Asian-themed Dinner Part 1: Miso soup

(photographer: Kelvin Chu :P)

I decided to have an Asian-themed dinner this Friday to wind down after a long week--Miso soup, Garlic Soba Noodles, Garlic Parmesan Flatbread (leftover dough from the pizza), and some Almond Jelly (courtesy of my sister)

To start our Asian-themed dinner, I made some simple miso soup using miso paste and some firm tofu (forgot to buy some seaweed). I didn't really have a specific recipe that I followed, just had some boiling water, added some miso paste to taste (the trick is to mix the paste to boiling water in a separate bowl to avoid clumping), and some dashi granules (which is basically fish stock). Once the soup tasted like I wanted it to, I added the firm tofu, which I already cut into cubes and let it boil. Done!

Asian-themed Dinner Part 2: Garlic Soba Noodles

For the main course of the night, I decided to try a recipe I saw online. This recipe looked good from the first time I saw it--simple, quick and tasty. I didn't exactly follow it step-by-step, just sort of went with my gut (whoops--slightly tasteless there... maybe I should've measured). But it didn't turn out so bad!


To summarize the recipe, I fried firm tofu that had been dipped in egg, then covered with a mixture of breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and salt. After boiling soba noodles, I stir-fried it with garlic powder, some chopped garlic, and parmesan cheese for flavor. I also added some green onion, and topped the dish with the firm tofu (sliced). Delicious!

Experiment #3: Pizza (with homemade dough)

The pizza itself was really easy to make, just choose a sauce and toppings. I used pesto sauce (from Trader Joe's) and varying toppings (I made 3 pizzas, all with different combinations of the following: stir-fried chicken, avocados, onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, olives).


For the pizza dough, I used this recipe (although, as you can see, my dough did not turn out as delicious looking as this website's). Instead of 4 1/2 cups of flour, I used 50% whole wheat flour and 50% all purpose flour. And instead of the instant yeast, I used active dry yeast, but only 75% of a teaspoon (approximate) according to this.

The pizza dough takes the longest time--after letting it rest overnight, bring it out 2 hours before baking and knead it a bit to form mini pizza-sized dough. Let rest.


When the dough is ready, spread the pizza sauce of your choice onto it (I don't like crust, so I tried to put pizza sauce as close to the edge as possible) and add whatever toppings you like--don't forget the cheese!

Penne alla Vodka

I spent a year in Beijing to learn Mandarin; to eat healthy, I bought a ceramic cooker so I could "cook" my own meals rather than eat the greasy food from the school cafeteria (or any restaurant in Beijing). Truth is, the only dishes I could cook was anything I could boil (i.e. pasta) or steam (i.e. frozen dumplings). Since getting home, I have wanted to cook a dish that did not come from opening a jar and simply pouring the contents out onto a pan for heating. I found this recipe for Penne alla Vodka on the 101cookbooks.com website. Reading the recipe, it sounded simple enough for a virgin-cook to pull off; moreover, it was quick, healthy and delicious. I usually can't eat much of a cream-based pasta but this tomato-cream sauce was flavorful and rich without being too heavy.

Click here for the recipe.

Chocolate Coconut Cake

As part of my goals for the year, I decided I would expand my range of baking skills past cookies and apple crumble. I decided on a Chocolate Coconut cake for my dad's birthday. The recipe was taken from Francois Payard's book, Simply Sensational Desserts. There are only a few ingredients needed so I would not advise skimping on the quality of the ingredients. It's a coconut macaroon cake layered with chocolate ganache. I found that the sweetness of the coconut is balanced by the richness of the dark chocolate. The recipe calls for 10.5 oz of dark chocolate and 3.5 oz of milk chocolate, I decided to use only dark chocolate and it turned out quite well.

Click here for the recipe.

Experiment #1: Egg Breakfast Crepe/Wrap

This is actually my 3rd run on the recipe--I just didn't get a chance to take a picture the first 2 times. Yes! Definitely a success: It's basically scrambled eggs cooked quiche-thin (or in my case, however thin I could make it) with some fillings to make a wrap. Extremely easy--I highly recommend it to other newbies.

Here is my inspiration: Skinny Omelette Recipe

Next up... Quiche!