Cashew Chicken

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin



I was reminded two days ago that real bloggers actually update their blogs...so I took the opportunity to test out Rasa Malaysia's Kung Pao Chicken recipe that had me almost drooling onto my keyboard. For years, I've heard of Kung Pao chicken in Chinese-American restaurants and thought that it was a made up dish....kinda like Chop Suey. However, after reading RM's blog about cooking authentic Kung Pao Chicken, I realized, "Hey, my grandma makes this dish!" It was similar to a dish that my grandma calls Cashew Chicken and does NOT in the slightest bit resemble the Americanized version of Kung Pao Chicken.

The pleasant memories flooding my tastebuds prompted me to make this dish tonight. I adapted RM's recipe, substituting cashew nuts for peanuts, added sesame oil and oyster sauce to the dish. I also cheated on the steps and cooked it all at once instead of cooking the chicken and sauce in two steps and then combining them.

Cashew Chicken

Ingredients:
5 pieces of boneless & skinless chicken thighs
1 large handful of roasted and salted cashew nuts
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 stalk diagonally sliced scallion
8-12 small dried red chillies
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 thumb sized knob of thinly julienned fresh ginger
1/2 of a small yellow onion, sliced


Chicken Marinade:
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoon ShaoXing wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Pinch of black pepper to taste

Sauce:
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3-4 tablespoons water (depending on how thick or runny you'd like the sauce)
1 tablepoon corn starch
1 tablespoon ShaoXing wine

Method:

1. Prepare marinade and sauce in separate containers.
2. Clean chicken meat, pat dry and cut into 1cm cubes. Place in container with marinade and mix well. Set aside for 1/2 hr.
3. Heat the cooking oil in a large pan/wok on High setting until the oil is smoking. Add garlic and fry till golden brown.
4. Add scallions, ginger, chilies, onions and cashew nuts to pan. Fry together until the aromatics are soft and fragrant.
   
5. Add the chicken meat and cook until all of the pieces are cooked through
6. Pour in the sauce and stir-fry until sauce thickens and coats the chicken pieces well.
7. Add a pinch of sliced scallions "Emeril" style after plating for style and drama.

We ate it with steamed jasmine/long grain rice. It was GRREATTT!!!! The bf gave it two thumbs up :)

I Dream of Blue Skies, Warm Seas and Good Food

Sitting in a cold lonely room,
Wishing for some sunshine and warmth,
Reminiscing about lovelier times,
Can you blame my longing heart?





I will return to you one day.......Greece, I love you....

Murtabak Fever

I just can't help it, I want to eat this dish so badly!!! According to the countdown clock on my dashboard, I have 94 more days to my Malaysian trip. This is going to be one super exciting trip because I am :

a)Going home to see my parents and grandma. Always a pleasure.
b)Going to be a bridesmaid to my bestie, Tine.
c)Finally going home for Chinese New Year (Feb 7th 2008) after missing out on the ang pow action for 7 years.
d)Going to take a short family vacation to Perth to see my brother. Tried to squeeze Melbourne into the Australian trip but it was too much for me to handle. Yes, I am wimpy. You try sitting on a plane (and in airports) for 32 donkey hours from the US to Penang and see how well you handle it.
e)Going to eat Murtabak...with curry and the red onions (See dish above). It's a large piece of pulled dough that is stretched paper thin and then filled with a mixture of minced meat, seasonings, onion and garlic folded into a mixture of beaten egg before being folded like an envelope to seal in the filling and griddle fried until golden brown.

And wash it down with....you guessed it..... Teh tarik!

Watch how they make it here. What's not to like?

What City Do You Belong In?

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

Ya know, I would have guessed Paris. I suppose I am a little colonialist at heart.

Beautiful Ending To A Beautiful Day

The bf and I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and went for a walk last week. we were awed by this beautiful scene. I can't believe I live here!! This picture was taken at Lake Drive, Milwaukee.

Finish this sentence...

