Home Recipes for you
Category:

Recipes for you

10-minute RecipesSugar-freeGluten FreeBasicRecipes

10-minute Mixed Berries Sauce (Sugar-free)

by Jackie Miao
written by Jackie Miao

Hidden Sugars in your Food

I love the flavor of berries in baked goods, desserts, and breakfast items. I like them especially in yogurts, and oat bowls. What I don’t care for are the diabetic-inducing amounts of sugar in store-bought processed and baked goods. In general, things like single-serve yogurt, and bakery items are often just too sweet to be nutritious.

Just how much sugar is in our breakfasts?

To illustrate, did you know that a typical cup of flavored-yogurt usually packs between 18-24 grams of sugar per serving? A teaspoon of sugar is 4 grams of sugar.

24 grams of sugar, translates to as much as 6 teaspoons!

Diabetes, anyone? This is not what I want to have in my body first thing in the morning on an every day basis. It is also way too much sugar for my son, or anyone for that matter.

A Sugar-free Alternative

For this reason, I came up with a better way to enjoy berry breakfasts without all the unnecessary sugar. By doing this 10-minute hack, we could avoid consuming 25-30 teaspoons of sugar a week, if we ate berry yogurt every day.

This recipe so easy! It really is just a country-style chunky jam recipe, without the addition of sugar and pectin. My 2-year-old son asks for blueberry oatmeal all the time, and this is mama’s secret 10-minute sauce. The berry sauce can be added to yogurt, overnight oats, baked goods, and even smeared on bread as a healthier alternative to jam.

What Kind of Berries To Use

Any kind of berries that disintegrate well, like blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Technically you could use strawberries too, but you’ll have to cut them into smaller pieces. I usually just want to keep the berry sauce super simple, with as little prep work as possible.

Enjoy!

Sugar-free Berry Sauce

A quick, clean and healthy berry sauce recipe for busy cooks.
No ratings yet
Print Pin Rate
Course: Sauces
Keyword: Berries, Dessert, Fruit sauce
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Author: Jackie Miao
Cost: $6-$8

Equipment

  • A sauce pan

Ingredients

  • 1 bag organic raspberries frozen (8 oz.)
  • 1 bag organic blueberries frozen (8 oz.)

Instructions

  • Heat a heavy-based sauce pan on medium high heat.
  • Add the berries into the pan, and cook on medium heat until disintegrated. (About 10-13 minutes)
  • Remove the sauce into a glass bowl, and cool completely before use.

Notes

You can use any combination and ratio of berries. Fresh berries work too, but it’ll cook faster. This recipe uses 1lb of frozen berries for a week’s worth of flavor.

HOW TO USE THE SAUCE

  • Fruit yogurt – Stir a heaping tablespoon of the cooled berry sauce in a cup of plain yogurt.
  • Berry Overnight Oats – Add a heaping tablespoon of cooled berry sauce into your overnight oats base mixture.
  • You may use this sauce for sugar-free danishes and fruit fillings too.

 

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Gluten FreeKuehChinese (Cantonese)MalaysianRecipes

Savory Taro Cakes (Wu Tiu Gao) 芋头糕

by Jackie Miao
written by Jackie Miao

This weekend, I had planned to to get a decent celebration spread together to celebrate the year of the ox. That plan was unfortunately foiled by the most epic snow storm that Seattle has ever seen in over a decade. So I did what I do best. I got together what was already in my pantry and refrigerator, and made something else. One of them was this savory taro cakes from scratch!

In the years that I have lived in Seattle, I have had trouble finding freshly-made taro cakes locally. The dim sum places usually sell radish cakes. Even though 99 Ranch sells blocks of packaged ones, the problem I have with those (like with everything else made commercially), are the preservatives, food conditioners, lack of freshness, and high sodium content. All of which are terrible for my health, and not what I want to feed my family.

The Dining Happy Way

This version is my preferred way to make Wu Tiu Gao. It marries classic Malaysian-Chinese and Cantonese techniques. I have adapted this recipe from a Malaysian-style taro cake recipe from the late chef author Ricky Ng. Then I gave it a little dim sum style twist. The ratios are from his cookbook Nyonya Kueh, but the instructions are mine. I’ve made taro cakes using his ratio twice, and both times it came out really good.

What’s the Difference?

Malaysian-style Or Kuih or Wu Tiu Gao are usually cut into 2″ to 3″ thick rectangular or diamond shapes. They aren’t typically pan-fried after steaming, and are sold individually as part of a kuih spread. To eat them, you would usually use the side of a fork to dislodge smaller pieces from the bigger cake.

Even though I have fond schoolgirl memories of eating taro cake in this way, these days I like cutting the cakes into thinner rectangles that are about 1″-1.5″ thick, and pan-frying them in a bit of oil like the Cantonese do. Instead of eating the cakes like you would a cheese cake, you pick the fried cakes up with chopsticks or a fork, and take bites out of them. If necessary, soy sauce can be used as a dipping sauce.

Instead of serving it kuih-style, I cut the cakes thinner, and pan-fry them individually.

That bit of browning on both surfaces of the cakes really bring out the flavor of taro that cannot be matched by just serving the steamed cakes as is. Frying also gives the cakes a bit of crisp on the outside. This treatment creates a membrane that gives some surface tension when you sink your teeth into the cakes. It’s a level up in terms of taste and texture.

Dining Happy Tips

  1. For non-spicy cakes, omit the chillies.
  2. For vegan taro cakes, omit the dried shrimp.
  3. For gluten-free, substitute the wheat starch with tapioca starch. It works really well.

