G for ginger for #AtoZChallenge: Ginger milk curd recipe by ServicefromHeart

Fragrant and hot, knobbly ginger has been popularly used as a medicine and a spice to enhance diverse cuisines - for example Chinese, Indian, Caribean.

As a spice, the pungent flavor of ginger removes fishy flavor in seafood. In the confinement of East Asian mothers, it seems that every meals go with old ginger, from stir-fry vegetables to meat dishes.

People have used ginger to alleviate stomach related discomforts, including motion sickness, morning sickness, colic, upset stomach, gas, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, appetite loss, menstrual pain, post-childbirth bloating during confinement.

American Cancer Society highlights that preliminary results in animals show some effect of ginger in slowing or preventing tumor growth, though the mechanisms remain elusive (PMID: 17175086). 

For #AtoZChallenge on 2014 April 08 Tue, I lovingly present a recipe of ginger milk curd by ServicefromHeart.



Ginger milk curd (also known as ginger-juice milk curd / ginger milk pudding / 姜汁撞奶) is delicious and healthy desert for toddlers, new mothers and each of us who loves ginger.

This Chinese dessert originated in Shawan town of Panyu District, Guangzhou, China.

Ginger contains an enzyme (termed as protease zingipain) that coagulate the milk proteins to form curds.

Servings:1
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
♥ 100 ml water (水), filtered (过滤)
♥ 1 knob old ginger (老姜)
♥ 3 egg white (蛋白)
♥ 300 ml fresh milk* (鲜奶)
♥ 1 tbsp honey (蜜糖)

* It is better not to use low-fat / skimmed milk so that ginger can curd the milk. 

Directions:
1. Boil water with old ginger chunks. Let it cool & remove ginger chunks.
2. Gently yet thoroughly mix milk, egg white & honey into the ginger water.
3. Steam over low heat until you can put a spoon on top of the curd without sinking. 



Other recipes that I love:
♥ no-egg no-steam ginger milk pudding recipe at (1) Travelling Foodies by Alan & J and (2) My Baking by Siu Kwan of Simonne Bakery
♥ 108 ideas of cooking / baking with ginger @ Chef and Sommelier
♥ Ginger soybean curd by Joceline Lyn

For faster to prepare recipes, please check our #5minutemeal recipes. 

With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140408

easy ginger milk agar pudding with pistachio nuts

Perhaps our simple humble kitchen can be nicknamed as midnight kitchen, because I often use it around midnight hours.

Last night, I prepared a surprise dessert for Candida, who loves ginger a lot.



A mini jar of ginger milk agar pudding with pistachio nuts (姜撞奶布丁配开心果) makes a lovely heart warming dessert for an afternoon tea break.



Pistachio ... always brings back a happy memory of savoring delicious pistachio-flavored gelato in Italy! 



Servings: 12
Preparation & cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
♥ 10g agar / seaweed powder*
♥ 1 large knob (2 oz) ginger (姜), chopped
♥ 110g (4 oz) sugar (糖 )
♥ 500ml water, filtered if possible
♥ 500ml fresh milk (鲜奶)
♥ 4 tbsp pistachio nuts (开心果), chopped
♥ 2 tbsp peanuts (花生), chopped

* I bought Swallow Globe brand agar.

Directions:
1. Boil ginger & sugar with water. Strain to remove ginger remnants.
2. In a pot, add agar powder to milk & bring to boil. Add ginger water & stir gently until each ingredient dissolves evenly.
3. While hot, immediately pour ginger milk agar mixture into container(s) of choice. You can use jars, mugs, bowls, or lovely-shaped molds.
4. Garnish with nuts. If you want the nuts to stay on the top surface only, wait for 5 minutes before gently dropping the nuts. Alternatively, to create bilayers of nuts wrapping the milk agar pudding, you can pre-garnish the bottom part of jars with nuts.
5. Once the temperature drops to room temperature, keep in fridge. Serve chilled.



Tips:
♥ Buy non-colored agar powder. If you want to color it, use natural ingredients such as beetroot (red/pink) or spinach (green).
♥ If you prefer softer texture, may I suggest ginger milk curd with egg white?

Check also our other #5minutemeal recipes.

Bonus! a ministory

It is fun to imagine the bilayers of nuts like the phospholipid bilayers that form membranes in our cells.

The nuts are like the hydrophilic phosphate heads that point out to the exterior on either side of the bilayer; the ginger milk agar pudding is like the hydrophobic tails that point in to the core of the bilayer.

A difference between nutty ginger milk agar pudding and phospholipid bilayers is that the former is static once it solidifies, whereas the latter is dynamic and dancing continuously in our cells.  

With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140327

celery apple mandarin (CAM) juice

Sometimes, I do snack once in a while. Perhaps it is an easy access to a vending machine selling relatively inexpensive snacks.

An afternoon in this week, my choice was Made-in-Singapore Combe Snack of BBQ Chicken & Cheese flavour, because it has a Healthier Choice Symbol on its packaging.

After enjoying few bites, I read that it contains tartrazine (E102) -  a synthetic lemon yellow azo dye - which is banned in Norway and Austria.

