Recently, after hurting my right elbow, I was “forced” to cut down lots of my personal activities (blogging, baking and photo-shooting), except for cooking and routine housework. Felt like being handcuffed! Luckily it’s just a minor injury. Now I’m about 90% recovered and much of the inconveniences I had to put up with are nearly gone. Yay! Just can’t wait for full recovery and getting back to my regular activities.

While my readers in the northern hemisphere are enjoying their hot summer, the tropical climate in Singapore is getting unbearable of late. It’s not just hot, but highly humid as well that causes you to be sweaty and sticky. My tiny flat becomes hot and stuffy as evening approaches as sunlight beams directly into the living room. Oh gosh! My son and I felt like being “cooked” by the heat. Clearly, when it comes to cooking dinner, any dish that requires firing up the stove or heating up the oven is a no-no to me for now. I opt for steaming method instead. Less cooking, less washing and healthier too! If you browse through my “ALL RECIPES” page, you will find many healthy and delicious meals that you can easily whip up using steaming method.

Nagaimo (Japanese mountain yam) is a tuber, and a type of yam that can be cooked in ways similar to that for potato. Unlike potato, it has a very refreshing and less starchy taste. To the Japanese, it is even be eaten raw and grated, an exception to the rule that yam must be cooked before consumption. It is also referred as 淮山(huai san) or 山药(shan yao) and commonly used (in its dried form) for medical purposes in traditional Chinese medicine.

Nagaimo is low in calories, high in protein, and rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Apart from its nutritional value,  it is also known to reduce high blood pressure, regulate digestion and relieve fatigue. You can find nagaimo at the wet markets, supermarkets or Japanese specialty stores.  

When peeling or touching nagaimo, some people may experience itching due to allergic reaction. You can soothe the itching by applying lemon juice to the itching part or rinsing off the substance with diluted vinegar. To prevent itching, you can soak nagaimo in vinegar diluted water before cooking and wear a pair of kitchen gloves as further pre-caution.

Before that, I only used nagaimo to make soup such as fresh huai san soup and liu wei soup. It was a pleasant surprise to chance upon a steamed  nagaimo recipe from a cookbook. After some reseaches, I discovered that nagaimo is very versatile in its usage. It can be made into salad, entrees and even desserts. You will find the recipes from this link.

This is my first attempt pairing nagaimo with shrimp paste. Nagaimo yields a crunchy texture if steamed lightly, but turns softer and smoother when steamed over a longer period. During steaming, the juice flowing out of the marinated shrimp paste gets soaked up by nagaimo, thus adding extra flavour to its otherwise bland taste. This healthy yet tasty dish goes very well with rice. My hubby commented that it’s classy enough to be served as an entrée in a high-end restaurant or as finger food at dinner parties.  Hope your family will enjoy this dish. Happy trying!!

How to choose nagaimo:
- Choose fresh nagaimo that is thick, heavy and firm with few fibrous roots. The skin should be smooth and flawless (ie no bumps, bruises or discolouration.) (Source: click here)

Other reading references:
- Amori Nagaimo
- About Amori Nagaimo
- Nagaimo: The Wonderful Japanese Vegetable

>>>>> Click on PAGE 2 BELOW for Nagaimo and shrimp paste recipe………

My first experience in tasting stir-fry udon was at a Chinese restaurant many years ago. After trying it out, I got hooked on udon, especially this stir-fry version even until now. But I never expect my son to also enjoy eating this fat and chewy noodle as much as I do. In fact, udon is his first choice among all Japanese noodles (such as somen, soba and ramen) on the menu at a Japanese restaurant when ordering. As part of my “cost-saving’ project, I started to make udon noodle soup (kitsune udon) and stir-fry udon (yaki udon) to please our cravings.

The first stir-fry udon I experimented making was adapted from an udon recipe in Cooking for Kids by Pansy Seng. (This cookbook is very useful guide to me as it provides many creative ideas and methods for mothers to prepare interesting dishes suitable for their toddlers ranging from main dishes to desserts.). After several “trial and error” attempts, I finally came up with this simple, nutritious yet tasty recipe (using my own concoction) to share with you.

The method I used in this recipe is slightly different than the usual stir-frying. As udon is quite bland in taste, I blanched it lightly first and then used the braising method to let the udon absorb the seasonings. This makes the noodles more flavourful.

