Stir Fry Meat Slices With Cloud Ear Fungus

Simple cooking like this makes me happy.  Stir fry meat slices with cloud ear fungus ,ginger slices , garlic slices ,chillies and spring onions with a dash of chinese rice wine is enough to whet my appetite. Flavorful and the bird eye chillies added hotness to the dish.  The cloud ear fungus add a light crunch to the dish. Simple yet delicious.  The meat is tender and juicy...yummy !  I normally cook simple for the two of us.....and this is a sneak peek into what I normally cook for WB ,the carnivour in the family.  I stole all the cloud ear fungus and a few slices of meat :p

Stir Fry Meat Slices With Cloud Ear Fungus - from WB's Kitchen

Ingredients:

a small strip of tenderloin meat ( pork - you can use chicken meat ) - 

cut into slices and marinate with a tbsp of oyster sauce, 

a tsp of corn starch and a tsp of light soy sauce

2 tsp of olive oil

1 small knob of ginger- cut into slices

2 cloves of garlic - sliced

1 tbsp of dried cloud ear fungus- soak in water and cleaned

2 stalks of spring onions - cut into 1/2 inch length

a tbsp of rice wine

* optional - a pinch of salt to taste

Preparation:

Heat up wok , add in olive oil ,garlic slices, ginger slices and saute till fragrant, add in the marinated meat slices and stir fry till meat is cooked, add in cloud ear fungus, chillies and spring onions, a few tablespoon of water.  Continue to stir fry for a few minutes. Add in the rice wine before dishing up.  Add salt to taste *optional 

Enjoy !   

Hot Spicy Sichuan Style Cucumber Salad

After having tasted this dish at Restaurant Xiang Man Lou ( Sichuan restaurant ).  If you have not read my previous post, you can check the post  here .  I came home googled for the recipe and after studying through the recipe  , I tweaked it to my liking as in the preparation.  I  toasted the sichuan peppercorns and bring the rest of the ingredients to a boil and while the sauce is still hot, I added in the pick cucumber so that the flavors get infused into the cucumber .  It turned out great and I would like to share with you my version.  I serve the hot spicy cucumber chilled and let is sit overnight in the fridge.  It tasted awesome-ly good!  Yum!!

love the crunchy texture and the flavorful sweet black vinegar...

thumbs up !

this spicy cucumber salad is a healthy dish ....according to traditional 

Chinese medicine cucumber can loosen the bowel, 

reduce body fat, protect skin and smooth out wrinkles and

Sichuan peppercorns are very rich in essential oils,

vitamins and antioxidants   :)  I love these facts and

will make this dish more often :P

bought these Japanese cucumbers from Jusco

Hot Spicy Sichuan Style Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

6 med. sized Japanese cucumber -  remove seeds ,cut into strips
2 tsp of sea salt

2 tbsp of  black vinegar
2 tsp of sesame oil
5 cloves of garlic-chopped
4 dried chilli - cut into smaller pieces or pinch of chilli flakes
2 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp of water
1 tbsp of vegetable oil

toasted white sesame seeds for garnishing

Preparation:

1. Cut cucumber into strips. Sprinkle sea salts evenly and pick it for 1-2 hours in the fridge. Squeeze out the salt water .
2. Heat up a non stick pan, add in Sichuan peppercorns and stir fry till it start jumping on your pan, add in oil, garlic, black vinegar, sesame oil , dried chillies, water and cook till it bubbles. Off heat , add in the cucumber strips and combine evenly with the black vinegar mixture and dish up. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

*   Serve at room temperature or chilled. I prefer to let it sit overnight. It taste much better.

Enjoy!

Birthday Lunch @ Restaurant Xiang Man Lou

This post has been long overdue...we held two of our cg members ( Ron and Sandra ) birthday celebration last month. This time the venue was at Restaurant Xiang Man Lou, a place where they served Sichuan dishes...hot, oily and spicy dishes .  This restaurant is just opposite Festival Walk (opp Sushi Zento )  I am speaking for myself, the food is not bad for a change.....something different from the other chinese restaurants.  The cooking is authentic sichuan cooking...oily , spicy with lots of different peppercorns used in most of their dishes.  I kinda like the flavor and it agrees with my gastro :)   Have a peep at what was ordered for the birthday lunch :)  Drool as much as you like...I would fine you for that :p

I like this hot spicy cucumber side dish and 

I even googled for the recipe online and found one good one.  

