Stir-Fry Kale with Garlic and Mushrooms

Kale is so good that you have to eat them often (even Dr. Oz's Anti-Aging Green Monster has kale in it). But they are not as well-received as other common vegetables such as broccoli.  It has hints of bitter aftertaste, that is why. But I am not worried at all.

They are inferior in bitterness compared to bittermelon, so what is there to fear for me? Nothing. Jolly well treat it like any other leafy green or vegetable and fry it like the rest. With garlic, ginger and fresh shitake mushrooms (like most other Chinese stir-fry) and voila! Stir-Fry Kale with Fresh Shitake Mushrooms. Perfect for vegetarians.

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Noodles in Sesame (Tahini) Sauce 芝麻酱拌面

This "summer-almost-over" Summer Noodles in Sesame (Tahini) Sauce 芝麻酱拌面 can be taken warm (or slightly cold, just like this lemon linguine), unlike noodles in soup that is preferably taken piping hot if not fails the cut to be classified as soothing and comfort.

I usually have some fried shallots to toss in with these noodles. Protein up with broad beans and fried tofu cubes.


But, where are my vegetables? What? This is a no-vegetable vegetarian dish?! This noodles dish goes to Ruth at Once Upon a Feast for Presto Pasta Nights #179.


Tag: cold noodles, noodles, sesame seeds

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Rice Cooker Soup-Stocks in The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook

It was less than five years ago when I found that root vegetables: celery, carrots and onions are common in soup-stocks (chicken-stock, and/or vegetable stock). I don't remember Chinese adding such vegetables in their chicken stock. The only ingredients I recalled often used by Chinese are ginger and green onions and probably chicken bones/carcass when making chicken stock  (or even soups). Of course, there are many "secret" ingredients used by Chinese chefs and cooks the same, such as ikan bilis (江鱼仔, dried anchovies), and soy beans (黄豆).

What's in your stock?

Chicken Stock in the making

Yes. To my chicken stock goes: chicken carcass/bones; and I like to add celery, carrots and onions. And very often now, I enjoy adding tomatoes (Note: small amounts relative to other ingredients - sometimes just three wedges can be magic!) and cabbage (green cabbage or napa cabbage works for me). Then ginger, green onions and garlic too.

If you find cooking pasta and meat sauce a challenge in your rice cooker, maybe stock-making will start you easy. You will find some rice-cooker-friendly soup-stocks in my cookbook. Remember...it is not the recipe details...it is the ideas you can open up to. ^0^














Tag: chicken stock, vegetable stock, soup stock

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Broccoli with Edamame, Tomatoes and Onions - Nature's Best Cancer Preventing Food

Ordinary-looking it might be and not the best presentation around (no perfect lighting, no inviting composition whatsoever) BUT a mouthful of this, is... ...

a mouthful of Nature's Best Cancer Preventing Food.

In this recent article, it is said that Soy, Berries, Broccoli, Onions, and Tomatoes are the top food for preventing cancer. Taking them separately, it is not really a new story for most of us. But when I had 4 out of these 5 food in my dish one day, it became a new homey dish for me.
This bowl has: Soy (Edamame), celery, tomato, broccoli, mushrooms, Chinese leafy green, onions, garlic, ginger. Best cancer-preventing food all in one bowl! I must cook this more often.

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Chives and Tofu Stir-Fry or Bake

I used to find Chinese chives very pungent and definitely not a huge fan of it. The only time I am able to take relatively more chives (where they are typically used as garnish - meaning in small amounts) is in Mee Siam, as the tangy spicy gravy is tantalizing enough for me to forget about the strong garlicky smell and flavor of chives.

What is in the unique smell of Chives (韭菜, Jiu Cai)? Part garlic and part from the presence of (volatile) mustard oil that gives this plant antiseptic properties - healing wounds/bruises and killing germs in the intestines. Like most alliums, chives have also anti-cancer health benefits.

How best to cook Chinese chives? So pungent and strong-tasting that I have decided to combine it with a relatively bland ingredient: TOFU.

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Chinese Meat Sauce Macaroni

Thank you Bee Yinn, for the shout out to my cookbook at Rasa Malaysia. ^o^

Recently, some recipes do not appear in my postings because I am just TIRED of typing another recipe after 300 times of doing similar (typing recipes in my manuscript) for the past many many months. Of course, the other reason being: I can't be publishing the same recipe here when it is in my book. However, this blog will be the place to enjoy photos and pictorials of my rice-cooker cooking. So hopefully, when you do get the book anytime now, my blog is complementary to the cookbook.

What says you if I made my Chinese meat sauce...and a meat sauce macaroni comes out of it ?

Wooooo...this is very yummy...believe me...

