Stir-fried Cabbage with bottled Teatree Mushrooms

"Low fat healthy cabbage dish, cooked with bottled mushrooms."

For busy working adults and parents, they have most of their precious time occupied with work and children, so much so that they left very little or no time for themselves. However, they are still willing to sacrifice it so that they could prepare delicious homecooked meals for their loved ones. They do not mind at all, as long as their loved ones are happily eating the nice warm food after a long day out…. but having said that, it would be grateful, if there are more healthy yet instantly ready food products available in the market cater to these groups of people to make their cooking less hassle, I guess more individuals will not hesitate to cook at home, just like me. I changed my job from nearby my house to the CBD area, I have to spend 2 hours more in commuting to and back from work every day. Cooking dinner on daily basis has become a chore, in that sense. However, I never thought of giving up, but strive to find more ways to make my cooking easier and convenient. And, I have added these bottled mushrooms to my ‘convenient food list’ recently. Through an email introduction as well as the sample tasting of these mushroom offered by the marketing team of Yifon, I was able to experience the greatness in these healthy and convenient bottled mushrooms. They did not set any conditions on promoting these products, but on my own accord, I thought why not just share my tasting experience with my readers here since it is genuinely a product that worth trying, in my opinion. Anyway, I used it in my recipe.

The first dish I cooked using one of the mushrooms was a simple one, the Stir-fried cabbage with Teatree mushrooms. I was contemplating between the Teatree mushrooms or Golden Needle mushrooms, initially, and decided to go with Teatree mushrooms for a change since Golden Needle mushrooms have already been commonly used in vegetable dishes. Moreover, the Golden Needle is spicy flavored and spicy vegetable dish wasn’t my desire at that point of consideration. Otherwise, the Spicy Golden Needle or Spicy Nameko mushrooms would have been a good choice. Well, I knew I have made a great choice. Indeed, the Teatree mushrooms complement well with the cabbage stir fry, and its supplementary flavour did not fail to elevate the taste of my cabbage cooking. Actually, this was not the first cabbage dish I have cooked with mushrooms. In my previous Stir-fried Cabbage recipe, I used Shiitake mushrooms. However, without these flavoured mushrooms, I have to season the dish with more condiments. In another word, I do not have to remember to add many seasoning in my cooking now to make my cabbage dish taste wonderful.

Yeah, just for sharing. :)

Serves 3 – 4
Ingredients
1 bottle of Teatree mushrooms
500 gram of cabbage, cut
1 teaspoon of dried shrimps, rinsed and pat dry
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
Slightly less than 1 tablespoon of oil

Method
1) Heat wok with oil over medium-high fire. Add in dried shrimps, followed by minced garlic and stir fry till fragrant.

2) Add cabbage and stir fry till soften. Add in oyster sauce and stir fry to mix well.

3) Then, empty (or use half of) the bottle of Teatree mushrooms into the cooking, and stir fry for a few seconds. Reduce heat to low-medium fire and cover wok with lid to simmer for another few seconds before heat off. Dish up and serve.

A serving of my Stir-Fried Cabbage with Teatree Mushrooms counts about 100kcal. Remember, it’s low fat!

Like I said, these are ready-to-eat products. These mushrooms do not require cooking, actually. As the mushrooms are nicely flavoured, they can be consumed straight from the bottle, on their own, or to complement with rice, porridge or noodles. As for me, I like to use it as sides to my cooking. Good thing about it, it can be eaten as vegetarian, and for Muslim friends, it’s Halal-certified. Just FYI, Yifon brand bottled mushrooms come with six interesting flavours and mushroom types i.e. three assorted mushrooms (Button mushroom slices 蘑菇片, Poku mushrooms slices 香菇片, Golden Needle mushrooms aka Enokitake 金针菇), Bailing mushrooms 百灵菇, spicy Bailing mushrooms, spicy Golden Needle Mushrooms, spicy Nameko mushrooms 滑子蘑 and Teatree mushrooms 茶树菇...:) To check out the photos of each mushroom bottle, log in to my FaceBook Fan Club.


Tips: These bottled mushrooms are available in major supermarkets e.g. NTUC Fairprice, Shop n Save, Giant Hypermarket, Carrerfour Hypermarket, and etc, if keen to try it. Each bottle is sold at S$1.95 for 170g/bottle.

Easy Peach Konnyaku Jelly

"Happy Valentine's Day"

I did not prepare much for the Valentine's Day this year. How about you?

I am happy for those who received flowers and gifts from your boy/ girl friend, hubby/ wife, lover, suitors, friends, children and even siblings.

If you haven’t prepared or bought anything in return, I guess there are always places and gifts available for last minutes purchase. However, if you wish to do something handmade, you better take leave from work and start preparing it now, or do it really quick and simple one, like what I have posted here!

Seriously, nothing fanciful I have specially prepared for this Valentine's celebration (In fact, I did not quite remember it until my colleague came to greet me this morning). So well, happened to have this peach jelly dessert made a while ago, and it is nice and I have decided to post it today, just in case one needs a 'lazy' idea for the occasion (smile). And best thing is, you are free to turn this smooth & transparent peach jelly into a platform where you could write your love notes or decorate creatively on its smooth surface.

