Lumpia (Shanghai)

Here’s my family recipe of Lumpia (Shanghai)! I always find other lumpia a little bland, but I adapted our family recipe to be jam packed with flavor! Feel free to add more seasonings to your liking!

I will include more photos & upload a video some time next month! :)

Ingredients:
- 1 to 2 packs of lumpia wrapper (I use this brand)
- Oil for frying
- Small bowl of water (or 1 beaten egg for egg wash)

Lumpia Filling:
- 1lb ground pork
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 medium carrot, peeled & grated (About 1/4 cup worth)
- 1 small onion, minced (About 1/4 cup worth)
- 1/4 cup green onions, chopped finely
- 2 tbsp soy sauce  (I use this brand)
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder (or 4 cloves of garlic, minced or use a garlic press)
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
- Optional: 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Optional: 1 small can (8oz) water chestnuts, drained & minced

Directions for Rolling:
1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together listed under “Lumpia filling.” I always add the soy sauce, salt, garlic powder, and ground black pepper last in order to add more seasoning if needed.
2. Take about one scoopful (about the size of a small cookie scoop) of the lumpia filling and place it about 1-2 inches from the bottom of the round lumpia wrapper, centered.
3. Shape the mound of lumpia filling into a rectangle, the size of the lumpia you prefer. I make mine about 5 inches in length, leaving at least 1 1/2”-2” of the sides of the lumpia wrapper.
4. Fold the bottom part of the lumpia wrapper up and over the mound of lumpia filling.
5. Using your hands or a pastry brush, dab water or egg wash along the rest of the lumpia wrapper.
6. Fold the sides of the lumpia wrapper tightly over the part of the wrapper you covered the filling with.
7. From the bottom, start rolling the rest of the lumpia wrapper- making sure to include all the sides and securing everything tightly. Add more water/egg wash if needed.
8. Set aside. Continue making the rest of the lumpia filling until all has been used.
9. You can freeze your lumpia rolls for up to 6 months in a gallon ziplock bag or big Tupperware. Make sure to leave some space between rolls, and use parchment paper in between layers to prevent them from sticking to each other.

Directions for Frying:
1. In a medium frying pan, fill half of the pan with vegetable oil or canola oil.
2. Heat the oil to 375°F.
3. Fry each side of the lumpia for 3 minutes or until golden brown all around.
4. If preferred, cut the lumpia in half or into thirds for bite size pieces.
5. Serve immediately!
6. Dip with sweet chili sauce!

How to Make Filipino Spaghetti Macaroni

After I made a huge batch of this dish when our siblings came to visit, my sister-in-law had requested me to show her how I make my Filipino Spaghetti Macaroni with my special cheese sauce (... or I like to call it "Spagheroni"). So here it is! :) It is one of my favorite dishes to make for parties or potlucks!

“Spagheroni” Sauce Ingredients: - 1 head of garlic, minced - 1 small onion, minced - 1lb ground meat (pork or beef) - 1/2 tbsp salt - 2 tsp black pepper - 1 small carrot, finely chopped - 1/2 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped - 1 package of red hotdogs, sliced - 30oz spaghetti sauce of choice (2 cans) - 1 bottle of banana ketchup (2 bottles if you prefer a sweeter taste) - Optional: brown sugar, if you prefer sweeter taste Cheese Sauce Ingredients: - 1/4 cup butter - 1/4 cup flour - 3 cups milk - 1lb of favorite cheese, grated (I prefer white cheddar with my sauce) - Dash of salt - Dash of white pepper - Optional: Dash of nutmeg 

Directions: - Boil your macaroni in salt water according to the box directions. Drain and set aside. Making the Spagheroni Sauce: - Sauté onion and garlic until aromatic. - Add in ground meat and sauté until there’s no more pink seen. - Season with salt and pepper - Add in the minced carrots and red bell pepper and sauté for 5 minutes. - Add in the sliced hotdogs and sauté until it looks heated through (2-4 minutes). - Add in the spaghetti sauce and banana ketchup and stir everything well together. - Simmer everything for 15 minutes. - Taste the sauce, add brown sugar (optional) if you prefer the sauce to be sweeter. - Continue to simmer for another 15-30 minutes until the sauce thickens and the flavors are well incorporated together Cheese Sauce: - Melt butter completely in medium size pot. - Whisk in flour, and cook until color turns light/golden brown. - Gradually add in milk while whisking, until it begins to smooth out into a sauce. (Do not add all the milk in at once!) - Add a dash of salt and white pepper according to taste. - Add a dash of nutmeg if preferred. - Continue to whisk and let simmer until the sauce can coat the back of a spoon. - Turn off and remove from heat to prevent sauce from burning at the bottom. Combining Everything: - Add in the Spagheroni sauce to the macaroni in equal portions and mix well together. - Top the cheese sauce all over the Filipino Spaghetti Macaroni! The end! I hope you guys like it! :)

