Mei Lai Fun Tomato sauce with healthy green salad

Wow, I have lots of leftover from a party that day, the vermicelli (mei fun), the lai fun (thick rice noodle), the carrot radish pickle, the lettuce and some Feta cheese, homemade tomato sauce and homegrown carrots from the backyard. So good and easy....

Recipe soon.

Chinese Gumbo

This is what I called, Chinese Gumbo. Very quick and easy meal especially when you have less time to cook. Also when you have leftover steamed rice of any kind, Safeway roast chicken and leftover shrimps from the Memorial Weekend BBQ.

Ingredients:-

2 cups Chicken stock or any kind of stock in your freezer or pantry

1/2 cup Leftover steamed rice

3 pc Ore-Ida Tater Tots or you have leftover french fries (cut them into small pieces)

3 pc Leftover $5.99 Roast Chicken

Garnishing:-

Few Shrimps

Few Chards

Few Pea pods

(sauteed them together with cooking oil, salt and pepper until the shrimps turned red and curled up)

Method:-

1. Heat a pot with the chicken stock on high. Once boiled, add the rice, tater tots, chicken together. Cook for 3-4 min on medium heat.

2. Seasoned with salt and pepper.

3. Garnished with the sauteed shrimps and vegetables.

"Anda Boleh"

Shrimps Vermicelli on bed of lettuce

Again, I brought back some leftover from work. This time is the shrimps, used for the lettuce wrap. I know you all will wonder, what were you thinking when looking at the leftover food and other ingredients. Well, telling you the truth, the Flavors. Imagine the shrimps, with some marinade such as lime juice, cashew nuts, green onions, salt and pepper, fish sauce, and cold vermicelli. In my head, I think of it, light and healthy and tasty as well. See, seafood is always a light protein and taste good no matter how you cooked it. So when you have some shrimps at home, chopped it, add salt and pepper, some fish sauce, lime juice or lemon, a little sugar, then you will have a great meal for a day.

Recipe soon.

Crispy Miso Duck with Dried Fruit Sauce

I got this duck breast with skin from work. Usually, the way of cooking duck for Chinese is stewing them with ginger and fermented dry beans such as Miso and soy sauce. I was inspired by my mom's cooking, Stewed Ginger Duck with Fermented Soy Beans (Miso paste in America). It is one of my family tradition to have the stew on every special occasion. This time, I am making the opposite, seared the dark pretty good. Of cos, you have to marinate the duck with miso, sweet soy sauce overnight. It tastes so good with the syrupy sauce I made from dried fruit. Lets do this today, it is your special occasion!

Ingredients:-

Marinating the duck breast overnight:

2 Tablespoon Miso paste

1 Tablespoon Sweet soy sauce

1 Tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (we called it Chinese Rose Wine)

1 Tablespoon cooking oil

Dried Fruit Syrup:

2 cups Sliced or chopped some leftover dried fruit in your pantry or fridge

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups water

Methods:-

1. Heat the non-stick pan with 3 Tablespoon cooking oil, on medium high. Seared the duck breast on skin first for 5-6 minutes each side. Then seared again on the skin for a min, just to make the skin crispy and blackened. Remember, it is  not burn. Its ok.

2. Sliced the duck breast, how: put the duck breast with skin on the bottom side, cut thru the meat first on a chopping board. Check on the redness of the meat. I do prefer it done, instead of rear. Remember, always eat overcooked food then undercooked.

3. Drizzle the dried fruit syrup on top and garnished with bed of lettuce.

For the dried fruit syrup, just put everything together in a pot on medium high. Reduced until syrupy.

"Anda Boleh"

Turkey Mushroom Lettuce Wrap

The other day, Gregg and I went to RedHawk Casino on our way back from Lake Tahoe. We wanted to have the $9.99 buffet dinner, unfortunately, we arrived 5 min late. They closed. So we decided to try out the chinese restaurant there, called Pearl. We looked at the menu and surprisingly the price is reasonable. So we were seated by our waiteress, Miss Erica and greeted by the Manager, Miss Athena. We were the first customer at that time and followed by the others. See, we bring them businesses. We then ordered Chicken Mushroom Lettuce Wrap, Mandarin Pork Chop (just like sweet and sour) and Shrimps Scallops Egg White Brocolli. Honestly, they were so good! Thats why I am recreating the lettuce wrap, healthy and easy to make.

