Asian Cucumber Salad

If you love papaya salad, then you will most definitely, LOVE this cucumber salad! It's easy, fresh, and takes little time to prepare! It's a little salty, tangy, and suuuuper spicy! Of course, you can control just how spicy you like it, but I say...GO BIG, OR GO HOME.

INGREDIENTS:

2 large cucumbers sliced julienne (about 14 ounces)

2 small pieces of garlic

2-20 red Thai chili peppers

1/2 tsp of chili flakes

1/4 tsp of shrimp paste

1 Tbsp of liquid prahok

1 Tbsp of good fish sauce

1/2 Tbsp of sugar

1 whole lime PLUS a half

cherry tomatoes, halved

mortar and pestle

msg (optional)


INSTRUCTIONS:

Place your garlic cloves into your mortar and begin to smash them, just until you can easily remove the peel. Add in your chili peppers, chili flakes, and shrimp paste, and pound them until you've created a paste. Add in your tomatoes, and gently pound them until you've released most of the juices from them. Add in your prahok, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and msg. Add in your cucumbers, and gently pound it, until combined. Adjust seasoning as needed. Serve immediately!

Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango and Coconut Sauce

Once you try this dessert, you will absolutely FALL IN LOVE. It's beauty really comes from the simplicity of the recipe, which takes very little time to make. If I can get my hands on the perfect mango, I always make this easy and beautiful dessert. The coconut sauce pairs perfectly with the sticky rice and sweet mango. You get a little bit of sweet, a little bit of salty, with A LOT of satisfaction, when you dip into that first bite.

HAPPY EATING!


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of Thai sweet sticky rice (or glutinous rice) soaked in water for 2-3 hours

steamer

cheese cloth

2 ataulfo mangos


FOR THE COCONUT SAUCE:


1 cup of coconut milk

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 tsp of salt

FOR GARNISH:

1 Tbsp of split mung beans soaked in water for 2-3 hours (may sub for roasted sesame seeds)


DIRECTIONS:

1. Place your soaked glutinous rice into a strainer, and clean it a few times.
2. With your steamer on medium high heat, place your cheese cloth inside, and then place your drained rice on top. Make sure to flatten it, to make sure it cooks evenly. Steam for about 20-25 minutes or until done.
3. While your rice is cooking, dry roast your mung beans. Drain the liquid from your soaked mung beans, dry them well, and then cook them on medium heat until slightly roasted. Set this aside.
4. 5 minutes before your rice is done, make your coconut sauce. Place your coconut milk, sugar, and salt into a medium sauce pan and cook over medium high heat, just until it comes to a slight boil. Taste check. It should be slightly sweet and slightly salty. Turn off heat and wait for your rice to finish.
5. Place your cooked rice into a large bowl, and pour in 1/2 cup to 2/3 of your coconut milk. It should look like your rice is almost swimming in your coconut milk (don't worry, the rice will soak up all the liquid). Cover the bowl with saran wrap, and let it sit, undisturbed, for 30 minutes to an hour.
6. Slice up your mangos.
7. Place some of your sticky rice onto a pretty serving plate, add some sliced mangos, a drizzle of your coconut sauce, and then garnish with your roasted mung beans.

ENJOY!



NOTES: This dessert is best served at room temp and should be eaten in the same day, but you may make this dish a couple of hours in advance. Also, when purchasing the rice for this, the packaging will either say "Thai sweet sticky rice," or "glutinous rice," which is basically the same thing. You do not need to look for the words, "sweet" when purchasing the rice.

*UPDATE
I've been making this a lot lately, and today, I realized that when I let the coconut milk cool down to room temperature BEFORE pouring it into the HOT sticky rice, it gave me the texture that I like. This is just my personal preference, of course, but if you'd like, you can make the coconut sauce while you're letting your rice soak in the water for 2-3 hours. Just a tip. :)

Asian Fried Chicken

Homemade fried chicken is the BUSINESS!!

Is there anything more glorious than a crispy batch of homemade fried chicken??

I THINK NOT.

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds of chicken wings, cleaned and patted completely dry

vegetable oil for frying

FOR THE MARINADE:

3 Tbsp of oyster sauce

2 tsp of fish sauce

1 tsp of sugar

black pepper

FOR THE FLOUR MIXTURE:


3 Tbsp of all purpose flour

3 Tbsp of potato starch

3 Tbsp of rice flour

1 Tbsp of cajun seasoning

2 tsp of garlic powder

2 tsp of onion powder

1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp of white pepper

1/4 tsp of black pepper

1/4 tsp of chili powder

2 pinches of salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Marinade your your chicken for at least 30 minutes (or overnight). Bring your chicken up to room temperature before you fry it.
2. In a shallow mixing bowl, add your flour/spices together, and stir to combine.
3. Dip your chicken pieces into your flour mixture, toss to coat, and tap off the excess.
4. Fry your chicken in batches until cooked through. It could take anywhere from 7-8 minutes.

