Buckwheat Noodles in Bolognese Sauce - Soba Bolognese, anyone?

Yes. I have done something similar before. I need to put that upfront. However, I found that when I used soba (buckwheat noodles) - the results in taste, and texture are somewhat different. Soba (buckwheat) noodles tend to have a more nutty flavor compared to the normal pasta; and when you are eating the screwy-type pasta (such as fusili), you don't get to slurp and swoop as nosily as long noodles. That's a difference too!

Buckwheat Noodles Bolognese/Soba Bolognese
Ingredients: Ground beef; half a onion- sliced and chopped finely; assorted mushrooms; can of diced tomatoes; buckwheat noodles, cooked according to instructions

Directions:
1. In lightly oiled pan, add in onions to saute and when slightly soften (half way to "translucence"), add in tomatoes, then ground beef and mushrooms. Will take about 3-5mins for things to "soften" a little (to be cooked)
2. Salt and black pepper to taste
3. Add some water/stock, allow it to simmer on low heat
4. Before serving, add in cooked noodles in the pan and mix well; or top meat sauce onto the noodles

Woops! Is that Japanese noodles with Western Meat Sauce and Chinese Vegetables ?

Tag: noodles, soba , buckwheat noodles,bolognese

Tomato Chicken Curry

I have wanted to cook this dish for some time now, because it spells one of my favorite flavor combinations - spicy and tangy.


There are many spicy + tangy (combinations, permutations, levels, grade etc.) I love. For example, the combination of tamarind (assam) and pineapples in Assam Pineapple Prawns or Assam Fish, Tom Yum Soup and even Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup. These dishes are unique in the spice and sourness combination because each different ingredient (eg. chili or spice powder; tamarind, fruits or condiments such as vinegar) is tapped and employed differently for a characteristic taste via different cooking techniques). This Tomato Chicken Curry also has its spice and tangy factor but it is definitely not as sourish since tomatoes only adds a very mild tangy dimension. Well, ripe tomatoes are supposed to be mainly sweet, not sour.

Tomato Chicken Curry (Dry Version)
Ingredients: Chicken chicken drummettes or chicken wings, 1 medium-size tomato (cut to medium cubes), half a can of diced tomatoes, onions(sliced), 2tsp curry powder(or more, adjust accordingly), some chicken stock/water, salt and sugar to taste.

Directions:
1. In a lightly oiled pan, saute the onions till soft, then add in the raw cubed tomatoes.
2. Add in chicken and fry at medium heat to brown the chicken a little.
3. Then add in curry powder and half a can of diced tomatoes with the "tomato juice", mix well, and allow entire mixture to simmer and cook. If too dry, add some stock/water to partially submerge the chicken.
4. After ~10-15mins when the chicken is cooked, the sauce reduced, the onions turn soft and sweet, it is ready. Add in salt or sugar accordingly if you wish too (Note: For myself, the onions have given the dish its sweetness, so I did not add any sugar)


Almost like chutney curry?

Tag: tomato, curry

Stir Fry Pasta or Warm Pasta Salad - vegetables and mushrooms version

If you have some mushroom and vegetables leftovers, you can boil some pasta the next day, and toss them into a warm pasta salad sans the cheese or other garnishes. It should be fine when the vegetables (leftovers) are typically the non-leafy variety such as celery and carrots.

Or if you intentionally want to have leftovers so that next day is an easier day, try not to have this intentional action with green leafy vegetables overnight since they all lose its charm and appeal the next day. Leftover greens will only turn out mushy the next day. Yucks!

When you do not have leftovers...good for you! I cooked a similar mushroom and vegetable dish before. I did it again and this time, stir fry pasta in them. Call it a warm pasta salad, if it fits to be one. It is a one-dish meal, for sure.

