Mushroom and Corn Quinoa

Quinoa served with mushroom, sweet corn and chicken


Mushroom and corn rice recipe was what I found online. It looked appetizing. I decided to make adjustment to the recipe and use quinoa instead.

Ingredients you need:

1. 1 cup of quinoa

2. 1 sweet corn

3. 1 cup of mixed vegetables

4. 1/2 chicken  breast

5. 4 mushrooms

6. 2 chilli padi

7. 1 lime

8. Ground black pepper

9. Chinese Parsley

10. Sea salt

11. Vinegar

Pre-prep:

1. Soak the mushrooms overnight if you are using traditional chinese mushrooms.

2. Cut the sweet corn into 6 parts or more.

Steps to cook:

1. Bring 1 litre of water to boil. Add in a pinch of sea salt. Add in a teaspoon of vinegar.
    Put in the mushrooms at the same time. Cover to boil for about an hour.

2. Put in the chicken breast and boil for about 15 minutes.

3. Take out the chicken breast. Allow it to cool before shredding it.

4. Put in the sweet corns to boil.

5. During the boiling of the sweet corns, wash the quinoa.

6. After boiling the sweet corns for about 30 minutes, add in the quinoa.
    At the same time, squeeze in the lime. Add a dash of black pepper.

7. After another 15 minutes, take out the mushrooms and add in the mixed vegetables.

8. Cut the mushrooms into pieces.

9. Cut the chilli padi.

9. Wait for the quinoa to be cooked. Then serve the cooked quinoa and sweet corn  
    in a bowl.

10. Top with the mushroom pieces and shredded chicken.

11. Add in the chilli padi.

12. Garnish with chinese parsley.

The way to cook quinoa is the same way as cooking rice. I like to eat cooked quinoa with a little moist so I will usually stop boiling with some broth left. While cooking the ingredients, do keep a lookout for the reduction of the broth. If you find that the broth is not enough at point 4, add in some water. Too little water left and you might end up with uncooked quinoa. Of course, you can always modify the recipe to suit your own taste. Happy cooking!

Miso Soup with Tofu and Century Egg

Miso soup with tofu and century egg

I was starving and wanted something fast. My taste bud was craving for something savoury. After searching through the refrigerator, I took out the half tofu left after I cooked steamed tofu the other day. The century egg on the table caught my eyes. Good! I knew immediately what I wanted to do with them.

Ingredients you need:

1. Half Silken Tofu

2. 1 century egg

3. Miso paste

4. Black pepper

5. Fried Shallots (I bought mine)

6. Chinese Parsley

7. Rice Vinegar

Steps to cook:

1. Put a bowl of water to boil or any amount that you desire. The amount of water
    should be enough to cover the tofu and century egg later.

2. Cut up the tofu and century egg into cubes or smaller pieces.

3. Scoop about a teaspoon of miso paste and place it into a bowl.

4. Once the water boils, pour it into the bowl with the miso paste. Stir to dissolve
    the paste. Add a teaspoon of vinegar. Stir the mixture again.

5. Add in the tofu and century immediately. Make sure the water cover
    all the ingredients. Allow the heat to warm up the ingredients.

6. Add a dash of black pepper.

7. Add in some fried shallots.

8. Garnish with chinese parsley.

That was my quick fix. It was delicious and satisfying. The tofu and century egg are ready to be eaten so using heat from the water to warm them up will do. Do not boil miso soup as the high heat may cause fermentation and indigestion.

Steamed Tofu with Minced Chicken

Steamed Tofu with Minced Chicken

It has been a long time since I ate steamed tofu or some called beancurd. I decided to try making a dish after viewing so many recipes on it. Time constraint and extreme hunger urged me to come up with a simple and fast dish.

Ingredients you need:

1. 1 packet of silken beancurd.

2. Minced Chicken (Depending on the amount you would like in your dish).

3. Fried Shallots (I bought these instead of frying them myself).

4.  Chinese Parsley

5. Old Bay Seasoning

6. Fish Sauce

7. 1 lime

Steps to cook:

1. Take the amount of minced chicken you would like to have and put them in a bowl.
    Marinate the minced chicken with some old bay seasoning and the juice from the lime.
    Leave it for about 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Put some water to boil in a wok or a rice cooker.

3. Take the beancurd and cut half through the packet. Take out half of the beancurd and
    place it on a dish. Drain any excess water.

4. Take some minced chicken and spread them on top of the beancurd. Spread the rest of
    it around the beancurd.

5. Place the prepared dish into the wok or the rice cooker. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes.

6. Take the dish out. Sprinkle some fried shallots on top of the beancurd.

7. Add a teaspoon of fish sauce.

8. Garnish with Chinese parsley.

I used only half the beancurd as I had noodles to go with the dish. One may want to fry the shallots instead of buying. As usual, make any adjustment to the dish as long as it suits your taste bud.

Happy cooking!

Mug Quiche (2nd attempt)

Mug Quiche (2nd attempt)

I made the promise to go for a second mug quiche and here it is! This is my second attempt to make a mug quiche. I made some adjustment to the ingredients used previously.

Here is the link to the first attempt:

 

http://wyekiki.blogspot.sg/2015/02/mug-quiche.html

Ingredients you need:

 

1. 1 egg

 

2. 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk (I used HL)

 

3. 1 piece of wholemeal bread (I removed the bread crust)

 

4. 2 teaspoons cream cheese

 

5. Parmesan cheese

 

6. 1 slice of turkey ( I have no ham)

 

7. Ground black pepper

 

8. Sea salt (You may use the usual salt)

 

9. Oregano leaves

Ingredients

 

 

Steps to cook:

 

1. Break the egg into a mug. You may use any mug you have. Add in the milk.
    Beat the egg and milk together with a fork.