Ingredients:-

2 lb Turkey minced (it is all depends on how much protein you preferred)

1 cup chopped shitake mushroom (you can use other mushrooms)

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup chopped onions

2 Tablespoon chopped green onions

1 Tablespoon Oyster sauce

1 teaspoon Sesame seeds oil

1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine (actually you can use white wine or rice wine or sake)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tablespoon cooking oil

Method:-

1. Heat the non-stick pan on medium high, add the cooking oil, onions, garlic and mushrooms. Stir fried for a minute until the mushrooms smells good.

2. Add in the turkey minced and chinese cooking wine, stir for 2-3 minutes until all fully cooked (when the color turned white)

3. Add oyster sauce, sesame seeds oil, salt and pepper to taste. Lastly add the chopped green onions, stir for seconds. Take it out and let it cool a little before serving. Serve with cleaned lettuce.

"Anda Boleh"

 

Steak Fried Rice

Just me today, making my own lunch. Again I have leftover rice and steak. So easy, no eggs at all. Fried rice can be in many style, no need to have eggs. The rice is fried, anyway. :) I love the color of it and texture from the leftover jasmine rice, the steak, the onions and the soy sauce.

Ingredients:-

1 cup Leftover jasmine rice

Few slices Leftover steak (or any kind of meat you have)

1 Tablespoon chopped onions

Few slice carrots

Few pea pods

pinch of Ground Black peppers

1 teaspoon Soy sauce

Method:-

1. Heat the non-stick pan on medium, stir fried the onions, steak and carrots for a min.

2. Add rice and pea pods, soy sauce and pepper. Stir fried for another min or two.

3. Ready to serve. Fast and easy. Just one person lunch.

"Anda Boleh"

Carmelised Onions Tumeric Chicken

Today, I am making this quick chinese style chicken with just onions. Gregg and I are craving for jasmine steamed rice, so I am thinking of cooking some chicken and re-stir fried the leftover Buddha delight from Asian Wok (a Malaysian restaurant near us). Also, we loved fried capers.

Ingredients:-

2 medium size Chicken Breast - cut into cubes or chunk size

1 teaspoon Tumeric powder

1 large onion - sliced

1 teaspoon sugar

salt to taste

Method:-

1. Heat a non-stick pan with some cooking oil, prefer medium to high heat. Cook the onions first, half way cook.

2. Then put in the chicken and salt, stir fried for a min or two.

2. Add in tumeric and sugar, further stir frying it for another minute until the onions turning brown and carmelised. Add some more salt to taste.

"Anda Boleh"

Leftover Ozzo Lasagna

See, I have so much time in the house to think what I want to cook for lunch or dinner. That day, I made Ozzo with shitake mushrooms, beets top, some sage and green onions. I also made Coq Au Vin too. Pretty good and I cooked the whole packet, so that I can have leftover. So, why Lasagna? Reason is, it is another pasta and I have some old parmesan cheese in the freezer and shredded morz cheese in the fridge. Also we bought some bottles of pasta sauce the other day, perfect combination. So easy, less dishwashing. We have lots of time watching tv and relax.

To make this dish, just do it like you making lasagna. Simple and easy.

Michelle's Sweet and Sour Chicken

I got a notice from Gregg the other day about his co-worker, Michelle is coming over for lunch. Well, we have lots of stuffs in the fridge and our backyard, and luckily the chicken breast was thawed in the fridge overnight. I told Gregg that I am going to make Chinese food. Sweet and Sour Chicken because I saw the ketchup, have leftover lemon sauce from the scones and some old lemon on the counter. Since the lunch was just 3 of us, so I made a sauteed vegetables from our garden and steamed rice with fried capers. Honestly this is my first time making sweet and sour chicken in 10 years. I can say that my skills are getting better and better. Even Gregg and Michelle were so into it with the steamed jasmine rice with fried capers, eating just that leaving some vegetables behind. So comforty.... hmmmm.