Cost
This dish is fairly inexpensive to make. A bag of rice flour would cost between $1-$2 at the Asian markets in the U.S. The taro costs about $3-$4. With the exception of the dried shrimp topping, the rest of the stuff may come up to about $2-3. The dried shrimp might be about $6-$10 for 100gm. I’d say it would cost you about $15-$20 to make the full experience, and about $8-$10 to make the vegan version. You’ll have enough for a party of 10-12 people.

This is a weekend project… a 2-day process. You steam the cake the night before, cool, and refrigerate. The next day, you unmold, cut, fry and serve the cakes. Technically this can be done in a day (like in Ricky Ng’s recipe), but if you want to have a life, I recommend doing it my way.

Savory Chinese Taro Cakes

Hybrid Malaysian and Hong Kong style 芋头糕, or savory taro cakes.
No ratings yet
Print Pin Rate
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Malaysian, Cantonese, Hakka
Keyword: Malaysian
Author: Jackie Miao
Cost: $7-$15

Equipment

  • Wooden spoon (to stir the batter)
  • Non-stick pot or wok (to cook the batter)
  • 2 Pyrex dishes (1.5 to 2 quart square or rectangular baking dishes)
  • Kitchen mitts (to handle hot dishes)
  • 12" Deep and wide wok with a lid or Chinese-steamer with a lid
  • Chinese steaming rack (to hold the baking dish)
  • Santoku or chef's knife (to cut the cake)
  • Tongs or chopsticks (to pick up the cake pieces while frying)
  • wooden spatula (to flip the fried cakes)

Ingredients

DAY 1

Prep A

  • 750 gm cubed taro 1cm x 1cm
  • 6 tbsp vegetable oil

Prep B

  • 20 gm tapioca starch
  • 25 gm wheat starch sub with tapioca starch if unavailable
  • 400 gm rice flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp white pepper ground
  • 1/2 tsp five spice powder
  • 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 6 1/2 cups water
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp vegetable oil to oil the baking dishes

DAY 2

  • vegetable oil for pan-frying
  • soy sauce to taste

Topping

  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 100 gm dried shrimp soaked and processed into a meal
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil for frying the dried shrimp
  • 1 bunch spring onion cleaned & chopped
  • red chillies deseeded & chopped

Instructions

Day 1: Steaming the Cake

  • Use a large mixing bowl to mix all the ingredients in Prep B. Start with the dry ingredients first, then add the wet. Stir the contents until it becomes a milky white slurry solution.
  • Heat a deep nonstick wok or pot (not pan) with the oil from Prep A on medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the diced taro, and fry the pieces evenly until it is fragrant (about 5 minutes).
  • At this point, some of the starch sediments would have collected at the bottom of the Prep B mixing bowl. Give it another mix, and make sure the solution is evenly mixed throughout (use your hands to mix if you have to).
  • Add the Prep B ingredients into the pot or wok where the taro has been frying. Continue cooking and heating the mixture on medium heat. Stir constantly, until the starch mixture thickens into a chowder-like consistency. (About 10-15 minutes) Continue to cook the mixture until it feels like a batter, then turn the stove off.
  • Grease two 2-quart glass baking dishes with some vegetable oil, and pour your taro rice cake batter into the dishes. Make sure you divide them evenly. Smooth over the top of the batter.
  • Put a Chinese wire steaming rack into a clean wok or deep pot. Add tap water, until the water is level with the steaming rack or stand. Close the lid, and turn the stove on high. Bring the water to a steaming boil. You should see steam escaping on the sides of the lid.(The water should have come to vigorous, rolling boil)
  • Open the lid and set it down. With both hands, carefully place one of the baking dishes with the taro cake batter onto the steaming rack. Close the lid, and steam on high for 30 minutes.
  • As the steam escapes, the water will evaporate. Make sure you check the water level, and add more if necessary. (I added water into the wok every 7-10 minutes).
  • After 30 minutes, transfer the dish out onto a trivet using kitchen mitts, and place the other dish in. Repeat and steam the second dish on high for 30 minutes, adding water when needed. (Tip: If you see don't see much steam coming out from the side of the lid, you need more water).
  • When done, remove the second dish, and turn off the stove.
  • Cool your dish completely. If there is steam water collected inside the dish, drain the water before storing your cakes in the fridge. To store, cover the cakes with plastic wrap, put on the Pyrex covers, and place it in the fridge overnight.

Day 2: Frying and serving the cakes

  • Prepare your toppings and set them aside.
  • Topping 1: Dried shrimp – Soak, wash, drain and break down the dried shrimp in a food processor until it is like a rough meal consistency. Heat a nonstick pan, add some oil, and fry the shrimp until it is fragrant and light brown in color.
  • Topping 2: Thai chillies – Slice thinly, and set aside.
  • Topping 3: Green onions – Slice your scallions thinly, and set aside.
  • Topping 4: Crispy shallots – Buy this from the Asian store. (You can make this, but don't bother. It's a pain unless you make a huge batch and store it in the jar).
  • Unmold the taro cakes onto a cutting board. Cut the cakes into 3" x 3" squares that are 1" to 1.5" thick.
  • Heat a nonstick wok or pan on medium high. Add some vegetable oil to the pan, and fry the taro cake pieces on each side until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes on each side. Fry the cakes in batches until all your cakes are fried.
  • To serve, sprinkle the toppings on the taro cakes. You may drizzle soy sauce onto the cakes for extra flavor. BON APPETIT!

