Stir Fried Imitation Sea Cucumber

I saw this dish featured on CCTV4 recently and though what an interesting idea. I never buy sea cucumber before, love to eat it but have no clue how to handle it. Another reason of not buying is my hubby doesn't like it. So, when I saw this imitation sea cucumber made using the seaweed, I was intriguing and wanted to try it. Well, I supposed to shape it into an oblong shape to resemble the sea cucumber but I did not bother. This Chinese food series named Everyday Food does not come with measurement, they cooked with feel like every Chinese cook. So, I tried my best to recreate the dish. It tasted pretty good, the deep-fried ones are crispy and good on it's own. The sauteed one was kind of chewy, just different.


The batter ready to deep-fry. I really not sure whether I should add more flour in it or not since that cook seem to be able to shape it into an oblong shape with this batter. Hmmm...


The finished deep-fried imitation sea cucumber.

Kailan with Tofu

Another easy home cook meal from me. I tried Chai Hsin with tofu before and really liked it, so decided to stir-fry it with kailan this time. It turned out very good too. I guess now I can stir-fry the tofu with various kind of different Chinese greens and can come out with a healthy and delicious dish that good eaten with rice. What best is you only need oyster sauce to season it or just salt and soy sauce would do.

Ingredients:

• Chinese Kailan, washed each leaf separately and cut thinly (I only used the leaves here)
• Firmed tofu, cut like above picture
• 1 small carrot, sliced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Oyster sauce to taste

Method:

1. In a wok, heat up with some oil. When hot, add in garlic and fry until fragrant but do not burn. Add in kailan and stir-fry well. Add in carrot and stir-fry for a minute.

2. Add in tofu, oyster sauce and a little water. Stir well to mix, be careful not to break the tofu too much. Dish out and serve hot.

Special Peanut Butter & Ketchup Noodle

I created this special noodle for our Friday noodle night. I thought ketchup and peanut butter would go well together and I was right. This noodle was delicious and it would be great if I have some beansprout to add to it. You can add more lime juice for a more sour taste and/or even sprinkle the top with toasted crushed peanuts or sesame seeds. Of course this dish is not for people with peanut allergy. I did not have a measurement for this, I just cooked with feel. Hence, only attempt this dish if you are an intermediate cook that is good at feeling it when you cook. Good Luck!

Tom Yam Kai or Tom Yam Chicken

Instead of the Tom Yam Shrimps, sometimes I would just make Tom Yam Chicken. With the availability of Tom Yam paste in most Asian stores, this dish is easy to whip up. A fast, easy and delicious dinner just a few minutes away from the pan to the table. I love the sour gravy to eat with my rice. You can also add tomatoes and fresh mushroom for more vegetable choice. I omitted the bird-eye chili (Thai's chili) here in consideration for my girls. Before that, I would dump lots of bird-eye chilies for the spicy and sour taste. Come to think of it, I haven't really cooked a REAL spicy dish after my girls were born except those came in ready premix packets. Did you change the way you cook after your kid is born? I, for one would not cook a separate dish for them, they have to learn to eat what we eat, but I did compromise by not making it too spicy by not adding extra chili.

Marbled Banana Chocolate Cake

My need to experiment in the kitchen again. I used to make a Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread four years ago which I loved. Then, I kind of stop making it because I don't always stock up on chocolate chips. Also I rather prefer the cake texture instead of the bread texture. So, I played with the recipe and created this. I always have cocoa powder in my pantry so I used that instead of chocolate bar or chocolate chips. But I think the chocolate flavor will come out more with chocolate bar or chocolate chips instead of cocoa powder. I hardly taste the cocoa powder, this cake tasted like a banana cake with a pretty marbled effect.


See the marbled effect? They called this Zebra marbling effect.

As you can see, I tried out a new marbling effect which they called zebra. It does look a lot like zebra and very pretty. I made this cake to have for breakfast and afternoon snack so I didn't really pay a lot of attention when doing the layering. Thus, I was actually surprised that it turned out pretty good even with how careless and little care I paid on it. Hence, anyone can certainly do the zebra effect on her cake with ease.


Whole cake view from the top. See how careless I was with it, uneven striped when layering.

Iced Matcha au Lait

I always used matcha in my bakes, didn't know it can be so refreshing and tasty in a drink too, such as this iced matcha au lait recipe from matchasource.com. I was surprised at how tasty it was and my girls just drank it up especially Edda who even asked for more.

Matcha is a powdered green tea from Japan. It is naturally sugar free, rich in nutrients, anti-oxidants, fiber and chlorophyll-a renowned detoxifying agent. Matcha contains caffeine which stimulated the body and amino acids which relax the mind. Tea plants are covered with bamboo screens several weeks prior to harvest. Under the screens, plants must work harder to grow, and they increase their levels of chlorophyll and amino acids. Harvested tea leaves are then steamed, air-dried, de-veined and stone-ground into powder. Therefore, with matcha, whole tea leaves are consumed, thus the vibrant green color, and why the taste of matcha is grassy and full-bodied. I always have readers asking me where they can purchase matcha in the states. Well, you can visit matchasource.com to order, read about the traditional way of serving matcha, for more tips and browse through the recipes or interviews.

Recipe provided with courtesy from matchasource.com:

Ingredients: Serves 1

1 tsp. matcha
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup cold milk
3-4 ice cubes
6-inch stalk of lemon grass (I omitted this)

Method:

1. Mix the matcha with the sugar, add the hot water, and stir until the paste becomes smooth.

2. Add the cold milk and stir. Add the ice cubes.

3. Serve with the lemon grass for added flavor.