Green Tea Cake

This green tea recipe was VERY highly requested over the past few years. I was at H Mart (a Korean store) and walked past some green tea flavored Kit Kat bars and thought, "oh man, that looks so good!" Suddenly, I was dying to have something homemade with green tea in it!

Later that day, I rummaged through my cupboards and found my Matcha green tea powder and got cracking in the kitchen.

And the rest is history….

This cake is soft in texture and has a strong green tea flavor. You are more than welcome to reduce the amount of green tea powder in it, or even up the sugar instead.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups of cake flour

1 cup of caster sugar plus 1 TBSP

2 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of cream of tartar

3 large egg whites at room temp

1 large egg yolk at room temp, lightly beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup of sour cream + 1 TBSP

3 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup of milk

3 TBSP of Matcha green tea

1/4 cup of very hot water

green food coloring

FOR THE FROSTING:

Rich's ready made whipped topping or Pastry Pride

*you may choose to make your own frosting as well

OPTIONAL:

*add some strawberry slices as a garnish or layer it into the cake

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease the sides of a 9 inch aluminum pan with some softened butter and line the bottom with some parchment paper.

1. Into a large mixing bowl, sift together your cake flour, caster sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside.

2. Take your hot water and mix it with your Matcha green tea powder. Mix until smooth.

3. Combine your vegetable oil, milk, sour cream, vanilla extract, and egg yolk. Mix well.

4. Add the above wet ingredients into your dry ingredients. Add your food coloring and green tea paste. Using a wire whisk, mix until just smooth. This should only take about 1 minute if you are hard whisking. DO NOT OVER MIX.

5. Add your cream of tartar with your egg whites and beat until stiff.

6. Using a flat spatula, carefully fold in your egg whites into the batter. Again, DO NOT OVER MIX. :)

7. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. Do not over bake!

8. Once done, loosen up the sides of the cake with a knife and carefully slide your cake out onto a wire rack to allow to cool completely.

9. Frost and serve! :)



NOTES:

*Bring all of your items to room temp before using

*Make sure you hand mix to prevent over mixing of the batter--if you over mix, your cake will be dry

Below are some products that I absolutely LOVE:







The tutorial for this cake is kind of long because I cook and converse with my kids in it, to celebrate my 100th video on Youtube.:)

Easy Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS:

6 heaping cups of cold fried rice that has been brought back up to room temp.

2-3 cloves of chopped garlic

1 Chinese sausage diced(you may sub with a couple of slices of chopped bacon)

1/2 cup of diced Hillshire farms sausage (1 cup total of diced meat)

1 cup of veggies(I just use mixed frozen veggies that have been thawed)

2 eggs beaten with an 1/8 tsp of salt

2 T of oyster sauce(I like the Lee Kum Kee Premium oyster sauce)

1 tsp of good quality soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp of good fish sauce

2 very rounded tsp of sugar(more if you like it sweeter)

2 pinches of salt

peanut oil


INSTRUCTIONS:

In a small bowl, mix your oyster sauce, soy sauce, and fish sauce and set aside.

Add your diced Chinese sausage into your skillet and cook over medium-medium high heat until nice and crispy. DO NOT ADD ANY OIL TO PAN. The diced sausage will produce it's own oil for you to continue frying. Once done, use a slotted spoon to remove and set aside. Leave the remaining oil in pan.

Gently beat the eggs in small bowl and add in 1/8 tsp of salt. Pour eggs into your skillet and fry omelet style. Once it's cooked, gently flip over with a spatula and continue to cook until no longer runny. Remove and using a pizza slicer or knife, slice into tiny squares and set aside.

On medium high heat, add in some peanut oil. Add in your diced sausage. Fry for a minute and then add in your chopped garlic. Once meat is heated through, add in your thawed veggies. Add in 2 pinches of salt and 1 very full teaspoon of sugar. Stir to combine.

When your veggies are heated through, add in your rice. Pour in your oyster sauce mixture that you set aside from earlier. Mix to combine quickly, making sure that all the rice is well coated. Once all coated, add back in your Chinese sausage and diced eggs.

Happy Eating!!!

NOTES:

Never use warm or hot rice. The result will be soggy fried rice that isn't very tasty and appealing on the eyes. I like to take freshly made rice and refrigerate for 2 sometimes 3 days! Just make sure to take rice out of fridge and let come to room temp before frying. If your rice is already hard(lets say you didn't put enough water in your rice) you don't even need to refrigerate..just let it come to room temp before frying. If your rice is soggy to begin with(you put TOO much water in your rice) then its best to refrigerate for 2-3 days.

