Pumpkin Rice

Pumpkin again, Yes, it is another pumpkin recipe! Combining the process of cooking rice and steaming pumpkin into ONE step. Thus, making this a hassle-free, time saving and energy conserving recipe! Orangey-yellow pumpkins with green skin cubes in between white rice mingle with some unpolished brown rice, plus some lovely white and black sesame seeds on top. It just looks so attractive.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g rice, washed and drained
° 400ml water
° 150g Japanese pumpkin, removed seeds and cut into cubes
° 1 teaspoon olive oil
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Method
1. Combine the rice, water, pumpkin, oil and salt 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, sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and serve hot.

Steamed Japanese Pumpkin (Kabocha)

Want some healthy snack which is rich beta carotene, iron, vitamin C and potassium, plus some tracers of calcium and B vitamins? Just steam some Japanese pumpkin aka Kabocha. After steaming, the skin of the pumpkin can be eaten, just make sure it had been thoroughly washed. If not, just throw it away.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 300g Japanese green pumpkin, removed and cut into 2cm thickness slices

Method
1. Place the pumpkin in a heat proof serving bowl and steam for 8 minutes.
2. Serve warm.

Picture source: http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/CA25677D007DC87D/LUbyDesc/av36/$File/jappum2.jpg

Amaranth and Wolfberries Congee

It is just a bowl simple and light congee. Red dates can be added, if desired.

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

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g rice, washed and drained
° 1.2 litres water
° 1 slice ginger
° 1 tablespoon wolfberries (boxthorn berries), soaked
° 150g amaranth/Chinese spinach, finely chopped
° salt and pepper, to taste

Method
1. Put the rice, ginger, wolfberries 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.
3. Re-boil the congee for few minutes prior to serving. Add in the spinach. 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 and pepper.
4. Ladle the congee into individual serving bowls and serve hot.

Seaweed Salad (Seasoned Kelp)

This is a simple seaweed salad dish or side dish/cold dish. I bought a pack of dried kelp (shredded), 20g for S$1.78, by AOK at the FairPrice Supermarket. There might be a need to rinse the kelp shreds well to remove the slime with several changes of water.

Soak the kelps in warm water instead of blanching, if desired. Usually, I like to use dried kelps in knot for boiling soup to lend some flavour to the dish. As some recipes call for clear soup, these kelps would need to be discarded. So, instead of wasting food, it can be used to make a small cold dish using this recipe.

Preparation: 3 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 10g dried kelp shreds
° 500ml water
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil
° ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° ½ teaspoon sugar, or to taste
° 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

Method
1. Blanch the shredded kelps in a pot of boiling water for ½ - 1 minute. Drain well and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
2. Place kelps in a salad bowl. Stir in the sesame oil, sesame seeds, salt and sugar.
3. Use your hand to mix well and serve.

Steamed Japanese Pumpkin with Wolfberries

Usually, we can spot stir-fried pumpkin with frozen mixed vegetables and black fungus or wolfberries at some of the vegetarian stalls. If you like that dish, you can try out the steamed version instead of stir-frying. For this simple and easy delicious dish, it is best to get good quality pumpkin.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g Japanese pumpkin (weight after peeling), cut into 1cm slices
° ½ -1 tablespoon wolfberries (boxthorn berries), soaked
° 2-3 seedless red dates (optional)
° few sprigs coriander, for garnish

Seasoning
° 60ml water
° 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
° ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil
° pepper to taste

Method
1. Arrange the pumpkin slices in a heatproof serving plate. Place the wolfberries and red dates on top.
2. Combine the seasoning ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour over the pumpkin and steam for 8-10 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft
3. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.

Honeydew Sago Dessert

This is an easily made party dessert.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 4-5)
° 300g honeydew (weight after peeling), cut into small cubes
° 75g sago pearls, rinse and soaked with plenty of water for 15mins, drained
° 750ml water
° 250ml coconut milk
° 100g sugar, or to taste

Method
1. Combine the sugar, water and bring to a boil. Stir in sago pearls and simmer for 5-6 minutes or until sago pearls are almost translucent with just a barest white fleck in the centre.
2. Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Off the fire and leaves it to cool. Add in the honeydew.
3. Ladle the dessert into individual serving bowls and serve chilled with ice.

Spinach and Wolfberries Congee

A bowl of simple vegetable congee.

