Guest Post: Ginger Sesame Seed Noodles

There are certain recipes where the adage "less is more" truly applies. This is one of those. Sometimes the best flavors come out when you don't complicate the recipe. I think this is why I love this noodle dish from my blogger friend Jen of Jenbeansblog.  A quick look at the ingredients will show that the aromatic flavors of ginger, sesame seed oil and cilantro are enough to make this wonderful dish a hit on your palate. This is not to mention the health benefits you get from ginger, especially for women. Jen has expounded on this on her blog. Thanks again Jen for this lovely post! I truly love the healthy dishes you feature on your blog. Now, I'll have to go to the grocery and get me some ginger and eat this! Enjoy!



Ingredients

Canola oil
10 - 15 thin slices ginger
1/3 cup rice wine (found in most Asian supermarkets - try to find the cooking kind, it has a lower alcohol content and more of the rice-y flavour)
2 eggs
2 tsp soy sauce
Optional: can add some tofu or lean beef strips for greater levels of iron


200g thin wheat noodles, cooked and drained
4 - 5 tbsp sesame seed oil
Chopped cilantro for garnish



Procedure 

 In a hot cast iron skillet, fry ginger slices in oil until lightly browned and sticking to the pan and the aroma is wafting. Add in rice wine and gently scratch the ginger bits from the pan. Lower the heat to medium low.

Break two eggs into ginger/wine mixture and stir until cooked. Add in soy sauce. It will be kind of soupy looking.

Take the ginger/eggs off heat and stir in cooked noodles. Drizzle with sesame seed oil and divvy up into bowls. Drizzle a bit more sesame seed oil over top and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

 

Good replenishing to you all!

Indian Butter Chicken

To say that we like chicken curry is an understatement. We love curry to the max! Whenever we travel, whatever country that may be - the first restaurant we always try to look for is an Indian curry house.  

Before I got married, I wasn't a major fan of anything spicy. In the region (Southern Tagalog) where I grew up, spicy dishes are not really a big thing. We usually love sweet, sour and salty but spicy, not too much. But then I met my British husband who is into everything spicy. I was converted by him. He loves chicken curry. When we were still in England we used to visit Brick Lane in East London for some curry therapy. If you are ever in London, this is the place to go if you want to get curry. There are rows upon rows of curry houses there. I miss this place!

However there is one special curry place for us and, no, it's not in India or the UK or even the USA (truth is, there is no Indian restaurant where I live).  Sad, isn't it. We found it, of all places, in Vietnam! While it may take years before we go back and eat there again, we have fond memories of Vietnam and most certainly the curry we had there. Here's a photo of myself in front of the restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City. It's not much to look at but the curry is great, if you are able to wake up its owner to cook for you! Seriously, it was great and the best we have tasted! Check this out when you find yourself in the streets of Saigon.

And for good measure, here's another photo of me and my hubby in Vietnam. Photo was taken while we were cruising the Mekong Delta. Happy Memories!

Before I get any more sidetracked, here's one of our favorite curry dish - Indian Butter Chicken. This is a mild curry so feel free to up the heat to your desired spice level. Enjoy!




Ingredients

5 pieces Roma or plum tomatoes - or 2 (14oz/410gr)  cans of diced tomatoes (fresh is better though!) 
2 Tablespoons oil and 5 Tablespoons Butter 
2.2 pounds (1 kilo) skinless but bone-in chicken thighs (boneless are fine but they tend to fall apart)
Thumb-size peeled and chopped fresh ginger or 1 tsp of ground ginger
3 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
2 teaspoon each red Curry powder, ground Cumin and ground Paprika
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ - 2 tsp salt, or to taste      
¼ - ½ cup of plain Yogurt (you can use heavy cream, if you prefer)                
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (a must for me!) 

Procedure 

If using fresh tomatoes, cut-up the tomatoes and then place in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth (puree the canned tomatoes too, if using this instead). In a deep pan, heat the oil and butter on medium to low heat until the butter melts. Stir in the spices, and let sizzle briefly, for a minute or less. Add the salt and brown sugar and stir until combined. Immediately, add the chicken pieces and coat them with the spices.