*Updated Recipe* Shrimp Pad Thai

Ingredients for Homemade Pad Thai Sauce:
- 4 tbsp palm sugar
- 4 tbsp water
- 1/4 cup tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp fish sauce

Pad Thai Sauce Directions:
1) Chop palm sugar dome finely to fit 4 tbsp.
2) Combine the chopped palm sugar with 4 tbsp water and microwave for 30 seconds. (The pieces won't be completely melted, but that's okay... Just mix it more with a spoon)
3) Add in 1/4 cup tamarind concentrate & 2 tbsp fish sauce into the container of melted palm sugar.
4) Stir everything until well incorporated. Set aside!!
*Tip: Double the recipe JUST IN CASE!!! (Better to have more than not enough)


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Shrimp Pad Thai Ingredients:
- 10-20 pieces of uncooked shrimp, cleaned & peeled & seasoned
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small shallot or 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
- *Optional: 1 tbsp preserved sweet radish
- *Optional: 1 tbsp of chili flakes (more or less depending on your spice tolerance)
- *Optional: (Not in video) 1 tbsp small dried shrimp, chopped into small pieces
- *Optional: (Not in video) 1/4 cup firm tofu, cubed
- 1/2 package of Pad Thai rice sticks
- 3/4 cup of Homemade Pad Thai sauce
- 2 eggs, scrambled
- 1 cup of bean sprouts
- 1 stalk of green onions or garlic chives, cut into 1 inch pieces
- *Optional: Chopped peanuts
- *Optional: Lime


Directions:
*** Before anything else, soak your Pad Thai rice sticks in cold/warm water for 30 minutes to an hour. When you're ready to cook everything, drain it well and set aside. ***

1) Heat a wok or big sauté pan over medium to high heat. Add oil.
2) When it's hot enough, place the shrimp in the wok, and let it cook half way. Set aside.
*** THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU GOTTA BE ORGANIZED, QUICK & FAST AT COOKING ***
5) *Optional* (Not in video) Add in your pieces of tofu to the wok and stir fry it until they turn golden in color.
6) Once they're a bit golden, add in your garlic, shallots, chopped preserved radish (optional), chopped dried shrimp (optional), and chili flakes (optional) all at the same time and stir fry.
7) When the garlic starts to brown (not burned), add in your soaked & drained Pad Thai rice sticks. Mix to get all the flavors well incorporated.
8) Add in your homemade Pad Thai sauce little by little while continuously stirring the noodles around.
9) When the noodles look mostly-cooked, push it all to one side of the wok and pour in your two eggs on the other half of the wok.
10) Let the eggs sit for 15-30 seconds, then scramble.
11) Mix the scrambled eggs with the Pad Thai noodle mixture.
12) After everything has been well-incorporated, add in your bean sprouts, green onions/garlic chives, and chopped peanuts (optional), then continue to mix well.
13) Toss in the shrimp you set aside earlier and cook thoroughly.
14) If noodles look too dry, add in more homemade Pad Thai sauce & heat through.
YOU'RE DONE!

To plate, you can add the rest of the crushed peanuts, green onions/garlic chives, and more bean sprouts on the side.

