Italian Parsley & Anchovy Pancakes

January 5th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

I came up with this pancake idea when I was eating an anchovy pizza.

This pancake style (thin pancake with dipping sauce) is based on traditional Korean dish called ‘Jeon’. And it worked well with these Italian ingredients.

Anchovy is tiny, but has a huge umami. Good little fish.

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— Italian Parsley & Anchovy Pancake (2, 7 inch pancakes) —

120g all-purpose flour

30g corn flour

1 egg

150ml water

40g anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained

70g carrot, peeled

20g flat-leaf parsley

Some olive oil for frying

*****

— for the dipping sauce —

1 tablespoon soya sauce

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon sugar

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Place the flour, corn flour, egg and 150ml of water in a large bowl and mix them well.

Chop the anchovy fillets and the flat-leaf parsley, shred the carrot and put them into the flour mixture and mix them up.

Heat a frying-pan, put some olive oil and spread the pancake mixture thinly. Turn down the heat to medium, cook until the bottom is crisp and golden brown. Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown.

To make the dipping sauce, mix well all the ingredients of dipping sauce in a small bawl.

Cut the pancake, and serve with the dipping sauce.


Miso Yogurt Marinated Cod

January 4th, 2011 § 2 comments § permalink

Miso is fermented soya bean paste, made from soya beans and normally rice or barley are mixed with salt and koji (a formentation starter) and allow to ferment for six months to five years

It comes in many colours, creamy white, yellow, red brown and dark brown, etc..

Usually the light coloured miso has light flavour and dark coloured miso has strong flavour.

Also yogurt is the queen of fermentation food product as you know.

Both fermentation foods pull together and made a great result to a piece of fish.

The cod fillet became tender and savory.

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— Miso Yogurt Marinated Cod (serves 2) —

2 pieces cod fillet

80ml miso (light brown coloured miso is preferred)

100ml yogurt (plain)

Some flat-leaf parsley for garnish, finely chopped

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Mix the miso and yogurt  in a bowl.

Put the miso yogurt mixture into a shallow container, place the cod, and coat all sides with the mixture, cover and refrigerate for overnight.

To cook, lightly wipe off any excess miso mixture (but don’t rinse it off).

Preheat broiler, place the cod on a baking sheet and position the backing tray approximately 6 inches away from top heating element. Broil about 7-10 minutes, until nicely golden and flakes easily.

Sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Stuffed Baby Squid with Coriander & Feta

January 3rd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Happy New Year.

If you feel still tired after New Year’s drinking like me, this is the perfect dish.

Squid contains a lot of taurine (amino acid) which reverse liver damage caused by alcohol.

The only thing is, this dish goes well with white wine…

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— Stuffed Baby Squid with Coriander & Feta (serves 2) —

500g baby squid

2 tablespoons bread crumbs

2 tablespoon coriander, finely chopped (leave a little for garnish)

40g feta cheese

1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

Some olive oil for frying

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Cut off squid tentacles, chop into small pieces and set aside.

Clean the squid tubes (remove all inside parts).

Cut the feta cheese into small cubes.

Mix well the chopped tentacles, bread crumbs, finely chopped coriander, fish sauce and olive oil in a bowl, add the feta cheese cubes and mix again gently.

Carefully spoon the mixture into the squid tubes to three-quarters fill the tubes. Fasten the opening closed with a cocktail stick.

Heat some olive oil in a frying-pan over a medium heat and fry the squid for 7-8 minutes, turning occasionally.

Sprinkled with chopped coriander and serve.

Soba Noodle Salad

December 31st, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

It’s a Japanese tradition to eat soba noodles on New Year’s Eve.

Soba noodles symbolize longevity because it’s physically long. And, Soba noodles are easy to bite and cut off, so it’s considered to sever any hardship that have happened during the year.

I was thinking it’s a strange custom.

But when I looked up the nutrition of buckwheat (the ingredients of soba noodles), I started to think that the custom might make sense.