Will post up this hot spicy cucumber salad on my next post...stay tuned for it.

wood fungus sides with lots of  pickled garlic,pickled hot chilli and vinegar

special beef sides...love this dish to bits

if not for the cholesterol factor, I would have tucked in more :p

this is another appetising seaweed and vermicelli salad

packed with lots of chopped garlic, chillies and sweet black vinegar

eggplant and long beans stir fry...delicious but a bit salty for me

this is the most pricey dish for the day.....the expensive Garoupa ( lou foo pan )

cooked in hot spicy oil...you eat only the fish...coz the whole pot consist of hot spicy oil but

I would say this is the best dish...very flavorful...lots of sichuan peppercorns and dried chillies

and this the awesome prawn dish ...deep fried prawns with 

lots of spice ingredients..

we had a great time digging out and trying to guess 

what are the crispy spicy ingredients in this dish...

they have peppercorns, dried seaweed, peanuts and maybe

mint leaves....hahaha but this is definitely a MUST ORDER  dish

steamed free range chicken...flavorful...I guess they have steamed 

and soaked in rice wine...delectable comes with ginger dippings

I forgot the address of this restaurant

it is opposite Sushi Zento , Festival Walk

Have a great day.! :)

Fried Rice With Chinese Dried Sausages

A simple fried rice was what we had for yesterday dinner.  I know that I will be tired to cook anything fancy after the gardening work.  I asked WB to cook extra rice for dinner when he cooked rice for our lunch . For fried rice, it is better to have overnight rice, but a few hours old rice will do.  Chinese fried rice is simple and has many variations . For this simple fried rice...all I  have to do is slice some spring onions and chinese dried sausages/lap cheong . Heat up the wok with vegetable oil,  throw in chopped garlic, sliced sausages ,sliced red chillies and when the garlic and sausages gives out their fragrance,  throw in the cooked rice and add in two eggs and add a teaspoon of sea salt . Continue frying till all are well combine. I added some thick soy sauce for color .... tada, dinner is ready.. as simple as ABC , yet appetizing enough to warrant a second helping .  I used up the last batch of homegrown spring onions for this fried rice.  Truly yummy!

I have planted any batch of spring onions yesterday ( public holiday for us here ) ! Can't wait for the onions to start blooming.....I need for my cooking...so healthy ! :)

this fried rice may be simple in looks but it is flavorful enough to warrant a second helping

Enjoy  !

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Eggplant Patties

Seriously. I really really love eggplants. And I am always on the look out for new eggplant recipes and I found this AWESOME eggplant patties.   I can eat FIVE pieces at one go and still stretch the hand out for more  LOL!  It is really good !  A keeper for sure.  Easy to prepare and flavor packed !  All you need is Eggplant,onion, garlic, cheese, almond meal and some herbs...no eggs needed for the patties and they hold together perfectly !  No eggs required so these are pretty healthy patties.  LOve them to bits and I am sure my Piggy Jo will love this preparation for she too loves eggplants like me :)

the best thing is these patties does not require egg to hold them together

these are healthy and delicious patties

a keeper for sure :)

Eggplant Patties - adapted from here


Ingredients 
Makes about 8 medium size patties

1 large eggplant (or 2 medium), peeled and diced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small onion (or 2 scallions), thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 gr grated Dubliner cheese (or sharp Cheddar)*
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup / 3.4 oz / 96 gr almond meal (or gluten-free breadcrumbs)

*use vegan cheese to make them vegan

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large (preferable non-stick) skillet over medium-high heat, add onion and salt and saute’ for 5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and saute’ for 1 further minute, until fragrant.
Finally add eggplant cubes and saute’ - stirring every now and then - until browned and soft, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Transfer to a large bowl and puree/mash with an immersion blender (you can also use a food processor or a blender to do this).
Add cheese, parsley, black pepper and stir until well combined.
Add almond meal (or GF breadcrumbs) ¼ cup at a time and mix with your hands until it reaches a firm consistency and will hold up as patties (you might need to use more or less almond meal).
Transfer mixture to the refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow the almond meal to suck up some of the moisture.
Take the bowl out of the refrigerator and with dampened hands form 8 medium size patties (or 4 larger ones).
Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the same skillet you used before over medium-high heat. 
When sizzling, add patties (in batches if necessary) and cook for about 4 minutes on each side until browned.
Serve warm with some marinara sauce on the side.

Enjoy and eat healthy :)

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Pasta With Cherry Tomato

My very simple meal yesterday.  After taking my blood test result from the hospital...I know I need to go on a healthier diet. I thought I have eating healthy :p but no the result proved I need to go back to oat meal.  The LDL is higher this time so I need more exercises and less fatty food.   Ok ...yesterday dinner was this simple yet delicious pasta.  Pasta with cherry tomatoes and lots of mixed herbs and chilli flakes.  Of course ,I added some chicken meat for WB though...hahaha can't expect a carnivor to eat plain pasta like these ...right ?  

 

All you have to do is boil the linguine ( any pasta of your choice ) to al dente. Drain the pasta and keep some of the water for later use.  Saute some chopped garlic with olive oil till fragrant , then throw in the cut cherry tomatoes and mixed herbs and stir fry till well combined and the tomatoes have softened.  Add in the chilli flakes and freshly ground black pepper if desired and a pinch of sea salt for taste.  If required add in a few tablespoons of the pasta water so that the pasta is not dry.    

Enjoy and eat healthy :)

Fried Rice With Spring Onions

Fried rice is the best solution if one is to lazy to cook anything elaborate.  I still have a pot of  homegrown organic spring onions in the garden and since I can't find any greens to go with the rice, I grab the scissors and cut off almost the whole pot of onions :p  Anyway I am happy to cook something so simple and yet delicious...eggs and spring onions are the main attraction in this simple fried rice.  The addition of red chillies is to add colors to the fried rice :)  

Enjoy!