Notes

  • Use Thai rice flour and tapioca starch. They have excellent consistency for kueh-making.
  • The taro cakes store fine in the fridge for up to 3 days.
  • Reheat the cakes (without the topping) in a toaster oven at 320ºF for 4 minutes on each side.
  • Dried shrimp can be found here
 

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Chinese-FusionAsian-FusionGluten FreeBreakfastRecipes

Black Sesame Overnight Oats 黑芝麻过夜燕麦

by Jackie Miao
written by Jackie Miao

I’ll be the first to admit that I was really late to the benefits of homemade, overnight oats.

This is because prior to having my son, I was at different life stages that didn’t require so much thought about quick homemade breakfast options. For the 4 years prior to his birth, it felt like I had all the time in the world to cook myself gourmet breakfasts.

Fast forward to 2020, I am now a full-time mom of a mobile 1-year-old toddler during the COVID-19 pandemic, with no help during the work week. Suddenly, I am not eating anything until baby goes down for a nap, if I don’t plan this right. It became very important to get breakfast sorted the night before, and overnight oats became the answer to my prayers.

Still, many of the overnight oats presentation out there seemed a little unexciting to me. I would make a chocolate one with nut butter, and get bored after eating one serving. Or a cinnamon-raisin one with berries on top, and would feel like I ate healthy, but didn’t delight the foodie in me. Scouring hundreds of eye-candy overnight oat pictures on Instagram only made matters worse. The pictures all looked colorful, fancy, and perfectly-styled, but very few ideas spoke to me.

So I began experimenting on my own, and came up with jars of overnight oats that not only delighted me, but represented my Nanyang-Chinese identity, and Nusantara heritage.

This black sesame overnight oats is one such discovery. It marries the flavor of the traditional Chinese black sesame soup called tong sui, with the Swiss müesli technique of soaking oats overnight. While the idea of overnight oats may be popularized by American food bloggers, I am also drawing the inspiration from the frequent exposure to the hotel buffet Bircher müesli from my youth, and later through my own travels, and work in the hospitality industry.

A note about the ingredients

I have been thoughtful to use ingredients that go well in the Chinese context. Apricots, soy milk, pumpkin seeds, and black sesame are all very Chinese. They go very well together with the neutral flavors of oats, cow’s milk, and chia seeds.

Tip: Get good quality black sesame seed powder, from a reputable brand like Hsin Tung Yang if you can. Taiwanese ingredients tend to be higher quality. The flavor and aroma of the black sesame is key to this recipe, which is why quality matters.

I am happiest, and most authentic when I get to express my cross-cultural roots, influences, and propensities freely. Multiculturalism is my true essence, and this recipe is a little Chinese, a little Swiss, a little American, kind of International, and very me.

Enjoy it and let me know how you like it!

Black Sesame Overnight Oats 黑芝麻过夜燕麦

A Chinese-fusion overnight oats breakfast recipe
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Servings: 1 person
Author: Jackie Miao
Cost: $1

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1-2 tbsps black sesame powder
  • 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds roasted and unsalted
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1-2 dried apricots cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup milk cow's milk, almond, or soy
  • A dash soy creamer Trader Joe's

Instructions

  • Add all the ingredients into a mason or small jar and close the lid.
  • Shake all the contents thoroughly, and refrigerate overnight.
  • In the morning, shake the jar again to mix up all the black sesame sediments.
  • Open the jar lid, and eat with a spoon.

Notes

https://www.livestrong.com/article/25281-health-benefits-black-sesame-seeds/
0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
PaleoGluten FreeRecipesMalaysian-American

Baked Turmeric Chicken (Ayam Bakar Kunyit)

by Jackie Miao
written by Jackie Miao

Long before turmeric became a popular health food supplement, it was an ingredient that I have grown up eating liberally in Malaysian, Indonesian and Indian food. From curries to Nasi Kuning, Ayam Goreng Berempah to Gulai Sayur, turmeric is an essential ingredient in so many dishes from my region of origin.

For this reason the bright-yellow spice acts as a comfort spice to me. I tend to find excuses to add more of it to my cooking, because it is evidently really good for you.

Here’s one of those go-to recipes that marries a classic roast chicken with Malaysian inspiration. I do this when I don’t have brain cells to think of something new. The reason I like it is because it’s so versatile.

It’s gluten-free, paleo, and keto.

You can use it as sandwich filling, eat it with American sides, or pair it with trendy healthy whole foods. You can also go ethnic with it, by adding any kind of sambal from sambal ijo to sambah matah, sambal belacan to sambal udang. All you need to have is some steamed rice ready and salad greens on the side.

Even if non of these make any sense to you, it doesn’t matter. You could just eat it with mashed potatoes and boiled veggies. That’s what I like about this recipe. It’s so versatile, and delicious!

ENJOY and let me know how you like this one in the comments below.

P.s. There is an almost identical recipe for chicken wings here, which draws from a different inspiration. The chicken wing recipe is more intense, because it uses 2x the turmeric, with added chilly powder, for 1/2 the amount of chicken (in pieces). The recipe below has a subtler note. If after the first time, you feel like you could do it with more punch, just add more turmeric and garlic powder the next time you make this recipe.

