Rice Noodles with Crispy Tofu and Vegetables, in loving memory of AuntieKH

Gung Hee Fat Choy!

The lunar new year will be upon us soon.  In a few days we will welcome the year of the goat.  How will you celebrate?

For me, it will be a work day, so there will not be much celebrating.  I'm sure the Ds will eventually coax a belated Chinese dinner out of Mr. Dependable.  I will probably end up cooking, which really isn't so bad.  Unless you are The Help.

The Help has decided to follow a strict eating regimen to bring down his blood sugar levels.  Since his last doctor visit, he has been steering clear of ice cream cookies, Napples, and other yummy goodies.  He has also been limiting his consumption of starch, replacing the mound of rice with a green salad.  I know how hard it is to stay away from foods which are unhealthy but taste so good.  I've been fighting the cholesterol war for years, trying desperately to stay off meds.  I applaud The Help's valiant effort. But that's sort of where it ends.

Unfortunately, the rest of us here, myself included, have not demonstrated compassion with our actions.  Last night I saw D2 polish off 5 ice cream cookies with her glass of milk.  D1 was busy unwrapping and popping Dove chocolates in between nibbles of li hing lichee.  Of course, I've been hitting the tin of Yoku Moku I received as a gift from Dee.  Yeah, I know it probably wasn't nice of me to stuff my face with those things, especially those rolled wafers (those are my favorite), but I really wanted to get rid of the temptation, for The Help's sake.  You know what I mean.

Anyway, for dinner on Thursday, I'll be making something we can all (even The Help) enjoy.  There is something for everyone in Rice Noodles with Crispy Tofu and Vegetables.  D2 will eat this because she loves baby corn and won bok.  D1 will eat this because she enjoys bell peppers and rice noodles.  The Help can eat this without restraint because it is light and low in fat.  Don't be fooled by the healthy sound of the recipe title.  This dish is extremely tasty, even to high school students.  Last year, D1 brought a pan of this to a junior council potluck.  She was a bit apprehensive about how it would be received, but she reported that they totally cleaned it up.  I guess I will do my part and have a serving of this too.  But I also plan on making gao and gai dan tat so I will have something to look forward to after dinner. . .sorry, but low-fat is really not my bag!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Rice Noodles with Crispy Tofu and Vegetables

     1 block tofu, sliced into 6 pieces and drained on paper towels overnight
     vegetable oil
     16 oz dried rice noodles (1/2" wide)
     1 1/4 c water
     1 tbsp dried salted black beans
     6 large dried shrimp
     1 medium onion, cut into 1" pieces
     2 large won bok leaves, sliced into 3/8" pieces
     1/2 zucchini, sliced then cut into fourths
     1 bell pepper, cut in 1" pieces
     1 can baby corn, drained
     handful garlic (flat) chives, cut into 1" pieces
     6 T oyster sauce
     6 T shoyu
     1 1/2 tbsp mirin
     1 1/2 tbsp shao xing
   

Heat 1/4" of vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet.  Cut each tofu slice into 6 pieces (3 x 2).  Fry tofu pieces until golden brown and crisp.  Drain on paper towels.  Soak rice noodles in warm water to cover for 30 minutes.  Soak dried shrimp and salted black beans in 1 1/4 c water for 5 minutes.  remove shrimp and black beans and chop fine.  Reserve soaking water.  Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok.  Saute chopped dried shrimp, black beans, and onions for 1 minutes.  Add won bok and zucchini and saute for a minute.  Add fried tofu cubes.  Add bell pepper, baby corn and chives.  Saute for another minute.  Remove everything from the wok and place on a platter.  Add reserved water to wok.  Drain noodles and cut into thirds.  Add to water in wok.  Cook until water evaporates.  Return tofu and vegetables to wok.  Combine oyster sauce, shoyu, mirin and shao xing. Add to wok, and toss to coat everything in wok.  Remove from heat and serve.



With a heavy heart, I would like to dedicate this post (and original recipe) to my beloved auntieKH.  auntieKH left our physical world  last Tuesday.  While I am devastated by her passing, I am comforted by the fact that she left peacefully, surrounded by those who meant the most to her.  We will all miss auntieKH, but as LA said, auntieKH lives on in our wonderful memories.  

And auntieKH, if you're reading this, I don't think I thanked you enough when you were with us. . .thank you for marrying UM.  Without your love and support, he would've been just another family weirdo!

Rest in peace, Auntie

January 30, 1947-February 10, 2015

Ginger-Scallion Crab

It's almost Chinese New Year, and I'm missing out on the festivities in Honolulu!  Waaaahhhh!  I've gone every year for nearly a decade!  Unfortunately, the timing this year just didn't fit in.  We just had too much to do.  Mr. Dependable shirked parental duties last weekend, and D1 had an appointment with the allergist which was supposed to happen this past weekend.  When you live in a small town, there aren't too many specialists.  We waited over 2 months for the allergist appointment, and on Thursday, the allergist's office called to postpone the appointment another 2 months.  That did it for me!  We now have an appointment in Honolulu with a different doctor, with HMSA footing part of the airfare.

I'm bummed because this means we really could have gone to Honolulu for the Chinese New Year celebration.  The Help pointed out that this past weekend would have been an awful time to be in Honolulu anyway. . .its NFL Pro Bowl weekend.  That translates into  difficulty finding a well-priced hotel room and car.  Oh well . . . maybe next year.  I guess.

For some reason, its been crazy at work too.  D1 has an internship at the medical center lab.  She spends two hours there on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  She loves it.  I don't think I could handle what she does.  She isn't as squeamish as I am.  I drive her up to the hospital during my lunch break.  Of course I have indigestion on those days from eating so fast.  D1 eats a peanut butter sandwich on the drive. . .peanut butter sandwich is made by both me and The Help.  I make it the way I would make my own sandwich then The Help goes over it to make it like the way he'd make it.  D1 likes the way The Help makes it.  I wonder why.

