Vegetarian Siew Mai (Open Face Dumpling)

This is a vegetarian version of ‘Siew Mai” - small steamed dumplings with pork inside a thin wheat flour wrapper. In this recipe, I am using the ready made wonton skin wrapper instead of making the wheat flour wrapper. The filling is actually the same that I used for the rice noodle parcel and soon kueh, only it is much finer. These vegetarian dim sum are the recreation of what I had tasted, it might not be exactly the same but quite close. In fact, it is quite fun and easy to make!

Preparation: 25 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (makes 12)
° 12 pieces wonton skin
° 150g yam bean, peeled and finely shredded/grated
° 25g carrot, peeled and finely shredded/grated
° 10 dried black fungus shreds, soaked and chopped
° 2 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked and finely sliced
° 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
° 60ml water
° ½ teaspoon sugar
° ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° 1 teaspoon light soy sauce, or to taste
° pepper, to taste
° few drops sesame oil
° 1 teaspoon corn flour, mixed with 1 tablespoon water

Method

To prepare filling
1. Heat oil in a wok. Add in the ginger and fry till fragrant. Throw in yam bean, carrot, black fungus, mushroom and stir-fry briskly. Add the water, salt, sugar, light soy sauce and pepper. Stir fry over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring occasionally and simmer until the vegetables is tender and slightly dry.
2. Stir in the corn flour mixture to thicken the sauce and give it one last stir fry. Season with sesame oil.
3. Transfer to a dish and let it cool.

To wrap siew mai
1. Place a piece of wonton skin in a small container (disposable plastic chilli container for takeaway). Fill with 1 to 1½ teaspoons of filling, giving it a little press and cutting off any protruding wonton skin. Remove from the container and place on a well-greased heat proof plate.
2. Alternatively, cut off the four corner of the wonton skin. Place 1 to 1½ teaspoons of filling in the middle and enclose with the wonton skin, with the top left uncovered. Flatten the base of the siew mai and place on a well-greased heat proof plate.

To steam siew mai
1. Steam for 5 minutes and remove from the streamer.
2. Serve warm.

Vegetarian Streamed “Cheung Fun” (Rice Noodle Parcel)

This is a vegetarian version of ‘Har Cheung Fun” – smooth rice noodle sheets rolled around prawns. In this recipe, it is using rice noodle rolls to wrap with stir-fried vegetables and doused with light soy sauce or sweetened soy sauce. The fresh plain rice noodle rolls (zhu chang fen) can be purchased from the wet market, but handle with extra care as to avoid breaking them. You may want to consider buy some spares, just in case.

Preparation: 20 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (makes 8)
° 2 pieces fresh rice noodle rolls
° 200g yam bean, peeled and shredded
° 25g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 5g dried black fungus shreds, soaked
° 3 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked and finely sliced
° 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
° 80ml water
° ½ teaspoon sugar
° ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° 2 teaspoons light soy sauce, or to taste
° pepper, to taste
° 1 teaspoon corn flour, mixed with 1 tablespoon water

Method

To prepare filling
1. Heat oil in a wok. Add in the ginger and fry till fragrant. Throw in yam bean, carrot, black fungus, mushroom and stir-fry briskly. Add the water, salt, sugar, light soy sauce and pepper. Stir fry over high heat for 1 minute, stirring occasionally and simmer until the vegetables is tender and slightly dry.
2. Stir in the corn flour mixture to thicken the sauce and give it one last stir fry.
3. Transfer to a dish and let it cool.

To wrap rice noodle parcel
1. Unroll the rice noodle roll very gently to avoid breaking and cut into 4 sheets.
2. Place one square piece of rice noodle sheet in front of you. Place ¾ to 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle and fold up to form a rectangle parcel. Arrange on a well-greased heat proof plate.

To steam rice noodle parcel
1. Steam for 5-8 minutes and remove from the streamer.
2. Serve warm.

Nonya Kueh: Kueh Kosui (Palm Sugar Rice Cake)

Another popular dessert – kueh kosui which is palm sugar rice cake streamed in chinese tea cups and coated with fresh grated coconut. Alternatively, stream this kueh in a metal container or tin and cut into small pieces. You may like to insert a toothpick into the streamed cake to test whether it is ready. If it comes out clean, off the fire and leave it to cool completely prior to mixing with coconut.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 25 mins

Ingredients (makes 30± cubes)
° 200g fresh grated coconut
° a pinch of salt

Syrup
° 125g gula melaka (palm sugar), chopped
° 200g black sugar
° 5 pandan leaves (screwpine), tie in knot

Mixture
° 100g tapioca flour
° 200g rice flour
° 350ml water
° 1 teaspoon alkaline water

Method
1. To make syrup: combine the syrup ingredients in a bowl and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally. Strained and set aside.
2. Combine the mixture ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir in the syrup and mix well.
3. Transfer to a pot, cooked over low heat and stir constantly until the mixture slightly thickens.
4. Grease a tin with oil and pour in the thicken mixture. Stream for 15 minutes or until it slightly harden and leaves to cool completely prior to cutting into small cubes.
5. Mix the grated coconut with a pinch of salt in a large plate. Roll the kueh kosui and ensure they are evenly coated with grated coconut.
6. Sprinkle some grated coconut and serve.

