Review on the Hann steam mop

I am so  so so excited to share with you one of my favorite household items that i just purchased 3 months ago . It was actually a recommendation of the sister in law who had visited us and boy i can't thank her enough for it  .  Even though my house is a shoes free zone but having an active toddler and 2 little chihuahua dogs  means vacuuming and mopping constantly since i can't stand the thought of having her crawling around and laying down on dirty floors . Oh boy this machine truly saves my backache and i just wondered how i had not heard about it that long ...Now i never  want to go back to the traditional way : mop and water bucket . Look back at the $10 mop i have used for 6 years and how happy i am to say goodbye lol 

And here's my back saver . I bought it at Kolh's . It's very light ,  looking great and doing a nice job cleaning and keeping the floors shiny and i love it when it cleans without using any chemicals . My house has 3 different type of floorings : hardwood , tiles and carpet and this baby does it all . Its very simple to use : fill the water , turn on the unit , wait for a minute for the water to be steamed and off to glider across the floors ...now having to cleaning the floors twice a week is not a problem at all :)

Haan Select Sanitizing Steam Mop (Google Affiliate Ad)

I love the way it leaves no streaks on the hardwood floors , it dries up too quick that sometime i got to touch the floors to see if it was actually working lol

The water tank looks small but i still have some water left after cleaning 1000 sfq living space 

And yes , like any mop ,you need to sweep first . I vacuum before using this machine and my floors feel clean and look great . Im so happy with this machine and hope it lasts :) 

Banh Bao - Vietnamese steamed buns

Ingredients : 

1 bag mixed flour to make 8 buns - ( i prefer any brand made in the us )

Milk , mushroom , sausage , yellow onion , green onion , 

1 lb Ground Pork ,1 lb Shrimp ,4 Eggs 

making dough : 
1 cup milk + 1/2 cup sugar + 1 teaspoon salt + 1 teaspoon vinegar : stir well

In a large bowl , mix flour and milk for 5 minutes or until  soft dough 

                                 

Hand knead for 5 more minutes , let the dough rest for another 1 hour to double in size . 

Making filling while the dough is rising 
Boiled eggs : cut each in half
Sausage : half finely minced , half thinly sliced
Mushroom , yellow onion , green onion , finely chopped
In a large bowl ,ground pork + shrimp + mushroom + green + yellow onion +  minced sausage +  some black pepper + sugar + 1 teaspoon sesame oil + 1 tablespoon soy sauce : mix well
Adjust the taste of the mixture by microwaving some meat . Add salt if needed

here's how i make the meatballs : 1 scoop of meat - 1 pc egg  - 1 scoop of meat , 2 pc. sausage on top

Note : 1 bag of flour makes only 8 big buns so divide the dough into 8 equal pieces .

 I used more flour to make 10 buns so there i cut it into10 pieces

Microwave the meatballs for about 3 minutes . This helps the ba'nh not to be soggy  after steam

 roll  dough ball flat but not too thin , place a meatball in the center ,  making pleats in dough and twisting tight to seal it .

When water boils  , pour 1/3 cup of vinegar to the boiling water ,  placing  the buns in the steamer a few inches apart , steam for 15 minutes .

  

you can make a bunch of these ahead , steam ,plastic wrap and freeze . They make great breakfast treats .

And if you're vegetarian , just eliminate the meat and shrimp and  use all of your favorite veggies to make healthy vegetarian steamed buns . Happy cooking :)

Vietnamese grilled pork chops -suon nuong .

This is one of the famous dishes on the menu at most Vietnamese restaurants , usually served with broken rice ,  lettuce,cucumber , daikon and carrot  pickles and some mixed fish sauce . We sometime serve it with vermicelli and lots of veggies or sandwich for a quick breakfast . Whatever it goes with ,  it always makes a great dish . My recipe is always this simple :

6 thin sliced pork chops 

1 teaspoon  lemongrass  (the store bought minced lemongrass can be found in any Asian market in the frozen section )

3 shallots + 3 cloves garlic finely minced 

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

6 teaspoons honey

4 teaspoons oyster sauce

2 teaspoons  fish sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cooking wine

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl .

Make sure the entire meat is evenly coated , let it rest overnight or at least 8-10 hours

preheat oven or the gas BBQ to 400F , grill 3 minutes each side or longer depending on the size and the thickness of  your meat .

Here's my breakfast - a great combination of grilled pork chop , sunny-side up egg ,some steamed rice , a small bowl of soup and mixed fish sauce .

Happy cooking :)

Kitchen gadgets

Today i'd like to share with some of you who might have wondered what kinds and how many kitchen gadgets there are in my kitchen . Here's a list of some of them that i use on a regular basis and would recommend .

