Oatmeal Chia Cup

Easy overnight oat to serve as breakfast. You can be creative for the topping. 

Ingredients

Old-fashioned rolled oats - 2 TBSP

Chia seeds - 1 TBSP

Milk - 1/3 cup, could be non-diary milk

Yogurt - 1/3 cup, any kind

Fruit - 1/4 cup blueberries, sliced strawberries, raspberries, or other chopped fruit of your choice

optional Honey - 1 tsp, or other sweeteners of your choice

optional Dried fruit - 1 TBSP raisins or other

optional Nuts - 1 TBSP, chopped or sliced almonds, cashews, walnuts or other nut of your choice 

Steps

1. Combine the oats, chia seeds, and milk in an 8-ounce or larger jar. Stir to mix the ingredients together. Let stand for 10 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken slightly. 

2. Once the chia and milk mixture has thickened slightly, top it with layers of yogurt, honey (if using), berries, raisins and nuts. 

3. Cover the jar with a cap and refrigerate until needed, or for up to 5 days. 

4. Eat your breakfast straight from the jar, mixing everything together as you go, or pour the contents into a bowl, if you prefer. 

Spam Musubi

Spam musubi is composed of a slice of grilled Spam sandwiched either in between or on top of a block of rice, wrapped together with nori in the tradition of Japanese onigiri. It is very convenient to serve as snack or school school lunch. 

Ingredients

Cooked rice - 6 cups, prefer sushi rice
Spam - 1 can, sliced lengthwise into 7 pieces, or your preferred thickness
Sushi nori - 3 1/2 sheets sushi nori
Furikake - 1/3 cup 
Teriyaki sauce or soy sauce

Steps

1. Place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Arrange the sliced Spam in a single layer in the skillet. Cook until lightly browned on both sides. Remove from the heat & set aside for Spam musubi assembly. You can also use air fryer to brown the slices.

2. Add rice to clean Spam can, pressing down firmly and evenly, so there is about 1-1 ½ inches of rice. Gently pound the can to let the rice block out.

3. Place a strip of nori on a cutting board or clean surface (shiny side down). Place rice block in the middle of the nori. Spread some teriyaki sauce or soy sauce on the rice block; Sprinkle a generous amount of furikake seasoning; stack up a slice of cooked spam. Wrap the nori around to seal the musubi. If the nori is not sticking together, add a few cooked rice grains as "glue".

Kabocha Soup

This is similar to standard Pumpkin Soup, except we are using Kabocha. Kabocha is an Asian variety of winter squash, and it is commonly called Japanese Pumpkin. Kabocha is sweet and rich, so this soup is a little sweeter than normal pumpkin soup.

Ingredients

Onion - ½, thinly sliced
Kabocha squash - 1.5-2 lbs.
Unsalted butter - 1 TBSP
Chicken stock/broth - 2 cups 
Milk - 1½ cups 
Heavy whipping cream - ½ cup 
Salt - 1-2 tsp
Ground black pepper - ⅛ tsp 
Optional garnish with parsley (chopped)

Step

1. Using a spoon, discard the seeds from kabocha squash and cut into thin wedges. Remove the skin. Then, cut into small cubes
2. In a pot, heat unsalted butter over medium heat and cook the onion until soft and brown. Add the kabocha and sauté to coat with the butter.
3. Add 2 cups chicken stock/broth (or vegetable broth) and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 12–15 minutes. Using a chopstick, insert into kabocha and check if it’s fully cooked.

4. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth.
5. Add milk and heavy cream and stir until combined. Do not let the soup boil.
6. Season with salt and pepper. Stir over moderately low heat until it is hot.
7. Ladle the Kabocha Soup into bowls, garnish with chopped parsley (optional), and serve. 

You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month.

Shanghai Style Fried Rice Cake (上海油炸糍饭糕)

 This is a traditional Shanghai breakfast item. I basically followed this YouTube video.

Ingredients

Calrose rice - 3 cups
Water - 5 cups

Salt - 2 tsp

Yield 1/4 sheet of rice cake. Double for 1/2 baking sheet.

Steps

1. Rinse 3 cups of rice and add to rice cooker, add water to 5 cups mark. Cook rice. 

2. Put a layer of plastic wrap at the bottom of the baking sheet, scoop out rice and spread and press evenly. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap. I used double portion to fill a half sheet baking tray.

3. Put the tray in refrigerator overnight. 

4. Remove the wrap on top, brush with oil, and then flip the rice cake, brush the other side with oil. Slice into preferred size.

