Fried Rice from a Uni Student's Perspective

Who doesn't love fried rice? It's quick, cheap, easy and we get it right most of the time. This was actually taken from a healthy eating resource that I have been developing for university students living away from home. I guess since it's mine, I might as well share this dirt cheap but funky (in a good way) tasting fried rice with you all. Now, the beauty of fried rice is that it works with a lot of ingredients. I usually toss whatever vegetables or proteins that I find in my fridge/freezer with some overnight rice and there you go.

Fried Rice

Makes 6 meals

Ingredients:

5 cups leftover cooked rice                                                            

3 eggs, beaten                                                                                          

2 teaspoons oil                                                                                         

1 small onion, diced                                                                              

1 chicken breast, cut into 1” cubes                                                 

1 capsicum, seeded & diced                                                           

2 cups mushrooms, sliced                                                                

1 cup cabbage, thinly sliced                                                            

1 cup carrots, peas & corn                                                               

3 tablespoons soy sauce                                                                   

Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat oil in pan over medium heat and scramble eggs. Remove from pan. Add onion to pan and fry until fragrant. Sauté chicken. Add capsicum, mushrooms, cabbage and carrots, peas and corn and toss well. When vegetables are cooked, add rice, breaking apart lumps by pressing with spatula. Add soy sauce and pepper to taste. Stir until sauce has mixed through. Fold in scrambled eggs.

Back from the Dead?

This place has been dead for ten awful months! I've been busy and busier with uni work and life and uni work. Believe me, how I survived the last few months, it is still incredible. I've got my dear friends and family to thank for the support. 

I'm BACK! I think. I sure do hope so, before work engulfs me and this blog once more. Since I'm here, here's an ass-kicking recipe for some awesome Kung Pao Chicken that'll leave your lips throbbing from the heat but your chopsticks going back for more fiery goodness. 

Try it and you'll be sporting Angelina Jolie-isque goldfish pouts in no time.

Vegetarian Chap Chae

A couple of weeks ago, I headed down to the city to satisfy my chap chae craving (and boy it was a major one to satisfy). I must be out of luck as even the best chap chae in town did not even come close to hitting the spot. It was much too oily, slightly soggy and ten miles past my threshold of sweetness in a supposedly savoury dish. Disappointing much. I set out to make my own chap chae a few days ago because, hey -  reduced sugar, fresh ingredients, no-no greasiness? - sounds terrific to me.


Ever since I first heard of Chap Chae, I have this inkling suspicion that it actually means 杂菜 ('mixed vegetables' in Mandarin). Sure enough, Wiki confirmed that. Or so history claims that Chap Chae was created in the 17th century for a huge banquet in the palace. The king actually loved this dish so much that he presented the creator (and his WHOLE LINEAGE) with a title equivalent to 'Secretary of Treasury'. It's a bit mental what they do in the olden days huh?


Traditional Chap Chae was made with cellophane - sounds like I'm eating tape - noodles made from potato starch and a variety of vegetables like shiitake mushrooms, cucumber and daikon radish. Inspired by David Chang's recipe, here's my take on one of my favourite Korean dishes.


Vegetarian Chap Chae


Makes 2 meals


Ingredients:
100g uncooked sweet potato cellophane noodles, cooked as per instructions
1 tbs oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 medium cucumber, julienned
3 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and thinly sliced
3 medium pieces dried black fungus, soaked and thinly sliced
2 handfuls mung bean sprouts, washed
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tsp artificial sweetener (I used Splenda)
Pepper to taste
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish


Preparation:
Heat oil in large saucepan, sauté onion, ginger and garlic until fragrant and onions are soft. Lower flame. Add carrot, black fungus and mushrooms and cook for about 5-8 minutes. Add mung bean sprouts and cook for 1 minute (I like them crisp). In a large bowl, add the noodles and mix in the cooked vegetables. Toss in the cucumbers and the Splenda (dissolved in soy sauce), sesame oil and some seasame seeds. Mix thoroughly and add pepper to taste. 


