Turnip Cake (蘿蔔糕)

Happy Lunar New Year! 新年快樂! The new year (of the Snake) actually started last Sunday, the 10th. And if you, like me, are a mouse in the Chinese Zodiac, this year is a great year for us in terms of love, career, and personal finance. (That's according to my aunt who was probably reading it from a book somewhere...)

Chinese New Year is awesome. It's like a combination of Christmas and Thanksgiving. It lasts for days and everyone is generally happy. Like any other holidays, the preparation can be endless. And of course, you can't talk about Chinese New Year without talking about the food. Or should I say... the FEAST?

Different regions of the China, and other Chinese societies throughout Asia, celebrate the New Year with different foods. You might have heard that dumplings are a must-eat during CNY, and that's very common in Northern China but not so much in Southern China or in Hong Kong.

Generally there isn't one signature item, like a turkey, that you must have during Chinese New Year, it's just the amount of all the food that people consume. Imagine having full-on dinners for at least 3 days straight (possibly a whole week if you're in mainland China). Then there's also small eats and snacks in between. Everyone offers their best hospitality to their families and relatives who are visting, and you want to start off the year with LOTS.

Some of the snack items you can commonly find in a Cantonese/Hong Kong family inclue Nian gao (年糕), Taro cake (芋頭糕), Gok zai (角仔), etc... It is quite common that you'd make or bring these items to your family visits as gifts. There is one absolute favorite dish of mine that I look forward to eat every year – the Turnip Cake (蘿蔔糕). You see, you can buy or even make Turnip Cake anytime of the year, and they even have it at Dim Sum. However, my mom's Turnip Cake has always been the best I've ever eaten, and I cannot NOT have it during Chinese New Year.

Since I didn't go home and she's half way across the globe. I decided that I'd try making my own Turnip Cake this year, and she's only a phone call away really. And here it is!

Ingredients: rice flour, daikon, dried shrimp (蝦米), Chinese Sausage (臘腸). Optional: Shiitake mushroom, scallion, Chinese preserved pork/bacon – lap yuk (臘肉). Obviously, you can find all that in Chinatown or hopefully from your local Asian grocery store.

When picking your daikon, you want them to be somewhat smooth on the outside (no bumps). Try to pick the ones that have cracks in them because those are the juicier ones, also meaning that are more fresh.

Soak the dried shrimp in warm water for about 10 minutes or until soften, then disgard the water and dice. Dice (or slice) the Chinese sausage as well.

Wash, cut both ends of the daikon, then peel.

Finely grate the daikons.

Cook the Chinese sausage then toss in the dried shrimp, stir-fry for about 10 minutes.

Now, heat up the daikon in a big wok for about 20 minutes, and drain off as much liquid as possible and save it for later use.

Mix the rice flour with the saved liquid until the flour is dissolved, then add it to the wok and stir.

After the daikon batter is mixed, you can add the other ingredients plus seasonings. I used some black pepper, white pepper, salt, and 2 tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce. The mix should be "doughy" and dense.

Now, the batter needs to be steam for an hour in a container. Make sure you have a dish or container that is heat-proof, and that it can fit in a wok with the lid on. (After the cake has been steaming for a while, a little bit of water will form on top of the cake. That's completely normal.)

After an hour, the Turnip Cake is done. Let it cool and the cake will become more firm. Most people like it pan-fried so it's common that you will let it sit in the fridge overnight, and have it the next day (it'll be easier to slice too).

Make 1/2 inch slices and pan-fry them with some oil.

I'm used to serving Turnip Cakes with some hoisin sauce and Sriracha but feel free to be adventurous!

Turnip Cake (蘿蔔糕)

Prep time: 40 mins  Cook time: 1 hour 50 mins  Total time: 2 hours 30 mins

You'll need:

• 1 3/4 cup of rice flour
• 3 lbs of daikon, finely grated
• 3 tbsp of dried shrimp (蝦米), diced
• 1 cup, 4 small Chinese sausages (臘腸), diced or sliced
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp of low-sodium soy sauce
• Optional:
• scallion
• Shiitake mushroom
• Chinese preserved pork/bacon – lap yuk (臘肉)

Approach:

1. Soak the dried shrimp in warm water for about 10 minutes or until soften, then disgard the water and dice.
2. Dice or slice the Chinese sausage.
3. Wash, cut both ends of the daikon, then peel.
4. Finely grate the daikons.
5. Cook the Chinese sausage then toss in the dried shrimp, stir-fry for about 10 minutes.
6. Now, heat up the daikon in a big wok for about 20 minutes, and drain off as much liquid as possible and save it for later use.
7. Mix the rice flour with the saved liquid until the flour is dissolved, then add it to the wok and stir.
8. After the daikon batter is mixed, you can add the other ingredients plus seasonings. The mix should be “doughy” and dense.
9. Now, the batter needs to be steam for an hour in a heat-proof container. Make sure that it can fit in a wok with the lid on.
10. After an hour, the Turnip Cake is done. Let it cool and the cake will become more firm.
11. Let it sit in the fridge overnight. When you're ready, make 1/2 inch slices and pan-fry until golden brown on both sides.
12. Serve with some hoisin sauce and Sriracha.

Mini Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

This is what I made for Super Bowl XLVII this year – Mini Cheeseburger Egg Rolls. They were absolutely phenomenal! I'm not gonna lie, it took a while to make these from start to finish. Depends on how many you are making – to make 45 of these little guys would probably take you about 3 hours (also depends on how good you are at wrapping). However, it was so worth it, and quite fun to make.

You might have seen this dish before on the Interwebs, but I'm pretty sure you haven't seen them done in minis! It was actually accidental. See, the store I went to didn't have any regular egg roll wrappers so I had to go with wonton wrappers instead. You might be wondering what the difference is. Well, egg roll wrappers are bigger (and usually thicker) then wonton wrappers. While egg/spring rolls (春卷) are normally fried, wontons (雲吞) are normally served in soup with noodles (a well-known dish in Hong Kong called wonton noodles 雲吞麺). Don't forget, there are also dumplings, and dumpling wrappers which are just as big as wonton wrappers in size but the thickness varies depends on what kind of Chinese cuisine you're talking about. Wait, let's save this topic for a future post...

Preparing for these egg rolls is actually pretty easy. You start out by browning and seasoning the ground beef, sauteing the diced onion and garlic. Mix all three ingredients together and let it cool for about 20 minutes, then add the shredded cheddar cheese. I ran out of worcestershire sauce so I used (low sodium) soy sauce instead. And to add a little kick to the flavor, I added in some sriracha sauce.

Now, it's time to get your hands and fingers busy! These are the wrappers I ended up getting. The white one turned out to be twice as thick than the Hong Kong style/yellow one (but that's okay, I just doubled up the yellow one to compensate). Taste wise, I couldn't tell the difference.

Time to have fun and be creative if you haven't wrapped egg rolls, wontons, or dumplings before! Try different ways to wrap your ingredients – stuff it more, stuff it less, fold it left and right. Have a small bowl of water for sealing the edges (by brushing lightly with your finger).

The tip for folding the wonton skin this way is to fold IN the sides so they are tucked in when you roll it up (and don't be shy, use a little bit of finger muscle on them).

Let's fry up these bad boys! Don't over crowd your pan, and use chopsticks to flip them around while frying (gently!)

Nom!

Dip these Mini Cheeseburger Egg Rolls in some Honey Mustard Horseradish Dipping Sauce!

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Mini Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

Servings: about 45

You'll need:

1.5 lbs ground beef
3 tablespoons (low sodium) soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons sriracha sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
some extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 small/medium size red onion, diced
24 oz shredded cheddar cheese
about 50 wonton wrappers (Or regular egg roll wrappers)
a small bowl of water

Direction:

1. Start by dicing the red onion and mincing the garlic, then set aside. (I use this handy little tool by Joseph Joseph to mince my garlic)
2. In medium heat, brown the ground beef by breaking down the big pieces with a spatula. Cook it for 15-20 minutes until brown, then add the soy sauce, sriracha, and salt and pepper. Place the ground beef in a large mixing bowl, and let cool.
3. Discard the oil from the pan from cooking the beef, pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and saute the onion and garlic for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Mix the onion, garlic, and ground beef together, continue to let cool for 15-20 minutes.
5. Add the shredded cheddar cheese to the mix, stir to combine.

To wrap: 

1. Set a small bowl of water next to your wrappers.
2. Place a wrapper with a corner pointing up, using a small spoon, tablespoon, or whatever you find the easiest, scoop the beef mixture onto the wrapper.
3. Take the left corner then fold it into the middle; take the right corner then fold it into the middle.
4. Tuck in the sides on the bottom half, then fold up.
5. Tuck in the sides on the top half WHILE rolling up the wrapper to finish.

