It’s a quick comforting meal for me but I don’t make it as often as I like because I never seem to have chicken thigh meat ready on hand (they are usually frozen so it takes a little bit of pre-planning when I want to make this dish).
But recently I questioned why does it have to be chicken thigh? I mean, yes, the dish is traditionally made with chicken meat, but that doesn’t make I cannot alter it to my taste. Hence, I took a portion of minced pork from the freezer and boldly used that instead.

And guess what? It was equally delicious!

Now I can have oyakodon whenever I want it. Love that!

So here it is, my simplified and modified recipe.

Japanese Rice Bowl with Minced Pork and Egg (Oyakodon style)

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 3oz minced pork
• ½ onion, sliced thinly
• 1/2c chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon Japanese cooking wine
• 1 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce
• 1 scallion, julienned
• 2 eggs, beatened

What to do:

1. Marinate minced pork with a touch of salt, sugar, soy sauce, mirin and sesame oil. Mix it all up and let it sit for at least 10 min.
2. Meanwhile, saute sliced onion in 1 teaspoon of canola oil in a saute pan on medium heat. Saute for 5 minutes, or until onions are starting to soften up. Add a little bit of water to help the process along.
3. When onions start to soften, add in minced pork. Break up large chunks and saute until no longer pink.
4. Add chicken broth, mirin, cooking wine and soy sauce into the pan. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for a few minutes. The onions will soften even more and the minced pork will be cook completely.
5. Sprinkle in scallion. Pour beatened eggs over top. Gently swirl the saute pan to distribute the egg more evenly. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and let the residual heat cook the egg.
6. Scoop rice into your favourite bowl and gently pour the meat and the juices over the rice. Enjoy!

After a week of beautiful sunshine, today is a full day of pouring rain. An indoor day for me.

With the sun gone, it feels really chilly for me (considering I just came back from Hong Kong, which is insanely hot). The only way to warm myself up would be, of course, to make soup!

Scavenging through the fridge, I see a container of fresh corn kernels. My initial thought was to make corn chowder. But, that just seem so boring and lacked a wow factor.

Many ideas raced through my head and out of nowhere, the thought of making a curried corn soup popped up. Sweet corn with a spicy kick. Not bad, but still lacking some substance…

I thought about potatoes, but that’s just plain (plus I got none at home). Could use sweet potatoes, but that would be sweet on sweet, too one-dimensional.

Ah ha! Mung bean daal. My favourite legume. It requires no fore thought, cooks quickly and yields that starch, creamy consistency that I was exactly looking for.

Perfect! Sweet corn + curry powder + mung bean daal = thick, creamy, flavourful curried corn soup with a beautiful, rich yellow colour.

So appetizing, heart-warming and most importantly, nutritious. Loved it!

Curried Corn Soup with Daal

Serves 3 – 4.

What you’ll need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1.5 teaspoon curry powder (use less if you like less heat)
• 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes (only add this if you really want a spicy kick)
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 cup mung bean daal, picked and rinsed
• 3 cup chicken stock (low sodium is best)
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears of corn)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Cilantro, for garnish, optional

What to do:

In a medium pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Saute onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add in garlic and ginger, saute until fragrant.

Stir in curry powder, chili flakes and turmeric. Saute for another minute or so.

Add in mung bean daal and make sure the daal gets coated with the oil and the spices. Add chicken stock, cover, and bring to a boil.

When the mixture boils, turn the heat down and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Stirring occasionally. The daal should be quite soft by now.

Add in the corn, bring to a boil again and then simmer for another 10 minutes. The daal should be very tender, if not melted into the soup by now.

Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the pot from the element and let the soup cool slightly. Then, carefully stick in a hand blender and puree until desired consistency. (You can blend the soup in a blender too, just be careful that hot soup may splatter). Pour soup back into pot, reheat gently while stirring constantly. Before serving, garnish with chopped cilantro.

I used to love Campbell’s Cream of Broccoli and I genuinely thought it was tasty. Until I tried making my own from scratch. The real stuff was way way way better. I rarely, if ever, make soup from the canned stuff now.

