Miscellaneous

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Different from your regular guacamole because it doesn't have tomatoes, garlic, or onions.   It's creamy and stays green for over a week in the refrigerator. 

Ingredients:

4 Large jalapenos

3 Large tomatillos

1 avocado

1/2 c oil

1 bunch cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut jalapeno stems off and cut fourths lengthwise.  Scrape off seeds and membranes and discard.  Wash husked tomatillos and rub off stickiness with water.  Cut into quarters.  Put jalapenos and tomatillos in pot and add about 1 cup water.  Bring to boil and simmer 10-15 minutes till soft.  Drain and put into Blendtec, Vitamix or blender.  Add rough chopped cilantro, flesh of 1 avocado, oil, salt and pepper.  Grind till smooth.  Store in airtight container.

This is the easiest way that I know how to store ginger a long time.  One way is to freeze ground ginger, the other is to refrigerate chunks of ginger in vinegar or liquor.  The ginger will keep for months.

Ingredients For Frozen Type:

Ginger

Ingredients For Refrigerated Type:

Ginger

White vinegar or liquor

Directions For Frozen:

Peel ginger, slice and grind in food processor.  Spread in a small flat pan 1/4"

thick.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Freeze till hard.  Remove from freezer, let sit a few minutes, then cut into squares.  Carefully put into ziploc bag, then immediately freeze until ready to use.  Take out as needed.

Directions For Refrigerated Type:

Peel ginger, cut into chunks and stuff into a jar.  Cover with vinegar or liquor such as wine or hard liquor.  Keep refrigerated.  Use anytime.

A fancy way of making eggs.   When peeled, it comes out almost looking like stained glass!  Hint of Chinese spices will have everyone asking how you did this.

Ingredients:

12 eggs

1 T vinegar

1 t coarse salt

2" piece of ginger, smashed

1/4 c black tea leaves

3 whole star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 c soy sauce

2 T Chinese 5 spice

1/4 c sugar

2 T coarse salt

String

Cheesecloth

Directions:

Put eggs in a medium sized pot and cover with water.  Remove eggs.  Bring water to a boil and add 1 T vinegar and 1 t salt.  Carefully lower eggs into water.  Bring back to a boil and cook for 8 minutes.  Place eggs into icy water until cooled.  Drain out water.  Gently crack each egg all over with the back of a spoon.  In a large pot, add 8 c water.  Make spice bag by placing ginger, tea leaves, star anise and cinnamon stick in a 6" square of cheesecloth.  Gather and tie with string.  Place in pot.  Add soy sauce, 5 spice, sugar, 2 T coarse  salt. Stir well.  Lower eggs into solution.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour.  When done, discard spice bag and put eggs in a container and cover with the liquid.  Eggs may be kept in liquid up to a week for a deeper color.  When ready to eat, carefully peel off shells and rinse eggs of any residue and shells.  To serve, cut in half lengthwise.  Can also be made into deviled eggs or egg salad for sandwiches.

This is a butter made from Lilikoi or passion fruit.  It can also be a spread or a jam for breads, bagels, crackers, ice cream, basically anything you can think of!

Ingredients:

1 c sugar 1 1/4 c lilikoi juice

1/2 c butter

1 T lime or lemon juice

10 egg yolks

Directions:

Put sugar, juices and butter in a pot and bring to a boil on med-hi heat.  Stir with a whisk occasionally to dissolve sugar and butter.  In medium sized bowl, crack yolks only and whisk till just blended.  Use whites for something else.  Continue whisking and pour about 1 cup hot juice mixture slowly into yolks, then pour it into the juice mixture on the stove, whisking to blend well.  Turn stove to med-low, whisking every so often till very thick, about 20 minutes.  It is ready when a metal spoon dipped into butter is turned sideways and  2 thick droplets come together to form one drop.  Strain into a 2 cup pyrex bowl with a pouring lip.  Carefully fill sterilized hot 3-8 oz canning jars up to 1/2" from the top.  If there are any drips to the top of jars, put some vinegar on a paper towel and wipe off any residue.  Put hot sterilized lids and screw down caps finger tight.  Let sit on counter on a towel or rack to cool.  Jars are sealed when finger is pressed on lid and it's firm to the touch and doesn't click.  Tighten jars when cool.