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

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g rice, washed and drained
° 1.2 litres water
° 1 slice ginger
° 1 tablespoon wolfberries (boxthorn berries), soaked
° 150g spinach, finely chopped
° salt and pepper, to taste

Method
1. Put the rice, ginger, wolfberries 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.
3. Re-boil the congee for few minutes prior to serving. Add in the spinach. 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 and pepper.
4. Ladle the congee into individual serving bowls and serve hot.

Seaweed and Tofu Soup

This is a weekday friendly recipe.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 4-5 dried kelps in knot
° 2-3 slices ginger
° 500ml water
° 75g silken tofu, cut into cubes
° a small handful dried seaweed, rinsed
° salt and pepper to taste
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves or spring onion, for garnish

Method
1. Place the dried kelps, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8 minutes. Remove the ingredients with a slotted spoon and discard.
2. Throw in the tofu and dried seaweeds. Bring to a boil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls, garnish with coriander leaves or spring onion and serve hot.

Winter Melon and Wolfberries Congee

This is a bowl of simple and light congee. Red dates can be added, if desired.

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

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g rice, washed and drained
° 1.2 litres water
° 2 slices ginger
° 200g-300g winter melon (weight after peeling), cut into 1cm cubes
° 1-1½ tablespoons wolfberries (boxthorn berries), soaked
° 1 slice (25g) vegetarian ham, chopped or diced
° 1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander or spring onion
° salt and pepper to taste
° sesame oil to taste

Method
1. Put the rice, ginger, winter melon, wolfberries 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.
3. Add in the vegetarian ham and simmer for 10-15 minutes. 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 and pepper.
4. Ladle the congee into individual serving bowls, garnish with coriander or spring onion and serve hot.

Soybean Sprout Soup (Kongnamul-Guk)

Soybean Sprout Soup is a popular Korean side dish soup – Kongnamul-Guk. It is not at all difficult to cook. With few simple ingredients, you can enjoy a bowl of fresh and light soup. For this vegetarian/vegan version, I used kelps instead of anchovies. If it is too plain, just sprinkle some sesame oil, sesame seeds, Korean red pepper or dried chilli flake. Do not overcook the soybean sprout, it should have a crunchy texture.
Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g soybean sprout, trimmed
° 50g silken tofu, cut into cubes
° 5 dried kelps in knot
° 1-2 thin slices ginger
° 500ml water
° ½-1 teaspoon light soy sauce
° salt and pepper to taste
° 1 stalk fresh spring onion, cut into 4cm length

Method
1. Place the dried kelps, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8 minutes. Remove the ingredients with a slotted spoon and discard, if desired.
2. Add in the tofu, soybean sprout and bring to a boil. Off the fire and season to taste with light soy sauce, salt and pepper.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls. Garnish with spring onion and serve hot.

Spinach Salad

This is another Korean salad dish – spinach salad or Shigmchi Namul. Simple and Easy!

Preparation: 8 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 250g spinach, trimmed
° 500ml-750ml water
° ¾ tablespoon sesame oil
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
° 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds

Method
1. Blanch the spinach in a pot of boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Drain well and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
2. Squeeze out the excess liquid from the spinach and cut into 5cm section.
3. Place spinach in a salad bowl. Stir in the sesame oil, light soy sauce and sesame seeds.
4. Use your hand to mix well and serve.

Stir-Fried Silk Squash with ‘Egg’

Silk squash is also known as luffa, dishwater gourd, Chinese okra, dishrag or dishcloth gourd, lloofah, ridged loofah, ridged gourd, silk gourd etc, It is dark green in colour and looks like a thin zucchini and has a sweet, but very mild taste, similar to cucumber. Always buy young silk squash and I like to remove the core where there are some seeds hidden. My mother used to stir-fry silk squash with beaten egg. For the vegan version, I used scrambled tofu to replace the egg. One other way of cooking silk squash is to stir-fry with carrot and cloud ear fungus.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g Silk Squash (weight after peeling and sliced), sliced
° 1 small firm beancurd/tofu, pat dry and scrambled ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
° 1½ tablespoon olive oil
° 1 slice ginger or 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
° salt to taste

Method
1. Marinate the scrambled tofu with turmeric powder, salt, pepper and sesame oil. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat and fry scrambled tofu for 2 minutes or until dry. Set aside.
3. Heat ½ tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan. Add the ginger or garlic and fry till fragrant. Throw in the silk squash and stir fry for 1½-2 minutes. Season to taste and salt.
4. Add in the pan-fried scrambled tofu and mix well. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Luffa picture: http://www.wku.edu/~darlene.applegate/oldworld/china/images/luffa.jpg

