"Cafe World" comes to LIFE: French Onion Soup!

 

Third dish from Facebook's "Cafe World" menu! This dish is classy and a bit romantic in my opinion. Not only is the soup obviously gorgeous, the beautiful fragrance just fills the whole house! 

Just in time for Valentine's Day, my friend!

OK, lets get cooking!

Ingredients:
- Balsamic Vinegar (1 tablespoon)
- Butter (4 tablespoons)
- Swiss Gruyere Cheese (10 slices)
- Mozzarella Cheese (1/2 cup)
- 1 Large or 2 Small Red Onions
- 2-3 Medium Sweet Yellow Onions
- Beef Broth (about 24 oz)
- Chicken Broth (about 48 oz)
- White Wine (1 cup)
- French Bread (4 thick slices-toasted and cut a little smaller to fit the crock's opening) 

"Flavor" Pack (use a tea infuser if using dry herbs. see picture below)
- Fresh Parsley (use dried if not available - 3 tablespoons)
- Fresh Thyme Leaves (use dried if not available - 2 tablespoons)
- 1 Dried Bay Leaf

Step 1: Chop up the onions into thin strips. Watch out for the fingers!

Step 2: Over medium heat, melt butter in a pot and dump in onions. Sprinkle a bit of salt and let the onions caramelize. Keep stirring for about 25 mins. It is ok to let it go brown.

Step 3: Slowly add in beef broth, chicken broth and white wine. Put in "Flavor" Pack or bundle up fresh herbs into the pot for about 20 mins. Keep stirring gently.

Step 4: Turn heat to low, remove herbs. Add vinegar, a bit of salt and pepper to taste. By now, the kichen should smell pretty good!

Step 5: Preheat oven to broil. Scoop soup into large oven-safe crocks with a ladle. Arrange bread on top (toasty side up) and add the cheeses. Sprinkle a bit of paprika on top.

Step 6: Broil for about 5 minutes until it's golden brown and forms a melty seal on top. Serve immediately!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

"Cafe World" comes to LIFE! - Super Chunk Fruit Salad!

 

Second dish from facebook's game "Cafe World" - Super Chunk Fruit Salad!

Ok, this dish can hardly be qualified as "cooking,"  but it's equally yummy as all the other dishes on the menu. So simple to make, yet so refreshing! It's gotta be better than those pre-made, mass-produced "fruit cups" you buy from the grocery stores. Try it at home if you feel like it, with all the fruits you chop up together, it makes a really big bowl of deliciousness for everyone in the family! What a tasty treat!

Ingredients:

1 Medium Melon

1 Large Orange (Sliced)

Fresh Lemon Juice (2 tablespoons)

Green Seedless Grapes (15 or so, washed and drained)

Red Seedless Grapes (15 or so, washed and drained)

Strawberries (8-10 medium, washed and drained)

Orange or Pineapple Juice (2 tablespoons)
Sugar (2 tablespoon)

Step 1: Prepare the melon bowl. Cut 1/4 off a melon as show below.

Step 2: Scoop and dump out the seeds.

 

Step 3: Cut around the inside of the melon with a small sharp knife.

 

Step 4: Scoop out melon chunks in a big bowl.

 

Step 5: Cut around the edge to make a zig-zag pattern.

 

Step 6: Add green and red grapes to the bowl. Chop strawberries up to small pieces and also add to bowl.

 

Step 7: Sprinkle sugar and squeeze lemon juice and orange juice into the bowl. Mix well without breaking the fruits.

 

Step 8: Scoop fruit salad into the melon bowl. Add orange slice to garnish. Done! Easy, isn't it?

Have fun! Stay tuned, more dishes from Cafe World to come soon!

BIG Wontons (Cantonese Style with Crab Meat, Shrimp & Pork )

Wontons are little pockets of joy! Growing up in Hong Kong, I chowed down on these guys all the time. They are not that hard to make BUT as there is a lot of preparation, it takes quite a bit of time to get them ready for the whole family. Most people make them on the weekend with the kids while having lots of laughter. It is kinda like making cookies here with little kids, lots of fun! I especially enjoy making them during Chinese New Year. It's a very welcoming dish to serve to the guests!

The fillings for the wontons are a little bit different every time I make them, depending on my mood. Basic ingredients would be the ground pork and wonton skin.  Tonight, I felt like having seafood, so I added crab meat and shrimp to the filling as well.

Ingredients:

Ground Pork (1 lb - half lean, half regular)

Minced Ginger (1 teaspoon - minced and mashed, use a food processor if necessary)

Medium Shrimp (1/4-1/2 lb - peeled, chopped and mashed. Set aside in a separate bowl)

Crab Meat (1/4 lb - chopped)

Wonton Wrapper - Cantonese style (1 pack, about 50 square sheets)
Silken Tofu (mashed-1/2 a block)

Cabbage (1/8 lb - washed and chopped)

A-Choy/Lettuce (1/4 lb - washed and separated)-see picture below for "A-Choy" available in most Asian supermarkets

Marinade:

Light Soy Sauce (8 tablespoons)
Dark Soy Sauce (5 tablespoons) 

Rice vinegar (2 tablespoons)

Rice wine/Sherry (2 tablespoons)

Sugar (1 tablespoon)

Sesame oil (2 tablespoons)
Dipping for wontons: red rice vinegar

Dipping for A-Choy/lettuce: a bit of hot vegetable oil and oyster sauce

Step 1: Mix marinade, tofu and crab meat with ground pork in a large bowl.

