Green Bean and Barley Soup for Breakfast

How about a simple dessert soup or drink for My Legume Love Affair #16 ? Thanks to The Well-Seasoned Cook, we are starting to understand more into the nutrition of legumes. And this makes a wonderful breakfast ^0^ - can I even use the word "power-packed"?

Whole green beans are low in fat, rich in protein and fiber which helps lower the high cholesterol level in body system. The high fiber in green bean also yields complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates improve digestion, helps to stabilize blood sugar in the body and keeps our energy at an even level. Frequent consumption of mung bean is beneficial to diabetes and one who suffers from high cholesterol level. Whole green beans take hours to cook before turning soft and fluffy.

Adding some whole grain barley to green bean soup will improve your health along with the flavor of the soup. In addition to its robust flavor, barley is also very nutritious - a very good source of fiber and selenium, and a good source of phosphorus, copper and manganese.

Green Bean and Barley Dessert Soup
Ingredients: Green Beans, soaked overnight; Barley, soaked overnight, rock sugar, water to submerge the beans, pandan leaves for aroma (optional), whole milk (optional)

Directions:
1. Boil the green beans, barley and water in a deep pot till whole legumes and grains are completely cooked and tender.
2. Add sugar, to taste. If prefer less viscous as a drink, add more water.
3. Before serving, ladle into a bowl and add some milk if you prefer milky version. Moooo....

Tag: green beans, barley, soup

Baby Spinach and Gojiberry Somen Noodles

This noodle soup can be enjoyed nutritiously by kids and adults. My friend uses Somen noodles - a thin, white Japanese noodles made of wheat flour, when cooking for her 2-year-old because these noodles can be cooked fast (less than 3 minutes) and becomes soft when cooked - just perfect for a hungry (cranky) kid who is still learning to bite his food properly.


Moreover, spinach and wolfberries (gojiberries) are nutritious and healthy! Can you think of any side dish that goes with this noodle soup ? I can think of many...too many that I cannot tell you all at once right now.

Baby Spinach and Gojiberry Somen Noodles
Ingredients: Baby spinach; wolfberries, soaked in warm water for 5 minutes to soften; Somen noodles, white pepper, sesame oil

Directions: In a pot of boiling water, add the noodles and cook it softened. Add baby spinach and wolfberries and cook further for 1-2 minutes till spinach softened. Dash of white pepper for taste. Ladle noodle soup into bowl and drizzle few drops of sesame oil over the noodle soup before serving.

Time it! It takes less than 10 minutes (time zero when the water starts to boil) to cook this. A quick and light noodle soup serving up at Cook Almost Anything , who is hosting PPN #137 (runs from 24th Oct - 29th Oct 2009) this week.


Tag: somen noodles, spinach, gojiberry

Millet Congee - millet grains or "bird seeds" ?

Millet is a grain (seed). I did not know how nutritious it is, until my friend introduced them to me. She uses millet when she cooks congee for her child. Then, I started to discover more about millet. It is easy to digest and highly nutritious. Millet is also a good source of protein, fiber, B-complex vitamins such as niacin, thiamine, and riboflavin. These "bird" seeds are high in mineral content such as manganese, magnesium and phosphorous; and rich in phytochemicals. Definitely, if I make millet congee, it will make a heart-healthy dish for Heart of Matter - Seeds and Things.


Millet Congee - 小米粥
Ingredients: Millet, short-grain or long-grain rice, water

Directions: Lightly rinse the millet and rice in water. Heat a pot of water (depending on the congee consistency you prefer, you can adjust the quantity of water accordingly) and when water boils, add the grains into the water and allow to cook for 20-30 minutes till millet and rice are cooked.

See these bunches of millet? They can be used to make Chinese millet wine.


Tag: millet, congee

Watercress Soup - Soup of the Day

Mention Chinese watercress - 西洋菜 (pronounced Xi Yang Cai) and most Chinese will associate it with SOUP. This vegetable turns out almost like another superfood to me. According to the online Chinese encyclopedia, consuming watercress during the Fall season (the season when flu/cold is rampant in Northern Hemisphere), aids better breathing in the overall body system, as watercress is touted as a natural expectorant. No more nasal spray, no more Mucinex. And believe it or not, some sources even state that watercress contains MORE calcium than milk, MORE vitamin C than oranges and MORE iron than spinach. Too good to be true? I don't know. But eating MORE vegetables can't be anyway harmful...


Moreover, cooler temperatures mean warm soothing soup on the way, warming our body inside out, comforting us outside in. Watercress and watercress soup for WHB #206, hosted by Yasmeen, Health Nut. Come, join us.