***

In the evening, Garima and Mohan gave me a bowl of chocolate ice cream. How can we resist such a delicious treat?

***

At the end of the day, what I want next is to detox and cleanse my body. How is about a glass of refreshing celery apple mandarin (CAM) juice?



A lot of fiber... tastes refreshingly sweet salty 



Serving: 200 ml (for 1 person)
Preparation time: 3 + 2 minutes

Ingredients:
♥ 1 green Granny Smith apple (青苹果), peeled & cored
♥ 1 Mandarin Murcott (茂谷柑), peeled & deseeded
♥ 2 stalks celery (芹菜)
♥ 1 tbsp honey(蜜糖)
♥ 100 ml boiled ginger water OR 1 tsp minced ginger (姜) + water

Directions:
1. Soak celery with vinegared-salted water* for a minimum of 2. 10 minutes to remove pesticides, if any. Rinse and dry.
3. Squeeze Mandarin.
4. Blend apple, Mandarin juice, celery, ginger until smooth.
5. Stir in honey. Enjoy!

*Vinegared-salted water: 100 ml vinegar, 1 tbsp salt, 200 ml water.



Other recipes that I love:
♥ cucumber apple celery ginger juice
♥ homemade sprays for fruits and vegetables
♥ Green Apple Ice Pop with lime, sugar & cinnamon stick
♥ yogurt salad with green apple accompanied by onion, Japanese cucumber, carrot, nuts (e.g. walnut / pistachio / peanut)

Check also our other #5minutemeal recipes.

With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140328

Star anise & DOM for braised sea cucumber recipe

Star anise, shaped like an eight-pointed star, is the fruit of a small evergreen tree native to southwest China.



Scientifically known as Illicium verum, star anise contains anethole - a derivative of aromatic phenylpropene.

Anethole has potential antimicrobial properties against bacteria, yeast, and fungi. In large quantities, anethole is slightly toxic, so please consume star anise moderately.

Star anise is commonly used in diverse cuisines, including Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Vietnamese ones.

Star anise is an ingredient of the traditional Chinese / Peranakan five-spice powder.

Indonesian rendang curry, Indian meals of Briyani / biryani and masala chai also use star anise.

Warm in nature, star anise has been used to relieve  rheumatism and cold.

Star anise also contains shikimic acid, a precursor compound for the anti-influenza drug oseltamivir, popularly known as Tamiflu, manufactured by Roche.

♥♥♥

DOM Bénédictine (法国廊酒) is a Made-in-France medicinal herbal liqueur beverage (1) developed in 1510 in a Benedictine monastery in Abbey of Fécamp, Normandy, France, and later (2) rediscovered by Alexandre Le Grand in 1863. 


DOM stands for "Deo Optimo Maximo" ("To God, most good, most great") and is a commonly used abbreviation at the beginning of documents of the Benedictine Order. Aspiring like the highly dedicated manual & intellectual work of the Benedictine monks for God, we sincerely hope to produce delicious and nutritious meals with optimum and maximum love for our loved ones.

While the exact recipe of this 40%-alcohol liqueur is a closely guarded secret hitherto, we know that it is distilled in antique hammered copper pot stills and aged in oak barrels for four months. 

Nowadays, the ingredients include 27 ingredients. The list includes herbs and spices such as angelica, hyssop, juniper, myrrh, saffron, aloe, arnica & cinnamon.

When I just delivered baby Ren, I was given several bottles of DOM. The generations of our parents and grandparents believe that luxurious DOM helps mothers to recover from childbirth, especially during confinement. Thank you for such a gift with over 500 years of tradition! 

♥♥♥

Sea cucumber is rich in proteins and minerals. Eating sea cucumber helps in strengthening the kidneys, relieving dehydration and nourishing blood. Sea cucumber is also often consumed post-surgery to aid wound healing.

We are grateful for the gift of sea cucumber from Zhen and Emerald brand scallops (products of Canada) from Agnes & Francis. Thank you!



Servings: 3-4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 + 60 minutes

Ingredients:
♥ 1 sea cucumber (海参), washed & cut into bite chunks
♥ 3 scallops (带子)
♥ 4 shitake mushrooms (香菇), quartered
♥ 2 tbsp meat (肉), minced
♥ 25g lily flowers (金针花), washed & soaked in warm water for > 30 minutes
♥ 50g bean curd skin / bean stick ( 腐竹), washed, soaked in warm water, rinsed & cut into bite-size
♥ 5 cloves garlic (蒜头)
♥ 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (kecap manis)
♥ 1 knob ginger (姜), minced
♥ 1 tbsp olive oil (橄榄油)
♥ 1 tbsp sesame oil (麻油)
♥ white pepper powder (白胡椒粉), to taste
♥ 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (桂皮粉)
♥ 2 star anise (八角)
♥ 1 tsp DOM Bénédictine
♥ 350 ml water

Directions:
1. Soak frozen pre-cleaned sea cucumber, scallop, dried mushrooms in room temperature water. Soak bean stick & lily flowers with warm water. Blanch meat.  
2. Wash, squeeze, cut mushrooms. Massage mushrooms with sesame oil.
3. Strain meat dry and mix with garlic & ginger.
4. Heat non-stick frying pan with olive oil.
5. Sauté garlic, ginger, mushrooms, meat over high heat until fragrant.
6. Add scallops, DOM, cinnamon, star anise, dark soy sauce over medium heat until scallops turn slightly golden brown at their edges.
7. Add & sauté bean stick & lily flowers.
8. Add and spread sea cucumber on the pan, add water to cover sea cucumber.
9. After water is boiling, turn heat to low and simmer for 60 minutes or until sea cucumber turn chewy. Stir occasionally. Ensure that sea cucumber is covered with liquid, else top up some water.



