Aubergine with garlic and dark soya sauce

As summer month progressing, I've seen a lot of vegetables gradually make their appearance either in the supermarket or local farmer's market. I always try to get what the season has to offer, as seasonal vegetables will be in abundance, taste better and cost less too.
How could I resist, when Tesco offering globe aubergine for 39 pence each last week. Let just put it as, I bought loads of aubergine. They're so versatile-you can grill, roast, deep fried with batter, stir fry, cook with curry etc etc. The thing is that aubergine really soak out flavor very well.
I know many of you tend to think that cooking aubergine is a hassle-from salting to get rid of it's bitter taste(this will only apply if it's rather old) and require tonnes of cooking oil. Worry not as I introducing you a healthier way of cooking aubergine and yet still tasted as good. A little effort of steaming before frying would actually reduce the consumption of oil during cooking. This recipes is good for vegetarian as well, with a touch of Oriental influence.

Aubergine with garlic and dark soya sauce
Ingredients (good for 2 persons)

• 1 large globe aubergines about 400gm (cut lengthwise about 2cm thick)
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tbsp dark soya sauce
• 2 tbsp light soya sauce
• 2 tbsp of water
  
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp of fried garlic bits in oil

1. Steam the aubergine in steamer for around 30-40minutes, you should feel it is soft now.
2. Heat cooking oil in a pan/wok. Once hot, add in the steamed aubergines and let it soak up the oil. [Typically if we're not steaming, we could easily used up to 5tbsp of oil. ]
3. Slowly add a tbsp of water at a time, let it simmer on low heat.
4. Then add in light soya sauce, dark soya sauce and sugar and stir to mix. Let it simmer for additional 3minutes.
5. Off heat and dish out. Garnish with garlic bits in oil. Serve with rice.

Here's my harvest of strawberry from my garden, one colander full every 3 days, really bountiful harvest this year :-). I turned them into jars of lovely jam.

Chargrilled roasted vegetables

I love weekends, it's a time to relax. With the days getting longer and warmer, I just couldn't wait to go outdoor and breathe in the life that spring brings. It's a wonderful feeling.
Having said that I need a simple and light meal to satisfy my appetite. So I decided to make chargrilled roasted vegetables.

Chargrilled roasted vegetables
Ingredients (for 2 persons)

• 1 large pepper-quartered
• 1 courgette-sliced thinly
  
• 1/2 large aubergine- sliced to 1 cm thickness
• 3 cloves of garlic-smashed with skin on
• 1 large red onion-quartered
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• a handful of basil leaves
• sprinkle of black peppercorn
• generous sprinkle of sea salt
• balsamic vinegar
  

1. Place a wire rack over gas fire. Grilled over medium gas fire-pepper, aubergine and courgette for about minutes or so. Try to achieve charred pepper skin as this will add smokey flavour and also easier to peel of the skin. Remove the vegetables and set aside. Use a knife to scrape off the pepper skin.
2. Preheat oven to 180C.
   
3. Put all the vegetables on a roasting pan. Throw in garlic cloves and basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil. Mixed well so that oil will coat all the vegetables. Drizzle with sea salt.
4. Place the pan into the oven and roast for 35minutes. Removed and let it cool.
5. Served onto a plate, drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Served with warm roll, garlic bread etc.

Home grown sweet Genovese basil

Onion Bhaji

As some of you might know, I've been churning out soy milk with my new machine. And the by product is the soy pulp. I was thinking what to do with it:

1. Chuck it into the bin.
2. Feed the birds.
3. Using it to make some lovely food.

I think I'll go for option (3).
My mum always make a traditional Foochow fried oyster/prawn cake using the soy pulp, rice flour, oyster/prawn/minced pork, chives and some seasoning. Even Anthony Bourdain tried that special oyster cake at Maxwell Food Centre in Singapore. It was prepared with a special ladle and deep fried to golden brown. The skin is so crispy on the outside and the soya pulp makes the texture inside moist and soft. So next time don't throw away that lovely soy pulp after milking the soy. It can be used for making a lot of cooking, even it is being used a lot in Japanese cooking (known as okara).
As for me, I adapt my own method to churn out onion bhaji in a jiffy. And the end result........ am asking for more ... the soy pulp does make a difference to the texture and it's good for vegetarian friends and do give it a try.



