Chicken Sausage Sticky Rice (Xoi Man)

Here is another great sticky rice. I think this is a great dish for Chinese New Year.



Ingredients:

2 cups glutinous rice (soak 4-6 hrs)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 links chinese sausage sliced
1 boneless chicken breast sliced
1/4 cup dried shrimps soaked 1 hr
1/4 large onion chopped
2 scallion onion chopped
2 shallots sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp oil
2-3 tbsp water

Method:

1. Drain the glutinous rice and mix with 2 tbsp soy sauce. Steam for 20 minutes until rice is cook. If the rice is too dry then sprinkle some water on it.
2. Oil the the pan and fry the sausage then remove from pan.
3. Oil the pan again and fry the shallots until golden. Then add in the chicken and then dried shrimps. When chicken is cook then add in the onions.
4. Now add in the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and water. Mix well and add in the green onions and sausage.
5. Place all the cooked ingredients over the sticky rice. Serve warm.

Mung Bean Sticky Rice (Xoi Vo)

Here is another Vietnamese sticky rice. I've never eat this before but my husband like it since it have a lot of mung bean with it. I like this after trying it. This it's very good since it have the aroma of the mung bean and chewy too. Add in some sesame sugar and it's super good.



Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup glutinous rice (soak 4+hrs or overnight)
1 1/2 cup split mung bean (soak 4+hrs)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp coconut powder (optional)

Sesame sugar:
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp roasted sesame

Method:

1. Drain mung bean and steam for 20 minutes. After steaming then mash it finely.
2. Drain the glutinous rice and mix with the mashed mung bean. Add in the salt and mix well.
3. Steam the mung bean rice on a cheesecloth for 15 minutes. Then add in the sugar and coconut powder and stir well. Steam for another couple minutes until the rice is tender. The rice should taste and a little sweet. The rice should also be separated and not stick together.
4. Serve alone or with some sugar sesame. Remember to pound some of the sesame to give it more fragrance.

(Note: The right way to eat this is to press the sticky rice with hands before eating. For me I just use the spoon eat this.)

Peanut Sticky Rice (Xoi Dau Phong)

I have not eat this for a while and was craving for it. It is very easy to make. Make sure you cook the peanuts well.



Ingredients:

2 cups glutinous rice
1 cup raw peanuts

Garnish:

8 oz shredded coconut
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Soak glutinous rice for 4 hours or over night.
2. Soak peanuts for 3 hrs and boil it for 40 minutes. Drain. (You actually don't need to soak the peanuts, but just cook longer.)
3. Drain glutinous rice and mix with peanuts. Steam the peanut glutinous rice for 20-30 minutes.
4. Steam the frozen shredded coconut for 15 minutes and let cool.
5. Roast sesame by frying in a pan until golden. Stir constantly when frying to prevent burning.
6. Mix the roasted sesame, sugar, and salt together. Pound the sesame for a little so it's more fragrance.
7. Serve the sticky rice with some shredded coconut and sugar mix.

Hollow Breads (Banh Tieu)

Here is one of my favorite snack! Banh Tieu is a Vietnamese snack. It should be round, slightly sweet and crunchy with a hollow center. I call this a hollow bread since I used bread flour to make this. And it does taste like fried bread...lol. I like mine sweeter so I added more sugar to my recipe. Sweeter does taste better...hehehe. I can eat this for a couple days. I usually just put the left over in the oven to heat up and it'll be crunchy again. Yum Yum...




Ingredients:

290 g bread flour (2 cups)
150 ml water
100 g sugar (about 1/2 cup, add another tbsp for sweeter)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp baking powder
Sesame seeds

1. Take 50 ml water and microwave for 20 seconds or until the water is warm. Add in 1 tbsp sugar and the instant yeast. Let the yeast double or bubble up. Should just be a couple minutes.
2. Mix the left over sugar with 100 ml and stir until the sugar dissolve.
3. Mix the baking powder with the flour and salt. Then mix in the sugar water and then yeast water. Knead into a soft dough. If it's too dry then add in just a little bit more water.
4. Cover and let the dough rest for at least couple hours (3-4 hrs) or overnight until the dough double or triple in size. If you want it to prove faster, put it in the oven with the oven light on. Remember you must cover the dough.
5. Take the dough out and knead for one minute. Then divide the dough into 10 balls. The balls should be a little larger than a extra large egg. (Cover those that is not being used.)
6. Dip the ball in the sesame seeds on both sides. Then coat with some extra flour and roll the balls into flat circles. The flatness should be less than 1/2 inch. If your circles are thicker then you'll have a thicker filling. If it's too thin then you'll have nothing in the middle.
7. Heat a frying pan with enough oil to fry. Slide the flat dough into the oil and it will start to float. Gently try to push it with your chopstick and it should puff up. After it puff up then flip to fry the other side. Fry until golden. Frying should be quick so don't leave it alone or it'll be black!

