recipes

Japanese Sesame Dressing

| San

// japanese sesame dressing // japanese sesame dressing // japanese sesame dressing // japanese sesame dressing

There is only so much space in the fridge.  So I’ll rather it’s the fresh vegetables and fruits that are taking up most of the spaces, than bottles and bottles of sauces or premixes.  This sets me thinking, which consumes more electricity : an empty or a full fridge?

After discovering that I can easily concoct sushi vinegar at home, I went on my search for more condiment recipes.  This DIY Japanese sesame dressing is great:  I make only as much as I need, with some everyday pantry items.  No need to make space for one more unfinished bottle, or go through the haste to finish it before it hits the expiry date.

RECIPE : JAPANESE SESAME DRESSING
Source
INGREDIENTS :
- 3 tablespoon roasted white sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoon japanese mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon mirin
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
INSTRUCTIONS :

01. To roast sesame seeds, put them on frying pan on low heat, remove heat immediately when sesame seeds start popping.
02. Place cooled sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle, grind into powder.
03. Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl.
04. Drizzle on noodle or salad.
05.  Store remaining unused portion in the fridge, for up to one week.

Korean Fried Chicken 韩式炸鸡

| San

// korean fried chicken, baked // korean fried chicken, baked

Never mind the miserable tiny batch of 5 chicken wings I photographed above.  It was the chilli sauce that I’m after.

I am imagining this sauce with fried battered shitake mushrooms or maybe baked potato wedges now….

RECIPE: KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN
Source
INGREDIENTS :

/ For the Chicken

 2 lb chicken wings*
 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
 2 egg whites
 1 teaspoon baking soda

____________

01. Place egg white, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl, whisk till baking soda and salt dissolves completely.
02. Add chicken wings into the bowl to coat wings with egg white mixture completely.
03. Pick up the wings from the bowl, drip off excess coating, arrange on a flat plate or baking tray, do not overlap.
04. Chill wings in fridge, uncovered, preferably overnight, to dry out the coating.  Flip wings halfway through to dry both sides.
05. Preheat oven to 230C (450F).
06. Bake chicken wings for 15 minutes, flip and bake for another 10 minutes, till golden brown.  Cool slightly on rack.

____________

/ For the Chilli Sauce

 4 garlic cloves, minced
 1 inch knob ginger, finely grated
 1/4 cup gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
 3 tablespoon dark brown sugar
 1 tablespoon asian fish sauce
 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

____________

01. Mix all sauce ingredients together in a saucepan.
02.  Cook over low heat for about 3-5 minutes, till sauce slightly thicken.

____________

/ Assembling

01. When the sauce starts to thicken, toss in baked chicken wings to coat.
02.  Serve immediately.

++ Notes To Self ++
///
* about 12-16 qty, separate mid wings from the drumettes
///
The sauce recipe is meant for about 12-16 chicken wings.  I made the full serving for the sauce, scoop enough to coat the drumettes, serve some as dip for the mid wings and saved the rest in the fridge for future use.
///

(Almost) Pepper Lunch

| San

beef and broccoli casserole, inspiration from pepper lunch beef and broccoli casserole with inspiration from pepper lunch

The March School Holiday is over.

For the stay at home mums, did you find yourself eating out more often, or did you stick to home cooked meals during this holiday period?  I guess it depends on the kind of holiday schedules the children have.  I know of some kids who still spend like, three days in school, for curriculum activities or project work.  Mine was lucky, and was only required to return to school for just one day, so we got to spend FOUR FULL WEEKDAYS together.  I thought I felt a sense of relief from the children when they finally return to school this morning.  I hope they are not getting tired of me…  after all, it was not exactly just me and the kids at home all the time.  We still managed to catch 2 movies, 1 ice skating session, and a visit to the library, I’ll say not bad, for a short break like this.

The meal planning was a bit messy though.  Since most activities were carried out in the afternoons, I managed to settle most of the lunch meals at home (so that I could use up my fresh groceries: say no to food waste) and dine out in the evenings, so that there was less rushing home for meal preparation.