Squeeze some lime... and ENJOY! :)

How to Make Thai Iced Tea

Ingredients:
- Thai Tea Leaves: http://a.co/d/7004mvF
- Sugar
- Water

Supplies:
- Tea Sock: http://a.co/d/fWnGM1I

Directions:
1. Boil 8 cups of water in a large pot.
2. Once boiling, add in 1 cup of Thai tea leaves.
3. Mix thoroughly.
4. After a minute or two, add in 1.5 cups of sugar (you can reduce this amount if you prefer it less sweet).
5. Mix Thai tea leaves and sugar thoroughly.
6. Reduce heat and let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Turn off heat.
8. Drain the mixture into a tea sock or strainer.
9. Let cool completely, then transfer to refrigerator.
10. After chilling, fill a glass full of ice.
11. Pour Thai tea until it fills about 3/4 of glass.
12. Drizzle desired amount of evaporated milk on top.
13. Mix everything together... and enjoy!

Cinnabon-inspired Cinnamon Rolls

It's been awhile since I posted on this blog!! Anyway... my Cinnabon-inspired cinnamon rolls turned out amazing! So here I am sharing with you my recipe! If you have any questions, please let me know!!! 

Dough:

2 1/4tsp (one packet) active dry yeast 

3/4cup warm water

1/2c granulated sugar + 2tbsp

1tsp salt

1/4c buttermilk @ room temperature 

1 egg

1/3c vegetable/canola oil

4c all purpose flour

I used a stand mixer for this, but you can do it by hand or a bread machine but I haven't tried this with the bread machine yet. 

Making the Dough: 

1) Combine the warm water, yeast, and the 2tbsp sugar together. Let it sit for a few minutes until it looks frothy and bubbly. 

2) Add the remaining sugar and the salt and stir for a few seconds until incorporated. 

3) In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, and oil and stir them together until they're no longer separated in form. 

4) Add the milk/egg/oil mixture into the yeast/sugar bowl and stir until mixed well. 

5) Pour in the first two cups of flour into the wet ingredients and stir on low until a gooey dough starts forming. 

6) Add in the remaining two cups of flour gradually, maybe in 1/2cup increments...knead for a few minutes until the dough no longer sticks to the sides. 

7) Shape the dough into a round form and place in a greased bowl, covered with plastic wrap and let it rise for a minimum of two hours. 

Rolling the Dough:

1) Once it has doubled in size, take out the plastic wrap and punch the dough in the center. 

2) Flour your big working area so the dough does not stick to the surface. 

3) Using a rolling pin (lightly floured too), roll out your dough to about 20inches by 30in or somewhere around there. Your dough will look slightly thin. And you want to make it so that the longer side of the dough is facing you. 

Filling:

1/2c (one stick) of butter, room temperature 

1.5c brown sugar 

2.5tbsp cinnamon 

2tbso corn starch 

Making the cinnamon rolls: 

1) In a small bowl, combine all brown sugar, cinnamon and corn starch until mixed well. 

2) Spread the softened butter (not melted) onto the rolled out dough, leaving one inch bare along the end of the side of the dough furthest away from where you are standing.  

3) Sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon mixture on the entire buttered dough, leaving that same one inch side untouched. (That side is so that when you roll, it'll be at the bottom. )

4) Using your rolling pin, gently roll the sugar/cinnamon mixture into the dough so that it is nice and firmly attached. 

5) Start rolling one end of the long-sided dough (closest to you) very tightly to the other end where there is no butter/sugar mixture. 

6) Once everything is rolled into a very long log, you can cut about 15-16 cinnamon rolls with the dough using a dough cutter/scraper or a unflavored floss to get even cuts. Mine were about 1.5inches apart from each other. 

7) Grease a 9x13inch pan and place the cinnamon rolls a few inch away from each other. I ended up making 3 rows of 5. 

8) Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it rise again for a few hours until the cinnamon rolls have doubled in volume and are now touching each other. 

9) Preheat the oven to 350, bake the cinnamon rolls (without the plastic wrap of course) for 15-17min... Watching carefully to make sure they are browned but not burnt. 

Frosting (optional... but highly recommended!) 

1 package (8oz) room temp cream cheese

1/4 (half a stick) of butter @ room temp

1.5cup of powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8tsp salt 

1/2tsp lemon juice 

1) While the cinnamon rolls are baking, beat together all the frosting ingredients until well combined and smooth. 

2) Once the rolls are out of the oven, spread the frosting onto the warm rolls so it gets costed evenly. 

3) Save the frosting for applying more later!!! 

