Cool fun fact: I’ve always had a recipe for French Onion Soup, but it suuUuUuuUuuck3d. Here’s hoping no one ever made it, but if you did (why??), my dude, I apologize. So, I’ve decided to update my outdated recipe with a brand new one. Look how it sparkles with my cute mini Le Creuset cocettes! HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANYTHING SO CUTE? Yeah, don’t answer that, of course, you have. I probably should’ve posted a more summer-friendly recipe because who wants to eat piping hot soup right now? Well, you know what? I live in New England & this damn region doesn’t obey the laws of seasons. Seasons are light suggestions. Calendar says it’s summer? EL OH EL, try again. New England says it’s still autumn so it’s cold & raining, but tomorrow it’ll be hot, humid, & thundering. Drunk seasons are fun! Yay! (Help me).
homemade
It’s finally Spring, but New England kind of doesn’t care about seasons, so it’s already snowed a few times. But listen, I’m not here to talk about the drunk weather patterns of New England, I’m here to share a new recipe I’ve developed in partnership with Trident Seafoods, working with delicious surimi by Louis Kemp. Being a full-time student & working part-time is no easy feat, especially when you also need to find time to feed yourself & not break the bank. This is especially true for any working busybody or mom, so I came up with a recipe that y’all can bang out in 20 minutes or less!
If you’re new around these parts, hi, I’m Tiffany & I’m addicted to sushi. It’s always my default craving, however very expensive, especially when I want to blow my wallet on omakase. I admit that sometimes all I want is just a California roll–invented by Chef Ichiro Mashita who wanted to appease his LA customers who were turned off by the nori (seaweed) in sushi by flipping the rice inside out–because it’s an inexpensive & reasonable alternative to raw fish. This is especially appealing if you’re pregnant or scared of raw fish, so embrace this tasty alternative, y’all! Louis Kemp Crab Delights are made from Alaskan Pollock—a highly sustainable white fish also known as the world’s biggest source of palatable fish, which is commonly used in imitation crab products—and real snow crab. Let me just smash cut to the chase since I know you just HAVE TO KNOW WHAT IT IS I’VE MADE THAT ONLY TAKES 20 MINUTES TO MAKE, HURRY UP. It’s a deconstructed California roll in a bowl! Let me introduce you to my version of a quick & easy California roll fix for busy moms, millennials, people, everyone: the Spicy California Sushi Bowl. Spicy is always optional, but it’s essential in my household because the kick makes life more interesting.
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I’m happy to announce the winner of my Soapy Giveaway is, drum roll please, Tara of Aigoo-Chamna.net! Congratulations, Tara! Thrilled that you won & you most definitely deserve it. Tara is always one of the first people to read my posts & leaves thoughtful comments. Very pleased that she won, but it was all the more easier for her to win when a bunch of people got disqualified because they failed to do one simple thing: leave multiple comments on different posts. Womp womp! Oh well, their loss is Tara’s win. Visit her blog & befriend this friendly blogger! Thanks to all those who participated & be on the lookout for another giveaway in the future. I’m bound to have another one. 🙂
Let’s get on with my previous promise to share Vietnamese recipes, shall we? I bring you a delicious fish & noodle recipe from my peeplez. Cha Ca Thang Long (Grilled Turmeric Fish with Dill) is a very popular northern Vietnamese dish, which has a transliteration of “grilled chopped fish from Thang Long.” While we were sweating in Vietnam’s summer heat, my family went to lunch at a restaurant in Hanoi which only served Cha Ca Thang Long and it was quite excellent. However, I’ve had better in the comforts of my own home (& my mother’s cooking) & at Pho Quang Trung. It’s also comforting knowing you can eat fresh herbs raw without worry of parasites too, so there’s that. This recipe is not meant for those who don’t like seafood or fish sauce, because honey, fish sauce is the soy sauce of Vietnam. In other Asian cuisines, soy sauce is the base for many dishes, but in Vietnam, it’s fish sauce. It’s the secret ingredient my mom uses to make her spaghetti sauce full of umami goodness.
BONUS FUN FACT: Ancient Romans also used fish sauce in their spaghetti too, so don’t you judge my mother for adding her Vietnamese fusion ways into pasta.
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My first & only sushi recipe I’ve published was on the same day I held my first giveaway. The recipe was simple, vegan, & healthy, but I’ve finally made some sushi during the day & photographed it. It’s not vegan nor is it vegetarian, but it uses a sustainable fish, it’s baked, & it’s spicy. My regular prop table is covered with cold process soap things, so I apologize these photos aren’t as white & bright as my other ones. The real testament is whether or not FoodGawker gives this a thumbs up. This sushi roll has a small element of baking in it, but I promise it’s worth your time. Plus, any extra filling you have leftover can be used in a salad, atop noodles, or to make even more sushi. Hmm…now that I think of it, this would’ve been a better post if I also ran my much delayed giveaway. Next time…next time…while I can’t giveaway my food, I can giveaway some of my awesome soapy-Martha-Stewarty creations (room sprays, soap, bath bombs, etc) so…yeah. That’s worth a lot. Anyway, recipe link & some pictures after the jump!
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A few months ago during work, I couldn’t stop thinking about how my next meal would consist of crab rangoon & some other noodle-y dish. When I walked across the street to a Thai restaurant that I knew served crab rangoon, I was so excited to dip these deep fried stuffed wonton apps in some delicious sweet & sour sauce. As I walked out of the restaurant, I opened the take-out bag to pop one of these pyramidal pockets of goodness in my mouth, but to my great disappointment, they were more melted cream cheese than imitation crab. I continued to crave these for weeks until I decided I would just make them myself after my second disappointment, which was from my new go-to Thai delivery joint. What is with Boston’s inability to make some half-way decent crab rangoon?! Well, I take that back, there is one restaurant that is mediocre Asian food at its finest *cough* Teriyaki House *cough* & they make a pretty solid serving of crab rangoon.