Jan 29, 2012

Recipe ~ Elephant Foot Herb

1 serving:
7 red dates
bunch of black beans
5 slices of ginger
bones for taste (optional)
soya sauce to taste

Herbalist Chen: 65423615

Jan 28, 2012

Recipe ~ Sardine Salad Sandwich


Sardine Salad Sandwich
Share http://www.oprah.com/food/Sardine-Salad-Sandwich on Twitter 
Recipe created by Frances Boswell
Rich, delicious sardines not only contain more of the good stuff (omega-3s, calcium) and less of the bad ( mercury ) but are a sustainable choice—i.e., these little guys are not on the verge of extinction. Mashed with canola mayonnaise in a sardine salad, they are the foundation of a formidable tower of nutrients, including sliced avocado, hard-boiled egg, tomato, and arugula.

This recipe is part of our superfoods menu . For an alternate take on the sardine sandwich , pair the fish with ripe tomato and savoy cabbage or Swiss chard.

Note: Cornichons are small, sour pickles. 

Servings: Serves 4
Ingredients

  • 2 tins (3.75 ounces each) boneless, skinless sardines packed in olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. canola oil mayonnaise , or more to taste
  • 1/4 cup drained and finely chopped cornichons
  • 8 slices spelt or whole grain bread , toasted
  • 1 avocado , sliced
  • 2 ripe tomatoes , thickly sliced
  • 2 cups fresh arugula or dark, leafy greens
  • 3 to 4 hard-boiled eggs , sliced (optional)
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
Remove sardines from tin, draining oil. Transfer to a small bowl, and combine with mayonnaise and cornichons.

Lay out 4 slices of bread. Top each with avocado, tomato, sardine mixture, arugula, and egg (if using). Salt and pepper to taste; finish each sandwich with a slice of bread.

Recipe ~ Cous Cous


Ingredients
  • 2 ounces (1/4 cup) sliced almonds
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups plain couscous
  • 2 navel oranges, zested
  • 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, a handful
Directions
Toast nuts in the bottom of a medium saucepot over medium heat. Transfer toasted nuts to a dish and reserve. Return pot to the stove top. Add broth and oil, cover pot and raise heat; bring the broth to a boil. Remove pot from heat, immediately. Add couscous, orange zest and parsley, then stir. Cover and let couscous stand 5 minutes. Fluff cooked couscous with fork and toss with toasted almonds.
TIDBIT: Slice zested oranges and serve them after dinner.
\http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/orange-and-almond-couscous-recipe/index.html
...
Summer couscous salad. For this recipe, you need two cups of instant couscous, 
four tablespoons each of olive oil, 
minced mint leaves, 
chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, 
four cups of diced young zucchini, 
ten halved cherry tomatoes (red or yellow), 
a third of a cup of lemon juice, chives and salt and pepper. 

You will also need one cup of boiling water. Put the couscous in a bowl, pour the water over it and stir. Cover with plastic and leave for fifteen minutes. Stir in two tablespoons of oil and then refrigerate for 40 minutes, taking it out once or twice to stir some more. In another bowl, mix together the rest of your ingredients. Take the couscous and pour it into this bowl, mix well and put back in the fridge for half an hour. Once chilled, remove it from the fridge and serve. Makes for eight to ten people.

....

Ingredients
  • 2 cups instant couscous
  • 1/4 cup currants
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
  • 1/4 chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Check couscous package instructions to see how much boiling water you will need. Place couscous and currants in a large bowl. Pour boiling water over top, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove cover, add toasted almonds and parsley, and fluff with a fork until combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Recipe ~ Chicken


RECIPE 1:

Stir Fry Chicken Cutlet/Wing with Lemon Grass, Ginger & Black Bean Paste

Marinate chicken over night with this sauce: 
Oyster Sauce
Light Sauce
Cumin Seed
Teriyaki Sauce
Cooking Wine




-

Recipe ~ Sweet Sour Fish


Ingredients
  • 1 pound halibut
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups oil for deep frying
  •  
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
  • salt to taste
  • 3 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

Directions
  1. Cut halibut into bite-size pieces. Place in a mixing bowl and combine with soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of flour. Let stand for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in deep-fryer or heavy saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. Deep fry halibut pieces until golden brown. Drain on paper towels; set aside.
  3. For the Sauce, saute green pepper, onion and pineapple in a medium skillet for 1 minute. Stir in reserved pineapple juice, sugar, ketchup, water, remaining 2 teaspoons of flour, sesame oil, and salt to taste. Cook until thickened, stirring occasionally.
  4. Serve, by dipping fried halibut pieces into sauce, or pour the sauce over the fish.

