Malaysian Fried Noodles - Mee Goreng

Super simple recipe for a quick week day dinner with exotic flavors 
Source: Adopted from Rasa Malaysia blog

Taste: 5 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients:
- 2 cups of Asian noodles of your choice
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 cup shredded cabbage
- 1 cup stir fry vegetable mix
- 1/2 cup corn kernels
- 2 tbsp sweet white wine
- 2 tbsp green onions or chives
For the sauce:
- 1 tbsp Sriracha
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 3 tbsp katchup
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp shrimp paste
Total: 3 servings (as main dish)

Directions:
1. In a medium sized pot bring 3 cups of water to boil, cook the noodles in boiling water for 1/2 - 1 minute, drain and set aside.
2. In a small bowl mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside
3. Preheat a large wok or frying pan over high heat. Add canola oil, let it warm up and add the eggs. Stir the eggs for 20-30 seconds until scrambled.
4. Add the noodles, vegetables, cabbage and corn and continue stirring for 3-5 minutes, until cooked.
5. Add the sauce and stir well until all the vegetables are coated.
6. Add the wine and the shallot, stir and serve.

Afterthoughts:
- This is a really simple and quick recipe, that takes 15-20 minutes from start to finish, and tastes delish.
- You can also add chicken or shrimp. The version here is almost vegetarian, as long as you don't mind the oyster sauce and the shrimp paste.

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Tilapia with Lemon Sauce

Delicious, healthy and simple dinner
Source: Adapted from I Was Born To Cook

Taste: 4 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients:
- 4 tilapia filets
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp brandy
- 1 cup light sour cream
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp freshly grated lemon peel
- salt and pepper
Total: 4 servings

Directions:
1. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a medium sized saucepan and saute the chopped onion stirring from time to time until until transparent, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the brandy, increase the heat and bring to boil. This will happen very quickly because there is very little liquid. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until brandy is almost evaporated.
3. Reduce the heat to low, add the sour cream and the lemon juice and peel, and stir until the sour cream is warm but not boiling.
4. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting to keep the sauce warm and make the fish.
5. In a large skillet melt the remaining butter on medium high heat. Add tilapia filets, season with salt and pepper and cook until nicely browned for about 3-4 minutes on each side.
6. To serve top the fish with the sauce and serve additional sauce on the side.

Afterthoughts:
- The sauce is wonderful, a little sour and lemony and pairs perfectly with the fish. And it is so simple to make. Goes well with roasted veggies of your choice.
- This post was my SRC assignment. Just in case you don't know yet, SRC, or the Secret Recipe Club is a group of over a hundred food bloggers, who are assigned a "secret" blog each months. Then they choose a recipe from that blog, make it and post it on their own blog on a given reveal day. Then there is a big party, where you hop from one blog to another and check what everyone's been cooking. Lots of fun! And terrible for your diet ;-) I want to thank Amanda, Jane and April for making it all possible!
- This month my assigned blog was a real treat - Melissa's site I Was Born To Cook is full of wonderful simple recipes. Many are Greek or Italian, but I think anyone can find recipes to their taste. I got so excited, that I changed my dinner plans and made the SRC recipe on the same day. In fact, I made 3 recipes from Melissa's blog on the same day ;-). I also made her Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (YUM!) and her Garlic Bread (YUM-YUM!). So I owe Melissa a triple Thank you! I will be visiting her blog much more and so should you :-).

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Red Curry Salmon with Coconut Brown Rice

A quick and simple weekday dinner
Source: Inquiring Chef blog

Difficulty: 2 (out of 5)
Taste: 4 (out of 5)

Ingredients
For the Rice (1140 cal):
- 1 cup brown rice (685 cal)
- 1 cup light coconut milk (445 cal)
- 1.5 cups water
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced (10 cal)
For the salmon (1140):
- 4 5-ounce salmon filets (1040 cal)
- 1 tsp Thai red curry paste (10 cal)
- 2 tsp light brown sugar (30 cal)
- 1 tsp soy sauce (5 cal)
- 1 tsp olive oil (40 cal)
- 1 lime, cut into quarters (15 cal)
Total: 4 servings, 2280 cal, 570 cal/serving