Onion Bhaji
Ingredients (good for 2 persons)

• 1 large onion- finely chopped
  
• 2 tbsp of soy pulp
• 2 tbsp of rice flour/corn flour
  
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp of curry powder
• 1 egg
• 1 green chilli-deseeded and chopped
  
• 1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate (optional)
• vegetable oil for shallow frying

1. Lightly beat the egg, add in the soya pulp, curry powder, salt and rice flour.
   Mix well.
2. Add in the onion and green chilli. Stir to mix well.
3. Heat a frying pan with oil for shallow frying. Use medium heat.
   
4. Use a tablespoon to ladle a scoop and slowly drop into the frying pan. Repeat to fill up the pan. Fry each side for about 2-3minutes till golden brown.
   
5. Remove and drained. Served with ketchup or chutney.
   

Stir fry french bean with scallops

Having eaten out for 2 nites in a week, decided to put on my apron and do a quick meal [quote: I miss my own cooking...hahaha] .
Well, I need to clear my stock in the fridge before I need to replenish with new batch of fresh ingredients. There goes :

1. French bean
2. Fresh Scallop

Decided! Got to be stir fry.......


Stir fry french bean and fresh scallop
Ingredients (serve 2)

• 150 gm french bean
• 10 medium size fresh scallops
• 4 cloves garlic-minced
• 1 shallot - minced
• 1 tsp shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp of light soya sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp of olive oil/veg oil
• Toasted black sesame seed (optional)

1. Remove the thread of the bean. Sliced diagonally the bean.
2. Heat up a wok on high heat. Add in the olive oil and let it heat till hot (when it start to smoke). Add in the french bean to shallow fry in the oil. Keep tossing for about 2minutes or so.
3. Then add in the garlic and shallot and fry till fragant.
4. Add in the scallop and continue to stir fry for a minute.
   
5. Add the shaoxing wine, soya sauce and sugar and fry for another minute till scallop just nicely cook. Don't overcook scallop.
6. Served in a plate. Garnish with toasted black sesame seed. Served with rice.
   

Roasted chestnut rice ( Kuri-gohan rice)

As promised, here is a delicious Japanese dish I made with the picked chestnuts for lunch today. I really like having roasted chestnut especially in autumn/winter. The warmth smoky aroma and sweetness of the roasted nut on it's own is already a delicacies for me. This is my first attempt on cooking Kuri-gohan and it did turn out well. :-)
The only tedious part of this recipes is peeling the chestnut skin after roasting, the rest is as easy as ABC. But the effort is well worth it..... so healthy and so simply smoky delicious.


Kuri-gohan Rice(Roasted chestnut rice)
Ingredients (good for 2 persons)

• 1.5 cup Japanese short grain rice
  
• 1.5 - 2 cups of water
• 20 chestnuts roasted and peeled
  
• 1 tbsp of mirin
• 2 tbsp sake
  
• 1 tsp salt
• Some steamed carrot/pumpkin/sweet potato (optional)
  
• Claypot/ Nabe pot
  

1. First of all make a crossing on the flat side of chestnut before roasting. This will elliminate the chestnut from exploding during roasting. Place on a roasting tin and roast in an oven for 30-40minutes at 200C.
2. Once the chestnut is nicely roasted, peeled the skin when it's still hot and this will be so much easier compared when it is cold.
3. Wash the uncooked rice, then put them onto the pot. Add water, mirin, sake and salt. Cook on high heat until the water is boiling. Turn to low heat, and add in chestnut on top of the rice. Close the lid. Let it cook on low heat for 35minutes until the rice is cook. You can use rice cooker as well but I prefer claypot as it create a crispy rice crust that is smoky on top of the smoky sweetness of chestnut.
   
