Kindness Banana Salad

Why do I name this as Kindness Banana Salad?

Because this recipe was given to me via email by a Non-Vegetarian , Sous Chef – Mr Alfred Lee. I have used Vegetarian Mayo instead of Yogurt following the recipe (check out the recipe below). If Alfred had whip up this salad, I am very sure the presentation is very very much better than mine. Don’t believe me check out his blog at www.citi-monkey.blogspot.com, you will WOW.

Thank you very much Alfred, hope you could create more Vegetarian and Vegan Friendly delectable dishes for us :)

........................................................................

Hi Crystal,

I just read through your new recipe on banana so perhaps you would like to try this banana salad which is pretty simple and taste good to me.

Ingredients

Mango Puree - sweetPlain Yoghurt - I am not very sure do all vegetarian take yoghurt, if not substitute with vgt mayonnaise
Lemon Juice as desire
Mix well

Then add in the Banana slice about 2-3cm thick
Mint leaves slice
Garnish with wedges of strawberry and mint leaves

Good Day,
Alfred

Banana with Maple Syrup

Another banana recipe for kids, it can spread over bread. Alternatively, bake or toasted the banana and drizzle maple syrup and sprinkle cinnamon powder over it.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 1 (175g) banana, peeled and sliced
° 1 teaspoon maple syrup
° ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
° ½ teaspoon olive oil

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Throw in the banana and stir-fry for 1 minute.
2. Add the maple syrup and cinnamon powder and give it a quick stir-fry.
3. Serves immediately.

Crystal’s Green Papaya Salad

Green Papaya Salad/ Limes / Candied Orange

This is a modified Thai Green Papaya Salad. I added preserved candied orange, which is available at the Traditional Chinese Medical shops. Garnish with sesame seed or grounded peanut, if desired.

Preparation: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 150g green papaya, peeled, finely shredded and chilled
° 1 (50g) preserved candied orange, finely chopped or shredded
° 1½-2 tablespoons (3-4 limes) freshly squeezed kalamansi lime juice
° 2 tablespoon sugar, or to taste

Method
1. Mix the lime juice and sugar in a bowl and set aside.
2. Place the papaya and preserved candied orange in a salad bowl and drizzled with the lime juice dressing. Toss well and serve.

Pickled Green Mango

Pickled Green Mango (cut into chunks size)

Shredded Pickled Green Mango

If you have lots of green mango and do not know what to do with them. You can try this recipe. Simple to do and you can have pickled Mango, it is lovely if you loves sour and sweet food.

Preparation: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 125g green mango (weight after peeling), shredded or cut into big chunks
° 50ml white rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar
° 1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a glass container, mix well and leave to stand for 24 hours prior to serving.

Nata De Coco with Passion Fruit

Nata De Coco is a high-fibre, low-calorie and cholesterol-free dessert. The chewy, juicy cubes can be mixed with cocktails or other dessert to create your own treats. In here, I marry Nata De Coco with Passion Fruit!

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.

Durian Tofu Dessert

Durian

Durian Tofu Dessert

Ah, Durian Tofu Dessert. Durian is a popular fruit here. I just grab a pack of normal quality durian from the supermarket and make this dessert.

Preparation: 8 minutes

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g)
° 100g-150g durian, deseeded
° sugar to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Serve chilled.

Mango Tofu Pudding

After making the strawberry tofu dessert, I decide to try out using mango. This turn out to be like a pudding. So, experiment with different types of fruit to come up a unique tofu dessert. It’s fun. You may opt to replace passion fruit with other fruits, if desired.

Preparation: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g)
° 1 ripe mango, chopped
° 1 passion fruit
° sugar to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Serve chilled and top with passion fruit.

Strawberry Tofu Dessert

Mixing tofu and fruit to make a quick and simple dessert. There is no cooking required at all. For those who do not like soy or tofu, this dessert might be suitable for them. The blended tofu’s texture is so creamy just like yogurt and the strawberries lend its sweet taste and freshness to make it so delectable. A great healthy dessert for kids who do not like fruit. Strawberries bits can be added, if desired.

Preparation: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2 -3)
° 1 pack silken tofu (300g)
° 200g strawberries, chopped
° sugar to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Serve chilled.

Avocado and Mango Temaki

Avocado & Mango Temaki with pickled sushi ginger

This is incredibly simple and delectable dish. As long as you can cook a pot of rice and cut avocado and mango, this dish is not a problem for you. Anyone can do it.

Preparation: 15 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (makes 6)
° 200g rice, washed and drained
° 400ml water
° 1½-2 tablespoons Japanese rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
° 1 teaspoon mirin or ½ teaspoon cooking rice wine (optional)
° 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° 6 sheets nori
° 1 ripe avocado, stoned, peeled and cut into 6 wedges
° 1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into 6 wedges
° some pickled sushi ginger
° some roasted sesame seeds (optional)

Method
1. Add the rice and water into an electric rice cooker and turn it on. When done, leave the cooked rice to rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes.
2. Add the vinegar, mirin, sugar and salt into the rice, and mix well. Taste it.
3. Place some rice on the nori sheet. Add avocado and mango slices. Fold into a cone shape and top with some sesame seeds. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 5 more rolls in the same way.
4. Garnish with some pickled sushi ginger before serving.

Avocado Sushi

Nothing new, just a combination of avocado, rice and pickled ginger. For this recipe, I used brown rice instead of plain rice or sushi rice, to replicate the colour of the avocado’s seed. After making these, I just feel like stuffing a ball of brown rice into the stoned avocado and serve with pickled sushi ginger. If you prefer, you can make it into Avocado Temaki (hand rolled sushi) and garnish with crispy fried shredded ginger, it is real simple.

Check this out: How to cut and peel an avocado

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (makes 6)
° 200g brown rice or sushi rice, washed and drained
° 400ml water
° 2 tablespoons Japanese rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
° 1 teaspoon mirin or ½ teaspoon cooking rice wine (optional)
° 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° ½-1 nori sheet, cut into 6 strips
° 1 ripe avocado, stoned, peeled and cut into 6 wedges
° some pickled sushi ginger

Method
1. Add the rice and water into an electric rice cooker and turn it on. When done, leave the cooked rice to rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes.
2. Add the vinegar, mirin, sugar and salt into the rice, and mix well. Fluff with a fork and divided into 6 portions.
3. Wet your hand and shape the rice into 6 balls. Alternatively, place rice on the cling plastic to and shape into a ball. Place one wedge of avocado over it and go round it with the nori strip to secure it. Tap some water at the end of the nori strip to seal it.
4. Serve with pickled sushi ginger.

Avocado Jelly

Here is another way to enjoy avocado. For a healthy dessert topped with different types of fruit like mango dices, strawberries, and grapes. Use can fruit cocktails or Nata De Coco, if desired. For a little special avocado jelly, drizzle with fresh coconut milk and finely chopped gula melaka (palm sugar) or gula melaka sryup.

This is also a special dessert for kid who does not like fruit, just topped with some chocolate cream, if desired.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (Makes 12 glasses)
° 12g agar-agar powder
° 1.5 litre water
° 250g sugar, or to taste
° 3 ripe avocado, peeled and diced
° 6 strawberries (optional), halved
° 24 grapes (optional)

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 in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour the agar-agar mixture into individual serving glass and leave to cool before refrigerating until chilled.
5. Top with strawberries, grapes and serve chilled.

Avocado Fried Wanton

A lovely person left a wonderful comment on one of my avocado’s recipes. The comment: Dipping avocado in sweet and sour chilli sauce. This leads me to the idea of wrapping avocado with wonton wrapper, deep-fry it and then dip with sweet and sour chilli sauce. We can all forget about using minced meat, prawn and tofu for wanton’s filling, just use fruit which is so much simple to prepare, even kid can do it. Try banana, ripe mango and any fruit that you dare to experiment with, it can be a lovely surprise.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (makes 24 pieces)
° 24 pieces wonton wrapper
° 1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced
° oil, for deep-frying

Method
1. Lay a wonton wrapper in front of you. Place a piece of avocado in the middle. Fold up the wonton diagonally, making sure the end meet. Press down firmly on the ends to seal.
2. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or wok and fry in batches until golden yellow.
3. Remove the wonton with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper and serve as soon as possible to ensure they remain crispy.

Tip
1. Put wontons in oven or microwave for 1-2 minutes if they lose their crispiness.

Mango and Cucumber Spring Roll

This is a no-cook dish, simple and yet delicious plus healthy. The vegetarian mushroom which is made from mushroom stalks can be purchased from the vegetarian shops. Thaw it prior to cutting or shredding. Steam the vegetarian mushroom, if desired. You can still enjoy this dish if you don’t have the Vietnamese rice paper. Just pour the dipping sauce over the ingredients and toss well.

Preparation: 20 mins

Ingredients (makes 10-12)
° 150g shredded mango
° 100g shredded cucumber
° 100g shredded vegetarian mushroom
° 10-12 pieces rice paper

Dipping Sauce
° 2 tablespoons tomatoes sauce
° 2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
° 2 tablespoons (4 limes) freshly squeezed kalamansi lime juice, or to taste
° ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)

Method
To prepare dipping sauce
1. To make the sauce: Dissolve the sugar with lime juice in a bowl. Add in the tomatoes sauce and mixed well. Sprinkle sesame seeds and set aside.

To wrap spring roll
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 amount of cucumber, mango and vegetarian mushroom in the centre and roll up.
3. Arrange on a serving plate and serve immediately with the dipping sauce. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent from drying if it is not consume immediately.

