Phad Phak (Thai Stir fried vegetable)

Stir frying is a pair of Chinese cooking techniques for preparing food in a wok. The term stir-fry was introduced into the English language by Buwei Yang Chao, in her book "How to Cook and Eat in Chinese', to describe the chǎo technique. The two techniques differ in their speed of execution, the amount of heat used, and the amount of tossing done to cook the food in the wok. Making a stir fry is one of the easiest, cheapest, and quickest ways of creating a great healthy and satisfying meal. By choosing a wide range of veggies, you can not only get a great mix of important micronutrients that fill the nutritional gaps in diets,  but they also make the dish look vibrant and colourful.

Adapted from Hip Asia by Taj- Connemara

Serve:   4
Preparation Time:  20 minutes

Ingredients:
Broccoli:                100 grams
Zucchini:                100 grams
Baby corn:             100 grams
Asparagus:             75 grams
Haricot bean:          125 grams
Button mushroom:   75 grams
Chinese cabbage:    75 grams
Bok Choy:              75 grams
Oyster Sauce:         75 grams
Pimentos:                60 grams
White pepper:         1 teaspoon
Vegetable stock:     1 cup
Garlic:                     50 grams (chopped)
Oil for stir frying

Method:

1) Heat oil in a wok. Saute garlic till light brown.
2) Chop vegetables in dices and add to the wok. Toss well
3) Add oyster sauce, white pepper and pimentos
4) Add vegetable stock and stir-fry the vegetable till cooked.
5) Serve hot with a bowl of brown rice.

BON APPETIT..

Cabbage Cigar

Chinese cabbage has pale, tightly wrapped, succulent leaves with crisp, broad, white ribs and a delicate, mild, sweet flavour. There are two basic types of Chinese cabbage: firm-headed and loose-headed. These lovely Chinese cabbage are calling me, take me out and cook me. I wanted to make an easy and quick appetizer and I am really happy with the final result. I am sure you are going to love it.

Ingredient:
Cabbage leafs:                    5-6 big leafs
Cottage Cheese:                 1/2 cup
Spring Onion:                     4 stems
Salt to taste
White Pepper:                    1/2 teaspoon
Butter:                                2 tablespoon
Tomato Sauce:                   2 tablespoon
Chili Sauce:                        1 tablespoon
Red Pepper Sauce:             1/2 tablespoon
Natural Vinegar:                 1 tablespoon

Method:
1) Take out the whole cabbage leaf carefully and split it into half taking out the middle thick vein.
2) Put all the leaves into boiling water for 1 minute and refresh it with cold water immediately. Set aside
3) Heat some butter in the pan and add finely chopped spring onion. Toss it for 2 minutes at medium flame and season it with salt and pepper.
4) Add crumbled cottage cheese and mix well on high flame.
5) Put a small amount to mixture at the thinner end of cabbage leaf and roll it to give a cigar look.
6) Make the entire roll stuffed with the mixture.
7) Again heat some butter in the pan and toss all the rolls carefully until light greenish brown from outside. It takes approximately 1-2 minutes.
8) Make a red hot sauce mixing all the sauces given in the ingredient section.
9) Serve hot cigar rolls with spicy chilli dip

BON APPETIT..

Cool Cabbage salad with roasted coconut dressing

Salad has been always an important part of everyone's life. Today I am trying to make a cabbage and capsicum salad with roasted coconut and tomato dressing. Cabbage is a good source of beta-carotene, vitamin C and fiber. Cabbage is used in many ways, ranging from eating raw and simple steaming to pickling, stewing, sauteing or braising. It has always been a major part of any diet program. Adding colorful capsicum enriches the salad nutritional value as well makes it more scrumptious. It's a super simple and quick recipe with only four major ingredients.

Ingredients:

Chinese cabbage:              4 big leafs ( Substitute: Normal cabbage)

Red Capsicum:                  1/4 ( fine Julienne) 

Yellow Capsicum:              1/4 ( fine julienne)

Desiccated Coconut:          1 table spoon

Tomato:                             2 large

Salt to taste

Freshly grounded pepper

Olive Oil

Method:

1) Take out the middle vein and cut the cabbage leafs in big square. Keep aside.

2) Cut the tomato in half and take out the seed. Brush a little of oil and roast it in the oven for 15 minutes. 

3) Once cold take out the skin and puree it.

4) Dry roast the desiccated coconut for 30 second on a hot pan.

5) Heat 1/2 table spoon of olive oil in a pan and toss the capsicum for 1 minute on high flame. Add cabbage and toss again. Add roasted tomato puree and  roasted coconut. Season it with salt and pepper.

6) A colorful and healthy salad is ready to go with any meal.

BON APPETIT...

Rolling Cabbage with Yogurt Cream Dip (Bulgur stuffed Cabbage leafs)

Yet another try of making a fusion mediterranean recipe. It is a mezze and served cold with a fascinating yogurt cream sauce. It is called "Sarma" in middle eastern region. Sarma means 'a wrapped thing' in Turkish language, from the verb sarmak 'to wrap' or 'to roll'. Besides the savory dish of leaf-wrapped filling, sarma in Greek can also refer to sweet pastries similar to baklava. Ideally meat and rice is stuffed in such kind of roll but I wanted to make it simpler and vegetarian, I am using bulgur in stuffing. In my earlier recipes I have mentioned about the bulgur, its recipes and use. Its one of the quick to make food and can be used in several ways. Bulgur is cooked with tomato/chili sauce, rolled in a fresh cabbage leaf and poached to in water and natural vinegar.

Ingredients:
Cabbage:            1 large
Bulgar:                1 cup
Boiling water:      1 cup
Tomato puree:    2 table spoon
Hot Chili Sauce:  1table spoon
Green onion:       2 pieces ( finely chopped)
Spinach:              1/4cup (finely chopped and blanched)
Salt to taste
White pepper
Olive oil:              2 table spoon
Cumin Powder:    1/4tea spoon
Fresh Parsley:      1/4 cup ( finely chopped)
Lemon juice:        2table spoon
Natural white vinegar:   2table spoon

For yogurt cream sauce:
Cucumber:           1/2 Cup ( small cubes)
Sour Cream:         2table spoon
Greek Curd:         3table spoon
Olive oil:               1table spoon
Lemon Juice:         1/2table spoon
Fresh Parsley:       2table spoon ( Finely chopped)
Salt to taste
White pepper

 Method:
1) Take out the whole cabbage leaf carefully and put in the boiling water with some salt. Strain it once the leafs are soft. Place the whole leaf on a clean chopping board and take the hard vein in between using a knife and split the big leaf in two parts. Keep it aside
2) Melt tomato sauce and chili sauce in 1 cup of boiling water. Add bulgur and salt. Cover it with kitchen towel for 10 minutes.
3) After 10 minutes add parsley, green onion, spinach, cumin, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Mix well.
4) Spread the cabbage sheet and put a spoon full of stuffing at the softer end. Roll it folding the side of the leafs so that the stuffing doesn't come out.
5) Carefully place all the rolls in a pan and pour water till half level. Bring it to boil at high flame. Add some salt and vinegar to water and cove it making the flame slow.
6) Cook it for 10-15 minutes at low flames. Take it out carefully in a serving dish and let it cool in the refrigerator.

For Dip:
1) Add all the ingredient of the dip together in a bowl and mix well. Serve this cold dip with the cold rolling cabbage as an appetizer any time of the day.

BON APPETIT...