Chocolate Trifle

Ingredients :

1. 1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix
2. 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
3. 1/2 cup water
4. 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
5. 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
6. 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
7. 1 (1.5 ounce) bar chocolate candy

Direction :

1. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and cool completely. Cut into 1 inch squares.
2. In a large bowl, combine pudding mix, water and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until smooth, then fold in 8 ounces whipped topping until no streaks remain.
3. In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish, place half of the brownies, half of the pudding mixture and half of the 12 ounce container of whipped topping. Repeat layers. Shave chocolate onto top layer for garnish. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients :

1. 1/2 cup water
2. 1/4 teaspoon salt
3. 3/4 cup white sugar
4. 18 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
5. 1 cup unsalted butter
6. 6 eggs

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch round cake pan and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.
3. Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.
4. Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
6. Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.

Naengmyeon (Cold Noodle)

Ingredients :

1. ½ package of buckwheat noodles
2. water
3. shiitake mushrooms
4. kelp
5. dried anchovies
6. mustard powder
7. cucumber
8. salt
9. sugar
10. vinegar
11. pear
12. egg
13. young summer radish kimchi

Direction :

A package of Korean buckwheat noodles usually comes with soup powder packet. If you want to make a quick broth, you can simply mix the soup powder with cold water. If you want to make homemade stock, this is how I do it.

Make stock for mul-naengmyeon:

1. Boil 8 cups of water with 3-4 shiitake mushrooms, a 4 inch piece of driedkelp, and 8-10 dried anchovies with the heads and the intestines removed for 20 minutes over hight heat.
2. Lower the heat to low and cook another 20 minutes. Cool it down and keep it in the refrigerator.

Prepare toppings:

1. Mustard paste (optional):
   Mix 1 tbs of mustard powder and ½ tbs water. Put it in a warm place to ferment it for 5 minutes. Set aside.
2. Cucumber:
   Slice ½ cup’s worth of cucumber into thin strips. Add a ½ pinch of salt, ½ ts of sugar, and ½ ts of vinegar. Mix it up and and set it aside.
3. Pear:
   Slice ½ cup’s worth into thin strips. You can use either Korean pear or bosc pear. Soak it in water and add ½ ts sugar so it doesn’t change color. Set it aside.
4. Egg:
   Hardboil an egg, cut it in half, and set it aside.

Make the noodles:

1. Put a half package of buckwheat noodles into a big pot of boiling water. Stir them with a wooden spoon so that the noodles don’t stick to each other. Keep boiling for about 3-5 minutes until cooked.
2. When the noodles are cooked, move the pot to the sink and pour cold water over them. Drain some of the water out and pour more cold water over them again. This will help the noodles get chewier.
3. Rinse and drain the noodles a couple of times until not slippery. Put the noodles into a basket or colander.
   

Put it all together:

1. For each serving you need to make, mix 2 cups of stock in a bowl with 2 ts vinegar, 1 ts salt, and 2 ts sugar. Add more vinegar to taste. Add 5-7 ice cubes to make it even colder.
2. Place noodles in a bowl and add the cold broth, cucumber, pear, mustard paste, and egg on top. Serve cold. If you have kimchi juice or young summer radish kimchi, add some to the noodle soup. It will taste even better!

Bungeoppang (fish-shaped cake with red bean paste)

Ingredients :

1. 1 cup all purpose flour
2. ½ teaspoon salt
3. ½ teaspoon baking soda
4. 1 tablespoon brown or white sugar
5. 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
6. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
7. Sweet red beans 

Direction :

1. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and sugar in a bowl. Add water and mix it well.
2. Sieve the mixture through a strainer to get a silky batter without any lumps.
   
3. Heat up the bunggeoppang pan and turn the heat down to low.
4. Open the pan and grease both the upper and lower fish molds with a light coating of vegetable oil.
5. Pour the batter into one side of the fish mold until it’s ⅓ full. Add  1 tablespoon of sweet red beans to the center, and then gently fill up the rest of the fish mold to totally cover the red beans.
   
6. Close the mold and cook for about 3 minutes over low heat.
7. Turn the pan over and let it cook another 3 minutes. Open it and turn it over again for another 30 seconds, to make the bread a little more crispy.
   
8. Take out and serve immediately.

Schwe Yin Aye (Coconut Cream Sherbet)

Ingredients :

1. 1/4 ounce dry seaweed agar
2. 1 can coconut milk
3. 1 cup raw sago or tapioca
4. 1 cup Sugar
5. 3 cups cooked rice flour droplets (optional)
6. crushed ice

Direction :

1. Soak the seaweed agar in water and set aside. Dilute coconut milk by cooking it over low heat for 10–15 minutes. Pour into a jar and set aside.
2. Wash sago and boil in 4 cups water. Boil sago until transparent. Pour sago in a tray and let it cool and set.
3. Wash agar and cut into 1-inch lengths. Dissolve Sugar in coconut milk and let it chill.
4. To serve, fill glasses with the sweetened coconut milk, 2-3 tablespoons of rice droplets (optional) andsago, agar strips and crushed ice.

Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese Crepes)

Ingredients :

1. 1⁄2lb boneless pork loin
2. 20medium shrimp
3. 10fresh cilantro stems
4. 10fresh basil sprigs
5. 10fresh mint sprigs
6. 2cups rice flour
7. 1⁄2cup self-rising flour
8. 2 1⁄2cups water
9. 1cup coconut milk
10. 1⁄2teaspoon curry powder
11. 1teaspoon sugar
12. 1⁄2teaspoon salt
13. 1green onion, chopped
14. 1medium onion, coarsely chopped
15. 3cups bean sprouts
16. 5tablespoons oil

Direction :

1. Place pork loin in a saucepan; cover with water and bring to a boil over medium heat; simmer until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
2. Allow pork to cool, then julienne into strips.
3. Shell and devein shrimp; slice each one in half lengthwise.
4. Rinse herbs and drain; set aside.
5. In a mixing bowl, prepare batter by mixing rice flour, self-rising flour, water, coconut milk, curry powder, sugar, salt, and green onion until smooth.
6. Divide pork, shrimp, onion, and bean sprouts into 5 separate little piles for easy access during cooking.
7. Heat 1 tbsp oil in non-stick frying pan until hot; cook pork shrimp and onion until it starts to sizzle; add 1/2 cup of batter and swirl to cover pan and get batter underneath.
8. Place one pile of bean sprouts towards the center of the crepe, then cover the pan tightly.
9. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 2-3 minutes, then uncover and loosen edges of crepe and fold over with a spatula to form an omelette.
10. Transfer the crepe to a serving platter.
11. Repeat process with rest of batter.
12. Do not cover the cooked crepes or stack them (they will lose their crispness- they should remain light and airy).
13. To serve, place one crepe on a plate with some lettuce leaves, herbs also with a small bowl of nuoc cham.
14. The person cuts a portion of crepe, wraps it in a leaf of lettuce with some herbs, and dips it in the sauce.