5. Put enough oil in a pot and heat it up to 320 - 350F (160-180C) and then deep fry each piece one by one until brown.

6. Serve warm.  

Dungeness Crab Cake

Maryland-Style Crab Cakes uses jumbo lump crab meat, breadcrumbs, seasonings, mayonnaise and mustard, mixed and then seared in a skillet, baked in the oven, or cooked in an air fryer. I tried this recipe with 6 crabs, and yielded about 18 crab cakes. 

Ingredients

Jumbo lump crabmeat - 1 lb

Panko bread crumbs (or grounded saltine crackers) - 3/4 cup

Vegan Mayonnaise - 1/3 cup

Egg - 1 large (used egg replacer)
Dijon mustard - 2 TBSP
Worcestershire sauce - 2 tsp
Hot sauce - 1/2 tsp
Freshly Chopped Parsley - 2 TBSP (I used green onion)
Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil, for frying
Lemon wedges, for serving
Tartar sauce, for serving

Steps

1. Steam the crabs on high heat until the shell turn bright orange. Immerse in cold water to cool before shelling the crabmeat. Jumbo lumps works the best. 

2. In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, egg/egg replacer, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, and hot sauce, and season with salt and pepper.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together crabmeat, panko, and parsley/green onion. Fold in mayo mixture, then form into 8 patties. Put them in refrigerator for 1 hour before cooking.

4. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, coat pan with oil and heat until shimmering. Add crab cakes and cook, in batches, until golden and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes per side.

5. Serve with lemon and tartar sauce.

Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts

Quick and easy veggie side dish with air fryer.

Ingredients

Brussels sprouts - 1 lb
Olive oil - 1 TBSP
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Garlic powder  - 1/4 tsp
Freshly cracked black pepper  - 1/4 tsp

Steps  

1. Wash the Brussels sprouts and trim off any dry ends. Cut each Brussels sprout in half if preferred. 
2. Place the cut Brussels sprouts on a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Toss until the Brussels sprouts are well coated oil and seasoning. 
3. Air fry the Brussels sprouts at 395F for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are browned and caramelized on the edges. 
4. Taste one Brussels sprout and adjust the salt or pepper to your liking, then serve hot.

Homemade Tomato Soup

Roasted garden fresh tomatoes and fresh herbs create the perfect simple tomato soup.

Ingredients

Fresh ripe tomatoes - 3 pounds 
Garlic - 4 cloves, peeled

Onion - ½ , diced
Red bell pepper - ½ , diced

Olive oil - 2 TBSP
salt & pepper to taste
Dried basil - ½ tsp
Dried oregano - ½ tsp
Chicken broth - 2 cups
Fresh herbs - 2 TBSP, basil/parsley/oregano

Optional Garnish

Fresh basil & parsley

Parmesan cheese optional garnish
Heavy cream

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Wash and cut tomatoes.
3. Place tomatoes, garlic, onion, bell pepper, olive oil, salt, pepper and dried herbs on a large pan. Roast 25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. Turn oven to broil and broil 3-4 minutes or until some of the tomatoes get a little bit of char color on them.

4. Bring chicken broth to a boil, add tomatoes, and fresh herbs. Using a blender, blend mixture until smooth and creamy. 

5. (optional) Add some cream if the tomatoes are extra tart, most often nice ripe tomatoes won't require the cream. Taste the soup once blended and decide if you'd like to add the cream. Stir in a little at a time.

6. Top with parmesan cheese, croutons or a drizzle of heavy cream to serve.

Green Onion Pancake(葱油饼)

Green onion pancake is a Chinese staple dish. Every family does it a little differently. This method uses oil roux to make the pancake more crispy. 

Ingredients

Yields 4 large pancakes.
Dough
All-purpose flour - 2¼ cups 
Salt - ¼ tsp
Water - 1 cup, warm
Oil - 1 tsp
Roux
Vegetable oil - 3 TBSP 
All-purpose flour - 1/3 cup 
Salt - ¼ tsp
Additional Filling
2 bunches scallions (finely chopped, about 2 cups)

Steps

1. In a medium mixing bowl, mix flour, salt, and warm water with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a sticky dough forms. The dough should be sticky, but not wet. You can add up to 2 tablespoons more flour if you feel the dough is really wet.
2. Use a teaspoon of oil to coat the top of the dough round. Don’t worry about the dough sticking to the bowl for now. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 to 2 hours.
3. Combine all ingredients for the roux together in a bowl. Set aside.
4. After the dough has rested, use a teaspoon or two of oil to coat your work surface. Take the dough out and use a little more oil if you feel the dough is sticking to your hands or work surface. Is should be soft and pliable, and the oil keeps everything from sticking together.
5. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece out lengthwise into a long strip. Next, take about ¼ of the roux, and spread it across the entire length of the dough with your hands. Take ½ cup of the chopped scallions, and spread them generously and evenly across the length of the dough.
6. Roll the dough, folding and tucking in the edges every so often so you don’t have any scallions leaking out of the sides. You end up with a little bundle of joy that you should set aside and cover with a piece of plastic wrap to avoid drying out. 

