Asian Chicken Salad

Geez, I feel like its been a month since I’ve blogged… oh wait, it HAS been a month. Well, I’ve been busy… lots of good things going on. I finally made the decision to leave my job as a commercial lines insurance agent to work with my husband full time as the Studio Manager. In case you’re new to my blog, and/or missed all of my past shameless plugs… he’s a fabulous photographer. I’m excited and just a tad scared of this new adventure I’m embarking on. However, one of the things I’m really looking forward to is having more time for my blog. I feel like I’ve treated my poor blog like a red headed stepchild lately and I’m sorry!

On to the food… The past month or two, Stephan and I decided to concentrate on eating healthy. Well we always eat pretty healthy, but we’ve avoided the sweets… that’s also part of the reason I’ve been so quiet on the blog… Who wants to see grilled fish with steamed veggies… again? Yeah, I didn’t think so! LOL! This salad is definitely blogworthy! Its stupid easy and quick to prepare and lastly… very yummy!
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July 20, 2009 | Filed Under Asian, Chicken, Dinner

12 Critiques

Flied Lice and Happy Blogday to Me!

Unlike the dentist on Seinfeld who converted to Judiasm in order to make off-color Jewish jokes, I really am Japanese, so its OK that I joke about my Asian peeps…. right? This leads to a funny story about Asian accents. Many many years ago, my stepfather, Rex worked at Lucy Ho’s, a small restaurant in Tallahassee, FL. Every day when my stepdad would come in, the cook would call out… Herrrrro Lex. I always wondered if he actually tried to say “Herro Lex” if it would come out Hello Rex? Anyone else wonder? I know my mom (who is Japanese, and still has a very thick accent) will laugh at this… you KNOW its funny! Love you mom! :P

Today’s post is a milestone for me… exactly one year blogging! I’m so happy I let Stephan talk me into food blogging because its become a wonderful hobby for me. I’ve “met” so many fellow bloggers, and truly enjoy being a part of the whole food bloggin’ thang. Even better… I now have very organized recipes and have actually looked back when making certain dishes that I really like. I honestly started this blog to be easy quick dinners, but know I’ve veered a bit from it with desserts. I just can’t help it. I love to bake… I love desserts in general. But today’s post of fried rice is going back to my original game plan of easy dinners. If you’re planning on making rice as a side dish one night, just double (or triple) the amount you make and refrigerate the leftovers. The next day, in less than 30 minutes, you can have yummy fried rice.

Kona Kampachi Sushi

One of my favorite things to eat is sushi. Although I’m half Japanese, I was a wimp and didn’t try sushi until I was in my early 20’s. I was always afraid of eating raw fish, but after my first taste, I was hooked. With all the different things I cook and bake, I’ve never made sushi until the other day. I had the perfect opportunity to make sushi with the Kona Kampachi (Yellowtail) so I figured it was time. Of course, I winged it as usual, and ended up with a ridiculous amount of cut veggies and not enough rice. Who woulda thought it took so much rice (and so little veggie) to make sushi? I really wanted to make Nigiri-Sushi, but I ran out of rice before I got to it. Oh well… we still had more than we could eat.

To be honest, I’m not sure if I’ll make sushi again, as it was really quite labor intensive. We also have a little family owned Japanese/Thai restaurant close to our home that has fantastic sushi. I try to go there at least once a week to cure my sushi cravings. However, the flavor was unbelievably good. The fresh Kona Kampachi with the just cooked rice… you can’t get that, even in the best Sushi restaurant. OK, maybe I’ll make sushi again if I have an amazing piece of fish that warrants home made sushi!
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March 26, 2008 | Filed Under Asian, Seafood

14 Critiques

Wok This Way!

Yeah, I know, cheesy title! I really did use my wok, though. :) This is an easy recipe, because it uses basic ingredients, things I usually have on hand, other than a few extra veggies. Its also very quick cooking. Start your rice when you start chopping veggies. By the time you’re finished stir-frying, the rice is cooked and ready to go. You’re eating in 20 minutes!

