Recipe: Chinese-style Stir Fry Eggplant

Ever since I had the Eggplant Basil dish at Taiwan Café, I've been majorly craving these flavors and knew that I had to recreate them at home! I read countless online recipes and watched so many how-to videos. 

After all this research, I decided to use Made with Lau's version and adapt it to my own kitchen pantry. Lo and behold, the most delicious eggplant of all time... 

Ingredients

• 3 Chinese Eggplants
• 1-2 serrano/spicy peppers
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 of ginger, peeled and grated
• basil (optional, but recommended)
• scallions (optional)
• diced mushrooms (optional)
• diced onions (optional)
• 1/3 lb of ground pork
• fish sauce
• corn starch
• oyster sauce
• soy sauce
• shaoxing wine
• black vinegar
• black bean sauce
• sugar/honey

1. Start off by cutting the eggplant into 2-inch chunks, then quarter them

2. Steam the eggplant for about 12 to 15 minutes, until soft

3. Marinate the ground pork in some cornstarch, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and oyster sauce

4. Make a sauce consisting of:

• 3 TB brown sugar (alternatively, you can use white sugar + honey)
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 TB oyster sauce
• 3 TB soy sauce
• 2 TB black vinegar
• 1 TB shaoxing wine
• 0.5 TB black bean sauce
• a dash of fish sauce

5. Heat oil in a wok until sizzling (but don't overheat it and cause a fire, like I almost did)

6. Then add the chopped serrano/spicy peppers to the oil, followed by the minced garlic and ginger

7. Then add the mushrooms/onions/scallions/basil if you would like these flavors

8. Next add the marinated ground pork and stir fry on high heat until browned throughout

9. Turn down the heat and add the sauce you prepared

10. Add the soft, steamed eggplant to the wok and stir everything

Ta da! You're done! And your kitchen should be filled with a delicious aroma!

Serve the eggplant over rice. Enjoy! 

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Recipe: Mini Pumpkin Pie Tarts

You don't have to wait until Thanksgiving to whip up a delicious pumpkin pie treat! With this super simple pumpkin mini pie recipe, you can enjoy the delectable taste all-year-round. 

Ingredients

• fresh pumpkin
• cream cheese
• brown sugar
• egg
• milk
• vanilla
• pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc.) 
• pre-made tart crusts
• (optional) nuts

1) Roast pumpkin in the oven with oil and a dash of sea salt at 400 degrees for 1 hour

2) Combine 1 cup of soft roasted pumpkin with 4 oz cream cheese

3) Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 egg, 3 table spoons of milk, dash of vanilla, dash of pumpkin pie spice

4) Mix with a hand mixer until smooth

5) Spoon into pre-made tart crusts

6) Garnish with some pumpkin pie spice and nuts

7) Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees

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Recipe: How to Make Steamed Rice Rolls in the Microwave

Steamed shrimp rice rolls (cheong fun) are, by far, my favorite dim sum dish. When I tried recreating the dish at home, I found it difficult to properly steam the rice flour batter without the right equipment. So instead, I came across this neat hack, making rice rolls in the microwave! 

Ingredients

• rice flour
• sesame oil
• vegetable oil
• salt
• cooked shrimp or other toppings of your choice (I recommend scallions!) 
• oyster sauce
• dark soy sauce
• sugar

1. Mix together 1.5 cups of rice flour, 5 cups water, 1 TB sesame oil, 2 TB vegetable oil, and a pinch of sea salt in a large bowl. Stir vigorously until well combined

2. Ladle about 1/3 of the batter mixture into a glass bread loaf baking pan. 

3. Microwave for 4 minutes. 

4. Assemble toppings on one end of the load pan, above the thin rice layer.

5. Use a small spatula to gently nudge and roll the rice layer into a cylinder, wrapping the toppings securely inside. 

6. Prepare the sweet soy sauce mixture by mixing 1/3 cup hot water, 2 TB oyster sauce, 1 TB dark soy sauce, 1-2 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp sesame oil. 

7. Pour sweet soy sauce mixture over cooked rice rolls! 

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[Book] The Bailey Blues by Darlina Liu

After doing some research on storybooks about parental mental illness, I was inspired to write my own children's book. 