YUMMERS!!! 😍😍😍

My MADE UP Version of "Sushi Bake"

Lei's Sushi Bake 

I honestly did not use any recipe to make this. I was simply making California rolls & hand rolls for my family this evening, but we had too much rice so I used the rest of it to make "sushi bake." 

Here is how I personally make my sushi bake, but I will give you alternative ingredients you can use as well!! 

INGREDIENTS:

- Cooked sushi rice or cooked short grain rice

- Imitation crab (or real crab meat or crab sticks OR seafood of your choice) 

- Furikake (your preference of flavor... I personally use Shrimp Furikake) 

- Cream cheese: room temperature 

- Japanese mayo (regular mayonnaise is okay too)
- Sour cream

- Unagi/eel sauce OR teriyaki sauce

OPTIONAL:

- Sriracha
- Masago/Tobiko

SUSHI RICE: 

If you're too lazy to make sushi rice, then you can just buy SHORT GRAIN rice, cook it, then use it. Typically, sushi rice is made up of cooked short grain rice with a mixture of rice vinegar, mirin, and sugar (boiled together to reduce) I think I'll make a separate blog post in the future about how I personally make my sushi rice, but for now... stick with the program. =P

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DIRECTIONS:

1) Cook your short grain rice. 

- This evening I made 3 cups of rice for my family but only used 1.5 cups for the sushi bake. 

2) Preheat oven to 375'F. 

3) OPTIONAL STEP: Once the rice is done cooking and if you're making sushi rice, mix in the seasonings (read above) into the cooked rice and mix with rice paddle until well blended. 

4) Set rice aside to cool down a little. 

- Personally, I blast it in the freezer for a few minutes until I'm done preparing everything else. 

5) Chop/shred your imitation crab (or seafood of choice) and place into a bowl. It should be in small pieces enough to spread evenly but not minced. 

- I used only half of a package. When I shredded mine, it filled about 2 cups (not in liquid measurement but the cup measurement for dry ingredients)

6) Put 2 tablespoons of sour cream on the crab meat followed by a big squeeze of Japanese mayo (about a  tablespoon). Mix everything together. 

- This is assuming you are using the same amount of seafood meat I am using, which was half a package. Of course, you need to estimate how much to put... My tip is that it should be enough to moisten the meat but not drench it in sauce. 

7) If you like a little bit of spiciness, squeeze in some sriracha sauce to your liking. I did only a teaspoon.

8) Get a long baking pan and cover the entire bottom with your cooked rice. Press it tightly into the sheet. 

9) I like pouring a little unagi sauce (or teriyaki sauce) over the rice in rows. It doesn't have to cover every inch of the rice, but it tastes good with it!! 

10) Using a rubber spatula, spread your room temperature cream cheese over the rice to form a layer. 

- It should be easy to spread if it's at room temperature; if not, then your cream cheese is still too cold! 

11) Spread your crab/seafood meat mixture onto the entire rice creating another layer. 

12) Squeeze Japanese mayo on top of the crab/seafood mixture in rows or columns... Just cover it enough! 

13) Sprinkle a lot of Furikake on top of that mayo!!! I put a lot! Yum yum yum!!! 

14) Once your masterpiece is ready, POP IT IN THE OVEN for 15 minutes!!! Let it bake!!! 

15) After 15min, broil that thing on medium (or at 500'F) for 2-5min. 

- WATCH IT CAREFULLY! Some ovens broil at too high of a temperature in a shorter amount of time! So don't leave your sushi bake to burn!!! 

*Sizzle sizzle sizzle* 

(As you can see, the left side of the pan is empty because I really only made this with leftover sushi rice I had from the sushi rolls I made earlier... Haha!!) 

And then after waiting for it to bake and broil....

BAM! It's done!!! It's so beautiful!!! 

Now let me know what you guys think of my recipe ! Tag me if you make it :) 

Thanks guys!

My Macaron Journey of Imperfection

Military-themed macarons! Chocolate shelled macarons with Nutella buttercream & cream cheese frosting! 

Hello! So I've read TONS of blogs about making different types of macarons and I even watched several Youtube videos. The thing is... not every recipe will necessarily work for you. I tried two recipes so far... and there are several factors that contribute to my "failed macarons." 