Tips:
♥ Zhen's advice not to overcook the sea cucumbers as they will dissolve into gel-like texture.
♥ The alcohol content of DOM has evaporated during the cooking process so I also enjoy this nutritious dish while breastfeeding.
♥ This dish can be frozen (for ~3 days) / kept in a fridge (until next day) and served with fast-cooking noodles to prepare for a #5minutemeal breakfast.


With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140328

easy red yeast rice soup recipe by Zhen

The first time I learned about red yeast rice (红曲米) was from Zhen, who refers to it as angkak or anka. Red yeast rice is produced when rice is fermented with a red yeast strain (红曲菌) scientifically known as Monascus purpureus.

Chinese people, especially in Fujian province, have been consuming red yeast rice to revitalize blood, reduce cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure.



The red yeast strain produces statins, that can lower cholesterol. The statins include lovastatin - which is  extracted, formulated & marketed by Merck as Mevacor for reducing cholesterol and risk of cardiovascular disease. 

These statins work by blocking action of the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which is involved in cholesterol synthesis.

Since red yeast rice appears to be beneficial to our health, how is about enjoying a bowl of warm red yeast rice soup to begin our (cool) day? This red yeast soup is clear and relatively bland, so it can make a gentle starter to a more flavorful main course. 

In Singapore, I could not find red yeast rice in NTUC Fairprice but have purchased it from a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hall / shop.



Baby Ren enjoys ginger-flavored pink milk mixed with red yeast rice soup.



Servings: 3
Preparation time: ~ 5 minutes
Cooking time: 65 minutes

Ingredients:
♥ 1 tsp red yeast rice (红曲米)
♥ 8 red dates (红枣), pitted & soaked
♥ 2 thin slices ginger (姜)
♥ 200g meat (骨) & bone (肉), e.g. pork ribs (排骨)
♥ 1 liter water (过滤水), filtered if possible

Directions:
1. Wash and soak red yeast rice in water. Re-wash and drain.
2. Blanch bones and meats in boiling water for ~5 minutes. 3. Drain and wash.
4. Add all ingredients into a pot of boiling water.
5. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour.

Tips:
♥ Get red yeast rice from a reputable source to prevent exposure to toxic and carcinogenic Sudan Red G.
♥ For (potential) medicinal use of red yeast rice, please consult your doctor. In this post, we are merely sharing a food recipe.



Other recipes that I love:
♥ Red Yeast Rice Congee with Sweet Potato @ Chinese Cuisine Food by EchoMe
♥ Ang Kak and Ginger Chicken Soup @ Daily Cooking Quest by Anita Jacobson
♥ Char Siu duck @ Indonesia Eats by Pepy Nasution
♥ Home-Made Chinese Red Rice Wine （Foo Chow Ang Jiu) @ A Taste of Memories - Echo's Kitchen
♥ misua with red yeast rice @ What To Cook today by Marvellina



Check also our other #5minutemeal recipes.

With love,
ServicefromHeart
201403

X for XO for #AtoZChallenge: easy XO fried rice recipe

XO stands for eXtra Old for cognac - a variety of brandy liquor - that has been stored for a minimum of 6 years (from 2016 onward, a minimum of 10 years).

Cognac, named after the town Cognac in France, must be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in Limousin or Tronçais oak barrels.

Since brandy has been used for:
♥ cake & pie toppings
♥ steak sauces
♥ soups such as onion soup
♥ Christmas pudding
♥ XO fish head bee hoon (thick noodle) in Singapore 
May I recommend using XO cognac for simple home-cooked dishes like fried rice? 

Since I was using leftover rice for baby Ren - which I purposely cooked softer, my fried rice was slightly soggy.

For #AtoZChallenge on 2014 April 28 Mon, I lovingly present a recipe of XO fried rice by ServicefromHeart.

Colorful rice grains of mixed white, red, brown rice

Serving: 1
Preparation & cook time: < 15 minutes

Ingredients:
♥ 1 bowl pre-cooked rice, dried & chilled
♥ 2 tbsp olive oil
♥ 1 tbsp sesame oil
♥ 2 cloves garlic, minced
♥ 1 slice ginger, minced
♥ 1 tsp anchovies powder
♥ 1 tsp dark soy sauce (kecap manis)
♥ pepper, to taste
♥ 1 tbsp spring onions, chopped
♥ 2 tbsp XO cognac
♥ 1 egg
♥ 4 scallops (optional)
♥ 1 carrot, diced (optional)
♥ 1 stalk celery, sliced (optional)
♥ 1 tbsp peas (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat oil using high heat to stir fry garlic and ginger until fragrant.
2. Sauté vegetables (carrots, celery, peas)
3. Add scallops. After a side is cooked, turn them over.
4. Add rice, pepper, anchovies powder, dark soy sauce. Stir to mix well.
5. Coat with sesame oil and XO for a shiny look. 6. Stir thoroughly.
7. Garnish with spring onions.
Tips:

1. Use cold and dry cooked rice. You want to use firm rice grains because they are easier to separate while stir-frying them. This choice is important to prevent your fried rice turning out soggy or mushy. To remove moisture, you can either (A) air freshly-cooked rice and then refrigerate the rice for a minimum of two hours or (B) use leftover rice from the night before.