This “Pepper Lunch Hack” was one of the recipes I tried out with my children during one of the lunch meals.  The key is in the two sauces, or so this website claims.  Instead of serving it as a “one-plate-meal” like what Pepper Lunch do at their outlets, I prepared it as a casserole dish, with white rice served separately.  My kids commented that while it is not exactly 99% the same, it’s nonetheless delicious as a rice pairing dish.  Maybe I topped with a tad too much broccoli, and changed the flavor, but I think the vegetables bring the nutritional value of this dish a great notch up!

+++ Notes.001 / prepare the two key sauces in advance.

+++ Notes.002 / according to the source, the recipe serves two, but I have plenty of leftover for the two sauces which I pack in sauce bottles and store in chiller for future use.

RECIPE : PEPPER LUNCH STYLE BEEF & BROCCOLI CASSEROLE
/ Source

____________

/ Honey Sauce
1 tablespoon cooking oil  / i used peanut oil
2 tablespoon chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoon light soy sauce / i used kikkoman
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch

____________

01. Mix all ingredients and cook in a saucepan until garlic and onions are cooked and turned soft, about 3 minutes.
02. Remove saucepan from heat, allow sauce to turn cool.
03. Puree in food processor and transfer to sauce bottle or container.

____________

/ Garlic Soy Sauce

1/2 cup light soy sauce / i used kikkoman
4 cloves garlic, crushed and peel removed
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water

____________

01. In a saucepan, add the soy sauce and garlic together, let sit for 30minutes.
02. Add remaining ingredients, and bring to boil.03. Remove saucepan from heat, allow sauce to turn cool.
03. Puree in food processor and transfer to sauce bottle or container.

____________

/ Assembling

400g thinly sliced beef / i used sukiyaki or shabu shabu, completely thawed
1/4 cup canned corn
1 head broccoli, washed, cut into bite size florets, blanched in boiling water with a pinch of salt
3 tablespoon cooking oil / i used peanut oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 stalk chopped spring onion
black pepper, to taste

____________

01. Heat up cooking oil in casserole over low heat.
02. Place thawed sliced beef in the middle of the casserole.
03. Arrange cooked broccoli florets around the beef.
04. Drizzle the two sauces over the beef and broccoli.  I used about 1/3 of each sauce.  Do not stir.
05. Cover casserole. Turn up heat to high for about 30 seconds.
06. Turn off fire.  Top with spring onions, corn and cold butter.
07.  Serve immediately.  Stir around to cook beef slices and pair with steamed rice.  Season with black pepper, and more the 2 sauces if necessary.

Sushi Vinegar

| San

sushiricevinegar002 sushiricevinegar001 sushiricevinegar003

For the days when I run out of sushi vinegar.

The recipe below is for 300g (2 cups) of raw short grain rice.

RECIPE : SUSHI VINEGAR
Source
INGREDIENTS :
- 60g/60ml rice vinegar
- 60g sugar
- 10g salt
INSTRUCTIONS :

01. Mix all 3 ingredients in a small pot, heat up till sugar and salt dissolve completely.
02. Allow sushi vinegar to cool slightly before using it.
03. To use, pour and mix into piping hot cooked rice, then allow rice to cool down.

Asian Cucumber Salad

| San

asiancucumbersalad001 asiancucumbersalad002 asiancucumbersalad003

Another easy recipe found.

// To keep the cleaning job simple, I mix everything in an Ikea’s Korken glass jar, close the lid and shake the container to mix the salad.

RECIPE : ASIAN CUCUMBER SALAD
/ Source

____________

2 medium japanese cucumbers, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

____________

01. Whisk honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil together in a medium bowl.
02. Toss in the cucumber slices and add the toasted sesame seeds.
03.  Let salad sit for at least 30minutes before serving or chill overnight.

Egg In A Hole – Nanyang Style

| San

egg in toast eggtoast001 P1210254

I am adding a “Nanyang” twist to this classic breakfast item, by seasoning the runny egg in the center of the bread with pepper and dark soy sauce.  The center hole cut out is not discarded, but eaten as a buttered toast, dipped in the runny egg.  Yummy!

++Note.001 // To make the egg look as pretty as possible, I first set the egg in the bread in a heated skillet over the stove.  Instead of flipping the toast to cook the other side of the egg, I transfer and cook it in a toaster oven instead.  That explains the white, smooth looking egg surface on my toast.

