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Another Sunday has passed, another food party has ended. Menu: Mapo Tofu (lunch) Pot-Stickers: ground pork, shrimp, Chinese flowering chives (lunch) Crab Asparagus Soup (dinner) Crispy Herb Fried Chicken (dinner) Avocado Pasta (dinner) Profiteroles with Vanilla Swiss Almond and Chocolate Sauce (dinner) I wanted to make a simple and quick pasta for Sunday’s dinner party. […]
I don’t know if you’ve heard but I am leaving Degustation for Jewel Bako. The restaurants are owned by the same owner. Jewel Bako is a one-starred Michelin Japanese restaurant that mainly focuses on sushi, sashimi, rolls, etc… but it also has a kitchen that serves cooked and composed plates. I will be the new [...]
Before coming to New York, I have never had Korean fried chicken. My coworkers introduced me to Boka and after eating their combo wings and drumsticks 2-3 times every week, we migrated to Monomono and then it just stopped because we got sick of it. When I came back from Hong Kong last month, the [...]
I was looking through my pantry and I saw that I had some mochi flour… so I made this!!! [100% organic] 2 cups mochi flour 1½ cups white sugar 1 TBS baking soda ½ cup butter, melted 1 cup dark chocolate chips 24 oz. evaporated milk 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 tsp mint extract 2 [...]
I have been making risottos like crazy at work. For my Sunday food party, I wanted to make a different risotto. I asked my friends what they would like to have in the risotto and they said “mushrooms”. Then I wanted shrimp and Chinese broccoli stems in the rice as well so that’s how I [...]
Before coming back home to Hong Kong, I was told that I should showcase my professional talents to my grandfather. This was the third and final course to my three-course meal for my family, grandfather, and cousin. Serves 6. [100% organic] For the Coconut Panna Cotta Two cans 13.5 oz. coconut milk 2 TBS sugar [...]
I was looking through my posts and I haven’t done a seafood medley pasta dish yet. I just have to say, my scallops were cooked to the utmost perfection. Serves 4. [100% organic, wild scallops, environmentally sustainable shrimp] For the Seafood Medley 1 lb shrimp, with head and shell on 4 sea scallops 1 lb [...]
My Chef has asked me to come up with the new seasonal salad on the à-la-carte menu. Since our recent change to doing a 7-course tasting menu, we haven’t been selling a lot of salads because the seasonal salad used to be on the 5-course tasting menu. We used to offer a 5-course and 10-course [...]
My Red Star yeast packets were about to expire, March 2013, next month. So I made croissants, double batch, around 36 of them. [100% organic] 12 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips Click here for the recipe for my butter croissants. When you roll out the dough, cut the dough into rectangular squares, not triangles, around 3 [...]
This third course took a long time to develop, like all the components tying together. I originally wanted to do some kind of a purée and have the fish rest on top of that but then I realized that I don’t have a starch dish for my 5-course dinner. I wanted to make farro again [...]
For some reason, every time when I make sago, I use coconut milk. I don’t think I need it at all so this time I only used mango juice. [100% organic] 4 cups mango juice 2 large ripe mangoes, cubed 1 dragonfruit, cut into chunks 1 cup strawberries, sliced Simple syrup (equal amounts of water [...]
This was the dish that I didn’t want to let go since my original plans fell through. I love shrimp. I’m sure you already know that by now. Why is it that all the best sauces end up in little quantities? This sauce was SO, SO, SO, SOOOOO GOOD! [100% organic] For the Sauce Reserved [...]
My plans fell through for this 5-course dinner with that someone someone but I didn’t want to scrap this 5-course dinner. I had half of the groceries already so I went ahead with the prepping. I invited a friend over instead. Why have all that food go to waste right? I had most of my [...]
I’m having someone over for dinner on Tuesday night and I’m making a five-course meal for the both of us. I decided to start early and make as much as I can before Tuesday. This will be the fourth-course to our five-course meal, the palate cleanser. [100% organic] For the Strawberry Consommé Gelée Half carton [...]
?????? I’m still in the very glacial process of updating my posts from the earlier years of this blog. My mom sent me some dried scallops from Hong Kong and what’s my favorite thing to cook with dried scallops? Cantonese fried rice!!! It’s so delicious! It’s one of the many things I must eat during [...]
