Healthy Vegetarian Noodles

Every 1^st & 15^th of lunar month, my hubby & I will make an effort to go green for the day. I will think of ways to make my “meatless” meals look attractive and yummy for him & myself. I got this recipe from KOKA instant noodles packaging. I find it refreshing and easy to whip out this simple yet nutritious meal at home. Let me share with you how to make this healthy recipe idea even for normal days. 

Cold Vegetarian Noodles

Recipe from KOKA

(For 3pax)

Things needed:

• 2 bean curds, shredded it after pan fried 
• 1/4 bean spourts
• 1 carrot shredded
• 1 japanese cucumber shredded
• 3 stalk of celery shredded
• 1 tablespoon of oil ( I omit it)
• 2 KOKA Fat Free Noodles

Sauce 

• 3 tablespoon of sesame paste (I omit this as I do not have it in my pantry)
• 6 tablespoon of soy sauce ( I reduce to 4 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of Chilli sauce ( I use 2 tablespoon of Maggi chilli)
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil 
• 2 tablespoon of water
• 1 tablespoon of crushed peanut ( I add a little sugar to the peanut)

      *** Combined the sauce together and set aside for later use.

Steps

1. Pan fried the bean curd on a non stick pan till golden brown. Shredded it it cool down.
2. Boil the bean sprouts, shredded carrots & celery for 3mins and set aside for later use.
3. Cook the noodles for 2-3 mins. Drained off the water and add in 1 tablespoon of oil and toss it (I skip this step). 
4. Combined the veggies, noodles & shredded bean curd together in a mixing bowl.
5. Add in the sauce to the mixture and mix.toss till it is well-combined.
6. Place it on the plate and add in 1 tablespoon of crushed peanut on top before serving.  

Isn't simple? Please give it a try.

TAGlicious Note:

* You can use other type of noodles (UDON, Bee hoon) for this recipe.

Disclaimer: I do not earn any advertisement fee from KOKA. :P 

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Salmon Miso Soup

After a long day on a Monday, I want to keep my dinner menu as simple as possible yet healthy for my family. Let me share with you how to make this simple Salmon Miso soup in 30mins.

Salmon Miso Soup

(For 3pax)

Things needed:

• 1L of broth ( I used my Jelly Collagen Stock)
• 400g of salmon 
• 200g of enoki mushroom
• 80g of pumpkin
• 1 box of silken tofu 
• Some spring onions
• 60g of white miso ( replace with dark miso if you have it) 
• 2 tablespoon of sake (Optional)
• Pepper to taste

Steps

1. Bring the broth to boil.
2. Add in the Miso base and mix well till it dissolve.
3. Add in Pumpkin and simmer it for 5mins
4. Add in some spring onions 
5. Add in Tofu and simmer it for 5mins.
6. Add in Enoki Mushroom and simmer it for 3mins.
7. Lastly, Add in the salmon slices and simmer it for 5mins. Do not overcook the salmon.
8. Ready to serve! 

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Jelly Collagen Stock

Wow! I can see people are interested of this collagen soup as much as I do. Collagen is a protein of various connective tissues in animal. Collagen is good for skin as it can help to smooth it by making wrinkles less visible and it help to moisturize our skin so that it will become softer and healthier. Collagen helps structure hair, joints, nails & skin too. Collagen is a beneficial protein that help to restores what our skin has lost and make it firmer, more elastic & heal scars. After knowing collagen got so much goodness to our body, why are u waiting for? You can prepare these collagen stock easily at home too. For those who have baby at home, these stock come in handy for cooking porridge for them too! Thanks to Elaine for sharing for her wonderful recipe. 

After so many hrs of hardwork...

Jelly Collagen stock
Recipe reference from WokkingMum & did abit of modification
(Make abt 2.2Litres of Soup base)

Things needed:

• 2 big pig bones (Do ask butcher to chop into big chunk)
• 2 chicken carcass
• 20 chicken feets
• 3 litres of water

Steps

1. Boil a big pot of water and scald the bones & chicken feet one round first to "cleanse" it.
2. Drain off the water and the bones & chicken feet.
3. Place everything in the large pot and pour in the 3litres of water. 
4. Simmer it under low fire for 5hrs or another 3-4hr more to achieve the milky white stage. ( I stop cooking my soup after 5hrs)
5. During the cooking process, remember to keep skimming away the scum & oil that forms on the surface so that you will get a clear stock.
6. After 5-9hrs of simmer and waiting, you should be able to get your Collagen stock.
7. Drain off the stock from the bones for storing in the fridge.
8. I put my soup in lock and lock container, after overnight fridge, you should be able to see your stock form into Jelly Collagen soup.