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Shepherd's Purse 荠菜 - popular filling ingredient for wonton dumplings in Shanghai

Another merchant/food supplier (with their product stocked at Ranch 99) almost got me confused with spinach again. Serious, they labeled Chinese Spinach on the package but when my friend made her wontons/dumplings with it - no way it tasted like spinach. I tried making wonton/dumpling with spinach before and no way it tasted the same and no way it tasted better. Excuse me, they are not Chinese Spinach or even spinach of any kind.

According to my friend, there are NOT MANY wontons/dumplings eateries which make wontons/dumplings with this herb or vegetable. Only when I was able to search (and research) for the name did I know that this vegetable is "...commonly used as food in Shanghai and the surrounding Jiangnan region, where they are stir-fried with rice cakes and other ingredients or as part of the filling in wontons..." (from Wiki).

Capsella Bursa-Pastoris too profound. Shepherd's Purse too cute
It remains true that I have made and tasted a variety of wonton/dumplings but none tasted better than 荠菜云吞 (QiCai Wonton). To me, these wontons taste special, deliciously special, due to the distinct aroma of the herb. Capsella bursa-pastoris sounds too profound and scientific to name a everyday wonton/dumpling and Shepherd's Purse sounds too cute. So unless you go to a Chinese website and search more information using "荠菜" or continue Googling for "Shepherd's Purse wonton" and see how lucky you get. Maybe that is why an easy way out to call it Spinach?

You can see how the fresh herbs look like here. And it also rare to find them, trust me. But lucky that some Ranch 99 stores in California carry the frozen version. Check out the frozen sections. They are usually together with frozen peas and corn kernels.

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Cauliflower with Red Radish Leaves and Tomatoes

Using cauliflower as the main ingredient to create a side-dish? No problem. I would not say cauliflower is my favorite yet I find myself buying cauliflower almost every week. If I am not wrong about myself, I have developed a liking for cauliflower because of Aloo Gobi.

Sometimes,  steaming the florets simply brings out their natural sweetness. Other times, roasting them (to the point of caramelization) with spices brings a charred savory-sweetness to this vegetable.

Today, I cook it another simple way, pairing them with tomatoes and the some red radish leaves.

Red Globe Radish and their leaves...

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Chinese Meat Sauce in Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook: Pasta

There is a Pasta section in my cookbook with simple recipes you can do with your rice cooker. Once you learn the trick of boiling pasta in the rice cooker, you have opened the doors to a simple delicious one-dish pasta meal. Whip up a delicious pasta sauce such as Marinara Sauce or even a fusion pasta sauce like this Chinese Meat Sauce (Page 102 of the cookbook), and be on the way to create your own pasta sauce.

Making the Meat Sauce in the rice cooker:

Recipe can be found in my cookbook.

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Smoothie Radish, Kiwi, Mango, Melon, Wheatgrass 小麦草

A Wheatgrass Tray. Raw food for living.

Caught sight of this at nearby grocery store one day and just attempted to get it. Impulsive shopping. Ha. The only thing coming to my mind is to juice it or ...maybe...smoothie it?

Wheatgrass 小麦草 contains a wide range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids, essential fatty acids and enzymes. It cleanses and builds your blood (detoxification), fights infections; and has other benefits that, well....the grass offers.


Smoothie of the Day: Cantaloupe, Mango, Radish, Kiwi, Wheatgrass, Yogurt, Milled Flax Seeds (optional)

And talking about cantaloupe, my Cantaloupe Roast Cornish Game Hen recipe won myself a $60 CSNStores gift certificate at Momgateway Blog. Thank you, Momgateway and the judges. It is like - I have so many things I wanted to buy before winning this voucher; but now I have this gift code, I don't know what to buy! Oh...Shopping!

And my smoothie trail continues...

Tag: wheatgrass, smoothie, juice,  fruits

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Chinese Okra Egg-Drop Soup, 丝瓜蛋花汤

Of all the names I have used to introduce loofah/luffa - a type of melon/gourd, I did not mention anything about Chinese Okra. So, this name Chinese Okra is popularly used in the US - in some Bay Area's farmers' markets, local grocery store - Sprouts Farmers Market and even in the "Chopped" Series. Other than being similar shaped to the other okra we all know, the taste and texture are no where near.

I like to use Chinese Okra in a simple stir-fry (with a mild simmer) most of the times; and in soups (above). Chinese Okra should not be overcooked in a stir-fry (as if what vegetables should). Ok - what I meant is: Note: Chinese Okra cook quite easily, so make sure you eye-ball the cooking process. Perfectly cooked Chinese Okra should be pale-whitish-green (not brown; turned from its raw lightly jade-green), tenderly soft, almost silky-spongy, and mild refreshingly sweet.

