pork & shrimp potstickers (gyoza)

Hello again! It's been two years since I last published a post. (what!!!) Happy Lunar New Year to everyone! Tomorrow I have the opportunity to share my love of cooking with some friends from church. It's been awhile since I last cooked in front of the crowd, so I'm pretty nervous & excited!
There are many ways to make potstickers, so feel free to use your creativity to make one of a kind potstickers.  It's fun to make with your family & friends, too! This is the basic recipe I usually make. Happy cooking!

Ingredients: 

Napa Cabbage - 5 cups chopped finely 
Ground pork - 3 cup **see TIPs
Green onion - 1/4 cup (chopped) 
Garlic - 3 cloves (minced)
Ginger - 1 inch block (minced)
Shrimp - 1 cup (chop - chunks or paste type) **see Prep 

Soy sauce - 2 TBS
Sesame oil - few drops
salt & pepper - 1/2 tsp each 
sugar - 1 tsp

Potsticker/Gyoza wrappers (circular shape)** see TIPS

Water - 1/4 cup
Flour - 1 TBS 

[Sauce]

Soy sauce - 1/4 cup
Vinegar or Rice vinegar - 3 TBS
Sugar - 1-2 tsp
Chili flake (optional) - 1 tsp 

Prep:

1. Wash napa cabbage leafs & chop finely. 
2. Mince garlic and ginger. 
3. Take shells off shrimp, then chop it until it become pasty. I use two knives and chop really fast or you can put in a blender.

How to Cook?

1. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients (except the wrappers, water & flour). Mix using wooden spoon or I like to use my hands. 
2. Prepare a bowl of water. 
3. On a wrapper, put about 1/2 inch ball in the middle. With your finger, trace the edge of the wrapper with water. Fold in half and pinch at the middle. Starting at the top, make pleats (will take pictures soon). Repeat until you finish all the filling.
4. [Cooking method 1 - Frying] On a frying pan, evenly coat 2 TBS of oil. When it's hot, put the flat side down on the pan, line them up so it makes a nice circular shape. Fry for 3-4 minutes, until the bottom turns brown (you can check by lifting one). Meanwhile, mix 1/4 cup water with 1 TBS of flour. **see TIPS. When it's brown, pour in the water mix and cover to let it steam cook for another 3-4 minutes. When it's done, flip on the plate. 
5. [Cooking method 2 - Soup dumpling] In a pot, boil chicken broth. Add in vegetables like carrots.  When the carrots are soft, add in potstickers and bak choy. Cook for 10-12 minutes. 
6. [Cooking method 3 - Deep fried] In a stainless steel pot, add in 1/2 inch oil. When it's hot, add in postickers **see TIPs. It won't cover the whole posticker, so you need to flip it when one side is golden brown. Serve with Thai chili sauce. 

TIPS

• You can substitute ground pork with ground turkey, chicken or soft tofu. 
• If you can only find square shape wrapper, you can use circular cutter or make into wanton shape 
• By mixing flour and water, it creates a crispy layer at the bottom of the pan
• When deep frying, the best result is using freshly made ones. Watch out when you deep fry thawed ones or frozen potstickers. 
• Asian Marketplace: 
• Pacific Ocean Market (6600 W 120th Ave, Broomfield, CO 80020) 
• H Mart (5036 W 92nd Ave, Westminster, CO 80031)

easy one pot beef stew

I was looking for a recipe for braised beef and came across one. But it says it will take 2 hours in the oven, or 4-6 hours in a slow cooker. It was already 4:30pm and I only had an hour to make dinner. So I put everything in the pot and made it over the stove. It turned out really yummy and it only took 45-50 minutes! If I ever make the 2-hour oven braised beef, I will post it on the blog. For today, here's what I did (the picture doesn't look too appetizing... need to work on photo taking skill. haha)

Ingredients: 

Beef - 2 cups (cut in 1-inch chunks)
Water- 1/2 cup
Stock - 1/2 cup + more to add later one (if you have about 2 cups, it should be enough)
Red wine - 1/4 cup (optional)
Soy sauce - 4 TBS
Apple cider vinegar - 4 TBS
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Brown sugar - 1/2 TBS

Carrots - 3 medium (chopped into 1 inch)
Onion - 1 small (chopped)
Potatoes - 3 small (chopped)

Prep:

1. Cut all veggies & beef into chunks
2. Cook rice

Cook:

1. Put all the ingredients (veggies first then place beef on top) in a 5-qrt or bigger pot. Cover and bring it to boil on med high. Reduce heat to low. 
2. Check and stir occasionally. Add stock if it's getting dry. Simmer on low for 40-45 minutes.
3. Adjust taste if needed.

