Fresh Yam Salad

 

Ingredients:

Japanese Fresh Yam - remove skin and cut into thick shreds (sensitive hand better put gloves on)

Lettuce - salad size

Cucumber - sliced

Cherry Tomatoes - halves

Okra - blanch 1 min, pour to ice water, then drain and dry, slanted slice into half

Shredded Seaweeds

Rice Crispy or roasted sesame

Sesame salad dressing of your choice

How to Make:

mix all together with the amount of sesame salad dressing you prefer, then sprinkle with shredded seaweeds, rice crispy or roasted sesame.

Love this crunchy and nutritious salad. Enjoy!

Burdock & Carrot Salad

 

* credits to @jeffreyveggielife, my vegan cuisine teacher

Ingredients:

Burdock 90g - rub clean and slice

Carrot 90 g - clean, remove skin and slice

Seasoned Monkey Mushroom 80g - pan fried and slice (I used the one which is frozen and purchased from Kowloon City 廣益行)

大葉 (looks like Shiso leaves, but bigger in size) - roll it up and slice

Japanese Mustard (水菜） rinse and spin cut into salad size

pickled plums - remove seeds and mash it

Sesame - 3tbsp - grinded

Salad Sauce:

Soy Sauce x 2tbsp （I used Kikoman 萬字牌 特選丸大豆減鹽)

Brown Sugar (or monk fruit sugar) x 1.5 tbsp

mirin x 2 tbsp

How to Make it:

1. Cook the sauce. Once boiled, turn to medium low heat and cook for 5 min. Then set aside to a bowl.

2. Heat up a pan, add sesame oil and stir fry the burdocks and carrots in medium fire, can add 1-2tbsp of water, until they are cooked - "crunchy soft".

3. Add the cooked burdock and carrots to the bowl with the salad sauce. Sprinkle with 2/3 of the grinded sesame on top. Cover with cling wrap and place to fridge.

4. Once cooled and ready to eat, take out the bowl from the fridge, add the mashed pickled plums, the sliced shiso leaves, the sliced Monkey Mushrooms and the Japanese Mustard and mix well.

5. Use hand to plate on serving dish or bowl, sprinkle the remaining grinded sesame on top.

Enjoy!

中華冷麵 Cold Noodles

 

* Credits to @jeffreyveggielife, my J'shojin (vegan) cuisine teacher

Ingredients:

Marinated Monkey Mushroom (I used the one which is frozen and purchased from Kowloon City 廣益行) - sliced and pan fried in frying pan

Abura-age (油揚 - Deep fried Tofu Skin） (Can be purchased from Sogo or City Super tofu section in fridge)

Dried Seaweed - rehydrate in water and squeeze out water

Cucumber - shreds or slices

Tomato - thin slices

Noodle (choose a type good for this dish. Can be purchased from Sogo or City Super noodles section in fridge)

Eggs omelette (for vegetarian version, not vegan version) - slices

Sesame - grinded

Noodle Sauce:

Soy Sauce x 4 tbsp （I used Kikoman 萬字牌 特選丸大豆減鹽)

Rice Vinegar x 3 tbsp

Maple or Agave Syrup x 3 tbsp

Sesame Oil x 1 tbsp

Vegan Mushroom Powder (I used Vigor & Health 素高倍鮮G粉）

Vegan Soup base 200ml (just soak 1 small pc of Konbu Kelp together with 2 dried mushrooms in 1L water overnight, chinese mushrooms rinse with corn starch and water)

How to Make:

1. Cook the noodle sauce in pot until all mixed. Then cool down and place in fridge.

2. Noodles cooked as per packet instruction, then rinse in ice water.

3.  Mix the noodles in the chilled noodle sauce.

4. Place noodles nicely on noodle bowl, top with the above ingredients, then add a few more spoons of the chilled noodle sauce.

5. Garnish with sesame or grinded sesame.

For non-vegetarian version, can add sliced ham or chicken.

