Recipe: Teri Tofu Burgers

Apr27

About a year ago, we had a pot-luck at work and my coworker made some amazing burgers. She told us they were called teri tofu burgers and I was amazed that they were tofu – okay, I was wrong. It’s actually meat mixed with tofu – but I guess it is healthier since you’re using less meat! Back me up here. 🙂 Anyhow, I finally got to make it the other week and they came out great! I love these burgers because they are so flavorful and moist, you can’t tell there is tofu in here. I’ll include the recipe and some tips after the pictures.

Ahh…wish I had some to eat right now!

Didn’t have too much preparation pictures. The recipe called for firm tofu, I used soft tofu and it worked great for me.

Here is the mixture right before forming and cooking. I think if you use soft tofu like me, you have to chill it before forming the patties. I cooked the patties about 4 at a time so I was able to chill, form and cook in intervals.

The tomatoes are not part of this recipe. Hehe, I made a traditional tomato soup to go with my rice and burger patties.

You folks ever use these? I don’t even know the English name of it, it’s like brown sugar blocks my family has always used to make this tomato soup.

Finished product. Rice, Chinese tomato soup (if anyone wants the recipe, feel free to comment and I will post it!) and the awesome tofu teri burger.

Teri Tofu Burgers

1 lb hamburger
1 blk tofu, drained well (I used soft tofu – firm tofu might make it less soft, depends on your taste)

1/4 C onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 piece ginger grated (1-2 tsp.)
1/4 C shoyu
2 T sugar
1T sesame seed (optional) – I didn’t use this
Dash of sesame oil

Cooking Oil

Heat up your frying pan and add about 1 T of oil each time you fry up some patties. The patties get pretty good color to them because of the shoyu and ground beef – I fry them up on medium high heat for about 2 minutes each side. Serve them up over rice, onolicious!

Notes:
– If using soft tofu – you may want to chill the mixture before forming patties. The soft tofu and ground beef makes for a very soft mixture and it’s hard to form patties if they are not cold.
– I used a weight on the tofu to try to drain as much water as I could from the tofu for a few hours in the fridge.

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Garlic Noodles with Chicken Breast

Apr20

This is going to be another bean thread vermicelli recipe post! This time I wasn’t that great at taking pictures of the steps but took a final picture…lol. It’s okay, I’ll post the recipe below after the pictures anyway!

Yes, another bulb of garlic. You really shouldn’t be surprised by now.

This time, I actually poached the garlic with my chicken breast. Once the chicken breast was done, I mashed up the now soft garlic in a bowl and added some salt and sesame oil.

Okay this picture might not look it, but this chicken breast is TENDER and MOIST. I used a method I watched on a youtube video, I’ll share the link below. He boils the water, then switches off the heat and throws the breast in and covers it with the lid. You let it sit for about 20 minutes and voila, they are done. Some may be worried it won’t cook through, but mine always does. As long as you don’t have to keep reheating this dish, the chicken breast will be so tender.

I gotta rewind! I mixed the chicken breast in the garlic mash and then threw it into my stir fry to incorporate. Then I added the rehydrated noodles to coat and voila!

Yummy noodles. This dish is actually pretty healthy for you! I added some chili sauce to kick it up a notch, that is option of course.

Garlic Noodles with Chicken Breast

1 package of Bean Thread Vermicelli (here is the one I buy – click here), rehydrated according to package directions. After I rehydrate the noodles, I get a pair of kitchen scissors and roughly cut through the noodles. If you don’t do this, the noodles will be LONG
1 bulb of garlic, peeled
1 bunch of garlic chives, sliced into 1 inch strips
1 small head of cabbage, chopped
2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1 t salt
1 T sesame oil

2 T of corn/canola/vegetable oil
2-3 T of oyster sauce
Hot Sauce to taste (optional of course and added when you eat!)

Set up a big pot of water ready to boil; about 8 cups of water. Throw in the peeled garlic and turn the heat on high. When the water comes to a boil; throw the chicken breasts in whole, put on the lid and turn off the heat. Let the chicken breast poach in the liquid for at least 18-20 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken. Take the chicken breasts out to cool, shred by hand when chicken is cool enough to handle.

Remove the garlic from the water and mash it in a bowl with the salt and garlic. Once the mixture has been properly mixed, add the chicken breast strips and mix. Reserve at least 1/2 – 3/4 cup of the chicken broth for later.