4. Served hot with carrot/pumpkin/sweet potato.
   
5. Enjoy of course :-)
   

Stay tuned for more autumn colors...............


Nutritional Tips:
Most people don't think of nuts as a low-fat food, but chestnuts are the exception. Low in fat, 100 grams or 3.5 ounces of cooked chestnuts, contain a mere 1 to 3 grams of total fat compared to the same quantity of almonds with about 50.6 grams of fat. You've probably guessed they're also low in calories with that same measure of cooked chestnuts containing between 57 and 153 calories depending on the variety. The Chinese chestnuts tip the scale with the higher figure.

Protein is not a highpoint for chestnuts that contain only minimal amounts, ranging from 0.82 to 2.88 grams for 3.5 ounces. However, unlike their other nut counterparts, they are very starchy, making them a little higher in energy-boosting carbohydrates. The Chinese chestnut tops the other varieties with 33.64 grams of carbohydrates for 3.5 ounces, while the Japanese variety measures 12.64 grams. It's their carbohydrates that make chestnuts, once dried and ground, into an excellent, highly nutritious flour.

Of all the nuts, chestnuts are the only ones that contain Vitamin C. One ounce of boiled or steamed chestnuts delivers between 9.5 mg and 26.7 mg of the vitamin, while the dried variety has double the vitamin totaling 15.1 mg to 61.3 mg for 3.5 ounces.

All three varieties, the Chinese, Japanese, and European, contain B vitamins including folacin. All have significant amounts of trace minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, manganese, copper, selenium, and zinc and are an especially rich source of potassium ranging from 119 mg to 715 mg for 3.5 ounces.

Chips in a Pot

I can't deny that UK produces variety of really nice potatoes, be it for roasting, boiling, mashing, frying etc. On the whole, if you ever visit a pub in UK, most of the dishes come with a side serving of potatoes, like it or not.... refer to the comic below and you'll understand why British people are rather apologetic about their food :-) . Now you would understand what I call ''British sense of humor''.
I do like British potatoes, better still, locally grown. They tasted so good, these humble potatoes. I'm going to make the versatile fun food that everyone like. I got these tips from a friend of mine on how to make the perfect chips (or better known as French Fries), crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside.

Potato Chips
Ingredients

• 3-4 large potatoes (use variety that s good for frying - i.e King Edward)
• oil for frying (I use olive oil [health conscious], but tasted better with some goose fat
  
• salt and vinegar

1. Clean and peel the potatoes.
2. Cut the potatoes about the size of your index finger.
3. Boil the potatoes for 5minutes just slightly soft. Drain until dry.
4. Place the potatoes into a plastic container and frozen them (preferably 24hrs)
   
5. Remove from freezer when you need to fry them. You might find that the potatoes are stuck together, thaw but not fully thawed until you're able to separate them.
   
6. Heat oil in the deep fat fryer, once is hot and ready, drop in a small batch of potatoes, this will ensure that the frying temperature doesn't drop drastically and avoid the chip being soggy.
   
7. Once it's lightly golden brown, remove and drain with an oil absorbing paper. Drizzle with pinch of salt and vinegar. Served hot.
   
8. Served in a pot-and it's called chips in a pot. :-)

You'll like it's crispiness on the outside and moist on the inside.

Crispy Tofu

I wanted to post this recipes but somehow was rather busy last week that I totally forgotten all about it. I had some leftover silky egg tofu and decided to make a simple starter. If you're not a fan of tofu, I bet this simple crispy tofu dish will win you over.


Crispy Tofu
Ingredients

• Silky egg tofu- cut into 2x1 inches rectangle
  
• 2 tbsp of potato starch
• 200 ml of cooking oil
• some green salad and corriander for garnishing
• some Thai sweet chilli sauce

1. Coat the tofu with potato starch
2. In a pan/wok, heat up the cooking oil till hot.
3. Put in the coated tofu into hot oil and fry. Fry for about 5mins on each side till golden brown.
4. Removed and drained with paper towel.
5. Garnish and serve with Thai sweet chilli sauce.

