Chapaguri

This week on pandagrub, we are going to be making Chapaguri, which is a mixture of Neoguri and Chapagetti instant noodles.  They are very popular noodles in Korea.  Right now there is a big trend over there to blend these noodles together because of a famous Korean drama which featured a dad making Chapaguri for his little son.  

The name, Chapaguri, comes from combining Chapagetti and Neoguri.

 The pandas in the picture above are chopstick holders and are sitting on the Chapagetti and Neoguri noodles. The packets on tops are the dehydrated vegetable packages that come with the noodles.

 Flatty Jr. (the panda) and I placed both noodles with the vege packets in a pot with 4 cups of boiling water. Once the noodles cooked for about 3-4 minutes, we drained out most of the water leaving about 1/4-1/2 cup of water with the noodles.  After that, we sprinkled in the Chapagetti powder sauce in the pot. Next we added a small portion of the spicy Neoguri powder. (the more Neoguri sauce you add, the spicier the dish.)

 Flatty Jr. and I really enjoyed the Chapaguri. It tasted just like noodles with black bean sauce (jjajangmyun) but it had a spicy kick at the end. I highly recommend this recipe for when you want something a little different for a great snack. For the full recipe click here.

Cucumber Cups

This week on pandagrub we are going to be making mango salsa cucumber cups.

The panda sunning himself in the picture above is named Spicy. Spicy is sitting with the ingredients used to make the cucumber cups. He is lying down with 1 cucumber, tomatoes, a mango, limes, and an onion.

Spicy is peeling the skin off of a cucumber. If you want a pretty cucumber design, peel a strip of the cucumber skin every half inch or so.

After your done peeling the cucumber, cut the cucumber into one inch slices. Doesn't this picture look like a vertebrae?

Now Spicy and I are scooping the insides of the cucumber out. It's easy to scoop the insides out of the cucumber if you use a melon baller. If you don't have a melon baller you can use a teaspoon. Make sure you don't scoop too much of the inside of the cucumber out or it will make a hole and all the salsa will fall out.

Now we are making the mango salsa. To make the salsa dice the onion, tomatoes,and mangoes. Add a dash of salt and the juice of one lime.

After you make the salsa, scoop it into your cut cucumbers.

Spicy loved the cucumber cups! He thinks that they're the perfect treat for Summer. I hope you enjoy this refreshing recipe. 

Homemade Quesadillas

Sorry that I haven't been on in a while. I went to Mexico City and Cancun for spring break. In honor of my trip to Mexico, let's make quesadillas!  This is one of my most favorite foods in the world. After a long gymnastics practice, I like to eat quesadillas because they aren't too filling, but they satisfy my hunger.

 To make the quesadilla, we layered cheese, tomatoes, and avocados on a tortilla and put it in a frying pan. Then we laid the other tortilla on top of it.  To reduce the fat content, my mom just sprays the pan with non-stick spray instead of using butter.  (However, as you probably know, butter tastes soooooo good.  Sometimes in Mexico, they used lard.)

 This is what the quesadilla looked like when we finished cooking it. The quesadilla was delicious, as the avocados were a perfect match for the tomatoes and gooey cheddar cheese. The smooth avocado really softens the tartness of the tomato.

The panda in the picture above is named Stuboom. Stuboom enjoyed the quesadilla almost as much as I did!  I brought Stuboom to Mexico.  He was a wonderful traveling companion.

This is the view from our hotel room in Cancun. From our hotel you can see the beach! I almost dropped Stuboom off of our hotel balcony!:o

This is a picture of me doing a handstand on the beach in Cancun. Look how clean and unpolluted the water is! The sand was so soft and smooth that it felt like a blanket! 

I hope you enjoyed this post!

I hope everyone had a great spring break!

Homemade Cheez-Its

This week on pandagrub, we made homemade Cheez-Its.

To make the Cheez-Its you need 8 ounces of sharp and coarsely shredded cheddar cheese, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/2 a stick of unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons of ice water, and 1 cup of all-purpose flour.

 The panda in the picture above is named Dumpling. Dumpling is adding flour to the mixture which contains the butter and the cheese. Soon he will be adding the ice water to the mixture.

 This is what the cheese mixture should look like after you finish mixing it. After you finish mixing the mixture, wrap it in saran wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.

  After one hour in the fridge the cheese mixture was divided in half. In the picture above Dumpling is rolling out the cheese mixture.

 Now we have started cutting out the Cheez-Its with mini cookie cutters.

 After you finish cutting out all the Cheez-Its poke a hole directly in the center of it. After you do that place the Cheez-Its on a baking sheet and put in the oven at 375 degrees for 15-17 minutes.

 The Cheez-Its should look like this after you take them out of the oven. Look how puffy and golden brown they are! Dumpling and I can't wait to eat these!

Dumpling loved our homemade Cheez-Its because they were perfectly crispy on the outside and flaky in the middle. Dumpling even thought that our homemade Cheez-Its were better than regular Cheez-Its!    I will definitely make this recipe again! For the Cheez-Its recipe that I used click here.

The drink next to the Cheez-Its is Korean banana milk. It is my favorite drink in the whole world! Next time you go to the Korean grocery store be sure to buy some banana milk and give it a try! I bet you'll like it! It really compliments the taste of the Cheez-Its very well!

Re-creation of Seoul Sausage Kimchi Balls

This week on pandagrub we are going to try to recreate Seoul Sausage's kimchi fried rice balls.