2. Use medium to long grain rice such as medium grain of jasmine rice. Choose the sturdy grains that don't clump together when fried. Avoid short grain sushi rice or glutinous rice, which is softer and tends to stick together.

3. To acquire the smoky, slight burnt flavor, use high heat: a blazing hot pan / wok if possible. Add sufficient amount of oil to prevent your fried rice ingredients from sticking to the surface of pan. While the heat to stir fry our home-cooked version of fried rice may not be as hot as restaurants' ones, we can pre-heat our pan with a lid before adding ingredients.

4. To ensure thorough mixing of flavors and aroma, cook 1 to 2 servings at a time.

5. To have a crunchy texture, include vegetables like celery or long beans as ingredients.

6. For a stronger taste, you can pre-infuse your oil with ginger and garlic overnight.

7. To prevent the fried rice from turning out mushy or soggy, I prefer to separately cook the egg into a sunny side up or an omelette that can be thinly stripped to garnish on top of the fried rice.

Check also our other #5minutemeal recipes.

With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140428

U for udang for #AtoZChallenge: udang tim DOM (steamed DOM prawns)

Hello seafood lovers! Spending my early years in Indonesia - an archipelago with 18,307 islands*, I grew up loving seafood greatly. We had them fresh and relatively inexpensive as compared to landlocked regions. 

* according to a 2002 survey by National Institute of Aeronautics and Space of Indonesia (LAPAN).

Udang is an Indonesian name for prawn. Initially, I wanted to prepare wasabi prawn but changed my mind as its recipe requires deep frying. Our little kitchen has no separation from our living room, so I agree not to deep-fry anything, as it will cause the couch and living room floor turning oily.

Quoting Plato, "necessity is the mother of invention," I am motivated to think of ways to prepare delicious prawn dish without deep frying.

For #AtoZChallenge on 2014 April 24 Thu, I lovingly present a recipe of udang tim DOM / 法国廊酒蒸虾 / steamed DOM prawns.



♥♥♥

DOM Bénédictine (法国廊酒) is a Made-in-France medicinal herbal liqueur beverage (1) developed in 1510 in a Benedictine monastery in Abbey of Fécamp, Normandy, France, and later (2) rediscovered by Alexandre Le Grand in 1863. 


DOM stands for "Deo Optimo Maximo" ("To God, most good, most great") and is a commonly used abbreviation at the beginning of documents of the Benedictine Order. Aspiring like the highly dedicated manual & intellectual work of the Benedictine monks for God, we sincerely hope to produce delicious and nutritious meals with optimum and maximum love for our loved ones.

While the exact recipe of this 40%-alcohol liqueur is a closely guarded secret hitherto, we know that it is distilled in antique hammered copper pot stills and aged in oak barrels for four months. 

Nowadays, the ingredients include 27 ingredients. The list includes herbs and spices such as angelica, hyssop, juniper, myrrh, saffron, aloe, arnica & cinnamon.

When I just delivered baby Ren, I was given several bottles of DOM. The generations of our parents and grandparents believe that luxurious DOM helps mothers to recover from childbirth, especially during confinement. Thank you for such a gift with over 500 years of tradition! 

♥♥♥

Servings: 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes or until prawns are cooked

Ingredients:
♥ 6 large prawns (known as shrimps in US)
♥ 3 cloves garlic (蒜头), minced OR 1 small knob ginger (姜), sliced
♥ 1 tbsp sesame oil (麻油)
♥ 1 tsp DOM Bénédictine (法国廊酒)
♥ 1 tsp salt (盐)
Below are optional:
♥ 1 tsp wolfberries / Goji berries (枸杞子), washed & soaked
♥ 1 tsp light soy sauce (kecap asin)
♥ 1 tsp coriander / cilantro (胡荽叶) / parsley (香菜), finely chopped

Directions:
1. Trim the head and tail end of the prawns using a pair of scissors.
2. Devein both back & under sides using a tooth pick.
3. Soak deveined prawns in salted water (to enhance the texture) for 10 minutes, drain & rinse.
4. Place ginger / garlic at the bottom of bowl, prawns on top of ginger. 
5. Sprinkle DOM and sesame oil on top of prawns.
6. Steam at high heat until prawns cooked & turn orange (check once in a while to prevent overcooking). Cover bowl with aluminum foil.



Check also our other #5minutemeal recipes.