Mixed Rice with Vegetarian Mock Pork in Mushroom Sauce

This is almost a no cook recipe, except for cooking the rice. To eat, just mix all the ingredients in the plate well. For this recipe, can food is been used. The CiXin Vegetarian Mock Pork in Mushroom Sauce is a product of Singapore, manufactured by Amoy Canning Corp (Singapore) Ltd - http://www.amocan.com/cixin.htm The ingredients used for this can food is mushroom, textured vegetable protein, salted yellow bean, chilli, soya bean oil, sugar, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and yeast extract.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 2 bowls cooked rice
° 100g cucumber, thinly shredded
° 50g carrot, peeled and thinly shredded
° 1 can mock pork in mushroom sauce
° roasted sesame seeds (optional)

Method
1. Place a bowl of rice in the middle of each serving plates.
2. Top with cucumber and carrot. Divide the mock pork in mushroom sauce equally between the serving plates.
3. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds and serve immediately.

CookBook: Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson,

Written and photographed by Heidi Swanson, creator of 101 Cookbooks, Super Natural Cooking guides cooks toward a more natural (less processed) palette of ingredients and recipes. Everyone knows that whole foods are much healthier than refined ingredients, but few know how to cook with them in uncomplicated, delicious ways.
With this book you'll learn the ins-and-outs of the whole-foods kitchen by identifying and exploring a spectrum of whole grain flours, minimally processed fats, grains, sweeteners, and phytonutrient-packed fruits and vegetables.

The book features 80 recipes, and 100 full-color photos. It is 7x10 inches, 224 pages, and printed in full color.

Chapters include:
Build a Natural Foods Pantry
Explore a Wide Range of Grains
Cook by Color
Know Your Superfoods
Use Natural Sweeteners

Selected recipes:
Do-It-Yourself Powerbars
Black Tea Spring Rolls
Quinoa and Corn Flour Crepes
Millet Fried "Rice"
Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
Risotto-Style Barley
Acai Power Popsicles

In National library: 641.563 SWA-[COO]

-- National Library Website

Quote from http://www.101cookbooks.com/supernatural/

Heidi Swanson'srecipe journal http://www.101cookbooks.com/

Homemade Popcorn

Green Tea Popcorn (matcha powder and icing sugar) / Caramelized Popcorn

It is so easy and simple to make popcorn at home. I bought a packet of raw popcorn (400g) for around $1.10 and within a few minutes I can enjoy my fresh popcorn. If you like it plain and healthy, there is no need to add anything (salt, butter or syrup). For a quick one, just toss with maple syrup or golden syrup. For a butter flavour variation, melt some non-dairy margarine plus some salt and mix well with the popcorn. This recipe can also be use as one of the kid activities during rainy days or school holidays, with a adult supervision!

Preparation: 2 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g raw popcorn
° 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
° 50ml maple syrup, or to taste

Method
1. Place the oil in a large sauce pan or wok. Pour in the raw popcorn and stir with a wooden spoon to mix well, ensuring all the raw popcorn are coated with oil.
2. Place the lid on the sauce pan or wok and set to medium heat. After 3 minutes, you will hear the popcorn starting to pop, do not remove the lid. Shake the pan or wok occasionally to prevent the popcorn from burning.
3. When the popping noises have slowed down and hardly any popping, off the fire. Stir in the maple syrup and ensure the popcorn is well coated.
4. Transfer the popcorn to a bowl and serve.

Vietnamese Popiah (Nem Cuon Dau Hu)

This is a simple and yet delicious fresh spring rolls using rice paper. The must-have ingredient is mint leaves, it gives a different flavour. To make this spring roll more attractive, place a few carrot shreds, a mushroom slice and a tofu slice on the rice paper prior to placing the lettuce. After rolling up, as rice paper had a see through effect, it is real colourful. To speed up the making of this Popiah, purchase a packet of Fried Been Hoon and Deep-fried Tofu from any vegetarian stall. Just prepare the raw vegetables and do the wrapping.

