Peasreads- 108 Asian Cookies Not-Too-Sweet Treats from a Third-Culture Kitchen by Kat Lieu

 

It's hard to review a cookbook. This one is beautiful. The photos are beautiful, the food looks yummy. I reviewed a digital copy. So I don't know what the print copy looks like. Some of recipes are very unique. However some of them are just regular cookie recipes with a few ingredients that were changed to make a cookie "Asian" like the salt to miso or soy sauce, and added some MSG to some.

I liked the section on traditional cookies the best. So nostalgic.

All the photos were beautiful.

One note of warning, this book doesn't do well on the kindle app on your phone.

I will be attempting to bake some ube cookies this weekend.

Description

From the IACP award winner and bestselling cookbook author comes a first-of-its-kind collection of irresistible cookie recipes inspired by Asian flavors and techniques to excite home bakers.

Growing up as a Canadian-born Vietnamese Chinese American, Kat Lieu sought comfort in the flavors of her youth like taro and black sesame. But she struggled to find a home for herself as a third-culture baker in American bakeries, online, or in cookbooks. In the auspiciously titled 108 Asian Cookies Lieu honors the varied and rich tapestry of Asian cultures and ingredients that inspired these recipes. And along with members from Subtle Asian Baking, the online baking group she founded, are a diverse array of original and member-submitted drool-worthy recipes for cookies and bakes incorporating ingredients from the diaspora including gochujang, ube, miso, fish sauce, sambal, tahini, matcha, and MSG stirred into each batter and dough.

 

Bakers will learn how to whip up both classics and entirely new desserts such as:

 

Spicy chai cookies

Amaretti cookies with pandan and pistachios

Taiwanese snowflake crisps

Milk and cashew burfi

Salted egg yolk corn flake haystacks

Mochi brownies

Matcha and wasabi drop cookies

And even instant ramen and pho cookies!

 

At many Asian tables, “not too sweet” is the highest compliment one can give—so whether these recipes are comfortingly familiar or new discoveries, 108 Asian Cookies will be sure to delight even the most discerning “not too sweet” kitchens for years to come.

Find more book reviews here under Peasreads.

Amazon reviews Katereviews.

Goodreads reviews.

I received this egalley from NetGalley, Little, Brown and Company | VoraciousI was under no obligation to give a review. All opinions are my own. 

Give Peas A Chance Lao style Papaya Salad (Thum Mak Houng)

 

Updating my Thum Mak Houng post here on Give Peas A Chance since my last one is from I don't know before 2010 I think? Doesn't matter. This is how I personally make my Lao Green Papaya salad, also known as Thum Mak Houng. Thai call this Som Thum and they make theirs sweeter, without the pa deak, and they add peanuts. I prefer the Lao version. 

Chili Oil (Jeaw Mak Phet) and Shallot Oil

I love using Chili Oil and Shallot Oil as condiments. They are often seen in many Asian restaurants. They are used for Dim Sum, Congee, in Noodle bowls such as Ramen, Khao Piek Sen, Pho, etc. Just about anything you want to add spice or garlic/shallot flavor to. They are also used in cooking, for stir fry and soup bases. In Laos this would be called Jeaw Mak Phet.

As with a lot of cooking there are no set measurements for these oils.  Play with the flavor combinations to come up with your favorite. In Chinese Chili Oil there is often bay leaf, star anise, sesame seeds sometimes cinnamon. I know the local Ramen place near me adds Sichuan peppercorn which I love and add to mine.  

2017 School Lunches 212-218

Just a few more weeks of school lunches...

Above, my kiddo packed a hamburger bun with a sliced braut.

The rest of the braut is in the middle compartment there.

Avocado

Cantaloupe 

Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs

Here is a quick Whole30 Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs for you. I find the easiest way to cook the spaghetti squash is in the Instant Pot. It can be cooked ahead of time and heated in the oven while the meatballs cook in the sauce. I prep the meatballs ahead of time also, they can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days or put in the freezer. I have not baked the meatballs from frozen, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. You would have to adjust the time and add a little water to the sauce so it doesn't burn or dry out.
This was a big hit with my family. Everyone loved the meatballs. They aren't as tender as meatballs that have a bread crumb in them to me, but no one in my family said a word about it. My youngest isn't the biggest fan of spaghetti squash though. The meatballs would work with zucchini noodles also.

