Posted on

Homemade Vietnamese Canh Chua Hot and Sour Soup

I recently went to my favourite Vietnamese restaurant and asked them what they would recommend for me. It turns out it was Hot and Sour Soup. Thinking they were nuts, I ordered it anyway, and it’s nothing like Chinese Hot and Sour Soup. I guess I liked it even more than the Chinese style Soup. I made my version with some Rice Vermicelli in it as it was a dinner and it was delicious!

Ingredients: makes 4 bowls
1 tbsp chili flakes
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 stalk lemon grass
4 chicken thighs (diced)
shiitake mushrooms
1 tomato diced
half can diced pineapple
1 stalk celery
bean sprouts (I forgot to purchase some, so my recipe doesn’t have any)

To make this soup, it’s actually easier than I would’ve imagined. Well, I took my own shortcuts as I don’t want to spend a ton of time cooking after work. But, you start with a bit of oil and toast the chili flakes and garlic. When it’s fragrant, pour some fish sauce into the pan and let it cook out a little bit on medium heat.

After it cooks up, add some broth or just water is fine and bring it up to a boil with some lemon grass. I actually put some of the pineapple juice in at this time as well when I made mine. I love pineapples, so I didn’t mind it being a bit sweeter than usual.

Once it’s boiling, I turned down the heat and added the chicken and let it cook thoroughly. I made sure it cooked through at this point, but I’m sure it would have been cooked completely by the time the vegetables were done if you cooked it only to it’s half way point at this step.

Now as it’s cooking away, chop up the vegetables and then throw it into the soup and let it cook until it’s tender crisp. In the restaurant they used some bean sprouts which I forgot to purchase, and I think it’s better with it. So, if you’re making this, buy some!

When it’s ready, I just tasted it to season to my liking with salt, honey and some sriracha and adjusted it. I added some rice vermicelli to mine, so I just softened it in some boiling water on the side, and place it in the bottle of my serving bowl. Then, I just ladled the soup on top and it was good to go! A perfect dinner for a cold night!

I really enjoyed this soup. I’ll keep modifying from this weird but basic recipe I made. Some people put lime, thai chilies and basil leaves in their soup and other herbs, so I’m sure it’ll be fun to modify!

Posted on

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted my own cooking now… but, I recently was asked to make my best friend a fail proof recipe for something chicken and fail proof. I chose to teach her Chicken Pot Pie as it’s very versatile, and you really can’t goof on it.

Ingredients: Serves 2 (you can always make more!)
2 pieces of boneless/skinless chicken thigh (or 1 piece of chicken breast)
1 chopped carrot
1 chopped small onion (1/2 Large onion)
1 stalk of celery
1/4 cup Frozen corn (optional)
1 pack of puff pastry
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp flour
3/4 to 1 cup milk

First off, preheat the oven to 375C or 400C, I like to use 375C on my toaster oven as I’m only making 2 pies. Then start by chopping all the vegetables and putting it aside. Then, chop the chicken, and I just do a quick marinade with just salt and pepper. You can add more flavouring to it if you want. Sometimes, I use seasoning salt as well…

Then, I saute the chicken in a pan, low and slow until it cooks through about half way or a little more than half way. Then, I put the vegetables in and cook the entire thing until it’s cooked through. When I get to the cooked stage, I can taste the ingredients to make sure there’s enough flavour throughout.

I then remove all the cooked ingredients out of my pan and start my roux. I keep the heat on low and melt the butter. Once the butter has melted, I put the flour in and make sure it’s completely absorbed. I cook it longer to make sure there’s no flour taste. I normally let the butter brown before I call it done, and the flour/butter mixture will be a dough like consistency.

Once I’ve achieved that stage, I put the milk in add mix with a whisk. As it cooks, the milk mixture becomes creamy and thick, like a gravy! When it’s about the thickness I’d like it, I will add in my cooked chicken and vegetables and taste it again. If I find my gravy is too thin, I cook it longer… if it’s too thick, add more milk. At this stage, you can add the corn if you opted in for it.

When this is ready, scoop the pot pie fillings into a shell. Then, cut the puff pastry into a shape to top it off. Sometimes, I purchase the pre-cut ones to make my life a little simpler.

Now, we just pop the entire thing in the oven and let it bake for about 40 minutes (or until the crust looks golden and delicious). I find in my oven, it takes about 40-45 minutes. Take it out and be careful as it’s really hot!