With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140424

Very easy simple recipe of steamed fish with sesame oil

Steamed fish fillet is easy to prepare as well as healthy and delicious to eat. Imagine the tender, succulent and delicate flesh of fish that also nurtures us with proteins & Omega 3. Enjoy a piping hot steamed fish with a bowl of steamed rice for a happy breakfast or a heart-and-tummy-warming dinner at your own comfortable home at the fraction of the cost eating outside. Life is beautiful! 



While enjoying your meal, listen to a nice piece of classical music or Chinese orchestra. Perhaps, without TV to minimize the distractions. This savoring moment is indeed a simple happiness.



I also love how the traditional Chinese character for the word fish 魚 (Yu2) looks like a swimming fish. 魚 (Yu2) also sounds like the words for wealth and abundance.



Serving: 1-2
Preparation time: < 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
♥ 200 g boneless (if possible) fish fillet (e.g. salmon 三文鱼, snow fish 鳕鱼)
♥ 1 tbsp sesame oil* (麻油)
♥ dashes of pepper (胡椒粉), to taste
♥ fresh herbs e.g. parsley 香菜/ cilantro 胡荽叶 / coriander 芫荽, finely chopped (optional)


* For sesame oil, I use Ghee Hiang Baby brand manufactured in Penang, Malaysia, using methods and techniques learned from Fujian, China.

Directions:
1. Boil water in a steamer. 
2. Wash fish fillet thoroughly. Pat dry gently with a kitchen towel.
3. Place the fillet in a non-plastic bowl.
4. Sprinkle sesame oil and pepper on top of the fish.
5. Garnish with herbs.
6. Cover the bowl with a small plate to ensure smaller space of aroma circulation.
7. Once the water in the steamer is boiled, steam the fish for 5 minutes ++ using high heat or until cooked*

* Once cooked, the meat comes off the bone easily with a chopstick.

Tips:

Use fresh fish fillet. If this is not possible,  rub white vinegar on the fish to minimize the fishy smell.

To enhance flavor, you can add soy sauce, ginger, spring onions / scallions, rice wine / DOM as Chinese-style steamed fish recipes often call for.

You can also steam the fish fillet bowl inside a half-cooking rice cooker, so that you save gas / electricity and wash less utensils, as Agnes and Zhen sometimes do. 

Other recipes that I love:
♥ Hong Kong style steamed cod fish & steamed cod with wolfberries, red dates, angelica root by Annie Mok @ Annieliciousfood food. To prevent the fish fillet from sticking to the bottom of the bowl, place ginger / spring onions beneath the fish.
♥ Teochew steamed fish with salted (sour) plums, salted vegetables, tomatoes, chilli by Wifey @ NoobCook. If possible, ask the fishmonger to clean the fish for you. Normally, I buy fish fillet for convenience.  
♥ Chinese steamed fish by Bee Yinn Low @ Rasa Malaysia
♥ Cantonese steamed fish by Namiko Chen @ JustOneCookBook & Leemei Tan @ My Cooking Hut
♥ garlic asparagus fish steamed in the parchment paper in the oven by Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman @ A Beautiful Mess



Check also our other #5minutemeal recipes.

With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140331

Z for zucchini for #AtoZChallenge: zucchini bok choy stir-fry recipe

Zucchini, also known as courgette / 夏南瓜, is a summer squash. A funny poem about zucchini and summer entitled Attack of the Squash People by Marge Piercy goes:

"And thus the people every year
in the valley of humid July
did sacrifice themselves to the long green phallic god
and eat and eat and eat.
They're coming, they're on us,
the long striped gourds,
the silky babies, the hairy adolescents,
the lumpy vast adults like the trunks of green elephants.

Recite fifty zucchini recipes!
Zucchini tempura; creamed soup;
sauté with olive oil and cumin,
tomatoes, onion; frittata;
casserole of lamb; baked topped with cheese;
marinated; stuffed; stewed;
driven through the heart like a stake.

Get rid of old friends:
they too have gardens and full trunks.
Look for newcomers:
befriend them in the post office,
unload on them and run.
Stop tourists in the street.
Take truckloads to Boston.
Give to your Red Cross.
Beg on the highway:
please take my zucchini,
I have a crippled mother at home with heartburn.

Sneak out before dawn to drop them in other people's gardens,
in baby buggies at church doors.
Shot, smuggling zucchini into mailboxes, a federal offense.
With a suave reptilian glitter
you bask among your raspy fronds sudden and huge as alligators.
You give and give too much, like summer days limp with heat,
thunderstorms bursting their bags on our heads,
as we salt and freeze and pickle for the too little to come."

Zucchini contains useful amounts of folate / folic acid (24 μg/100 g), potassium (280 mg/100 g) and vitamin A (384 IU [115 μg]/100 g). 

While looking for star anise (for sea cucumber recipe) at Bishan NTUC Fairprice Finest, I came across yellow zucchini - products of Malaysia. Since it has been produced regionally, I asked myself, "why not try a new dish with zucchini?"



For #AtoZChallenge on 2014 April 30 Wed, I lovingly present a recipe of zucchini bok choy stir-fry.


 
Dear loves it, he describes zucchini as being slightly similar to aubergine / eggplant.