Simple Stir-Fried Soybean Sprout

I just love the crunchiness of the soybean sprouts and it does not require lots of ingredients to cook this dish. Real simple, just ginger, chilli and salt! Just remember, not to stir fry too long, if not it will lost its crunchiness. Soybean sprout which look like gigantic mung bean sprout is rich in vitamin A, B and C and can be eaten raw. The only problem here, soybean sprout is not that easily available in supermarket or wet market.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 250g soybean sprout, tailed
° ½ fresh red chilli, seeded and coarsely chopped
° 2 slices ginger, finely chopped
° ¾ tablespoon vegetable oil
° salt, to taste

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Add the soybean sprout and stir-fry briskly for 1½ -2 minutes. Throw in the chilli and season to taste with salt.
3. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Agedashi Tofu

A simple yet scrumptious dish where the soft tofu is coated with corn flour or potato starch and deep-fried briefly. For the sauce, I have substitute the ingredients with those we can commonly find in our kitchen rather than using the shoyu(Japanese soy sauce), sake and mirin. Grated daikon is called for in this dish but I have totally omitted it to make the recipe simpler to cook. Add grated daikon, if desired (sauce on the right side of the photo with daikon added).

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 1 (300g) pack silken tofu
° corn flour or potato starch, for coating
° oil, for deep-frying
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional), for deep-frying
° finely shredded spring onion, for garnish
° 2 thin slices ginger, finely chopped

Sauce
° 30ml water or dashi stock
° 1 teaspoon sugar
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
° 5ml cooking rice wine

Method
1. To extract excess moisture of the tofu, wrap with a clean tea towel and place a plate on top of the tofu. Leave for about 15 minutes. Remove tofu from the towel, cut into 8 or 16 pieces and lightly coat the tofu with corn flour or potato starch.
2. Heat oil and sesame oil in a deep-fryer or wok over high heat or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil brown in few seconds. Deep fry tofu until lightly golden brown. Remove the tofu with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper.
3. To make the sauce: add 30ml water with sugar in a pot and bring to a boil. Stir in cooking rice wine, light soy sauce and ginger.
4. Transfer the tofu to a serving plate and garnish spring onion. Drizzle the sauce over the tofu or serve as dipping sauce. Serve immediately.

Ginger and Red Date Tea

Unless you are allergic to ginger, if not this is a real good tea. Ginger promotes perspiration and this is a way of detoxification. And not forgetting red date, which is well known for strengthening the functions of heart and lung .It also help to increase blood flow and oxygen to the brain to improve memory and promote clear thinking. The amount of ginger and red date is personal preference, it can be altered to suit your taste.

Preparation: 3 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 50g fresh ginger, peeled and bruised
° 12 red dates
° 750ml water
° 30g-40g rock sugar, or to taste

Method
1. To make the drink, put all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot or warm.

Udon Noodle Soup

This udon noodle soup usually uses dashi broth (consist of konbu - kelps and katsuobushi - dried bonito flakes) and topped with tempura fritter. In here, this recipe utilizes the kelps and mushrooms to make the dashi soup base. Just add some vegetables tempura or agedashi tofu, if desired.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 8 dried kelps in knot
° 4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced or halved
° 2 thin slices ginger
° 750ml water, for soup base
° 1 teaspoon sugar
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° 30ml shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) or light soy sauce, or to taste
° 30ml mirin or 10ml cooking rice wine
° 750ml water, for cooking udon
° 2 packs (400g) udon noodle
° finely shredded spring onion, for garnish
° shichimi togarashi (optional), to serve

Method
1. Place the dried kelps, mushroom, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add in sugar, salt, shoyu, and mirin and simmer for 1 minute.
2. Meanwhile, place the udon in a pot or wok of lightly salted boiling water and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain the noodle thoroughly and divide among 2 individual serving bowls. Garnish with spring onion.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls, sprinkle with spring onion, shichimi togarashi and serve immediately.

Tip
1. Substitute shichimi togarashi(seven-spice mix) with chilli powder and a few lightly toasted black and white sesame seeds, if desired.

Lemon and Lime Juice

A cool and refreshing drink! Serve with a tall glass and garnish with a slice of lemon.

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 3 kalamansi limes, freshly squeezed
° ½ lemon, freshly squeezed
° 1 preserved sweet prune
° 250ml water
° sugar, to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a glass and mix well. Chilled or serve with ice.

Papaya Soy Milk Shake

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 100g papaya, peeled and chopped
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

A Special Tea: Pandan Tea

This was my dad’s favourite tea. It is real simple to make and you can enjoy a cup of tea imbued with sweet-taste and aroma of natural pandan leaves (screwpine), in a few minutes. Give it a try and surprise other with this special cup of tea.

Preparation: 2 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 500ml water
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 1 tea bag
° sugar, to taste

Method
1. Put the pandan leaves in a pot or kettle and bring to a boil.
2. Place the tea bag in a teapot and pour the boiling water into the teapot. Let it steeps for 1-2 minutes and remove the teabag.
3. To serve, pour the tea into individual cup and add sugar as desired.

Simple Vegetable Fried Rice Vermicelli

A simple and easy fried “white” rice vermicelli with lots of vegetables added and yet not too overwhelming. The amount of oil used is minimal, there is a need to add 1-2 tablespoons of water for easy tossing if the rice vermicelli is too dry. Serve with pickled green chilli or fresh sliced chilli.