The Bailey Blues is a 31-page picture book detailing one dog's experience with depression and her recovery process with the help of the vet, friends, and family members. 

The book is illustrated with color images of Bailey the German Shepherd (Instagram: @ohthebaileyblues) and includes a cameo with Ollie MacFluffy the Cavalier (Instagram: @olliemacfluffythecavalier). 

It's a great tool for introducing the topic of depression to young audiences. No matter what age, you can enjoy this story of hope and healing.

Check it out on Amazon today!  

Who can resist this face?!

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Recipe: Homemade Udon Noodles from Scratch!

 Whether stir-fried or boiled in soup, udon noodles have a delightful chewy texture. I usually buy them in-store, but I recently ran out of stock. Thankfully, they're super easy to make at home... only THREE ingredients necessary. 

Ingredients

• all purpose flour
• salt
• water

It's that simple! 

1. Measure out 200g flour, 10g salt, 90g water. The measurements do need to be precise, so I recommend using a scale for this step. 

2. Mix the salt and water together in a cup. Then add the salted water to the flour in a bowl. The dough should be crumbly. 

3. Put the dough in a open ziploc bag and let it rest for 30 minutes. 

4. Now, the hard work begins... seal the ziploc bag and then place it on the floor. Flatten the dough with your feet. (Yup, that's right! At this point, the dough is so sturdy that you'll need to use the weight of your whole body to flatten it out.)

5. Once flat, open the bag and roll the dough into a log.

6. Seal the bag and flatten with your feet once more. Repeat the log rolling, alternating directions each time (horizontally, then vertically) three more times. Or until the dough softens in consistency. 

7. After several cycles of flattening, leave the dough in the ziploc bag for 2-3 hours.

8. When it's time, dust a cutting board with corn starch. Roll the dough into a thin square.

9. Fold the square like an accordion. Then cut into strips of noodles. Note that the noodles will expand upon boiling, so cut the noodles thinner than you'd like them to be. 

10. Drape the strips of noodles over a chopstick. This step helps the noodles to retain a more pleasant shape for eating. 

11. Boil a pot of water. When boiling, add the noodles and cook for about 12 minutes. 

12. Enjoy hour noodles with soup, or stir-fried! 

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Recipe: Sticky Fried Rice

Lately I've been making a lot of dishes with sticky rice--- spare ribs with sticky rice, chicken with sticky rice... I happened to have some leftover glutinous rice soaking in water and put it to use in this simple recipe.  

Ingredients

• 7 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 3 cups of glutinous rice
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 scallions
• 2 Chinese sausages
• 4 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine
• 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
• sesame oil 
• white pepper
• black pepper
• 2 salted duck egg yolks
• dried shrimp
• chicken broth

1. Soak 3 cups of glutinous rice in water overnight

2. Boil 2 cups of water and soak dried shiitake mushrooms in container overnight. Be sure to save the water for step #10 of the recipe 

3. The next day, sauté 3 cloves of minced garlic and 2 scallion whites (chopped) in 2 teaspoons of sesame oil in a wok

4. Once fragrant, add 2 Chinese sausages (sliced) and sliced rehydrated shiitake mushrooms to the wok

5. Then add sauce components, including Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, an additional 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, and a pinch of white pepper and black pepper

6. Turn off the fire and add your pre-soaked glutinous rice to the wok

7. Stir thoroughly

8. Add finely chopped duck egg yolks and dried shrimp for additional flavor. You may also add chestnuts, peanuts, or dried scallops at this point for extra oomph

9. Transfer wok contents to a rice cooker

10. Cover the rice with the water from the mushrooms. Then add a splash of chicken broth. Cook according to your rice cooker instructions. 

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Recipe: Pickled Cucumbers

Cucumbers can usually last for quite a while in the fridge. One way to extend its freshness even longer is though the process of pickling. A quick, easy, and refreshing way to pickle your cucumbers can be found here: 

Ingredients

• Cucumbers
• 1/4 cup of rice vinegar
• 3 teaspoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of fish sauce
• red chili flakes

1. Slice your cucumbers and salt generously

2. Wait about 30 minutes, then use a paper towel to remove excess liquid

3. Combine mix of rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and fish sauce

4. Cover the cucumbers generously in pickle mix

5. Garnish with red chili flakes

 

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