Servings: 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes or until crispy tender

Ingredients:
♥ 1 zucchini (夏南瓜), washed & julienned
♥ 2 bok choy (小白菜), washed & cut
♥ 5 cherry tomatoes (樱桃番茄)
♥ 1 tbsp olive oil (橄榄油)
♥ 1 tbsp peanut butter (花生酱)
♥ 1 knob ginger (姜), minced
♥ 5 cloves garlic (蒜头), minced
♥ 1 tsp dried shrimp (虾米), minced
♥ 1 tsp DOM Bénédictine (法国廊酒)
♥ pepper (胡椒粉) to taste

Directions:
1. Wash & cut zucchini & bok choy.
2. Sautee ginger, garlic, dried shrimp with heated olive oil until fragrant.
3. Add zucchini, peanut butter, DOM, pepper.
4. Add bok choy & stir-fry until cooked.
5. Garnish with cherry tomatoes.





Tips:
♥ If you buy green color zucchini, Choose bright green color one with a max length of 25-30 cm. Larger ones may be bitter.
♥ May I also suggest an easy recipe of zucchini soup with meatballs?



Check also our other #5minutemeal recipes.


With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140430

J for jiaozi for #AtoZChallenge: jiaozi 饺子 / Chinese dumplings recipe

If the Italians have ravioli, the Chinese have jiaozi dumplings. The versatile jiaozi (饺子) - often wrapped in cornu shapes, are eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Preparing and eating jiaozi are also a tradition to welcome Chinese / Lunar New Year / Spring Festival and other joyful occasions.

For the wedding of my sister in JinTan (金坛), Jiangsu (江苏), China, her in-law family had prepared countless beautifully & uniformly wrapped jiaozi - a symbol of fortune & prosperity.


♥♥♥

Before we arrived at Xian - my first visit to Xian, an ancient capital of Chinese kingdoms, Mac Ching told us how she looked forward to having a banquet of jiaozi! She succeeded to set our expectation high.



Steamer baskets of jiaozi incessantly arrived at our table in charming presentations of multiple colors, shapes and flavors. 



While a meal could be very delicious to the extent that we feel beyond blessed, it was the companionships of dearest friends (hailed from worldwide, thanks to China Synergy Program 2010*) - savoring the jiaozi together that made a dinner unforgettable, imprinted permanently in our hearts and memories.

* It is a great privilege to be a participant of China Synergy Programme; with great privilege comes great responsibility.

"To those whom much is given, much is expected." ~ John F. Kennedy

♥♥♥

The Japanese version of dumplings is called gyoza (ギョーザ, ギョウザ). When, I was busy and working hard in California, I once bought some frozen gyoza and packed it with my lunch box. At Urey Hall, La Jolla, I would then heat my lunch box with a microwave*. The gyoza made my relatively meatless lunch box complete!

* Now, I try to minimize using microwave, if possible.

♥♥♥

For #AtoZChallenge on 2014 April 11 Fri, I lovingly present a jiaozi recipe.



Servings: 40 pieces
Preparation time: ~ half day (I am a beginner, please pardon me!)
Cooking time: 5 minutes or until dumplings are cooked

Ingredients:
♥ dumpling wrappers (饺子皮)
♥ water to wet dumpling wrappers
for the filling:
♥ 350g meat (肉), grounded
♥ 250g shrimp (虾), grounded
♥ flour* (面粉), e.g. sweet potato flour, corn starch, lotus root powder
♥ 2 eggs (鸡蛋), beaten
♥ 1 firm bean curd / tofu (豆腐)
♥ 2 tbsp sesame oil (麻油)
♥ 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (香醋)
♥ 1 tbsp honey (蜜糖)
♥ 6 cloves garlic (大蒜), minced
♥ 1 tsp ginger (姜)
♥ grounded white pepper (白胡椒), to taste
♥ salt (盐) / light soy sauce (kecap asin), to taste
♥ 3 stalks scallion (大葱), finely chopped
♥ parsley (香菜), finely chopped (optional)
♥ chives (韭菜), finely chopped (optional)
♥ leek (韭葱), finely chopped (optional)
♥ bamboo shoots (竹笋), finely chopped (optional)
♥ lotus roots (莲藕), finely chopped (optional)
♥ black fungus / wood ear (黑木耳), minced (optional)

* adjust the amount until the filling mixture sticks

Directions:
1. A faster way to finely chopped vegetables is to use food processor (Pulse mode) in few seconds. Unless you want to have pesto, pulse briefly only and not too many times.
2. Mix all ingredients for filling in a large bowl. Stir thoroughly.
3. Drop a tsp of filling into a wrapper. Fold.
4. (optional) Place dumplings individually on plastic-covered plates. Do not let them stick to each other.
5. (optional) Freeze together on plates. Once frozen, store dumplings in a box separated with plastic so that it will be easy to take them for cooking.
6. In boiled water, add dumplings to cook until they float for 5 minutes.
7. Besides (1) vinegar and sliced ginger sauce, you may also like (2) peanut dip sauce (3) hot chilli oil to accompany jiaozi dumplings. 

Frozen jiaozi dumplings are generous companions for fast-to-prepare noodles, please check our other #5minutemeal recipes.