Mix in the pureed tomatoes. Though the mixture may seem thick at this point, it will thin out as it simmers. Bring to a quick boil and then cover the pan and gently simmer for about an hour or until the chicken is tender, occasionally stirring it. It is done when the chicken is tender and the sauce is medium-thick. It is already good and yummy at this point but if you like a creamier sauce, add plain yogurt or heavy cream and then squeeze some fresh lemon juice, to taste. Cook a little further without boiling just until the cream is heated. Garnish with coriander/cilantro leaves. Serve hot with freshly steamed rice (basmati or jasmine are the best for this!) and some green veggies on the side. Curry heaven!

Note: While the chicken curry tastes great already on the day it is cooked, it may be done a day ahead and chilled on the fridge so the flavors continue to infuse overnight. Even better the next day!

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Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Psalm 34:8

Demarle Food Demo

 

Last Tuesday we had a food demo at the house of Terese Burns showcasing the wonderful  Demarle bakeware. Terese is  a distributor of Demarle products (Silpat, Flexipan and Silform non-stick bakeware made of fiberglass and food grade silicone from France). Here are some of the photos taking during the demo including the lovely food we made using Demarle bakeware. Since the demo ran between 11-1 pm, the food that we cooked were good for lunch/brunch. Enjoy looking!





  

 

Terese cutting up some vegetables for the tart she is going to make for us. She also gave us some valuable kitcken tips like how to properly crack an egg so as not to destroy its membranes.  I didn't know that. It was quite an informative class. Everyone seems to be really listening well.



 

 

Love the color of the vegetables. Puff pastry, vegetables, gruyere cheese, salt and pepper and peach balsamic vinegar - what more can you ask for? We used the roul pat to roll out the puff pastry. Then we place the puff pastry on the deep flexipat.

 



 

 

After a few minutes the lovely tart is done and it was delicious! It was so easy to remove the tart from the flexipat. You can practically slide the tart to transfer it to a serving platter. 

 

 

 

 

I made some spinach quiche cups and brought them to show to the other ladies how easy it is to bake in a flexi-muffin pan. The quiche just came out so beautifully.

 

 

 

 We also baked another egg dish - Bird's Nest - Baked Bacon and Eggs. See how easily it comes off from the flexipan. We pre-cooked the Bacon in the Deep Flexi-pat. I can't believe that you can also use it in the microwave. Simply amazing!

 

 

Finally, the last but certainly not the least, we baked some dessert!

 

 

Isn't this pretty? It's a Blueberry Sour Cream Cake baked in a Sunflower Mold.

I think this is the star not so much because of the cake but because of the sunflower mold. The cake won't be as attractive if not for the mold that it was baked in. As you can see it came out perfectly, too. It was also a breeze to remove it from the pan. No need to wait for 45 minutes to ensure that nothing remains on the bottom of the pan. You can remove the cake as soon as it's cool enough to handle. No more fear in making lovely cakes. I love to bake cakes so this is on top of my wish list for sure.

 

Have we whetted your appetites yet? If you are interested to know more about Demarle Bakeware feel free to contact me through my contact information or click here to purchase some of the products that I use for my cooking and baking.  

 

Finally, in case you're wondering, all the recipes of the above baked goodies are in this blog. Please refer to the side bar (archives) or the labels. And, if you like what you see and would like to receive recipe updates, feel free to join our site or like us on FaceBook.

Thanks for dropping by!  

Baked Chicken Nuggets (Chicken Scampi)

A few years ago our church published a cook book entitled "Among Friends". They contain recipes shared by the lovely and talented ladies from our church. I have used this cook book often (the wear-and-tear shows!) and have discovered so many delicious recipes. Some of them I return to time and again 'cause my family simply love them. One of the recipes which we've cooked many many times (years, in fact) is the Chicken Scampi by Rebecca Braam. This is such a wonderful chicken dish, beloved by kids and adult alike. It's quite easy to do as well, which I always like in a recipe!