Stir Fry Pasta with Mushrooms and Vegetables/Warm Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
- 2 stems of celery, washed and cut into small pieces
- 1 carrot, washed and cut into small pieces or into very thin shreds
- 1-2 sliced red chili, cleaned with seeds removed
- Fresh mushrooms (I use king trumpet, shitake, honshimeiji), cleaned and cut close to size/shape of the vegetables
- 1-2 garlic gloves, sliced thinly
- some ground pork ~ option (Note: If you are vegetarian, you can omit this)
- some white pepper
- pasta, cooked according to instructions (reserve some pasta water for later)

Seasoning:
-2 tsp soy sauce
-1 tbsp oyster sauce (Note: If vegetarian, opt for vegetarian alternative)
- water/stock, adjust accordingly

Directions:
1. In a lightly oiled pan, fry the garlic till fragrant, then add celery, carrots and red chili, followed by mushrooms and meat
2. Fry and mix well in the pan (~5-7mins) then add water and seasoning. Allow it to simmer till vegetables and mushrooms are tender and cooked
3. Dash in white pepper to enhance the aroma
4. When ready to serve, add in pasta, mix well and add in a little pasta water if too dry (Note: this dish does not have much gravy/sauce, similar to Chinese stir-fry noodles...moist but yet not too wet)


Tag: noodles, stir fry pasta, one dish

Beef and Oyster Mushroom Fusili with Bok Choy - western with a pinch of Chinese

Beef and Oyster Mushrooms Fusili
Ingredients:
Carrots, onions, can of tomatoes, oyster mushroom, ground beef/pork, salt and pepper to taste, bok choy (blanched), pasta cooked according to instructions

Directions:
1. In a lightly oiled pan, sauce the onions and carrots, and when they are partially tender(soft), add in meat and mushrooms, followed by tomatoes (Remember?...some good oil is good for carrots and tomatoes)
2. Let this cook at medium heat and when start to simmer, turn to low heat and continue to let it simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Note: For a little variation, you can add in some curry powder so you get a light curried tomato-based sauce)



3. When the sauce and gravy partially reduced and all the ingredients are cooked, add in pasta and mix well
4. Before serving, turn off the heat, you can add in bok choy(already blanched) and mix into pasta or just serve the bok choy around the pasta.


Instead of using broccoli or spinach often seen in Western pasta dishes, I think alternating with bok choy is a great idea. At least, it works for me. Now, I can have tomato-based pasta with Chinese vegetables! Yay!


Tag: pasta, one dish

Carrots, tomatoes, healthy cooking oil - they belong!

I am not saying salads are not good. In fact, most, if not all salads are healthy when we are careful with the dressing. However, you can make your salads more nutritious. Now ask: consuming raw vegetables...is that the best way to take in nutrients? Think harder.

Cucumbers! Tomatoes! Carrots! Note: Healthy and Nutritious delivers different messages. Eating your vegetables raw can be healthy but may not be as nutritious as you think.

Heat destroys the vitamins! Yes. True. Overcooking of vegetables is not good. Heat destroys the vitamins! But. Partially.

Some vitamins such as carotene (in carrots) and lycopene (in tomatoes) are FAT-soluble vitamins. SO....LISTEN...HARD....boiling/steaming carrots (just carrots) in water is less nutritious than stir-frying carrots in a lightly oiled pan. In the latter, the oil helps to release the benefits of carotene and lycopene in the carrots and tomatoes respectively. The method of cooking you choose can maximize the nutrition you are extracting from the vegetables.


Stir Fry Celery and Carrots
Ingredients: Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Ginger(minced or crushed); Celery(shredded); Carrots(shredded); Dried herbs (optional)

Directions:
1. In a lightly oiled pan, saute ginger till fragrant
2. Add in carrots and celery and saute till they start to turn tender. Remember, do not overcook.
3. Add in some dried herbs (basil or oregano) if you wish
4. Serve immediately

Are you convinced ? I hope this little information is useful to you.

Tag: vitamins, cooking tips

Bibimbap - Korean stonepot rice in rice cooker

I serve you Bibimbap - Korean stone-pot rice...in my rice cooker!