Updates on 5-May-14 to prepare this broth using thermal POT 

( I used a 5 litres ENDO thermal pot): 

Found and Tested a "play cheat" way to make this milky collagen broth using thermal pot. You do not need to worry about your gas bill and watch over the fire for 4-8hrs. All you need is to boil the broth for 45mins and let your thermal pot do the job for another 7hrs and give a final boil for 1hrs under medium low fire before cooling down to store the broth. A very good way to get superb broth for your cooking during the weekday.  

TAGlicious Note:

* If you store your stock properly, it can last in the fridge for 1 week and freezer for 1 month.

* Use a clean spoon to scoop out the portion you want for your cooking to prevent contaminated your precious soup.

* Do not add in any seasoning like pepper & salt in the stock. Any seasoning should be done during the final cooking. 

* If you have pressure cooker, please use it. It will shorten the time of cooking. 

Jelly Collagen broth prepared by Thermal pot. A shortcut way!

TAGlicious Ciao~

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Prawn Beehoon Soup

What will you do for those de-skin prawn shell? Are you going to dispose it away? Please do not waste any of these prawn shell as it make great prawn soup base for noodle, bee hoon or even porridge. I know some of the mummies keep their small portion of prawn shells every time they have in the freezer (wrap it with newspaper) till they have a big portion to make soup. Let not waste it again from today onward. Let's get started!

Prawn Beehoon Soup

By Taglicious
(For 4pax)

Thing needed for soup base:

• Prawn shells de-skinned from 2kg of medium size prawn
• 1 chicken carcass
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 6 slices of ginger
• 50g of honey rock sugar (Can replace it with rock sugar)
• 1.6l of water
• 1 tablepsoon of olive oil

Things needed to make Prawn Beehoon soup:

• 25pcs of medium size prawn
• 200g of pork ribs
• Vegetable (I used Caixin)
• Bee Hoon
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Steps

1. Stir Fry the garlic & ginger with olive oil.
2. Add in the prawn shell and stiry fry it for 5mins.
3. Add in the honey rock sugar and continue to stir fry it for 5mins.
4. Add in the chicken carcass & water.
5. Bring the soup to boil and turn the fire low and slow boil it for 1-1.5hrs
6. Drain the Soup and pour back to a pot
7. Add in the pork ribs to the soup and cook for 15mins. Add in the prawn to the soup and scoop out when it is cooked for later use.
8. In another pot, cook the vegetable & Bee hoon in boiling water till it is cook.
9. Place the Beehoon, vegetables, pork ribs & prawn into the bowl and pour in the prawn soup base.
10. Enjoy!

TAGlicious Note:

* Any left over soup can be use to cook yummy porridge too.

TAGlicious Ciao~

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Grapefruit Mango Sago Cold Dessert 楊枝甘露

Pomelo Mango Sago dessert is very popular in dessert house. We used to pay a premium to have it. Today, I am lucky to buy 10 small Thailand Mangoes at $5 from the wet market. My princess's favourite fruit is Mango too. Since I have all the items on hand, I decided to make this dessert again and share with you this simple recipe that you can prepare it at home too. 

Grapefruit Mango Sago Cold Dessert 楊枝甘露
Recipe reference: Carol Hu and little modification by TAGlicious
For 5-6 pax

Things needed:

• 50g of sago
• 400 ml of Fresh Milk
• 200ml of Trim coconut milk
• 60 g of Honey Rock Sugar (Can replace it with rock sugar)
• 100ml of hot water
• 500g of de-skin mango (to blend)
• 400g of de-skin mango (to mix into the puree)
• 1 grapefruit (Extract the flesh)

Steps

1.  Boil 1L of water till boil and cook the sago until it is translucent. It normally takes 10mins low fire and shut the fire and brew inside for 20mins. Drained away the water with a sieve and set aside for later use.
2. Add Honey Rock Sugar & 100ml of hot water, boil using low fire till the honey rock sugar had dissolved and set aside to cool for later use.
3. Place, mango into the blender.
4. Add in fresh milk, coconut milk & sugar liquid into a blender and blend till smooth.
5. Pour the puree into a big bowl and get the sago, grapefruit and Mango ready.
6. Add in the Sago
7. Add in the Mango
8. Last to add in the grapefruit.
9. Mix well and pour them into nice cups/ container to chill it for 4hrs before serving it.

TAGlicious's Note:

* This dessert can last in the fridge for 2 days only. 

TAGlicious Ciao~

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"Grilled" Charsiew aka BBQ pork in HappyCall

There are many different recipes for Charsiew shared online or recipe book. I had come out a simpler version of what I have in my kitchen to prepare this BBQ pork. I will like to share with you my version and "grilled" it in Happycall Pan, my best helper in my kitchen! Charsiew is versatile, it goes well with rice or noodle. Tonight, I matched it with my veggies noodles, a well balanced and quick dinner.