Directions:
1. Combine the brown rice, coconut milk, and water in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil. As soon as it begins to boil, reduce the heat to a very low simmer. Put the lid on the pot and allow to simmer for 40-45 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to rest, covered, for at least 5 minutes, or until you are ready to serve. Just before serving, stir in the sliced scallions.
2. Turn on the oven’s broiler. Place a wire rack on top of a foil-lined baking sheet, skin side up, if not using skinless filets. Brush the wire rack with olive oil to prevent the salmon from sticking. Place the salmon filets about 3 inches apart on the wire rack. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper. Put the salmon filets under the broiler for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the red curry paste, light brown sugar, soy sauce, and olive oil. Remove the partially-cooked salmon filets from the oven and brush the red curry mixture evenly over the top of each. Return the filets to the broiler and continue broiling until the tops turn brown and the salmon is cooked through, 2-4 minutes more.
3. Serve each salmon filet over about 3/4 cup brown rice. Squeeze juice of 1/4 lime over each filet.

Afterthoughts:
- This was a really nice meal. I loved the sweet and spicy glaze over salmon.
- The original recipe was asking for 3 times more red curry paste, but knowing the curry paste that is available in our local grocery stores, I had to cut it significantly.
- I loved the idea of broiling the fish and was happy to experiment. But I have left it to cook longer than the recipe directed and my fish ended up on the dry side. It's my fault, not the recipe's. I normally make fish in a skillet and it's so fast and easy to see when it is done. I wanted to experiment with a new method, but I think I will stick to my skillet in the future.
- This post was my SRC assignment for January. Just in case you don't know yet, SRC, or the Secret Recipe Club is a group of over a hundred food bloggers, who are assigned a "secret" blog each months. Then they choose a recipe from that blog, make it and post it on their own blog on a given reveal day. Then there is a big party, where you hop from one blog to another and check what everyone's been cooking. Lots of fun! And terrible for your diet ;-) I want to thank Amanda, Jane and April for making it all possible!
- I am so happy that I got Inquiring Chef as my assignment. It is a wonderful blog with delicious looking recipes and beautiful photos. The recipes are very well organized, which I cannot say about my blog, unfortunately. So it was a real pleasure choosing a recipe for my assignment. In fact, I chose 2 recipes: I also made a Thai salad, which made a great addition to the meal. I will definitely be visiting the Inquiring Chef blog frequently, and so should you :-)

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Trout Pâté

Looks fancy, tastes great and is really easy to make.

Source

The Daring Cook’s June 2010 challenge, hosted by Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 1/2 lb / 8 oz / 240g trout filet, skinned and cut into thick chunks (355 cal)
- 1/4 lb / 4 oz / 110g raw shrimp, deveined, shelled and tailed (150 cal)
- 1/2 cup / 120ml heavy cream (415 cal)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- chives for garnish

Total 920 cal, 6 servings, 155 cal / serving

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC).

2. Put the trout and the raw shrimp in a food processor and pulse. Gradually pour in the cream and keep pulsing until you obtain a smooth mixture that is easy to spread, but not too liquid (you may not need to use all the cream). Season with salt and pepper.

3. Butter a 6x3 inch (15x7,5 cm) loaf pan or three 3/4-cup ramekins. Spoon in the trout mixture and spread it evenly. 

4. Prepare a water bath: place the loaf pan in a larger, deep ovenproof dish (such as a brownie pan or a baking dish). Bring some water to a simmer and carefully pour it in the larger dish. The water should reach approximately halfway up the loaf pan.

5. Put the water bath and terrine in the oven, and bake for 35 minutes. The pâté should be cooked through and firm in the center.

6. Remove the pan from the water bath and let cool. Carefully unmold onto a serving platter. Decorate with chopped chives. Cut into thick slices and serve at room temperature, with crusty bread.

Afterhtoughts

- This was my first pate, so I followed the pâté recipe from the Daring Kitchen very closely. The primary change was omitting whole shrimps. It turned out much much easier than I thought, and very tasty. Thanks a lot to Evelyne and Valerie for this challenge :-)

- For the bread I made a baguette from my absolute favorite Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day master recipe. 

