Cheese Cake / Strawberries Cheese Cake

I never meet my Mother-In-Law. She passed away many years ago. According to my husband, my MIL was an excellent cook. She made many wonderful Puerto Rican dishes and desserts. One of her famous dessert is Cheesecake. I am glad that my husband did tried to learnt as many recipes from her and tried his best to teach me how to make this wonderful dessert.  I love cheesecake very much and today, i am sharing with you this wonderful recipes from my Mother-In-Law. Enjoy...

Kangkung Sambal Belacan (WaterSpinach Sambal Belacan)

Remember few days ago, i finally found my Belacan here? Well, i quickly make this wonderful and simple dish that i absolutely adore. This recipe is easy and i use the cheat method. Instead making my own sambal paste, i got a ready made  Sambal Oelek from the Asian Market. I hope you will enjoy it.

Chai Buey (Mustard Green Stew/Soup)

Chai Buey literally means leftover in Hokkien. I love this dish so much that i can literally eat the whole big pot all by myself. No matter how much calories i consumed in that week or how much i put on weight, if my grandma were to make this dish, i will finish up the whole pot even it means my tummy is so full until i cant even walk. I guess i look forward to this dish more than any dish during chinese new year :p

The good thing about this dish is you pretty much cook whatever you can find in your refrigerator and add in a few fresh ingredients and i guarantee you that you will ask for more. You can also make this dish from fresh. So i would suggest, during thanksgiving or christmas and you have lots of leftover, you can try to make this dish.

Belacan (Shrimp Paste)

Look at what i got here? Belacan aka shrimp paste. I love love LOVE belacan. A lot of westerners thinks this product stinks but somehow i think this is the most fragrant ingredient in the world. Anyway, back in NY, i know where to find this piece of ingredient with no problem but it was tough over here especially in the area i am staying now in California. There are 2 asian markets near the place i stay and none of them carry this.

The only way for me to get this is through ordering online. So i rarely cook using this ingredient as i refuse to buy online because of the shipping and the overcharge price. When my husband found out the 3rd Asian Market around our area, we make a trip there and THANK GOD i found this ingredient in one the aisle in the shop. Guess what i do next? i quickly grabbed 4 blocks of Belacan. Best part is that, they only sell it for USD 1.99 for a block of 500 grams. I remembered i used to buy in NY for USD3.99 for a block of 250 grams. Big savings for me and i am a very happy woman today. So the next few days, i will  make a few simple dish using belacan and other ingredients. Stay Tune.

So what is belacan exactly? You can read more from here

Stir Fry Asparagus Asian Style

I love Asparagus but i rarely buy it because i think it is pretty expensive. Few days ago, i was in 99cents store and they have it for a dollar a bunch. So i jumped right in to grab a bunch of asparagus. They even have fresh portabella mushrooms for a dollar (4 medium size) and red bell peppers (2 for a dollar). So today, i am happy that i can make this dish that i absolutely adore. Here is the recipe. Enjoy...