Hearty Turkey Spaghetti

As I was growing up, Olive Garden was the first thought in my mind when it comes to Italian cuisine. I was introduced to pizza, lasagna, chicken alfredo, and spaghetti, which are commonly eaten at home or other restaurants.  Pizza is the America's favorite food to consume and it could be easily ordered through Pizza Hut or other pizza parlors.  Spaghetti could easily be cooked at home through using that jar of Ragu or Prego bought from the grocery store.  Pasta is a simple dish to prepare with sauce or cheese.  Meat and vegetables could be added for a hearty meal.

Olive oil is vital to Italian cooking and adds flavor to the dishes.  Olive oil could be used as a salad dressing, dipping bread, or make sauce.  The spaghetti sauce bought from the grocery store could simply be made at home.  I have learned that tomatoes, garlic, onions, herbs, and cheese are the major components in Italian cuisine when it comes to making sauce.  The tomatoes liquefies when it softens for about 5 minutes on the high heat.  I would not recommend adding sugar since sauteed tomatoes and onions are naturally sweet.  The common herbs that are used to make the red sauce are basil, oregano, and parsley,  Minced garlic, chopped onions, red wine, and paprika gives more flavor and color to the red sauce.

Preparing the red sauce is real simple. The ingredients that you will need are 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, 1 small onions, 5 Roma tomatoes, 1 tsp of olive oil, 2 tbs of butter, 1/2 cup of water, 1 tsp of parsley, 1 tsp of paprika, 1-2 tlbs of red wine, 1 tsp of lemon juice, 1tsp of sea salt, and 1 dash of oregano.  Finely mince the garlic and dice the onion.  You will need 5 or 6 diced tomatoes and place them in the small pot in high heat for about 5 minutes until it softens, then stir.  Add the garlic and onions to saute until it softens and then add 2 tablespoon of red wine.  Then add butter and reduce the heat to medium low.  Slowly add 1/2 cup of water and stir. Meanwhile add olive oil, paprika, salt, dash of oregano, and 1 tsp of parsley and stir. The paprika and red wine adds color to the tomato sauce. The herbs and lemon juice balances out the sauce to make it more flavorful without adding sugar.  Let it simmer for about 30 minutes.  Lastly, add the lemon juice and stir.  

This makes about 4 servings.  It would be nice to use homemade fresh noodles, however, I used the whole package the store brought spaghetti noodles. I usually add a dash or two of salt so the water would boil faster and cook until al dente.  When the pasta is done, drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.  Vegetables could be added as a healthier option, such as zucchini or bell peppers.  I would dice 1/2 cup of turkey sausage and added 1/4 cup of ground turkey.  Brown the turkey turkey separately using 1 tsp of olive oil then cook the chopped sausage for 2 minutes.  Drain the excess oil and then add them to the tomato sauce.  Mix both the sauce with meat and noodle evenly on low heat for about 2 minutes.  A simple hearty meal influenced by the Italian cuisine!              



 


                          

         

Fried Kimchi Dumplings

       I fell in love with Korean cuisine since I started watching Youtube videos of Maangchi. Her recipes had a huge influence for my cooking experience before starting this blog.  I learned how to make  kimchi and other recipes through her.  The important ingredient for this dish would be kimchi.  Kimchi made from cabbage, which involves a long process of fermentation. It is a stable dish within the Korean culture and became a staple for me as well.  Kimchi is enjoyed with rice as a side dish called "banchan.".  You can make many different dishes with it, such as; kimchi pancake, kimchi fried rice, add it with bibimbap, and especially in dumplings called "mandu". (Bibimbap is mixed rice with vegetables,meats, and eggs).

   I had some kimchi left in the storage that I have already made months ago or could buy a small jar at the nearest Asian grocery store.  You could make kimchi, but it would two days to make for the fermentation of the cabbage to process.  Generally, day one would be the salting process for at least 8 hours and then store them to pickle.  It takes patience!

Warning: This is a spicy dish and you can adjust the level of spiciness based on your preference.

Photo Courtesy of Mimi T.

   
Ingredients needed:

1 pound of grounded pork
1 tsp of ginger (optional)
3 cloves of garlic
1 small onion
2 tsp of sesame oil
2- 3 tbs of fish sauce
1 pkg of  dumpling wrapper (round)
1 egg
2 stalks of green onions
1/2 cup of kimchi
1 tsp of Gochujang hot pepper paste
1/4 cup of vegetable oil for frying

For the filling:

I usually like to cut the garlic and vegetables first to prepare for the filling.  I would mince the garlic and ginger finely and dice the onions.  The ginger would be optional because the premade sauce in the kimchi jar already has it already.  Chop the green onions finely and kimchi into small bite- size pieces. Add the garlic, onions, ginger, kimchi, 1lb. of ground pork, green onions, sesame oil, 1 tsp of Gochujang, 1 egg, and fish sauce into a large bowl and mix well.  Refrigerate for an hour then start wrapping!

I am not sure of the name brand of this dumpling wrapper and I always buy this kind at H-Mart.  Any brand would be okay.  I use the Squid brand for the fish sauce.  Most dumpling recipes asked for cabbage, asian chives, and Korean potato/starch vermicelli.  You could also add mushrooms and tofu to your liking.  This is a more simple recipe and it's easy to make.  The wrapping part would be time consuming so gather your friends and family to help out!