Enjoy this dish in this melting summer! 

Japanese Porridge (Zousui)

 

Ingredients:

Vegetable Soup

White Miso (optional) 

Cooked Rice

Mushrooms and vegetables of your choice - cut into thin slices

Spring Onion - minced

Egg - beaten in a bowl

Sesame to sprinkle

How to Make:

1. First you prepare a soup base you like, either cook yourself or use a simple version -> Kayatoya Vegetable Stock Powder (like tea bags, boil in water for a while will do) 

2. Heat up the soup base, add the mushrooms and vegetables until they are tender enough. If you opt to have white miso, then use a sieve and gently add 1-2tbsp.

3. Add the cooked rice to the soup and mix well.

4. Gently, using the chopsticks to glide the beaten egg to the soup, while gently mixing inside the soup.

5. Check taste and season accordingly. Sprinkle with minced spring onion.

6. Pour to serving bowls and sprinkle with golden sesame.

Enjoy this delicious comfy food. This can be modified to a non-vegetarian version by replacing veg soup base with chicken or beef soup base or using  Kayanoya Dashi Stock Powder teabags to make dashi soup base. then add diced chicken.

Potato Au Gratin (Gratin Dauphinoise)

 

* adapted from Gordon Ramsay's recipe

Ingredients:

Milk x 200ml

Double Cream x 200ml

Bay leaves x 1 to 2

Garlic Clove x 1 peeled and smashed

Potatoes (eg Desiree or Charlotte or May Queen) x 1 kg

Cheddar Cheese grated x 200g

Salt and Black Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

How To Make It:

1. Preheat oven to 200'C.

2. Lightly oil a deep ceramic baking dish.

3. Heat the milk, cream, bay leaf and garlic in a pan until simmering. When it begins to bubble up at the sides, turn off hear and leave to cool slightly.

4. Peel and finely slice the potatoes to rounds, using a mandolin.

5. Scatter 1/3 of the cheese over the bottom of the baking dish, the cover with a layer of the sliced potato, overlapping slightly. Season with salt and black pepper.

6. Continue layering until you have used all the cheese and potatoes.

7. Strain the creamy milk, discarding the bay leaf. Pour over the potatoes and gently pressing the potatoes down to help them absorb the liquid.

8. Sprinkle with a little more cheese and bake for 45 min or until the potatoes are golden brown and tender when prodded with a sharp knofe.

9. Leave to stand for a few min and serve.

Enjoy with your favourite meat dish!

Vegetarian Soup - Soup for Humid Spring

* this soup meant to nourish your spleen and release your excess humid in your body （健脾祛濕）

Ingredients:

Hairy Mountain Fig (五指毛桃）x 2 pc (around 250g)
Fresh Yam (鮮淮山/ 山藥）x 1/2 stick (around 150g)
Dried Lotus seeds x 1 bunch (around 20g)
Dried Lily Bulbs x 1 bunch (around 20g)
Fox Nut (茨實) x 1 big bunch (around 50g)
Chestnut around 150g (shell removed)
Red dates x 10pc and remove the seed inside
Carrot x 1 pc
Corn x 1 pc

How to Make:

1. Hairy Mountain Fig and the lotus sees lily bulbs, fox nut, all rinse and soak in water for 15 mins.

2. Fresh Yam peel off skin (using gloves if you have sensitive skin) and cut into pieces.

3. Carrot and Corn rinse and cut into pieces.

4. Put all ingredients to pot and once boil, turn to medium to medium low heat and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours.

For non-vegetarian version, can add lean pork too. This soup has a coconut smell somehow and very appetizing to me.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Soup - Five Elements Soup 五行湯

* recipe adopted from 溫暖人間 magazine
* meant to be 補氣火血 （Qi-Tonifying and Blood-Activating)
* for non-veg version, just add some lean pork. Blanche pork first of course before adding to this soup pot.

