Christmas....

Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas this year! I had two parties at my house this year and it was tiring...but it was also fun since I got to spent time with family and friends. Not all of our friends made it to the party so that was disappointing. Anyhow, my friends told me they enjoyed all the food we made.:) This made us really happy!!! Also thanks to my girlfriends for helping with the clean up...if not I'll be cleaning right now. :) Here are some of the food we made....

I didn't have time to decorate the Christmas tree this year so Tu had to do it all by himself. I guess it didn't turn out that bad.

Strawberry Cupcakes. I've been wanting to eat cupcakes since I didn't get to eat them for a while. And because I wanted to make them for my friend's kids. Very easy to make and I even make the frosting. Mmmm...you can see one is missing....lol. Since Helen want to know how to make the frosting, here is the recipe. Make half of this recipe if you want to frost them like mine. 1 box confection sugar, 1 stick of butter, 1/4 cup milk, 2 drops of red food coloring, 3 tbsp strawberry jelly, and 1tsp vanilla. Us a stand mixer and mix until smooth.

Steamed Tapioca Cake. I think this time is a bit too soft. Next time I'll make it harder so it'll be chewy.

Banh Tieu- Hollow Donuts. They were very good when just fried...but they got harder since I didn't put them in the bag. No wonder my friends didn't eat all of them....lol.

Banh Cong- Fried Shrimp Cakes. They look great here but it was a pain in the ass to get them out of the mold. So I used banh khot mold instead. The taste was great and happy to see that Karen like it so much. You can get the pre-mix flour at the grocery store but I still think the one I made from scratch tasted better.

More food.....

Banh Cuon- Savory Rice Rolls. I didn't have the equipment to make these so I went and bought them from Chinatown. The whole tray for $25. Not bad since I saved a lot of work. :) I still have some left so I'm going to eat that next.

Xoi- Steamed Glutinous Rice. Good to eat alone or with coconut milk. Hmmm......better when it's warm.

Canh Bun- Noodle Soup. Many of you like this, so the recipe will be posted later. :)

Popovers

This is my first time making and eating popovers. Such simple ingredients and yet tasty. I modified the recipe since the original is not sweet. Tasty with butter or cream cheese.



Popovers Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 even pieces (or vegetable oil)
3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400*F (205*C). When ready to bake, generously coat a 12-cup muffin tin or 6-cups popovers pan with the the cut butter or oil.
2. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until well blended. Add the milk and whisk until blended. Add the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt; whisk until thoroughly blended and the batter is smooth.
3. Pour the batter into the hot oiled muffin tin or popover pan, filling each cup two-thirds full. Place the tin or cups in the oven and immediately turn the heat up to 450*F (230*C). Bake for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 350*F (180*C) and bake for 20 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin or cups for a few minutes. Serve hot or warm.

Makes 6 popovers or 12 mini popovers.

Note: To reheat leftover popovers, set on a baking sheet and heat in a preheated 350*F (175*C) oven for 10 minutes. You can also use coconut milk instead of milk.

Time for Dim Sum

Time for some simple homemade dim sum!!! :)

Shanghai Soup Dumpling
Not exactly the same look as the one at the restaurant but mine do have soup in them. Still taste great...mmmmm

Har Gow (Shrimp Dumplings)
This is very easy to make. Only require four ingredients, shrimp, water chestnut, wheat and tapioca starch. Steaming only took 7-10 minutes.

Scallion Pancakes
Scallion pancakes are made out of all purpose flour, peanut oil, water, and scallion. So simple everyone can make.

Gyoza Dumplings
Gyoza is made of ground pork, shrimps, chives, cabbage, scallion, and garlic. You can use gyoza wrappers.