Do not have a stone-pot to keep your dolsot (meaning stone pot) bibimbap sizzling and most importantly...warm ? NOW YOU CAN! I hand you a trick...via the rice cooker. Remember my rice-cooker style cabbage fried rice? Similar technique applies. A rice-cooker style "bibimbap" is easy to do, not forgoing the taste. If you like a healthy and easy way of dining at home, this is it!

Bibimbap, Korean stone-pot rice (rice -cooker version)
Ingredients:
-grilled salmon, seasoned with salt and black pepper,
-1-2 eggs, whisked lightly with some soy sauce and white pepper
-1-2 green pepper, julienned to strips
-some spinach,
-some kimchi
-nori strips, garnish
-cooked rice

Directions:
Step A - Prepare and cook ingredients in advance
1. Grill salmon, set aside (Note: I would suggest choosing a fish that has a firm texture when cooked. Eg. Cod fish is too moist, soft when cooked - when flaked and tossed around too much, it becomes mushy - not recommend)
2. Fry an egg omelette, then set aside on kitchen paper towel to drain away the oil. When cool, cut into thin strips
3. Blanch the spinach, then totally drain away water (Note: Make sure your palms are clean and squeeze the spinach dry. Tip: If you have a bamboo sushi roller, you can use that and drain the water away from the spinach, just by rolling them up and apply slight pressure). When dry and cool, chop into pieces

Step B - Cook rice and add in cooked ingredients
1. Cook rice as per normal
2. When rice is cooked or ready to serve final dish, add in kimchi and green pepper into the rice cooker and mix well with the rice (Note: Allow rice to infuse with kimchi flavor first. Also, the green peppers were not cooked in advance in Step A, adding them first will ensure they get the warmest"heat" from the rice just when the rice is cooked)
3. Flake up the salmon, then with eggs strips, and chopped spinach, add into the rice and mix well
4. Garnish with nori seaweed strips
5. Ready to be scooped and served

Dish out a bowl of warm kimchi-infused rice with nutritious ingredients. Each spoonful of rice you enjoy is flavor-bombed and filled with a profile of textures. The light crunch of green peppers, the salmon flakes, moist warm rice, kimchi-fragrance... ... ... ... ...

How does it look? Healthy ? Easy ?


Bibimbap cooked, using standard and basic kitchen appliances and equipment. An effective way to keep your entire dish warm too!

Tag: kimchi, bibimbap, korean

Instant Chilled Desserts - summer saviors!

Forget about making cold mango desserts and chilled grass jelly, this can be a thirst quencher!



A yellow watermelon has less beta carotene compared to a red one.


Do you have a preference for red or yellow watermelons ?

Tag: watermelon, desserts

Singapore Chili Crab made good Spicy Pasta!

Most of you visually devoured the crab “crab” gravy, just like I do. With the remaining gravy, it became pasta sauce for the following day. Singapore Chili Crab's gravy is really good with spaghetti(or pasta).


I will mop and lick the gravy till the last drop
I will mop up the gravy with whatever I have got

I had a bakery-style cheese breadroll/bun and had to use it to "sponge" up. It is a lot of carbo - pasta PLUS bread...but I could not help it.

Spicy Prawn Spaghetti (Singapore Chili Crab style)
Ingredients: Shrimps; 1egg, whisked; some minced garlic; 1tbsp vegetable oil; 1pack Prima chilli crab paste/premix(includes 1pkt paste, 1pkt premix, 1pkt extra hot chilli mix); pasta cooked according to instructions

Directions:
1.Lightly oil pan on medium heat
2.Fry the garlic till fragrant, then add in shrimps
3.When shrimps start to turn pink, set aside
4.In the same pan, heat up some oil and mix with chilli crab paste, stir for 1min medium heat
5.Add in shrimp stir well, coating shrimp with paste, fry for 1min
6.Add in some water, and sprinkle desired amount of hot chilli mix over entire mixture
7.Stir crab premix into water, mix well into crab and stir gravy evenly
8.Pour in beaten eggs, stir 20secs
9.Before serving, stir in cooked pasta and allow it to mix well and soak up the sauce....
(Note: Detailed instructions are provided with the paste/premix)


