A New Beginning

I am back! I am at a new place with a new start. Thanks for all those who read this and have been waiting for another post! Follow me to my new address: 

http://theoptimistkitchen.wordpress.com

Lemon Bars

I love Ina Garten's cookbooks. Somehow, her recipes almost never fail when I try them. I came across the lemon bars recipe in the Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook when I was planning a baby shower for a friend. I thought these would be perfect for an afternoon shower. Plus, I thought my husband who doesn't like very sweet desserts would appreciate these. I had to cut the sugar down for him. They turned out not-too-sweet, and just lemony-tart enough. The shortbread crust paired great with the lemon filling.

Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Bars

(Adapted from her recipe in Barefoot Contessa Parties!)

For the crust:

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

6 extra-large eggs at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons, I ended up using 6 lemons)

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup flour

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

3. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

4. For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

5. Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Taiwanese Steamed Rice Cake 碗稞

Growing up, this was always a treat whenever my grandmother would make them or my mom would buy it for me from a street food stall in Taiwan. It's traditionally made in individual rice bowls with plain rice cake on the bottom and topped with a savory crunchy mixture made up of salted turnip, ground pork, shitake mushrooms, dried shrimp. I love the crunchy texture of salted turnip. You can usually find the salted turnip in the refrigerated section of Chinese grocery store.

It used to be that only on special occasions my grandmother would make these. It's a lot of work plus a lot of rice bowls to wash afterwards. A few years ago, my mom gave me an easier recipe where you can bake it in a baking dish. It's so much easier. Once in awhile, I'll make this to satisfy my craving and reminisce about my childhood.

Taiwanese Steamed Rice Cake 碗稞

8oz rice flour (picture on right)
1.5c cold water
3.5c boiling water
3 tbsp salted turnip, rinsed, minced
1/4 ground pork
3 dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated, minced
2 tsp dried shrimp, rehydrated
2 tbsp fried scallions
1 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
salt to taste
sugar to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the measured cold water to the rice flour. Stir until there are no lumps. Then add the measured boiling water to the mixture. Stir well.

3. Pour mixture into greased 8X8 baking dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes.

4. While the rice cake is steaming in the oven, heat cooking oil in a saute pan over high heat. Add fried scallions, dried shrimp, mushrooms, dried turnip, ground pork, soy sauce, salt, and sugar. Add a few teaspoons of water if the mixture if too dry. Turn heat off immediately once the meat is cooked through.

5. Remove the rice cake from oven at 30 minutes. Add the stir-fried toppings to top of the rice cake. Recover with aluminum foil and place back in oven. Bake for additional 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clear from the rice cake.

Steamed Pork Spareribs 粉蒸排骨

These are really good when they're steamed until the meat is about to fall off of the bones. The seasoned coarse rice powder soaks up all of the juice from the spareribs. I love it when my mom makes them. It's another comfort food that goes well with a bowl of rice.


Steamed Pork Spareribs 粉蒸排骨


1lb pork spareribs (in 1'' pieces, fat trimmed)
1 packet of coarse steamed meat powder (found in Asian supermarkets)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 green onion (cut into 1/2'' sections)
1 tbsp rice wine
chili sauce (optional)

1. Marinade spareribs with soy sauce, green onion, rice wine, and chili sauce for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. After removing excess marinade from the spareribs, sprinkle the coarse steamed meat powder over the marinaded spareribs right before steaming.
3. Steam over the stove for approximately one hour, longer if you desire more tenderness.

Tiger Magic Thermal Cooker

I received this as a gift from my mom when I was living by myself in graduate school. I have been using this for nine years now. I love this thing.

How it works: Boil the content in the inner pot, then remove from heat and place in the outer pot. Close lid and your food is done in a few hours. It requires no heat in the second phase! It retains the heat from the first phase and uses it to slow cook the content in the inner pot. I love that it saves energy. I can go to sleep or go out and not worry about something catching on fire.

Function: This is good for food that you have to slow cook, like stews, soups, stocks, congees...etc. I even make mashed potatoes in this thing.

Disadvantages: The heat dies off slowly over time. You're not suppose to use this thing for over six to eight hours since bacteria can start growing in the food. It is expensive, but I see it as an investment. You save the environment and your energy bill over time.

Overall, I am impressed with the durability and versatility of this product. It is definitely a must-have in my kitchen. I make most of my soups in this thing. I can't live without this in my kitchen.