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Showing posts from June, 2009

Grilled Portabello Mushrooms With Beef and Cheese

These grilled Portabello mushrooms are great appetizers. The mushrooms are stuffed with a beef mixture and topped with some Monterey Jack Cheese. I must admit this is one of my favorite grilled mushrooms recipe now. In fact, I’m thinking of making them again this weekend. The recipe is good for 4 servings. Do try making it. I hope you will like it as much as I do. Have a good week ahead. Grilled Portabello Mushrooms With Beef And Cheese (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 6 Medium Portabello Mushrooms 1 Tbsp Olive Oil Sea Salt to taste Freshly Ground Black Pepper Beef Mixtures 180 g Ground Beef 4 Sun-dried Tomatoes in oil, chopped 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped 1/2 Yellow Onion, finely chopped 1/2 tsp Dried Parsley 1 tsp Dried Basil 1 Tbsp Olive Oil Sea salt to taste Freshly Ground Black Pepper 160 g Monterey Jack Cheese, grated Method Prepare the beef mixtures: In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and saute until translucent, for about 10 min...

Prawn In Tamarind And Plum Sauce

This tamarind prawn recipe have been on my list of “to do’s” for a while now. So, I thought it was about time I get to it this weekend. While the recipe had used crabs, I opted to use live fresh prawns instead as it was available and well priced from my seafood provider here. After deciding on the shellfish to use for this dish, I was pressed to decide on which recipe I should use. Well, all my Vietnamese food cookbooks had a recipe for tamarind crabs and I liked all the options available. In the end, I decided to use the recipe from Pauline Nguyen’s cookbook, “Secrets of the Red Lantern”. In my opinion, her recipe is probably the closest to a version of this dish, which I had at a Vietnamese restaurant here. Suanne and Ben of Chowtimes * had suggested dining at this restaurant recently and the food was just outstanding, especially, the irresistible Tamarind crabs! * Chowtimes is a website from Vancouver, BC featuring Suanne and Ben's Food and Travel Adventures. Recipe adapted fro...

Lime Sorbet & Seasaltwithfood on BBC Click's Webscape

I woke up this morning to a pleasant surprise, which I will like to share with all of my readers. BBC TV’s flagship technology review programme, Click , discovered and reviewed seasaltwithfood on the latest episode of the programme this weekend. Click’s Webscape host Kate Russell , who reviews her latest selection of the best websites every week on the programme, gave young seasaltwithfood a great review! She was just fantastic, said all the nice things including quote “seasaltwithfood.com is a scrumptious blog providing some of the easiest recipes to create the most amazing meals”. You can watch the clip here . I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kate Russell for reviewing and including seasaltwithfood as one of your selection of the best sites on the World Wide Web! Very much appreciated. This is a delightful lime sorbet, full of fresh lime flavor with a light hint of sweetness. Simply refreshing! I had a few scoops of this sorbet with a shot of Tequila, as suggested by...

Nugget Potato Salad With Horseradish

I’m posting a potato salad recipe using delicious nugget potatoes that are in season now. These are B.C. nugget potatoes – small, dimpled potatoes with natural sweetness, and full of flavor. Tossed together with a mixture of fresh celery, onion, chives, sour cream, and horseradish, this simple potato salad was just delicious! If BC nugget potatoes are not available at your grocers, you can also substitute them with any small variety of yellow waxy potatoes. Nugget Potato Salad With Horseradish Ingredients 2 to 2 1/2 lbs B.C Nugget Potatoes, or any small variety potato, washed 1 small Red Onion, chopped 3 ribs Celery, chopped 3 Tbsp chopped fresh Chives 6 Tbsp Sour Cream 1 Lemon, juiced 4 - 5 Tbsp Prepared Horseradish 2 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Sea Salt to taste Freshly Ground Black Pepper Method Boil the potatoes with 1/2 tsp of salt until just tender. Drain and cut the potatoes into quarters or halved if smaller. To prepare the dressing, combine red onion, celery, chives, sour crea...

