What's Been Cooking In My Kitch

Happy March everyone!

So we're going to jump forward and shift gears for a bit because this post won't be your typical restaurant review,  but instead I will be posting up food porn - mainly dishes I've been making and cooking the past 2.5 months.

As you may or may not know, I've been unemployed for close to two months hence why I've had a lot of free time to blog and cook. I haven't been taking pictures for a step by step guide how to make what I've been making the past 2.5 months, but I really should.

Any way, here's what I've been making and prepare to salivate -

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

One afternoon and after my gym session, I was inspired to make a salad for lunch so I ended up making a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, minus the grilled chicken because it was store bought and it was at this point, I realized I don't really like Caesar dressing - way too fishy!

Pork, Bok Choy, & Shrimp dumplings

Will and I also spent one Saturday folding dumplings. I love folding dumplings with him once in a blue moon, it's quite relaxing and fun, especially when you can make your own filling with whatever ingredients you like.

Poached Egg Roasted Chicken Salad

So I didn't think poaching an egg and topping it off a salad could be possible or even taste good, until I got inspiration from a dear friend who's also a foodie. The poached egg added a smooth texture to the salad and the yolk was extra runny. Cool points for me for making a perfectly poached, runny egg!

Chunky Guacamole with fried eggs on toasted multi-grain

I’ve also seen a lot of people post on Pinterest about avocado/guacamole toasts  and it looked really yummy especially topped off with a fried egg. Speaking of fried eggs, I have a confession to make because I’ve never knew how to fry an egg properly until this weekend. The first time I tried to fry it (as you can see in the above photo) was an absolute failure.  The first time I made this guacamole toast, it was mediocre because I squeezed way too much lime juice that ultimately made my mixture sour. 

Chunky Guacamole on Multi-Grain bread with Toasted Almonds

The week after that I decided to give up on the fried egg and take a different route in making my avocado toast, so I added diced tomatoes and toasted almonds and less lime juice. The result: a lot more yummier and crunchy.

Dinner

So Will’s parents have flew back to China for about a month and a half and you know what that means, I have to cook brunch/dinner for both of us. So on the first night, I made mixed vegetable corn soup, sauteed Japanese mountain yam with mixed mushrooms, and sweet & sour chicken. 

Crispy Pan-Fried Beef Noodles

The second night I made pan-fried crispy noodles with beef, Chinese broccoli, carrots, and Shiitake mushroom. It was fairly delicious, but not enough sauce and I definitely need to work on my beef cooking game because the beef was too chewy.

Breakfast

Last weekend, I got up early and made buttermilk pancakes, sweet mini sausages, and eggs for me & Will. I also finally scored with frying an egg successfully and there was absolutely no mess-up on the yolk in the cooking process and in fact, I cooked it just right because it was still slightly runny in the center. Woohoo!

Hot Pot

On that same night, Will & I invited a few friends over for a hot pot dinner and I prepared everything from washing, rinsing, setting up, peeling shrimp shells, and chopping and the soup base. Everyone was excited and I was so happy that they all had a huge appetite!

Roasted Chicken & Craisins Salad

Earlier in the week, I made a roasted chicken salad with craisins and a fried egg. Everything was yummy and really vibrant and exciting. The fried egg added an interesting texture to the salad. It was a true success!

Watercress Soup

Finally, I’m not very good at making Chinese soups or herbal soups nor do I know the proper way. Anyway, Will loves watercress and I tried to make him a watercress soup we both often drink at our homes , but it wasn’t nearly as good as the ones our moms make for us. It was missing a key ingredient that usually gives off a natural sweetness to the soup and I also didn’t use real pork meat. I used pork bones.  

So that’s what I’ve been working on the last few weeks, not bad right? Well next few weeks won’t really involve me cooking very much as the big 28 is coming and going to be out stuffing my face with yummy foods with the ones I love. I’ll be sure to take pictures of all of those occasions.

Upcoming post – backtracking to the review of my Valentine’s Day dinner at BKNY.