Steamed Scallops with Vermicelli.

After a long summer and autumn, I am finally back in 'wokking' as winter comes. I have been busy settling down in Lincoln after moving from Nottingham and I am currently an employed pre-registration pharmacist! The weather has turned really cold lately. I was often freezing in the dispensary which really gets me thinking of what to cook for my dinner. Then I started to do imaginary cooking while dispensing. That's not very professional I know but eating keeps me going! Today I really wanted something warm for dinner. I always think that warm food is cooked by steaming (which is not entirely right). This dish is relatively simple to cook but it ended up being a big project for me as I had a fun time rolling the vermicelli from the pot.

It makes you think it is tasteless but it is not. You have to salute the garlic and ginger for doing a good job, not to forget a light touch of sweetness from the scallops sitting on top.

Ingredients (serve 2 but I gobbled everything)

Scallops (I used Alaska scallops)

Chopped garlics (I used 5 large cloves)

Chopped ginger

Vermicelli (You may use glass noodles)

Pak Choi

Seasonings

2 tablespoons of Chinese soy sauce

1 teaspoon of sesame oil (optional)

Pepper

1 tablespoon of Chinese wine (I omitted this because I don't have one. I must remember to get one.)

Method

1. Heat two tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Add chopped garlic and ginger. Stir until fragrant and when garlic turns light brown. Add 1 tablespoon of Chinese soy sauce and some pepper. Mix well and turn off the heat.

2. Cook vermicelli in a pot of boiling water (with a pinch of salt) for 3 minutes. Do not cook for too long to avoid vermicelli soften too much. Turn off the heat. Roll the vermicelli into a small lump just like how you roll your spaghetti with a fork. If you wish to save time you may lay the vermicelli freely on a steaming dish.

3. Place the scallops on the bed of vermicelli. Top each scallop with some fried garlic and ginger. Drizzle the extra oil and 1 tablespoon of Chinese wine on the vermicelli. Set up a boiling steamer and steam for 6 minutes. Do not steam for too long to avoid losing the perfect tenderness of the scallops.

4. While steaming the scallops, cook Pak Choi in a pot of boiling water with a pinch of salt (which gives them a perfect green colour) until they just turn green. Arrange the Pak Choi on the steaming dish.

4. Mix one tablespoon of Chinese soy sauce, one teaspoon of sesame oil, some pepper and one tablespoon of water. Drizzle on top of the scallops, vermicelli and Pak Choi. Add some pepper to taste. Serve warm.

So simple. Keep warm and hello December! =)

Orange Yogurt Cake.

If you are looking for a weight watchers cake well balanced between gastronomical satisfaction and sinfulness, this orange yogurt cake could be your choice of cake. I truly love this recipe because I always tend to abandon the last few pots of yogurt in the fridge for weeks when my crave for it has already easily satisfied by the first pot. You could be deceived by the moist appearance of this cake, believe it or not, there is absolutely no butter in this recipe. Your hands may tend to reach this cake one slice after the other, because the tangy orange flavour is so refreshing and the moist texture of this cake is pretty similar to the ordinary butter cake.

Ingredients (1 loaf)

2 eggs

100g castor sugar (I reduced it to 70g)

Finely grated zest from 1 orange

4 tablespoons of fresh orange juice (I used Jaffa orange)

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence

140g plain flour (sifted)

1 and a half teaspoons of baking powder (sifted)

125ml low fat greek style yogurt (I used a peach flavour yogurt pot)

60ml oil (I used sunflower oil)

Icing sugar for dusting

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 °C. Whisk egg and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes until thick and creamy.

2. Add in a pinch of orange zest, orange juice and vanilla essence. Beat for another minute.

3. Fold in the mixture of plain flour and baking powder into the mixture in Step 2.

4. Fold in the yogurt followed by the oil.

5. Pour the batter into a lined and greased loaf tin. Bake at 180 °C for 35 to 45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

6. Cool the cake in tin for 10 minutes then without the tin for another 10 minutes.

7. Dust with icing sugar and orange zest (optional).

* You may substitute the orange juice with lemon juice or mango juice to make lemon yogurt cake or mango yogurt cake.

Food facts. Did you know?

The commercially available flavoured yogurt contains about 27 grams of sugar per 6-ounce serving and 170 calories compared to plain, low-fat yogurt which has around 110 calories without sugar.