I love Charsiew! Do you?

Charsiew with Happycall

Things needed:

• 500g of pork marble meat (五花肉)
• 3 tablespoon of oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce
• 3 tablespoons of raw/brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil (last to add)
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
• some pepper

Steps 

1. Wash & tap dry the pork meat, set aside.
2. Mix all the condiments in a small bowl and mix well.
3. Put the meat & mixed sauce into a plastics bag/container and marinate well.
4. Allow it to marinate overnight or at least 2 hrs before you cooking it.
5. Heat up your Happycall Pan under medium high fire. 
6. Place the marinated pork meat into HCP with all the sauce and locked the lid for 8mins.
7. Turn the pork meat manually with a tong and continue to cook for  another 5mins with lid a little open. I use a wooden spoon to leave a gap while cooking.  
8. Repeat the steps again till the sauce dries up and meat starts to charred. It took me about 25mins to 30mins to achieve this stage.
9. It is ready to cut into slices and served!

TAGlicious's Note:

* Cooking time varies due to individual cooking stove & the size of meat, checking on the cooking progress regularly.
* When you buy the pork, you can request the butcher to cut the meat into thick stripes. Tell them you are using it for charsiew. 
* You can add in rose wine if you have it in my kitchen for better fragrance to this dish

Look at the Juicy BBQ Pork

TAGlicious Ciao~

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DIY Teriyaki Chicken Wings

I love chicken so do my family. We can have chicken served on my dining table almost everyday. After I "invested" on my very first Happycall 2 yrs ago, I joined in a Happycall group setup by a friend. From there,  I learnt that we can DIY Teriyaki sauce at home too! It is cheaper to DIY and most importantly, I can adjust the salt level as per my liking. I love to cook this to served my friends during gathering too. They enjoyed this dish alot! Why not give it a try and impress your loved one too these days?

Simply love it

DIY Teriyaki Chicken wings

Things needed:

• 15 chicken mid wings
• 3 tablespoons of Mirin
• 3 tablespoons of Sake
• 2 tablespoons of raw/brown sugar
• 1.5 tablespoon of light soya sauce
• some pepper

Steps 

1. Wash & tap dry the chicken mid wings, set aside.
2. Mix all the condiments in a small bowl and mix well.
3. Put the chicken meat & mixed sauce into a plastics bag/container and marinate well.
4. Allow the chicken to marinate overnight or at least 2 hrs before you cooking it.
5. Heat up your Happycall Pan under medium high fire. 
6. Place the chicken mid wings into HCP and locked the lid for 10mins.
7. Turn the chicken mid wings manually with a tong and allow to cook for  another 10mins with lid locked. 
8. It is ready to serve!
9. For extra Teriyaki sauce left, you can simmer it for 1-2mins at low heat in the same pan to serve as gravy to your rice. However, remember to pour away the oil gather from the chicken wings first.

TAGlicious's Note:

* Cooking time varies due to individual cooking stove & the size of chicken wings, checking on the cooking progress is important.

* You can use other non stick pan for this chicken chop if you do not own a Happycall Pan.
* You can add in more tablespoon of soya sauce if you find it too bland.

Juicy Chicken Wings!!

TAGlicious Ciao~

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Amazing 40mins Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns

This 40mins bread recipe had became so popular in the cooking forum recently. I am curious on how this quick and easy recipe bread will turn out. Since I still got some cream cheese left over from my cupcake frosting, I decided to use them up to bake this fast cranberry buns in just 40mins. To be exact, you just need 50mins including the baking time to make this soft buns.  

This beauty's texture stays soft even 1 day overnight

Amazing 40mins Cranberry Cream Cheese Buns

Recipe from TheDomesticgoddess and little modification by TAGlicious

(make about 18 small buns)

Things needed:

• 200ml of room temperature water
• 60g of olive oil
• 52g of sugar
• 15g of instant yeast ( I used bake king yeast)
• 30g of dried cranberries (soak in water for 30mins and tap dry)
• 1 large egg
• 480g of bread flour + more for dusting during shaping.
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Some milk for glazing

Steps to prepare the bread dough

1.  In the mixing bowl, combined the water, olive oil, sugar & yeast and mix well using a whisk, let it rest for 15mins. (Look at pics 1 on how it will look like after 15mins)
2.  Add in the flour, cranberry, egg and salt and knead the dough for 5mins. I am using a stand mixer to do the job. (Look at pics 3 on how the dough will look like after 5mins of kneading.) 
3. Start to shape the dough. I divide them into 18 small portion (estimate) and wrap a small portion of cranberry cream cheese and shape it into the buns in a fast pace.
4. Let them rest for 5mins before sending them to the oven to bake.
5. Glaze the buns with milk and send the buns to bake for 15mins in a preheated oven at 200C.
6. Let it cool on a wire rack before serving.

