SPAM Whaaat??? That's right...SPAM Musubi.

Many of you on the mainland have probably never heard of SPAM musubi. I  like you, had no clue and when I first started dating my husband, he would bring me to his 'Hawaiian' friends' parties and this was when I was first introduced to this awesome little package. Initially I was hesistant.....'who eats SPAM??!?'...I mean, meat in a can??? NO THANK YOU!! But I urge you, don't knock it until you've tried it. This forever changed my view of SPAM, and I bet you, it will also change yours once you've tried this SPAM musubi.

So what is it???? All it is, is SPAM sushi...it's a quick simple snack that many locals will make for picnics or for just going to the beach. It's a piece of SPAM layered in between rice and wrapped in seaweed. There are many variations of musubi, you can pretty much add any filling you want in between the rice and wrap it up in seaweed. Until recently, I've only been making plain SPAM musubi, or Teriyaki SPAM musubi. You can also sprinkle Furikake or add thin egg slices to the musubi. But my Korean friend opened up a whole new whole of kimchi SPAM musubi and kimchi tuna musubi to me and that's what I will be sharing with you today.

Here is what you'll need:


5-6 cup of cooked short grain rice (sushi rice...I like to do a mix of white and brown rice)
1 can of SPAM
1 package of roasted nori (seaweed)
1 medium onion (chopped into small bits)
2 cups of kimchi (chopped into small bits...older kimchi works best)
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1/4 cup of sugar (more or less depending on how tangy your kimchi is)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 tsp Gochujang (hot pepper paste...more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
1 can of tuna
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Musubi mold

We are going to be using the fancy seaweed from Korea that my friend recently got for me. It is the neatest invention....the seaweed is wrapped in plastic until you are ready to eat the musubi, that way it keeps the seaweed fresh and crispy so it does not get soggy. Of course if you can't find this, you can just use regular sushi nori.

First, heat the onion, kimchi and sesame oil in a non-stick pan on medium low heat. Add garlic and sugar and continue stirring until most of the liquid has evaporated. The kimchi will start to get more concentrated and begin to carmelize, lower the heat and add the Gochujang paste and mix in well. Set aside and let cool.

Next slice your SPAM into 1/2 cm or 1/3 inch thick...(I usually get 10 slices per can) and pan fry them until they are brown and slightly crispy. Remove from heat and put it on some paper towels to allow the excess fat to be absorbed.

Drain 1 can of tuna and mix with the mayo is a medium bowl, add a pinch of salt and some freshly ground pepper to taste. You can just use this as your filling for your musubi or add some of the above kimchi paste to give it more flavor. I added about 3 tbsp since I like more of the kimchi flavor.

You are now ready to assemble your musubi. There are two different molds you can get, either the rectangular one shaped like SPAM or the triangle one (which my friend got for me along with the fancy wrapped seaweed).

Place the seaweed flat on a cutting board or clean surface, place mold on top and add about 2 tbsp cooked sushi rice. Press down firmly using the musubi mold press. Next add whatever filling your heart desires....in my case, I did a mixed combination. SPAM/kimchi, tuna/kimchi, SPAM/tuna kimchi, and just plain SPAM for the kids. You can layer your filling as you wish. Add two-three more tbsp of rice on top of the filling and press down firmly. Remove the mold and follow directions on how to fold up the seaweed (as pictured) for the rectangular shaped mold, just fold seaweed onto rice from both sides. And you are done!!!

This SPAM kimchi musubi is my new favorite and when I am not in the mood for SPAM, just the tuna and kimchi is delicious as well. You can also cook your SPAM in a teriyaki sauce as well to add more flavor. So as you can see, it is kinda like an Asian 'sandwich' where the rice and seaweed is the 'bread' and you can put whatever filling in the middle that you fancy. It is a cute little compact package that you can eat with your fingers. They make a great snack and my kids love them!!

Step by step directions on how to make the delicate french Macaron

It's been awhile since I made my favorite macaron....passionfruit.... and since I can't get this flavor of macaron anywhere here in the city I had to make a batch for myself if I wanted some. Most people think that the flavor is in the cookie itself but actually it is mostly if not all in the filling. I love the tartness of the passionfruit to balance out the sweetness of the cookie. I love that it is gluten-free and fat-free (minus the buttercream..lol)

Most people are afraid to make this difficult and finnicky cookie but once you get the hang of it, it is quite simple. Labour intensive, yes, but so worth it!!!!


