MY FAVORITE RECIPES By Dee Bryson: Meet Ysabeaux Ng

Ysabeaux, left, with her mother, Molly and sister, Olivia.

Ysabeaux Ng was born and raised in Colfax and has shared many happy memories here. Her family has lived in Whitman County for the last 40 years. Ysabeaux graduated from Colfax High School with the class of 2015. Following graduation, she submitted her paperwork to serve an 18-month mission for her church. She knew that she had the possibility of going anywhere in the world, but was delighted beyond words when the call arrived and she was asked to serve in Hong Kong, the childhood home of her father, Eddy Ng.

In the fall of 2015, Ysabeaux spent three months in a missionary training center preparing for her call to Hong Kong and studying the Cantonese language.

The following 15 months were spent serving and teaching the people of Hong Kong, which Ysabeaux describes as one of the most challenging and rewarding times of her life.

She returned from her service in the spring of 2017, fluent in Cantonese and able to communicate with several family members in their family language, which was a special added benefit of her service.

Since returning from her mission, Ysabeaux has been attending Brigham Young University, majoring in media arts/film.

She is minoring in non-profit management and hopes to continue her education by pursuing a degree in law.

Before leaving for her mission to Hong Kong, Ysabeaux decided to experiment with a DNA test and see what interesting things she could find out about her ancestry. Upon returning from Hong Kong, she was contacted by a man who suspected that he was a close relative according to their DNA match-up. To her entire family’s surprise, he was a long-lost uncle - not a result that they had anticipated. Ysabeaux has since met with him and he has been united with the family that was once a mystery.

Ysabeaux loves coming back home from college and being surrounded by family members that she desperately misses, especially her little sister, Olivia.

She also said that she is humbled and deeply appreciates the amazing community that makes up the City of Colfax and the friends that fill it.

She is grateful for the memories that are here.

She affectionately recalls playing in the park with her friends, especially in the winter time, when they would spend hours building igloos.

She fondly remembers the Ice Cream Socials in the summer and nights filled with fireworks.

Recently, Ysabeaux had the opportunity to sit in a room full of women that she admires and were role models for her as she was growing up.

She said she was profoundly grateful in that moment and realized how fortunate she was to grow up in a small town that invested so much in creating a safe, happy environment.

While looking forward to having several international experiences in her life and in her career, she realizes that Whitman County has given her something that is unique and many kids don’t have growing up in a big city. No matter the path that she takes in life, she is grateful that she can always return home and find that same support.

Recipes

Simple Stir Fry

4 cups water

2 cups white rice

2/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 Tbsp. minced fresh ........ginger

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/4 tsp red pepper ........flakes

2 skinless, boneless ........chicken breast halves, ........thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 green bell pepper, cut ........into matchsticks

1 (8 ounce) can sliced .......water chestnuts, drained

1 head broccoli, broken ........into florets

1 cup sliced carrots

1 onion, cut into large ........chunks

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

Bring rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.

Combine soy sauce, brown sugar and corn starch in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Mix ginger, garlic and red pepper into sauce; coat chicken with marinade and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Heat one tablespoon sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir bell pepper, water chestnuts, broccoli, carrots, and onion until just tender, about five minutes. Remove vegetables from skillet and keep warm.

Remove chicken from marinade, reserving liquid. Heat one tablespoon sesame oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir chicken until slightly pink on the inside, about two minutes per side; return vegetables and reserved marinade to skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink in the middle and vegetables are tender, five to seven minutes. Serve over rice.

Simple Crepes

1/4 tsp. coarse salt

1-1/2 cups whole milk

4 large eggs

3 tablespoons unsalted ........butter, melted

1 cup all-purpose flour ........(spooned and leveled)

1 Tbsp. sugar

In a blender, combine flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs and butter. Puree until mixture is smooth and bubbles form on top, about 30 seconds. Let batter sit at least 15 minutes at room temperature (or refrigerate in an airtight container, up to one day; whisk before using).

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat with butter. Add one-third cup batter and swirl to completely cover bottom of skillet. Cook until underside of crepe is golden brown, two to three minutes.

Loosen edge of crepe with a rubber spatula, then with your fingertips, quickly flip. Cook one minute more. Slide crepe out of skillet and repeat with remaining batter, coating pan with butter as needed.