Easy fish

One of my favorite fish dish I have learned to make. Is one the easiest I have ever made.   My bf taught me how to make fish this way.   He grew up with his family preparing it this way. I have yet to put my own Asian twist to it. This fish can be prepped ahead of time then grilled or baked later on.  But here it is.  

I normally do this with fresh tilapia but any fish can be used.   Red snapper also works wells.   When I buy fish from my local fish market I like to have them clean the fish and chop off the fins but keep the head on.  I promise you this will become a favorite in your house.  

1 large tilapia
1 medium onion sliced into rings
1 medium tomato
1/4 cup of cilantro chopped
1 tbs of garlic powder
1 tbs of onion powder
1 orange sliced
Salt and pepper to taste.

Season the outside and inside of the fish with salt and pepper.   Then season the inside with the onion and garlic powder. Then your arrange the onion,  orange,  cilantro and tomatoes on one side of the fish. There is no true method to this. You can mix it all up or alternate ingredients.  I just try to fit it all in there. Then you'll want to close the fish. Put the fish on a oiled piece of foil. Then you'll take another piece of foil and start crimping the side to create a pouch.   At this point you have two choices,  either bake the fish or throw it on the grill.   My favorite method is to throw it on the grill on low.   Then the other burners I turn on high close the lid.   No need to flip the fish. It take about 20-30 minutes.   It's done when the fish flakes.

Banana Bread with almond topping

So i'm going to be honest here I only make banana bread when bananas are going bad.  Otherwise i'm just too lazy and make it.  It's very rare i'm craving banana bread.  But this is a recipe I use every time.  I do play around with the amount of sugar.  Depending on who i'm making it for really depends on how much sugar i put in.  I normally do about 1/2 a cup.  Also if your on a healthy kick or just don't have butter I used coconut oil in place of the butter.  It changes the taste a slight bit but honestly no one would notice.  The topping to the bread can be left out but I like a little crunchy goodness.

Banana bread with almond topping

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·          3/4 cup granulated sugar

·         8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

·         2 large eggs

·         3 ripe bananas

·         1 tablespoon milk

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 teaspoon salt

Topping:

½ cup of brown sugar

4 tablespoon of softened butter or coconut oil

¾ cup of sliced almonds

2 tablespoon of all- purpose flour

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Directions:

·         Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan or a fluted pan or mini loaf pans ( my favorite)

·         Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

·         In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

·         Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

·         Mix all the ingredients for the topping.  There will still be chunks of butter that is ok.  It will melt while baking. 

·         Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

A rough day calls for dessert- Green Coconut waffle dessert

So everyone has a rough day once in a while. People get annoying, things get broken life goes on and I eat my desserts and smile the day away.

This is an oldie but a goodie for me.  It does take a little work but all your friends and family will love it.  My family is constantly asking me to make this.  I did try to cheat one time by using premade waffle mix and modifying it.  That was an epic fail.

Green Coconut Waffles

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•              1 cup all-purpose flour

•              7 to 8 tablespoons sugar

•              2 tablespoon cornstarch

•              ½ teaspoon salt

•              1/2 teaspoon baking soda

•              1 teaspoon baking powder

•              1 packet of coconut powder- 1.76 ounce pouch

•              1 egg, separated

•              1 cup coconut milk, Chaokoh

•              2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

•              1 1/2 teaspoon pandan (la dua) extract- this can be found at an Asian market

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Directions

1. Heat the waffle iron and have an electric mixer handy. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornstarch, salt, soda and cream of tartar (or baking powder). Use the whisk to combine the egg yolk, coconut milk, butter, and extract of choice.

2. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to gently stir. Switch to a folding motion toward the end to incorporate all the flour. If the resulting batter looks lumpy, that's okay. Expect the batter to be thick. Avoid over-stirring, lest the batter becomes over worked and yields a chewy, tough waffle. Set aside momentarily

3. Use the electric mixer to beat the egg white for about 1 minute, or until it holds a 1 ½-inch peak. (See photo.) It will look solid white. Use the rubber spatula to gently fold in the egg white.

