Chapssaltteok (Korean-style Mochi)

Ingredients

• 1 cup sweet rice flour (mochiko)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• Food coloring or 1 tsp. matcha powder (optional)
• Red bean paste (shaped into 8 balls, about 1-in. in diameter)

Directions

1. Place rice flour, salt, and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. In a bowl add a drop of food coloring or the matcha powder to the water and mix well.
3. Add the water to the rice flour mixture and mix it well with a spoon. Push the dough to the center of the bowl.
4. Cover the dough with Saran wrap (with a slit cut into it to vent steam) and cook on high for 3 minutes in the microwave.
5. Remove the rice cake from the microwave and mix it with a wooden spoon for about 20 seconds.
6. Cover it with the Saran wrap again and put it back in the microwave for another minute.
7. Knead the hot rice cake with a wooden spoon vigorously in a circular motion about 100 times to make it chewy.
8. Spread 1/4 cup of starch powder on your cutting board and put the rice cake on it.
9. Shape into a smooth 4×5 inch rectangle (10 cm x 12 cm) with wet hands and turn it over.
10. Cut the rectangle into 8 even sized pieces with a wooden knife or spatula, and cover with Saran wrap to keep them from getting dried out.
11. Take one piece of rice cake and flatten it into a round circle about 2-1/2 inch (6.5 cm) in diameter.
12. Add a sweet red bean ball to the middle of the piece of rice cake. Pull the rice cake over the ball and seal it by pinching the edges with your fingers.
    *Tip: Use starch powder to keep the rice cake from sticking to your fingers.
13. Repeat this until you’ve made 8 pieces of chapssaltteok.
14. Refrigerate until serving.

Japanese Basic Bread Buns

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk, lukewarm
• 1 packet (0.25 oz) active dry yeast
• 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tbsp. dry milk powder
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
• Egg wash: 1 egg plus pinch of salt, mixed well
• Desired fillings (red bean, custard, chocolate, etc.)
• Desired toppings (pearl sugar, sesame seeds, etc.)

Directions

1. Put lukewarm milk, yeast, and sugar in a stand mixer bowl, then whisk well. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
2. Combine bread flour and cake flour, and add to the milk mixture. Add salt and milk powder, and start the mixer kneading with a dough hook at medium speed.
3. When the dough is becoming a ball (after about 8 minutes), add soft butter and knead for another 4-5 minutes until the butter is completely incorporated. Cover with plastic, and leave in a warm place about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.
4. Take the dough and push gently to deflate the gas from the dough. Put on to a cutting board, and cut into 8 equal pieces. Fill with desired fillings (optional). Form into small balls. Let them rest for 15 minutes covered.
5. Place shaped dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving 2-in. between the balls. Brush egg wash on the surface of the dough, and sprinkle some sugar or sesames on top, if desired. Leave them to double in size, about 1 hour.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 400F for about 10 minutes, or until they brown.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour or until firm. 
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch thick circle. Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter. Place on the prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. (This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked.) Bake for 8 -10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
• 1/2 cup Confectioners Sugar
• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 bag Earl Grey Tea Leaves, 2 bags can be used for a stronger flavor
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract or 1 tsp. zest, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350­ degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cream butter and confectioners sugar in a large bowl or stand mixer.
3. Add in flour, salt, tea leaves, and lemon zest (if desired). Continue to mix until a soft dough forms. Mix will be dry and crumbly at first but will come together.
4. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's 1/4-inch thick.
5. Cut out cookies using a 2-in. round cookie cutter.
6. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 18-20 minutes or until edges are a golden brown.

French Macarons

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup almond meal/almond flour
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Food coloring (optional)
• Desired filling (i.e. ganache, buttercream, curd, fruit preserves/jelly, etc.)

