Amaranth Soup

Edible amaranth is a widely used vegetable in Southeast Asia and it is also referred to as Chinese spinach. Other names most commonly used are en choy (Cantonese) and bayam (Indonesian and Malay). When selecting this vegetable, look for young amaranth with stems that snap easily and do not bend. Edible amaranth is also great eaten raw mixed in salads.

Usually, this dish is prepared in a broth made with dried anchovies and shrimp. I like this dish primarily because it is such a clean tasting soup.

Amaranth Soup Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 bundle of edible amaranth
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 3 slices of ginger, julienned
• a small handful of wolfberries
• 3 cups of stock (or water)

Seasoning and oils

• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp mushroom seasoning
• sea salt to taste

Directions

1. In a wok over medium-high heat, heat sesame oil. When oil has heated, stir-fry garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 min.
2. Add stock to wok. When broth begins to simmer, add mushroom seasoning, wolfberries and season with salt.
3. Add amaranth to simmering broth and cover wok allowing it to simmer until amaranth wilts, about 2 mins.
4. Check seasoning and serve immediately.

Serves 2 people.

Mung Bean With Fig Dessert

Mung beans are packed with nutrition and high in dietry fiber. Figs contain good levels of potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and manganese. Dried figs contain twice the amount of calcium compared to whole milk.

Mung Bean With Fig Dessert Recipe

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• 2 cups mung beans
• 8 dried figs
• Brown sugar
• 1.5 ltr filtered water
  

Directions

1. Bring water to boil in a pot
   
2. Boil mung beans and figs over low-medium heat for 1 hour
3. Add brown sugar to taste and boil for another 10 minutes
   

Serves 3-4

Potato Chips

How come no one told me I can make my own potato chips at home? But it's so easy! Thanks to some silly cravings last Sunday afternoon. Making your own chips at home is a lot healthier but still, fried foods are bad so eat sparingly.

Potato Chips Recipe

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• 2 or 3 large potatoes
  

Seasoning and oils

• 250ml oil
• Pepper/ chilly flakes / mixed dry herbs / curry powder / nori flakes
• Fine sea salt

Directions

1. Slice potatoes very thinly or you can use a slicer, put it at once into cold water for 1 hour
2. Dry well
3. Fry in hot oil at 390 degrees F until light golden brown, don't fry too many at one time
   
4. Drain on paper towel or old cloth
5. Add seasonings
   

Ginger Wine Soup With Rice Noodle

This is a quick no fuss meal.

Ginger wine soup with rice noodle recipe

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• 4 stalks of chinese cabbage, sliced
• White crab mushroom
• 1 1/2 inch ginger, stripped (can you tell I love ginger?)
• Rice noodle for 2
• 1 ltr of water

Seasonings and oils

• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp of mushroom seasoning (or any vegetarian stock seasoning)
• salt or Braggs liquid aminos to taste

Directions

1. Boil ginger in water for 10 mins on low heat
2. Add in rice noodle and mushroom and boil until noodle is cooked
3. Add seasonings and oil

Serves 2 people

Stir-fried celery with walnuts

I recently bought too much walnuts. I can be such a sucker for bargains - if you buy nuts in bulk, you can get them for a pretty good deal at the market. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I've been looking for ways to finish them off quick before they begin to get moldy.

This dish would go well with any type of nut. I think roasted cashews would work especially well. As with all stir-fries, it is best served with a bowl of hot rice.

Stir-fried celery with walnuts recipe

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• 3 stalks of celery, sliced into 1" strips
  
• 1 red italian sweet pepper or red bell pepper, sliced
  
• a handful of walnuts
  
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  
• 1/2 cup of water
  

Seasonings and oils

• 2 tbsp sesame oil
  
• 1 tsp of mushroom seasoning (or any vegetarian stock seasoning)
  
• salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
  

Directions

1. Toast walnuts in a pan until fragrant. Set aside.
   
2. In a wok over medium-high flame, heat sesame oil until hot but not smoking.
   
3. Add garlic and toss for a few seconds, then add celery, peppers and walnuts. Toss for 1 minute.
   
4. Add mushroom seasoning, salt and pepper and some water. Toss and allow it to simmer for about a minute, until celery is tender.
   
5. Dish up and serve.
   

Serves 2 people

Sweet potato dessert soup

Even though this is considered a dessert soup, I find myself having it as part of my breakfast or during teatime. It's extremely easy to make and simply good to eat!

I like using brown slab sugar, but if that is not available, rock sugar will work just as well. Back home, mum added a pandan leaf (screwpine leaves) knot in the soup giving it a nice sweet aroma. Osmanthus flowers are a good substitute as pandan is relatively difficult to find outside of Southeast Asia.

Sweet potato dessert soup recipe

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• 1 sweet potato, cut into chunks
• brown slab sugar to preferred taste
• 6 big slices of ginger
• enough water to cover ingredients in a pot
• 1 knotted pandan leaf or 1 tsp of dried osmanthus flowers (optional)
  

Directions

1. Put all ingredients in a pot and cover with water.
2. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.
3. Simmer for 15-20minutes.
4. Serve and enjoy!
   

