Something Different

We've always made rice in a rice cooker. But this one time, I decided to try something different. I added curry powder! It was interesting. I added too much water so I decided to pan fry it a bit and added chopped shitake mushrooms. It was definitely something I would totally make again. Yummy!

This dish is ground pork with tofu and baby corn. Something my mom used to make and definitely one of my favorite dish.

Dinner! The sliced zucchinis were slightly sauteed with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Ground Pork and Celery

It's been awhile since I've made an asian dish in the house. But there was pretty much nothing else in the fridge. So I just marinated our ground pork with soy sauce and sugar. Heated a saute pan on high heat with oil and minced garlic and a bit of chopped onions. Threw in the ground pork and added chopped celery. Eat with rice. Simple and hearty. :)

Pork Cabbage Mushroom Dumplings/Potsickers

Lately, I've been in a rut in terms of coming up with something delicious to eat and that means I get real lazy when it comes time to cook dinner. Every now and then, I just can't eat chicken or beef anymore. And usually that means busting out the dumplings (or junk food when dad's not home.heh). So here's what I used to make mushroom dumplings:

1 lb ground pork
2 1/4 cups cabbage, shredded in the food processor to cole slaw small
1 1/2 tbs minced ginger
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs sesame oil
1/4 tofu or 4.5oz (I used silken tofu, 18oz)
8 shitake dried mushrooms, rehydrated then chopped


Just place everything in a bowl and mix well with your hands. I'm guessing food processor would work fine as well. Below picture has everything mixed except for the tofu and mushrooms. I decided to add those afterwards.

With round gyoza wrappers:

With square dumpling wrappers:

It's always fun making mandalas out of the dumplings :) It's foodie artwork!

So once you've got a plate full of dumplings, you want to place them in the freezer for about 10-20 minutes until they've somewhat harden. Then place them in a plastic baggie and leave it in the freezer til you're ready to eat them up.

My family LOVES whenever I make potstickers. Unfortunately for the hubster, during the week when he's on keto, he can't eat them. These were just perfect with soy sauce and vinegar. I love it!

The way I make these potstickers is by heating up a nonstick pan on medium high heat. Add about 2-3 tbs of oil and swirl it around the pan. Then place the dumplings down but try not to let them touch otherwise they'll stick together. Then add about 1/4 cup of water. Be careful, with the oil in the pot, it'll start to splatter. Cover and let steam cook for 7-8 minutes. Remove lid and let the reminder of the water dry up. You should see brown spot in the pan. Time to get a spatula and start flipping the dumpling. And just fry up the other sides. Add more oil if needed.

Swedish Meatballs

I was excited to make these meatballs. They looked real tasty and best of all, they're made up of ingredients we usually have in the fridge! I did do a couple of substitutes in order to make this keto-friendly though. I also knew that making meatballs was a bit time consuming, but what I didn't know was just how amazingly delish these would be! =) Here's the link for the original recipe: Swedish Meatballs (Svenska Kotbullar)

Here's what my meatballs are made of:

2 tbs butter, unsalted (not pictured)
3/4 cup minced onion
2/3 lb ground beef
1/3 lb ground pork
6 oz tofu, crumbled (not pictured)
1 egg
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp pumpkin spice
1/4 tsp ginger zest
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup water + 1/4 tsp chicken bouillon or 1/4 cup chicken stock (not pictured)

(The photo above has coconut flour and sour cream, which was used for the gravy later.)

Step 1: Melt 1 tbs of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir and cook the minced onion until it is nicely browned.

Step 2: In the meantime, mix the ground beef, ground pork and crumbled tofu in a mixing bowl. 

Step 3: When your onions are done, add them to your meat mixture, along with the kosher salt, black pepper, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, and ginger. Then mix in the heavy whipping cream. It should look something like the below picture.

