Noob Cook - Part 2

Steamed Tofu with Pumpkin, Prawns & Ebikko

November 12, 2008 – 2:49 pm by wiffy

Steamed Tofu with Pumpkin, Prawns & Ebikko

If you are thinking how suspiciously similar this dish looks to my pumpkin chawanmushi … you are right! =x I made both on the same day. The ingredients are actually leftover from making the chawanmushi, I saw a piece of tofu in the fridge so I thought of making this. Tofu is soft so it is chew friendly post my wisdom tooth surgery.

Ingredients
(Serves two)

Main ingredients
- a piece of beancurd (200g-300g) [Note: You can use Japanese tofu, or those that are ideal for "cold dish" or "steaming"]
- 30g uncooked pumpkin flesh
- 3 Kamaboko fish cake slices
- 1 large prawn, shells and veins removed

Sauce
- 3 tbsp water/stock
- 1/4 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- a bit of ground white pepper
- 1/2 tsp corn starch
- 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

For garnishing (optional)
- ebikko
- chopped spring onions

Directions
1. Blend the pumpkin until smooth using a blender/mini chopper.
2. Place the fish cake slices on the tofu, place blended pumpkin on top of fish cake slices, add the prawn on top, and steam over high heat for 5 minutes. Drain away the liquid from steaming beancurd.
3. Bring ingredients for sauce to a boil. Pour over the cooked tofu. Garnish with ebikko and chopped spring onions.

Similar Recipes
- Agedashi Tofu
- Simple Cold Tofu

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For Wordless Wednesday.
Not entirely wordless, but it’s a pretty simple & short recipe ;p

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Tags: ebikko, prawns, pumpkin, shrimps, tofu

Posted in Japanese, Recipes, Steaming, Tofu/Beancurd, Vegseatarian

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Weekend Herb Blogging #157 Recap

November 10, 2008 – 8:33 am by wiffy

This week marks a new start for Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB), as it is the first week that the popular food event changes management from one capable hostess (founder Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen) to another (Haalo from Cook (almost) Everything At Least Once). And I am pleased to be the first host under Haalo’s care. Thank you for giving me a chance to host WHB, both Kalyn & Haalo. WHB was the first food blog event that I participated in and I have been hooked on joining food events event since ;p I totally enjoyed being a WHB participant in the past, and now, a host.

WHB is a weekly food blogging event that is focused on cooking with herbs and unusual vegetables. Over the last week, 17 foodies from all over the world (Australia, Canada, Italy, Philippines, Serbia, Singapore, USA) submitted their wonderful recipes which showcased a great diversity of food.

The recipes that are being featured in this recap is shown in the order that they were received in. If I had accidentally made any mistakes or left out your entry, please leave me a comment to let me know.

Now … let’s get on with the feast shall we?

Cucumber

Anna (Sydney, Australia) from Morsels & Musings made a refreshing drink called Es Timun Aceh, also known as Indonesian Cucumber Limeade. The cucumber adds a cooling, melon flavour while the lime gives zing. Check out her post for an informative read about cucumbers too.

Garlic, Cilantro, Pumpkin Seed

Ricki from Diet,Desserts,Dogs (Toronto, Canada) made this stunningly beautiful Roasted Garlic and Pumpkin Seed Pesto. Although Ricki called it a “pesto,” it can also be used on its own as a spread for crackers or bread, toss it with pasta, or great as a snack on its own.

Longans

I am delighted to see a tropical fruit (longans) being used in a savory dish like this Longan Chicken Radicchio Wraps prepared by Wandering Chopsticks (Southern California, USA). The slightly bitter radicchio leaves is a nice contrast to the sweet longans, as are the purple and white colours of this dish.

Garlic

I couldn’t agree more with the wonderful Ning (Manila, Philippines) from Heart and Hearth, when she says that adding whole garlic cloves are essential for flavouring her Pork Soup with Bak Kut Teh Spices. Not only does it flavours the soup, garlic has many nutritional benefits which are mentioned in Ning’s informative post.

Chinese Mustard Greens

Christine (Vancouver, Canada) from Kits Chow made these delightful, fuss-free and tasty Chinese Mustard Greens. She also shares with you the secret on how to blanch your vegetables perfectly.