Footnotes
  • Editor's Note 
  • We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. The exact amount may vary depending on cook time and temperature, ingredient density, and the specific type of oil used. 
Nutritional Information icon-plus.gif
Amount Per Serving  Calories: 435 | Total Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 48mg
December 14, 2008 | By Bobby In Recipes | print.gif Print This Post
sweet_and_sour_fish_1.jpg
Are you getting tired of the same old sweet and sour chicken or pork? If so you might want to give this recipe for sweet and sour fish a try. Sweet and sour fish is breaded fish in a delicious sweet and sour sauce with an assortment of fruits and vegetables. You can basically use any kind of white fish for this recipe such as tilapia, halibut, bass, cod, ect. It is always good to try and find nice meaty fillets if possible. I would recommend frying the fish in a deep fryer because in my opinion they just come out better than pan frying. However, if you do not have a deep fryer, feel free to give it a try in the wok. The fruits and vegetables going into this dish include pineapple, tomatoes, green peppers and onions. If you are in a rush and would prefer to use store bought sweet and sour sauce that would work as well. Serve on top of white rice. Enjoy.
sweet_and_sour_fish_2.jpgsweet_and_sour_fish_3.jpg
Ingredients:
2lbs tilapia, cod, halibut or any other whitefish (cut into 1” chunks)
1 large green pepper (cut into 1” chunks)
1 large tomato (cut into 1” chunks)
1 large onion (cut into 1” chunks)
1 can pineapple chunks (with juice)
Oil (for deep frying)
Breading-
¼ cup cornstarch
2 cups flour
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 cups water
Sweet and Sour Sauce-
½ cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cornstarch 
Cooking Instructions:
sweet_and_sour_fish_4.jpgsweet_and_sour_fish_5.jpg
Step 1: Toss fish with cornstarch in a bowl and coat well. In another bowl whisk together flour, 6 tablespoons of oil, baking powder, seasoning salt, and cayenne pepper. A little at a time, add 2 cups of water whisking until the batter has become smooth. Pour batter over the coated fish pieces and stir to coat.  
Step 2: In a deep frying fry fish pieces in batches for 4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in the oven.
sweet_and_sour_fish_6.jpgsweet_and_sour_fish_7.jpg

Step 3: In a wok heat a tiny bit of oil. Stir fry green pepper and onions for 3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Step 4: To make sweet and sour sauce – In the wok mix vinegar, sugar, salt, orange juice, pineapple juice and ketchup. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in 1/8 cup of juice, pour into the sauce and stir until sauce has thickened.  Add tomatoes and pineapple chunks to the sauce and heat.
Step 5: In a large serving dish mix fish pieces, sauce and green pepper and onions. Serve with white rice.
(Makes 6 Servings)
http://blogchef.net/sweet-and-sour-fish-recipe/
FISH SLICES WITH GINGER AND SPRING ONION
http://www.deliciousasianfood.com/2007/11/05/stir-fried-fish-slices-with-ginger-and-spring-onions/
Fish November 5th, 2007

1867743873_92149fd8ed.jpg
Stir fried fish slices with ginger and spring onions (scallions) is a simple yet delicious dish to prepare. You can use fresh fish or frozen fish such as dory for this dish. White fish is preferred. The key to this dish is having a stove with really hot flame so that you can cook this dish fast. Cook it a little longer and it will turn a tad too soggy.
There is essentially two parts to cooking this dish. Firstly, to marinade and lightly fry the fish till it’s cooked or almost cooked. Secondly, to cook it with ginger and spring onions. Though it is usually found in commercial eateries, you can try it at home just like what I did.
This is my recipe for Stir Fried Fish Slices with Ginger and Spring Onion

Ingredients
  • 200 grammes white fish (sliced to not more than 1 cm thick, marinade lightly with salt for 10 minutes and dust with corn flour)
  • 5 cm ginger (sliced thinly)
  • 3 stalks spring onions (cut to about 5cm lengths)
  • 4 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
  • 150 ml hot water
  • corn starch (prepare by mixing 1 teaspoon corn flour with 3 tablespoons water)
  • 200 ml cooking oil (palm oil preferred)

Seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • a pinch of msg
  • ¾ tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine
  • a couple of dashes of white pepper powder

Method
Heat oil in wok till smoking hot. Fry fish slices for about 30 seconds on each side taking care not to break them. Remove fried fish slices and set aside.
Remove oil, leaving approximately 1 tablespoon or lesser in the wok. Saute garlic and ginger till aromatic. Add spring onions next. Stir evenly before adding fried fish slices and hot water.
Add seasoning followed by a teaspoon or two of corn starch to thicken the gravy.
Dish out and serve hot with steamed white rice.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/sweet_and_sour_chicken/

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/poultrysweetsour/r/sweetsourchick2.htm
http://www.grouprecipes.com/11923/fish-fillet-with-ginger-and-spring-onion.html/print
Fish Fillet With Ginger And Spring Onion
  • Time 20 minutes
  • Serves 4

