Avocado Smoothie (Sinh to Bo)

Oh the avocado. I used to have stigma against sushi because there was avocado in it.

I never tasted it, but the look of something green and mushy inside a roll seemed unappetizing to me.

After trying sushi for the first time a few years ago, I have grown to like sushi and love avocados.

It’s funny how it took me so long to try sushi considering my family’s restaurant served sushi and I was surrounded by it everyday.

I thought this green fruit would have a pungent flavor but its buttery flesh was unexpectedly mild.

Now I hoard avocados whenever it goes on sale and incorporate it as often as I can into my diet.

If you’re looking for a new way to eat avocados, try this avocado smoothie!

This rich and creamy shake is the perfect summer treat.

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Avocado Smoothie

1 ripe Hass avocado, pitted and skin removed
2 cups of ice cubes
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup milk

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Easy Asian Recipe: Stir-Fried Tomato & Eggs

Tomato and eggs is one of the easiest Chinese dishes you will ever cook.  This classic dish is made from juicy tomato slices, scrambled eggs, and simple seasonings.

Even though this dish is simple, it is important to not overcook the eggs or tomatoes.  Overcook the eggs and you will have rubbery pieces of egg.  Overcook the tomatoes and your dish will turn into mush.  In my recipe, I added two tablespoons of Shaoxing rice wine into the egg mixture to make it fluffier.  The wine gives the dish an interesting flavor profile.

I used tomatoes from my garden.  The juiciness and sweetness from tomatoes created the perfect sauce to spoon over a bowl of rice.

This tomato had a tumor.

This humble dish is great for a quick dinner.  Enjoy!

Stir-Fried Tomato & Eggs

4 eggs
2 tb Shaoxing rice wine or water
3 tomatoes sliced into wedges
2 cloves of minced garlic (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup water
3 tb vegetable oil
Chopped scallions

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add 2 tb water, and whisk.
2. Heat a skillet and add 2 tb of oil.  Add eggs and let a thin film form on the bottom of the pan.  When eggs are partially cooked, break into smaller pieces.  Once cooked, remove from pan and set aside.
3. In the same pan, heat 1 tb oil and add minced garlic.  Sauté garlic until fragrant, then add tomatoes and stir-fry for 2 minutes.  Add salt, sugar, and water and stir for 30 seconds.  Add scallions and cooked eggs.  Stir-fry for 1 minute and serve.

Vietnamese Chicken Cabbage Salad (Goi Ga Bap Cai)

I eat a lot of salad in the summer. My go to salad is a mix of green leaf lettuce, steamed broccoli and balsamic vinaigrette with grilled chicken or salmon. It’s delicious but it can get boring eating it four times a week. I like to change it up with Vietnamese chicken cabbage salad.

The base consists of shredded cabbage and carrots with vinegared red onions. This salad reminds me of a lighter version of coleslaw. Rather than mayo, savory fish sauce is used as the dressing.

You might be thinking fish sauce?! In a salad?! Yeah, it doesn’t sound very appetizing but trust me the fish sauce is not overpowering.

If you’ve tried Vietnamese food, you know that fish sauce is the condiment of choice for most dishes. In the dressing, sugar balances out the saltiness of the fish sauce and lemon juice adds a brightness to the crunchy salad.

I also added crushed red chili peppers for a spicy kick. This sauce is a winner because it is the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, savory, salty, and sour.

For the Salad
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp white sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 boiled chicken breasts, shredded
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 carrot, julienned
1/2 or 1 whole head of cabbage, thinly sliced
1/3 cup roasted crushed peanuts, crushed

For the Dressing
1/4 cup fish sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tb sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 crushed red chili pepper

Directions

1. Slice the onion as thin as possible. In a bowl, dissolve 1 tsp sugar into 1/2 cup vinegar and place onions into the mixture. Set aside.
2. Boil the chicken until cooked through. While chicken is cooking, chop cilantro, julienne carrot and slice cabbage. Place in a large bowl.
3. After chicken is cooked, let it cool and shred into thin pieces. Add to the salad mixture.
4. Prepare the dressing by combining fish sauce, lemon juice, sugar, garlic and crushed chili pepper.
5. Drain the onion from the vinegar and add to the bowl of salad. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix well. Place the salad in the refrigerator for an hour or two so the vegetables can soak up the flavors of the dressing. Serve with crushed peanuts.

Yields about 4 servings.

A Taste of Thailand: Mango Sticky Rice

Ever since my trip to Thailand in January, I have been dreaming about eating mango sticky rice. However, the price of mangoes deterred me from doing so. At my local Asian supermarket, a box of mangoes cost $14.99. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw a 5 lb box of mangoes at Sam’s Club for $2! The mangoes were on the verge of being overly ripe, but I couldn’t help myself and bought four boxes. This past week, I have been mango-ed out. Peeling, chopping, and eating mangoes almost everyday. I even prepared a whole box for the freezer so I can make mango smoothies throughout the summer! I also found that frozen mangoes are really good when eaten alone. The texture remains creamy and smooth and is a much better alternative to ice cream.  Thank you Sam’s Club for allowing me to make those mango recipes I have been saving up!

