Whenever I shop at Korean grocery stores, I love checking out the marinated meats section where buckets of pre-marinated meats are ready for sale. Other than the regular kalbi or beef short ribs for Korean BBQ, there is always a bucket of marinated chicken meat labeled as chicken stew. I always buy the chicken stew and make it at home but it was pricey.

I decided to learn how to make it and found a similar braised chicken recipe in the Kimchi Chronicles cookbook. The main flavoring ingredients are Korean chili paste “Gochujang” and Korean chili powder. From the market, I found two types of Korean chili powder—one type is a fine powdered form and the other is slightly coarse. I am not sure about the difference so if you are a Korean cook, please let me know.

I love the addition of potatoes and carrots to this spicy chicken stew. The end result is a spicy and hearty chicken stew that I really enjoy eating. It was simply delicious and comforting.

(Click Page 2 for the Korean Spicy Chicken Stew Recipe)

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To celebrate the upcoming holiday season, I am partnering with my friends at Chicago Metallic to giveaway a Chicago Metallic Christmas Tree Cakelette Pan & Stencil. There will be one (1) winner whom will receive one (1) Chicago Metallic Christmas Tree Cakelette Pan & Stencil for your baking needs this holiday season.

Specially engineered to include the standard Chicago Metallic metal rim, these pans provide reinforcement and stability unlike traditional silicone bakeware.

Features:

• 8 Cavity Silicone Pan
• Create christmas tree shaped desserts
• Steel reinforced rim prevents pan from flexing
• Flexible silicone center ensures easy removal of baked goods
• Stencils included for quick and easy decorating

Are you still looking for last-minute recipes for Thanksgiving?

Look no further as I have the PERFECT pumpkin pie recipe—with a nice Asian twist—made with kabocha squash, which is a Japanese variety of squash. The recipe came from my good friends Jared and Alice at Eat A Duck I Must. Team Eat A Duck shot the most beautiful pictures in my cookbook: the ingredients shots. They also created my cookbook promo video (including a cute blooper reel), which can be seen here. If you go to Eat A Duck I Must and browse their recipes, you will know that this pumpkin pie recipe is exactly what you need to impress your family and guest this Turkey Day.

The kabocha squash is sweeter than a regular pumpkin so it yields a silkier, richer, and sinfully decadent taste. The end result is a pumpkin pie that tastes almost like a custard, even close to a creme brulee. It’s a staple at the Team Eat A Duck household and have won many praises as the best-ever pumpkin pie every Thanksgiving.

Give their recipe a try this week and happy Thanksgiving!

(Click Page 2 for the Kabocha Pumpkin Pie Recipe)

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I love all sorts of Japanese-style salads, from the simple seaweed salad to the more complex salads such as seared ahi tuna salad. Whenever I eat out at Japanese restaurants, I almost never miss out on my favorite ahi tuna salad. It’s almost like having sashimi, except that it is healthier—a few slices of lightly seared ahi tuna on top of a bed of greens, drizzled with a splash of Japanese ponzu dressing. If you love Japanese cooking, I am sure you have had your fair share of seared ahi tuna salad. The good news is that I am sharing my recipe with you, so you can start making this refreshing salad at home.

A good seared ahi tuna salad starts with three basic ingredients: sushi-grade ahi tuna, your favorite salad (I like spring mix or herb mix), and a superb Japanese ponzu sauce. Many people are confused by the name “ahi” tuna. Ahi is the Hawaiian word for two species of tuna: yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna. Yellowfin tuna is best served as sashimi (raw) or seared rare. For the dressing, my choice is Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu, which is widely used at Japanese restaurants. You just can’t go wrong with the choice of Japanese chefs and restaurateurs.

I have tried countless variations of seared ahi tuna salad at Japanese restaurants but my ultimate favorite is the ones served with tobikko roes (fly fish roes) and shredded roasted seaweed. The tobikko roes add the pleasing “popping” texture and sensation to the mouth and the roasted seaweed gives its signature Japanese nuance. I also jazzed up the Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu dressing with a bit of ground sesame seeds and sesame oil. To cut the acidic taste, I sweetened it up with a little honey. Finally, for the star of this dish, I rubbed some shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) to the fish before searing. The end result is this gorgeous looking, refreshing, and appetizing seared ahi tuna salad.

I hope you like this seared ahi tuna salad recipe as much as I do. Enjoy!

It’s that time of year again!

This year, I upgraded a lot of my kitchen appliances and utensils, mostly because of my growing baby G. My adorable son is 14 months and what I’m feeding him/what he likes to eat has largely influenced what I use in the kitchen. Also, as a busy full-time mom, I rely on products that simplify my life. After all, I’ve to take care of my baby, family, blog, cookbook, etc., and the last thing I need are mediocre products that are not durable or breaks easily.

Here are the lists of products I recommend. They make great gifts for your loved ones and will be forever cherished and treasured.

