CRIZ BON APPETITE

I have been having too much of red meat continuous for the past few weeks. I think it’s time to cook something that is much healthier. Somehow, I still missed those juicy T-Bone Steak or Mutton Shank but for a healthier meal, I opted for vegetarian mock mutton. I am going to share you all this week my Vegetarian Kurma Mutton, an Indian dish which is spicy but not hot. It can also be taken by children of any ages.

INGREDIENTS
500g mock mutton
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 big onion (cut to wedges)
2” cinnamon bark
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
1 full clove of star anise
2 medium tomatoes (washed and cut to wedges)
2 green chillies (deseed and cut into thick slices)
40 Mint leaves
300ml full cream milk (can be replaced with coconut milk)
Salt and sugar to taste
Some fried shallots
2 potatoes (optional – cut into large cubes and semi fry it to cook)

BLENDED INGREDIENTS
10 shallots
2 green chillies
2 tsp coriander powder
3 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1.5” ginger
1/2 tsp grounded pepper

PREPARATION
1. Heat up the vegetable oil and stir in the blended ingredients.
2. Put in the onion, cinnamon bark, cloves, cardamoms and star anise. Stir until fragrant.
3. Add in the mock mutton and water. Simmer for 10 minutes on low fire.
4. Add in the tomatoes and green chillies and stir for another 5 minutes.
5. Add in the full cream milk and mint leaves.
6. Add salt and sugar to taste.
7. Garnish with fried shallots
8. Serve with white rice, roti canai or chapatti.

(Serves: 4-6)

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OPTIONAL:
The mock/vegetarian mutton can be replaced with meaty mutton cubes. The mutton must be marinated with juice from grated ginger in order to make the meat tender while cooking. Use one cup of water instead of the 1/2 cup as stated.

After eating too much of rich food outside, I sometimes make some salads as my meal. It is a good and healthy diet too as most of the hawker food here could be rather oily. I came out with the idea of creating my own style of fruit salad but I used only some fresh apples. You can also add in some fresh baby tomatoes, honeydew, seedless grapes or pears if you are planning to make this as one of your party dishes. This is a quick recipe that is perfect for any occasions.

You can remove the skin of the apples if you want to but make sure you soak in some salt water to avoid them turning brown. I did not do so because I wanted the dish to have more colors. Please make sure that you use some vegetable soap to wash the skins clean. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 green apples (wash and cut into thin slices)
2 big red apples (wash and cut into thin slices)
1 large carrot (remove skin, diced and boiled)
3 pcs of chicken ham (cut into 1” strips)
200 gms of canned pineapple (diced)
100 gms of mixed raisins
150 gms of roasted walnut (break into small pieces – leave some for topping)

Dressing:
7 Tsp mayonnaise (Lady’s Choice)
2 Tsp milk powder
3 Tsp water
Some pepper
Some Italian Mixed Herbs
Pinch of salt

Mix all the ingredients in a large container. Whip the dressing in a bowl thoroughly before pouring into the container. Stir well. Place the mixed fruit into a large bowl. Chill it for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle the balance walnut and some Italian Mixed Herbs before serving.

(Serves: 4-6)

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Nowadays, most of the family members are working personnel. If you ask them to go into the hassle of spending hours just to cook a meal, they would rather spend their time eating out. Why not try this Stir Fried Chinese Chives Flower with Roasted Pork. You would have it served on the dining table within minutes. Here are the ingredients and method to cook the dish.

Ingredients:

1 bundle Chinese Chives Flower (Koochai Hua) – wash and cut into 1.5 inch length
500gms roasted pork
1 big onion – cut into 10 pieces
2 pips garlic – chopped
1 tspn fine sugar
1 tspn sesame oil
1 Tspn soy sauce
2 Tspn oil
1/3 cup of water
2 Tspn corn starch (dissolve in some water)
Pinch of salt
Some pepper

Method of cooking:

1. Put some oil into a heated wok. Add in the chopped garlic and sauté until golden brown.
2. Put in the roasted pork. Add in the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and some pepper. Stir fried until fragrance. Add in the water and simmer it with low fire for 5 minutes.
3. Add in the dissolved corn starch some at a time until the gravy becomes thick. Taste if the gravy is salty enough for your taste bud. If not, pinch in some more salt.
4. If the combination is just right for you, put in the big onions and Chinese chives flowers and stir fry until the vegetables are cooked.
5. Dish out immediately and serve with hot steaming rice.

(Serves: 3-4)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Sometimes during weekends, I would create some special food to share with my family. This is something that you cannot get from any food stall out there. I tried something different which tasted real nice and not as oily as our famous Penang Char Koay Teow. Since my family has a few children in it, I opted out the chili paste. I called it “Fried Hor Fun With Glass Noodles”.