 The panda in the picture above is named Owo. Owo is sitting with the ingredients needed to make the kimchi balls. He is sitting with 2 cups of cooked white rice, 8 ounces kimchi, panko bread crumbs, 2 cups cheddar cheese, and 2 cups mozzarella cheese.(We used the mozzarella cheese in the Italian rice balls.)

 Owo is about to mix the kimchi, rice, and cheddar cheese together.  

 After mixing the kimchi/rice mixture the roll them into balls. Make sure to squeeze them very tightly while rolling. Now that we have rolled them into balls, Owo is going to dip them in egg wash (beaten eggs and 2 tablespoons of water) and the roll them in panko bread crumbs.

 First roll the kimchi balls in eggwash. 

Then roll them in breadcrumbs and get ready to fry them.

 This is what the kimchi balls should look like after you take them out of your fryer. Owo used a deep saucepan filled with 3-4 inches of oil.

These were the best things Owo and I have ever tasted on pandagrub. The kimchi balls were perfectly seasoned, very crispy, and spicy. 

We also made a dipping sauce out of 1 cup of mayo,1 tablespoon of Japanese miso dressing, the juice of one lemon, and red pepper flakes. For more information click here.  We thought that these rice balls tasted just as good as the ones we ate at Seoul Sausage!  We also made another version of rice balls called arancini!  They are Italian rice balls. 

 For the arancini, Owo and I used 2 cups of cooked rice, 1 egg, and 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. Then we did the same steps as the kimchi balls rolled them in egg wash and breadcrumbs and then we fried them.

Owo and I also enjoyed these rice balls because of the melted cheese and perfect seasoning. Make sure to dip the balls in marinara sauce. For full information about these balls click here. 

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

This week on pandagrub we are going to be making ice cream. My brother is studying thermodynamics in science. This was his lab experiment for the week. This was a really fun and delicious experiment!

 The panda in the picture above is named Bao Bao. Bao Bao is sitting with the ingredients that we are going to use in the ice cream. He is sitting with salt, two trays worth of ice cubes,vanilla extract,and half and half.

 First Bao Bao doubled bagged two sandwich bags. In the sandwich bags, he put in 1/2 of a cup of half and half,1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/4 of a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Then - he sealed the sandwich bags tightly.  Then in a larger sized freezer bag, Bao Bao added 6 tablespoons of salt to the ice. Bao Bao put the sandwich bag into the freezer bag and then he shook the bag for nine minutes.(Remember to close both bags before shaking!) Make sure to shake the bag in three minute intervals. After the first interval the mixture in the sandwich bag should be the consistency of milk. After the second interval the mixture should be the consistency of melted marshmallows. After the third and final interval the mixture should be ICE CREAM!!!!  It was an amazing transformation.

 Bao Bao thought that this was the best ice cream that he ever has had. He said it was perfectly creamy and smooth.

See you next time!!!!!

Banana Bread

This week on pandagrub we are going to be making banana bread.

 The panda in the picture above is named Mini Stubby. Mini Stubby is sitting with the ingredients for the banana bread. The ingredients are four overly ripe bananas,flour,sugar,vanilla,and butter,baking soda, and one egg.

 Make sure your bananas are over ripe.

 Now it's time to start making the banana bread. First peel all of the bananas and put them in a large bowl and mash them.

 This is what the bananas should look like after you finish mashing them.

 Then add the sugar,egg, vanilla, baking soda,flour and salt. Then use the melted butter to grease the loaf pan. Now you are ready to put in the banana bread batter into the oven.

 Mini Stubby is very excited to eat the banana bread! The banana is finally ready to eat after being baked at 350 degrees for one hour.

 Mini Stubby is eating the banana bread with the apricot jam that we used in the Three Crostinis.

Mini Stubby thought that the banana bread was delicious because it was very moist and had a very tasty banana flavor. For the full recipe click here.

Three Crostinis

This week on pandagrub, we are going to be making three types of crostinis. We are going to be making a goat cheese and apricot jam crostini, a guacamole and tomato crostini, and a ricotta,tomato,and basil crostini. 

The panda in the picture above is named Stuboom. Stuboom is sitting with the ingredients for the crosinis. The ingredients are goat cheese, apricots, tomatoes, ricotta, the juice of one lemon, avocado, one fresh baguette, and some fresh basil.

Now Stuboom is sniffing the wonderful apricots that were given to us by our neighbors. Stuboom is going to make jam out of the apricots. 

 For Stuboom's delicious jam recipe, click here.

Now it is time to make our first crostini. First take out your baguette that has been baking for eight minutes at 385 degrees. Then cut your baguette into inch thick slices. Now we can start assembling the crostini. First spread your goat cheese on the baguette and then add your apricot jam on top.

Stuboom and I enjoyed this crostini. We thought that it had wonderful flavor and texture.  We liked combination of the rich goat cheese and the sweet and slightly tart apricot jam.

Its time to move onto our second crostini. Stuboom has mashed up an avocado with lemon juice and some salt.

Now Stuboom has spread the avocado mixture onto the baguette and added a tomato slice as a garnish.

This crostini was my favorite because the creamy avocado mixture and the juicy tomato went perfectly together.

Now Stuboom is eating the third and final crostini. Stuboom has assembled some ricotta cheese, tomato slices, and fresh basil leaves which were used as a garnish. This crostini was basically a mini-pizza!

For a quick and easy dinner party idea, try making these delicious and fun crostinis as an appetizer for your guests.  Be sure to make enough for all of your pandas!