Preparation: 25 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (makes 18-20)
° 20 pieces rice paper (15cm in diameter)

Chilli Dipping Sauce
° 2 fresh red chilli padi, sliced
° 1 teaspoon sugar
° 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
° 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Spring Roll Filling
° 100g rice vermicelli, cooked according to packet’s instruction
° 1 small firm tofu/beancurd, cut into thin shreds
° 3-4 chinese dried mushroom, soaked and thinly sliced
° 25g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 75g beansprouts, trimmed and blanced
° 20 Chinese lettuce leaves
° 20-40 mint leaves
° 2 thin slices ginger or 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
° 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil
° 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
° salt to taste

Method
To prepare chilli dipping sauce
1. Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

To prepare spring roll filling
1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan. Stir-fry the tofu for 2 minutes. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan. Add the ginger or garlic and fry till aromatic. Throw in the mushroom and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Set aside
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan. Add the ginger or garlic and fry till aromatic. Add in the rice vermicelli. Off the heat, if desired. Season to taste with light soy sauce, sesame oil and toss well. Sprinkle some water for easier tossing, if needed. Set aside

To wrap popiah
1. Soften the rice paper sheet in warm water till soft or as per packet’s instruction. Do not over-moisten the rice paper sheet. If it is too brittle, lightly moisten it with some water or wipe with a damp cloth.
2. Place 1 sheet of rice paper on chopping board or plate. Place a small Chinese lettuce leaf in the centre and top with carrot, rice vermicelli, tofu, mushroom and mint leaves.
3. Roll up and arrange on a serving plate.
4. Serve immediately with the simple chilli dipping sauce. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent from drying if it is not consume immediately.

Crunchy and Spicy Soybean Sprout Salad

This is a Korean salad dish – soybean sprout salad or Kongnamool Moochim. Just remember not to blanch the soybean sprout for too long to retain its crunchiness. Usually, the normal practice is to rinse the blanched vegetable with cold water to avoid been overcooked. To conserve resource, just reduce the cooking time and omit rinsing with cold water. As to how to mix the salad with hand, just watch any Korean Drama Series, quite often you can see a scene or two how it is been done.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 150g-200g soybean sprout, trimmed
° 500ml water
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil
° 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds
° ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
° Korean chilli powder or dried red chilli flake, or coarse chilli, to taste
° salt to taste
° sugar to taste (optional)

Method
1. Blanch the soybean sprout in a pot of boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Drain well and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
2. Place soybean sprout in a salad bowl. Stir in the sesame oil, sesame seeds, vinegar, chill powder or dried chilli flake or coarse chilli, salt and sugar.
3. Use your hand to mix well and serve.

Chendol Drink

Chendol in its simplest form, using only fresh coconut milk and gula melaka! In general, Chendol dessert recipe call for coconut milk generously, usually the ratio of water to gula melaka is about 1:3. In this recipe, I used the ratio of 1:1. Add more coconut milk, if desired. Grass jelly cubes or red agar-agar cubes can be added to this drink. Black sugar is used to give the drink a slightly darker brown. Oh yeah, put chendol in bandung, it look real lovely – pink plus green!

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 200g-300g prepared chendol, drained
° 250ml fresh coconut milk
° 250ml water
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 50g gula melaka (palm sugar), chopped
° 1-1½ tablespoon black sugar

Method
1. Combine pandan leaves, gula malaka, sugar and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Let it cool and set aside.
2. Mix all the chendol, coconut milk and gula malaka syrup well. Chilled or serve with ice.

Hot and Sour Soup

Soup is one of the easies dishes to prepare, here is another simple and quick soup. If it is not spicy enough, just add some fresh chopped chilli padi into the soup!

Preparation: 8 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 50g silken tofu, shredded
° 20g carrot, peeled and shredded
° 50g fresh shiitake mushroom or buna shimeji mushroom or king oyster mushroom, shredded
° small handful shredded black fungus, soaked
° 1 thin slice ginger, shredded
° 375ml water
° ½ teaspoon fine salted soy bean paste
° 1 teaspoon vegetarian oyster sauce
° ½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
° 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
° 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, or to taste
° 1 stalk fresh spring onion, finely shredded or chopped

Method
1. Place the carrot, mushroom, black fungus, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-8 minutes.
2. Add in the tofu and season to taste with vegetarian oyster sauce, salted soy bean paste and pepper. Stir in the tapioca starch mixture and bring to a boil.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls. Drizzle vinegar, garnish with spring onion and serve hot.