Ingredients:

1-2 Chayote
1-2 Carrot
1-2 Corn
100g barley seeds
8-10 dried mushrooms
100g black beans
10-15 cashew nuts

How to Make:

1. Rinse black beans and soak in water for 15 mins.

2. Rinse mushrooms and soak in hot water for 15 mins.

3. Rinse barley seeds and set aside.

4. Wash Vegetables, leave the peel on. Chop into pieces and set aside.

5. Bring a pot of water to boil and add in all ingredients Once boiled, turn to medium to medium low heat and cook for 2 hours. Adjust taste with sea salt.

Enjoy and nourish yourself!

Thai Papaya Salad

Ingredients:

Green papaya x 1 - peeled and shredded
Mini dried shrimp (get from Thai grocery store) x 1/4 cup - grounded
Dried chilli x 1 - soaked in water and drain
Garlic x 6 cloves
Lime rind x 1/4 cup finely shredded
Palm sugar x 3 tbsp
Fish sauce x 3 tbsp
Lime juice x 1 tbsp
Tamarind juice x 1 tbsp
Peppercorns x a few
Peanuts - toss in a hot pan


How to make:
1. Pound the shredded papaya lightly in a mortar, remove and set aside.

2. Pound the garlic, dried chilli and peppercorns thoroughly , transfer to a mixing bowl.

3. Mix tamarind juice, fish sauce and palm sugar together, bring to a boil over medium heat. Please taste and adjust the seasonings as per your liking.

4. Once the taste of the dressing is to your liking, remove from heat and cool on top of a bowl of ice. Add lime juice, pour into the chilli mixture, stir well. Check taste again. Put aside as dressing.

5. Add papaya, dried shrimp and lime rind in mixing bowl and toss well with above dressing.  Sprinkle with peanuts and ready to serve!

Enjoy!

Potato, Eggs and Garlic Shakshuka

* recipe adopted from FT recipe

Ingredients:
Potato - peeled and medium sliced - blanched for approx 10 minutes until slightly soft
Onion - sliced
Garlic - 2-3 bulbs, keep skin and cut horizontal at the top 1/3
Thymes - 2-3 sprigs
Eggs
Milk or whipping cream

How to Make:
1. Heat up olive oil in a frying pan and place garlic flat-side down. Place on low hear and dont move or touch them for about 10 minutes. When time is up, check if the flat side of the garlic is golden, if not, cook for a bit more. If already golden, then remove from pan.

2. Add the thyme to the pan and fizz for a little while. Then add the sliced onion (still on low hear).

3. Remove the garlic cloves from the garlic you removed from the pan and add the cloves to the pan. Add the potato, then season with sea salt flakes and black pepper. Mix well, cover and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until all potato slices are soft enough.

4. Remove the thyme, add a little bit of water say 2 tbsp and 2 rounds of milk or whipping cream for a creamy finish, increase the heat to medium high, when the water/cream boils, add the eggs all over the surface. Cover and cook for 5 minutes (until egg whites have set but yolks are still runny).

Sprinkle surface with black pepper and some shredded thymes and ready to serve hot!

Pair this with your meat dish or eat alone!

Enjoy! 

Kale, Spinach and Pea Soup

Ingredients:
Chicken Stock **
Kale
Spinach
Peas (frozen one will do)
Milk or Whipping Cream

** for Vegetarian version, replace chicken stock with vegetable stock or plain water.

Optional:
Pumpkin Cream - pumpkin and milk or cream.
Sour Cream with minced mint leaves

How to Make:

1. Make your chicken stock 1 day ahead of your dinner by using old chicken and chinese ham, carrot and onion. Once boiled, cook for approx 3 hours in medium fire. Drain the soup and once cool, store in fridge. You can remove oil on top once the soup is cool down.

2. On the day of dinner, wash and spin dry kale and spinach. Remove hard stems of kale and cut away bottom white stems of spinach. Cut them into small pieces. 