Directions

1. To make the macarons, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl. Repeat this process with the almond meal. Discard any large chunks of almond (you want a very smooth batter). Whisk the powdered sugar and almond meal until combined.
2. In a bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy, about 4 minutes. Continue beating, slowly adding the granulated sugar until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes longer. (Do not beat to stiff peaks or you won't get smooth cookies.)
3. Fold in the salt.
4. If using food coloring, mix it in now (use a color darker than the color you're looking for, because it will bake up lighter).
5. Using a spatula, gently fold about one-third of the almond mixture into the egg white mixture, about 17-20 stroked. Repeat this process two more times (the batter now should be like very thick lava, able to slightly run off the spatula when lifted).
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Spoon the batter into a decorating bag fitted with the coupler or a large circle tip. Pipe 1-inch rounds 3/4-inch apart on the parchment paper. Tap the baking sheet to release any air bubbles and let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking to develop a "skin".
8. Position a rack in the top third of the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Bake the cookies until they have puffed up and look dry (they should not brown), about 16-20 minutes. They will develop a rough-looking layer called the "foot". You will be able to tell when they're done when they peel easily off of the parchment. Let them cool completely on the pan.
10. Turn half of the macarons upside down. Pipe about 1 teaspoon of desired filling onto each. Top with remaining macarons.
11. Store in an airtight container for several hours to let shells soften. If not eating immediately, keep refrigerated. 

White Cake

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 cup milk, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into cubes

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two 8-inch cake pans.
2. Make sure milk and eggs are room temperature.
3. Pour milk , egg whites, and vanilla into medium bowl and mix with fork until blended.
4. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter and continue beating on low for about 1-2 minutes.
5. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to flour mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat for about 1 minute.
6. Pour batter evenly between two prepared cake pans.
7. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 27 to 30 minutes.
8. Allow cake to cool to room temperature.
9. Frost cakes with favorite frosting.

Shumai

Ingredients

• 6 oz. ground pork
• 6 oz. lump crab meat, drained
• 1 Tablespoon finely minced shallot
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 teaspoon fine grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 Tablespoon sake
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons potato starch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 15 small wonton wrappers (2 3/4 inch squares)
• Soy sauce, for serving
• Rice vinegar, for serving

Directions

1. To make the filling: Combine the first eleven filling ingredients in a bowl and knead by hand until smooth. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2. To make the shumai, mound about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the filling in the center of a wonton wrapper. Gather up the edges of the wrapper, leaving the top of the filling open. Lightly squeeze the neck of the wrapper with your thumb and index finger to form pleats. Rub the bottom flat with your other hand. Set it on a tray and repeat the process with the remaining wrappers until the filling is gone. Cover with a damp paper towel until ready to cook You can make the shumai about 15 to 30 minutes in advance, but any longer and the bottom of the wonton wrappers will start to become too wet.
3. Line a steamer with cabbage or something else that will prevent the dumplings from sticking to the grate. Arrange all the shumai on the lined steam grate, cover and steam over upper medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the filling is cooked through.
4. To serve, mix soy sauce and rice vinegar together in a small saucer in a 3:2 ratio, respectively.

Gyoza

Ingredients

• 1 cup cabbage, cooked and minced
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 4-5 green onions, chopped finely
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp sake
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1-2 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 30 gyoza wrappers
• 1-2 Tbsp oil
• 1/3 cup water

Dipping Sauce

• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp chili oil (Rayu) or sesame oil

Directions

1. Cook cabbage in boiling water in a pot for 1-2 minutes. Cool and mince.
2. In a large bowl, add the first 8 ingredients and mix well.
3. Take a sheet of gyoza wrapper in your hand and place a tablespoon size of meat mixture in the center of the wrapper. Moisten the edge along the lower half of the wrapper and fold the upper half of the wrapper up to meet the moistened edge. Fold one of the edges in a series of pleats (about 6), leaving the other edge smooth. Press the edges together to seal the gyoza. Another simpler way to fold is to first press the smooth edges together and then fold both edges into pleats. (This can sound a little confusing, but it's easy after watching the video.) Repeat for the rest of the wrappers.
4. Heat a pan at medium high heat and add oil. Place gyoza on a pan and cook until the bottom becomes golden brown.
5. Add water and immediately cover with a lid. Cook until water boils away.
6. Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili oil together for dipping sauce.