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Green Bean Omelette Egg Fritters

This is one of my childhood favorites. I used to eat this green bean omelette with plain rice porridge (congee) and enjoy it very much. Now that I have grown up, some taste and memories just do not go away. Once in a while, I do feel like making this green bean omelette and yes, eat them with rice porridge (congee) still...but now often a more nutritious multi-grain congee (e.g.multi-grain-and-seed congee, millet congee).


I introduced this simple-to-do side-dish (snacks for kids too!) to my friend who wanted ideas in making kid-friendly dishes. And while we were making this, we came up with kid-pleasing shapes (fritters! mini patties!) and it was a hit, naturally.

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Summer Fuzzy Melon Stew

This summer is especially cooling in the Bay Area, California. Unusual - what I always hear over the news. I was deciding between posting a cold noodle summer-like dish and a warm supposedly-non-summer stew-like dish. I will save the cold noodle dish for later. Come the stew. Why save it for Fall or Winter, especially if it is just a quick, light stew fit for all seasons.

Everyone has his or her own vegetable stew recipe and dish. I have many and hard to tell you my favorite. Sometimes, I have one choice of vegetable (choy sum, chayote, okra, Chinese okra, bittermelon, cabbage, etc.) then mix it with tomatoes or mushrooms to give more depth in flavors. Other times, I like to mix everything in a pan like this Cabbage-Bok Choy-Carrot-Mushrooms Stir-Fry or everything in a pot like this Pineapple-Bell Peppers-Broccoli-Tomato Quick-Stew . Then this one: Fuzzy Melon*-Broccoli-Carrot-Mushrooms-Tomato Quick-Stew. Sorry for this kind of string-naming for a dish as I can't be naming every dish - mixed vegetables stir-fry, mixed vegetables soup and mixed vegetables stew. :O

*Fuzzy Melon or Hairy Melon (节瓜 JieGua;  别名:毛瓜 MaoGua) is a summer produce. Mainly moisture/water and Vitamin C, this melon is good for reducing "heatiness", and cools the body, relieving us from the summer heat. It also helps clear toxins from the body. They are suitable for stir-fry, soup, and can be steamed.

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The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook: Essential Basics

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your well-wishes on my cookbook.^o^

Many of you have cooked one-pot rice dishes in your rice cooker. And besides completing Bibimbap and Biryani...


in a rice cooker - by sauteing all the aromatics (cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, shallots, garlic, etc.), then adding the tomatoes, vegetables, Basmatic rice, spices (mix well), followed by adding desired amount of water/stock and set off the rice cooker to "Cook";


how about making a variety of stocks such as chicken, shrimp and vegetable stocks? And how about completing a pasta meal all in a rice cooker ? Essential Basics they are. Pasta Marinara. YeSssss!

The 2nd chapter of my cookbook gets you started on Essential Basics, and Pasta Marinara is one of them: Cooking the pasta AND the marinara sauce all in the nifty gadget.

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The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook + CSN Giveaway Winner

My Cookbook
Finally finally! My cookbook is out! ISBN: 1440502331; ISBN13: 978-1440502330. My cookbook will join the big family of  The Everything Series by Adams Media.

Taken at Barnes and Noble, Campbell, CA, USA

The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook...

Whether you already own a rice cooker and you are looking for more ideas, variety and challenge -OR- you are just planning to get started on a rice cooker, this book does it All.

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Coconut Chicken Soup 椰子鸡汤

The Chinese believe that in a coconut - the coconut water is "cooling" (yin) while the coconut flesh is "heaty" (yang). Coconut water is a good natural electrolyte to replenish lost moisture and minerals. So if you happen to be dehydrated after a long run or merely running out of sweat under the sweltering heat, coconut water can help you recover.

A simple coconut chicken soup can be so easy with just coconut and chicken as the ingredients. And the outcome can be surprisingly tasty. The refreshing coconut water is subtly sweet and the chicken balances it up with savory deliciousness.

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Braised Chinese Noodles - 蒸面, Steamed Noodles

I learn more about Chinese cuisine and food from my friend who lived in China when she was younger. And boy if you know the guys in Shanghai cook often and cook really well ? Indeed, my friend, originally from Shanghai, picked up a lot of cooking ideas from her Dad. This 蒸面 (pronounced Zheng Mian) literally translates to Steamed Noodles but I would say: it is not all steamed but partially simmered/braised with the other ingredients.

Of course, in the US, both of us kinda tweak the recipe based on her understanding of this dish and her recollection of the taste. Chinese Five-Spice powder, 五香粉 is the key taste to this noodle dish.

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