Mini Cocktail Rolls

There is this cocktail roll that looks like mini spring roll with sambal shrimp filling sold in the supermarkets. I decide to make some little cute mini rolls using wonton wrapper instead of the spring roll pastry skin with tofu or banana filling. If you prefer a spicy version, spread a little bit of sambal chilli on the wonton wrapper before placing the tofu. Or you can make different filling rolls and mix them up. Let there be some elements of mystery, suspense and fun in guessing what are you going to have when you pick one – salty, sweet or spicy!

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (makes 20)
° 20 pieces wonton wrappers
° 1 small firm tofu/beancurd, cut into 20 small rectangles and pan-fried
or
° 2 small bananas, peeled and cut into 20 small rectangles
° vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Method
1. Place a piece of spring roll wrapper on a chopping board or plate. Place a piece of tofu or banana on it and roll up. Repeat for the rest.
2. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or wok over high heat or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil brown in few seconds. Drop the mini roll into the hot oil and fry in batches until lightly golden brown.
3. Remove the mini roll with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper.
4. Arrange on a serving plate and serve immediately

Soy Dessert with Fruits

Ha...ha…, a 'No Cook' Dessert!

Just a bowl of Sweet Soy Dessert and toppled with some mango and pomegranate. That’s! Use any other type of fruits that you love.

Mango with Glutinous Rice

This is a Thai dessert. It is real easy that even a kid can do it. Usually, the glutinous rice is streamed but I opt for the easy way out – cook it using the rice cooker. The rest of the work is just peeling the mango using a fruit peeler and prepared the ‘no-cook’ sauce. To make it more interesting, just treat this dessert as a little art piece. It definitely tastes good, as glutinous rice plus coconut milk are the main ingredients used for some kueh recipes.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 1 (200g) ripe mango, peeled, sliced or diced
° 200g glutinous rice
° 200ml water
° 2 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds (optional)
° 4 longans (optional)
° few mint leaves (optional), for garnish

Coconut Sauce
° 75ml coconut milk
° ¾ teaspoon sugar, or to taste
° a little pinch of salt

Method
1. Wash the glutinous rice and place in a bowl with enough water to cover. Leave to soak for 3 hours or more. Drain thoroughly.
2. Place the glutinous rice, water and pandan leaves into an electric rice cooker, mix well and turn it on.
3. Meanwhile, to make the coconut sauce: combine the coconut milk, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix well and set aside.
4. When the glutinous rice is done, scoop into a little bowl or teacup and turn over on a serving plate. Pour few teaspoons of coconut sauce over the rice. Top with mango, longan, mint leaves and sprinkle with some sesame seeds. Finally, drizzle over a teaspoon of coconut sauce. Repeat for the rest.
5. Serve.

Avocado and Vegetarian Noodle Prawn

The avocado and vegetarian noodle prawns on the bamboo skewers can be prepared for a picnic or as a cold dish. Serve with the special prepared plum sauce for dipping.

Preparation: 10 mins

Ingredients (makes 6)
° ½ (75g) ripe avocado, diced
° 6 vegetarian noodle prawns, deep-fried or pan-fried
° 6-12 slices carrot
° 6 bamboo skewers

Sauce
° 3 tablespoons plum sauce, or to taste
° 3 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
° 6 tablespoons warm water
° 6 tablespoons (6 limes) freshly squeezed kalamansi lime juice, or to taste
° ¼ fresh red chilli, finely chopped
° ¼ teaspoon roasted sesame seeds (optional)

Method
1. To make the sauce: Dissolve the sugar with water in a bowl. Add in the plum sauce, chilli and lime juice. Mix well and sprinkle some sesame seeds. Set aside.
2. Arrange a slice of carrot, vegetarian noodle prawn and avocado dice on a bamboo skewer. Repeat for the rest.
3. Serve with the sauce.

Avocado Spread

Avocado Spread Sandwiches, Crispy Biscuits & Vegetarian Prawns topped with Avocado Spread

Vegetarian Noodle Prawns serve with Avocado Spread, Avocado Dice, Mint Leaves, Seeds or Nuts

Thin Crispy Biscuits serve with Avocado Spread, Avocado Dice, Mint Leaves, Seeds or Nuts

Besides the previous few recipes on avocado, it can be blended and mixed with mayonnaise to make a special type of bread/biscuit spread or salad dressing or as a dipping sauce. It is absolutely simple and here is the recipe. Feel free to add salt, sugar, non-dairy margarine, vinegar, if desired. Use your creativity or imagination to do up a little art piece topping on the thin, crispy biscuits or deep-fried vegetarian noodle prawn as appetizers.

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (makes 150g±)
° 1 ripe avocado (200g)
° 2 tablespoons vegetarian salad cream or vegan mayonnaise, or to taste

Method
1. Cut the avocado into half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh. Place the avocado in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Combine with vegetarian salad cream or vegan mayonnaise and mix well.
3. Serve as bread spread or salad dressing or dips.

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.