Step 2: Have a small bowl of cool water on the side for sealing the edges of the wonton. Start wrapping as shown below (Tips: do not over-stuff, it will burst and break the wonton skin!)

 

(a) Put a little filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper (leave a little room at corners)

 

(b) Fold the wonton wrapper over to form a triangle. Press around the edge with a bit of water.

(c) Pull the left and right corners together. Press the corners with a little water to seal the wonton.

Step 3: Repeat the same steps until you make enough for everyone. (Tips: wontons freeze well. Put them in 2 zip-lock sandwich bags. No need to thaw out, just boil them in hot broth)

Step 4: Boil up some chicken broth and water (half and half). Dump in some wontons gently over high heat. Make sure wontons are completely immersed into the liquid. When wontons are done, they will float to the top. Let them boil 5 more minutes.Test one to make sure it's completely cooked through.

Step 5: Add A-Choy/Lettuce and boil for about 3 minutes.

Step 6: Turn off heat. Scoop and drain wontons and A-Choy/lettuce. Plating as shown in picture below. Sprinkle spring onions on wontons and pour a little Chinese oyster sauce onto the A-choy/lettuce. Serve immediately!

Enjoy!!

Blue Cheese Sauce Fettucine with Shrimp

I love shrimp. A creamy sauce with succulent shrimp is perfect for dinner time. This simple dish is a great idea for a romantic dinner or a rather formal party meal with your friends and family!

Here's how I made it tonight:

Serves 3-4 people
Ingredients:
Fresh Shrimp (medium to large - about 1/2 lb)
Fresh Leek (2 cups -chopped to small pieces)
Pecans (chopped - 1/4 cup)
Cooking Wine (1/2 cup)
Vegetable Stock (1/2 cup)
Milk or Buttermilk (1/4 cup)
Soft Cream Cheese (1 container, about 8oz)
Blue Cheese Crumble (1/2 cup)
Garlic (2 cloves, chopped to small pieces)

Step 1: In a big pot, cook fettuccine. Drain and set aside.

Step 2: While pasta is cooking, prepare the shrimp. Rinse and peel the shrimp and set aside. No need to season, the sauce will be flavorful enough.

.

Step 3: Saute leeks, pecans and garlic with a little olive oil over medium heat.

Step 4: When leeks are softened, add shrimp to the pan.

Step 5: Turn heat to LOW, slowly add milk, vegetable stock, cooking wine and cream cheese to the pan. Keep stirring until cream cheese is completely dissolved. Tips: Allow shrimp to soak in the rich sauce for a few minutes after turning off heat. Do not overcook shrimp. Heat must be low at this step, this sauce burns easily.

Step 6: Remove from heat, toss with fettuccine and blue cheese and serve immediately!

Bon appetit!

Chinese Chicken Fried Rice

Fried rice is great for just about every family. Not only is it fun to make, it can also CLEAR OUT your refrigerator! It's very versatile. It can be prepared with almost any kind of ingredients. Putting all the scraps and pieces in a wok, you can really turn it into something very delicious!

Here's how I made mine tonight:
5-6 Servings

Ingredients:
White Rice (3 cups - Secret: Cook rice a day ahead of time and put it in the fridge. Cold, dry rice has a much better result for fried rice)
Chicken Breast (chop into small chunks)
Spring Onion (3 stalks, chopped)
3 Large Eggs
1/3 of a Large Cabbage (chop to thin strips)

Ginger Root (half a thumb of it, minced)
Garlic (3 cloves, minced)

Marinade:
Light Soy Sauce (2 tablespoons)
Dark Soy Sauce (1 tablespoon)
Sesame Oil (2 teaspoons)
Salt and Pepper (a few pinches)
Cornstarch (1 tablesppon)

Step 1: Mix marinade with chicken in a bowl and set aside
Step 2: Scramble the egg and set it aside in a small bowl 
Step 3: In a big wok, fry the chicken with the chopped ginger and garlic in some oil. Scoop out into a bowl on the side after cooked through

Step 4: Fry cabbage in the wok with a bit of oil. Add some chicken stock to soften the cabbage. Do not over drain. Close the lid for about 5 minutes. Scoop cooked cabbage out and set aside in another bowl

Step 5: Now, lets cook the rice. Put rice in wok with some oil. Add some soy sauce and chicken stock as you break the rice with the spatula

Step 5: Add cabbage and chicken to the work and stir. Add egg last and break it with the spatula

Step 6: Sprinkle spring onion and serve immediately!

Tips: You may want to add some colorful vegetables to make this dish more appetizing, such as diced red pepper or carrot slices!

Enjoy!