Taiwanese Curry

Today, I made one of my favorite comfort dish, Taiwanese Curry. So what makes this curry "taiwanese"? Well, instead of cooking the chicken with the curry, I make the chicken separately. It's called 盐酥鸡 in Chinese which translates to "salty crispy nuggets". Using these fried chicken nuggets gives the curry a completely different dimension and tastes absolutely delicious! I always have to stop myself from eating the chicken when frying them or else there would not be enough left. You can even just make the chicken separately and eat it as a snack, just make sure to fry some basil leaves with it! The curry part of the dish is SO simple. I use a boxed curry called Vermont Curry. This dish takes around an hour or so to make but it's definitely worth it.

Curry

Ingredients:

1 Box Vermont Curry

3 Carrots

3 Potatoes

1/2 Onion

6 Cups of water

1. Cook the curry according to the box. Told ya it's easy!

Crispy Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

3-4 Pieces of chicken (I like to use thighs, gives more flavor)

3 Tbs of Rice Wine

2 Tbs of Five Spice Powder

2 Tbs of Sugar

3 Tbs of Soy Sauce

1 Tbs of Black Pepper

2 Tbs of Cayenne Pepper (you don't have to add this in if you don't want it to be spicy)

2 Egg Yolk

1/2 Cups of Potato Starch
Oil for frying

1. Cube the chicken
2. Mix chicken, rice wine, five spice, sugar, soy sauce, black pepper and cayenne pepper together and let it marinade in the fridge for 30 mins
3. After chicken marinades, mix in the egg yolk and potato starch together.
4. Heat up the oil, should be around 1-1 1/2 inch deep
5. Fry the chicken nuggets in batches. Don't over crowd the chicken in the pot!
6. Take out when chicken is golden brown outside.

To serve, include some rice, scoop curry over chicken and enjoy! ♥



xoxo,
Annie  

The Perfect Chambray

I been searching for the perfect chambray shirt for since last fall season but could not find any that I liked. I was looking for a shade that is blue-ish/grey and loosely fitted. The ones I found were either too big or too denim colored, so I gave up after months of looking for it. However, this past weekend, I found the perfect shade of chambray!

This picture does not reflect the exact color of the shirt but it will do. I found it at Old Navy for $25. What a deal! There was a cold front this past weekend and I figured if would be the perfect opportunity to wear it out. I wanted to be casual since I was running errands around town. Sorry for the quality of the picture, it was taken with my iPhone.

Shirt: Old Navy | Tank: Banana Republic | Leggings: Ann Taylor
Shoes: Tory Burch | Jewelry: David Yurman & Kendra Scott

Can't wait to style this chambray shirt w/ some scarfs and boots soon!



xoxo,
Annie

Outfit :: Deep Red

Zara shirt, UO shorts, Tory Burch flats, Vintage necklace, Michael Kors watch

Homemade Panang Chicken Curry

My boyfriend and I love curry; but I like Thai curry which is more coconut-ty, while he likes Indian curry, which is spicier. When we are both craving curry, we can never decide which type to eat. It is because of this predicament that I ventured to create a mixture that contains both of the characteristics of Thai and Indian curry. Even though this is my first time making it, my boyfriend and I both were pleasantly surprised how well it turned out. I didn't use heavy cream this time but I wish I did so the sauce would be more creamy, which is why I suggested using a milk/heavy cream blend. 

Ingredients:

-1 Tablespoon of Ginger (diced or grated)

-1 Teaspoon of Paprika

-1/2 Tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper

-2 Tablespoon of Panang Curry Powder (or which ever curry powder you can find)

-Sprinkle of Black Pepper

-1/2 Tablespoon of Salt

-1 Teaspoon of Sugar

-Pinch of Lime juice

-1/2 Cup Water

-1/2 Cup Milk & Heavy cream or half & half combined

-3 Medium sized Potatoes ( I used an organic potatoes blend, hence the purple/black potatoes)

-1 lb Chicken

-1 Onion

-2 Carrots

Directions:

• Sauté all the veggies together until onions are browned and potatoes are firm
• Combine paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, sugar, toss it with the veggies for a couple minutes
• Put in the chicken and combine more!
• Pour in the water & milk and heavy cream mixture
• Simmer for around 20-25 minutes, add the pinch of lime juice and stir!