Watercress Soup
Ingredients: 1 bunch watercress, rinsed; gojiberry; red dates; chicken balls (made from leftover fillings of wonton dumplings)

Directions: Make chicken balls out of ground chicken mixture and set aside on plate. Boil a pot of water and when water boils, add in watercress and red dates and allow to come to a boil. When boiling, lower the heat and allow to simmer (pot covered) till the watercress is cooked and softened. Stir occasionally. Add in gojiberry and chicken meatballs and continue to simmer till chicken meatballs are cooked. Dish out the chicken meatballs and set aside to prevent overcooking of the meatballs. Allow the watercress to simmer longer. Finally, ladle soup over the meatballs and serve.

Tag: watercress, soup, watercress soup

Gyoza 锅贴 - Chicken and Napa Cabbage Dumpling

What kind of pan makes "good" gyoza? "Good" = tasty. "Good" = Perfectly charred dumpling bottom. "Good" = dumpling skin that is cooked through (gyoza that has undercooked dumpling skin? I hate that!), moist(not dried out) and al-dente.


A stainless-steel pan definitely does NOT make the job of cooking gyoza easy. But with some patience, it can still be done.

Napa and Chicken Gyoza (锅贴)
Ingredients: napa cabbage, blanched, squeezed napa dry of excess moisture and finely shredded; ground chicken (I use Whole Foods organic ground dark chicken which has more fat content but less fatty than pork); dumpling skin wrappers; seasoning: soy sauce, salt, white pepper, sesame oil, cooking wine, minced ginger, water(Note: Adding water will make the filling juicy...believe me - this is a tip!); 1 egg as binder

Directions: In a heated pan, add some oil. When oil is warm, add in gyoza (bottom down) and do not turn the gyoza. Allow them to sizzle till bottom of the dumpling is slightly charred. While the pan is hot, add water till dumplings are partially submerged. Cover the pan and allow the steam to cook the dumpling skin and the filling inside the dumpling. When most of the water have evaporated away, use a flat metal spatula to remove the gyoza gently from the pan. Start the next batch.


Using a stainless-steel pan may make washing and cleaning more difficult after all the cooking. Gyoza can still turn out perfectly good in taste and looks. ^0^



Frankly, making wontons are so much easier - no need to do too much frying. In the coming weeks, I will be posting a video on wonton wrapping. Tune in soon!

Wontons, Dumplings
Wontons, Freezer- Friendly Food
Wonton Dumplings in Chicken Soup
Wontons, Dumplings in Singapore and Hong Kong

Tag: gyoza, dumpling

Wok-Fry Blue Crabs with Ginger and Green Onions - 姜葱炒蟹

I never knew blue crabs could be cooked so easily at home. They seem so "intimidating" (crawling actively in a box) whenever I see them being sold in Ranch99 (one of my favorite Asian grocery stores in California). I bought some(TWO) blue crabs when I saw the sale tag on them one day - $3.99/lb! On sale does not necessarily mean not-fresh or any poorer quality stuff. At least, those little blue creatures were still alive and kicking when I lifted them (using kitchen tongs) from the box of blue crab heaps. As if I am saving them from overcrowding. OK, let me buy TWO. If I fail, an inexpensive mistake. Bleh. Don't call me a cheapskate.


While I read from some Internet sources that when dungeness crab season starts (usually from mid-November), the blue crab season ceases - I am sure I am not going to miss these blue crabs NOW, this time. And because blue crabs are small in size, they are so much easier to fry up in a wok. I don't have to resort to just one method of cooking crab - steaming, anymore. Yay! A simple wok fry of these crabs with green onions and ginger will do the magic. And it did.

Wok-Fry Blue Crab with Ginger and Green Onions (姜葱炒蟹)
Ingredients: Blue crab, cleaned and chopped to smaller pieces, then slightly marinated in cooking wine; ginger, thinly sliced; green onion, coarsely chopped, pinch of white pepper and salt; cooking wine

Directions: In a oiled and heated pan, add in ginger and green onions and fry till fragrant. Add in crab, fry and mix well. Cover the pan and allow some steam to cook the crabs for 5-6 minutes till the shells of the crabs turn slightly orange-red. Remove cover and fry briskly again. Add in pinch of white pepper and salt, mix well with the crabs. When the crabs are almost cooked, drizzle in more cooking wine from the sides of the wok and allow the crabs to sizzle while they are completely cooked. Serve immediately.


Contrary to saying that crabs have high cholesterol, one should also know that crabs are high in mineral content such as zinc and phosphorous and is a good source of protein. Zinc strengthens the muscles and the immune system. If you watch Dr. Oz, it says the #1 food source for zinc is shellfish! So, the next time you hear people against you eating crabs (high cholesterol...blah blah blah...), that is because they want the crabs for themselves! Haha!

