Pan Fried Japanese Pressed Tofu With Rich Minced Meat Sauce

Talk about tofu makes me happy, reason being I love tofu since young. My grandma prepared them in different styles and that was how I grew up liking tofu. There are two types of tofu that I like most, silken and firm/pressed tofu.  This CF Japanese pressed tofu is one of my favourite brand .   It is undoubtedly delicious and contains no preservative. I will normally buy 2 or 3 packs each time I visit Tesco, and hubby will always ask why so many packs !  Vacuum packed and they can keep for more than a month in the fridge. Yes, I add them to my kimchi stew, steamed tofu with sizzling soy sauce and crispy garlic , cube them and add into Miso soup and many other dishes I can whip up with this pressed tofu.  

I have prepared this pressed tofu dish in a simple manner, whereby I pan fried both sides of the tofu till golden brown. Cooked a rich tasty sauce with minced meat and diced carrots and pour over the pan fried  pressed tofu.  It was so good that hubby asked to cook this dish again, thus I have added it to my dinner menu list :)

My favourite brand CF Japanese Pressed Tofu

 season with salt,Shichimi chilli and

dust both sides with corn flour before pan fry

on non stick pan

pan fried till both sides are golden brown

 pour the rich tasty minced meat sauce over

the fried tofu , garnish with spring onion 

and serve hot . Eat with rice.yummz!

Pan Fried Japanese Pressed Tofu With Rich Minced Meat Sauce

 ingredients:

1 piece of Japanese Pressed Tofu
*optional  1 tsp of Shichimi Chili (japanese seasoning made of chili,chenpi,black sesame, poppy seed, japanese pepper and green dried seaweed )
1 tsp corn flour
1 tsp salt

3/4 cup minced meat (pork/chicken) seasoned with 1 tsp of light soy sauce and 1 tsp of corn flour
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 carrot - diced
1 red chilli -sliced
1 stalk of green onion - sliced

1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/8 tsp thick soy sauce
a dash of white pepper

thickening -  mix the two ingredients together
1/2 tbsp corn flour
3 tbsp water

4 tbsp oil for pan frying tofu

Method:

1. Remove tofu from vacuum pack. Give it a quick rinse. Pat dry with paper towel. Season pressed tofu with salt,Shichimi chilli and corn flour. Leave aside.  Heat up non-stick pan with oil.  Once oil is hot, slowly put in the seasoned tofu and pan fried till both sides are golden brown.  Take out the pan fried tofu and place on a deep plate. Keep 1 tbsp of oil in the non-stick pan for later use and pour out the rest of the used oil into a bowl.

2. Season the minced meat with light soy sauce and corn flour. Let it sit for 5 mins.  Heat up the non-stick pan with the 1 tbsp of oil, add in chopped garlic and saute till fragrant. Add in the seasoned minced meat and continue to stir fry till minced meat is cooked. Add in the diced carrots and sliced chilli and stir fry till carrot has soften. Add in the chicken broth, oyster sauce, thick soy sauce and white pepper . Once the broth is starting to boil. Add in thickening.  Once the sauce has thicken, off the heat, and pour the rich minced meat sauce over the pan fried pressed tofu.   Garnish with sliced green onions.  Served hot.

Enjoy!

Dhal Curry And Soft Chapati

WB and I had a sudden craving for homecooked Dhal Curry.  I googled for a easy one and found one from Sonia's blog - Nasi Lemak Lover.  I love all her recipes.  I gave her recipe a tweak and  added eggplant to it and used fresh turmeric instead of tumeric powder and added more dried chillies for extra heat . I have frozen blended turmeric         ( homegrown ) from the last harvest. I prefer fresh turmeric :p One thing about dhal curry is you can add any vegetables you like . A vegan dish that is nutritious, flavorful and delicious.   Dhal curry be eaten with chapati ( indian flatbread ) or rice.  I have not cooked this curry for a long time and am surprised that with Sonia's recipe, I did better than before.  Hubby complimented the dish . Thank you Sonia for sharing your dhal curry recipe :)  It is truly delicious ! And a keeper for sure.

  I added eggplant, more dried chillies for extra heat

and fresh turmeric instead of powder form :)

 fry the spices till fragrant

before adding the soaked dhal in

it is best to soak the dhal in water for 2 hours

to shorten the cooking time

 simmer for 1 hour to 1.5 hours under medium low fire

or till dhal has soften and gravy has thicken

 dhal curry can be served with rice or chapati

Dhal Curry - adapted from Sonia

 with some tweaks

ingredients:

1/2 cup dhal - washed, then soaked in water for 2 hours

3 green chillies - sliced

3 shallots- sliced

3 cloves garlic- sliced

1 large tomato - remove seeds - diced

1  large potato - diced

1 carrot - diced

1 small eggplant - diced

4 - 6 dried chillies -  *depends on how much heat you want

3 sprig of curry leaves

water -  1.5 litres

1 tsp of turmeric powder or 1/2 tbsp of fresh turmeric (pounded)

1/2 tbsp mixed indian herbs ( mustard seeds, cummin seeds etc...get from indian grocery shop)

salt to taste

1 tbsp of oil

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a wok, add in shallots, garlic, mixed indian herbs, stir fry till fragrant.

2. Add in green chilli and curry leaves, continue to stir fry for a while. Add in the tomato, potato, eggplant, and carrot, mix well.  Then add in dhal and water followed by fresh turmeric (blended) or turmeric powder.

3.Simmer for 1 -1.5 hours over low heat or until dhall has soften (mushy look) and gravy has thicken.

Serve with rice or chapatis.

The Making of Soft Chapati

I have been searching on how to make soft chapati...after gathering some tips from all over the internet, I  put all together and make my own soft chapati.  Haven't really perfected the recipe , but it is still the best I have ever made.  I am using a technique used in baking bread called autolyse. The word sounds frightening but it is nothing but a resting period between mixing and kneading.  It helps the flour to absorb more liquid.  This is quite interesting . Instead of using room temperature water, I used hot water . ( it helps make the chapati softer )  You will notice that I did not use Ghee . This is a healthy version. The chapati remains soft when I store them in air tight tupperware. And I prepared them half a hour before meal time.  The chapati remained soft and warm.

 add hot water to the atta flour

and gently mix the flour and water till just mixed .

 Over mixing will activate the gluten

too much and interfere in absorption of water by the flour

once the flour and liquid is mixed like the picture above, 

 cover with a cloth and leave it to rest 30 mins

do not form a ball yet.

I always set the timer :) when resting the dough

 divide into equal balls , each ball about the size a lime

dust the board with atta flour

and roll the ball into a 4 inches disc

 place the chapati on a hot griddle

Soft Chapati
(make six 4 inch round Chapatis )
Ingredients:

1 cup Atta flour
1/2 cup hot water
1 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Put one cup of atta flour in a bowl. Add half a cup of hot water and mix with a spatula or spoon. When there is no more water visible, stop mixing. Cover bowl and let it rest for 30 mins.

2. After 30 mins, add the salt, gently mix the dough for 2 mins, just enough to gather the dough into one piece. Cover the bowl and set aside for 30 mins.

3. Divide the dough into lime size balls. Set an iron griddle on medium high heat. Let it become hot. Take a dough ball and generously dust it with flour. Roll the dough into a 4 inch round . Place the chapati on the hot griddle. Let it cook for 10 to 15 seconds until bubbles starts to form on top. Flip the chapati and cook for 30 seconds more. Gently press on top of the chapati to make the chapati fluff up. Flip one more time and press on top. Chapati should beautifully fluff up.

Storing Chapati:
Line a bowl with cotton towel. Place the cooked chaapati on the bowl and cover with a towel. Chapati will stay beautifully soft for a long time.

Sea Clams In Glutinous Rice Wine

If you ask me to abstain from meat, I can but not seafood.  I love seafood especially crabs and seaclams.  Whenever I see fresh big seaclams, I will not hesitate to lug back some. This time, I bought the clams with thick shells.  I have a bottle of glutinous rice wine given to me by my ex-classmate when she came back to Ipoh for a visit.  That bottle of rice wine tasted good and perfect for cooking these clams.  Simple and easy to whip up . Wild Boar and I  will have a bowl each.  The succulent meat is so sweet and the wine is sweetish too.  Just this one bowl of heavenly goodness will have me  grabbing a second helping of rice which I am trying to reduce in my diet :)  We both slurped up every drop of the sea scented soup....the clams so fresh and succulent.  This is the reason why I need to learn to ignore seafood in the future, no matter how much in love I am with them :p  But I am a person of moderation.  Eat well comes with working hard with my pairs of  1.5 kg dumbbells :) But my furkid at home hates them.  The moment I lifted them, he runs miles away.  He sees the way I hold them frightens his soul LOL!  Anyway, the fastest way to raise the HDL is weight lifting exercises and not brisk walk. 

Sea Clams In Glutinous Rice Wine

ingredients:

1/2 kg of sea clams - soak in salt water for 20 mins , wash , rinse and drain off excess water
2 to 3 slices of ginger
a clove of garlic
a pinch of sea salt
a dash of white pepper
1 tsp of rice bran oil
1/4 cup of glutinous rice wine
just enough water or broth to cover the clams
spring onions for garnishing

Method:

Heat up 1 tsp of rice bran oil in pot, add in ginger slices, garlic and saute till fragrant.  Put in the clams and stir fry for a min.  Add in water/broth just enough to cover the clams. Cover pot with lid and cook the clams under high heat.  Once the clams opens up, add in sea salt to taste and pour in 1/4 cup of glutinous rice wine. Give it a quick boil. Dish up , garnish with spring onions and a dash of white pepper and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Pan Fried Turmeric Chicken

After harvesting some turmeric from the garden ( I love growing my own turmeric in black bags ) WB requested to have his meat pan fried with turmeric.  I have done this many times and seriously one can't get tired of this preparation.  I can cook this everyweek and he will not complain. He loves this preparation !  So be it and I pounded thehomegrown turmeric with shallots and black pepper. Marinate the meat ( it can be chicken, pork or beef ) with the pounded ingredients and add salt and sugar for at least 2 hours. For me, I prefer to marinate the meat overnight so that the meat are deeply flavored by the pounded ingredients .  Before frying , sprinkle some corn flour to the meat for added crispiness.  A very simple dish ,flavorful and finger licking good  :)  

love the crispiness on the outside

and juicy tenderness on the inside,

and every mouthful bursting with turmeric flavor

Pan Fried Turmeric Chicken

Ingredients:

2 chicken legs - each leg cut into 4 pieces

(A)

2 pieces of fresh turmeric - scrape off skin and cut into slices

4 shallots - peeled and cut into slices

1 tsp of black pepper

Pound (A) coarsely  in a mortar and pestle 

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt 

1 tbsp of corn flour

3 tbsp of grapeseed oil for pan frying

Preparation:

Marinate the chicken pieces with the pounded (A) mixture for at least 2 hours or overnight in fridge. Before frying, add 1 tbsp of corn flour to the marinated meat.  Heat 3 tbsp of oil in deep frying pan , once oil is hot,  put in the meat and pan fried till meat is cooked and crisps on the outside.  Use a chopstick to pierce through the meat, if juice oozes out is clear, the meat is cooked.  Dish up and serve with rice.

Enjoy!