Step 4: Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Step 5: Melt 1 tbs of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Form balls of about 1-1/2 tbs of meat mixture and place them into the skillet. Cook until all sides are browned, turning meatballs often. FIY: It's scrumptiously fragrant. The meatballs may not be cooked inside, but that's okay, bc it'll bake more in the oven. I actually took a bite of the outer rim of my browned meatball to check its taste to see if it needed more salt or pepper. It was perfect for me! 

Step 6: Place browned meatballs into a baking dish, pour in chicken broth, and then cover with foil. 

Step 7: Bake in preheated oven of 350°F for 40 minutes. It'll look oh-so-tasty and very mouthwatering!

Om nom nom nom nom!

Handy to have for meatball makings:

Escali Weigh'N Digital Kitchen Scale (Google Affiliate Ad)

Corningware-Pyrex 6001001 CLR (Google Affiliate Ad)

OXO Good Grips Cookie Dough Scoop, Medium (Google Affiliate Ad)

Pork Belly and Mapo Tofu

For an appetizer, we served pork belly with a trio of sauce: (L to R) chipotle aioli, dijon mustard, curry mayo. It was different, but still super delicious! Personally, I would always choose pork belly with kimchi and pickled daikon though... probably because I don't care much for mustard.

And for dinner, we made ground pork mapo tofu. We used the same box as last time for the sauce, but added more meat, less tofu, some baby corns and peas. Mm-mmm good with a serving a rice! Yummy in my tummy!!!

Pork hash n Broccoli

I tried to make this delicious pork hash that I really really enjoy at this one place called Shau May Restaurant in Monterey Park, but mine always turns out really dense no matter how much tofu and eggs I mix with the ground pork.... I usually mix about 1:1.5 ratio pork to tofu and about 1-2 eggs depending on how much I make. I can also never seem to salt it enough -_- which also doesn't help... maybe next time try 1:2 ratio??? Good thing my daddy eats anything... haha :)

Pork Dumplings

Since my birthday is coming up, I didn't feel like cooking... So, I pulled out my frozen pork dumplings that I made awhile ago and instead of panfrying them, I boiled them for 7-8 mintes tonight. They are super delish! It's gotta be one of my favorite dishes during the winter.

om nom nom nom nom

Pork pork pork

Pork bellies on a bed of leafy romaine lettuce. 

The lettuce balances out the oiliness of pork bellies making you want to eat more of this yummy goodness.

We never eat wet dumplings anymore because my bubby LOVES potstickers! I have to agree that potstickers are quite delicious and even more so when they're homemade! :D 

These were from the last batch I made. They're super delicious even after freezing for a month or two! Best comfort food ever!!!!!!

Asian Mexican Fusion

Okay, I have no idea what an asian mexican fusion dinner would be like however, this could be it....

BBQ Quesadilla made with shredded colby cheese, bbq rub, and chopped green onions. Asian ramen topped with dried seaweed and ground pork and chopped tomatoes and pickles.

This meal turned out to be pretty yumsters! Om nom nom nom nom 

Ground pork burritos

Ground pork, chopped tomatoes, chopped pickles and salt n pepper. Once they're cooked, place in a burrito skin with cheese and green onions.

Then chomp away!

Cabbage and Ground Pork

Cabbage, sliced onions, minced garlic, and bay leaves 

Cook the ground pork first and season a little with salt n pepper. Set aside.

 Cook everything in the first picture until the greens and onions are soft. Add the ground pork. Season more with salt and pepper.

 Saute shrimp with rice wine and a bit of lawry's.

This is what got plated for dinner! It was yummy. (We finally got a meal that's more veggies than meat... to uhh, make up for the past days of non-veggie meals).

Ground Pork n Tofu

This is an old dish my mom taught me. It's ground pork marinated with soy sauce, brown sugar, and cornstarch. If you like sweet, add more sugar. If you like salty, use a bit more soy sauce. Mix. If it is a dry mix, add a bit of water. Then pan fry. Add chopped tofu and canned corn. 

Ta-da! Eat with brown rice and corn.