Baked Whole Turmeric Chicken (Ayam Bakar Kunyit)

A nouveau Malaysian-American baked whole chicken recipe.
No ratings yet
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Malaysian-American
Keyword: Malaysian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Resting Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Author: Jackie Miao
Cost: $10-15

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken 4 lb
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt for cleaning the chicken

Spice Rub

  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper ground
  • 1 tbsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt add more to taste

Instructions

  • To make the spice rub, add the turmeric powder, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and kosher salt into a small bowl and mix it evenly. Set aside.
  • Clean the chicken thouroughly, by removing excess fat around and waste in and around the cavity. Use 1 tbsp of salt, and sprinkle it liberally all over the surface of the chicken. Rub vigorously, making sure to rub off the film, debris, and feathers from the chicken.
  • Leave the chicken to dry-brine for about 10-15 minutes in a mixing bowl, or make a quick brine for a juicier (higher sodium) result. After that rinse the bird and pat it dry.
  • Preheat your oven to 350F.
  • Add half spice rub onto the chicken, and drizzle half of the olive oil on the breast side of the chicken. Rub the spices in. Then flip the chicken and add the other half of the spice rub and olive oil to the other side. Continue massaging all of the spices onto the skin and cavity of the bird. If you have a string, truss the chicken. If not, it's not a big deal.
  • Use a roasting pan, lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. This is for ease of clean up, as the lining will catch all the drippings. Place the poultry on a roaster rack, breast side up.
  • When the oven reaches 350F temperature, move the roasting pan into the oven, and bake for 1 hour. Half way through, baste the chicken in the drippings to prevent the skin from drying out.
  • At the 1 hour mark, remove the tray, baste the chicken with a brush, and flip the chicken so that the back side faces up. Increase the temperature to 375F and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the bird reaches 165F.
  • Remove the bird from the oven, and rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Notes

Use this as you would with rotisserie chicken.
If you are using a high-efficiency convection gas oven, lower the temperature 10F down.
0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
PaleoGluten FreeChickenChineseRecipes

Steamed Whole Chicken with Goji Berries

by Jackie Miao
written by Jackie Miao

Lately, I’ve been getting a little fed-up with the same ol’ rotisserie chicken from the store. I was craving a healthier, juicier and less “heaty” way of enjoying bone-in chicken. The kind of steamed chicken that my mom made twice a month when she was alive.

White-cut steamed chicken is a popular home-style dish in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. There are several versions of this Southern-Chinese style preparation. Some styles have soy sauce, ginseng root, shitake mushrooms, red dates, and/or Shaoxing wine added. For this recipe, I have kept it very simple so that it is baby-friendly for Sam, gluten-free, and paleo for my Crossfit friends. The goji berries are very nutritious and oh-so delicious!

EQUIPMENT YOU’LL NEEDED

To steam a whole chicken, you’ll need either one of these:-

WOK – You will need a large wok with a lid, and a steaming rack for a whole chicken. If you don’t have anything that can take a whole chicken, you can still make this dish with chicken parts in a covered pot with a steaming rack. Or, a

THREE-TIER STEAMING POT – I don’t expect non-Chinese households to own one of these (they take up a lot of cabinet space). However, if you own one of these already, you’ll already know what to do. Just follow the recipe and steam the chicken for 45 minutes. Or an,

INSTANT POT – Technically, this could work, though you’ll need to make sure the chicken fits inside a 6-quart IP. I would recommend using an 8-quart IP for this project. You’ll have to buy the matching glass lid from Amazon to make this work (we aren’t pressure cooking the chicken). If you don’t already have an 8-quart IP, don’t buy it just to make this dish. Get the wok with a lid instead, because you’ll get much more use out of a wok rather an an 8-quart Instant Pot.

The Dining Happy Way

This is a super easy recipe. The key to getting a good chicken dish is to rub the skin with sliced ginger to get rid of the xing wei (腥味), or bad odor of the chicken. To achieve good flavor, brining the chicken (wet or dry) for about 15-30 minutes makes the chicken more tender, flavorful and juicy. If you’re doing low sodium, reduce the brining time or skip it altogether. The great thing about steaming a bone-in, whole chicken is that the skin does a good job in retaining the moisture of the bird.

The reason I am not using aluminum foil (the classic method)

I also want to make a note that, traditionally, people like to cook this wrapped in aluminum foil to contain the concentrated juices without having the steam condensation diluting the stock.

I weighed the risk of ingesting unnecessary leached heavy metals from food preparations, against the benefits of the concentrated stock, and have consciously chosen to go the clean route. Steaming salted meat on high heat over 45 minutes inside a metal envelope with a plastic film just seems like a bad idea.

This is why I steam it on a lead-free, stoneware dish.

Give it a try, and let me know how you like it in the comments below!

ENJOY!

Steamed Whole Chicken with Goji Berries

A variation of Cantonese-style steamed white-cut chicken.
No ratings yet
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Malaysian, Chinese
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Author: Jackie Miao
Cost: $12-$15

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken organic
  • 2 tbsp goji berries organic
  • 2 tbsp salt to clean the bird
  • 2 stalks green onions shredded
  • 2 slices ginger cut at a 45 degree angle
  • 2-4 cups water for steaming (don't be afraid to use more water than this)

