Tomato on omelet

This is also a classic Chinese dish. The sweet and sour taste of the tomato mixture goes really well with omelet. This is one of the Chinese dishes my husband likes.

Ingredients

4 eggs
1/2 clove minced garlic
8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin
3 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
salt and pepper to taste

1. Beat 4 eggs in a bowl. Heat oil in pan and pour egg mixture onto pan and make a omelet. Don't over cook the eggs. Ideally, it should be 90% cooked.

2. Heat oil in pan, and add in minced garlic.

3. Add tomato halves and brown sugar and cook until brown sugar dissolved.

4. Add rice vinegar, mirin, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine.

5. Taste, season with salt and pepper if necessary.

6. Pour the tomoto mixture on top of the omelet and garnish with green onions.

Miso minced pork with shiitake mushroom

This is my version of the Taiwanese style minced pork dish. I use miso paste instead of tau-pan jiang (Chinese soybean paste). It is yummy with a bowl of steamed jasmine rice.

Ingredients

1 lb minced pork
Vegetable oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons corn starch
2 teaspoons miso paste
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons mirin
2 tablespoons cooking wine
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 shiitake mushrooms sliced (fresh or dried, if they are dried, soak them in water until soften


1. Mix ground pork with corn starch, miso paste, mirin, soy sauce, sugar.

2. Heat oil in pan and add ginger and garlic.

3. Add the minced pork mixture and stir to break up the lumps.

4. Add the shiitake mushroom, dark soy sauce and cooking wine when the minced pork if half-cooked.

5. Stir until minced pork is fully cooked, about 8-10 minutes.

6. Serve on a bowl of hot steamed rice.

Miso grilled tofu

This is a variation of tofu dengaku. Before smearing the tofu with the miso mixture, I pan fry the tofu instead of grilling it under the broiler. My daughter ate it. Well, she will eat anything with miso.

Ingredients

1 block firm tofu
Vegetable oil for frying
Corn starch for coating
Miso mixture
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoon mirin
2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon cooking wine
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup miso (no MSG)

Toppings (optional)
Sesame seeds
Green onions
Nori flakes


1. Press out the excess liquid by weighing the tofu under a plate and a heavy object, eg a can of beans (30 minutes to an hour).

2. Cut tofu into 1/4 inch block, lightly coat with corn starch and pan fry both side for 3-4 minutes.

3. Smear s layer of miso mixture on top of the tofu and place under broiler for 2-3 minutes, until the miso mixture is bubbling and has a few brown spots.

4. Garnish with sesame seeds, green onions and nori flakes.

Chocolate cake with chocolate swirl

My children love chocolate, who doesn't? This is a simple chocolate cake that can be put together in 10 minutes.

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup processed Dutch cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg plus 1 yolk room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 white chocolate and milk chocolate mix


1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

3. In another bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together, add the egg, and the yolk and vanilla.

4. Add in one third of the flour mixture and continue beating. Add in half the buttermilk. Alternate between flour and milk until all incorporated.

5. Transfer the batter into the baking dish. Microwave the white and milk chocolate chips for 30 seconds in the microwave. Use a fork and swirl the chocolate on to the top of the batter.

6. Bake in the oven until the cake tester comes out clean.

Claypot rice, the stainless steel version

I thought of buying the Emile-Henry flame top brassier just to make this dish. But I have too many pots already. I don't know how to sneak another pot into the kitchen without my husband finding out. So I try making the dish in my All-Clad 3-quart cassoulet. It is not bad, the bottom brown bits are the best.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts cubed

Marinate for chicken
4 tablespoons of sweet soy sauce (ketchup manis)
1/2 cup Chinese cooking wine
2 clove garlic minced
1 inch ginger minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon sugar

3 cups jasmine rice
4 cups chicken stock
Chinese sausage
Dry shiitake mushroom, hydrated

1. Marinate the chicken for a least 2 hours.

2. Heat vegetable oil in pan. Add sliced Chinese sausages and fry until oil rendered from the sausages.

3. Add the chicken together with the marinade. Add the shiitake mushroom and jasmine rice. Stir to combine.

4. Add chicken stock and cook until the rice is done. Check periodically, you might have to add more chicken stock.

5. Taste the rice and adjust seasoning with salt.

Simple noodle

My daughter loves this dish, as long as she does not see the brown onion and garlic bits....

