How a Chocolate Soufflé Can Make Your Day!

Every once in a while, such as today, I crave something decadent and chocolaty. The first thing that comes to my mind is a light puffy chocolate soufflé. Now don't be scared just because you hear the word soufflé. Although it sounds like something fancy and difficult to make, it's actually pretty simple to prepare. Here's a quick and easy recipe that is sure to please with ease.

Chocolate Soufflé

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

7 ounces finely chopped bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus for preparing the molds
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons warm prepared coffee
½ cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
8 large egg whites, room temperature
½ teaspoon lemon juice
Confectioners' sugar
Raspberries or strawberries for garnish

Directions:

1.    To prepare the ramekins, brush six (6 ounce) ramekins with soft butter coating them with granulated sugar afterwards. Place all the ramekins in the freezer to set (about 4-8 hours).

2.    Set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat it to 400°F.

3.    Place the saucepan filled with an inch of water on top of your stove bringing the water to a slow simmer. Put the chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl placing it on top of the saucepan stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. Then remove the chocolate/butter mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Allow the mixture to cool.

4.    In a stand mixer combine the egg yolks and coffee beating them until frothy. Gradually add 2 tablespoons of sugar while beating this mixture until ribbons form. This should take about 5 minutes. Lightly fold the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture. Make sure to rinse the bowl well to beat the egg white next.

5.    Put the egg whites in the clean stand mixer bowl and add in the lemon juice. Beat this mixture until frothy. Then gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar beating this mixture on high. Make sure to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

6.    Quickly fold in one third of the egg whites into the chocolate to lighten it up. Then fold in the remaining egg white until everything is blended.

7.    Remove the ramekins from the freezer and gently ladle the soufflé mixture into the ramekins making sure level off the surface with a straight edge, scraping any excess extra back into the bowl. Then place the ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until soufflés rise 1 1/2 inches from the ramekins. Remove the ramekins from the oven, dusts with confectioners' sugar, and garnish with raspberries or strawberries. Serve immediately and enjoy!

How to make Fried Rice Flour Cake (Bánh Bột Chiên)

Ingredients & Cooking Directions for Bánh Bột Chiên - Fried Rice Flour Cake

Estimated Servings: 4

Step 1: Steam rice cake

1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
¼ cup chicken broth
¼ cup whole milk
½ cup water
½ cup rice flour

Fill the bottom steamer compartment with water ¾ way up and turn your stove on high. Place an aluminum bowl on the top steamer compartment and brush the inside of the bowl with oil. Then place a lid to cover the steamer and wait for the water to come to a boil. Meanwhile, add all of the rest of ingredients in this step into a bowl and whisk it together until they are thoroughly combined. Now allow this mixture to rest for about 5 minutes before steaming. When the steamer water comes to a boil and steams up, pour the rice flour mixture into the aluminum bowl. Then cover the steamer with a lid and allow the rice flour cake to steam for about 10-15 minutes or until it turns solid. About midway through the cooking process, remove the lid from the steamer and shake off all the excess water from the lid and then place it back on the steamer. Once the flour cake has completed steaming, carefully remove the aluminum bowl from the steamer. With a small knife, poke the edges of the flour cake to remove it from the aluminum bowl. Then cover the aluminum bowl with a plate and turn it upside down. The cake should fall out effortlessly. Allow the cake to cool off while you prepare the sauce.

Step 2: Make sauce

4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¾ cup water
1 tablespoon chili sauce
2 ½ tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Add all of the ingredients into a bowl, mix well, and the set it aside.

Step 3: Prepare egg mixture

6 large eggs
½ cup water

Crack all of the eggs into the water and whisk them together until they are well combined and then set aside.

Step 4: Fry flour cake

1 cup preserved radishes
½ cup chopped green onions
1 cup frying oil
¼ cup soy sauce
Pepper to taste

Rinse the pickled radishes under cold water and then squeeze out the water until the radishes are dry. Cut the radishes into bite size pieces and set them aside. Once the flour cake has cooled off, cut them into domino looking rectangles. Turn your stove on medium high heat and add in 1 tablespoon oil. Once the oil is hot, add in a few rice flour pieces and fry them for about 7-8 minutes or until golden brown on one side. Then flip them over and pour in 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to all of the flour cake pieces and allow them to cook for about 5-6 minutes on the other side. Now pour in about ½ cup egg mixture and move your pan around so that the egg mixture covers all of the flour cake pieces. Add in a handful of green onions and pickled radishes on top and allow everything to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until the eggs have dried up. Then sprinkle some black pepper on top. Repeat this process until you use up all of the egg mixture and flour cake pieces. Serve the rice flour cake with the dipping sauce that was made earlier.