Preparation: 8 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 300g cooked rice vermicelli
° 150g-175g beijing cabbage, shredded
° 20g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
° 5-10g dried shredded black fungus (wood ear), soaked
° 1 slice ginger or 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
° 1 – l ½ tablespoons olive oil
° ¼ teaspoon salt
° pepper, to taste
° 3-4 tablespoons light soy sauce, or to taste
° ½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok, fry the ginger or garlic for half a minute or until fragrant.
2. Add the carrot, mushrooms, black fungus, cabbage and stir fry over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Throw in the rice vermicelli, add the light soy sauce, sesame oil and toss gently to mix over low heat. Sprinkle some water for easier tossing, if needed.
4. Dish up and serve immediately.

Nonya Kueh: Pulut Inti (Glutinous Rice with Caramelized Coconut Topping)

The process of making this kueh can be simplified by using the rice cooker instead of steaming the glutinous rice. To make the filling, it is fairly simple and need no expert. Just get some fresh grated coconut and good quality gula melaka, you will have a tasty filling. Traditionally, the blue coloured rice is the result of using the extract of the blue pea flower. In here, I used food colouring. A better alternative is to use fresh pandan juice to cook the glutinous rice.

As for how to wrap this kueh, it is up to individual, using banana leave or plastic to wrap, or stack on a tiny square piece of banana leave. Another way is, use the plastic bag (15.5cm x 10cm), made a slit on one side, open it up to form a cone, place the coconut filling first, follow by the glutinous rice, pressed it and wrapped it like a little present! It is yummy but do not eat too much if you are watching your weight (I have reduced half the amount of coconut milk and replaced with water in this recipe!).

Preparation: 15 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (makes 16)
° 400g glutinous rice
° 200ml water
° 200ml coconut milk
° ½ teaspoon salt
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° blue food colouring (optional)
° banana leaves or plastic wrappers, cut into 12cm x 15cm rectangle

Filling
° 80ml water
° 125g gula malaka (palm sugar), chopped
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 150g fresh grated coconut

Method
1. Wash the glutinous rice and place in a bowl with enough water to cover. Leave to soak for 4 hours or more. Drain thoroughly.
2. Place the glutinous rice, water, coconut, salt and pandan leaves into an electric rice cooker, mix well and turn it on. When done, leave the cooked rice to rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Sprinkle some blue food colouring and mix well.
3. To make filling: combine pandan leaves, chopped gula melaka with water in a small pot and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Discard pandan leaves and add in the grated coconut. Mix well, stir occasionally and simmer until the liquid dry up.
4. To assemble: Place 1 tablespoon of glutinous rice in the middle of a plastic wrapper and top with 1 teaspoon of caramelized coconut filling and fold into a pyramid shape.
5. Serve warm.

Nonya Kueh: Onde Onde (Coconut Popper)

When I was a little girl, my mother used to buy me onde onde when she went shopping in Johor Bahru. I just love the big size onde onde, with a second bite, there would be a sweet sensation of oozing gula melaka syrup! It is a bit difficult to find it nowadays, so I decide to make some myself using this simple recipe and gives away some. It is fun and easy to make.

Preparation: 20 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (makes 20)
° 350g glutinous rice flour
° 300ml water
° 12-15 pandan leaves (screwpine) or green food colour and essence
° 100g-120g gula melaka (palm sugar), cut into 20 cubes
° 200g fresh grated coconut
° a pinch of salt

Method
1. To make pandan leaves juice: chopped the pandan leaves, with 50ml of water and blend to a grassy pulp. Squeeze the pulp in muslin cloth for the green juice. Ensure that the juice combine with the water make up to 300ml or slightly less.
2. Combine the flour and water (with pandan juice) in a mixing bowl. Mix well, knead into dough and divide into 20 equal portions.
3. Flatten each portion, place a cube of gula melaka in the centre and shape into a ball. It does not matter, if it is not too rounded. Alternatively, shape each portion into a ball, make a well and place a cube of gula melake in it, seal and reshape it into a ball.
4. Bring 1 litre of water to boil. Add in the dough balls and return to boil. Remove dough balls with a slotted spoon as soon as they float to the surface.
5. Mix the grated coconut with a pinch of salt in a large plate. Roll the cooked onde onde and ensure they are evenly coated with grated coconut.
6. Serve warm.

Simple Vegetable Fried Noodle

A simple fried noodle dish using just French beans, mushroom and carrot! It looks colourful and sprinkle some roasted black and white sesame seeds on it if desired.

Preparation: 8 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g hokkien mee, blanched and drained well
° 100g French beans, trimmed and cut into 5cm section
° 25g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
° 1 slice ginger (optional), finely chopped
° salt, to taste
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, or to taste

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok or pot, fry the ginger for half a minute or until fragrant.
2. Add the French beans, carrot, mushrooms and stir fry over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Throw in the noodle, add the light soy sauce and toss gently to mix over low heat. Sprinkle some water for easier tossing, if needed.