Tag: crabs, blue crabs

Sour and Spicy Potato Stir-Fry - 酸辣土豆丝

Sour and Spicy Potato Stir-Fry 酸辣土豆丝 (pronounced Suan La Tu Dou Si) is common in regions of China (particularly North, Northeast) where winter is harsh and cold, with less leafy green vegetables harvest. At this time, families turn to tuber or rhizome such as potato; and bell peppers to concoct vegetarian dishes. Well, I know potato is considered STARCH by many and never a vegetable. But in Chinese cuisine, potato can be found in small appetizers known as 小菜.


Sour and Spicy Potato Stir-Fry 酸辣土豆丝
Ingredients: potato, peeled and cut into thin strips; bunch of bunashimeiji mushroom, remove bottom half of stems; half red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips; 1/2 red chili, seeded and cut into thin strips; pinch of brown sugar; 1tsp vinegar; drizzle of sesame oil; some water if mixture too dry

Directions: To a oiled and heated pan, add ingredients and fry briskly for a few minutes till mixture softened slightly and cooked. Add a pinch of sugar and mix well. Before serving, add some vinegar, mix well; also add sesame oil for aroma and mix well.



Tag: potato, spicy and sour

Pumpkin Cake - Savory or Sweet

The Chinese definitely prefers savory to sweet. While we associate "carrot cake" - the savory fried style with green onions and egg; the carrot cake in the West really...IS a cake made with shredded carrot, flour, sugar, egg, butter - oven baked.

And while we associate "pumpkin cake" as a savory (chewy, soft) quiche type of food, typically steamed with dried shrimps and shitake mushrooms (picture below);


the pumpkin cake in the West is actually a sweet cake loaf, popular in the Fall season here in the United States.

In Chinese cuisine, we use 糕 (pronounced Gao in Mandarin) in typically any "cake-type-textured" food. So often, we see the character 糕 in 蛋糕 (sweet cake) and 糕点 (pastries, fried snacks, cake-textured food)

More about pumpkin:
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - Green Tea Flavor
Butternut Squash Soup
Baked Butternut Squash Fries



My family(not me) makes good savory pumpkin cake, IMO. I have yet to learn it from them. But I do know the ingredients used in savory steamed pumpkin cake are usually rice flour, pumpkin, dried shitake mushrooms, dried shrimps, lean meat, shallots, salt and pepper. This mixture is mixed and pre-fried in a pan/wok to release the aroma; then subsequently steamed in a heat-proof container for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Pumpkin has an auspicious name in Chinese: 金瓜 - directly translated to Golden Gourd. Thus, the Chinese usually like to use pumpkin in festive season e.g. Chinese New Year.

Tag: pumpkin, cake

Cabbage and Carrot Indian Curry

Cabbage must be one of the most "cross-functional" vegetables. They appear more "international" in various cuisines - Western, Chinese, Indian, Malay etc., compared to a vegetable such as Bok Choy (there must be a reason why Bok Choy is typically classified under "Chinese Vegetable") which I would almost never see in Indian food or Malay food, unless you do a fusion of cuisine, just like how I attempted to use Bok Choy in Beef and Mushroom Pasta.



I vary cuisines in my cooking, quite often. While I frequently use cabbage in Chinese dishes such as Mixed Vegetables Stew- Chap Chye, Fried Rice and Chinese Stir Fry, I go for a change once in a while and maybe?... ...use a different cabbage variety like Red Cabbage in a Stir Fry or try a different cooking style by tapping on Indian spices and call the dish, an Indian dish? Cabbage is also popularly used in a Southeast Asian dish, Sayur Lodeh

This is an easy and tasty cabbage dish I enjoy. And especially in the cold seasons, the mild spices in this dish would particularly make me yearn for an extra bowl of piping warm steamed rice. Just rice topped with this Indian cabbage curry...can be pleasure.



Indian Cabbage Curry
Ingredients: 1 small head cabbage, shredded; 1 small carrot, shredded; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 shallots, thinly sliced; 1/2 tsp ground cumin; 1/4 tsp turmeric; 1/2 tbsp curry powder; pinch of red chili flakes; pinch of salt and black pepper

Directions:
1. In a heated pot with some oil, add shallots and garlic and fry till fragrant
2. Add carrots and cabbage, stir and mix well. Then add, ground cumin, turmeric, curry powder and mix thoroughly in the pot
3. Cover pot and allow mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes, till cabbage softens (and reduces in volume). Stir and mix occasionally for spices to be absorbed into the vegetables
4. Add chili flakes, then salt and black pepper to taste

To keep it light, you can have this dish as salad and why not, if there is this light meal event going on till 31st October 2009 ? Hop over and take up with your vegetarian recipes.


Tag: cabbage, curry