Bún Măng Ga` (Vietnamese Bamboo Shoots and Chicken Vermicelli Rice Noodle Soup)

My Aunt bought me some Vietnamese Bamboo Shoots and I did not have a chance to make anything with it yet.  All of a sudden, I have the crave for the Bamboo Shoots and Chicken Vermicelli Rice Noodle Soup.  Therefore, I went grocery yesterday and got all the ingredients so I can make the dish today for lunch.  It turned out perfectly.  I especially love the vietnamese salad with chicken and dip in the ginger fish sauce.  They are out of this world.  You can't just have one piece since they are quite addictive.

My Bamboo Chicken Broth!

Vietnamese Bamboo Shoot

Check it out! Mmmmm....Hmmm...Yummy in the tummy!

I learned how to make via this youtube.  See below.  Instead of duck, I used chicken.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr9tB_3qT7E

Shrimp Chow Fun / Shrimp with Flat Noodles

Shrimp Noodles

I made this and brought it over to a party last week. Chicken and Shrimp noodles is an easy dish to make. All you need is egg noodles, chicken, shrimps, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, pepper, garlic, and scallions.

Check out my new wok. It was so easy to use. I love it.

It's done.

Shrimps LoMein and My orchids

Close up.


Feel free to dig in folks. One whole platter.


My orchid bloomed today .


Here is a closer look, pretty huh?

Check out all my orchids.


I can't wait until this orchid blooms.

Here is another beauty.

Seafood Noodles

Another orchid just bloomed again . Check it out .



I was cleanning out my fridge yesterday, and found the left over veggies, squids, and shrimps. I decided to make this dish.

Shrimp Scampi Penne with Asian Flavors

Originally, I was going to make Shrimp Scampi with Linguini. But I can't find a wine opener for white wine. Instead I used the Asian flavor wine, Mai Que Lo (Mandarin - Mei Gui Lu). Also, I used the penne pasta instead of linguini because I bought the wrong pasta. I guess when you are exhausted, they all looks the same. In any case, this dish turned out light and yummy. This meal cost less than $6.00 dollars. And you can eat it for two days, dinner and lunch. Cooking at home is great. Not only it's healthy, but it can save you money as well.

Check it out.

Price:
Half pound of shrimp $2.50 (grocery sells $4.99 for a pound of shrimp)
1 box of Penne .99 cent
1 package of button mushroom .99 cent
2 medium tomatoes .50 cent
1 bunch of cilantro .50 cent (grocery sells 2 bunch for $1.00)
1 Lime .20 cent (grocery sells 5 limes for $1.00)

Estimated Total = $5.68

Ingredients:
1 pound pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil.
2 shallots, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 pound shrimp , peeled and deveined
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 TBs of Asian Wine (Mai Que Lo)
2 TBs of Oyster Sauce (You can add more if you like)
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

Method:
1. Cook the Pasta in the boiled water.
2. Drain the pasta.
3. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
4. Add Shrimp to the pan and add salt and pepper until they turned pink. Remove shrimp from the pan.
5. In the same skillet, add some olive oil.
6. Throw in the cooked pasta along with lime juice.
7. Add the cooked shrimp, tomato and mushroom.
8. Add the wine (mai que lo) and oyster sauce
9. Season salt & pepper to taste
10. Garnish with cilantro and serve while it’s hot.

Enjoy!

Korean Glass Noodles - Jap Chae

I never cook Jap Chae before. However, I have seen my sister made it so many times. She always put beef in this dish. I keep telling myself that one of these days, I will make this Korean glass noodles, jap chae. Well, today is the day to do it since I am off from work. Last week, I got all the ingredients. This is a quick, easy, yummy dinner. You can eat it cold or hot.

Originally, I was not going to put any meat in it, but since I have one piece of chicken breast left I decided to add it to this dish.



Of course, you will need the main ingredient, the noodles. In this bag, it has three small bunch of noodles. I only have to use two of them. I already prepared the veggies in advance. It is so much easier when you put all of them together.


These are the veggies that you will need. I have carrot, scallion, mushroom, black fungus (optional), purple onion, white onion and garlic. If you like seafood, you can add shrimp, and squid. I just added chicken.


This is a very healthy dish. As you can see this dish mostly consists of different kind of veggies, noodles, and chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of sweet potato noodles
• 1 small white onion, sliced thinly
• 1 small red onion, sliced thinly
  
• 3 large carrot, julienned
• 2 cups of washed spinach (I marinated with a little bit of sugar and soy sauce after it has been cooked)
  
• 1 chicken breastm,sliced thinly (you can use beef or seafood if you like)
  
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced shiitakes mushroom (a little sugar and soy sauce and garlic)
  
• 3/4 cup of black fungus (optional)
  
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 3 T soy sauce (You can add more to suit your taste)
  
• 1 T of oyster sauce (You can add more to suit your taste)
  
• 1 T granulated sugar
• 3 tsp of sesame oil
• 1 1/2 Olive oil
• 1 T toasted sesame seeds

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the dried noodles. Boil for about five minutes. Drain in a colander. The noodles are very long so I cut them shorter. It's definitely much easier to manage.
2. In a wok , heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until it is shimmering. Stir-fry the carrots, onions, and mushrooms for a minute or two, until they are softened. Add the garlic, spinach, and scallions. Fry for another minute or until the greens are cooked down.
   
3. Stir-fry the chicken.
   
4. Add the noodles, sugar, and soy sauce. Toss everything together so that the veggies all mix in with the noodles. If it needs more salt, oyster sauce, pepper, sesame oil, add them to suit your taste.
5. When everything is incorporated, add the toasted sesame oil and toss. After you’ve plated the noodles in a serving dish, sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over the top.
6. Garnish with cilantro.
   

Enjoy!

Pad Thai Noodles

I made Pad Thai noodles for my sister yesterday. It was so good.

These two portions are for my sister. We're bringing them over her house.

Ingredients:

1 package of Thai rice noodles

3 Tbsp. each of: fish sauce, and soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 red chillies - minced
1 tsp. brown sugar
8-12 medium or large fresh raw prawns

3 eggs . Cut into slender slices
2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup each of fresh coriander and fresh basil (for garnish)
1 lime, cut into wedges
olive oil
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, ground or roughly chopped (for garnish)
crushed chilli
Methods:

1) Soften the Noodles. Place 1 package of Thai rice noodles in a pot of hot water, and put aside.

2) Mix the stir-fry sauce in a bowl. Put aside.

3) In a wok, add olive oil . stir-fry garlic and chillies.

4) Add the shrimps.

5) Add the egg.

6) Add the noodles.

7) Add the stir-fry sauce

8) Stir-fry noodles.

9) Garnish with bean sprout, slices of eggs, and cilantro.