4. Dish up and serve immediately.

Taro and Ginkgo Nut Congee

It is just a bowl of plain and simple congee which I love once in a while. I have omitted using seasoning, if this lacks the touch of sweetness or intensity, you might prefer to add a pinch of your favourite seasoning. Alternatively, you can use a bit more sesame oil or light soy sauce and pepper.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 30 mins, plus 30 mins standing time

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g rice, washed and drained
° 15 ginkgo nuts, halved
° 60g taro, peeled and diced
° 20g beancurd sheet, washed and shredded
° 1.2 litres water
° 1 thin slice ginger (optional),
° salt, to taste
° light soy sauce, to taste
° sesame oil, to taste
° pepper, to taste
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Put the rice, taro, ginkgo nuts, beancurd sheet, ginger, mushrooms and water in a claypot or pot. Let it stands for 1 hour or more, if desired.
2. Bring the congee to a boil for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and leave it to stands for 30 minutes or more. Re-boil the congee for few minutes prior to serving. To thicken the congee, mix 1-2 tablespoons of glutinous rice flour with 4 tablespoons of water and stir into the congee, if desired. Season with salt, light soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper.
3. Ladle the congee into individual serving bowls, garnish with corianders leaves and serve hot.

Stuffed Beancurd Puff

This is improvised from Hakka Yong Tau Foo. Instead of using beancurd puff, you may also use vegetables, chilli, bitter gourd, okra, eggplants etc, if desired. However, steaming would be a better choice compared to cooking in boiling water. If you like to add these stuffed beancurds to soupy dishes like soup and laksa, you may opt to bake them instead of steaming. As for the sauce, I had omitted the usual way of heating the pot with oil, stir-fried the shallot or ginger, to reduce work and oil consumption.

Preparation: 15 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (makes 6-8 pieces)
° 6-8 beancurd puffs, make an incision on 2 sides
° 1 small firm tofu (beancurd), washed, pat dry with kitchen paper and mashed
° 1 shiitake mushroom, chopped
° 1 slice vegetarian ham (optional), chopped
° 20g carrot, peeled and chopped
° 2 sprigs spring onions or coriander leaves, chopped
° ½ fresh chilli (optional), seeded and chopped
° 1 tablespoon self-raising flour
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil
° salt, to taste
° pepper, to taste

Sauce
° 125ml water
° 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce
° 1 teaspoon corn flour
° 1 slice ginger (optional), finely chopped
° pepper (optional), to taste
° a small handful spring onions or coriander leaves (optional), chopped
° ¼ fresh chilli (optional), seeded and chopped

Method
1. To make the filling: combine the mashed tofu, vegetarian ham, mushroom, carrot, spring onion/coriander leaves, chilli, flour, sesame oil, salt, pepper and mix well.
2. Scoop a tablespoon of filling and stuff into the beancurd puff pocket.
3. Arrange the stuffed beancurd on a heat-proof plate and steam for 5-8 minutes.
4. To make the sauce: mix all the sauce ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Drizzle over the cooked beancurd puff and serve immediately.

Pickled Green Papaya

Oops, my green papaya going to turn orange soon !

Wow, this is so crunchy, that you can heard the sound when you bit on it. It tastes like the tidbit that I used to eat when I was in primary – yellow sour papaya, which we can just buy from the tidbit vendor on the bike outside the school. Maybe, I am using real unripe green papaya, it is not yellow but whitish green in colour.

Preparation: 8 minutes

Ingredients
° 400g green papaya, peeled, seeded and sliced
° 160ml white rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar
° 80-100g sugar

Method
1. Combine all ingredients in a glass container, mix well and leave to stand for 24 hours prior to serving. It can be kept for few weeks in a cool place.

Strawberry & Grape Soy Milk Shake

Preparation: 5 minutes

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 100g strawberries, sliced
° 100g seedless grapes
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

One-Pot Tom Yum Rice

I was a bit lazy yesterday and wanted only minimal washing. Instead of cooking Tom Yum Fried Rice, I just combined all ingredients in the rice cooker and it is done within 15 minutes. If you like to add some frozen mixed vegetables, just throw in after the rice is cooked. Alternatively, blanch the frozen mixed vegetables and mix with the rice prior to serving.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g rice, washed and drained
° 400ml water
° 1 stalk lemongrass, peel off outer layers leaving tender whitish centre, cut out 5cm, bruised
° 4-6 kaffir lime leaves
° 100g king oyster mushrooms, sliced
° 6 straw mushrooms or button mushroom, sliced
° 1 teaspoon olive oil
° 1 thin slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon vegetarian tom yum paste
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, or to taste
° ¼ teaspoon sugar (optional)
° ½ fresh red chilli (optional) , finely shredded
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients into an electric rice cooker, mix well and turn it on.
2. When done, leave the cooked rice to rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and discard lemongrass, lime leaves.
3. Garnish with red chilli, coriander leaves and serve hot.

