Author Archives: littlepandamommy

Mexican Chicken Tostada Recipe

I  didn’t cook for a long while since last summer. We took the girls for our first family vocation at Disney World and accustomed to the eating out routine. Apparently, not only my bank account have burned out, so do all the creative cooking urge inside me. I am glad to say the cooking sense is coming back slowly because I am tired of the same few good restaurants around town.

First recipe in 2015 and after this long cooking break – Mexican Chicken Tostada Recipe. Our family just love Mexican food so much. I can’t help it, there are only two things to cook, the rest is the usual stack and assemble, even my little girls can make it.1-DSC_0026 Continue reading

Barbecue Baby Back Ribs Recipe

1-010

Barbecue Baby Back Ribs Recipe

Ingredients:
1 rack                     Pork Baby Back Ribs
1.5 teaspoon       Salt
1 teaspoon           Fresh Ground Black Pepper
2 tablespoons     Barbecue Sauce (Any brand/ Homemade)

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 325F, lined a big baking sheet with foil and place a metal rack on top.
2. Pat ribs dry with paper towels, cut into two half if too big, sprinkle salt and black pepper evenly all around.
3. Lay seasoned ribs on metal rack, put in the middle position in the oven for 3.5 hours.
4. Brush barbecue sauce on cooked ribs, rest for 5 minutes and serve.

Like me on Facebook:         https://www.facebook.com/littlepandamommykitchen
Follow me on Twitter:         @thepandamommy
Follow me on Pinterest:      http://pinterest.com/thepandamommy/

Spicy Calamari Recipe

I love squid so much but never prepare and clean one all by myself. It took me a long time to clean it but it was really fun and I learned something new. This squid was so big (3 pounds) I made it into 2 dishes, most of it turned into spicy calamari, taste great serving it hot but even better chilled it in the fridge overnight as a cold appetizer. I love it hot. I love it more when they are cold. Warning: this is really really spicy, adjust the chili sauce amount to your taste.
DSC_0004-001

Spicy Calamari Recipe

Ingredients:
2 pounds                    Squid (cleaned, sliced)
1/4 cup                      Green Onion (finely sliced)
1/4 cup                      Chili Garlic Sauce
3 tablespoons            Soy Sauce (Dark)
to taste                       Sugar (Optional)

Continue reading

Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Fish Recipe

A special thanks to my beautiful manicurist Kristi,  for not only taking good care of my nails but helping me get fresh seafood and taught me how to make this super yummy authentic Vietnamese dish. I never tried to make Vietnamese dish at home, expect spring roll, so I was really excited to learn something new. With her permission to share this recipe with you, I wrote down the steps and seasonings I used as close as she taught me. Please taste repeatedly as you season the sauce because all fruits and canned tomatoes taste different.  Hope you enjoy this delicious dish like we do. Enjoy.

DSC_0162

Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Fish Recipe
Continue reading

Fluffy Pancake Recipe (Make 8)

I have been trying to figure out how to make fluffy pancake for a long time. Saw this method on TV from American Test Kitchen and Iron Chef Michael Symon from the Chew, so I decided to give it another try. This recipe requires to separate the eggs into whites and yolks, whisk the whites and fold it in at the end. Sound like should be more fluffy, however, when I used it  to make the Hong Kong style egg waffles, I didn’t notice enough different, so I decided not to bother with the extra step. After created 2 okay pancake recipes, I made up 2 other recipes today and one of them using this whisk egg whites method. To my surprise, the pancakes came out really fluffy and soft, much different than the other one. (Compare photos at the very bottom of this post if you are interested)

DSC_0082-002

Fluffy Pancake Recipe (Make 8) Continue reading

Banana Walnuts Bread Recipe

Banana is one of my daughters favorite fruits, so nutritious and convenient. It is a great ingredient to add in bread, smoothies or baked goods. This bananas walnuts bread has a sweet crispy crust, I like a dense feel of this bread, if you like a lighter and softer bread, use 1.5 cups of flour instead of 1.75 cups. I used 1.5 cups for cupcakes size banana bread, if you like to try that, cut the cook time in half to 30 minutes, the smaller the bread, the faster it cooked. To make the crust crispy, a cast iron pan is essential, increase the temperature to 375F at the last 5 minutes, will make the crust even more crispy. Rest 10 minutes before serving, the crispy crust only stay for a few hours, overnight baked good never taste as good as it fresh out of the oven.

DSC_0124

Banana Walnuts Bread Recipe Continue reading

Mango and Mandarin Oranges Sorbet Recipe

Vitamix is really my favorite new toy in the kitchen, I have been making different flavor sorbet every night, sometime make it twice a day. It is just too easy and fast to have fresh, healthy and yummy treat in a touch of a button. I love mango and didn’t have it for a while, threw two frozen mandarin oranges to add some citrus flavor, so delicious.

DSC_0049

Mango and Mandarin Oranges Sorbet Recipe Continue reading