Vegetables Porridge with Salted Eggs - Mrs. Tan's Method

I wonder why my Piles came back even after embarking on a meatless diet. I wasn't able to sit still in office yesterday due to the discomfort so came home instead. I could only lie down else stand up for the rest of the day. 

Anyway, Pinky asked what's for dinner but I wasn't too sure of what to cook nor the diet suitable for Piles patients. Furthermore I didn't have the ability to sit down in front of PC to Google for information either. So the heck with it , I told her that I had no idea at all and would just cook whatever was inside my fridge. So she suggested Vegetables Porridge, using her Mom's method of cooking porridge. I wasn't keen on the idea because it already sounded bland. Nonetheless, no harm trying since I needed a watery diet so she gave me the instructions on how to go about it. 

The selection process of vegetables was rather tough, and I was faced with the challenge of making the dish sweet and salty without using too much of seasoning. So I chose cabbage and carrots for sweetness, baby bok choy for leafy fibre, and steamed salted eggs + bottled preserved Chye Sim for saltiness. For full vegans, there are other options like adding preserved beans, fermented tofu and other preserved vegetables too. This is a rather versatile dish.

Finally, my Vegetables Porridge turned out quite good. The rice were grainy, soup tasted mildly sweet and lightly salted. And guess what? It relieved my Piles! I wasn't sure at first till I had my second helping later at night. This morning I woke up just with a slight discomfort then ate oatmeal porridge, and I don't really feel a thing now. Thanks to Pinky's suggestion and her Mom that I'm healing fast! Thanks to my other friends for showing their concern too. ;]

My Vegetables Porridge with Salted Eggs

Meatless Kimchi N Tofu Stew - My Vegetable Language

Another 8 days of meatless meals passed by in a blink of an eye. I didn't even find it cumbersome planning the dishes and the dinner table was always full of surprises. I have the vegetables to thank for because none of us knew that they can be cooked in so many ways. ;)

It has been a happier experience dealing with vegetables than meat, mainly because the latter used to be running around but ended up as carcass on my chopping board. Anyway, I gained new insights that in order for my vegetables to taste good, I need to take extra care when handling them. This includes thinking about them and talking to them (need not really talk out loud). Though I know that this sounds odd, I still want to share and use Mr Potato as an example. It goes likes this:

1. Keep Mr Potato in his most comfortable corner prior to cooking
2. Greet him before use
3. Let him know that he's in for one of the best meals in life
4. Bring him to wash and scrub off all the dirt off him with fingers
5. Peel off his clothes carefully with knife without scraping off too much of flesh
6. Bid him farewell and multiply him into smaller but identical pieces with knife
7. Send him into a hot and boiling jacuzzi bath together with his favourite friends
8. A beautiful and happy dish is served!

Enough said of all the above. My 12th meatless dinner was Kimchi and Tofu Stew. I may not be Korean but I love most types of stews regardless their place of origins. The spicy and sourish taste of kimchi tantalizes my tastebuds greatly, whetting appetite up to the max. Usually meat is added into this dish and I was sceptical about bringing out the usual rich flavour. But when the dish was halfway into simmering, I knew that my doubts were unfounded. It took a full 2.5 hours to prepare and cook this meal but every effort was worth it. The idea of meatless seemed texture-less so I used omelette instead of half-cooked egg. It turned out to be really fun to eat!

My Meatless Kimchi N Tofu Stew (Before last 5 minutes of cooking)

Yay! Finally Served!

Mushroom Omelette Rice with Vegetables Stew - Simple Anime Version

Tonight's non-meat menu was Mushroom Omu Rice with Vegetables Stew! 4th day into meatless eating! I had been looking forward to this meal all day, despite having Kaya Butter Toast for breakfast and vegetarian Yong Tau Hu for lunch. Rushed home from work and immediately started chopping all the ingredients then cooked them with all my might.

Just a short intro about my Omu Rice; I have tried cooking a few types of Omu Rice but never this version before. The Japanese Anime Version 1.2.3 (named it myself). And I love this the most though it wasn't the prettiest of all. It  all began when I was tv channel surfing and chanced upon this japanese anime. A hungry boy was roaming the streets at night when he met a scruffy looking homeless man. They became friends and both sneaked into an empty restaurant kitchen. When the man heard boy's stomach growled, he immediately took some simple ingredients, frying pan and spatula then began whipping up a tasty + fragrant plate of Omu Rice for the boy. It made the boy really touched.