I have a pretty good basic recipe that I’ve been using but I am always searching for ways to make it even better. So, when I saw Cook’s Illustrated Broccoli-Cheddar soup recipe in the March/April issue, I knew I could steal some of the tricks and use them to make my Cream of Broccoli recipe even more tasty.

The technique for extracting every last bit of flavour from the broccoli was so smart: using just a pinch of baking soda to break down the plant structure. And adding in spinach in the end was a nice touch and gave the soup that bright green vibrant, appetizing colour.

Two easy tricks, yet it made all the difference into creating this best-ever Cream of broccoli soup. So delicious!

Creamless Cream of Broccoli

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated March/April 2011

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound broccoli, rinsed and cut into small florets, stems sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Salt
• 2 – 3 cup water
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup chicken stock, or vegetable stock (best homemade, if not try to choose a low-sodium variety)
• 1 – 2 ounce baby spinach (original recipe called for fresh spinach, but I used frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry)
• 3/4 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated
• Cream or milk, optional

Heat butter and olive oil in your biggest pot. Add onion and sauté it on medium heat until no longer translucent, about 2 – 3 minutes.

Add broccoli, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt. Sauté for about 6 – 7 minutes until fragrant and broccoli becomes a bright green colour. Add a cup of water and sprinkle in the baking soda. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and let simmer until broccoli becomes very tender, about 20 – 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When broccoli takes on unappealing olive green colour and literally breaks apart in the pot, it is then time to add in the chicken stock and add just enough water to cover the ingredients. Add spinach and bring the soup to a boil.

After it boils, remove the soup from heat and let it cool down slightly before blending it. Use a standing blender for a smoother texture (blend the soup in small batches to prevent spilling), or simply stick in an immersion blender into the soup pot and  blend until smooth or leave it slightly chunky, up to you.

Return the soup to the pot and add in the cheese. Adjust the consistency by adding in cream or milk for a creamier texture or add water to thin out the soup if needed. Reheat gently until soup is warmed through.  Taste and adjust seasoning with more cheese, and/or salt and pepper. Enjoy!

I hate the chilly wind that slaps against my face whenever I’m outside. Each wave of strong wind that blows against me reminds me that the summer sunshine is gone and the days are getting progressively shorter. I simply dislike the cold.

But despite every little detail that I hate about the cold weather, there is one thing that I look forward to…all the sweet and delicious winter produce that are now in season. Winter squash, sweet potatoes and many others.

And I must say, I absolutely LOVE winter squash! They are not only a nutrition powerhouse, packed with nutrients such as vitamin A and fiber, but they are also so full of deliciousness.

When shopping for squash, choose one with no blemished skin, a matte texture and make sure that it feels heavy for its size. Don’t worry about buying too many at once because they can last for a very long time when placed in a cool, shaded area (I like to keep mine in the same bin with the potatoes).

With so many varieties of squash popping up in every corner of grocery stores, be sure to pick out a few different types and try out these various cooking methods to truly explore and appreciate their rich flavours. Enjoy!

Mashed: Mashed Kabocha Squash with Peanut Butter

Instead of serving regular mashed potatoes as a side, try some mashed Kabocha squash. It already has a very unique sweet flavour that stands quite well on its own, but nuttiness of the peanut butter will bring more depth and elevate its flavour to the next level.

Faux noodles: Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce

The flesh of a cooked spaghetti squash pulls apart easily into many long strands, which makes it an ideal low-carb substitute for pasta. With only 42 calories and 2 grams of fiber per cup, this faux noodles will fill you up pretty good.

Stuffed: Oven Baked Stuffed Squash Boats

Small-sized squash are perfect for stuffing as they tend take less time to bake until tender. Use whatever ingredients you have on hand to make the filling. Make sure to mix in some protein and grains to transform this into a balanced, hearty, one-pot meal.

Roasted: Roasted Sweet Potato “Coins”

Simply clean and cut squash into wedges and follow the same method used in making sweet potato coins. Roasting is an extremely easy technique that will concentrate the sweetness of the winter squash and really let its natural flavours shine through.  Enjoy roasted squash hot out of the oven as a hearty side dish, and remember to save some for later to put into salads, soups or even as a quick energy-boosting snack in the middle of the day.

