Soba Salad

Soba is one of my family's favourite noodles and I usually make it when I am pressed for time and cannot cook a full Chinese meal with dishes and soup. 

This flavourful and easy to do Soba Salad from Gordan Ramsay was our dinner on a Sunday evening when we came home fairly late and I had to whip up something real quick. 

The mix of sauce gave the noodles and vegetables a lovely refreshing, yet light, flavours. I served this together with some sushi for a light and healthy Japanese dinner. 

Soba Salad (4 servings)

Recipe by Gordon Ramsay

Ingredients

• 300g soba noodles
• 100g kale, stalks removed, leaves shredded or torn (I used Chinese Kai Lan)
• 150g sugarsnap peas, topped and tailed, halved lengthways (I replaced with frozen corn)
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into ribbons (use a vegetable peeler)
• 2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
• 3cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1–2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1–1½ tbsp soy sauce
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 sheet of nori seaweed, finely sliced (optional)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• White sesame seeds for topping (my own addition)

Method

• Cook the soba noodles according to the packet instructions. When almost cooked, add the kale, sugarsnaps and carrots to the pan to blanch. Drain once the noodles are tender.
• Add all the remaining ingredients to the noodle mixture, season with a little salt and pepper, stir well and serve.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake. 

Cheddar Cornbread & Lentil Curry

Since I bought a bag of cornmeal to make the Orange Cornmeal Cake, I've been looking around for another cornmeal recipe so that it gets used up. If I don't, it may just be forgotten and I'd end up throwing it away when it expires which is such a waste. 

I came across this almost fat free (except for the cheese) corn bread recipe which turned out to be really delicious. I added a handful of basil which brought a special flavour to the bread. The combination of cornmeal, cheddar and basil was definitely a winning one. 

I also cooked a vegetarian lentil curry dish to go along with the bread. This is one of those recipes which I have made a few times because the cauliflower and sweet potato lends so much sweetness to the stew that not much seasoning is required. It was also a great way of getting more beans into my family diet. 

Cheddar Corn Bread (9 inch cast iron skillet or 8 inch square baking tray)

A Martha Stewart Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk (I combined half yoghurt and half milk and let it stand)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• A handful of basil (my own addition)

Method

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees (220 degrees C). In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, salt, and pepper; make a well in center of flour mixture. Add buttermilk and eggs to well, and whisk to loosen eggs. Gently incorporate dry ingredients, then mix in cheese.
• Place butter in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet; bake until butter is melted. Remove from oven, and tilt to coat bottom and sides.
• Pour batter into prepared skillet; bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cornbread cool in skillet at least 15 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature. Wrap completely cooled bread in plastic, and store at room temperature up to 1 day.

Lentil Curry

From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 head cauliflower (2 1/2 pounds), stemmed and separated into florets
• 1 cup brown lentils, picked over, well rinsed, and drained
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes with juice
• Coarse salt
• Plain low-fat yogurt, for serving (optional)

Method

• In a nonstick Dutch oven (5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid), heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 7 minutes.
• Add curry powder; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in sweet potatoes, cauliflower, lentils, tomatoes and their juice, and 1 1/2 cups water; season with salt.
• Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cover, and cook until lentils and sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately with yogurt, if desired.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake.

Three Flavoured Focaccia

Jamie Oliver claims that this focaccia is not fussy as in its pretty easy and straight forward - and I'm pretty much inclined to believe him as I've tried several of his recipes to great success. . Like Jamie, I made this one lazy weekend afternoon for dinner that evening.

I didn't even bother with my breadmaker as I'm usually quite lazy and would prefer not to hand knead anything. Since this only need five minutes of arm power, I decided to do so. It wasn't too bad after all! Very soon the focaccia was ready to proof and I set about making the toppings. I didn't follow his recipe for the toppings exactly and I made some substitutions yet it was still great! The caramelized onions, cherry tomatoes and cheese toppings went very well with the soft, fluffy focaccia bread. 

The great thing about the this focaccia is that you actually get to eat three different flavours all at once. My family really enjoyed this recipe and I'd be sure to do it again soon. 

