Mom's Kitchen: Chinese Egg Custard Dessert

Between our recent trip to Hong Kong, a broken toe, and craziness at work, I've been rather absent in the blogosphere.  I hope to regain normalcy soon!

Whilst I get back on my feet (literally and figuratively), I'd like to share another Mom's Kitchen recipe.  This one is inspired by all the egg custard desserts I had in Hong Kong.  :)

Prep Time: 5-10 min

Cook Time: ~15 min on low heat

Ingredients: (2 servings)

• 2 whole eggs or 4 egg whites (shown here measured out to be ~100mL)
• 150 mL Milk (for the 4 egg whites)
• 4 tsp Sugar 

Directions:
Start by boiling water in your steamer and then simmer on low heat.  If you do not have a steamer, you can also use a lidded pan and add a metal rack like this one.  You can then place a plate on your rack to hold your cups of custard.

Combine egg whites, milk, and sugar in a bowl.  Beat.

Strain your mixture to ensure smoothness and pour into your custard cups.

Place your cups on your steaming rack.  

Put foil over your cups either individually or my lazy-cover-everything way :)

Let steam over low heat for about 15 minutes.  When done, the egg should appear jiggly but set similar to soft tofu.  Serve hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Gone (Fabric) Shopping

I've been slooooowwww with the sewing lately and am working on some holiday sewing projects that aren't yet ready for sharing.  Whilst I tweak those, I have a bit of a mishmash type of post on fabric shopping and food.

If you live in the Bay Area, Fabrix in SF got in some nice wools and sweatshirt type knits:

$15 / yd plaid wool - maybe another cape?  I saw this on Pinterest and am enamored

$2.89 / yd striped heavy knit - I'd like to try making something similar to Michelle's sweatshirt of Michelle Goes North (such a cool neckline!)

At Fabrics R Us in San Jose:

$3 / yd pretty checks - would love to recreate this look from Atlantic Pacific in spring

Online, Joann's has a 60% off regular priced fabric coupon (can also use in stores), 60% off Home Decor fabrics (great cottons for structured skirts), and 60% off fleece fabrics through Tuesday.

In other shopping news, Gap has an additional 40% off sale items in stores.  I picked up 2 more pairs of the Real Straight jeans for $15 each.  Since I had $10 in rewards, this netted out at $10 each:

Gap Real Straight, Mid-rise, online here, $15 in stores, got one destructed and one regular

(IG try-on pic here)

If you have a similar body shape (short and pear-shaped), you may like these!  I find the mid-rise helps mitigate tummy overhang and the skimmer length hits the top of my foot - great with flats or a thin cuff to show off the ankle with booties.  I used the "reserve in store" option online and it saved me from having to dig through the sale racks for my size.  I highly recommend this!

This weekend in eats, I got to meet up with Ping and Karen for ramen:

Iza Ramen w/ side of garlic oil

And followed that up with snacks and dessert at my all-time favorite haunt, Mango Medley:

Baked Scallops - amazing bold flavors

P.S. today's post title is a bit of a nod towards Gigi's Gone Shopping, one of my favorite reads :)

P.P.S. I'm trying out some food photography tips from Crazy Style Love - have you seen her IG feed? It's beautiful!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!

Mom's Kitchen: Easy Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken

A long-time favorite, Salt & Pepper (Jiao Yan) anything is a big hit with the family.  It complements a simple bowl of rice or a plate of salad.  The typical chicken preparation for this uses chicken wings or dark meat, but the kids and I are lazy about bones and prefer white to dark meat.  Feel free to use what you like!

Prep Time: ~15 minutes 

Cooking Time: ~15 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1 Chicken Breast (or chicken wings, dark meat, etc.)
• 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
• Cooking Oil (enough to submerge your chicken)
• Corn Starch (enough to coat your chicken)
• Dried Chili Pepper
• Salt and White Pepper
• Sprinkle of Chinese Five-Spice Powder
• Green Onions (optional)
• Fresh Jalapeno (optional)

Directions:

• Coat your chicken using a mixture of corn starch with dashes of salt and pepper.  Coat evenly.

