Chicken & Cucumber with Spicy Sesame Sauce

Ingredients :
- 3 pieces of chicken thighs
- 2 persian cucumbers
- some sesames

Sauce (stir together and taste):
- sesame sauce
- sugar
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
- chili sauce & chili oil
- tiny amount of vinegar

1. Season chicken thighs with some salt, black pepper powder and cooking wine.
2. Cook chicken thighs (3 pieces) in microwave in high heat for 6 min
3. Tear cooked chicken into thin stripes
4. Cut cucumber into thin stripes
5. Stir chicken and cucumber together with the sauce
6. Add some sesame on top. Serve cold.

Bulgogi (Grilled Marinated Beef Slices)

Just stir fry the marinated beef ribeye slices with chopped onion. Add some sesame on top.

I bought the marinated beef from Zion (Korean Supermarket). You can also marinate the beef yourself with bulgogi sauce.

Tomato Egg

- Heat the oil in the wok with high heat
- Turn down the heat and add in egg mixture (salt and pepper in the mixture)
- Keep stirring until the egg is done. Plate it.
- Add in tomato slices with ginger pieces. Add ketchup, water and sugar. When the tomato is almost done, add starchy water to thicken the sauce.
- Pour the tomato sauce on top of the eggs.

Fried Oyster Cake

Ingredients :

- 1 bag of frozen oyster (thaw before use). Add some cornstarch and wait for 10 min. Rinse it. You can chop up the oyster or have it whole.
- a few springs of cilantro, chopped
- 2 green onion, chopped
- 2 eggs
- a handful of chopped sweet turnip
- 2 tbsp sweet potato starch
- fish sauce
- white pepper powder

Mix the ingredients together. Don't overmix. Pan-fry or deep-fry the mixture until it's done.

Sashimi Dinner

Our sudden craving for good sashimi ...... a wonderful dinner with toro, yellowtail belly and 4 racks of uni...yum!

Linguine with chicken pesto sausage, broccoli and cherry tomato

Pan-fried California Halibut with Soy Sauce & Green Onion

- Season the Halibut filet with some white pepper powder and some salt (just tiny little bit).
- Pan-fry California Halibut filets until it's done
- Heat soy sauce, oil and green onion in the wok. Then pour the mixture onto the fish filets. Serve hot.

Kimchi Fried Rice

Got some leftover kimchi in the fridge and so made this kimchi fried rice. This fried rice had chopped kimchi, ground beef, egg, green onion.... delicious!

Cai Choy topped with Bamboo Fungus

- Cook Cai Choy in chicken soup till it's done. Plate it.
- Soak Bamboo Fungus with cold water until soften. Then clean it and cut it into smaller sizes.
- Add bamboo fungus into hot work, then sprinkle some cooking wine on it.
- Then add oyster sauce and water, cook for 2-3 min. Then add starchy water to thicken the sauce.
- Pour the sauce and bamboo fungus onto Cai Choy.

Chicken with Bean Curd in Brine

I used half chicken for this dish, but it can also make with chicken wings or chicken thighs.

- Cut up the chicken
- Marinate with some salt, soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, ginger powder, pepper for an hour
- Stir in 3 pieces of ginger, 2 cloves of garlic and 2 pieces of bean curd in brine in a hot wok until fragrant.
- Add in chicken and stir until the bean curd is coated on the chicken evenly. Add in a little bit of sugar.
- Cook the chicken until it's done. Serve hot with rice.

Korean Style Cold Soy Bean

- Cook soy bean in hot boiling water till it's cooked.
- Rinse with cold water
- Pat dry
- Stir in light soy sauce, red pepper powder, seasame oil and seasame. Ready to serve.

Korean Style Cold Spinach Side Dish

Had a Korean dinner night with the small group members. Bought the beef short ribs and bulgogi from Korean supermarkets. I've also made some side dish to go with it. This one is the cold spinach.

- Cook spinach in boiling water.
- Soak it with cold water to stop the cooking once it's done
- Squeeze water out of the spinach and cut them.
- Stir with light soy sauce, red pepper powder, sugar, seasame oil and some seasame.
- Ready to serve as side dish, or with rice.

