Red Bean Paste 红豆沙

Hey everyone!大家好！ The New Year （新年） is coming up, so I decided to make red bean paste, 红豆沙. I used it to make Chinese steamed buns and red bean mochi. Anyways, this red bean paste is delicious. My family loves it. I personally like the chunky texture of red bean paste. I like it smooth too, but it depends on what you want to use it for. The chunky version is thicker, so it's easier to use as a filling for something, like mochi and buns. I love eating it just by itself too. The canned ones don't taste as good, but if you like smooth 红豆沙, you might as well buy it, unless you want to do some extra straining to make it smooth.
This took a total of 26 hours to make. It's because you have to soak the beans for 24 hours. You can soak it for just a few hours, but the cooking time will be longer. Anyways, it's well worth the effort. I hope you guys enjoy this red bean paste.

Ingredients: 

• 14 oz bag of dried red beans
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• a pinch of salt 
• water (to boil the beans)

Directions: 

1. Soak the beans in water for 24 hours. The beans will grow larger in size. You may need to add more water as time goes on. 
2. Rinse the beans and put them in a pot. Add water to cover the beans. Bring it to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, drain the beans and put them back in the pot. 
3. Add water so that the water is 1/2 in above the beans. Bring it to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer, covered, for about one hour to 1  1/2 hours. The beans should be soft and easy to smush.
4. Drain the beans  and rinse the pot. Put the beans back into the pot and put it over medium low heat. Mix  in the sugar 1/4 cup at a time.Then, mix in the salt.
5. Once the red bean has become thick in texture (it may take 10 to 30 minutes), turn off the heat. Smush the beans with a potato smasher or a spatula. If you like a smoother texture, you can put it in a blender or put it through a cloth strainer. This would take a long time though. 
6. The red beans are ready.

 I hope you guys enjoy. :)

Chinese Buns

Hey everyone. How are you guys doing? Well, today, I steamed these packaged lotus seed paste buns. I love lotus seed paste. The problem is that they don't sell them in cans, so I have to buy the buns. Anyways, these buns are delicious. And, guess what, they're only 70 calories for one. The only downfall is that they are kind of small. You might need to eat 2 or 3 of them to be content. I bought these at the 99 Ranch Supermarket. Here's how the package looks:
Anyways, even though I know how to bake Chinese buns, I'd like to learn how to make steamed ones like these. I have a recipe that I haven't used yet to make the steamed buns. I'll have to make them first before I post it. Also, I'll be making my own red bean paste. They'll be the bun filling. I would add lotus seed paste, but, like I said before, I don't have any. I also don't have the lotus seeds to make the paste. I still like red bean though. Be on the lookout for the recipe. :)
Anyways, here's the nutrition facts for the frozen buns. :

So, anyways, it's pretty simple to steam these. Here are the directions:

1. Boil water in a wok.
2. Place buns on a plate.
3. Once the water is boiled, put the buns in the wok and cover with the lid. Let it steam for 5 to 8 minutes. These buns are small, so the steaming time is shorter. 
4. Take them out. 
5. Serve immediately and enjoy. 

Happy Holidays!!!

Hello Everyone! Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate it.  I hope you guys enjoyed your day! Hopefully, you guys had fun spending time with family and friends.

How to cook brown rice: Stovetop Method

As you know, I'm a health freak. You can tell, since I cooked some brown rice. Brown rice is really good for you. It's a lot different from what Asians usually eat. My family still eats their Jasmine Rice, but I eat brown rice whenever I can.
Brown rice is actually tasty, if you like the nutty kind of flavor. I guess some people don't like it because it's not as soft as white rice. Also, it takes a longer time to cook. But, if you cook it correctly, the rice can be soft enough. I'm so happy because I've achieved that today.
It's best to switch from white rice to brown rice. You can use it to make fried rice too. You can eat it with chicken, fish, veggies and with whatever you please. I like it with tofu (steamed), broccoli, (with oyster sauce), salmon and soy sauce on the rice. It's just a suggestion. I really want to try it with red beans and coconut milk. I will when I can.  But, anyways, here's how to cook the perfect brown rice, the stove top method.