Soup: Roasted Squash and Red Pepper Soup

Winter squash are starchy, so they will add creaminess to a soup when blended, saving you the need to use cream.

Dessert: Butternut Squash Bread

Like bananas and zucchinis, winter squash can be pureed and used to make moist, lower-fat and lower calorie quick breads. They will not only provide sweetness, but also add moisture to keep the quick bread tender, thus reducing the amount of sugar and fat needed.

This dressing takes very little prep work and making one batch will last you for a long time.  The original recipe itself already has great flavours from lighting frying garlic and shallots but I tweaked the recipe slightly and added in some more aromatics (minced ginger and dried chili pepper) for a spicy flare. If this sounds tasty to you, I suggest getting Jaden’s book and following her instructions to the letter when you make it the first time for a foolproof delicious sweet soy sauce. Then, tweak the recipe to your likings when you make it the next time. The following recipe is my tweaked version of Jaden’s delicious recipe.

Sweet Soy Sauce

Adapted from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

Makes about 3 cups.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 small piece ginger, minced
• 1 cup soy sauce (I used low-sodium)
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice wine (or dry sherry)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 scallion, cut into small pieces

Directions:

• Heat cooking oil in a wok on medium heat. Add garlic, shallot and ginger, and fry for about 30 seconds or so to let the flavours infuse into the oil; do not let them brown.
• Carefully remove the garlic, shallot and ginger pieces, try not to remove the flavoured oil as you separate out the bits and pieces.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the oil and simmer until the sauce becomes thickened, about 5 – 10 minutes. Turn off heat and add in the scallion pieces.
• Pour into a clean, tightly covered jar. Let it cool to room temperature and store in the refrigerator for up to a month.  Strain out the scallion pieces before using.

I love beef brisket! Despite knowing that it is a fatty cut, I still love it for its tenderness and the melt-in-your-mouth texture. Thus, when a recipe calls for beef brisket, I can never bring myself to substitute it for a leaner cut. However, I do try to give it healthy twist by using less meat than the recipe calls for and perhaps mixing in a leaner cut as well. In addition, I also add in extra vegetables to bulk up the dish and boost its nutritional value.

In this beer braised beef brisket recipe, I reduced the amount of beef brisket and added in some precooked beef tendon pieces. Beef tendon is not a very common ingredient in western supermarkets, but it can easily be found in Asian stores. I chose to add that in because once its fully cooked, it has a very unique chewy, almost gummy texture that I really enjoy.

As for veggies, I added lot. I love adding in all sorts of vegetables, not only because they bulk up the dish, but mostly because through prolonged cooking, the veggies’ natural sweetness will melt into the sauce and give the final dish a fuller, more complex flavour profile.

For this beer braised beef brisket, in addition to the typical onions, carrots and celery, I also decided to use daikon. This Asian vegetable has a delicate sweet flavour that absorbs the rich tomato-y and beefy flavour very well.

Beer Braised Beef Brisket with an Asian Flare

Serves 4.

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 lb beef brisket, visible fat trimmed and cut into large cubes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leave
• 2 carrots, cut into large wedges
• 12 oz cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 bottle leftover beer
• 1 daikon, cut into large wedges
• 1 piece pre-cooked beef tendon, cut into large pieces (available in most Asian supermarkets, optional)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 scallion, chopped, for garnish

Directions:

• Heat a large pot with 1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil.. Cook onion, garlic and celery on medium heat until soft and translucent. Remove and set aside for later.
• In the same pan, add in a bit more olive oil if necessary, brown the beef brisket chunks. Remove and set that aside in a separate bowl.
• In the same pan still (do not wash the pan, we want to collect the brown bits on the bottom), add tomato paste and the bay leave, fry it for 30 seconds or so until fragrant. Then, add back in the onion, garlic and celery. Also, add in the carrots, cherry tomatoes and dried basil. Let the mixture simmer on low heat to allow the tomatoes to soften and release their juices. As this point, scrap the bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula to release the brown bits.
• Add back in the beef brisket cubes and enough beer to just barely cover the beef; avoid adding water, as that will dilute the sauce. Bring to a simmer then cover, turn the heat to low and let the mixture cook for about 1.5hrs, or until the beef brisket cubes are tender.
• At around the 1hr mar, add in the daikon chunks. Daikon cooks fairly quickly, so it only needs to simmer for about 30 minutes to achieve a tender texture. If added in too early, the daikon can easily become too soft and become mushy even.
• If using beef tendon, it should be added near the very end. Since it is pre-cooked, it just needs to be reheated; it will become overly soft and melt into the sauce if heated for a prolonged period of time.
• Before serving, add in salt and pepper to taste and garnish with chopped scallion.