Three Flavour Focaccia (1 12 inch by 10 inch tray)

Recipe by Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

          

For the dough

• 400 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100 g fine ground semolina flour or strong white bread flour
• sea salt
• 1 sachet dried yeast (2 1/4 tsp of instant yeas)
• ½ tablespoon golden caster sugar
• 300 ml water, lukewarm
• olive oil

Onion topping

• 2 red onions, finely sliced (I used white)
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Basil and cherry tomato topping

• 1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
• 1 large handful ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• white wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

For the three-cheese and rosemary topping

• 30 g Taleggio cheese
• 1 small log goat's cheese
• 1 handful Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked

Method

1. Dough

•  Place the flours and ½ tablespoon of sea salt into a large bowl, and make a well in the middle. Add the yeast and sugar to the lukewarm water, and mix with a fork. Leave this for a few minutes and, when it starts to foam, slowly pour it into the well, mixing with a fork as you go.
• As soon as all the ingredients come together, which may take a minute or so, knead vigorously for around 5 minutes until you have a smooth, springy, soft dough.
• Lightly oil a large bowl with some olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Dust with a little extra flour, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for 30 minutes until doubled in size.
• While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7 and prepare the toppings (I baked at 190°C).

2. Prepare the toppings -

• Onion Topping: For the balsamic onion topping, fry the sliced onions and thyme leaves in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar, reduce for a minute or two, then leave to cool.
• Basil and cherry tomato topping: Roughly chop the basil leaves and pop them into a bowl with the cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a tiny splash of white wine vinegar. Add the garlic and mix it all.

3.  Back to the dough

• To cook the focaccia, as soon as the dough has risen, pound it then place on a baking tray and spread it out to cover the tray. Push down roughly on top of the dough like a piano to make lots of rough dips and wells.
• Divide the onion and the tomato toppings over two thirds of the focaccia. 
• For the three-cheese and rosemary topping, break up the Taleggio and the goat's cheese over the remaining third of the focaccia. Sprinkle over the grated Parmesan and rosemary leaves and season with pepper. Finish with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. 
• Leave to prove for a further 20 minutes then bake for 20 minutes, until golden on top and soft in the middle.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake.

Sweet Potato Ondeh Ondeh

Wishing one and all a very Happy New Year! I hope everyone will have a great 2014.

I simply love biting into an Ondeh Ondeh coated with coconut and Gula Melaka oozing out. When I saw these delicious snacks from Jessie of Cooking Moments, I was really fascinated as it was made of healthy sweet potatoes. 

These Ondeh Ondeh are wonderfully chewy as they are dipped into ice cold water once they are boiled. 

The sweet potatoes give a lovely colour to the Ondeh Ondeh. They are however not sweet to taste, so a little sugar added to the dough makes it better. These are really addictive and I couldn't help popping one after another into my mouth!

Sweet Potato Ondeh-Ondeh (About 24)

Recipe from Jessie of Cooking Moments

Skin Ingredients:

• 150 g Mashed Sweet Potato
• 150 g Glutinous Rice Flour
• 95 g Icy Cold Water A (I used 85 g)
• 12 g Caster Sugar

Filling Ingredient:

• 100 g Palm Sugar (Gula Melaka) – I used 90g

Coating Ingredients:

• 100 g Shredded Coconut
• 1/4tsp Salt
• 1 Pandan Leaf, tied a knot

Others:

• Pot of water for boiling 
• Another pot of icy cold water for dipping (B)

Method

Preparation ahead of time

• Fill up a bowl with room temperature water. Freeze for 30 minutes or until further use.
• Chop the gula melaka roughly. Place in a stick blender, blitz until resembles fine crumbs. Set aside.
• Mix coconut with salt. Steam with pandan leaf until soft.