You will need the following ingredients:


1 cup fine almond flour (I get mine from Provisions by Duchess here in Edmonton)
2 cups of powdered sugar


3 egg whites (best at room temperature)
pinch of salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp egg albumin powder (from Provisions)
1/8 tsp of food coloring powder


1/4 cup butter (softened at room temp)
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp. freezed dried passionfruit powder




Start by measuring out 2 cups of powdered sugar and 1 cup of almond flour (make sure your ingredients are good quality ingredients because that will help you succeed in making these macarons) and sift them together into a measuring bowl and set aside.

Next crack 3 large egg whites into a large mixing bowl (eggs are best at room temperature so take them out and leave them on the counter for a few hours before hand or you can soak them in warm water to warm them up), add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar,  1 tsp of egg albumin powder, and 1/8 tsp of food coloring powder. Start whipping the eggwhite mixture on low and slowly turn up the speed. Mix until egg whites start to stiffen and soft peaks are formed (like a meringue)

Slowly incorporate the almond flour mixture into the whipped egg whites (sifting through a sieve once again....to avoid lumps) and mix evenly together with a spatula. This process is called "macronage" where you incorporate the two mixtures together until it becomes the consistency of molten lava....thick gooey but still flows. This is the hardest step...since it is hard to know what to look for if you've never made them before and it is easy to over mix and the macarons will crack and not look pretty. It will take practice to get used to knowing when to stop mixing but the more you make them the easier it will be to get the "feel".

Preheat your oven at 350 degrees F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper (You can use a stencil to draw circles to make your macarons even consistent shapes when you are piping). Next fill your piping bag (with a simple round tip)with the macaron mixture....I find it very helpful and less messy to put your piping bag inside a tall glass (in this case a beer glass was perfect) and fold the edges over to hold up the bag so you can fill the bag cleanly.

Next pipe out even round circles 3cm wide  spaced 2 cm apart onto the parchment. One trick to do after piping is to tap the bottom of the cookie sheet (pretty hard) to get out any air bubbles. I usually tap with my hands first then bang the sheet on the table top to make sure. This next step is very important in the success of your macarons and will help create "feet" on your macarons....you HAVE to let it rest for at least 30-45 minutes....you cannot not rush this process.

Once the macarons have rested, it should have 'dried' and formed a skin so that if you touch it gently with the tip of your finger, it should not stick to your finger. Place 1 sheet at a time (do not bake more than 1 cookie sheet at once) in the center middle rack of the oven. Bake for 8-12 minutes....depending on your oven temperature. Keep an eye on it, and take it out as soon as the edges start to turn brown. Let it cool completely for 15-30 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet.

Once you have all your macaron cookies baked, you need to 'twin' them....find the closest matching mate  and pair them together. We're almost there.....

Next is the filling...you can pretty much put anything in the middle from nutella, to jam, salted caramel, buttercream....anything your heart desires:)....it truly is a fat free cookie if you eat it on its own or with jam.


My basic recipe for a buttercream filling is  1/4 cup of butter softened at room temperature and 3/4 cup or powder/icing sugar and I add 1 tablespoon of the freeze dried passionfruit powder and whip it all together. You may add more or less passionfruit powder depending on how tart you like your buttercream to be. You may substitute the passionfruit for other flavors that you wish but I always find myself liking the passionfruit the best.

I hope I was able to simplify this recipe enough for you so that you feel like this is something that you can try yourself. Good luck!!!

Who knew Chicago was such a great foodie town???

So one of my friend decided recently to pick Chicago as her destination for Spring break and this brought back great memories of the food I had there back in September.....So I figure I would reminisce about my dining adventure there for any of you  that are also heading to CHI-town and are looking for some good eats.

It started with a college football game that my husband wanted to go to and I decided to tag along since I had never been to Chicago before. We were lucky enough to have babysitters so we could get away for a few days without the girls and so the research began. I wanted to make the most of our trip and didn't want to waste anytime...lol and of course, like every other trip, it was planned around where I wanted to eat.

As soon as we landed, before we even checked into our hotel, we were on our way to our first destiantion.  We were starving since it was just after lunch time and Au Cheval ( http://www.auchevalchicago.com ) was on my list so it was perfect timing to grab a quick bite to eat. It is a gastro-pub with a great cozy atmosphere. We got there just after 1:30pm so there were no line ups and we were seated rigth away. We had an early dinner reservation at Girl and the Goat so I didn't want to over eat for this meal so we decided on their double cheeseburger to share and a side salad.