Other recipes:
Tamarind Shrimps
Pasta Arrabiata with Grilled Jumbo Shirmps

Tag: pasta, Singapore chili crab

Spring onions, green onions, scallions - preparation cooking tips

Spring is officially over? Nope...as I'm bringing you Spring Onions...and another way you can further release the aroma of spring onions before using them in cooking and especially for salads.

Use a fork and from the edge of the spring onion, start "scraping" them, as shown. You will get long thin strips even without using a knife. You make less cuts with your knife. You just slice to the length you desire.

The trick is not to save you time or steps in slicing or julienning. It is to release the aroma, or if you think it is pungency...that you dislike - you can do the "freako" thinking and turn it to a way to remove pungency. Make a few "scrapes" and then soak in ice-cold water bath for a few minutes. Then it becomes easier to use in salads when the sharp biting taste has been partially removed. Spring onions are the most pungent tasting of young onions (spring onions > green onions > scallions, in the scale of pungency) with more biting taste than green onions. Note that the longer they are allowed to mature, the sharper the taste they gain. So if you really want to use spring onions in salads or cooking, make sure its flavor does not overpower the other delicate flavors.

Similar concept applies to onions. Here's how you can cut an onion to reduce an onion's pungency.

Also, a reading source where you can learn to differentiate spring onions, green onions, and scallions.

Finally, a condiment I made before - using green onions and minced ginger姜蓉. A good dip for poached chicken.

Tag: spring onions, green onions, scallions, cooking tips

Pasta with Mushroom and Beef in Lightly Spiced Sauce

"Fusili with Mushrooms and Beef in a Lightly Spiced Sauce " sounds like a traffic throng in the tongue, but the ingredients and cooking are SIMPLE, really. Finished by a unique touch of spice - Asian curry powder. Now...that's even crazier than adding oyster and Japanese mushrooms into a pasta dish.


Fusili with Mushrooms and Beef in a Lightly Spiced Sauce
Ingredients: Ground beef; half a onion- sliced and chopped finely; assorted mushrooms; can of diced tomatoes; 2tsp curry powder (or more depending on how strong a curry flavor you want but note: do not use too much or it will become curry beef - as in with too much gravy); fusili, cooked according to instructions


Directions:
1. In lightly oiled pan, add in onions to saute and when slightly soften (half way to "translucence"), add in tomatoes, then ground beef and mushrooms. Will take about 3-5mins for things to "soften" a little (to be cooked)
2. Add ~2 tsp curry powder and mix well
3. Add some water/stock, allow it to simmer on low heat
4. Before serving, add in boiled/cooked pasta in the pan of sauce and mix well


Crazy but simple, isn't it? :D Not too fiery...just mildly spicy.

Tag: pasta, one dish

Cooking tips - tender juicy minced meat

Tips on getting juicy tender minced pork:
1. The technique is almost similar to twice-cooked pork 回锅肉. If there are other ingredients to be cooked with the pork. Fry the pork first to just partial cook them and release the "oils and flavor"
2. These "oils and flavor" will then be absorbed by the other ingredients and these ingredients will be infused with pork flavor
3. For a dish that needs lots of gravy and juicy tender pork bits like the above, add in desired seasoning + water, and allow low simmering heat + steams of water to actually cook/braise the pork. Cooking minced/ground pork over high heat (hot oil) for an extended period will overcook the pork and make it tough (not juicy anymore)

Read more here.

Mushroom-Flavored Minced Meat

Dripping essence...

