Hotel Recipe: Braised Thai veggies

Recipe from Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi

(serves 1)
Prep time: 10 mins.
Cooking time: 40 mins

Ingredients:
2 tbsp
200ml vegetable stock
3 star anise fruits
5 lemon leaves
1 stalk lemon grass
1 bunch baby pak choy
6 baby carrots, edges separated
50g bean sprouts
25g asparagus
50g savoy cabbage, chopped
salt to taste
3 red bird's eye chillies, chopped
2 tbsp Thai spicy sauce to serve
coriander leaves, for garnishing

How to cook Braised Thai veggies


1. In a saucepan mix all ingredients except vegetables, chillies and salt and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Add vegetables and chillies, season with salt and simmer for a further 7-8 minutes.
3. Spoon vegetables on to a serving plate along with cooking liquid. Drizzle Thai spicy sauce over, garnish  with coriander and serve.

7 Secrets to Safer Produce

Washing fresh leafy greens and herbs with diluted vinegar before you cook or eat them could save you from food poisoning. Here are 7 more tips to help protect you from contaminated produce.

1. Start while you shop. Only buy fresh or bagged produce if it is refrigerated or tucked into a bed of ice.

2. If you buy pre-cut or already-peeled produce, refrigerate it the moment you get home.

3. Check whether your refrigerator is keeping your food cold enough. Visit your local hardware store and ask about a thermometer for fridge temperatures. Make sure your refrigerator is set to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less.

4. Moisture is like a party invitation for food-poisoning bacteria, so don't let greens soak in the sink. Also, don't wash produce if you plan to store it in the fridge a few minutes later.

5. Before peeling or eating fruits and veggies, wash them well and then dry them with a clean paper towel.

6. Produce with a rind should be scrubbed with a clean brush before peeling. Otherwise, your peeling knife may transfer outside bacteria to the edible inside of your fruit or veggie.

7. To destroy E. coli, saute or boil leafy greens at 160 degrees Fahrenheit or higher for at least 15 seconds.

Recipe: Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Soup

Sharing with you another healthy feel good recipe that's both fresh and friendly to the budget. Adding to that, preparing this homemade Pumpkin Soup dish is another way to trick your kids as well as adult meat lovers into eating vegetables that will surely win their tastebuds. A smash hit to our family, we'll definitely be cooking this soup more often.

Here's the recipe. I promise, this is oh-so delicious!

An All Veggies Night: Chopseuy

Chopseuy

Truth to be told, I'm not much fan of any veggies, most specially leafy vegetables. Much to my surprise, I do enjoyed this Chopseuy our ever dependable Jing cooked for us the other night. She had indeed captured our tastebuds without forcing us to eat our veggies, lol!   

recipe for Chopseuy

Recipe: Ginisang Ampalaya with Egg

Craving for a healthy affordable side dish? Why not try this simple no non-sense goodness most older people would surely appreciate. As plain as this dish looks, it interestingly brings back old memories of childhood. I prepared this easy-to-cook 10 minute Ginisang Ampalaya with Egg meal especially for my mom served along with my 6-spice fried chicken and it was down home-goodness!

Ampalaya with Egg

Recipe: Vegetable Fritata

Here's a quick way to start your breakfast the healthier way. I must admit, most of my siblings doesn't like veggies so I'm really trying to find ways to trick those picky tastebuds and making this Vegetable Fritata is a nice dish to start get in those much needed vegetables.

Vegetable Fritata

Ingredients:
2 tbsps olive oil
1/3 cup white onion strips
1/3 cup carrot strips
1/3 cup sayote
3/4 cup spinach leaves (I used a couple of dashes of dried basil as substitute)
1 1/4 cup potato strings
8 pcs eggs
salt and pepper to taste
parsley, chopped

Procedure:

1. Boil water in a stockpot. Blanch potato strings, carrots, sayote and spinach.
2. Remove from the stockpot and submerge briefly in cold water. Drain and let it cool for 1 minute.
3. Preheat non stick pan with olive oil for 2 minutes.
4. Beat eggs in large bowl. Add in vegetables and season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the egg mixture into a preheated pan. Cover and let it cook for about 3 minutes or until egg mixture is cooked through.
6. Slice the fritata into 12 equal portions. Garnish with parsley.

*Note: I paired this Vegetable Fritata with Corned Beef as bonus to the picky eaters :)

Recipe: Easy to Cook Ginataang Tilapia with Malunggay powder

Ginataang Tilapia is White fish cooked in creamy coconut

What makes this dish extra special is the additional malunggay powder, reason why its soup turned green. For those who are curious about the taste, don't fret because it still tastes like any other ginataang tilapia but with extra nutrients coming from the malunggay :)

Recipe: Chopsuey

Ingredients:
1/4 c pork, cooked and sliced thinly
1/4 c shrimps, deveined and split at the back
1/2 c onion, sliced
3/4 c carrots, sliced thinly
3/4 c green pepper, sliced thinly
1 c cabbage or pechay, sliced
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/7 tsp white pepper
2 tsp cornstarch
1 c pork stock