Simple Mayo Corn

Simple and easy plus tasty. The secret to sweet and delicious mayonnaise is to use fresh corn on the cob.

Preparation: 2 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 2 ears corn on the cob, cut or peeled kernels off the cob
° 2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise or vegetarian salad cream, to taste

Method
1. Put the corn kernels in a heatproof serving plate and steam for 8-10 minutes.
2. Remove from streamer and leave to cool.
3. Mix well with mayonnaise and serve or serve chilled.

Instant Mash Potato with Black Pepper Sauce !

I bought a pack of Mr. Mash (Instant Mash Potato) at Fairprice $2.45 for 120g, which is suitable for vegetarian as stated on the box. And I got this Vegetarian Hot Pepper Sauce from Friendly Vegetarian Food Supplier which cost around $3.50 per bottle.

What’s next? Whipping up a quick and easy, deliciously instant mash potato is so easy. Just add the content of Mr. Mash with pinch of salt to a bowl of hot water. Mixed well, drizzle with hot pepper sauce on it. Sprinkle some sesame seeds or spring onion or coriander leaves if desired.

If you don’t like the peppery sauce, they have another similar sauce without the black pepper.

Mini Red Bean Pumpkin

It is fun making mini pumpkin. After having this at a Buffet, I decided to try out. Use any filling – sweet or salty. Try to roll or flatten the dough portion into a thin round disc and you can fill up with more koshian. I am not that good with thin disc, therefore my mini pumpkin is too thick. If you don’t have any chilli stalks, use stalk of the Chinese celery to make the mini pumpkin stalk.

Preparation: 30 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (makes 12± )
° 200g pumpkin (weight after peeling), peeled and sliced
° 200g glutinous rice flour
° 1½-2 tablespoons sugar
° 150g koshian/red bean paste
° 12 chilli stalks

Method
1. Bring the water in the steamer to a boil. Place the pumpkin in and steam for 10 minutes or until soften. Mashed the pumpkin.
2. To make dough, combine the mashed pumpkin, glutinous rice flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix well, knead into dough and divide into 25g-30g portions.
3. Flatten each portion into a thin circular shape. Place ½ teaspoon koshian/red bean paste on top. Wrap up and shape it into a ball using your hand. Use a plastic cutter to crave some lines on the ball to resemble a pumpkin. Place the stalk of the chilli in the centre.
4. Grease a tin with oil and place the mini pumpkin in and stream for 10 minutes.
5. Serve immediately.

Vegetable Mui Fan

This is simple Mui Fan recipe.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 2 bowls cooked rice
° 50g baby corn, sliced
° 50g red capsicum, seeded and cut into small dices
° 50g green capsicum, seeded and cut into small dices
° 50g crab mushroom, base discarded
° 3 slices carrot, chopped
° 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° ¾ tablespoon olive oil

Sauce
° 200ml vegetable stock or water
° 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° ½ teaspoon sugar, or to taste
° pepper to taste
° 1-1½ tablespoons tapioca flour

Method
1. Divide the cooked rice among 2 individual serving plates and set aside.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
4. Throw in the corn, green and red capsicum, carrot, mushroom and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Stir in the sauce mixture and bring to a boil.
5. Pour over the cooked rice and serve immediately.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves, chilli and serve immediately.

Beetroot Soy Milk Shake

Oh, the colour of beetroot is so lovely. Want to know more about beetroot, check it out at Beetroot @ BBC . Beetroot can be eaten raw too. If you like you may even skip the steaming and to make the beetroot soy milk shake. I chosen to peeled with fruit peeler before steaming, so that I don’t have to do that afterward.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 150g beetroot, peeled and cut into small chunks
° 250ml unsweetened soy milk
° sugar (optional), to taste

Method
1. Bring the water in the steamer to a boil. Place the beetroot in the steamer and steam for 10 minutes or until soften. Leave to cool.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary. Chilled or serve with ice.

Corn Agar-Agar

Another simple agar-agar recipe. Feel free to replace coconut milk with unsweetened soymilk for a healthy choice, you might have to use more soymilk and lesser water. If you love cream style sweet corn, use more.

Preparation: 2 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (makes 30)
° 12g agar-agar powder
° 250g sugar, or to taste
° 1 litre water
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 1 pack (380g) sweet corn (cream style)
° 250g coconut milk

Method
1. Dissolve agar-agar powder in 1 litre water in a pot. Add the sugar, pandan leaves and bring to a boil.
2. Remove pot from heat and discard pandan leaves. Stir in the cream corn, coconut milk and mix well.
3. Pour the agar-agar mixture into the jelly mould and leave to cool before refrigerating until chilled.
4. Serve chilled.

Sea Bird's Nest (Funori) Drink

Funori drink with sterculia seeds/ Funori drink

Dried Funori/Soaked Funori

I get to know about Funori from Sunny’s blog - Funori and manage to get it at the Vegetarian Shop at Fortune Centre, $5 per 100g. It can be used to make a simple drink like the bird's nest drink or add some sterculia seeds/mollow seeds (bruised, soaked in hot water until the flesh has expanded into a loose, jelly like mass, skin peel off and discard ) to it. As it is rather tasteless, I add pandan leaves or sterculia seeds to give it some flavour. Red dates and dried wolfberries can be added, if preferred. I find that it has a “fishy” smell, therefore the amount of funori used is 25g for this recipes. Add more if desired.

