Steamed Eggs

Steamed Eggs

Ever wanted something light and refreshing and yet hearty and warm? Sounds like an oxymoron, I know! But there is a dish that satisfies all of the above, is super healthy, doesn’t take a lot of ingredients and so simple to make.

Total Time: 15

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • ⅓ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 cup water
  • white pepper to taste (optional)

Directions:

Beat 2 eggs in serving dish

  1. Beat eggs, oil and salt in a bowl or deep dish
  2. Slowly beat water into egg mixture
  3. Let foam settle, if any

    4. Boiling water in steamer

  4. Bring water to a boil in steamer
  5. Steam for 10 minutes

    6. Steamed egg with spoon

  6. Check for doneness by cutting through with a chopstick/spoon to check for firmness. It should jiggle, but not fall apart or be water on the bottom although there will be some liquid on top from the steam
  7. Sprinkle a dash of white pepper to taste

Enjoy!

Indonesian Style Noodle – Mie Goreng

IMG_5169

Mei Goreng is an Indonesian street food that’s mainly egg noodles with veggies, a fried egg on top and a decadent sauce that makes this dish irresistible!

Though I’ve never tried the real deal in Indonesia, my closest encounter was when I was on a quest for different instant noodles! While the instant noodle is great, I wanted something healthier with a lot more flavor and flair!

This is my fresh take with fresh egg noodles. The best part of this dish is you can create this dish with whatever vegetables or protein you have on hand! It’s also a very vegetarian friendly dish where you can substitute meat protein with tofu or other hardly vegetables.

Total Time: 30

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1lb fresh egg noodles
  • 0.5 cup aspargus
  • 0.5 cup nappa cabbage
  • 1/2 cup pork
  • 1 large shallot
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 stalks green onion
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp kapis manis or sweet sauce
  • 1 tbsp dark soy
  • 1/4 cup water or broth

Directions:

    packaged egg noodles

  1. Prepare noodles based on package instructions. Set aside. If noodles are too long, you can cut them with kitchen shears
  2. Stir fry the the onion and shallots to bring out their aromas

    3. vegetable stir fry

  3. Add asparagus and cook until it turns bright green. Remove from wok and set aside. Season after each item you add in
  4. Add a little bit of oil into work (no need to wash!) and cook pork. Set aside with the vegetables.
  5. Add a little bit of oil and stir fry the napa cabbage. Napa cabbage has a lot of water content, so you’ll want to cook this separately so the other vegetables don’t get soggy. You can leave the liquid in the pan for the next step
  6. Add the noodles and the sauce. Stir and toss until the noodles absorb all the liquid.
  7. Combine with the vegetables and pork until well incorporated. Plate noodles in serving bowl
  8. The last and probably the best part, a fried egg on top. I like mine sunny side up, but you can have it any way you like. Top the noodles with the fried egg and garnish with green onions. Enjoy!

Stuffed Jalapeno & Salami Cheesy Bread

Jalapeno Stuffed Cheesy Bread

This is the ultimate crowd pleaser. Whether you are making it for a party, or just snacks for the kids (or the kids at heart), this is one easy recipe that’s bound for seconds.

I make the most use out of my bread machine maker which has a dough setting. It’ll knead and set the temperature for the perfecting rising environment, but if you don’t have a breadmaker, try using a store bought pizza dough. And if you really want to go traditional, here’s a kneadless pizza dough recipe.

Total Time: 30

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1lb pizza dough
  • 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 20 pieces of pickled jalapenos, chopped
  • 5-7 slices of salami, chopped
  • olive oil

Directions:

    dough on floured surface

  1. Lightly flour working surface area. Set dough on area

    2. dough cut in strips

  2. Cut dough lengthwise into 4 strips evenly with a dough cutter. Be sure to make the cuts clean without stretching the dough. Cut horizontally into 3 to make 12 miniture doughs

    3. indent in dough in muffin pan

  3. Place cut dough into greased muffin/cupcake pan and make a small dent in the middle by pressing gently with thumb/finger. Be careful not to press the rest of the dough flat. The air bubbles in the dough is what makes the bread nice and fluffy!

    4. dough stuffed with jalapenos and salami

  4. Fill the center with some chopped jalapenos, salami

    5. stuffed bread topped with cheese

  5. Top the filling with cheese. The sides of the bread will push upwards as the filling push downward. It will cover up the filling when dough rises in oven.

    6. IMG_5110

  6. Bake for 20 minutes in 350 degree oven

    7. cheesy bread cooling on rack

  7. Rest on cooling rack for 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm

Braised Oxtail

braised oxtailOxtail. Sounds so much more exotic than cowtail!

