VEGETARIAN YAM RICE WITH TOFU SOUP

For simplicity, I will not be sharing the exact quantity of ingredients for the rice and soup. This is because if you are regularly preparing meatless dishes, you can mix and match the items you have in hand according to availability in your kitchen. Except that the main ingredients could be yam but also this can be substituted with pumpkin, too.

Easy, healthy home-cooked meal for your family suitable for the old and young.

Ingredients For Yam Rice [Plus/Minus]

Rice [according to number of servings]

Yam - cut into cubes

Long Beans - cut short sections

Red carrots - peeled and cut cubes

Some Okara bits [dried soy kelp] or mock meat

Some dried mushrooms - soaked and cut cubes

Some King Oyster mushrooms - rinsed and cut cubes

Some chopped ginger

Some chopped Chinese celery or Coriander leaves and red chillies

Seasoning

Vegetarian oyster sauce

Mushroom stock granules

Light soy sauce

Dark soy sauce

pepper

sesame seed oil

1. Prepare the ingredients as mentioned above. 
2. Heat some oil in a non stick pan,  fry yam pieces until lightly brown, then add mushrooms to fry until fragrant.  Add in ginger, okara bits and other ingredients using except rice.  Stir fry to mix well.
3. Lastly add in rice and seasoning ingredients.  Continue to stir fry until aromatic and well mixed.
4. Dish up into rice cooker pot.  Add in enough boiled water [about 1 to 1.5 cm above ingredients].  Give it a good stir, taste to adjust seasoning.
5. Then cook rice in rice cooker as normal.
6. When rice is cooked, fluff up before serving with soup. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves or Chinese celery and red chillies and dash of pepper [own preference].

Ingredients For Tofu Soup

Some dried mushrooms and black fungus - soaked and cut thin strips

Some Erngyii mushrooms - tear into strips

Some red carrots - cut strips

Some Szechuan Vegetable - cut strips and rinsed several times

Some Okara bits

Some dried beancurd sticks - soaked and cut strips

Tofu - cut strips

Some chopped ginger

boiling water

Seasoning

some mushroom stock granules, salt and pepper to taste

some sesame seed oil

1. Dry fry mushrooms over medium heat in a non stick wok until aromatic.  Add in some oil,   ginger and Okara bits.   Stir fry to mix ingredients for awhile before adding Szechuan vegetables and carrots.  
2. Continue to stir, then add in black fungs and beancurd stick strips.  Stir well, then add in boiling water for the soup.
3. Bring to boil for 5-10 minutes before adding tofu.   Add seasoning to taste.  Bring to a rolling boil for 1-2 minutes.
4. You can thicken soup with some cornstarch water or cook as a clear broth soup.  Drizzle some sesame oil and dash of pepper before serving.
5. Scoop soup into soup bowls, garnish with chopped coriander leaves etc.
6. Serve with some black vinegar [optional].

RED DATES WITH RED APPLES DESSERT

This is an easy dessert worth preparing with just 2 main ingredients: 'Red Apples and Red Dates'. Just recovered from a mild flu and was wondering how to boost energy.

Accidentally, came across a You-tube video on this dessert where the chef mentioned 'Eating apples and red dates like this will give you a good sleep, good energy, and good health'. Having these 2 ingredients available in my kitchen, I wasted no time to try it out.

This dessert is lovely, slightly sweet and sourish when you savor the bits and pieces of boiled apples and red dates. The sweetness of the soup is up to own preference as to how much of sugar you are adding in. I used Jaggery sugar [can substitute with rock sugar or cane sugar].  

Recipe adpated from You-tube video [HERE] with modifications.

Ingredients 

1 big red apple [seeded] - cut cubes

9-10 red dates - seeds removed, cut thick strips

1 tbsp Jaggery sugar

600 - 700 ml water

1. Rub apple skin with some fine salt and rinsed well.  Cut into cubes.
2. Place cut apples and red dates in a saucepan or claypot.  Add in water enough to cover ingredients [add more if you wish].
3. Bring to boil over medium heat for 10 minutes.  Add in sugar, cover with lid and continue to boil over medium low heat for another 10 minutes.
4. Off heat and leave to steep for a further 5-10 minutes before serving.
5. Serve hot or warm.

STIR FRY FRAGRANT CRUNCHY CUCUMBER

Stir Fry Fragrant Crunchy Cucumber, an easy stir fry cucumber dish worth trying instead of salads or just plain cut slices. The cucumber are crunchy after frying and fragrant. Just marinate the cucumber slices with some salt, then grab and squeezed out the water. Rinsed once or twice and squeeze off excess water. This process is to get crunchy cucumber slices.

Ingredients

1 cucumber [<500gm]-quartered lengthwise, pith removed and sliced thin pieces

1 small onion - peeled and sliced

1 pip garlic - peeled and chopped

1/2 tbsp dried prawns - rinsed and chopped

1 small red chilli - cut small pieces

Seasoning

1/3 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

dash of pepper

1 tsp vinegar

1. Season sliced cucumber with some salt.  Leave to rest for 15-20 minutes.  Then grab and squeeze out the liquid.  Rinse once or twice and squeeze out excess water.  Set aside.
2. Add oil to a non stick pan, fry dried prawns until fragrant, add onions, chopped garlic and red chillies.  Fry until fragrant. [I have slightly over fried these ingredients which affects the looks of the cucumber]. The cucumber slices will have a bright greenish look.
3. Then add in cucumber.  Stir fry over high heat for a minute or so.  Add seasoning.  Continue to fry until cucumber is cooked.
4. Add in vinegar.  Mix well.
5. Dish up to serve.

MEATLESS DISH - BRAISED CARROTS WITH TOFU PUFFS

There is nothing to shout about this dish that looks bland. I agreed if just by looks but when considering that you have limited food ingredients in hand, it is worthwhile to try out this dish. Furthermore, just to share a note, this dish tastes good after resting with some thick gravy. Even more delicious if you increase the seasoning but for home consumption, it may not be necessary.

Simple, easy to cook meatless dish with only 2 main ingredients.

Ingredients

10-12 pieces tofu puffs - soaked in hot water, drained and cut diagonally

150-200 gm white carrot - peeled, cut 1/2 cm thick slices

a few slices of ginger [more if you like braised ginger]

some chopped spring onions for garnishing

Seasoning

2-3 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce [mushroom]

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp sugar to taste [optional depending on the sauces used]

a few drops of dark soy sauce for colour

1/4 tsp pepper

1. Soak tofu puff in hot water for 5 minutes, drained in colander to cool then lightly squeezed to release excess water.  Cut halve or diagonally.
2. Fry ginger slices in oil until aromatic, then add in tofu puffs.  Continue to fry for 1-2 minutes.  Then add in sliced carrots.  Stir fry to combine all ingredients.
3. Add in seasoning and enough water to cover the ingredients.  Bring to boil, then lower heat to braise.  Cover with lid  to cook until carrots  are tender and water reduced to thick consistency.
4. Tastes to adjust seasoning.  Add spring onions now or use as garnishing.
5. Dish up, garnish with chopped spring onions.