Stir-fried Baby Pak Choi with minced garlic

This morning I went to apply for a dim sum course at London Chinese Community Centre.  The staff told me that the class is nearly full and there is only one place left. I am so lucky I can take the class on the coming Sunday. The centre is a good place for the elderly during the weekdays.  Most of them played mahjong, card games and Chinese chess.  A few of them kept chatting with each other. They looked very happy together.

Then I went shopping at Chinatown. I found the baby pak choi is very fresh in See Woo Supermarket, I bought two packs.  Also I bought soft tofu, pork ribs and some Chinese ingredients.  I made a bowl of fried rice and stir-fried a small plate of baby pak choi for my lunch.

Pak/bok Choi is a member of the cabbage family.  It has either white or green short, chunky stalks with glossy and deep green leaves. Its texture is crispy and its flavor is somewhere between mild cabbage and spinach.  I love baby Pak Choi very much.  I like stir-frying it with minced garlic.  If it is fresh, its flavor is excellent and wonderful crunchy. 

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Serve: 1

Ingredients:

-         100g baby pak choi (trimmed the base of pak choi)

-         2 garlic cloves (minced)                             

-         ½ shallot (minced)

-         ¼ tsp red pepper (finely sliced)

-         ½ tbsp olive oil       

-         100 ml water

-         a pinch of table salt
-    sesame oil (optional)

Method:

1.	Heat a non-stick wok with olive oil over medium heat.
2.	Add minced garlic and shallot in the wok and stir-fry for one minute.  Then toss in baby pak choi and stir-fry for another one minute. Pour in water and continue to stir-fry for a further two to three minutes until the leaves change to a bright dark green.
3.	In the meantime, add a pinch of table salt and red pepper, drizzle sesame oil (optional) and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
4.	Ready to serve.

Baked Green Bell Pepper

It is quite cold in these few days in London.  Temperatures have been dropping to below freezing since Monday night.  The Met Office website states that December will be colder than average and there is a small chance of snow at the beginning of next month. I am looking forward to a snowy Christmas in UK.

Sometimes I feel tired and sluggish during winter.  I find the most effective way to fight winter tiredness is to do regular exercise.  After doing an hour of Pilates in the afternoon, I feel more energetic and also improve my sleep.  In addition, a good diet can help me to wake up feeling fresh.  I reduce having food containing lots of sugar, like candies and chocolates.  Then I add more fruit and vegetables in winter meals and always boil soup for the whole family.  It is because the air is very dry here.  

Every morning I always have a big bowl of porridge oats and a piece of whole grain toast for breakfast.  When I woke up this morning, I thought of adding a bit ‘green’ to my breakfast.  I baked a green pepper which is stuffed with veggie and mozzarella cheese.  It is yummy!  It makes me feel healthy and starts the day off right.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serve: 1

Ingredients:

-      1 medium size green pepper (top and seeds removed)

-      40g onion (finely diced)

-      38g pumpkin (finely diced)

-      20g portobello mushroom (finely diced)

-      20g baby spinach  

-      30g mozzarella cheese (shredded)

-      1 tbsp fish sauce

-      1 garlic clove (crushed)

-      ¼tsp olive oil

-      100 ml water  

Method:

1.	Preheat oven to 180°c.
2.	Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.  Add oil and garlic, stir-fry for 30 seconds.  Reduce to low heat; add pumpkin and 70ml water. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes.  Then add onion, mushroom, 30ml water and fish sauce, stir-fry for another 2 minutes over low-medium heat.  Toss in baby spinach and cook for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.
3.	In the meantime, fill the pepper with the cooked vegetables and mozzarella cheese.
4.	Arrange stuffed pepper in a baking dish.  Bake in preheated oven until heated through, about 20-25 minutes.
5.	Ready to serve with toast and green smoothie.

Fried rice with pumpkin

The weather was wonderful today.  I had a nice walk at Bushy Park this morning.  The park is the second largest Royal Park which is located to the north of Hampton Court Palace.  It has remains of medieval farmland, a Tudor deer park, 17th century water gardens and wartime camps.  It is also home to the famous Chestnut Avenue, a formal Baroque water garden and the beautiful Diana Fountain.  There are lots of lovely animals to see like ducks, coots, rabbits, squirrels and over hundreds of free-roaming Red and Fallow Deer in the park.   The park is definitely one of the best London parks for autumn walks. 

It is perfect to have green lunch after this leisurely walk.  Then I made a cup of Jasmine tea and fried rice with pumpkin.  It is yummy and healthy.  How wonderful a day it is!

