Lemongrass and Ginger Cookbook Giveaway (Closed)

I got to know Leemei through her blog My Cooking Hut . I was very excited when she told me last year that she will be publishing her very own cookbook. As a fellow Malaysian I am super proud of her. She sent me a copy of her cookbook and I am amazed with all the wonderful recipes she created for the cookbook. In order to support her I purchased another copy from Amazon.com so that I can give it away to one of my lucky readers.

About Lemongrass and Ginger Cookbook: Vibrant Asian Recipes

Asian cooking is one of the fastest-growing cookery trends in the world – and from Chinese to Thai, Indian to Malaysian, the diverse tastes, textures and aromas of Asia can be sampled in this beautiful new cookbook. Rich in aromatic spices, herbs, and flavorings, Asian food explodes deliciously in your mouth. Now, thanks to Leemei Tan, home cooks can easily master the art of preparing this delectable cuisine. She explains how to make perfect sushi, creamy curries, spicy stir-fries, and crisp tempura, and work with noodles, kaffir lime leaves, or wasabi.

From Korean Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup and Japanese Pork Dumplings to Thai Green Papaya Salad and Indian Aubergine Curry, these imaginative recipes will inspire and delight, whether you have in mind a quick weekday meal or a feast for friends and family.

There are 7 chapters in the book that cover more than 100 recipes from all over Asia – Japan and Korea, China, Philippines and Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam and India and Sri Lanka. There are 3 sections in the book that will come in handy. They are ‘Basic Recipes’, ‘Basic Techniques’ and ‘Glossary’. ‘Basic Recipes’ section tells you how to make stock, how to make perfect steamed rice, making spice pastes, and etc that are used in the recipes. ‘Basic Techniques’ section will guide you how to debone chicken, prepare fresh coconut, prawns and etc. ‘Glossary’ section contains a list of ingredients with explanations that you may not be familiar with. Lemongrass and Ginger can now be purchased at all major bookstores and online stores such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository and etc. Take a sneak preview of the book here: http://www.mycookinghut.com/mycookbook/

Meyer Lemon Curd

The neighbor behind my house has a Meyer lemon tree and it is bursting with fruits. I can see them from my bedroom windows and thinking of all my favorite lemon treats to make from it. The neighbor sister brought me a big bag of it a couple of weeks ago. I have to say, they are the best Meyer lemon I ever had. There are so fragrant and with high volume of juicy. The Meyer lemon fruit is rounder than the common lemon, with a slight hint of orange and not as tart as regular lemon. I used it to make some lemon curd. Lemon curd is great for toast, scones, cookies, tart filler, to name just a few. If you can’t find Meyer lemons, use regular lemons instead. Do stay tune and see what I make with the rest of the lemons.

Pai Pau/Sweet Buns

Pau Pau is well known bread in Hong Kong. It is a super soft, fluffy and milky plain sweet bun. The name literally means "buns in a row” It is the basic Asian bread dough which is shaped in rolls, arranged closely together and baked. To eat them, one is to pull them apart and enjoy the incredible softness. I bookmarked this recipe a couple of years ago from Florence of Do What I Like blog and only get my lazy bones to do it now. The bread turns out great!

Tofu Fah/Tofu Pudding

I love tofu fah or everything made of soy beans. It is not easy for us to get tofu fah here like back in Malaysia where you can get it from the road side stalls. I can only get it from the Asian supermarket and that also not always freshly made. They will have containers of it sitting on the shelf together with other tofu products. Tofu fah is a type of Chinese dessert made from soymilk, the texture is soft and silky and eaten with syrup. After seeing Sonia homemade tofu fah I decided to make some myself too but the easy ways. I used store bought soy milk and without the gypsum. Knowing that gypsum is not good for health I decided to use gelatin. I tried using agar agar power but I still prefer the texture of the tofu fah using gelatin. It might not be 100% like the original tofu fah but it is good enough for me to get over my craving.

No-baked Mini Swiss Roll with Red Bean Filling

My friend Lynn Yew Evers posted a picture of these rolls at her FB page and I was immediately smitten by it and ask her if she can share the recipe with us and she agreed. Lynn, not only can cook but also an accomplished concert pianist, a teacher, she perform with rock band, and served as a judge for piano competitions. You can read more about her at her website .

Now back to the Mini Swiss Roll. This Swiss roll is made on the non-stick pan. The texture is very much like pancake and the thick apam balik. I really like it. I did tweak the recipe a little bit to suit my taste.

Steamed Chicken with Mushroom and Black Fungus

I wanted to recreate this dish that my mom used to cook for us. I am not sure what exactly she put into it but I remember there were chicken, mushrooms and ginger. I can’t call to ask her as it was very early morning there in Malaysia when I wanted to cook this. This dish is easy to make, just marinate everything together and steam it. Although it is not exactly taste like how she made it but nevertheless it taste delicious and it goes well with rice. I have to remember to ask my mom about this dish the next time I talk to her.

Mix Fruits and Pistachio Biscotti

I always have soft spots for dried fruits. I like adding them in cakes and cookies. I know, some of you hate fruit cake but I just love it but it has to be the homemade kind though. These biscotti are no acceptation. I just love it!! These twice baked biscotti are crunchy and packed with dried fruits. I put 2 pieces in Carlos lunch bag everyday as I think this is much healthier than the store bought granola bar.

Ginger Miso Glazed Salmon with Mango Salsa

I am able to get very fresh salmon from Ranch 99 here in CA and I will serve it for dinner at least once a week. Carlos loves this fish and I usually serve it with some light salad and savory rice. With a few minutes under the broiler the miso gives the salmon a nice browning but remains juicy and succulent beneath. Miso is a fermented soybean product and you can read more about it here .

Ingredients:

2 pieces of salmon fillet – about 6 ounces each

Marinate:

2 tbsp light miso
1 tsp grated ginger
1 1/2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp rice vinegar

Pomelo and Mango Salad

Pomelo is one of my favorite citrus fruits. Winter is pomelo season and you can see them everywhere. The pomelo here is not as big as the one back in Malaysia. It is a little bit larger than the size of a grapefruits. I will normally buy 3-4 fruits at one go, peel it and keep it in a container and snack on it. There are days I like to add it to my salad. Since mango is also in season I added some of it to the salad. This salad is so refreshing and it will be great to serve it during summer or on hot weather.

Fried Tofu and Meat Sui Kow/Fried Tofu and Meat Dumplings

I was thinking of making a tofu dish but when I cut open the tube of egg tofu it was all broken. I can’t really slice it into round rings. So I decided to mash them up and mix it into the meat filling for the dumplings or Sui Kow. If your kid is not a fan of tofu you can make this and hide the tofu in the filling without them knowing it. I don't think they will ever figure out there is tofu in it. Not my hubby :)

Ingredients:

1 packet of dumplings wrappers or wonton wrappers
1 tube of egg tofu – mashed
6 oz ground pork or chicken
6 oz shrimps – peel and deveined and roughly chopped
1 small carrot – grated
6 water chestnut – cut into tiny cubes
2 spring onions
1 egg
1 tbsp cornstarch