my kitchen: homemade bulgogi kimchi tacos

I'm. Too. Busy. Eating.

to give you better looking pictures than these from my iPhone, but trust me, when I say, I now "get it."

Bulgogi + Kimchi + corn tortillas + onion/mushrooms = frickin deliciousness
(made possible by Costco in Taipei and tortillas from LA)

I never made the leap to wait-in-line-for-hours for the all-over-LA Kogi trucks, but once had my sister's cold leftovers which left me unenthusiastic. But having it hot out of the kitchen- it's a weirdly odd satisfying combination that works. The smoky sweetness of the marinated beef mixed with the spicy heat from the pickled cabbage held together by the fragile corn tortillas. I'm sure the imaginative and adventurous have been creating other fusion combos, but the basic one is best.

I already inhaled 4.

Could this work in Taipei? They like the kimchee here, and not so much the cheese, so maybe if I had a little taco truck, I could make some cash on the side?

my kitchen: mini-Oreo cheesecakes

Merry Christmukkah to everyone- hope you are having a great holiday with your loved ones where ever you are reading from. In Taipei, there is definitely a lot of decorations and trees and lights, but I think it's still harder to "celebrate" Christmas since most people don't really get the day off and if everyone has to go to work like any other day, then it's not really a holiday.

But to go along with my little tree and lights, Costco Christmas cards and holiday plans, I decided to try and bake some Mini-Oreo Cheesecakes for the first time!



I found a few recipes on the web, picked the most basic one (cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon, eggs, Oreos) and tried it out! I grew up eating my mom's mini cheesecakes w/ Nilla Wafers as the crust, but instead of trying to figure out where I could find those in Taipei, I just used Oreos.



First off, why doesn't JASON's Supermarket at 101 or the supermarket at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi not have Philly's Cream Cheese? Boo!



Second, don't forget to put a little "water bath" under your cheesecake so it will come out nice and smooth and not crack!

The first attempt, I swirled the oreos inside the cream cheese, didn't have the cream cheese soften completely, and forgot about the water bath and it doesn't look as pretty. The second attempt, I left it, added lemon, a bit more sugar, and put the water bath and it definitely does taste moister and look better!


lumpier, but still tasty!

Just twist off the Oreos and use as the base for your cheesecake cupcakes- it's not as wide as the base, but still works!


surprise at the bottom

If anyone wants the recipe, I can post in detail... now I gotta run to the gym to burn off some the calories from yesterday's party!

ADDED 12/2010: A little late, but here is the recipe! :)

MINI OREO CHEESECAKES

12 Oreo cookies
2 (8 ounce) packages Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2/3 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Line muffin tins with 12 paper baking cups. Place a half of an Oreo in each one.
3.In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. If cream cheese is not softened, then microwave a little bit before mixing. Add eggs, lemon juice, and sugar. Beat until smooth and thoroughly combined.
4.Fill each baking cup 2/3 full with cream cheese mixture.
5.Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. If you can, put a water bath underneath so that the tops don't brown.
6. Cool cupcakes at room temperature and then in fridge overnight or a few hours. Break up Oreos in pieces to use to decorate on top.

my kitchen: pasta salad

I think it's so funny I buy all these drool worthy recipe books (ALWAYS with the pictures. I can't stand those recipe books without pictures) and then when I end up making something, it's usually spur of the moment and without a recipe (I guess more Nigella style than anyone else).

One day, I definitely want to plan ahead and make a whole set dinner from NIGELLA EXPRESS or HOME FOOD, but it's always seems so much more convenient to eat out in Taipei. Especially when certain ingredients seem harder to locate here than back at Ralphs in LA, or where ever.

Anyways- I always felt that cold pasta salad is great for summer, especially these hot days we've been having here. I just tossed up some bowtie and spiral pasta leftover from the night before, halved grape tomatoes, cucumbers and shrimp with some drizzled in EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), red wine vinegar and salt/pepper.



