Fatty Friday: Beer Batter Fried Salmon Belly

Happy Friday! I love to celebrate my Friday with great delicious food, hence I always call it "Fatty Friday".  It is very easy to make and you should enjoy this with a glass of cold beer!

Beer Batter Fried Salmon Belly

For the batter:  This portion can make up to 4 lb of salmon belly. 
1 & 1/2 cup flour

4 tbsp tapioca or corn starch

1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 cup beer (may substitute for 1 cup of water)
1 cup of water

Combine all the ingredients and deep fried until batter turns gold or orangish.

For the dipping sauce: This sauce portion is for one person.  If you want to make two or more just double the ingredient.
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp black pepper
1 garlic
Combine and mix the sauce.  Enjoy!

Pasta Fever 2: The most delicious Mexican-Inspired Pasta

Roasting the thin spaghetti helps bring out the flavor of the pasta. I found this recipe through Dona Toma.  However, the recipe provided was some what complicated, so I simplified it, added ground beef, added some indigients, and changed the deep fried spaghetti to oven broil spaghetti.  The flavor was there and delicious!  I hope you will like it! :)

Mexican-Inspired Pasta

1 lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta

2-3 small tomatoes

5-6 tomatillos

6 garlic

1 tsp chicken bouillon

sugar, salt, black pepper to taste

1 cup water

4 sprig each: mint, parsley, and cilantro

Prepping the spaghetti:

Spread the noodles on a cookie tray and spray oil on top of the noodles. 

Roast them in broil mode at 380F. 

Remember to check the spaghetti every 2-3 minutes to prevent burn.

We are looking for a golden brown color. 

Sauce Direction:

Prepping the tomatoes:

Cut a X line at the bottom of both tomatoes and tomatillos at 380F until soft.

Remember to flip the tomatoes half way. It is done when the tomatillos turns dark green and dark red.

Prepping the Pasilla-ancho:

Soak the chili in hot water and deseed to prevent it from being too spicy. 

Mix all the tomatoes, tomatillos, 5 garlic, 1 pasilla-ancho, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 

Ground Beef Direction:

Stir fried ground beef and add 1 tsp chicken bouillon, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp sugar, 1 garlic, 

Combining the ingredients: 

Boil the noodles by combining ground beef, sauce, roasted spaghetti, 1 cup water, 4 sprig each: mint, parsley, and cilantro.

Pasta is completed at al dente. 

Enjoy!

Thai Bean Thread Noodle Salad (Yam Woon Sen)

If you love fish sauce and slurping noodles, then this recipe is for you.  I hope you will like it!

Thai Bean Thread Noodle Salad (Yam Woon Sen)

1 cup dried shrimps (soak in warm water)

1/2 cup match stick carrots

1/4 cup cilantro

1 cup celery

1/2 lime

3 garlic

1 small shallot

1/2 lb shrimps

1/2 lb beef

1/4 cup green onion

3 tbsp roasted peanuts

2 tbsp fried shallots

3 bags of 1.3 oz/37.5g bean thread noodles

Salt and pepper

Prepping food for salad mixing:

Step 1: Blanch celery for 3 min. then rinse with cold water

Step 2: Soak 3 bean threads in hot (not boiling) water for 5 min. then rinse in cold water

Step 3: Cook ground beef with 1 minced garlic, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, then add 1/2 lb shrimps, 

Sauce Prep: This sauce portion is for 3 bags of 1.3 oz noodles

2 garlics

1/2 portion of the small shallot

3 tbsp fish sauce

1/2 a lime or 2 tbsp lime

2 tsp sugar

1-2 chili peppers (depends on your spicy level)

Combine and mix the ingredients. 

Salad Mixing:

Add celery, noodles, ground beef, the left over shallots, soaked dried shrimps, carrots, cilantro, shrimps, green onion, roasted peanuts, and the sauce.
Enjoy your Thai salad!!

Chicken Fried Trout

I had this dish at a French restaurant with lettuce, and it was so delicious! So I thought I would do it at home for half of the price.  There is no chicken in this dish.  Just the way we flour and fried the trout that is similar to how we fried chicken, hence the original chef must had named it Chicken Fried Trout.  I bought the trouts from Costco, and it was $12 for 4 medium trouts.  Such a great deal right! As for the gribiche sauce, I made my own version.  The restaurant added blue cheese in it I think.  My husband loves it! I hope you will enjoy this dish too. 

Enjoy!

