Misoyaki black cod

(picture to come soon, we finished it before I remembered to take a picture)

I tried the Miso-crusted black cod at Roy's and loved it. The only thing I didn't like about it was that they always char the fish a bit too much for my liking. Here's a home made version that I think tastes just as good, minus the charred fish and the expensive price tag.

Ingredients:
1 lb of black cod or any fish fillet

Miso sauce:
1/4 cup of sake
1/4 cup of mirin sauce - you can get this from most asian stores
4 tablespoons of fresh miso
2.5 tablespoons of brown sugar

Steps:

1. Mix all the ingredients of the sauce and soak the fish fillet in the sauce overnight.
2. Wipe off the extra sauce. Bake the fish at 375F oven for about 15 minutes or pan fry the fish fillet for a few minutes each side. 

Note: You can use this sauce to marinate chicken and pork as well.

Nutritional info:
There's health benefits with Miso, see wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miso#Nutrition_and_health fish is a good source of protein

Roasted potatoes with rosemary

I have always loved potatoes and used to mainly go for Yukon gold. But recently I have a new favorite - German butter potatoes. They are creamy, slightly sweet and great for baking. The roasted potatoes in this dish are crispy on the outside but creamy and soft on the inside. And they are oh so yummy, my husband raved about the dish through out dinner :)

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Rosemary, dried or fresh, finely chopped
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Cut potatoes in half unless they are very large. The pieces should be no less than 2 to 2.5 inches in parameter. Coat the potatoes with oil and rosemary.
3. Cover a baking pan with a large piece of aluminum foil. Put the potatoes flat side down to get a golden crust and to prevent them from drying.
4. Use a salt grinder to sprinkle salt evenly over the potatoes.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. 

Nutritional info:
Potato is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Potassium.

Mixed mushroom with prawns

I got a fresh bag of mixed mushroom at the farmer's market so I cooked this fresh, delicious dish together with some succulent prawns and orange bell peppers.

Ingredients:
Mushrooms of any kind, cleaned and sliced - 1 lb
10 large prawns
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 slice of ginger, minced

Sauce:
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of corn starch
1/4 cup of water
a drizzle of sesame oil

Steps:

1.  Add a bit of oil to a heated pan.
2. Cook the prawns for a few minutes until they turn opaque, pink, and curled up. Season the prawns with a bit of salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
3. Cook the minced garlic and ginger in the pan with a bit of oil until you can smell the garlic and ginger. Add in the mushroom and bell pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
4. Mix the ingredients of the sauce well in a container and add to the mushroom and bell pepper, the sauce should thicken shortly. Adjust the thickness sauce accordingly as this depends on the amount of liquid coming out from the mushroom. If the sauce is too thick, dilute with a bit of water. If it is too watery, you can thicken with a bit more corn starch mixed with a small amount of water.

Nutritional info:

Mushrooms are high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, same with bell pepper. One interesting fact is that red pepper is much higher in vitamins and nutrients than green pepper, not to mention much more tasty. So take that into account when you go shopping next time. Prawns are high in protein

Beef stew with potatoes and carrot

Stew beef is one of the cheaper cut of beef and it's easy to cook. It's already cut into chunk when it's sold in the store so it is easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of stew beef

2 medium potatoes or 3 small ones, cut into chunks (I like the German butter potatoes which are soft, creamy and slightly sweet)

1 large carrot, cut into small pieces

1 clove of garlic, minced

(optional) 1 tablespoon of red wine

Beef marinate:

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon of poultry rub or mixed herb

1 teaspoon of brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of oil

Steps:

1. Marinate the stew beef overnight so all the flavour can be soaked into the beef
2. Cook the minced garlic in the pan until golden brown
3. Add the beef in and brown the outside for a few minutes
4. Add the potatoes and carrot into the pan
5. Add the red wine, 1/3 cup of water
6. Season the potatoes and carrot with a bit of salt and pepper
7. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes 
8. The beef should be about cooked now, remove the beef when cooked so it does get tough and dry
9. Continue to cook the potatoes for another 5 to 6 minutes until potatoes are soft, the carrot is tender, and the sauce thickens. 
10. Mix the beef back in

Makes 2 to 3 servings

Nutritional Info:

Beef is high in iron, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, and B vitamins, and it is a good source of carnitine (an antioxidant). It is also the only meat with creatine, good for building muscles. Red meat is a bit more difficult to digest, and there's some health concern when it is consumed too much (more than 500 g per week). But there's definitely health benefits when consumed moderately. 

