Author Archive
Imitation Crab Dip
This is from the Just a Pinch Recipe Club website, it is easy to make and tastes delicious. To be honest, I do not know what a good crab dip is supposed to taste like, but I will say, this is an excellent tasting dip! This is a cold dip, not a hot dip.
Equipment
- Electric Mixer
Ingredients
- 250 grams cream cheese, room temperature, (8 oz)
- 150 grams sour cream, this is the small container, (about ⅔ cup)
- 1 packet dry ranch dressing, Shortcut
- 500 grams imitation crab sticks, (1 lb)
- 2 tablespoons spring onion tops, sliced
- butter crackers, for serving
Instructions
- Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and dry ranch dressing to a mixing bowl.
- Use an electric mixer to thoroughly mix together.
- Cut the crab sticks into ¼ inch slices and place in another mixing bowl. Then use your hands to break the pieces up a little.
- Add the crab sticks to the cheese mixture and use a spoon to mix together. Sprinkle in the spring onion tops and mix in. Cover and place in the fridge to chill for a 2-3 hours.
- Serve with butter crackers, enjoy.
Char Siu Noodles
This recipe is for the noodles, not the Char Siu (Roast Red Pork), feel free to use your preferred recipe to prepare the Char Siu, or you can use mine that is listed in the Notes section. This recipe assumes you already have Char Siu prepared.
Ingredients
For the Noodles
- 1 tablespoon Char Siu sauce , take this from the marinade sauce you made for your Char Siu
- ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice powder
- 2 servings dry Chinese egg noodles, or dry ramen
- 2 servings green vegetable of choice, such as baby bok choi, choi sum, broccoli, etc.
Additional Item
- 2 servings Char Siu, your preferred recipe or use mine in the Notes section
Instructions
- To a small saucepan, add the Char Siu sauce, soy sauce, water, and 5 spice powder, mix together, place medium heat and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and set aside.
- Cook the noodles per package instruction, and undercook by about 1 minute.
- Add the green vegetable and cook until tender, about 1-2 minutes to wilt.
- Drain the noodles then mix in the sauce you set aside.
- Portion into serving bowls and top with your sliced Char Siu. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Additional Recipe: Roast Red Pork (Char Siu).
24 Hour Chicken
This sounds really good, and the sour cream I am going to prepare from a powder, and it is sour cream and onion powder.
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Foil
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1½ kilo chicken pieces, legs, thighs, (2-3 lb)
For the Marinade
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
For the Coating
- ¾ cup corn flake crumbs
Instructions
- I am using chicken quarters that I separated into legs and thighs.
- Add all the Marinade ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir together.
- Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Line a baking sheet with foil.
- Add the crumbs to a plate or tray, and roll chicken pieces to coat and place on the pieces on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 45 minutes, turning the pieces over halfway through cooking.
Notes
Low cost.
Bonnie's Potato & Onion Pie
This is from a friend on the Just a Pinch Recipe Club website. Easy to put together and it is delicious!
Equipment
- Mandoline
- Pie Dish (9 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 kilo potatoes, peeled, sliced thin, (2 lb), a mandoline would be perfect for this.
- 1 onion, peeled, cut in half, sliced thin
- salt and pepper, as desired
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups cheese, your choice, shredded
- ⅔ cup sour cream, or whipping cream, or milk, or a combination of any listed
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Prep the potatoes and onion. I used 5 medium potatoes for the 1 kilo and used a mandoline to slice the potatoes and onion.
- Preheat your oven to 190° C (375° F), grease a large pie dish with butter. Sprinkle ½ the garlic in the pie dish. I used a 9 inch pie dish.
- Add ½ the potatoes overlapping the slices.
- Add ½ the onion slices on top of the potatoes, and sprinkle with salt and lightly with pepper, as desired.
- Sprinkle ½ of the shredded cheese over the onion.
- Repeat the layers starting with the remaining garlic, then potatoes, onion, salt and pepper. Add the sour cream, whipping, or milk, or any combination of these evenly over the top. I used ½ cup sour cream then added milk to bring it to ⅔ cup.
- Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese over the top, then sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 30 minutes more.
- Slice into wedges, serve as a side dish, enjoy.
My Spaghetti Sauce
I make this often and finally decided to write a recipe for it. This is a basic sauce but is well liked by myself and my Thai family. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground pork, or beef, (1 lb), I typically use pork
- 1 onion, diced
- ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- 2 cans tomato paste, (170 g / 6 oz cans)
- 4 cans water
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- salt, as desired
- hot cooked spaghetti , for serving
Instructions
- In a non stick pan, add the onion and ground pork, breaking up the meat with your spatula, and sprinkle with the ½ tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Cook, turning often until no pink remains and the meat is cooked through.
- While the pork is cooking, in a large saucepan, add the tomato paste, water, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning, place on low heat and whisk together. Simmer until hot, stirring often. When hot, add the butter and stir in. Taste and adjust as needed for salt or sugar.
- When the pork is done, if any excess fat in the pan, drain that off, then add the cooked pork to the sauce and mix together. Taste, and adjust as needed with salt and or sugar. Continue to simmer on low heat for another 15 minutes.
- Cook spaghetti in a pot of salted boiling water until tender, drain.
- Serve sauce over spaghetti, enjoy.
Notes
Shortcut: Italian Seasoning, Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs.
Variants: 1. Add some hard boiled eggs to the sauce while it does the final simmer so the eggs can heat through. 2. Add sautéed mushrooms.
Seasoned Rice II
This recipe comes from a friend with amazing recipes. I made this on 17 Jun 2022, and it was very well liked by the family, this will be a regular now. I use my basic Cook/Warm, 1 liter (1 quart), rice cooker to prepare this.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- ¼ cup onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup dry Jasmine rice
- 2 cups beef broth, (I use OXO brand)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
Instructions
- Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to your rice cooker and set to Cook setting, leaving cooker uncovered. When the butter is melted, add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is almost softened.
- Stir in the garlic, then add the rice. Stir to coat with the butter and continue cooking uncovered until the rice is just starting to toast and slightly brown.
- Add the broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and parsley. Stir together. Cover and let the cooker complete the Cook cycle.
- When the cooker switches to Warm setting, unplug or turn off cooker and let rice sit, still covered, for another 5 minutes.
- Open the lid, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, and fluff with a rice paddle.
- Serve as a side dish with any main dish. Enjoy.
Notes
Variants: 1. Added a diced bell pepper. 2. Add sautéed mushrooms.
Thai Chicken & Potato Soup
My wife and niece make this soup often, and it is delicious! I was intrigued when I first saw this made as I have rarely seen Thais use potatoes. This is a basic non spicy soup made with fresh and common ingredients. This is normally served with rice on the side but can certainly be enjoyed as is.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 kilo chicken wing sticks, (drumettes), (2 lb)
- 1 cube chicken stock
- 4 potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
- 3 onions, peeled, cut into wedges
- 4-5 plum tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon MSG, optional
- 2 tablespoons thin soy sauce, (light soy sauce)
- 2-3 bunches Chinese celery
- 2-3 spring onions
- hot cooked rice, for serving, optional
Instructions
- Prep the wings. These were cut from full wings.
- Prep the potatoes and onion.
- Prep the tomatoes, and more onions were prepped as well.
- Chinese celery is quite thin, the stalks and leaves are used. The celery has the roots in this photo on right, two bunches were used. The coriander underneath was used in another recipe.
- Cut the celery and spring onion (white and green parts) into 2 inch pieces.
- Add the water and garlic to a large pot, bring to a boil.
- After a few minutes, add the stock cube and the wing sticks. Let the pot come to boil, and occasionally skim any foam off the top. Cook until the wings are just cooked through.
- Now add the potatoes and let the pot come to a boil again, cook until the potatoes are just fork tender.
- Then add the onions and tomatoes, reduce heat to medium low and cook until the onion is tender.
