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Step 01. Ditch the seasoning pack.
Step 02. Use fresh vegetables (e.g.lettuce, napa cabbage, bok choy) or mushrooms (enoki , shitake, shimeji)
Step 03. Choose a meatless protein (e.g. firm/silken tofu, egg).
Step 04. Season with some soy sauce and a dash of pepper.
Step 05. Garnish with some chopped coriander leaves, wolfberries or fried shallots.
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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
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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
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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.
Heart shape breads need not be made only on Valentine’s Day, when they are this easy. 🙂
____________
/ used this recipe and this bread shaping method.
/ another shaping method.
Tomorrow will mark day #15 and the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration period. Last night, we decided to have a last session of Lo-Hei for 2014 at home, with a prepacked Yu-Sheng ingredients. I topped up with lots of julienned green radish and carrots, a lime, more ground peanuts (I thought the quantity they provided was too little), toasted white sesame seeds, and peanut oil. Did not prepare fish, as no one takes raw fish at home.
The other few DIY Lo Hei sessions we had so far, always ended up with the same situation, not knowing what to say, as the ingredients are tossed in.
Not this time.
So asked my eldest daughter to do some Goggle-ing, and we happily tossed the Yu-Sheng ingredients away.
____________
/ the website for the auspicious phrases.
/ i found this info-graphic later.
/ hundred percent homemade Yu-Sheng is possible.
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
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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
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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.
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
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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.
To take a break from the spring cleaning rut, I look out for some new year theme paper craft online, and tried out the first two.
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/ a lucky horse seems perfect for the coming year of horse
/ a pair of chinese dolls (note: 5 pages of printing)
/ this lucky cat and this lion dance (note: 10 & 11 pages of printing respectively)
/ another chinese horse
/ this pair of japanese horse dolls
/ learn how to draw a horse
/ make chopstick wrapper
/ make a pop up chinese new year card (note: 5 pages of printing)
/ make a giant chinese fortune cookie
/ this cherry blossom origami
If my “stir fry everyday” dishes seem skewed towards pleasing the palates of young children, that’s because I picked up cooking for my two young girls. This recipe is adapted from Billy Law’s Dark Soy Pork Spare Ribs (老抽炒排骨). The dark soy gravy teamed with jasmine white rice is a hit with my kids, but they have not picked up the taste for spare ribs; fats, bones and all. That’s why I use skinless chicken breasts for this dish instead.
++Notes.001 // Original recipe uses 3 tablespoons of white sugar, I reduced it to 2.
++Notes.002 // Original recipe uses 3 tablespoons of water, I increased it to about 5-6, so that I can yield more gravy to go with rice.
RECIPE : DARK SOY CHICKEN
/ Source
____________
1 piece of skin+boneless chicken breast, diced 2 Tablespoons cooking oil 1 Tablespoon dark soy thick caramel sauce 2 Tablespoons light soy sauce 2 Tablespoons white sugar 5-6 Tablespoons water 1 clove of garlic, sliced (optional) 1 stalk of spring onion, cut into 5 cm length (optional)
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01. Mix the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sugar, water together in a small bowl, and give it a good stir to loosen up the thick caramel sauce in the mixture. Set aside.
02. In a heated wok, add oil.
03. Once the oil starts to smoke, add diced chicken meat, and stir fry quickly till meat is cooked and turns white and opaque.
04. Pour the sauce mixture in, keep stirring for about 2-3 minutes, ensuring every piece of meat gets covered by the dark sauce.
05. The sauce should start to thicken and caramelize. At this point, turn off the fire, add the optional sliced garlic and spring onion, give it another good stir, before transferring to a plate. Serve hot.
January is going to be over soon. But I continue to come across pretty printable 2014 calendars online. Guess it’s never a bad idea to archive more.
So here we go again:
Month by Month:
Yearly
MONO and CO 