Strawberry & Banana Soy Milk Shake

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 1 banana, peeled
° 100g strawberries, sliced
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Watermelon & Strawberry Soy Milk Shake

Preparation: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 100g watermelon, peeled and chopped
° 100g strawberries, sliced
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Strawberry Soy Milk Shake

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 150g strawberries, sliced
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Spicy Tom Yum Fried Glass Noodle

Tom Yum Fried Glass Noodle, anybody? If you like spicy food with a little sour, this is a yummy dish that suits your palate. Rice Vermicelli or Beehoon can be used instead, if desired.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 6 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g bean vermicelli, boiled and drained
° 1 stalk lemongrass, peel off outer layers leaving tender whitish centre, cut out 5cm, bruised
° 4-6 kaffir lime leaves
° 100g king oyster mushrooms, sliced
° 6 straw mushrooms or button mushroom, sliced
° 1½- 2 tablespoons olive oil
° 1 thin slice ginger, finely chopped
° 2 tablespoons vegetarian tom yum paste
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, or to taste
° 1 tablespoon (2 limes) freshly squeezed kalamansi lime juice (optional)
° ½ fresh red chilli (optional) , finely shredded
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves (optional), for garnish

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the ginger and lemongrass fry till fragrant. Stir in the tom yum paste and fry for less than ½ minute.
2. Add the lime leaves, mushrooms, bean vermicelli and fry for 1-2 minutes
3. Season with light soy sauce, lime juice and toss well. Sprinkle some water if it is too dry.
4. Mix in the chilli, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Steamed Banana Cake

Steamed banana cake usually calls for rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar and salt. I have a packet of waffle pancake mix (‘Red Man’ brand) and some ripe bananas. So, I make some steamed banana cake.

It is extremely simple and easy, as the pancake premix contains most of the ingredients, I just need to add water, coconut milk and mashed banana. To make the cake look nicer, you may add some yellow colouring, but I choose not to. You may even garnish with some desiccated coconut if desired.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients (makes 8-10 pieces)
° 200g waffle-pancake mix
° 100ml water
° 100ml coconut milk or fresh unsweetened soy milk
° 2 (300g) ripe bananas, mashed

Method
1. Combine the mashed banana, flour, water, coconut milk in bowl. Mix well.
2. Grease a heat-proof ware, pour in the cake mixture and cover with plastic wrap or banana leave on top.
3. Steam for 25-30 minutes or until it is springy. Set aside to cool and cut into small squares.
4. Serve smaller serving.

Quick Noodle Soup

This is a quick and simple noodle soup. You may use corn on the cob, carrot, potatoes or cabbage to make the stock. Corn on the cob can be reserved for a snack and the potatoes can be used to make potatoes salad. As for the noodle, you can opt to have bean vermicelli (glass noodle), rice vermicelli (beehoon), rice noodle (kway teow), mee thye mak or even udon.

For a much more simplified version, use just ginger, vegetarian fishballs and ginger for the soup base. It tastes good too, as the preserved salted vegetable and light soy sauce will impart some flavour to the soup.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g hokkien mee, blanched

° 100g beanspouts, tailed and blanched

° 1 tablespoon preserved salted vegetable (Tong Chai)

° few chinese lettuce leaves (optional)

° finely shredded spring onion or coriander leaves, for garnish

° 1 fresh red chilli or chilli padi, sliced

Soup Base

° 1 litre water
° 4 vegetarian fishballs
° 1 thin slice ginger

° 1 carrot, peeled and cut into small chunk

° 1 potato, peeled and cut into small chunk size

° 1 corn on the cob, halved
° salt, to taste
° light soy sauce, to taste

° pepper, to taste

Method
1. To make the quick stock: place the carrot, corn, potato, ginger, vegetarian fishballs and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Removed the carrot, corn, potato and ginger. Alternatively for a even simplified soup, just place water, ginger and vegetarian fishballs in a pot and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt, light soy sauce and pepper.

2. Divide the noodles, beanspouts, preserved salted vegetable, lettuce leaves among 2 individual serving bowls. Garnish with spring onion or coriander leaves.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve with a small plate of sliced red chilli with light soy sauce.

Watermelon & Grape Soy Milk Shake

Preparation: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 100g watermelon, peeled and chopped
° 15 seedless grapes
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Vegetarian Thai Green Curry

Vegetarian Thai Green Curry (using Soy Milk)

By using commercial curry paste, making a pot of curry can be so simple. For this Thai Green Curry recipe, you may use other vegetables such as cauliflower, okra, carrot. I have reduced the amount of coconut milk used by diluting with water. Alternatively, you might use fresh soy milk to replace the coconut milk, if desired. For this quick curry, I had omitted the stir-fry of the curry paste and it is pretty easy to cook and taste good.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 250ml fresh coconut milk or soy milk
° 2 tablespoons “Earthen Pot” green curry paste, or to taste
° 125ml water
° 100g eggplants(aubergine), cut into bite-sized pieces
° 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
° 100g bamboo shoot, sliced
° 2 small firm tofu(beancurd), cut into cubes and deep-fried
° 4 young corns, halved
° 2 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
° 1 fresh green chilli, seeded and cut into large pieces
° 1 fresh red chilli, seeded and cut into large pieces

Method
1. Throw in the coconut milk, green curry paste, eggplants, tomatoes, bamboo shoot, tofu, corn, water in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add in the lime leaves. Season to taste with salt, sugar or light soy sauce, if necessary.
2. Garnish with chilli and serve hot with rice.

Oreo Banana Coconut Milk Shake

Yummy, tasty and easy to make soy milk shake that kids love it too.

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 1 (100g) banana, peeled
° 125ml fresh coconut milk,
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste
° 1 oreo cookie, crushed

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Watermelon & Pineapple Soy Milk Shake

Wow, a glass of watermelon and pineapple milkshake for a hot afternoon, it is so refreshing!

