Spicy Tofu with Vermicelli

For our Chinese New Year dinner, my friend Robert prepared this dish. It’s a very flavorful vegetarian friendly dish and something that can be made quickly.
Spicy Tofu with Vermicellirecipe adapted from Understocked Veggie Kitchen
12 oz. firm tofuvermicelli (more if you like your noodles in oodles, less if you like it more veggie-heavy)4 small sized carrots1-2 [...]

Traditional Mandarin Fried Rice

For my Chinese New Year Dinner, my friend Yumi prepared this Ming Tsai dish. It’s a wonderful fried rice recipe that is as easy as it comes! The ingredients include common items with the exception of Chinese Sausage. If you don’t have Chinese sausage available, you can use bacon or even ham (which is what [...]

Steamed Lime & Cilantro Tilapia w/Dark Soy Sauce

One of my favorite fish dishes is from my Tita Cora. Tita Cora (aka ‘Auntie’ Cora, my husband’s first Aunt) usually makes a steamed fish often for the holidays or just get togethers throughout the year. She uses various kinds of fish, but the flavors of lime, cilantro and ginger are always the same. Tita [...]

Joy Luck Club: Family Favorites Round Up!

This month for my Read, Watch & Eat event, the chosen book & movie my friends and I read/watched was The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. It’s a wonderful story that captures various dynamics of mother and daughter relationships… some of which come very close to home for me. In honor of the book [...]

BBQ Chicken & BBQ Pork Fillings

The following recipe was used for my Steam Buns cooking class. You can read about my class and get other links to recipes HERE.
BBQ Chicken & BBQ Pork Fillings
1.5 cups shredded chicken or diced/shredded pork1/2 -3/4 cup bbq sauce3 tablespoons soy sauce1/4 cup hoisin sauce1 teaspoon sesame oil
1-2 tablespoons fried minced garlicsalt & white pepper [...]

Mongolian Beef Filling

The following recipe was used for my Steam Buns cooking class. You can read about my class and get other links to recipes HERE.
Mongolian Beef Filling
2 bunches green onion, cut in 1 inch pieces1 lb lean beef, sliced thinsalt & pepper to taste1 tablespoon garlic powder1 tablespoon onion powder2 tablespoons cornstarch1 onion, diced3-4 cloves [...]

Creamy Crab Filling

The following recipe was used for my Steam Buns cooking class. You can read about my class and get other links to recipes HERE.
Creamy Crab Filling
1 brick cream cheese

1 tablespoon onion powder1 tablespoon garlic powder1 bunch green onions sliced1 1/2 cups imitation crab meat, choppedpinch of kosher salt1 tablespoon white sugar
Combine all the ingredients.

Hot & Steamy Chinese Adventure Round Up!

Chicago has gotten quite a bit of rain the whole weekend so it definitely was a perfect day to spend in the kitchen with friends. For my culinary adventure today, friends came over to learn how to make Chinese Steamed Buns and stuffed them with an assortment of fillings.

You will need the following to make [...]

Eggrolls & Asian Appetizers Roundup!

Eggrolls are a popular Asian appetizer but it’s also found in American contemporary cuisine filled with various flavor combinations. Today, my friends and I got together to learn more about eggrolls by spending the afternoon rolling some with an assortment of fillings! For my eggroll adventure, I provided several different kinds of fillings including: [...]

Things You Can Caramelize

What food comes to mind when you think of caramelizing? Let’s see… there’s onions, shallots, nuts, apples, creme brulee, etc. Have you ever considered tofu?
I know it’s a bit odd, but hear me out! Tofu is one of those foods that might require some extra coaxing for folks to try. But perhaps caramelizing them to [...]