Char Kway Teow

As I mentioned in many of my blogs that I love all kinds of noodle and pasta. My favorite Malaysian noodle is Char Kway Teow. Every time I go to a Malaysian restaurant, this is one of things I order... It is a must!! I wish to visit Malaysia one day and eat this dish. This is my version Char Kway Teow from my kitchen:

1 pack of flat Rice Noodle
1/2lb of medium size shrimps
1/2lb ground pork
1/2lb of calamari
1 medium onion
3 Eggs
Bean sprout 
Chives (can be substituted w/ green onion)

Balacan Sauce
1 cup of sambal olek
2 tablespoon of shortening (substitute w/ butter or peanut oil)
1 teaspoon of shrimp paste
1 teaspoon sugar (adjust to your taste)
1/2 teaspoon of garlic paste
salt + pepper
Pan fry these ingredients

Kway Teow Sauce
4 tablespoon of Balacan sauce (adjust to your taste)
6 tablespoon of Dark thick soy sauce (I used Thai brand and mushroom flavor)
1/2 cup of Soy sauce
1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon 
1 teaspoon of sesame oil

Cook the flat noodle in a boiling water and season it with salt. When it's ready, let leave it on a cool water until they are ready to be fried.

On a wok fry the onion with vegetable oil until golden brown and then add the ground pork, season it w/ salt + pepper.
Take it out and place it on a plate.

Using the same wok, add shortening and let it melt and add the ground beef. Then add the Kway Teow sauce and let it boil. Add the cooked noodle and let mix them well. Add eggs and mix them together. Let everything cook for a bit, then add shrimps and calamari. Then add some been sprouts ( I used green mustard) and chives ( I used green onions). Add some salt, pepper and ajinomoto to taste. Let it cook for another 1-2mins then it's ready to serve.

Enjoy!!

Cut it into small sizes

Left over Balacan

Ensalada Rusa (mixed veggies w/ Peruvian Mayo)

I couldn't find my beats so I didn't use it

This is one of favorite Peruvian salad. It's so easy and quick to make yet the taste it's unbelievably amazing. I could eat this every single day if I can...hahaha but anyways, here's my recipe given by my mother in law:

2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrot, string beans, corn and Lima beans)
1 cup of beats in a can (optional)
1/2 cup of Alacena Mayonesa (it must be the Peruvian mayo)
salt + pepper to taste

Boil the frozen vegetables and let it cool.
Cut the beats into small dices
Mix everything together in a bowl.
Preferably serve it cool

Happy Cooking!!

Pollo Al horno ( Grill Chicken)

The name of this dish is Pollo Al horno or grill chicken, however it's actually cooked in a different way. My mother in law gave me this recipe and I have been cooking it forever because it's so simple and D-Licious!!!!! When she first showed me how to make this dish, I was surprised because of the way she cooked it. She doesn't put it in the stove's oven nor the grill, interestingly she cooked it inside the microwave. Oh my Gosh...how weird!!! So I asked my mother in law while we were in Peru, why using a microwave when you have an oven?? Her answer was, it's actually cheaper cooking with microwave here in Peru than using the kitchen's oven and it's faster. I guess it is true...but I was curious how this dish will come out when cooking inside the kitchen's oven. So, i tried it but the end result was very dry and it was just not as good as the way she did it using the microwave. I found it much more hassled using the stove's oven than the microwave. Ever since, I have been making this dish using my microwave. It's easier and less work..right??
Here's my mother in law's recipe:

4 legs of chicken (use a medium size of chicken preferably, cut chicken's meat in the middle so it will cook faster and evenly)


On a bowl mix these ingredients below:
5 tablespoon thick dark soy sauce (I have mushroom flavor)
1/2 teaspoon of soy bean paste
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of aji panca (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon of garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of sugar
approx 1/4 cup of Pisco (any liquor)
approx 1/4 cup of  pepsi
1/2 teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder
salt + pepper to taste
a dash of ajinomoto


Marinate the chickens with the mixture above for about 15mins
Before putting them inside the microwave, some butter and place it on the top of the chicken.
Don't forget to cover the bowl with the microwave's cover, otherwise you'll have a huge mess inside the microwave.
Cook it for 4 mins and the take out the microwave, turn the chicken to the other side, then cook it for another 4mins, and turn it again for another 2 mins and again for another 2 mins until they are well cooked.

Pretty easy right?????
We normally serve this with Ensalada Rusa (mixed vegetable with mayo), this salad serve well with these chicken. Try it!!

Enjoyy!!

Baked Gnocchi with portobello mushrooms & shrimps

I made homemade gnocchi a week ago and of course you need to eat them with a sauce. I decided to try making a baked gnocchi with portobello mushrooms, shrimps and red bell peppers. I saw a picture on the internet, it looked so delicious. I tried looking for a recipe but I couldn't find any, so I what da heck...let me create my own recipe. Btw, if you don't feel like making your own gnocchi, you can always buy them at the grocery store. I never try it but you'll never know until you try it right?? Here is my recipe:

Homemade gnocchi for two portions
10pcs of shrimps
2 of portobello mushrooms
1/4 of red bell pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic
1/4 cup of white wine
1/4 cup of chicken stock
2 splashes of carnation milk (heavy cream you want it more creamy or fresh milk less creamy)
some parsley
olive oil
1/2 tablespoon of butter
red crushed pepper
3 slices of cooked ham
1 cup of mozzarella
1/4 cup of Romano
1/4 cup of Parmesan
salt + pepper to taste

Cook garlic with olive oil and add red crushed pepper (optional) and portobello mushroom, immediately add the white wine and chicken stock. Reduce it to half. Then add red bell pepper. Let it cook for 2 mins, then add shrimp and cook it for 2 mins only. Just before turning off the heat, add milk and some butter (that's about a minute, then turn off heat). When the stove is off, add parsley leaves.