To fry:

1. Using a small sauce pan, heat up about 2 inches of oil (just enough for the egg rolls to float and not sitting on the bottom of the pan).
2. In medium heat, fry them until golden. (If you're like me who don't fry things very often, test different heats to see what works best)
3. Use a pair of chopsticks to flip, push them around so all sides gets fried evenly. Be gentle!
4. Carefully take them out and place them onto paper towels to cool.
5. Now, make the dipping sauce to go with these Mini Cheeseburger Egg Rolls!

Honey Mustard Horseradish Dipping Sauce

I like honey. I like mustard. I also like horseradish. This Honey Mustard Horseradish dipping sauce recipe is adopted from Paula Deen's version. Yes, Paula Deen.

I was looking for a mustard dipping sauce to go with the Mini Cheeseburger Egg Rolls. I thought about regular honey mustard but I wanted to try something a little different. The horseradish caught my attention because I've actually never had it outside of eating it with oysters. I also like this recipe because you can adjust the thickness by adding more or less juice.

Honey Mustard Horseradish Dipping Sauce

You'll need:

• 8oz mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons Honeycup honey mustard
• 1 tablespoon horseradish orange/grapefruit juice

Approach:

1. Combine all ingredients except for juice; stir well.
2. Thin down to pouring consistency for dressing or dipping consistency for dips with juice. Cover and chill for 2 or 3 hours.

Notes:

This recipe is adopted from Paula Deen's on the Food Network.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream

I first heard of Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream last summer. They were doing a food truck tour in different states and they came to NYC. I caught them in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, outside of The Greene Grape where you can find her ice-creams for sale. I like Jeni's ice-creams because of many reasons. I like the fact that they are handmade, the dairy she uses are from cows that eat grass, flavors are out of this planet, and that every pint is made with love. Oh, and of course, her branding!

My co-worker who is also a foodie bought her book not too long ago, and I just HAD to borrow it. I can't even tell you how excited I was flipping through the book. Speaking as a person who fell in love with print and graphic design years ago, this book just made me smile. Arranging images and type together, then applying designs into it isn't an easy task, and whoever designed her book did an outstanding job.

So, I took the book home and wanted to put my Cuisinart ice cream maker to work. I decided that my first try was going to be the Lemon Frozen Yogurt with Blueberry Sauce. Oh boy, was that GOOD! As soon as I tasted the final product, I knew I was in for a long run with Jeni. I've never made frozen yogurt from scratch before, and this experience was way better and easier then I expected. It's got a lot of steps to the final product but it's not hard to follow at all. If you are looking into making yourself ice-cream, frozen yogurt, or sorbet this summer, I highly recommend getting her book - Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home!

Christmas Popcorn Mix & Babble Cookies

I'm a huge fan of Christmas cookies. I'm not joking - just take a look at what I did last Christmas for my co-workers. This year, instead of baking hundreds of cookies, we did a "Bake Luck" at work and everyone brought in something to share.

These were my contribution:

So since we had the "Bake Luck", I decided to skip (some of the) cookies baking this year. Instead, I made this Christmas Popcorn Mix for everyone to enjoy. check out a few things I bought for the packaging: Avery® Easy Peel® Print-to-the-Edge White 2" Round Labels from Staples, and Cellophane Bags from N.Y. Cake.

And here are the "ingredients" I used for the Christmas popcorn mix: red and green milk chocolate M&M's, red and green mint chocolate M&M's, Planters honey roasted peanuts, Popcorn Indiana Original Kettlecorn, Nestle Toll House Milk Chocolate Morsels (not the best to use but that's what I had), Snyders Mini Pretzel, Toll House Premier White Chocolate Morsels, and some red and green sprinkles.

Extra: Thanksgiving Dinner 2012

After weeks of preparation, I had successfully hosted a Thanksgiving dinner party! That should go on my resume as a skill. Even though it was a lot of work, I really did enjoy every bit of it – from picking table cloths to hunting for the perfect recipes. The food was absolutely delicious and it was an perfect evening to spend with family and friends.