Instructions

  • Rinse the goji berries in a small bowl, and set aside.
  • Clean the whole chicken thoroughly with by rubbing its skin vigorously with 2 tablespoon of salt. Make sure you rub off all the residual feathers, dirt and yellow film off the chicken. Remember to also salt the cavity of the chicken for flavor. Let it sit for a few minutes (dry-brining). Then rinse the chicken under cold water to wash off the excess salt and chicken grime.
  • After rinsing the chicken, rub it with a sliced ginger to get rid of the smelliness or xing wei (腥味) of the chicken. Be sure to get all the surface area of the chicken skin.
  • Put the chicken in a large, steam-proof glass or ceramic bowl that will fit inside your wok.
  • Top the chicken with the rinsed goji berries, spreading them evenly on the whole bird. Then put one sliced ginger inside the cavity of the chicken, and another slice on the side of the chicken in the dish.
  • Place the wok on top of the stove and the steaming rack onto the base of the wok. Then add water up to the level of the steaming rack (about 2-4 cups of water depending on the height of your steaming rack).
    Turn your stove on high heat, close the lid, and bring the water to a boil until you see steam coming out from the sides. (For the three-tier steaming pot, add water to the base layer, and place the chicken on the deepest tiered pot.)
  • Place the bowl containing the whole chicken on top of the rack, and close the wok lid or steamer lid.
  • Steam the chicken on high for 45 minutes, adding more water in intervals of 10-15 minutes to the level of the steaming rack.
  • After 45 minutes, remove the chicken from the stove and rest the bird for 20 minutes before cutting it. Keep all the natural steaming juices on the bowl. If there's too much liquidy stock, transfer some of it into another smaller bowl for use later.
  • When the chicken isn't hot to the touch anymore, cut it into bite-sized pieces (1" x 3" x 1") and rearrange it back onto the steaming bowl.
  • Shred and slice 2 stalks of raw green onions and sprinkle them liberally onto the chicken to serve.
  • Serve with hot rice.
0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Asian-FusionBeveragesGluten FreeRecipes

Dalgona Coffee in 6 minutes

by Jackie Miao
written by Jackie Miao

Social media’s favorite quarantine coffee beverage, the Dalgona has been the reason the Internet has been whipping up a storm. From TikTok to Instagram, everyone from celebrities to influencers, housewives to millennials are recreating this professional-tasting, instant coffee drink made popular by Jung Il Woo, a Korean celebrity. Rumor has it he tried a whipped coffee drink in Macau, and named the drink Dalgona coffee because it reminded him of a type of Korean candy.

The trend is Korean, but be forewarned, its origin is highly disputed. So much so, that I personally have very strong feelings about it (but that’s a discussion for another day).

From Greece’s frappe to India’s Phenti Hui, people are fighting over the origin of the coffee beverage. The least complicated connection would be to tie it back to Macau, where the current trend found its inspiration. If you’re interested in the background and history of the drink, here’s a really good article from Vice about it.

For now, let’s just enjoy the magic of how easy it is to achieve this frothy sensation.

A Word on Taste

Several of my serious foodie and chef-y friends have given the drink a thumbs down, citing that it lacks complexity and is too sweet to the point of cloying. I personally enjoyed my first experience enough to have it a second time. I think there are several factors that will influence whether or not you end up liking it.

  1. Do you like your coffee sweet? – It won’t be as intense as an extra portion of condensed milk in a coffee drink, but if you like your coffee without sugar, you might find this offensive. If you’re a fan of flavored-latte, you might like this.
  2. Coffee quality expectations – If you’re a daily cuppa type of the highbrow variety, this might disappoint you. If you’re a coffee aficionado and want a passable drink, make sure you get instant coffee of the highest quality.
  3. Hot or cold? – I prefer it cold, because I like my frappes and lattes cold so the sweetness glides through and not hot-set on my tastebuds.
  4. Milk – It works for dairy, and vegan milks too, though some fat content (like whole milk or 2%) makes the drink richer and more lux.

With this in mind, let’s get down to how to make it!

How to make Dalgona Coffee

The recipe is quite simple. Whip equal parts of sugar, instant coffee and water until you get a soft peak. When you’re done, spoon it over a glass of milk, mix and enjoy.

Whipping Time

Now this is where it gets tricky. Methods all over the internet might differ, and that may influence the time you need to make the froth set. Some people use electric mixers, while others use the whisk. We like the good ol’ analog method. I’ve seen people whip for as long as 30 minutes, but the average is about 10-15 minutes.

The Dining Happy Way

What’s the secret to fast Dalgona coffee? Use hot water! Our version takes only 6 minutes if you whip in a fast motion. This recipe was originally adapted from Buzzfeed (Inga Lam’s recipe). She uses cold water in her recipe, which took 15 minutes to whip the coffee the first time around. My husband improved it by using hot water, which melts the sugar and coffee faster. This cuts the whipping time down to 6 minutes only. (P.s. Turns out, plenty of food bloggers have already figured this one out, and there are blog posts about it prior to the publishing of this one.)

Faster is the Dining Happy way!

ENJOY, and let me know how you like it in the comments below.

Dalgona Coffee in 6 minutes

An improved version of the classic Dalgona Coffee preparation.
No ratings yet
Print Pin Rate
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Fusion-Asian
Keyword: Coffee, Dalgona, Korea, Macau,India
Prep Time: 6 minutes
Servings: 2 people
Author: Jackie Miao and Mr. Dininghappy
Cost: $2

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp instant coffee preferably Colombian or Java
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar fine
  • 2 tbsp hot water
  • 2 cups milk hot or cold (per person)

Instructions

  • Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and whip it using a whisk for at least 6 minutes until soft peaks form.
  • Spoon 2-3 tsp of whipped coffee over a glass of milk per person.
  • Mix contents into the milk and drink.
  • Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

Notes

You will have leftovers.
If after whipping the coffee for 6 minutes, and you’re still not getting peaks, just beat it some more until a soft peak forms. Your whisking speed may differ from mine, so the 6-minute is not a hard and fast rule.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Instant PotGluten FreeBasicRecipes

Instant Pot Forbidden Rice

by Jackie Miao
written by Jackie Miao

A BOWL OF SUPERFOOD

Anthocyanins… you get them from foods like blueberries and blackberries, but did you know that black rice, or “forbidden rice” (as it is called here in America) has more concentrations of the anti-oxidative flavonoids that help fight free radicals? Moreover, it may offer anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-cancer benefits.