Preparation: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 100g watermelon, peeled and chopped
° 100g pineapple, peeled and chopped
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

“Satay” Salad

This can be serves as a meal in itself. I just love the cucumber, onion and ketupat (pressed rice cake cooked in coconut leaf) dipping in the satay peanut sauce, that I can eat a whole big bowl of it without the satay. In this recipe, I used cylinder pressed rice instead of ketupat which is easily available in the supermarket.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (Serves 2)
° 2 fresh red chilli, seeded and chopped
° 2 red chilli padi (optional), seeded and chopped
° 2 slices ginger, chopped
° 1 stalk lemon grass, peel off outer layers leaving tender whitish centre, cut out 7.5cm, chopped
° 2 candlenuts, chopped
° ½ teaspoons vegetarian belacan powder
° 1 tablespoon carotino oil or vegetable oil
° ½ teaspoon tamarind/assam paste, knead with 150ml water and strained
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° 2 tablespoons black sugar or palm sugar, or to taste
° 125g grounded peanut powder or finely crushed roasted peanut

Salad
° 1-2 cucumbers, cut into bite-sizes
° 1onion, cut into wedges
° 200-300g pressed rice cake, steamed and cut into wedges

Method
1. Grind chilli, ginger, lemongrass and candlenut into fine spice paste. Stir in vegetarian belacan powder and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pot or wok, fry the spice paste for 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir in tamarind liquid and bring to a boil.
3. Stir in the black sugar, salt, peanut powder and bring to a boil. If the sauce is too thick, add some water. To thicken the sauce, add a little bit more peanut powder. Set aside.
4. Serve salad with peanut sauce or drizzle sauce over the salad.

Popeye’s Fried Rice

This is a simple fried rice recipe but it tastes real good with the fresh spinach. If you have little darlings that do not like vegetables, this Popeye’s fried rice with finely chopped spinach and mushrooms is for them. Just tell them when Popeye squeeze open a can of spinach and eat in one big gulp, he would transformed into a muscle-bound hero, to save his pencil-thin girlfriend – Olive. Spinach will make them strong!

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g rice, cooked
° 100g fresh spinach, finely chopped
° 6 button mushrooms, diced
° 50g king oyster mushrooms, diced
° 1-1½ tablespoons olive oil
° salt, to taste
° roasted sesame seeds (optional), for garnish

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat and stir fry the mushrooms for 1-2 minutes.
2. Throw in the spinach and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice and season with salt and pepper. Fry about 2 minutes or until rice is heated through. Sprinkle with some water if it is too dry.
3. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and serve hot.

Tip
1. Rice for frying must be cooked at least 2 hours in advance or the night before.

Pineapple Soy Milk Shake

If possible, use honey pineapple which is sweeter and add a pinch of salt if desired.

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 200g ripe pineapple, peeled and chopped
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Banana & Grape Soy Milk Shake

Another kid friendly healthy and nutritious beverage! It is so tasty.

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° ½ banana, peeled
° 10 grapes, seedless
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Dragon Fruit Soy Milk Shake

This is a refreshing beverage. Dragon fruit’s mild taste blend with other flavour soy milk, instead of using plain soy milk, you may use other flavour such as green tea, red beans and so on.

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° ½ (100g) dragon fruit, peeled and chopped
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Mushroom Fried Rice

This is a fabulously simple recipe. You may used fresh vegetables, like chopped carrot, tiny cauliflower florets and snow peas that are cut into bite-sized, if desired. They taste equally good.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g rice, cooked
° 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced
° 50g king oyster mushrooms, diced
° 100g frozen mixed vegetables
° 2 tablespoons olive oil
° salt, to taste
° pepper, to taste

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat and stir fry the mushrooms for 1-2 minutes.
2. Stir in the cooked rice, mixed vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Fry about 2-3 minutes or until rice is heated through. Sprinkle with some water if it is too dry.
3. Serve hot.

Tip
1. Rice for frying must be cooked at least 2 hours in advance or the night before.
2 Garnish with lightly toasted sesame seeds or finely shredded nori, if desired.

Watermelon Soy Milk Shake

This is a healthy beverage with a lovely pink. For a healthy choice, use reduced-sugar and high calcium fresh soy milk.

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1-2)
° 200g watermelon, peeled and chopped
° 100ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Glutinous Rice Ball with Green Tea Soy Milk Dessert

There are many way to make glutinous rice ball dessert, which is normally eaten on Winter Solstice, Chinese New Year or other occasions. Traditionally, it serves with clear sugar syrup which is boiled with ginger slices or pandan leaves. Now, you can have different variants – Green Tea Soy Milk or other flavour soy milk. It is so simple!

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 8 pieces glutinous rice ball (TangYuan)
° 500ml fresh soy milk (green tea flavour) or soy milk mix with matcha powder

Method
1. Bring fresh soy milk to a boil over low heat and set aside.
2. Cook glutinous rice ball following the packet instructions, drain and transfer to individual serving bowl.
3. Ladle the soy milk into the serving bowl and serves immediately.

Tip
1. Assorted glutinous rice ball can be used, if desired.