Calphalon Contemporary 10-pc Cookware Set

Believe it when I say this: I’ve never owned a complete set of cookware until I got my Calphalon Contemporary 10-pc Cookware Set. As you all know, I specialize in Asian cuisines and I use my wok or stir-fry pan on a daily basis. I’ve a couple of pots and pans around but they’re old and inferior in quality. When baby G started on solid food, I realized that I need a proper cookware set that I can use to make his food—porridge, soup, pancake, omelet, etc. He deserves the best. I finally settled on Calphalon Contemporary Bronze 10-pc Cookware Set. Each piece of the cookware (8-in. omelette pan, 10-in. omelette pan, 1.5-qt. covered sauce pan, 2.5-qt. covered sauce pan, 3-qt. covered saute pan, 8-qt. covered stockpot) are nonstick and bronze in color. The heavy-gauge hard-anodized aluminum heats evenly and the multi-layer nonstick are guaranteed to last a lifetime. I now cook everything with my Calphalon cookware set: curry, soups, stews, and baby food. They’re absolutely awesome and the unique appearance is a thing of unsurpassed beauty in the kitchen. I love the set so much that I asked Calphalon to sponsor one (1) set of Calphalon Contemporary Bronze 10-pc Cookware Set for giveaway.

KitchenAid 7-Quart Mixer 

Baby G loves all sorts of baking—cake, muffin, pastry, and bread. He has prompted me to take baking seriously. I have a KitchenAid 4.5-Quart Mixer for a while, but the new KitchenAid 7-Quart Mixer is the bomb. It’s the largest (makes up to 14 dozen cookies or 8 lbs of dough), most powerful—and quietest—KitchenAid mixer in the market. With a generous 7-qt. capacity, this machine equips home bakers with a full range of high-performance commercial features for fast, efficient mixing and quality results. Plus, it’s a real eye-candy in any kitchen and available in four colors: candy apple red, medallion silver, black storm, or white.

Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme Breadmaker

I love my Zojirushi rice cooker so when it comes to getting myself a breadmaker, I immediately thought of Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme Breadmaker as I had seen it at Japanese supermarkets. The breadmaker bakes a large, traditional, rectangular-shaped 2 lb. loaf of bread, and has menu courses for a variety of other cooking needs including cake, dough, sourdough, jam and even for making meatloaf. With this breadmaker, I can make breads effortlessly and most importantly, my baby loves the bread as his afternoon snack.

Fujifilm X100 12.3 MP Digital Camera

This camera is high up on my wishlist this year. I got to play with it a little bit when my friend visited me a couple of months ago. It’s a seriously good-looking camera—it looks like a retro film camera but it’s digital, lightweight, and produces very high quality photography. I currently have two bulky DSLR cameras that are quite a hassle to travel with. This is definitely going to be my travel companion as I can still shoot in RAW mode and the ISO settings up to 4000.

ManPans Stir Fry Wok and Steamer Set

When I make Asian dishes, I reply on my traditional Chinese wok and a non-stick ManPans stir-fry wok and steamer set. I don’t steam my food using the traditional Chinese wok because the wok tend to become rusty. ManPans stir-fry wok and steamer set is a perfect combo—I use it for both stir-frying and steaming, for example: dim sum and dumplings. I love it that it’s lightweight and their proprietary Cool Grip handle keep its cool. It’s really the best non-stick wok that I have.

Easy Chinese Recipes Cookbook

Many of you know that my first cookbook came out in September. It’s currently the top selling Chinese cookery book on Amazon and makes a perfect—and inexpensive (only $15)— gift for your friends and family. It has garnered lots of positive reviews from US and international press, and 41 glowing reviews (and counting) on Amazon! Easy Chinese Recipes is going on second print now so pick up a copy this holiday season. I’m almost certain that your loved ones will appreciate and enjoy the cookbook. The book is available at Barnes and Noble book store and online at:

1. Amazon US
2. Amazon UK
3. Amazon CA
4. Book Depository – FREE worldwide shipping!

Australia:

1. Augusrobertson.com.au
2. Boomerangbooks.com.au
3. Booktopia.com.au
4. Kinokuniya.com Australia

New Zealand:

1. Whitcoulls.co.nz
2. Borders.co.nz
3. Wheelers.co.nz
4. Paperplus.co.nz
5. Circlesoft.net

NESPRESSO Pixie Espresso Maker

I am not much a coffee drinker but Mr. Rasa Malaysia is a huge fan. Whenever we shop at Bloomingdale’s or Crate & Barrel, the tempting aroma of espresso brewed with NESPRESSO Espresso Maker is simply hard-to-resist. So, this is also another item that I wish to get this holiday season. We have tried the free samples too many times and think it’s time to make it our own. There are many models to choose from but I personally like the NESPRESSO Pixie. It’s compact, sturdy, and have 6 colors and 2 finishes to choose from…the kind of kitchen toy I’d love to have!

Happy shopping!