3. Bring chicken stock to boil, then turn to medium heat and add kale and peas for 5-8 minutes, then add spinach for another 3-5 minutes. Check taste and season accordingly.

4. Switch off fire and blend them in a food processor batch by batch. Best to put more veggies inside food processor first then the soup, then blend. In this way, you can control consistency of the soup, i..e how thick you want the soup to be. When the blend is a bit too thick, you can always add more soup.

5. Re-boil blended soup in a pot. You can finish it by adding a dash of milk or whipping cream. If you want to garnish it a bit, consider adding pumpkin cream (as shown below) or add a spoonful of sour cream on top of soup on bowl with some minced leaves on top.

Pumpkin Cream:

Cut pumpkin into chunks. Steam until soft. Add them to food processor and add a bit of milk or cream. Blend until it reaches the consistency you desire. re-heat in a pot. You can spoon this to the veggies soup bowl the way you like it. Make the otherwise green soup a bit more colorful and provide another taste in the same soup.

Enjoy.

Chilled tomatoes in Plum Sauce

* a very appetizing dish in the summer and very easy to make.

Ingredients:
Cherry Tomatoes or tomatoes of your choice
話梅 1 to 2 packs (you can buy from supermarket, qty depends how many tomatoes are you preparing)
Brown Sugar
梅粉 (optional)

How to Make:
1. Remove skin of tomatoes by: (1) light cut a cross at the bottom or top of the tomatoes. (2) put them in boiling water, then turn off heat, for 1-2 minutes. You should see the corner of the skin peeling off a bit. (3) remove the tomatoes to ice cold water. (4) peel off skin gently and keep shape of tomatoes.

2. Prepare plum marinate sauce by: boiling a pot of water with the plum side for 5-10 minutes, then add sourness and sweetness by adding 1-2 tbsp of brown sugar and the 梅粉. Let it cool down.

3. Place all tomatoes inside the cool down plum marinate sauce in a food container box and close the lid and place in fridge overnight.

4. When you are ready to serve, just remove tomatoes from the marinate and garnish with a piece of mint!

Enjoy, perhaps with a glass of plum wine!

Tofu Salad

Ingredients:

Fresh Tofu of your choice

Cooked Preserved Egg - separate egg yolk with egg white and blend separately in blender or chop them up into small dices with a knife

Good quality sesame oil


How to make:

1. break tofu into paste like with a fork or chopsticks.

2. add egg white to the tofu and mix well together with sesame oil.

3. Pour into a chinese bowl and wrap with cling wrap and chill at fridge.

4. Pour the Tofu mixture to a serving plate upside down from the bowl and top with egg yolk crumbles. Add a dash of sesame oil or white sesame on top as you like.

Ready to serve as a cold appertizer. Enjoy!

Watermelon Salad

* recipe adopted from Gordon Ramsay

Ingredients:

Watermelon - cut into cubes
Cucumber - cut into cubes
fetacheese - break into cubes
cherry tomatoes - cut into halves
rocket leaves
pecan - toasted in hot pan with a sprinkle of salt
lemon -rolled the lemon on table top, cut into half horizontally and squeeze out lemon juice
Mint leaves - shredded
balsamic vinegar and a dash of olive oil

How to Make:

1. mix rocket leaves with a dash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar first.

2. add cucumber and tomatoes to the above mix.

3. then add water melon and mint.

4. add lemon juice for the final mix.

5. sprinkle toasted pecan on top.

A refreshing salad best for summer time! Enjoy!