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown rice
• 3 1/2 cups water

Directions: 

1. In a bowl, soak the brown rice for at least 1 hr. 
2. Drain the water, put the rice in a pot for the stove and mix in the 3 1/2 cup water. 
3. Put it over high heat until it boils. 
4. Cover the lid and turn it to low heat. Let it simmer and cook for 45 minutes. DO NOT UNCOVER THE LID. 
5. Once 45 minutes have passed, you may remove the lid to see if the rice is cooked. If not, cook it for an additional 10 min. If it is, then, the rice is done. Enjoy.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Hey everyone. How are you guys doing? Well, I'm stressed out, thank you for asking. I have a 12 page government paper due soon, and it's taking forever for me to finish it.
Anyways, I decided to bake some peanut butter cookie. I wanted to eat some cookies. It's called emotional eating. Eating when you're stressed. I even decided to add some chocolate chips to the batter since I love chocolate. I decided to make a vegan version because I received a recipe email by Chocolate Covered Katie about these peanut butter cookies. I adapted it just a bit to fit my tastes. For example, adding a bit more flour and adding chocolate chips. The cookie dough by itself tastes good and it tastes just as good when it's baked. You can't tell that they're vegan and healthy. They're around 50 to 90 calories, depending on how many cookies you make with it. So, here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter ( I used Smart Balance Rich Creamy Roast kind)
• 3/4 tsp baking soda (or baking powder)
• 4 tablespoon whole-wheat pastry flour (or white or a gluten free mix)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoon applesauce
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• dark chocolate chips (or any kind)

Mix dry ingredients very well. Then add wet and form them into 15-22 cookie balls (mines made 17). Then bake in a preheated oven (350F) for 9 minutes. They’ll look underdone when you take them out. Don't touch the cookies. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from tray. If you don't wait long eough, the cookies will break. Enjoy. :)

Peanutbutter Honey Nutella Sandwich

Today, I ate the best sandwich ever. Peanutbutter Honey Nutella Sandwich. It's amazing. It's a lot better than the Pastrami on Rye sandwich I ate on the cruise-ship a few years ago. I thought pastrami  was the best sandwich ever, but now, it's changed. I can't stand eating anything pork anymore. In my anatomy class, we dissected fetal pigs. So gross. Too much information, but I just had to get it out there. Anyways...

This PB Honey Nutella Sammich is healthier and more dessert like. I love chocolate and peanut butter. I like peanut butter with honey, so why not combine them together? I know. I'm weird. :)
Hey. At least the sandwich is really filling. It's delicious too.  I thought that it wouldn't be but it was. Pair it with a piece of fruit and your meal is complete. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of this sandwich, but I will give you guys the recipe. It's quick and simple.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon nutella
• 1 tablespoon Smart Balance Rich Roast Creamy Peanut butter
• 1 1/2 tsp honey
• 1 whole wheat sandwich thin

Directions:

1. On one slice of the sandwich thin, spread the peanut butter on it. Add the honey on that slice, and mix it with the peanut butter. 
2. On the other slice, spread the nutella. 
3. Put it together and enjoy.

Hawaiian Sweet Rolls with Sweetened Condensed Milk

I love Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. I don't eat them often though. The last time I ate them was 2 years ago. We don't buy them much because they're unhealthy. When my mom decided to buy them this weekend, I was so happy. I was thinking, "Finally! I get to dip this yummy sweet bread into sweetened condensed milk!"
I bet you guys are thinking that I'm crazy. After all, who dips bread into milk? It's actually delicious. It's my little indulgent treat. It's especially good on a winter cold day.
My mom thought of the idea long ago. Back in China when she was young, she ate bread with sweetened condensed milk, but a different kind of bread.  She thought of using this hawaiian bread to replace the other bread she ate with the milk. It's sweet and delicious. So, here's the "recipe" for eating the King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls with Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Ingredients: 

• Kings Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
• Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Hot Water

Directions: 

1. Take a few tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk and put it in a cup or mug. 
2. Fill it up with about 1/2 cup of hot water. Dissolve the milk in the hot water. Stir. If you like it sweeter, add more sweetened condensed milk. I like mine sweet. 
3. Now, you can enjoy and eat.  Peel the bread, dip it into the milk, and then eat it. It's delicious. You can drink the milk after you're done eating bread. :)

Sausage Crescent Rolls

 At Costco, we bought the turkey sausage and the refrigerated crescent rolls. I thought, let's try making sausage crescent rolls. So, I made them. I made them for breakfast for my siblings. They're pretty good, but my sister says that you can taste the bread a lot though. Also, I fried some egg, along with the rolls. Here's a pic:









 It looks quite delicious, doesn't it? Don't you like the happy face I made with the eggs and the rolls?

Anyways, here's the recipe. Enjoy. :)

Ingredients:

• crescent rolls
• turkey sausage

Directions:

1. Divide the dough into 8 parts.
2. Roll them like play dough, like  shape of a worm.
3. Wrap it around the sausage.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake them for 12 to 15 min.
5. Take them out and enjoy. 