The Healthy Clam Chowder - Using Fresh Clams!

I am a sucker for chowders, especially clam chowder. I could drink a cup, oh, even a bowl of clam chowder every day from my favorite super market - central market, if I could. Despite my love for this delicious soup, I try not to get it as much because the one from the store is so fattening. After thoroughly researching all the clam chowder recipes out there, I kind of got a basic understanding of the key ingredients that are used to make it and most of recipes call for the use of heavy cream and tons of butter. So I decided to come up with my own! Beware, it takes some time to prepare and cook, but it is definitely worth it. I highly suggest fresh clams instead of the can ones, it really makes a big difference in the taste.

Ingredients:

1-2lbs fresh clams
3 strips of bacon (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (diced)
1 onion (diced)
2 1/2 sticks of carrot (sliced)
2 green onion (diced)
2-3 potatoes (diced)
1/3 cup of flour
6 tablespoon of butter
2 cups of milk
Salt, Pepper, Thyme, Oregano to taste






1. Put the clams into a pot with water (enough to cover the clams), boil until the clams open up, save about 2 cups of the juice. Diced the cooked clams.
2. In a pot, put 3 tablespoon of butter and cook the bacon until crispy. (I suggest putting the fire to medium so your pot doesn't burn at the bottom)
3. After the bacon is crispy, saute onions, potatoes and carrots for about 15 mins (til the onions are transparent). Sprinkle, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano.
4. Pour in the clam juice saved up from cooking the clam. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer until the potatoes/carrots are tender. about 20-25 mins.
5. While the stock is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the remaining 3 tablespoon of butter, reduce the fire to low, and mix in the flour slowly and continuously for about 2 mins.
6. Scoop some of the stock and pour into the flour/butter mixture, once mixed, pour back into the stock and stir
7. Put in the milk and the cooked clams and bring to boil


Enjoy!
Annie

Braised short beef ribs

When I use to live with my parents, they would always make this beef ribs dish that satisfy my little tummy :) Feeling a little home sick lately, I decided to give it a try. Every time my parents would make this I always thought wow this is delicious, must be difficult! but let me tell you, this is SO easy and EXTREMELY satisfying! Give it a try and satisfy your little tummy too. 

Alter the recipe depending on how much ribs you buy!
-A package of short beef ribs
-a small chuck of ginger sliced
-1 green onion chopped
-1 clove of garlic diced
-a quarter of a onion diced
-potatoes
-2 table spoon of soy sauce (I eyed mine according to taste)
-Sugar (according to taste)
-Salt
-olive oil

-Bring the oil to heat, put in the ginger, cook until you can smell the ginger fragrance (about a min?)
-Put in garlic, green onions and onion, cook for around a min
-Put in the ribs, frequently turn it over -Put in soy sauce, sugar, salt, turn the ribs over frequently   -Put in about a bowl of water, set the fire on low, cook and cover for 20-25mins.
-After 20-25 mins, put in the potatoes, fire still on low, cover and cook for 10 mins.

and Tada!




xoxo, Annie

Egg-a-licious

Being a college student I am, I am always hungry and looking for something to eat all the time, especially at odd hours of the night hhehe. This is he best and easiest way to cook an egg other than frying & it is so delicious and filling andd cheap that I would feel guilty not sharing this.


Ingredients:
Egg
Bread (I used raisin toast)
Cheese (Cheddar, Jack or whatever you please)
Some pepper & salt to taste

1. Cut a hole into the bread using cookie cutter, or whatever you have
2. Crack an egg into the hole you just made
3. Shred cheese over it
4. Broil high for 5 minutes
5.Sprinkle pepper & salt.

oh hello there, deliciousness