// sauteed snow pea tips //

snow pea tips

washed and prepped

ingredients needed - didn't put garlic in the pic

in the wok it goes

One of my favorite Asian greens - snow pea tips. Here is how you should prep them. Here's the recipe for the way I make them. Very simple and these ingredients should be a part of your kitchen staple anyhow!

Ingredients (the amounts are more to your liking. I don't really measure when I cook it, but you'll get the hang of it after a few times):

•  oyster sauce - about 1 TBS  
• bunch of snow peat tips (i cook a whole bag at a time b/c it simmers down like spinach)
• sesame oil - about 1 TBS
• minced garlic - about 1 tsp
• rice vinegar - a couple of shakes from the bottle (maybe 1 tsp?)
•  Japanese house spice (optional) - a few shakes from the bottle spread evenly

Directions: 

1. Add snow pea tips in wok
2. Add the oil in a circular motion around the snow pea tips so it drips inward
3. Now add the oyster sauce and rice vinegar
4. Put the minced garlic in on the left and ride side of the wok for about 10 seconds, then stir everything together
5. Put a lid on top and turn heat to low-medium for about 2 minutes.
6. Check to see if everything has simmered down and is well-coated.
7. Serve with your main meat dish or eat over rice by itself.
8. Sprinkle the Japanese house seasoning if you prefer

// grilled corn w/Vietnamese sauce //

This is easily one of my favorite foods that I grew up eating. My dad would actually just cut the kernels off of the cob, then grill in the oven. You can either grill it whole on the outside grill until it starts to char (you actually WANT some of the kernels to be dark brown or black) or you can do it stove top, too if you have one of these grill pans.

Living in a loft apt, I have to use the latter. It's pretty simple, you just grill the corn w/out the husks and use a heavy lid (I have a cast iron one that I use) to sit on the corn to push it down in the pan. Use medium heat (maybe high-medium depending on your stove). Again, you want it to be slightly charred in order to maximize the sweetness of the corn when you bite into it, plus the texture makes it THAT much more amazing. Remove from the pan and then cut off the kernels. There's some tools you can purchase to make it easier and this is the cheapest one I've seen for $2.99 that you can find at any kitchenware store.

Then you can serve the corn in small bowls and put about a teaspoon or 2 of this sauce over it and mix. Depends on how big your portion is, but you can just taste it to see if it's enough sauce. The recipe listed says "Cambodian", but we're neighbors so it's basically the same thing. ^_^

I remember calling it "lip gloss sauce" when I was a kid b/c if you eat it off the cob, it makes your lips all shiny from the oil. Hahahaha. Hope you like it!

// wonton soup //

These cold/rainy days make me crave more soupy dishes. I suddenly got a craving for homemade wonton soup, so I made my 1st attempt the other week. Came out pretty good (pats self on back) for my purst time! I added fresh egg noodles from the refrigerated section at the Asian market (only takes 2-3 minutes to cook in boiling water). I didn't make the chicken stock myself, just used chicken broth. Make sure that when you boil the wontons (and noodles), to do it seperate or else it'll soak up most of the chicken broth. Also, I think that chicken bouillon cubes have better flavor than chicken broth bought in the box or can. I added baby bok choy in the mix as well. Here's a basic recipe using shrimp and ground pork. I actually reheated this for breakfast the next day, but was running really late and threw it in some tupperware. Ended up digging into it in my car while stuck in traffic. I must've looked REALLY Asian eating noodles and wontons in the car vs. other ppl eating breakfast sandwiches and poptarts.