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seaweed sushi bites

Published on March 5, 2015March 4, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach8 Comments

in lieu of our staple winter soup/stew/chili this week
i made a finger food for our lunch
it was not warming
or even thoroughly filling
(though, it’s not like it left us starving after consumption)
it made me realize that
i apparently harbored some kind of
HOPE in my heart for spring,
seeing as how it’s MARCH.
but no.
the sky is still shitting.
you know what henry rollins said about hope:
“Hope is the last thing a person does before they are defeated.”
i’m pretty much defeated,
friends,
with this cold weather.

seaweed sushi bites
adapted & inspired by thirsty for tea
makes about 27 balls. i have a 1.5 TBL ice cream scoop, whereas bonnie used a 2 TBL cookie dough scoop

*note: bonnie has a great recipe write up so head there for detailed instructions. i just winged it and it worked out.
**note: i made this sunday night with the intent of it being our lunches for monday and tuesday. monday was fine, but by tuesday the rice had gotten hard and dried, despite being covered. so ideally, halve the recipe if you’re not able to eat right away or just be pigs and eat it all at once.
***note: i call these bites, when you wait for the last second like i do to have lunch you shove stuff in your mouth cus you’re hangry, no matter how big. if you’re a civilized person, it’s actually two bites.

2 cups of sushi rice, cooked according to package or machine instructions, and cooled slightly
2 TBL seasoned rice vinegar, i use the marukan brand
furikake: homemade mix of shredded seaweed, sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, and salt

topping options:
thin sliced avocado
thin sliced cukes
smoked salmon

cook the sushi rice according to package or machine instructions. we’re a lazy folk and we rely on our rice maker to do the measuring and cooking for us. i know.

allow the rice to cool a smidge before drizzling with the seasoned rice vinegar. also sprinkle on the fuikake. gently mix through . (honestly, i wasn’t very gentle…just make sure the rice doesn’t break)

lay out a piece of plastic wrap. lay your sushi topping in the middle of the wrap.

wet your hands with a little bit of cold water. you may want to keep the ice cream scoop in the cold water too, it keeps the rice from sticking.

scoop out the rice and mold into balls. lay it on top of your topping that’s on the wrap. gather the plastic wrap around the ball tightly.

remove from plastic wrap and finish the rest.

garnish with a bit of the fuikake, for a kick.

serve immediately or as soon as possible, with soy sauce.

BAM!

other sushi option:
quinoa sushi rolls – vegan and gluten free

roasted banana bread

Published on February 23, 2015June 14, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach20 Comments

we’re back to feeling human again.
well, almost human.
i’m not quite 100%
but we’ll get there.

lately it’s been a fallback
on all things comfort
the comfort foods of my childhood
soups
dw’s old high school sweatshirt
tom selleck on netflix
and this bread.
it’s a little pedestrian,
banana bread,
and that’s what i needed,
something familiar
with ingredients already on hand.
the roasting is optional
but it perfumes the whole abode
beautifully,
and when sick,
i’m not in the habit of
denying myself such comfort.

Roasted Banana Bread
loosely adapted from terri wu

*note: i’ve been making this bread for a few years now, i cheat and use other recipes but i find myself falling back to this one. like all sweet breads this is flexible, you can add nuts or dried fruit, chocolate chips, whatever is available in your pantry. i like that. also, the liquid can be anything – water, coffee and admittedly, this past week i forgot to brew fresh and just added water to my already used up coffee grounds. obviously, the most flavorable loaf was the one with the super strong brewed coffee but you won’t die if you use weak coffee or just plain water.
**note: you don’t have to roast the bananas, especially if they’re super ripe. i just like the flavor it imparts, and it makes to mashing them up so nicely. this recipe doesn’t use eggs so i’m not worried about cooking the eggs in the batter before they even make it to the oven. should you decide to roast your bananas for your go-to banana bread recipe that uses eggs, be sure to cool them sufficiently before adding to the batter.