It is time to get back to plain yogurt. Normally I eat it with fresh fruits instead of preserved fruits which come along with many flavoured yogurt. Dried fruits/ preserved fruits are normally high in sugar and lack of vitamins compared to fresh fruits.

Seafood Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancake).

Okonomiyaki is a famous Japanese savoury cabbage pancake / pizza which you could easily find it in any food street. 'Okonomi' in Japanese means 'what you like' or 'what you want', and 'yaki' means 'grilled' or 'cooked'. I love this pancake because it goes with almost anything you wish to add, like how it is named. Last time I tried it with the roasted squid snack and crab sticks because I have plenty of the roasted squid. This time I am making a seafood version one with tuna, crabsticks and dried squid slices.

I personally think the key factors in making a good Okonomiyaki are the sauce and the thickness of the batter. I omitted Worcestershire sauce simply because I didn't have it. I substituted it with Teriyaki sauce instead, which I think it did a pretty good job too, except giving the thick sensation of Worcestershire sauce. I have also omitted the pork belly slices which should be the toppings for this pancake. Try substituting the seafood fillings I used with prawns, chicken slices, salmon, crab sticks, or simply anchovies. Apart from chopped cabbages, I have added finely chopped courgettes but this is optional.

Just in case you would love to have a closer view on the inner side of the pancake (picture above). You could see the chopped cabbages inside and the tuna at the bottom side of the pancake. One might expect it to be dry since I have omitted the Worcestershire sauce but the mayonnaise and tuna helped to moisten the pancake. I would describe the texture as soft and tender, much like a texture of mashed potatoes.

Ingredients (serve 2)

Savoury fillings :

1 crab stick (cut into small cubes)

A handful of dried squid slices

Half can of canned tuna chunks (pressed into flakes, remove the brine water)

Batter :

4 tablespoons of plain flour / all-purpose flour

1/2 tablespoon of baking powder

A pinch of salt

Pepper

1/2 sachet of Dashi granules (dissolved in 200ml of hot water) (You may substitute it with chicken stock/ anchovies stock/ simply hot water)

Vegetables :

2 cups of finely chopped cabbage

1/2 cup of finely chopped courgettes (optional, you may substitute it with cucumber/ carrot)

Toppings :

Japanese mayonnaise (Can be found in Asian groceries store *quite expensive*. I used low fat mayonnaise from Tesco.)

Worcestershire sauce (I omitted this and substituted with 1 tablespoon of Teriyaki sauce)

1/2 tablespoon of toasted white sesame seeds

Finely cut seaweed (optional)

Bonito flakes / Katsuobushi

Method

1. Mix well the flour and the baking powder. Add in the Dashi stock and stir well. Add in salt and pepper.

2. Add the chopped cabbages, courgettes and dried squid slices into the batter. Stir to mix but DO NOT over mix them to avoid the pancake breaks on flipping.

3. Heat up 2 tablespoon of oil on a frying pan with medium heat. Scoop the batter onto the pan and spread it evenly over the pan (you may adjust it to a personal-sized pancake or to any thickness you wish). DO NOT over press the pancake. Meanwhile, spread the tuna and crab stick cubes over the top side of the pancake. Make sure they are sufficiently inserted into the pancake to avoid dropping on flipping. Cover the pan with a lid.

4. When bubbles appear on the top side of the pancake, carefully flip the pancake. Spread/ brush the teriyaki sauce evenly on the side of the pancake facing upward. If you are using the Worcestershire sauce, DO NOT add it in this step. Cover with lid for 5 minutes.

5. Flip the pancake over again and fry it for another 5 minutes without a lid this time. If you prefer a crunchy pancake, you may flip several times over both sides to your preference.

6. Carefully remove the pancake onto a plate. Top it with some toasted white sesame seeds (optional) followed by Worcestershire sauce and mayonnaise.

7. Lastly, sprinkle the finely trimmed seaweeds and Bonito flakes onto the pancake and serve hot.

'Okonomi' your pancake today in any way you like. =)

Food facts. Did you know?

Cabbage facts for health include benefits of :

- lowers the risk of cancer, particularly of the colon

- prevents and heals ulcers

- kills bacteria and viruses

- stimulates the immune system

Proven in tests, cabbage eaten just once per week may cut the chances of colon cancer up to 66%. Cabbage kills viruses and bacteria and is known to boost the immune system as it makes the body produce antibodies.

Malaysian Loh Mee.

