Pita Sandwhich (PB&J)

Pita bread is one of those things I always hear about but never got around to using. I figured a wrap would be the same thing. WRONG. This was fun to eat because of the pockets, and all the ingredients stayed inside, so less spill.
So, I'm sort of a peanut butter jelly addict. But I can't have peanut butter everyday, so I used hummus as the new peanut butter, and raspberry vinaigrette as the jelly. In a way, the following recipe is like a Pb&J, just fancier I guess??

Pita Sandwhich

5 min, Serves 1

1/2 Whole Wheat pita bread
2 tablespoons hummus
1 cup baby spinach, packed
1/4 cup cucumbers, sliced
1/4 cup red and green bell peppers, sliced
2 tablespoon raspberry vinaigrette

1. Carefully, split open pita pocket and spread hummus on one side of the bread.
2. Add rest of ingredients and top with vinaigrette.,

Lobster Cream Cheese Wonton

My mom brought home a package of cooked lobster bits couple days ago and I tried to use it in as many meals as possible. Problem is I have never cooked with lobster before. It tastes like a cross between shrimp and crab to me? At least this one did. I threw it in a couple salads so far, but I decided to make things that usually uses crab meat such as the lobster california rolls I made the other day. With the last bit of lobster, I created lobster cream cheese wonton.

Lobster Cream Cheese Wonton

Serves 4, 30 min

oil for deep/pan fry

1 cup lobster, chopped

4 tablespoon cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoon celery, diced

1 tablespoon chives, diced

12 thin square wonton wrappers

1 egg white

4 tablespoon sweet chili sauce

2 celery leafs as garnish

1. Heat enough oil in fryer to cover at least 2 inch of the bottom. In a frying pan, add enough oil to cover the bottom of pan.

2. In a medium bowl, add lobster, cream cheese, and celery and mix ingredients together.

3. Separate wonton wrappers. Add mixed ingredients to the center of each wrapper and top with a few pieces of chives.

4. Put egg white into a small bowl, and dip a finger into it. Spread egg white onto corners of wonton wrapper. Take two opposite corners of wrapper and connect in the center of the wonton. Connect the two remaining corners in the center. Place finished wonton on a cool non stick surface until ready to cook.

5. Once all wontons have formed, place them in oil and fry for a few min until lightly browned and flip if necessary. Allow wontons to drip oil on a napkin for a minute. Serve with sweet chili sauce.

Faux Pho II

Last time I made meat free pho, I used only Udon soup base for the broth. It lacked the wholesome taste that beef pho has, so I decided to try making it again, this time I added some ingredients used in Korean foods. THIS TIME ITS TASTED MUCH HEARTIER. Here is a brief explanation of the two ingredients that made a huge difference this time around:

Dashima

A kelp used in Asian cuisine, when boiled, creates a soup stock. Usually sold in stores in dried pieces.

Shiitake Mushroom

A mushroom that some consider a delicacy, and sold in dry and fresh form at all Asian stores and fresh in local markets . When dried pieces are boiled, it can flavor soups and because of this, its considered a vegetarian dashi.

Vegetable Pho II (Faux Pho)

30 min, Serves 4

8 cups water

1 cup soba sauce (Udon soup base)

1/2 medium onion, large slices

2 medium dried shiitake mushrooms

1 piece dried dashima, 4 inch piece

6 servings of pho (wet) rice noodles

1 cup onion, thinly sliced

1 cup carrots, 1/4 inch thin rounds

1 head broccoli, chopped

6 cups bean sprouts

2 cups napa cabbage, chopped

2 cups bokchoi

2 jalepenos, sliced

2 cups cilantro, diced

6 sprigs thai basil

1/2 lemon, sliced

Other vegetables*

1. Add water and soba sauce to a pot and boil on medium-high. Once this boils, add 1/2 onion, shiitake, and dashima. Continue boiling until onion is soft and broth has reached its desired concentration (about 15 min).

2. In another pot, boil some water on high. Blanch the carrots and broccoli for 1 min until they soften but still crisp. Remove the vegetables and separate into servings.

3. In the same pot that water is boiling, Place a single serving of noodles into this pot for 2 min and remove with a strainer ladle. Move cooked noodles into a serving bowl.

4. Add all vegetables including carrots to the serving bowl. Pour boiling broth over everything so the ingredients cook. Serve immediately. Add Sriracha Hot Chili sauce and Hoison sauce to taste. If you find the broth to be too salty, add hot water. If it seems too bland add a touch of soba sauce or soy sauce.

*Try different vegetables to suit your taste, tofu also makes a good addition to any pho.