I finally got off my ass this weekend and made some gao.  I made 2 batches.  I dropped one cake off at JoFer's house on Saturday, and I'm bringing 2 cakes to work tomorrow.  The gao list keeps growing so it's likely I'll be making more next weekend.  I need to be sure I have enough wong tong and mochiko.  Actually, for gao, I prefer to use the Thai glutinous rice flour.  It comes in a clear plastic bag with green writing (the red and blue designs are different kind of rice flour).  The end product is much smoother than what you get when you use mochiko (white box).

Missing out on Chinese New Year has made me ono for Chinese food, and I tried to compensate by cooking Chinese food as often as I could.  On Monday we had Hong Kong Chicken.  On Tuesday we had sweet sour spareribs.  Wednesday was leftovers.  Thursday was our first free night (no basketball game) so we took Kikukat Dad out to celebrate his birthday.  D2 suggested Japanese food as a break from all the Chinese food we've been having.  On Friday, after the Ds left with Mr. Dependable, I made this crab for me and The Help.

The Help claims not to be big on seafood.  He doesn't eat any of the bony fish (e.g., kole, menpachi, aholehole, etc.).  And he says he is not big on oysters, mussels, and lobster either.  But Ginger-Scallion Crab is an exception.  The Help loves this.  You know it's good when you can hear all the lip-smacking and finger-licking (sorry Brucie. . .I'm sure you must be cringing now).

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Ginger-Scallion Crab

     2 dungeness crabs

     2 tbsp oil

     1 tsp sesame oil

     2" piece of ginger, julienned

     1 bell pepper, slivered

     1 tbsp sugar

     2 tbsp shoyu

     2 tbsp oyster sauce

     1 tsp chicken powder

     2 tbsp cornstarch

     1/2 c water

     green onion, chopped

     cilantro, chopped

Combine shoyu, oyster sauce, sugar, and chicken powder.  Set aside.  Combine cornstarch and water.  Set aside.  Heat oils in a wok.  Stir fry ginger and bell pepper.  Add crab and toss with ginger and bell pepper.  Add shoyu mixture.  Cover and cook for 3 minutes.  Add cornstarch mixture and cook until thick.  Place in serving dish and garnish with green onions and cilantro.

Cookie Jar: Almond Cookies

Kung Hee Fat Choy!  Its the year of the Water Snake!  I need to find out what this year holds for me (and those born in my year).  I hope the forecast is for a great year.  I could sure use one (or more) of those!

Last week Friday, I snuck away to Honolulu for a quick overnight trip...mixing business with fun.  I made my usual stops and got to eat stuff not readily available in Hilo.  I bought back several kilos of wong tong and two Vosges Chocolate Mo's Bacon Bars.  

The trip to Honolulu came a little too late for gao making.  I had a meeting on Monday, and I was going to spend last weekend making gao for the meeting and for my gao-eating friends.  Kilauea Market was sold out of wong tong, likely because many of the newer Chinese restaurants in Hilo sell gao and jai.  No wong tong in the Hilo stores meant I had to shelve/postpone my gao-making.  Click here for my gao post from last year.

As a consolation, I made almond cookies.  It wasn't gao, but I had all the ingredients on hand.  Along with putting me in a festive mood, almond cookies allowed me to take a trip down memory lane.

The almond cookies I remember making at home ALWAYS had the red dot.  I know it did because the red dot was MY job.  My index finger (well-washed) was the perfect size for the red dot, and back then, a food coloring-stained finger wasn't a problem. . .lotsa food back then produced red fingers (shredded mango, pickled mango, red pistachio nuts).  When I got older, I used the handle of a spoon or the fat end of a chopstick to make the dot.  And then I progressed to making the almond cookies all by myself.

Commercially-available almond cookies do not always have the red dot.  Large tubs of almond cookies sold at warehouse stores do not have the red dot.  Some of them have an almond in the center.  Overall, those cookies are hopelessly tasteless.  Cookies which sometimes come free after a Chinese meal are usually a solid yellow color (at least at the local Chinese restaurants).  They also fall somewhere on the tasteless scale.  I'm old enough to remember the days when they had both taste and a red dot.  I am probably biased, but I think the red dot makes the cookies taste better.

Please don't dismiss this recipe due to the absence of butter.  I love butter, but this is one of those cookies where plain, solid Crisco does fine.  If you are a butter purist, then go ahead and use butter for a portion (less than half) of the shortening, but my preference is to use only shortening.  These cookies are not snapping-crisp, but they are not soft/soggy.  They have a melt-in your mouth quality and a nice almond flavor. . .perfect alongside a cup of tea.  Jasmine would be my preference.  And a warning to those of you who exercise moderation:  its practically impossible to eat just one.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Almond Cookies

     1 1/3 c shortening
     1 c sugar
     3 c flour
     1 tsp baking soda
     1/2 tsp salt
     1 egg
     1 tsp almond extract
     red food coloring

Cream shortening and sugar.  Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together.  Set aside.  Beat egg.  Add almond extract.  Add to shortening and sugar.  Add combined dry ingredients.  Roll/scoop into 1" balls and place 2" apart on lightly greased cookie sheets.  Flatten slightly.  Make indentation in center.  Touch indentation with red food coloring.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes (15 minutes for Airbake sheets).  Makes about 56 cookies if using a #50 disher.

Someone on another web forum asked me about the kikukat blog model.  She is a blue bi-color ragdoll cat.  She was born in the spring of 2007.  Her mom is Sadie, another gorgeous blue bi-color.  Her dad, Shaunbie FancyPants, hails from Manchester, England.  He is a mitted seal point ragdoll.