Potatoes Stir-Fry with Mango and Bell Peppers

I do weird with potato, don't I? While most of you roast or bake them, toss them in salad, add them to soup or make mashed potatoes out of them, I steam them. And stir-fry! When selecting potato for stir-frying, a potato with firm texture will be ideal, just like the Purple Passion* from Tasteful Selections.


For this dish, I use low-temperature cooking and let the steam from the heat partially cook the vegetable mixture in the covered pan. I wanted my vegetables to be tender-crisp. Not soggy. This dish looks very festive being so colorful ! And adding rainbow colors to your meals is definitely encouraged! The flavors are fresh and refreshing esp. with that added touch of not-so-ripe mango. So unveils my Purple Potatoes Stir-Fry with Mango and Bell Peppers.

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Kale and Potatoes Soup

This can become my favorite cooking tip or kitchen quote: When in doubt, add tomatoes.

I wanted to make kale the main-dish for me this time, not as a side such as Kale with Garlic and Mushrooms and Garlic Kale Stir-Fry. Tomatoes come save me! Make me an appetizing delicious soup!

The kale soup would not have made it without the tomatoes. Come on, simply sauteing the onions and garlic, plus some broth then adding those kale is not going to make me my kind of soup. But with tomatoes? Definitely.

Also,I used the potato-trick again to make this soup a one-dish meal for me. So here, Kale and Potatoes in Tomato-Based Soup!

Seasoning with a lil' sea salt and ground white pepper. Some red chili flakes and red chili powder to spice things u...


The soup is also for Souper Sunday at Kahakai Kitchen.

Tag: kale, soup, kale soup

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Spaghetti Squash Frittata Fritters

I wanted to try spaghetti squash after seeing "noodle" dishes out of them! This recipe came to me at the instant when I had that plate of squash strands (after roasting in the oven 375degF for ~ 45 minutes) sitting right in front of me. No squash noodles, I decided, since I am cooking rice congee for that same meal. I wanted a side-dish more than a one-disher noodle. Here comes my Spaghetti Squash Frittata Fritter!

I am a huge fan of Indian spices so I fall back to my comfort zone when seasoning the squash strands - cumin, turmeric, ground coriander, curry powder, red chili powder, salt, pepper - that should work!

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Dumplings in Fermented Glutinous Rice Wine - 酒酿圆子

Winter Solstice, sometimes known as midwinter, falls on 21 December this year. Since Glutinous Rice Dumplings, 汤圆- Tang Yuan, are symbolic of Winter Solstice, there is no better time to enjoy them during December, or even January and into February. Say the same for this dessert Boiled Glutinous Rice Dumplings in Fermented Glutinous Rice - 酒酿圆子.

As this dessert is typically serve warm and due to the presence of "wine" from sweet ferment rice - 酒酿; it is indeed a timely dessert soup for winter.

The first time I tried this dessert was many years ago in Singapore. Yes, at a mom-and-pop Shanghai restaurant by the name of Pudong Kitchen in Balmoral Plaza (I wonder if it is still there).

So when my friend made this some time ago, it was not unfamiliar to me. I got reconnected to this long-lost dessert which might be an acquired taste for some (due to the taste of fermented rice). I confess I could not really adapt to this "strange" dessert at my first but have got used to it now.

This sweet ferment rice (fermented glutinous rice) - 酒酿 is Chinese yeast fermented glutinous rice or glutinous rice wine. It is low in alcohol content and tastes sweet, with a subtle wine aroma.

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Spicy Sausage Bell Peppers Pasta

Tis the season to be jolly, fah la la la la, la la la la....

Tis the season to be lazy, fah la la la la la, la la la la...

There is just this chemistry with spicy sausage, bell peppers and onions. So I paired them all up in a Christmasy red and green pasta!