Here is a photo of my mango madness. I prefer yellow mangoes, like Ataulfos, over green varieties because they I find them sweeter and the seeds are smaller.

Mango sticky rice is a traditional Thai dish made with glutinous sweet rice, perfectly ripe mangoes, and coconut milk.  It is one of the many snacks Thais eat throughout the day.  Rather than eating three square meals a day, Thais eat small meals throughout the day.  Many Thais do not cook at home because it is too hot.  Besides, it is inexpensive and convenient to buy food from street vendors. Mango sticky rice is often sold by street vendors for as little 30 Baht which is equivalent to $1 USD!

The rice is traditionally soaked for hours and steamed in a bamboo basket.  Because I did not have the proper materials, I just used my rice cooker.  Plus, it is a lot faster because it eliminates the need to soak the rice.  I used a 1:2 rice to water ratio in my original recipe, but it yielded in mushy rice.  So, I reduced the water content in this updated version.  Next time, I will try the steaming method.

The dish is usually topped with fried mung beans.  The addition of the beans adds a crunch factor that breaks away from the stickiness of the rice and the creaminess of the mango.  You can also substitute it with any kind of nut.  I used pine nuts, but roughly chopped peanuts are also a good choice.

Mango Sticky Rice

1 1/2 cup glutinous sweet rice
2 cups water
1 can coconut milk
3 tb sugar, divided
3/4 tsp salt, divided
2 mangoes, sliced or diced
Toasted pine nuts or sesame seeds

1. Rinse rice in your rice cooker until water runs clear.
2. Fill rice cooker with 2 cups of water and cook.
3. While the rice is cooking, put 2/3 of the can of coconut milk into a pot.  Add 2 tb sugar and 1/4 tsp salt and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. When rice is cooked, add 1 tb sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and remaining coconut milk.  Stir until combined and let rice sit for 15 minutes to absorb liquid.
5. Slice mangoes into strips or dice into cubes.
6. Serve rice with mangoes, drizzle with coconut sauce, and sprinkle sesame seeds.

Things to Note

-For the traditional method, line a steamer basket or metal colander with a cheesecloth and steam rice for 30-40 minutes.  Stir rice at least twice for even cooking.

-If coconut milk is not thick enough, mix 1/2 tsp cornstarch with a little bit of water and whisk into the coconut milk while simmering.

Che Bap (Vietnamese Corn Pudding)

Taking advantage of the corn sale at Shoprite, I decided to make Che Bap. Vietnamese corn pudding can be made with sweet rice or tapioca pearls. The sweet rice gives the pudding a sticky texture while the tapioca pearls deliver a chewier bite. This dish is usually served with a coconut sauce that involves heating up the coconut milk with cornstarch, salt, and sugar. However, I found that coconut milk straight from the can tastes just as good; the only difference is that it will be a little thinner.

I started out by slicing the corn kernels off their cobs using a serrated knife. I did not want the cobs to go to waste, so I decided to simmer them in boiling water to make a corn stock. Whether or not this extra step made a difference in the final product is up for debate. Nonetheless, it made me feel good that I put them to good use. I also found that even after slicing the kernels off, there was still some corn meat on the cob. So, I chowed down!

I decided to make this dish with rice because I am not a huge fan of tapioca pearls.  When cooking the rice, do not forget to stir it every 3 minutes or  so to make sure none of the rice gets stuck to the bottom of the pan.  The rice is prone to burning if you do not stir because it is very starchy and sticky.

I like my Che Bap glutinous and sticky, and diluted with the creaminess of the coconut milk.  But if you would like yours to be soupy, just cook the rice with more water.

I love to eat Che Bap for dessert or breakfast. The stickiness of the rice, paired with the crunchiness of the corn, and the creaminess of the coconut milk equate to a yummy treat that can be enjoyed anytime of the day!

Che Bap

7 cups of water
4 cups of corn
1 cup of sweet rice
1/2 cup of sugar
2 cans of coconut milk

1. Bring water to a boil. In the meantime, slice the corn kernels from their cobs using a knife.
2. Place the cobs in the boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes to create a corn infused stock.
3. Remove cobs and use a fine mesh strainer to remove any corn particles from the water.
4. Rinse rice to remove excess starch and add to boiling water.
5. Cook rice for 10 minutes, stirring often.
6. Add corn kernels and sugar and cook for another 10 minutes.
7. Serve with coconut milk on top.