Spoon and Chopsticks

This recipe was inspired by a cooking show I was watching the other day. I've simplified the recipe and tried using fewer ingredients. However the final result was no less than the recipe on the show. The preparation is extremely easy and the outcome is delicious.

Making flatbread at home is very easy and tasty than buying from the market. My flatbreads contain no oil yet they are delicious and extremely easy to make. The market version usually contains preservatives and may contain excess amount of oil. Making them at home is also much cheaper. Once you've started making them at home, you will never go back to the ready-made flatbreads.

The marinade for this roast chicken is a unique combination of red chilli pickle paste and Hoisin sauce. I bought the red chilli pickle paste from the Indian grocery. The combination of red chilli pickle paste and Hoisin sauce gives a special flavour of hot, sour and sweet.

I have done something different with my scones this time- turned them into quick and simple mini burgers. Mini burgers are great to serve at a party and are enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

I tried this recipe few weeks ago when I was quite uncertain about what I should prepare for lunch. I thought the rich and spicy flavours of kimchi would nicely complement the rice noodles. It turned out to be a great dish. It is very easy to prepare and your can have it for your lunch or dinner. It includes all the good ingredients such as mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, mince and kimchi. Kimchi already has fish sauce, spring onions, Chinese cabbage and radish in it. Read my kimchi post to learn how to make kimchi at home.

This is my simple and quick night-time drink just before going to bed. I've heard drinking hot milk gets you to sleep quickly. I don't know if that's true or just a myth but it surely works for me. Drinking plain milk is sometimes boring. If I am not really full after dinner, I usually drink hot milk with Roasted Vermicelli.

I usually buy Roasted Vermicelli from my local Indian grocery. They also call it Sevai or Sewai. I have found several Sevai pudding recipes on the Internet. I will probably do one for another post in the future. I once tried hot milk with thin Chinese rice noodles and it wasn't good at all. So stick with roasted vermicelli for a better result.

A simple and easy chart to learn about the benefits of each vitamin plus sources from fruits, vegetables and nuts.

I baked scones for this morning's tea. This is a simple recipe and it only took me about 30-35 minutes. The scones came out really good. It's worth the time spent. Freshly baked scones are perfect with butter, jam or honey.


Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cup of self-raising flour
• 50-60g shredded cheese
• 2-3 dates, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon of ajwain (you may substitute ajwain with sesame seeds)
  
  

Kimchi is one of my all-time favourite Korean dish. It is a great accompaniment with rice and noodles. The good thing about it is it can be prepared in large amounts and can be kept in a refrigerator for a long time. Making kimchi at home is much cheaper than buying from the market. So lets try making kimchi.

My recipe is a combination of ideas I got from various websites and cook books. Let me know what you think of this recipe.


Ingredients:

• 1 large Chinese cabbage
• 1 medium size onion, chopped
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Small piece of ginger, chopped
• 3-4 strips spring onion, cut into small pieces
• About a 1/2 radish, thinly sliced in strips
• Salt, a lot
• Korean red pepper powder as taste (I used about 4-5 tablespoons. You can buy this from Korean grocery shop. I tried once with ordinary chilli powder but the result was not as good as using the Korean red pepper powder.)
  
  
  

It's winter here in Sydney. Winter is great for soup. I made this simple beef bone soup with onion, garlic and ginger to keep myself warm and to drive the flu away.


Ingredients:

• 3-4 pieces of beef bones. Try to get bones with a bit of meat on them.
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 8-10 cloves of peeled garlic
  

These are delicious home-made sausage rolls that are liked by everyone and can be enjoyed anytime. For children who dislike vegetables, the veggies can be hidden inside the rolls by mixing with the meat. You can also put grated zucchini, mushrooms and spinach in the mixture. Serve the sausage rolls with your own dip or use the ordinary ketchup.


Ingredients:

• 2 sheets of puff pastry, partially thawed
• 250g beef mince
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• Few sesame seeds or ajwain