Happy Birthday with an Oreo Ice Cream Cake!
Dear Loyal Readers of Finechinagirl,
I simply must apologize for not updating the website at all! I have been busy recently and have not had the chance to touch my computer. Funny how time flies and flies and flies! I have gone to a few restaurants which I will post sometime in the near future. But for now I would like to share with you and oreo ice cream cake that I made for my brother’s birthday this past January 14th.
As a busy girl living in New York City, I just don’t have time to make ice cream, even though I have a nice ice cream maker. So, I scoured the web trying to find a simple, and I stress verry simple ice cream cake recipe, which I found through video.about.com. Click on the link to find the recipe on this.
Oreo Ice Cream Birthday Cake
Chinese Steamed Cupcakes – Faat Go/Prosperity Cakes
:Edit:
If you happen to live in New York City and you want to try this faat go recipe, I suggest that you take a visit to Chinatown and purchase a bag of homemade “wet” rice flour which is low-gluten. I can honestly tell you that I don’t know how to make this flour but I can tell you where to buy it. Having the right kind of flour is key to your prosperity cakes.
Fong Inn Too, Inc.
Fong Inn Too Menu
Now in Cantonese it is called, “Zhi mai fun.” Once you tell the clerk that you want this, he will give you a bag of rice flour which is shown below:
Hong Kong Rice Flour
Notice that this flour is clumpy and not dry like most flours. My mother tells me that this flour is essentially rice and flour that has been fermented for two days. Unfortunately I do not possess the know how, but I can tell you how it was made.
Good luck!
***
It all started with an obsession with Chinese cupcakes. AKA faat go (or huat kueh) as you say in Cantonese. My good friend Sally over at the tastyconfection and I wanted to learn how to make Chinese cupcakes because we have always eaten them. These special cupcakes are only available in Chinese bakeries during the time of Chinese New Year since they represent prosperity and success. There’s an old Chinese proverb which my mother always says that translates, “The more the cake blossoms, the more prosperous your year will be.” Something along the lines of this. Sally and I can care less about the superstitious properties that these cakes hold and wanted to eat them whenever we wanted to. The journey to find the most successful recipe was a frustrating one.
Complicated and non-traditional prosperity cupcake recipes disappointed me. I was amazed how I could not find a good old fashion Chinese recipe. There are many Malaysian and Singaporean recipes, but they’re not the ones that I am used to having. Sally tried learning the recipe from her grandmother, but unfortunately the cupcakes’ corners did not form which is why she is uncomfortable with sharing the recipe.
Now one day, my mother decided to make these cupcakes for my father’s birthday. She got the recipe from my aunt and then a couple of hours in the kitchen, she makes this:
Steamed Chinese Cupcakes aka Faat Go
Gourmet Mexican Food from The Taco Truck
The Taco Truck
Btw York & Hudson Street
Jersey City, NJ
*Not available Tuesdays and Thursdays
The Taco Truck
Tacos from a truck? Yes, I was skeptical at first, but this truck attracts plenty of new and existing loyal customers everytime that it is parked here in Jersey City. This truck is located one stop away from New York City, the Exchange Place stop, aka my take of a mini version of Wall Street of Jersey City. There aren’t a lot of restaurants in the neighborhood, besides your usually Subways, Cosi, Au Bon Pain, Marker’s, Kitchen Cafe, Garguilo’s, and several others that might be of some walking distance. There have been food trucks parked around like Nick and Perry’s and Lucinda’s, but none of them attract a crowd like The Taco Truck.
Having said that, my co-workers gave me the final push to come to this truck. When we came here at 2pm, there was still a decent line. Be warned that there is quite some wait before you get your food. When you come here during rush hour, I hear that you can wait up to 40 minutes, so consider that before you take your trip over there.
Bibimbap (Korean Dish)
Have you ever had Bibimbap before? If you ever had Korean food, you must have tried Bibimbap. I introduced this to a friend of mine, her first time eating at a Korean restaurant. She ended up loving the dish.
For those that never had Bibimbap, it is a Korean Mixed Dish consisting of a hot stone bowl filled with white rice, mixed sauteed vegetables, and Gochujang (Chili Pepper Paste). Sometimes, the dish is topped off with an Egg and a choice of Beef, Pork, Chicken or even Shrimp. Vegetables can be a variety depending on where you go to eat but almost always julienned. It can include mushrooms, daikon (Asian Radish), bean sprouts, lettuce and even tofu. All the vegetables on top with the egg creates a gorgeous palette of colors and of course appetizing. You won’t be able to resist once you see and smell it.
If you never had Bibimbap before, try it at your nearest Korean Restaurant. It is such a staple food that its almost impossible to screw this up! Mix thoroughly before eating the dish!
Bibimbap (Korean Mixed Dish)
International Treats and Delights! Gulab Jamuns, Lor Mai Chi, and Chocolate Cake!
I can’t believe it’s been almost two weeks that I haven’t updated. Yes, I admit, I have been lazy when it comes to my posts. It would be so easy if I had a Blackberry with internet privileges! I do apologize for that, but at least I can make use of my camera and post better quality pictures!
Let me show you what I’ve come across over the course of these two weeks!
Firstly,
My friend decided to surprise me with an assortment of gulab jamuns to excite my taste palate! I have never have gulab jamuns before so this was definitely exciting to me. From what I was told, gulab jamuns are essentially Pakistani/Indian donuts. Now I just had to look it up to see what it is all about, and this is the recipe that I came across: Gulab Jamun. I am definitely going to make this since I now have the passion to make sweets! It doesn’t look that hard and it’s like making a donut! The problem with Gulab Jamuns, in my opinion is that you have to eat it when it’s fresh out of the fryer. When I got this from my friend, all the sugar has melted which coats the GJ with this syrupy goodness which I think is gross. Who likes a soggy donut? I sure as heck don’t. Perhaps I need to get my friend to buy it early in the morning when it’s freshly made so it can do just to my taste buds!
Assorted Gulab Jamuns
