Win Steamy Kitchen Cookbook!

11/02/2009

It's been almost exactly two years to the date when a publisher approached me to write a book about easy Asian recipes, based on the work that I've been teaching at cooking schools, writing about on SteamyKitchen.com and cooking on television.

The book concept was simple. It would include Asian recipes that followed my mantra of "fast, fresh and simple enough for tonight's dinner" with dishes like Stir Fried Beef and Broccoli, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Thai Curry and kid favorites like Lettuce Cups and Chocolate Wontons.

I enlisted the help of about 200 recipe testers from all over the world to make sure that each and every recipe was perfect and ingredients accessible even in Australia, U.K. and of course the U.S.

With over 101 Asian recipes and over 200 color photographs (many step-by-step photos) and endorsements from celebrity chefs Martin Yan and Ming Tsai, I think you'll really enjoy the book.

Last week I started my book tour in NYC with a book signing event at Barnes & Noble. It was my very first time seeing my book in a bookstore...and well...you'll just have read how God and Buddha kept my ego in check.

Giving away 5 cookbooks!

To celebrate the launch of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook here on TLC, TLC and I are giving away 5 copies of the Steamy Kitchen Cookbook --  one for each day!

I'm sharing my favorite comfort food, I'd love to hear what yours is!

To enter, just comment below describing your favorite comfort food. You can just name a dish or link to a recipe. Each day, we'll choose a winner from that day's entries (12:00am to 11:59pm) - also - I'm always on the lookout for fantastic recipes, would love to profile some of YOU for Steamy Kitchen on TLC column!

By submitting a comment you are aware that you're entering into the contest. You must enter a valid email address - so that if you do win, we can get in touch with you! Rules and other legal mish-mash.

CONTEST IS OVER! CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS:

DAY 1 WINNER:

My favorite comfort food is a very cheesy plate of Shrimp & Grits with Chorizo.

Posted by: Lamar Haggard | 11/02/2009 at 02:14 PM

DAY 2 WINNER:

Mashed potatoes, my mom's lentil soup, hot and sour soup, chicken vindaloo and pie are all definitely in the top ten on my comfort food list but breakfast is my go to comfort food (my mom was a brunch chef). It always makes me feel at home.

Posted by: Rosie | 11/03/2009 at 04:24 AM

DAY 3 WINNER:

My ultimate comfort food? Hmmm that may be tough... Oh, i know. My husbands version of mac and cheese. Whenever i am ill, or just not at the top of my game, he brings me boxed mac & cheese, but with sliced up hotdogs on the side. It has always made my day.

Posted by: Ryan Merriner | 11/04/2009 at 04:53 PM

DAY 4 WINNER:

my favorite comfort meal is mashed potatoes. creamy, warm, filling, wtih butter and salt. it's my go-to comfort meal. mmmmm...i find myself drooling over here.

Posted by: kat | 11/05/2009 at 06:41 PM

DAY 5 WINNER:

My comfort is hands down my mom's hamburger and onions with oyster sauce over rice. Just saute some ground hamburger and sliced onions and then add oyster sauce for flavor and ladle over some white rice. I don't know how she came up with (I think it was from her mom) but it is the one thing I make whenever I come home after a long week of business travel. Thank goodness for comfort food!

Posted by: Christine Lee | 11/06/2009 at 08:53 PM

Sweet and Sour Lychee Meatballs Recipe

from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

Sweet and sour anything is fantastic comfort food for me. I serve this with a bowls of rice and make sure I get plenty of the sauce to mix with the rice. You can use frozen pre-formed meatballs instead of making your own to save some time. Instead of ground pork, use ground turkey or chicken. Cut your simmer time to 1 to 2 minutes to avoid overcooking the meat.  Or how about pineapple, longan or rambutan instead of lychee?

SERVES 4 AS PART OF A MULTICOURSE MEAL

One 14-oz (400-g) can lychees, drained (reserve the juice for the sauce)
1 to 2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-in (2.5-cm) chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-in (2.5-cm) chunks

SWEET-AND-SOUR SAUCE
1/4 cup (65 ml) juice from canned lychees
1/4 cup (65 ml) white vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup (65 ml) ketchup 1/4 teaspoon salt

MEATBALLS
1 lb (500 g) ground pork
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon flour

1. Bring the Sweet-and-Sour Sauce ingredients to a boil in a saucepan, then let simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.

2. Cut each lychee in half, lengthwise.

3. Using a big spoon, combine the meatball ingredients in a bowl. The mixture should be thick and very sticky. If not, add 1 teaspoon of flour. To form the meatballs, put a good handful of the meat onto the palm of your hand and squeeze a ball of meat through your index finger and thumb (see photo).

You may have to repeat this motion two or three times to shape the ball into a tight, compact and round meatball. Use a small spoon to scrape the Meatball off your hand and place on a plate. Try to keep all the meatballs 1 1/2 inches (3.75 cm) in diameter to make sure they cook evenly.

4. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add just enough cooking oil to thinly coat the pan. When hot, add the meatballs, making sure they do not touch each other. Fry 2 to 3 minutes, rotating the balls so that they become evenly browned. The middle of the Meatballs should still be uncooked, as we will finish cooking them in the sauce.

5. Add the red and green bell peppers and sliced lychees to the pan. Pour in the Sweet-and-Sour Sauce and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Let simmer over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. You may want to cut into one of the meatballs to check for doneness.

 

Comments

[Lena]

My ultimate comfort food is my mom's oxtail beef stew. It never tastes the same because she changes up the recipe everytime she makes it based on what she feels like adding. If she wants a more asian flavor, it's soy sauce based. If not, it's more tomato based. Then with big hunks of oxtail, cooked in her compression cooker until the meat is falling off the bone....it's so good over rice or thin asian noodles. I would love to win your cookbook! I've been meaning to buy it at the bookstore...but in true asian fasion, why buy it when you could get it for free! =D

[Rhonda]

My comfort food is Spanish Rice... I know that sounds weird, but my Mom always made a rice dish with our evening meal and Spanish Rice is my favorite!

[Katharine]

My favorite comfort food is my Hungarian Grandmother's Chicken Paprikash. It's basically chicken and homemade dumplings in a sour cream and paprika based sauce - absolutely delish.

[Andrea]

I love a roast chicken dinner with mashed taters, gravy and cranberry sauce.

[Amy C]

My favorite dish would be my mom's Taiwanese Sesame Oil Chicken over rice. Delicious!

[Angela]

Lasagna, my mom's its the best!!!

[Madhvi]

My favorite comfort food is my mom's "Ono Khao swe." It's a Burmese dish similar to laksa.

[Christi]

My ultimate comfort food is Chinese hot pot. Growing up in Colorado, the weather gets pretty chilly in the winter- the weather told us when we should have Chinese hot pot for dinner. Mom would put all of our favorite meats, seafood and veggies on plates around the table, we would all make our little sauce concoctions in our bowls and would cook away. It is always fun to squabble over what is cooking in the broth. My favorite part was always slurping the flavorful broth that resulted. This is my ultimate cozy comfort food.

[Christi]

My ultimate comfort food is Chinese hot pot. Growing up in Colorado, the weather gets pretty chilly in the winter- the weather told us when we should have Chinese hot pot for dinner. Mom would put all of our favorite meats, seafood and veggies on plates around the table, we would all make our little sauce concoctions in our bowls and would cook away. It is always fun to squabble over what is cooking in the broth. My favorite part was always slurping the flavorful broth that resulted. This is my ultimate cozy comfort food.

[Jessie]

Macaroni and cheese is my number one comfort food by far. I absolutely love the stuff.

[Anna Allman]

I have several comfort foods...but one of my favourite Beef Barley Stew with huge hunks of beef shortribs, instead of stewing beef. This stewed in a heavy dutch oven creates a very tender, fall-off-the-bone beef. It's that time of year now for this kind of thing, too!

Another one is just plain old steamed rice with the salted duck eggs, Chinese sausage (especially the liver ones which most people don't like) and cured dried duck along with some blanched Chinese greens. Mmmm..

[Buddy]

My favorite comfort food is meatloaf. I use a mix of beef & pork and top is with hoisin sauce.

[b*schus]

I love beef stroganoff. yum!

[natalie]

my favorite comfort food is a big bowl of pho (with EVERYTHING! chicken, beef, meatballs!) and some fresh spring rolls!! and if i can't make the time for that, or get to a restaurant, fried chicken and mashed potatoes comes in at a close second!!!

[annie]

My ultimate favorite comfort food is kalbi ccheem (korean rib dish with potatoes and carrots)

[Anne B.]

Mashed potatoes would be my favorite comfort food!

[ska]

My favorite comfort food is congee. I can eat it anytime of day but it is especially welcome when I am sick. My mom's chicken congee is the best!

[Harley Cooper]

My favourite comfort food is Carbonnade Flamande à la pale ale belge (http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/carbonnade_beef_and_beer_stew/)

[charynn]

turkey and stuffing--Thanksgiving dinner is favorite comfort food :) :)

[meghan]

My go to comfort meal, sadly, it's ice cream.
My motto is it does a body good! LOL

thanks for the chance to win.

[Colleen]

My favorite comfort food is my Mom's homemade clam chowder. Clams, onions, potatoes and flour to thicken. Simple and makes me feel better whether I am sick or just feeling stressed.

When my husband and I had been dating for a while, he got the recipe from Mom so he could make it for me when I was feeling blue.

[Nancy]

Sounds boring but my favorite comfort food is scrambled eggs with cream cheese on toast.

[Kay]

My comfort food is my mom's mashed cheese potatoes. Turned it into a food posting recently.

[Happy Cook]

Mine is one of the most simple Indian dish, plain rice and yellow dal with mango pickles . When ever i feel homesick, or just feeling ill or any time that is my comfort food.

[Amy]

I don't know why, but I find a tuna melt very comforting.