Napa Cabbage Stir Fry

I had a bunch of napa cabbage languishing in my fridge and was looking for something that would use a lot of it in one go, and this sounded good to me.

Notes:

• I used dried rehydrated shiitake mushrooms because I did not have fresh.

Verdict: I liked it and would consider making it again, especially if I found myself with all the ingredients.

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RECIPE: Napa Cabbage Stir Fry (Namiko Chen, Just One Cookbook)

Iced Matcha Latte

This is the first at-home matcha latte I've ever made that I really liked. And I have tried quite a few times. I love that this one doesn't need any special equipment.

Notes:

• I make this keto friendly by using unsweetened almond milk and a sugar-free sweetener (Truvia, or sugar-free flavored syrup like lavender, vanilla, or almond is especially lovely. I also want to try rose flavor sometime.)
• Spend a little more money and get a nicer matcha for drinking. Rishi sells a decent one, and I have recently ordered matcha from Blue Bottle but haven't tasted it yet. I am curious about Costco matcha but haven't taken the plunge yet.
  

Verdict: Easy to make and tastes really good. I make them several times a week.

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RECIPE: Matcha Latte (1899 Matcha Cafe)

Korean Style Ground Beef Stir Fry

I wanted to have more Asian style meals that I could eat with my current dietary restrictions and I had all the ingredients so I gave it a try.

Notes:

• If you're not following a ketogenic diet you can use regular brown sugar and serve it with regular rice of your choice.
• I love serving this with some kimchi on top, and if I'm feeling especially hungry and fancy, a (crispy) fried egg.
• I have also made this with ground pork and it was good, but I think I prefer the beef version.

Verdict: I love this and have made it several times since the initial try. Great mix of sweet, salty umami. A go-to meal if I have ground beef.

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RECIPE:

Korean Beef
from Ioana Borcea (Low Carb Spark)
serves 3-4

1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup brown sugar replacement
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or more to taste
1/4 tsp ground ginger
To garnish: sliced green onions and sesame seeds

Place a large skillet over medium heat and cook the ground beef until no longer pink. Add minced garlic and continue cooking for one more minute. Combine brown sugar substitute, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Pour the soy sauce mixture over the ground beef and cook until browned for about 5 minutes. Stir constantly. Serve over cauliflower rice, top with green onions and sesame seeds.

Yaki Udon (Udon Noodle Stir Fry)

I bought a package of dried udon noodles at a Japanese grocery store and was looking for new things to do with them, and came across this recipe. I like yakisoba (which is basically the same thing but with a different type of noodle) so I thought this would be good too.

Notes:

• I used shredded rotisserie chicken for the protein rather than ground meat.
• You can make it vegetarian by using a vegetarian friendly protein like tofu or eggs, and a vegetarian friendly oyster sauce.
  
• For vegetables I used chopped green cabbage and matchstick cut carrots, but you can use whatever vegetables you like that taste good cooked. I recommend at least one leafy vegetable.
  
• I used par-cooked (mostly but not fully cooked) dried udon noodles because it's what I had on hand. While frozen ones would probably be more convenient, I like that the dried noodles are not as thick.
  

Verdict: I have made this twice now and I really like it. I would gladly have it again.

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RECIPE: Yaki Udon (Drive Me Hungry)

Korean Beef Bowl

Looking for a new dinner idea and had ground beef and a container of kimchi on hand, so I decided to make this.

Notes:

• I served it with kimchi on the side.

Verdict: It was quick and tasty! Partner loved it too. I would definitely have it again.

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RECIPE: Korean Beef Bowl (Chungah Rhee, Damn Delicious)

Matcha Latte Cookies

As a huge fan of matcha and matcha lattes (the flavor of matcha just works so well with dairy) I HAD to try these.

Notes:

• I found it unusual that the matcha is mixed with the vanilla extract rather than sifted into the dry ingredients, but the recipe author says it's to "bloom" the matcha flavor with alcohol. I do think it made a difference (the matcha tasted less bitter), but I'm used to the mild bitterness of the matcha so I don't know that I'd do it this way if I made it again. I personally found it kind of messy.
• There's a LOT of vanilla extract for one batch of cookies (1.5 TABLEspoons)and I found that combined with the above it almost felt like too much, like it overpowered the matcha a bit.
• I could also taste the peanut butter in the final product and I'm not sure I liked that. I might try a more neutral/complementary flavor nut butter next time, like almond butter.
• The ermine frosting was really interesting in a good way (milk flavored frosting sounded good) and I'm glad I got to try it with this recipe.
  