- I was really pleasantly surprised to see how easy it was to unmold this pâté - leaves a lot of room for experimenting with pans of different shapes.

- If you have leftover heavy cream, place it in a food processor and beat on High speed until it firms. It becomes something like the British double clotted cream. A great addition to your baguette and pâté ;-)

Blog-checking lines: Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pate with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pate recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

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Fish Cakes

Just a fish cake (105 calories)

Source

Adapted from “Sauces and Salsas” by Christine France

Taste 3 (out of 5)

Difficulty 3 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 350 g/ 12 oz peeled potatoes (310 cal)

- 75 ml/ 5 tbsp milk (10 cal)

- 350 g/ 12 oz haddock fillets, skinned (305 cal)

- 15 ml/ 1 tbsp lemon juice (5 cal)

- 5 ml/ 1 tsp dijon mustard (5 cal)

- 30 ml/ 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

- flour for dusting

- 115 g/ 4 oz/ 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (410 cal)

- salt and black pepper to taste

Total 1045 cal, 10 fish cakes, 105 cal/ fish cake

Instructions

1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling water and cook for 15-20 minutes. Drain and mash with milk and season to taste. 

2. Puree the fish together with the lemon juice and the mustard in a food processor. mix together with the potatoes and parsley. 

3. With floured hands shape the mixture into fish cakes and coat with crumbs. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes

4. Grill the fish cakes under hot broiler in the oven for 5 minutes on each side. 

Afterthoughts

- It turned out a little too dry. I would probably saute it in a little oil and chicken broth next time. Or maybe simply bake it, not broil. 

- In the picture served with the baked yam fries. 

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Shrimp and Cabbage

Source

Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 4 oz / 100 g shrimp (100 cal)

- 8 oz cabbage (55 cal)

- 4 oz jicama (45 cal)

- 1 oz/ 30 g corn (25 cal)

- 1 garlic clove (5 cal)

- 1 tsp canola oil (40 cal)

- 1/4 cup chicken broth (5 cal)

- salt, pepper and dried basil to taste

Total 275 cal, 2 servings, 140 cal / serving

Instructions

1. Finely chop the cabbage into 1/4 inch thick strips. Slice Jicama. Crash garlic. 

2. Preheat a medium sized frying pan on medium heat. Saute the garlic, the cabbage, the jicama, the shrimp and the corn with 1 tsp of oil for about 5 minutes. 

3. Add the chicken broth, basil, salt and pepper and let cook for 5 more minutes, stirring. 

Afterthoughts

Very easy, very quick, very healthy and low calorie. And it’s crunchy and tastes pretty good.

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Shrimp, Corn and Baked Zucchini

Source

Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 2 oz / 60 g shrimp (50 cal)

- 1 oz/ 30 g corn (25 cal)

- 1 garlic clove (5 cal)

- 1 tsp canola oil (40 cal)

- 1/4 cup chicken broth (5 cal)

- 1/2 medium zucchini (15 cal)

- 1 tsp sauerkraut

- 1 tsp yogurt (5 cal)

- dried basil, salt and pepper to taste

Total 225 cal, 1 serving

Instructions

1. Cut the zucchini in 4 slices lengthwise, brush the top with a little bit of oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried basil, and bake in an oven preheated to 350F for 20 minutes. I used half of the zucchini (2 slices) for this recipe, but having the full zucchini would only add 15 calories.

2. In the meantime, heat the remaining oil in a small frying pan, finely chop the garlic and saute for about 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the shrimps and the corn and cook for 5 more minutes on low-medium heat.

4. Season with dried basil, salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth if the shrimp sticks to the pan (the broth has much less calories than oil or butter, and works pretty well for sauteing). Cook for 5-10 more minutes until done.

5. The shrimp and the zucchini should be done at about the same time. Serve with yogurt (for zucchini) and sauerkraut, or whatever else you prefer.

Afterthoughts

An easy, quick and light meal. Very nice if you’re watching your calories, and even if you don’t.

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