A gentleman dining next to us,who appears to be a regular, asked if we got it with the bacon and when we told him no, he quickly called the waitress over and made sure that the side of bacon was brought. And boy, were we glad that he did because honestly, it brought the burger to a whole another level....by itself it was delicious already...the patty was perfectly cooked medium and was juicy and the patty:bun ratio was just spot on.

But when the bacon was brought out, it was like the heavens opened above and the angels were singing...it was thickly sliced and glazed with some delicious sweetness and sprinkled with fresh cracked pepper. AH-MAZE-ZING!! It was one of the best burger I have had. To this day, I still think about this tasty meal. So far first impression of Chicago was fabulous!

So since we only had a few days, I was lucky enough to get us a reservation for us at Girl and the Goat ( http://www.girlandthegoat.com ) by emailing them a month in advance. I have been  a big fan of Top Chef so when I heard about Stephanie Izard's (season 10's winner) restaurant I knew I had to try. We were not disappointed. When we arrived to check in , we were told that they had reserved the best table in the house for us right next to the line where the chef herself will be working ( since they knew I was a fan) and we would be right in the mix of things. As a home chef, it was awesome to watch how everything was prepared.

 

 



Everything on the menu looks delicious so it was very hard to decide on what we wanted to order but alas, we decided to try a few small dishes to share. We started with the Fried naked cowboy oysters topped with egg salad and capers. Each spoonful was a delicate balance of the crispy fried oysters, creamy egg yolk and the tangy capers. It was a good start.

Next, since we were at "Girl and the Goat" it was only fitting to try one of her goat dishes...even though I am not a big fan of goat, the goat Empanadas peaked my interest. It was served with fresh tzatziki sauce, marinated feta and this yummy corn salsa. I was pleasantly surprised. The goat meat on the inside was very tender and perfectly seasoned.

We wanted to try a couple of their vegetable dishes since they among the popular dishes there so we got the pan fried shishito peppers and the cauliflower. The peppers were prepared with a creamy miso dressing, sesame and parmesan cheese, it was a little on the heavier side and not that much flavor so it was not was my favorite of the night but the cauliflower was awesome! This is not your typical boring roasted cauliflower....Because we had front and center view of the chefs preparing this dish, I was able to take notes! It is first panfried on high heat with this amazing compound butter mixture until the cauliflower is carmelized then it is finnished off with housemade pickled peppers, parmesan, pine nuts and fresh chopped mint. I have since tried recreating this dish at home and it is delicious!

As we were waiting for our next course, a little surprise arrived at our table compliments of the chef. It was a little tasting bowl of their escargot ravioli....something that I would never think to order but the way it was served, OMG, sooo good. It came in this fragrant tamarind-miso sauce with bits of bacon and topped generously with the crispy onions. I would definitely get a full order of this next time we are back.

Our last dish was a pasta dish....we were so stuffed at this point but it looked so good not to eat. It was their housemade pappardelle in a sugo meat sauce with rosemary and cape gooseberries. Who would of thought to put gooseberries with this dish?!? but it worked! It added a nice sweet and tanginess to lighten up such a rich dish.

You would think after all that food we would not have room for dessert right??? WRONG! We couldn't decide between two desserts and ordered the Peach buckle but our server ended up surprising us with both desserts. We were spoiled....by the end of our meal, I needed a cart to wheel me out fo the restaurant!

On to our next stop....

  A friend of mine told me about Alinea by Grant Achatz and since it was only a month away, there was no luck in getting a table in such a short period of time. But we were lucky enough to land a reservation at his sister restaurant/lounge the Aviary ( the www.aviary.com). Of course at this point our stomaches are distended to the max but they are known for their drinks and cocktails. With our bellies full, we were ready to get our drink on. The drink menu was fabulous....everything we ordered was delicious but each drink came served with it's own dramatic presentation. So hard to describe all the many funky concoctions that they serve up there but it is a must-go for cocktail lovers.