Note: 

All equipment must be sterilized.  Wash bottles, lids and caps.  Fill a large pot with water about 1/2 full.  Bring to a boil and put strainer, pyrex bowl, whisk, spoon and spatula.  Boil for ten minutes and remove to plate.  Put bottles in upside down in water and boil for 20 minutes.  Put lids and caps 

and boil for 5 minutes.  Remove lids and caps to a medium bowl and pour the boiling water over to cover the lids and caps.  Keep the bottles in the water on low while the butter is cooking.  When ready, take the jars out of the water and place on a rack or towel.  

Boiled peanuts are a popular snack in many countries and many parts of the U.S.  Usually the seasoning is just salt and sometimes Cajun seasoning and chile flakes.  They also contain more antioxidants than roasted peanuts or peanut butter.  This recipe is made the Asian way with Chinese spices and are delicious.  Some people like it crunchy but I prefer them very soft so the cooking time is several hours.

Ingredients:

2 lbs raw, unshelled peanuts

2 quarts water

2 T coarse salt

3 star anise

1 T Chinese 5 spice

2" piece of fresh ginger, unpeeled and smashed

3 bay leaves

1 T Szechuan peppercorns (dried red prickly ash)

Directions:

Rinse peanuts and soak in water overnight.  Weigh down with a plate and weight (like canned good sealed in a plastic bag) to keep peanuts submerged.  Drain, rinse and drain again and put peanuts in a large pot.  Add 2 quarts (1 gallon) of water and add salt, star anise, 5 spice, cinnamon bark and ginger.  Cover and bring to a boil, simmer 1-5 hours or more, depending on desired tenderness.  Drain, remove and discard spices.  Serve peanuts hot or cold.  Refrigerated, it keeps for about a week.  Frozen, it keeps for several months.  If using an instant pot, it takes 1 hour to become very soft.  If you like it crunchy, try 30-45 minutes. 

So fresh and so delicious.  I will never buy or use whipping cream that you spray from a can because it contains chemicals.  Make this in 5 minutes using only 3 ingredients.  Once whipped, it keeps in the refrigerator for several days without deflating.  Use this to top cakes, pies, other desserts,

soups, sauces, eggs and beverages.

Ingredients:

1 c whipping cream

2 T sugar

1 t vanilla

Directions:

In a deep bowl add cold whipping cream.  Beat at high speed until soft peaks form.  Add vanilla and gradually add sugar, beating till stiff peaks form.  

This can be used as a drink by adding hot water or just eaten as is and drinking the honey.  It's very soothing to the throat and helps when you feel a cold coming on.

Ingredients:

Fresh ginger slices

Fresh lemon slices

Honey

Directions:

Layer in any size jar, ginger and lemon.  Pour honey over to cover.  Refrigerate and eat as desired.

 This is the easiest and healthiest gravy ever.  The vegetables used to support the turkey while roasting become soft and are ground to make the gravy.  There is no flour or oil from the drippings and no seasonings are necessary. I'd rather have this than the traditional gravy.  Besides, it saves a lot of time. 

 Ingredients: 

All the vegetables and liquid from the roasted turkey. 

 Directions: 

Scrape all vegetables and drippings from the roasting pan into a bowl.  Carefully skim and  ladle off all grease and butter and refrigerate or freeze till somewhat firm.  Pour vegetables and liquid into a Blendtec, food processor, Vitamix or blender.  Grind on low speed or higher until it's the consistency of gravy.  Will only take seconds.  Pour into gravy bowl for serving. 

 How To Make The Turkey: 

https://youtu.be/mmVafEaFI5k 

 Learn to cut pineapple for a nice presentation rather than just cutting off all the eyes and wasting the fruit.  Growing up, everyone cut pineapple this way.   Now people just don't make the time to spend a few more minutes to make food look nice.   You'll impress your friends and family when you serve pineapple that has been specially cut with love.  