Yum!

I don't like pasta salad with mayonnaise overload because I don't like mayo, but I haven't seen a lot of American/Italian style cold pasta salad in Taipei to begin with. So you just gotta make your own, right?

my kitchen: guacamole

Hey everyone! Sorry for being away so long without updates... did you miss me??

I had a huge new project that took over my life and I didn't even have a lot of time to be online, much less writing posts. I'll try to not let it go so long again without posts. Lately, I have been eating out less (or at least at new places) and have been having crazy cravings for sweets, especially chocolate chip cookies like you would get in the states. Then I'd want to eat something savory. Then something sweet again. Sigh.

I think avocados is one of those things you love or hate. I used to hate it until I met guacamole!

But I still can't get a handle on avocado milk which is popular here.. ugh..the thought of it makes me think that it's just WRONG.

While making your own guacamole is not that hard, there are a lot of variations to all the basic elements that make it taste slightly different- the amount of avocados, garlic, onions, tomatoes, lime/lemon juice and spices. I like it best with Haas avocados from Costco and chips!



I basically followed the recipe on the bag, but altered it for 1 avocado since it doesn't keep that well and I was just making it for myself. The first time, I didn't chop the onions fine enough and it was too strong. I learned my lesson the next time!

Anyone have any killer recipes to point me to?

my kitchen: my hello kitty sandwich maker

After a friend of mine told me how awesome her Hello Kitty sandwich maker was, I tried to find one for awhile in Taipei. None of the Sanrio stores really knew what I was talking about and I finally found one, GUESS WHERE, at Watson's of all places!! It was a pretty good deal at around NT$500 (I bought it awhile ago, I forget exactly how much!) and it actually makes REALLY good toasty cheesy sandwiches.

Some of my favorite combos are:

-ham and cheddar cheese
-goat cheese, honey and pecans
-mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce
-avocado, tomato, ham and cheese



I just bought some goat cheese and gouda cheese (SO GOOD) from Costco last week so I will probably be making some goat cheese honey ones and some gouda canadian bacon ones. I love how the sandwich maker seals in the melted cheese and makes the bread all crispy like it's almost fried, but without any oil.

The slightly burned HK face is really cute too.

my kitchen: french toast

French toast is probably one of the easiest breakfast foods to make- you just need bread, an egg, milk and a hot pan. I like to add a little vanilla extract as well, but it's not a must have item if you don't have it in your kitchen. I don't know why I don't make it more often or why I felt like making it this morning, but it was easier than trying to get it to-go from NY Bagel.


Someday I'd like to try it with challah bread or french bread, but it tastes great with regular sliced bread too.

I tried a few new places the past few weeks that I will blog about soon:

- Finally found Bongos and had some awesome red bean and mochi shaved ice at the very crowded Tai Yi afterwards.
- Said farewell to fellow Taipei bloggers haochr at Mary's Australian Bistro. Have fun back in the states- we'll miss you!
- Tried Yong He Dou Jiang and the nearby street stalls at Da An and Xin Yi Road
- Had family dinners at Shanghai Fans and the always reliable Shanghai Shanghai
- Made some peanut butter brownies but they disappeared too quickly to take pictures! Maybe next time
- Had an oyster omelette set at the Xin Yi Eslite food court
- Found cold Korean noodles (aka naengmyeon) and seafood pancake at the Korean restaurant across from the Vietnamese restaurant

Thanks to everyone for reading, commenting and emailing me. I love hearing from you guys. I've been trying to keep up the pace of a few posts a week, so we'll see how long I can keep it up! :)

my kitchen: udon

Udon is one of those things that I don't like to order in restaurants because I feel like I could make it better the way I like it at home. Especially when I'm paying US$7 or something like that for a bowl of noodles. Same goes for ramen. Or hotpot in LA which can go up to $15-20 and pretty much includes all the things that I like in my udon.

And it's so easy!