With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140411

PS: This post is also dedicated to my sister and brother-in-law, who both make better jiaozi than me.

7 things to do at Mount Alvernia Hospital while waiting for patients

Recently, I accompanied a good friend for a day surgery at Mt. Alvernia Hospital, Singapore. The nurses are polite. A nurse manager (in red maroon uniform) even addressed me with my name when she told me what to expect (e.g. approximate time when I should be back after the operation is done). I am impressed. For professionals who have to attend to high number of customers daily, I greatly appreciate the extra mile of efforts.

After my friend went into the operation theatre, I turned the volume of my mobile phone to maximum, in case the medical staff needs to contact me.

So, what can we do while waiting at hospital?

1. Be patient-centric
Update concerned family members, relatives, friends of patient.
Recall what the nurses, doctors, administrative staff mentioned. Jot them down so we can remind the patient later on.

2. Enjoy food
I had a brunch of ginger soy milk (SGD $2) and salmon sushi with wasabi (SGD $4). Before that, the sushi stall staff, a middle age woman (whom is called auntie in Singapore - though we have no biological relationships) pro-actively promoted her products. That's why I decided to support her and I was satisfied!



For lunch, I packed a Subway meal, with extra olives please. While munching my meatball marinara sandwich, I thought of a dinner of udon and a grocery list for it.


3. Visit the beautiful chapel



The stained glasses of predominantly blue tone at the backdrop of the altar, with flashes of moving cars outside, look like a serene ceiling-height aquarium.

I also prayed hard. The background music reminded me on quiet moments in Catholic churches in Europe.

4. Admire newborns
Around noon time, there are few very lovely newborns spotted at the lobby, presumably their parents are waiting for transports to bring them home for the first time! New lives are always inspiring, they are so fragile yet full of potential, with many wonderful years lie ahead.

5. Shop or window-shop at pharmacy and gift shops
We love shopping, especially buying gifts for our loved ones and friends. The pharmacy staff was friendly, answering my inquiry politely. We cannot use the Ladies card to shop for formula milk powder, so I ended up window-shopping.

6. Read -- an alternative of playing mobile phones or tablets
At liaison office, I browsed a Mother&Baby magazine (January 2014) and collected a cooler bag with a redemption coupon that comes with my Alvernia's Ladies card. It was on my to-do-yet-non-urgent list for ~ a year. Done. Happy!



I also finished reading a TimeOut book that I packed with me in the morning.

7. Learn a little history

Stories connect minds and souls. Learning the story of Mt Alvernia Hospital makes me think of extraordinary nuns worldwide who have served from their deepest hearts. While Mother Teresa represents them as a global icon of compassion, agape and love, there have been many, if not countless, sisters who have made significant contributions in the betterment of our lives, directly or indirectly.

In 1949, three intrepid young Catholic nuns of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood (FMDM): Sr Mary Angela McBrien, Sr Mary Camillus Walsh, Sr Mary Baptista Hennessy traveled all the way from Surrey, England* to tropical Singapore.  Professionally trained in healthcare, these sisters started to care for tuberculosis patients at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and lepers at "The Leper Camp" in Woodbridge.

Besides caring patients directly as nurses and caregivers, the Sisters also taught and trained nurses. I really love their ideas and actions to empower and delegate others, because everyone has only limited 24 hours but there are many people to serve.

The Sisters have a vision that every patient would be offered comfort and solace at a retreat where gospel values would pertain and persons would matter for who they are, not for what they have. In 1950s, they started door-to-door appeals for donations to build Mt Alvernia Hospital. Finally, with generosity and enthusiasm from all walks of life, the hospital started to admit patients in 1961. 

The first baby born at Mt Alvernia Hospital was named Francis Chan, after the hospital's patron saint, St Francis of Assisi, who also greatly loves animals and environment. This little story reminds me on Ren's name which has been inspired by St Luke, patron saint of artists, physicians and students.

Hope this little list makes your hospital wait interesting and less worrying, and please share with me other ideas of yours. I love to hear from you!

With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140218

* How I miss my Irish Godmother who is living in England! Hope you are doing well. This post is also dedicated to you ♥

Almost thick satay sauce for bread spread recipe

Good morning lovely people! Let us enjoy bread spread inspired by satay sauce, that tastes wonderful accompanying toasted bread. 

This recipe is easy and fast to prepare, hence ideal for a quick breakfast in the morning.

Traditional satay sauce takes more efforts and time to prepare. Its ingredients include roasted peanuts, sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), sugar, salt, oil, tamarind, red chilli, garlic, shallot, lemon grass, galangal / ginger, coriander / cilantro.

To prepare almost thick satay sauce for bread spread, we can use mainly peanut butter with red onion. 

Originated from the the Aztecs who ground roasted peanuts into a paste, peanut butter is a good source of proteins. It has been used as an ingredient to fight malnutrition in famine stricken countries.



Picky eaters - who are not allergic to peanut - can enjoy bread and cookies with peanut butter too.  Decorate with raisins to create crawling ants in a row. If your little ones love Teddy Bear (so does baby Ren!), create a face of Bear using banana slices and blueberries on top of peanut butter-spreaded wheat bread.

