062 - Garlic Bok Choy (VEGETARIAN Friendly!)

Good morning people!

First of all, happy 2015! May this New Year bring health and prosper to us all. Oh, and for me to come up with more easy and friendly recipes! ;)

Again, so, so, so sorry for the lack of update. I was on the Asia’s World City. That’s Hong Kong to you. The trip was wonderful! Never have I met so many new cultures in my life (well, after Japan, of course). I managed to see some of the wonderful sights from Hong Kong. But for me, the highlight of the trip was none other than HONG KONG DISNEYLAND! \(^o^)/

Have you ever been on one of those moments where you just can’t help but smiling all the time? That’s exactly what I felt throughout the whole ordeal inside Disneyland. Heck, I can barely contain my excitement as soon as I board the train towards the resort! Dude, the handle inside the train was in the shape of Mickey Mouse. Who am I to kid right?

I literally jumped when i saw the train towards the resort.

The Handles! THE HANDLES!

WOW.

Wise words, sir.

Can't believe i made it!

My favorite part of the whole theme!

The lunch i had after getting on those rides. The pasta was so good (or i'm just very hungry). It was Al dente, the sauce was creamy but not overwhelming. The Mickey shaped container is filled with Coffee Pudding. It was awesome!

HI DONALD!

*dies*

*DIES AGAIN*

And now I’m ready to serve you some nice new recipe to whip up at home!

You’ve all eaten Chinese food before right? Any of you loved the vegetables? Cause I do. I love the Chinese way of cooking vegetables! They had this knack to cook it super-fast in order to retain as much flavor and texture as possible. Tasty and crunchy vegetables? I’m sold, tell you that.

Chinese had a lot of vegetables. They cook (I think almost literally) every greens they could find. Bok Choy is one of those greens. This is GARLIC BOK CHOY.

You ready for this?

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For 2 servings, you will need

10-12 bunch of Baby Bok Choy

3 Garlic cloves, minced finely

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1 tsp of Sugar

2 tbsp of Sesame Seed oil

½ tsp of Garlic Powder

1 tbsp of Water

2 Tbsp of Oil

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Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Wash your Bok Choy thoroughly, removing any dirt remains (or even Caterpillar, EWW), pat dry. Cut the bottom part, then proceed to cut between the stalk (white parts) and the leafs. Set aside.

Roots go bye bye

Step 2 – Heat a pan on high heat, add the oil. Once smoking hot, cook the stalk part first! We don’t want soggy green parts right? This should take around 2 minutes. Halfway through the cooking process, cover so that it’ll soften faster by steaming it.

Step 3 – Add the leaf and the garlic, also all the seasonings (salt, sugar, pepper), stir to combine. After about 1,5 minute, turn the heat down to medium and add the sesame seed oil and the splash of water.

Don't worry if they're overwhelming, they'll shrink

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Sugar

Garlic Powder

Stir

Sesame Seed Oil

Water

Step 4 – Serve.

Now, the taste of the overall dish totally depends on your seasoning. If you go light, it’ll taste much leafier, less salty. If you choose to make it tastier, add a splash of soy sauce and onion powder, it’ll kick your taste bud up a notch!

Serve this with a hot piping Rice and a protein of your choice, and you just got yourself lunch of a champion.

Cheers

xx

061 - ONION RINGS!

Here we are.  Another new post, another new recipe. This recipe is for my favorite side dish when I’m eating fast food. Well, second favorite actually, because frankly, who can beat French fries?.

It’s ONION RINGS, and you’re gonna love it.

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For 2 medium sized portion, you will need;

2 Large Onion. Be careful, onions that are too big tend to have 2 cores, rendering it useless for this dish.

1 cup of All-Purpose Flour

1 Cup of Corn starch

3 tsp of Salt

1 tsp of Paprika

1 tsp of Garlic Powder

1 tsp of Onion Powder

2 tsp of Dried Parsley

1 egg

200 ml of Soda Water, cold.