But what's great is that I found really fresh tasting "QQ" udon! Once you taste chewy al dente style udon, you won't want to eat the soggy, soft udon again. I picked some up at the new green Sogo (Zhong Xiao - Fu Xing MRT) after getting suckered by the freeee samples they were handing out. I think part of the key to making really chewy udon is to (1) buy the frozen kind and (2) don't boil it for too long. It's already cooked, so you just have to cook it for a minute or so.



This is their house brand and comes with three udon blocks in one pack with or without packet for broth flavoring.





My perfect bowl of noodles has chinese cabbage, mushrooms (shiitake and golden), tempura, thin slices of pork or beef, light seasoning in the broth and an egg with runny yolk.

my kitchen: goat cheese avocado sandwich

I love my sandwich maker. It sears and toasts the bread so it tastes like I had baked it in the oven for hours. Today I made a goat cheese (Costco), Haas avocado (Costco), tomato, ham (Costco) sandwich. It's like grilled cheese with a twist. And it's not easy to find good sandwiches in Taipei- it's usually easier to make your own.

Nothing beats comfort food on a rainy day.

my kitchen (sort of): zong zi

I was lucky enough to check out a lesson wrapping the Taiwanese treat- zong zi- where they supplied all the ingredients and we just had to perform the origami-art of wrapping the bamboo leaves into a pocket to stuff our sticky rice and goods and then around again so that the rice didn't squeeze out.

Not a half bad job if I say so myself! I did two meat ones, one vegetarian and one sweet dumpling with black rice and red bean paste.




before


after

I think my relatives are going to wrap some for the upcoming Duanwu festival, so I will be prepared to get my hands dirty!

• When you fold the two bamboo leaves over, make sure one side is much shorter so you have a longer area to work with.
• Make the pocket deep enough to stuff the goods.
  
• Flatten out the rice a bit to layer your meat and yolk and such
  
• Squeeze gently on the sides before you tuck the leaf over the rice
  
• Tie the string tight!
  

Why do we eat zongzi for this holiday? I am still not sure since it's something I just remember doing since I was a kid- it's like why do you eat gingerbread men at Christmastime- but check out wikipedia.

Can't make it yourself? There are a ton of restaurants that offer it on a daily basis such as Little Shanghai and Jiu Ru, and you can order it from places such as Grand Formosa Regent Hotel or pick some up at Nan Men (South Door) market.

Speaking of cooking, I saw this from the Epicurious newsletter and I don't know if it's a sign I've been in Taiwan too long, but the stuff from homebistro.com looks REALLY good! Too bad they don't ship internationally. :( But the grilled meats and the souffle and the bisque looks good!

my kitchen: vietnamese spring rolls and chicken tikka masala

Courtesy of Carrefour supermarket and a little elbow grease in the kitchen- my first time making Vietnamese OR Indian food. It's been hard to find Vietnamese spring rolls like this in Taipei since the place I went to seems to have gone out of business. I found it very tricky to soak the rice paper just right.. I think the water was too hot and this particular rice paper had a grid on it, which made it tear easily. But we managed to salvage a few. This package of rice paper includes the noodles too, but I probably wouldn't buy it again! I made these before I read these tips on oishiieats, but I did manage to wrap it with the shrimp facing out. I will have to try grilling the shrimp because I can practically smell the flavor from her pictures. Also, I bought some new rice paper with the rose on it the other day to try out along with the special dipping sauce. We'll see how that goes!

lunch:



dinner:

As for curry out of a can, you definitely have to add water and the tip on the can to add plain yogurt- I thought gave it that extra creaminess and slight sweetness that took it from average to above average, since the curry already has a slightly tangy lemon flavor already in the Tikka Masala. I stirfried the onions first a little bit and then cooked the chicken, before I added the curry and simmered it for a bit. I wish I had had bought some basmati rice or naan to go with it. I would definitely try the other varieties from Patak's Original brand if I see it again at the supermarket. I'm all about the shortcuts.

my kitchen: grilled chicken and couscous

my kitchen: chicken salad, wrap and chocolate cupcakes

Sometimes an extra ingredient or two makes all the difference in kickstarting a boring lunch into a more interesting version of itself.