1/4 cup flaxseeds
1/4 cup + 2 TBL hot coffee (or hot water)
1/2 cup apple sauce (or neutral oil, like grapeseed or sunflower)
1 2/3 cups einkorn flour (or AP)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 large ripe bananas
2 TBL vegan mayonnaise (or vegan yogurt)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBL brown sugar
dash of cinnamon
1/2 cup cranberries, optional

preheat oven to 350F.

in a oven safe pan, or pie pan, lay the bananas down. sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over top. optional: slice the bananas length-wise first. the flavor difference is negligible. put in oven as it heats up. you’re aiming for anywhere from 15-30 minutes, however long it takes for the oven to warm up fully and/or do up the batter.

in grinder, grind up the flaxseed. add to hot coffee (or water). mix, and ignore, 15 minutes.

in a mixing bowl add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and ground cinnamon.

in the flaxseed container add the sugar and apple sauce (or oil). mix it up. fold this mixture into the flour mixing bowl until few dry streaks remain.

remove pie pan of banana goodness from the oven. use your best judgement: there have been times when it got quite mushy & liquidy and it strained it, and other times the moisture level wasn’t alarming. it’s up to you. to the pie pan add the vegan mayo (or yogurt), along with the salt, and stir to mix through. fold the mixture into the mixing bowl. add in the cranberries if using, combine completely.

transfer batter to greased loaf pan.

bake for 1 hour.

allow to cool completely in pan, invert onto wire rack.

to serve, i like to slice 1 thick piece and toast it, until the edges are nice and crunchy and dark.

BAM!

update:
my blog friend dixya made some banana bread today too, though hers is more like a bananas foster! her recipe.

soy sauce egg noodle bowl

Published on February 19, 2015February 18, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach9 Comments

today is the first day of
the Year of the Sheep.
if that means nothing to you,
it just basically means
it’s the Lunar New Year.
these noodles are a symbol of
long life (hopefully).
may this year be a good one:
health
wealth
luck
happiness
happy new year friends!

soy sauce egg noodle bowl

*note: i didn’t include serving amount etc because that is at your discretion. the yaki soba noodles that i buy come already portioned out and normally dw + i can put away 3 portions. oink. or rather, baaaah. (that’s the sound of a sheep right???!)

4 medium-hard boiled eggs, peeled
3 TBL dark soy sauce
3 TBL thin soy sauce
1 TBL sugar
2 star anises
3 cloves
water

fresh yaki soba noodles
chinese broccoli, cut in thirds
hot chili oil, store bought or homemade
green scallions or chives, to garnish
fried shallots and garlic, to garnish, very optional (and not pictured)

soy sauce eggs:
prepare your eggs, or medium or hard boiled, peel. set aside.

this is the most unscientific way: in a pourable glass measuring cup add the soy sauces and add enough water to equal 1 cup. add to a small saucepan along with the sugar, star anises and cloves. bring to a gentle boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. remove from heat and cool to room temp.

using a tall jar that would fit the 4 eggs and submerge them fully in the soy sauce mix. ignore at least 4 hours and up to 5 days.

noodle bowl prep:
halve the eggs

in a pot boil some water. loosen the noodles for less than a minute in the hot water. portion out. add a tablespoon or so of the egg soy sauce to fully coat the noodles. if you’re feeling fancy, add some of the hot chili oil and coat.

par-boil the chinese broccoli and portion out accordingly. top bowl with egg halves, garnish with chives or green scallions (and fried shallots and garlic, if using) and hot oil.

BAM!

other asian and new year goodies:
chinese egg tarts
savory sticky rice
sweet potato mochi cakes
turnip cakes
scratch off lottery tickets
waffle cone fortune cookies

chocolate meringue kisses

Published on February 16, 2015February 15, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach23 Comments

there’s been no kissing for us lately:
dw was sick last week
and i’m fighting UFC-style
to not get what he had.
it’s too soon to determine
who the winner is.
in the meantime,
i managed to whip up this treat
for our valentine’s day/
4 year anniversary of our first date.
it’s just one egg
a whole lot of mixer action
and the end result is
the perfect sub
for kisses,
but without the germs.
stay warm and healthy friends.

chocolate meringue kisses
adapted from movita beaucoup
makes 40

*note: movita’s bossy, and in this case, correct: don’t be lazy and do your mise en place.
**note: if you’re like me, and forget to leave your egg out to reach room temp, put your egg in some hot TAP water for about 5 minutes. you should be good. scientifically speaking i might be off a few degrees but whatever.