That is why I love making and eating black rice. It also tastes great! When I was a child growing up in Borneo, my grandparents would make black rice congee and eat it with the family for nutritional value. Black rice is a crop that is grown in Borneo by small farms in Sabah, and the Bario area in Sarawak. We just call it “kampung rice” or “wu mi” in Hakka.

Taste-wise, it has a very floral fragrance that is different from Jasmine rice. Now that I live in the U.S., instead of congee I just make it to eat in place of white rice every now and again for the nutritional benefits.

I TRY NOT TO BE A RICE SNOB, BUT…

As a paddy-country native and person of East Asian descent, I’ve eaten my fair share of the best quality rice as a staple since I was a toddler. When I first got the Instant Pot, I scoured high and low for pressure-cooked rice recipes. I tried a few recipes from IP blogs to IP cookbooks. Alas, I was disappointed ALL TIMES, because the rice was either too dry, or too wet for my liking. The cooking times and water to rice ratio was just all wrong.

The following recipe is my own, and a quick way to make black rice in the Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker. I prefer to pressure cook my rice now, because of the uniformity of texture and consistency in bite. With a regular rice cooker, the heating element cooks the rice on contact, and the steam produced isn’t pressurized. Therefore, you end up with softer/mushier rice on the lower half, and chewier rice on the upper half. With the Instant Pot, you don’t get that. The rice is cooked on high pressure, and so the whole pot of grains are just perfectly cooked from top to bottom.

P.s. Make sure you get regular black rice, and not sticky or sweet black rice. They are different!

As always, if you make it using my recipe, let me know your thoughts below.

Instant Pot Forbidden Rice

Quick and easy perfect morsels of steamed black rice for your health and happiness.
No ratings yet
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: Rice, black rice, forbidden rice, anthocyanins, antioxidants, flavonoids, healthy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Quick release at: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 8
Author: Jackie Miao, DiningHappy.com

Ingredients

  • 4 cups forbidden or black rice organic
  • 4 1/2 cups filtered water

Instructions

  • Measure out 4 cups of rice into the inner cooking pot of the Instant Pot.
  • Wash the rice by rubbing the grains firmly, but gently in generous levels of water over the sink. 
  • Drain the water, and repeat the process 3 times. Wash the rice in 3 changes of water, or until water is clear.
  • When you drain the last change of water, make sure you drain all of it before the next step. The Instant Pot cooks the rice using high pressure, and does not evaporate moisture like a regular rice cooker.
  • Measure 4 1/2 cups of filtered water into the inner pot, submerging all the rice grains. (Wipe the base of the inner pot with a tea towel for safety, before placing the pot inside the heating pot. You don’t want to short the heating element).
  • Close the lid, and set the valve on the “sealing” setting. Then press the “pressure cook” button, and set the time to 15 minutes. (It will take a while for the contents to come up to pressure).
  • Let the Instant Pot do its thing. When the timer goes off, you have 2 options. Either you can do a quick release at 10 minutes if you need dinner ASAP, or let the pressure release naturally for about 15 minutes.
  • Serve black rice with any Asian dish that goes well with rice.

Notes

WAYS TO USE COOKED BLACK RICE
In Korean gimbap, salads, soups, with Chinese or any South East Asian dish requiring rice. It’s excellent with curries and stir fries.
 
 
0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
PaleoGluten Free30-minuteMalaysian

Malaysian Pineapple Turkey Curry

by Jackie Miao
written by Jackie Miao

It’s mid-August, and my entire facebook plus instagram feed has been bursting with media about Crazy Rich Asians. The movie was filmed in Singapore and Malaysia (where I’m from), and it’s making me miss a lot of things about home. I haven’t had a chance to watch the movie yet, but…

The idea of home really made me nostalgic for the crazy rich flavors of my heritage.


Needless to say, I went straight to the familiar, and made a Nyonya-style pineapple curry that my grandma used to make except for one detail; she didn’t use ground turkey. Turkey isn’t really a thing in Malaysia or Singapore except for christmas, when we would eat it in the Western style with mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and gravy.

My mom loved cooking with pineapple when she was around. I personally love making pineapple curry with lamb, but since we ate a lot of red meat this week, I decided to go for white meat and used ground turkey instead.

This dish is spicy, hearty, and super delicious!

You’ll love it if you appreciate a bit of sweet and sour to cut the spiciness of the coconut curry. The acidity works beautifully, and the curry begs to be eaten with hot steamed rice. You can make this dish with any kind of ground meat (beef, chicken, pork, lamb, whatever works for you), but not seafood, as the curry blend for seafood is different.

It’s important to note that you have to use Malaysian or Singaporean curry powder.

Commercially-packaged Indian Madras curry powder blends from India, UK, Vietnam, wherever else will not work, as it is stronger on the cumin and anise note. Those blends are usually more acrid-tasting and go better with yogurt or dairy as is typical of Northern Indian cuisine, but it doesn’t pair well with the flavors of the tropics. Thai yellow curry would yield a different flavor because of the lemongrass and kaffir lime note, so if you want the authentic taste, stick with Malaysian curry powder.

What you need is the Nyonya-Mamak blend like 888, Adabi Chicken And Meat Curry Powder, Babas, or YEO’S Malaysian Curry Powder. Look for them in the Asian markets, or online.

Trying out a new plugin

I’m using a new recipe plugin, but it seems that the formatting isn’t compatible with the code of this Wordpress theme. It’s a little buggy and requires a bit of time for me to go fix the CSS. However, all the texts are there, and if you click on PRINT IT, you should have perfect formatting.