Meatloaf is one of those recipes in which I always make the full serving size. I tried to reduce the recipe proportionally to make it to serve 2 people, but it ended up nothing like a meatloaf, rather something that resembles more like gigantic meatballs. Hence, from that day forward, making a full recipe for meatloaf is without doubt the way to go.

Think it is bizarre to make such a big recipe for a dinner for two? Not to me! Because what I like to do is serve 2 portions immediately for dinner and then cut up the remaining into single portions, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and freeze them for later. It may seem like I am creating a heck lot of leftovers from just making one meal, but really what I am doing is preparing and saving the star ingredient for many quick and easy meals in the future.

Meatloaf chunks + tomato sauce + pasta. This is my version of a quick spaghetti and “meatballs”. Roughly chop the meatloaf into big chunks, combine with jarred or homemade tomato sauce and toss together with hot pasta. Add in some extra veggies to bulk up the meal or sprinkle on cheese for decadence.

Meatloaf bits + silken tofu + canned tomatoes + cooked rice. This is a simple and easy one-pot meal with an Asian flare. In a small pot, heat canned tomatoes and meatloaf until tomatoes have softened. Meanwhile, let the meatloaf soak up the tomato sauce and break it up into small pieces. Then, add in cooked rice and cubed silken tofu (previously pressed & drained of excess water) and simmer until warmed through and the sauce is slightly thickened. Season with soy sauce and sesame oil (and try adding in a dash of sambal oelek for a spicy kick). Garnish with scallion pieces and serve hot.

Meatloaf slices + cheese + bun. Instead of buying frozen beef patties, I like to use thick-cut meatloaf slices. Simply cut a meatloaf portion into two thick slices, pan-fry it in olive oil until nicely browned. Then, place it on a toasted burger bun, spread on some ketchup and mustard, add in a leaf of crisp lettuce and tomato slices for a juicy, fresh and meaty burger! If the meatloaf fall into chunks when you cut it up, serve it up in a hot dog bun instead for a chili-dog style meatloaf bun, equally fun and delicious.

And lastly, must not forget to mention the yummy Baked Tomato Rice with Meatloaf and Egg – this is one of my favourite lunch ideas. It’s hearty, quick and addictively delicious!

Of course, the easiest way to serve leftover meatloaf would be to just thaw it and serve it plain, but most of the times, I like to combine it with other foods to create new flavours and keep my meals interesting.

How do you like to enjoy your meatloaf leftovers?

Okay, I admit the title maybe slightly misleading — what I really mean to say is that the hands-on time for making this simple salmon dish will only take seconds, but the whole cooking time will actually take about 8 – 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the salmon steaks).

This lazy method requires 3 steps:

• First, clean the salmon steak, pat dry with a paper towel and place onto a greased baking sheet. [This should take no more than 30 seconds.]
• Second, place the baking sheet on the top rack of the broiler and broil for 8 – 10 minutes, until desired doneness, turning over the fish once.
• Meanwhile, whip up a quick dressing to pour over the salmon once it is ready. Or, simply serve the dressing on the side as a dip. For a quick and tasty dressing that takes no more than 10 seconds to put together, try my all-time favourite combination of mayonnaise and wasabi paste (start off with equal parts of each and adding in more wasabi for a stronger taste or more mayo to tone it down). Another great variation is soy sauce with wasabi paste (as shown in the picture above).

This recipe is nothing fancy, but it promises great flavour each and every time. I use the simplest method to cook the salmon to showcase its flavour, and complement it with a quick dressing to bring the dish together. By using a little bit of creativity, you can create a new dressing every time, and alter the whole the flavour profile and give you a whole new salmon dish each time.