Buckwheat is very high in rutin, an essential nutrient that is not found in other grains. Rutin is powerful antioxidants that fight free radicals which are responsible of some of the major health problems such as cancer, arteriosclerosis, strokes, and age-related senility. Also, buckwheat is rich in vitamin B1 making them a good option got those recovering from stress and wanting to regain a decent energy level.

Good. I eat soba noodles today, wishing good health and not to carryover any bad things to 2011.

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— Soba Noodle Salad (Serves 2) —

160g Soba Noodles

40g rocket

Some sesame seeds

*****

— For the dressing —

1/4 onion

5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons soya sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

A pinch of salt

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To prepare the dressing, peel and grate the onion, place the grated onion, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, soya sauce and lemon juice in a bowl and mix well. Season to taste with a pinch of salt.

Cook the soba noodles in large pot of boiling water until cooked (follow the package directions). Drain and rinse well under cold water and drain again.

Transfer the soba noodles to large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat.

Add the rocket and toss gently.

Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve.

Chilled Mango Soya Milk Pudding

December 29th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

Mango has a beautiful cheerful colour and a scent.

I bought it and made this mango pudding to cheer me up.

Used soya beans milk for extra full of beans.

This pudding texture is silky rich, and it has simply wonderful mango flavour.

It also a non-daily dessert and suit vegetarian.

When I’ve finished a cup, I became cheerful like a mango.

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— Chilled Mango Soya Milk Pudding (5 cups)—

2 medium to large ripe mangoes

100ml soya milk

50ml soya single cream

50g sugar

3 gelatine leaves (or agar agar for a vegetarian)

Some soya single cream for drizzle on top

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Soak the gelatine leaves in a water until soft.

Peel and stone the mangoes and cut into small cubes. Place the mango in a blender and make a smooth mango purée.

Place the soya milk, 50ml of soya cream and sugar in a pan and slowly bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat.

Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves, add to the pan and stir until the gelatine has dissolved.

Add the mango purée into the pan and mix well.

Pour the mixture into small cups. Cool and then chill in the fridge for couple of hours until set.

Drizzle some soya single cream on top and serve.

Salmon, Spinach & Cheese Spring Rolls

December 28th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

Usually, spring rolls are used different type of dough sheets.

But, Filo pastry sheets works very well for this salmon spring rolls.

Just a little bit careful when you handle the pastry sheets, because it’s a fragile.

Be gentle, and then, here is the delicate textured nice spring rolls.

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— Salmon & Spinach Spring Rolls (6 rolls) —

1 piece salmon fillet, boned and skinned

80g Cheddar cheese

100g baby spinach

1 teaspoons soy sauce

A pinch of salt and pepper

6 sheets of filo pastry

Lemon wedges for serving

Cooking oil for deep-frying

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Season the salmon fillet with salt and pepper and slice into 6 sticks approximately 3 inches by 1/2 inch.

Slice the Cheddar cheese into 6 sticks (same size as the salmon sticks).

Add the spinach for a large pan of slightly salted boiling water, cook 15 seconds. Drain the spinach in a colander, cool down and squeeze out the excess water. Sprinkle the soy sauce on the spinach and mix well.

Lay out one filo pastry sheet with a corner pointed toward you. Place a salmon stick, a Cheddar cheese stick and 1/6 of the spinach on the filo sheet.

Roll up the filo sheet the corner facing you. When half way, fold left and right corners toward the center and continue to roll. Brush a little bit of water on the final corner to help seal the spring roll.

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

Serve with the lemon wedges.

Prawn Cakes with Lemon Yogurt Dip

December 27th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

This is an easy, low-fat prawn cake. Just mix everything together, pan-frying and ready.

It isn’t used mashed potatoes or eggs as a binder. Great for a big prawn fan like me.

Shrimply!

