Pickled Ginger In Natural Pink

I love anything that is natural and I don't like food that uses food dyes .  I used to eat at Japanese Restaurant and I noticed that their pickled ginger are pinkish in color. And I thought they used food dye to make them pinkish.  I discovered that you don't need to use red food dye to make them pinkish recently.  A dear friend of mine taught me to use lemon juice on the young ginger slices before pickle them.  Wow...and true enough they turned a natural pink.  Woohoo..... dancing on my trotters now.  So , I am sharing here with you the secret of turning pickled ginger into natural pink :)   A very nice natural pink color...makes food interesting. You can add these pickled ginger to your salad or egg with century eggs appetizer or go with your sashimi...mmmm I know I am going to enjoy my pickled ginger for now :)  

soak the young ginger slices in lemon juice for

at least 30 mins...they will instantly turn pinkish

Pickled Ginger In Natural Pink  -adapted from  Tastehongkong  with a twist

600 gm baby ginger - scrap of skin, wash , pat dry and sliced thinly
1 tbsp coarse salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 lemon juice

Pickling solution
2 cups rice vinegar
1.5 cups sugar

Method:

Scrape off skin from baby ginger, wash and pat dry, slice thinly with a sharp knife or a mandoline. Mix the ginger slices with 1 tbsp of coarse salt and let them stand for an hour, after which some liquid will exude. Discard liquid and rinse with drinkable water, strain dry.  Add lemon juice and sugar, mix well . To ensure that the ginger slices are in good contact with the lemon juice, it is best to have them laid in a large flat container while they are being steeped. Stir and turn the ginger for several intervals. Leave it for 30 mins. The ginger will turn natural pink at this point. Pour away the lemon juice.  Place the pink ginger into a glass jar.

Meanwhile , cook the rice vinegar and sugar till the sugar has melted. Leave it to cool (10 mins ). When the vinegar solution has turned warm, pour over the ginger slices in the glass jar. Make sure the ginger slices are covered with the pickling solution.  Close the jar when the pickled ginger is completely cooled down.  Keep in the fridge and you can serve the ginger slices after 2 days.  This pickle can keep for months in the fridge.

Enjoy !

Spicy Dried Shrimp Sambal

WB has been craving for this Sambal Hae Bee/Dry Shrimp Sambal for almost a year....why I took so long to make some for him . Reason being, I had a surgery done and not fit to make for him. Now after recovery from the surgery, with his help of course , I was able to make a big tupper of it for him :)  He did the pounding of the sambal paste and I did the frying for him LOL!  Want to eat something nice, of course have to help...right?  That tupper of spicy drid shrimp sambal can last him weeks...a month at least :)  He has them in his sandwiches , rice and noodles sometimes.  Act as an appetizer too ...love love it myself too !

I love my traditional mortar and pestle ...a gift from my mom when I got married

one can drool while frying the sambal.....awww the aroma filled the whole house

and the flies are looking for my house :p

Spicy Dried Shrimp Sambal  - WB's Kitchen

300 gm dried shrimp - soaked,  washed and pounded coarsely

ground ingredients below together :
(A)
one handful dried chilli  - soaked and pounded into paste
a thumb size dried shrimp paste /belacan
1 cup of shallots slices

1/4 cup of garlic

2 stalks of lemongrass -slice the white part

2 pieces of turmeric

1/2 cup of vegetable oil
4 -5 tbsp of brown sugar
1/2 cup of thick tamarind water
2 tsp of salt or to taste


Using a mortar and pestle, ground all the ingredients (A) into a paste.  Pound the dried shrimps coarsely ( coarseness depends on individual ) I like it  coarse.

Heat up a wok under medium heat, add in the vegetable oil and sauteed the ground ingredients till fragrant. Once the oil surfaced, add in the pounded dried shrimps and keep stirring till the dried shrimps are well mixed with the aromatic paste.  Keep stirring, lower heat, add in the tamarind water, sugar and salt and continue to stir fry till the sambal shrimps has become drier and fragrant.  Leave it to cool in the wok.  Once it has cooled down, store in air tight tupper or glass jar .  Keep in the fridge.  It can keep up to 3 months.

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Stir Fry Chinese Chives Flower With Fish Fillets

A simple yet delicious dish...love the aroma of stir fry chinese chives with lots of garlic.  I added slices of fish fillet instead of prawns.  My mom used to stir fry these chinese chives with chicken innards. Chicken gizzards and liver are our favourites but due to eating healthy , I have substitute them with fish fillets :) So freaking healthy...right? Surprisingly, WB loves it even though this was my first time introducing the dish to him.  It seemed his mom never cooked this for them...mmmm so I can conclude that my beloved mom in law doesn't like the smell of this chinese chives :) thus WB never get to eat this chinese chives.  

I sauteed the garlic slices till aromatic then lightly stir fry the fish fillets

till they are cooked... have to be gently with the fish or they will break into

pieces ;p  dish up the fillets and set aside before putting in the chives

once the chives are cooked, gently put in the cooked fish fillets

and gently blend the fish fillets into the chives.  

this dish is so yummy good that I will cook this again for sure !

Stir Fry Chinese Chives Flower With Fish Fillets  - WB's Kitchen

2 bundles of chinese chives - washed, cut into 1 inch lengths

1 piece of garoupa  fish- debone and cut into fillets marinate with

1 tbsp of chinese cooking wine

a dash of ground white pepper

a pinch of salt

2 cloves of garlic - sliced

1 tbsp of olive oil

thickening:

1 tsp of corn flour

3 tbsp of water

Preparation:

Heat up wok over high heat, add in olive oil and saute garlic slices till aromatic.  Add in marinated fish fillets and stir fry till cooked.  Dish up and set aside.  