- Once the onion is tender, add the salt, MSG (if using), and soy sauce, stir and taste, adding salt as desired. Then turn off the heat, leaving pot on the same burner, and add the celery and spring onion.
- Once the celery and spring onion is wilted, give the soup a stir.
- Ladle into serving bowls, enjoy. Serve as is or with rice on the side.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Asian Chicken & Corn Soup
This recipe on comes from the Just a Pinch Recipe Club site and is slightly modified to use a pressure cooker for the chicken. and it delicious soup! I use my 9 liter (9½ quart) stove top pressure cooker with a pressure of 80 kPa (12 psi), so this will work equally well with electric pressure cookers. Follow all safety precautions for your model of pressure cooker. If you do not have a pressure cooker, just cook in a saucepan on the stove.
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 3 chicken breasts, boneless
- 1 onion, peeled, quartered
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled, cut in half
- ½ tablespoon black peppercorns
- 2 quarts water, (8 cups)
For the Soup
- 1 can whole kernel corn, drained, (425 g/15 oz can)
- 2 cans creamed corn, (410 or 565 g/15 or 20 oz each)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger, or 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- salt and white pepper, as desired
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Place all the Chicken ingredients in your pressure cooker, place the lid on and lock and place the weight on. Turn on heat to high, when the weight starts to move, venting pressure, reduce heat to low or medium low to just keep the weight moving and venting. Start your timer at this point for 2 minutes.
- After 2 minutes have passed, turn off heat and carefully move cooker to an unused burner and allow a natural pressure release, meaning just let it sit and cool until you have indications of zero pressure in the cooker, takes about 15-20 minutes.
- When you have indications of zero pressure, remove the weight then remove the lid. Allow the chicken and broth to cool to room temperature, this ensures juicy chicken.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board. Remove skin, and cut each breast into thirds, then shred each part and place in a dish, set aside.
- Pour the broth through cheesecloth and pour into quart jars, cover and place 1 jar in the fridge for use in another recipe. There, you just cooked the chicken for this recipe as well as the broth, and you have another quart of broth for use in another recipe.
For the Soup
- In a pot, add all the cans of corn, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and 1 quart of your broth you made. Cook on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Heat another tablespoon of sesame oil in a non stick pan, when hot add the chicken and sprinkle with the ground ginger, toss chicken to mix in the ginger. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the chicken to the soup, taste, and season with salt and white pepper as desired. Continue cooking the soup for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Ladle into bowls, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variant: 1. Serve with hot cooked rice or noodles.
Cranberry Seasoned Rice (Rice Cooker)
This is an excellent seasoned rice dish. I made this for the family on 12 May 2022, and the 4 of us devoured this, very tasty rice with the fresh parsley and dried cranberries. I use my small basic Cook/Warm 1 liter (1 quart) rice cooker for this.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 cup dry Jasmine rice
- 1 bay leaf
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Add the butter to your rice cooker and set to the Cook setting. When the butter is melted, add the onion. Cook stirring often until the onion nearly softened.
- Add the rice and stir to mix in the butter, continue cooking, stirring often.
- Cook until the rice is just starting to very lightly brown.
- Stir in the broth, add the bay leaf, and cover. Now let the cooker complete the Cook cycle.
- When the cooker switches to Warm setting, unplug or turn off the cooker, uncover and remove the bay leaf. Fluff with a rice paddle then mix in the parsley and cranberries.
- Serve as a side dish with any main dish, enjoy.
Sardine Sandwich III
Sounds like an excellent sardine filling for a sandwich. This should make 1 thick sandwich or 2 leaner ones, I will sort this when I make it.
Ingredients
- 1 tin sardines in olive oil, drained
- 4 green olives, chopped
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 2 slices bread, of your choice
Instructions
- Add the drained sardines, olives, and shallot to a mixing bowl and mix with a fork to combine.
- Spread mixture on a slice of bread of your choice, top with another slice.
- Enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost depending on where you source the sardines from. Sardines in olive oil is not common in Thailand.
Variant: 1. Toast the bread before making the sandwich.