Papaya Salad

Papaya salad is a staple amongst most Cambodian homes. There are many different ways to make it...it all boils down to taste and preference. Thai style has just the basics like fish sauce, lime, sugar, and chili peppers. Some people like to add peanuts, basil, or even use Chinese long beans.  Cambodian and Laos people like to add prahok or padek which is a fermented fish sauce that is used as the base of the salad. I have many different variations of prahok sauce that I make, where I combine many different types of fermented pastes. So feel free to experiment and use whatever you have in your pantry. The sauce can vary from dark in color to lighter depending on what brand I use, or how much water I add. Some people don't even cook their sauces before they make the salad and just add it straight into the papaya right away. My most favorite way to make it, is actually with pickled baby crab. Haha. You are either, one: completely grossed out by what I just mentioned or two: salivating at the thought of tiny crab legs poking out of the spicy and sour goodness. Lol. I can't get that locally but if you can find it, it's also a good addition to your papaya salad. Either way, this recipe is a great recipe for beginners...make sure to taste check and adjust seasoning as needed.

 

Ingredients:

10 ounces of shredded GREEN papaya(you may add in some carrots sliced julienne)

some cherry tomatos, halved

2 garlic cloves, peeled

Thai chili peppers

1 lime

1 1/2 tsp of sugar

1 Tbsp of Prahok sauce(recipe below)

1 1/2 Tbsp of good fish sauce

 

For the Prahok sauce:

1 Tbsp of shrimp paste

1/3 cup of fermented fish paste(mud fish/prahok)

1/4 cup of fermented fish paste(mud fish/prahok) boneless

1 cup of water

1/2 tsp of MSG(optional)

[caption id="attachment_1509" align="alignnone" width="640"] Mmm...my papaya salad served with baked chicken wings, which is one of the most common pairings in Cambodian culture.[/caption]

 

Here is the link to my baked chicken wings recipe.

Combine in a saucepan, ingredients for the prahok sauce. Mix well. On medium heat, cook the prahok sauce, making sure to keep it a rolling boil for about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Set aside and allow to cool completely before using.

In a mortar and pestle, add in 2 garlic cloves along with some chili peppers. Just one or two if you do not like it spicy. Pound it well until almost like a paste. Add in your shredded papaya, prahok sauce, sugar, fish sauce, and half of a lime(including it's pulp). Pound again and use a spoon while your smashing it to help you incorporate all of your ingredients together. Taste check. Adjust seasonings as needed. Remove onto serving dish. Repeat process.

Serve immediately. If you have any leftover prahok sauce, make sure to put it in an airtight container. Keep in your refrigerator for up to one month. Papaya salad is also delicious with a side of green cabbage or water spinach(trokuon). Don't forget to check out my recipe for Asian baked bbq chicken(recipe can be found here)
which is my favorite thing to eat with papaya salad.

Here's the link to my kick-ass, julienne peeler: Kuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler (Google Affiliate Ad)

Asian Baked Chicken

You will need:

3 pounds of chicken wings or you may use short ribs instead

1 tsp of black pepper

1 tsp of onion powder

1 and 1/4 tsp of garlic powder

2 1/2 T of fish sauce (preferably Three Crabs Brand) http://www.amazon.com/Three-Crabs-Brand-Fish-Sauce/dp/B0000CNU54

3 T of oyster sauce

3 T of hoisen sauce (preferably Koon Chun brand)http://www.amazon.com/Koon-Chun-Hoisin-Sauce-jar/dp/B000EIP6MA

Wash your chicken or beef short ribs and pat COMPLETELY dry before you marinade them. YOU MUST MARINADE OVERNIGHT.  If you have the time, you can also keep them for up to 2 days in your fridge before you bake or grill them. Bake chicken@425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until deep golden brown. If you are baking a lot of chicken at once, you may need to bake them for longer. Also if you like them more charred, you can switch the oven to broil for a few minutes, just make sure that you watch them closely.

If you are using beef short ribs, grill them on medium to medium high heat for a few minutes on each side. You can also grill them in a large frying pan just remember to add a little bit of olive oil before you fry them.

[caption id="attachment_1509" align="alignnone" width="640"] Mmm....my baked chicken with papaya salad! YUMMY!![/caption]

 

The link to my papaya salad can be found here.

NOTES: Obviously, if you have an Asian market near you, make sure you purchase your fish sauce and oyster sauce there. Some American food chains do carry the preferred items I listed above, but they are suuuuuuper expensive! Also when washing beef short ribs, please be thorough because when butchers are slicing the beef, shards of bone fragment get left on the meat. Nothing ruins your eating experience more then having to spit out tiny pieces of bone while chowing down. Unfortunately, I too, have been guilty of not washing them thoroughly...I'm so ashamed. :(

Fried Sesame Balls

If you've never tried dim sum before (and believe me, I know a few people who haven't), man…you are truly missing out!

