A Vietnamese Moment

I love love love tomato soup when it rains! It pairs very nicely with some grilled cheese. This recipe is great - just the basics and makes the best and creamiest tomato soup. It makes about three servings so I suggest doubling the recipe for some nice leftovers! 4 tomatoes - seeded and diced 4 cups tomato juice 14 leaves fresh basil 1 cup heavy whipping cream (I always use less, around 1/2 cup) 1/2 cup butter (I always use less, around 1/4 cup) salt and pepper to taste 1. Place tomatoes and juice in stock pot over medium heat and simmer x 30 minutes. 2. Puree tomato mixture with basil leaves and return puree to stock pot. 3. Place pot over medium heat, stir in heavy cream and butter (to taste). Season with salt and pepper. Heat, stirring until butter melted. Do not boil.

This is a simple teriyaki soy baked chicken recipe that's perfect for those busy work nights when you don't want to spend more than 10 minutes prepping dinner. I start with a teriyaki based seasoning and add flavor with soy sauce. The only caveat is that this must be marinated for at least one day to tenderize and season the meat. Mix of chicken breasts, legs, or wings - bone in with skin on is best 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup Kikkoman Takumi Collection Garlic and Green Onion Teriyaki Sauce 1.5-2 tsps Soy sauce 1/2 tsp Shao Xing Cooking Wine Pepper Marinate in ziploc bag x 24 hrs. Bake at 400 for  ~25-30 minutes, then broil for another ~5-8 minutes. The key is to broil the chicken to make the skin extra crispy! Enjoy!

I had to make a small thanksgiving dinner at my sister's apartment this year. We decided to forgo the turkey and have chicken instead. This recipe is such a delight! Brining the chicken makes such a big difference - it made our chicken fall off the bone. It was so tender and juicy!  6lb chicken 1 gallon water  3/4 cup kosher salt (1/2 of this amount if using table salt) 3/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup olive oil 2/3 cup sugar (but I personally only used 1/3) 1. Pour cold water into container that is 2x the volume of the water. Pour in salt, sugar, soy sauce, and olive oil. Stir until sugar and salt dissolved.  2. Place chicken in brine, cover and refrigerate for two hours for skinless breasts, 4 hours for bone-in pieces, and 4 hours to overnight for whole chickens.  3. For whole chickens, wash off brine. Drain and pat chicken dry before cooking.  Take a knife and separate skin and meat - makes skin extra crispy upon baking! 4....

My boyfriend LOVES shabu so insists that we have shabu at least once a month. He prefers no trims and whistles, and likes the more traditional method of just hot water and meat. But I actually love the sukiyaki sauce to dip my meat in. Shabu sauce: *mirin and sake in 1:1, with a little less soy sauce 1/2 cup mirin 1/2 cup sake 1/3 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup sugar (recipe calls for this much but I always add WAY less like ~1/8, add to taste and dilute with water) 2.5 cups water (may need to add more) 1 pinch dashi Veggies to dip: Tofu Enoki mushrooms Napa cabbage Carrots Dipping sauces: buy at store in bottle Pon Shabu Sauce Goma Shabu Sauce Shabu Shabu meat Enjoy! 

1 pompano salt and pepper ginger ponzu (for dipping) 1. Cut up ginger and brown ginger in skillet with small layer of frying oil over medium-high heat. 2. Wash pompano. Lightly season with salt and pepper. 3. Add pompano on top of ginger and cook on each side for ~8 minutes each, with lid closed entire time over medium-light heat. 3. Serve with ponzu sauce as dipping. Enjoy!

My boyfriend is Taiwanese and one of his fondest childhood memories of visiting relatives in New York is eating these cucumbers. I have searched the internet far and wide, tried several different types of cucumbers, and several different recipes before I found the perfect one. This recipe is as authentic as I can get to his aunt's spicy chinese cucumber recipe. Persian cucumbers are a must - they have an extra crispy crunch to them that makes this dish extra yummy.  Spicy Chinese Cucumber Salad http://userealbutter.com/2009/04/04/spicy-chinese-cucumber-salad-recipe/ 2 lbs. cucumbers (my favorite are the Persian cucumbers) 1/2-1 tsp salt (to taste) 2-3 tbsps rice vinegar, to taste 1/2-1 tbsp sesame oil, to taste 1/2 tbsp sugar, to taste 2-3 tbsps soy sauce, to taste 1/2-1 tbsp chili paste, to taste (optional) Wash and then peel the cucumber skins in alternating stripes (or peel completely or not at all). Slice the cucumbers in half lengthwise and scoop ...