We had a snack table set up shortly after breakfast with cheese and crackers, cured meats from Little Italy, olives, and grapes. And then, of course, there was the booze (a lot of it). Our friend Ian brought over a great bottle of bourbon – brewed right here in Brooklyn – called Widow Jane. He also brought another malt scotch whisky called Ardbeg from the Isle of Islay in Scotland. On the table, there was also this really good hard cider that Adam bought from the Fort Greene market called Bad Seed, which is a local cider from the Hudson Valley. And then... there was the Hennessy.

While Adam mastered the turkey I was busy cooking all the trimmings. Our 10 pound turkey ended up taking a little longer than we thought but that was a-okay because it gave us more time to enjoy watching football. Check out the fancy little menu and the amazing line-up :) Also check out these recipes you can try to make next year – Italian Sausage Stuffing, Green Beans and Walnuts with Lemon Vinaigrette, Corn Bread Pudding, Sweet-and-Tart Cranberry Sauce.

So happy that we got to finish off our meal with a Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie from Baked in Brooklyn, and the famous (blueberry) crumb cake from Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, thanks to Ian and Petra!

Corn Bread Pudding

Here is a side dish to die for – Corn Bread Pudding. It's so good, I could eat it everyday. It's super easy to make, share, pack, and re-heat. The recipe is also very versatile – try throwing in some jalapeño or pepperoni. Be adventurous!

Check out my other favorite Thanksgiving recipes:

• Sweet-and-Tart Cranberry Sauce
• Italian Sausage Stuffing
• Green Beans and Walnuts with Lemon Vinaigrette

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Corn Bread Pudding

Servings: 8

You'll need:

• 1 16oz sour cream
• 4 eggs
• 2 cans of cream corn
• 2 cans of regular corn, drained
• 2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Approach:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Start with sour cream, beat in eggs, then add the cream corn and regular corn.
3. Mix in the Jiffy corn muffin mix.
4. Pour mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.
5. Pour melted butter on top of the mixture, and bake for 1 hour.
6. Spread some shredded cheddar cheese on top and bake for another 10 minutes for the cheese to melt.

Green Beans and Walnuts with Lemon Vinaigrette

This green beans recipe blew everyone away on Thanksgiving! It's refreshing and the lemon vinaigrette made the dish light among other heavier traditional dishes.

Check out my other favorite Thanksgiving recipes:

• Corn Bread Pudding
• Italian Sausage Stuffing
• Sweet-and-Tart Cranberry Sauce

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Green Beans and Walnuts with Lemon Vinaigrette

Servings: 8

You'll need:

• 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
• 2/3 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped

Approach:

1. Remove peel from lemon with vegetable peeler and cut into very fine strips.
2. Cut lemon in half. Squeeze enough juice to measure 2 tablespoons; transfer to small bowl. Whisk in mustard, then oil. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cook green beans in pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain; pat dry. Combine beans, walnuts, and lemon peel strands in large bowl. Add dressing; toss to coat. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

This recipe is adopted from Bon Appetit.

Six-Spice Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I've made different kinds of oatmeal raisin cookies before but none of them can compared to these Six-Spice Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. It's an explosion of flavors in one cookie – a cross between a gingerbread cookie and an old-fashion oatmeal raisin.

As a child, I hated oatmeal. Hot oatmeal was my least favorite breakfast EVER. Then one day, I made this Baked Blueberry Oatmeal and I was impressed. Think of it as a giant cookie that is more moist, and almost cake-like. Anyway, back to the Six-Spice Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. They are just faaaaabulous. If you like them softer, just bake them less. You can use baking raisins but I just couldn't really taste the difference at my first try (but maybe you will). So don't sweat it if you don't come across baking raisins at your local grocery store.

Some people like to dip their cookies in milk but I'm not a dipper. However, if you are, I'd suggest that you pour yourself a glass of cold milk, sit down, and dip away!

Six-Spice Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

You'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2.5 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 cup baking raisins or regular raisins

Approach:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
3. In a bowl, sift together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.
4. Using a electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy and beat in egg and vanilla.
5. Add flour mixture and slowly beat until just combined well.
6. Stir in rolled oats and raisins (dough will be stiff).
7. Using a cookie/ice cream scoop, drop and space dough about 1 inches apart onto baking sheet. Then using a spatula, flatten the dough lightly. Bake for 12 minutes.
8. Cool cookies on baking sheet for a few minutes then transfer to racks to cool completely.

This recipe is adopted from Epicurious.