Chicken Fried Trout with Gribiche sauce

For garnish & to eat with:

2 carrots (shredded/peel and soak in 1 tbs rice vinegar)

1 green onion (tear and soak in cold water, so it will curl up)

1/4 an onion (thinly chop)

5 radishes (clean and chop)

3 sprig dills

1 head of lettuce

10 pieces of rice paper to wrap with (opional)

Gribiche sauce:
1 tsp capers
1 sprig dill
2 tsp redwine vinegar
3 tsp mayo
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
1 crushed garlic
1/4 tsp black pepper
Direction: Mix everything together until sugar dissolved

Fried trout:

1 trout (clean, scale & butterfly)

1 egg mixed with 1/4 cup water

1 cup flour

sprinkle garlic, salt & pepper mix with flour

Direction:  Dip the trout in dry flour, then soak in egg and water mixture, and finally dip in the dry flour again.  Deep fried trout in oil for about 7 to 8 minutes. When finished, add the garnishes stated above on the fish and serve with lettuce and gribiche sauce.

Pasta Fever 1: Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp

This dish is my all time favorite and it's something that I can quickly make to impress someone with little effort. The soft boiled broccoli helps enhance the texture of the dish and gives a light crunch to it. You can also substitute the shrimps with chicken and beef.  Enjoy!

Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimps

Portion: 4-6 people 

1 lb Shrimps

1 lb Broccoli

1 lb Fettuccine

1/4 An onion

2 Garlic

1/2 of Butter (1/4 use for shrimps & 1/4 use for pasta)

1 cup Parmesan

1 pint Heavy cream

1 tsp Sugar

1 tsp Chicken bouillon

2 tsp Salt (1 tsp boil broccoli, 1/2 tsp to shrimps, & 1/2 tsp add to pasta)

Lemon juice to taste

1/4 tsp Black peppers

1/4 tsp Pepper flakes

First boiled the broccoli with 1 tsp salt until soft to bite, then roughly grind the broccoli. 

Stir fried 1 minced garlic, then add shrimps, 1/2 salt, 1 tsp sugar, & 1/4 tsp black peppers.  Set it aside after 3 min of cooking. 

Start to boil pasta for 10 min. 

Heat up the pan and stir fried 1 minced garlic, 1/4 an onion, 1 tsp chicken bouillon, 1/2 tsp salt, lemon juice, heavy cream.  Then add in order, pasta, broccoli, and Parmesan. 

If you like it spicy then add some red pepper flakes. 

I hope you'll like it!

Enjoy!

Noodles Slurping 1: Beef and Green Beans Vermicelli

For a hot summer day, this recipe is perfect for a quick healthy lunch or dinner.  The video might seem overwhelming to you with many steps, but trust me, it's really easy to make! You can also substitute the ground beef with ground chicken or even shrimps!

Also, the fish sauce I demonstrated in the video is something you should memorize since it will come in handy for many of the Vietnamese recipes.  I found that it is easier to make smaller portion of fish sauce. Plus there won't be left over! You can make it fresh every time you cook something that requires fish sauce dressing! I don't know about you, but I hate the idea of having plenty of left over fish sauce dressing that you might not needed.

For green beans, any green beans would do.  You can even use can or frozen green beans.  Whatever that will help you feel comfortable to the idea of cooking!  Can green beans is softer, so you don't have to chop it in half. Also the cooking time will be less since can green beans come precooked/boiled.

I hope you will enjoy it! Let me know if you do make it!

Beef and Green Beans Vermicelli

Portion: 4-6 people

1.5 lb Beef
1 lb Green beans
1/2 an onion
3 garlic (stir fried) 1 garlic (fish sauce)
100 g/ 14.1 oz Vermicelli

Stir Fried Green Beans:
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp lemon juice

Stir Fried Ground Beef:
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper

Fish Sauce
5 tbsp fish sauce
9 tbsp water (cooked/filtered water) (please not use tap water)
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp sambal oelek
1 garlic

Cooking:
Prep the green beans: trim off both sharp ends of the green beans. Chop onion into small cubes and mince the garlic.

Divide the onions and 3 garlic in half.  Half will be to stir fried with green beans and the other half to stir fried with ground beef.
Combine all the ingredients listed above to stir fried each item.

Vermicelli will be soak in hot water for 5-7 min. after you brought the water to boiling temperature.

Combine all the ingredients for fish sauce.

Lastly, you can combine all the cooked items together and adding fish sauce to your preference, and enjoy! :)

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