Mushroom-Flavored Minced Meat 香菇肉燥
Ingredients:
Minced/ground pork
2tsp dried shrimps , soaked in water, rinsed away water, then minced finely
fresh shitake mushrooms , clean the caps, and cubed to small bits
1 clove garlic-minced finely
half a big onion - chop to small pieces
salt, pepper to taste

Seasoning: soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar
In a separate bowl, mix 1-2tbsp soy sauce and 1-2tsp oyster sauce, 1tsp sugar in about 3-5 tbsp of warm water, till dissolved

Directions:
1. Heat 1tbsp oil in frying pan and fry the minced pork for a while just to slightly cook them. In this process, some "fats" in the pork will be "released" as oil into the pan and can be used to fry the other ingredients. Dish out the partially cooked pork and set aside. (Note: Do not allow the pork to remain in the pan to be cooked and fried with the other ingredients as there is tendency to over-cook pork and it will become rubbery, chewy and tough)
2. Add garlic, onions, dried shrimps and fry till aromatic. Add in mushrooms, mix well. Add in some water. Turn to low heat and allow the mixture to reach simmer.
3. Once small bubbling begins (begin of simmering), add in the pork, 1/2 portion of the seasonings, add more warm water to partially cover the entire mixture(including pork) and maintain low heat and allow entire mixture to simmer. (Note: Since the pork has been pre-fried initially, the low heat cooking at this stage will slowly cook the pork through yet retaining tenderness in the pork since the pork has not been cooked in the higher heat in the frying stage. The low simmering heat + water will actually cook/braise the pork, not the high heat and hot oil!)
4. When starting to simmer, do a taste -test and adjust seasoning accordingly. You can add more of the remaining seasoning and let it simmer a while longer.
5. Best when served with steamed rice.

The best about this dish is I can cook more and keep the leftovers for further consumption (just need to be steamed or re-heated again) the next day, to ladle over steamed rice.


Well, if you like pork, then this...a uber-porky dish you will like. The natural sweetness in the pork, plus those earthy mushrooms, and sweet onions will complement well with the savory seasonings. It's mild but very tasty and definitely whets your appetite when you allow the steamed rice to soak up the nicely combined flavors in the gravy. You can say the essence of flavors is all in the gravy but the pork, mushrooms and onions bits adds a juicy soft texture to your bite. Perfect homemade dish!

Read more here.

Tag: pork, minced meat, cooking tips

Onion - how to reduce pungency and sharp biting taste

Read Part I. The secret affair continues...

Stay on stay on, you are on the right page, though I am talking beef, yet showing an onion

Under circumstances YOU GET TO SEE the GRAIN LINES (obvious lines) on that piece of meat...when you see them, then SLICE AGAINST THE GRAINS LINES! One (but not the only) tip to get tender piece of beef. I HEARD YOUR TIPS and TRICKS! :) Thanks.

SECOND TIP during preparation. I'm not so sure about this but many Chinese cooks and chefs believe SALT will make beef more chewy (less tender). Is that true ? Probably a more appropriate statement when seasoning uncooked beef before you cook it. Once the beef is cooked, you can seasoned with salt without worries and to taste, since a different science concept would have applied. So...so...when you want to season uncooked beef with salt, make sure it is minimally seasoned with salt. Minimal ? Okay. Let's say you are grilling a chunk of sirloin steak. Sprinkling a pinch or two of salt on it should be fine? Relativity measurements.

I'm beginning to understand why Chinese cooks and chefs say that. Most of the beef dishes whipped up in Chinese cuisine uses strips and thin fillets of beef. I am trying to vision - when they have to season many strips/fillets/pieces of beef (VERSUS one single slab of 9-oz, typically calls by in the Western cuisine), the amount of salt contacting the beef surface area is different. OH, SAVE ME SAVE ME...and save you from all my talk. Professional chefs out there, don't throw your eggs at me ok? I'm learning and starting to appreciate the science of cooking. Hmmph....did Alton Brown ever had an episode or snippet on that...to explain the molecular or atomic reactions? I miss Alton Brown (though he does not know me)!