Tofu With Asian Basil

I prefer the sweet and spicy scents of Asian Basil, or sometimes known as Thai Basil. They have a distinctly stronger pungent and sweeter smell compared to the better known, sweet basil. This is a delicious tofu dish, stir-fry with loads of Asian Basil. Give this recipe a try, if you like tofu and basil. Trust you will like it. :-) Tofu With Asian Basil Ingredients 2 Packet (350g x 2) Firm Tofu, drained and sliced (about 1/4 inch thick) 50 g Asian (Thai) Basil 3 -5 Bird's Eye Chilies, coarsely chopped 2 Stalks Scallions 4 Cloves Garlic, smashed 1 1/2 Tbsp Peanut Oil Sea Salt to taste Freshly Ground Black Pepper Peanut Oil for deep-frying Sauce 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce 2 Tbsp Fish Sauce 2 tsp Soy Sauce 2 tsp Corn Flour 1 Cup Water Method Deep fry the tofu slices over high heat until light golden in color. (Do not overcooked) Drain the tofu on paper towels and set aside. Heat the oil (1 1/2 Tbsp) in a wok and cook the garlic on low heat. Remove the garlic when they are fragrant and golden...

Stir-Fry Broccoli With Prawns

Since the last stir frying garlic spears posting, I have received several more requests for simple and healthy stir frying vegetables recipes. So, here it is, another easy stir fry broccoli with prawns recipe. If you are not into prawns, then either replace the prawns with scallops or just some carrot slices instead. The carrots will provide the "sweetness" needed for this stir fry dish, obviously making it tastier! Stir-Fry Broccoli With Prawns Ingredients 450 - 500 g Broccoli, cut into smaller florets and blanched 200 g Prawns, shelled and tail intact 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced 1 tsp Minced Ginger 2 Tbsp Peanut Oil Sea Salt to taste Sauce 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce 1 1/2 tsp Corn Flour 10 Tbsp Chicken Stock or Water Method Heat the oil in a wok and cook the garlic on low heat. Remove the garlic when they are fragrant and golden in color. Turn the heat on high. Cook the prawns briefly and toss in the ginger ,broccoli and garlic. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes and add in the sa...

Sweet Potato Ice Cream

Okay, this is the first time I'm using sweet potatoes to make ice cream. I bought some purple color sweet potatoes earlier. So, I decided to use them instead of the usual orange color ones. The end result? Just delicious, tastes like sweet potato pie filling; but, frozen and creamier in this case. If you like sweet potatoes, do give this recipe a try.

Chocolate-Mint Ice Cream

Chocolate-Mint ice cream is the ultimate flavor ice cream, according to my kids at least. They just love it. You can either use store-bought peppermint patties, as suggested by the book, or mint-flavored chocolate instead. I chose to use the latter here. Yummy! Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz Chocolate-Mint Ice Cream Ingredients 2 Cups (500 ml) Heavy Cream 3 Tbsp (21 g) Unsweetened Dutch-process Cocoa Powder 5 oz (140 g) Bittersweet or Semisweet Chocolate, chopped 1 Cup (250 ml) Whole Milk 3/4 Cup (150 g) Sugar Pinch Of Salt 5 Large Egg Yolks 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract 2 Cups Peppermint Patties, crumbled or 150 g Mint Flavored Chocolate bar, chopped 1/8 tsp Mint Oil or Extract Method Warm 1 cup (250 ml) of the cream. Whisk in the cocoa powder thoroughly until the cocoa are well bended. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very gentle heat for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring...

Lychee Granita

I’m going to share a few more frozen treats recipes for this week. Okay, this is a Lychee granita. Lychee is in season now and they are sweet and juicy. I have tweaked one of the granita recipes from The Perfect Scoop cookbook by David Lebotvitz. Lychee Granita Ingredients 500g Fresh Lychee 300 ml Water 6-8 Tbsp Sugar 1 tsp Lime or Lemon Juice Method Peel the lychee and remove the pits. Blend lychee, water, sugar and lime juice until completely smooth. Press the mixture through a mesh strainer. To freeze granita, pour the mixture into the dish and place in the freezer. Begin checking it after about 1 hour. Once it begins to freeze around the edges, take a fork and stir the mixture, breaking up the frozen parts near the edges into smaller chunks and raking them toward the center. Return the dish to the freezer, then check the mixture every 30 minutes afterward, stirring each time and breaking up any large chunks into small pieces with a fork, until you have a beautiful, fine crystals of...