Ingredients: 

Whole pineapple  

Directions:

 Use a large serrated knife to cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple.  Stand on one end and Slice downward all around the pine, leaving some of the eyes exposed.  See video for specific instructions on how to make the V cuts with the knife or the pineapple tool.  Follow the diagonal pattern of the eyes.  Rinse pineapple, cut in half lengthwise, then in quarters.  Slice off core and discard.  Cut each quarter in three or four pieces.  Arrange on platter. 

 There are many versions of stuffing but mine is simple and (fool proof) with minimal ingredients.  Some people add eggs, water chestnuts, Chinese lup cheong sausage or other types of sausages.  Some use cornbread instead of bread.  There is no right or wrong, experiment according to your taste preference.  People often bake stuffing separately but I prefer it stuffed in the turkey so all the drippings permeate the stuffing and the taste is amazing.  Just be sure to cool the dressing well or refrigerate before putting in the neck and stomach cavity. This is enough for an 18-20 pound turkey.  If you like, add giblets, chop it up and add after the sausages.  

Ingredients: 

1 lb pork sausage 

1 Portuguese sausage, diced

1 large onion, diced

5 stalks celery, diced 

2 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled and mashed 1/2 c milk

1/2 c chicken broth

1 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt 

1 t pepper

8 oz pkg of toasted bread cubes or 1 small loaf of bread, toasted and cubed 

1 T chopped sage or 2 t powdered 

Directions: 

In a large skillet or wok, brown pork sausage, then Portuguese sausage.  Add onion and saute till translucent, then do the same to the celery.  Mix in mashed potato, then bread cubes.  Add milk, broth, salt, pepper and sage. Mix everything till well combined.  Cool on tray or refrigerate.  May be made a day earlier and stored in zip closed bag until ready to stuff turkey.   Do not stuff hot stuffing into a cold turkey.  Everything should be room temperature.

These are delicious sauces and dressings that can be used for fried chicken, chicken katsu, buffalo wings or any kind of meats and seafoods.  It can be used as dips or dressings for vegetables and salads.  Simple to make and see which ones will be your favorites.

Ingredients For Old Fashioned Ketchup:

1/2 c mayonnaise

1/4 c ketchup

1 t chili garlic sauce

1 t Worcestershire sauce

1 t minced garlic

1/4 t pepper

Directions For Old Fashioned Ketchup:

In a small bowl, add mayonnaise and beat well.  Add rest of ingredients and combine well.  If mayonnaise is not mixed first, dressing will be lumpy.

Ingredients For Barbecue Sauce:

1/2 c mayonnaise

1 T yellow mustard

1 T dijon mustard

2 1/2 T honey

1/4c commercial barbecue sauce

Directions For Barbecue Sauce:

In small bowl, beat mayonnaise, then add rest of ingredients and mix well.

Ingredients For Kochujang Sauce:

1/4 c kochujang

1/4 c sugar

2 T mirin

1 t minced garlic

1/4 c water

1t sesame oil

Directions For Kochujang Sauce:

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Ingredients For Horseradish Sauce:

1/4 c mayonnaise

1/4 c horseradish

1/4 t smoked paprika

Directions For Horseradish Sauce:

Mix all ingredients together.

Ingredients For Honey Mustard Dressing:

1/2 c mayonnaise

1 T dijon mustard

2 T honey

1 1/2 t oil

1 1/2 T minced onions

1 1/2 T fresh chopped parsley

1 1/2 T cider vinegar

Directions For Honey Mustard Dressing:

Mix all ingredients together.

Ingredients For Soy Dressing For Sticky Chicken:

1/2 - 1 c chopped green onions

1/2 c soy sauce

1/2 c sugar

1 small chili, smashed or chopped

Directions For Soy Dressing:

Combine all ingredients.  Roll sticky chicken in sauce or use to dip pieces so chicken stays crispy longer.