Ingredients
100g somen (wheat flour noodle)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small clove shallot, sliced
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon of tamari
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
Salt to taste if necessary

Green onion and sesame seeds for garnish

1. Boil noodle according to the instruction on the package. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat oil in the same pan. Brown shallot and ginger. Add garlic when the shallot is light brown. Don't burn the garlic.

3. Turn of the heat. Add tamari, sugar, and rice vinegar.

4. Toss the noodle in the mixture and garnish with green onion and sesame seeds.

The whatever fried rice

Fried rice is easy. The two tricks are: use day old cooked rice and ginger. I use whatever vegetables there are in the fridge to make my fried rice. If there is chinese bbq pork, that's even better. If not, eggs will do for protein.

Ingredients

Canola oil
Sliced shallots
Minced ginger and garlic
Day old cooked rice
Chinese BBQ pork
Frozen peas and corn
Carrots shredded
Mushroom sliced
Tamari
Mirin
Salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro and fried shallots as garnishes

1. Heat oil in wok. Lightly saute shallots, ginger and garlic.

2. Add BBQ pork and rice. Stir fry to break up the lumps in the rice.

3. Add a splash of mirin and tamari. Throw in the vegetables.

4. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Garnish with fried shallots and cilantro.


To substitute BBQ pork with egg, just scramble an egg or two on the side and throw the eggs in together with the vegetables.

Sesame meatball

This is a variation of chicken nugget, except I made it with pork and season with miso, and roll the meatball in sesame seeds.

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground pork
1 teaspoon of dashi miso
1 teaspoon of corn starch
bunch of spinach
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
pinch of sugar
1 egg
1/2 clove of garlic

Sesame seeds


1. Process ground pork, miso, corn starch, spinach, lemon juice, sugar, egg and garlic in a food processor.

2. Roll the mixture in your palm and roll in sesame seeds.

3. Heat oil in pan and pan fry meatball until cook.

4. Serve with rice and vegetables.

Pancake-crepe

I remember my mom and nanny making this pancake-crepe for breakfast when I was growing up in Malaysia. It is not as thick as a pancake and has the appearance of a crepe.

Ingredients
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons of melted butter
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
pinch of salt

1. Mix ingredients together with a hand-held mixer.

2. Melt butter on crepe pan and laddle enough batter to create a thin layer of pancake-crepe.

3. Turn over when the top starts to bubble.

4. When the other side is slightly brown, it is ready.


Note: My daughter likes her pancake crepes in little circle cut out and dotted with chocolate chips.

Vegetarian lasagna

This was a team effort. My husband and I made this while the kids were watching Dora and Diego.

Ingredients

Fillings
Olive oil
1 large onion diced
1 eggplant diced
2 zucchini diced
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 yellow pepper diced
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce
Olive oil
1 small onion diced
2 carrots shredded
1 bunch of spinach chopped
4 cloves of garlic
4-5 sprigs of basil
4-5 sprigs of cilantro
1 can of crushed tomato
1/2 cup of white wine
pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of oregano
3 tablespoons of ketchup
1/2 cup of cream
salt and pepper to taste

Lasagna pasta

Cheeses
Mozzarella and Parmesan


1. Heat olive oil in a large pan, saute eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms and pepper until the vegetables are soft. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Process cilantro, basil and garlic cloves in a mini chopper. Heat olive oil in another pot, sweat onion and saute carrot, spinach, basil and garlic until vegetables are soft. Add the white wine, nutmeg, oregano, ketchup and the can of crushed tomato. Cook for 10 minutes and add the cream. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

3. Cook the lasagna noodle according to the instruction on the package.

4. Assemble the lasagna as follow: sauce, lasagna pasta, vegetables, cheeses, lasagna, sauce, vegetables, lasagna, sauce and cheeses.