Heat up oil in a wok/deep skillet. Add the cabbage and stir fry until a bit browned and a bit tender, about 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic chives and stir fry for another minute. Add the chicken mixture in and mix it all together. Add the noodles in and incorporate it all together. Add the oyster sauce and the reserved chicken broth if the noodles are too dry for your liking. Taste the noodles and add more oyster sauce to your liking. I find that this dish is mild in taste but in a good way. To me it’s not bland because of the flavors but it’s definitely not in your face (even if there is a bulb of garlic…hehe).

Chicken Breast Cooking Inspiration: runnyrunny999 – Cold Pasta with Sesame Dressing (skip to 2:20 if you only want to see chicken breast method)

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Recipe: Glass Noodles with Lup Cheong and Chives

Apr17

Recipe sort of. Sorry guys! I did such a good job of taking pictures of the ingredients but totally forgot to take pictures of the finished product. To me that’s not a full recipe but I’ll have to make do and let you use your imagination.

Buttload of garlic…

Buttload of garlic chives

Sliced lup cheong ready to be cooked…

Won bok!

Bean Thread Vermicelli – rehydrated in hot water and drained

Glass Noodles with Lup Cheong and Chives

1 package of Bean Thread Vermicelli (here is the one I buy – click here), rehydrated according to package directions. After I rehydrate the noodles, I get a pair of kitchen scissors and roughly cut through the noodles. If you don’t do this, the noodles will be LONG
1 bulb of garlic, minced
1 bunch of garlic chives, sliced into 1 inch strips
3-4 lup cheong, sliced diagonally (prettier this way)
1 won bok, cut up bite sized

2 T of corn/canola/vegetable oil
4-5 T of oyster sauce
Hot Sauce to taste (optional of course and added when you eat!)

Heat up a wok/big skillet on high with the oil. Add the garlic and stir fry until fragrant. Add the lup cheong and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic chives and continue to stir fry until the garlic chives start to wilt (about 1 minute or 2). Add the wonbok and continue to stirfry for about 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the won bok is tender but still firm (sorry if that’s confusing – it’s really to your liking). Add the bean thread noodles and stir to combine, keep it on the heat until everything is heated through. Serve and eat! This keeps pretty well for leftovers too. Enjoy!

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Recipe: Green Chicken Curry

Apr6

This Thai green chicken curry is one of my favorites! I hadn’t made it in a while so I busted out my old recipe book to make it. Very easy to make and super yummy if you like coconut milk. I’ll share pics and recipes below!

Doesn’t look all that great but it is! I can smell the coconut milk and lime now…

You only need 1.5 cups of coconut milk but I just used the full two cans – I’m pretty gangsta. By the way, the Hawaiian Sun brand coconut milk is much thicker than the right can. I prefer the Hawaiian Sun brand.

Chopped Onions

Sliced Chicken Thighs. If I wasn’t in a time crunch, I would have trimmed the fat a bit more.

Green Curry Paste – definitely essential to make this green curry. Hehe…I found this at Foodland. I’ve found it at Safeway before too.

Fish Sauce. Also necessary, pungent but necessary.

Green beans washed and broken into pieces, ready to add.

Cilantro. I guess this can be optional but for me, this cilantro makes a huge difference for the dish. You just top off your curry right before eating…yum!

Lime juice and lime zest chilling, ready to flavor up the curry

Sizzling onions with the green curry paste…

Wooo, coconut milk added. I also put a small amount of water into each coconut can and woosh around the excess and added it back into this.

Chicken and beans added, ready to simmer

There you have it! A nice and hearty bowl of green chicken curry served on top of a bed of rice and topped with fresh cilantro leaves ready to be consumed. It’s so good. Give it a try!

Green Chicken Curry

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Total cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves 4

1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped
1-2 tablespoons Green Curry Paste
1.5 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup of water (take the water and swish out the remaining cream in the coconut milk cans)
1 lb 2 oz. chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
3/4 cup green beans, cut into short pieces
6 makrut (kaffir) lime leaves (these are hard to find for me so I don’t use them)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
2 teaspoons soft brown sugar
1 bunch of cilantro, cut the leaves for topping

1) Heat the oil in a wok or a heavy-based pan. Add onion and curry paste to the wok and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add coconut mik and water to the wok. Bring the mixture to the boil.

2) Add the chicken pieces, beans, and makrut lime leaves to the wok; stir to combine. Simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Add the fish sauce, lime juice and zest, and brown sugar to wok; stir to combine. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves just before serving. Serve with steamed rice.