• Heat up your oil.  Once hot, toss in your chicken to fry.  Do not stir!  Wait until it looks like the batter has solidified, otherwise your coating will fall off.
• Once evenly fried (~5 min), let chicken cool a little bit on a paper towel.  After a few minutes of cooling, place it back in the oil for a quick flash fry.  This ensures it will stay crisp throughout the meal.

• In a pan, heat up a little oil.  Saute garlic and green onions.  Toss in your seasonings and chicken. Stir well to coat.

Enjoy!

I'm thinking about uploading cooking videos on YouTube - is that preferable to pictures / text?

Mom's Kitchen: Chinese Cucumber Salad

Last week was sweltering and our house does not have air conditioning (I'm told the temperature never used to exceed the 70s out here).  Whilst we tried to cool ourselves with innumerable fans, Mom made this salad and I fell in love with how refreshing it was.  Even better was that the prep only took 10 minutes and no cooking was required.

Prep Time: ~10 minutes 

Marinating Time: ~30 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1 English cucumber
• 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
• Dash of Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp Chili Sauce (we use Sambal Oelek, amount is really up to you and your preferences)
• Sesame Seeds
• Salt and Pepper
• Green Onions (optional)

Directions:

• Combine garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, chili sauce, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix.

• Lightly peel your cucumber (optional) and cut in half lengthwise

• Smash your cucumbers by placing a knife over top and lightly tapping the flat part of the knife with your palm.  This allows the marinade to soak through more thoroughly.

• Cut into bite-sized pieces and toss into bowl.
• Add sesame seeds and green onions.  Stir and let sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes or more.

Enjoy!

Mom's Kitchen: Salted Egg Yolk Crab Recipe

On one of my visits to Hong Kong as a kid, we once tried Salted Egg Yolk Crab (called Golden Crab there) and LOVED it.  Fast forward a couple decades to San Francisco where I delighted in finding it at Hakka Restaurant.  Mom, I can never say enough about this woman, decided to find a way to make her own version because she knew how much I craved it.

Prep Time: ~20 minutes (not counting the crab chopping time)

Cook Time: ~10 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1 Dungeness Crab 
• 2 Salted Eggs - steamed 
• Corn Starch
• Cooking Oil 
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

• Heat up your wok on medium with about 3/4 cup of oil 
• Let's assume your crab has already been chopped (sorry, squeamish)
• Clean the crab and lightly dust with corn starch (enough to cover all the crab pieces) and salt.  The coating should be very light - not like a batter.  This is enough to give it a bit of crispness and allows the yolk to stick.

• Toss the crab into the wok and let cook a few minutes.  Do not stir at this time or all the coating will fall off.

• Flip after cooking for a few minutes

• Once fully cooked, place crab on a rack to allow any excess oil to drip off

• In a separate pan, heat up a little more oil on medium
• Place your 2 steamed salted egg yolks (this won't work with regular egg yolks) into a pan and mash

• Toss the crab into the yolk mixture and coat.  
• Once coated, you're done.  It's time to eat!

Enjoy!

2013 Year in Review

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season so far!  Sometimes it's hard to believe that the year is nearly over.  It's been a pretty full year for us as a family.  If you'll indulge me, I'd like to share some of my personal highlights.  :)

Favorite DIYs:
I cut down on buying clothing (1% vs. 4% last year) and focused more on making my own.  This year, I tried my hand at making more complex items like coats:

1). Graphic Coat  

2). Leopard Coat 

3). Winter Coat w/ Faux Leather Sleeves

I also played around with different details on maxi dresses:

1. Asymmetrical Leopard Maxi

2. Asymmetrical Red Maxi

3. Striped Maxi

4. Racerback Maxi w/ Twisted Straps

And experimented with more dress / skirt tutorials:

1.  Easy Shift Dress

2.  J. Crew Inspired Skirt

3. Box Pleated Skirt

4.  Reversible Colorblocked Skirt

Favorite Eats:
My family and I spent a good deal of the year exploring different eateries :)

• Gochi in Mountain View / Cupertino
• Hakka in San Francisco
• Mango Medley in San Francisco
• Everything in Hong Kong (1, 2, and 3)