I am just so in love with all of the assortment of food that most places offer (both savory and sweet), and these sesame balls top my list for favorite dim sum dessert. It's also a very common Khmer and Vietnamese Dessert and like most, I grew up eating this stuff.

Today, I'm showing you guys how to make one of my favorite desserts called fried sesame balls. A fresh sesame ball is slightly crispy on the outside but has a softer, yet chewy interior. At the center of all of this AWESOMENESS holds this soft and slightly sweet mung bean and coconut filling that'll tickle your taste buds in ways you never knew existed!

INGREDIENTS:


For the *dough:

2 cups of warm water + 3 Tbsp more during kneading
16 ounce bag of glutinous rice flour
1 cup of rice flour
1 bag (about 2 Tbsp) of Alsa baking powder (you may try subbing for any baking powder)
1/4 tsp of salt
3/4 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of mashed potato flakes (any boxed brand works)
vegetable oil for frying
candy thermometer

*I found a recipe for the dough here, but I've modified the ingredients a bit and also used my own method for mixing.

For the filling:

8 ounces of split/peeled mung bean
2 cups of water
1 cup of sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 tsp + a pinch of salt
1/4 cup of *caster sugar

*to make caster sugar, just pulse white granulated sugar in a food processor until super fine and powdery.

Additional items needed:

white sesame seeds (placed in a large shallow dish)
some water

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Start off by making your filling. Place your mung bean into a rice pot and wash them until the water runs clear. Once done, drain all the water out, and pour 2 cups of water in. Steam in your rice cooker until done.

2. Once it's done steaming, add in your salt, caster sugar, and coconut flakes and mix until combined. It should resemble the texture of mashed potatoes.

3. Shape your filling into small balls and place them on a baking sheet. I prefer less filling, so I make mine smaller than usual. You may use a melon baller to save some time. Cover and place your filling in the fridge while you work on the dough.

4. To make your dough, place your glutinous rice flour, rice flour, salt, and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and mix to combine. Set this mixture aside.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, add in your sugar and 2 cups of warm water. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Add in your mashed potato flakes and stir to dissolve again.

6. Make a well in the center of your flour mixture and slowly pour in your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir to combine and then gradually switch to using your hands.

7. Add in a Tbsp of water at a time until you get a soft/workable consistency. I usually add an additional 2-3 Tbsp of water to the dough during the kneading process. Test out the dough by breaking off a tiny piece of dough (about a golfball size amount). Make a rounded ball out of it and then flatten it out. If it's SUPER crackly and dry, add in a bit more water.

8. Once your dough is of the proper consistency, form it all into a big ball and wrap it snuggly with a piece of saran wrap and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

9. Get a clean dish rag or paper towel ready.

10. Grab a golfball size of dough and shape it into a ball. Flatten it out with your thumbs and place a piece of filling in the middle. Pinch to seal. Roll into a smooth ball again and then add a few drops of water into your hand. Gently roll the dough around in your palms, making sure to moisten it well.

11. Drop your ball into your dish of sesame seeds.

12. DRY YOUR HANDS OFF.

13. Roll your dough around in the sesame seeds very well. I like to push the ball into the seeds as I'm rolling them around in the dish. Reshape your ball and then proceed with the rest.

14. Allow the sesame balls to rest for at least an hour. If you have several hours, that's great too. I leave mine out for about 2 hours, most of the time. Doing this allows the sesame seeds to adhere better and you'll notice that the dough hardens a bit while it sits out, which I think adds to the overall texture of the sesame balls.

15. Fry your sesame balls at 325 degrees F for about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. The temp will probably drop to 300 degrees (which is okay too) but anything lower will cause them to be greasy. Keep close and constantly keep them moving using a pair of chopsticks (or whatever you have on hand).

16. Place them on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. Allow to cool slightly before eating, as the filling will be hot. ENJOY!!



 

NOTES:


* You must wait at least one hour before frying up your sesame balls. My recipe requires wetting your hands before rolling them in the sesame seeds, and if you try to fry up the sesame balls while they're still moist, they will EXPLODE in the oil. lol.

*Try not to forget to dry your hands BEFORE you roll your balls into the sesame seeds. If you forget that part, the sesame seeds will stick to your hand and it gets quite messy! You will have to wash your hands after you roll each and every ball and that can take up a lot of time!

*You may fill these with red bean paste or even palm sugar instead.