Asian Food - Pork and Baby Shanghai Pak Choi Potstickers.

Lately, my boyfriend invited me to a Korean restaurant for dinner and since then, I'm just craving for potstickers. So I could'nt help but go to an Asian supermarket to buy dumpling wrappers and here I am in my kitchen, wrapping dumplings. I made the recipe at random, with the ingredients I had in my fridge but fortunately they turned out to match each other pretty well. And, of course, I made Kama my guinea-pig, a job she appreciated since she loved the potstickers and went back home with a bag of frozen potstickers.

Ingredients:
for about 30 dumplings

- fresh dumpling wrappers

- 5 pork chops

- 1 baby Shanghai pak choi

- 2 spring onions
- 1 bird eye chili
- a handful of chopped cilantro

- a handful of chopped Shitake mushrooms

- 1 egg, beaten + 1 other beaten egg to seal the dumpling if needed (you can either use water)

- 2 tb soy sauce

- 1 tb fish sauce

- 1 tb sesame oil

- pepper

Directions:
1) Chop all the ingredients and mix them together until obtaining a homogenous stuffing
2) Put a small quantity of it at the center of a wrapper (the equivalent of a spoonful)
3) Moisten the edges with some beaten egg or water and fold over, pressing the edge tightly to chase the air in the dumpling and thus seal it. Press to flatten the bottom.
4) Cover your dumplings with a damp towel. Freeze them or cook them in a frying-pan with sesame or vegetable oil until golden brown on the bottom. Serve with a noodle soup or a salad and soy sauce.

Enjoy,
B.

Pork and Spinach Hamburgers with French Fries.

Today, we've finally celebrated Kama's B Day after a month late (okay, a month and ten days late ...) Anyway, I've already made burgers last year but we love hamburgers so much that I could'nt help myself making hamburgers again. Why not making this a birthday habit ?!

This time however, I wanted to try something new, that's why I've made ... Asian style burgers with pork marinated with typically asian ingredients. Let's be honest, I didn't make the buns but I did make the French Fries. And I found a great recipe in a potato recipes book so that the French Fries aren't sticky and too moist.

Ingredients:

for the 3 pork burgers

- 5 pork chops

- 1 egg white

- 1 bird-eye chili

- cilantro

- chopped red bell pepper

- 1 tspoon ground ginger

- 1 tspoon ground garlic

- 2 tbspoons soya sauce

- pepper and salt

- flour

- cheddar

- spinach leaves

- spring onions

- 3 whole-wheat flour

- ketchup

for the French Fries

- potatoes

- vegetable oil

Directions:

1) Mix the ingredients for the pork burgers (except the flour) altogether; Shape the burgers and fridge them for an hour; Flour the burgers before frying them with sesame oil

2) Assemble the hamburgers with the rest of the ingredients and put in the oven for the cheddar to melt.

How to make French Fries:

1) Cut the potatoes - the bigger the French Fries are, the tastier they will be;

2) Soak them for 30min; Strain and wipe them;

3) Fry them a first time in hot oil for 3min; Remove them for 5min and fry them a second time until they've browned;

4) Salt and serve immediately with the hamburgers.

Enjoy,

By B.

Asian Food - Pork and papaya spring rolls.

So I'm back. Sorry guys, I've been quite busy these times by my degree and the exam I've passed for THE school. I hadn't much time to cook - unfortunately. But guess what? I'm on holidays and this means that I'm gonna live in the kitchen 20H/24 (not kidding). So to celebrate this come back and the coming -FINALLY- of spring, here is a simple, light and tasty recipe for those who'd like to try green papaya in a new way.

Green papaya is the unripe version and it is usually served raw or cooked in a salad in the South East Asia area. For instance, green papaya salad is one of the most famous dishes of Thailand and it is generally served with sticking rice and grilled chicken - no need to mention how tasteful it is, right?!




Ingredients:

for 10 spring rolls

- 10 rice paper

- 1 medium green papaya

- 2 or 3 carrots

- pork (as you like)

- soy sauce

- 1 bird-eye chili

- lemon grass


for the sauce:

- 8 tbspoons rice vinegar

- 6 tbspoons granulated sugar

- 2 tbspoons water

- 1 tbspoon fish sauce


Directions:

1) Marinate the pork with the chopped bird-eye chili and lemon grass and the soy sauce. Put in the fridge for at least 30min. Then, cook it in a frying-pan and chop it when cooled down;

2) Grate the green papaya and the carrots in a bowl;

3) Now, that's the most perilous part of the recipe because rice paper is very fragile and must be used immediately after having been wet. So I advise you to pour some water in a plate; dip the rice paper in the plate for a few seconds, just the right time for it to soften; remove it and use it immediately without wiping it;

4) Put some of the papaya-carrot salad on one side of the rice paper; Add the pork and roll the spring roll ( if you're not familiar with the "rolling method", check out our other spring roll recipe)

5) Serve with the sauce and mint and salad leaves. They can also be put in the fridge but I advise you to eat them the day they're made; otherwise the rice paper will somewhat dry.