Steamed Winter Melon with Wolfberries

It is a simple and easy delicious dish. No stir-fry, time-saving, plus no mess at all. Not much seasoning is required as the vegetarian ham used is sufficient to spice up this dish. I opt for tapioca starch instead of corn starch for a lightly heavier texture. To conserve energy, steam this dish for 10 minutes and leaves it covered in the streamer for about 8 minutes.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g winter melon (weight after peeling), cut into 1cm slices
° 1 teaspoon wolfberries (boxthorn berries), soaked
° 1 slice (25g) vegetarian ham, chopped or diced
° 1 teaspoon freshly chopped coriander or spring onion

Seasoning
° 80ml water
° 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
° 1/5 teaspoon salt, or to taste
° ½ teaspoons sesame oil
° pepper to taste

Method
1. Arrange the winter melon slices in a heatproof serving plate. Place the wolfberries and vegetarian ham on top.
2. Combine the seasoning ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour over the winter melon and steam for 10-15 minutes or until the winter melon is soft
3. Garnish with coriander or spring onion and serve immediately.

Is all Non Dairy Margarine a Vegan product?

This site provide good information on vegan margarine: http://www.vnv.org.au/Products/Margarine.htm

As most margarine or non dairy products are fortified with vitamin D, there is a need to read the labels.

Quoted from : http://www.vegfamily.com/dietician/0605a.htm

“Vitamin D2 is plant-derived while vitamin D3 is usually animal derived, so vegans need to read labels to determine the source of the vitamin D they are taking. Some companies do provide D3 from plants, but it does not appear to be common. Some vegans are comfortable taking animal-derived D3, since it is a relatively miniscule contribution to animal suffering. This, of course, is a personal choice.”

Spinach Soup with Shimeji Mushroom

This is a lovely emerald colour soup – light and sweet with blended spinach. I used kelps and sliced carrot, boiled for about 10 minutes to lend some flavour and sweetness to this soup, as I usually do not like to use seasoning or too lazy to spend hour in preparing broth or stock. I am trying to recreate the soup which I had at LingZhi Vegetarian Restaurant - Braised Spinach Soup with Enoki Mushrooms. . Sprinkle few thin shreds of nori on the soup, if desired.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 4 dried kelps in knot
° 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
° 1 slice ginger
° 375ml water
° 50g buna shimeji mushroom
° 50g spinach
° salt to taste
° 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, mixed with 30ml water

Method
1. Place the spinach with 1 tablespoon of water in a blender or food processor and blend well. Set aside.
2. Place the dried kelps, carrot, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8 minutes. Remove the ingredients with a slotted spoon and discard. Add the buna shimeji mushrooms and simmer for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the spinach puree and tapioca starch mixture. Bring to a boil and season to taste with salt.
4. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve hot.

Vegan "Fish Head" Noodle

Fish Head Noodle (Bee Hoon) recipe usually call for milk, for this vegan version, unsweetened soy milk is used as a substitute. Unlike using milk, this can be added generously, the amount of soy milk need to be control in order not to be too overpowering. Serve this soup with rice instead of noodle, if desired. And do not forget to have a plate of freshly sliced red chilli padi with light soy sauce.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 25 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 1 carrot, peeled and cut into small chunks
° 9 dried kelps in knot
° 4 seedless red dates (optional)
° 2-6 slices fresh ginger
° 750ml water
° 1 vegetarian fish slice, cut into 4 section and deep-fried
° 75g yam, sliced and deep-fried
° 150g silken tofu, cut into 6 sections
° 2 tomatoes, cut into 4 wedges
° 60ml unsweetened soy milk
° 20g dried seaweed
° salt to taste
° ½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
° 200g thick rice vermicelli
° small handful freshly chopped coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Place the dried kelp, carrot, red date, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove all the ingredients with a slotted spoon and discard, if desired.
2. Add in the tomato, tofu, yam, vegetarian fish and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt. Stir in the soy milk, sesame oil and off the heat.
3. To serve, divide seaweed and rice vermicelli between serving bowls. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Bubor Cha Cha

This is a simplified recipe for bubor cha cha. Usually, the sweet potato and yam are steamed and then added to the sugar syrup, follow by adding the coconut milk and a pinch of salt. To simplify the process, steaming is omitted, therefore just note that the sweet potato and yam should not be over boiled to avoid it being too mushy. For a lighter version of bubor cha cha, part of the coconut milk can be replaced with some unsweetened soy milk. Add some tapioca starch cubes, if desired.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 100g sweet potato, cut into small cubes
° 100g yam, cut into small cubes
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 375ml water
° sugar to taste
° 250ml fresh coconut milk (150ml coconut milk and 100ml unsweetened soy milk), chilled

Method
1. Place the sweet potatoes, yam, pandan leaves and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Add in the sugar and bring to a boil. Stir in the coconut milk and off the heat
3. Ladle the dessert into individual serving bowls. Serve hot or cold.

