Daikon Radish Cake

My mother-in-law makes the best Chinese turnip cake or daikon radish cake.  It's usually a dim sum staple and tastes delicious pan fried to a a golden crisp on the outside after it's steamed.  I saw daikon on sale at the grocery store and thought of this dish.  I had most of the ingredients at home and it looked easy to make so I decided to give it a try.  The only thing I did not have was shiitake mushroom which hubs doesn't like anyway so I skipped it.

Daikon Radish Cake
From Nook and Pantry

Ingredients:

2 1/2 - 3 cups coarsely shredded daikon (around 1.5 - 2 lbs)
1 Chinese sausage, finely diced
3 dried shiitake mushrooms, finely diced (I skipped this)
2 Tbsp small dried shrimp, finely diced
1 - 2 green onion stalks, chopped
2 cups rice flour (do not use glutinous rice flour)
1 3/4 cups water
salt and white pepper
oil

Method:

Rehydrate the dried mushrooms and dried shrimp by soaking them in hot water for about 15 minutes. Peel and shred daikon; set aside. Mix rice flour with 1 cup of water. Heat 2 tsp of oil in a skillet or wok and stir fry chinese sausage, shiitake mushrooms, shrimp, and green onion for 2 to 3 minutes. Add daikon, 3/4 cup water, 1-2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp white pepper. Bring to a boil then remove from heat. Stir in the rice flour water mixture until it thicken then pour into a well greased round or square cake pan. Steam over medium high heat for about 50 minutes. Cool or chill overnight. After cooling, cut the cake into 1/4 inch thick slices and pan fry both sides until golden brown. *Serve with chili soy sauce.

*You can also serve the crispy daikon cake with eggs.  My husband grew up eating homemade daikon cakes this way.  Just beat an egg with salt and pepper to taste.  Then while the cakes fry on both sides, pour the egg over the daikon and let it set, turning them over so that they are coated with the egg.  Transfer to a serving plate once the the egg is set and cooked through and dip in sauce.

Is Kale the New Spinach?

Remember the first time you had broccoli or spinach as a kid?  I don't know when or how it happened but at some point while growing up, I finally appreciate all the health benefits I reap from eating these leafy green plants.  I'm trying to eat my 5 a day as much as possible but rising food prices is making it hard to eat healthy these days.  My sister and I drove by this produce stand yesterday and I was so glad that we turned the car around to check it out.  I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw kale for
$0.89 a bunch, onions for $0.25/lb, and zucchini for $0.69/lb, just to name a few.  I was so happy to go home with a $6 bag full of fruits and vegetables!  It totally made my day.  

I've been hearing a lot of rave about kale these days and it really got me interested.  Of course, I can never buy them because they are expensive and rarely go on sale.  I was really excited when I brought the kale home and decided to cook them right away for dinner last night.  Now it's my turn to rave about it.  Did you know that kale is chock full of antioxidants, vitamins, and calcium compared to spinach? This is the meca of all superfoods!  This is how I hype up vegetables so my husband will eat them.

The vegetable itself is kind of tough and bitter so I've found out that you only eat the leafy part and discard the stems and center ribs.  They are often times sauteed or steamed and even baked into crispy kale chips.  I decided to sauté them with garlic and onions with some chili flakes and paprika seasoning.

Sautéed Kale with Garlic and Onions
Adapted from here and there

1 pound kale, tough stems and center ribs discarded and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic clove, minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt

Cook kale in salted boiling water for about 5-10 minutes, then drain.  Heat olive oil in skillet on medium high heat and sauté onions and garlic until tender.  Add red pepper flakes and paprika.  Stir in kale for a couple of minutes and add salt to taste.

Tiramisu Layer Cake

For my sister's 26th birthday, I made a tiramisu layer cake from scratch!  Well, almost.  The recipe I used called for box cake mix instead of lady fingers found in this traditional Italian dessert.  It turned out pretty good but I would do it differently next time by making sponge cake layers.  I think it would work very well to soak up the coffee liqueur mixture.

