Stir-Fried Dou Miao (Pea Shoots)

Dou Miao (Pea Shoots) is by far, the easiest vegetable to prepare and cook.

I don't have to wash very thoroughly because there are not much soil on it and I don't have to worry that the leaf will wither if I leave it in the wok for a slightly longer time.




















Ingredients
300 gm Dou Miao (pea shoots)
1/2 a Carrot (sliced)
2 Mushrooms (soaked and cut into two)
2 cups of Stock*
5-6 slices of Ginger* / 2 tbsp chopped Garlic

*As I was preparing a strict vegetarian meal, I have to use ginger and yellow beans for the stock


Seasonings
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp cooking oil


Mixed Seasonings
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp cooking wine

1 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp water (room temperature)


Method
1) Heat cooking oil in the wok
2) Stir in ginger/garlic until lightly brown
3) Stir fry Dou Miao, 1 tbsp light soy sauce and stock just enough not to let the vegetable dry out
4) Remove from wok and place the vegetables in a plate
5) Add mixed seasonings and remaining stock to the wok and simmer mushroom and carrot in the liquid until the carrot is suitably soft.
6) Thicken the gravy with cornflour mixture
7) Pour gravy over Dou Miao and serve

Fried Beancurd

Frying Beancurd is actually nothing difficult to accomplish... until you are not frying it in a non-stick pan. However, I came to realise that coating it with flour not only helps to reduce (not eliminate) the 'stickiness' in a normal steel wok, it also enhances the taste by making the beancurd crispier. Definitely worth a try.

Ingredients

• 2 beancurds cut into four cubes each
• 5 tbsp corn flour
• Cooking oil

Seasonings

• Salt

Method

1) Heat oil in high heat
2) Coat the beancurds lightly with corn flour
3) Dip the beancurds into the heated oil
4) Remove from wok
5) Sprinkle lightly with salt while it is still hot
6) Serve

Mock Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

The sauce recipe I found online nearly destroyed my taste buds with the very very huge portion of oyster sauce. It's either a typo error or some act of mischief. In any case, I was quite skeptical of the recipe and decided to try half the suggestion portion. Even then, it was way too saltish for any human tongue. I was lucky to be able to remedise the situation to turn it into a nice sauce fit for consumption.


















Ingredients

• Mock Chicken
• Mushroom (cut into small slices)

Mixture for sauce

• 1 tbsp (not 12!) oyster sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 small bowl of stock
• 1/2 tbsp sweet soy sauce

Method

1) Put Mock chicken in Healsio and set to roast for 10 minutes
2) Cook sauce and mushroom until the gravy bubbles
3) Add Mock chicken to sauce while the fire is still on (I separated the mock chicken and sauce because my hub came back late. Don't want it to turn soggy). Serve.

Ee-fu Noodles Soup

My hub was out buying a PC for gaming. I was starving and can't wait till dinner time. As usual, I was too lazy to go down to da bao, nor was I willing to order yet another McDelivery meal as I can't afford to take in any more oily food. I decided to cook something quick and easy...

Do not be deceived by the looks of this bowl of instant Ee-fu noodles soup. It is simple... but simply delicious! :D~~~



















It tastes similar to my favourite myojo chicken instant noodles, just that it is without the MSG! The best part is, it is as easy as cooking instant noodles!

Ingredients

• Hong Kong Ee-Fu Noodles
• Vegetarian Mock Meat
• Vegetarian Ham
• Mixed vegetables
• Egg

Seasoning

• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar

Method

1) Cook the Mock Meat, Ham and vegetables for about 3 minutes.
2) Add the Ee-Fu noodles into the boiling water until it softens.
3) Add the light soy sauce and sugar.
4) Add the egg into the noodles and switch off the fire immediately.
5) Mix the egg thoroughly in the soup and serve.

French Fries

Fries, Glorious Fries - When Dinner is just not enough...

What happens when I do not have enough for dinner and am too lazy to get out of my house to da bao or even take out my pot to cook instant noodles? This.



















Fries has always been my favourite since young. I always find it so difficult to resist a packet of fries that, somehow, find its way to me. Most people would pop one into their mouth at any one time, but I would usually do a two or three. They eat fries. I devour. *roar* Yes, I love fries THIS much.

Today, I shall share with you how we can eat fries with less (but definitely not without) guilt. Let Healsio do the magic of cooking fries without oil! Here goes...

Ingredients

• Packet Frozen Fries
• Salt

Method

1) Place the fries on the Healsio rack and bake for 40 minutes at 200 degrees*

2) When the fries are ready, sprinkle salt evenly while it is still hot

*It's quite a bit of time, I know. But for a less oily (and thus sinful) snack, it's kinda worth the time. :) To cut down the time, you may want to increase the temperature to 220 degrees. I don't really encourage that though, as the heat will not be evenly distributed and you may get some parts of the fries charred. I know because I have tried that before :P

Geez... as I post this crispy fries photo, I can feel my hunger again. I must resist the temptation to eat at this late hour. *dongz* >_<

Steam Fish

Ingredients

• Fish (Xue Yu)
• Ginger (sliced)
• Spring Onion (cut into 2 inches)
• Red Chilli (cut into strips)

Seasonings (mixed together)

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp sesame oil

Method

1) Place sliced ginger below and above the fish (to remove the fishy smell)
2) Steam for 10 minutes in Healsio
3) Pour mixed seasonings over the fish and add the spring onion and red chilli
4) Steam for another 10 minutes
5) Serve with steamy rice


