My Homemade Chai Creme Frappuccino!

I absolutely love the frappuccinos from Starbucks, especially the chai creme one! A grande chai creme frappuccino with whipped cream and soy milk is my usual! :P

I wanted to be able to make it at home and tried all sorts of variations and I'm very pleased with what I have come up with!

All you need is:

-6-8 ice cubes

-1 cup soy milk

-1/2 cup Tazo chai latte concentrate

-Maple Syrup (I used Mrs. Butterworth's!)

-A blender (DUH! xD)

First drop the ice cubes into the blender.




Next add in the soy milk...



And the chai...



And lastly...add in the maple syrup to taste!



blend, Blend, BLEND!!! I usually use "High Pulse" to break up the ice and then use the "Frozen Drink" option and I wait!



Taste it to make sure it's right and pour into your favorite glass!



And IT'S DONE! If you have whipped cream, you could always add that on top and maybe sprinkle on some cinnamon!



This is perfect for those hot summer days and it literally takes minutes to make! If you have a blender, spend a couple of bucks and do yourself a favor my making this amazing drink! ^-^

My Version of Mapo Tofu with Recipe!!! (マーボー豆腐)

I have been wanting to make Mapo Tofu ever since Cooking with Dog posted a video about it in 2010. I could never find all of the ingredients and made it a goal to one day make it no matter what (If you're curious, you need to mix tian miang jiang and doubanjiang, the two sauces that I could not find). A few weeks ago while I was grocery shopping at a local Wegmans, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye...



I began jumping with joy while my boyfriend stared at me...he should be used to this by now! I immediately put it in the car and decided to make it that very night. I am not usually a fan of "out of the box" sauces and prefer to make my own, but in this case it worked perfectly! I would just add in a few extra ingredients to make it more authentic! ^-^

A little etymology lesson: "Ma stands for "mazi" (Pinyin: mázi Traditional Chinese 麻子) which means a person disfigured by pockmarks or leprosy, the latter is also called 痲 má or 麻風 máfēng. Po (Chinese 婆) translates as "old woman, crone". Hence, Ma Po is an old woman whose face was pockmarked. It is thus sometimes translated as "Pockmarked-Face Lady's Tofu"."-Wikipedia

Here is what you will need:

 

-1 box Chinese mapo tofu sauce
-1 block firm tofu
-1 lb. ground beef
-Chopped green onions
-1 Tbsp. finely chopped garlic
-1 Tbsp. finely chopped ginger
-1 Tbsp. soy sauce
-Chinese granulated chicken stock
-2 Tbsp. sake
-Steamed rice
-Sesame oil
-Potato Starch mixed with water for thickener (2 tsp. potato starch/1/3 tsp. water)

*I did not measure as a lot of it depends on taste and what you think the right amount should be.

First of all, prepare the ingredients: Chop the garlic and ginger, drain and cut the tofu into cubes, etc. Now begin to prepare the rice (I love my rice cooker! <3) You want the rice to be nice and hot when the mapo tofu is ready!



Heat up a pan on high heat, add in the sesame oil and coat the pan with it. When the oil is hot, add in the ground beef and break it up into small pieces while stirring continuously until fully cooked.



After the beef has been cooked thoroughly, add in the chopped garlic and ginger and reduce the heat to medium. Stir fry until aromatic. It smells so good!!! xD



Next, push all of the beef to one side and add in the mapo tofu sauce packet and reduce the heat to low in order to increase the flavor. Constantly stir to avoid burning at this point and stir until evenly browned.



Next add in the first Tbsp. of sake and continue to mix followed by the chinese chicken stock, soy sauce, and the remaining sake. Stir the mixture lightly.



Put in the tofu cubes and gently stir them in the pan and be very careful not to break them apart! Bring the mixture to a boil at high heat again and then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 2-3 minutes. This reduces the tofu's moisture and allows the sauce to be absorbed by it!



Next add in the chopped green onions and stir very carefully until completely combined. Then lift the pan off the burner and mix in the potato starch by swirling the pan. Place the pan back onto the burner and using the wooden spatula, push the mixture using gentle motions to make sure that you do not break the tofu! Lastly, heat over high heat for about 30 seconds to thicken it and IT'S DONE!!! :D



First put some rice in a bowl and then add on the hot mapo tofu!



I recommend adding a little shichimi on top for a very tasty garnish.



I highly recommend this Chinese turned Japanese dish! It's it so fun to make and tastes amazing!!!

Chinese Marbled Tea Eggs With Recipe!!!

If you know me well then you must know how much I love eggs! I love trying all different kinds of recipes that use eggs and this one may just top them all...Chinese marbled tea eggs!!! I referenced Jaden Hair's awesome recipe from here site Steamy Kitchen! ^-^

Here is what you will need:

-6 eggs

-3/4 cup soy sauce

-2 black tea bags (I used Red Rose)

-1 or 2 small cinnamon sticks
-2 star anise

-1 tsp. sugar

-2 strips dired orange peel*

*In order to dry your own orange peels, you have to carefully peel the orange, making sure that you only peel the skin. Hang it in your kitchen and allow it to dry for a few days and voila! :)

First, boil the eggs for about 15-20 minutes and then run them under cold water. Using the back of a spoon, carefully crack the shell just enough so that you still keep it intact. The more intricate the design, the more flavorful the egg!

Add the eggs back into the water that you boiled them in along with all of the other ingredients. Bring the water to a boil and then immediatly turn it down to low.



Put the lid on the pot and simmer for 40 minutes. Then leave everything in the spot to steep overnight...be patient!!! :P



The next morning, carefully strain out the eggs and throw away everything else!



Above is what the excess ingredients will look like :P



Look how cool the shells look! xD

And they're done!!! They look as awesome as they taste...BELIEVE ME! :D

You can eat them as they are or even put them into miso or ramen (like above)!!! The possibilities are endless! ^-^

My Miso Soup With Recipe!

Miso soup has become a staple for my household over the past few years...when we're sick, we crave it, at night, we crave it, in the morning, we crave it...okay! We crave it all of the time! It's also super easy to make! ^-^

Here is what you need:

-8 Cups of water

-2 tsp. instant dashi granules

-Miso to taste

-1 Tbsp. dried dried wakame (seaweed) 

-1/2 tofu block cubed

-Chopped green onion

-Chopped carrots (not pictured)

-Chopped daikon radish
-Fresh spinach
-Shichimi (Japanese 7 flavored chili powder) (OPTIONAL)

First, dry off the tofu with a dry kitchen towel and place it under something in order to drain the rest of the liquid.



Prepare the rest of the ingredients...

Bring a pot of water to a boil and then add in the carrots and daikon and parboil them until they are tender. Between 10-15 minutes. Also parboil the washed spinach for about a minute and set aside.

Bring the 8 cups of water to a boil, add in the dashi granules, and use a whisk to help dissolve the granules.



Bring the heat down to medium low and add in the tofu, carrots, and daikon. Drain the seaweed and add it into the pot. Simmer for 2 minutes. After it's done simmering, add in the spinach and stir it all together! Take it off the heat! Almost there! :P



Place the miso paste a small mesh strainer and use a pair of cooking chopsticks to dissolve the miso into the pot! We like a lot of miso at my house! ;)



My boyfriend and I already ate half of it before I took the above picture! It's just that good! xD



Place some green onions on top! Adding a little (or a lot) of shichimi makes it taste even better! I highly recommend it! And IT'S DONE!!! :D



This nourishing soup is perfect for any time of day and is so good for you! Please try it at home! ^-^