Let's show our creativity. Assemble this simple and lovely gelatin dessert in just 5 minutes!

Serves 2 – 6
Ingredients
60g Konnyaku jelly instant-mix (sweetened type) + ¼ teaspoon of malic acid (usually comes with the jelly mix packet), store-bought
260ml of water
6 – 7 halved peaches

Method
1) Add Konnyaku jelly mix in the pot of water and bring it to a boil over low heat. Keep stirring the mixture while simmering for about 3 minutes. Dissolve malic acid before heat off. Alternatively, follow the directions stated on the jelly mix package.

2) Arrange peach halves (may cut the peaches into heart shapes) in the large beautiful deep dish or any desired mould. Pour the boiled jelly mixture into the dish/ mould and leave it to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature before chilling it in the refrigerator.

3) Decorate or write your love messages using edible materials e.g. cut fruits, cream, chocolate syrup, jam, cooked beans and etc, on the smooth surface when the jelly is set firmly.

Alternatively,

a) Create layers of jelly with different colors scheme or shapes and patterns. Just have to set the jelly separately, do it layer by layers, shape by shape.

b) If you are using unsweetened Konnyaku jelly powder, you may even add your desired flavoured or sweet juice to replace plain water for cooking the jelly.

The good thing to make this hassle-free dessert jelly is that you do not want something too full to have as dessert after feasting on a lavish V-day meal. So... Peaches, the fruits encased in delicious & low-fat jelly would be just great to suprise your loved ones!

Tips: Various types and brands of Konnyaku jelly mix are available in major supermarkets and minimarts. The jelly mix is usually in 250grams. So, use only about a quarter of the packet.
* Use peaches, or strawberries.

For V-day beverage and food, take a reference from my previous posts under Festive Gourmet:
V-Day Beverage
V-Day Baked Scallops

Char Siu Noodle (Dry Noodle with Sliced BBQ Pork) 叉烧捞面

"Char Siu, Char Siew, Char Shao, BBQ Pork... etc, whatever you called it... Today's the simple and delicious homecooked Char Siu Noodle. So, make it simple. 叉烧.. :)"

Feeling dreadful to cook elaborately, yet, have no idea what to pack for lunch over the lazy weekend? It has always been my ‘problem’, especially if I already am prepared to cook a lavish dinner meal. I will surely feel reluctant to have to cook for lunch the same day. However, what to eat, what to eat? It would be easier, if you are someone who doesn’t mind eating salad, or simply drink some cereal or milk as lunch, but for those who must have staple food for meals…..

Oh well, I think I could help to solve the issue, at least for this weekend! Yes, of course you have to cook at home, but it is a very simple lunch dish which could be assembled easily in a flash (minus the char siu making at home). As I mentioned in my Face Book Fan Club, I got my new supply of the nice chewy wanton noodle from Kwong Cheong Thye, and recommended it to my fans and friends. I wanted, too, to post this simple Char Siu Noodle recipe using this wanton noodle pack. *See my FB under Notes

Posted similar Wanton Noodle recipe before, I have adapted it for the sauce portion in this dry Char Siu noodle dish, too.

Serves 1
Ingredients
1 dried wanton mee (off the shelves)
100 gram of BBQ pork slices (aka Char Siu 叉烧), homemade in advance or store-bought

Condiments for sauce (for tossing):
1 tablespoon of fried shallot oil (with the chopped shallot)
1 teaspoon of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of sambal chili paste (optional)

Gravy:
Char Siu Sauce (from homemade Char Siu or usually complimentary with purchase of char siu from stores)

For blanching:
1 pot of boiling water
1 pot of iced water

Method
1) Prepare the Char Siu with my recipe posted previously. Or, get the store-bought cooked Char Siu from Chinese roasted meat stalls. Slice it lengthwise and set aside.

2) Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add dried form wanton noodle in the boiling water. When noodle becomes loosen, use chopsticks to stir occasionally while blanching till soften, for about 30 seconds. Then, quickly transfer the blanched noodle to a large pot of iced water using a wire strainer, plunge it for 10 seconds. Thereafter, return the noodle to the hot water again for another 30 seconds or so. Remove noodle from pot with the strainer and place on the serving dish filled with the listed condiments. Toss the noodle with condiments till well combined.

3) Arrange generous portion of Char Siu slices on the side and drizzle Char Siu sauce on top of the Char Siu. Serve.

A plate of my Char Siu noodle counts about 380kcal.

Tips: It is very convenient to get ready-cooked Char Siu meat in Singapore. Not limited to just the roasted meat (food) stall in the hawker centre or coffee shop, it is also available at the roasted meat stall in the wet market, and even minimart. Ask for an amount worth around $3 will be sufficient to make 2 - 3 serving of this Char Siu noodle dish. *Take note, it usually costs more to purchase from the food stall from hawker centre or coffee shop as their main business is to sell as meal, complimenting with the rice or noodle, and not just the meat on its own.
* Since the noodle comes in dried form, it needs to be cooked longer than using the fresh soft type. Pick up a strand of the blanced noodle from the cooking pot to test if the texture is ideal to you. Log in to my Facebook Fan Club to check out the details of the store of the recommended wanton noodle.