Ingredients:-

2 chicken breast cut in chunk

2 Tablespoon cooking oil

1 cup  ketchup

2 Tablespoon lemon sauce (any kind of citrus sauce or juice you have in your fridge)

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

few slices lemon

a pinch or two salt and pepper to taste

Method:-

1. Stir fried the chicken in a hot wok with some cooking oil, a pinch salt and pepper for few minutes until little brown. Medium to high heat prefer.

2. Then add in ketchup, lemon sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil together. Stir for 2 min under low medium heat until the sauce is thick and glossy.

3. Lastly, put in the lemon slice and stir for a min.

4. Serve with jasmine rice with fried capers (you can see the recipe from my last posting).

Tips:- Chicken always better over cooked than under cooked. The more oil, the more glossy.

Halibut light and easy

Halibut is a very tasty white fish. I love it when it is seared and steamed provided it is fresh. This time, I am cooking it in the oven at 450 F so that I no need to clean the stove top from searing the fish. It is a very interesting combination of marinade, and with capers.

Recipe soon.

Chicken Hor Fun Soup

My bf, Gregg, called me at the last minute lunch, and I said, just come home and you are going to have a healthy light quick meal. So I quickly pull out the pork stock from the freezer, add some capers in it to give it saltiness olivey flavour. Then take a bunch of hor fun (flat small size rice noodle) from the pantry, a piece of grilled chicken made few days ago sat in the fridge, some sugar peas from the fridge, some sliced onions and fresh cut cilantro from our garden, making into this fabulous satisfying quick lunch, less than 20 min.

Ingredients:-

1 piece of grilled chicken breast (or just plain chicken breast) cut into cubes or chunks
2 Tablespoon Capers
1 bunch Hor Fun (Flat small size rice noodle)
2 handful Sugar Peas
1 handful of sliced onions
some fresh chopped cilantro (optional fresh mint, basil or vietnamese coriander)
3-4 cups of pork stock (can use any other stocks)
Salt to taste
2 teaspoon Rice Vinegar

Method:-

1. Heat up the stock in a pot, add in the capers together. Boil for 2 min.
2. Throw in the hor fun, cook as instructed. (would say, 2 min)
3. Add in grilled chicken and sugar peas together.
4. Add salt and rice vinegar to taste.
5. Lastly, garnish with fresh cilantro and sliced onions. Good with Sri Racha chili sauce. Make into 2 bowls of Chicken Hor Fun Soup.


"Anda Boleh"

Miso with a Twist

This is a very healthy soup and meal of the day. Simple and easy to prepare, all you need is eggs, tofu, rice noodle and miso paste. I use "Shiro Miso Paste" which is lighter in color and taste. Just 2 tablespoon of it in small pot of water or stock, enough for 2 people, preparation time just less than 30 min.

Ingredients:-

2-3 Tablespoon Shiro Miso Paste or other miso paste

3-4 cups Chicken stock or just water

1 bundle Rice noodles

1 packet Firm tofu (cut into cubes or chunks)

1 Shallots (make into fried shallots)

1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar

Salt to taste

Cilantro for garnishing

2 Eggs (beat and make into omellet)

Method:-

1. Boil the water or stock, add the miso paste and stir.

2. Put in rice noodles, cook as instructed. (I would say 2 min max)

3. Add in tofu, salt and rice vinegar to taste. (it should be little salty and little sour) cook for 1 min.

4. Once done, put in a bowl, garnish with fresh cilantro, omellet (cut into any shapes you want) and fried shallots.

Tips for frying shallots: Slice shallots in a ring shape, heat up the vegetable oil in medium. Slowly browing the shallots. Once it is half way to browning, turn off the heat and let it continues browning but not burning.