The authentic Loh Mee is cooked with a thicker version of egg noodles, pretty similar to udon and generously soaked in egg gravy. My version of egg gravy is too little to sufficiently immerse the noodles in it. Surprisingly it tasted pretty good without having the noodles too soft. Crunchy bean curds are definitely a good company to this dish especially when they are soaked in the egg gravy. This time I made the egg gravy with Aunt Bessie's gravy granules for chicken, which is meant for Yorkshire puddings. I strongly recommend using this because it gives a strong chicken taste to this dish which greatly flavoured the egg noodles.

Ingredients (serve 1)

130g egg noodles (I got this thinner version of egg noodles from Marks & Spencer)

Prawns, cleaned (several)

Mussels, cleaned (several)

Dried squids, cleaned and soaked (several) (optional)

1 teaspoon of chopped garlic

1 small onion, chopped

2 Shiitake mushrooms, soaked, stem removed, sliced (keep the stock for egg gravy and noodles)

1 cup of chopped Chinese lettuce

2 broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces

Bean curds

Egg gravy:

1 tablespoon of Aunt Bessie's gravy granules for chicken

1 tablespoon of abalone sauce

1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce

3 tablespoons of soaked mushroom stock

1 egg

Boiled water

Pepper

Method

The noodles

1. Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil on a frying pan. Briefly fry the bean curds and set them aside.

2. Fry the chopped garlic and onions until fragrant. Add in the sliced Shiitake mushrooms and continue to fry for another minute.

3. Add in the egg noodles. Lightly flavour the noodles with 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce and pepper. Continue to fry the noodles and mushrooms for another 5 minutes and add in some mushroom stocks if the noodles are too dry. Set the fried noodles aside.

The egg gravy

1. Dissolve the gravy granules in 1/2 cup of boiled water. Stir in the abalone sauce, soy sauce, mushroom stock and pepper. Set this mixture aside.

2. Heat up a pan and stir fry the prawns, mussels and dried squids for 2 minutes. Add in the cut Chinese lettuce and broccoli.

3. Pour the gravy mixture over the seafood and the vegetables. Cover the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add in the fried bean curds and simmer for another minute. Break the egg and quickly stir the gravy mixture immediately after the fire is turned off.

5. Finally, pour the egg gravy over the fried noodles and serve hot.

* Adjust the thickness of the gravy to your preference with cornflour (for a thicker one) or the mushroom stock (for a light gravy).

* If you prefer a softer version of bean curds, you may add them in step 4 without frying them in the beginning.

Have fun slurping. =)

Food facts. Did you know?

Shiitake mushroom is an excellent source of selenium, iron, protein, dietary fiber and vitamin C. It helps to shore up the immune system and offers a good source of anti-oxidant to be protective against certain cancer types. Shiitake mushroom is very low in fat. It contains 1g of fat in every 100g of mushrooms. This means that it is roughly 99% fat-free.

Shiitake mushrooms has been found to lower blood pressure for people with hypertension. The rich nutrition value of Shiitake mushroom is also known to lower serum cholesterol levels.

It should be noted that shiitake mushroom contains purines which could cause accumulation of uric acid in the body and excessive intake should be avoided in gout patients.

When selecting shiitake mushrooms, look for those that are firm, plump and clean with no dark spots.

A newborn baby.

After many months of slacking, I am proudly announcing the birth of my first food blog. It is one thing which has been clinging on my mind since my first year of stay in Nottingham. It never came in place when coursework and placement were lining ahead of my tiny wish. Till this very day, I finally decided to put my thesis aside and set this blog up.

It all started with my passion in food. Well, not cooking in the beginning, but eating them. My best food hunting partner would be my dad, a food monster who greatly influenced my expectation in food (not to forget the unfortunate increase in the reading on my weighing scale). It then went on to my first year abroad in Nottingham, where my dearly housemate and the other master chef from the next street started to tempt me with their yummylicious home-cooked food. Due to budget constraint (being a poor student), I often omit ingredients which are rarely used in any other dishes. It is fun to see all the ingredients you need lining infront of you. What is next is to start painting your pan with any of them in any sequence you wish, serve your piece of artwork, improve again and again to your desired Michelin-starred taste.

I do not know how to cook, but I cook for living, for sharing and most importantly for fun. This quickly explains why I frequently skipped gatherings. Yes, because I already had some dishes on my mind I couldn't wait to try out. Recipes are not meant to discourage innovation so create your own ones today.

With joy,

Sue