Kimchi Fried Rice

Hey all, it has been a busy weekend and lots of invitation for dinners. :)

I have been craving for Korean food all week, therefore I have decided to give a try on making some Korean dishes this week. I have got hold of a pretty amazing Korean store, with an amazing boss of the store in aiding me to get the items I needed. :) 

Why kimchi fried rice? The last time I was on a one-day trip to Pheonix, where I had a very delicious meal of Korean food, I couldn't order their kimchi fried rice because it had beef in it. I can't take beef due to religious purposes, so no way I can have that yummy looking kimchi fried rice. So, I must make it myself!

Let's get it started!

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Kimchi fried rice will be ready in 20 minutes

Ingredients for the kimchi fried rice:

1. Ready cooked rice (3-4 cups)
2. 1 cup of kimchi (chopped into pieces) *you can always add if you love kimchi!*
3. 2 tablespoons of hot pepper paste (gochujang) 
4. 1/4 cup of kimchi juice
5. 4 tablespoons of water
6. 3 tablespoons of sesame oil
7. 3 teaspoons of vegetable oil
8. 2 scallions, cut into small pieces
9. 1 tablespoon of roasted sesame seeds 
10. 1 sheet of roasted, dried seaweed sheets (kim) - cut into small shreds 

How to get started? 

1. Heat up a cooking pan with vegetable oil. 
2. Add the kimchi and fry for about 1 min. 
3. Add the kimchi juice, water, hot pepper paste and stir, then add the rice. Stir well further for about 5-10 minutes. 
4. Add sesame oil and then, remove from heat.
5. Place them into bowls for serving, lastly, sprinkle some scallions, roasted seaweed and sesame seeds on the top. 

There you go! Simple dish. 

Here you go, picture time! 

Black Pepper Rice Vermicelli

Hi again! :) 

Hope my recipes have been stimulating your appetite! :D 

It rained today! I mean, it rarely rains at where I am residing at you see? So, rain is a really special thing to have here. :) Does anyone realize that rain has a special smell? It depends on where you are, if you are in a place with lots of grass, the rain scent is more refreshing and grassy; if you are at a more dry place - like mine, it smelled sand-ish, but it is still unique! I love the after rain scent. 

Today's rain has brought me to make rice vermicelli, in my home country, we call it bihun/ meehoon. We used to eat so much fried rice vermicelli because it's just an easy dish to prepare and cook. 

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Fried rice vermicelli will be ready in 40 minutes

Ingredients for the black pepper fried rice vermicelli: 

1. Ground pork/ Ground chicken 
2. 2-4 tablespoons of soy sauce
3. 2 tablespoons of minced onion
4. 2 tablespoon of minced garlic
5. 3 tablespoons of ready made black pepper paste
6. 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper
7. 2 tablespoons of water
8. 4 tablespoons of cooking oil 
9. 2 eggs
10. A bowl of lettuces (sliced)/ any vegetables that you like
11. Scallions (optional)

How to get started? 

1. Marinate the ground pork/ chicken with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce with garlic and pepper and set aside for 30 mins. 
2. Boil a pot of water, upon boiling, add the amount of rice vermicelli that would be sufficient for your family/ friends (to soften the rice vermicelli for frying later). 
3. While boiling the water and cooking the rice vermicelli, beat 2 eggs and add some pepper into the eggs. Make omelets from this eggs. Once ready, slice the omelets into long slices to place on top of the rice vermicelli later. 
4. Now, heat up a wok with cooking oil. Add in the minced garlic and onion and fry it for 1-2 minutes. Then, add in the marinated pork. 
5. Once the pork is cooked, add in 3 tablespoons of black pepper sauce and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce for taste and mix it again. 
6. Put 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper into the mixture, then add in the cooked rice vermicelli and mix well for 5 minutes. Then, add any vegetables you would like to accompany the fried rice vermicelli. 
7. Add 2 tablespoons of water to avoid the fried rice vermicelli getting too dry. 
8. Now, you are ready to serve! 