"Anda Boleh"

White Pampano in Red Curry

There is a Seafood City market in Vallejo where we seldom go there to explore. Once we were there, it was a heaven for me and Gregg. I was excited to see lots of seafood especially the fish. I love Pampano and it is a luxury fish in Malaysia. Chinese usually will steam a fresh Pampano, with just ginger soy sauce and chopped green onions. Love it... so light and healthy.

This time, I was thinking of making a fish curry, due to the leftover curry sauce the other day. See, when you have some curry leftovers, always divide them in little containers, so that you can use it at any other time, with any other food you make.

Ingredients:-

1 whole Pampano fish cut in half (actually you can used any kind of white fish, ocean fish taste better)

Leftover curry sauce or soup you have from Asian restaurants

1 Tablespoon chopped parsley

Salt to taste

1 Teaspoon Fish sauce

Water

Method:-

1. To fry the fish, pat dry and seasoned with salt, both side.

2. Heat a pot of cooking oil, to deep fry the fish until really brown and little crispy. Charring the fish is much better, because we want the little charred taste in the curry, also soften the bones when go into the curry sauce. Then take out the fish and put aside.

3. Heat another pot to cook the leftover curry sauce and some water if the sauce is too thick. We need it to be little soupy, so that the fish can be soaked in it.

4. Once boiled, add the fried fish, fish sauce and parsley, also add salt to taste. Serve with the tumeric rice (recipe from last posting).

Pork Chop Capers with curry sauce and Saute Fan Kale

I asked Gregg what he wants for dinner. He said, Pork Chop. So I made Pork Chop marinated with soy sauce, curry powder, fish sauce, sugar and olive oil for at least 2 hours. He told me that he loves capers. So I thought of frying the capers to add some crunchiness and saltiness on top of pork chops. About the curry sauce, I have the leftover pampano curry sauce the other day (you can see my previous blog) and some leftover salad (diced cucumber, mixed fresh herbs, grapefruit, celery, corn, carrots and minced shallots). The Fan Kale was fantastic with the pork chops and the curry sauce. I actually seen this Fan Kale for the first time, just look like a Fan, little purpleish color. Taste good and soft when sauteed.

Recipe later.

Fast and Easy Leftover Chicken Curry Soup with Rice Noodle

Leftover curry sauce or soup from a restaurant? Easy, always easy to make it over. For South East Asian, we love to have curry with noodles. There are so many different type of noodles. This makeover, I am using Rice Noodle which you can find it at the Asian market near you. You can use others as well. The main thing here is the curry itself. Also the condiments and garnishing are important to give the curry soup a zest of life. So aromatic with fresh mint and vietnamese coriander. Enjoy it while the curry is still good in the fridge for days.

Ingredients:-

Leftover curry sauce or soup

Chicken breast

Water

Salt to taste

Garnishing:

Fresh Mint

Vietnamese Coriander

Method:-

1. Boil the curry sauce with 2-3 cups of water to dilute it. If it is a soup, maybe just 1 cup is enough.

2. Cut the chicken breast into chunk or cubes, add it in the hot simmer curry soup. Cook for 3 min until the chicken is cooked. Then add salt to taste.

3. Add the rice noodle into the soup, cook for 2-3 min until it is soft.

4. Serve with fresh mint and vietnamese coriander.

Better than Rachel Ray 30 min cooking!

"Anda Boleh"

Mixed Greens and Fruit Salad with Ginger Omellet

This is for lunch. I always give surprises to Gregg, my partner, every time he comes home for lunch. So I decided to make something healthy and light. I had leftover mixed greens salad from work yesterday, sat in the fridge and some grapefruit, grapes, green, yellow, red chards and some herbs from the garden bed. I used simple dressing, just some olive oil, lemon juice and garlic salt, since the leftover mixed greens salad have some dressing in it. However, I added a little kick into the dressing, minced shallots. It helps the whole salad taste. Love it.

Recipe will be posted soon.