Pressure Cooker Black Beans

Hello everyone! School is starting soon around here, that means a few things:

Lunch packing (Speaking of which, check out my very first lunch post from 2007 HERE.)

More blog posts because the kids are gone. :)

Less blog posts because of the school rush. ;)

We will wait and see how it goes huh? In the meantime I've been playing with my new toy quite a bit, my Instant Pot. I have mostly been using it with recipes on this blog, cooking simple things, just adapting what I cook. Not sure how much I'll be blogging about it, but I'll try to put up some recipes. So far I've done carnitas, "boiled" eggs, steel cut oats, rice, beans, Shepard's Pie, quinoa, spaghetti (no good), lots of soups- Pho, chicken noodle, sausage and kale. Stuff like that. Do you have an Instant Pot? OR use a pressure cooker? What are your favorite recipes?

Decked out my Instant Pot with Doctor Who goodies. 

Free Friday- Week in review 6/12-6/18

This past week started with the girls finishing their games strong. My middle little's team took first place in their tournament, and finished first in their division in the league, and were highest scoring. So couch, Daddy, bought them all ice cream.

Then I heard the news about Orlando, the shooting at the night club, there was a shooting earlier in the week of a singer, then later in the week the little boy who was drowned by an alligator in a freak accident. Such sad sad news. It was a heartbreaking week.  The rest of the week's pictures seem trivial in the light of all of that. But we live, we carry on, and carry those in pain in our prayers.

Pixie wanted to sleep in the attic. So she made us a little bed, and in the morning my body felt as old as it is. But look how cute?

I made a huge pot of pho, so noodles for days around here. No one complained.

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2016 February Menu

2016 February Menu 

It's been a long time since I've shared menus on here, but I thought I would share this month's menu.  Just about every recipe is blogged, though some are a work in progress and I don't blog those until I know the recipe is right.

I plan my menus, but I don't always make Monday's dish on Monday night, I sometimes make it on Wednesday, etc. Having a menu doesn't mean you can't be flexible it just means you have all the ingredients necessary for a week or two's worth of meals. I also don't specify sides for the most part, it just depends on what's at the market.

Chirashi Bowl

Chirashi bowl with salmon, daikon, avocado, cucumber, longan, dragon fruit, and rambutan.

Isn't that a lovely Chirashi Bowl? I'm quite please with how it turned out. I know it's "just food" and it doesn't have to look pretty so everyone. But I really like it when you can "eat with your eyes" first. I don't really style my pictures when I take them. As in food styling. I don't blanch vegetables, then arrange them in a bowl of stir fry. I don't cool my food, or photograph it cold, if there's steam, there's steam. Spritz with water? Nope. I am just not that talented. I simply photograph a plate or bowl that I'm feeding to someone around here. Then pass it on to them to eat. But I still like to arrange everyone's food so it's appealing. I can see how some people thing it's silly, but I love doing it. It's fun for me. I love seeing the kids light up when something looks pretty or fun. It's the beginning of our meal together, I enjoy it, so why not?

Crock Pot Spaghetti Squash

Yumm,  Spaghetti Squash. I admit I don't like using it as a pasta replacement as much as zucchini noodles. But I know so many people do, I love eating it just as is. Some days though I don't want to heat up the oven, or I'm already using the oven for something else. I know you can microwave Spaghetti squash, but this crock pot method is so easy.
You can also put the whole squash in the crock pot without cutting it, just pierce it all over and wash it. Add the water to the crock pot.

Spaghetti Squash... medley?
For babies
Simply seasoned
Coconut Curry Spaghetti Squash- A favorite one Give Peas A Chance 

Other noodle "replacement" posts

Zucchini/ Squash for Spaghetti

Daikon for Curry Noodle bowls

Carrot and Daikon for Pho

Zucchini for Chicken Paprikash

Sweet nectar of the gods...