I would normally prepare this with bread crumbs as stated in the original recipe but for this version I  made it low-carb and gluten-free because Mark is trying a gluten-free diet and I am doing a low-carb diet. Works well for us! Instead of bread crumbs, I used ground almonds as substitute. Honestly, I was surprised that it turned out so good! Am glad that whenever we need to go wheat-free, there is this lovely alternative. We don't need to miss out on our favorite chicken dish! Of course, for those who don't need to be wheat-free, feel free to use the bread crumbs. They are both great, either way!

The original recipe called for about 2-3 lbs of chicken breasts but my small family can only manage one so the recipe has been measured to serve a small family of 4 (mine!). Feel free to adjust the amount if you wish to serve it to more people. Enjoy!


Ingredients

1 lb chicken breasts (about 2), cut into cubes (bite-size nuggets)
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs or 1/2 cup ground almonds  (for gluten-free version)*
3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp powdered garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

*If you don't fancy the wheat-free version, use seasoned dry bread crumbs (like Italian)  for the same amount.

Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix. 

Add the chicken and coat with the mix. Alternatively, you may place the chicken with the dry ingredients in a large clear plastic bag. Shake until the chicken parts are fully coated.

For the Garlic Sauce:

3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, pressed


Procedure


Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). In a large baking dish melt the sauce ingredients in the oven as it heats up.

Add chicken and coat with the garlic sauce.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until chicken is tender and fully cooked. Enjoy with, what else? Rice, of course! Serve it with a home-made and very simple thousand island dressing (just ketchup and mayo). Have a lovely meal!

Adapted from Chicken Scampi by Rebecca Braam (Among Friends Cook Book)

Guest Post: Miso Tofu Congee with a Side of Walnuts and Chives

Over a month ago, I joined a publishing site called "Food Buzz." There I met many lovely bloggers and have seen the most beautiful and inspiring food blogs. One of the lovely ladies that I have met there is Jen of Jenbeansblog. We have struck a friendship and have followed each other's blog. Jen is one truly creative girl. She has a lovely blog which features delicious and mouth-watering food. I especially love her bread creations and the Asian dishes she makes. It's so nice to know that there are certain dishes that are common to both the Philippines and Taiwan such as the one we are featuring today. 

Filipinos love congee. Locally, it is known as "lugaw" or arroz caldo. While in the Philippines we eat the "lugaw" on its own or with some chicken, in Taiwan they eat it with a side dish of spicy fried anchovies and peanuts. Mmmm. So yum! Why haven't we thought of that? Here she introduces another side dish - one with spicy walnuts and chives! What a great combo. When fall and winter finally arrive this dish will surely be steaming on my stove top. Thanks again Jen for sharing this yummy recipe! Can't wait to try it! So here it is, enjoy! Don't forget to check out Jen's blog when you get the chance. Happy cooking!


Ingredients


2 cups steamed Japanese short grain rice (1/2 brown rice, 1/2 white rice)
4 cups water + additional
1 1/2 tbsp Miso paste
50 g silken tofu
1 sprig green onion, chopped to 1 cubic cm
2 sprigs cilantro, roughly chopped

Procedure


In a large pot, combine steamed rice with water and bring to a boil for about 2 mins. Reduce the heat to medium and let it bubble and thicken, roughly 15 - 20 mins, stirring every so often. Make sure to try a grain of the brown rice to see that it has broken down. The porridge should look sludgy and pasty and starchy and, well... like porridge (as my mom would say).

Add the miso paste and stir to incorporate it homogeneously throughout. Break up the tofu by hand into the congee, then add the onions and cilantro and stir, about 3 - 4 mins. The congee can be eaten as is, or served with the dish below:

Walnuts and Chives

Ingredients

Canola oil
1 glove garlic, finely minced
1 cup chives, chopped 2 cm length
Large handful of walnuts
Salt and pepper to taste


Procedure


In a skillet on medium high heat, fry up garlic until slightly browned, then add chives. Reduce heat to medium. When chives start to wilt, add walnuts and toss around so that the juices cover them. Take skillet off heat, add salt and pepper (or some chili flakes or your favourite spice) and toss again so that the spices coat everything.

Enjoy with a nice big bowl of congee :-)