Verdict: Soft inside and perfect crisp on the outside. Yummy.

Silky Egg Tofu

I bought a carton of unsweetened soya milk from supermarket some time ago and totally forgotten about it. So I thought why not turning these into homemade silky egg tofu. I reckon you should give it a try.

Silky Egg Tofu
Ingredients

• 3 large eggs lightly beaten
• 250 ml of unsweetened soya milk
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Beat the egg lightly, add in the soya milk and salt and whisk lightly.
2. Line a rectangular metal tray with cling wrap ( I use 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches baking tray) . Seive the mixture into the tray. Cover the top of the tray with cling wrap to prevent steaming water droplet dripping into the tofu.
   
3. Steam on high heat for 10 minutes.
4. Remove and cool. Cut into pieces as per your liking.
5. Then you can use different sauces to garnish or your can even coat it with potato starch to deep fry and served with Thai sweet chilli sauce.
   

For me I opted for healthier options : using black bean sauce .

Sauce :

• 1 tbsp of black bean sauce
• 1 tsp of chilli oil
• 1 tsp cooking oil
  
• 1 tsp shaoxing wine
• 1-2 tsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 shallot - finely chopped
  
• some corn starch solution to thicken
• some spring onion , sesame seed and chillis for garnishing
  

1. Heat oil (cooking oil + chilli oil ) and fry the shallot till fragant.
2. Add in black bean sauce, sugar, shaoxing wine, sesame oil and water and simmer for 1-2minutes.
   
3. Add in corn starch solution to thicken the sauce.
4. Pour the sauce over the egg tofu and garnish with spring onion, chopped chillis & sesame seeds.
5. Served with rice.
   

A short break in Athlone, Ireland

Athlone High Street

River Shannon running across Athlone

I've been away for a 3 days short break to Ireland. I've been here in Cambridge exactly 3 years now, but have never step my foot into Ireland before, as the saying goes so near yet so far.
So with my ma around, we decided to pay a visit to our hometown friends in Athlone and also to visit my friends and fellow food blogger so.moo.food in Dublin. The trip was indeed fruitful and load with lots of Malaysian hospitality to name a few. On top of that we're blessed with two days of excellent weather in Athlone (having heard of horrible and unpredictable Irish weather? ) .
If one ever visits Athlone and fancy Chinese food, do drop by Row In Row

( http://www.athlone.ie/athlonedirectory/R/RowinnRowChinese.aspx ) and
Jia Jia Chinese restaurant. If you like a cosy and relax ambience, Row In Row definitely the place to chill out and the food is great. Dining at Jia Jia definitely has its Oriental edge, with the added Oriental decor and huge authentic Oriental arts hanging on the wall, service wise it's excellent and its food definitely authentic. Needless to say, as a food enthusiast myself, I highly recommend this two Chinese restaurant if you happen to be in Athlone.

Back here in Cambridge, I've been growing my own grub in spring. They're faring pretty well now. I've started harvest some of my own vegetables. On my little plot (I would say pots) I have grown some dwarf french bean, potatoes, spring onion, spinach, lettuces and celery. So I've picked some french bean fresh from my plot. :-)
As a Malaysian ( hmnnn.... calling myself half Singaporean as well) , I have yearning for spicy food sometimes. So I decided to make a quick fiery stir fry to go with my rice. If you happen to be in Malaysia and Singapore you couldn't help but noticed some vegetables stir fried in sambal belacan sauce ( spicy shrimp paste ) .... note it's spicy .... but it gives the dish it's added kick. For me it's an excellent Malaysian ingredients after all to bring flavor to other wise a dull dish.