How to make the sauce:

1) Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and let the mixture boil until it caramelizes and then remove from heat.


Enjoy,

B.

Asian food - Pork and Bell Peppers Fried Noodles

Today Kama and I had lunch together and she wanted me to cook asian style noodles. Asian noodles are usually cooked with carrots, greens, bean sprouts, omelette, meat or shrimps (try Pad Thai noodles; it's a national dish in Thailand and it's just de-li-cious); but today I had only bell peppers and pork in my fridge but that was enough to prepare simple and tasty noodles.

Ingredients:
for 2 people
- egg noodles
- pork
- bell peppers
- 1 carrot
- 1 spring onion
- 2 tbspoons soya sauce
- 1 tbspoon granulated sugar
- pepper
- vetegal oil
- water
- rice vinegar

you can also add cilantro, and chopped bird's eye chili if you like spicy food (it's even better with actually)


Directions:
1) in a frying-pan, pour some vetegal oil and cook the pork; quickly add the diced carrot and bell peppers;
2) when it's quite done, add the noodles, the soya sauce and the sugar; keep stirrring so that the noodles won't stick together; add about 6tbspoons water and cover for 3 minutes
3) add the chopped spring onion; season;
4) remove from heat; pour 1 tbspoon rice vinegar and serve immediately.
Kama added some sweet-and-sour sauce on her noodles and it actually turned out to be a great match so have a try!

By B.

Asian food - Surprising spring rolls.

Yesterday, my father and I went to the Chinese district of Paris (13eme arr) to do the usual shopping at Tang Freres' and Paris Store's. I love spending time in the departments, seeking for new ingredients to cook. So, as I was wandering in this asian food paradise, the idea of making spring rolls came up to my mind; and especially these spring rolls: chicken and sweet potato spring rolls with lotus seeds and black mushrooms. Actually, my mom invented this recipe a few years ago because she wanted to cook something new with sweet potatoes and I completely loved it.

So today, on this windy Sunday, I've decided to make them; I've just changed slightly things. It took me two hours to make them! Rolling spring rolls is indeed a long and fastidious task but when you're done and you see these cute little rolls made by yourself ... well it is such a satisfaction that you immediately forget that you were just fighting with the fine rice noodles an hour ago ...
Besides these spring rolls come on purpose as it's Chinese New Year this week-end!

I took some pictures of the preparation; Hope it will help you to roll your spring rolls!

Ingredients:
for 30 spring rolls (Since making spring rolls is quite a long task, I always make plenty of them and freeze them. It's really practical since they can remain two months in the freezer compartment. So now, if friends drop in on you unexpectedly, you'll have something nice and original ready in your kitchen!)

- 30 spring roll pastry; - 1 big sweet potato; - 4 chicken breasts; - 1 or 2 spring onions

- 200g of fine rice noodles (soak them for 10min in cold water and them cut in 3 or 4); - 100g of black mushrooms (black mushrooms are usually sold dehydrated so soak them one hour before you begin the preparation) ; - 100g of lotus seeds (same thing for lotus seeds; they are usually sold dehydrated but they need to be soaked the night before the preparation);

+ - 3 eggs (+1 egg to paste the pastry); - salt & pepper

For the sauce:

- 8 tbspoons rice vinegar

- 6 tbspoons granulated sugar

- 2 tbspoons water

- 1 tbspoon fish sauce

Directions:

1) Dice the sweet potato and steam it; when it's done, let it cool down

2) Mix together the chicken breasts, the lotus seeds, the black mushrooms, the spring onions; add 3 eggs, season, and mix again to obtain an homogenous stuffing

3) Mash the sweet potato

4) In a bowl, put together the cut fine rice noodles and the stuffing + add the sweet potato; mix the preparation with your hands

5) Take a full tbspoon of the stuffing

6) Put up each side and roll up neatly and firmly

7) Brush the top side with some beaten egg

8) Fry them until they're golden and serve with some salad and mint leaves and the sauce.

How to make the sauce:

1) Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and let the mixture boil until it caramelizes and then remove from heat.