Cilantro

Colleen (Seattle, WA, USA) from Pennies & Pounds make this ultimate indulgent party food - Italian Dip - for their little apartment election-viewing party. I hope I get invited to home parties every weekend if the host serves such wonderful party food ;p

Thyme

Pam (Tennessee, USA) from Sidewalk Shoes uses fresh thyme to cook this delightful Roasted Peppers with Red Wine Vinegar, Thyme, and Olive Oil. I really love the colours in this dish. This recipe showcases the subtle and homey flavor of thyme.

Green Mango

Yasmeen (Cleveland Ohio, USA) from Health Nut makes this delicious Green Mango Dal. Expectant moms in India go ga ga over tangy Green mangoes during the nauseous phase. This dish reminds Yasmeen of her strong desire for this sourly goodness during her initial phase of pregnancy.

Orange

Marija (Belgrade, Serbia) from Palachinka uses orange to add colour and a wonderful citrusy flavour to her beautiful Hake with Orange dish.

Ginger and Scallion

Ginger and scallions are my fave food pairing in Chinese cooking. Lesley (Long Island, NY, USA) from Beachlover’s Kitchen whips up this delicious and authentic Chinese Stir-fry Crab with Ginger and Scallion with this fave food pairing of mine.

Beetroot

LK (Singapore) from Food 4 Tots made this delicious and healthy Beetroot Soup. Do check out her informative post about the benefits of eating beetroot.

Persimonn

Brii (Valsorda, Lake Garda, Italy) from BriiBlog shares with us her wonderful Persimonn Pickles. Although the pickling process takes some time (marinating for 15 days, and infusing in oil for a month), the result is well worth the effort as they look absolutely delicious!

Red Russian Kale, Chickpeas, Tomatoes, Herbs

WHB founder Kalyn (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA) from Kalyn’s Kitchen made this nourishing and comforting Sausage and Red Russian Kale Soup with Chickpeas, Tomatoes, and Herbs. I just know that this soup is rich in flavour because it uses home made chicken broth, red russian kale, chickpeas, rosemary and sage among a host of other wonderful ingredients.

Baby Cabbage

WHB new chief Haalo (Melbourne, Australia) from Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once made this beautiful and delicious looking Pickled Cabbage using baby cabbage. The hint of sweetness from the honey complements well with the tart vinegar, making this a refreshing dish especially for the warmer weather.

Rosemary

Cinzia (Bardolino, Lake of Garda, Italy) from Cindystar tells us that there is almost no garden in Italy without rosemary and she uses her home grown rosemary to make this unusual but tasty sounding Rosemary Ice Cream served in Almond Brittle Basket with Chestnut Pudding. I am really impressed by Cinzia’s creativity and I must say this is one beautiful looking dessert!

Red Pepper

Cheryl (Alexandria, VA, USA) from Gluten Free Goodness made this delicious and creamy looking Red Pepper Soup. I am amazed by how easy it sounds to whip up this beautiful looking soup - just blend everything until smooth, warm over gentle heat, sprinkle some fresh thyme … and it’s ready!

Ginseng

Last but not least, I (Singapore) made two ginseng drinks - basic ginseng drink, as well as chrysanthemum ginseng tea (above) - using a type of ginseng known as american ginseng “beard” 洋参须. Chinese herbology believe that this type of ginseng has ‘cooling’ properties … which was exactly what I needed for ‘heaty’ me.

A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who joined in the fun this week!

WHB links

- Previously: Special 3 year anniversary round up

- Heather from Diary of a Fanatic Foodie will be hosting the next round. Click here to find out how you can submit your entry.

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Tags: cooking, herbs, international, Recipes, round up, unusual vegetables, WHB

Posted in Blog Events, Event Round Ups, WHB

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Two American Ginseng Drinks Recipes - Basic Ginseng and Ginseng Chrysanthemum

November 6, 2008 – 11:06 pm by wiffy

American Ginseng “Beards”/ American Ginseng Fiber, 洋参须 (Yang Shen Xu)

I’m featuring two recipes - (1) basic ginseng drink and (2) ginseng with chrysanthemum tea towards the end of the post ^o^

Not all ginseng are created equal. For example, most types of Korean Ginseng is generally considered to be ‘heaty’ while American Ginseng is known to be ‘cooling’ (based on the Chinese herbalogy system of ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ foods). I prefer the latter (American Ginseng) as I am living in a tropical country (Singapore), where the hot and humid weather tend to make one ‘heaty’ rather than the other way round.