Cranberry cream cheese filling 
Recipe by TAGlicious

Things needed:

• 200g of cream cheese (soften)
• 25g of butter (soften)
• 25g of icing sugar
• 25g of dried cranberry (soak in water for 30mins and tap dry)

Steps:

1. Cream the cream cheese and butter till smooth using a whisk
2. Add in the icing sugar & cranberry and mix well.

TAGlicious’s note:

*  Store extra buns in an airtight container to maintain the freshness.

Look at the texture inside this amazing buns! Do give it a try.

TAGlicious Ciao~

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Snow Fungus with Longans & Red dates (雪儿龙眼养颜甜汤)

Do you know Snow Fungus is a good source of collagen? It has similar health and beauty benefit as bird nest and most importantly it is much affordable to everyone.

To TCM’s view, snow fungus is a good tonic for the everyone and especially helpful for those with weak respiratory and immune system. It helps to nourishes the lungs. No harm to eat more for beauty and health reason since it is so affordable.

Snow Fungus with Longans & Red dates (雪儿龙眼养颜甜汤)

Recipe by TAGlicious

Things needed:

• 2 litres of water
• 2 piece of snow Fungus (size is about a palm size)
• 20-25pcs of dried longan
• 10pcs of red dates
• 1 knob of pandan leaves
• Honey rock sugars (To taste)

Place everything in the pot except honey rock sugar

Steps:

1. Soak the snow fungus in a bowl of tap water for 30mins or until it is soft. The snow fungus will doubled it size.
2. Please use a scissor to cut off the hard stem from the snow fungus. Next cut the snow fungus into small pcs. Rinse again and drain away the water.
3. Rinse the longans, red dates & pandan leave with water too and set aside.
4. Add in snow fungus, red dates, longans & pandan leave knob into a large pot ( I used rice cooker with soup function this time so that I no need to watch the fire).
5. Bring it to boil and reduce the fire to simmer it for about 1hr. When the water turn brown, add in honey rock sugar to taste.

TAGlicious's Note:

* Select good quality dried snow fungus that is pale and slightly yellowish in color. Those very white ones show that they have been bleached. Snow fungus can be found most Chinese herbal shops. I got mine from FUHUA at $4 per pack (4-5pcs of Snow Fungus).

* You can use rock sugar to replace with Honey rock sugar.

Quick make some for your loved one this week

TAGlicious Ciao~

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A pot of Chicken Mushroom Soup 蘑菇鸡汤

It was raining very heavily when I am on my way home. First thing came to my mind have something hot to warm my family's tum tum. I had my chicken thighs waiting for me in my fridge so decided to whip out this simple soup for them within 1hr for dinner.

A bowl of hot soup to comfort tummy on cold night!

A pot of Chicken Mushroom Soup 蘑菇鸡汤

Recipe by TAGlicious

Things needed:

• 1.3litres of water
• 3 chicken thigh
• 1 chicken cage bone
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 carrot
• 8 sticks of imitation crab sticks
• 1 pack of white Bunashimeiji mushroom (100g)
• 1.5 teaspoon of salt 
• 4-5 tablespoon of corn flour + water to thicken the soup
• Some pepper & Sesame oil

Picture talk louder than words

Steps:

1. Boil a pot of water to scald the chicken thighs & chicken cage bone before throwing into the pot to cook the soup base.
2. Put in the chicken thigh, chicken cage bone, celery & carrots into the 1.5Litres water (boiled) and start to boil for 30mins under medium fire.
3. After 30mins, take out the chicken thigh from the soup base. Shredded the chicken thigh & imitation crab stick. Set aside for later use.
4. Scoop out the carrot, celery, chicken cage bone from the soup base.
5. Add in the white Bunashimeiji mushrooms, Chicken meat & Crabstick meat into the soup base. Bring it to boil again.
6. Add in salt, pepper & Sesame oil. Taste the soup when it had meet your taste bud and adjust accordingly.
7. Lastly, mix the cornflour with water and stir in to the soup to thicken it.
8. It is ready to serve HOT with a bowl of rice.

TAGlicious's Note:

* You can change the type of mushroom as per your liking.

* You can use ready made chicken stock too to shorten the cooking time. However, do adjust the salt input. 

Simple soup for you? 

TAGlicious Ciao~

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