7. Repeat for the other three pancakes. At this point, you can also let the dough rest for 30 minutes to make rolling easier.

8. Place the dough ball with the spiral pattern facing up on your work surface. Flatten it with your hands or a rolling pin, so the dough round is about ¼-½-inch thick. 

8. Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat, and add 4 tablespoons of oil. Place the pancake in the pan. The pan should be hot enough so the dough is sizzling, but browning slowly. Move the dough around the oil to cook the sides of the pancake. When the bottom is slightly browned (about 2 minutes), turn the pancake over gently, being careful not to splash the oil. Turn it over if you think more browning is needed.

9. Transfer the scallion pancake to a preheated oven at 350F, and let bake for another 5 minutes for more crisping. 
10. Take the pancakes out of the oven and cut into wedges to serve. If you like, now’s the time to sprinkle some extra salt on top to taste.

Kabocha Croquettes

Crisp outside, sweet and savoy inside. Those croquettes are perfect fall season appetizers. Kabocha is an Asian variety of winter squash. It is also commonly called Japanese pumpkin. I adapted from a recipe from Just One Cookbook. I used a whole Kabocha and made about 3 dozen croquettes. 

Ingredients

Kabocha - 1 medium size, about 2-3 lb

Bacon - 6 slices or to taste (I used a whole pack :-)

Onion - 1, minced

Unsalted butter - 1 TBSP

Salt - 1 tsp, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp, or to taste

[For Breading]

All-purpose flour - 1 cup

Buttermilk - 1 cup (made with 1 cup milk + 2 TBSP lemon juice)

Panko - 2 cups or more

[For Deep-frying]

Vegetable oil - 3 cups or more, depends on pot size

Steps

1. Remove seeds and pith from the kabocha and cut into big chunks. Steam kabocha for 20 minutes or until tender (enough that you can mash with fork). Remove the kabocha from the pot and transfer to a bowl. Let it cool until you can touch (but still warm). Remove the skin and mash with a fork.

2. While steaming the kabocha, mince the onion, cut the bacon into small bits. Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes, and add the bacon. Cook until the onion is translucent, tender, and nicely brown. Set aside.

3. Add the onion and bacon mixture to the mashed kabocha. Do not add the excess oil, which could make the mixture too wet. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine well together. 

4. Using a cookie scoop (I used a tablespoon), scope batter into ball shape (No worry if it is not perfect round). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes so the balls become firmer. 

5. After 15 minutes, the balls are much easier to handle. Coat kabocha balls in flour and roll them to be more rounded. Put them back to fridge for another 15 minutes. During this time, the flour absorbs moisture. As a result, it will be less splatter in oil and the batter becomes sticker and won’t come off while deep frying.

6. For each ball, coat with buttermilk, and then panko. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for another 15 minutes. 

7. Heat oil to 340ºF (170ºC) in a pot. Insert the long chopsticks, and when you see small bubbles appear around them, it’s ready to deep fry the croquette. The filling of the croquette is cooked already, so all you need is to fry the coating until golden brown. 

8. Transfer golden kabocha croquette to a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towel. Optionally, sprinkle some salt such as sea salt or Himalayan pink salt. 

Once it’s cooled completely, you can put the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days and in the freezer for up to a month. To serve again, reheat with air fryer for 3-5 minutes.

Calamari

I would highly recommend to use rings and tentacles that already prepared. I bought the frozen whole squid and regretted it. It was a lot of work to clean the squid.

Ingredients

Squid rings and tentacles - 1 lb
Buttermilk - 1 cup 
All purpose flour - 1.5 cups 
Salt - 2 tsp + more for serving
Paprika - 1/2 tsp
Pepper  - 1/4 tsp
Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp
Vegetable oil for frying
Optional garnish - 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley, lemon wedge

Steps

1. Place the calamari in a bowl with buttermilk and stir to combine. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat 3-4 inches of oil in a large deep pot to 375F.
3. Place the flour, salt, paprika, pepper and garlic powder in a medium bowl; stir to combine.
4. Remove each piece of squid from the buttermilk and dredge in the flour. Put the coated pieces in a colander or tray. Repeat the process until all pieces are coated.

5. Place 8-10 pieces of squid in the oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Remove the squid from the oil and drain on paper towels. Repeat the process with the remaining squid.

7. Sprinkle additional salt over the squid if desired. You can also sprinkle with chopped parsley or add some lemon wedges. Serve immediately.