Note: Chicken thigh fillets are sweet in flavor and a very good texture for curries. You can use breast fillets instead, if you prefer. Do not overcook fillets or they will be tough.

Credit: A really old Thai cookbook that is no longer printed…lol. Sorry!

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Recipe: Jean-Georges’s Fried Rice

Apr2

I first saw this recipe a few years back when I saw it on Mark Bittman’s cooking podcasts. I was very interested in trying this fried rice recipe, it is a very simple recipe but looks absolutely delicious. I’ll share the link to his video at the end of this post but I do not suggest using the amount of shoyu and sesame oil. That’s too much!

My first time using leeks! Have you used one before? It looks a lot like the big Japanese negi onion but it’s definitely not the same. Also, you cannot use the green part at all – it is very tough!

Leeks sliced up and ready to sizzle…

Minced garlic and ginger. Lots of minced garlic and ginger.

Fry the ginger and garlic in oil until they are golden and crispy.

Oh yeah…almost there! Once they are golden brown, you drain them and let them sit out a bit while you cook the rest of the dish. Letting it rest a bit lets them get even crunchier!

I couldn’t waste the aromatic ginger/garlic oil so I used it to make the fried rice! Here are the leeks ready to be sautéed.

This recipe is SO easy to make. It’s very simple in how it’s made but oh so delicious. I topped mine off with a fried egg too. I’ll share the recipe and video below with a few tips.

Jean-Georges’s Fried Rice

1/2 cup peanut oil if you’re Mark Bittman, chicken fat if you’re Jean-Georges (Corn Oil if you’re Jenny)
2 tablespoons minced garlic (an entire bulb if you’re Jenny)
2 tablespoons minced ginger (a medium sized piece if you’re Jenny)
Salt (Jenny didn’t use this)
2 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and dried (I didn’t have two cups – I only used one stalk of leek)
4 cups cooked rice, preferably jasmine, at room temperature (see note below)
4 large eggs (or as many eggs as people)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 teaspoons soy sauce

In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and salt lightly. Alternately, you can pour the oil into a heat-proof bowl through a fine-mesh strainer, then return the flavorful oil to the pan, reserving the ginger and garlic bits.
Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low and add 2 tablespoons oil and leeks. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned. Season lightly with salt.
Raise heat to medium and add rice. Cook, stirring well, until heated through. Season to taste with salt.
In a nonstick skillet, fry eggs in remaining oil, sunny-side-up, until edges are set but yolk is still runny.
Divide rice among four dishes. Top each with an egg and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Sprinkle crisped garlic and ginger over everything and serve.
Note: Use leftover cooked rice if you have it. Here are some tips if you’re cooking the rice fresh, to make sure it isn’t too soggy: When the cook time is done, leave the rice undisturbed in the pot (uncovered) for 5 minutes. Spread the rice on a tray (or two) to dry out. While you prep the rest of the ingredients, put it by an open window or a fan, or pop the tray in the fridge or freezer if you have room. Jaden Hair at Steamy Kitchen also recommends starting with 1/4 to 1/3 less water when cooking the rice.

Recipe courtesy of Food 52.

The Minimalist : Jean-Georges’s Fried Rice – Mark Bittman

Jenny’s notes:
– You must use Jasmine Rice or long grain rice – the medium grain rice I had was too mushy! Also, the rice must be at least a day old! It’s gotta be cold and hard!
– I added a splash of shoyu and sesame oil before eating – it’s really up to the person eating! This dish is so delicious and easy, but it’s the garlic/ginger crunch that makes it pop.

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Recipe: Natto Pizza

Mar15

All the talk on Jalna’s blog about natto got me to bust out this recipe again. I wanted to show her another option for eating natto – not sure if it will work for her but anything’s worth a shot after her recent post about natto and its amazing health properties! Not much ingredients here, I’ll show you folks the pictures and credit the youtube video I learned it from!

Natto Pizza! You can use naan or pita bread. Spread on some mayonnaise and wasabi (optional). Mix up your natto as you normally would, since the natto usually comes with it’s own sauce and mustard – I used that and don’t add wasabi to the mayonnaise. Add the natto and sprinkle on whatever cheese you like!

I throw it in a toaster oven and let it toast for about 8-10 minutes. You are really just wanting it to warm through a bit and have the cheese melt…

Sprinkle nori right after the toaster oven and slice up your mini natto pizza and be ready to eat!