The type of ginseng I am featuring is known as 洋参须 (Yang Shen Xu). I have a hard time translating it to English, because the sites I googled so far refer to 洋参须 as “American Ginseng” but I think it’s too generic, because only the first two words 洋参 (Yang Shen) refers to American Ginseng, so it is essential to translate the word 须 (Xu) which I think means “beards”. Yes the translation sounds weird but I have heard of people calling it as that. But maybe a more professional sounding name is “American Ginseng Fiber” like this site has translated. Please correct me if I am wrong or if you know of other names. The translation is important as there are many types of American Ginseng around and the word 须 (Xu) shows the exact type of ginseng that I’m using. As you can see from the photo above, they are small, thin and wispy looking (hence it’s resemblance to beards?) My command of Mandarin as you can tell, isn’t very good =P

A well known property of this ginseng is that it is very ‘cooling’. So consuming it will supposedly reduce your body heat (降火). Lots of mums like to prepare this drink for their children during the school exams period so they can ‘burn the midnight oil’, because this type of ginseng is also known to keep one alert (提神) hehe. So if you are someone who don’t sleep easily at night or have to avoid caffeine near bedtime, you should likewise avoid drinking this tea at night. You should also avoid this if you are pregnant or have special medical history. You can purchase it in Singapore at the Chinese medical halls such as Fuhua (where I bought a 150g packet for S$5.50) and Eu Yan Sang.

Chrysanthemum Flowers and American Ginseng “Beards”

Recovering from wisdom tooth surgery more than a week ago was quite the ordeal for me. Between Day 6 and Day 10, I experienced increased and throbbing pain that made me sick, pukey and the pain was so bad I was almost hallucinating. All I could do was sleep. And then on Day 11, the pain subsided suddenly and on Day 12, I was in no more pain. Really weird right?

Well the point of saying all this is that post my mini wisdom tooth surgery, I experienced so much physical discomfort that I could feel my body going out of balance and becoming extremely ‘heaty’ though I wasn’t having a fever. B said that the objects I touched felt warm after that … wah that’s really quite exaggerated though I think he is right!

So once I was feeling all right again and free from taking painkillers, the first drink I thought of making is ginseng tea which is known for its super cooling properties. And I really think it helps to bring down my body heat ^^

I prepared two versions of the tea - (1) basic ginseng drink and (2) ginseng with chrysanthemum tea the next day. So I am going to share not one, but two ginseng drinks recipes herb. The reason I am showcasing two recipes is to show that the ginseng tastes great on its own, as well as when it’s paired up with another herb.

Basic Ginseng Drink 洋参须水
(Serves 2)

Ingredients
30g American Ginseng “Beards” 洋参须
1.5 litres of water
a pinch of salt* (optional)

Directions
Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add ginseng and boil over high flame for 5 minutes. Flavour with some salt if you like*. Take out the ginseng using a strainer and serve the drink at room temperature or chilled.

*Note: The addition of salt is purely personal … I personally find that the taste of this particular ginseng goes really well with a bit of salt. Feel free to skip this according to your preference.

Ginseng Chrysanthemum Tea 菊花洋参须茶
(Serves 2)

Ingredients
50g chrysanthemum flowers
30g American Ginseng “Beards” 洋参须
2 litres of water
70g rock sugar (adjust according to your preference)

Directions

Bring chrysanthemum flowers and water to a boil in a pot. Take out the chrysanthemum using a strainer. Then add the ginseng and boil for another 5 minutes. Take out ginseng using a strainer. Add rock sugar to taste and off fire when the sugar has dissolved. Serve the drink at room temperature or chilled.

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Besides making these cooling and refreshing drinks, ginseng can be used in cooking too! Watch up for my upcoming recipes using American Ginseng

More cooling drinks to try:

- Chrysanthemum Tea
- Lemon Barley Drink
- Water Chestnut and Bamboo Drink

I’m sharing my ginseng drinks recipes with Weekend Herb Blogging… now managed by Haalo of Cooking (Almost) Everything At Least Once and hosted this week by … yours truly! Yes, me! =P If you wish to participate, do find out the details from here

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And good news!! I entered my Pumpkin Chawanmushi for Cookthink’s Root Source Challenge (Pumpkin) … and I won! =O omg yippee! The recipe is now proudly featured at cookthink’s website and I get a free cookbook too (didn’t realise there were prizes, pleasant surprise), double yay! This is my first time entering RSC … a big thank you to cookthink for selecting my entry ^o^

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Tags: american ginseng beard, Chinese Herbs, Chrysanthemum, cooling, liang cha, liang teh