Edamame

Need some quick healthy snack, try the frozen Edamame (salted soya bean) which is easily available in the supermarket. Just boiled some water and blanched it.

Preparation: 1 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 250g edamame
° 500ml water

Method
1. Bring 500ml to a boil and blanch edamame for 1-2 minutes. Drain and serve.

Leaf Bun with Vegetarian Ham

Besides stuffing leaf bun with golden roasted vegetarian duck. Vegetarian ham or vegetarian luncheon meat can be used too. Lettuce can be used instead of cucumber slices, if desired.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 6 frozen leaf buns
° 6 slices vegetarian ham or vegetarian luncheon meat, pan-fried or oven-baked or steamed
° 6 slices cucumber

Method
1. Place the leaf buns in a heat proof plate and steam for 5 minutes.
2. Insert one slice of cucumber and one slice of vegetarian ham or vegetarian luncheon meat duck in the middle pocket of the leaf bun. Repeat for the rest and serve.

Leaf Bun with Golden Roasted Vegetarian Duck

It is rather easy to find leaf buns or sandwiches skin at the supermarket. Just stuffed with golden roasted vegetarian duck, this made a simple and quick Chinese-style sandwich.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 6 frozen leaf buns
° 6 slices golden roasted vegetarian duck
° 3 pieces Chinese lettuce, torn into half

Method
1. Place the leaf buns in a heat proof plate and golden roasted vegetarian duck slices in another heat proof plate. Steam for 5 minutes.
2. Insert a piece of lettuce and one slice of golden roasted vegetarian duck in the middle pocket of the leaf bun. Repeat for the rest.
3. Serve immediately.

Golden Roasted Vegetarian Duck Cold Dish

Golden Roasted Vegetarian Duck is easily available at most of the supermarkets. It can be used for stir-fried, hotpot or as a cold dishes – appetizer.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 250g golden roasted vegetarian duck, sliced

Method
1. Place the golden roasted vegetarian duck slices in a heat proof plate. Steam for 5 minutes. Alternatively, just sliced and serve without steaming.

Tau Suan (Sticky Green Split Bean Dessert)

Here is a simple and easy dessert which is very nutritious as beans are rich source of B-complex vitamins, minerals calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc plus protein. Usually the green split bean (tau suan) is steamed and added to the sugar syrup which is thickened with starch. In here, to save energy and time, I skipped the steaming portion by adding to the other ingredients and bring to a boil.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 13 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g green split bean
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 750ml water
° 50g sugar or rock sugar , to taste
° 1 tablespoon potato starch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water
° 1 chinese cruller, toasted and snip in bit-sized chunks

Method
1. Rinse and soak the green split bean for 1-2 hours.
2. Place the green split bean, pandan leaves and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 7-8 minutes and stir in the potato starch mixture. Add in the sugar and bring to a boil.
3. Ladle the dessert into individual serving bowls, top with some Chinese cruller and serve hot.

Steamed Vegetarian Mushroom Slice

This can be considered as an instant dish, just added some shredded ginger and steamed. Vegetarian mushroom slice can be purchased at any vegetarian supply stalls/shops. The ingredients for vegetarian mushroom slice are mushroom stalks, salt, egg and flavouring. Therefore, it is not suitable for vegan. It is manufactured by Tao Yuan Vegetarian Trading. I have omitted salt and limited the amount of oil used.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 125g vegetarian mushroom slice
° 6 thin slices ginger, finely shredded
° 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Method
1. Place the vegetarian mushroom slice and ginger in a heat proof serving plate and steam for 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Herbal Soup (Liu Wei Tang)

This is one of the herbal soups that improves appetite, revitalizes the spleen, relieves heatiness and enhances the “YING” energy. It is really simple to cook and there no need to add any mock meat or vegetables, as the ingredients used, made this a sweet and delicious herbal soup which suits everyone including children palate. Just remember to soak the ingredients for few hours to speed up the cooking process.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 25 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 1 packet herbal soup (FairPrice - Liu Wei Tang)
° 1.5 litres water
° salt, to taste

Method
1. Rinse all the ingredients and soak for 3-4 hours.
2. Place all the ingredients and water in a pot. Bring soup to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until all the ingredients. Season to taste with salt and serve hot.

