Garlic Butter Shrimps Pasta

Hey guys! Sorry if I have been boring you with Asian food, especially Korean dishes! :( I had sudden craving for pasta today, so I decided to just make use of what I have in the fridge. :) 

I had some shrimps which I bought a few weeks ago, being frozen up till today. :P I love garlic, my hubs loves it too! So, I decided to combine both shrimps and garlic today!

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes (includes time for the pasta to be cooked)
Pasta will be ready in 30 minutes

Ingredients for the garlic butter shrimps pasta:

1. 1 box of pasta
2. 4 cloves of garlic, minced
3. 3 tablespoons of butter
4. 1 teaspoon of Itallian dressing
5. 2 teaspoons of cooking oil
6. Salt
7. 1 cup of shrimps 
8. 1 cup of sliced mushroom
9. 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese 

How to get started?

1. Boil a pot of water with some salt and cooking oil in it. Once boil, add the pasta in and cook until al dente. 
2. In the mean time, place the butter and minced garlic into a bowl. Microwave it for 45 seconds/ until it melts. Then, mix them.
3. While doing that, boil another small pot of water and salt to cook the shrimps. Once the water is boiling, add the shrimps and let it cook for 2 minutes/ until it turns pink. Remove it and place them into a bowl. Remove the shell of the shrimps. 
4. Heat up a skillet under medium heat, then add the butter and garlic mixture with the shrimps. Stir them for 1 minute. Then, add the mushrooms. 
5. Once the pasta is done, drain the water until you are left with 1 cup of the pasta water for use later. Add the drained pasta to the skillet. Stir them for 1 minute. 
6. Add 1/2 cup of water to the mixture so that it will be less dry. But, if it is still dry, you can add more, but don't add until your pasta floats in the water. 
7. Once done, transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on the top and serve! 

So delicious! Try this today! 

Spinach Side Dish (Sigeumchi-namul)

Hello everyone! :) I am sorry for the infrequent updates as I have been pretty busy lately. 

Well, as for today, I would like to introduce you to one of my favorite Korean side dishes. It's made of spinach, and it is usually served when you are in a Korean restaurant. :) In Korean, it's called Sigeumchi-namul (spinach side dish). 

It's really easy and very healthy, I can assure you. So, it is highly recommended! :D

Why healthy? The nutrients in the green leafy spinach stays because the time taken to cook it is less than 1 minute. Besides nutrients, you also get fibre! Along with that, sesame oil which is used a lot in Korean dishes have enormous list of benefits such as more healthy skin, lowers blood pressure, aids in digestion and a lot more. :D

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 2 minutes
Sigeumchi-namul will be ready in 7 minutes

Ingredients for the Sigeumchi-namul:

1. 1 bunch of spinach
2. 2 cloves of garlic, minced
3. 1.5 tablespoons of soy sauce
4. 1 tea spoon of sesame oil
5. 1 scallion (finely chopped)
6. Roasted sesame seeds

How to get started?

1. Boil a pot of water with some salt in it.
2. Once it starts to boil, put in the spinach (putting the stalked part in first). Let it boil for 30 seconds. 
3. Remove it from heat. Wash it under running cold water, rinse and wash again 3 times. 
4. Gently squeeze all the remaining water out, and cut them into half and half. 
5. In a big bowl, mix the minced garlic, the finely chopped scallion, soy sauce and sesame oil.
6. Add the cooked spinach into the bowl and mix them using your hands.
7. Once done mixing, put them into serving bowl. Place some roasted sesame seeds on the top.

There you go! A bowl of healthy side dish! 

Korean Hand-Torn Noodle Soup (Sujebi)

I am back! Aloha everyone! How's your day?

It is another day of Korean food craving, so I tried to make something else this time. Back in my home country, I have always and still love to eat hand-torn noodle in simple soup. It was economically cheap and it never failed to make me happy (we called it mee-hun-kueh). So, as I was searching online using keywords like: Korean, hand-torn noodle, soup etc - I found a recipe from Maangchi! :) It really got me excited and I started preparing it for my lunch. 

Sujebi is the mild version (which is not spicy) if compared to hot spicy kimchi Sujebi (a little spicy). I will try the normal Sujebi for today, and introduce you to the spicy version another time. :) 

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes (time included to make the flour dough)
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Sujebi will be ready in 70 minutes

Ingredients for the Sujebi (non-spicy version):

1. 2 cups of multi-purpose flour
2. 3/4 cups of water
3. 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
4. 1/2 teaspoon of salt
5. 12-15 large anchovies (remove the heads)
6. 1 dried kelp (cut them into 4 inches on each side)
7. 1 or 2 medium sized potato (cut them into bite size)
8. 1/2 cup of onion (sliced)
9. 4 garlic cloves (minced)
10. 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
11. 1 tablespoon of soy sauce/ 2 teaspoons of salt
12. 2 teaspoons of sesame oil
13. 1 stalk of scallion (cut into small pieces)

How to get started?