Rolling method

• To make the dough, mix flour with sweet potato until resembles coarse crumbs. Add water A, starting with 50ml, knead the dough.  Add little bit of water at a time(I added 15ml each time) & knead until the dough is pliable & not sticky.
• Place the dough in a bowl, cover with a clean, wet tea towel to prevent dryness.
• Grab a small piece of dough, about 15g and roll into ball.  Either flatten it or make it into a small bowl-shape, place some gula melaka inside (Do not overfill or the skin will burst).
• Carefully seal & roll into balls again. Place on a lined tray. Cover with cling wrap. Repeat until the dough is all used up.
• Remove water (B) from the freezer.
• Cook ondeh-ondeh in boiling water until they float up.  Do this in small batches. Don’t over-crowded the cooking pot. Give a gentle stir to the ondeh-ondeh if they stick to the base of the pot for too long. They should be cooked within a few minutes.
• Very quickly, remove from hot water & place in the cold water.
• Remove from the cold water, then coat with coconut before serve.

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Sunflower Seeds Carrot Cake

    I have an entire family of carrot cake lovers - not the Chinese type of carrot cake but the western version... I think I have at least five carrot cake recipes on this blog so when I came across Bill Granger's version I couldn't resist making it again. 

Most carrot cake recipes are fairly similar - consisting of carrot, raisins and nuts. Bill Granger's recipe calls for pumpkin seeds which added a lovely crunch and texture to the cake. I also liked the addition of orange zest and nutmeg which gave a spicy and citrus after taste.   

Overall, we loved this moist and delicious carrot cake recipe. It's definitely a recipe which would work well for Christmas parties. 

Bill Granger's Carrot Cake (7 inch square)

Recipe from here

• 1 1/3 cups plain flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups grated carrot
• 1 1/4 cups soft brown sugar (reduced to 3/4 cup and it was sweet enough for me!)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup light flavoured cooking oil (I used 3/4 canola oil and 1/4 cup soy milk)
• 3/4 cup sultanas
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• Zest of 1 orange

Ingredients

• Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius (non fan-forced).
• Lightly grease & line a 24cm springform cake tin (8 inch) with baking paper 
• In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon & nutmeg.
• Stir in the grated carrot.
• Make a well in the centre & set aside.
• In medium bowl whisk sugar & eggs until well blended.
• Gradually whisk in the oil until well mixed & glossy
• Pour wet mix into well in dry mix & stir until just combined.
• Gently fold through the sultanas, pumpkin seeds, nuts & orange zest.
• Pour batter into prepared cake tin.
• Bake for about 1 1/4 hours (I baked for 45 mins)
• Cake is cooked when skewer comes out clean.
• Leave in tin for about 5 minutes.
• Run flat blade around the outside of the cake before undoing side of springform & turning out onto wire cake cooling rack.
• Allow to cool completely before adding desired frosting. I simply spread a layer of softened cream cheese.

I am submitting this to the "Baby Sumo's Christmas Recipes Collection 2013" event here.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake. 

Gado Gado (Indonesian Salad)

The post for Little Thumbs Up October: Soya Beans is here. Please go to this link to submit your posting. Thank you!

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As a veggie and salad lover, the Gado Gado, a Indonesia salad, is one of my favourite salads of all time. I love the mix of ingredients, which could be any of your favourite vegetables. Mine top picks for Gado Gado would be long beans, potatoes, bean sprouts and fried bean curd and tempeh. I have seen other Gado Gado which uses cabbage, spinach and chayote - so its really up to your imagination. 

The best part about Gado Gado is undoubtedly the sauce - a thick, creamy and slightly tangy mixture of peanuts, tamarind juice, prawn paste, chilli and sugar.  In some versions, coconut milk is also added for texture fragrance and creaminess. In this recipe, I substituted ground cashew nuts for peanuts. It was very delicious as well given that cashews have a lovely flavour. Still I much prefer the peanut version. 

The toppings and garnish for the Gado Gado is a must and this could be fried shallots, boiled eggs and lots of crackers. The most delicious would be the slightly bitter Melingjo nut crackers (which is quite hard to find locally) or one can simply use fish crackers. The entire combination is simply divine!

