Chinese Leaf Blue Cheese Salad

January 29th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

One of the best things about living in Europe is I can get a lot of kind of cheese.

I love cheese, I feel very happy every time when I walk into a cheese shop, it’s like Disneyland to me, and I feel like Mickey Mouse (Mickey Mouse must love cheese as a mouse, I guess).

I picked up Chinese leaves for this salad, because Chinese leaves have firm & crisp texture, mild & delicate flavour and it doesn’t hijack the great flavour of blue cheese. Also, this leaves are very low-calorie, good source of vitamin C and potassium, so I can enjoy the cheese flavour without concerning my diet.

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— Chinese Leaf Blue Cheese Salad (serves 2) —

100g Chinese leaves

40g blue cheese

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

*****

— for garnish —

2 tablespoons blue cheese, crumbled

20g walnuts, crushed

1 tablespoon raisins

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Slice the Chinese leaves finely and set aside.

Place the blue cheese in a bowl, crush into small pieces with a fork. Add the sour cream, mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice and minced garlic in the bowl, and mix everything well.

Add the sliced Chinese leaves into the bowl and mix with the blue cheese cream.

Dish up the salad and sprinkle with the crumbled blue cheese, crushed walnuts and raisins.

Pan-fried Banana with Coconut Sauce

January 26th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

This is a very easy & tasty exotic dessert. It takes less than 10 minutes to make.

The banana skin is not edible, but I like to keep this cute natural banana skin plate for serving.

A little bit of rum add an elegant flavour to this simple dessert.

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— Pan-fried Banana with Coconut Sauce —

2 bananas

150ml coconut milk

1 tablespoon rum

1 tablespoon butter

1 & 1/2 tablespoon sugar

Some almond flakes

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Cut the banana in half lengthwise.

Heat a frying-pan, melt the butter and fry the bananas (cut side down) over medium-high heat about 3 minutes until golden brown on cut side.

Sprinkle the rum over the banana, and then pour the coconut milk, sprinkle the sugar in the frying-pan.

Simmer the banana with the coconut sauce until the sauce has reduced by half.

Sprinkle almond flakes. Serve warm.

Sun-dried Tomato & Prawn Fried Rice

January 23rd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Fried rice is a popular dish of Asian cuisine. It’s a simple, no fuss one-dish meal.

This time, I tried to combine Western ingredients and fried-rice method, and it came out very well.

The sun-dried tomato and prawn bring the attractive full, depth flavour, and nice red colour to the fried-rice, and a little bit of red chilli flakes gives a slight kick.

This is a good combination of the Western and Eastern cooking.

*Tip: The best rice for fried-rice is leftover rice that’s been lying in the fridge for overnight (it will get rid of excess moisture and easier to separate rice when you fry). You can also use COLD rice, but not freshly-cooked warm rice, it will be too sticky and become like mashed-rice.

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— Sun-dried Tomato & Prawn Fried Rice (serves 2) —

200g uncooked long grain rice, or 460g cooked rice (cold)

150g boiled prawns (medium size)

5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced into pieces

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

A pinch of red chilli flakes

Salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Some basil leaves for garnish, chopped

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Cook the rice in a large pot of boiling water until cooked (follow the package directions). Drain and allow to cool.

Heat the olive oil in a frying-pan over medium-high heat, add the finely chopped garlic, boiled prawns, sliced san-dried tomato and red chilli flakes. Stir-fry 2 minutes.

Add the cooked rice into the frying-pan, stir fry everything about 3 minutes and season with salt and black pepper.

Garnish with chopped basil.

Lemon Sauce Lemon Sole

January 20th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Lemon sauce & Lemon sole & Lemon cloth.

Triple Lemons, and I feel refresh.

A little spoon of honey add a touch of sweetness to the lemon sauce but still allows the fresh lemon flavour. Delicious sauce for white fish.

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— Lemon Sauce Lemon Sole (serves 2) —

2 fillets lemon sole

A pinch of salt and pepper

Some flour

Some vegetable oil for flying

Some parsley for garnish, finely chopped

*****

– for the lemon sauce –

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon honey

3 tablespoons white wine

1 teaspoon chicken stock powder

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Sprinkle the lemon sole fillets with a pinch of salt and pepper. Lightly dust each side with flour.

Heat some oil in a frying-pan, sauté the lemon sole fillets over medium-high heat on each side until golden.

Transfer to serving plates and keep them warm while making the lemon sauce.

Melt the butter on a pan, add the white wine, increase heat to high and bring to boil.

Add the chicken stock and honey, stir until completely blended over medium heat.