It is a versatile recipe when it comes to the selection of ingredients. As colour is important in our diet (as mentioned in my previous post, I select my vegetables from different colour groups so that it will give this dish more nutritional value. For example, capsicum (red), carrots (orange), baby sweet corns (yellow) and snow peas (green). You can replace these vegetables with any other combinations of your choice. Other suggested alternatives are french beans, fine french beans, lettuce, mushrooms (enoki, shitake or button) and bean sprouts. As for prawns, you can either substitute it with or add in other types of seafood such as crabsticks, slices of fish or squids. Since you can have so many combinations, remember to go through all the stuffs in your fridge first before rushing out to buy any ingredients. I like to do this kind of “spring-cleaning” exercise from time to time as it can be real fun and challenging. Sometimes I also get to discover new recipes too.

I hope you will enjoy preparing and savour this one-dish meal!

Note: You can learn more about udon from: here and here. 

I am submitting this dish to Presto Pasta Night, founded by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast, and hosted by Girlichef  this week.

>>Click on page 2 below for stir-fry udon with prawns recipe…………

This is one of the dishes I loved to cook since I started cooking for my family two years ago. It is because the method is so simple and doesn’t require any special cooking skill or experience. You can prepare everything in advance and easily impress everyone with your hot and steamy meat patties on the dining table. It is most suitable for both newbies and people looking for a simple yet nutritious dish. Both my hubby and son enjoyed it very much. They will definitely double their rice portion whenever I cook this dish. It made me feel very happy looking at these two satisfying customers.

The combination of ingredients used in this recipe is just merely a guideline. Feel free to adjust according to your personal preference as mentioned in the notes below.

You can also turn it into a one-dish meal by adding some green peas in the mixture. Another option will be to steam it with some Japanese egg beancurds. Just be creative and you will be surprised to find out just how many new versions you can create from this simple recipe.

This delicious and wholesome dish is highly recommended for toddlers. The selection of colourful ingredients will also make it  more appealing to them, which in turn help to improve their appetite.

This recipe has been featured in Kwong Wah Yit Poh on last Saturday (11 Jul 2009). If you can read Chinese, then go to this e-newspaper for the Chinese version.

Serve: 2-3 persons

Ingredients:
70g minced pork
50g shrimps (net weight) – de-vein and rinse under a running tap water. Pat dry with kitchen towel. Cut into small cubes.
2 pieces water chestnuts – wash, scrub and rinse. Remove skins and soak in the water to avoid discoloration. Use the side of a chopper to slightly pat the water chestnuts, then chop coarsely.
30g carrots – chopped finely
2 pieces dried shitake mushrooms – wash and soak in water. When the mushrooms turn soft, drain and squeeze dry. Chop finely.
2 tbsp chopped spring onions (only use the green parts)

Seasonings:
1½ tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp light soya sauce
½ tsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp cooked oil
Dash of sesame oil, pepper and cornstarch

Methods:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and seasonings. Use a pair of chopsticks to stir in one direction until well combined.
2. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour.
3. After chilling, steam under high heat for about 15-20 minutes until cooked.

Notes:

1. You can use fresh mushrooms instead. Just blanch over hot water, drain and squeeze dry.
2. You can use semi-lean pork for better texture. If not, just add some cooked oil to make the mixture tenderer.
3. Shrimps can be substituted by pork.
4. If you are not a pork-eater, you can replace it with chicken.
5. If the mixture is too dry or you prefer to have more gravy, add a little bit of water in step 1.
6. You can use either a stainless steel or ceramic plate for steaming. Make sure the patties only cover 80% of the steaming tray to avoid over-spilling of gravy during the steaming process.
7. Do not over-chop the water chestnuts to maintain its crunchy texture.

Two year ago, when I was just starting to cook for my family, a friend of mine made a strong recommendation that I visit Rasa Malaysia’s food blog for its recipes and cooking ideas. When I browsed thru her blog, I was very amazed by her stunning shots and high level of professionalism in food presentation, not to mention her cooking and baking skills. Since then, I had been following her blog closely and even referred it as my “online cookbook”.

Today, I like to thank Bee of Rasa Malaysia for featuring me as her guest writer. I had chosen sui kow (水饺) as my featured recipe because she loves dumplings. Co-incidentally, it is also my childhood favourite. I had never got bored eating it even until now. Hopefully by sharing my hubby’s “self-proclaimed” authentic sui kow recipe, you will love sui kow as much as we do. You can find my write-up and more photos of sui kow at Rasa Malaysia’s blog now. So hop over and see you there!

For my sui kow (水饺) recipe, please click on this LINK.