ABC Soup

Nope, there are no alphabets in this soup. I suppose it has been dubbed ABC soup because it is as simple as ABC to put together. It requires only the most basic of ingredients that every home kitchen has on hand - carrots, onions, potatoes and bones (usually pork ribs).

ABC soup is a staple in most Asian households and a comfort food. When I asked my friend what we should make after a long day of moving to her new apartment, she said, "How about some ABC soup!" As a kid, mum would make a big pot of soup in the morning, we'd eat it for lunch and then as a side with other dishes during dinner.

As there are no pork ribs on this blog, here's a rib-less version that's just as nourishing and just as comforting.

ABC soup recipe

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• 1 carrot
• 1 white onion
• 1 small potato
  
• 1/2 sweet potato
• 1 small tomato
• 1 lily bulb (bai he 百合), seperated (optional)
  
• 1 cup chopped oyster mushrooms
• a knob of ginger
• 3 whole cloves of garlic
  
• Enough water to cover ingredients in a pot

Seasonings

• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped scallions for garnishing
  

Directions

1. Chop vegetables in to chunks.
2. Fill soup pot with water and add in all ingredients.
3. Bring soup to a boil and simmer, covered, for about an hour.
4. Check seasoning and add salt if required.
5. Turn off heat and allow soup to rest a few minutes before serving.
6. Garnish with chopped scallions.
   

Hot and Spicy Crunch

Lemon grass, galangal root and lime leaves, the trio of flavors is the most favored ingredient in Thai cooking. Though lemon grass is easy to find, galangal root and lime leaves are not so easy. They can be substituted with ginger root and lime juice.

Hot and Spicy Crunch Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 baby corn sliced
• 4 water chesnut peeled and quartered
• 1/2 carrot cut into strips
• 10 green pea pod halved
  
• 3 kaffir lime leaf daun jeruk
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

Chillie Paste
If using mortar and pestle, pound Group A till ingredients are mushy then add Group B and pound until smooth.

• 2 tablespoon grapeseed oil or any cooking oil of your choice

(Group A)

• 4 fresh large chillies
• 1 inch galangal lengkuas
• 1 inch ginger root
• 2 sticks lemongrass serai
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• Salt to taste

(Group B)

• 5 cloves garlic
• 5 small shallots

Directions

1. Pound the chillie paste ingredients with a mortar and pestle till soft. Alternatively you can use a blender but it's not going to give you that juicy, elegantly textured and flavorful paste compared to the good old granite.
2. In a wok or a small, heavy skillet, dry-fry the chilie paste over medium-low heat until they darken and become fragrant, 3 mins, stir frequently.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients in and stir fry for a further 5 mins. Dish out into a black claypot and serve with steamed fragrant Siamese rice.

Serves 2 - 3 person

White bean stew with burdock

At the grocery store the other day, the produce guy was bailing out stalks and stalks of burdock which was on sale. I bought several stalks because I just can't resist a freshly stacked pile of anything that might be good. I got home and unloaded the burdock on the counter and realised I had no idea what to do with this root vegetable.

I've heard of burdock before. I knew it was used in Chinese cooking and I've probably had it when my mum makes her herbal concoctions for me, but I've never cooked with it before. A quick look on wikipedia revealed that burdock has many medicinal properties and is widely used in Asian cooking.

The most obvious solution for me was to put it in a stew and it worked out well. The burdock gave my stew an Asian flair and added sweetness to the broth. Great served on a cold day with a big piece of crusty bread.

White Bean Stew with Burdock Recipe

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• 1 cup of white beans
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 small potato, diced
• 1 small carrot, diced
• 1 cup of leek, sliced
• 1 cup burdock, diced
• 1/2 head of cabbage, shredded
• 3-4 cups of stock
• Toasted pine nuts to garnish (or you could use grated cheese)

Seasoning and oils

• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp ghee (optional)
• crushed red pepper flakes for garnishing
  
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. The night before, soak white beans in a bowl of lukewarm water overnight.
   
2. In a soup pot, heat oil over medium low heat and saute onions until slightly translucent. Add diced potatoes and ginger. Continue to cook until onions have caramalized and potatoes are browned.
3. Add soaked white beans, carrots, leek, burdock and give a good stir. Then add stock, bay leaf and some salt and pepper . Cover pot and let it simmer until beans are tender. About 1 - 1.5 hours.
4. When beans are about done, add cabbage and check the seasoning. Allow to simmer for 15 more mins. Turn off heat and let the stew rest for about 20 mins before serving.

Serves 2 - 4 people

Oatmeal

Oatmeal. I hate it.

But what they say about oatmeal is true - good for the heart and soul, a good start for a good morning. Besides, a small bowl of oatmeal is just a tiny sacrifice to the delights that await me during lunch and dinner! Little bowl of oatmeal, I think I can handle you.

I prefer my oatmeal with a bite and topped with a party of toasted nuts, seeds, dried fruit and a drizzle of flax seed oil.