Tangy Crabstick Salad

Posted by Vivian in Salad

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Finally a recipe that I can claim as mine! It was by pure accident that the dish turned out just right. The recipe was born because my mum-in-law had to clear this pack of Japanese crab stick that had been sitting in the fridge and I pulled whatever that I can find in the fridge to put this together not knowing how it will turn out to be.

The tangy taste makes it a great party dish that goes well with other sinful food that are usually found at gathering. Absolutely refreshing!

Made this the second time today for a lunch gathering.


Ingredients:

• 600 gm chunky Japanese crabstick (kurimi chunk) 
• 1 cup Japanese mayonnaise 
• 1/2 cup pomelo sacs 
• 4 medium-sized lime 
• Freshly grounded black pepper 
• Butterhead or lettuce 
• Japanese cucumber 

Preparation:

• Shred the crabstick and set aside 
• Cut the cucumber diagonally and set aside 
• Squeeze the juice out from the lime 
• Stir in the lime juice with the mayonnaise 
• Add in the shredded crabstick and mix well 
• Ground some black pepper over the mixture and stir well 
• Add in pomelo sacs and mix well 
• Line the salad bowl with butterhead leaves or lettuce leaves and top with crabstick mixture 
• Garnish the side with cucumber 
• Serve chilled 

Number of Servings: 8

Stir-fried Macaroni with Chicken

Posted by Vivian in Noodles

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I couldn't believe it the first time I came across this recipe that this is actually a Thai dish, because there is not a single hint of spices that we often see in Thai cuisine.   My guess is that this could be more Thai-Chinese.  In any case, the taste isn't too bad... good enough to make me want to attempt it more than once.

Instead of spring onion which is what was called for in the original recipe, I replaced it with spinach just so to introduce more dietary fibre to the dish.  And because I wasn't sure if the children will take to the taste, I added in mushrooms.  Anything with mushroom is always an incentive to make them want to give it a try.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked macaroni
• 300gm chicken meat (sliced)
• 1/2 head onion (sliced)
• 100gm spinach (cut into 1 inch long)
• 10 button mushrooms (sliced)
• 2 tomatoes (sliced)
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 3 tablespoon light soya sauce
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoon ketchup

Preparation:

• Pre-cook the macaroni. Drain and set aside.
• Heat oil in wok on medium heat. Add sliced onion and fry until fragrant.
• Stir-fry the chicken and season with oyster sauce, light soya sauce, sugar until the chicken is cooked.
• Add in mushroom and mix.
• Make room for eggs in the middle of the wok, scramble with spatula and spread the egg in a thin layer.
• When the egg sets, turn to the other side and mix well with chicken.
• Add in spinach and tomatoes and stir-fry quickly.
• Add in macaroni and mix thoroughly.

Number of Servings: 4

Japanese-Style Mushroom Rice (Kinoko Takikomi Gohan)

Posted by Vivian in Japanese, Mushroom, Rice

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I was very excited when I first chanced upon www.justhungry.com. It was the answer to my thirst for Japanese recipes. The author of the site is a Japanese and I believe that the recipes are very authentic.

Here's a recipe picked up from justhungry.com. I had reduced the proportion of dashi to rice, as opposed to what was stated in the original recipe because the rice was way too mushy.

Ingredients:

• 320ml of Japanese rice 
• 200ml dashi stock 
• 300gm of mixed mushrooms (shiitake, oyster mushroom or Shimeji) 
• 2 tablespoon of mirin 
• 2 tablespoon of light soya sauce 
• 1 fried bean curd (aburaage) (optional) 

Preparation:

• Wash the rice until water runs clear and drain 
• Slice the mushrooms or shred with hands 
• Cut aburaage into small pieces 
• Marinate mushrooms and aburaage with light soya sauce and mirin for at least an hour 
• Put rice in a rice cooker, add dashi and mushroom mixture 
• Cook the rice as per normal 

Number of Servings: 4

Chicken can be added as a variation to this recipe

Stir-Fried Soba with Teriyaki Chicken

Posted by Vivian in Chicken, Japanese, Noodles

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A recipe that was spun-off from the beef version...

Ingredients:

• 300 gm soba (pre-cooked) 
• 4 chicken thigh (sliced) 
• 100 gm beansprout (tail and head removed) 
• Teriyaki sauce 
• 2 cloves of garlic (diced) 
• 2 tablespoon of corn flour 

Preparation:

• Marinate the chicken with 2 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce and corn flour for at least 1 hour 
• Heat oil in wok and add in garlic 
• Stir-fry the chicken until cooked with juices running out 
• Add in the soba and 1/2 cup of teriyaki sauce and mix evenly 
• Stir in the beansprout 
• Top with some Japanese seaweed before serving (optional) 

Number of Servings: 4

Stir-Fried Soba with Teriyaki Beef

Posted by Vivian in Beef, Japanese, Noodles

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This noodle dish originated from a famous Australia food magazine - Superfood Ideas, but this recipe is somewhat far from the original. I made a few tweaks to the recipe because I find the original a little too dry to my liking.

The most challenging part is to get the beef cooked to the right texture and it took me a few attempts before I got it right.

Ingredients:

• 300 gm soba (pre-cooked) 
• 300 to 400 gm lean beef (sliced) 
• 100 gm beansprout (tail and head removed) 
• Teriyaki sauce 
• 2 cloves of garlic (diced) 
• Freshly ground black pepper 

Preparation:

• Marinate the beef with 3 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce for at least 1 hour 
• Heat oil in wok and add in garlic 
• Using high heat, quickly stir-fry beef until 80% done and set aside 
• Add 1/2 cup of teriyaki sauce to the same wok and bring it to boil 
• Add soba to the boiling teriyaki sauce and mix evenly 
• Stir in the beansprout and let it cook 
• Put the beef back into the wok and stir-fry a little ensuring that it doesn't overcook 
• Quickly grind some black pepper over the noodles and mix evenly 
• Top with some Japanese seaweed before serving (optional) 

Number of Servings: 4