Delicious Baozi!

Today we made delicious homemade baozi! 

I used this recipe....https://redhousespice.com/pan-fried-pork-buns/.

I pan fried some and steamed the rest.

I made the pork filling and the dough, both of which I doubled.

Pork filling from Red House Spice:

• 250g / 9oz minced pork
• 2 stalks spring onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
• 1/2 teaspoon pure sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch Chinese five-spice powder
• 5 tablespoons water (or chicken stock)

The dough raised nicely, then my youngest came and patted it down. 

All set up and ready to fill.

The pork filling smelled soooo gooood!

My kids made an assembly line and filled and bao-ed the buns.

They did a great job!!

They were delicious and filled with lots LOVE!!!

The Cheesecake Post!

I really wanted to make something extra special for my hubby's birthday!

His favorite is oreo anything so of course I had to make an Oreo Cheesecake.

You can't live in Japan and not love Pocky! Well at least that's how it is for the Fish Fam. So I was excited to make a Strawberry Pocky Cheesecake! Let me tell you these Okinawan strawberries are out of this world delicious. The Pocky is a pretzel stick dipped in a chocolate or yogurt of all sorts! Japanese love coming up with all kinds of flavors. I'm sure you can find them around in the States at your local Asian Grocery Store.

For you gingerbread lovers I think you'll love Martha Stewarts Holiday Gingerbread Cheesecake. Smells divine.

Check them out in the individual posts...

Chicken & Cilantro Wonton Soup

My boys love their Chinese soups and homemade is so much better than take out.

Well, it's mostly homemade. Gotta work on those wontons.

So, for now these Cilantro & Chicken Wontons from Costco will do...

When it comes to buying prepared foods I like when I am able to read the ingredients list, know what they are, and really it should be way way way less than a paragraph long. It'd be awesome if it was organic. The couple no good ingredients are: Carrageenan (thickener/stabilizer/sneaky MSG ingredient) and soy/soybean oil (GMO)/don't overlook the "*No MSG added" (I like their honesty on this one). 

When we lived in China at my sons preschool we made homemade jiaozi/potsickers. It was fun and easy! All the kids got to help and they loved it. So for a family night we'll definitely be making some!

This dinner was quick and easy because I pre-make my bone broths in my instant pot pressure cooker and have them ready to go in the freezer. The broth consists of...

Grass-fed Beef Bones (bought locally)

ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar)

Carrots

Onions

Parsley

Celery

Sea Salt

I pull it out of the freezer and depending on what you froze the broth in and the size of your pot, you put it into a pot and let it cook/melt. I also had frozen chopped onions and garlic to throw in. Then my Little Chef grated fresh grated ginger and chopped green onions. He threw it all in with some sesame oil once the soup become liquid. Once the soup is about to boil add the wontons and whalla, it's done in about 5mins (once the wontons are floating, a helpful Chinese cooking tip)!

Mine is pretty similar to this Wonton Soup at Damn Delicious.

Which I'm saving to make the wontons! 

So, for now these will do...

Enjoy!

Fried Rice Nori Wraps

My little 許家庭 Xujiating could eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They love it and I love to be able to just throw together whatever I have in the fridge that needs to be used! Easy peasy. 

But of course, as in anything moderation is best! Here's what I used Leftover...rice, small baked chicken, some organic frozen veggies mix, and fried egg, seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger. 

Then use some Nori to wrap it up or slice it. The health benefits of Nori or seaweed are so good! Being that it's a sea vegetable it's filled with tons of vitamins and minerals, such as iodine. Read up about it here and here.

To seal the seaweed just get your fingers wet and run along the edge of it and gently press it closed. 

Enjoy :)

Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken

This is probably The Fish Fams most favorite dish, I always hear how AH-MAZ-ING it is!

Ingredients

3   lbs. chicken thighs and/or drumsticks
1   cup  soy sauce Aloha Shoyu is best!
1   cup  water
1   cup  brown sugar
3   big   cloves of minced garlic or garlic press is best!
1-1.5in. ginger root, microplaned/zested is best!
1/3-1/2 cup green onions, chopped

*Chicken thighs are the best because the fat in the meat will add much more flavor. Also, skinless thighs or drumsticks is best. If you get them with the skin on pull it off or pull the skin back to the marinade touch the meat.

Directions

-In a gallon size ziplock bag combine the water and soy sauce. Add brown sugar and dissolve it in the liquid. Add the ginger, garlic, and green onions (you can always do more or less to your liking.) Lastly add the chicken, which I like to poke with a fork so more of the marinade gets into the meat. 

*These Baggy Rack holders make it so easy to pour all the ingredients into the gallon bags with no spills...

-Marinade the meat for at least 24hrs. or up to 3 days. Place the ziplock bag in the pan you will be baking in. 

-After marinating the meat, you are ready to cook it! I pour all of the chicken and marinade into the pan and bake it in the oven at 375deg. for 45mins to 1hr. The meat must reach an internal heat of 165deg. So, it just depends on how your oven cooks. You can also grill it if you have a grill, keep pouring the sauce over to keep it more moist.

-Strain the sauce and use it to pour over the rice. (My family can't go without the sauce over their rice)

*If you have the Aloha Shoyu soy sauce then definitely use that! Kikoman tends to be really salty, so use the reduced sodium or less of the regular Kikoman and a little more water. But, that depends on what you like!

*You can also serve this with coconut rice, which makes it even better!...

-I love using Jasmine rice.

-First wash, rub, and clean the rice. Until the water runs more clear than cloudy.

-Drain all the water out and put it in the rice cooker.

-Get a can of coconut milk and then add water, to equal the 1/2cup more liquid need to cook rice. 

  Ex) 2 cups rice you'll need 2 1/2 cups coconut milk and water combined. 

Then enjoy the divine smell of coconut rice!!!

*I always make a pot of plain rice and a pot of coconut rice, so people can choose what they want.

Enjoy!

Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients

4-5 peeled and diced carrots

1 med onion

1/2 tsp fresh ginger

1/2 tsp Geen Curry Paste

Juice of orange

2 cups chicken stock

Small handful of almonds

Fresh Spearmint leaves

Salt & Pepper 

I got the inspiration for this soup from this recipe at My Whole Food Life. I changed it up a bit.

I really enjoyed it!

Directions

1. I peeled and diced the carrots, onions, and garlic.

2. Steamed them until tender.

3. Put them in my vita-mix with the ginger, curry paste, chicken stalk, fresh squeezed orange juice, soaked and de-skinned almonds, spearmint leaves. 

4. Blend until smooth.

5. Salt and pepper to taste.

Simple soups are fun, easy, and so tasty!

Starting The Day :)

Being that we live right across from the beach I love to get up before the sun and watch the incredible Hawaiian Sunrises. The morning air is so calm, quiet, and heavenly. It makes me feel that I'm not on this earth. I love soaking my feet in the water, taking long deep breathes, focusing on the positive, being grateful!

Then coming home to stretch, breakfast, and my morning juice makes starting the day off right! I've been on a lime kick because a friend gave us a bag full of fresh limes off of her tree. And they are so so good! It gave the perfect taste to my juice this morning of...2 carrots, 1 celery, small bunch of parsley, 1/2 thumb size of ginger, 1 six inch chunky cucumber, and 1/2 a lime.