Remove the pan from heat, add the lemon juice and grated lemon zest and stir everything well.

pour the lemon sauce over the sautéed lemon sole and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Tofu, Feta & Cherry Tomato Puff Tart

January 17th, 2011 § 2 comments § permalink

This tofu puff tart was a great success. I’m very happy.

Tofu (soya bean curd) has so many health benefits as I wrote before (Tofu Balls Recipe), it’s good for making clear skin, weight control and aid against heart diseases etc. I try to use these kind of nutritious ingredients for daily cooking in a natural way.

I don’t think I’m health-conscious person. I love chocolate, biscuit and crisps etc., they are great! But, maybe my basic idea of ‘eating food’ is still very Japanese. In Japan, “what is good things me to eat” is most important for everyday meals, because we believe that healthy food is also the most natural medicine, and the relationship between food, good health, nature and remedy is woven into our culture and life-style.

Anyway, we need to eat everyday to live, so, taking healthy ingredients without hard work is a good idea. And, sometimes need to eat chocolate cakes for pleasure too!

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— Tofu, Feta & Cherry Tomato Puff Tart —

300g tofu (firm)

200g cherry tomatoes

50g feta cheese

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped

Some pettit black olives, stoned

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

A pinch of black pepper

Some olive oil

Half of 375g pack ready-rolled puff pastry

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Wrap the tofu in a clean tea towel or some layer of kitchen papers, and place a heavy thing (such as a pan) on top of it to force out excess water, then leave it for about 20 minutes.

Place the drained tofu in a bowl and mash, add the chopped fresh thyme, minced garlic, salt and black pepper, mix everything together.

Cut the ready-rolled puff pastry approximately 11 inch x 7 inch and place the pastry on a baking sheet.

Spread the tofu mixture evenly over the centre of the pastry (leaving 1/2 inch border all around the edges)

Crumble the feta cheese over the tofu mixture, arrange the cherry tomatoes and black olives on top.

Drizzle some olive oil on the cherry tomatoes.

Bake in a preheated 190C/375F oven for 25-30 minutes until the pastry in crisp and golden.


Prawn & Herb Noodle Salad

January 15th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

I love this Vietnamese style fresh noodle salad. This is like a delicious medicine.

I’ll never get board of this fresh, zesty taste, and it’s very healthy with a lot of herbs and vegetables. I can physically feel that my body is delighted when I’m eating it.

The main ingredients of this dressing is Vietnamese fish sauce called nuoc mam. Nouc mam is a fermented fish sauce and it has a pungent smell itself… But when you use nuoc mam for a cooking, it does really enhance flavour of the dish, lifting the taste of other ingredients.

All the ingredients are helping each other to be delicious on a plate.

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— Prawn & Herb Noodle Salad (serves 2 / main dish) —

200g dried thin rice noodles (Bún)

160g boiled prawns

80g iceberg lettuce

100g cucumber

1 tomato

A handful coriander leaves

A handful mint leaves

Some roasted peanuts, crashed

*****

– for the noodle salad dressing –

2 tablespoons nouc mam (vietnamese fish sauce), or usual fish sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 1/2 tablespoon honey

1 clove garlic, peeled and very finely chopped

A pinch of small chili, very finely chopped

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To prepare the noodle dressing, mix all ingredients of the dressing in a small bowl. Set aside.

Tear the iceberg lettuce into pieces, chop the cucumber and tomato into cubes, and set aside.

Cooke the thin rice noodles in a large pot of boiling water until cooked (follow the package directions). Drain and rinse well under cold water, and drain well again.

Transfer the cooked thin rice noodles into a large bowl. Add the boiled prawns, iceberg lettuce, cucumber, tomato, coriander leaves and mint leaves. Pour over the dressing, toss everything together in a bowl.

Dish up the noodle salad and sprinkle on the crushed peanuts.

Rosemary Calamari Fritti

January 13th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

I was looking up ‘rosemary’, and I found that the name has Latin origin ‘ros marinus’ meaning ‘dew of the sea’.

Pretty name!

OK, I want to use the dew of the sea to calamari, because he came from the sea.

And, it was a good idea. The rosemary brings lively flavour and note to this recipe.

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— Rosemary Calamari Fritti (serves 2) —

260g calamari tubes, cleaned

5 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons corn flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

50ml water

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, very finely chopped

A pinch of salt and pepper

Lemon wedges for serving

Oil for deep-frying

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Rinse the calamari tubes under water and pat dry with paper towels.

Cut the calamari tubes into 1/2 inch rings.

Heat the deep-frying oil to 170C/340F.