I loved the savory coconut risotto that I did during my New Year’s Day Dinner so much!!! It hasn’t even been that long yet and I’m craving for it again! When I was in bed, writing my ingredients list, I … Continue reading →
I was craving for imitation crab meat earlier this morning… why? I have no idea. I haven’t had it in years! So I made it for lunch and the craving was quelled. [100% organic] For the Dressing 3 TBS rice … Continue reading →
This was the sixth course to my 6-course New Year’s Day Dinner party for 8 people. [100% organic] For the Chocolates ¾ cup cream ? cup milk ? cup sugar ? cup coco 4 yolks 4 gelatin In iced water, bloom … Continue reading →
This was the fifth course to my 6-course New Year’s Day Dinner party for 8 people. I really had this dish plated in my head much nicer than what actually happened on the plate. First, the fish market screwed me … Continue reading →
This was the fourth course to my 6-course New Year’s Day Dinner party for 8 people. It was the palate cleanser before the main course. Thanks to the natural pectin in the cranberries, you don’t need any gelatin or agar-agar … Continue reading →
This was the third course to my 6-course New Year’s Day Dinner party for 8 people. I love sauce making. Love it! And this sauce was particularly “TO DIE FOR!” I wasn’t entirely happy with the plating because by this … Continue reading →
This was the second course to my 6-course New Year’s Day Dinner party for 8 people. I loved the cauliflower soup so much at Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar so I sought to recreate it for this holiday party. I poured … Continue reading →
This was the first course to my 6-course New Year’s Day Dinner party for 8 people. I have adapted Oceana‘s beet salad. I was very happy with this dish and at the same time, I found out that burnt candied orange … Continue reading →
Let’s just say that this menu went through several changes and revisions. Every time I cut down a course, it would pop back up somewhere else so I gave up trying to limit my own expectations and excitement. I do … Continue reading →
This was the last/fourth course to my 2012 Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t have a sweet tooth so I really didn’t mind that this was more like a palate cleanser. But my friend, a pastry chef, exclaimed that this dessert needed sugar!!! So we made a blueberry compote and drizzled honey on the panna cottas. And …Read More
This was the main/third course to my 2012 Thanksgiving dinner. I love duck so much! I would make this everyday if making the sauce didn’t take me forever!!!! Oh, and this sauce was UHHHH-MAZING!!!!! OMG! I could drink the sauce!!! [100% organic] For the Duck 2 Peking ducklings Duck bones from the duck Canola oil, …Read More
This was the second course to my 2012 Thanksgiving dinner. I could eat this non-stop and never get tired of it. I made the dressing and let it macerate overnight and it became very spicy actually – from ONE Thai chili pepper!! [100% organic, wild tuna] For the Peanut Pickle ¼ cup sherry vinegar ¼ cup rice …Read More
This was the first course to my 2012 Thanksgiving dinner. It is nice, simple, and refreshing. The fennel radish salad is simply dressed with lemon juice, splash of red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and salt! The persimmons were sweet with a crunchy texture. I really liked how everything went together. I had an …Read More
I was scheduled to work this year on Thanksgiving but it got canceled. Yay! But that didn’t give me that much time to think and plan my Thanksgiving menu this year! This is what I have so far: Persimmon Carpaccio with Prosciutto/Serrano Ham & a Fennel/Watercress/Frisée Radish Salad 1st Course Seared Tuna over a Bed …Read More
I was scheduled to work this year on Thanksgiving but it got canceled. Yay! But that didn’t give me that much time to think and plan my Thanksgiving menu this year! This is what I have so far: Persimmon Carpaccio with Prosciutto & Fennel Radish Salad 1st Course Seared Tuna over a Bed of Cucumber …Read More
I always like doing an ambitious dish because it’s fun and I get to spend the whole day cooking. Yesterday was really ambitious because I made three things; the cauliflower-kale soup, used the leftover dill for pork dumplings, and this.Even though this dish took forever, the final result was sooooo delicious. I had to refrain …Read More
I was planning on posting several new projects during my week off but Hurricane Sandy ruined everything. There was no public transport for several days and once it resumed, it was only the buses and very limited service. NYC was cray-cray at the end of October. After Sandy hit NYC, two days later I went …Read More
This dish totally didn’t turn out the way that I had planned but as Tim Gunn says on Project Runway, “Make it work!” I made it work. My original plan failed because of my crappy food processor. I’m still using the same one when I was back in Texas. It’s so small and the plastic …Read More