Yummy…give it a try! It doesn’t mask the natto in any way for those are looking to get away from the slimy-ness of the natto. I don’t think you can ever! Anyhow, I thought this was a creative way to eat natto – it’s good to play around with different recipes so you don’t get bored of the same preparation.

Recipe Credit: ezjapanesecooking on YouTube (awesome channel – I really miss his updates, he did some great and simple Japanese recipes)

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Recipe: Angel Hair with Tomatoes, Peas and Basil

Mar12

I played around with a recipe this past week and came up with this dish! I’m very happy I did because it tastes delicious! And other than the dab of mayonnaise you throw in to make it creamy, it is very good for you! Let me share the pictures first:

Doesn’t that look good? I tried to make it look good for a picture, I need to wipe the sides off better next time, lol.

I used three roma tomatoes and two pints of grape tomatoes

Me and my crazy garlic again, I used a whole bulb

My basil was a bit wilted in the fridge but they tasted fine! I sliced up 20 basil leaves for this recipe

Angel Hair Pasta – cooked just below al dente since you heat it up in the sauce too

Frozen green peas, it can be left frozen even up until cooking

Heat up some good olive oil and saute the garlic

Add the tomatoes

Once the tomatoes release some liquid, add the basil

As the mixture cooks down, more liquid comes out. I added about 1/4 cup of mayonnaise to this to make it creamier

Add the peas in just as the sauce is done. You don’t want to overcook the peas so add it at the end to just warm them up

Here it is! Finished! And so delicious. I added salt and pepper to taste and then added a mozzarella and parmesan shredded cheese right before consumption.

Angel Hair with Tomatoes, Peas and Basil

Ingredients:

1 lb. Angel Hair Pasta (I used Barilla brand)
1 bulb of Garlic, minced
3 T Olive Oil
3 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
2 pints Grape Tomatoes, sliced
20 Basil Leaves, julienned
1 package of Frozen Peas

1 tsp of Salt
1 tsp of Pepper
1/4 C of Mayonnaise
Mozzarella/Parmesan Cheese according to your taste

Heat up the olive oil in a big skillet, add the garlic to saute. Once the garlic has browned for about a minute, add all the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes has cooked down a bit and released liquid, add in the basil and mix it together. Lower to medium heat and continue simmering. Once the mixture has released enough liquid to become a sauce (about 5 minutes), add the mayonnaise to thicken the sauce. Add the frozen peas and simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasoning according to your taste.

Turn off the heat. Add the noodles in and mix it up. Sprinkle cheese on top as you serve the dish. Enjoy!

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Recipe: Corned Beef Hash – Island Style

Feb28

I need to start this with…YUM. I found this recipe a few weeks back and have made it twice already! Then I remembered that I first had this before Christmas of last year when my coworker brought some in to work. She made it really well – I think I need to put a better browning on the corned beef hash. I think this is a pretty typical recipe but my other coworkers don’t seem familiar with it. I think it’s a great recipe, easy to make and delicious over rice! Let’s get to the pictures and recipe.

I’ll be honest. I don’t buy a lot of corned beef hash so when I got to Times, they had all brands on sale. This one, this Palm brand was the only one that was locked behind their sales counter. I figured that’s the one I should get since the others were left out in the open…lol. It wasn’t too bad but I think I need to try the Libby’s brand to compare!

Diced Tomatoes. I removed all the excess seeds but I didn’t go nuts trying to get them all out.

Diced Potatoes

Sliced Onions

Garlic garlic garlic…can’t get enough of this

Corned Beef Hash – Island Style

Ingredients
1 small can of corned beef, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion, sliced (I used a medium sized onion)
1 large potato, diced
1 large tomato, diced (I used like 3-4 small tomatoes)
2 tablespoons oil

ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Open the corned beef and place in a bowl. Use a fork to mash it. Crush the garlic, slice the onions, dice the potato and chop the tomato.

In a skillet, fry the garlic and onions in oil. Add the potatoes and fry. Crumble the corned beef and mix well until the potatoes are cooked through. Remove from heat. Stir in the tomatoes. Sprinkle with pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve hot with steamed white rice.

Jenny’s Notes:
– Next time, I’d like to pan fry the potatoes on their own to get a good crust on them.
– I would also like to pan fry the corned beef hash on it’s own to get a good crust on them too! The brown yummy bits will add lots of great flavor.