Claypot Braised Beancurd with Glass Noodles

An easy to cook claypot dish! I omitted the normal sequence of stir frying the ingredients prior to stewing in the claypot, to speed up the process. I love the bean vermicelli to be deep-fried, it soak up the gravy better and easier to digest. However, for a healthier choice, you may soaked the vermicelli and throw in together with the vegetables.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 150g chinese cabbage (wong bak), cut into broad strips
° 6-8 chinese dried mushrooms, soaked
° 1 slice ginger
° 250ml water
° 2 firm tofu/beancurds (225g), cut into 4 sections and deep-fried
° 1 pack/50g bean vermicelli, deep-fried
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Seasoning
° 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
° ½ teaspoon sugar, or to taste
° ½ teaspoon sesame oil
° pepper, to taste

Method
1. Combine the Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, ginger, water, beancurd and seasoning into a claypot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
2. Add in the bean vermicelli and bring to a boil, usually after a while the bean vermicelli will soak up most of the gravy. If it is too watery, thicken the gravy with a bit of cornflour solution, if desired.
3. Garnish with coriander leaves and red chilli. Serves hot.

Banana & Orange Soy Milk Shake

A kid friendly healthy beverage!

Preparation: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 2 (200g) banana, peeled and halved
° 125ml (1 orange) freshly squeezed orange juice or orange juice
° 125ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Cool Pandan Drink

A simple cool beverage! I love to look at the kiwi or tukhmaria seeds in my drink.

Preparation: 3 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 8-10 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 1 litre water
° ½-1 teaspoon kiwi seeds/tukhmaria (optional), soaked and drained
° 4 tablespoons sugar, or to taste

Method
1. To make the drink, put all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool before refrigerating until chilled.
2. Chilled or serve with ice.

Kiwi Soy Milk Shake

This is a simple and delicious beverage. For a healthy choice, use reduced-sugar and high calcium fresh soy milk. Again, this recipe is suitable for vegan.

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1-2)
° 2 (300g) kiwi, peeled and chopped
° 250ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Banana Soy Milk Shake

Yummy, tasty and easy to make soy milk shake that kids love it too.

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1-2)
° 2 (200g) bananas, peeled and halved
° 250ml fresh soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Vegan Mango Lassi (Mango Coconut Milk Shake)

Mango Lassi is an Indian drink, a yogurt-based drink which is delicious for breakfast or for afternoon tea. In this improvise version, I combine the fresh coconut milk with fresh soy milk to derive this “yogurt”-based recipe for the vegan. It is just as tasty and delicious. If you find that the bean flavour is too strong, use more coconut milk. Or you might reduce the amount of coconut milk and increase the soy milk for a more healthy tonic drink.

Preparation: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 1 (200g) ripe mango, peeled and diced
° 125ml fresh coconut milk
° 125ml fresh soy milk (sweetened) or water
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. A few drop of rose water can be added for a fragrant Indian touch, if desired.
2. Chilled or serve with ice.

Avocado Coconut Milk Shake

This is an Indonesian avocado drink. It is rich and creamy. By using fresh coconut milk and soy milk, this vegan version of milkshake is derived. It is prefer to use gula melaka instead of sugar, to enhance the taste. Therefore, if gula melaka syrup is not available, you may use gula melaka, chopped, mixed with water in a pot and melt it over the fire or chopped very finely and throw into the blender.

Preparation: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced
° 125ml fresh coconut milk
° 125ml fresh soy milk or water
° gula melaka(palm sugar) syrup, to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste it, add gula melaka syrup. Chilled or serve with ice.

Almond Jelly with Longan Dessert

Almond Jelly using fresh or low-fat soy milk is more nutritious. If unsweetened soy milk is used for this recipe, just increase the amount of sugar to 250g or to taste. Instead of using canned food longan, you may opt for can cocktails or fresh fruits instead. If you prefer, you may even add a piece of logan in the jelly itself and serve chilled.

Preparation: 2 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (makes 32)
° 12g agar-agar powder
° 500ml water
° 50g sugar, or to taste
° 1 litre fresh soy milk
° a few drop of almond essence or almond powder mix with water, to taste
° 2 cans longan

Method
1. Dissolve agar-agar powder in 500ml of water in a pot. Add the sugar and bring to a boil.
2. Remove pot from heat, stir in the soy milk, almond essence and mix well.
3. Pour the agar-agar mixture into the jelly mould and leave to cool before refrigerating until chilled.
4. Mix with 2 cans of longan, ice cubes in a large salad bowl. Serves chilled.

Plum Sauce Mock “Prawn”

Vegetarian Mock Prawn or Vegetarian Noodle Prawn

My simple yet tasty plum sauce mock “prawn” recipe!

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 4 (100g) vegetarian noodle prawns, deep-fried or pan-fried or baked
° 100g cucumber, cut into thin matchstick length
° 20g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 4 slices ginger, shredded
° ½ teaspoon olive oil
° 2 tablespoons plum sauce
° 3 tablespoons water
° salt, to taste
° ½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)
° ½ fresh red chilli, seeded and shredded (optional), for garnish

Method
1. Mix the plum sauce, water, salt in a bowl and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan and stir fry the ginger for 30 seconds.
3. Add in the cucumber, carrot and stir fry for another 30 seconds. Stir in the vegetarian prawns, sauce mixture and give it a quick stir fry. If the sauce is too thick, sprinkle some water on it.
4. Dish up, sprinkle some sesame seed and garnish with chilli. Serve immediately.