Stir Fry French Bean in Spicy Sambal Sauce
Ingredients (for 2 persons)

• 150 gm french bean (cleaned and trimmed and cut into 1.5 inches stick)
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 shalots finely chopped
• 1/2 tbsp sambal belacan sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar

1. Heat oil in a wok till hot. Add in the sambal sauce and shallot and let it brown for a minute.
2. Then add in the french bean and stir fry on high heat for 2-3minutes.
3. Then add in sugar and stir fry for another minute or so.
4. Dish out and serve.

This dish can accompany with rice or usually the Malaysian used it in Nasi Lemak (coconut rice)
My verdict : Delicious

In Season

One of the best local grown vegetables in May over here will be asparagus. I call it Best of British asparagus. I love them, be it steam, stir fry, grill, they just taste lovely. So sweet and tender they are. They'll be here for a short while only, hence I tend to had them as much as possible while in season. Half a kilos bunch will set you back of 3-5 quids, but well worth it, loaded with all the antioxidant goodness. [quote : some believes it has aphrodisiac benefits as well]
Today I make stir fry asparagus with garlic and XO sauce. Yum yum .....

Asparagus Stir Fry
Ingredients (3-4persons)

• 250gm asparagus
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp XO sauce
• 2 cloves garlic -minced
• 1 small bird eye chilli de-seeded
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Clean the asparagus. Trim the end of the stalk. You can use peeler to peel the skin on bottom of the stalk so that tender bit is reveal, rather than discard them. Sliced horizontally at an angle, separate the spears from the stalk.
   
2. In a pan, heat the olive oil till hot (with some smoke billowing), throw in the garlic and chilli and stir fry till lightly brown. Put in the stalk and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add in the XO sauce and stir fry for 30 secs. Add in the spears and stir fry for a minute then add in sugar and salt. Stir fry for another 30secs. Removed from heat.
3. Served hot with rice and other dishes.

This year I managed to propagate about 20 strawberries plant from last year's runners. So I pot it up onto grow bag and finger crossed it will bear lovely and juiciest homegrown strawberries end June/early July. During credit crunch, it's worth to dig in and grow own veg and fruits, not only is healthy for the pocket, but it will definitely taste so fresh and so good. And at the end of the day sense of achievement to have grown your own.


My strawberry plant in grow bag

Some plants already producing nice flowers, and the fruit is in the making

Grilled cherry tomatoes on vine

Don't underestimate these little gems. So pretty they are on their vine, perfectly ripe, supple to the touch and perfectly sweet to the taste. I also learnt that tomatoes that ripen on their vine tasted so sweet compared to those that were loosely picked. Last year during summer I planted 2 cherry tomato bushes in pots and they yielded heavy crops throughout my summer months that I swore to be off from consuming tomatoes for awhile. I also learnt that if uneven ripen tomatoes on the vine, one can remove them from the tree and place them with banana to quicken the ripening process. Banana has a ripening agent.

I always try to eat them raw, use them in sweet & sour dish and one of my favorite is to simply grill them with lots of olive oil and drizzle of sea salt. Simple and nice to go with pasta dish or use them in salad.

Grilled cherry tomatoes on vine
Ingredients

• 10-12 cherry tomatoes on vine
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp of sea salt
  

1. Wash the tomatoes, pat and dry them with paper towel.
2. Place them in bakng dish. Drizzle with olive oil and coat. Sprinkle the sea salt.
3. On the oven grill to 190C and grill for 10-12mins, till the tomatoes just break off from skin.
4. Served.

Colorful Vegetable Stir Fry

Just realized I still have quite a number of mix vegetables in my fridge. I decided to clear them out so that can make space for fresh supply. So what do I have.....chestnut mushroom, baby corn, snap peas and yellow pepper. I could create a colorful stir fry so I decided....



Colorful Vegetable Stir Fry
Ingredients ( for 2 persons)

• 4 chestnut mushroom (remove stalk and slice the cup)
• 4 baby corn
• 8 snap peas
• half big yellow pepper ( diced)
• 1 clove of garlic
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp shaoxing wine
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 6 prawns (optional)

1. In a wok/pan, heat the oil. Throw in the garlic and lightly brown till fragrant.
2. Add in prawn and stir fry till they lightly turned pink, then add in all the vegetables and stir fry for about 1 and half mins on high heat.
   