Mix well the flour, corn flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the beaten egg, 50ml water, very finely chopped fresh rosemary, salt and pepper into the bowl and mix everything together.

Toss the squid rings into the flour mixture to coat, and deep-fry the coated calamari rings until pale golden. Drain on kitchen paper.

Serve with the lemon wedges.

Oyster Mushroom Fried Rice

January 11th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

A morning after the rain.

That remind me mushroom hunting. I was often forced to go to a mushroom mountain by my dad when I was teenager (I was born in the country side of Japan). I hated mushroom hunting because I didn’t like to get my clothes dirty and I was really fed up with mushroom dishes everyday after the hunting.

But I’m sure now I can enjoy to go to the mushroom mountain and fill up a big bag with full of mushrooms and to be pleased with full-course mushroom meals.

Well, I was obsessed with mushrooms this morning, and I decided to cook a mushroom dish for lunch.

The combination of garlic, butter and soya sauce makes beautiful taste. And I really enjoyed this mushrooms dish.

But, the best mushroom dish I’ve ever had was that dish after the muddy mushroom hunting.

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— Oyster Mushrooms Fried Rice (serves 2) —

200g uncooked long grain rice

120g oyster mushrooms, tear into pieces

20 stalks chive, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon white wine

1/2 tablespoon soya sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

A pinch of black pepper

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Cook the rice in a large pot of boiling water until cooked (follow the package directions). Drain and allow to cool (or use leftover trice straight from a fridge).

Heat the butter in a frying-pan over medium-high heat, stir fry the oyster mushrooms and finely chopped garlic.

Pour the white wine evenly over the mushrooms and season with the salt and pepper.

Add the cooked rice into the pan, stir fry about 2 minutes and sprinkle with soy sauce, then sir fry a bit more.

Turn off the heat , add the chopped chives into the pan and mix.

Tofu Balls with Creamy Wasabi Dip

January 8th, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

When I was a child, my mum told me ‘Eat tofu, if you want to have soft smooth skin like tofu’.

So, that’s one of the reason why I keep eating tofu (of course I like the taste too!).

Tofu is made from soya beans, it obviously has many of the nutritional benefits; low-calorie, high protein, rich in vitamin B and cholesterol-free etc. Also it helps further absorption of vitamin E which is a very important vitamin for antioxidant and smooth skin.

This tofu balls have nice fluffy texture and perfect for a snack.

I ate it a lot this afternoon, and wishing my skin is becoming like tofu.

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— Tofu and Vegetable Balls (about 20 balls) —

400g tofu (firm)

50g carrot

50g fine beans

15 stalks chives

3 tablespoons corn flour

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon soya sauce

A pinch of salt and pepper

Oil for deep frying

*****

— for the creamy wasabi dip —

1/2 teaspoon wasabi paste

2 tablespoons sour cream

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

A touch of salt

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Wrap the tofu in a clean tea towel or some layer of kitchen papers, and place a heavy thing (such as a pan) on top of it to force out excess water, then leave it for about 20 minutes.

Put the drained tofu in a bowl and mash. Add the corn flour, beaten egg, soya sauce and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix them well.

Chop the carrot, fine beans and chives finely and add them into the tofu mixture and mix all together.

Roll the tofu mixture into small balls.

Heat the oil to 170C/340F and deep-fry the tofu balls until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.

To make the wasabi dip, place the wasabi paste, sour cream and lemon juice and mix well. adjust the seasoning with a touch of salt.

Serve the tofu balls with the wasabi dip (or any kind of your favourite dip for chips).

Lemon Grass Chicken Lettuce Wraps

January 7th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

I like ‘wrap’ dishes. Tortillas, rice papers, crapes… any kind of wraps.

It’s easy to eat, fun to eat and looks cute, I think.

This is healthy low-calorie lettuce wraps, nice combination of cold crispy lettuce and warm tender chickens.

Lettuce hugs chickens.

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— Lemon Grass Chicken Lettuce Wraps (serves 2) —

300g chicken thigh, boned and skinned

Some lettuce leaves

Some coriander stalks

Some olive oil for frying

*****

— for the marinade —

1 stalk lemon grass, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon fish sauce

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar

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Cut the chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces.

Mix all the ingredients of the marinade in a bowl, add the chicken pieces into the bowl and mix well then marinate 30 minutes.

Heat a frying-pan and add some olive oil. Stir-fry the marinaded chicken over medium heat until cooked.

Place the lettuce leaves on a plate, Scoop up a big spoonful of cooked chicken and place it in the middle of a lettuce leaf and garnish with some coriander stalks.

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