Since we are currently living in Singapore, I use locally made Spread Talk Creamy Peanut Butter produced by Sing Kee Kaya, that I bought from NTUC Fairprice. The ingredients include roasted peanuts, vegetable oil, sugar & salt. Thus, I no need to add any other ingredients to give salty flavor*. The label also indicates
♥ No cholesterol
♥ No preservatives
♥ No trans fat

Sometimes, I also add 1/2 slice of cheese to each bread. The cheese will give an additional salty taste.

Servings: 2
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
♥ 4 slices 5-grain bread (五谷面包)
♥ 1 tsp peanut butter (花生酱)
♥ 1 tsp honey (蜜糖)
♥ 1 red onion, finely chopped (红洋葱)

Directions:
1. Pan-toast* bread slices over low heat. Cover the pan with a lid.
2. Mix peanut butter, honey, red onion.
3. Spread on bread.
4. Keep bread on the pan until ready to eat.

You can also use bread toaster. I prefer our bread to be not too brown yet slightly crispy at the edges.

Tips:
♥ I prefer to use red onion / purple onion to white onion for the high flavonoids content of the former. Studies reveal that flavonoids have potential anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. (PMID: 19381780)
♥ While we love this almost thick satay sauce paste for our bread, we try to consume it moderately, perhaps at most once a week. We enjoy eating diversely, as the saying goes, "diversity spices up life!"

Check also our other #5minutemeal recipes.

With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140317

gratitude soup stock recipe 感恩高汤

Soup stock is not only tasty and nutritious to cook / boil soup, but also versatile to prepare other dishes, from stews, savory steamed rice, stir-fried / sauteed vegetables to noodle meals.

I call this soup stock gratitude soup stock (感恩高汤) because it is supposed to contain rich nutrients from the sky, the land and the sea. We are grateful for all goodness that are bestowed to us.

Ingredients:
♥ 2 kg bones (骨头) and meat (肉), washed & cut into pieces
♥ 200g dried mushroom (干香菇), washed, soaked, drained
♥ 120g red dates (红枣), pitted & soaked
♥ 5 honey dates (蜜枣), washed (optional)
♥ 50g dried scallops (干贝), soaked
♥ 2 tbsp anchovies, washed
♥ 5 cloves garlic (大蒜)
♥ 1/2 small knob (10g) ginger (姜)
♥ 1 tsp white pepper powder (白胡椒粉)
♥ 2 liters water (过滤水), filtered if possible

Directions:
1. Blanch bones and meats in boiling water for ~5 minutes. Drain and wash. 
2. Boil 2 liters water in a big pot / slow cooker. Add all ingredients. Boil for a minimum of 5 hours using low heat.
3. Remove oil on the surface of the stock using a ladle (optional)*.
4. Sieve the stock from the ingredients. Pour stock into freezable containers**. Use some immediately, they are the freshest!
5. Store in a freezer after the stock cool down to room temperature.


* If you choose to keep the fat, it will float to the top layer in a refrigerator / freezer. An option is to use the fat for stir-frying.

Since I am going to store the soup stock, I am not using other ingredients that also make soups delicious, such as onion, green onion / spring onion / scallion, carrot, celery, pumpkin, sweet potato.

** I use Avent breast milk containers that fit into baby bottles warmer. The small cups are ideal for me because I am cooking in relatively small portions. Faster to thaw!



Alternatively to store stock in a freezer, Zhen suggests to use Zebra stainless steel tingkat / rantang / dabbas / safartas (tiffin carriers) that are commonly used as lunch boxes. You can reheat food in tiffin on the stove top or using an open flame.

Important note: Do not put your tiffin in a microwave because metal should not be microwaved.


Tips:
♥ If you like salty taste in your soup, add salt only at later stage of boiling soup so that nutrients can dissolve in the soup faster at early stage.

如果你喜欢咸的味道，煮汤时，别太快加盐，使营养物质可以在汤里快溶解。

♥ While boiling soup or soup stock, do not keep opening the cover of pot. This is to ensure that heat, fragrance and aroma stay and circulate well in the pot.

当煮汤或高汤，不要继续打开锅的盖子。这是为了确定热和香味逗留并在锅内循环良好。

♥ While boiling soup or soup stock, do not add room-temperature water. This is to prevent the nutrients (e.g. proteins) of the meat from solidifying.

当煮汤或高汤，不添加室温水。这是为了防止肉的营养成分（如蛋白质）再次凝固。

♥ Consume also the edible ingredients used for boiling soup. This is because not all nutrients of the ingredients will be dissolved completely in the soup regardless of the hours of boiling soups.

♥ Use frozen soup stock by 1 week to ensure freshness.

使用冷冻高汤1周内以确保新鲜。 


Other posts that I love:
♥ Lesh Karan's amaranth vegetable soup recipe @ The Mindful Foodie
♥ Shu Han Lee's Vietnamese fish stock @ Mummy I can cook
♥ Kathleen's chicken stock recipe @ Providence Farms
♥ Tiffin Time! Classic Stacked Lunch-Pails by Shahan Cheong

Check also our other #5minutemeal recipes.

With love,
ServicefromHeart
20140302