Potato is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Potassium.  Carrot is high in B-carotene, dietary fibre, and antioxidants.

Note: Potato contains toxic compounds known as glycoalkaloids, which affects the nervous system, causing confusion and weakness. Stems, sprouts and fruits contains high concentration of the toxin. Potato that has turned green also has high concentration of the toxin. So avoid eating any potato that has sprouted or turned green

Chanterelle mushroom fried eggs

It's chanterelle mushroom season and I was able to pick up some wild chanterelle for a good price at the farmer's market. I decided to make pan fried eggs with it. Chanterelle is only in season for a short period during the year so you can always substitute it with other types of mushroom such as Shitaki or cremini.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of chanterelle or other mushroom, clean and sliced
1/4 cup of chopped chives or green onion
4 to 5 eggs (I used 3 large whole eggs plus 3 egg whites left over from making ice-cream)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt
dash of pepper

Steps:

1.  Add a bit of cooking oil to a heated pan and cook the minced garlic until golden brown.
2. Add the mushroom and cook for a few minutes.
3. Add the green onion and cook down the liquid coming out from the mushroom. Turn off heat.
4. In a glass bowl, scrambled the eggs, added the mushroom, salt, pepper and drizzle a bit of oil to the mixture.
5. Add some oil to a clean, heated pan.
6. Pour in half of the egg and mushroom mixture.
7. Cook for a few minutes until one side is almost cooked through.
8. Flip the egg and cook the other side for another minute or so.
9. Repeat steps 5 - 8 for the other half of the egg mixture.

Makes 2 ~ 3 servings.

Nutritional info:

This delicious golden orange mushroom has a fruity fragrance and is high in Vitamin C & D, as well as potassium. Eggs are high in protein, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B5, Calcium, and essential amino acids

Marinated cucumber

Picked up a fresh English cucumber at the farmer's market on Sat and decided to make a nice side dish with it. Cucumber is a good source of various Vitamins and minerals and sesame is a high source of minerals. The rich sesame paste contrasts nicely with the fresh taste of the cucumber.

Ingredients:
1 large English cucumber
1 teaspoon of salt for pickling

Sauce:
1.5 tablespoons of sesame paste
1 teaspoon of soy sauce

Steps:

1. Peel all or most of the skin of the cucumber
2. If the cucumber is old, remove the seeds. Slice the cucumber into thin strips of about 3 to 4 inches long
3. Put the cucumber strips in a strainer and mix well with the teaspoon of salt. Let sit for 10 minutes
4. Wash the salt off with water. Take a hand full of the cucumber at a time and squeeze as much water out as possible. This gives the cucumber a crunchy texture
5. Mix the sesame paste with soy sauce until a thick paste is formed
6. Mix the sauce with the cucumber

Whole wheat broccoli and zucchini pannekoek

Panekoek is a savory Dutch pancake. It is usually much bigger and thinner than traditional pancakes. You might ask how anything made from whole wheat, broccoli and zucchini be tasty but trust me, this is a very tasty dish! Whole wheat is good for health but it can sometimes taste rough and dry. Not one to compromise taste for health, I rarely make whole wheat bread or eat whole wheat pasta. But whole wheat pancake is surprisingly tasty. It adds a nice texture without tasting rough. I now prefer it over the too smooth regular white flour pancake.