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Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Trim off the top and the bottom of the onion then proceed to peel the skin. Cut it into thick circles, and then use your fingers to pop each layer into rings. So easy, kindergartens will beat you to it. Set aside.

Step 2 – Get a large bowl and pour the all-purpose flour in. Dredge each onion into flour. Remember, dredgy onion will help the batter sticks better.

Step 3 – With the leftover flour, add the Cornstarch, Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and Parsley in. Give it a stir, then add your egg.. After a light whisk, slowly pour the soda water in. Watch out, it’ll sizzle. The batter consistency should match of that Crepe I made few weeks earlier.

Corn Starch

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Dried Parsley

Egg goes in

Soda Water!

Finished product

Step 4 – Pour a generous amount of oil into the pan, set the stove on medium-high heat. Once it gets smoking hot, dip the onion into the batter, shake off the excess, and deep fry for 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown. Once crisp, let it dry on paper towels.

Step 5 – Serve.

See? It’s good.

Cheers.

xx

060 - MAC AND CHEESE

I’m back people. First of all, apologize for lack of updates. You see, last week, I got a deal on airfare tickets courtesy of our recently crowned 5 star national airline, Garuda Indonesia. It was too good to miss. So yeah, I went to Singapore for a day. LITERALLY, a day. Had the first flight out, and went back on the 3^rd from last. Safe to say, I’m basically spent. Dammit.

Anyway, let’s learn how to make an easy Mac and Cheese. I love Mac and Cheese. I remember getting my first Kraft dinner Mac and Cheese. It was essentially a forbidden food in our kitchen. Why? It’s carbs and fats. It ain’t good for the body. But who am I kidding? Those things are nostalgic. It brings comfort of home to your tummy. Who am I to say no?

Here are the lists of ingredients;

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For 2 servings, you will need;

180 grams of Macaroni. Don’t use other pasta, please.

50 grams of Butter

50 grams of All Purpose Flour

400 ml of Milk, cold.

150 grams of Cheddar Cheese. Grated

(optional) 1 tbsp of Grated Parmesan Cheese

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

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Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Fill a pot with enough water to cook the pasta, add salt, and let it boil. Once boiling, add the Macaroni in, cook in approximately 8 minutes for al dente. Once done, strain it and set aside.

Salt

Covering helps the water to boil faster

Macaroni

Precisely!

Perfect!

Step 2 – Get a non-stick pan/pot and set the heat to medium-low, melt the butter. Once melted, add the flour and whisk vigorously to combine. The goal here is to make a Roux. Roux is a base for a lot of French sauces, or, in this case, cheese sauce. We are actually cooking the flour so there won’t be any flour taste left when the sauce is done. This should take about 3-4 minutes.

Butter

All ready to go

Flour goes in

Whisk! and don't stop!

All combined, and cooked up

Step 3 – Add the cold milk little by little while you continue whisking. The mixture will turn into lumps. BUT DON’T WORRY! They always do. Now all you gotta do is continue whisking while adding the milk constantly. When you’re down to your last pour, the mixture will be liquidy and thick enough to actually look like a sauce! Let the mixture come so a simmer on medium-low for another 2-3 minutes.

See how the milk turns the mixture into lumps?

lumps! Lumps! LUMPS~!

Weehee! No more lumps!

Step 4 – Add the shredded cheese in, and whisk to melt. Add the salt and pepper to round up the flavor, and boom. Cheese sauce is done!

Cheddar

(optional) Parmesan

Mix!

Ey ey, good lookin'!

Salt and Pepper

SEX!

Step 5 – Combine the macaroni and the sauce. Nothing else you need to do. Seriously.

Step 6 – SERVE!

Mac and Cheese is awesome. It’s a perfect food for your Sunday lunches. It taste good, and it actually make you feel good! Well, unless you’re on a diet.

Anyway, you can spice things up in a lot of way, possibilities are endless. But I like it simple like this

Cheers

xx