1 large egg white, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp chocolate extract
2 TBL boiling water

preheat oven to 225F.

in a stand mixer bowl, add your egg white with sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, chocolate extract, and vinegar and with your whisk attachment, mix on low. it’s going to look like a hot mess, just keep at it. at some point that tickles your fancy use a spatula and scrape the bottom of the bowl. you want the cocoa powder to be fully incorporated. keeping the mixer on low speed, add in the 2 TBL of boiling water.

incrementally pump up the speed until medium-high and let it go. you’re aiming for glossy stiff peaks, about 15 minutes.

pipe meringue on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. i used a Wilton 1M tip, cus it was the first one i grabbed and let’s be honest, the easiest tip to wash. i came up with exactly 40.

bake for an hour. movita says to check around 45 minutes. i live on the edge. and i was too lazy to get off the couch and i let it go the full hour. turn off oven, ignore for an hour to allow to cool and dry completely.

serve with whipped cream + berries, like a fancy pavlova or an eton mess, or just on its own.

BAM!

previous vday treats:
lychee jelly hearts

savory sticky rice

Published on February 9, 2015February 9, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach29 Comments

did you guys see
Fresh Off the Boat last week?
i don’t like the show
(it gives me a vague sense
that i’m being side-eyed
and laughed at)
there was one scene
that rang true:
the lunch scene.
it was common that my lunch
consisted of
whatever was leftover
from the dinner table the night before.
which you can imagine,
while super tasty at home
did not translate in the school cafeteria.
i got side eyed
and one time
an entire table left,
after making a fuss.
that was high school.
(specifically, freshman year,
2nd semester where i was the NEW KID,
fresh from ethiopia
and in deep culture shock,
as an ASIAN AMERICAN IN AMERICA.
wtf?)

anyway,
this particular dish
was something i brought to school
in third grade.
i was so excited.
i was too young to realize that
pb&jelly sandwiches were de rigueur
and when i busted this sticky rice
out of its wrapper
and offered it to my bff
she wrinkled her nose.
i was crestfallen,
though i rallied and figured:
more for me.
(just kidding.
i threw it away)
but thus began my
battle with home brought lunches.
the struggle was real people.

xôi or 糯米饭 no mi fan, or, Savory Sticky Rice
from memory, and a combination of woks of life and le jus d’orange

*note: nowadays, i have an office i can hide in if my food is on the strong side, though i do err on the side of safe foods. (there was that one time, years ago at another job, i brought dumplings and the odor caused my coworkers to pause. i was so embarrassed.) you won’t ever find fish in my lunch box. this, thankfully, did not disrupt anybody’s olfactory senses the week i brought it for noshing.

3 cups of brown sticky rice, soaked overnight
5 lap xuoung links, chinese pork sausage, sliced on a diagonal
3 garlic cloves, minced fine
2 cups worth of fresh shiitake mushroom caps, (reserve the caps in a freezer bag to make stock), sliced
1 cups worth of dried wood ear mushroom, sliced (reconstituted in hot water)
1 cups worth of enokie mushrooms, cut in half
2 cups of liquid, you can use stock for flavor or leftover water from soaking the mushroom, or just water
1/2 dried shrimp, reconstituted in hot water
4 stalks of green onions, sliced on a diagonal, divided, half to cook and half for garnish

sauce:
light/thin soy sauce
dark soy sauce
shaoxing wine
sesame oil
oyster sauce

night before, soak the rice.

when ready, prepare your mis en place:
for the sauce, refer to the links for exact measurements. i won’t lie, i winged the proportions and guessed on amount. basically, shoot for a tablespoon of each, except for the sesame oil. mix it all together and taste, add more of whatever you want until you reach desired flavor. you’re aiming for salty sweet. add in the sesame oil last, my guess: about 1/2 TBL. set aside.

have all your components ready sliced/minced/soaked and close at hand. strain the soaked rice.

in a large skillet, cook up the lap xuoung, it is going to give up so much fat. don’t be alarmed. when sufficiently cooked through, remove from pan onto paper napkins. pour out excess oil/fat, leaving behind about a tablespoon. throw in a handful of sliced scallions and garlic, mix. next add in the mushrooms and dried shrimp, and mix. remove from heat and last, add the rice and sauce. mix it all thoroughly together.

transfer entire contents of the pan to a rice cooker. we have a fancy rice cooker that has a STICKY RICE feature. if you’re incensed that i’m using a rice cooker, or you don’t have a rice cooker with that feature, or you want something more authentic, refer to the links of the original recipes for those instructions.

add in two cups of liquid (we used a combo of water and leftover mushroom water) and set timer accordingly. i think it was done after about an hour.

when cooked through, adjust seasoning to taste. serve garnished with leftover green scallions.

BAM!