The Omu Rice in the show caught my eye instantly as it did not look the same as the standard huge dumpling looking types served in Japanese restaurants. The egg was slightly runny and simply topped onto a small mountain of rice... *yumyum* I could not forget it at all, gotta have it. So I began planning for this dish and today was the day to come! I had tomato ketchup yesterday, so I decided to cook a pot of stew to go with the Omu Rice. Nothing else to describe except that it was a really satisfying meal. 

My Mushroom Omelette Rice, Good to Eat On It's Own

My Mushroom Omelette Rice Topped with Vegetables Stew

Scallion Pancakes Wedges - A Savoury Tea Snack

I couldn't stop thinking about vegetarian dishes lately, especially after going to the Singapore Zoo and saw the animals brimming with life. And last week I was watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's travel show on TV and saw how a live pig was being slaughtered then served onto people's plates. Of course, most of us usually wouldn't be able to see such things in our daily lives so that makes it easier to eat meat without thinking too much. Even though I wouldn't be able to turn vegan, not in a short span of time, at least I'm more aware of what I'm eating now and would try curbing my meat-cravings.

So, here is another delicious vegan dish that I want to share with all readers.  Scallion Pancakes; It is not boring, not difficult to cook, and very tasty to eat! For non-onion lovers, do not worry as you will not be able to detect the usual bitter and stingy taste nor texture. ;) This recipe uses a mixture of wholemeal flour and self-raising flour to make the dish more healthy. Hope you will want to try cooking it one day too!

Scallion Pancake Wedges

Chup Chye (Stewed Vegetables) for Night Picnic - Friends!

Picnic meals need not always be just sandwiches, sushi and salads. We can bring almost anything in smaller portions if packed properly. Sometimes when I went to the beaches in Singapore, the fragrances of curry and barbecued food from the families of picnickers would fill the air. 

Anyway I went for an evening picnic at the Singapore Botanic Gardens last Sunday and we had homecooked vegetarian food. There were Scallion Pancake, Long Bean and Corn Fried Rice, Chup Chye and Mango Pudding laid out waiting for us to tuck in. It was really delicious and we cleaned everything up in less than 20 minutes.

Our Picnic Food

I liked the Long Bean Fried Rice most while Mei loved the Chup Chye most, so I will be posting up the recipe for her dish to share with all readers. Hope that you will try this out and like it as much too!

The Soft and Delicious Stewed Chup Chye

Fried Carrot Cake Cubes with Minced Pork and Vegetables

I was telling a friend the dinner that Uncle Niu bought. It was 炒年糕 (Stir Fried Rice Cakes).  Halfway through the conversation, images of carrot cake kept flashing through my mind. It made me wonder if I could cook carrot cake the same way as those rice cakes too other than the usual methods of steaming and plain frying. Perhaps I could try using a more interesting and healthier way of cooking this delectable food. 

After discussing with my friend, we came up with 1 method of cooking this dish with 2 ways to eat it. Take a look at the pictures below and you can decide which of the 2 ways is more yummy and fun! ;)

Fried Carrot Cake Cubes with Minced Pork and Vegetables

Long Beans Fried Rice with Fish Cake - Idol Dish

My idol chef, Uncle Bull, always cooks different kinds of fried rice for his family. One of their favourites would be Long Beans Fried Rice and this is an easy dish to cook and other types of seafood or meat can be added to substitute fish cake. There are quite a number of friends who like this dish too so I will be sharing this recipe on this blog with everyone to either just look or pick up your spatula and start frying away.  Fried rice can be rather oily, but just use the right amount of healthy oil and sip your favourite tea after meal may do the trick. 

Uncle Bull's Long Bean Fried Rice

Serves 2 

Ingredients

5 Strings of Long Bean (cut into 1 inch long)

1 Big Piece of Fish Cake (cut into 1 inch strip)

2 china bowls of Cooked Rice (Preferably left overnight in fridge)

2 Cloves of Garlic (Chopped)

Seasonings

1 Tbsp Light Soya Sauce

A few dash of pepper

Frying Condiment

2 Tbsps Grapeseed Oil

Steps

1. Add Oil in wok, deep fry the Long Beans for 1 min and drain them of oil

2. Add Chopped Garlic into wok of oil, stir fry till fragrant

3. Add in the Fish Cake to stir fry for a minute

4. Pour the Rice into the wok, stir fry with the Fish Cake for 2 mins 

5. Add in the Deep Fried Long Beans, Light Soy Sauce and pepper 

6. Stir and mix all the ingredients evenly for another 3 mins

7. Serve the Fried Rice hot! :)

Green Bean Porridge - If You Have No Appetite

Greenbean porridge may be the next best alternative besides plain porridge if you are feeling sick or have not much appetite for heavy meals. It normally serves me well and the sweet taste makes it easier to down the whole bowl of porridge. After heavy breakfast and lunch at work during the day, a bowl of sweet, non-greasy and easily digestible porridge will be just nice for dinner.  It can also be served as a tea-time dessert. Most importantly, this recipe is not time-consuming and really simple to prepare.