I don't usually do memes but I was inspired to do this one from MayNi, ingenuously sent via email:

1. I've come to realize that my last kiss was.... going to have to last me 2 weeks until he returns again...sob

2. I am listening to... Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley

3. I talk... like I have verbal diarrhea

4. I love.... eating and dressing up to go out.

5. My best friends are.... more precious than the rarest gems...John,MayNi, Christine, Lia, Doris, Anastasia, Georgia, Ming, Jamie and Wans

6. My Car is... a beautiful Honda Accord that was the biggest purchase of my life....and I love it!

7. My love life.... is blessed. And also very private :)

8. I hate it when people ask.... me why I speak English so well? or why don't I have an accent since I'm Malaysian or my personal favorite...How can you be Malaysian Chinese? I always reply, "Have you heard of African-Americans? Chinese-Americans? Polish-Americans? Do I need to continue?"

9. Love is.... what keeps me going. I am a hopeless romantic.

10. Marriage is... what you make of it.

11. Somewhere, someone is thinking... why is smoking not banned yet? Ok, I confess, I'm the one thinking that.

12. I'm always... running late. It's a disease

13. I have a secret cheesy crush on..... Colin Firth...it's the damn English accent

14. My cell phone... is my constant companion. It's my phone, alarm clock, calculator, calender and sometimes camera.

15. When I wake up in the morning... I snuggle deeper into the sheets and blankets.

16. When I go to bed at night... I call the bf.

17. Right now I am thinking about... what to eat for lunch. I hate going to work at 11am because I never know whether to eat breakfast or lunch.

18. Babies are.... especially adorable when you can give them back to their parents at the end of the day.

19. I get on myspace.... ?

20. Today I... go to work and think positive thoughts. Okay, maybe I'll pray at work. Constantly

21. Tonight I will... sleep well after I hit the gym

22. Tomorrow I will... clean up my house...I have said that everyday for the past week :p

23. I really want to... learn French, move to Europe, exercise more, ride horses, sing soprano, travel the world and love my job.

24. Someone that will most likely repost this is... Christine..because I am tagging her to do this on her blog.

Christine, you heard me...you're it!

Thank You Christine !!!

Oh for those of you who are admiring my new blog design, the credit should go to my bestie Christine, whom despite wedding preparations, visa applications and work stress had kindly offered to chng (pimp) my blog. I'll try to work hard and blog more so her efforts aren't wasted on a lazy blogger like me.

Kudos to Tine and thanks so much.

It's WARM out!!!!

It's in the eighties today and I am going OUTSIDE!!!!! I am so excited for the last hurrah of warm weather this week that I can't wait to go out and enjoy the day. My friend, G and I will be going out for some good eat in a few minutes. Since we are in a month with an "R" in it, we are going to the Milwaukee Public Market for some nice, plump oysters and mussels. That's right.....I have finally found the seafood motherload.

The seafood vendor, St Paul Fish company recently expanded their stall to include an oyster bar and grill. Needless to say, I was overjoyed at the prospect of not having to go to some atas restaurant to pay $15.95 for a plate of mussel appetizers. I am going to go this time, armed with my camera so I can take some pics of the lovely food we'll have. Oh dear....I hope G brings her appetite.

Banana Attack!!

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

I was rummaging through the kitchen when I spied 4 bananas that had somehow eluded my notice when they were optimally yellow and now, they were just 4 sad brown bananas. I thought briefly of chucking them in the trash but the notion quickly discarded by the heavy sensation of guilt that settled upon my shoulders. I was after all, brought up in Asia where it is a SIN to waste food. "Think about all the starving people in Somalia," my mother used to say.

Imagine my horror when I finally met some Somalians in college who turned out to be the biggest food wasters that I had ever met (until I lived in America, that is. Marquette dorm students take the cake). Luckily, these days, she never has to push us to eat. In fact, she's mostly telling me to stop stuffing my face!

So, I decided to make banana bread. I found a bunch of recipes online but alas, a quick survey of my kitchen revealed .....no baking powder, no lemon juice, no walnuts, no mixer and worse....no loaf pan. Somehow, my pan mysteriously vanished.

Anyway, I did the best I could and adapted a recipe that I will share, because the final product turned out awesome. It's simple,quick and does not require a mixer....just needs some elbow grease :) Instead of a loaf pan, I used an 8x8 pyrex pan. I call it the puddingcake because of the resulting dense, creamy and moist texture. Try it out, it's pretty much foolproof.



Banana PuddingCake

Ingredients:
4 very ripe bananas
2 handfuls of California raisins, soaked in water or rum
2 heaping tbs of Greek yogurt
3/4 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 tsp of pure vanilla extract
4 oz (1 stick) softened butter
4 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
   
2. Mash bananas in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add sugar, butter, vanilla extract and salt. Mix well
4. Beat the eggs in a bowl and set aside.
5. Add half the egg mixture and half the flour, mix well and repeat with remaining ingredients. I used a whisk.
   
