Asian

Spinach and Sausage Ravioli

At our house, the rule is that if I cook, Dan has to do the dishes. This is great, because I hate doing the dishes. Even with a dishwasher, I really have to motivate myself to clear the sink, since the dishes still have to be put away once they’re clean. What a hassle. The stack of dirty dishes in our sink reached epic proportions this weekend. I didn’t want to clean them, obviously, so I sidled up to Dan and started whining. Me: “C’mon, honey…do the dishes. Pleaaaaassseee? There’s not that many…” Dan: “Why don’t you do them then!” Me: “I cook! Who do you think is putting dinner on the table around here??” Dan: “Woman, you haven’t cooked me dinner in ages!” Me: [Guilty glance...

Chinese Bakery-Style Birthday Cake with Strawberry Mousse Filling

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I made my dad a Chinese bakery-style cake for his birthday. It was just like the one I made for my mom last year, except instead of using vanilla custard and peaches/kiwis, I filled this one with strawberry mousse and fresh strawberries. I know. I’m on a strawberry kick. What can I say, I’m not ready to let go of summer yet. Now, everyone knows that I love cake. Chocolate cake, cheesecake, cakes filled with shredded vegetables, loaf cake, cake covered in sugary sweet glaze…I’ve never met a slice a cake I didn’t like. But of all the cakes I’ve consumed in the last 25 years, I love Chinese bakery-style birthday cakes the most. Trust me when I...

Goat Cheese and Colby Jack Sandwich with Kimchi, Spinach, and a Runny Egg

Guys, I just had the greatest sandwich ever for lunch — wheat toast, two kinds of melted cheese, spinach, kimchi, and a runny egg. So messy, so flavorful, so amazingly delicious. I’ve learned from reading my friend Sam’s food blog this year that a runny egg makes everything extra delicious. And, as everyone knows, kimchi and runny eggs are a match made in foodie heaven. So when you get crazy and throw tangy goat cheese and hearty colby jack into the mix, you get something totally divine. Every bite is a study in flavor and textural contrasts — salty/soft goat cheese, creamy egg yolk, spicy/tangy/crunchy kimchi, toasted wheat bread, and mellow baked spinach. Yum. This sandwich probably isn’t for everyone, since kimchi is more or...

Two of my college friends got married in Hawaii recently. (I know. So jealous.) Sadly, I wasn’t invited to the wedding — ahem, Sonia – but I’ve been facebook stalking the photo albums of the people who went, so it kind of feels like I was there too. Note to self: must go to Hawaii soon. From what I can tell, when the wedding guests weren’t watching the two love birds join in holy matrimony, they were stuffing their faces with yummy Hawaiian food. Everything looked delicious, but it was the pictures of loco moco that really had me drooling. Rice, gravy, hamburger, and a fried egg? I’m so there! The ingredients for loco mocos are simple, the recipe is straightforward, and I was chowing...

So last week I made crab rangoons for the first time. We were in Boston for 4th of July weekend, and one of our friends invited us over to make sushi. This, of course, meant crab rangoons were on the menu too. And crab cakes. And peach margaritas. I dunno, it made sense at the time. Anyway, turns out rangoons are really easy to make. Just mix up some cream cheese, chopped green onions, and shredded synthetic crab meat… Scoop fat spoonfuls of filling into the center of some wonton skins… And fold those suckers into adorable little wonton shapes. Triangular rangoons are easier to make, but I love that these look like little ladies in bonnets. We originally made these to be an...

Is it just me, or do desserts in Japanese anime/manga always look amazing? Whether it’s cake, pie or ice cream, everything is always so sparkly and elaborate, surprisingly realistic-looking, and just positively oozing with goodness. My stomach pretty much growls constantly when I’m reading food/dessert-themed manga. I’m a nerd, I know. Anyway. I’d always assumed that the cakes in my mangas were completely made up and too elaborate to replicate in real life. Imagine my excitement when I saw a picture of Japanese-style strawberry shortcake on TasteSpotting last month that looked exactly like one of the cakes that always appears in food-themed mangas. Spoiler alert: I was super excited. And, since it’s just a shortcake, this cake was actually really easy to make. As...

So, my friend Spike and I have been having intense gchat conversations about what we can do with all the ground beef we’ve got on our hands. We each saw family-sized packs of ground beef on sale at the grocery store a couple weeks ago and couldn’t resist getting in on the deal. Seemed like a pretty idea at the time, but now we’ve each got 5 lbs of meat in the freezer. That is a lot of meat, guys. I used up a little over a pound of the meat for stuffed burgers a few weeks ago, and Spike made both burgers and meatballs. Not sure what he’s going to do with the rest of his meat, but I have grand plans for kimchi...

Any time Dan and I get Chinese delivery, we make sure to get an order of scallion pancakes and crab rangoons. They are equally delicious, but I always feel kind of bad eating (and loving) crab rangoons. I mean, they’re fake Chinese food! As a good Chinese person I feel like I should turn my nose up at it and treat it with the same disdain that I have for orange chicken and General Gao’s-anything. But they’re just so creamy and fried and delicious, and I can’t help myself from going back to them again and again. I’m not a strong person. (BTW, we painted our walls. You like?) Scallion pancakes are different, though. My mom used to make me scallion pancakes for lunch...

Hey, remember when I said I was going to make jiaozi and baozi and tons of other Chinese goodies for the New Year? Well that didn’t happen. I meant to do it, I really did! But first I had to cook for my Superbowl party, then Valentine’s Day snuck up on me, and I had to make tiramisu that one day — before I knew it, it was March. Yikes! You know what they say about the best laid plans… So, I promised Dan last night that I would finally make some dumplings for dinner. He was pretty pumped, because after eating all kinds of interesting things in China last summer (frogs, snake, congealed pig blood, etc.), he’s really come to appreciate the straightforward...

Wonton Cups with Spinach and Mushroom Ricotta Filling

Happy Superbowl Sunday, everyone! And…happy 1 year anniversary to my blog! To celebrate both momentous occasions, I spent the better part of the afternoon cooking: crab quesidillas, pizza dip, fresh guacamole, and…wonton cups with spinach and mushroom filling. Why wonton cups? Well, I got really into cooking-themed books last year, and these cups were mentioned in passing in one of my books. There, the cups were filled with tuna tartare, but I had a feeling the people coming to my Superbowl party weren’t going to be thrilled with raw fish, so I went with something a little tamer. Who knew wonton wrappers were so versatile? I’d only ever used them to make wontons and crab rangoons, but they’re actually quite effective as Tostito-esque scoops....

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Asian

Spinach and Sausage Ravioli

Chinese Bakery-Style Birthday Cake with Strawberry Mousse Filling

Goat Cheese and Colby Jack Sandwich with Kimchi, Spinach, and a Runny Egg

Loco Moco

Crab Rangoons

Japanese-Style Strawberry Shortcake

Hanbagu (Japanese Hamburger Steak)

Scallion Pancakes (Cong You Bing)

Chinese Dumplings (Jiao Zi)

Wonton Cups with Spinach and Mushroom Ricotta Filling

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