Malaysian Pineapple Turkey Curry

A simple stove-top Malaysian-style curry that captures the beauty of fusion flavors.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Malaysian, Nyonya
Keyword: Curry, Malaysian, Pineapple, Tropical, Spicy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Author: Jackie Miao

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground turkey, organic
  • 1/2 ripe, fresh pineapple, cute into 1 1/2" by 1/2" pieces
  • 1/2-1 cup coconut milk, Chaokoh

Curry Base

  • 1/2 head yellow or sweet onion, chopped
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 2 Red jalapeno or large chillies, sliced
  • 3-4 tbsp olive oil, use more if it's not coating all the curry powder
  • 3 tbsp Malaysian meat curry powder, 888 brand
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
  • 1 tsp fish sauce

Garnish

  • 2 tbsp Chopped cilantro (optional)

Instructions

  • Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a 10" to 12"' skillet or wok on medium high heat (nonstick and stainless steel is fine). When your pan is hot, add onions and stirfry until semi-translucent (approx 3 mins), then add chopped garlic and fry some more (approx 30 secs).
  • Add your red chillies, and continue frying for about 30 secs, and add the curry powder. (You may need to drizzle more oil in order to get the curry powder fully coated and sizzling.)
  • Turn down the heat to medium. (You want to get a nice sizzle but don't want to burn the curry). Fry the curry with enough oil and your aromatics until it is fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. It should look like this.
  • Once your curry paste doesn't look raw anymore, add your protein.
  • Fry it until it's about half done, then add the salt and fish sauce for flavor.
  • Continue frying until the protein is fully cooked, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the pineapple, and mix it well. You want to soften and simmer on medium heat gently, about 5 minutes.
  • Once your pineapple looks cooked, add the coconut milk. I like to keep it light by using 1/2 cup, but if you want more sauce and richness, use 1 cup.
  • Continue simmering for about 4 mins, or until the coconut milk is fully incorporated with the curry gravy, and it looks like a beautiful golden yellow like here. Taste your curry and season it to taste. If you like your curry on the saltier side, you can add more fish sauce or salt.
  • Finally, garnish your curry with cilantro. Serve the curry with piping hot rice and any steamed vegetables of your choice, or portion it out for your meal prep like what I've done here.

Notes

How do you veganize it?

If you're vegan or vegetarian, you can use firm tofu for your protein, and substitute the fish sauce with soy sauce, liquid aminos, or coconut aminos.

I want more sauce!

You can add more coconut milk, or a mixture of chicken broth and coconut milk.

I'm afraid it might be too spicy!

Cut the curry powder down to 2 tbsp instead of 3, and substitute the red jalapeno peppers with red bell peppers.

I want it spicier!

Add chilly powder to the curry powder in the beginning. If it's too late, add some freshly chopped bird chillies in the curry instead.

Enjoy! Do you like this recipe plugin? Please let me know in the comments below!

Disclosure:

I love Amazon and am a Prime member myself. I may have links all around my website that are affiliated links which technically does earn me a few pennies in commission. If you found value in my content, do show you support by buying through my links. Buying through my links won’t impact my lifestyle, but your support will motivate me to go that extra step to point you in the right direction.<3

1 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
BreakfastRecipesVeganGluten Free

Olive Oil Granola

by Jackie Miao
written by Jackie Miao

 Spending a Fortune in the Beginning

I love granola! I have always loved morsels of crunchy oats, though it became a fueling necessity when I took up distance running many years ago. For about 15 years since my introduction to granola, I’ve always just bought boxes and bags of fancy stuff from specialty grocery stores wherever I lived or traveled to. If I was in Singapore, I’d be trolling the healthfood stores there for granola. If I were in Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur, I’d do the same. They were on the pricey side when I was based in Asia, but I liked the stuff so much, that I spent a fortune on them.

Then I started eating so much of it, the price tag was the least of my concern. I started being concerned about how many grams of sugar I was consuming, what oil they’re using (if it’s GMO or not), and if they the products contained ingredients I didn’t want in my food. The other thing was, since I was eating granola so often, I also started noticing things I liked and disliked about different brands of granola; like taste, texture, and how hard it is on my jaw when I chewed it.

When I Started Changing it Up

Since I wasn’t that great at baking in those days, I started making my own no-bake softer-on-the-jaw energy bars, and reduced my impulse to buy store-bought granola. That is, until I met my husband, whose “French patisserie-like” baking talent and skills, is the reason I stopped talking to all other eligible suitors, and ended up being his wife.

Married Granola Tastes Better Than Single Granola

This is the healthy, organic, and delicious granola we make at home. We haven’t eaten store-bought stuff in years, because when you get older, your standards get higher. This is just way fresher, cleaner, healthier, and tastes so much better.

The hubby has spent years simplifying and perfecting this recipe! It’s not too sweet, has cardamom (which we both love), it’s crunchy, but most of all it is not pebbly and rock hard like most of the store-bought granola. This recipe is all-organic, and has no hidden sugars other than the conservative levels of natural organic agave syrup we use, which is lower in GI.

Low and Slow is the Name of the Game Here

It’s important to note that this recipe takes 1 hour of baking time to get the perfect golden brown crunchiness. I don’t like biting into jaw breakers, so this recipe is just easier on the jaws while maintaining a nice crispy crunchiness. I especially love it in a yogurt parfait or as a smoothie topping. Enjoy this, and tell me what you think in the comments section below!

P.S: If you have a sweeter tooth, use 1 cup of agave. Our palette is more primed to prefer lightly sweetened foods in favor of letting the other ingredients shine, but if you’re into desserts for the sugar, you might want to double the syrup.