Lady finger (also known as okra) is a powerhouse of valuable nutrients, nearly half of which is soluble fiber in the form of gums and pectins. According to Ms Sylvia W. Zook, Ph.D. (nutritionist), this versatile vegetable has many important health benefits as belows:
1) stabilizes blood sugar level
2) binds cholesterol and bile acid carrying toxins dumped into it by the filtering liver.
3) prevents constipation
4) feeds good bacteria (probiotics) residing in our body.
5) good for those feeling weak, exhausted, and suffering from depression.
6) good for healing ulcers and to keep joints limber
7) treats lung inflammation, sore throat, and irritable bowel.
For further reading, click here.

To retain most of its nutrients and self-digesting enzymes, it should be cooked as little as possible, eg with low heat or lightly steamed. Some even eat it raw. My son and I love consuming lady fingers in a very simple way – steam lady fingers until cooked, cut into bite-sized pieces (for toddlers), toss with fried shallots oil and light soy sauce, and serve immediately. However, I have a big tot (my hubby) who doesn’t like lady fingers as much as we do. He always hinted at me to leave his portion out whenever I cooked lady fingers. Of course, I will never agree with him since this vegetable has so many nutritional values. After giving much consideration to these 2 tots’ personal preference and taste, I concocted the following simple and healthy recipe. To my surprise, my big tot happily ate the dish without complaint!

Instead of slicing the lady fingers, my method called for the lady fingers to be cooked with its entire stem intact. This will prevent them from becoming slimy during the cooking process. The chili shrimp sauce that is served together with it enhances the dish with the much needed tasty flavour to those who dislike the bland taste of cooked lady fingers. And, it goes well with plain white rice too.

I strongly recommend this recipe to those who dislike lady fingers. Besides the common method of either stir-frying or have them cooked and served in curry gravy, this dish makes the lady fingers more appealing to the palate. You may find them coming back for a second serving of rice (if there are still some lady fingers left). It can be finger-lickin’ good too!

A) CHILI SHRIMP SAUCE

Ingredients:
30g dried shrimp (minced) – rinse, soak & pat-dry
4 pcs shallots (minced)
1 clove of garlic (minced)
½ -1 red chili (minced)

Seasonings:
2 tsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp sugar
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp water

Methods:
1) Heat up oil in a small non-stick frying pan/ saucepan.
2) Sauté shallots, garlic and dried shrimp with medium heat until fragrant.
3) Add in red chili and seasonings. Stir-fry until mixed well. Bring mixture to cook until boil.
4) Adjust seasoning if necessary. Dish up and set aside.

B) LADY FINGERS (OKRA) – 10 STEMS

Methods:
1) Wash and rinse the lady fingers.
2) Remove the top and tip (optional) of the lady fingers.
3) You can cook your lady fingers by way of steaming or blanching. But I prefer option (a) as it can retain most of its nutrients and self-digesting enzymes.
a) For steaming: Place the lady fingers on a steaming tray and steam until cooked. Discard water if any.
b) For blanching: Add water to a wok and bring it to a boil. Blanch lady fingers until cook. Dish up and arrange on a serving plate.
4) Pour the chili shrimp sauce over the lady fingers and serve immediately.

Note:
1) If your lady fingers turn dry, add some cooked shallot oil.
2) Do not over-cook the lady fingers until it turns soft and yellow in colour.
2) For toddlers, you can cut the cooked lady fingers into bite-sized for easy chewing.
3) When choosing okra, look for brightly coloured pod which is not more than 4cm long. Avoid dull, bruised, soft and blemished pods. (source: this link)
4) If you cannot finish using the sauce, keep it in an air-tighted container. It can be added when stir-frying other vegetables ie cabbage, french beans and long beans.

 

I am submitting this recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging #176 Hosting, which is housed by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Anna of Anna’s Cool Finds.

Taro (芋头 , yu tou) is commonly used in Chinese cuisine for a variety of dishes ranging from main dish to dessert. Some of my favourite taro dishes are: braised pork with taro (芋头焖猪肉), taro/ yam rice (芋头饭), steamed taro cake (芋头糕), taro puffs (芋角) , taro nest/ yam ring (“fatt put”) and sweet taro puree with gingko nuts (白果芋泥). In my 1st attempt to cook with taro, I chose an idiot-proof recipe from one of my cookbooks. The combination of taro and dried shrimps make a perfect pair, resulting in a taste that is so flavourful!