Now, you’re ready to enjoy your “kind of homemade” Chicken Pot Pie! 🙂

Posted on

White Spot Macleod Trail – Calgary, AB

Thanksgiving this year was kind of interesting. This year, I didn’t make any feasts which I quite enjoy – as I haven’t not made something in a long time. We decided we still wanted turkey dinner, so we went to White Spot on Macleod Trail which is located just in the Willow Park area.

We started out with some appetizers, their Salt and Pepper Wings which was not a good deal at all! It costed more than a buck a wing. Sure, they’re good, but they’re not worth the price tag they put on it.

As mentioned, we wanted turkey for dinner, so we got their Roast Turkey Dinner and on this Thanksgiving, they made it into a combo, I guess… it came with pumpkin soup. It was actually quite tasty and I really enjoyed the soup. Tons of flavour and the texture was nice too.

The actual turkey dinner was surprisingly good! It was a large plate with both white and dark meat, mashed potatoes with gravy and some stuffing. I’m not a huge fan of stuffing on the best of days, so I still didn’t eat these ones. I tasted it and that was about it. This plate did get cleared between the 2 of us, and quite quickly too!

The other thing we ordered was their Baby Back Ribs and these ribs were fall of the bone tender and juicy. We got it with onion rings, and the waitress really didn’t tell us that it was an upgrade/substitute fee. Oh well, it wasn’t the end of the world

Overall, the food was excellent and the service was really good. The only part I had to complain about was the bill as mentioned with the onion rings, it was added, which I’m sure we could have just read. But, I guess for Thanksgiving, they had a special combo that had dessert added as well. We weren’t offered it and when we asked the waitress, she took it off the bill and the total on the bill because more expensive. She didn’t explain to us anything – so we figured she didn’t know what she was doing. Instead of causing a scene, we just paid the more expensive bill and left. Kind of left a sour note in my mouth, but the food was soo good. Not sure if I’ll be back.

White Spot on Urbanspoon

White Spot

10400 Macleod Trl S
Calgary, AB
(403) 278-8212

Posted on

Thai Wok’s N’go Restaurant – Glendon, Alberta

We went to visit Andrew Alberta for the first annual Babas and Borshch and we knew that there’s the largest perogy statue not too far away in Glendon, Alberta. We got to the giant perogy and across the street was a little cafe. It must have just changed hands or something as the outside says “Pyrogy Park, but everything inside says Thai Wok’s N’Go Restaurant! It’s kind of got an Asian and Ukranian fusion with traditional dishes from each.

Because we were here for perogies, we had to order them! We started off with their Chinese Perogies which is kind of like the Chinese Egg Rolls with cabbage inside, then deep fried to perfection. Just like the Chinese egg rolls, there’s plum sauce to dip.

Then, we thought it would be fun to order their Mini Pyrogy dish which had mini perogies pan fried with onions and topped with bacon bits! It was as good as it sounds!

Then, we ordered their Pyrogy Dinner which offered their standard sized perogies with a cabbage roll, a Ukrainian Sauasge and coleslaw.

The food here was surprisingly delicious and I love perogies – and their perogies didn’t fail me at all! I love this remote location and hope to be back one day – perhaps next year if I’m up for the 2nd Annual Babas and Borshch!

Thai Wok’s N’Go Restaurant

33 Pyrogy Dr N
Glendon, AB
(780) 635-3040

Posted on

Pops Pub South – Lethbridge, Alberta

We were in Lethbridge for the first time, just to watch the Air Show and we loved it. After the show, we weren’t too hungry but knew we had to eat dinner as it was a long journey home. We had a recommendation from an acquaintance to try Pops Pub and we just happened to be closest to the South location, so we made it for pizza! This location is conveniently located within some residential area with the hospital about a block away.

Once we got inside, we knew we had to try a pizza as it’s known for their pizzas. We tried their All Meat Pizza which wasn’t too greasy at all! The toppings for this pizza included ham, pepperoni, sausage and Mozzarella cheese! A perfect combo for any meat-lover!

It also happened to be their Perogy Night and with me loving perogies, I ordered a bunch! We actually ordered 2 different types, but they mixed it together – which was fine and an adventure trying to figure out which one we got! The 2 types of perogies offered are potato cheddar and bacon & Romano, and we topped our selection with sour cream and bacon bits. We also had a little bit of lemon pepper on the side which actually added tons of flavour to the perogies – provided you didn’t put tons of it on. Just a little sprinkle is plenty!

Overall, we loved this place! The food and service was great at a great price too! I’m sure we will be back next time we’re in the area – for whatever reason!

Pops Pub South on Urbanspoon

Pops Pub South

1516 9th ave south
Lethbridge, AB
(403) 327-0068