6. Stir in the yogurt and raisins and then pour the batter into a well greased and floured 8x8 inch pan.
   
7. Bake at 375 degrees F for approximately 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the puddingcake.
8. Allow to cool and then dig in.

Personally, I think it would be kick-ass if served a la mode with a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Damn, no ice cream!

Arrrrggghhhh!!!!

For the past few days, my photo editor software has been psycho and decides to have an "error" whenever I try to save edited work. Yes, edited photos that I have been working on for 10-30 mins. Isn't that incredibly frustrating? I spend precious time working on my pictures with nothing to show for it. Well, I guess that I'm lucky it didn't wipe out my original photos.

I WAANNNT Photoshop......even if I have no idea how to use it. Camedia Master from Olympus just doesn't cut it anymore and iPhoto is almost identical....except that it has the "retouch" option so I can ch'ng my pimples imperfections away.

Okay...so you get to hear me whine today but have nothing to look at. Sorry :P

Sigh......

The Breakfast of Champions

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

Growing up, I have always been lectured about the importance of eating breakfast. It's touted to kick start your body into full gear and feed your brain, so to speak. I remember a teacher in high school rambling on and on about needing to eat breakfast, even going as far as having those who did not confess to eating breakfast that particular morning singled out and ridiculed. Yes, I am talking about Miss Ang.

And speaking of breakfast, nobody does it as well as Malaysian. We are champion breakfast eaters. Where else in the world would you find people who eat everything from nasi lemak (coconut steamed rice with anchovies and boiled egg) to curry noodles to chee cheong fun (steamed rice noodles with fermented shrimp paste, sesame oil and chili paste)?

One of my favorite things to eat for breakkie is Hainanese French Toast with Malaysian Kopi. The sugary sweetness is enough to induce diabetes but it is oh so good....and actually quite okay to eat once in a while.

I like the sweet aroma of Malaysian roasted coffee (with margarine, salt, sugar and sometimes chicory) paired with creamy condensed milk bright and early in the morning. It gives me a reason to get out of bed.

The French Toast was completely soaked through with the egg-milk-sugar mixture and tasted delicious. My only complaint was that the surface was not crispy enough.

Msian coffee+French Toast, by their powers combined=Simply delicioso!

Summer's Over

My mom complained that she is tired of seeing my feet whenever she logs onto my blog. Summer's over and so should the hiatus......but I feel so lazy after NOT blogging for several months. Besides that, I am swamped with work and life while makes it really difficult to find time to sit in front of the computer for hours at a time. Yes, people...it actually takes me hours to compose the post and then edit the pictures. Now try doing that after 10 brutal hours at the ER, being abused by screaming patients...you get the picture.

Yet, I love my blog too much to just let it rot. So, my solution is to make a little compromise. I will continue to write mostly about food and I will include interesting things that I come across during my daily life and travels. Of course, you get to hear my rants as well :)

This way, I can continue to keep updating my blog more frequently and you get to hear all about my life. You have been warned!

Hiatus

Hi dear readers,
Summer is officially here and it's BBQ season. Finally we have consistently warm weather, although it was in the 60s last weekend (go figure). Anyway, it's too beautiful outside and we can finally sit beside the pool to cookout, have a party, swim, bike, picnic and have long walks by the lake. Thus, my blog has been suffering from abandonment. Knowing it's Wisconsin, the nice warm weather only lasts a few months and I do not want to sit and blog when I can be doing a billion things outside. I apologize to those who do read my blog daily but I'll be back in full force when it's cooler outside....believe me, it won't be long.
Wisconsin summers are very short and we are only warm (in the 80s) for a few short weeks but we take full advantage of the warm days. We have Summerfest, Jazz in the Park, Farmer's Market, Bastille Days and many more events going on every summer. If you're in the vicinity, do check out some of the event. You won't regret it.
Oh....we are going to Six Flags on the 21st!!!!!!!! Wheeee!!!!!!

View of the McKinley Marina from my apartment. Ah.......summertime.......I love it!!!!

A ShoutOut To My Wonderful Friends

It was my birthday last Thursday and since it was a weekday, we or rather, I did not have any celebratory plans. At the most, the bf and I were going for dinner and then, I was planning to go to Jazz In The Park with the bf for some socializing. Hahaha.....someone once said something about the best laid plans.....

