As the title of this post implies, I made fried food! It was somewhat impulsive. I was cleaning out our freezer and I came across a pack of Nanka Seimen egg roll wrappers that I purchased quite a long time ago. To be honest, I'm not even sure when I bought these, but after defrosting them, they didn't have any noticeable freezer burn so I didn't want them to go to waste. I remembered a type of egg roll that my Mom used to make for us when...

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  Just when the rain started to fall, the weather turned cooler and I felt as though it might finally be time to get the flannel sheets out, we are suddenly facing hot Fall weather in the upper 80’s this week. I love Southern California! (Photo Credit: Hideki Ueha) Fortunately, grilling is practically a year-round activity in my neck of the woods because I love this Korean style marinade that I learned over a decade ago from my...

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It’s day three of the 2012 London Olympics and I’m slightly at a loss for words. Perhaps it’s exhaustion from our busy weekend (which I will happily share in a separate post), or because our DVR wasn’t working Sunday night when I couldn’t stay up to watch swimming, or perhaps I’m feeling a bit off because my left knee is having unusual joint issues. Instead of my weekly gym date with my BFF Monday night, I...

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Our summer is heating up with activities very quickly. This weekend Bebe E starts a soccer for tots class and Bebe E just finished up basketball for tots. We also started obon odori practice, which is a Japanese dance for the summer obon festivals. (Click here for my post on obon and okinawa dango, a Japanese sweet donut). Bebe E loved her first dance practice and especially the popsicle that was offered during break! This week, Bebe E is...

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There are a handful of signature salads that I enjoy eating when I dine out, and the Chinois chicken salad is one such salad. A few years ago, I met my BFF (best friend forever), aka, Auntie S, at Wolfgang Puck’s Chinois Cafe in South Coast Plaza. She shared with me that she really enjoys their chicken salad so I decided to give it a try. I’m a huge fan of Asian inspired chicken salad, but I am p-i-c-k-y! There are very few Asian...

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At a Memorial Day BBQ a few years ago, I was asked if I knew the difference between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. While somewhat uncertain of my answer, I replied (with conviction) that Memorial Day was a day to honor military men and women who died while serving their country, whereas Veteran’s Day celebrated living military veterans for their past service to our country. After being “quizzed” at that BBQ a few years...

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My husband makes three types of Chinese soup when any of us are sick. One of them is Chinese Winter Melon Soup or tung qwa soup, which I’ve shared in the past, the second is Moqua Soup or Fuzzy Melon Soup (post forthcoming), and the third, which is my absolute favorite, is Wonton Soup. While it seems seasonally inappropriate to share a hot soup recipe amidst our warmer and sunny Southern California weather, last week when I was feeling...

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There’s something about fried wontons that are addicting. Inherently, we all know fried foods aren’t necessarily the healthiest of foods, yet you can’t stop at just one wonton. You eat one, and then you want another, eat another, and then you want yet another, and another! Perhaps it’s the light, crunchy fried wonton skin. Or perhaps it’s that tasty wonton center of succulent ground pork mixed with subtle bursts of...

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