I bought a big jar of sundried tomatoes in olive oil which I have been using all week- on crackers spread with cream cheese, in pasta, in salads, and today in this chicken wrap. Sometimes you go all out and do everything from scratch and sometimes you put together what you already have. I had a whole roast chicken from the supermarket, already roasted, and I shredded it for my salad and wrap.

Chicken spinach salad with miso dressing included diced almonds, mandarin orange slices, grape tomatoes, grilled mushrooms and diced avocado


Chicken wrap with sundried tomatoes, portobello mushroom, colby jack cheese, tomato slices and fresh arugula


Mmm.. something about fresh arugula really makes me hungry.

Then I made some chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting topped with m&ms for a friend's birthday dinner.



I've really noticed a difference in how much longer the foil cupcake cup keeps the cupcake fresher than the plain paper cup.

I love LA.

my kitchen: breakfast sandwich

The simple pleasures in life, like making your own breakfast sandwich, sometimes makes me so happy! This day, I (1) toasted an English muffin (2) grilled up some sausage slices and sliced mushroom without oil (3) placed on sandwich with a slice of colby jack cheese and (4) topped with an egg cooked over medium.


Mmmmmmm.


A little healthier version of the Mcmuffin.

my kitchen: banana pancakes breakfast

A few weeks ago, I was craving french toast and tried a couple times to get it at NY Bagel. The first time, we went at noon, but it turned out they stopped serving breakfast on weekdays at 11;30am. Seeing all the people around me enjoying their brunches just made it worse, so I left and had cereal at home.

A few days later, I dropped by on Sunday. It was packed and I didn't want to wait 20-30 minutes, so I wanted to do take-out. Except I discovered that their take-out doesn't include breakfast. After debating with the cashier for awhile,

THEM: it's a lot of food. We don't have the right to-go containers. We have to maintain our brand-level freshness. Your eggs might break on way home. blah blah blah BLAH.

I even talked to the manager.

ME: I just want some french toast. I'll go home and make my own eggs. I promise it will be fresh when I eat it. You can put it in the container that I know you have for the steak sandwich.

MANAGER: If we make an exception for you, then other customers will complain.

ME: If it's in a box and then in a bag, who is going to know? I live right next door. It will be eaten right away!

She disappeared for awhile and then came back saying no. UGH! It was very very annoying. After being too lazy to make my own french toast, it turned out that it would have been less of a hassle to do so.

Annoyed enough that since then, I have held an unofficial ban on NY Bagel, making my own pancakes and waffles at home. Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day to make- mushroom omelettes, banana pancakes or crispy waffles with sausages on the side. It's probably a good skill to have since finding quick and good American style breakfast is tough in Taiwan.



On this day, I made a small stack of banana pancakes (from Betty Crocker Buttermilk mix and fresh bananas- not gourmet- I know, but quite quick, easy and tasty), with an egg over easy and some canadian bacon lightly grilled. Mmmm.

my kitchen: cupcakes

Cupcakes are a trendy thing in the US right now.. but pretty much non-existent in Taipei. Even though there are tons of bakeries that have mini-cakes, tarts, breads and even Hello Kitty pastries, you just don't see cupcakes. So if you are craving one, it's much easier to make your own, although I'll admit that I brought the mix and frosting back from LA. Today I made chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Not everyone likes frosting, so I only frosted some of them.



I know there is one bakery that does sell cupcakes- Ginjer- but I haven't been there yet. I've heard their selection is slim, but good. I guess demonstrating the lack of popularity for cupcakes from the Taiwanese palate. Or maybe they just haven't discovered them yet.

Happy Chinese Valentine's day!