I think I once mentioned to the bf that you HAVE to have at least a birthday cake to celebrate the anniversary of your birth. Since I came to the US in 2001, I have not had a birthday cake and I really, really missed having one. The wonderful bf remembered and this year, after dinner at Coast (because the last attempt to have dinner at Coast went awry--long story that deserves another post), he told me that we have to go to a friend's house to drop off an Ipod car kit adapter. Innocent enough.

Then, when I walked into my friend's apartment, I saw a cake (not just any cake, it was a STRAWBERRY cake) with lit candles and balloons in the air and the best part of all, my closest friends!!!! They were all shouting "Surprise" and "Happy Birthday". And this is, was one of the best birthday's ever!!!!

To the mastermind: I love you very much!!! Thanks for so many wonderful years together.

To the rest of the party planners: Thank you very much for planning this. I am very touched by your effort and grateful that you are my friends. My friend, L once told me, "At home you rely on your parents, outside the home, you rely on your friends." You guys are definitely people that I can count on through thick and thin and I am so proud to call you my friends.

Thanks again.

Happy Happy Birthday!!!!

To my dearest friends, and in birth order: Tine, Misery and Wans

Wishing all of you a very Happy Birthday from me. I am so honored to be your friend and to have shared such an awesome experience in Sec School. I know distance has kept us apart for several years but I still cherish our friendship. May each of you achieve your dreams and goals in life and find everlasting happiness. I miss you all very much. After all, where else can you find a bunch of friends who are all both Monkeys and Geminis?



Photo source: http://free-ecardsforall.ezthemes.com/pcenhance/wp/preview.phtml?blank+34134

Milwaukee Downtown Dining Week-Yanni 5/31/07

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

The bf and I went on a double date with another couple for Downtown Dining Week (DDW) to Yanni's Restaurant. I've been to Yanni's several times for dinner and have always been impressed by the quality of their food and service. Thus, when I found out that they were participating in the DDW events, I immediately called to make a reservation. Let's just say that we were very happy with our dining experience.

The service was excellent, as usual and our waiter was very attentive. Since, I already had planned out my meal one week in advance, it didn't take long to take our orders....yes, usually I am the one holding up the table with my indecisivenes.

I had the crab cake for my appetizer, beef tenderloin for my entree and the chocolate ice cream Jubilee. The bf had the soup, the fish and again ice cream. Our other dining partners each chose something different and we all shared.For 20 dollars, you get to choose 3 items from the menu below, one from each category:

STARTERS/APPETIZERS
- Soup du Jour -- Chef's inspiration

- Wood Stone Baked Crab Cake -- Single jumbo lump crab cake with spicy dijonaise and remoulade sauces

- House Salad -- Mixed greens, radishes, cucumbers, eggs, grape tomatoes, carrots, croutons and choice of dressing

ENTREES
- Beef Tenderloin Tournelle -- 5 oz. petite fillet of beef served with sauteed spinach, truffle potato croquette and shiitake Madeira sauce

- Mahi Mahi -- Served baked with steamed vegetables in a champagne garlic lemon herb sauce

- Chicken Trio -- Three chicken breasts, marinated and sauteed with fresh herbs, garlic and spices, and served with sweet potato mash, sauteed spinach and three individual sauces: lemon cream, Madeira and apricot

DESSERTS
- Ice Cream Jubilee -- Vanilla or Chocolate ice cream topped with a cherry jubilee sauce

The waiter brought out the bread basket and we all dug in. The bread was served with several kinds of flavored butter and a dipping oil. My favorite was the strawberry butter. I totally pigged out on the butter and bread more than intended.

The bf's soup of the day. I can't even remember what it was but I was too busy enjoying my crab cakes and didn't really pay attention to his appetizer. The other couple also had the crab cake.

The absolutely scrumplicious Wood Stone Baked Crab Cake. It was served with 2 different sauces, a Dijon mustard sauce and a remoulade sauce. I liked both sauces equally but the Dijon sauce seemed to bring out the flavor of the crab meat better compared to the remoulade. I really took my time rolling the briny crustacean meat in my mouth...it sounds gross but tastes like heaven. B, my friend appeared to have immensely enjoyed her crab cake as well.