Verdict: They were pretty good but quite sweet. I prefer the taste without frosting, though the mix of textures of the cookie and frosting is really nice. While they were good, I think I like these matcha cookies better. But that's a personal opinion. I would make these again with the changes I listed above to see if I like them any better.

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RECIPE: Matcha Latte Cookies (Eric Joonho Kim, NYT Cooking)

(Video version)

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

This is the easiest way I've found so far to make this dish and had to note it here. The Chinese name for it is 蚝蠔芥蘭.

Notes:

• I had less vegetable to start with so I scaled down the recipe to fit what I had.

Verdict: This was really tasty! I knew before making it that I like this dish, and thought this version was really nice and easy to make. I would definitely make it again and this particular person really makes me want to learn more about Chinese cooking techniques. His father apparently worked in the restaurant business for most of his life as a cook/chef, and a big part of this person's reason for making a blog and videos is to document and share his father's extensive knowledge.

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RECIPE: Perfect Chinese Broccoli w/Oyster Sauce (Made with Lau)

(Video version)

Kabocha Squash and Pork Stir Fry

Another recipe that ticked all the boxes for "sounds like I'd like this" (savory ground pork, sweet kabocha squash, Japanese style flavorings). I was a little worried the squash wouldn't get fully cooked but as long as you slice it thinly enough it shouldn't be a problem.

Verdict: I loved it (good sweet-salty-savory combination) and would definitely make it again.

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RECIPE: Kabocha Pork Stir-Fry (Namiko Chen, Just One Cookbook)

Japanese Style Corn Rice

I like rice and corn and cooking rice with stuff in it, and the flavors of this dish sounded appealing so I wanted to give this a try.

Verdict: It was good but a significant amount of extra effort for how much I liked the taste. I think it would actually taste really good with Western style barbecue. If I had a lot of fresh corn to use up I might consider making it again.

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RECIPE: Corn Rice (Namiko Chen, Just One Cookbook)

Bean Sprout Stir Fry

I tried this because I had part of a bag of bean sprouts left from making laksa, and I didn't know that they'd be good to eat fresh anymore so I wanted to try cooking them.

Verdict: I liked it quite a bit and my partner REALLY loved it (he is a bean sprout fiend). It was easy and tasty and healthy. I would gladly make it again.

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RECIPE: Bean Sprout Stir Fry (Maggie Zhu, Omnivore's Cookbook)

Laksa Noodle Soup

Notes:

• I used Lee Kum Kee laksa soup base in a foil pouch because it was what I could find at my local store. I like the flavor of a lot of their sauces so I thought I'd like this too. The directions say to mix it with water but I did a mix of coconut milk and chicken broth.
  

Verdict: It was really good! My partner absolutely loved it and so did I, so it sounds like we're definitely having it again.

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RECIPE: Laksa Noodle Soup (Recipe Tin Eats)

Steak Garlic Rice

Verdict: Absolutely wonderful, even without the liquid smoke. This is definitely more of a special occasion, once-in-a-while-as-a-treat dish but it was SO good. I am not making the garlic chips from scratch again if I can help it because those were very fussy.

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RECIPE: Steak Garlic Rice (Just One Cookbook)

Hiyashi Chuka (Cold Ramen)

I was first introduced to this dish during my year abroad in Japan in college, and I fell in love immediately.

Verdict: This recipe tasted really nice! I would gladly have it again.

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RECIPE: Hiyashi Chuka (Just One Cookbook)

Scallion Pancakes

Notes:

• I froze two of them for later. It's a little harder to make sure they get cooked in the middle without burning the outside but they still taste really good.
  

Verdict: I already knew I liked scallion pancakes, and fresh homemade ones are even more of a treat. They're kind of a lot of work, but really delicious.