The beauty of Chap Chae is that it is so easy to make, requires cheap ingredients and can be served either hot or cold! One thing though, I had some leftovers the next day and it became soggy and mushy. Not very nice. So it's a good idea to finish it within the day - not a hard thing to do since it's so yummy anyway! :) 

Oddball salad

It's sweet, savoury, spicy and oddly delightful. This will definitely win no cooking competitions. I think most people wouldn't even try it but I love it so here it is:

Oddball salad


Makes 2 meals


Ingredients:
120g uncooked pasta
1 1/2 cup pumpkin, thinly sliced
1 cup mushrooms, generously sliced
1 medium capsicum, sliced
1 medium apple, cut and de-cored
1 medium tomato, cut into wedges
1 stalk spring onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder (unsweetened)
Cream-based salad dressing (no-sugar added)
Handful of walnuts
Herbs and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Boil pasta and set aside. Preheat oven to 120 degrees. Spice apple slices with cinnamon. Arrange apples, pumpkin, capsicum and mushroom on baking tray and bake. After 15 minutes, check mushroom, apple and capsicum. Remove from oven if cooked. Continue cooking pumpkin for a further 10-15 minutes or until cooked and slightly crispy. Add baked ingredients and walnuts to boiled pasta. Mix in salad dressing and garnish with spring onion. Add herbs and pepper to taste. Can be served hot or cold.

Now the question is : Would you try it?

Chinese mushroom and ginger chicken

My grandmother has cooked this for me since I was a tot and it's one of my favourite family recipes of all time. The great thing is it not only tastes great but it's so simple to make!

My ultimate comfort food. :)

Chinese mushroom and ginger chicken


Serves 2 meals


Ingredients:
2 chicken drumsticks (or thighs), deskinned
4 large dried Chinese mushrooms (any type will do)
1 tablespoon young ginger, sliced into thin strips
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
Pepper to taste

Preparation:
Soak mushrooms until soft (I use hot water so they soften very quickly), squeeze out excess water and slice into thin strips. Place chicken into a metal bowl (or any bowl that is suitable for steaming). Arrange mushroom and ginger strips on top of the chicken and drizzle with sesame oil and soy sauce. Add a dash of pepper for a nice bite. Steam* for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked and tender.

*I place a small steaming rack in a large pot, add hot water and bring the water to boil. Then, when water is boiling, place the bowl atop the rack and cover the pot. Be sure to keep an eye on the water level as they evaporate pretty quickly. When the water level goes too low, just add some more hot water to the pot.

Mushroom Pizza

Ain't that a pretty picture? I just love overloading on mushrooms.

Mushroom Pizza


Serves 2 meals


Ingredients:
6 medium mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 piece Lebanese bread
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 medium tomato, sliced into wedges
Herbs and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 120 degrees. Spread tomato paste on Lebanese bread evenly. Arrange mushrooms and tomato. Season with herbs and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked.

Big chicken

The idea of turkey for me when I was younger was Christmas and Christmas Eve feasts where we'd have a whole roasted turkey filled with potato stuffing, ready to be carved and then fed to the hungry mob, yours truly included. There would always be cranberry sauce and a roast leg of lamb. Lets not forget the creamy warm potato salad and garlic bread. Oh Christmas.

But it's the middle of April and Christmas is still eight months away (yes, I counted). Doesn't mean that I can't have turkey now! It was on sale and I thought why not?


Simple Roast Turkey


Serves MANY meals


Ingredients:
1 good-sized turkey drumstick
4 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
Herbs and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Clean and remove all visible fat from drumstick. Season with Worcestershire Sauce, herbs and pepper. Roast uncovered for approximately 30 minutes. Check to make sure that the turkey does not dry out. Cover, reduce temperature to 150 degrees and continue to roast for another 20 minutes or until completely cooked and flesh falls off the bone. Serve.

Tuna Pasta

I first had tuna pasta three years ago when I stayed in an Italian lady's house. Before that, I have never heard of fish cooked with pasta before, except the occasional smoked salmon in creamy sauce. But boy, the lady was a whiz in the kitchen and got me instantly hooked on this dish. It's so simple that I wanted to cry and beat myself up for not making it more often.

Tuna pasta in tomato sauce


Serves 1 meal


Ingredients:
150g cooked pasta
1 small can tuna (approx. 95g per can)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 small onion, chopped
3 bulbs garlic, chopped
1 tomato, roughly sliced
3 medium mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon olive oil

Preparation:
Heat oil in saucepan. Brown onion and garlic. Cook mushrooms. Add tomato and tomato paste. Add tuna. If sauce becomes too dry, add some water. Stir and remove from heat. Serve with pasta.

