more or using less curry powder. Make sure to cool your filling to room temperature before pleating them with the dough.

For the filling:
3 potatoes, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup oil
1 cup water
Salt and pepper

For the curry paste:
1/2 cup curry powder
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
2 tablespoon water

1 packet Goya  frozen empanada skins (10 discs), thawed
Enough oil for frying

Combine curry powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and  2 tablespoon water to form a curry paste. Heat 1/2 cup oil in a pot. Add in onions and fry until it starts to brown under medium heat. Add in garlic. Fry for another minute and then add in the curry paste. Fry until the paste is fragrant, about 2 -3 minutes. Add in potatoes. Mix well. Add in 1 cup of water and let it start to simmer. Lower the heat and cook for about 15 minutes covered or until the potatoes are tender. Stir potatoes occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let the filling cool to room temperature before using.

To make the curry puffs, put 1 tablespoonful of filling on the middle of the dough.

Then, fold the dough into a semi circle. (picture below)

Pleat the edges. Don't worry, if you don't know how to do it check out the video I posted.

Once you pleated all the curry puffs, deep fry them in hot oil until golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!

Baked Soy Sauce Wings

This is an easy wings recipe. You just need to marinade the wings the day before and then pop it in the oven for about 35 minutes. 

2 lb. chicken wings (cut in the section)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoon white pepper
2 inch ginger (grated)
Salt

Put everything in a large Ziploc bag. Squeeze out the air and mix chicken with the marinate, massaging them a few times. Store in the fridge and let ingredients marinate for at least 6 hours, a day preferably.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a shallow baking sheet, arrange wings on top of non-stick aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn oven up to broil for another 5 minutes for a darker color.

Chicken Waller Court

I came up with this recipe more than 10 years ago although I haven't made it for a very long time as well. My mum absolutely loves this dish, being the peanut fiend that she is. The name of this dish comes from the place I used to live in with my grandma in Malaysia. I felt that it is only appropriate to name it where it was created.

This is an easy dish to make. It goes well with rice, eaten as is or even as an appetizer. This dish is similar to General Tso's chicken but more flavorful and tastier! At least that's what I think. If you can't find sweet chili sauce, you can substitute it using regular chili sauce and some sugar.

2 chicken breasts (about 2 lbs.), cut into cubes
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon oil
1 egg (beaten)
Salt and pepper
Enough oil for frying

3/4 cup sweet chili sauce (I used Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup peanut, roasted and chopped

Marinate chicken cubes with curry powder, turmeric powder, corn starch, oil, egg, salt and pepper for an hour.

Heat oil on medium flame and deep fry marinated chicken cubes until golden brown. Drain and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add sweet chili sauce and ketchup. Cook until sauce thickens. It should be enough to just coat the chicken pieces. If sauce gets too thick, add a splash of water to dilute it.

Add chicken pieces into the sauce. Mix to coat evenly.

Turn off the heat and add in peanuts. Mix thoroughly. Serve hot.

Mochiko Chicken

Mochiko chicken is one of the famous Hawaiian dishes. If you've never had mochiko chicken before, be aware that this fried chicken dish is a bit sweet since one of the major component is sugar. I find adding sesame oil and/or sesame seeds to the chicken makes it more flavorful. You can eat this on its own or with rice. However you choose, this is ono kine grind! Who needs to buy a plane ticket to Hawaii when you can make your own island fare at home, huh?

About 3 lbs. of chicken thighs or chicken breasts or both (deboned)
1/4 cup mochiko (sweet rice flour)
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped scallions (green onions)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
5 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoon chopped ginger
2 eggs
Some scallions for garnish

Cut chicken thighs into bite-size pieces. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (except the scallions for garnish). Mix well. Let chicken marinate in a ziploc bag overnight in the fridge.

Heat oil. Fry chicken pieces until brown. I like mine well done so I fry them till it's dark brown. If you want, you can use a slotted spoon to spoon out fried bits and pieces from the oil. Drain well. Garnish with scallions. Serves about 4 person.