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RECIPE: Cong You Bing Scallion Pancakes (The Woks of Life)

Kimchi Fried Rice

I occasionally buy kimchi and want to learn to eat it more regularly and have it in ways other than by itself. As it turns out, kimchi fried rice is a pretty basic home cooked meal for Koreans so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Notes:

• I left out the salty meat since I didn't have any on hand, and added some salt toward the end.
  
• The kimchi I used was from a Japanese grocery store so I suspect it was a quite mild variety in terms of spicy heat level.
  

Verdict: It was yummy! I will probably add some gochujang next time to make it more spicy, though it might have just been a really mild jar of kimchi I had this time.

Edit 3/31/23: I made Maangchi's kimchi fried rice recipe today, but I liked the flavor of this original recipe better.

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RECIPE: Kimchi Fried Rice (NYT Cooking)

Napa Cabbage Tofu Soup

This sounded really good to me when it scrolled by on Instagram so I decided to try it.

Verdict: It was quite good! I think I would serve this as a side dish unless you specifically wanted a very light meal.

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RECIPE: Napa Cabbage Tofu Soup (Omnivore's Cookbook)

Chinese Style Tomato and Egg Stir Fry

A coworker who came to study in the U.S. from China sometimes brings this to work for lunch, and she made it sound so comforting and tasty that I wanted to try it for myself. It's apparently a very popular home cooked dish in China, and can be eaten for any meal of the day.

Notes:

• I ended up using garlic chives from my garden because I didn't have any scallions in the house at the time I had all the other ingredients.
• I used freshly picked summer tomatoes and I imagine that's what this tastes best with.
• I do not have a wok so I used a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.
  

Verdict: It was quick, easy, and satisfying. It strikes me as a late summer version of Niratama Donburi, which I love. I would happily make and eat this again.

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RECIPE: Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry (The Woks of Life)

Spinach with Sesame Dressing

I have a similar experience to this recipe's author in that this is one of the first vegetable dishes I discovered in Japan that I went wild over. I always got excited when I saw this on the dinner table. It took me several different recipes for it and attempts to make it at home before I got it to taste good, but this particular recipe has worked well for me. I strongly recommend this for children or people who might be unsure whether they like spinach -- I refused to eat spinach any way my mom prepared it, but I loved this immediately.

Notes:

• Please please please do not skip toasting the sesame seeds. It makes a big difference.
  
• The biggest key to this recipe working correctly is making sure that you thoroughly squeeze out the water from the spinach after it is cooked. Any excess water will dilute the dressing and it will not taste as good.
• I saw my host mother make the dressing entirely in the mortar bowl (adding the soy sauce and sake to the ground sesame and sugar, mixing it, and then pouring over the spinach) but I have a feeling that the soy sauce could stain the inside of the mortar and it can be harder to scoop out of the grooves when it's wet because it's fairly thick.
  

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RECIPE: Horenso no goma-ae (from Let's Eat Japanese Food, by Amy Kaneko)

Lychee-Rose Shochu Highball

I wanted to make a chuhai (shochu highball) drink and got attracted to this recipe by the beautiful pink and green color palette in the original recipe's photo. It is inspired by a drink at a bar in Sydney, Australia called the Miss Wednesday.

I originally tried the recipe a couple of months ago with sweet cherries instead of lychee because it was what I had on hand, rose and cherry go well together, and I wanted a pretty pink and green drink, but it was just OK. I went and got the ingredients to make it properly. I made it exactly as written.

notice the pretty rose shaped ice cubes

Verdict: I really enjoyed this drink! I was a fan of the taste (especially the combination of lychee and rose). I am still getting used to the look and texture of lychee fruit. It just doesn't look appetizing to me. But I would definitely have this again.

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RECIPE: Shochu Highball (The Gourmet Traveller)

Chinese Greens with Mushroom Sauce

I bought yu choy and shimeji mushrooms and needed to use them up, and I wanted to give it this kind of treatment so I was happy to find this recipe.

Notes:

• The batch pictured above used only half the amount of sauce in the recipe because I didn't have very many mushrooms.
  
• I didn't use the dark soy sauce.
• I did mix in some oyster sauce as the sauce was cooking and thickening in the pan.
  

Verdict: True to its title, this recipe was easy, as well as quick and delicious, and also looks attractive. I'd love to make it again.

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RECIPE: Easy Chinese Broccoli (Omnivores Cookbook)