Olive Oil Granola

A low-GI and lower sugar crunchy granola recipe using extra virgin olive oil!
No ratings yet
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast
Keyword: granola, breakfast
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 20 servings
Author: Jackie Miao

Ingredients

  • 6 cups of organic rolled oats or gluten-free oats
  • 2 cups of your favorite nuts and seeds
  • 1 cup of coconut chips or grated coconut
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp salt optional

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 to 3/4 agave or maple syrup

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 290F
  • Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
  • Add all your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and mix it thoroughly.
  • Add oil into the dry ingredients.
  • Add syrup into the dry ingredients.
  • Once your ingredients are fully incorporated, transfer your mixture to the baking tray.
  • Spread your granola evenly so that the entire surface is the same thickness.
  • Transfer the baking tray into the oven, and bake for 30 minutes.
  • After 30-35 minutes, rotate the tray 180º and increase the oven temperature to 295F and bake it for another 30-35 minutes.
  • Remove baking tray from oven, and place it on a cooling rack. Make sure your granola is completely cooled off before transferring it to your airtight containers.

Notes

Note: Make sure your oven rack is in the middle position.
Tip 1: Add the oil into your pyrex measuring cup first to avoid the syrup sticking to the pyrex.
Tip 2: If you want your granola in clumps, add 2 egg whites into the mixture.
Tip 3: Substitute 1 cup of oats for 1 cup of organic raw buckwheat groats for extra crunchiness.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Gluten FreeAppetizer30-minute30-minute Recipes15-Minute RecipesThaiRecipes

Thai Turkey Larb Recipe

by Jackie Miao
written by Jackie Miao

THAI TURKEY LARB RECIPE (ลาบไก่งวง)

The Sour and Spicy Neighbor That’s So Close, Yet So Far…

For the same reason that one can live next to a neighbor for years and not visit their home, I have not been to Thailand. I know, I’m not proud of it, but faraway places beckoned, and I just never got around to doing it. I always thought that Thailand was close enough to home that I could go anytime. It’s so ironic that I am now based in the U.S., Thailand isn’t as easy as a 2 hour flight anymore. If I wanted to go, I would actually have to plan a major trip there.

Saying that, I have eaten some amazing larb dishes made by Thai chefs in Malaysia. Being a neighboring country, Malaysia is home to some local ethnic Thais, as well as migrants who have food businesses in the capital of Kuala Lumpur. However, did you know that larb is actually of Laotian origin? This dish is most common in the Issan region of Thailand, where a big community of ethnic Laotians live.

It is All About the Meat

The best larb dish I’ve had is one that featured pork innards. It was a super spicy plate of chewy offals, graced with flavor so exciting that my friends and I reordered two more plates of the same. For practicality and health reasons though, I make larb with more readily available proteins that are cleaner and organic here in the U.S. I also don’t add MSG, or bomb the dish out with too much seasoning. I’m pretty health conscious, and so this one is a slightly less-exciting, and cleaner alternative that I can eat more often.

Also, taste will largely differ depending on the ingredients you use. Bland meats will yield a blander experience. More flavorful meats that are organic, pasture-raised, and thoughtfully produced will taste more complex. It really is all about the meat with this dish! The brand of fish sauce, and chilly powder you use will also be a factor.*

I usually err on the cleaner side for health reasons. Some of the hook, complexity and flavor notes that make genuine SE Asian foodies go crazy may be lost as a result of scaling back on the tastier, but less healthy stuff. Nonetheless, this is a delightfully healthy dish to make on a weeknight when you’re time-strapped and in need of a healthy meal. Enjoy!

Thai Turkey Larb Recipe

Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 lb of ground turkey (I use organic)
  • 1 tablespoon roasted rice powder
  • 1 tablespoon of medium-heat red chilly flakes (without seeds)**
  • 1/2 to 1 tablespoon fish sauce (or to taste)
  • 1 small bird eye chilly (optional, use 3 if you like it intense)
  • 1 1/2 limes, juice
  • 1 1/2 tsp of granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup of thinly sliced shallots
  • 3 stalks of green onions, sliced
  • 1/2 cup of mint leaves, chopped or whole
  • 1/2 cup of culantro (or cilantro), chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat nonstick wok to medium high. When hot, add your ground meat.
  2. Cook your ground meat until all the pinkness is gone (about 5-6 mins).
  3. Add roasted rice powder, mix thoroughly.
  4. Add chilly powder, mix thoroughly.
  5. Add fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar to taste. Mix thoroughly.
  6. Turn the heat OFF and add sliced shallots and extra fresh chillies, mix thoroughly.
  7. Remove to cool until it is just warm to the touch. Then, add your chopped herbs (mint, culantro/cilantro, and green onions.

How to eat: Serve this with lettuce wraps (romaine, butter lettuce, red leaf lettuce, iceberg, and cabbage all work) and warm rice as an appetizer, or as a simple main.

This recipe is adapted from EatingThaiFood.com

* Fish sauce – I think the saltiness of fish sauce differ from one brand to another (e.g. Red Boat, Three Crabs, Squid brand have different levels of saltiness), so make sure you always season conservatively at first, and add more to taste. I always do them in 1/2 or 1/4 tsp increments until I find the perfect balance.

** The intensity of the heat largely depends on what variety of red pepper flakes you use. Thai dried chillies are a lot hotter than Korean dried chillies, so just add this according to your preferred taste and intensity. If you’re using Thai prik bon, add in increments of 1/4 tsp. If you’re using Korean pepper flakes, you can add a bit more.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail