Fruit Glaze

Ingredients

For the Fruit Glaze:

• 1/2 c. Sugar
• 1 1/2 c. Fruit Juice
• Corn Starch or Ultra Gel *See Below
• 2 Tbsp. Corn Syrup

Instructions

To make the Fruit Glaze:

• Mix cornstarch OR Ultra Gel and 3/4 c. fruit juice** in a separate small bowl, stir until dissolved.
• Mix sugar and 3/4 c. fruit juice together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Add cornstarch/fruit juice mixture to boiling sugar/fruit juice, reduce heat and cook until mixture thickens and is turning clear, stirring constantly.
• Add corn syrup and cook for 1 minute.
• Cool fruit glaze slightly and then drizzle, lightly brush, or "paint" onto fruit.

Notes

• This glaze works well for fruit in a tart, pie, fruit pizza, cheesecake or regular cake to give it that glossy, professional look.
• *For thin glaze, 1 Tbsp cornstarch or 2 Tbsp Ultra Gel.  For medium glaze, 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch or 3 Tbsp Ultra Gel (my favorite consistency).  For thick glaze, 2 Tbsp cornstarch or 4 Tbsp Ultra Gel.
• **The glaze will pick up the flavor and slight color of the fruit juice you choose, so pick your juice based upon this.  Apple and pear juices are the mildest and clearest, while grape and berry juices are a darker, reddish color with more intense flavor.

Japchae

I copied this recipe from here

Ingredients

• ▢7 ounces Korean potato starch noodles (dangmyeon, 당면)
• ▢1 carrot (about 3 ounces)
• ▢1/2 medium onion, preferably sweet variety, (4 to 5 ounces)
• ▢2 scallions
• ▢4 ounces lean beef (sirloin or rib eye) or pork loin
• ▢3 to 4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms (or 4 to 5 dried shiitake, soaked until plump) Or oyster mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms or button mushrooms. See note 1.
• ▢6 ounces fresh spinach (preferably a bunch of spinach)
• ▢oil for stir frying
• ▢salt
• ▢egg garnish (jidan) - optional

Sauce

• ▢3.5 tablespoons soy sauce
• ▢3 tablespoons sugar (or brown sugar) You can use a little less if you want.
• ▢2 tablespoons sesame oil
• ▢2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ▢1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
• ▢black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Clean all the ingredients. Cut the carrot into match sticks. Thinly slice the onion. Run the knife through the white parts of the scallions lengthwise, if thick, and then cut into about 2-inch long pieces. Remove the stems from the mushrooms, and slice into 1/4-inch thin strips. Cut the meat into thin 2-inch long strips.
• Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well until the sugar is dissolved.
• In a large non-stick pan (see note 2), bring about 5 cups of water to a boil, and cook the noodles until completely translucent and soft (6 to 8 minutes). Drain in a strainer and rinse under cold running water. Drain well. Roughly cut the noodles with a pair of kitchen shears or a knife into 6 -7 inch lengths. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Mix well with 3 tablespoons of the prepared sauce.
• Fill the same pan with 2 cups of water. When water boils, blanch the spinach only until wilted. Drain quickly and shock in cold water. Squeeze out water, run a knife through the squeezed spinach a couple of times, and lightly season with salt.
• Add 1/2 tablespoon of oil to the skillet, and stir fry the noodles over medium to medium high heat, stirring frequently, until translucent and a bit sticky (about 4 minutes). Transfer back to the mixing bowl.
• Add 1/2 tablespoon of oil to the pan, and stir fry the carrot over medium high heat, sprinkling with a pinch of salt. When the carrot sticks are a half way cooked, about a minute, push them to one side of the pan to make room for the onion slices. Stir-fry the onion slices until translucent, sprinkling with a pinch of salt. Stir-in the scallion and cook briefly. Do not overcook. The vegetables should be crisp. Transfer to the bowl with the noodles.
• Add the beef and mushrooms along with 2 tablespoons of the prepared sauce and cook until the meat is cooked through, 2 - 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the noodles.
• Add the spinach and the remaining sauce to the bowl with all other prepared ingredients. Toss well by hand. Adjust the seasoning to taste by adding a little more (start with 1/2 teaspoon) soy sauce and/or sugar as necessary.
  
  

Optional egg garnish

• Separate the egg white and yolk. Lightly beat the white by gently cutting it with a spoon. Stir the yolk with a spoon until smooth. Heat a lightly oiled nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Pour each egg part into a thin layer, by tilting the skillet and/or spreading with a spoon. Cook each side briefly. (Do not brown the egg.) Roll it and thinly slice.

Notes

1. Shiitake and wood ear mushrooms are typical for japchae. Dried shiitake has concentrated flavor and meatier texture. You can use any kind of fresh/dried mushrooms such oyster mushrooms or button mushrooms.
2. In this updated recipe, you'll use the same pan for cooking the noodles and spinach and for stir-frying the noodles and other ingredients. 
3. Leftover japchae should be kept refrigerated. Japchae reheats well in the microwave. The noodles will get soft and chewy again.

Nước Chấm

• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (2 or 3 limes)
• 1 tablespoon unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar (optional)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup lukewarm water
• 5 to 6 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 or 3 Thai or serrano chiles, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)

Mix all ingredients. That's it!

Vermicelli Rice Bowl (Bun Thit Nuong)

I'm biased. I was raised on home cooked Vietnamese food. My mother doesn't have any recipes written down so when I ask her for recipes, she gives me wild guesses of amounts of ingredients, and always says "but just taste it and add what you think it needs."

So unfortunately, I've had to resort to finding recipes online and also ultimately tweaking amounts per my tastes. The reason I'm saying all this is because it applies to basically all my recipes I post here. Most of what I've posted here is pulled from a google search and saved here as a reference for myself more than any else, like self promo.

For the following recipe, I use the first section of ingredients for any meat. I think I even did it for shrimp and it worked, complementary-wise. 

I also have a recipe for nước chấm that my mom sent me. I followed the recipe exactly and it tasted perfect, the same as what I grew up with and poured on all my food. 

Banana Bread

 

Ingredients

• ▢1 Stick (1/2 Cup) Butter
• ▢3 Large Ripe Bananas
• ▢2 Large Eggs
• ▢1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ▢2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• ▢1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• ▢1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• ▢1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or grease with butter and set aside.
• Add the stick of butter to a large bowl and microwave for 1 minute, or until melted.
• Add the bananas to the same bowl and mash with a fork.
• Add the vanilla extract and egg to the bowl and use the same fork to mash and stir until no yellow streaks of egg remain.
• In a second large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a spatula just until combined.
• Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 4 lbs chicken parts (bone-in, skin-on thighs and breasts work well) (You'll need about 4 cups)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup seedless grapes, halved (red and green varieties are great)
• 1 cup almonds, thinly sliced
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Kosher salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon, then add more, to taste)
• Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F
• Rub the olive oil all over the chicken pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 165°F using an instant-read thermometer.
• Remove the chicken from the oven and let cool.  Remove the skin then pull the meat from the bones and roughly chop.
• In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, grapes, almonds, celery, scallions, dll, & parsley.
• In a small-medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, lemon, mustard, salt and pepper. 
• Add the mayo/mustard mixture to the chicken mixture and gently stir until well mixed.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.  
• Serve on a bed of greens with sliced tomatoes and avocado.  Or, serve on bread with green leaf lettuce.  Add more toppings to your taste!