Pant's Favorite Deep Fried Shrimp Wontons

Delicious, really! This is my little sister's favorite little dish. The wontons are just as good in soup as they are deep fried. The key is simplicity.

Ginger, garlic, white end of scallion, salt and pepper

Defrosted and peeled.

Now smash them with your cleaver!

Smash a little at a time

I used to chop each single shrimp up into 4 pieces, and sometimes I would just process them..

But this method is much better because I like this broken texture and the wonton holds together better

Sprinkle your seasonings over and fold with the cleaver, chopping as you mix

Deep fry with the heat between 8 and 9. 

Drain on paper towel

Serve with sweet and sour sauce

Giant wonton! Two wrappers were stuck together as one

Pickled Peppers

My palate loves spice and heat. Peppers are sometimes more potent when dried, smoked, and pickled. Am I forgetting any? A bag of 15 serranos are a dollar at my favorite produce outlet. This is the perfect way to use them. I made a very small batch here just to see how they would turn out...

Ingredients:
6 serranos
2 garlic cloves
carrot for sweetness and presentation
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 teaspon salt per cup of pickling liquid, a generous pinch will do

My jar is so cute! Sanitize the jar in boiling water. Add in peppers, garlic and carrot.

Boil water, vinegar and salt.

Pour in boiling liquid, close the top. In a sauce pan, boil some water and gently put the jar into the water for 10 minutes rapid boil. Remove jar, let cool. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Chicken Phở

 

I loved Phở when I ate red meat. This is not a dish or just any bowl of soup, it's a meal. Traditionally it uses almost every part of the cow. Bones full of rich marrow make a delicious broth after at least 4 hours of cooking. Rice noodles are then topped off with different cuts of steak, brisket, tripe and beef balls. The simmering broth is what makes Phở so unique and exquisite. However, I have only been eating chicken broth Phở for the past two years. It certainly does not compare to it's beef counterpart but is equally as unique.

On the right is my mother's great big pot of beef stock that has been cooking for hours, to the left is my petite pot of chicken broth with the same spices.

Ingredients:

Star anise

Cinnamon bark

Daikon radish

Ginger root

Onion

Chicken meat

Rice Noodle

Green Onion

Parsley

In boiling water, cook rice noodles until soft.

Add chicken meat, a mixture of brown and white is tasty.

Ladle broth over noodles.

My sister eats beef pho plain like this.

Chop your scallions and parsley.

Sprinkle desired amount over top, usually it's 1tbsp for garnish, I love onions and parsley though.

yum!

Yes something is still missing..

A side dish of basil, bean sprouts, chili, hoisin sauce and hot sauce. A lime wedge would be nice too.

That's more like it!

See? Chicken pho can be amazing!