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serve: 1

Ingredients:

-         80g pumpkin (diced)

-         45g mushroom (diced)

-         50g onion (diced)

-         18g green peas             

-         1 free range egg   

-         1 bowl of leftover rice 

-         1 garlic clove (minced)

-         ½ spring onion (chopped)

-         ½ shallot (minced)

-         ¼ tsp table salt

-         120 ml water      

-         2 tsp olive oil

-         ½ tsp sesame oil

-         1 tsp light soy sauce

Method:

1.	Crack an egg in a small mixing bowl, add a tiny pinch of salt and use a fork to beat it together well.   Put a small non-stick pan over a lower heat and add ½tsp olive oil. Carefully pour in the egg. Use a wooden spoon to keep gently stirring and break it into pieces.  Then remove it from heat and set aside.
2.	Heat another ½tsp olive oil in the pan over low-medium heat.  Add garlic, pumpkin, 80ml water and a pinch of salt and then stir-fry for 3 minutes until the pumpkin is just tender.  Remove and set aside.
3.	Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp olive oil in a non-stick wok or large pan over medium heat.  Stir-fry shallot and onion for 1 minute; and add mushroom and green peas.  Add 40 ml water, salt, sesame oil and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
4.	Toss in the pumpkin and leftover rice; add 1 tsp soy sauce then stir-fry for another 3-4 minutes.
5.	Tip in the egg and spring onion; and stir-fry for a further 1 minute.
6.	Ready to serve.

Homemade Sweet and Sour Tofu

Sweet and sour sauce is commonly used in Chinese cuisine.  It is a sauce which mainly combines vinegar and sugar.  There are so many yummy dishes made with this sauce, like sweet and sour pork, sweet and sour fish and sweet and sour spare-ribs. 

My lovely Aunt Eva used to cook sweet and sour pork all the time when I was a child.  She loved cooking and she was a great cook.  When I was small, my brothers and I loved to visit her because we loved all of her good food and always had lots of fun with our cousins. She was kind, thoughtful, hardworking, patient and generous.  We lost a wonderful woman, mom, sister and aunt last month.  She will forever be in our thoughts.   I love you, Aunt Eva! You are loved and missed!

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

-         200g medium firm tofu (cut in cubes)

-         30g red pepper (cut in cubes)

-         35g green pepper (cut in cubes)

-         35g orange pepper (cut in cubes)

-         70g pineapple pieces

-       1½ tsp olive oil

-         2 garlic cloves (approximately 6 g, minced)

-         ½ shallot (finely chopped)

-         ½ spring onion (chopped)

-         a pinch of salt

-         a pinch of plain flour

Sweet and Sour Sauce:          

-         1 tbsp water

-         2 tbsp ketchup

-         1½ tbsp vinegar

-         2 tbsp brown sugar

-         3 tbsp pineapple syrup

-         ¼ tsp Zhenjiang vinegar

-         ¼ tsp soy sauce         

-         ⅛ tsp table salt

Thickening sauce:

-         ¼ tsp corn flour

-         ½ tsp cold water

Method:

1.	Use a piece of kitchen towel to dry the surface of tofu.  Add a pinch of salt onto a plate and put the tofu cubes on it.  Then add another pinch of salt on the tofu.  Sprinkle the tops with a small amount of plain flour.
2.	In a small mixing bowl, mix all ingredients of the sweet and sour sauce well.  Set aside.
3.	Heat a non-stick pan over low heat and add ½ tsp olive oil.  Then pan-fry all sides of the tofu to a bit golden yellow, remove and set aside.
4.	Heat the wok over medium heat and add ½ tsp olive oil.  Then add half of the minced garlic into the wok and cook for 10 seconds.  Add the mixed pepper and a pinch of salt; and stir-fry for 3-5 minutes until just tender.  Remove the pepper and set aside.
5.	In the meantime, heat the wok over low-medium heat, add ½ tsp olive oil and minced garlic.  Pour the mixed sweet and sour sauce in the wok and stir often until it boils.  Toss in the tofu and mixed pepper and stir-fry gently to make sure they are thoroughly coated with the sauce.
6.	Mix the corn flour with the cold water well.  Pour into the wok and stir-fry until the sauce is thickened.
7.	Ready to serve with rice.
	Tips for pan-frying tofu:
i.	Use a non-stick pan. I prefer using a small brush to add the oil evenly on the pan before heating the pan.
ii.	It is easy to pan-fry tofu pieces over lower heat.
iii	Leave each side of the tofu pieces alone for about 1-2 minutes. Do not turn them or agitate them in any other way. Just gently shake them to make sure they don't stick to the pan. When you see a golden crust beginning to creep its way up the sides of the slices, turn them and pan-fry another side. Add a little bit more oil if the pan seems too dry.