Favorite Moments / Events:

• Food and fabric exploration adventures in SF, LA (1 and 2), and Hong Kong

• Meeting Elle, Cee, and Jean while reuniting with Ping, Sydney, and Aubs

• Mommy moments
• Toddler affection - when E asks for a "huck" (hug), or "I want to kiss your nose", or says "I wuv you" / "Hewwo Mom"
• Preschooler accomplishments - V's utter excitement about reading / listening to bedtime stories / doing homework / learning Chinese (enrolled in bilingual preschool w/ nightly tutorials from my husband)
• Building Lego castles with them and seeing their glee in knocking them down
• Christmas morning squeals :)

• Cycling with husband
• Went from an exhausting 10 miles on our mountain bikes to 30 miles on our new hybrids 2x a week

Happy New Year to everyone!!  May 2014 bring you happiness and many blessings!
A GIANT thank you for visiting this blog and joining me in my sewing, dining, and shopping adventures!

Mom's Kitchen: Baked Pork Chop Rice

My Mother is amazing and among her many talents, she is also a fantastic cook.  I learned to sew from her and now I'm hoping to expand my skills in the cooking arena.  Perhaps you'd be interested in joining me in this journey as well? :)

Baked Pork Chop Rice

Prep Time: 30 minutes + marinate overnight

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Due to the number of pictures, please see rest of the recipe after the jump.

Japanese Fusion: Sushirritos and More

We were in Chinatown for a haircut and Yelped for nearby restaurants.  Though we were planning on staying in Chinatown for some (duh) Chinese food, I saw a listing for Sushirrito close by in the Financial District.  Intrigued by the name and the concept of a Japanese / Latin flavor scheme, we checked it out.

Geisha's Kiss - Yellowfin Tuna (Hand-Line Caught), Tamago, Piquillo Peppers, Yuzu Tobiko, Lotus Chips, Namasu Cucumber, Butter Lettuce, Avocado, Green Onions Sesame White Soya

The most Yelped about menu item didn't disappoint.  I'm not usually a huge fan of tamago, but thought this married nicely with all of the other components.  The tuna was fresh and the proportion of rice was perfect.

Lava Nachos - Brown Rice Chips topped with Tuna Picante, Melted Pepper Jack Cheese, Avocado, Green Onions, Nori Strips Sriracha Aioli

The spectacular thing about this dish?  Even at the end of the meal, the chips never got soggy.  True to its name, the nachos had a nice kick to it that you could cool down with their avocado.  Very large portion of tuna!

Porkivore - Oven Roasted Pork Belly, Shaved Cabbage, Avocado, Cilantro, Green Onions, Red Radish Mustard Seed Mayo

My husband's pick reminded me of Chinese roasted pork (the crispy skin one - siu yook).  The flavors were good - especially the crunch of the cabbage - but I prefer fish to pork in my "sushi."

All in all, I'm glad we took a detour to give this a try.  I'm always up for novel combinations of food.  A bonus?  This place was very eco-friendly.  Almost every item was recyclable or compostable.

And I know I've talked about Gochi before, but I have better photos this time :)  This is easily one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area:

Sake Oyako Meshi Clay Pot Rice - grilled salmon and salmon roe

One of my favorite dishes ever.

Post mixing - you can see those delightful crispy rice bits

Mentaiko Pizza - spicy cod roe, snow crab, mushrooms & bacon

Thanks Emily for the recommendation!  This was SO good!  The crust was perfectly crisp with a good topping ratio and yummy savoriness.  The whole family enjoyed it - even our picky 4-year old  :)

Hope everyone has a great week!  

Great Gals, Great Food

Great company and great food.  What more can you ask for?  These ladies are the kindest, sweetest people in the world and I feel so fortunate to call them friends :)

Jean, Ping, Me, E, Elle, and Cee

BIG thanks to Ping for organizing everything, introducing us to the most delicious foods, and making all the reservations!  You're the BEST!

E giving us the eye

 E with her new "jie jie" friends

Cee, Me, Aubs, and Sydney

 Adding a jump here because I want to share too many pics - see more below.