The little effort required to prepare the fish and the endless flavour combination possibilities make this method a winner in my books, and that is why I never get tired of having salmon for dinner!

The most unique part of this salad was its dressing. It uses a great deal of soy sauce as its base and only contains a splash of rice vinegar and sesame oil to round out the flavours. At first I imagined the dressing may be too salty but after I drizzled it onto the eggplant slices, the flavour was not overpoweringly salty at all. In fact, the dressing was full of umami flavour with a nice ting from the rice vinegar and an enticing aroma from the sesame oil.

This salad took little effort to put together, yet it was a fabulous way to showcase the flavour and texture of the eggplant. Although the dish that I made did not turn out as pretty as the picture I saw in the book, I was still quite pleased with the final outcome. I will definitely be making this dish again!

Japanese Eggplant and Spring Onion Salad

Serves 2.

Adapted from Basic Japanese Cooking.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium Asian eggplants, sliced into thin strips (I’ve also tried this with baby eggplants, works equally well)
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger (use a microplane zester, works wonderfully)
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons sake
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons bonito flakes (I didn’t have any so I added in a pinch of bonito powder to add flavour)
• 1 spring onion, thinly sliced

Directions:

• Arrange the eggplant slices on a plate in a steamer over a pot of simmering water. Cover and steam for 10 minutes, or until the slices have softened. Remove from pot and drain any water that has collected inside the plate. Let cool.
• In a large bowl, mix together the ginger, soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Heat the mixture gently to cook off the alcohol (either heating the mixture in a saucepan or microwave it for 15 – 20 seconds). Remove from heat (or take it out from the microwave) and stir in the rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar. Stir the mixture well to dissolve the sugar. (I added in a pinch of bonito powder as well)
• Pour the dressing over the eggplant slices. Top with bonito flakes (if using) and spring onion slices. Serve immediately.

Baked egg, rice and meatloaf…you must be wondering how these three components can fit together right? Oh, let me tell you just how well they complement each other to create a seriously delicious dish!

Ever since I learned the technique of making baked eggs from Mark Bittman’s Minimalist video, I have been using this method of preparing eggs much more frequently. In fact, baked eggs have become one of my top choices for breakfast, usually along with whole grain toast or oatmeal to complete my power breakfast combination.

But lately, I’ve been thinking since baked eggs are incredibly easy to make, and tastes so great, plus super healthy for me, why not include it in the other two meals as well!? So to explore that idea, I made a tomato rice with meatloaf, and cracking an egg over top and finishing off the dish by broiling it slightly in the toaster oven to cook the egg. The resulting dish turned out fabulous abd well exceeded my expectations!

I used jarred pasta sauce in this recipe, which lacked a bit of a flavour punch so I jazzed it up with some ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. If you do not have Japanese mayonnaise, feel free to omit it from the recipe. I usually like to add a bit of mayo when I do a fried rice dish to add flavour and just out of habit, I added here to boost the overall flavour.

Baked Tomato Rice with Meatloaf and Egg

Serves 2 hungry people.

Ingredients:

• 3oz leftover meatloaf (can easily substitute with meatballs or ground beef), broken up into small chunks
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup pasta sauce (feel free to use homemade tomato sauce)
• 1.5 cup cooked rice, break up any large chunks
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon Japanese mayonnaise, optional
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

• In a large saute pan, heat one teaspoon of olive oil on medium heat. Add shallot and garlic, saute until fragrant. Add in the meatloaf bits and mix well with the aromatics. Stir in the pasta sauce, and bring to a boil. Taste the sauce to see if it needs seasoning – if so, add in the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Pour half of the sauce into a bowl and reserve for later use.
• In the same saute pan (still with half of the sauce), pour in the rice and the mayonnaise and stir well to ensure that each grain of rice is well coated with the dressing. Turn heat to low and let the rice warm through.
• Pour the tomato rice into the baking dish, and distribute the reserved dressing evenly over the top.
• Press down gently on the center and crack the eggs into the indentation. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of milk (or cream) over each egg yolk (helps to prevent the surface from getting too dry during broiling).
• Place the baking dish into the oven and broil until egg whites are no longer translucent and the egg yolks are barely jiggles, about 5 – 7 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.