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

My partner said "Everything taste good wrapped in bacon!". Indeed he's right. It's tricky to cook bacon wrapped shrimp because shrimps generally take less time to cook than bacon. So, in order to get the shrimp and bacon done at the same time (while not having overcooked chewy shrimp or worse uncooked bacon), choose large shrimp and thin sliced bacon. I'm using "extra jumbo" shrimps in this recipe, which basically has 16-10 count per pound. You can de-vein the shrimps if you want but I generally do not bother doing it. If you are using medium sized or small shrimp, you can microwave the bacon for 2 minutes to get a head start.

1 lb. shrimp, 16-20 count (shelled, with tail on)
1 package bacon, cut slices into halves.
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Wooden skewers or picks

Mix shrimps with Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper. Wrap them with bacon and secure with wooden skewers or picks.

Grill on each side for 2 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp.

Grilled Asparagus ... With Bacon?

Here's a quick and easy way to prepare asparagus. Grilling them! What's better? Wrap them in bacon and then grilling them! I don't really have a measurement for this recipe, just get some asparagus and grill them. If you want to wrap them in bacon and then grill them, just get a package of bacon (although you want to avoid the thick cut ones). And congratulations, you just became the hero of meat eaters and vegetarians alike!

Asparagus
Salt and pepper to taste
A drizzle of olive oil (you don't need it if you're using bacon)
Bacon (cut slices in half)
Wooden skewers or picks

Wash and clean asparagus. Trim the fibrous stem.

If you're wrapping the asparagus with bacon, this is the time when you want to wrap them. Continue until you've finished wrapping the asparagus. Skewer two or three of these wrapped asparagus together. This will make turning them easier when grilling. Season with salt and pepper. In a hot grill, grill for about 2 minutes on each sides. Serve warm.

If you're just grilling the asparagus as is, skewer two of three of them together. This will make turning them easier when grilling. Season with olive oil, salt and pepper. In a hot grill, grill for about 2 minutes on each sides. More if you don't like your asparagus al dente. Serve warm with some Parmesan cheese or balsamic vinegar.

Belacan Fried Chicken Wings

Belacan are fermented shrimp ubiquitous to Southeast Asian cooking. I've actually never eaten belacan fried chicken before, not even when I was in Malaysia. Saw them while food shopping the other day in an Asian supermarket. Though I'd picked up a few packets of "Belacan Chicken Powder" so I can try it on some frozen wings I have in my freezer. These wings are good as party food, appetizer or entree. You can also use chicken thighs, drumsticks, breast meat or even small chicken pieces. This is an easy recipe, the hardest part is to restrain yourself from finishing all those wings!

If you don't have a supermarket that sells Southeast Asian food products, you can try to buy them online. The product I use is "Hup Loong Belacan Chicken Powder".

4lbs. chicken wings
1 packet Hup Loong Belacan Chicken Powder (90g)
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix wings and seasoning. Marinate for an hour. Deep fry until golden brown. Serve immediately!

Broiled Mussels With Dynamite Sauce

Dynamite sauce is Japanese mayonnaise with hot sauce (such as Sriracha chili sauce). I don't know why they name it "dynamite", perhaps because it is spicy. You can get smelt roe (masago) in the frozen seafood section in most Asian supermarkets. This easy recipe makes a tasty appetizer or can be an entree as well.

1 box green mussels (2 lbs.)
1 cup Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie brand)
1/2 cup smelt roe (masago)
1 tablespoon half and half
Sriracha sauce (according to taste, I used 3 tablespoon)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl except mussels. Line mussels on a baking tray. Spoon mayonnaise mixture on top of mussels, enough to cover the meat.

Broil mussels until it starts to brown and bubbly, around 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Quick and Easy Garlic Bread

Here's a quick and easy garlic bread recipe. It's a perfect accompaniment to any soup, salad, pasta or when you want to soak up some delicious sauce!

1 baguette
4 tablespoon softened unsalted butter
2 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Slice baquette horizontally and then half to create 4 pieces of bread. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Mix butter, garlic and oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread mixture on top of bread.


Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or when garlic starts to brown.

Tequila Mussels

What to do with leftover tequila? If you're not the kind that do tequila shots, try this mussels recipe.

2 lbs. New Zealand greenshell mussels
1 cup tequila
1 can diced tomato (14.5 oz.)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (more if you prefer)
2 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon oil
Lime juice (from 1 lime)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil and butter in a pan or wok. Add in chopped garlic and cook till garlic is softened. Add in tomato, tequila and mussels.