My Version of Green Bean Porridge

Green Bean N Sweet Potato Soup (with Barley N Chrysanthemum)- Stress Relief!

It was another warm and sunny day in Singapore. Temperatures were soaring and the best next thing to do besides staying indoors was to keep my body cool and hydrated. But there were too many types of drinks and desserts to choose from, so I narrowed down my choices to something that would suit Mum. 

I heard from Sis that Mum seemed rather stressed with her medical condition lately and refused to travel overseas for holiday trips that required long in-flight hours. The doctors did not verify on this so we thought that her worry should be psychological. Thus I could cook up a dessert soup that would help relieve her stress and aid in stabilizing her blood pressure at the same time. 

I had half a packet of organic green beans, some organic barley, half a sweet potato, and some dried white chrysanthemum left in the fridge. These came in handy and I just needed to buy some yellow rock sugar to churn out a pot of delicious Green Bean N Sweet Potato Soup for Mum and family.

Green Bean N Sweet Potato Soup (with Barley N Chrysanthemum)

Before the recipe, here are some short nutritional facts of the dessert soup:

Salmon Belly with Radish N Leek Miso Soup - For Mum

Mum's high blood pressure condition has been ongoing for several years and has to take her medicine everyday to keep her blood pressure down. However it isn't good for her body to undergo long term medication so I will cook detox soups for her from time to time. 

I wasn't feeling well today, but still able enough to cook a bowl of soup that could help her body detox and reduce blood pressure at the same time. It had a long name due to all the major ingredients necessary for this dish; Salmon Belly with Radish and Leek in Miso Soup!

The following are some benefits on how these ingredients are able to aid in improving Mum's condition:

Salmon Belly - High in Omega3 Fatty Acids that have mild antihypertensive effects

Radish - No Fat and Cholesterol, high in Vitamin C that eliminates toxins and keeps heart disease at bay

Leek - Contains Allicin that decreases blood vessel stiffness thus reduces blood pressure

Miso - Source of Lactobacillus Acidophilus Lecithin which is effective in prevention of high blood pressure

The Soup for Mum, shared with baby niece

Fried Veggie Wholemeal Sandwich - An Occasional Treat

It had been another busy week at work and at home for me. Things weren't going that well, sleep was bad and appetite was poor. I could not even finish half a plate of every proper meal I had. At times, when I wanted to eat M's chicken nuggets, I thought of the overpriced 6 pieces and decided not to conveniently walk over to the M's roadside kiosk. 

I needed to get my appetite back. Going vegan and eating lesser for the time being might do my stomach good. Anyway, failed my 3x attempts to make vegetarian chicken nuggets without using gluten or slabs of tofu. I will succeed eventually, but not now... ;[ 

It was a sleepless night again yesterday. In the midst of tossing and turning, I thought of frying veggie sandwich using wholemeal bread with healthy oil. The mere thought of it made me excited again. Today I tried and it was good. I love Veggies forever!

My 2nd Love ("3

Spicy Minced Chicken N Sweet Basil Rice - Teary N Sweaty Meal

The first time I tried this dish (Spicy Minced Chicken and Basil Rice) was at a small thai eatery inside Orchard Towers building. The spicy gravy totally blew my mind. I had never eaten something so savoury before and couldn't forget this dish since then. Soon, this eatery closed down and I had to satisfy my craving elsewhere. However, no other thai restaurants that I had tried in Singapore were able to meet the standards because something always seemed to be missing... Hence I had to churn out my own recipe based on my memory of the taste I loved so much. It tasted similar but would never be completely authentic.

Usually I would use sugar and lots of fish sauce when cooking this dish, but I wanted to try something different this time yet retain the sweet, saltish, taste and caramel look of the gravy. Each time after finishing my last grain of rice, I had to down 2 to 3 glasses of ice water. But today I'd prepared a bowl of Egg Drop Chicken Soup Mee Sua to go with my hot and spicy meal. 

My Fiery Thai Meal

Beancurd Chives Fried Mee Sua - A Non-Meaty Meal

I have been eating fried mee sua from the food stalls outside. They are tasty but oily & some stalls added lots of MSG. Hence I decided to try to cook a plate for myself; Home-cooked fried mee sua that is not so oily & without MSG!

SOFT AND SMOOTH TASTE!