Tiramisu Layer Cake
From All Recipes with a few tweaks

Cake Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) package moist white cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
2 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1/4 cup brewed coffee
2 tablespoon coffee flavored liqueur (Kahlua)

Filling Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) container mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur

Frosting Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur (Kahlua)
cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 3 (9 inch) pans. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper.  

Prepare the cake mix according to package directions. Divide one third of batter into a pan. Stir instant coffee into remaining batter; pour into remaining pans.  

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. 

In a measuring cup, combine brewed coffee and 2 tablespoon coffee liqueur; set aside.

For the filling: In a small bowl, using an electric mixer set on low speed, combine mascarpone, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 4 tablespoons coffee liqueur; beat just until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

For the frosting: In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat the cream, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and 3 tablespoons coffee liqueur until stiff. Fold 1/2 cup of cream mixture into filling mixture.

To assemble the cake: Place one coffee-flavored cake layer on a serving plate. Pour one third of reserved coffee mixture over cake, then spread with half of the filling mixture. Top with the plain cake layer, pour another third of the coffee mixture over the second layer and spread with the remaining filling. Top with remaining coffee-flavored cake layer; pour remaining coffee mixture on top. Spread sides and top of cake with frosting. Place cocoa in a sieve and lightly dust top of cake. If you have leftover frosting, you can use it to decorate the cake like I did! Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

Cilantro Pesto

If you are like me and do not want to spend a chunk of money on pine nuts and basil leaves for homemade pesto, this cilantro pesto recipe is a great alternative.  Cilantro is abundant now and you can get it for super cheap.  We usually pick some up when we shop at our local Asian supermarket for less than 50 cents a bunch.  What a deal!

The recipe makes around one cup and whatever you don't use, you can freeze.  Whoever thought of this is ingenious.  Just fill an ice cube tray with pesto, cover with plastic wrap, freeze, remove from tray, and place in a freezer bag for future use.  I made pizza the other day and used the pesto for my sauce base and it was yummy!

Cilantro Pesto
Adapted from an article on The Washington Post

Ingredients:
1/3 cup walnuts (I'm going to try blanched almonds next time)
1-2 cloves garlic
1 large bunch cilantro, roots and large stems removed
1 T lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 grated Parmesan (optional)

Place nuts and garlic in food processor and process until finely chopped.  Add cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper until well blended.  With the food processor running, gradually add oil.  Add more, if needed, to desired consistency.

Making Homemade Pork and Shrimp Wontons

Wonton noodle soup is a budget-friendly dish to make especially in this tight economy.  Growing up, my sisters and I would gather around the table and help my mom wrap wontons.  It was a very bonding experience.

Making wontons can be time consuming but it's super easy to make.  I like to make a lot and freeze the rest for a quick meal whenever I feel like adding wontons to my soup noodles.  You can eliminate the shrimp and just use pork or vice versa if you feel like splurging.  I like my wontons with shrimp so I use 50/50 pork to shrimp ratio.  The size of the shrimp does not really matter since you have to chop it up anyway.  If you are unsure of how to wrap the wontons, there are tons of videos available online.

Pork and Shrimp Wonton Recipe
Makes about 40-50 wontons

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. shrimp, shelled, deveined, and chopped
2 stalks green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Xiao Hsing wine or rice cooking wine
1 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch

1 package wonton wrappers
green onions, chopped
Chicken broth

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.  Assemble wontons one at a time by placing a teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wonton wrapper.  Moisten the edges with water and fold to form a triangle.  Press firmly to secure edges.  Brush one tip of the triangle with water and bring the two corners together to finish off the wonton.  Repeat until all wrappers are used.

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add the wontons making sure not to overcrowd them.  Let the wontons boil for about 4-6 minutes until they float to the top and are cooked through.  Remove wontons with a sieve or slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl.  Ladle hot broth over wontons and garnish with green onions.

Optional:  Serve with Hong Kong-style egg noodles and bok choy or any type of Chinese greens for wonton mien (noodle soup).

To freeze:  Put wontons in a single layer on a cookie sheet or baking dish, making sure they do not touch.  When frozen, gather them up and put in a freezer bag.