There are many ways to eat this, you can add to any hot soup, red bean/cheng tng/sweet potatoes /red ruby/chendol dessert, agar-agar, soymilk, soymilk shake and so on. Tracy Juice Culture sells dessert which had funori.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 25g funori (jelly seaweed), washed, rinsed, soaked overnight and chopped
° 6 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 75g rock sugar, or to taste
° 1 litre water

Method
1. Place pandan leaves and water in a pot. Bring the soup to a boil.
2. Add rock sugar and simmer for few minute. Stir in funori.
3. Ladle the dessert into individual serving bowls and serve hot or chilled.

“Pork” Congee

Vegetarian Minced Meatless

Cooking congee with minced pork is a very common congee. I found that the Vegetarian minced meatless had the minced meat texture and therefore use it to cook this vegetarian minced pork congee. I was looking for vegetarian mushroom but the vegetarian shops offer me this vegetarian minced meatless which consists textured soy bean protein, soya bean, wheat flour, mushroom steam, vegetable oil and vegetarian seasoning.

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

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g rice, washed and drained
° 1.2 litres water
° 3 thin slices ginger, finely shredded
° 100g vegetarian minced meatless, thawed
° 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 minced meatless 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 salt, sesame oil and pepper.
3. Ladle the congee into individual serving bowls, garnish with corianders leaves and serve hot.

Steamed Vegetarian Minced Meat

Steamed minced meat is a very common home-style dish for non-vegetarian. I bought the vegetarian minced meatless by accident instead of getting the vegetarian mushroom. The ingredients is textured soy bean protein, soya bean, wheat flour, mushroom steam, vegetable oil and vegetarian seasoning and have the minced meat texture. Just add some preserved salted vegetable (Tong Chai) and mix well with the vegetarian minced meat. Do rinse the preserved salted vegetable well to get rid of the saltiness or use lesser. If you prefer it to be bond together, just add some corn starch with some water, and mix well with the rest of the ingredients. It is a simple dish that anyone can cook.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 150g vegetarian mushroom slice
° 25g-50g preserved salted vegetable (Tong Chai), rinsed
° 30ml water

Method
1. Place the vegetarian minced meatless and preserved salted vegetable in a heat proof serving plate.
2. Add water and mix well.
3. Steam for 8-10 minutes and serve with rice.

Miso Soup Porridge

I bought this Instant Vegetarian Miso Soup from Friendly Vegetarian Food Supplier. The ingredients are seaweed, salt, mushroom, beancurd, MSG, starch, spicy seasoning, and rice soybean.

Instead of using it to make a instant miso soup, I add it to a bowl of hot plain porridge/congee and it become – Miso Soup Porridge. It might come in handy when traveling, if the hotel’s breakfast serves plain porridge, just add it in, and if not just add hot water to make a bowl or cup of hot miso soup.

Fruit Punch Juice

I love fruit punch and those I get from the supermarket do contain preservatives. Trying to make it myself and it is what I got. Watermelon is an excellent source of Vitamin A, C and B6 and potassium. To prevent wastage of the orange pulp, add them into the blender. The amount of fruits can be adjustable to personal liking and you can control the amount of sugar used here. Oh the little cow in the picture, is designed by crystal.

Preparation: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 300g seedless watermelon fresh
° 1 orange, freshly squeezed
° 100g mango fresh, chopped
° 2-3 kalamansi limes, freshly squeezed
° sugar to taste

Method
1. Throw in the entire ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste it, add more sugar, if necessary.
2. Serve chill or with ice.

Koshian Agar-Agar

What is this? Oh, I added Koshian (Japanese Red Bean Paste or Azuki Bean Paste) to the Agar-agar. In fact I bought this Koshian for making matcha mochi but still having got into the mood of doing it. Back to this agar-agar, it is real simple. Just that, I need to give a stir prior to the mixture been solidify so that the koshian does not settle on the bottom.
Preparation: 2 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (Makes 24)
° 12g agar-agar powder
° 1.5 litre water
° 250g Koshian, or to taste

Method
1. Dissolve agar-agar powder in 1500ml of water in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Remove pot from heat and leave to cool, stir in koshian and mix well.
3. Pour into the container. Give it a last stir prior to refrigerating until chilled.
4. Cut and serve chilled.

Vegan Caramel Custard Pudding

While making the Avocado Jelly sometime back, I discovered that it has the custard pudding, texture. Therefore, I modified the recipe for Avocado Jelly to make this. Using palm sugar to replace the caramel, maple syrup can be used if desired. Not forgetting the vanilla essence or extract. This is just another way of making vegan caramel custard pudding, it can be improved on. Top with some palm sugar or maple syrup if preferred.

Preparation: 15 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (Makes 18)
° 12g agar-agar powder
° 1.5 litre water
° 225g-250g sugar, or to taste
° 125g palm sugar/gula melaka, chopped
° 2 teaspoons vanilla essence, or to taste
° 3 ripe avocado, peeled and diced

Method
1. Dissolve agar-agar powder in 1.5 litre of water in a pot.
2. Add sugar and bring to a boil. Remove pot from heat.
3. Combine agar-agar mixture, avocado, vanilla essence in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour 300ml of agar-agar mixture with palm sugar till dissolved. Pour equally into individual moulds and set aside till the surface start to firm up.
5. Pour the rest of agar-agar mixture into individual moulds and leave to cool before refrigerating until chilled.
6. Serve chilled.