Happy New Year 2015

*This is a scheduled post while I am still away vacationing*

I am still not back from my winter holidays, so, here's a scheduled post of simple warm wishes to all my beloved followers and readers.

Till then, see you soon in a better year of 2015!

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Seasons Greetings and Sincere Warm Wishes From Me To You

It's that time of the year again and I hope that this Christmas will bring you a cheerful ending to the year and a great beginning to a happy new one.

It's the time of eggnog, candles, cakes, songs, reindeer, carols, laughter – and most importantly LOVE. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

For your info, I will be away and be back after New Year. Till then, Wishing you all the best this New Year with all that you set out to achieve!!

from

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Easy Peasy Homemade Crispy Roast Pork Belly 脆皮烧肉 using Happy Call Pan

Roast pork belly or 烧肉 (sau rou) is in fact not that difficult to prepare.  Almost everyone can achieve it if you can get the right technique.  You can either use oven, non-stick pan or any of your preferred pan.  As for me, I used Happy Call Pan. To me, searing roast pork using Happy Call pan is a breeze.... no splattering of oil and cleaning the pan is also hassle free!

I adapted this simple homemade 脆皮烧肉 from Agnes Chang's Cookbook 'Let's Eat'.  However, instead of using oven for roasting, I used my treasured Happy Call Pan.  No regrets and I strongly recommend you to use HPC if you have one at home.  

Crispy Roast Pork Belly 脆皮烧肉

Marinade adapted from Let's Eat pg 24 (my modification in red)

- 1.3kg (600gm) pork belly with skin (whole block)

- 1 tsp cooking oil

Marinade (mixed)

- 3pcs (1/2 pc) fermented bean curd (nam yee) - mashed

- 1 tsp (2 tsp) five spice powder

- 2 tbsp chopped garlic (1 tsp garlic powder)

- 2 tbsp chopped shallots (I omitted)

- 1 tsp pepper

- 2 tbsp (1 tbsp) vinegar (for rubbing the skin)

- 3 tbsp (1 tsp) salt for rubbing the skin

Method :

1)  Wipe skin with kitchen towel to remove any water.  Then, using a sharp pin holder or knife, poke the skin all over as shown above.

2)  Rub vinegar all over the skin and followed by salt.

3)  Then, rub marinade all over the meat.  

4)  Leave the marinated meat in a covered container overnight in the refrigerator.

5)  Remove marinated meat from the refrigerator.  Sprinkle and rub some five spice powder onto the meat.  I prefer extra five spice powder for that extra ommph flavor!

5)  Heat 1 tsp cooking oil in your HPC.  Place marinated pork belly on the HPC with the skin side up.  Close the lid and cook over medium heat until cooked.  Do the same to the skin and all four sides of the meat.

6)  Remove  from HPC and leave it aside to cool completely.

 

 7)  Using a sharp knife, chop it into your preferred serving size.

The meat is tender and juicy

 and the skin is crispy and crunchy

Give this a try and you will be surprised that your homemade roast pork belly is in fact better than those store bought ones.

Happy Trying and hope you have an enjoyable week :)

I am linking this post with Cook-Your-Books #19 @ kitchen flavours

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Dhaniya Chicken

You can't beat the aroma of dhania or coriander leaves in the winters :)
So here's a recipe that you can enjoy for dinner.

Its healthy and is low on calories.

Ingredients:

700gms Chicken
3tsp garlic paste
3tsp ginger paste
1cup sliced onions
1/2 cup curd
4tsp kasoori meethi
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
3 tsp chicken masala
salt to taste

Method:

1. Marinate chicken with ginger, garlic paste, curd and salt and keep for about 2 hours

2. Heat about 2tsp of oil in a non stick pan and fry the onions

3. After the onions turn golden brown, add chopped tomatoes and fry them

4. Add the marinated chicken
5. Also add the kasoori meethi,salt and chicken powder and fry till oil starts separating from the masala

6. Add about 1 cup of water and let the chicken cook in the gravy

7.  Add chopped coriander leaves and garnish

Mixed Raita

The best accompaniment to any meal is a nice preparation of raita. It is one meal which not only quick and healthy, but never fails to impress you.

Just chop some vegetables and whisk with yoghurt. Your healthy and spicy raita is ready to serve.

Ingredients:

1 cup sliced cucumber
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup sliced tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped coriander
2 cups whisked yoghurt
3 tsp chaat masala
2tsp pepper powde
3 tsp black salt
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Whish yoghurt and keep aside

2. Add the chopped vegetables to the whisked yoghurt

3. Add chaat masala, pepper powder, black salt and salt to the mixture

4. Add chopped coriander

The raita is now ready to serve.

You can also grate the cucumber before adding to the yoghurt. However, I prefer my raita crunchy.

Pan-Seared Norwegian Blue Mackerel with Fresh Passion Fruit Sauce

To me, passion fruit is one of the most delicious fruits on earth  The round to oval, either yellow or dark purple at maturity, makes this exotic fruit even unique is that they come in their own little pods. The fruit is soft to firm, its juicy interior is loaded with seeds which are nutritious.  Passion fruit is known for its sweet aroma and flavor.  The seeds are crunchy and edible, besides being juiced and added to other fruit juices or desserts as flavor enhancer.

Health benefits of passion fruit :

1) The fruit is a very good source of dietary fiber.

