Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Yasai Cha Han


  • 3/4 cup cooked rice
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 14 button mushrooms, quartered (or can of sliced mushrooms)
  • 3/4 inch cubes of firm tofu
  • handful of corn
  • handful of peas
  • 4 scallions, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 eggs
  • Chili paste (optional)
Add oil to hot frying pan or wok if you have one. Add mushrooms and sautee for few minutes. Add tofu and continue stir-frying for several minutes or until tofu is brown on all sides. Add corn, peas, and scallions. Stir fry until cooked through. Add rice, salt, soy sauce, and stir fry. Scramble the eggs and add to the stir fry mix.

I prefer this dip a bit spicy so I added a bit of Sriracha chili paste. You can also try using shichimi (a.k.a seven-spice pepper that can be found in oriental grocery stores).

Serve with miso soup.

Courtesy of the Wagamama Cookbook.

Piyaju/Pakora


  • 4 cups masoor daal/lentils
  • 3 onions, chopped
  • 1.5 tsp cumin
  • 1.5 tsp coriander
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • Green peppers, chopped
Soak daal for several hours. Blend with a little bit of water until it has a batter like consistency (not too runny). Slice up onions and mix with blended daal. Add all spices. Add green peppers depending on how spicy you like them (I use a lot of pepper). Mix. Heat oil in a frying pan about a centimeter deep. Drop spoonfuls of piyaju mixture and fry on both sides until brown. Serve plain or with chutney.

Piyaju in image are at top.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Triple Vegetable Dip



I've made this recipe COUNTLESS times. It's always a favorite at the party and is completely wiped out of the bowl. Thank you, Kraft Foods!

Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups grated parmesan cheese (I use 2 cups because I really like parmesan)
  • 1 can asparagus spears, chopped
  • 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed (10 oz. size)
  • 1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
  • 1 container chive and onion cream cheese (8 oz. size)
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
I use fat free cream cheese and mayo. Mix 1 1/2 cups paremesan cheese with all the remaining ingredients, place mixture into baking dish. Top with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Red Velvet Cupcakes



Amazing.
  • 2.5 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1.5 cups sugar
  • 1 cup milk with lemon juice (1 Tbsp lemon juice, rest of one cup filled with skim milk)
  • 1.5 cups vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 Tbsp red food color
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Mix all dry ingredients together. Mix all wet ingredients together. Combine dry and wet mixes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with cream cheese frosting (I used the Betty Crocker whipped kind).

Modified from this recipe.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Baked Chicken and Pasta

  • 2 cups uncooked rotini
  • 1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)
  • Dried herbs to taste
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 1+ cup Italian style bread crumbs
Boil rotini until cooked. Add can of tomato sauce. Add in pinch of dried oregano, basil, parsley, and black pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 400 deg. Cut chicken breasts into strips, dip in bowl of bread crumbs, and place in baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes or until fully cooked. Arrange chicken strips on top of pasta.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Coconut Shrimp Curry

  • 1 lb shrimp
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 Tbsp ginger powder
  • 1 green chili, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tsp Shan Bombay Biryani mix
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 can (14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
Sautee onion until golden brown. Add green chili, ginger powder, Shan mix, turmeric and sautee 2 more minutes. Add water, coconut milk, lemon juice, salt, sugar, and lower heat to simmer. Simmer until sauce is thickened and stir occasionally. Add shrimp and simmer until shrimp is fully cooked.

This was modified from this recipe.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Tomato and Spinach Rotini

I tried this recipe today, turned out good.

My changes:
1. No meat.
2. Sauteed a few onions and mushrooms, then added the spinach and tomatoes to it.
3. Added half a can of pasta sauce because 1 can of tomatoes leaves the pasta still too dry. Either add pasta sauce or double the amount of canned tomatoes.
  • 2 cups rotini
  • 1 package spinach (7 cups)
  • 1 can Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 small can mushrooms
  • 1/2 can pasta sauce
Cook pasta. Cook spinach with tomatoes, onion, mushrooms. Add cheeses. Mix sauce with drained pasta.

Cajun Veggies


Okay, I made this recipe up myself and it turned out not too shabby.

  • 1 potato, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 1 cup fresh green beans
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped or sliced long
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsp cajun spice
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
Put a teaspoon of oil in a hot pan and start pan frying the chopped potatoes. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the green beans (be sure to cut off the ends of the beans). Cook 3-4 minutes, then add carrots, onion, and bell peppers. Cook for 3-4 minutes, add a bit of oil or small sliver of butter as needed so that the potatoes don't start burning and sticking to the pan. Add the black pepper, cajun spice, mix. Then add the can of cream of mushroom soup, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes (check to make sure potatoes are cooked through). Yum.

*Edit: Turned out a hit with my friends, BUT it is spicy with all that cajun spice and black pepper. Make note of that if you're entertaining non-spicy-food-eating friends.