WHY? WHY ? I hope I am not being technically incorrect. But I deduced --> when salt contacts blood, it will cause blood channels/vessels to constrict. If you bring this back to beef, the salt that contacts the "blood" in the beef (thus, called red meat) will cause the muscles/grains lines in the beef to constrict further - tensed muscles, constricted grain lines, contracted meat structure ---> hard-to-bite and less tender beef ? Tender beef = beef with a "relaxed" meat structure. Does it sound logical? Enough said. This post is getting longer.

Then, why on earth am I featuring an ONION ??? Am I getting a second throw of eggs here? Please don't....

I wanted to bring you to a point about slicing an onion, AND it has got to do with SLICING AGAINST the "lines". THIS.

Onion: I'm not beef but if you slice me like that, I will appreciate it and be milder to you :)

If you ever find raw onions too pungent or too sharp to be consumed as-is, TIPS are:
1. Cut or slice against the "grain" or lines (shown in the 2nd & 3rd photo, compare that with the first which is slicing along the "lines")...yes, and you thought that "theory" only applies to tenderizing beef ? When you slice them this way, you break up the channels that produce the evil tear-inducing chemicals, also the channels that cause onions to have pungent and sharp raw taste.
2. Soak sliced onions in cold ice water bath for 5-10 mins. The chemicals that result in pungency and sharp biting taste gradually "leaks" out to the water.

Well, depending on how brave you are when facing an onion. Some people do enjoy its pungent and sharp biting taste as distinct characteristics but some shun onions for the same reason. If you ignore step (1) --> slice it along the "lines"--> step (2) can also give you milder-tasting raw onions -OR - if you are cooking onions in a dish, and wants your onions to turn sweet (the longer you cook onions at low-medium heat, the softer and sweeter it becomes) in a shorter period of time, step (1) slicing/cutting will help release the onion "sweetness" faster.

Now by understanding an onion, you will love your onion more, raw and/or cooked. Specifically, you will enjoy raw onions in future - make your crisp clean salads or burger much more appealing and welcomed by all. No more will you say "I wanna order a burger, without onions...puh-leasse..." (maybe it's just me?)

Hey, why am I discussing and having this monologue here? It is natural, basic, inherent instinctive knowledge to all of you. It is ME, THE ONE who has NOT been PAYING TOO MUCH ATTENTION to an ONION for so many years. D0 all cooking schools teach this ? :P

Tag: onion, beef, cooking tips

Beef and Onion - secret affair exposed!

Choosing the right cut of beef for the intended cooking method. That will make your beef tender. Some cuts of beef benefit from slow cooking methods such as stewing, braising VS other cuts that are more suitable for grilling. I do not go to a specialty butcher to intentionally select meat, specifically the right cuts of it. I buy my "cuts" - sirloin, flank or simply...stew cubes (not knowing which part or cut)...from whatever I see, available in the supermarkets/grocery produce stores.



If I choose a flank for that day and plan to do a dish such as Stir Fry Black Pepper Beef or rather Black Pepper Basil Beef, the FIRST thing I will remember in my beef preparation is to SLICE AGAINST THE GRAINS LINES of the beef. This has ever since (forgotten when!) gone embedded into my head. SLICE AGAINST THE GRAINS LINES to get yourself a better(easier) chew of the beef (in short, tender beef) when cooked. Unless you are chewing on beef jerky...when it does not really matter or in fact, the only time you want your beef to sustain the chewing action of your dynamic teeth for the longest time ?

Beef and onion do have a secret affair and it's not as simple as combining them in a dish like this.

What do you do to get your beef tender?

To be continued...

Tag: onion, beef

9 sober soba recipes

9 sober ways with soba and still counting...

















That's soba in-
Sesame dressing
Pork-rib tea, bak kut teh style
Braised E-fu style
Minced pork topping and wontons
Green onion dressing and mushrooms
Almond butter dressing
Spicy Korean broth
Braised pork ribs

Am I sober or crazy ?