Tomato Pasta

Ingredients:

Italian San Marzano or Piccadilly Tomatoes x 1kg
Italian can plum tomatoes x 1 can (optional - if you prefer the tomato paste to be more wet, adding can tomatoes will help)
onion x 1 - minced
garlic slice - 2 tbsp
basil for cooking and garnish
parmesan cheese - grated
olive oil

Pasta of your choice
1 bowl of sliced garlic

How to Make:

1. De-skin and de-seed the tomatoes first. You can do it by boiling a pot of water, cut a cross at the skin of the tomatoes, drop them to the boiling water for 1 min. Take them out and place to ice water. The skin will be easily peeled off at this stage. Remove all skin, mince the flesh of the tomatoes discarding all seeds and juice. After mincing the tomatoes, you can put them on a strainer so extra juice can be discarded.

2. Mince the can tomatoes and drain on strainer to remove extra juice.

3. Heat up a pan with olive oil, then fry the garlic slices until golden. Remove the garlic and save the oil in the pan sufficient to brown the minced onion.

4. Put minced onion onto to the pan with garlic oil and fry until soft, then add the minced fresh tomatoes and can tomatoes, stir fry until all combined. Season with salt and pepper and sugar to your liking. Then add the basil, turn heat to medium low and cook for 20 minutes.

5. Cook your pasta as per instructions on packet.

6. In a separate pan, heat up sufficient olive oil which will be used to coat the cooked pasta, then pan fried the sliced garlic until golden.  

7. Drain pasta, mix it in the pan with garlic olive oil, then and place it nicely in a serving dish.

7. Add tomato paste on top on pasta, then a basil leave, grated parmesan cheese and drizzle olive oil on the side. For those who like fried garlic, you can add the fried garlic to the pasta too.

Serve and enjoy it with your favourite white wine!

Potato Tartin

Ingredients:

1 x 375g sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed at fridge on the night before cooking
1 cup (75g) finely grated manchego (or a cheese you like, say cheddar)
1/2 cup (120g) mascarpone cheese
350g potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper
rosemary

How to Make:

1. Preheat oven to 200'C.

2. Place the sheet pastry on a large oven tray lined with baking paper.

3. Use a small sharp knife and gently score a 2cm border around the edge of the pastry.

4. Use a fork to prick the pastry sheet centre.

5. Mix and combine the 2 cheese and spread the mixture on top of the pastry sheet centre.

6. Toss the potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and line the potatoes neatly above the cheese mixture and sprinkle with rosemary on top.

7. Bake in oven for 25-30 min or until golden.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients:

5-6 small zucchinis (approx 810g), grated

3-4 eggs, beaten

250g Feta, crumbled (optional)

3/4 cup (120g) plain flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup chopped mint leaves or parsley

sea salt and black pepper

How to Make:

1. Place the grated zucchinis on a flat towel with another one on top to absorb excess water.

2. Place zuchinni, eggs, feta, flour, baking powder, mint/parsley, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl, mix and combine.

3. Heat olive oil in a non stick pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp of mixture to the pan and flatten with a spatula. Repeat and cook in batches for 2-3 min each side or until golden.

4 After pan-frying, blot oil in kitchen towel before placing them in serving plate.

Enjoy!

Cold Tomato Soup

* a very refreshing cold soup with the recipe from Weekend Financial Times 

Ingredients:

8 very ripe plum tomatoes (best to use San Marzano tomatoes), quartered

Small bunch of basil leaves, cleaned and wipe dry

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

3tbs red wine vinegar

2tbs brown sugar

3tbs olive oil

1tsp sea salt

1tsp sweet paprika

4 ice cubes

How to Make:

1. Place all ingredients together (apart from the ice) in a large jar, mix well, cover and put in fridge overnight.

2. Remove from fridge, add the ice cubes and blend in a blender good for ice/smoothies. Then taste and adjust seasoning. Drizzle some olive oil on top.

3. Ready to serve with your toasted pitta bread of garlic bread.

Enjoy with your favourite white wine or champagne!

Cream of Barley Soup

Ingredients (for 12 paxs):

Soup Base: **
* it's better to make your own soup base. Otherwise, buy the ready made from supermarkets.