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— Prawn Cakes with Lemon Yogurt Dip  (Serves 2)—

160g raw prawns, peeled

2 tablespoons spring onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped

2 tablespoons flower

2 tablespoons corn flower

1 tablespoon white wine

1/4 teaspoon salt

A pinch of black peper

*****

— for the Lemon yogurt dip —

3 tablespoons plain yorgurt

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

A pinch of salt

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Coarsely chop the peeled raw prawn.

Place all the ingredients (prawn, spring onion, ginger, flower, corn flower, white wine, salt and paper) in a medium bowl and mix well with a hand.

Heat some oil in a frying-pan on a medium heat.

Wet your hands with water and shape the mixture into 2 balls. Put the mixture balls on a frying-pan and flatten each ball to make round flat cakes.

Pan-fry for 3 minutes on each side, letting them get golden and cooked through.

Mix well all the ingredients of Lemon yogurt dip in a small bowl.

Tofu Chocolate Cupcake Tree

December 24th, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

I made Tofu chocolate cupcakes for bringing to a Christmas party at a friend’s house.

Tofu is made from soybeans, it has a lot of health benefits.

I and my friends are not a vegetarian, but adding mashed tofu gives the cupcakes much healthier and still taste good as normal chocolate cupcake (you can hardly notice that tofu is in it).

I wish my lovely friends the best of health and happiness.

Merry Christmas xxx

Seasoned Wakame & Bean Sprouts

December 23rd, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

Christmas is coming. It’s a time to keep eating.

I can kind of understand how the feeling of foie gras goose at this time of the year. But how can I resist a beautiful christmas pudding with brandy butter in front of me?

So, I made super healthy dish for my stomach tonight and prepare for the Christmas dinner.

This Korean origin “Sesame & Garlic” seasoning goes well with many kind of vegetables. I picked up Wake seaweed and bean sprouts today’s recipe. Because Wakeme is amazingly healthy ingredient. It’s very low-calorie, rich in vitamins & minerals (cleanse the blood) and has a high iodine content which is great for controlling metabolism. The effectiveness of this iodine is doubled when the seaweed is eaten with oil.

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— Seasoned Wakame & Bean Sprouts (Serves 2 : side dish) —

3 tablespoons dried wakame seaweed flakes

150g bean sprouts

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 clove garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 small chili, very finely chopped

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Soak the wakame flakes as it directed on the package. Drain rehydrated wakame flakes and set aside.

Add the bean sprouts for a large pan of slightly salted boiling water, cook 30 seconds. Drain the boiled bean sprouts in a colander, cool down and set aside.

Place the garlic, sesame seeds and sesame oil in a mortar, crush and pound them.

Place the wakame, the bean sprouts and the seasoning (in the mortar) in a bowl then add the salt and chili.

Mix everything well in a bowl and serve in a small plate.


Honey Teriyaki Swordfish

December 22nd, 2010 § 0 comments § permalink

Teriyaki sauce is a popular Japanese sauce and it’s easy to make.

The only problem is you have to make an effort to go to an Oriental grocery and get some special ingredients if you don’t live in Japan.

No. I don’t want to make a long journey to get them on a freezing cold day like today…

So, here is the easiest way to make the new Teriyaki sauce. Only 3 simple ingredients; honey, soy sauce and sake. It tastes good as traditional Teriyaki sauce.

And then, it takes only 10 minutes to make this Teriyaki fish dish.

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— Honey Teriyaki Swordfish (Serves 2) —

2 swordfish steaks

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons soya sauce

2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)

A pinch of salt

Vegetable oil

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Mix the honey, soy sauce, sake together in a small bowl and set aside.

Sprinkle a pinch of salt evenly over the swordfish.

Heat the vegetable oil (just a little bit) in a frying-pan, place the swordfish over medium heat, fry for few minutes on each side until almost cooked.

Turn down the heat to low. Pour over the mixed sauce on the swordfish, cook for 1–2 minutes until the sauce being to bubble, then turn over the fish and cook for 1 minutes (be careful not to burn the sauce!)

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