Tag: soba, noodle

Sausage Spinach Omelette - with spicy italian sausages and baby spinach

Italian Sausage and Baby Spinach Omelette

Ingredients: Italian sausage, baby spinach (rinsed thoroughly and gently dab-dry with paper towels), 2-3 eggs whisked (with some ground pepper added)

Directions: Heat some oil in flat pan. Add in sausages and when slightly brown, slowly add in whisked egg. Allow the egg to cook on the underside, then add in handfuls of baby spinach on top. Gently press the spinach to flatten, on the egg and sausage. The spinach will reduce in volume once contact with heat. Flip the egg over and allow the egg with ingredients to cook gently on the other side.

If you like Baby Spinach raw and au naturel - a few ideas for you. You can make Spinach Pesto and stuff them into scallops; or create Finger Food. Baby spinach is great for use in salads as it has a sweeter taste, probably due to its reduced concentration of oxalic acid. If you want something more elaborate, you can use thawed frozen spinach, puree it and add a finishing touch to Braised Tofu with Mushrooms.

Tag: spinach, chinese spinach, water spinach, baby spinach

Fried Crabs, Typhoon Shelter Crabs

Typhoon Shelter Crab - 避風塘炒蟹

Fried crab with fried garlic, mixed with scallion, red chili and black beans

The famous dish typhoon shelter-style fried crab (避風塘炒蟹 Bi Feng Tang Chao Xie), is served in a lot of Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. This dish is believed to be originated from typhoon shelters, invented almost 30 years ago on a sampam.

While Singapore Chilli Crab hails a symbolic gravy, Typhoon Shelter Crab pins it on fried garlic and black bean. The supposedly secret is that the minced garlic will be soaked in black bean sauce overnight and gives the intense flavor when fried with the crabs.

Tag: typhoon shelter crab

Tofu Meat Balls Rock-a-pop-pop

Using potato flour 地瓜粉 will give a more springy (QQ-with dialect connotation) texture of deep-fried coat when compared to the crisp golden coat from cornflour + breadcrumbs (panko) combination. The former still has that crunch to it... just of a lesser degree. I've said, tried and done it in these nori seaweed coated shrimps and repeating this again with pork-tofu mix. Try the steamed version of tofu "pops" if you are opting for super-healthy version. However, "pops" and "steaming" just do not gel together in my head. Fit for a family-style sit-down homemade meal perhaps - this steamed Tofu Balls, and maybe Stir Fry Tofu with Shrimps and Mushrooms, but in a party, THIS is definitely a more welcoming snack! Deep Fried Tofu Pops! Rock-a-pop-pop!


Not at all messy. Bite on these mini tofu pops and beware of "juice" spurting out...

Tofu Pops/Deep Fried Tofu Meat Balls
Ingredients:
-1/2 lb or slightly lesser ground pork or chicken
-1 pack of standard size tofu (Note: silken contains more moisture and the resultant "pop" tend to be more "juicy", not dry. You can use medium-soft or firm but the texture is going to be different)
-1 egg white (as binder)
-1 tbsp soy sauce to season/marinade the pork
-1 tbsp rice wine to season/marinade the pork
- dashes of white pepper to season/marinade the pork
- less than 1 tsp sesame oil to season/marinade the pork
- cornflour to thicken the tofu+meat batter/mixture if too hard to shape into little rounds (plays a binder role, too)
- potato flour for coating

Directions:
1. Mash up the tofu and mix with seasoned ground pork. Add in egg white and mix thoroughly
2. When in a consistency easy to be shape, make rounds out of the mixture (similar to making fish balls from fish paste)
3. Dust or roll them over a light coat of potato flour, set aside

4. Prepare hot oil in wok for deep frying
5. Slide those rounds by the side of the wok into the medium-hot oil to be deep fried
6. When starts to change color to light brown, strain out from hot oil and set aside to drain excess oil from paper towels
7. Before serving, you can dash a lil' white pepper over the tofu pops to enhance the flavor. Also, sprinkle some nori strips or flakes.