2)   Passion fruit is good in vitamin C, providing about 30 mg per 100 g. Vitamin-C (ascorbic acid) is a powerful water soluble anti-oxidant. Consumption of fruits rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against flu-like infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.

3)   The fruit contains very good levels of vitamin-A (provides about 1274 IU per 100 g), and flavonoid antioxidants such as β-carotene and cryptoxanthin-β. Current research studies suggest that these compounds have antioxidant properties, and along with vitamin A are essential for good eye-sight.

4)   Vitamin A is also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin-A, and flavonoids may helps to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

5)   Fresh passion fruit is very rich in potassium. 100 g fruit pulp has about 348 mg of potassium. Potassium is an important component of cells and body fluids, and helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure.

6)   Furthermore, granadilla is a very good source of minerals. Iron, copper, magnesium and phosphorus are present in adequate amounts in the fruit.
Source : http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/passion-fruit.html

This time, instead of eating passion fruit fresh or juiced, I decided to use this homegrown passion fruit (which is 100% organic!!!) as sauce for  fish.  In fact, passion fruit juice is a perfect substitute for lemon juice when baking or cooking is concerned.  Both juices work well but passion fruit add an extra aroma and flavor to your dish.

Pan-Seared Norwegian Blue Mackerel with Sweet Sourish Passion Fruit
Ingredients :
- 3 Norwegian Blue Mackerel fillets (marinated for 30 minutes)
- 1 tbsp butter
- some Teriyaki Sauce (to taste)
Marinade : (to taste)
- salt (to taste)
- 1 tbsp fresh passion fruit juice (press the pulp against a fine sieve to get the juice)
- 1 tsp ginger wine
Sauce : (to taste) - mix all and set aside
- 2 fresh passion fruits (halved, pulp and seeds scooped into a bowl)
- 1 tsp honey or sugar
- 1 tbsp ginger wine (or more)

Method :
1)  Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a non-stick pan (I used Happy Call Pan).
2)  Add 3 pieces mackerel, skin side up, and closed.  Pan fry over medium heat. Turn when the fish is slightly brown.
3)  Spread some passion fruit sauce on top of the fish.  Close and cook through until golden brown.
4)  Turn off the heat and drizzle some Teriyaki sauce on both sides.
5)  Transfer to a plate and pour the balance of mixed fresh passion fruit sauce over the fish.
6)  Serve warm.

This fruity sweet and sourish passion fruit sauce is a perfect complement to the pan-seared blue mackerel

The added ginger wine gives the sauce a very refreshing and mild gingery flavor and aroma

~A delightful dish for my beloved friends~ 

You might also be interested in this :

Pan-Friend Norwegian Blue Mackerel with Apple Sauce

Simple Pan Fried Norwegian Blue Mackerel with Pandan Leaves (Screwpines)

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Winter is here - keep your body ready !!

It is that time of the year again when hot steaming cups of coffee and a nice warm blanket looks very inviting. Yes, its winter again. Though we all love the respite from the hot and sultry weather, winter brings along a scurry of health problems along with it.

Its a time when half the population around you is coughing or sneezing. Infections spread easily and can throw your health completely out of gear.

So, here are some simple tips for staying healthy. If incorporated in our daily regime, it can go a long way in a healthy and happy winter season.

1. Include more fruits and green leafy vegetables in your diet: Winter brings along a variety of fruits and vegetables. Be innovative and include them in your daily diet. Fruits rich in Vitamin C are a must, especially oranges.

2. Drink more water: We invariably tend to decrease our water intake during winetrs as compared to the summer months. Make sure to drink atleast 6-7 glasses of water daily.

3. Gargle every morning with warm water: This is absolutely essential given the fact that people catch a cold very fast this season. So gargling with salt water every morning is just a precaution to flush out any anti bodies that might have accumulated in your system

4. Keep yourself warm: Well, this you can do in style ;) try lovely winter jackets and sweaters. Bring out those lovely stoles and keep yourself warm. This will prevent you from catching a cold

5. Replace those coffee cravings with healthier green tea: While we understand the constant urge to sip on hot coffee, it is great if you could keep the temptation away and try green tea. Put in a piece of ginger while boiling and the heavenly flavour will beat your craving your coffee. Read up on the benefits of geen tea and you will be satisfies you made the choice of sipping on green tea instaed of coffee. There can be a separate post itself on the benefits of ginger green tea :P

6. Sip on anything warm to keep your system warm and happy: This is the season of soups and stews. Go into the kitchen and innovate and you might surprise yourself with the variety that you can come up with in terms of soups and stews.

7. Exercise: Be it summers, winters or the spring, exercise never lets you down. So continue your regular regime. Though it gets a little difficult to leave home during winters as you feel lethargic, don't miss out on going for a walk in the lovely afternoon sun. Those will be memories to keep all your life

8. Eat Healthy: Like exercise, this is one habit you must never dump. Winters are usually the season when we tend to indulge our taste buds but go slow on yor diet. Healthy food can be tasty too. Try cooking up healthier versions of your favourite food. A healthy diet will keep you happy, both inside and out

9. Follow basic hygiene: With people sneezing and coughing all around you, it sometimes becomes very difficult to keep infections at bay even with the best possible precautions that you take. Therefore, it is important to wash your hands regularly with a medicated handwash. Never forget to carry your hand sanitizer wherever you go. It comes in especially handy when you are outdoors meeting people.