By the way, each sausage crescent roll is 140 calories, with the products I used.  

  I decided to use some of the turkey sausage we bought for something else too. You guys are thinking, what are those things on the plate? Well, it's an egg white veggie omelet, turkey sausage, and whole wheat bread with dulce de leche. It was pretty yummy. The only thing I might do different next time is add more veggies to the omelet.
So, how many calories was this? Well, for the bread, I just ate one slice of the sandwich thins. So, that counts as 50 calories. The turkey sausage was 80 calories. The egg whites were 40 calories, since I used 2 egg whites. The veggies were about 20 calories. So, this breakfast was around 200 calories. Not bad at all, and it was delicious and filling. The egg whites and sausage gave a salty egg while the bread with dulce de leche gave something sweet to eat.

Rice Krispies Treats

When I was in elementary and middle school, I loved eating rice krispie treats. My parents would buy the packaged ones for me, the Kellogg brand kind. They'd buy the huge box from Costco. Sometimes, they would buy it from other places and there would be cocoa ones too. ;) I love the cocoa ones, but they usually bought the original ones.
Well, now that I'm older, I still love Rice Krispies. But, I learned that the packaged foods are not good for you. So not healthy, with the preservatives they add sometimes. So, I've decided to make them myself. In my opinion, they taste better (fresher taste). Also, I get to control what goes in what I eat. And, I get to cut them into bigger sizes if I want to eat a large one, and I get to add chocolate if I want too. ;) All I have to do is either use cocoa rice krispie cereal or add in chocolate chips (or M&M's) at the very end.

I started making rice krispies treats when I first started baking chocolate chip cookies (which were the first things I actually made). Here's the link to the post about how I started baking (and my first blog post). So, after making rice krispies treats for the first time, I decided to make them myself from now on instead of buying them. I've been them countless times now and everyone loves them. Here's the recipe. It's quick, simple and delicious. Buen Provecho.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 3 tablespoon butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• chocolate chips or M&M's (optional)
• sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, melt the butter and marshmallows under low heat. 
2. Once melted, add in the vanilla extract.
3. Remove from heat, and mix in the cereal. Make sure all the cereal is coated with the marshmallow mixture. 
4. Pour into a buttered 9x13 inch baking pan (or any size pan) and using a buttered spatula, evenly press the mixture in. Then, press in the chocolate chips. M&Ms, or sprinkles (do not mix it into the mixture). You can also drizzle melted chocolate over the top too. 
5. Wait for them to cool and, then cut them into squares (any size you want). 
6. Enjoy. :)

Some people use marshmallow fluff  instead, but I don't. In my opinion, it doesn't give it the same taste. Also, you can also use a microwave to melt the marshmallows and butter. You just risk burning it. That's why I like using the stove top method.

So, what are your guys favorite Rice Krispies flavor? What about your favorite childhood treat?

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Mini Pumpkin Pie.

Happy Thanksgiving you guys! Happy Turkey Day. 感恩节快乐! Feliz Día de Gracias. Today was such a nice day. Yes, I am posting this kind of late, but hey. I was busy. So, Thanksgiving was okay. I stayed home all day, and I baked bread to bring to the family potluck. Everyone loved them. 
I also baked these mini pumpkin pies. As you see, they look ugly (epic fail). That's why I didn't bring them. They tasted okay though. I like the Costco pumpkin pie a lot better. The filling is good, the crust is terrible. I should have used a pre-made crust instead of making one from scratch. I tried using a sugar cookie base for this pie, but, it didn't turn out. Lesson learned Use premade crust. The filling was really good though. So, I'll just give you guys the recipe for the filling. 
This also reminds me of the egg tarts I made. The egg custard was the best I've ever had, but, the crust didn't turn out so good. So, I guess I'm just not a crust making person. Oh well. I will post the egg tart recipe, well, the egg custard part. Once I get the crust right, I will post that too. But, for now, the pumpkin pie filling. :) 

Ingredients: 

• 1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
• 2 eggs
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground all spice
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Mix all the above ingredients together. If you are making mini pumpkin pies, preheat the oven to 425 F, let it bake for 15 min, the lower the temp to 350 and continue baking for 25 min.
2. If you want to make it crustless, I would play around with it. I would still bake it at 425 F for 15 min, and then lower it to 350. However, I don't know how long to bake it at 350. I assume around 40 minutes. Just keep checking on it.