I have to tell you… I’m uber excited about my weekend because its the South Beach Wine and Food Festival… and yours truly is going to the Grand Tasting!!!! The Forge, Touch, and Blue Door in the Delano (where my hubby proposed) are among some of the amazing South Florida restaurants who will be offering samples of their wares. There will also be many chefs including Masaharu Morimoto, (AKA The Iron Chef) Bobby Flay and Tyler Florence from the Food Network that will be there for seminars and book signings. I am just beside myself with excitement! Thank goodness I have my own personal paparazzi with me (isn’t it great to marry a photographer?) so I’ll have photos to post next week.

I would love to go to all the events, especially the Interactive Cooking Lunch with Ming Tsai (big sigh…) but everything sold out quickly. I have been a huge fan of his for many years. When I was in Culinary School, we had to write about who we looked up to in the industry. I chose him because at the time, he had a show called East meets West. What a coincidence, that’s what I am… Japanese and American… get it? Anyway, in writing this story, I decided to send Ming an email and ask a few questions. Honestly, I never expected to hear back from him. One day… maybe a month after I had written him the email, I came home to a message on my voice mail. It was MING TSAI! Not his assistant, not the assistant to his assistant, but the real deal. He left me a very long message thanking me for the email and answering my questions. Embarrassing confession: I kept that voice mail for at least 2 years, and played it back often. I’m such a dork, I know.
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February 22, 2008 | Filed Under Asian, Chicken, Dinner

9 Critiques

Meat on a Stick

You just can’t go wrong with meat on a stick. Its not exactly the classiest thing to eat, but when made with a Thai flair, its delish! I’ve made a few different Chicken Satay recipes, but this is the combination of several, and I’m quite happy with the outcome.

I didn’t plan very well, and only had a little bit of fresh ginger left, so I put it all in the marinade. Although the sauce called for it, I was planning to skip it when I remembered I had some candied ginger left from Thanksgiving. So I added a chunk of it to the dipping sauce as it simmered… and it worked, you could taste the ginger! *Insert best Borat voice* Great Success! :)

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November 29, 2007 | Filed Under Asian, Chicken, Dinner

11 Critiques

My Neighborhood Has Crabs!

A few weeks ago, I was walking outside my house and saw something odd scurrying across the road. After a little inspection, I realized it was a large blue crab. Strange… I have absolutely no idea how a crab got into my neighborhood, as I live about 4 miles from the beach. Maybe it got lucky and escaped someone’s crab boil? Perhaps it was tired of the Fort Lauderdale beach scene and wanted to head west to the ‘burbs? I suppose I will never know. Is it wrong that I licked my chops when I saw it, and thought ‘mmmm crab’? Not surprisingly, I have been craving crab cakes since I saw the little bugger.

This is my Asian inspired version of Crab Cakes, made with Panko breadcrumbs to keep with the Asian theme. I served it with Asian slaw.
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November 12, 2007 | Filed Under Asian, Dinner, Seafood

6 Critiques

Chicken Teriyaki

Now this is what I like to call a 30 minute meal… Perhaps even a 20 minute meal. Grilled chicken teriyaki, served with steamed jasmine rice and shelled edamame. Its a great healthy dinner that takes up maybe 5 minutes of your time to prepare. This is the dinner I make when I’m too tired to cook, and have no desire to go out to eat. I probably make this two or three times a month.

Pao, Right in the Kisser

My sister in law, Raluca, gave me a beautiful red Le Creuset Wok the last time she and her husband were here for a visit. I was giddy with happiness at this gift, as I had been wanting it for a long time. Then, sadly, I made one mediocre stirfry after the next. It took several uses to both get it perfectly seasoned and figure out the perfect temperature and recipe. I have now officially mastered my wok!

This Kung Pao recipe is adapted from about 4 other recipes I have come across online. The last couple times I’ve made it, its gotten better and better, resulting in a glossy dark sauce with a nice kick of heat. I searched high and low for the dried red chili peppers that you see in many Chinese dishes and finally found them at, of course, Whole Foods. You can always use crushed red pepper, but I just like the heat and the look of the red chili peppers.
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