The texture of the fish after it has been steamed for 20 minutes is just nice. The gravy (mostly from the water that were formed during the steam), taste great when poured over the rice. Savoury. Love it! :)

Pork Cutlet

As promised, let me show you the magic that my Healsio can perform. Ta-da... presenting Crispy, Tender Pork Cutlet - The Oil-free and Healthy way of cooking! :D

Ingredients

• Pork Loin
• Cream Crackers* (finely crushed)
• Egg (beaten)

*you can used packet bread crumbs too, but for a great 'crunch' effect, I like to use the former. I used to find it difficult and time consuming to crush the cream crackers into really fine bits with a cutlery or even my bare hands. I later found out that by wrapping the crackers in paper towel and using a meat tenderizer to crush, it not only saves loads of efforts in retrieving bits and pieces that 'flew' off during the crushing, but time as well! In the process, the paper towel also helps to absorb some of the oil in the crackers, resulting in a healthier treat! :)

Seasonings

• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 tsp Oyster Sauce (optional)
• 1 tbsp Cooking Wine
• 1 tsp Sesame Oil
• Dash of Pepper
• 1 tbsp Corn Flour (or just enough to coat a thin layer on the meat)

Method

1) Cut the meat into big slices with a reasonable width for each slice. I prefer not too thin a slice as I like the shiok feeling of sinking my teeth deep into the meat. :P

2) Tenderize the meat by using the meat tenderizer tool or the back end of the cleaver.

3) Marinate the meat with the seasonings, corn flour being the last to be added. Leave it in the fridge for at least half an hour.

4) Soak the meat into the beaten egg.

5) Coat the meat in the crushed cream crackers.

6) Place the processed meat into Healsio and set to 'grill' for 10 minutes on each side while you attend to the other dishes. (and yes, not even a drip of cooking oil is used!)

There you go! The hassle-free, oil-less, tender, crispy-py pork cutlet in 20 minutes. ;)

Healsio

That small, yet Powerful All-in-One Machine of mine...

One of my prized possessions in my kitchen is my small, yet multi-functional Red Sharp Healsio Steam Oven.

Many exclaimed in shock when they learnt the price of this compact, box-like machine. That's despite the fact that I got it at half the market price back then at a mere $900! Still, this price is too much for many to accept.

I don't blame them. They mistook my steam oven for some normal microwave oven. The exhorbitant price of $1800 (currently $1300+) just doesn't seem to justify for the purchase.

Or so this is what they think.

My Sharp Healsio is far from just having the usual reheat function that most microwave ovens have. It not only reheats, steams, grills, roasts, defrost, it also bakes. And recently, I discovered its hidden talent. It fries! Well, at least, the end product looks and tastes like it has been fried!

We, who live in a small HDB flat are especially delighted with it's all-in-one feature because that means that we don't have to set aside kitchen space for a separate steamer, oven, griller, etc because it is so space-efficient. And of coz, that would also mean that money is saved from buying additional products.

What I love most about this steam oven is that it uses water (at superheated levels) to cook food. There is no need to worry about the radiation and the harmful effects it will bring about in the long term as compared to microwave oven. The amazing thing is, it is able to reduce the oil and salt in the food AND, at the same time, preserve the vitamins and moisture in the food.

I use my Healsio at least once a day to make my breakfast, to whip up dinner or even to bake fries. I not only get hot piping tasty food, but also saves plenty of time by doing other stuff while this little red box is at work.

Incredible product. A must-have item for all busy people, housewives, health-conscious people alike!

To prove my point further on how amazing Healsio can be, I will share with you how I 'fry' pork cutlet the oil-less and healsio way! So keep a lookout for my next post!

Meanwhile, more information on the fat-zapping, salt-reducing, vitamins-preserving miracle machine... :)

Sharp Healsio water oven

14/03/2005

Fancy an oven that zaps the fat from your food?

Well, Sharp's water oven, which we announced in Gadget Buzz last October, has finally made its way here to Singapore--the first country regionally to get it. For those still in the dark, the Healsio (an approximation of the Japanese meaning "reducing salt") utilizes steam superheated at 300 degrees Celsius. This potent steambath apparently melts away fat and reduces oil and salt in meat, but amazingly won't wilt your veggies into lifeless clumps, instead preserving those essential nutrients and vitamins.

Those of us at the press launch were equally amazed that the Healsio could toast bread with just water, albeit at superheated levels. For those watching their figure, the company claims that's eight times more fat removed to using a frying pan, 13 percent more calories cut, and thrice the salt reduced in grilled fish compared with cooking on a gas grill. For us watching the figures, that's six times the price of a conventional microwave oven at your neighborhood home appliance store.

Price: S$1,799 (US$1,111) Availability: Singapore from mid-March, only in silver Device: Steam oven Basic specs: 25 liters, 240-240v, 50Hz, 21 menus, functions include steam, grill, roast, bake, defrost and reheat, 850ml water tank, 520 x 490 x 345mm, 20kg

About the blogger...

Cooking is something I picked up some time in Sep 2006, when my hubby dearest insisted that we should eat more home cooked food. 'Wokking' around to prepare dinner was quite of a struggle for me initially, especially when I am still 'working' in the daytime. The time and effort needed to prepare the food, however simple the receipe, can be quite taxing.

I soon find the joy in cooking as I get to whip up different dishes and experiment varying ways of cooking... My husband thus become the (willing) victim for my many 'experiments'.

Of coz, there are successful cases as well. :) Each time the plate is wiped clean of the food I cooked, I am assured that every bit of love I put into preparing each meal is very well reciprocated. ;)