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Salt and Pepper Chili Shrimps

The winner (selected via Random.Org) of the Tasteful Selection giveaway: Joanne from Eats Well with Others. Hey Joanne, you will soon be contacted via email. :)

Have the shells on, please! Grilled or pan-fried shrimps taste much better. I made this after I tried something similar in my friend's place. Difference? She used shell-on shrimps vs these naked shrimps version. Of course I love shrimps with shell-on but I just did not have them handy that day :(


There are many ways and variations to Salt and Pepper Shrimps (椒盐虾 Jiao Yan Xia). Some cook them with salt and pepper. Some use salt, pepper and fresh chili, while my friend cooked them with salt, red chili powder and some freshly ground white pepper. Turned out delicious. So yummy that I decided to make my own.

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RiceCooker "Braised" Pork, Babi Chin

This can be cooked over the stove-top. But how can I forget, "promoting" the use of a rice-cooker to cook this...^o^

In my cookbook, I call this Braised Fragrant Pork (Pg. 188), also otherwise known as Babi Chin in Nyonya Cuisine. The sweetness from the generous use of shallots with the aroma of star anise and coriander seeds marks this dish - Delicious!. Of course, the sliced red chili ups the notch.


When you set the rice cooker to "Warm", it simmers and cooks at low heat.

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Hearty Vegetable Soup, Easy Minestrone

Your comments leave me inspired. Keep them coming! This soup was inspired because Stella of The Witchy Kitchen left a comment at my Chicken Daikon Soup post, asking if I have a recipe for clear vegetable soup.

Actually...I do, but it is not in any published post yet as I have only cooked them (with photos taken) quite recently. So in my email reply to Stella, I told her briefly the combination of my more recent vegetable soup: Daikon - Edamame - Cabbage - Tomatoes etc.

The use of tomatoes usually leave the soup more brothy than clear. But to me, still a clear soup vs the creamy type - such as pumpkin or mushroom.

Days after I made that daikon-based vegetable soup (that post...? another day perhaps), I decided to make another one. A vegetable soup that bears a close resemblance to minestrone. I am a fan of minestrone.

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Edamame, Hijiki, Pomegranate-Infused Pasta Salad

KISS. Keep it simple AND short. I am doing both...for this post.


This is my second creation using POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice.


But it is not a dish born from my own concept. Instead, it was inspired from two posts: Food Gal's A Welcome and Delicious Red Wine Stain and Angies Recipes' Pinotage Spaghetti with Arugula. Got some basic idea from there, then executed and completed it...my way.

Mine? A refreshing creation! Not only you taste the pomegranate in the pasta shells, the entire dish has the sea-flavor of Hijiki and taste of subtly sweet edamame. Textures are exciting too - it's like al-dente...everything!

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Cabbage, Cauliflower and Pea Curry

2Cs away from perfect 5Cs diamond quality - this dish scored 3Cs: cauliflower, cabbage and curry. And perfect as cruciferous curry of the day. The 4th C! Hey Ho!


And where is the 5th C? You smarties can give me a word that begins with a letter- C, which best describes delicious, scrumptious, tasty?


What goes into this Cabbage and Cauliflower Curry:

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Steamed Potatoes (Easy Warm Salad) + Giveaway Tasteful Selections

Tasteful Selections generously sent me two sample-bags of beautiful round potatoes ( Sunrise Medley and Purple Passion) few weeks ago. "Amazing colors!"...my first thoughts on getting the samples.

Growing up in Asia, potato is really not my kind of staple or ingredient (Rice is!). But I was excited to try these potatoes especially when they are petite, cute, fast to prep and easy to cook. Will potatoes be at your festive table this holiday season - Thanksgiving might be over but there is still Christmas and New Year, yeah? How would you prepare them ? Now I wish you get a potato dish down at the table for your festive entertaining. For this Giveaway (details at end of post),  Tasteful Selections has gladly agreed to send some lovelies to the winner of the giveaway.

So...how...did..I...prepare...mine? The first dish has got to be a super-easy-and tasty right? So will be the second...third...fourth dish - which I have not thought of it yet. Back to my first creation - inspired from a simple Steamed Potato dish I saw over at PigPigsCorner some time ago. Oh yes, of course you heard me right! Steamed Potatoes. S-T-E-A-M-E-D Potatoes!

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