Magical coffee indeed. (Plus variations on ice cubes) I'm not a big coffee drinker, I don't drink a cup a day. I don't even drink a cup a week. We don't own a coffee maker, we do have an espresso maker- but I don't use it. I do love coffee when I'm out and about though. Then I love coffee. I'm a social drinker, LOL.

I do love iced coffee though. Vietnamese iced coffee especially. I think because when I was growing up my mom always ordered it when we went out for a nice big bowl of Pho. So I associate it with that comfort food. She would also make it at home, that and the Limeade I love so much. On hot summer days, I still remember the sound of the spoon hitting the sides of her big tall glasses. She would most likely be working out in the garden. She didn't let us drink coffee though as kids. My cousins and I would make coffee when our parents were gone though! With that one sentence I just threw everybody under the bus.

Primal/Paleo Pho

So, I love Pho (I have a couple recipes posted). I'm not 100% Primal. I have no issues with white rice and I just try to eat less grains. I decided to try carrot and daikon "noodles". I shredded them with my fancy schmancy $12 shredder. Lurch Spirali, thank you TJMaxx.

Here is what the carrot (that was one BIG carrot) and the daikon looked like. They came out in long spiral strands.

Daikon

To serve the Pho with these "noodles" I put them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, depending on how tender you want them. 

Tonight I started everyone off with a mixture of rice noodles and the carrot and daikon. Everyone but Pixie loved it.  Dh had his second bowl with just the carrot and daikon noodles. Diva and Piglet ate it right up. Pixie, who loves daikon and asks for it in soup didn't like it. Which is fine, as her mom I still require her to eat what's put in front of her or take at least a couple of bites. It will (maybe) grow on her.

This is a bowl WITH rice noodles. You can tell the daikon is more transparent. It has a good bite to it. The carrot was surprising to me, I thought it would be too sweet. But it didn't taste sweet at all. I'll serve these noodles with Pho from now on. I will still serve the rice noodles, but I'm all about adding fresh veggies to meals. Great alternative for Primal/Paleo dieters.

It's my blog and I'll cry if I want to

This year we're not having birthday parties for the girls. If you know me, you know this is heartbreaking. We didn't have them last year either. When I say heartbreaking I mean heartbreaking for me, not so much the kids. I love parties, I love putting them together and hosting them. Cooking, baking, all the little details. Anyway. This year, like most every year the girls get to pick where they want to eat. Piglet, who just turned 5, wanted Dim Sum and somehow that morning it changed to McDonald's. Sigh. Yuck. She also wanted a chocolate cake but we talked more and she said strawberry so, I made the Neapolitan cake posted HERE, for her.  (And since I don't have a picture for this post, I'll post the same picture... because it's my blog and I can do that. And I'll re post other birthday cakes too.) 

Diva's birthday is at the end of this month. She wants Pho. I was like awesome I want to go eat Pho too. I can't wait to go out.  But mommy, I want your Pho. So DH chimes in, "OK, if mommy makes Pho here you can still pick a place to go out for dessert". I'm sending mental waves, vibes, whatever for Cheesecake factory... Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake, you know you want it. Chanting it in my head. I even mention it, her eyes light up and she gives me a high five over the table. Then she says, "I want carrot cake. Mom's carrot cake." Yes, the carrot cake. The one we bake on special occasions, that we all love. It's even good enough for Jesus' birthday. 

See, it's pretty too.. and on the inside?

Whole wheat carrot cake with vanilla bean frosting.

This is our go to cake,  unless someone asks for something like a "rainbow cake with a unicorn on top" Then we get into this kind of nonsense. I know, there's no unicorn. I had no time for that after the frosting fiasco. You can read about that HERE.

Of course there was the mermaid with no arms... she too, was whole wheat carrot cake.

The cakes from the MaD HAttEr TeA PartY you can see them- HERE.  Made with love, though lopsided.

I can't forget the time we bought a cake, and got this- cake wreck. It says

"Name, spelled so very wrong

under that

Ma-tou     !"

I did ask for them to put "under that", but I spelled her name right, and not sure why the exclamation point is so far away.

So... because she's my beloved little girl I'll make the Pho, and I'll make the cake. Just for the record MY birthday is this weekend, and nobody will be asking ME where I want to go. If it WERE MY party, I'd cry. But, there are no parties. I'll cry anyway. Because it's my blog and because I'm moving up a whole age bracket. I'd probably ask for the same carrot cake, that is if someone else were to make it. Any takers? If not I'm headed to Cheesecake factory - if I can talk everyone into it.

PS- send sushi...
like this, except not on a child's plate, that has a princess crown on it. On a plate I don't have to wash. Thank you.

What cake would YOU choose on your birthday?

Caution... and lunch.

I saw this sign at the market and had to take a picture of it. It makes very little sense. But it was humorous.

The girls love seeing the Blue Crab and Razor Clams when we go.

 Yummy bowl of Pho.

 Hands OFF my food.

YUM. (yes, she still uses a fork. Not sure why, her older sister was a pro with her chopsticks at this age)

Pho

We had Pho for dinner, always a hit here. The weather is getting cooler, so it's always nice to have a nice pot of Pho on the stove.  I have a few Pho recipes/posts on here, easy to search. LINK.
My bowl, above has rare beef, sliced onion, cilantro, celery, basil, hoisin, lime, sriracha, nam pla, sliced jalapenos and black pepper.

We all love our veggies on Pho night, even Pixie! OK she  likes the celery and limes :).

Celery leaves and cilantro.

Aromatics I had in the pot.

YUM.

Don't touch my Pho, YO!

Just saying don't take my bowl. LINK.

Dipping my sprouts and basil. This is how I  roll.

The Little Princess and her dinner.

Little Princess guarding her tea cup.

Once upon a time there was a sweet Little Princess who lived with her parents and two older sisters. The Little Princess loved her family and to play and dance. She was a happy little girl with a happy little life! 

One day the Little Princess' grandparents came to visit her family at the castle. Her grandparents brought the family some plums that were the Little Princess' favorite! The Little Princess got to go out to eat a lot when her grandparents visited. She loved eating out. Some of her favorite things to eat and drink were hot tea, double pan fried noodles, Pho and Miso soup.

This is my food

One day, when The Little Princess went out for a meal with her family. Everyone was having a wonderful time talking and eating.  Then of the servers came and took the Little Princess's plate to the kitchen. The Little Princess was so sad! She looked at her parents with a worried look on her face and pointed to where her plate had gone. She wasn't done eating her food yet! So, the King and Queen got her another plate of food and the princess finished eating.

This is my food, and I'm watching you until you leave.

Bento 2010-16

Diva loves ramen noodles. I would have loved this lunch in school

This lunch has 

Ramen noodles made with Pho broth and chicken.

Iced Animal Crackers and

A container of Hoisin sauce, just a teeny bit.

Holy Basil

Celery sticks (She likes to dip these in the Hoisin Sauce)

Lime wedge

Sunsweet Prune

Spaghetti Squash Medley

We love this stuff, Diva requested it this week so I thought OK why not. She asked for small ones so we all could have one served in a "bowl" half but I just got a big one.

Related posts

For babies
Simply seasoned

Other noodle "replacement" posts

Zucchini/ Squash for Spaghetti

Daikon for Curry Noodle bowls

Carrot and Daikon for Pho

Zucchini for Chicken Paprikash 

Spaghetti Squash Medley

 1 garlic clove

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped bell pepper

1/2 chopped carrot

3 tablespoons butter

1 spaghetti squash

Depending on the size of your squash you may need more or less butter.

Black White and Spice or your favorite spices or salt and pepper.

Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and place it cut sides down in a baking dish. Add a 1/2-1 cup water to the pan. Roast the squash until fork tender or put it in the microwave for about 10 minutes. I cover it with wax paper for the microwave and foil for the oven. Take a fork and scrape out the squash, it will be stringy like spaghetti.

Saute the vegetables in butter.  Season to taste and toss in the spaghetti squash.