3 Color Desserts (Chè Ba Màu)

Ingredients & Cooking Directions for Chè Ba Màu - 3 Color Desserts

Estimated Servings: 4

Step 1: Prepare green layer

1 tablespoon agar-agar

3 cups water

2/3 cup sugar

2 drops pandan extract

Pour the agar-agar into the water and stir it up until it dissolves completely. Then add this mixture into a small pot and turn your stove on high heat. Now pour the sugar into the pot and stir it with the mixture until it completely dissolves and everything comes to a boil. Next, remove it from the heat and pour the mixture into a container. Then stir in some pandan extract or green food coloring. Finally refrigerate the mixture for about 20-30 minutes or until it is solid.

Step 2: Create yellow layer

½ cup hulled yellow mung beans

½ cup water

Pinch salt (or 1/8 tsp. salt)

1 teaspoon sugar

Soak the mung beans in water for about 30 minutes or until it has expanded in size and has gotten softer. Then drain them and bring ½ cup water to a boil on high heat. Now add in your soaked mung beans along with a pinch of salt and turn your heat on medium low. Then continuously stir your mung beans around for about 10 minutes or until it becomes a smooth, mash potato-like consistency. Next, remove it from the heat and mix in your sugar. Finally set it aside and allow it to cool completely.

Step 3: Make red layer

2 cups canned kidney beans (can also use adzuki beans)

1/3 cup sugar 

1/3 cup water

Rinse and drain your kidney beans thoroughly. Then turn your stove onto high, pour in your water, add in the sugar, and stir it around until it dissolves. When the water comes to a boil, add in the kidney beans and lower the heat to medium low cooking the beans for about 10 minutes. Finally remove it from the heat and allow it to cool completely.

Step 4: Assemble dessert

½ cup coconut cream

1 pinch salt (1/8 tsp.)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon tapioca flour or cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

Crushed ice

To make the coconut cream topping, dissolved the tapioca flour or cornstarch into the water. Then add your coconut cream into a small pot and turn your stove on medium high heat. Now add in the sugar and a pinch of salt and dissolve it completely into the coconut cream. Next add in the water-flour mixture that was prepared earlier and stir it into the coconut cream until it thickens. Then set it aside to cool off.

To assemble the dessert, shred your green jelly with grater and set it aside. Then add some red beans, mung beans, and pandan jelly shreds to a serving glass. Finally, top it off with the coconut cream and ice.    

Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup (Phở Gà)

Ingredients & Cooking Directions for Phở Gà - Chicken Noodle Soup

Estimated Servings: 4-5

Step 1: Cook the broth

16 cups water

3 inches ginger

1 small peeled onion

2 ½ tablespoons salt

3 tablespoons sugar

3 ½ pounds chicken

Place a pot of water on top of a high heat stove and wait for it to come to a boil. In the meantime, roast your ginger and onion in the microwave for about 3 minutes. When the water comes to a boil, add in the salt, sugar, roasted ginger and onion to the boiling water. Then add in the chicken pieces to the broth using tongs or if you add them with your hands, make sure to wear gloves to prevent cross contamination. After adding all of the chicken pieces into broth, cover the pot with a lid, and allow the chicken pieces to simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Then skim the scum off the top of the broth until the broth is clear. Now cover the pot with a lid and continue to simmer the broth for about another 3 minutes. While the broth is simmering, let’s prepare our spice mix.

***Remember to wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling raw chicken.

Step 2: Toast the spices

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

5 star anise

1 whole cinnamon stick

7 cloves

1/3 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Break up your cinnamon stick into smaller pieces and add all of the spices into a small pan. Toast the spices on a medium heat stove for about 3 minutes or until the spices smell fragrant. Then pour the spices into a tea infuser, close it up and add it into the broth. Now put a lid on the pot and continue to simmer the broth for about another 7 minutes, making sure that the chicken is pieces are fully cooked.

***If you do not have a tea infuser, you can place the toasted spices into a cheese cloth and tie it up with a kitchen string.

Step 3: Boil the noodles

1 package Phở noodles

8 cups water

Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package. Then rinse and drain the noodles and set them aside until you are ready to assemble the dish.

Step 4: Assemble the dish

Thai basil

Bean sprouts

Cilantro

Lime wedges

½ cup sliced yellow onion

3 tablespoons chopped green onions

2 tablespoons fish sauce

Jalapeno slices

Sriracha and Hoisin Sauce

Make sure your herbs and veggies are washed and clean. Then mix the chopped cilantro, green onion and red onion into a little bowl for the garnish. After the chicken is fully cooked, remove the chicken from the broth, allow it to cool and then separate the chicken meat from the bones. Then add the bones back into the broth to give it more depth in flavor and make sure to discard all of the small chicken bones to prevent choking. Then pour in your fish sauce and continue to simmer the broth for about another 30 minutes. This a good time to taste the broth to ensure that it is to your preferred taste. If it is too salty, add in more sugar a little at a time and if it is too sweet, add in more salt or fish sauce a little at a time. Now slice the chicken pieces into thin slices and set it aside until assembling time. To assemble, add some noodles in the bowl, then place the chicken slices on top and garnish with the onion cilantro mix. Finally add in the broth and top it off with some ground pepper. Serve with the herbs, veggies and sauces.