This a colorful and healthy appetizer made with dehydrated cherry tomatoes, onions, garlic and fresh herbs.  Eat it as bruschetta with Artisan breads brushed with olive oil and toasted in a skillet or on crackers or  on toast.  Be creative, you can use it in salads or pasta.  This is one of my favorite recipes and is eaten up quickly when made for the family.  This is an excellent ice breaker for a party.  Just have the bread ready and guests can add the topping to avoid sogginess.

Ingredients For Dried Tomato Spread:

3 lbs dehydrated cherry tomatoes or 1 gallon of dried tomatoes

1 c extra virgin olive oil

2 T Worcestershire sauce

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 T coarse salt

1/4 c fresh lemon or lime juice

1 c sliced or diced shallots or red onions

2 large garlic cloves, sliced

1 c packed Thai or other basil, broken up

2 T capers

2 T 8" sprigs of fresh rosemary, kept whole

1/4 c parsley, chopped

2 T oregano, chopped

Directions For Dried Tomato Spread:

Put all ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well, bottle and refrigerate.  

May pair with different cheeses such as: Parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar, gruyere, etc. as a topping or as a side.

So easy to make.  It graces the tables of all Hawaiian restaurants, luaus and parties.  We use this in place of hot sauce and many also eat the chilis too.

Ingredients: 

2 c water 

1 T coarse salt 

2 t vinegar 

1/2 c or more of small fresh chili peppers 

1 t minced garlic 

Directions:

 Fill a pint sized jar with the chilis. Heat water, salt and vinegar. Stir until salt dissolves. Cool and pour over chilis. Refrigerate at least a week before using.   

5 Spice powder is an important ingredient in many Chinese dishes.  In my videos, 3 recipes use this ingredient:  prune mui, kau yuk and char siu.  some people use it  in pot roast chicken so there is no rule, depends on your taste.  This spice can also be used for braised meats, vegetables, rice, noodles, even cakes and desserts.  You only need a little as the mix is pretty pungent.  Sometimes it is hard to find in grocery stores and that's why I decided to make my own.  Do not substitute black peppercorns for the Szechuan peppercorns (available only in Chinatown).  

Ingredients:

 3" cinnamon stick 

1 1/2 t cloves, whole 

1 T fennel, whole 

1 T Szechuan or Sichuan peppercorns 

3 star anise  

Directions: 

Break up the cinnamon stick and put it in a coffee grinder with the rest of the spices.  Grind until smooth.  Only takes seconds.  Store in a small jar in your pantry. 

Hawaii has a lot of good green mango that is solid and green throughout.  When in season, my cousin and I would scour neighborhood trees and make this delicious chutney.  There are many recipes and many schools and churches sell mango chutney at their country fairs in time for Christmas. On the mainland, "green" mangoes look green but they are already yellow and ripening.  It is very hard to find truly green mangoes for chutney and some pickles.

 Ingredients: 

16 cups or 1 gallon of peeled, diced or sliced green or half ripe mangoes 

1 T salt 

3 c sugar 

3 c brown sugar 

3 c apple cider vinegar 

2 c chopped onion (1 large) 

1/4 c minced ginger 

1/2 c chopped candied ginger

 1/4c minced garlic 

5 small chilies, chopped 

 2-15 oz boxes of raisins 

1 t cloves 

1 t nutmeg 

2 t cinnamon  

Directions:

In a large pot, combine vinegar, sugars, spices and chili. Boil and simmer 30 minutes. Add onions, garlic, ginger and raisins and cook 30 minutes. Add mangoes and cook 30- 60 minutes until thickened to desired consistency. Transfer to bottles or can them for gift giving or storage. Makes about 12-8 oz jars of chutney.   

Easy and inexpensive to make.  Better tasting than the bottled type with less ingredients.  So delicious.  This is one of my daughter's favorite dishes.

 Ingredients: 

2 lb, 10 oz can of long bamboo shoots, cut into bite size pieces 

1/2 c oil 

1 T chili pepper (Korean type for kim chee, cayenne or others) 

2 t sesame oil 

2 T sugar

 2 t salt  

Directions: 

Heat pan, then add oil till hot.  Add bamboo shoots and saute 5 minutes until well mixed.  Add rest of ingredients.  Let come to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.  Let cool.  Store in bottle and refrigerate. 

Serve this unusual and delicious side dish.  People will be oohing and aahing and wondering what this is.  It is crunchy, sweet and slightly hot.  Most people have never seen this vegetable.  It only appears in late summer, around the end of July.  The stems will pop up from the chive leaves and form a white bud.  If you wait too long to pick the stems, the bud will open and black seeds will form.  The stems will be too tough to eat then.  Only the Chinese and Korean stores sell the stems.

 Ingredients: 

 1/2 lb garlic chive stems

 2 T Chinese plum sauce

 1 T finely shredded ginger  

Directions:

Blanch bunch of garlic stems in boiling water for about 2 minutes until color changes to a dark green and stems are limp. Drain and cut into 2" pieces. Put into bowl and mix in plum sauce and shredded ginger. Plate and serve.  

This is a very delicious, crispy condiment from Burma (Myamar) made with dried shrimp, lots of fried onions and fried garlic.  This is very popular and is eaten with rice but many westerners eat it with toast.  My children and all the grandkids love this and can hardly wait till I make it and send them some.  They have all learned to make it and now they have the video and can make it themselves.

Ingredients: 

2 lbs good quality dried shrimp, ground fine in Blendtec or food processor

1 1/2 c oil

1/4 c tamarind water (soak 1/4 dried fruit in 1/2 c water until softened.  Squeeze and press through strainer.  Discard pulp.

2 t Chinese shrimp paste (hahm ha)

1T fish sauce

1 T sugar

1 T vinegar

1 t turmeric

1 t paprika

1 t or more chili flakes

8 oz bottle of fried garlic

8 oz bottle of fried onions

Directions:

Heat oil in a very large wok or 2 very large skillets.  When  a pinch of shrimp is dropped in oil and it sputters and foams, oil is ready.  Pour all of shrimp in and constantly mix and scrape bottom with a wooden spoon or it will burn.  Keep stove on medium or less if on propane gas stove as it is hotter than a kitchen stove.  Shrimp will absorb all oil but keep stirring.  Do not leave for a second or it may burn. Keep stirring until shrimp is dried, nicely browned and crispy (may take about 30 minutes).  Add rest of ingredients except garlic and onions and mix well.  Keep stirring until everything is dry and crisp (about 10 minutes).

Transfer shrimp and spread onto 2 large trays to cool.  When 100% cooled, mix in garlic and onions.  Pack into jars.  Keep refrigerated.  Keeps a very long time and will remain crispy.

Delicious and easy to make.  Takes only a few minutes.  Serve it with any Mexican foods, chips, toast, crackers.

Ingredients:

Avocados, as many as you like

onions, minced, to taste

garlic, minced

cilantro, chopped

lime juice for tang and to keep from discoloring easily

salt to taste

Directions:

There are no measurements.  Just add ingredients to your taste.

This dip is really delicious and thick, full of textures and goes well with any chips, crostini, baguettes, toast, sandwich or over meats.  Plain yogurt is drained of excess water to get a thick consistency.  This is cheaper to use than Greek yogurt.  Water chestnuts give it an extra crunch.

Ingredients:

10 oz frozen, chopped spinach, thawed, water squeezed out

1/4 small onion, chopped  

1/4 c green onion, chopped

1 1/2 c plain yogurt

1/2 c mayonnaise

3/4 c Parmesan cheese

4 water chestnuts, chopped

1/2 c canned artichokes, chopped

1/4 t dried dill

1 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

Paprika for garnish

Directions:

Discard hard leaves from artichokes.  Add all ingredients to a bowl except paprika.  Mix well.  Put in a serving dish.  Sprinkle with paprika.