Tangerine Macarons and Happy Chinese New Year (大吉大利馬卡龍+恭喜發財)

January 31st marks the first day of Chinese New Year (CNY).  I’ve been busy baking, cooking, and testing out new recipes while re-visiting some of my all time favorite traditional Chinese New Year must haves.  To celebrate the occasion, I baked these Tangerine Macarons (大吉大利馬卡龍).  The pronunciation of tangerine in Chinese (大吉) sounds exactly like lucky, or fortune as well.  That’s the reason why tangerine is one of the symbols, and must-have's, for CNY celebration.



We have some relatives visiting us from overseas, so, I’ll keep this post nice and short.   I’ll try to post the recipe for these macarons on a later day, so please stay tuned.  Meanwhile, please check out other delectable CNY recipes at the bottom of this post if you’re interested.  As we say goodbye to the Year of Snake and welcome the Year of Horse this Chinese New Year, I want to wish you all good health, great fortune and have a wonderful celebration with your family and loved ones.  祝大家身體健康, 龍馬精神, 大吉大利, 與家人和親友有一個美好的時光。







Traditional Chinese New Year Recipes:

1) Chicken Pot Stickers:
The crescent shape of these Pot Stickers resembles the shape of a traditional gold nugget, in Chinese called (元寶). The dumplings represent wealth for the family.  (Please click here for the recipe and video demonstration)




2) Coconut and Azuki (Red Bean) Glutinous Rice Cake 椰汁紅豆糯米糕:
Rice Cake in Chinese (年糕) sounds exactly like "grow (taller) every year", these rice cakes symbolize growth and improvement for the year to come.  (Please click here for the recipe.)





3) Vegetarian Chop-Suey (羅漢齋):
As we enjoy many meat and fish dishes for the Chinese New Year, this Vegetarian Chop-Suey (羅漢齋) is a must have to balance out the diet.  (Please click here for the recipe)





4) Matcha Shortbread Cookies (抹茶酥餅):
A great homemade gift to bring when we visit our relatives during the CNY celebration.  (Please click here for the recipe)

  

5) Butter Cookies:
A great homemade gift to bring when we visit our relatives during the CNY celebration.   (Please click here for the recipe)






6) Homemade Fruity Pork Jerky (自家製果汁豬肉乾):
Meat Jerky is a popular treat for CNY in many Southeast Asia Countries. (Please click here for the recipe)

Simple Sweet Crêpe with Berries and Chantilly Cream for Valentine’s Day

Do you love crêpes (pronounce as “kreps”)?  Crêpe is a type of very thin pancake originated in France.  Crêpes are served with a variety of fillings, both savory and sweet.  Today, I wanted to share with you my favorite way to eat crêpes, a sweet version, of course; filled with mixed berries and chantilly cream.  Very simple ingredients, yet the flavor combination is wonderful.   



I absolutely adore crêpes because they are very versatile.  You can simply fill them with any fruit that you like.  My kids love berries so I used strawberry slices, raspberry and blueberry along with some Chantilly cream.  Basically, the Chantilly cream is a slightly sweetened, freshly whipped cream with a dash of vanilla (that got “dressed up” with a fancy name, LOL).  Since my Hubby is not a big fan for berries, I filled his crêpes with banana slices, homemade French Roasted Coffee Ice Cream along with a drizzle of Nutella and toasted hazelnuts.  Boy oh boy, that’s one of my favorites as well.

Also, you can prepare the crêpes ahead of time. I often make a batch or two and cook the batter all at once.   The cooked crêpes can be kept in the fridge or freezer for future use whenever you fancy for one, or two.  Simply keep them in the freezer safe containers or ziploc bags so they stay nice and fresh.  



If you haven’t decided on the desserts to serve your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, give these Simple Sweet Crêpes a try!  I guaranteed that you and your loved ones will love these crêpes.  Just one bite (of the crêpe, not your Valentine), your sweetheart will sure fall in love with you all over again.  If you haven’t win your Valentine’s heart over yet, these crêpes will sure be big help, I hope.  Worse case scenario , he/she will just fall in love with the crêpes.  Well, but at least you get to enjoy a lovely desserts together.  



