Recipe 3/101 Asparagus Tempura

So, last night I fixed some Hamburger Helper (except it was complete so it included the meat, you just add milk), and it was okay but not amazing. But only like 3 dollars so it's still a win. I made tempura as a side though, and it is soo easy and tasty.

If you've never made tempura here's the scoop. Heat vegetable oil in a pot or pan (I used a tiny pot and cut the asparagus into halves). Make your batter with water & flour, think pancake consistency. I used medium high to high heat. To see if the oil is hot enough, drop in some batter and if it rises to the top bubbling and then turns brown you win. Dip the asparagus (or shrimp, broccoli, whatever) in the batter and carefully drop it into the pot. I recommend tongs for removing them once they've browned. It's a really quick process and so delicious with soy sauce for dipping. You can add some salt and pepper to the batter as well.

I did burn the oil at first because I forgot that you have to drop the batter in (NOT WATER, btw), I thought it would bubble on it's own like water. Haha! I consulted my handy "How to Cook Everything" to see where I went wrong. The oil smoked and filled the apt with fried oil smell but we worked it out by opening all the windows and doors and lighting some of my Christmas candles. I need some non seasonal scents to cover up my cooking mistakes.

Recipe 2/101 Chicken Fried Rice

Forgive the awful cell phone quality picture, but at least you can see that I try as hard as I can to be a Japanese grillmaster. I almost put a spatula underneath and made it pulse. It tasted nothing like any other fried rice I've ever had, which is okay, because it was still pretty yummy. I have a few things I'll be doing differently next time.

Here's the link to the original recipe, from about.com.

Basically, you scramble some eggs, heat up cold cooked rice, add some soy sauce (I added way more than the recipe called for and thus we will likely die early, but we love us some sodium), and when you're ready to serve, throw in some chopped green onion.

I used our giant Presto big griddle because Garrett loves "cook on the table" restaurants and I felt like I'd watched the pros enough times to do it right. I scrambled eggs on one side, stirred my rice up on another, and added 2 chicken breasts on a corner. I also used about 6 cups of rice because Garrett and I always get hungry after we cook at home. Probably because we always eat out so much.

 It is so much harder to stir things on a flat surface, and I'm pretty sure I'll use a pan next time. We like really flavorful foods so we added some asian hot mustard sauce (I'd maybe even add more next time), ground ginger (more than you'd think you should, and it was a good choice), and lots of salt and pepper. I used butter and vegetable oil to cook with. Not a healthy meal by any means. But really yummy.

Have you ever made fried rice? If so, what are your secrets?