Spiced Tofu with Bean sprouts

" What?? Vegetarian **%% ?? What do you eat then ? " That is what I got from my colleague when I told him that I am a vegetarian.

He he and that is just one of the weird comments I received..There are a lot more in the listJ

Here is another one "Girl, where do u get all protein u need..no wonder u r so short"J..

So to all my dear friends who are soo worried about my protein intake..here is the answer, I do get my fare share from Legumes, Tofu ,Nuts etc etcJ

Here in Singapore, we get like a hundred varieties of tofu and I love to play around with them..

Now, this is the latest one I got my hands on to..Spiced Tau Kwa aka spiced Extra Firm Tofu

Spiced Tofu with Bean sprouts

Ingredients

100 gms Tau Kwa

1 Cup Bean Sprouts

1 Red Chilly chopped finely

2 Cloves Garlic & ½ Inch Ginger chopped finely

2 Stems Parsley

1-2  tspn Sesame Oil

1 tspn light Soy sauce

Directions

Cube the Tau kwa and add it to boiling water and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Strain and keep aside the Tau Kwa

In a wok, add the oil and sauté the ginger and Garlic

Add the Chilly and sauté for few seconds.

Add the tau kwa and soy sauce and stir fry for 2 minutes

Add the bean sprouts and cook until the sprouts turn light and tender.

Add the chopped parsley and stir well.

There you have a spicy, crispy and healthy dish:-)

Green Tea Jelly / Matcha Jelly

Jellos are always a fuss free easy breezy dessert!!

And this treat is to all green tea lovers! May the Jello be with youJ

My love for jellos started years back when we were in Chennai,India.

I used to make bowls and bowls of jello and there was nothing more refreshing than a fruity jello on a hot sunny day!

Back then Jello was the de facto dessert for all occasions or gatherings!

I used to claim that, jellos are the healthiest dessert blah blah..The ugly truth was that Jello was the only desert I could make 4 yrs backL

After so many yrs, I still feel jellos are such a guilt free treat!!

Green Tea Jelly / Matcha Jelly

Ingredients

1 Cup Low fat Milk

1 tbspn brown Sugar

1 tbspn Agar agar powder

1 tspn Matcha powder/Green tea powder

Directions

Add the sugar, agar agar and matcha powder to the milk .

Keep stirring and bring to the boil.

Let it cool for 10 minutes and pour the mix to jelly moulds/ramekins and let it set in refrigerator for 2-3 hours

Drizzle a little honey on top of the jello and njoy the refreshing treat!

Tom Yam Tempeh

Originated from Indonesia, tempeh is another protein rich soy food. It is basically fermented soy beans with a nutty taste.

This low fat and high protein patties absorb the flavors /sauces soo well and makes an excellent meat substitute.

So here is a simple three ingredient tempeh recipe.

  

Tom Yam Tempeh

Ingredients

150 gms tempeh cut in cubes

1 ½ tspn Tom Yam paste -I used Vegetarian Tom Yam paste

1 tspn Oil

Directions

Heat Oil in a wok .

Add the tom yam paste and sauté for few seconds

Add 1/3 cup water and bring to boil.

Now add in the tempeh,cover and cook untill all water has been absorbed for 8-10 min.

Increase the flame and sauté the tempeh until it start to lightly brown and crispy.

Garnish with some Chinese Celery leaves.

And there you have the tangy n spicy Tom Yam Tempeh.

·        *Tom yam paste already has salt and chilli. So adjust and add salt according to your taste.

Sesame balls

Yesterday marked the first day of Chinese new year….. the Year of Rabbit.
Xin Nian Kuai Le—may this year of rabbit bring in Joy, happiness and prosperity to you all…`

So I decided to celebrate the New Year by cooking one of my favorite Chinese snack, Sesame balls
I have tasted two versions of sesame balls,one filled with red bean paste n the other with cooked mung beans..
I am sticking with Mung bean filing ..

The crispiness from Sesame..Chewiness from the Glutinous rice..and the sweetness of beans...it tastes soo yumm when you bite into this delectable snack.

Here goes the recipe
1 Cup Glutinous Rice flour
3/4 Cup water
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Spilt Mung beans
1/4 Cup White sesame seeds
Oil for deep frying

Bring the water to boil and add 3 tablespoon of brown sugar and stir well
Transfer the rice flour to a bowl and make a well at center
Pour the water and slowly mix in using a spoon.
When the dough has cooled down a bit ,knead well with hands till it form a soft dough.
Cover and let it rest

Meanwhile cook the mung beans with 1/3Cup water and 1 table spoon brown sugar.
I pressure cooked the beans .Once its cooked mash it well and form a paste.

Take a tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball. Push your thump into the center of the ball and make a deep hole
Fill the hole with mung bean paste and seal it and roll to a ball.
Repeat the same for rest of the dough

Spread the sesame balls in a parchment paper
Wet your hands and slightly moisten the rice balls and roll it in the sesame balls
Gently press the rice balls down when you are rolling in sesame seeds. This is to make the sesame seeds stick well to the rice balls.

Heat the oil in a deep pan. You should have enough oil so that the rice balls are completed immersed in oil

Drop 3 balls at a time and fry it in medium low heat
Keep rolling the balls using a spatula so that all sides are browned well.

Once cooked through ,the sesame balls will starts to float 
Now it’s time to transfer the balls to a kitchen towel to absorb excess oil..

Broccoli Mushroom Stir fry

This is a very common dish you will find in Singapore food courts.
It is simple , fast less than 10 minutes and packed with flavors...