Recipe adapted and modified from Malaysia Hawker Delights – Series 2 (人气主厨拿手菜简易家常- 系列2)

Ingredients:
500g taro (peeled and diced) – about 1 palm-sized taro
50g dried shrimps (washed, soaked and drained)- retained the water for soaking
3 garlic cloves (chopped)
3 shallots (chopped)
1 stalk spring onion (diced)

Seasonings (mix well):
½ tsp salt (cut down the amount if you add in water for soaking dried shrimps)
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp chicken stock granules

Methods:
1) Peel the taro and cut into cubes. Wash, rinse and pat-dry. Set aside.
2) Heat up 2 tbsp oil over low heat to sauté the dried shrimps, chopped garlics and chopped shallots till fragrant.
3) Pour in 600ml water (including water for soaking dried shrimps), add in taro and bring to a boil.
4) Stir in all the seasonings mixture, cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for about 2 minutes.
5) Open the lid, stir constantly over low heat until the liquid is fully evaporated. Sprinkle with chopped spring onions. Serve hot.

Cooking tips:
1) The recipe can serve 4-5 persons. For 1st timer, it is easier to cook this dish by using only half of the ingredients and seasonings.
2) Do not wash the taro before peeling off the skin to avoid itches on the hand. It is advisable to wear a pair of plastic gloves to peel off the skin.
3) Taro from Thailand is difficult to turn soft/ mushy as compared to taro from China. Choose the type based on your own preference.
4) I diced my taro into 1.5cm x 1.5cm cube so that it can be cooked faster.
5) It is best to serve hot. For reheating, do not steam it as it will turn the dish to be too watery. Just stir-fry under low heat. Add a few drops of water if it is too dry.

Other reading reference for taro (in Chinese): click here

** This post was featured on SHAPE – 5 tasty meals you can make with taro on 28 January 2012.

Before posting the photos I shot in Penang, I would like to begin my 2009 posting with a food recipe.

Do you like salad? I never have a chance to made one so far as my Emperor is not supportive enough for this idea. But after all the Christmas and New Year festive celebrations, I desperately need one now. Remember what I mentioned in my last post? It is my 2009 New Year resolution! As we know, another festive celebration is approaching – Chinese New Year. During this period, we will have to attend family reunion dinner and friend and relatives’ open house. All the yummilicious stuff are awaiting for us!! If I don’t seriously watch my diet now, then I have to prepare to upgrade my clothing size after CNY. Oh, no! please don’t let this happen to me!!!!

Today I would like to share with you a light, simple and healthy recipe I found from my favourite cookbook – “Children’s healthy & fun cookbook”. Although this was my 1st attempt in making salad, to my surprise, my son could accept raw vegetables such as baby butterhead. He loved eating it so much. I guess it was because most of the ingredients used in this salad were his favourite (ie tomato, corns, raisin and prawns) and the thousand island dressing provides extra flavour to the salad.

This salad is very versatile. You can mix and match any ingredients using your own creativity. Below is my own modified version that is enough to serve both my son and me for today’s lunch.

Ingredients:
60g pasta shells – cooked and drained well
4 large prawns – cooked and peeled, cut each prawn into 4 portions
1 medium size tomato – removed seeds and chopped into cubes
½ ear of large sweet corn – steamed or boiled, kernel removed from cob
1 small Japanese cucumber – removed seeds and chopped into cubes
Handful of black raisins and sunflower seeds
A few leaves of baby butterhead (cut into strips)

Other ingredients you may consider:
- small tomatoes (ie cherry or roma tomatoes), carrot, potato, avocado, lettuce leaves, green peas, capsicums, celery, cooked egg, pine nuts, ham,  chicken (instead of prawn), tofu (instead of prawn for vegetarian)

Dressing (thousand islands sauce):
4 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tsp lemon juice (start with 1 tsp)
2 drops of Tabasco sauce (optional)
Dash of pepper
Sugar or salt (if necessary)
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for mixing later)

Methods:
1) Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the pasta and follow the cooking instructions on the packet. Drain well and leave to cool.
2) Prepare the dressing, cover with cling wrap and keep in the fridge.
3) Prepare all the ingredients.
4) Put all the ingredients into a salad bowl and mix well with the dressing. Alternatively, you can divide the ingredients between the serving bowls and then drizzle over the dressing. Serve and enjoy!

I am submitting this pasta salad to Presto Pasta Night, founded by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast, and hosted by Ivy of Kopiaste this week.

