Chinese Herbal Soup with Chicken.....

Are you a soup lover? I am! That's the main reason why I'm posting about this soup again! Who doesn't enjoy a bowl of something delicious and warm in your tummy? It’s almost like a hug from the inside out. As for chilled soups, nice in a different way and that will be another post for the summer.

Once again I've made my favorite soup with healing powers. Nothing beats having something so tasty and healthy at the same time. For those who missed my original soup post, here is a quick link* .

Working with Chinese herbs is one of the reasons why I enjoy making this soup. They are so pretty with their different shapes and color and add such deep flavor to the soups. I've worked with a few different herbs but did you know, there is a never ending list of Chinese herbs to cook with? How exciting! There is a lot to learn about Chinese Herbs from how to cook with them to their medicinal qualities. The Chinese Soup Lady ”is a very helpful site when you want to learn about the different ingredients and herbs which you may find in many authentic Chinese Soup. These herbs come dried so you can stock up for a few weeks or longer depending on which ones. Combine with your favorite meat and vegetables and you will have a meal in a pot!

Here are some pictures to share:

*adding chicken feet to your stock will make it more silky and they are fun to eat!

I like to dip them in some soy with white pepper...yum!

Aren't they pretty in those lovely bowls!

The bowls a gift from my sister....Thanks Em*

My Obsession with Xiao Long Bao - Soup Dumplings

I've recently registered on Chow's Food Site and it is great!
Today I came across one of my favorite comfort snacks.... Soup Dumplings!
Chef and Author, Andrea Nguyan shares one of her favorite places to have soup dumplings. See how they are made perfectly and also her style of eating these little juicy dumplings*
Video Below:

The Perfect Soup Dumpling : Steamy on the outside, juicy on the inside - CHOW

** seeing such perfect delicate dumplings makes me want to cry with joy**

This little one is from Grand Sichaun.

Previous post * Here*

**If you can add something to the Soup Dumpling recipe, what would it be?

I would love a hint of cilantro...yum

Getting in touch with my roots...

So since I'm on a new cookng venture, my sisters thought I should learn how to make some dishes that are a staple in our family. These are dishes I go to when I'm having a bad day and need comfort or when I want something damn tasty!

I made all these dishes!!! With the help of my sister Annie, who was my sous chef that night, I was able to put out all these dishes! And they were bangin'. Everyone was stuffed! I made bittermelon with chicken drummets which is sweeten with cane sugar and oyster sauce and black bean sauce to build flavor. My absolute favorite! The yellow round dish is steamed eggs. This is the most simple dish and so tasty! I have to say that the whole fish was mostly Annie. I freaked out when I tried to clean out the inside of the fish...I couldn't do it!!! In the end I everyone was impressed by my first family meal. I must say so myself... *pat on back

Dim Sum Weekend!

Saturday Dim Sum at Jing Fong Restaurant.

Anytime I speak of Dim Sum, I always get this questions " Have you been to Jing Fong , it's the best"

The never ending escalator and massive dining room can be impressive but we were a bit disappointed with dim sum here. Some how they tasted too heavy in a starchy way and the place seems dirty. Don't think we're going to be returning.

Sui Mai wrapped with seaweed. Seaweed flavor was too strong

Pork wrapped in fried soybean sheet

Steam ribs

chicken feet

shrimp rice rolls

steam tripe

Notice the diet coke *

I HEART PORK

I was away two weeks ago on a much needed vacation in the Dominican Republic. I happened to be in town the day they were celebrating their annual pigs day. The picture you see here are pigs on a stick that were roasted to perfection. They were lined up on every street. There were hundreds of them. I felt like I was traveling with Anthony Bourdain but it was just my boyfriend, Adam. Not the same...

They sold the meat for $5 a pound! It was all out in the open. They chopped the pig right in front of you. I was in pork bliss. I couldn't even hear Adam calling me to ask how much he should buy. How much to buy?? What was he kidding??? Could we have eaten more than a pound for lunch? It was then put on a styrofoam plate and wrapped with a plastic black bag. I love how they don't care about packaging. It was nothing but pork every where and one stand that sold loaves of bread.

Of course we bought some. I really wanted to ask if they also had hot sauce but knew I would be pushing it. Here you see the butcher giving us the thumbs up for his pigs. I'm sure they were all roasted at the same place. We went back to our hotel and happily ate our pound of pork with just bread in our room on the terrace. It was perfectly salted and super moist. The skin was perfectly crisped. I heart pork...