Warm, moist inside...crisp and chewy outside...

I was trying to think of a better description - the texture of crisp and chewy. Hmmm....it is almost like mochi... daifuku...the chewy portion...springy (go *toint toint*). Why not you think of a warm crispy mochi-coat of something? You are almost there. And the filling is a familiar taste of savory mix of meat and tofu. That is not too difficult to imagine?

Definitely more finger-friendly than steamed tofu. So you gotta try it! Rock-a-pop-pop! Once you pop, you cannot stop!

Tag: tofu balls, fried snacks, snacks, party food

Spicy Water Spinach and Yardlong Beans, both good!

Taking it from here, I wish to share a vegetable spicy stir fry recipe common in Southeast Asia. Whether it is dark leafy green vegetable like water spinach (or kangkong) or legume like yardlong bean (Chinese long beans), both are calcium-rich vegetables and I like to stir fry them this way. Okra (lady fingers) as well...with sambal belacan, can be oh-so-delicious.

Sambal Belacan KangKong/Water Spinach
Ingredients: Water spinach, garlic sliced thinly, dried shrimps, sambal belacan
Directions: Heat oil in wok. Add in garlic and dried shrimps and fry till fragrant. Add in sambal belacan then the vegetables. Quickly fry at high heat and dish up (do not overcook the vegetables.)


When it is perfectly done, the vegetables should maintain a slight crisp in their tender stems and soft tender leaves. I do not like to overcook my vegetables.



Spicy Long Beans
The ingredients are the same(as above) except Chinese long beans are used.

Wokking it up! Remember...no overcooking!

These long beans are a good source of protein, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus, and potassium, and a very good source of vitamin C, folate, magnesium, and manganese. Of course, calcium-rich too!


Spicy and tender crisp long beans! Yummy!

Both are definitely good with steamed rice.

What is your main source of calcium in the daily diet ?

Tag: legumes, spinach, water spinach, calcium

Grass Jelly

仙草冰 (xian cao bing) - grass jelly served on crushed ice, Taiwan

Grass Jelly is made from a herb plant known as Mesona Chinensis. Mesona is a genus in the mint family of Lamiaceae. Did you know that? I didn't know that. :O

All this while, I have assumed that grass jelly is some kind of artificial jello, cubed and mixed in water and syrup - consumed as a refreshing drink. Probably, that is part of the deception because in Singapore, grass jelly is typically served like that - cubed/in thin strips, and in a form of a drink known as Chin Chow (hokkien dialect pronunciation) . In Taiwan, this herb can be set as a huge piece of gelatin (picture above) served as grass jelly ~ a cooling dessert. Doesn't this look and sound good on a hot summer day? :D

The end products of this herb are typically tea or grass jelly. In Chinese medicine, this herb is noted for its cooling(yin) properties - helps to reduce "heatiness" in the body and prevent the occurrence of heat stroke. Therefore, 仙草 (literally meaning - immortal grass) is also known as 涼粉草 (literally meaning ~ cooling grass).

How it is made...
The aged and slightly fermented grass or leaves of this mint family (specifically, mesona chinensis) are boiled in a water bath containing potassium carbonate. The resultant mixture is then cooled into a gelatinous consistency.

Color and taste...
Typically black in appearance, some associate this jelly to taste slightly bitter (medicinal?).

Due to similarities in colors and textures, many people tend to confuse grass jelly with another black herbal jelly sometimes known as Tortoise Jelly, 龟苓膏 pronounced Gui Ling Gao. Though both are known to be good for nourishing yin and reducing the "heat" in the body, they are made totally from different components altogether. As recorded in the traditional Chinese books, tortoise jelly is primarily made from Platysternon Megalephalum and Rhizoma Smilacis Glabrae . I'm going to omit the details here since it involves me writing about a non-herb, and neither a plant nor vegetable. Read more about herbal jelly where Black Food is touted to be good.

Tag: desserts, jelly, grass jelly