Cheddar Pear Tart

This cheddar pear tart recipe is now one of my fall favorites. It's an apple pie alternative and a great party finger food. I originally saw a recipe for cheddar pear pie but remembering that my sister gave me some tartlet tins a while go, my light bulb then went on and decided to make tarts instead of a pie.

This baking session ended up taking me WAY longer than it needed to only because there were only five tartlet tins to use (kicking myself for not being prepared!). I didn't want to bake 5 tarts at a time but it was already too late to change my idea. And plan b, of going out to get more tins, was out of the question that day. I committed so I went for it.

After a few hours, there they were! :)

Cheddar Pear Tart

Servings: 50 tarts

You'll need:

Shells:

• 4 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 sticks unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp salt

Filling:

• 6 bartlett pears
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt

Topping:

• 1 1/2 cup fine shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butted, melted at room temp

Approach:

1. Make the tart shells by combining flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Then add vanilla extract and butter and slowly whisk in the eggs. Form dough into a ball.
2. Make the filling by chopping and dicing the pears, then mix in the cornstarch and salt. Set aside.
3. For the topping, combine cheddar cheese, flour, sugar, and salt. Then mix in the melted butter. Stir to combine but don't over mix. It'll appear crumbly.
4. Form dough into 1 inch balls (bigger or smaller, depends on the tin size)
5. Cover each tin with dough by working from the middle then outwards. When you get to the top, slightly pitch the edge so it looks like an "A".
6. Fill in the diced pears to the top, then add the topping, and sprinkle a little more cheddar cheese.
7. Bake at 375°F for 15-17 minutes or until the top has turned brown.

Bon Appétit!

Favorite Hong Kong Based Food Bloggers

I'm always poking around for Hong Kong based food blogs so I thought it's time to share some of my favorites! But before I jumped into my findings. I want to first share with you an overview of what I've observed over the past couple of years here in the States.

Food blogging in the States has been developing into something that everyone is familiar with these days. Well, I guess blogging itself really have taken off quite tremendously. Judging from lots of food blogs that I stumbled upon on, there is a enormous amount of mom food bloggers who blog from typical Americana families, a handful of foodies, and another handful of people who actually cook food for a living. The vibe is quite sophisticated when you read about some of these blogs.

While some are so well-known that they take advertisers, others are running just like a personal journal. The well-established ones are sometimes very inspiring and those bloggers really know the ins-and-outs of the blogging business. Their content drive great traffic, generate engagement on social media, encourage others to re-pin well-photographed food photos one after the other. A lot of these bloggers actually blog full-time as a profession. They go to blog conferences around the country and have attracted a swirl of followers, and have really built up their audience or fan base. The whole thing is kind of like an ripple effect and the food blogging community just keeps getting bigger and stronger. Other resources also play an important role in shaping the food blogging world, including well-established food magazines: Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Saveur, Gourmet. There are also websites like Epicurious, Serious Eats, Food.com, etc... They all set the bar for food bloggers and their influence is quite huge.

Hong Kong, however, it's just not like it. Knowing from past experiences when searching for a recipe of a Hong Kong style dish, I know there's just not too many Hong Kong food bloggers who actually cook then blog about the recipes they used. But this time I wanted to be optimistic. I sat down in front of my computer hoping I could catch more than two fishes that in fact do offer cooking in their blog, at the end I was only able to place a couple in the bucket.

Understanding that after all, most Hong Kong people just don't have the time and the space to cook. The food culture is totally different there. Eating out is the norm – breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Siu Yeh (宵夜) – good food is never hard to find. On the other hand, space is also limited as many locals live in small apartments. That obviously narrowed the idea of doing anything inside the house when you're sharing a small space with others in the family. If you've been to Hong Kong, you know that you've got choices to make when it comes to food. When all these choices present themselves, it's easier to take advantage of them rather then cramping into your small apartment and cook.

When going through pages after pages of links, I often do see bloggers who blog about Hong Kong cooking and Hong Kong style foods but many of them that I've seen or read are from the States, the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, etc... Some of those blogs do have very good content and design, and many of them are useful and inspiring. However, I really wanted to get those who are based in Hong Kong – the people who are closest to the food culture there.

With all that said, I've rounded up a group of bloggers who are passionate about food and are based in Hong Kong. Rather it's food that they've cooked or places that they've been to, I appreciate their drive to share that on the web so people, like me, can get a glimpse of the Hong Kong food blogging scene. Since food blogging is still a small community there, a lot of them already know each other through social media, self-host gatherings and such. It's really nice to see that they are in the same loop but also sharing their own take on food.