Pancit Noodle

Malaysian loves having instant noodles such as Maggi and Cintan, and every household has few packs at home for a fast satisfying quick meal. I went to Seafood City supermarket the other day and got some instant noodle, Pancit brand. I dont know how it taste like and tried making it for quick lunch, my style. The picture shows it all, very similar to Maggi and Cintan instant noodles in texture wise. However, the seasoning is abit bland for me. Therefore, I made the thick dark soy sauce noodle with beansprouts, brocolli and fried egg. The seasoning is just a teaspoon of each: thick dark soy sauce or they called sweet soy sauce (just like molasses), fish sauce, oyster sauce and pure sesame oil. Add in little garlic salt to taste (optional).

Method:-

1. Boil a pot of water, hot. Cook the instant noodle first for 2 min.

2. Add in the vegetables (your choice) into the pot, cook for a min. To maintain the crunchiness of the beansprout and brocolli. (Asian loves crunchy vegetables).

3. Once cooked, drain it.  Put it back into a big bowl or platter or use back the pot for mixing all the seasoning together. Add in some shallots and garlic oil if you have some.

4. Fried an egg and garnish with cilantro or cut green onions or red pepper.

"Selamat Mencuba"

Healthy stewed Mushrooms

I remember my Mom loves to cook the dried shitake mushrooms with meat and vegetables. It tastes so good with steamed Jasmine rice. For chinese, dried mushrooms are a delicacy and luxurious food. We prepared them in many ways, but this time, it is my way!  You can actually get those dried mushrooms at the Asian market. You can keep these mushrooms for a long long time, in cool area cabinet or freezer. Anyway, you have to soften the dried mushrooms in a hot boiling water, for a faster process. Or else, you have to soak the mushrooms over nite with hot water. I made stewed dried mushrooms this time, it is comparable with other comfort food in the States, meaning easy to prepare and can eat for few days but Healthy, Easy and Delicious! Just throw everything into a pot and let it cook until the sauce is reduced to little thick. Lets get started!

Ingredients:-

2 handful Dried Mushrooms - soften and cut
5 slice Young ginger
2 Chilis (can substitute with dried chilis)
Half Onions - chunk
4 Whole garlic - peeled and smashed
1 cup Soy sauce
1/4 cup Cooking wine
2 Tablespoon Sugar
3 cups water (from soaking the mushrooms)

Method:-

1. Put all the ingredients in a non-stick pot. Dont cover! and cook on medium heat.
2. Let it boil and simmer until you can see the sauce is thickening, not too thick tho. Some gravy for yuor steamed rice.

Ps: you can use slow cooker, but use less water.

"Selamat Mencuba"

Chef Chong's Apple Mango Salad

I got the apples of Harry & David from work, and I want to use it for Salad. Gregg and I are eating healthy to keep inshape and stay healthy as well. It is simple to make, just the dressing is a little different.

Ingredients:-

1 apple (sliced using Mandolin)
1 ripe mango (cut into chuck)
1 stalk Green Onion (chop)
1 tablespoon Lemon marmalade (leftover from a party)
1 teaspoon Fish Sauce
2 Lemons for lemon juice
Garlic salt to taste

Just mix all together. Fun to toss it and taste it at the same time. Enjoy!

Perfect Pork Meat Balls

Using pork instead of beef is less expensive and healthier and I'd say even tastier with this recipe.  These meatballs are so light and moist, and taste just like your favorite pot sticker at a really good chinese restaurant.  I made a few egg noodles and made this into a great soup for a winter's day.

Recipe

1-2 lb minced pork with some fat
2 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 Tablespoon chopped green onions
1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 Tablespoon rice wine
2 Tablespoon AP Flour
1 teaspoon salt

Method:-

Mix all together, put in the ziploc bag, sit in the refridgerator at least 1 hour. Then take out and roll into small balls, size of a chestnut.
Boil the broth (whatever broth you prefered) at medium to high heat, then put the meatballs all together.
You can tell the meatballs are cooked once they are floating on top of the surface.
Serve with noodle, and the broth has the fantastic flavor from the meatballs.

Tips:- you can use the wonton skin to wrap the meatballs you rolled into wontons.