I added a small amount of Grand Marnier (orange liqueur) in the batter.  You can use any liqueur that you love or prefer.  As the batter cooks, most of the alcohol will be evaporated.  The liqueur enhances and adds the depth of flavor to these crêpes.  However, if you prefer not to use any liqueur, you can replace the amount with milk or water. 

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and recipe.  If you give this recipe a try, don’t forget to let me know what you think.  I wish you and your loved ones a sweet ending this Valentine’s Day!

Hello Kitty 3D Butter Cookies

I should start off this post with a disclaimer (again?!)  I’m sure I've mentioned before that I’m NOT a Hello Kitty fan, at all.  Not even when I was a little girl!  I know, is that even possible?  I haven’t met any little girl who doesn't adore this cute little cat, except me!  How ironic!  Oh well, but since my Baby Girl is a big fan of Kitty, I get my Hello Kitty over dose, every single day, all over the house!  Can’t you see how much fun I’m having?  Oh well, I guess that’s part of the fun for being a Mom!



Anyway, I saw this cute little Hello Kitty 3-D Cookie Cutter (see picture below) on the web and I couldn't resist getting one for my Baby Girl.  During our winter holiday break, we had fun baking together, just in time for our Chinese New Year (CNY) baking marathon.  My Little Boy joined in for some fun too, but for his, he insist using star shaped cookie cutter instead.  I don’t blame him at all.  I think he’d seen enough Hello Kitty around the house as well. 



As much I as I’m indifferent about Hello Kitty, I think these cookies turned out super cute and wonderful.  I love the slightly sweet and buttery of these butter cookies.  The texture is crunchy and slightly crumbly, perfect with a glass of milk or hot tea in my opinion.  My Baby Girl loved them so much and think they’re almost too cute to eat, almost.  The tough question is which part should you start eating first!  Hm…the feet? The arms, or the little bow-tie?  I’ll leave that up to you. 



This butter cookie recipe is rather simple and easy.  Best of all, no special equipment needed.  All you need is a pot, rolling pin and your favorite cookie cutter!  It’s a stove top cookie dough recipe (please check out the recipe below in detail)!  These adorable Hello Kitty 3-D Butter Cookies are definitely on my CNY baking list.  I think they’ll make a wonderful holiday cookie to enjoy or packaged as homemade gifts.  hm....I think they'll make great Valentine's Day cookies too if your loved ones like Hello Kitty!  I hope you enjoy today’s post and cookie recipe.  Please stayed tuned for more yummy CNY and Valentine's Day treats.

Umami Burger Restaurant Review

Have you tried the Umami Burgers yet? I've been to several locations in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas.  You can take a quick look at the picture below to get an idea of their menu.  I know, they are on the pricey side for a burger.  Mind you, the prices are for the burgers only, you have to order fries, onion rings and drinks on the side.  But is it worth it?  Continue reading this post to fine out.



As much as I wanted to try everything on the menu (all at once), I know I can only eat a burger plus some fries each meal.  So, the burgers, sides and desserts you see from this post are compiled from several visits at different locations.   My Hubby and I would go for Umami Burgers whenever we crave for a nice and juicy burger (without the kids).  I know, bad parents!  LOL  It's one of our favorite lunch date restaurants.

Umami Burger

But there are many reasons why we kept going back to Umami.  According to Umami Burgers, they grind their own meat, in house.  So that it’s safe(r) to order your burger at medium, or medium rare, and that’s exactly how we like our burgers!  Also, we love the gourmet twist and unique toppings from their selections. 

Cali Burger

I personally love onion rings, but not many places do them right.  Check out the picture below, after I bite into the ring, the onion stays intact of where it should be (inside the crust).  I’m sure you’ve experienced that the onion came right out along with your bite and leaving you with an onion-less crust, right?  At Umami, I got the onion to stay inside the 'ring', on every single bite.  The batter is light and not creasy at all, it’s onion rings done right for sure.

Onion Rings

I also love the décor and atmosphere at their locations too.  Casual and comfortable seats.