I had leftover sweet and sour cherry sauce from the duck that I made yesterday and I didn’t want to waste it / leave it in a pint container in my fridge… because who knows when I’ll be able to use it again/cook again. My life is so busy now and I only have time …Read More
I couldn’t come up with a better name than Sushi Ceviche because this is really a pure fusion plate of food. Using Japanese ingredients of a simple salmon avocado roll, but the cooking style of making ceviche. [100% organic, Norway farmed salmon] For the Sushi Rice ¼ cup sushi rice 1 TBS rice vinegar ½ …Read More
I wanted to make duck but Whole Foods (UWS) didn’t have any and when I asked when the next shipment was coming, the poultry/meat service guy said that he didn’t know and that duck usually comes during the holiday. THAT IS SO NOT TRUE! I put back all the other ingredients in my cart and …Read More
NEW POST!!! Finally! This weekend, I had time to make new things and update my food blog. Who knew that starting a new full-time job and moving apartments could make me so busy, so incredibly busy that I wouldn’t be able to do two of my favorite pastimes: grocery shopping + cooking. I am finally …Read More
This never happens. No matter how busy I am, I always manage to food blog at least once a month. But I guess no new posts for August 2012… there is one more day however. I started a full-time job and I cook at Degustation in the East Village. It is a small plates and …Read More
I used tortillas to make tacos in this recipe, does that mean that there is a Mexican influence in this dish? Living in Texas for 10 years, I never really got into Mexican food. Frankly, I don’t prefer it. When my friends and I would end the night out, we would always go to Kerbey …Read More
I had some leftover frozen peas and I saw some fresh peas at the farmer’s market today so I decided to make some soup. This soup tastes great hot and cold. Now I have Katy Perry’s song stuck in my head. [100% organic] For the Pea Soup 1 onion, thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, thinly …Read More
For the 4-course dinner party, I wanted to sample all the techniques that I’ve learned from school, interning, and work so I decided to make this dessert to cap off for the night. It’s also a great party gathering type of dessert, I think. [100% organic] For the Pistachio Paste 3 cups pistachios, without shell …Read More
I love eating duck. It’s one of those meats that you have to cook right. In school, during level 6, I didn’t like cooking this dish because it originally had veal stock in it. Since I’m allergic to beef/veal, I couldn’t eat it. I could only nibble the ends of each breast. I remember storing …Read More
You know me, I love sashimi and any type of tartare. But I love this tartare recipe exceptionally well because of the pineapple sauce it pairs with it. I never got the recipe from Oceana directly but this is what I tasted when I had the pineapple sauce. I served this as the appetizer to …Read More
Oeufs Farcis Chimay Before coming to Boston, I was already “hired” to make a multi-course meal for my close family friends and family. I didn’t want to make any amuse bouche / canapés that they’ve all had or seen before because we all travel quite a lot and have eaten quite a smorgasbord of food. …Read More
You have no idea how happy I am to be posting on my blog again. I feel like I’m on a roll! Four posts today, two yesterday! June was an insane month and the last two weeks have been extra chaotic. My final exam went very well and I was very happy with the professional …Read More
I found some leftover peppermint extract in my kitchen and it was just barely enough for one batch of fudge! Mint and chocolate always recalls holiday flavors, like Christmas, but adding the mint gives the fudge an aroma of freshness. And frankly, it’s very soothing on a hot day like this in NYC. [100% organic] …Read More
I wanted to try something new by using ground turkey and I still have been obsessed with making finger food/appetizers/amuse bouche/canapés. I have a lot of dumpling wrappers and I wasn’t in the mood to make pot-stickers so I decided to make spring rolls!! Because there is a deep fryer in my new apartment. OMG! …Read More
Yup, still can’t stop making tiny food!! I saw this post a couple of months ago and it’s perfect for spring/summer. In class, we were using lots of fresh peas and I wanted to give it a try at home. I also like making blinis. [100% organic, Norwegian smoked salmon] For the Lemon Crème Fraîche …Read More
The things you can do with food!! I find this so innovative and genius!!! I don’t know who started it but it was all over Taste Spotting a few weeks/months ago. [Lemons are organic] 10 lemons One box Jello 1 cup citrus vodka 1 cup boiling water Cut lemons in half and hollow out the …Read More
Like I wrote in the previous posts, I’m still obsessed with making finger food. I have leftover dumpling wrappers in my freezer and I’m trying to find a good way to use them. A couple of years ago, I made something similar but with mango, avocado, and tomato. I find them to be so cute. I …Read More