1:  http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KFP750OB-700-Watt-12-Cup-Processor/dp/B0002MH3OC/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1349323042&sr=1-2&keywords=kitchenaid+12+cup+food+processor

i had wanted to have this baby looooong time ago , but i just bought it after Adele hit  a year old with a purpose of making her homemade food and now i want  tell you how much i wish to have it sooner . I've been using it very often , i use it to to make vietnamese white ham -cha lua , ground pork paste -gio song ...and dough too....i absolutely loveeeeeeeeee  it ! 

2 : Kitchenaid Professional 600 Stand Mixer (Google Affiliate Ad)
i bought this one at amazon when they had rebate and cash back program and it was on sale for a really good price so i bought it  , yes, because it was on sale !  I do believe a hand mixer is good enough to do the job ( and yes i had one too but handed it down to my mom ) but i think its nicer to let this one do the job while cleaning up or drinking a cup of water :) I used to bake a lot  but stopped after having Adele and  recently just resumed this hobby because   Adele gets to the age that she loves being around the kitchen to help and to explore my tools and showing a lot of interest in playing with the flour . So now we get to use it more often than before .

3 :  Hamilton Beach 33966 Set n Forget 6 Qt. Programmable Slow Cooker (Google Affiliate Ad)

I spent $50 on amazon to bring this baby home . Its such a nice addition to my collection and i like the fact that i can just throw everything in there and let it cook through the night and my meal is ready by the next morning . I use it mainly for chicken broth , beef stew , or simmering the herb like ginseng and it becomes really handy especially when I'm tired and sick . 

I like it and  think its worth my money .

4 : Jack Lalannes Power Juicer Express (Google Affiliate Ad)
This baby is my first juicer ever . i think its 6 years old and so far so good . It is powerful ,easy to clean , running quiet and juicing  most of fruits and veggies , but its pretty big , heavy and take quite a lot of room on my counter so i store it in the cabinet all the time . Why store bought juice when you can make fresh juice everyday  and for the price  , I highly recommend this product .

5:http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_011W707945110001P?sid=KDx01192011x000001&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=31-38237029-2
Uhm...i have this one for a few years and always feel like its a waste of money .  It looks really nice and functions just as well as the others , but we just don't use it everyday like we estimated . Its been stored in the cabinet all the time and is still shiny . The only good thing i feel good about it that is it was bought on sale . I paid less than 20 bucks for it when its original price is around $40 dollars .

6:Black & Decker TRO480BS Toaster Oven / Broiler (Google Affiliate Ad)
This baby is nothing fancy , its just a basic portable appliance , looks great on my counter , matches with my kitchen and does a really nice job , it toasts evenly . I have it for a few years and been using it almost every day for almost everything , like reheating / cooking a small fish , meat , toast , bagels ......and for its price under $25 , i believe i made a good pick .

7:http://www.foodsaver.com/product.aspx?pid=8793
I have this one more than a year and i'm not surprised  to see this one is one of the top sellers . After throwing a lot of frozen foods due to  freezer burn , we wanted to invest to something that can help extend the lifetime of the foods , keep the leftovers longer and prevent freezer burn and this is it . It takes up very little room and  looks beautiful on my counter . Though i have to buy the bags  and they're pricey , but the machine still saves me a lot of money because there's no more wasted foods . We're able to freeze lots of fresh salmon from last season enough for 6 months  .This is also a  great way to package of home prepared foods for camping as well :)
I can't live without it !

8 : http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/cooks%25e2%2584%25a2-5-in-1-rocket-power-blender/prod.jump?ppId=1b38c49&searchTerm=cooks+blender&dimCombo=null&dimComboVal=null&catId=SearchResults

I bought this small blender at jcpeney when it was on sale and thought i should give it a try and wow , it does a really nice job for the price and fits my need . I like the fact that you can use the blender jars as tumblers to drink from ,and for $20 it comes with 2 big cups and 2 blades and a small cup - a perfect size for my little one .  I have the set for more than a year and its working just fine and makes great smoothies ,  if the cups were glass , I'd definitely  buy it again and again .

9:http://www.amazon.com/Proctor-Silex-72500RY-2-Cup-Chopper/dp/B00006IUX0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349322736&sr=8-1&keywords=proctor+silex+food+chopper
I'm so excited to introduce you this baby food chopper .Its a must have in my kitchen . I bought it on sale at BiMart for under $10 bucks and gosh , this one is built to last . I gave the 5 year old one to Goodwill just because it was old and i wanted  a new one . It helps chop and mince veggies , fruits , herbs , cheese . .. .. .and many many more in no time . 

10: http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Choice-830-WafflePro-Waffle/dp/B00004RKG0/ref=pd_sbs_hg_1

i didn't plan on getting this one but it was on sale ( again ) for a good price and i couldn't resist myself lol i dont use this one often , maybe once a month and it makes great waffles evenly in a heat beat . 