Lastly, I want to point out that this is just a roundup of some of my favorites that I've come across. The list is not in any particular order. Most of them are written in English with a few that are written in Traditional Chinese towards the end of the list.

Note: If you are one of the bloggers below and have any question regarding this list, please feel free to e-mail me at make(at)saucy-spatula(dot)com.

nom nom, K

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Blog: Mochachocolata RitaBlogger: Mochachocolata Rita Mochachocolata Rita is a blog that features a daily perspective on the Hong Kong food culture. Her posts are also very diverse, ranging from world travels to recipes to trying out new eateries. Photos are always gorgeous and inspiring. Reasons why I read Mochachocolata Rita: fun, diverse, beautiful photos, interesting point-of-view Follow Mochachocolata Rita on: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

Blog: Gregoire MichaudBlogger: Gregoire Michaud Chef Michaud, who grew up in a food-oriented family in Switzerland, now lives in Hong Kong. He has worked at a number of hotels, including the Broadmoor, Beau Rivage, Regent, and Four Seasons. Chef Michaud has been mastering his pastry skill since he was young and had published four cookbooks. Besides being a chef and food activist, he also likes to get involved with local charities. You can also see him in action on tv shows. Be "wow-ed" with his dessert recipes and the technical stuff. Reasons why I read Gregoire Michaud: passionate, original, range of content, inspiring Follow Gregoire on: Facebook // Twitter

Blog: Hong Kong Food BlogBlogger: Anna Anna is a native Hong Konger who has blogged about the food culture in Hong Kong as well as interesting restaurants that she's been to. She usually posts every other week or so. Some of her most popular posts include Dim Sum Brunch Special, Hot Pot Specialty Restaurants in Hong Kong, and Chinese Food Carving. Reasons why I read Hong Kong Food Blog: honest, personal, passionate, informational

Blog: Life as a Bon VivantBlogger: Jason Tse Jason has been blogging about food as well as travel and culture since 2009. On the homepage of Life as a Bon Vivant, you can see a list of places that he's been to, including Paris, Seoul, Bali, and Amsterdam. He's also blogged about authentic Hong Kong cuisine and local trips like Ngong Ping 360 + Tai O. Reasons why I read Life as a Bon Vivant: authentic, range of content, informational, enthusiastic Follow Life as a Bon Vivant on: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

Blog: The Chinese Soup LadyBlogger: Lisa & Tracy Tong Soup in the Chinese cuisine and diet plays such an important role. It's an item on the menu that you would see often as part of a meal. The Chinese Soup Lady's story is touching yet thoughtful. I haven't came across a food blog that only talks about soups so I was real delighted to know about this blog. The Tong sisters do a really good job on explaining the purpose of consuming soups and the purposes of the ingredients that go into each one. Soups are eaten all season around in the Chinese diet - check out the soups you can make for fall and refer to the techniques when you need to. The Chinese Soup Lady has gained an outstanding Facebook fan base with close to 2,000 likes. So next time when you're wanting to make a traditional Chinese soup, you know where to go to get your recipe! Reasons why I read The Chinese Soup Lady: authentic, informational, unique Follow The Chinese Soup Lady on: Facebook

Blog: e*ting The WorldBlogger: Janice Leung Janice, a.k.a e-ting, has started this blog back in 2004. There's no doubt about her passion for food - from her recent restaurant review to her involvement with the local organic farmers’ market (Island East Markets). She has also been in TimeOut HK's special Food Issue and was listed as The City's Best Food Blogger. She is definitely living and breathing the Hong Kong food scene and that's exactly why she's one of my favorite HK based food bloggers. Also check out her FABULOUS write up on Sassy Hong Kong. Reasons why I read e*ting The World: inspiring, fun, informational, passionate Follow e*ting on: Facebook // Twitter

Blog: HungrySuBlogger: Suzanne Guan Browsing through the homepage, you can already smell the "foodie" in HungrySu. I admire her dedication on posting so frequently. Her reviews on restaurants often include prices and ratings, and not to mention all the beautiful photos. Some of my favorite posts are Yardbird, Mango Tree, and Lily & Bloom. Reasons why I read HungrySu: informational, inspiring Follow HungrySu on: Facebook // Twitter// Instagram