Photo Courtesy by Mimi T. 

There are many ways to wrap the dumplings, but it takes practice for that perfect one!  Also depends on how much you put onto the wrapper.  If it's too much you can scoop it out!  Make sure the meat filling don't ooze out of the dumpling.  I would say out about 1 1/2 tsp of filling.

Note: You will need a small bowl of cold water to glue the edges.

Photo Courtesy of Mimi T.

You need a small bowl of cold water to glue the edges.  Fold the wrap in half and press along the edges. Fold and pinch the edges to shape it to look like a fan.  As, a result, it should look like the picture below after frying.

Add vegetable oil to the pan and set it on medium heat until you see bubbles.  Do not overcrowd the dumpling into the pan and leave spaces in between cooking.  This may take about 3 or 4 batches to finish frying.  Fry until gold brown on both sides.  I usually eyeball it, and it should take about roughly 2-3 minutes.  Pour at least 1 tsp of water and cover the pan about 2-3 minutes.  Repeat the frying process in batches.

Note: If you ran out of dumpling wrappers, save the leftover fillings, and store it into the freezer for next time.      

Spicy Salmon Sushi Roll

Hello! I'm new to blogging and I'm excited to share with you my cooking experience throughout the years.  I have made and tried all types of food and cuisine from Spanish to Italian.  I am Asian American and I grew up eating Vietnamese food while growing up.  I love Vietnamese food, however, I like to expand my horizon by exploring many foods from all over the world.  I don't have a favorite food, I love them all!

Japanese cuisine are common within the U.S. and almost everyone eats sushi.  It's delicious! Of course, sushi have been one of my favorites!  Going to the sushi restaurant could be quite expensive or at time you might get disappointed from a sushi buffet.  Trust me, I had a few bad experiences and made my stomach churn!  I am sharing my way how I made my sushi roll!

I usually prepare the ingredients before proceeding to the next step.  

The ingredients needed are:

2 cups of sushi rice

1 package of  Yaki Sushi Nori

1 filet of  fresh salmon 

2-3 tsp of rice vinegar

1-2 tsp of sesame oil

1 tsp of sugar 

1/4 tsp of salt

2 tsp of soy sauce

1-2 tbs of sriracha

2 stalks of green onions (optional)

Other items needed are:

Regular sauce pan

Cutting board

2 mixing bowls

Sushi roll mat

Sharp Knife

(20 mins to prepare the rice)

First, the sushi rice needs to be washed three times and drain.  I follow the directions on the package from the Sukina brand.  The direction reads that each cup of rice for 1 1/4 cup of water.  I would double the measurement to 2 1/2 cups of water. After washing the rice, grab a pot, add 2 1/2 cups of water and 2 cups of sushi rice until boiled, then stir a little.  Turn down the heat to simmer and cover with lid about 15 to 20 minutes, then stir.  Let it cool about 10 minutes, then add the 1/4 salt, 1 tsp of sugar, and 2-3 tsp of rice vinegar according to taste.  Mix the added ingredients evenly in a separate mixing, then set aside.

The second step would be to finely chop the green onions using the cutting board and set aside.  Next, remove the skin from the salmon then cut them into small cubes.  Put the salmon into the mixing bowl, then add 2 tsp of sesame oil, 2 tsp of finely chopped green onions, 2 tbs of sriracha (adjust to taste), and 2 tsp of soy sauce.  Toss evenly and cook the salmon using low heat for about 2 mins and slightly raw for the color.  

It is important to get the right ingredients and the right kind of sushi wraps!  I had bought a package of sushi wrap before and tried to make sushi roll with it.  It was an epic fail!  Make sure the package says Yaki Sushi Nori!  I am not sure of the name brand of the sushi wraps, but I got them from H-Mart, a Korean grocery store.  

Gather the cooked rice and the salmon mixture ready.  Have a clean cutting board ready and it's time to roll!     

There are several ways to roll sushi.  I have seen some chefs on Youtube would place a plastic wrap over the sushi mat to keep it from getting messy and sticky while rolling.  I have tried that method and it ended up more messy.  I did a lot of research about rolling sushi and cutting sushi.  I have improved on the rolling and cutting sushi beautifully.  I felt this method works for me more efficiency.  Prepare a medium size bowl of cold water during the process.  Damp your hand with water then grab a handful of rice and make it into a ball.  Place the rice ball on the sushi sheet and press down  to spread evenly.  Place about few dabs of cooked rice on edge of the sushi sheet to get it glued together.  Assembly the filling lined up on the middle of the rice spread then slowly roll the sushi tightly using the sushi mat.  Slightly lift as you go and slowly roll!  

Sushi chefs made cutting sushi so easy, however, it wasn't easy as it looks!  It would take a lot of practice to make such a simple dish.  Wet your knife and slice the sushi roll in half.  Then slice about half of an inch and this makes 6 pieces.  Be sure to wet your knife after each cut.  

I hope you guys enjoy my recipe!  Give me insights!  I'm open to other ideas and techniques!