Now for the entrees:

The bf had the baked Mahi-Mahi in a lemon sauce preparation and liked it very much. I had a small bite of his dish and discovered that the fish was very fresh and did not have a "fishy" smell or taste to it. I think the lemon sauce did help to mask the original smell of the fish and made the dish more palatable. Those of you who know me know that I do not like fish, ...well... except for, you know, sushi. B's bf also had this dish and have it his stamp of approval.

B had the Chicken Trio, a serving of 3 generous pieces of grilled chicken breast, accompanied by 3 different sauces. It also came with a portion of mashed sweet potatoes, topped with sauteed spinach. The dish was so generous that she was unable to finish it alone. Even after some help from us, she had to box it up to go.

My entree was absolutely a treat. It was a perfectly grilled 5 ounce beef tenderloin cooked to medium rare and came on top of a potato croquette. The sauce was slightly sweet and very flavorful...you can definitely taste the Madeira and the woodsy mushroom in the sauce. I loved every bite of the tender meat that melted in my mouth.

I was not impressed with the dessert at all so I didn't even bother to take a picture of it. I've never had ice cream jubilee before but I am so never ordering that if I had a choice. After the magnificent appetizer and entree...the dessert was rather...boring and disappointing. What can I say, I am an ice cream snob, after all. Yanni, I did expect better.

All in all, we had a wonderful time up to dessert and the company was great. B and M, lets do this again.

YANNI'S

540 E. Mason St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414.847.9264

Hours:
Sun: Closed
Lunch:
Mon - Fri: 11 am - 2 pm
Dinner:
Mon - Thu: 5 pm - 10 pm
Fri - Sat: 5 pm - 11 pm

Lessons (NOT) Learnt from History

My dad has always said that we learn history so that we can learn from the mistake of others made in the past. Thus, we do not have to make the same mistakes twice. But then again, do we really learn anything, or do we just memorize enough to regurgitate the answers on an exam sheet and then conveniently wipe it from our memories. I'll let you decide after watching this video:



Sad, isn't it?

Milwaukee Downtown Dining Week

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

I just wanted to announce that May 31-June7 is Milwaukee's Downtown Dining Week. I know, I know, it's almost over but it's still not too late to go out and catch an impromptu lunch or dinner at some of the participating restaurants. It's a week when many fine dining restaurants offer a 3 course lunch for USD 10 and dinner for USD 20. What a steal!!!! You don't even have to make reservations for lunch but dinner reservations are recommended lest you arrive at the restaurant disappointed.

Here's the link to the Downtown Dining Week website. You can see the list of participating restaurants and their offerings. I generally look at the menu and then decide on the restaurant. This way, I'll be guaranteed to like the offerings. Two hot tips: Yanni and Coast. I'll blog about my culinary adventures soon.

What are you waiting for....go out and eat, Milwaukee!!!!

Curry Mee

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

I found a bunch of pictures of Malaysian food that I had took during my last trip home and so I'll slowly post them up. Here are two pics of Curry Mee(curry noodles) from my favorite stall in Penang. It's located on Dato Kramat Road, in the little corner coffee shop next to the small Chinese temple/Convent Datuk Kramat. Ask the locals :)

This couple's stall sells Curry Mee, Koay Teow Th'ng and Kai See Hor Fun. All of the dishes are sooooo GOOD, but it's the Curry Mee that always has me salivating.

The curry broth is utterly scrumptious and just lemak (creamy/rich) enough without leaving a jelak (how to translate this....er...overly-rich) taste in your mouth.


This stall also makes their Curry Mee old-school style, meaning it has see ham (blood cockles), jew-hoo (rehydrated cuttlefish) and too-huik (congealed pig's blood). Aww....don't gag people... it's absolutely delish! Honest! Ok....it's also an acquired taste and I've been eating this stuff since I was a child.


Looks good doesn't it? I would kill for a bowl of good Curry Mee, here in good ole Wisconsin.

Funny Comedian/singer

I was just browsing around You Tube and found this guy. He is seriously hilarious!!! Just click on the link play and listen. When I get smarter, I'll hopefully learn how to post the video directly on my blog. Anyone willing to teach me? A big shout-out to Tine for teaching me how to do this. You rock girl!!



Just for the record, Pachelbel's Canon in D is one of my absolute fav piece of music. So, lovers of Canon in D, don't kill the messenger.

Enjoy!