3. Add in all the seasoning and stir fry and mixed well.
4. Served while it's hot.
5. Enjoy the colorful and bountiful vegetables.

Bok Choy in Oyster Sauce and Garlic Oil

I always planned to have green during Chinese New Year meal, and bok choy is one of them. It's simple to prepare and goes well with oyster and garlic sauce. It's good to have balance when the feast consist mainly of meat and seafood.

Bok Choy in Oyster Sauce and Garlic Oil

Ingredients (for 4 persons)

• One bag of bok choy ( typically about 5-6 plants-sliced the plant in half)
  
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee brand preferred)
• 1 tsp of light soya sauce
• dash of pepper
  
• 1/4 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  
• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil

1. Prepare the garlic oil by frying the garlic in 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Fry till lightly brown and crisp.
2. Boil water in a pot/wok. Add 1/4 teaspoon of vegetable oil to the water, this will help retain the nice green of your vegetable. Once boiling, blanched the bok choy quickly, don't over cook them. Drain in a colander and transfer the vegetable to a plate.
3. Mixed well the garlic oil, light soya sauce and oyster sauce together.
4. Then drip it over the bok choy and ready to serve.
   

Stewed shitake mushroom

I like mushroom very much. Shitake is still my favorite with it's thick tender flesh and aroma when stewed is delightful. I said blooming marvellous.

Stewed shitake mushroom
Ingredients

• 15 dried shitake mushrooms (soaked till soft and discard the woody stem)
• 1 tablespoon dark soya sauce (I used Malaysia Cheong Chan brand)
• 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• pinch of five spice powder
• 1 star anise
  
• 2 cloves garlic (finely hopped)
• A dash of white pepper
• 1 tsp corn starch (add 1 tbsp water)
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 tsp shaoxing wine
• pork ribs/pork belly/dried oyster/chicken (optional)
  

1. In a pan brown the garlic with cooking oil and sesame oil. Then add in the mushroom and stir fry until fragrant.
   
2. Add oyster sauce, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, pepper, shaoxing wine and sugar. Add water and five spice powder and stir for a minute or so.
3. Transfer them to a slow cooker and stewed for about 5 hours on low heat or into claypot for 2hours until mushroom really tender.
4. Stir in corn starch to thicken the sauce when you want to serve and garnish with spring onion.
   
5. This dish serves well with egg noodles or rice.
   

Love thy green.....Brussel Sprouts

Eat brussel sprouts
Because my folks
Don't know my where abouts
Brussel sprouts, brussel sprouts
Oh boy, how I hate brussel sprouts

Some of you might have the same experience when asked to take the tiny little cabbage when you're young. Luckily my folks don't have to force me to take my brussel sprouts as I love my green ( Brussel sprouts not very common back then in Malaysia ) . It's considered luxury green as it's mainly imported.

When I noticed sprouts in supermarket it reminds me Christmas just around the corner. Brussel sprouts are the main green during this season. My cousin Ann, had not seen brussel sprouts grown on stem as in the pics.

This tiny little green are loaded with goodness especially anti-cancer properties. Don't boil them as the Chinese do as the goodness will be loss into the water you used to boil them but rather steam them and stir fry them eventually.

Stir Fried Brussel Sprouts with dried shrimp(Hay Bee)

Ingredients

• 300 gm brussel sprouts
  
• 2 tbsp dried shrimp (or can use sambal belachan)
  
• 2 small chillis
  
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 3 cloves of garlic
  
• 2 shallots
• 2 tbsp of cooking oil
  

1. Steam the brussel sprouts for 10mins.
   
2. Wash and soak the dried shrimp. Drained. Use food processor, add in chilli, garlic and shallot and blend the mixture into a paste.
   