RECIPE : EGG IN A HOLE

____________

1 slice of bread

1 egg

butter

pepper and dark soy sauce, for seasoning

____________

01. Use a cookie cutter (any shape you like) to cut out a hole in the bread.  I use the rim of a drinking glass to make a round hole.  Toast the cut out bread, set aside.

02. Heat up skillet, place bread with hole in it.

03. Add a knob of butter inside the hole, once the butter melts completely, crack an egg into the hole.

04.  Do not attempt to move the bread, let the egg set in the hole by cooking it over medium heat.

05. The base of the egg will get cooked and turned white first, but about half of the egg white will still be transparent and runny.  At this moment, transfer the bread carefully to a toaster oven tray with a spaluta.

06. Continue to cook the bread in a toaster oven, about 3 minutes, till the surface of the egg looks cooked, (i.e.egg white turns completely white/opaque).  Just don’t let the bread become burnt. 🙂

07.  Remove from toaster oven, transfer to a serving plate, sprinkle with a dash of pepper and a splash of dark soy sauce.

08. Serve warm, with cut out bread toast, topped with butter, at the side.

Szechuan Peppercorns Braised Tofu

| San

szechuan peppercorns braised tofu // mono+co tofu001 tofu003

This was supposed to be a Korean dish (Dubu Jorim), but I substituted the Korean Red Pepper Flakes in the recipe with Szechuan peppercorns, as I have been fixated by these fiery seeds in my cooking lately.

It’s still as tasty, and goes just as well with steamed white rice.

RECIPE : SZECHUAN PEPPERCORNS BRAISED TOFU
/ Adapted from this Source

____________

1 large firm tofu (about 280gram)
1 tablespoon peanut oil

Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 clove garlic, minced
1 stalk scallions, finely chopped

____________

01. Cut firm tofu into large pieces.

02. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, set aside.

03. Add 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a hot skillet or wok.

03. Place tofu pieces on the wok, sear till light golden brown on both sides.

04. Pour the sauce mix over the cooked tofu, turning heat down and simmer for a few minutes.

05. Before the sauce dries up, turn the cooked tofu and allow the other side to cook in the sauce as well.

06. Place tofu on serving plate, topped with more sesame seeds and scallions if preferred.

07. Served immediately, with steamed white rice.

Easy Belgium Waffle

| San

easy belgium waffles // mono+co

Some time early last year, I was fervently making ice cream with recipes from this gorgeous book.  The egg-less recipes are oh-so-easy to follow, even without an ice cream machine.  Since then, I have not used any other method for homemade ice cream.  I only stopped making them because I wanted to curb my desire to add an ice cream machine in my kitchen pantry.  But I am still consuming ice cream, of course.

A Belgium Waffle maker might change the game.  I managed to produce some pretty good looking waffles with a loaned waffle maker, and just like that, my desire to own an ice cream maker returned once again.

Keeping this recipe, just in case.  …just in case.

RECIPE : EASY BELGIUM WAFFLE
/ Source

____________

1 3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup corn starch
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cooking oil (I used macadamia nut oil)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla a pinch of nutmeg (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional) butter , for greasing waffle iron before making each waffle

____________

01. Preheat waffle iron.

02. In a large mixing bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until smooth.

03. Grease waffle iron generously with butter.

04. Pour batter onto the hot waffle iron and cook according to equipment instructions.

05. Serve immediately with favorite ice cream flavor.

Caramel Sauce for Popcorn

| San

homemade caramel popcorns // mono+co

After knowing how to prepare these easy peasy homemade popcorn, indulge in caramel sauce covered ones once a while!  I chose a recipe that does not use corn syrup, and does not require baking.  Just pour and toss.

++ Notes001 // Make the popcorn first before preparing the caramel sauce. Popcorn instructions here.  Sauce enough for 1/2 cup unpopped corn kernels.

RECIPE : CARAMEL SAUCE
/ Source

____________

125 grams unsalted butter
3/4 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons honey

____________

01. Put butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan, stir over medium heat until the sugar has melted completely.
02. Bring to boil, and switch off fire once the mixture turns golden brown.
03. Pour caramel sauce over popcorn, stir until the sauce coat popcorn evenly.
04. Spread popcorn over baking tray to cool.  Serve.