Serve:

1. Serve with rice.

woo family birthday strawberry cake

Hi i'm back. my second one, Naomi, turned one couple of weeks ago. time sure flies. I thought I just gave birth like yesterday... haha. In our family, we make this cake because they LOVE strawberries!  This recipe was from a magazine, but it's been used so many times, it's starting to fade. So I decided to post (before it's gone!)

Ingredients: 

[For meringue]
Egg whites - 6 large (room temperature)
Sugar - 3/4 cups

[Other ingredients for cake]
Egg yolks - 6 (room temperature)
Sugar - 3/4 cups
Lemon juice - 3 TBS
Vegetable oil - 3 TBS
Water - 2 TBS
All purpose flour - 1 and 3/4 cups
Salt - 1/2 tsp

[Whipped cream]
Heavy whipping cream - 2 cups
Confectioners' sugar - 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp

Strawberries - 3 cups sliced & 2 cups whole (if you want to top the cake with whole strawberries)

Prep:

1. Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl and egg yolks in another bowl. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Prepare baking pan - use either 10-in tube pan or 2 loaf baking pans.
3. Make whipping cream beforehand - mix all ingredients until soft peak forms. Keep in the fridge for later use. 
4. Slice strawberries.
5. Preheat the oven to 325F.

Bake: 

1. [Yolks mixture]: Beat egg yolks until slightly thickened. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, beating until thick and lemon-colored. Beat in lemon juice, oil and water. Add in flour and salt to the yolk mixture. Mix until just well blended (use wooden spoon or batter attachment)
2. [Meringue] Beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peak form. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, 1 TBS at a time, beating on high until stiff glossy peaks form. 
3. Fold a 1/4 of the egg whites meringue into the batter, then fold in remaining whites. When folding the remaining whites, don't over mix it. The color of the batter should be marble (yellow and white).
4. Gently spoon into an ungreased pans **see TIPS. Smooth the top. Bake at 325F for 35-40 minutes for tube pan and 33-35 min for loaf pans. Insert cake tester or toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean, it's done!
5. Immediately invert pan; cool completely. **see TIPS

Serve:

1. Run a knife around sides and center tube of pan; remove cake. **see TIPS
2. Split into desired # of layers (usually 2 for loaf pans, 3 for tube) layer the cakes with whipped cream and strawberries. Repeat. Top with remaining cake layer; spread remaining whipped cream over top and sides of cake. 
3. Arrange remaining sliced berries on sides of cake or on top (or top it with whole/half strawberries) 
4. Store in the refrigerator **see TIPS

TIPS 

• Make sure your egg whites don't have any yolks inside -- it won't make a nice peak if you have yolks.
• Line your baking pans (loaf ones are easier) with parchment paper for easy handling & clean up
• The way we like to do it is use two loaf pans. I don't invert them, but just remove the cake onto baking rack right after. I cut of the edges and top layer to make a smooth surface. Each loaf will make one cute square-ish mini cake. You'll have two cute cake. Pan also allows you to cut out in any shape, too. 
• This cake tastes much better when chilled for over a day. So make it in advance. :D

new sweet and sour pork

This is an original recipe I came up with. I was a bit skeptical when I first tried it (because I just add random things together). But surprisingly it turned out yummy, well at least I think it's yummy haha. My husband said, "hmm interesting... is this new?" I thought he didn't like it, but he kept eating, so I guess it's a 'pass'! Just like other recipes, please adjust the taste to your liking. :)

Ingredients: 

Thin sliced pork (or any meat) - 1/2 pound
Onion - 1 medium
Age (bean curd skin) - 2 cups full (sliced)
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)

[Seasoning]
Dark soy sauce - 2 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 3 TBS
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Apple cider - 2 TBS
Sugar (brown or white) - 2 TBS
Water - 3 TBS
Salt & Pepper - to taste 

Prep:

1. Combine all ingredients 
2. Slice onion and age & mince garlic. 

Cook:

1. Heat the wok with 2 TBS vegetable oil. Fry onion and garlic for about 3-5 minutes. Stir occasionally. 
2. Add in pork. Fry until pork is half way done, about 4-5 minutes. 
3. Add the seasonings in. Cover and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Uncover and cook until the sauce thickens and becomes caramelized to the pork. Stir (kind of scoop type) occasionally.
4. Adjust the taste to your liking.**

Serve:

1. Serve with rice and veggies. 

TIPS

• If you want it more sour, add in more apple cider (1 tsp at a time)
• If you want it more sweet, add the combination of 1 TBS of ketchup with 2 tsp of sugar.

creamy corn

I found this recipe as the side of Thanksgiving feast this year. It turned out really yummy. Sweet + creamy = ultimate comfort food. Bacon at the top adds nice texture to this dish. It only takes 20-30 minutes to make.

Ingredients:

Sweet corn kernels - 3 cans (drained)
Green pepper - 1/2 large (chopped)
Red or Orange pepper - 1/2 large (chopped)
Onion - 1 medium (chopped)

Bacon - 8 slices

Cream cheese - 6-8 TBS (depending on how creamy you want) 
Half & Half - 1/2 cup
Garlic salt - 2 tsp
Pepper - 2 tsp
Paprika - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1tsp

Prep:

1. Chop onion, green pepper and red/orange pepper into small pieces. 
2. Drain corn from can 

Cook:

1. In a frying pan or wok, cook 8 slices of bacon until your desired texture. Leave 2 TBS of bacon drippings. Cut into small pieces.
2. In the bacon drippings, fry onion until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Stir frequently.
3. Add in green and red/orange peppers and corn. Fry for about 8 minutes. Stir occasionally
4. Add in cream cheese, half and half, and all the seasonings. Let it simmer until cream cheese melts. Adjust the taste to your liking.

Serve:

1. In a serving plate/dish, pour the creamy corn. Top with cut bacon. 

spanish yellow rice

I haven't tried the actual/authentic Spanish yellow rice before, but once in a while I have this craving for fun recipes like this. I simply googled 'Spanish yellow rice' and came to this recipe. I cooked in a rice cooker. It turned out great. I served it with fried chicken and spicy green beans. I will definitely make this again! (the actual one is more bright yellow)

Ingredients:

Onion - 1/2 medium (chopped)
Garlic - 3 cloves (minced)
Long grain rice - 1 and half cup (use baking measuring cups)
Chicken broth - 2 and 1/4 cup (use baking measuring cups)
Salt - 1 tsp
Tumeric - 1/2 tsp

Prep:

1. Chop onion and mince garlic cloves
2. Wash and rinse long grain rice. 

Cook: 

1. On a frying pan, heat 1 TBS of vegetable or olive oil. Fry onion and garlic. Fry for 5 minutes. 
2. Mix everything in a rice cooker. Cook as usual. 

 Serve: 

1. Serve with your favorite sides, like fried chicken, seafood soup, and stir fried veggies. It tastes a bit like biryani (recipe coming soon), but simpler to make, so you can eat with curry, too!

super easy chicken stew

No time to cook? No problem! Just spend 15 minutes for preparation and turn the slow cooker on. That's it. Super easy. No need for slow cooker or stew mix. It's a great dish for busy moms. :)

Ingredients: 

Chicken breast or thighs - 1 lb

Carrots - 4 medium
Sweet onion - 1 medium
Potatoes - 3 medium
Mushrooms - 6 medium

Chicken stock - 3 cups
Salt & pepper - 2 tsp each
Basil or Italian seasoning - 2 tsp
Paprika [optional] - 1 tsp 

[Chicken marinade]
Soy sauce - 2 TBS
Pepper - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2 tsp

[Tomato sauce mix]
Corn starch - 1 TBS
Water - 1/3 cup
Tomato ketchup - 3 TBS

Rice or bread 

Prep: 

1. Cut chicken into big bite pieces (2 inch chunks). Marinade for 5 minutes.
2. Cut all veggies into big chunk pieces. 
3. Cook rice if you want rice.

Cook:

1. In a slow cooker, put veggies and top with chicken. 
2. Add chicken stock, salt, pepper, italian seasoning and paprika. Mix slightly. 
3. Cook at low for 6-8 hours (depending on how much time you have) or high for 4-5 hours. 
4. 1 hour before done (or 30 min for high), mix 'tomato sauce mix' ingredients together and pour into it. Mix slightly. Let it cook for 30 min - 1 hour. Adjust taste.

Serve: 

1. Serve with salad and bread/rice.