Old Chicken x 1 
Gammon Ham bones or chinese ham 
Carrot x 1pc - cut in 2-3 pieces
Celery x 1/2 stalk
Onion x 2 - cut into halves

** For vegetarian version, replace chicken and ham soup base with Vegetable stock or plain water.

Barley Soup:
Potato x 6-8pc - depending on size, cut into chunks
Pearly Barley - approx 250g
carrots x 3-6 pc, depending on size - cut into mini cubes
onion x 1, minced
corn - can use can corns (whole corns, not cream corns)
ham pieces (optional)
whipping cream, salt and pepper

How to Make:
1. The day before your dinner, make the soup base. Blanched chicken and ham or ham bones for 20 minutes. Remove all liquid and rinse the blanched chicken, ham or ham bones.

2. Put blanched chicken, ham or ham bones in a larger soup pot, add carrot, celery, onion and water, bring to boil, then turn to medium to medium fire and cook for 2.5 to 3 hours, depending how rich and concentrated you want your soup base to be.

3. Remove all ingredients from the soup by using a sieve. Then skim off all fat on surface. Once cool down, chill at fridge.

4. On your dinner date, take our soup base and reheat. Then turn off fire.

5. Rinse barley. Then soak them in a bowl of water for 1 -2 hours.

6. Blanch potato until soft. Discard all water. Blend the softened potato with the heated soup base in a few batches. Add more softened potato if the soup consistency is too watery OR add more soup base if too thick.

6. In a new soup pot, add a little of olive oil and stirred fried the minced onion. Once fragrant, add the minced carrot and the soaked barley (discarding the barley water) and corn, then add the blended soup base above, bring to boil, then turn down to medium and medium low heat and cook for 1.5 hours. Watch and stir from time to time to avoid barley sticking to the bottom of the pot and got burned.

As the barley will make the soup thicker, in case it becomes too thick, you might to need to add some plain soup base or chicken stock to adjust the consistency. So ensure you have some plain soup base or chicken stock around, just in case!

Before serving, add some cooked ham pieces to the soup, then some whipping cream.

Enjoy!

Yorkshire Pudding

* Receipe from Jamie Oliver

Ingredients: (make around 8 pc)

Veg Oil or Olive oil
2 large eggs
100g plain flour
100ml milk
sea salt & black pepper

How to Make:

1. Preheat Over to 225'C.

2. Get yourself a muffin or cupcake tray and fill each compartments with around 1/4 vegetable oil. Then pop the tray to the hot oven for 10-15 mins so the oil gets really hot.

3. Beat the eggs, flours, milk together and season with salt and pepper until light and smooth. Pour them into a jug.

4. Remove tray from oven carefully, avoiding spill of oil, then pour the egg mixture to each compartment in the tray.

5. Pop it back to the oven and bake for 10-15 min ot until risen and golden.

Enjoy with your Roast Beef!

Deep Fried Potato Balls

Ingredients:

Baking Potato x 3 pc
some milk
some cream
salt and pepper
flour
egg
breadcrumbs

optional:
crabmeat or cooked minced beef

How to Make:

1. Wash and peel potato.

2. Put potato in a pot of cold water and boil. Once boiled, turn to medium heat and cook potato for around 30 min or until they are soft. Remember to add some salt to the water.

3. Drain the water, reheat the potato in the same pot for 1 min to ensure all moisture inside potato are gone.

4. Use a masher to mash all potato. Add a dash or milk and cream. Check taste and adjust seasoning. Most important is we do not want this to be too creamy soft. We need it to be more solid and easier for shaping and deep frying.

5. If you prefer, you can add some crab meat or minced beef to the minced potato.

6. Once cool down, shape the potato into ball shape.

7. Prepare a pot of oil, once oil is hot enough, dip potato balls into flour, then egg mixture, then breadcrumbs and put inside pot to deep fry until golden.

Serve with mayo or brown sauce or ketchup.

Enjoy!