Fried Tofu

Tofu is a great source of calcium. I made it the other day, in hurry, after a long and busy day.I still had some tofu in the fridge and a lot of parsley. It turned out to be delicious, quick and simple!
You might know that there are different types of tofu, and for this one I used a very firm tofu which is suitable for frying. Don't use "Silk tofu" as this will get you nowhere- silk tofu is suitable for soups and steaming.
I haven't made a photo yet- as I didn't know it would turn out good. The other day I did fry some tofu, but with a different variety- and the same problem-I didn't know whether it would be any good.

But I am determined to make a photo the next time .

Ingredients

3-4 garlic gloves- finely chopped

Tofu- cut into cubes

Spring onions/ parsley- finely chopped

Chinese wine

Soya sauce

Sugar

Preparation

1. Fry 3-4 garlic gloves

2. Add the tofu, and fry for about 2 minutes and add the sugar.

3. Pour in 2 cups of Chinese wine and fry another 2 minutes

4. Add soya sauce

5. Add spring onion and parsley

Turkey Mince balls

This recipe I created for my toddler daughter- she absolutely loves it! Vegetables, which she is not keen on yet, are eaten without any protest. I normally make a big batch and keep it in the freezer- very handy for busy days. Well, I use the quantity, in the recipe stated- but then I make it only for my daughter.

It also works great on beef. I stated 500g or 1000g because I find both quantities work out fine.

Turkey mince-500g/1000g

Courgette- 1 grated

Carrots- about 3 regular grated

Pepper- half of yellow, red, a bit of green Finely chopped

Sweet corn- 1 can

Garlic- 2-3 pressed

Ginger-2-3

Salt/pepper/ sugar

Spring onion/ parsley – finely chopped

Preparation

1. Mix all of the ingredients well.

2. Leave it in the fridge over night or for a couple of hours for the flavours to develop.

3. Form mince balls or small burgers whatever you prefer and bake it in the over for about 30 minutes on 220 C.

Hope you enjoy it!

Steamed Eggs

This is a very simple and easy yet tasty way to eat your eggs. Ever since my Chinese husband introduced this recipe to me -I fell in love with it straight away as it is so easy and quick to prepare. Its just a shame my daughter has a dairy allergy!

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1-2 handful of finely chopped spring onion

salt, pepper

sugar

(soya sauce)

(Ceramic bowl)

Preparation

1. Whisk the eggs

2. Add the spring onions, sugar and soya sauce (if used). Season well and give it another good mix.

3. Put the mixture into a ceramic bowl, if its not in there yet. You will a steamer something like this:

Put the steamer over some boiling water and put your bowl on top, close it with a lid. Leave it to steam up to the point when it has fully risen.

Tip: Many rice cookers come with a steamer, you can steam the eggs with the rice together.

Hope you will enjoy this recipe

Brödli

This snack my mum has been preparing since I have been a child. We normally had it for big parties as a snack. You could also use it for a cold buffet. These are delicious and very popular-normally the first thing to be finished!

The only disadvantage with this is that you cant prepare them too far ahead as the colour of the mayonnaise and of the eggs will change- which doesn’t look very appealing.

Ingredients

Wholegrain, crisp bread- I used ‘Krisprolls’ from tesco
Garlic-peeled, whole
Mayonnaise- light/reduced fat
Eggs-grated

Parsley, spring onion, lemon wedges- to garnish

Instructions

1. Rub the garlic on the crisp bread- a bit on the outside and on top. Adjust to your taste how much you use.
2. Spread some mayonnaise on the crispy bread.
3. Top with the grated eggs. Garnish with parsley, spring onions, lemon wedges if used.

Mincemeat soup (northern china)

This has been cooked for me by my Chinese friend-and it was delicious! I tried it the day after and it tasted almost as good as my friend’s.

Ingredients
For the mince balls:
Mincemeat: 1/3 pork, 2/3 beef
Onion-chopped finely
Ginger-chopped finely
½ teaspoon Sugar
Chinese 5 spices
Salt/pepper
Starch
Eggs (optional)

For the stock
A bit of oil
Fry ginger, onion
3-4 Potatoes-cut into cubes
3 Tomatoes-cut into wedges
Soya sauce
Spring onion
1-2 Anise stars
Coriander

Preparation
1. Mix all of the mince ball ingredients together and leave the flavours to develop for about 20 minutes.
2. Shape the mince meat into balls.
3. Heat the oil and fry the onions and ginger.
4. Fry the potatoes until transparent, it should take you about 5 minutes. Add water occasionally.
5. Add water so that it will be more than just covering the potatoes. When the water is just about to boil add the tomatoes and mince balls.
Add some Soya sauce and 1-2 Anise stars. Cook it on a medium heat for about 20 minutes
6. About 2 minutes before the end add some spring onion and coriander.

Fried minced meat with vegetables

I like to use minced meat a lot as it is cheap and quick to prepare and -as long as opting for the lower fat version- it is healthy too. In my beginning cooking adventures (that would be the start of my marriage, though I did try it before) I found it frustrating finding recipes always involving some sort of tomatoes especially as my husband and daughter aren’t keen on sauces containing tomatoes. So one day I made my own version which is super healthy, quick to prepare and above all loved by my small family. The beauty of this recipe is that you can use (almost) any vegetables you like. I tend to stick to the cheaper vegetables such as carrots, celery, peas and sweet corn.

Ingredients:

Oil- Olive oil, vegetable oil

Half onion- chopped finely

2-3 garlic gloves-chopped finely

(1tsp ginger)

500 g minced meat (I use either beef or pork)

A couple of carrots –like 3-5- chopped into small cubes

2 celery stalks- chopped into small cubes

1 pepper- chopped into small cubes

Peas

Sweet corn

Salt, Pepper

Sugar

Herbs finely chopped- spring onion and parsley work well

   

Preparation

1.Heat oil in a frying pan.
2.Fry the onion and garlic (and ginger) for about 5 minutes.

3.Brown the for 5- 10 minutes

   4. Add the carrots, celery and pepper and cook for a further 10 minutes.

5.Add the frozen peas and canned sweet corn for a further 3 more minutes.

6.Season well and add a pinch of sugar.

7.Add the herbs.

I hope you will love this recipe as much as I do.

Alternative tip: pork chopped into small cubes works well in this recipe, too