Ingredients:

1 kg hor fun (open up and cut into 1” strips)
300 gms tang hoon (glass noodles) (soak for 30 min and drain)
3 pulps garlic (chopped)
1.5” thumb size young ginger (grate and juice)
300 gms medium prawns (peel and marinate with some pepper, soy sauce & sugar)
1 chicken breast meat (slice and marinate with pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil & some ginger juice)
300 gms bean sprout (taugeh)
4 eggs (beaten with some soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil)
Some oil
Dark Soy Sauce (optional)
Salt and sugar to taste
1 stalk of spring onion and chillies (for garnishing)
Sambal Belacan (shrimp paste chili mix with lime)

Method of cooking:

1. Saute some chopped garlic with some oil until golden in a wok.
2. Put in the hor fun. Add in some pepper and soy sauce (optional: drop some dark soy sauce for darker coloring) and stir fry on high fire. Scoop up and put aside.
3. Stir fry the prawns and chicken meat individually and put aside.
4. Heat up some oil. Put in the eggs and scramble until cooked.
5. Lower the fire. Stir in the glass noodles and sprinkle some salt.
6. Put in the cooked hor fun and stir evenly.
7. Put in the cooked prawns and chicken meat. Stir evenly.
8. Put in the bean spout and stir until the bean sprout becomes almost transparent.
9. Dish out onto a plate and garnish with sliced chillies and spring onions.
10. Best served with Sambal Belacan.

(Serves: 4-6)

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You can do up your own fruit drink within minutes and stop your worries over those preservatives that are available in a packet drink. I love mango as few fruits can rival its succulent and aromatic delights in it. An average size fruit contains about 90% vitamin C and 75% of vitamin A and E. These vitamins are powerful immune system boosters. Let me share with you all a simple yet nutritious recipe.

MANGO MILKSHAKE (serves: 1-2)

225 grams (8 oz) medium ripe mango
250 ml soy milk (vanilla flavored will be ideal)
2 teaspoon honey
1 cup ice cubes
1 stalk mint leaves
Some whipped cream

1. Cut the mango on both side length wise and scoop the flesh into the blender. Try to cut around the pit to get any remaining flesh.

2. Add in soy milk, honey and ice cubes and blend until it becomes puree like.

3. Pour into a tall glass. Spray some whipped cream on it. Drip some honey. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve immediately.

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If you are running out of ideas on what to cook for your next meal, you can try out this recipe. It is so simple to cook and appetizing that you may want to have it always. This is my own recipe and you can change the amount of ingredient used to suit your taste. Let’s try out my Spicy Potatoes With Anchovy recipe here.

Ingredients:
150gms baby anchovy (ikan bilis) – wash and dry
6 pips of onions – blended
1 Tspn chili boh (chili paste) – add more if you want it more spicy
4 large potatoes – quarter and cut into slices
150gms tamarind juice (juice from 2 large lime plus 100gms water)
Salt and sugar to taste.
Some oil

Method of cooking:
Deep fry the potato slices in medium fire in a wok until they are cooked and slightly brown. Dish them out.

1. Leave about 6 Tspn of oil in the wok and with low fire sauté the anchovy until they are fragrant and golden in color. Dish them out.
2. Again with low fire, put in the blended onions. Stir for about 5 minutes then add in the chili paste. Saute until you get the pungent smell.
3. Add in the tamarind juice. Cook until thicken.
4. Add in pinch of salt (not too much as some anchovy can be salty) and some sugar to taste.
5. Put in the pre-fried anchovy and potato slices and stir thoroughly.
6. Serve with rice while it is hot to maintain the crunchiness of the anchovy.
7. Garnish with some tomatoes and celery leaves (optional).

(Serves: 3-4)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

MARINATE (15 MINS):
prawns – some soya sauce, sesame seed oil, pepper and pinch of sugar
squids – some soya sauce, pepper and sesame oil
fish – some soya sauce, pepper and sesame oil

METHOD OF COOKING:
1.Boil a big pot of water with a teaspoon of salt. Put in the pasta and cook until soft according to the instructions given on the packaging. Drain the water and then mixed with some margarine/olive oil.
2.Stir fry all the marinated seafood individually and put aside to be used later.
3.Put 3 Tablespoon oil into a wok. Put in the chopped onions. When it’s cooked, put in the tomatoes and stir fry for 5 minutes.
4.Put in the canned mushroom soups. Stir awhile and then add in the evaporated milk and water. Bring to boil.
5.Put in the boiled carrots, mushroom slices and celery. Bring to boil.
6.Sprinkle some mixed herbs and black pepper
7.Put in the cooked seafood and stir well.
8.Add in salt and sugar to taste
9.You are ready to serve.
10.Put the cooked pasta into a flat plate and put some sauce on it.
11.Garnish with some herbs and celery leaves.

(Serves: 8-10)

Note: Use a packet of pasta if you do not want to have so much. You can keep the rest of the sauce in the cooler to be reheated the next day.

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.