In your casserole, you have the gnocchi in it, add the sauce inside and stir well.
Next top it with some cheeses ( grated mozzarella, romano & Parmesan).
Add 3 slices of cook ham and cut them into 1 inch long.

Cover it with aluminum foil and throw it in the oven for about 10mins and take it out again take off the foil and put it back until the cheeses start to browning (another 5-7mins) 350F.

Good Luck :)

Homemade Gnocchi

Cooked gnocchi

Bake gnocchi with shrimp

I made Gnocchi two days ago. It was awesome and I ate so much that I couldn't even breath. Gnocchi is basically a mixture of flour and potato. Pretty simple ingredients but you need to get messy to make this beautiful gnocchi. I made with white sauce with shrimp bake gnocchi but you can put any type of sauce such as pesto, alfredo or marinara. Here's my recipe on how to make homemade gnocchi.

3 boiled medium to large potatoes
2 2/3 - 3 cups of all purpose flour
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
1 teaspoon of nutmeg

Mashed the boiled potatoes, on a large bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well. It will turn to a dough. Flatten the dough 1/4 inch with a rolling pin. Cut the dough into a long strips with approx 1/2 inch width.
Then, cut the strips, into smaller pieces about 1/2 inch long and 1/2 width or according to your bite size preference. Now, with fork roll the small pieces dough to make the gnocchi prints.

Cook the gnocchi on a boiling season water with salt. When they start to float, then they're cook.
I hope my explanation make some senses...Good Luck.

Roll it

Homemade baguette

I love baking baguettes and eating them too. When my husband and I took a trip to Paris, we practically ate baguette all day long. While in Paris, we saw the Parisians carried baguette in their brown bags every where they go. When we were at sacre coeur, we saw a lot of the Parisian, picnic out with their baguette, cheese and wine.   It's so cool and they are incredibly D-licious. Foods in Paris are so expensive, so if you are going to have a fancy breakfast every day in Paris..., it's not worth it. Before you head out to your tour, stop by at a bakery and pick up a baguette. In Paris, you can find two bakeries in every block. They sell really great pastries...I love Paris. I am not really crazy about their food, but I am insane for their pastries. And baguette is on of the best bread out there. I pretty much eat them with anything, from Ham & cheese to butter & jelly. My husband loves eating his pasta with a piece of baguette. Here's my easy baguette recipe. I do it with bread machine, but if you don't have one, then you just do the old style.

1 cup of luke water
1/2 teaspoon of yeast
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
Let it sit for 10mins for proof then add:
1 tablespoon of olive oil  
approx 2 1/2 - 2/3 cups of bread flour

1 egg yolk whisked with 1 tablespoon of water for brushing on the top.

Since, I used my bread machine, it does the mixing and kneading. Basically, I waited until it finished kneading, then I took it out from the bread machine and placed it on a bowl. (I covered my bowl  and the dough with olive oil generously, because I don't want to have a dry skin while waiting for the dough to rise.) If you like crust skin, then do not put olive oil. I don't really like crusty skin, so that's why I put a lot of olive oil.

Wait about 1 hour approx on 85F for the dough to rise. If you live on a colder area, then try to put the dough inside an oven, put a boil water inside the oven and close the oven, so the warm temperature from the water won't escape. OR, you can preheat your oven to 200F for about 3-4mins, then turn it off, then let the dough sit inside the oven.
After the dough has risen, then shape it (you can use corn meal or bread flour to help with shaping) and put in the baking sheet.
Let it rise again for about 3-4 hrs (depending on your home temperature, if your home is below 85F, you can repeat the procedure above) Once the dough has doubled it size, cut the dough diagonal or straight on it's skin (don't cut it too deep). After cutting, let it sit for 10mins, then brush it with egg yolk and then you may bake it. Preheat your oven to 350F, and bake it for about 10-15mins, depending on your oven. After 10mins, I advisedly to check constantly.

Before going inside the oven

Good Luck!!!

Adobo de Chancho con Camote (Pork adobo and sweet potato)

This is one of my husband's favorite dish and I happened to like it too. We normally eat this with boiled sweet potato. The pork has a little kick of spice to it, so the sweet potato kinda tranquilizes it. I mean, I like spicy, so for me, it kills the spicy taste. However, my husband doesn't really like spicy food...soo this works for.  (hahaha but I made this spicier than normal.) I'm sharing the recipe with y'll.

1.5 lbs pork chops
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
1/4 teaspoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of aji panca (depending your taste)
3 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of garlic
1/4 salt + pepper
Mix all the ingredient together and marinate with the pork for 8hrs or overnight it for better taste. Put it inside the refrigerator.

 

The next day..,
3 tablespoon of vegetable oil
3/4 red onion small diced
1 tablespoon of garlic
fry all until golden brown.

add
1/4 teaspoon of oregano
1 pork cube bouillon
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
2 tablespoon of aji panca (I like mine spicy)
a splash of red wine vinegar
Let it shimmer for 3 mins

Then add
marinated pork

Add a dash of ajinomoto

Cook it with lid close until they are ready.

 For the sweet potato:

 boil water and add 1 teaspoon full of sugar
boil the sweet potato until it is soft.