Chow Times » Snacks

Boiled Pork and Cabbage Dumplings

Suanne — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:00:01 +0000

The main Chinese New Year dish made in the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors is Boiled Pork and Cabbage Dumplings. Dumpling or jiaozi is a traditional dish eaten during Chinese New Year’s Eve and some other festivals. Family members gather together to make dumplings as wrapping dumplings is quite time consuming. Such activity also brings the family closer.

Dumplings can be boiled or pan fried. Boiling is a healthier choice of cooking.

Dumplings can be freeze on the baking sheet. Once they’re completely frozen, place them in a ziplock bag for future consumption.

Ingredients

12 ounces napa cabbage leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup minced Chinese chives or green onions
2/3 pound ground pork
1/8 teaspoons ground pepper
1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water

1 package refrigerated round dumpling wrapper (50 pieces)

Source: adapted from Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen

Prep time: 40 minutes; Cook time: 20 minutes; Yield 50 dumplings

Chris O’Brennan, Helena, Sdyney, Frances and Chris made these dumplings.

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Boiled Pork and Cabbage Dumplings (344 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments
Post tags: Cabbage, Chinese New Year Food, Community Kitchen, Pork, Recipe, Snack

Spinach And Chickpea Fritters

Suanne — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 03:00:22 +0000

The second recipe demonstrated by Minoo in the South Arm Community Kitchen is an Indian recipe. It is Spinach and Chickpea Fritters. These vegetarian fritters can be served as an appetizer or snack.

Minoo served the Spinach and Chickpea Fritters with a store bought mango chutney. The fritters are fried to very crispy and they are great snacks with vegetables in it.

Ingredients

1 cup chickpea flour (available at Middle Eastern, Indian or health food stores) or all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 cup canned chickpeas
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
vegetable oil for frying
mango chutney, for serving

Source: adapted from food network

Prep time: 30 minutes; Cook time: 20 minutes; Serve 6 to 8

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Spinach And Chickpea Fritters (122 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments
Post tags: Appetizer, Chickpeas, Community Kitchen, Recipe, Snack, Spinach, Vegetarian

Salmon Patties

Suanne — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:00:08 +0000

Charlene prepared 4 dishes for the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors. As usual, it’s a complete meal with appetizer, soup, salad and main.

For appetizer, Charlene utilizes canned pink salmon which is reasonably priced. When choosing canned salmon, pick those which include bones which has higher calcium and hence is a better deal nutritionally.

Ingredients

1 can (7 oz) salmon
2 eggs
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Yogurt Sauce

1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried dill

Paul and June partnered to make this Salmon Patties.

Source: Charlene Dy

Prep time: 20 minutes; Cook time: 6 to 8 minutes; Serve: 3

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Salmon Patties (113 words)

Chicken Patties

Suanne — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:00:12 +0000

Minoo prepared four dishes in the Gilmore Park Community Kitchen. We made Chicken Patties, a warm salad, a Spinach Cake and a Red Rice Pilaf.

The Chicken Patties are marvelous. They are fried to crispy. Kids will love the Chicken Patties in their lunch boxes.

Source: unknown

Prep time: 15 minutes; Cook time: 10 minutes; Serve 4

Ingredients

1 pound ground chicken
1 cup bread crumbs
1 onion, grated
1 egg
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/3 cup canola oil for frying

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Chicken Patties (105 words)

Easy Granola Bars

Suanne — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:00:12 +0000

This Easy Granola Bars are fantastic and have a lot of flexibility. You can adapt the recipe to your liking. They are great for hikes, long road trips and camping as they store well and keep for fairly long time. You may adapt any combination of chocolate chips, dried fruit, coconut, pecans, almond slices, or any other tidbits you like in this granola bar.

This Easy Granola Bars are loaded with carbohydrates from with oats, protein from the nuts and vitamins from the dried fruit. They are also rich in fiber. They make a great on the go breakfast for busy people.

Ingredients

3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Easy Granola Bars (109 words)

Kale Chips

Suanne — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:00:49 +0000

I had heard of Kale Chips from Arzeena’s facebook posting but had never try it before. Apparently, it is very easy to make. This is a very healthy snack. As a matter of fact, I would even call this a vegetarian chips because it is made of vegetables. I’m glad that Frank and Christina will be making Kale Chips in the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors.