Oxtail is traditionally the tail of steer or castrated cattle, but today the tail comes from both male and female. While oxtail was once considered peasant food like all “miscellaneous” parts, it’s has gotten a heftier price tag as this food caught on, sometimes costing as much as some of the choicer meats. A whole oxtail weighs a good 5-7 lbs and is usually cut into more manageable pieces.

This recipe is a hearty dish, great for fall or colder weather, but I enjoy it year round!

Total Time: 1hr 30 minutes

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1hr

Ingredients:

  • 3lbs oxtail
  • 3 large russet potatoes
  • 3 large carrots
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.2 tsp black pepper
  • 5 slices of ginger
  • 0.25 cup of soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 2-3 star anise
  • 2-3 dried red chilli
  • 2 tbsp xiao-xin wine or dry sherry (any type of liquor works, really)

Directions:

    blanching oxtail

    IMG_4992

  1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanche the oxtail in boiling water until the meat is no longer red (about 3 minutes). This is to clean off the residue that you’ll see in the water as well as get rid of the sometimes musty taste. Remove and rinse with cold water.

    2. browning oxtail

  2. Heat pan with a drizzle of oil. Brown all sides of oxtail.
  3. Season with salt and pepper. Then add the xiao-xin wine, let the alcohol burn off.

    4. sliced ginger

    star anise

    oxtail - covered water

  4. Add ginger, star anise, and chilli peppers. Add water, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Cover and cook for 30-40 minutes.

    5. diced carrots

    diced potatoes

    potatoes soaking

  5. In the meantime, prepare the root vegetables by peeling both the carrots and potatoes. Cut into 1-1.5 inch chunks. Soak vegetables in bowl of water. This helps prevent the potatoes from turning color and also removes some of the starch

    6. oxtail - add veg

  6. Give the oxtail a turn and then add the vegetables on top. It’s OK for the vegetables not to submerge into the sauce
  7. When potatoes and carrots are tender (about 15-20 minutes after cooking), toss the vegetables with the oxtail to coat the vegetables with the sauce. The potatoes should begin to break apart and the starch will thicken the sauce. Season to taste. Usually the soy sauce is salty enough and the vegetables absorb enough sauce to be seasoned enough
  8. Serve over rice

Chayote and Egg Stew

Chayote and Egg Stew

Although sometimes called “Chayote Squash”, it’s actually a fruit that is originally native to Central America, but is widely consumed worldwide. It has a mild, sweet flavor and tender soft texture when cooked.

This recipe is great for cooler nights or as a light dinner.

Total Time: 15 minutes

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 medium sized chayotes
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp white pepper

Directions:

    chayote, wrapper, peeler

  1. Chayote is usually sold contained within a small plastic bag.

    2. Chayote Sap

  2. While the skin is edible, it can be sometimes tough. A sticky sap will also seep out once you remove the skin, which is why the little plastic bag comes in handy as a makeshift glove when peeling the skin. However, the bag might only fit smaller hands so be careful if you plan to use it. Or you can peel the skin while the fruit is submerged in water so the sap can rinse off immediately.

    3. sliced chayote

  3. Follow the slit on top to slice chayote in half and remove the skin from the folds. Then core the fruit when quartered. Cut into thin slices

    4. sautee chayote

  4. Heat oil in pan and sautee chayote for about 2-3 minutes until it is heated through and starts to brown a little. Season with salt and pepper.

    5. chayote simmering

  5. Add water and cover. Simmer for about 5-7 minutes until soft. It is tender when it can be easily cut through with a fork or spoon. Keep an eye on the liquid to make sure it doesn’t dry out completely.

    6. egg chayote

  6. Add eggs and stir in with chayote. Turn off heat once the egg is no longer translucent. Season with white pepper for a little extra kick

    7. chayote stew

  7. You can serve this over rice or skip the rice for a low carb meal. It’s a hearty dish so it will leave you satisfied either way.

Mint Lemonade

Iced cold glass of minty lemonade

Summer’s here! There’s nothing more refreshing than a nice tall glass of ice cold lemonade. But hey! We’re trying to cure moodiness so we’re going to kick it up a notch with some mint!

This recipe is very similar to a virgin mojito with the exception that we are using lemon instead of lime. I also like it better with honey vs sugar, but it works either way. So call it what you will, I call it delicious!

Ingredients:

  • 3 large Lemons
  • 1/2 bunch mint
  • 5 tbsp honey
  • 5 cups water
  • 1/2 luke warm water

Directions:

Honey

    1. Dissolve honey in luke warm water

lemon slices

    1. slice lemons and add to pitcher

Fresh Mint

  1. Remove mint leaves from stem and add to pitcher. Break the leaves to release the aroma further.
  2. Add honey water or simple sugar syrup
  3. Add water

    4. Mint Lemonade

  4. Stir and serve with ice
  5. Garnish with lemon slices and mint

Tip: Mint leaves will wilt and turn a brownish color over time so it’s best to prepare this fresh close to serving.