3. In a pan heat the oil till hot, add the paste and fry till fragant. Then add in brussel sprouts and stir fry for 3-5 minutes.
4. Add in salt and sugar to taste.
5. Served hot.
   

Fiery Flame of Hell

What is too spicy? I defined it as when my mouth is on fire. I must admit my spicy compliance level has mellowed quite a bit since I came to UK. Tonite I have craving for fiery spicy dish. Each fiery meal is a flavorful banquet, each spicy dish is a savory treat, if ones agree. Aubergine plus chilli paste makes fantastic meal that I called fiery flames from hell.
Aubergine/Egg plant/Brinjal as most commonly known is suitable for all kind of savory dish, like in curries, spicy stir fry and etc. Hope you like this meal, calling all fanatical chilli-heads.

Spicy Aubergine

Ingredients (good for 2 persons)

• 500 gm aubergine cut length wise 2 inches each
• 1 chillis
  
• 2 shallots coarsely sliced
• 5 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp pure chilli paste
• 1 tbsp shaoxing wine/dry sherry
• 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp light soya sauce
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
  

1. Steam the aubergine in a steamer for 30minutes, this is to soften the aubergine so that you reduced the amount of cooking oil used. If you do not want to steam, you have to stir fry with 5tbsp of oil instead of 3tbsp of oil eventually.
   
2. In a wok, heat cooking oil+sesame oil, once hot, put in the garlic, shallot, chilli and stir fry till brown. Add in the chilli paste and stir fry for a minute.
3. Then add in the steamed aubergine and continue to stir fry for at least 5 minutes till soft. Add in soya sauce, shaoxing wine and tomato ketchup. This add a hint of sweetness to the spicy dish.
   
4. Dish up and serve with rice.

My tongue burning with flame, fiery flame of hell. Enjoy.

Have you had your green today?

As you would have noticed and wondered whether my diet had any greens in it. Most of my postings has yet to sing praises of the humble natures best gift to us, vegetables, vegetables and more vegetables. Fret not, as I do eat healthily all the time, ahem, most of the time to be technically correct. :-)
For the past few days I had my fair share of meat & seafood, so I thought healthily, I should go green tonite. I always had emergency vegetables in my fridge, those that can be easily kept fresh for at least a week in my definition. Greens like cabbage & celery will find their little cozy corner in my veg box all the time. I like my vegetables cooked and one of my favorite cooking style is stir fry.
So be it, stir fry celery for tonite. When I was young, I disliked raw celery because they tasted awful and also quite tough especially the stalk. I always thought celery could be classified as certain kind of herb due to it's taste and will only be used as garnishing to my knowledge, how wrong I was.
Sometime last year I saw a friend of mine preparing celery, she diligently peeled off the skin on the stalk and cut them length wise into thin strip before stir frying them. I tried them and they tasted so good, so tender and yet so crunchy[I simply love this simple stir fry]. I've read that celery cut length wise tasted much better than cut horizontally. Reason for stripping the skin, is that all the fibrous string will be removed and revealed the juicy tenderness of the flesh. I fall in love all over again with celery.........

Stir Fry Celery

Ingredients
Good for 2 persons

• 200 gm celery stalk
  
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
  
• 1 tbsp shaoxing wine/ dry sherry
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• a pinch of sea salt or 2 tsp light soya sauce
• 1/2 tsp of sesame oil
• drizzle of Japanese chilli flakes (optional)

1. Peeled the celery skin and cut length wise into thin strip
   
2. Heat vegetable oil in wok/pan on high fire. Once heated, put in garlic and lightly browned.
3. Throw the celery in and stir fry quickly for 1 minute on high fire.
4. Pour in shaoxing wine, sesame oil, salt and sugar and stir fry for another one minute.
   
5. Turn off the heat. Serve on a plate and drizzle with chilli flakes(optional)

Served with rice.


Am definitely feeling more healthy now.
And to end the nite on high note of healthy eating, I wouldn't deny any offer on autumn straws. Yummy.