Ingredients:

Pancake batter
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk or water
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon oil

Pancake filling:
1 cup of broccoli cut into small pieces
1 cup of zucchini cut into small pieces
Note: you can substitute the filling with other vegetables you like such as mushroom and onions

Steps:

1. Mix all the dried pancake ingredients together
2. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and half of the water or milk into the batter mix
3. Mix well with a whisk until a thick batter is formed and no lumps remain
4. Add in the rest of the water or milk and whisk until a thin batter is formed
5. Add in the broccoli and the zucchini. Mix well
6. Heat up a frying pan a bit of oil, just enough to coat the pan
7. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the frying pan
8. Let the pancake batter cook for a few minutes until bubbles are formed and the batter is almost cooked through, as seen in the picture above
9. Turn the pancake and cook for another minute or two
10. Makes 8 large pannekoek

Nutritional info:

Broccoli is high in Vitamin C, K, and A, as well as dietary fiber. It is also high in anti-oxidants. Zucchini  is a source of Vitamin A, Maganese, and Potassium. Whole wheat flour is a good source of Calcium, Iron, and fiber

Fried sticky rice

This is one of my Grandma's recipes and everyone in the family loves it.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of sticky rice, soaked in water overnight

3 dried scallops, shredded

5 shitaki mushrooms, diced

1 handful of dried shrimps

Green onions or cilantro for ganish, chopped

Optional: sausage or ham (I skip them in my dish because they are processed meat)

Seasoning:

1.5 teaspoons of soy sauce

Dash of pepper

Steps:

1. Drain the water from the rice
2. Heat up the pan and drizzle a bit of oil in the pan
3. Pan fried the dried shrimps, scallops and mushroom for a few minutes until you can smell the fragrance from the ingredients
4. Add in the rice, stir it in the pan and then add in 1/4 cup of water
5. Keep adding in small amount of water and stir until the rice turns translucent and cooked, around 10 to 15 minutes. Add in only a small amount of water at a time so the rice doesn't become too soggy.
6. Add in cilantro or green onion and soy sauce and pepper to taste

Salmon baked two ways: sundried tomatoes and garlic & curry seasoning

Salmon is low in fat, delicious, and high in omega 3 acids. I got a large fillet of salmon and decided to bake it two ways.

Ingredients:

A large salmon fillet

2 to 3 cloves of garlic

4 pieces of sun dried tomatoes (either the dried ones or ones soaked in oil are fine)

Salt and pepper to taste
Curry seasoning

Steps:

1. Pre-set the oven to 325F.
2. Put the cleaned salmon steaks or fillet on a large piece of aluminum foil that has been thinly coated with oil.
3. Add salt and pepper to the salmon accordingly to taste.
4. Add curry seasoning to half of the fillet
5. Finely minced the garlic and finely cut the sun dried tomatoes into small stripes. Add the garlic and the tomatoes on top of the other half of the salmon fillet
6.  Drizzle some grape seed oil on top of the garlic and sun dried tomatoes
7. Bake the fish in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. 

Bean curb with dried scallops and mushroom

Bean curb is made from soy beans. It's the skin that forms on top when the grounded soy beans are cooked to make soy milk. Like tofu, it doesn't have much taste but takes added flavour very well.  You can buy bean curb in a lot of Chinese stores. For folks that live in Canada, you can buy packages of them from T&T supermarket or places that specialized in soy bean products. One thing to keep in mind is that it only lasts 2 to 3 days in the fridge if uncooked as there's no preservatives in the product.  I make this dish regularly because it is healthy, simple and delicious. This dish can be easily made vegetarian if the dried scallop is left out.

