Steamed Egg Custard Dessert March 11, 2009

A simple dessert that is super easy to make and super satisfying. The texture of this egg custard is very smooth and can be eaten warm or chilled. Sweetness level can be adjusted to your taste. This Chinese dessert is similar to the Spanish flan!

Unfortunately I ate it before I took a picture. Plus mine were in white bowls so they weren’t that pretty to photograph anyway. Here’s a pic I found online of what they look like.

Steamed Egg Custard Dessert
Makes 4 Chinese rice bowls, will serve 4-6 if using ramekins.

4 extra-large eggs
2 cups milk
~4 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk (optional)

1. Mix all ingredients together trying not to form bubbles. Let mixture sit if a lot of bubbles form so they can pop.
2. For a super smooth consistency you can strain the mixture but I didn’t bother.
3. Pour into bowls/ramekins.
4. Boil water in steamer (or whatever steaming contraption you create). Once boiling, place bowls in steamer and turn heat to medium-low. Steam for 20 minutes. To check if it’s done, stick chopstick into surface of custard, if no liquid custard wells up then it’s done. Custard will feel very soft.
5. Let it sit uncovered until it’s cool enough to grab out of the steamer. Enjoy warm or chill for a few hours until really cold, then enjoy.

Creamy Pesto Chicken Fettuccine March 5, 2009

This was so yum. I made everything except the noodles from scratch because I was craving basil. Summer come already so I can grow my basil plants again!!

Recipe:

1 lb fettuccine, cooked per package directions
1 lb chicken thighs or breasts, sliced to bite sized pieces
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 cloves garlic, minced
~1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
2 tsp AP flour (optional with cream)
1/2 tsp garlic sirracha sauce (optional, can sub. with red pepper flakes)
1 medium onion, sliced
~ 10 button mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

1. With blender, blend basil, cheese, pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil to make pesto sauce.
2. With large pan, heat up ~ 1 tsp of olive oil or butter. Add chicken and brown. When chicken is ~80% cooked, add onions and mushrooms. Cook until onions turn translucent.
3. Mix cream with flour. Add pesto sauce, cream with flour and sirracha sauce to the chicken mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until sauce thickens.
4. Serve over hot fettuccine noodles.

Cantonese Style Mayo Shrimp March 5, 2009

This dish can reliably be seen at large birthday parties or wedding parties in Chinese restaurants. It normally has candied walnuts served alongside too but I was too lazy to make those. And the shrimp is usually fried but we don’t tend to fry things in my family so we just sauteed the shrimp and mixed it in with the sauce.

Sauce Recipe:
1/4 C mayo (use kewpie for more authentic flavor)
2 tsp honey
1 tsp sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp rice vinegar
1/4 tsp salt

Mix everything together and toss together with about one pound of sauteed shrimp. Arrange with broccoli and candied walnuts (recipe can be found online).

So easy, so delicious and tastes just like the ones from the restaurants!

Aloe Restaurant Review March 5, 2009

Aloe stands for A Little Of Everything. I went only because it sounded good and I got a $25 gift certificate for only $2 from restaurant.com with the only restriction of minimum $35 and 18% gratuity. So I went with my sister when she was canvasing the lower east side for her internship. That day was sooo cold so it was nice to sit down to a yummy meal.

The restaurant was empty except for two other ladies when we entered and there was only ONE guy we saw working the restaurant, heck he could have been the chef as well. Ambiance was nice, dim and cozy with a rustic brick wall and wine racks. Don’t sit upstairs, there are only three tables, all visible from the outside and is very dead. Downstairs looks much better.

I ordered the crispy duck with gingerbread waffles and it was delicious. I only wish it didn’t cool down so fast, wasn’t as satisfying at room temperature. I blame the plate, it was not hot enough! The duck was cooked perfectly, medium as per my request and the waffles paired very well with the duck. My dish also came with what I thought were baby potatoes but it turned out to be parsnips (I think they were parsnips).

Sorry the pics suck! It was very dark.

My sister ordered the roast brisket which also cooled down very quickly. It came with mushrooms and what we decided were sweet potatoes. They could have been carrots, for some reason we could not tell. =/ how sad. But they were delicious, slightly sweet and very savory in the sauce.

The portions were very decent and we were glad we didn’t order an appetizer even though I really wanted to try the sweet and spicy calamari everyone was raving about on yelp. The service was excellent. The prices would have been unaffordable for me without the discount. However, restaurant.com offers the 80% sale quite often so grab some certificates when you see it.

Sushi.. better this time. March 5, 2009

I was craving sushi so I decided to make sushi with raw salmon this time. Half a pound of wild salmon was ~$8 so it’s not cheap but for the amount of sushi it’s cheaper than eating out. I got the fish from the local fish monger who said it was safe to consume raw.

I took a lot of pics so here they are. If you have any questions, leave a comment!

The salmon:

Eggs, ham, avocados:

Crab, cucumber, blanched carrots:

Cooling seasoned rice, soy sauce, soy with wasabi and spicy mayo (garlic sirracha and kewpie mayo):

Salmon nigiri:

Left: Salmon rolls with spicy mayo sauce, cucumbers and avocados. Right: My family’s “California Roll” which has crab, ham, cucumbers, carrots, avocados and eggs.

Salmon hand rolls with spicy mayo sauce, cucumbers, and avocados. These were really good.