TChen makes..... Oil Poached Barramundi!!

Yesterday, I went shopping at my local food Coop and left with some goodies from the clearance bin. I got 2 cucumbers for 60 cents, a packet of fresh mint for 99 cents, a packet of fresh lemongrass for 99 cents, and a bottle of Honest Tea's mango lemonade. Last week, I purchased some beautiful frozen barramundi (kinda like an Asian sea bass that is apparently super sustainable and healthy) for only $3 per package!

Using all these cheap, yet fresh produce, I was able to construct a wonderfully delicious dish for 3. I used my sauce from Feeling Saucy #1 to help elevate the flavors of the dish and to give it a nice "Thai-inspired" twist.

Here is the ingredient list:

1. 3 small fillets of barramundi (remove the skin, but do not discard- these make for great skin "chips"!)
2. 3 stalks of scallions, finely sliced into thin strips (soak them in water to give them a nice crunch and to make them get a nice curled shape)
3. 1/2 cucumber cut into small cubes
4. Thai fish sauce
5. Olive oil for poaching (don't use too good of stuff)
6. 1 stalk of lemongrass to put in olive oil
7. 3 cups of rice
8. 1/2 can of coconut milk
9. 1 bundle Asparagus
10. salt, sugar, vinegar for the cucumber pickle
The steps are really simple. Turn stove on to low heat, pour in olive oil and lemongrass. Gently set the fish in the oil and poach on low (or around 120-130 degrees) until the fish is no longer translucent. Use some of the oil to stir fry your asparagus. For the asparagus, add in fish oil and salt and pepper to taste. For the cucumbers, make a quick pickle by adding in salt, sugar, vinegar, and fish sauce. Let it sit here for at least 20 minutes. For the rice, wash and rinse like you usually do. Put in half the normal amount of water and then add in the coconut milk for the other half. Cook as you normally do. Once everything is ready, assemble the dish and add yesterday's sauce, cucumbers, and sliced scallions for garnish. Here are some pics!

This is such a nice and simple dish that is also super cheap to make!! This dish also goes great with a nice and refreshing mango lemonade! I added in some sliced cucumbers and crushed mint to give it a more complex taste! Overall, I spent around $10 and was able to feed 3 very happy people!!! Enjoy!!!!

Feeling Saucy #1

If you didn't know already, I have an obsession with sauces. Any new and interesting sauce must be mine. This is a new series which will feature sauces I love to use and sauces I have created myself. The first one I am posting about is my "Thai-style" Lemongrass & Mint sauce. The ingredients are simple: 1. 3 2-inch stalks of lemongrass (from base) 2. a handful of mint 3. 1/2 cup Thai fish sauce 4. juice from 1/2 Meyer lemon 5. 2 tablespoons of sambal 6. 2 table spoons of shrimp paste with shrimp oil

Chop up the herbs, mix in the other sauces, and bam! You have the most savory, sweet, tart, and DELICIOUS sauce ever. I can literally drink this stuff. The shrimp oil brings it all together. The Meyer lemon keeps it from being too tart. The fish sauce gives it a nice saltiness and pungency. The sambal brings some heat. I've seen other recipes use salt, but I felt like using the Meyer lemon and Thai fish sauce brought enough sweetness to the sauce. Tomorrow I will be using this sauce on top of oil-poached barramundi. Look out for my next post with the recipe! Happy saucing!!!

Feeling Inspired!!!

Hi All!!! Long time no see. Med school has been rough. I lost my inspiration too cook, which was very sad. But now, I'm back!! I bought an Instant Pot and that has been life changing! Can't wait to post about stews and all the goodies I can make with this pot! Let me know what you like to do with your instant pot!

I'm Back!!

It's been a while

So I haven't been able to post lately because I have moved to Minnesota.

Ever since moving here, I've been struggling to adjust to the lifestyle, culture, weather, and lack of good food. In a way, I've become uninspired to blog, to go out, and to explore good foods.

Recently, I have become motivated again. I have started to cook again and am now much happier and more accepting of my life.

Stay on the look out for more recipes as I am going to start teaching the folks here in Rochester that good food does indeed exist.

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Noms on My Phone #13

It's been a while since I've posted one of these and boy, do I have lots to share! I recently came back from Hong Kong and Macau, so there will most definitely be a whole separate post on my food experience there!

For the random pick of the day we have...... 

Details:

Who: Me and my parents

What: 12 oz. Cowboy cut of a dry aged prime rib of beef seasoned with garlic and fresh rosemary, slow-roasted and sliced to order, served with creamy horseradish & au jus 

When: April 18th, 2014

Where: The Harris Ranch Restaurant, 24505 W Dorris Ave, Coalinga, CA 93210

Why: My parents and I were on our way back from Morro Bay and happened to pass by this place!

Overall verdict:

While this was not the best prime rib I have ever had, it was definitely one of the better ones. The prime rib was quite juicy and had great flavor. The sides were well seasoned and paired nicely with the steak. The au jus sauce was delicious and not too salty. Overall, I really liked this prime rib and its sides. The only gripe I had was that there was a bit too much fat left on the prime rib. I like myself some nice marbling, but I don't really like having chunks of fat next to my meat. 

Will I come back? Heck Yes! Harris Ranch is known for their fresh cuts of beef and their dry aged steaks! This is the perfect spot to eat at if you ever find yourself in Central California!

I give this..... 4 apple pies out of 5!!!!! 

TChen Makes Taiwanese Sweet Custard Brick Toast

Hey All!!

Sorry for the long hiatus, but I am back and ready to start whippin' up some recipes!
We will be making the super delicious, extra fattening, Taiwanese Sweet Custard Brick Toast today!

This dessert holds a special place in my heart because I used to eat this all the time when I lived in LA. Every time I went to a boba/tea shop, I would always order at least one brick toast. Now that I no longer live in LA, I have these cravings for this sweet dessert every time I drink milk tea. Unfortunately, there are no tea shops where I live currently that serve this dish. So....  I decided to take matters into my own hands and try to make it myself!

Here is what you need:

- 1/3 cup of salted butter
- 1/3 cup of powdered milk
- 1/2 egg yolk
- 1/6 cup of powder sugar (I don't like my toast too sweet so I always cut down on sugar..... but feel free to up this to 1/3-1/4 cup of sugar if you like it to be sweeter)
- 2 slices of thick toast (I don't have a Chinese bakery near me to get the super thick toast, but I just settled for Rainbo brand Texas toast)

How to set it up:

- Preheat toaster oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat up your butter first so that it is slightly melted. This will help you mix everything together.
- Mix the butter, powdered milk, sugar, and egg yolk together using a spatula until it reaches a paste like consistency
- Score the top of your bread by taking a knife and lightly cutting the top vertically and then horizontally. You should get cuts that resemble a hashtag (#)
- Put the sweet custard paste onto the bread and make sure you cover the whole piece of bread, including corners.
- Place in oven and bake for 4-5 minutes until the corners look a little light brown.
- Turn to broil feature on oven and bake for additional 1 minute to get a nice caramelization on top.
- Let it cool so that custard will solidify.
- Serve!

Remarkably simple, yet irresistibly delicious!

Enjoy and good luck in the kitchen!

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