A not-so-Shepherd's Pie

Carbohydrate counting is a major pain in the ass sometimes. Okay, a lot of times. You just cannot afford to overeat, else you'll get a soaring blood glucose reading two hours later, which makes you disappointed and depressed and wishing for a double chocolate ice-cream,which you can't have, and this makes you even more depressed. Happens to me anyway. It's one of those days where you get lots of the why me?'s. Life just isn't fair sometimes when you think about it.

Good thing my friend brought me to church today and I felt loved and tended. So I'm all good now. Good enough to share a recipe with a butt ugly photograph. :)

Cauliflower Shepherd's Pie


Serves 3 meals


Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped into small pieces
300g lean minced beef
2 small onions, diced
2 cups celery, chopped finely
1 cup leek, chopped finely
1 medium carrot, diced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, roughly sliced
3 tablespoons tomato paste (no added sugar)
3/4 cup grated cheese (preferably Mozarella)
2 teaspoons Worchestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pepper and herbs to taste

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 150 degrees. Marinate minced beef with Worchestershire Sauce, pepper and herbs for at least 20 minutes. In a deep pan, heat oil and brown onions. Add leek and celery, stir. Add marinated beef and stir until meat is almost completely cooked. Reduce heat. Add tomatoes, mushrooms and carrot. Continue to cook until mushrooms turn soft. Add tomato paste, pepper and herbs, stir. Add a bit of water if sauce becomes too thick. Simmer covered for 10 minutes. Pour beef sauce into baking tray and completely cover with cauliflower. Sprinkle cheese over top layer and bake for 30 minutes or until cauliflower is cooked.

I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I did. I wolfed it down pretty quick with a big bowl of plain lettuce. Hearty and filling, YUM!

Bubble and squeak

I do realize that this is not the best picture ever but I just have got to share this recipe with you. Apparently, eggplants (otherwise known as aubergine or brinjals) are loaded with fibre (if unpeeled) and are found low in the glycaemic index, which makes it great for diabetes control. They are also low in fat, WHOOPIE!

Oh and eggplant is a member of the 'nightshade' family. Which is a cool family name. 

Anyway, the trouble is I've never been a great fan of eggplant and if they're not cooked properly, they become a sticky slimy gooey mess. Ugh. Came up with this bright idea of an eggplant lasagna and my my it was divine.

Eggplant Lagsana

Serves 4 meals with staples

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, sliced 1cm thick

1 large tomato, sliced thinly

4 medium fresh mushrooms, sliced thinly

1/2 medium onion, sliced 

Salt and pepper, to taste

Pizza cheese, low fat, enough to cover top layer

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 120 degrees. Arrange eggplant slices at the bottom of a baking tray, season lightly. Remember to have a light hand when seasoning with salt. Arrange tomato, repeat with another layer of eggplant. On subsequent layers, use onion, tomato and mushrooms until you run out. Cover the top layer of lasagna with cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes or until eggplant is squeaky bubbly cooked.

Simple as!

Fried rice is a very common and popular Chinese/Asian dish. Usually cooked from leftover rice and a wide array of ingredients, fried rice is simple, versatile and yet utterly delicious. How I love to top it off with a nicely fried egg. 

Simple Fried Rice

Carbohydrate exchange(s): 6

Diabetic portions*: 2 meals

Ingredients:

brown rice, cooked (60g uncooked)

1/2 cup garlic shoots, finely chopped

1/2 cup french beans, finely chopped

1/2 cup mushrooms, diced

1/2 cup ham, sliced

egg

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp light soy sauce

sesame oil, to taste

pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Heat 1 tbs olive oil in large saucepan. Add garlic shoots and french beans, cook until garlic shoots are fragrant. Add mushrooms, stir and cook until soften. Add cooked brown rice and ham, mix thoroughly. Drizzle soy sauce and sesame oil. Mix thoroughly. Dish up. Heat remaining olive oil, fry egg. Serve on top of rice with a dash of pepper.

Tips:

Ingredients can be substituted according to personal preferences.

*Serving size according to 1500kJ/day diet.