I won't go into details of all the meals we had for the rest of our trip since this blog would turn into a novel...but I will give you a list of our favorite spots:

Intelligentsia for coffee (they actually serve their coffee here in Edmonton at Credo's)http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/

Blackbird -good spot for lunch http://blackbirdrestaurant.com/

Riccardo Trattoria for delicious traditional Italian food http://www.riccardotrattoria.com/index.php/

Wild Berry Cafe for breakfast/brunch...best eggs beni I've had!! http://www.wildberrycafe.com/

Slurping Turtle for bowl of hot steaming ramen http://www.slurpingturtle.com/

Avec nice tapas and wine bar with good eats http://avecrestaurant.com/

Other places that we ran out of time to try but will be on our list for the next visit:

Alinea https://www.alinearestaurant.com/website/browser

Hot Doug's for Chicago dogs http://www.hotdougs.com/

Takashi http://www.takashichicago.com/index.php


Hopefully this list will give you a few ideas on where to dine next time you are Chicago town!



 

Bo Bia is one of my favorite type of Vietnamese salad rolls (summer rolls)

I have to say I love everything that is rolled up in rice paper  with noodles, fresh veggies and herbs.... It is one of my favorite things to eat that is Vietnamese :) From  nem nuong ( pork meatballs), bo nhung dam (beef dipped in vinegar hot pot), ca nuong (grilled fish), and goi cuon (your typical salad rolls that you see on the menu with pork and shrimp) thit bo/heo nuong (grilled beef/pork)....oh the list is endless!!

But this is one of my favorite to eat. It is a common dish you would find on the streets of Vietnam where a little old lady would be pushing a cart with all the yummy ingredients to make this. This dish is a little more time consuming to prep so I only make it when I have guests coming over. There are a few different components to the roll that makes it such a wonderful explosion of flavors in the mouth when you eat it, it's literally like a party in your mouth  due to all the different textures and vibrant flavors.

Step 1:
1 medium Jicama (thinly julienned)
1 large carrot (thinly julienned)
3 cloves of garlic (finely minced)
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

So the best part about this roll to me is the Jicama and carrot filling, the sweetness and the crispy texture of the jicama is a nice little surprise that you normally don't get with the other rolls.  Heat 2 tsp of vegetable oil in a nonstick pan, and add the minced garlic until fragrant. Quickly add in the jicama and carrots and stirfry for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Step 2:
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 package of dried shrimp (size small)
1 cup of coarsely chopped roasted peanuts (can be salted)
3/4 cup of fried shallots (store bought)

This next component gives the roll a crunchy nutty texture. Soak the dry shrimp in some warm water for about an hour then drain it well. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium and add the shrimp and cook until it starts to crisp up (2-3 minutes) stirring constantly. Then add the remaing two ingredients, peanuts and shallots and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes and flavors are well combined. Remember to stir constantly so it does not burn and cooks evenly. Remove from heat and set aside.

Step 3:
4-6 chinese sausage (lap xuong/lap cheong)
5 eggs

The two proteins are prepared next. Add about 1/4 cup of water to a nonstick pan and cook the lap xuong on medium high until all the water evaporates. Flip the sausage back and forth so it is evenly brown on the outside. Set aside to cool and thinly slice into long strips.
Crack all 5 eggs into a large bowl and scramble with a pair of chopsticks or fork. Use a flat nonstick pan, heat 1/2 tsp of oil and spoon about 1/4 of the egg mixture onto the pan. It should be a thin layer of egg ( like a crepe). Flip the thin egg layer and cook both sides. Remove from heat and slice into 1 cm wide strips.

Step 4:
1 head of green leaf lettuce  (washed and spine removed)
1 bunch of thai basil (red stem basil)
1 package of rice paper ( I prefer the Rose brand)
1/2 cup of Hoisin Sauce
1/2 cup of siracha

So now that we've got all the  components prepared, we are ready to assemble our rolls. This roll is best served fresh when the guests are present. I usually prep everything and have all the ingredients on the table and everyone assembles their own roll at the dinner table. Start by quickly dipping the rice paper in a bowl of warm water becareful of not overwetting it. This is common mistake the we make if you're not use to handling rice paper. It just needs a touch of water to moisten and soften up. Next spread 1/4 tsp of hoisin sauce and 1/4 tsp siracha (less if you don't like too much spice) onto the rice paper (in a line across). Layer 1/2 a leaf of lettuce, 4-5 sweet basil leaves, 2 tablespoon of the jicama/carrot mixture, 2-3 this piecs of the lap xuong, 2-3 strips of the egg, and 1 tsp of the peanut/shrimp.  And that is it, roll it up tightly and enjoy! The nice thing is there is no need for dipping sauce since the sauce is already in the rolls so all the flavors are inside.