“Abalone” Congee

The mock abalone is real tasty, if you are using it, you can omit the seasoning portion or use sparingly. Just keep the abalone liquid and add to the congee.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 30 mins, plus 30 mins standing time

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g rice, washed and drained
° 1.2 litres water
° ½ (80g±) vegetarian abalone, thinly sliced and reserve stock
° salt, to taste
° sesame oil, to taste
° pepper, to taste
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Put the rice and water in a claypot or pot. Let it stands for 1 hour or more, if desired.
2. Bring the congee to a boil for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and leave it to stands for 30 minutes or more. Throw in the vegetarian abalone and re-boil the congee for few minutes prior to serving. To thicken the congee, mix 1-2 tablespoons of glutinous rice flour with 4 tablespoons of water and stir into the congee, if desired. Season with vegetarian abalone stock, salt, sesame oil and pepper.
3. Ladle the congee into individual serving bowls, garnish with corianders leaves and serve hot.

Gado Gado (Indonesian Spicy Vegetable Salad)

Gado-gado is an Indonesian vegetables salad, accompany with prawn cracker around the plate and serve with a spicy peanut dipping sauce. Usually, hardboiled egg is part of the dish, but it had been omitted to make a vegan version. As for the peanuts sauce, coconut milk as be added, if desired.

Preparation: 30 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 1 small firm tofu/beancurd, deep-fried and sliced
° 50g beansprout, tailed, washed and blanched
° 75g long beans, cut into 5cm section and blanched
° 25g carrot, peeled and cut into 5cm section and blanched
° 1 potato, peeled, diced and streamed or boiled
° a small handful of vegetable crackers (optional)

Peanut Sauce
° 2 fresh red chilli, seeded and chopped
° 2 red chilli padi (optional), seeded and chopped
° 2 slices ginger, chopped
° 1 stalk lemon grass, peel off outer layers leaving tender whitish centre, cut out 7.5cm, chopped
° 2 candlenuts, chopped
° ½ teaspoons vegetarian belacan powder
° 1 tablespoon carotino oil or vegetable oil
° ½ teaspoon tamarind/assam paste, knead with 150ml water and strained
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° 2 tablespoons black sugar or palm sugar, or to taste
° 125g grounded peanut powder or finely crushed roasted peanut

Method
1. Grind chilli, ginger, lemongrass and candlenut into fine spice paste. Stir in vegetarian belacan powder and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pot or wok, fry the spice paste for 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir in tamarind liquid and bring to a boil.
3. Stir in the black sugar, salt, peanut powder and bring to a boil. If the sauce is too thick, add some water. To thicken the sauce, add a bit more peanut powder. Set aside.
4. Arrange all the vegetables and beancurd on a serving dish. Drizzle the peanut sauce over the vegetables or serve the sauce separately.

Dried Mee Siam

This is a slight modification of the mee siam with gravy to form this dried mee siam. I tried to keep the amount of oil used to the minimum, therefore, there is a need to sprinkle water on the noodle for easy mixing.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g rice vermicelli, cooked according to packet’s instruction
° 100g beanspouts, tailed
° 2 tablespoons carotino oil or vegetable oil
° 1 tablespoon fine salted soy bean paste
° 1 tablespoon assam/tamarind paste, knead with 3 tablespoons hot water and strained
° 2-3 beancurd puffs (optional), toasted and diced
° sugar, to taste
° salt, to taste
° 2 kalamansi limes

Spice Paste
° 10 dried chilli, soaked and chopped
° 1 fresh red chilli (optional), seeded and chopped
° 2 lemongrass, peel off outer layers leaving tender whitish centre, cut out 5cm, chopped
° 3 slices ginger, chopped
° 2 teaspoons vegetarian belacan powder
° 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

Method
1. Grind spice paste ingredients until fine and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok or pot, fry the spice paste for half a minute or until fragrant. Stir in the salted soy bean paste and tamarind juice.
3. Add the beansprouts and stir fry over medium heat for 1 minute. Throw in the rice vermicelli, beancurd puffs and mix well. Add in water if need for easier tossing. Season to taste with salt and sugar.
4. Dish up, garnish with lime and serve immediately.

Vegetarian "Chicken" with Wine and Black Fungus

Black Chinese Fungus or Wood Ear is usually included in traditional confinement dishes, as it helps to remove post natal blood accumulated in the uteri. It also promotes blood production.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 10g shredded black Chinese fungus, soaked
° 30g cardoncello mushroom/king oyster mushroom, sliced
° 20g ginger, peeled and finely shredded
° 1 tablespoon sesame oil
° 20ml cooking rice wine or glutinous rice wine
° 100ml water
° salt to taste

Method
1. Heat the sesame oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Add the black fungus, mushrooms and stir-fry briskly for a moment. Stir in the water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Season to taste with wine and salt.
3. Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot.

Steamed Vegetarian "Chicken" with Wine and Ginger Paste

This is an easy steamed confinement dish without much work at all. Cardoncello mushroom or king oyster mushroom is used to substitute the chicken, which had a smooth and meaty texture.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 100g cardoncello mushroom/king oyster mushroom, sliced
° 30g ginger, peeled and finely minced
° 1½ -2 tablespoons sesame oil
° 30ml cooking rice wine or glutinous rice wine
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° ½ teaspoon corn flour
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Arrange the cardoncello mushrooms in a heatproof serving plate.
2. Mix the ginger paste, sesame oil, wine, salt and corn flour in a bowl and drizzle over the mushroom. Steam for 10-15 minutes.
3. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.