The crunchiness of Broccoli, the chewiness of mushroom and tanginess from Soy sauce n Chilies…The combination is just great

All you need is
1 small Broccoli
150 grams Button Mushrooms cut lengthwise
1 Table Spoon Dark Soy sauce
2 Red Chilies Finely Chopped
2 tspn Sesame Oil

Cut the Broccoli into Small florets.
Now you need to cook the broccolis partially. You can either microwave it for 2-3 minutes, steam it or Blanch it.
Heat Oil in a wok. Once the oil is hot, add the Chilies, sauté for a few seconds
Add the Mushrooms and sauté for a minute or two.
Add in the partially cooked Broccolis, Soy sauce and stir well. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Done….there you have a flavorful vegetarian Side dish.

Tomato Tofu

This recipe is from one of my dearest friend, Jinzhou

On and off we meet up and cook lunch together.
Both of us love cooking …so we cook up at least 2 Chinese and 2 Indian dishes and will have a splendid Lunch !
She introduced me to many Chinese foods…like fungus…lotus seeds..Bai yee tofu…black sesame paste…etc etc and of course.. Chopsticks:-)
In due course, I played my role as an Indian Guru diligently ,schooling her on many Indian Snacks , dishes and even tried to teach her to eat with hands…failed there miserably…

This is one of her favourite tofu dish...now mine too:-) . It’s quite easy n tasty recipe and an excellent side dish for noodles or rice.

Here goes the recipe

3 Tomatoes Cut
1 Pack Firm tofu
2 Chilies
2 tspn Sesame Oil
Salt to taste
Chinese celery [Optional]

Cut the tofu in small Cubes and dry on a kitchen towel.
Heat the oil in a wok.
Once oil is hot enough, add the finely Chopped Chilies and sauté for few seconds.
Add tomatoes and continue to sauté till the tomatoes become slightly tender.
Add in the tofu and gently mix in. Sprinkle some salt and chopped celery leaves.
Cover and cook for a 3-4 minutes.

Serve hot with a bowl of noodles..

For the love of Dumplings…Vegetarian Dumplings

I always hear my colleagues babble about how they love dim sums…
Dim sums are a traditional Chinese cuisine which includes portions of a variety of foods like steamed dumplings, Siew Mai ,Sesame balls etc
But being a vegetarian I hardly get vegetarian Dim sums in Food courts..
Thatz when I heard about Lin Zhi …The authentic Chinese vegetarian restaurant in Singapore..
So I planned the next team lunch there….:-)
Yumilicious……the whole table was filled with different types of Dim sums…
I lost count of how many I had…..:-)
And now ..Me too joined the league of Dum sum lovers…


Recently I got the recipe of Dumpling from one of my friend..
But the steps sounded a bit too tedious for me…Makin the dough…rolling out …oooghhh…
I chose the easier option…get the readymade dumpling skins and followed rest of the recipe.

Ingredients
Cabbage shredded 1/2 Cup
1 Carrot grated
Shitake mushroom- 5 chopped
I prefer to use dried Shitake mushroom as it is more flavor full. Soak the dried mushroom in boiling water for 30 min
Sprint Onion 2 stems
Garlic 2 Cloves
Chilies 1
Soy sauce 1 teaspoon
Sesame oil- 2 tea spoon


Heat a wok , add in the oil. Once the oil is hot enough, add Chilies, Garlic and Sprint Onion and saute
Add in cabbage, Carrot, Mushroom ,soy sauce and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Take a Dumpling sheet, Put a ring of water around the edges
Add a spoonful of mixture in each dumpling skin and seal the edges.
Remember to cover the sealed dumpling using a moist towel else it might become dry
You can choose any of the 3 options for cooking the dumpling -steam for 10 minutes, deep fry it or cook in boiling water

I chose to cook the dumpling by letting it cook in boiling water for 3 minutes.

I heard from my friends that if we are using readymade dumpling sheets the later method gives softer dumplings.

For the Dip
Soy sauce 1 tspn
Roasted sesame seeds 1 tspn
Chili paste
Rice Vinegar 1 tspn
Sesame Oil – ½ tspn

Mix all the ingredients well and serve.

Brown Rice Been Hoon/Noodles

Rice noodle or Bee Hoon is a very popular Main course in Singapore.
The vegetarian stall in the Hawker Center nearby my previous office serves very nice Bee hoon with crispy vegetables..
Thatz one of the many things I miss in my current office:-(

When I saw the packet of Brown Rice noodle in NTUC, I quickly grabbed it to make Bee Hoon at home.
Here Goes the recipe..

Ingredients
Brown Rice noodles
Carrots 2 Thinly Sliced
White Onion 1 Thinly Sliced
Greens 1 packet Cut roughly
Dried Shitake Mushroom -4
Garlic 2 pods -Chopped
Ginger Small piece-Chopped
Chilies and Chinese Celery Chopped.
Sesame Oil 2 tsp
Dark Soya sauce 2 tsp
Tom Yam sauce [Optional]

Method

1. Soak the dried Shitake mushroom in boiling after for 30 minute. After 30 min, wash the mushroom lightly and chop them finely.
2. Soak the brown rice noodle in boiling water for a minute and drain it in a colander. I usually pour some cold water to the colander so that the noodle don’t become mushy
3. Meanwhile heat the pan and add in the sesame oil. Once the oil is hot enough add in the ginger ,Garlic and chilies and sauté in high heat for a minute
4. Add the onion and mushroom and Continue to sauté it till Onion start to caramelize
5. Add in the carrots and cook for a 2-3 minute.
6. Now Add in the greens and celery and Soy sauce and stir it.
7. Lastly add the noodle and stir
8. I added 1 teaspoon of Tom yam paste at this state as I like the tangy taste of tom yam.