Refreshing homemade salsa with sweet corn and black beans....what could be better????

Here's a short quick and easy one for you....super tasty and healthy to boot! I love this recipe and I make it all the time when we have Mexican food at our house. It is great as a salad on its own, with tortilla chips, on top of tacos, quesadillas, fajitas....pretty much everything!!

1 medium sweet onion

4-6 roma tomatoes (ripe but firm)

1 medium red bell pepper (or any color you like)

1 cup frozen sweet corn

1 can organic black beans

1 bunch of cilantro (you may use less if cilantro is not your thang)

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

juice from 1 1/2-2 limes depending on how tangy you want it

1 jalapeno (optional)

Chop the onion, tomatoes,red bell pepper,(jalapeno) up into small bits (the size of a pomegranate seed), thinly chop up the cilantro and put everything into a large bowl. Drain 1 can of blackbeans and add 1 cup of frozen corn directly into salsa. Squeeze the juice of 1 1/2 -2 limes directly into the bowl. Season with sugar, salt and pepper. Toss well with a large spoon, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours and you are ready to serve. It is that simple!!! So much flavor and freshness am I sure you will not be able to stop eating this. After you make this, you're not going to want to buy salsa in the jars at the grocery store again. Another variation is to used grilled (BBQ) corn in the summertime to give it an extra flair.

One of my favorite as a child....Banh Gio

This is one of the many yummy breakfast dishes I remember eating as a child. It's very traditional Vietnamese with simple ingredients all wrapped up in a banana leaf and steamed to perfection. Most of you will probably have never tried this since it is a little mysterious when you see these little pyramids wrapped in banana leaves in an Asian grocery store. But hopefully after reading this and seeing what it's all about, you will be curious enough to try it.

So what is, is a a mixture of rice flour and constarch/tapioca flour with a ground pork filling....It looks like it would be complicated to make but once you break it down step by step, it really is not that intimidating but rather simple.

Start with soaking 1 cup of dried woodear mushrooms in warm water

before:

after:

Next chop up 1 medium sized onion, 1/2 jicama into small pearl sized bits.

In a medium sized pot, add 1 tbs vegetable oil on medium high heat and stir in onions and cook for about 2 minutes, then add  2lbs of ground pork and cook until it is done. Season with 2 1/2 tsp of chicken bouillon powder, 1 tsp of pepper, 1 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of sugar. Next cut up the wood ear mushrooms into smaller size bits (1cm) and add to the meat along with the jicama. Remove from heat and measure 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and chop up 4-5 green onions thinly and stir into the mixture. 

this will be your filling.

Next step is to make the starch component of this steamed dumpling.....the ratio is 1:2/6 with 1 cup of rice flour to 2 cups of tapioca flour/or cornstach and 6 cups of cold water. You can also buy the premixed flour package at the Asian grocery store. Measure out the flour and slowly add the water in a nonstick pot. To add flavoring, I like to use 3-4 tsp of chicken bouillon powder to the flour mixture and 1 tsp of salt. Adding 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil will also prevent the mixture from sticking to the pot.

Start cooking the flour mixture on medium high heat and stirring constantly with a pair of chopsticks or wooden spoon. Mixture will start to thicken rapidly starting with clumps....but don't worry, just continue stirring constantly and it will start to form a consistent paste. Once there is no longer any liquid left, turn off stove and remove from heat while continue to stir. Next prepare your banana leaves by washing them and blanching them in hot water so they are more pliable. Then cut them into large square and fold into a triangle pyramid. There is a good tutorial video on youtube on how to do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phjpeQonYKc

I don't like to use saran (plastic wrap) during steaming so I just use the banana leaf by itself and it works just fine.

Once you are ready, spoon about 1-2 tbs of the thick pasty flour mixture into the pyramid (upside down) making a well in the middle, then scoop in enough filling to fill up the well

Then add another 1-2 tbs of flour paste to cover the filling. fold up the banana leaf into a square bottom and place in steamer tray.

Steam dumplings for 20 minutes and then remove from heat and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. And there you have it, a yummy delicious breakfast dumpling for the family to enjoy. I made this for breakfast this past weekend and wasn't too sure if my girls would like it but everyone loved it including my husband. I really enjoy eating mine with a little bit of siracha sauce and the girls like to eat theirs with a few drops of soy sauce. 

Nom Nom Nom.......simple ingredients but oh so good!!! Enjoy!!!