Other recommended colourful dishes:
- special egg rolls with rice, salmon and spinach
- millet porridge
- stir-fried capsicums & cucumber with stewed vegetarian mutton

As compared to siu kao (boiled dumplings), making siew mai (steamed dumplings) is more challenging to me. I had failed several times until my hubby teased me that he needs to ta pao (take-away) some siew mai from the hawker stall for me to “review my mistakes”. After doing a lot of “researches” from the internet and cookbooks, I had finally found a GREAT recipe from “The Essence of Good Cooking” cookbook (a compilation of favourite recipes by parishioners and friends of Maranatha Retreat House). Why GREAT? Because it stated that the contributor paid to learn this recipe and its secrets to success.

I have been asked myself these 2 questions since I started cooking western food. Coming from a typical Chinese family, I have never tried zucchini before. After going through my cookbooks and browsing all online recipes, I just realized that there are so many ways to cook zucchini ie baked, grilled, stir-fry and stew. Below is a recipe adapted and modified from Jaden’s website. I had removed the deep-fry basil because I prefer to have some sauce for my dish under such a hot weather.

Ingredients:
10 medium sized prawns
½ zucchini (sliced thinly)
1 medium sized tomato (cut into 8 wedges)
1 tbsp chopped garlic

Seasonings for marinating prawns:
Dash of sugar, salt and pepper

Seasonings for stir-frying:
3 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp chilli sauce (If you prefer spicy food, put 1 tbsp)
2 tbsp water
2 tsp sugar

Methods:
1) Clean, peel and de-vein the prawns. Pat dry with kitchen towels. Marinate them with the seasoning. Keep in the fridge for ½ hour.
2) Using enough oil (5 – 6 tbsp to fully cover the base of the wok), heat up wok with high heat. Layout all the prawns on the wok and let them fry untouched until they turn pink. Flip over the other side and continue frying until the prawns turn pink and curl up. Do not overcook prawn. Dish up and place on kitchen towels to absorb excess oil. Set aside.
3) Return heat to medium high. Leave 1 tbsp of the remaining oil to sautée garlic until fragrant.
4) Add in zucchini slices and stir-fry for 1 minute. Tossing every 15 seconds until zucchini is just barely soft in the middle and still firm on the outer edge.
5) Add in tomato wedge and stir-fry for another 1 minute until the tomato turn slightly soft.
6) Add in seasonings and mix well with zucchini and tomato. Lastly return the cooked prawns to coat with the rest of the ingredients. Turn the heat to high and stir-fry quickly for 8-10 seconds. If the dish is too dry, add a bit of water. Dish up and serve.

When my son was first introduced to prawn, he disliked it very much and even spit it out. I just can’t believe that things are so difference now. Prawn has started to gain its popularity in my son’s diet. He can eat as many prawns as we do!

This recipe is adapted and modified from Quick and Easy Hawkers’ Fair. Because of my son who can’t eat spicy stuff, I had to omit 2 ingredients: chilli padi and curry powder. Even with this modification, the taste can still have that kind of “fingers licking good” results. At least, it can give us some resemblances to the taste of those creamy butter crabs (which we are so craving for) sold at De Foodland Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.

Ingredients:
12 medium-sized prawns
2 – 3 tbsp butter
2 – 3 tbsp curry leaves (cleaned) (I used a lot because I luv the aroma)
150 ml evaporated milk (full cream)

Seasonings:
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp salt

Marinate:
Dash of sugar, salt, pepper and cornflour

Methods:
1) Clean, peel and devein the prawns. Pat dry with kitchen towels. Marinate them with the seasonings. Keep in the fridge for ½ hour. (Alternatively refer to Jaden Steamy Kitchen’s blog for great tips on how to prepare shrimp/prawn that gives a busty, bouncy bite)
2) Using enough oil (5 – 6 tbsp), heat up wok with high heat. Layout all the prawns on the wok and let them fry untouched until they turn pink. Flip over the other side and continue frying until the prawns turn pink and curl up. Dish up and place on kitchen towels to absorb excess oil. Set aside.
3) Heat up wok again. Melt butter and sauté curry leaves until fragrant.
4) Add in evaporated milk and seasoning. Bring to boil and then simmer until the sauce starts to get thicker.
5) Add in prawns and stir-fry quickly until well mixed. Dish up and serve.

Tips:
The sauce must be cooked until thicken before adding the prawn. Otherwise, the prawns will be overcooked.

Updated: 15 May 2010
For those who like spicy dishes, you can add 1 tsp curry powder (in the seasoning) and 1 tsp chopped chilli padi in step (3).