There was one time we tried the ice cream sandwiches for desserts.  As much as my Hubby and I love dessert, chocolate and ice cream, we weren’t big fan for their chocolate ice cream sandwiches.  So, we always skip dessert after that time and just go for the burgers.

Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich

Another reason why we love Umani Burger is that they have new items on the menu from time to time.  Around Halloween time, we tried the "Slash" burger.



Creative, right?  I love that “bloody” ketchup coming right out on top of the burger.  It was decadent and delicious too! 

Slash Burger

Another side dish that I love there was the fried pickled.  If you’ve never tried a fried pickle, you’re missing out!

Fried Pickles

Besides the range sauce that came with the fried pickles, the server gave us 2 extra sauces to try.  Below we had the garlic aioli and Diablo sauce.  Very unique and tasty.

House Made Sauces

Picture below shown the Royale Burger, with the juicy beef patty and braised beef short ribs on top.  It was truly comforting and very hearty!

Royale Burger

I’m not a big potato fan but the Smushed Potatoes (picture below) are truly unique.  They were fried twice and literally smushed (yup, that’s not a typo).  The crust outside is crispy and the potato inside is smooth and creamy.  Very lovely contrast of textures.

Smushed Potatoes

You might have noticed from the pictures that we only ordered/tried the burgers with the beef patties.  But, Umami also offer other patties, such as pork, tuna, or veggies.  But since they are famous for their beef burgers, we’ve always ordered beef. 

Welsh Rabbit Burger

Yeah, we probably visited them more often than we should!   But who doesn’t like a great burger, right?  So, I’m sure you’ve guessed the verdict of weather it’s worth the money or not with our frequency of visits.  After all, you get what you’ve paid for.  You can truly taste the great quality of ingredients in their burgers.

Hatch Burger

If you’re interested to try their food, click here for the link to their website for address, menu and locations.  And nope, I don’t get paid for this review (I don’t mind getting paid in the form of burgers though, wink*).  As always, I just wanted to share with you my opinions and what I love.  That’s all.  

Truffle Burger

Restaurant Review Disclaimer: uTry.it restaurant reviews are solely based on our experience at each restaurant we visit.   They were just our opinions.  uTry.it and its owner were not compensated in any way to dine at these restaurants nor to write reviews.

Fruity Pork Jerky (自家製果汁豬肉乾)

Chinese New Year (CNY) is coming right up!  Mark your calendar, the first day of CNY this year will be on January 31st.  If you're interested to learn more about CNY and the traditions, you can read them here, here, and here.



One of the CNY traditions is to visit the elder relatives to show respects and to catch up.  Of course, we don't go visit someone with empty hands (nor empty stomachs).  We usually bring cookies and other goodies when we visit.  On the other hand, Beef or pork jerky is one of the popular savory goodies of choice to enjoy at home, especially in Southeast Asia.  Of course, I can't resist making my own.  Not only it's more economical (yes, you can call me "cheap"), it's also healthier than the packaged ones.  You can rest assure that there's no preservative, artificial flavor nor coloring in my homemade version.  That's enough reasons for me to make my own.



This slightly sweet and savory Homemade Fruity Pork Jerky (自家製果汁豬肉乾) is packed with wonderful and complex flavors.  I used fresh fruit juice and homemade jams in mine to get the fruity flavors.  But you can also use your favorite store bought jams if you like.  I love my jerky on the thinner side (will show you how to achieve that with the step-by-step pictorial in just a minute).  It's slightly chewy, tender and very juicy.  It's absolutely finger-licking-good!  My recipe calls for ground pork and I used whole pork shoulder and have the butcher grind the meat twice for me.  Yes, better make friends with your butcher!  *Wink*





Ready to follow me to the kitchen and make some jerky?  Here we go:

1) In a medium mixing bowl, add all jerky ingredients together and stir with a wooden spoon/a pair of chopsticks for 5 minutes, or until mixture is gooey and sticky.  This is a very important step to follow.  Otherwise, your jerky might fall apart if the mixture is not gooey.

2) Line 2 (12 X 17-inch) sheet pan with silpat.  Spread the mixture onto the two prepared baking pan evenly.  I used a non-stick cookie spatula with a flat bottom for this job.  You can use an offset spatula as well.