4. Spread a decent amount of batter onto the waffle iron, stopping short of the far outer edges since the batter will spread once the top is lowered. (I often don't fill up all the holes and let gravity distribute the waffle.) Cook the waffle until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Darker waffles will be crisper (and stay crisper) than lighter ones. Aim for medium-brown, not light tan.

5. To remove the waffle, I use a pair of bamboo chopsticks to pry and lift the waffle from the iron. Place the waffle (which will be slightly soft) onto a cooling rack, where it will crisp up. Break up the waffle and enjoy warm. They'll soften as they sit but may be reheated to a crisp in the toaster oven.

Note: These waffles may be cooked beforehand, store in a plastic zip-top bag, and reheated in at 350F toaster oven until warm and crisp.

Additional goodness: When i'm not too lazy i like to make a coconut dipping sauce for the waffles.  I heat up a one can of coconut milk with 5 tablespoon of sugar and thicken it with cornstarch. About 1 tablespoon mix with a little water then stirred into the milk until the mixture thickens then just serve it on the side!

I will try to continue to blog more often and post better pics.  Just got a new camera so my pictures should be turning out better then the pics i have been getting through my phone.  

Almejas Ahumados aka Party Clams !!!

These are the clams I made after a recent trip to Ensenada.  I like to call them Party Clams since I can't pronounce the official name. Also they seem like something you would eat at a party right? Or they make you want to party.  After having a taste I was instantly hooked! We happened to stop by the fish market on our way home and bought these lovely huge clams and some fish.  These butter clams are available in the US, I've seen them at many Asian and Mexican markets.

Ingredients
8 Large butter clams
1 Tomato diced
1 Onion diced
1/2 Cup of chopped cilantro
1 Stick of butter
3 Cloves of garlic crushed
About 8 Tbs. of may
4 Cups of Monterey jack cheese
Limes for a garnish and to squeeze over to taste
Hot sauce of your choice if you like to spice things up
Saltines crackers to be eaten with the clams.  I like to scoop up the clam with the crackers and enjoy.


Fire up your grill! Let it warm up while you do all the prep work.  First you will want to put your stick of butter into a small sauce pan with the crush garlic.  Put it on medium and let the garlic infuse that luscious butter for about 10 minutes.  In the meanwhile you will want to clean and chop your clams ( putting the meat back into the half shells). Make sure to rinse away any sand that has been left over.  Sandy eats are not appealing!  Saving the shell, since you will be using it to cook with.  Combine the tomato, onion and cilantro in a bowl.  Start assembling your clams! Top your clams with the tomato, onion and cilantro mixture, about a tablespoon per half shell. Then a dollop of mayo, I would say about 1/2 a tablespoon per half shell.  You'll then want to put a tablespoon of that garlic love on each half shell.  Once they are all assembled you will want to make your way out to the grill.

Have the grill on high heat and let them cook for about 5 minutes, after that you will want to put your cheese on top. Add about 1/4 cup of cheese to each.  As soon as the cheese is all melty ( another 5 minutes with the bbq lid closed) they are READY!

A glimpse into the mind of a food hungry Vietnamese American

I've been told time and time again to start a blog, open a bakery, open a restaurant, start selling these goodies.  So here I am starting my very first blog and what is it going to be about? FOOD the one thing I am obsessed with 24/7 and maybe some random rants about beauty or life thrown in there too.  Being raised Vietnamese of course I love and cook Vietnamese food.  But being raised and living in San Diego, CA I am a huge lover of Mexican food.  Also recently I have had to the pleasure of getting a SENTRI card which allows me to enter the U.S. with lightening speed from Mexico.  I have made Tijuana my new food adventure.  Dating a wonderful man who happens to be Mexican we get the of joy visiting his mother in TJ. We have been taken to all these amazing food spots. Which I will write more about in my blog as time goes by along with recipes which I have adapted from these awesome places.  I hope you all enjoy the madness that is my mind on FOOD.


*Melanie*