First of all, I live in Florida. In this time of year, IT IS HUMID!! Humidity DOES play a factor!! Why though? Because when you make your meringue, humidity traps moisture inside and makes it harder to achieve "stiff peaks" and makes it runny. Another big factor is your OVEN! Not every oven is created "equal." Depending on your oven, you may have to increase or decrease your temperature the next time you bake it. I learned the hard way. =( 

And YES IT IS TRUE! Everyone says it will take you multiple attempts to perfect a macaron because it is VERY technical!! I was super disappointed the first time, but I gave it a second try and it came out better. It's definitely not perfect, but I'll try to make it again in the future (the ingredients get pricey okay! lol) 

Okay, before I get into more detail of my personal troubleshooting... You HAVE TO understand how to make the basic recipe of a French macaron. 

Here's what I used to make CHOCOLATE MACARON SHELLS: 

Serving size: 12-16 macarons depending on size

Meringue:

2 egg whites, ROOM TEMPERATURE

1/4 cup of sugar 

Pinch of salt 

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

*Optional: food coloring of choice* 

Dry batter:

1 cup powdered sugar 

3/4 cup almond flour 

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

Prepare the batter-

1) Sift the dry ingredients together several times in a bowl. 

2) In a separate (bigger) bowl, beat the room temperature egg whites until foamy on medium-low speed. 

3) Add in a pinch of salt and the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form (it may take a few minutes... between 5-8) 

4) When soft peaks have formed, gradually add in your 1/4 cup of sugar while beating on medium-high speed. 

5) Continue beating until stiff peaks form. This means when you attempt to flip the bowl upside down, the meringue will not slip and slide. It stays put. It may take another 3-5minutes, do NOT overbeat the egg whites though. 

6) Add in your food coloring if desired just so it is well blended. Again, do NOT overbeat. 

*Note: the cocoa powder is brown so food coloring WILL combine with the brown. Blue food coloring with the dry ingredients will turn a dark green color* 

7) Gradually add in all your dry ingredients into the meringue, about 1/3 at a time while mixing gently. 

--- *NOTE: Mixing means taking your rubber spatula and gently "folding" in the dry ingredients with the meringue starting from 12oclock to 6oclock and repeating in this pattern* --- 

8) THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT!!! You do NOT want to under mix NOR over mix. Your batter should look and seem like molten lava. It will be ribbon-like when it falls from your spatula, but at the same time... It is NOT supposed to be too runny!! (Other people say it takes an AVERAGE of about 50 strokes!) 

Prepare the macaron-

9) Put the batter in a pastry bag with 1/2" hole tip at the end. 

10) Pipe your batter on parchment paper lined on a cookie sheet. You will need to pipe it in 1" circles. Every macaron should be about 1" apart from each other. I was able to fit 14 macarons on my cookie sheet. 

11) After piping all of them, take your cookie sheet and bang it on the countertop a few times to get rid of air bubbles. They will rise to the top. 

12) Preheat your oven to 280'F and let the piped macaron batter sit for 30min - 1 hour, just so that it gets stiff and no longer sticky to the touch. 

13) Bake for 16 minutes. 

*NOTE: Most recipes tell you to bake for 20 minutes on 300'F, but my oven gets waaaay too hot too fast so I had to reduce the temperature and baking time. It MAY be the case for you too. It really depends on your oven. Trial and error.*

14) Cool the macarons before attempting to remove from parchment paper. 

15) Pipe your desired frosting onto one half and sandwich it with another half! 

YOU'RE DONE!! 

Nutella Buttercream Frosting:

- 1/4 cup Nutella 

- 1/2 a stick of unsalted butter (1/4 cup) 

- 1/2 cup of powdered sugar 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

- 4oz cream cheese

- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 of a stick)

- 1 cup of powdered sugar 

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PERSONAL TROUBLESHOOTING:

These were my macarons on my first attempt (it wasn't chocolate flavored). My macarons came out flat at the top and had a hollow inside. 

Flat at the top: This means my meringue did not reach STIFF peaks before mixing my dry ingredients. Also, it can mean that I overbeated my meringue. 

Too crispy on the outside and hollow inside: This means my oven had been too hot so it made my shells look golden brown and overbaked the inside to a gooey texture. 

My second batch of macarons turned out way better than my first attempt. But I still have to figure out the correct temperature and baking time for my oven specifically. 

Good luck friends !!!