Eggplant with Barbeque Pork

This dish is done in microwave, easy and quick.

Ingredients :
- 2 eggplants
- 8-10 pieces of BBQ pork
- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
- some cilantro
- light soy sauce
- seasame oil

1)Peel eggplant in alternate stripe. Cut the eggplant into slices and soak it in water before use.
2) Microwave the eggplant for 6-8 min
3) When eggplant is done, add light soy sauce and seasame oil to it and stir it until it's evenly coated.
4) BBQ pork cut into shredded form and mix into the eggplant dish.
5) Add in chopped cilantro and minced garlic as well.
6) Stir well and microwave for another 1 min. Then serve hot.

Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee, the dessert for our anniversary dinner. Recipe as follows :

Ingredients :

- 2.5 cups heavy whipping cream (original recipe calls for fresh whipping cream)
- 4 medium egg yolks
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- brown sugar to caramelize

1) Heat the cream gently but not to boil
2) Beat together the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract. Pour the warm cream into egg mixture in different batches. Beat until it is mixed thoroughly.
3) Pour into ramekins and put them in a pan. Fill the pan with warm water halfway up the ramekins. Bake in 300 degree oven for about 1 hour until set.
4) Chill in fridge.
5) Sprinkle brown sugar over the top and heat it under hot broiler.

This dessert can freeze very well. I usually make a batch and store the leftover in freezer, then take it out whenever we want to have it. It is very convenient.

Watercress, Persimmon & Carrot Soup

Ingredients :

- 3 carrots
- 1 bunch of watercress
- 2 persimmon
- 1 honey date
- Pork bones

Duck Confit

Main dish for our french dinner - duck confit. This dish is not difficult but very time consuming. Usually only duck legs are used for this dish, but I confit the whole duck this time, legs, breast and even the gizzard. The duck meat is very very flavorful and tender, goes very well with good red wine. This dish is usually served with potato and onion pan fried in reserved duck fat.

- Cut the duck fat and slowly cook it into oil, then strain any impurity
- Season the duck fat with some dried bay leaves, thyme, crushed garlic, crushed black pepper and salt.
- Submerge the duck meat into the hot oil, make sure the meat is all covered by the oil.
- Bake it in the over at 200 degree for 2-3 hours.
- Let the duck sit in the oil. This can be stored in the fridge for long time.
- When serve, pan fry the duck until skin is crispy.

Escargot in Brioche

Bought this appetizer from Trader Joe's for our French dinner. It's good though not as good as the fresh escargots... but who can get the fresh ones?! This is good enough for me, very delicious.

Clams in Butter Herb Sauce

First course for our anniversary dinner - clams in butter herb sauce. I bought the clam from Trader Joe's and cook them frozen. I add some butter and italian parsley to give it flavor.

Tofu and Abalone Mushroom Stewed in Oyster Sauce

- Cut the abalone mushroom and blanch it in boiling water
- Pan fry tofu (medium firm)
- Stew tofu & abalone mushroom with oyster sauce, wine, water, pepper, green onion for about 15-20 min.

Banana Muffin

This is a non-butter recipe.

Tofu and Ribs with Basil & Sa Chai Sauce

Got a big bunch of basil in the fridge and want to use it up. Heat up the Sa Chai Sauce, sugar and pepper. Add the tofu and ribs, add soy sauce and stew for 15 min. Add basil leaves before serve.

Tomato, potato and carrot soup

Ingredients :

- 2 carrots
- 2 potatoes
- 2 tomato
- 5-6 pieces of pork bones

Soy Stick with Leek

Tried this in a chinese restaurant and it tasted so good. Went to buy the ingredients and tried it at home. It didn't turn out well. The soy stick is too think, maybe next time I can try fresh soy sheet.

- Stir fry some ginger and dried red pepper
- Put in soy stick, add some light soy sauce and water
- When soy sticks soften, add in the leek.
- When the leek softens, add some seasame oil and then serve.