Blog: Taste Hong KongBlogger: Anonymous I can finally say that I've found the first HK based food blogger who actually blogs about cooking and recipes! Taste Hong Kong has opened its doors since 2009. Its recipes are Asian driven, ranging from Green Tea Pudding to Taiwanese Sticky Rice to Thai Fried Fish Cake. Take a look at her 2012 archive here and get a glimpse at the stuff that she has made. Reasons why I read Taste Hong Kong: original, educational, fun, inspiring Follow Taste Hong Kong on: Twitter

Blog: Gastronomous AnonymousBlogger: Anonymous The first thing I noticed on GA is its content. Just by looking at the Archive navigation on the right, you'll see the amount of posts since 2010. GA gets updated quite frequently and the blog has a really personal quality to it which I appreciate. Reasons why I read Gastronomous Anonymous: informational, fun read

Blog: ChopsticFixBlogger: Michelle Ng Michelle has been writing about food on ChopstixFix since 2010. You know she's active in the HK food scene from posts like Blue Butcher and Lupa. Her creative writing makes her blog a fun read. With Facebook likes of 238 and counting, I hope ChopsticFix continues to grow as one of HK's top food bloggers. Reasons why I read ChopsticFix: fun read, informational Follow ChopsticFix on: Facebook // Twitter

Blog: The Dim Sum DiariesBlogger: Ale Wilkinson The Dim Sum Diaries is one of my favorite bloggers who writes restaurant reviews. Her reviews seem to be the most in depth and interesting. I also love her bio and how 'real' she is. The mission of The Dim Sum Diaries is simple – she'd like to share with others her opinion on the places she's been to. Some of my favorite posts include, The Boathouse, Goodness gracious meatballs of flavour, Kau Kee, and Cafe Roma. If you're wondering about what the restaurants are like in Hong Kong, you must check out The Dim Sum Diaries. It's better than what you would find in a guide book. Reasons why I read The Dim Sum Diaries: honest, fun read, passionate, informational Follow The Dim Sum Diaries on: Facebook // Twitter

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*** The followings are written in Traditional Chinese ***

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Blog: 搵食能手資料網/Seek for FoodBlogger: Phil Chui Phil has been blogging on Seek for Food since 2009. Its content consist of restaurant reviews, food news, and sometimes other topics he's into outside of food. What I like about Seek for Food is the details in his reviews. And almost every item he reviewed it is accompanied with a photo which is super helpful. He's a frequent blogger who pumps out about 20 posts per month which is pretty high among other bloggers. Reasons why I read 搵食能手資料網/Seek for Food: fun read, honest, informational Follow Seek for Food on: Facebook

Blog: Gourmet KCBlogger: KC With 4,505 Facebook fans and counting, KC often blogs more than 31 times in a month. Like other bloggers, he writes about places he's been to and things he's eaten. For those who can't read Chinese, you should still browse through some of the photos that are posted on his blog. They give you a pretty good idea of what the Hong Kong food scene is like – you name it, Hong Kong's got it. Check out these places KC has been to: a typical Hong Kong style diner (Cha chaan teng), a Japanese Ramen Shop, Won Pung Won (Korean), Carnevino by Mario Batali, a local Indian spot, various Dim Sum places, even bars! Hope you'll enjoy his blog as much as I do. Reasons why I read Gourmet KC: amount of content, authentic, informational, enthusiastic Follow KC on: Facebook

Blog: OL 醉愛廚房Blogger: Anonymous I found another blogger who actually cooks! What I like about OL 醉愛廚房 is her range of content. She makes desserts, bread and other yummy foods, talks about kitchen products, and even alcohol! Reasons why I read OL 醉愛廚房: range of content, passionate Follow OL on: Facebook

That concludes my findings so far of my favorite Hong Kong based food bloggers. Hope you saw some good photos and got to know more about Hong Kong through its food culture!

Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Holes

Fall or autumn – my favorite season of all. I like it because of many reasons and one of them is that I get to bake like a mad woman! I originally wanted to bake doughnuts but since I don't have a doughnut pan I thought I'd use a mini muffin pan to make doughnut holes instead. Results? Better than I expected! These are great with or without the sugar coat and it's crazy good when it is served warm. So next time when you're just sitting at home on a chili day, give these pumpkin spice doughnut holes a try. You won't regret it!

Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Holes

Servings: 48

You'll need:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large egg
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup canned plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 cup milk

For the sugar coating:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons cinnamon

Approach:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix all dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves.
3. Mix all wet ingredients: canola oil, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, pumpkin, milk.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until just combined but not over mixed.
5. Pour batter in a large ziplock bag.
6. Brush or spray oil evenly onto mini muffin pan.
7. Carefully squeeze batter into each cup until 3/4 full. (A full cup will make a puffier end product).
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Optional: sugar coating
9. While doughnut holes are baking, melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Then in another mixing bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon.
10. Once doughnut holes are cool, lightly coat each one with butter then with sugar mixture.

This recipe is adopted from Two Peas and Their Pod.

Simple Homemade Dog Treats

Chip a.k.a. Chippers, Chippy, Chipapa. He's such a happy little guy. This 8-month-old puppy can go through treats like it's his job. A couple days ago I decided to make him some simple homemade dog treats. I hate that some dog treats are made with ingredients that I can't even pronounce. Dog treats should be simple and high in nutrition. This is a really simple recipe and Chip seems to like it a lot. It's puppy-approved! :)

Simple Homemade Dog Treats

Prep time: 25 mins  Cook time: 20 mins  Total time: 45 mins

You'll need:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 (4 oz.) baby food*

Approach:

1. Combine and mix the 2 ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
2. Sprinkle some flour on the table and work the dough into a ball form. (It should feel like a pizza dough)
3. Whip out your rolling pin and flatten the dough down to about ¼" thick.
4. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters or a pizza cutter.
5. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.

Notes:

*I get the Earth's Best brand because of its wholesome ingredients: Water, organic carrots, organic apples, organic ground turkey, organic whole barley flour.

Nutella Banana Bread (w/ Sugar Glazed Walnuts)

When life gives you ripe bananas, make Nutella Banana Bread!

I happen to have some ripe bananas laying around so I whipped out my favorite banana bread recipe. My mom used to make banana bread a lot, and the house would be filled with this amazing aroma of freshly baked banana bread. Seriously, if you have never made banana bread before, you've been missing out BIG time. And if you like walnut, feel free to throw in a handful. I actually had some Emerald sugar glazed walnuts in my pantry so I decided to sprinkle them on top. The bread is so moist and totally scrumptious. And come on, who doesn't like nutella!? :)

Nutella Banana Bread

You'll need:

1/4 cup (half a stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1/3 cup plain low fat yogurt, low fat sour cream or buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour, or half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp Nutella regular or sugar glazed walnuts (optional)

Approach:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8″x4″ or 9″x5″ loaf pan with non-stick spray, or spread a thin layer of melted butter on the inside of the loaf pan.
2. Using a stand (or hand) mixer, beat the butter and sugar until well combined – the mixture will have the consistency of wet sand. Add the banana, eggs, yogurt and vanilla and beat until well blended.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in 2-3 batches until well-combined.
5. Pour half the batter into the loaf pan, drizzle some Nutella and mix it in a little. Then top with the rest of the batter and drizzle some more Nutella. (If you find the Nutella to be too thick to drizzle, try to dilute it with a little bit of warm water or milk.)
6. Sprinkle some sugar glazed walnuts on top, and bake for 1 hour at 350°F.
7. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Holiday Cookies 2011

Every Christmas I get so inspired to bake holiday cookies. Last year, I broke my own record in cookie baking – I baked close to 500 cookies! Granted they were tiny one inch cookies but it was actually quite a challenging task. I knew I wanted to package them as individual bags so I started looking around for inspiration. I saw people doing all kind of cool stuff with their packaging. Then I came across an image of cookies being wrapped in clear plastic so my light bulb went on.

I found some clear plastic sleeve on the web and ordered a bunch of them. They were about 2.5 inches wide and both ends were open. I also bought some baker's twine from Paper Treats on Etsy. The package it came in was super adorable!

And to complete the packaging, I needed paper for the tag so Paper Presentation was the place go. Then I was on a hunt to find possibly the smallest cookie cutter on the planet. And of course, NY Cake always has what I need.

After getting all the materials. It was time to look for recipes! Here are the 5 that I decided and adopted from – Lemon Shortbread, Old-Fashioned Gingerbread, Chocolate Almond Cranberry, Chocolate Espresso, and Earl Grey Tea. I did a small test using the 1 inch cookie cutter and those cookies came out just the right size to fit into the 2.5 inch sleeve. Then I was golden and started baking away!