Add in the chives and stir fry till it is cooked.  Add in a pinch of sea salt for taste. Add in the cooked fish fillets and gently stir fry till the fish fillets are well combine with the chives.  Add in the thickening . Once gravy thickens, dish up and serve with rice.

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Fried Rice With Fresh Oyster Mushrooms And Spring Onions

With so much of homegrown spring onions in the fridge, you can imagine fried rice with the spring onions as much as the rice LOL!  WB said my spring onions the amount is equivalent to the rice !  But it tasted awesome though the ratio is 1:1 :p  Anyway waste now as the saying goes.  It is almost drying in the air tight container and more over the new batch is almost ready for harvesting :)  I fried the rice with fresh oyster mushrooms and added red chillies to give color to the rice .  Serious, this fried rice was so delicious that I had second helpings even though I am suppose to lay off carbo :p

a tsp of dried mixed herbs gave extra flavor to the rice

love love the fresh oyster mushrooms and homegrown spring onions

and they make the fried rice not ordinary but very special indeed...

mmmmmm makes me hungry just looking at it now

Fried Rice With Fresh Oyster Mushrooms And Spring Onions  - WB's Kitchen

ingredients:

3 bowls of cooked rice

a handful of fresh oyster mushrooms - washed, squeeze dried and shred it

a handful of spring onions - sliced it fine

a slice of ginger - julienned 

2 cloves of garlic- chopped

chopped chillies - amount depends on individual taste

1 tsp of dried mixed herbs

2 eggs

1.5 tbsp of olive oil

1 tsp of sesame oil

Preparation:

Heat up wok, add in sesame oil, vegetable oil, throw in the garlic and sauteed till fragrant, add in the fresh oyster mushroom and stir fry till the mushrooms is cooked, add in cooked rice and continue to stir fry till the rice has a shine on them,  push rice aside, add in the eggs and when the eggs are about to set, push the rice down and stir fry till the rice are coated with the eggs.  Add in salt and mixed herbs and continue to stir fry the rice till it gives out a herb fragrant.  Add in the spring onions and sitr fry for a minute. Off heat and dish up and serve hot.

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Fried Rice With Pineapple And Pan Seared Fish Fillets

A simple and light meal for both of us.  Simple meal means simple work...not much washing to do ! LOL!  I look forward to simple meal :p  Adding fresh pineapples to the fried rice makes it more appetizing. For extra protein, I pan seared garoupa fillets as a side dish for the fried rice.  Spring onions from my herb garden :) so happy with this one dish meal.  A simple and well balanced meal for a busy person like me :p  I am now busy with the garden...my own and the community garden needs lots of attention, thus meal has to be simple yet delicious.  Keeping my fingers crossed that WB will not complain of simple meals.  No meat for this meal hahaha....

Fried Rice With Pineapple And Pan Seared Fish Fillets - WB's Kitchen

4 cups of cooked rice
1 slice of pineapple - cut into cubes
1 egg
1 tsp of sesame oil + 1 tsp of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 tsp of ground  black pepper
1 tbsp of sliced spring onions
2 tsp of sea salt to taste
red chillies - sliced

pan seared fish fillets
1 tsp of olive oil
1 piece of garoupa fillet - sliced into 1/4 thick fillets
a pinch of sea salt and ground white pepper - marinate the fillets for 20 mins

Pan seared the fillets with olive oil  till light brown on both sides and cooked. Dish up and leave aside.

Preparation:

Heat up sesame /olive oil till hot, add in chopped garlic and saute till fragrant. Add in the cooked rice and stir fry for another 5 mins. Push rice aside and add the egg in the center. When the egg is about to set, push the rice over it and stir fry till the rice is coated with the egg.  Add in the pineapple, salt, ground black pepper and spring onions.  Stir fry till all the ingredients are well combined. Before dishing up, throw in the sliced chillies . Dish up and garnish at the side with the pan seared fish fillets.

Enjoy !

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Oven Fried Wings

Occasionally, I will give WB a treat to fried wings....definitely not KFC style !!! (KFC is his all time favorite though ) So to make him love my kind of fried wings, I will try to make the wings as crispy and tasty as possible and to make them crispy, the trick is to  use potato flour for coating.  I managed to get it crisp and taste was good.  The flour was mixed with mixed herbs, paprika , black pepper, sea salt and a dash of cajun...you tell me...good anot?  It was packed with flavors and each bite on the crunchy skin...mmm no guilt coz the fat from the skin had dripped onto the bottom of the foil  leaving the skin crispy and crunchy. This is so much healthier than deep fried wings . A keeper for sure .

a mixture of potato flour, paprika, cajun,  mixed herbs, sea salt, black pepper and sea salt

coat the wings with the above flour mixture and leave it to 

rest for 1-2 hours before oven frying them :)

lovely wings.....so much better than oil frying

this is a healthier version :)

simply love them.....1 for me and 3 for WB 

Oven Fried Wings  -  WB's Kitchen

4 chicken wings 

Coating ingredients - to combine together

1 cup of potato flour

1 tbsp of mixed herbs

1 tsp of paprika

1/2 tsp of cajun

1/2 tsp of black pepper

1 tsp of sea salt

Method:

Coat the wings with the above flour mixture. Place coated wings on raise up wire rack with a tray at the bottom lined with aluminium foil ( for drippings of oil ) Leave it to rest for 1 hour or till the flour is absorbed into the wings.  Oven fried the wings in preheated oven 200 deg C for 40 mins or till the wings are evenly browned and crunchy.  

Enjoy !