Gado Gado (Serves 2-3)

Sauce recipe from here

Salad

• 2 pieces of firm tofu (tau kwa), pan fried in a little oil
• 1 piece of tempeh, pan fried in a little oil
• 1 potato, sliced and boiled
• 1 Japanese cucumber, sliced
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 50 g of bean sprouts, blanched
• 150 g of long beans, blanched
• Romaine leaves or Butterhead lettuce leaves

Garnish

• 2 hard boiled eggs
• Crackers
• Fried shallots

Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp dried shrimp paste
• 3 red bird's eye chillis, cut up
• 1/4 of palm sugar, dissolved in 1/4 cup of water over a slow fire
• 1 cup of finely grounded roasted peanut (or 1 cup peanut butter) - I used 1 cup of grounded cashew nuts
• 20 g of tamarind with 1/4 hot water, remove the seeds 
• 1/2 to 1 cup of water, depending on desired thickness of sauce

Method

• Grind these ingredients with a mortar and pestle or in a blender until they’re smooth: salt, dried shrimp paste, red bird’s eye chilis, palm sugar 
• Add finely ground roasted peanuts (or 1 cup of peanut butter) and grind it all some more until it’s mixed well. If you use peanut butter instead of ground roasted peanuts, add less salt because there’s salt in the peanut butter.
• Add tamarind juice to the mixture. 
• Add ½ to 1 cup of water and mix it well. Amount of water depends on how thick you want sauce to be.
• Transfer the vegetables to a serving plate and pour the sauce on top of it or mix all the vegetables with the sauce in the mortar before serving.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Mich of Piece of Cake at this post.

Homemade Tofu Burger

Burger patties sold commercially, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, aren't probably the healthiest version. I've always wanted to make my own tofu burgers with fresh ingredients and no preservatives and additives. 

Now that I'm hosting Little Thumbs Up for October and the theme is Soya Beans, there is no more excuse for being lazy. Finally, here's my home made tofu burger patties with Asian inspired flavours.

Version one - the one without sprouts for my kids...

And version two - the one with sprouts for me!

Although it takes a while to chop up the ingredients aside, this burger is relatively easy to make and I love the aromatic flavours of the coriander, lime leaves, chilli and seasame oil coming through with each bite. It's great served with regular burger condiments such as mustard, relish, pickles or just simply a dollop of ketchup!

For those who want a healthier burger treat, this is really one delicious home made version. I made them into mini patties and my kids loved it so much and had two of these mini burgers each. 

Home made Tofu Burgers (Makes 6-10 patties depending on size)

Recipe adapted from The Little Teochew

Tofu Patties:

• 480 g firm tofu (tau kwa)
• 1 yellow onion, sliced finely
• 1 sprig coriander (leaves only), sliced finely
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, sliced very, very finely
• 1 red chilli (deseeded), sliced very finely
• 1/3 cup sharp cheddar or parmesan, grated (add more if desired or omit for Vegans)
• Pinch of paprika or cayenne pepper
• Pinch of pepper
• Pinch of salt (taste test as you go because sharp cheeses can be very salty)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (I toasted 5 slices of bread and blitzed them in a food processor)
• 1-2 tsp sesame oil
• 6 - 8 tbsp of water (add enough so that pattie holds well together and does not fall apart)
• Vegetable oil for frying

For serving:

• Burger buns (number depends on number of patties)
• Butterhead lettuce or baby romaine leaves
• Tomato slices
• Condiments of your choice - mustard, relish, ketchup

Method

• Mash tofu till crumbly. Add chopped onions, coriander, kaffir lime leaves, chilli, cheese, breadcrumbs and paprika. Mix well. Season with salt, pepper and sesame oil. Do a taste test to determine if more seasoning is needed. 
• Add 6 tbsp of water to the mixture till it resembles fine wet sand. Shape mixture into patties, and flatten them gently using your palms. If the patties do not hold together, add a little more water. It is important to flatten the patties as much as possible so that they brown evenly on the pan.
• In a frying pan, under a small-medium flame, heat the vegetable oil. The oil/pan must hot be too hot because the bread crumbs in the patty will burn. Fry the patties till crisp and golden brown on both sides.
• Slice your burger buns horizontally and lightly butter both halves. Place some lettuce leaves on top of the bun, followed by the tofu patty, and then with tomato slices. Then cover it with the top half of the bun, and you are ready to dig in!