Ingredients:

1 package of fresh bean curb
1 package of enoki mushroom
1 red sweet pepper
1 green sweet pepper
2 dried scallops (soak overnight)
1 clove of garlic

3 tablespoons of corn starch (only needed if you are not using a non-stick pan)

1.5 tablespoons of soy sauce

salt and pepper for seasoning the mushroom

3/4 teaspoon of  corn starch

1/2 teaspoon of sugar

dash of pepper

Steps:

1. Break the two scallops into small threads and them with about 1/2 cup of water for about 15 minutes. You can let it cook while you do the following steps.
2. Skip this step if you are using a non-stick frying pan. If you use a cast iron or stainless steel pan like me (to avoid the Teflon which causes cancer), you need to coat the bean curb pieces with a bit of corn starch to prevent them from sticking to the frying pan. Put the 3 tablespoon of corn starch in a medium size plastic or glass container. Add the bean curb pieces in one by one so they don't stick together. Cover the lid and shake for a few seconds so all the pieces are coated with a thin layer of corn starch. 
3. Cut of the end of the enoki and separate them a bit. Clean the sweet peppers and slice them thinly.
4. Add a bit of oil to the pan until the whole surface of the pan is covered. When the pan is heated, put the bean curb pieces in and pan fry them for a few minutes until they are slightly golden brown. Turn them and cook the other side for another few minutes. Scoop out the bean curb onto a plate.
5. Add a bit more oil to the pan and add in the finely mined garlic, mushroom, sweet peppers and the dried scallop. Stir fry them for a few minutes. Season them with salt and pepper and put them in a separate plate
6. Mix 3/4 teaspoon of corn starch, the soy sauce, sugar and about 1/2 cup of water in a small bowl and add it to the frying pan. When the sauce starts to boil and thicken, add in the bean curb and make sure that all the bean curb pieces are nicely coated with the sauce. Now add in the mushroom and dried scallop. 
7. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition info:

Soy bean is high in protein, vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and other minerals. Enoki  mushroom is high in fiber and antioxidants. Sweet peppers are high in Vitamin C and Vitamin B6

Marinated spinach

We all know that spinach is high in iron, vitamins and antioxidants. But it tends to leave a funny after taste like there's something that got stuck on the teeth. Here's a simple spinach recipe that's easy and tasty, without the funny after taste like there's something stuck on your teeth. This marinated spinach is often served as a side dish in Korean restaurants.


Ingredients:
1 lb of organic spinach (I always get organic spinach as conventional spinach has a lot of pesticides)

1/4 tsp of toasted sesame seeds

Sauce:
3 tsp of soy sauce
2 tsp of brown sugar
1 tsp of sesame oil

Note: only 2 teaspoons of the sauce is needed.

Steps:

1. Blanch spinach in boiling water and take it out as soon as it is wilted
2. Run the spinach in a strainer under cold water
3. Take a handful of spinach at a time and squeeze the excess water out
4. Mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, and sesame oil. If the sugar is not dissolved, warm the sauce until the sugar is dissolved
5. Mix the spinach, 2 teaspoons of the sauce and sesame seeds
6. You are done!

This takes 10 minutes to take and it's incredibly delicious. I made it for a potluck once and everyone was raving about it!

Nutritional info:
Spinach is rich in Vitamin A, Beta carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Calcium and Iron.

Banana bread

Got 3 ripe bananas in the fridge and decided to make banana cake this morning. I have modified the traditional banana cake recipe to make it healthier but it is every bit as tasty. You can make this recipe as organic as you like.

Here's what I used:

1/4 cup of grapeseed oil

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1.5 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of organic brown sugar

1 large organic egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

3 ripe organic bananas

a pinch of sea salt

Steps:

1. Set the oven to 350F
2. Mash the 3 bananas in a large mixing bowl
3. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix them until you get a smooth batter
4. Pour the batter into a 4x8 inches loaf pan and bake around 55 minutes to an hour

This takes 10 minutes to make. It's one of the tastiest and easiest dessert/snack you can make.

Nutritional info:
Banana is high in potassium, fiber and Vitamins

Tips:

- You can substitute the oil with yogurt to make it even healthier but I find the bread doesn't rise as high and it's a bit more dense

- Try not to use non-stick bake pan as it contains Teflon, which causes cancer. Use a glass or aluminum pan