Stir-Fried Cucumber

Basically I am a lazy cook, so I prefer things to be simple and fast. Here is another stir-fried recipe if you are tiring of eating raw cucumber. Just don’t overcook the cucumber, to enjoy the soft exterior and crunchy interior. As do how long this stir-fried should be, depend on the thickness of the cucumber slices and personal preference. Carrot can be replaced with red pepper chilli, if desired.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 300g cucumber, pit removed and sliced diagonally (3-5mm)
° 25g carrot, peeled and sliced or shredded
° 4 button mushrooms (can mushrooms), sliced
° 2 thin slices ginger or 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
° 1 teaspoon sesame oil
° salt, to taste

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger or garlic and fry till fragrant.
2. Throw in the cucumber, carrot and mushrooms and stir fry for 1-1½ minutes. Season to taste with light soy sauce, sesame oil and salt.
3. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Pumpkin and Red Date Tea

Pumpkin is considered to be a good food for chest complaints, soothing the entire digestive tract and likes carrot and sweet potatoes, gave high protection against lung cancer. In here, using pumpkin and red date, you can enjoy a cup of nourishing good tea. There is no need to add any sugar, as the sweetness comes from the honey dates and red dates.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 250g pumpkin (weight after peeling), cut into small chunks
° 1 slice fresh ginger
° 8 seedless red dates
° 3 honey dates
° 750ml water

Method
1. To make the drink, put all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot or warm.

Water Chestnut Cake

Streamed Water Chestnut Cake is one of the Dim Sum dish. I tried making some, however the colour and the taste is not to my desired result. Therefore, I added green tea powder rather than food colouring or essence to it. For this recipe, the amount of water chestnut used is plenty.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 35 mins

Ingredients (makes 12 pieces)
° 125g water chestnut flour
° 10-15 water chestnuts, peeled, chopped and slightly mashed
° 100g rock sugar, or to taste
° 500ml water
° 2 teaspoons green tea powder

Method
1. Combine the water chestnut flour and green tea powder. Add in 250ml of water, mix well and set aside.
2. Place the water chestnuts, rock sugar and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes and lower the heat.
3. Gradually stir in the water chestnuts flour mixture and keep on stirring. When it become a little bit thicken and starchy, turn off the heat. Continue stirring in the rest of the mixture and mix well. Alternatively, off the heat prior to stirring in, if desired.
4. Grease a heat-proof ware, pour in the mixture and stream for 25-30 minutes. Set aside to cool, cut into 12 portions and serve.

Vegetarian Bak Kut Teh Noodle (Tofu Puff & Mushroom Version)

Home cooking does not require all that much effort and require little culinary skill to cook. With the instant bak kut teh sachet, with some fresh ingredients plus a fairly short time, you can enjoy a bowl of piping hot bak kut teh noodle soup. For a more robust flavour either simmer longer or let it stands for half to one hour and heat up again. Carrot is used to lend its sweetness to the soup, alternatively, used sugar cane. Garlic can be omitted, if desired. This soup goes well with plain rice too. Just serve with a plate of freshly red chilli slices and light/dark soy sauce.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 1 sachet A1 vegetarian bak kut teh
° 1 carrot, peeled and cut into small chunks
° 3-5 cloves garlic
° 1-1.25 litres water
° 8-9 fresh shiitake mushrooms
° 6 big beancurd puffs, washed or blanched
° 6 button mushrooms (can mushrooms)
° 50g Chinese lettuce
° salt, pepper, light soy sauce, to taste
° 300g hokkien mee, blanched
° a small handful fresh chopped spring onion or coriander leaves (optional), for garnish

Method
1. Place the vegetarian bak kut teh sachet, carrot, garlic and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the mushrooms, beancurd puff and simmer 10-15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and light soy sauce.
2. To serve, divide lettuce, hokkien mee between serving bowls. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve hot.