NOTES: Make sure to coat the chicken with the flour mixture by hand, and not use the "place everything in a ziplock baggie, and shake", method. If you do it that way, most of your flour mixture will end up sticking to the inside of the bag, instead of on your chicken. Don't ask me why I know that.

Homemade Dinner Rolls

These dinner rolls are to die for!

I would probably sell my first born for these...

Okay, I may be exaggerating just a TEENY bit, but you get what I mean.

Homemade dinner rolls that are soft and fluffy like these, are hard to come by. I will admit, that you do have to order one of the items in the ingredients list online at Kingarthurflour.com, but I promise you that I will make it worth your while. :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of warm water

7 grams (2 tsp) of active dry yeast

25 grams (2 Tbsp) of sugar

300 grams (2 1/2 cups) of all purpose flour plus more for kneading

19 grams (3 Tbsp) of Baker's Special Dry Milk

9 grams (1 Tbsp) of vital wheat gluten

8 grams (1+ 1/4 tsp) of salt

31 grams (2 Tbsp) of unsalted softened butter

You will also need:


An egg white beaten with some water

softened butter for the baking dish

melted butter for when they come out of the oven

a pastry brush

a food processor

vegetable oil

9x9 baking dish (preferably ceramic)

INSTRUCTIONS:


1. Sprinkle your yeast into your warm water (not too hot, you don't want to kill your yeast). Stir. Add in your sugar. Stir once more and set aside until foamy.
2. While you are waiting for your yeast to bloom, add your all purpose flour, baker's special dry milk powder, and vital wheat gluten into a mixing bowl. Mix to combine.
3. When your yeast is ready, give it a quick little stir to loosen up the sugar that has sunk to the bottom, and pour it into your dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix it until it starts to pull away from the sides.
4. Sprinkle in your salt and mix just until combined.
5. Add your dough into your food processor and pulse for 1 minute.
6. Flatten out your dough a bit, spread on your softened butter, and then make sure to cover the butter with your dough before you pulse again for 20-30 more seconds.
7. Place your dough onto a lightly floured surface and QUICKLY work it into a ball. It will seem tacky at first, but do not add anymore flour. As you start to work it, it will begin to form a ball (it doesn't have to be perfect).
8. Place your dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and wait for it to double in size. It may take 1 hour or more.
9. Generously, butter your baking dish with some softened butter.
10. Onto a lightly floured surface, shape your dough into a log (about 14 inches across), and then equally slice them into 12 pieces. Move them to the side, and keep them covered with a dish towel.
11. One by one (with quick hands), start forming your rolls. Add flour to your work surface as needed. (Please watch the tutorial below for a better idea on how to roll out your dinner rolls!) Once finished, place your dinner roll back under your dish towel, and proceed with the rest of them. Always keep them covered to prevent them from drying out.
12. Once you are finished with all 12 rolls, let them rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten a bit.
13. Reshape them into dinner rolls AGAIN, but this time, place the finished rolls into your buttered baking dish.
14. Cover your finished rolls with saran wrap and let them rest until they have doubled in size. This can take anywhere from 1 hour to several hours, depending on how warm it is.
15. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
16. Gently brush an egg wash over your rolls and bake them for about 8-10 minutes. Once the tops look browned, TURN OFF YOUR OVEN, rotate your pan, and then leave them in there for an additional 5 more minutes. All oven times vary, depending on how hot your oven gets, so you have to watch them!
17. Fresh out of the oven, brush them with some melted butter, and wait at least 30 minutes before removing them from your baking dish.

NOTES: Your dinner rolls might look a little uneven in color when you first pull them out, but the tops will continue to brown while they are cooling in your baking dish. Once you serve them, they will look like perfect little clouds! Also, if you want your dinner rolls to stay nice and fluffy, you must leave them in the baking dish to cool down slightly before removing them onto a serving platter.

Prahok Ktiss (Spicy Pork Dipping Sauce)

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound of ground pork

1 (13.5 fl. oz) can of coconut milk (you will not use all of it)

3 Tbsp of prepared kreung (lemongrass paste)

1 Tbsp of Korean hot pepper paste

1/2 tsp of tamarind powder

1 Tbsp of sugar

2 Tbsp of creamy prahok

3/4 cup of peas

3-4 Thai red chili peppers (optional)

hot chili oil

fish sauce to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:


1. Dry roast your peas (and peppers), and then set them aside.
2. Pour half a can of coconut milk into a hot skillet. When it bubbles, add in your kreung, hot pepper paste, and creamy prahok. Stir until smooth.
3. Add in your ground pork and cook until no longer pink.
4. Stir in your tamarind powder and sugar.
5. Once cooked, taste for seasoning, and then add in your fish sauce. Add more coconut milk if you wish. It should be slightly salty, sweet, and spicy!
6. Add in your dry roasted peas and chili peppers (if using).
7. Cook until liquid has reduced down to half.
8. Turn off heat. Allow to cool down slightly before placing in small serving bowl.
9. Finish off with a drizzle of hot chili oil and serve with your favorite assortment of fresh vegetables.

NOTES: The measurements given are approximate. Please adjust seasoning as needed. :)