Recipe from Hicookery.com

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Recipe: Custard Mochi

Feb23

Okay before I begin, I have a funny story to tell about this. I saw this recipe online and was amazed at this mochi. I had never seen a mochi recipe that separated into a layer of mochi, a layer of custard and then a glorious layer of crust (yes, I count a good crust as a layer!). Needless to say, I had to make it right away and I am so happy I did. It’s a pretty crazy recipe, it asks for 4 cups of milk and 4 eggs…but we are making custard! How did it turn out? Heavenly. Absolutely perfect. I followed the recipe exactly but I have some tips of my own after the recipe I’m going to post.

Funny story. So I got into work and wrote an e-mail out to the staff about how I never saw this kind of mochi before and told them all to give it a try. Then one of my coworkers tells me she has made this same exact recipe and brought it to the office at least three times. OOPS. I felt really bad but I kept laughing too! Not at her but at me writing that e-mail to the staff like I found something new or something! Luckily she wasn’t too mad since we are pretty close…lol. Here are the pictures!

Look at that awesome crust. No can beat that…

You see the layering? Oozy custard in the middle…

Wish I had a nice one sliced up to take a picture of…I was too busy trying to eat it! It is crispy, creamy, chewy all at once. All that texture makes for the perfect dessert.

Custard Mochi

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 cups milk (2% or higher)
4 whole eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups mochiko (rice flour)
2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 X 9 pan. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well blended. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until center is firm. Cool and chill in refrigerator. Cut into squares — my mom suggests using a plastic knife for easier cutting. Do as Mom says, she knows best.

Recipe from Wasabi Prime.

Jenny’s tips:
1) You must use a glass pan, no exceptions!
2) Do not chill it in the refrigerator! For me, I baked it at night and let it cool overnight at room temperature. Then I served it out to my office in the morning and bugga was gone before I could even throw it in the fridge. Well I did save a few pieces for my family which I did throw in the fridge (since there’s custard) and it did not taste good. The crust got really mealy and ruined the whole mochi for me, but these are just my personal tips.

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Recipe: Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Feb21

I’ve been trying to vary up my home lunches in an effort to continue eating home lunches and save money! When I saw this recipe, I really wanted to give it a try! Roasted garlic in salisbury steak? Yes please. Here’s how it turned out.

Here are two bulbs of garlic rubbed down with olive oil and salt ready to be roasted. There’s my first deviation already, the recipe only calls for one bulb of garlic.

Caramelized red onions…yummy

Sautéed mushrooms. Can’t go wrong.

Finished product with the gravy and mushrooms oozing on top…

First of all, here is the recipe:

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

3 tsp olive oil (divided)
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
8 oz of button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 lb of lean ground beef (96/4)
Bulb of roasted garlic
2 pieces of bacon, crumbled
Snider’s Prime Rib seasoning (or your favorite steak seasoning), to taste
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1-2 packets of brown gravy mix, prepared per instructions

Prepare roasted garlic (click on link above for directions). Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, once done remove to a paper towel to drain. Remove all but 1 teaspoon of bacon grease from the skillet then add 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the diced onion and cook until soft and tender, about 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil to the same skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms once the pan is very hot. Let them sit, without stirring for 3-4 minutes for a nice golden color. Flip the mushrooms and continue to cook for a few minutes until golden brown.

In a small saucepan, prepare gravy per instructions. Once it’s thickened, add the golden mushrooms and simmer.

Combine the ground beef, bacon bits, caramelized onion, roasted garlic bulb, steak seasoning, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper in a large bowl. Form into oval shaped patties, not too thick or thin. Add the last teaspoon of olive oil to the same skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the salisbury steak patties and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or to your desired degree of doneness.

Place the cooked steak patties on a serving dish and cover with mushroom gravy. Enjoy.

Credit: For the Love of Cooking

So what did I think? I thought it was all right. I did of course make little changes in the recipe. I enjoyed the addition of more roasted garlic. If you haven’t had roasted garlic, you really have to. It is such a mellow garlic taste and it is SO easy to make! This recipe called for bacon, prime rib seasoning AND salt and pepper. Well I didn’t want to buy a whole pack of bacon so I bought a pack of bacon bits. I used the prime rib seasoning but didn’t add salt and pepper because I felt like the dish already had a lot of salt and spices. Besides, the gravy on top would add even more salt! All in all, I think it was good though. Maybe I did a horrible job of forming the patties because they fell apart. I’m not a big fan of bacon so I think I would leave that out next time.

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maybeitsjenny

Hawaii based food blog with foodie travels!

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