2. Add a dash of black pepper. You may add more if you want. Add a pinch of salt.
    It is not advisable to add too much as the turkey slice is already salty.
    Beat with the egg and milk mixture.

3. Add in the cream cheese. Beat everything together. Make sure the cream cheese melt.
    You may want to take it out of the refrigerator before hand for it to soften.

4. Tear the piece of bread into dime-size pieces and put into the mixture.
    Stir the mixture, making sure the bread is soaked in the mixture.

5. Tear or cut the turkey slices into small pieces and add into the mixture. Stir well.
    This is ensure the whole quiche is filled with the turkey bits instead of only the top.

6. Do a final press with the fork to make sure all the ingredients are soaked. This step is
    important to make sure the bread is soaked.

7. Add some parmesan cheese on top.

8. Finally, add in the oregano leaves.

9. Put it into the microwave oven and cook on high for about 70-75 seconds.

Like I mentioned previously, I have a microwave with simple functions. This time round, I microwaved it for 1 minute. Then I put it on quick cook for 30 seconds.

When I took it out, it was not as dry as the first attempt. This time round, I poured it out onto a plate to check on the product. It retained more moisture compared to the first one and tasted softer. Overall, I am quite happy with this second attempt. Delicious!

After that, I went to check online how a quiche looks like. The main difference would probably be the authentic one has a crust but the modified microwave version does not have one.

 

Lesson learnt:

 

1. Take out cream cheese earlier to wait for it to soften so that it will melt easily

    during mixing.

 

2. I had probably used too much wrap the first time so the quiche turned out pretty hard.

    Half a wrap would be good.

 

3. The final press is very important as you are making sure that the bread is totally

    soaked and not just on the surface. If it is not soaked thoroughly, it will taste dry.

   

     

Mug Quiche



Mug Quiche

 

I was sceptical to try out this recipe at first. What? Putting a mug into the microwave oven and heating it up? What if it explodes? I decided to try surfing a few more websites on this to prove the reliability and finally, I am quite convinced it is safe. After all, I did see people putting mugs into the microwave oven to cook instant noodles. I have most of the ingredients and decided to give it a go. I made some adjustment to the original recipe as usual.

 

Ingredients you need:

 

1. 1 egg

 

2. 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk (I used HL)

 

3. 1 piece of Mission wrap (I have no bread)

 

4. 2 teaspoons of butter (My cream cheese turned mouldy so I tried with butter)

 

5. Parmesan cheese

 

6. 1 slice of turkey ( I have no ham)

 

7. Ground black pepper

 

8. Sea salt (You may use the usual salt)

 

9. Oregano leaves

 

Steps to cook:

 

1. Break the egg into a mug. You may use any mug you have. Add in the milk.
    Beat the egg and milk together with a fork.

2. Add a dash of black pepper. You may add more if you want. Add a pinch of salt.
    It is not advisable to add too much as the turkey slice is already salty.
    Beat with the egg and milk mixture.

3. Add in the butter and Parmesan cheese. Beat everything together.
    Make sure the butter and cheese melt.

4. Tear the piece of Mission wrap into dime-size pieces and put into the mixture.
    Stir the mixture, making sure the wrap is soaked in the mixture.

5. Tear or cut the turkey slices into small pieces and add into the mixture. Stir well.
    This is ensure the whole quiche is filled with the turkey bits instead of only the top.

6. Do a final press with the fork to make sure all the ingredients are soaked.

7. Sprinkle Oregano leaves on top. I added some more cheese on top.

8. Put it into the microwave oven and cook on high for about 70-75 seconds.

This is where I faced problem. I do not have the adjustment of heat on my microwave oven so I did my own timing. I microwaved it for 70 seconds. Then put it to quick cook for 30 seconds.

When I took it out, I was over the moon to see the results. Finally, I made something without the use of an oven, a kitchen equipment which I longed for to bake. I have never tried a quiche before so I am not so sure how close mine is to the authentic one. What I can tell you is it tasted delicious to me except slightly dry. After this first try, I am ready for my second!
     

Savoury Oatmeal

Savoury Oatmeal

Many of us will usually eat oats together with milk and fruits - the sweet style. I chanced upon a food blog where the blogger tried eating the oats the savoury style and I find it a must to try. Therefore, I headed to NTUC Extra to get myself a small tub of organic miso paste and started my 'testing'.
 

Organic Miso

Ingredients you will need:

1. 6 tablespoons of organic rolled oats

2. 1 egg

3. 3 cherry tomatoes

4. 1 teaspoon of organic miso paste

5. 1 teaspoon of oregano leaves

Cooking steps:

1. Boil the egg for about 10 minutes. Peel the shell and slice the egg.

2. Cut each tomato into half.

3. Place oats into a bowl and pour in boiling water. The water should cover the oats
    by an inch. Leave it aside to soak for about 3-5 minutes or until the oats soften.

4. In a small bowl, place the miso paste and pour in boiling water. Stir until paste
    is dissolved.

5. Stir the diluted miso into the bowl of oats.

6. Top the oats with the sliced eggs and cut tomatoes.

7. Garnish with oregano leaves.

It was a healthy meal with less salt. I will have to soak the oats slightly longer to soften it the next round.