Ingredients
  • 500ml oil
  • 50g sliced ginger
  • 300g fish fillet, sliced
  • 3 stalks spring onion, cut into 3cm length
  • MARINATE:
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp corn flour
  • dash of pepper and sesame oil
  • SEASONING:
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp Chinese cooking wine (Shao Xing)
  • 2 tbsp corn flour water for thickening
  • dash of pepper and chicken stock granules
How to make it
  • Mix fish fillet with marinade and season for at least 30 minutes.
  • Deep-fry in hot oil for 1 minute.
  • Dish and drain.
  • Leave 1 tbsp oil in wok and saute ginger until fragrant.
  • Add in spring onion, seasoning and fish fillet stir fry at high heat until well-mixed.
  • Thicken with corn flour water and dish up.
  • TIP: The Hoki fish fillet I'd use was a little soft so be careful while stir frying. Try to avoid breaking the fish into tiny pieces.

Recipe ~ Vietnamese


Vietnamese Grilled Shrimp on Rice Noodles

Ingredients:

1/4 cup bean sprouts
3 tbsp roasted crushed peanuts
3 Tbsp scallion oil

(In hot saucepan, add 1 to 2 tsp oil and chopped scallions. Cook until warm.
or In microwave, add scallions and 2 tbsp oil in a bowl and heat on medium for 1  to 2 min)

1/8 cup chopped mint and cilantro chopped
1 cup of boiled rice noodles

(In boiling water, add pinch of salt & dry rice noodles. Boil for 5-7min, strain with cold water and serve at room temperature)

1/8 cup sliced and chopped cucumbers

FISH LIME SAUCE (for 4-6 servings)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 1/8 cup water or soda water
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 tbsp lime juice
Combine and add extra water and lime juice to taste.

1/8 cup julienned pickled carrot
4 poached shrimp - and grilled


====


Vietnamese Shrimp Roll Ingredients
The rolls can be made with various proteins like duck, beef, but today I'm going to show you how to make shrimp rolls. To make the shrimp rolls you will need, for each roll:
  • a leaf of lettuce, use Boston or green leaf
  • about 4 poached shrimp, shelled and de-veined
  • a toothpick to hold the roll together
  • about 4-5 leaves of mint and cilantro
Prepare the Rice Noodles
  • 1/8 cup of boiled rice noodles, you buy from any Asian grocery stores
Just like pasta, you bring to boil a big pot of water, add a little bit of salt into the water, put the noodles in, boil for about 5 to 7 minutes, poor the noodles out into a calendar, rinse the noodles out with cold water to stop the cooking, and leave it dry, and serve it at room temperature.
Slice the Cucumbers
  • A slice of cucumber
To prepare the cucumbers, use a mandolin and slice like shown here.
Julienne and Pickle the Carrots
  • 1/8 of a cup of carrot, julienned and pickled
To prepare the pickled carrots, first clean the carrot, us ea mandolin, julienne it, use salt, a bit of sugar, and vinegar, rice or white vinegar will work, and mix it all together. Leave the carrots to be pickled for about 10 to 15 minutes before using.
Vietnamese Spring Roll Peanut Sauce
To make the peanut sauce, for one cup of sauce, you need:
  • 2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
  • 3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
  • 3-4 tbsp water
Put it in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Let it cool down before serving.
Serve the Vietnamese Spring Rolls
To serve, you can add toasted peanuts and a pinch of hot sauce. With the ingredients prepared, take the leaf of lettuce on a plate, put on the rice noodles, pickled carrots, mint and cilantro, shrimp, roll it up, then place the cucumber slice beneath the roll, rolling it again and put the tooth pick through the roll. And there you have the shrimp roll. You can use various other proteins, like grilled chicken, grilled beef, roasted duck breast, or even vegetarian. 

Grilled Shrimp and Noodles Ingredients
The boiled rice noodle dish is a very popular dish in Vietnam. For this you are going to need about:
  • 1/4 cup bean sprouts
  • 3 tbsp. roasted crushed peanuts
Make the Scallion Oil
  • 3 tbsp. scallion oil
To make the scallion oil, use the green part of the scallion and chop them up. You can either heat up a saucepan until it is really hot, add a little bit of oil and then add the scallion, toss is quickly and take it off the stove - or you can put the chopped scallions into a bowl, add oil, and put it in the microwave for about a minute and a half to two, and you have scallion oil. 