Whole Wheat Fusilli .....zzzzz

Looks pretty right!? but not so tasty ....

boring food means boring post  , how disappointed I am with this ..... and I made it!

So we all know I'm trying to eat healthy and lose weight at the same time.

 Since I' m happy switching from white rice to brown rice I thought about my other carb love.. pasta! Woke up this morning excited about the new box of whole wheat fusilli sitting in the kitchen cabinet. I had tried whole wheat thin spaghetti and enjoyed it and thought i would with other pasta types...nope..it was grainy.. maybe it was the brand ? Had just few bites of the WW fusilli and finish all the veggies.

Now what to do with that box of WW Fusilli?? ....would it be better in soup ? maybe earrings or a new rattling toy for Molly,she'll probably get bored at it as well...

Here is a very simple and quick recipe i always enjoyed .
-pasta
-summer squash
-cherry tomato
-chinese broccoli
-Annie's Sesame Shitaki Dressing
-butter
-garlic chili sauce
-salt n white pepper

Put all ingredients (except pasta) in a sauce pan and let it simmer for a few minutes...then add the cooked pasta and toss....done!

Sunday Malaysian Lunch

It was a very exhausting Sunday as we finally felt the toll on our energy from the holidays/ shopping/moving/eating /sorting and unpacking boxes/celebrating and eating some more/cleaning/ shopping some more and finally we had passed the final days of 2009 .....whew! Happy New 2010 Everyone!

Here is a brief post, just want to share what we had for lunch on Sunday.

Was thinking of Malaysian Food for awhile so decided to go to New Malaysian Restaurant in Chinatown. It is quite hidden, located in a tunnel which is a shortcut from Bowery to Elizabeth St. named the Chinatown Arcade...anyone know why ??

It is called "New"Malaysian but has been in business for years formerly with pale cool decor, florescent lights and pale green furniture. It now has a warm and cozy make over but one thing did not change and that is the delicious food.

Started with the warm Curry Roti - Famous Thin Fluffy bread with Chicken Curry sauce..

with the frigid weather we're having.....this was a perfect starter

Stir Fry Duck's Blood with Bean Sprouts, Scallion , Ginger and White Pepper

* Duck's blood - earthy flavor with texture smooth like tofu and was pan fried with crisped edge*

Strong and Fresh flavors all around..

Almost perfect just missing Red Vinegar,

that would have completed this dish ( was not available )
so i added a dash of soy sauce instead.

Finally the star of the night arrives!

Hainanese Chicken

Fresh poached chicken in stock and chilled with toasted sesame seed oil, soy sauce and roasted garlic served with chili garlic and ginger scallion sauce.

Had some leftover chicken, packed for lunch today with chinese broccoli and brown rice.
About the brown rice, this one of my diet moves....from white to brown and i actually like it!

Funny, i thought this was going to be a short post, I guess we do get carry away when it comes to good food.....

For Full Menu, click HERE*

Em's chocolate cake

I made this cake for Christmas dinner and have been thinking about it ever since. I decided to bake a new year cake! It would be a shame to waste a perfectly good quart of buttermilk otherwise. What else would you do with buttermilk but bake? Also Michael was cooking dinner for us, someone has to bring dessert! The cake is very moist but not too dense with a surprisingly light crumb. Using the best ingredients like high grade cocoa powder and organic diary really make a difference. I like using a raspberry filling but feel free to add whatever you like. I've recently started adding a little coffee to add some punch to the cocoa flavor, a tip I learned watching the Barefoot Contessa. I've also switched over to her butter cream frosting which is fantastic! Her cake recipe is similar to mine only it calls for vegetable oil which is gross to me.

( http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe/index.html)

I only iced the top of the cake tonight to lighten up the cake, if that's possible. If you want the most decadent cake possible, use butter cream instead of fruit in between!

Em's chocolate cake

1/2 cup cocoa powder (I use valrhona)

1 cup boiling water

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 stick butter soft

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

filling: 2 boxes fresh raspberries, 1 jar of raspberry jam (not too sugary)

• preheat oven to 350 and prepare 2 X 8" pans (butter, parchment, flour)
• mix together water and cocoa, add coffee, brown sugar, then add vanilla and buttermilk
• in another bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt
• in your largest bowl beat butter on medium until light and fluffy, add sugar then eggs one at a time
• alternate cocoa mixture and flour mix into batter until thoroughly mixed
• divide into pans and bake until toothpick comes out clean (30 mins)
• cool completely before frosting