Bang Bang Chicken

Bang Bang Chicken, otherwise known, as Bon Bon Chicken or Strange-Flavor Chicken is a popular Sichuanese dish. Basically, it’s cold shredded chicken dressed with a salty, sweet, sour, nutty, hot, and numbing sauce. The recipe calls for Chinese sesame paste; but, I have used Tahini instead. The crushed roasted peanuts and cucumber are optional ingredients; but, I think the dish actually tastes better with them. Recipe adapted from Sichuan Cookery by Fuchsia Dunlop Bang Bang Chicken Ingredients 300-400 g (about 1/2 a chicken) Cold Chicken Meat 6-8 Scallions (Spring Onions), white parts only 1 Tbsp White Sugar Sea Salt to taste 1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce 1 Tbsp Chinkiang or Black Chinese Vinegar 3 Tbsp Well-blended Chinese Sesame Paste 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil 2 Tbsp Chili Oil with Chili Flakes 1/2-1 tsp Ground Roasted Sichuan Pepper 3 tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds 50 g Roasted Peanuts, crushed (optional) 1 - 2 Medium Size Cucumber, shredded (optional) Method Cut the chicken, w...

Grilled Corn With Shrimp Salad

In season now, fresh sweet corns are just great whichever way you choose to cook them. Naturally yummy and they are packed with lots of goodness in those plump and juicy kernels when cooked. So, I got my grill fired up to grill some sweet corns to make this nice Grilled Corn With Shrimp Salad. They were superb, just what I needed for a light and easy to prepare weekend lunch. So, do try this delicious recipe. Grilled Corn With Shrimp Salad Ingredients 1 lb (454 g) Small Shrimps, shelled and tail intact 4 Ears of Corn, husked and silk removed 1 Packet (400 g) Grape Tomatoes, halved 1/2 Red Onion, diced 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced 2 Red Chilies 1/2 Cup Chopped Cilantro 2 Tbsp Olive Oil Dressing 2 Limes, juiced 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3/4 tsp Ground Cumin Sea Salt to taste Some freshly ground Black Pepper Method Combine all the salad dressing ingredients and whisk well. Set aside. Charred red chilies and place them in a small bowl and cover with a microwave safe plastic wrap for abou...

Stir-Fry Garlic Spears With Prawns

Garlic Spears are the flower tops from Elephant Garlic. When cooked, they have a very mild garlic flavor with a texture and taste that fits somewhere between asparagus and artichokes. The whole spear can be eaten - as is. You can steam or boiled them and dress it with some salad dressing, or simply stir-fry them as shown in this post. Stir-Fry Garlic Spears With Prawns Ingredients 1 Bunch (about 360 g) Garlic Spears, trimmed 200 g Prawns, shelled 2 Cloves Garlic, smashed 1 tsp Grated Ginger 1 1/2 Tbsp Peanut Oil Sea Salt to taste Sauce 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce 1 tsp Corn Flour 1/2 Cup Chicken Stock or Water Method Heat the oil in a wok and cook the garlic on low heat. Remove the garlic when they are fragrant and golden in color. Set aside. Turn the heat on high. Cook the prawns in 2 or 3 batches and set aside. Then, toss in the ginger and garlic spears. Give it a quick stir and add in the garlic and prawns. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes and add in the sauce. Bring it to a...

Numbing And Hot Chicken

When my kids first saw this Numbing and hot chicken dish, they thought I had tweaked their favorite Kung Pao chicken dish. At first glance, it would seem that way. The color and overall look gave them the immediate notion that I had just replaced the cashew nuts with bell peppers here. Well, the clear rice vinegar used in the dish, instead of black vinegar, also contributed to the distinct taste difference between the two dishes. Simply delicious! According to excerpts from the cookbook, Numbing and hot chicken is a popular Hunanese dish. So, do try the recipe and have a great weekend! Recipe adapted from Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop Numbing And Hot Chicken Ingredients 12 oz Boned Chicken Thighs or Breast Half, if you prefer, with skin 1 Small Red Bell Pepper, thin-skinned if possible 1 Fresh Red Chili, or 1 tsp Dried Chili Flakes 3 Scallions, white parts only 1 tsp Whole Sichuan Pepper 1 tsp Sesame Oil 1 1/4 Cups Peanut Oil for deep-frying Marin...