You will also need about:
  • 1/8 cup chopped mint and cilantro
Boil the Rice Noodles
  • 1 cup of boiled rice noodles, you buy from any Asian grocery stores
Just like pasta, you bring to boil a big pot of water, add a little bit of salt into the water, put the noodles in, boil for about 5 to 7 minutes, poor the noodles out into a calendar, rinse the noodles out with cold water to stop the cooking, and leave it dry, and serve it at room temperature.
Slice the Cucumbers
  • about 1/8 of a cup of cucumbers
To prepare the cucumbers, use a mandolin and slice like shown here.
Mix Fish Lime Sauce
To make the fish lime sauce you can buy the fish sauce from Asian grocery stores, and lime juice, bit of sugar, a bit of water, and mix all the ingredients together to make fish lime.
Prepare Pickled Carrots
  • 1/8 of a cup of carrot, julienned and pickled
To prepare the pickled carrots, first clean the carrot, us ea mandolin, julienne it, use salt, a bit of sugar, and vinegar, rice or white vinegar will work, and mix it all together. Leave the carrots to be pickled for about 10 to 15 minutes before using.
Grill the Shrimp
You will also need about 4-5 poached, shelled shrimp. With the shrimp, put them on the grill for about a couple of minutes on each side, take them off and leave them aside.
Assemble the Grilled Shrimp Over Rice Noodles
To put the dish together, put the noodles in a bowl, adding sprouts, pickled carrots, cucumbers, mint and cilantro, sprinkle scallion oil on top of the noodles, place the shrimps on top and sprinkle the fish lime sauce and finally add the toasted peanuts. There you have the grilled shrimp on rice noodles. This dish can also be made using beef, chicken or any other topping that you would like. 


Vietnamese Salad Ingredients
  • about 1/2 cup julienned carrots
  • 1/4 cup of mushroom, you can either use canned mushroom or fresh shiitake mushrooms
  • 4 tbsp toasted peanuts or sesame seeds depending on your taste
  • 2 cups of julienned taro root
  • 1 cake of tofu
  • 1/2 cup watercress
  • 1/2 cup bean sprouts
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • a bit of vinegar
  • a pinch of sugar
Prepare the Vietnamese Salad
First of all to prepare the carrot you have to julienne the carrot. Use a mandolin and julienne the carrot and the taro. To prepare the tofu, slice it up, and put it on the sauce pan with oil, wait until its really hot, put the tofu in and cook until its yellow. Next add the mushroom, julienned taro and carrots to the tofu, just lightly cook the mixture. Take them off the stove, in a mixing bowl add bean sprouts, watercress, soy sauce, and toss it all up.
Serve the Vietnamese Salad
Sprinkle toasted peanuts or sesame depending on your taste. 



Jan 25, 2012

Recipe ~ Nasi Paprik

Recipe ~ Nasi Paprik

Serves 6
Ingredients:
Long beans, cauliflower, young corn, oil salt, 300g chicken (optional), 300g squid, 4 pips garlic, 5 lemon grass stem, 15 lime leaves, 5tb tomato sos, 1tb oyster sos, 4 tb dark sweet sos, chili api

1. heat oil, fry garlic, chilipadi
2. place chicken, sotong, soya sos, oyster sos, tomato sos
3. lemon grass (bashed) & lemon leafs
4. when meat is cooked, put in veg
5. salt pinches to taste


Jan 14, 2012

My Poem ~ Cherish, Honour, Respect




 

~
This is my reflection on my view of being a woman in this century.

It is important to cherish, honour and respect oneself so that others will cherish, honour and respect us too.

Especially being a woman, and if you're living in a society that believes that women have a duty to fullfill as a homemaker to serve the family ONLY.

In the Asian mentality, it is still strong, as they will judge the women's ability and capability with how much housework she does, how well she does it and how well she takes care of the family and extended families stomachs!

This is a traditional way of thinking. This is not equal in rights, perspective and love. This is also not cherishing honouring and respecting women as a full human with their own potential. This is a mere tradition in which has been engrained into the belief system of Asian society's mentality.

And if you do not fare well in their judgement there will be critics and criticism as long as you're alive.

~
In my opinion:

It does not align to Empowerment
It does not align to Higher Love
It does not align to Expansion
It does not align to Inclusion which is a form of love

It is a forceful way although it is not spoken
It is a condescending perspective of preaching love with a one way mentality
It is an opinion and judgement in which is not agreed upon therefore,
It removes the confidence out of the woman's full potential
It does not expand but reduces a woman's full potential in mental, and spirit
It is a form of exclusion and unnecessary abuse (depending on how serious).

I believe in women's rights. I will stand for it.
I believe every woman have a right to education, to a career, to a choice, and can choose and is respected for that.

If you are a woman, don't ever give yourself away like that.

We all have a life, and a birthright. We all have one life and our life is just as worth standing up for as any other man's life.

Cherish Honour Respect.
It is not difficult, it is all about mentality. It is an old traditional mentality that should be abolished.
I am stepping away from this from now on.

Namaste.








Jan 7, 2012

Recipe ~ Lemon Grass

http://wokkingmum.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html