The Kale Chips have the texture of potato chips and taste like Japanese dried seaweed. It’s amazing what a quick roast in the oven can do to these greens!

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale, try to get those with flatter leaves for a crispier texture

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Kale Chips (73 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 13 comments
Post tags: Community Kitchen, Kale, Snack

Peanut Summer Rolls

Suanne — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:00:36 +0000

June and Ronald made this refreshing Peanut Summer Rolls in the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors. Ronald is new to the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors. June had to slow him down as he did his part like preparing the vegetables and sauce in a jiffy like an expert in the kitchen.

The Peanut Summer Rolls is a vegetarian dish. It uses the translucent rice paper wrap as commonly found in Vietnamese cuisine. It is very refreshing and fragrant with the use of herbs like cilantro, mint and basil. Summer is the time to enjoy all the fresh vegetables and lettuces.

This recipe is adapted from Gourmet and it makes 4 rolls.

Ingredients

For Rolls:

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons water

1 garlic cloves, smashed

1 teaspoon fish sauce

2/3 cup coarsely shredded carrot (2 medium), raw

4 (8-inch) rice paper rounds

2 red-leaf lettuce leaves

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Optional Veggies:

1/2 cup shredded napa cabbage

1/3 cup coarsely shredded zucchini (1 small), raw

1/3 cup thinly sliced button mushrooms, raw

1/2 English cucumber, sliced into matchsticks

For Peanut Sauce:

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

2 small garlic cloves, minced

3/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons tomato paste or ketchup

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Peanut Summer Rolls (270 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Post tags: Community Kitchen, Recipe, Roll, Vegetarian

Lemon-Garlic Pita Chips

Suanne — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:00:33 +0000

Sydney and Joyce made some Lemon Garlic Pita Chips to go with the Creamy Hummus. It’s a perfect match.

This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light and it makes 24 pieces Pita Chips.

This Lemon Garlic Pita Chips is super crispy and can be eaten on its own as snack. We just cant stop munching on this crispy chips.

Ingredients

3 (6-inch) pita bread rounds

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon pepper (since we do not have lemon pepper, we added lemon juice to the olive oil for brushing)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Lemon-Garlic Pita Chips (73 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | One comment
Post tags: Community Kitchen, Recipe, Tortilla Chip

Mini Empanadas

Suanne — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:00:31 +0000

Christina and Stella were assigned to this recipe, Mini Empanadas. However, everyone lends their helping hands when it comes to forming the Mini Empanadas. This recipe is adapted from Southern Living. It yields 36 tiny empanadas.

These little Latin-inspired Mini Empanadas are irresistible right out of the oven. They’re are incredibly low in fat because they’re baked, not deep fried and yet they are crispy. The raisins add a touch of sweetness to these empanadas.

Ingredients

8 oz skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 small onion, minced (about 1/4 cup)

1/2 green bell pepper, minced

1/2 tomato, seeded and coarsely chopped

4 pimento-stuffed green olives, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons raisins

2 tablespoons chicken broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro or parsley

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon pepper

water

vegetable cooking spray, or oil

1 tablespoon dry breadcrumbs (optional)

36 (3-inch) square wonton wrappers

salt to taste

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Mini Empanadas (196 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | One comment
Post tags: Chicken, Community Kitchen, Recipe, Wonton Skin

Taro Cake

Suanne — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:00:54 +0000

Back to the South Arm Community Kitchen, Peggy demonstrated to us how to make Taro Cake. Taro Cake is a common dim sum item. It can be eaten fresh from the steamer or lightly pan fry to give it a crispy outer layer. The Taro Cake can be eaten as a snack or even as a meal.

Peggy made two loaves of Taro Cake in the kitchen. She also brought one which she made earlier as the cake needs to be cooled down before you can slice it up into pieces for frying. The Taro Cake is so good that the group finish all the three loaves of Taro Cake.

Peggy’s Taro Cake is filled with pork and mushroom. However, you can substitute the filings with dried shrimp and Chinese sausage which are more commonly found in Dim Sum places.

Ingredients

2 cups grated Taro

1/2 cup ground pork

1/4 cup chopped shallot

1/4 cup thinly sliced dried mushroom

2 cups rice flour

1 cup cold water

1 cup boiling water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

soy sauce paste as dipping sauce

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Taro Cake (328 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments
Post tags: Chinese New Year Food, Community Kitchen, Dim Sum, Recipe, Snack, Taro