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Mich of Piece of Cake at this post.

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

Alongside Zoe and Doreen, I'll be hosting next month's Little Thumbs Up for October 2013 and the theme is Soy Beans! 

The Soy Beans theme for next month includes dishes/dessert that include any soy-related products such as:
- tofu
- tempeh
- soya bean milk
- soya sauce only as main ingredient (minimal 2 tsp)
- miso

Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Doreen of my little favourite DIY and I look forward to having you cook alongside us for this event.

Coincidentally, I'm posting a recipe today which involves Tofu from The Pioneer Woman. Now that my hubby is on a healthier eating regime, I source for a more vegetarian recipes which are fuss free and yet filling. It's almost impossible to find vegetarian recipes on the Pioneer Woman's website (if you read her intro, though previously vegetarian, she is married to a meat-eating Marlboro Man!) so this is one of those rare ones. 

The tofu filling for the wraps is a very basic recipe and I put in additional vegetable (water chestnuts and shitake mushrooms) for extra flavour and texture, and you may want to add in some salt and pepper to taste if you prefer. What really added an extra oomp to the filling was the use of balsamic vinegar which added that something special to the tofu filling. 

Served wrapped in crunchy salad vegetables and topped with avocados  this made a very healthy, yet delicious lunch I was happy to serve at home. 

Tofu Lettuce Wraps (Serves 6)

Recipe by Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons Peanut Or Olive Oil
• 1 package (about 12-14 Oz. Size) Firm Tofu
• 2 ears Corn (or 1 1/2 Cups Frozen Corn Kernels)
• 1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder (more to taste)
• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
•  Romaine Lettuce Hearts
• 2 whole Avocados, Sliced
• 1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar (optional) - I used 2 tsp
• 50 g of water chestnuts (my own addition)
• 4 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked to soften for a few hours (my own addition)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Method

• Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Throw in the tofu, then break it up into very small pieces. Cook tofu for several minutes, until much of the liquid cooks off and tofu starts to turn golden.
• Cut kernels off the cobs of corn and throw it in with the tofu. Cook for a few minutes.(corn can remain crunchy.)
• Chop up the water chestnuts and shitake mushrooms and add them at the same time as the corn.
• Add chili powder and soy sauce, then cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Turn off heat and stir in balsamic if using.
• Pile mixture into romaine hearts, then add sliced of avocado. Fold up and chow down!

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake. 

Pumpkin Kaya

I don't normally buy Kaya - as much as it is delicious, it isn't quite healthy. My daughter has been asking for Kaya so I made this pumpkin version, which contains the goodness of pumpkins and does not have any eggs. 

Kaya is really easy to make - with kitchen gadgets such as a blender to turn the pumpkin into a fine puree. One can also use the mash pumpkin with fork method but that will take more effort. A slow cooker also really helps as this Kaya needs to be cooked for about 3 hours. An alternative is to cook it over the stove on a double boiler which is pretty tiring as you'll have to keep stirring. It also tends to burn more easily and dry up when double boiled on the stove. 

I've seen a few Pumpkin Kaya recipes which says you can cook it over the Kaya directly on the stove for about 15-20 minutes. According to Wendy of A Table for 2, if the Kaya that isn't cooked long enough would not store well and needs to be finished over a few days. Wendy's slow cooked Kaya was still good at week six and mine was fine after three weeks (I had finished it by then).

This rich and thick Pumpkin Kaya is sweet and creamy, and goes great on a slice of soft white bread. 

Pumpkin Kaya (1 medium jar)

Adapted from Table for 2

Ingredients

• 500 g pumpkin (without seeds and skin), steamed
• 100 g gula melaka
• 175 ml thick coconut milk
• 3 blades of pandan leaves

Method

• Steam pumpkin flesh until soft. Mash up and place inside blender.
• Pour in coconut milk and blend till smooth.
• Put inside slow cooker with the chopped gula melaka and pandan leaves tied in a knot
• Cook on high for 1 hour and on low for 2 hours till jam is thick and creamy. Stir occasionally.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Joceline from Butter. Flour and Me, at this post.