3) As long as you spread the ground meat almost to the edges, the thickness will be right after baking.  See how thin it is, that's what you want to see.





4) Bake for  30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly.  This is how the baked jerky looks like after 1st round of baking.

5) Meanwhile, increase the oven temperature to 450 degree F.  While oven is heating, cut the baked pork jerky into smaller sizes with a kitchen shears.  I cut mine into 2-inch squares.  With a pastry brush, brush a thin layer of the fruity glaze onto each square.

Bake for 3 to 5 minutes, flip the jerky squares over and brush the other sides with the remaining glaze.  Bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the jerky is fragrant, shiny, and slightly charred on the edges.

6) Cool the sheet pan on a wiring rack.  Store remaining jerky in an air tight containers for later enjoyment.




Pretty easy to make right?  I'm sure you'll love the results too.  This Fruity Pork Jerky tastes just like the packaged one, if not better.  The next time I'm firing up the grill, I will put one or two on to add more charred and smoky flavors, can't wait!  I hope you'll give this recipe a try.  Stay tuned for more CNY recipes in the up-coming posts.


Tools and Props used in this post:
  
Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat (click here for more information)
Calphalon Baking Sheet Pans (Click here for more information)
Crane Chopsticks Rest (Click here to see product information)Cookie Spatula (Click here for more information)

Homemade Tofu Pudding (To-Fu-Fa) with Ginger Syrup 自家製豆腐花

To-Fu-Fa (Tofu Pudding) with Ginger Syrup 豆腐花 is one of my favorite Chinese Style dessert that I've got to order every time I go to Dim-Sum restaurants.  I crave for this dessert from time to time.  When I go for Dim Sum on the weekends with my family, I always make sure this dessert is available so I that I can save some room for it.  It’s a very comforting dessert, smooth and not overly sweet.  The silky softness and melt in the mouth texture always melts me away.  Unfortunately, not many restaurants offer this traditional dessert any more. 




Traditionally, this To-Fu-Fa is made with culinary grade Gypsum Powder (食用石膏粉) to solidify the soy milk.  Since most of us won’t have access to gypsum powder, and I always doubted the safety on the consumption, even when they say "culinary grade"!  So, I tested my recipe with a safer alternative ingredient.  And the secret ingredient is…agar-agar.  Agar-Agar is derived from algae, and the solidify powder releases when it reaches boiling point.  Why did I use agar-agar and not gelatin?   Since agar-agar is a plant base ingredient, verses gelatin is derived from collagen obtained from various animal by-products, using agar-agar in this recipe will be perfect for anyone, including my vegan friends.   




See the picture below?  Yup, this To-Fu-Fa is super soft and barely solidify, that’s the consistency you want to obtain for this dessert.  What’s the secret to do that?  Using the exact amount of Agar-Agar in ratio of the liquid, in this case fresh soy milk.  If you use too much agar, the texture would be too hard and bouncy, not good for this type of dessert.  On the other hand, your dessert won’t form/solidify if you use too little agar.  But I've done the leg work for you and tested out the perfect amount to use so you don’t have to go through eating bouncy To-Fu-Fa.  And you're very welcome!



Since I don’t have the soy milk machine, I took a short-cut and use store bought organic fresh soy milk from the Chinese supermarket, which are widely available these days.  The perfect way to enjoy To-Fu-Fa is drizzle some ginger syrup on top and spoon away.  I can totally skip the dim-sum restaurant and just enjoy this To-Fu-Fa at home!  You can enjoy this dessert chilled or, do what I did.  Put it in the microwave for a minute to warm up.  hm…perfect for a cold winter night.  I hope you like today’s recipe and recipe tips.   Stay tuned for some Chinese New Year (January 31st, 2014) recipes coming out on the blog soon.



1/12/2014 Update:  Since quite a few of you asked about the brand of Agar Agar powder that I used.  Below is a picture of the one that I used.  After looking at it closer, the Chinese translation on the package does say the brand is “Golden Trophy”.  Click here to the link for a similar product that you can get online if you can’t find this in your local supermarkets.