Quick Romaine and Enoki Mushroom Soup

This is a simple and easy soup to make, if you prefer not to stir fry and wanted something simple.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g romaine (cos lettuce)
° ½ carrot, peeled and cut into small chunks
° 50g enoki mushroom (golden needle mushroom), trimmed
° 1 slice ginger
° 500ml water
° 1 teaspoon preserved salted vegetable (tong chai)
° salt and pepper, to taste
° dash sesame oil (optional)

Method
1. Place the carrot, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add in the mushrooms, romaine, preserved salted vegetables bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt, pepper and sesame oil.
3. Serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Tom Yum Vegetarian Fish

This is real simple to cook. The vegetarian fish slices can be deep fried or pan fried, if desired. Sugar and light soy sauce are omitted unless you want to add these. Squeeze some lime juice if you prefer it to be a little tangier. Few pineapple cubes or slices of star fruit can be added.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 2 (100g) vegetarian fish slices
° 1 tomato, cut into 6-8 wedges
° 1 stalk lemongrass, peel off outer layers leaving tender whitish centre, cut out 5cm or sliced, bruised
° 3-4 kaffir lime leaves
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° 1 thin slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon vegetarian tom yum paste
° 50ml water
° ½ fresh red chilli (optional) , finely shredded
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves (optional), for garnish
° 1 kalamansi lime (optional)

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves fry till fragrant.
2. Throw in the tomato and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the tom yum paste and water. Add in the vegetarian fish slices and stir fry till the gravy is slightly thickened.
3. Discard lemongrass and lime leaves, if desired. Garnish with coriander leaves, chilli, kalamansi lime and serve hot.

Baby Meal: Pumpkin and Potato Puree

Another quick and easy baby meal. You can actually cook for yourself and your baby, just remember not to season the food during cooking and the portion for the baby. This recipe is improvised from the creamy pumpkin and potato soup.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 80g pumpkin (weight after peeling), peeled and diced
° 50g potato, peeled and diced
° 25g onion or carrot, diced
° 180ml water
° few coriander leaves (optional)

Method
1. Place the pumpkin, potato, onion and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Add in the coriander leaves.
2. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Serve warm.

Creamy Pumpkin and Potato Soup

Usually, for making creamy soup, the butter or margarine is melt in a pot and the ingredients are sauté. Often, I skip this step to simplify it. So, to have a bowl of tasty and delicious soup, use freshest ingredients, some simple herbs such as coriander and freshly ground pepper help to spice it up too. Onion is used here to lend its sweetness, if not replaced it with carrot which is sweet and nutritious too.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 1-2)
° 200g pumpkin (weight after peeling), peeled and diced
° 1 (150g) potato, peeled and diced
° 1 (50g) onion, diced
° 375ml water
° ½ -1 tablespoon non-dairy margarine
° salt and ground black pepper, or to taste
° few sprigs coriander leaves

Method
1. Place the pumpkin, potato, onion and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender.
2. Transfer to a blender or food processor and add in the margarine and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Baby Meal: Creamy Vegetable Puree

This recipe is improvised from the creamy vegetable soup recipe and I just reduced the amount of ingredients used and minus away the margarine, salt and pepper. There is no need to add any sugar or salt to baby meal. This is a real tasty meal, all the flavour and sweetness come from various vegetables used here.

Broccoli & Cauliflower: A rich and good source of potassium, beta-carotene, iron and contain vitamins C.
Carrot: A good source of beta-carotene and contain vitamins C and E.
Onions & Leeks: Anti-bacterial, anit-viral and anti fungal, contains vitamins C, folic acid and potassium.
Potato: A good source vitamins C, fibre, some potassium, folic acid, iron and protein.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 50g cauliflower florets
° 50g potato, peeled and diced
° 25g white leek (white portion), trimmed
° 25g onion or carrot, diced
° 25g broccoli florets
° 180ml water

Method
1. Place the cauliflower, potato, leek, onion and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Add the broccoli and cook for 1 minute.
2. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Serve warm.

Fried Carrot Cake

I had an ex-colleague who married to USA. One day, she told her hubby that she missed the carrot cake. The next day, her hubby brought home some carrot cake but that was not what she missed. The carrot cake she was referring to is fried carrot cake or chai tow kway" (菜頭粿;) which is a common dish here which Singaporeans eat throughout the day.

Ready made carrot cake for stir fry can be purchased and this carrot cake that I used is produced by Hiap Chen Food Proudcts Pte Ltd. Egg is omitted for this vegan version.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 500g carrot cake, cubed
° 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
° 2 tablespoons salted radish (chye poh)
° 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
° 4½ -5 tablespoons sweet sauce
° ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
° ½ red chilli (optional), finely minced

Method
1. Heat one and half tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan or wok. Add the garlic and salted radish fry for 2 minutes or till fragrant. Set aside.
2. Heat one and half tablespoon oil in a non-stick pan or wok. Add the carrot cake and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add in the stir-fry garlic and salted radish and chilli paste. Drizzle with the sweet sauce, light soy sauce and mix well.
3. Serve immediately.