Banh Pateso - Pate Chaud

My husband is one of those who can't live without breakfast and i once made this recipe for a change , it immediately becomes one of his favorites . I know it because he called and thanked me after having it and oh ...that makes me feel flattered . 

And again ,this recipe is real simple , its puff pastry filled with meat , and yes , you can use any kind of meat you want : chicken , turkey , beef , pork ...or even crab meat ..and mix it with any veggies you like . This time im using ground pork that i have left from the freezer :) 

Ingredients : 

Ground pork 

Sesame sauce 

Garlic powder , ground black pepper 

Oyster sauce 

Chopped yellow onion

Pork Pate ( optional )

Mix the filling :

Store bought  Pastry Sheets 

Thaw pastry sheets for about 10-20 minutes or as labeled  on the box
You can cut the sheets in anyway you like .

Because there's yellow onion in the mixture that tends to leak lots of juices that would make the pastry soggy ,  So , i microwaved the filling for about 3 minutes and let it cool a little bit before scooping some onto the sheet
You can see that i was able to stuff quite a lot by cutting the sheet this way

Brush a little bit of egg white around the edges and just fold it in half , use the fork to seal the edges together

To dress up the cakes : mix 1 egg yolk + 1 teaspoon water + 1 teaspoon sesame oil :  Lightly brush the egg wash on top

And these smaller sized cakes make great after-school snack for my baby :-)

I make a bunch of these and store them in the freezer , bake them from frozen for a picnic or quick snack or great appetizers

Preheat oven to 350 F and bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden  brown . Serve warm or room temperature 

Thanks for reading and happy cooking :)

Banh deo - Snow skin Moon Cakes

I couldn't even remember the last time i celebrated this festival . I've seen my mom making a lot of moon cakes when i was little  but never thought of making ones myself until this year . This year ,i  wanted  to do something to  introduce my daughter one of a very special  traditional events for kids in September that i really loved when i was little  -the Autumn festival ,  and making the non baked cakes seemed to be a good idea .

These are not  like the baked traditional ones .The outer skin is soft ,sticky and a bit chewy and since its made from cooked wheat starch and cooking syrup ,  it tastes very sweet and sure that makes very special treats  for my little one  .
I got to move the work from the counter to the floor to make it easier for Adele to play with the dough , here you can see  how much she got crazy about being a part of the team :)

The fillings i made were green tea , taro  and.....fresh durian  ... aaarrrggg ... i hate its strong smell but hubby is the opposite , he is so fond of it  :-~  so with a mask on , i made it ! 

 I used 1 bag of cooked flour mixing with 5 1/2 cups cooking syrup ( i made my own syrup using organic sugar + water + 2 teaspoons lemon juice  ) to make about ...20 of 200gr sized cakes !  Had i known it turned out that many , i would have made only half of the flour .. 

Finally , we had a chance to use all the cake molds that my mom bought looooong time ago . I bet she would be happy to know .
Take 100gr of a dough and roll it flat  , put 100gr of filling right in the middle and gently wrap around  it .  Press it into the mold by using your fingers and gently remove it ...

tada....look at my little  cake . She looks pretty impressed herself ;-)

and  my 1st time cakes , aren't they lovely ? I put a little bit food color just enough to identify different fillings insides , yellow for durian , green for green tea and very light pink ( Adele's pick ) for taro paste .

It turned out not too bad for a first attempt  . I'm happy at least we dared to venture into using our hands to make them and the great thing about the homemade ones that you know what's in there : less sugar , no preservatives or " weird stuff " added like the store bought ones . Unlike the baked ones , these can be done in a shorter amount of time , you'd surprise how fun and easy it is to put together , especially when working with your loved ones .

Happy Moon Festival  ,everyone :)

Banh' chuoi' hap' - Steamed Banana Cake

 Just a few bucks for bananas and there we have a very quick and healthy dessert that everyone in the family  loves .

I can't just believe how much she loves being with me in the kitchen and so far , she's never turned me down 

Here's how she tries to show off her work :)

" how much sugar for these 7 bananas mommy?"
"..about 2 tablespoons , honey "

" So what about flour mommy ? how much do we need ? "
" we need 1 1/2 cups tapioca flour baby "

Then she starts counting , it takes her 30 spoons to finish the flour . There we have a fun time learning numbers and cooking at the same time . I couldn't think of a better way :-)

we have this mixture done within 15 minutes then transfer it to the steamer ...

 steam for 50 minutes and its all done , but for my taste , i put it in the oven and broil for another 5 minutes to get the smell of baked bananas ...wow ...the whole house smells  so good ;-)

For coconut milk , i like to put a few of pandan leaves in there , mix 1 can coconut + 1/2 cup water + a few spoons sugars and a bit salt , thicken with a little bit of the mixture of tapioca +water 

Wait until the cake reaches room temperature to cut . Serve with coconut milk and roasted peanuts .