Note: The longer you prove the dough the easier it will puff. Try to wiggle the flat dough when frying in hot oil. This will helps it puff.

Fried Glutinous Rice Balls (Banh Cam & Banh Ran)

I've been wanting to make my own fried glutinous rice balls. I was actually craving for the one with syrup on it. The rice balls is like $0.75 each at the store....guess it's a lot cheaper to make my own. These taste pretty good. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The sweetness is just perfect. My first time making this snack too! Yummy yummy.....



Ingredients:

3 cup glutinous rice flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1 cup mashed yam (about 125 grm)
250 ml water
65 grams sugar (about 5 tbsp)
1 tsp baking powder
Sesame

Filling:

200 grams hulled mung bean
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp all purpose flour


Method:

1. Cook the mung bean with some water until tender. Remove excessive water and continue to cook until very soft. Take the mung bean out and use a potato rice to mash the mung bean.
2. Place the mung bean back in the pot and add in sugar. Mix well and continue to cook until dry. Slowly add in the all purpose flour until the mixture is thicker. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. While still warm, rub your hands with some flour and make the mung bean paste into small balls. It should be a size of half an egg or as small as you want. Let the mung bean balls to cool and place in refrigerator.

4. Mix the glutinous, rice flour, baking powder, and mash sweet potato together. Mix sugar in water and stir well. Then mix water with flour. Knead into a dough. (I used the bread maker to help me knead). Leave dough to rest for 2 hrs.

5. The dough should be soft but not wet to handle. Divide the dough into balls double the size of the mung bean ball.
6. Flatten the dough (see pic below) and place the mung bean in the middle. Wrap it up and roll it in the palm into a round ball. Then roll it on the sesame. Remember the skin should not be too thick.
7. Heat enough oil to to cover at least halve the rice balls. The heat should be medium and fry the rice balls slowly. With the heat on medium, the dough can slowly expand and not explode. Fry until fluffy and golden brown.

(Note: It'll be crispy while still warm. When the glutinous rice balls get soft, you can heat it in the oven and it will by crispy again.) You will have some mung bean balls left. You can save this and make more dough for it the next day or make sticky rice dumpling with it.

New Bread Maker

So I finally got a bread maker. I've been wanting one so I don't have to knead dough anymore...lol This is my first white bread and it's not bad. I made it extra sweet so I can just eat it plain. In the future..maybe tomorrow, I will use this to knead dough for steamed buns. My life will be easier now that I don't have to knead dough...hehehehe. This bread maker was on sale for $60 at Macy's. It actually look pretty nice.

Steamed Rice Cake with Dried Scallops (Banh Duc Man)

Had a craving for this cake since I have not eat it for a while. So I decided to make this my way based on what I have at home. Usually my mom make this and make it with fresh rice. But then you have to soak the rice overnight and blend it. Making it with rice flour is so much easier. My first time making and the result was great!!! You can always replace the dried scallop with ground meat.





Ingredients:

1 bag rice flour 400 grm
50 gram cornstarch (about 1/3 cup cornstarch)
50 gram of cooked rice
1.6 liter water
1 can coconut cream (400 ml)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar

Topping:

1 1/2 cup dried shrimps soak overnight
7-8 XL dried scallops soak overnight (and shredded after soaking)
1 1/2 cup fried red onion
4-5 cloves chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh scallion

Seasoning:

1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp fish sauce

Method:

1. Combine rice flour and cornstarch to with 1 liter of water and mix well.
2. In a blender blend the cooked rice with 600ml water. Place the mixture in a pot with 1 scoop of the rice flour mixture and heat until hot but not boiling. Remember to stir as it will stick to the bottom of pan. Add this hot mixture into the rice flour mixture and stir will pouring. Mix well.
3. Add in the coconut milk and stir well. Add in the salt and sugar.
5. Heat a pot of water for steaming. Oil a 12 inch pan. The pan should be at least 4-5 inches high. After the water boil, place the pan in to heat.
6. Once the pan is heated up, stir the rice flour mixture and pour in about 2 cups. Cover and steam for 10-15 minutes until the top is firm enough to pour a second layer. Repeat until all mixture is gone. Remember to add more water for steaming as it will dry up.
7. After the final layer, steam it for another 30-40 minutes until the cake kind of separate from the pan. Let the cake cool a little.

Topping:

1. While the cake is steaming, shred the soaked scallop. Heat a small pot of water and boil the shredded scallops for 1 minute and then drain.
2. Chop the dried shrimps in small chunks.
3. Heat a pan with some oil. Fry the garlic until golden and stir in the dried scallop and shrimps. Stir until the scallop and shrimp are brownish and somewhat dry. Add in seasoning and stir will. Taste and add more if needed. Now add in the scallion and stir. Add in the fried red onion and stir. Leave to cool. Add the topping to the cake.

Fish Sauce:

10 tbsp sugar
8 tbsp fish sauce
3 cup water
1 1/4 lime
4-5 cloves of garlic
3-4 chillies

Chop the garlic and chillies finely. Add in the lime juice, sugar and water. Mix well and then add in the fish sauce. Better to add in the fish sauce slowly and taste it before adding more. Taste and add more. The sauce should be spicy, kind of sweet, and tasty with some sour.

***Eat the cake with the fish sauce. The sauce is not for dipping but to pour over the cake. Only pour over the one you're eating. The cake can be refrigerate and microwave again when eating. If you don't want to use coconut milk then just use water.

Curry Fish Balls

For my brother and sister I made their favorite fish balls. I made a big pot more than enough for 6 people. However, my brother finish 1/3 of the pot by himself overnight. :)



Ingredients:

4 bag milk fish balls
2 bag shrimp balls
2 can quail eggs

Seasoning:

15 gm curry powder (about 2-3 tbsp)
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp salt
3-5 soup spoon fish sauce
1/3 piece brown candy sugar
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
6 cup water
1 can chicken broth
2 tbsp vegetable oil
5-6 hot chilies (will be spicy)


Method:

1. Fry the fish and shrimp balls until golden brown. The quail eqqs are hard to fry since it will pop open and cause bubble in oil. I only fried it a little at the end.

2. While frying the fish balls, in another pot heat the oil and add in the curry and turmeric powder. Fry in medium heat until you can smell the curry but not burnt. Add in the water and chicken broth. Bring it to boil and add in seasonings. Add more fish sauce for taste. Also add in more curry if you can't taste enough curry.

3. Now add in the fried fish and shrimps balls. Also, add in the broken fried quail eggs. Let it simmer until the sauce is somewhat thicken. Now add in the chilies and try to break the chilies to release the flavor. Remember to taste to see it and add in more season as needed. It should be tasty, spicy, not too sweet, and full of curry flavor. It should not be salty either.

Note: The longer you fry the fish and shrimp balls, the more chewy it will be. Chewy is good! This is good to eat alone or with rice. The egg yolks make the sauce creamy and super rich!

Coconut Rice Hotcakes (Kanom Krok)

Another famous Thai street snack. These are delicious and addictive! It is sweet and buttery because of the coconut milk. Best when serve hot with extra coconut milk.



Makes 21 hotcakes.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tampura batter mix
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1/4 c sugar (use 1/3 c sugar if like sweet)
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 stalks green onion

Method:

1. Mix the two flour with sugar and salt. Pour in the water and then the coconut milk. Mix well.
2. Chop the green onion in thin rounds and add to the batter. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
3. Heat the pancake griddle and brush with some vegetable oil.
4. Pour in the batter and cover for a few minutes. You should hear the sizzle when pouring the batter in the griddle. Open the cover and brush on some oil on the side to prevent burn. Leave it for another minute until golden brown. (Remember the heat should be on medium or the cakes will be burn.)
5. Serve cakes alone or with coconut milk sauce. The sauce should be sweet with a hint of salt. Use corn starch to thicken the coconut milk sauce.

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.