It's really simple and easy, and you can have a variety of options to cook rice vermicelli! If you dislike black pepper, you can just have them plain with soy sauce and dark caramel sauce too. :)

Have fun! 

This is my dish for today:

Dumpling Soup (Wanton Soup)

Hey everyone! :) Hope you had a great day! 

Dumpling soup - Asians being Asians, we love to have soups for dinner. I have no idea why, but since young, I would finish my dinner with just a bowl of soup (personally, it is because I dislike dry food, I need something moisturized - like soup!) Therefore, today I am going to share with you one of my favorite soups since young. 

Advantage of making wanton soup? You can serve it with a hot bowl of rice or simply add noodles to it! 

Preparation time: 30 - 60 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Soup will be ready in 90 minutes

Ingredients for the dumpling/ wanton: 

1. Ground pork/ Ground chicken 
2. 8 medium shrimps (peeled and minced)
3. 2 tablespoons of minced onion
4. 2 tablespoon of minced garlic
5. 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
6. 1/2 teaspoons of white pepper
7. 20-25 wanton wrapper 

Ingredients for the broth/ soup:

1. 8 cups of water
2. 3 tablespoons of chicken stock/ pork flavored soup base
3. 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
4. 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
5. 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil
6. A pinch of white pepper

How to get started? 

1. Mix all the ingredients as mentioned above for the dumpling except the wrapper. Mix well and set aside for 30 minutes to an hour. (go ahead and continue with other work while the ground pork/ chicken is marinating) 
2. Fold the dumplings in anyway you like. I used water to glue the wantan wrapper together (by putting some water at the side of the wrapper). 
3. Heat up 8 cups of water in the pot. Once it is boiled, add in all the ingredients for the broth.
4. Add in the dumplings and let it cook by itself about 10 to 15 minutes. Do move the dumplings around so that it doesn't stick at the bottom of the pot. 
5. Add in some vegetables to the broth for some boiling (I used lettuce in this case, you can use any vegetable of your choice). 
6. Now, the dumpling soup is ready to be served. 

If you choose to add noodles to the broth, then while cooking the broth, you can heat up another pot of water to cook the noodles. 

This is how the dumplings will look like. They are multiple ways on folding the dumpling, but I think this is one of the easiest. :) 

Here's a picture of my dinner tonight! 

Feel free to provide feedback after you try this recipe out! 

Tomatoes Eggs

Hi there my readers! :D Today is my first day posting what I will cook everyday, or almost every day. Hope you guys will like what you see, and after you try cooking it! 

Tomatoes Eggs - inspired after I accidentally broke an egg, and I had 2 pieces of tomatoes left in the fridge for a week (better to use it before it gets rotten!). 

Why is it good? You have a combination of protein (from eggs) and fibre with vitamin (from tomatoes). :D 

Preparation time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Dish will be ready in 15 minutes

Ingredients needed:

1. 2 medium whole tomatoes 
2. 3 eggs
3. 3 tablespoons of ketchup sauce/ sweet & sour sauce
4. 4 tablespoons of water
5. A pinch of salt
6. A pinch of white pepper
7. 1 tablespoon of sugar
8. 4 tablespoons of cooking oil

How to get started?

1. Cut the tomatoes into cubes (smaller pieces). 
2. Pre-heat cooking pan with the cooking oil, then add the lightly beaten eggs mixture. Let the eggs cook one both sides, then break the eggs into pieces. 
3. Once cooked, remove the eggs and set it aside.
4. Using the same pan, put the tomatoes in along with the 4 tablespoons of water. Let it cook for about 1-2 minutes. 
5. Then, add in the ketchup, white pepper, salt and sugar. Continue to stir the mixture along with the tomatoes to ensure they are well mixed for 1 minute. 
6. Finally, add the eggs from before into the pan and continue stirring for about 30 seconds, to get them well mixed. 
7. It is all ready to serve. 

Here's a picture of tomatoes eggs! :)