5. Bake in 350˚F oven for 30 minutes.

Salmon sashimi

I was inspired to make this dish after reading Nobu's new style sashimi. But I didn't have all the ingredients, so I improvised. The result is not bad.

Ingredients

Salmon sashimi
Vegetable oil
Minced shallots
Minced garlic
Shredded ginger
Tamari
Lemon juice

1. Heat oil in pan, lightly brown sliced shallot and garlic. I put the shallot into the pan first and wait a few minutes before adding the minced garlic.

2. Arrange salmon sashimi on a plate, dot with ginger and drizzle tamari and lemon juice on the salmon

3. Drizzle hot oil together with the shallot and ginger on top of the salmon.

Vegetarian pizza

My husband made this last night and I must say it is good.

Ingredients

Pizza dough
1 1/2 teaspoon of active dry yeast
1 cup warm water, 110° F.
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Sauce
Vegetable oil with minced garlic
1 can of organic tomato sauce

Toppings
Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Red peppers
Red onion
Thai red chilli (optional)
Black olives
Capers
Shredded mozzarella and cheddar

Garnish
Chopped cilantro

1. Put all ingredients of the pizza dough in the breadmaker in the order described in the manual and switch on the dough cycle.

2. Divide the dough into 5-6 portions and roll the dough out on a floured surface.

3. Prebake the rolled out dough on a pizza stone in a 375˚F oven for approximately 5 minutes.

4. Brush the pizza surface with garlic infused vegetable oil and tomato sauce.

5. Put the slices vegetables and the toppings on the pizza and cover with shredded cheese.

6. Bake in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

7. Garnish with cilantro.

Smoothies

My son inhales this smoothies everyday.

Ingredients

1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 banana
1/4 mango
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup apple juice

Makes 2 servings

Note: I also use orange juice if we ran out of apple juice.

1. Blend all ingredients in blender and serve.

Ginger Sesame Chicken with Rice

Ingredients

Two chicken breasts sliced

Ginger sesame marinade
1 tablespoon of minced ginger
1 teaspoon of sesame seed oil
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 tablespoon of tamari
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon of salt
4 tablespoons of mirin
1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch
juice of half a lemon
pinch of pepper

Chicken stock and splash of mirin to deglaze the pan

Note: I minced the ginger and garlic with a microplane.

1. Marinate chicken overnight in the fridge.

2. Heat oil in pan, lay chicken slices in single layer and sear both side.

3. To create a sauce, deglaze pan with chicken stock and mirin and season with salt and pepper.

4. Serve with hot rice and garnish with cilantro and chilli.

Chicken Nuggets

My children love these homemade chicken nuggets.

Ingredients
1/2 lb minced chicken
1/2 avocado
1/2 medium carrot
handful of spinach leaves
1 egg
1/2 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon minced onion

Panko for coating

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix until a smooth paste is formed.

2. Form a nugget with 1 spoonful of paste and coat the nugget with panko crumb.

3. Heat oil in pan and pan fry the nugget.

Note: if the paste is too moist, use half an egg.

Miso snapper

I made this dish three weeks ago and guess what? my picky husband and daughter both love it.

Ingredients
4 pieces of snapper fillets
Miso paste
Oil for grilling

Miso paste for the snapper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons of dashi miso
1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon of minced ginger
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
pinch of sugar
pinch of pepper

Mix ingredients together to create a paste and brush on snapper.

Drizzle some vegetable oil on the grill pan and heat the pan.

Grill miso covered snapper both side for one minute each side.

Garnish with cilantro.