Cook covered for 5 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat. Add in cilantro and lime juice. Mix well and serve hot with bread, garlic bread or my Quick and Easy Garlic Bread.

Stuffed Chinese Crullers

I used to make these back in Malaysia, my grandma loves eating them. I haven't made these for so long and kinda craved it the other day. This is an easy dish to make, all you gotta do is stuffed the crullers and pan fry them. This type of crullers are not to be confused with the sweet ones you buy from the bakery. Chinese fried crullers (Yao Ja Guai in Cantonese) are savory and are used in or eaten with savory dishes. If you can't find fresh Chinese fried crullers, they are sold in bags in any Chinese supermarkets.

1 container fish paste (13 oz.)
Chinese fried crullers (2 pairs)
1 tablespoon white pepper
Some oil for frying

Mix fish paste with white pepper. Set aside.


Break cruller pairs into individual crullers. Cut crullers in half (you should have 8 pieces). Slit cruller on the middle so it looks like a hot dog roll.

Scoop fish paste into the middle cavity and stuffed crullers. Repeat until all crullers are used up.

Heat oil on medium heat. Pan fry stuffed crullers, stuffing-side first. Cook for a few minutes, and then brown the other side for about a minute or two (be careful not to burn this side because the cruller was already fried).

Drain crullers on absorbent paper before serving. Serve with chilli sauce, ketchup or Kewpie Mayonnaise.

Fried Wontons

Wontons, Wantons, Wantans, Wuntun, whatever you want to call it, this dumpling is a favorite fried or cooked in broth. Here is a wiki entry for "Wontons". Fried wontons make good appetizers for parties or when you just need to satisfy your wonton fix! There are many versions of wonton fillings, this one is what my grandma used to make. Wonton fillings are usually made of pork but I don't really like pork so I substituted it with chicken. There are two types of wonton wrappers, yellow (with eggs) and white (without eggs). Get the yellow versions. Also, get the square ones instead of the round ones.

The secrets to great fried wontons are just enough filling and low heat when frying. If you put a lot of filling, you might not cook through them when the wonton skin browns. Frying in low heat lets you get a golden skin and ample time to thoroughly cook the wonton filling.


1 lb. minced chicken
2 tablespoon chopped scallion
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
1/2 tablespoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 pack, wonton wrappers (square)

1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

Mix chicken, scallion, sesame seed oil, white pepper and salt. Let filling marinade for an hour. Mix cornstarch and water to form a cornstarch mixture.

Scoop a teaspoonful of filling and place it on the middle of the wrapper.

Wet the edges of wrapper with cornstarch mixture. Fold wrapper in half to form a triangle. This is the easy method to make a wonton. If you want a fancier wonton, continue to the next step.

Wet the two corners that have the longest sides. Invert the corners so one is overlapping the other.

Repeat until you used up all filling. If you are making extras, line a container with paper towels. Arrange wontons on top of paper towel. Be careful not to stack wontons on top of each other without a layer of paper towel or it'll stick in the freezer. Good in the freezer for about a week.


Heat oil. Once oil is hot, fry wontons on low heat. Fry until golden brown.

Serve as is or with chilli sauce. Makes about 4 dozens.

Easy Chinese Tea Eggs

This is an easy version of Chinese Tea Eggs. You can find most, if not all ingredients from your pantry. You can eat the tea eggs by itself as a snack, serve it with ramen or even make an asian egg sandwich out of it. The longer you seep the eggs, the more flavorful it becomes.

12 large eggs
Enough water to boil eggs

Ingredient A:
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoon black tea leaves (you can use any kind, I used Jasmine tea)
2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder (optional)
2 cups water

Put eggs in a pot. Add enough cold water to cover the eggs. Place lid on the potato and turn heat to high. Once water starts boiling, turn off the heat and leave the eggs in the pot for 10 minutes. Rinse eggs with cold water and it cool.

Using the back of a spoon, gently tap the egg surface to crack the shell. Alternately, you can also roll the eggs on a flat surface gently to emulate the cracking pattern.

Return eggs to the pot. Add in ingredient A. If the mixture is too shallow, add more water so it covers all the eggs. Turn heat to high and let mixture boil. Once it's boiling, let it simmer on low heat for 2 - 3 hours. Add more water when needed. Let eggs seep in the mixture longer if you want. Refrigerate leftover eggs.