1. Make the flour dough by mixing the flour, cooking oil, water and salt in a big bowl. Knead the dough by hand until it becomes soft. (you can refrigerate it while the soup is being cooked)

To make the soup/ stock: 

1. In a large pot, add 8 cups of water with the dried kelp and anchovies. Bring them to boil for 20 minutes under medium-high heat.
2. Then, on low heat, let it sit for another 20 minutes.
3. Once done, turn off the heat and remove the kelp and anchovies. Add potatoes, onion and garlic to the stock. 
4. Boil them for 15 minutes under medium-high heat.
5. While the stock is boiling, cut the kelp into bite size and put them aside. 
6. After 15 minutes, add the fish sauce, soy sauce/ salt and kelp back to the pot. 
7. Now, take the dough and roll it and stretch it to make thin pieces. Drop the pieces into the boiling pot until the dough finishes. 
8. Close the lid and let the hand-torn noodle cook for 3-5 minutes (the noodle will float once it is cooked).
9. Lastly, add the sesame oil and cut scallion - you are ready to serve.

It's a bowl of super delicious Korean dish! Let's sit back and enjoy. 

You can always serve this bowl of Sujebi with some kimchi as side dish. Cannot wait to make this again! 

Korean Chicken Bulgogi

Hey guys! Hope everyone had a lovely time preparing meals for their loved ones, or just for themselves! :D 

I don't know why but I am watching a lot of Korean dramas lately, thus it has made me crave for Korean food all the time! It is not cheap to keep having meals in Korean restaurant, nor it is feasible, so I have decided to explore further! 

Come to think about it, I really loved the kimchi fried rice I prepared the other day! It was good, but hubs said I should include slices of chicken to it (he is a meat eater!). Yes, hubs, comment noted! :P

Today, chicken bulgogi, instead of the famous beef bulgogi (because I cannot take beef).. Anyways, they are still meat right! 

Preparation time: 60 minutes (time included for marination, otherwise it's just 10 mins!)
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Chicken bulgogi will be ready in 70 minutes

Ingredients for the chicken bulgogi:

1. 1 lbs of sliced chicken breasts
2. 1/4 cup of soy sauce 
3. 2 tablespoons of white sugar
4. 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
5. 3-4 cloves of minced garlic
6. 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
7. 1/4 teaspoon of salt
8. 1/4 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
9. 1/2 of a medium yellow onion, sliced into moon shaped like
10. 4 tablespoons of cooking oil
11. 1 scallion cut into small pieces 

How to get started?

1. Mix all the ingredients above except chicken, onions and scallion into a large bowl. 
2. After making sure all the sugar has dissolved, put in the chicken and onion slices into the bowl containing the mixture and marinate them well. Keep it aside for 1 hour.
3. Later, before frying, drain the excess marinade before pan frying. 
4. Heat up a pan and add in the chicken pieces. Cook for about 5 minutes making sure both sides are cooked. 
5. Once done, place them onto a serving plate and place some cut scallions on the top. 

One yummy dish is ready to be served! Enjoy! 

Thai Spicy Basil Pork (Pad Gkaprow Moo)

Hey guys! Hope you guys had an enjoyable weekend! 

Back at home, when I was in university, I frequently visit a local Thai restaurant near where I stay. It was convenient, fast and very delicious. I ordered almost the same dish every single time I go there, unlike my friends who would try new dishes in that restaurant. I will have to admit that I am quite loyal to something I love, and I tend to stick to it until I get sick of it (if I ever do). :p

Anyways, so when I found a friend of mine cooking this Thai basil pork dish, which was what I had almost every week back then for 2 years, I was really excited! I quickly bought all the stuffs needed, and then started cooking it for everyone I know. :D 

Did I get you excited too? Please do try this recipe out! It is awesome! You can always tone the spicy level up or down, according to how much you can tolerate spicy-ness. :) If you happen to dislike pork, or you prefer chicken, you can always replace them too. 

Preparation time: 10 minutes (did not include time to defroze the ground pork)
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Thai spicy basil pork will be ready in 25 minutes

Ingredients for the Thai spicy basil pork:

1. 1.5 lbs of ground pork
2. 3 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce
3. 1 teaspoon of dark caramel sauce
4. 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
5. 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
6. 1 tablespoon of sugar
7. 1/2 cup of fresh basil
8. 8 cloves of minced garlic
9. 15 pieces of Thai chillies cut into small pieces (remove most of the seeds to avoid extreme spicy)
10. 4 tablespoons of cooking oil

How to get started? 

1. If the ground pork was in the freezer, defroze it. 
2. Mix the ingredients above except ground pork, minced garlic, fresh basil, chillies and cooking oil together in a bowl. 
3. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
4. Heat up a cooking pan with the cooking oil, once warm, put in the minced garlic, cut chillies and stir fry them till fragrant, then add in fresh basils. 
5. Add in the ground pork and make sure it is cooked well. Stir fry them well for about 8-10 minutes. 
6. Once the ground pork is cooked, add in the sauce mixture to the ground pork. Stir fry further for about 3-5 minutes. 
7. Now, it is ready to be served!

This dish, is simple yet captivating! Once you try it, you will always want more. It is never too much, for real. So, try it today!

You can easily just serve this spicy basil pork with a plate of warm rice. I have always love to add a fried egg with it. :)

Here's a picture of it! 

Ipoh Styled Bean Sprouts (芽菜)

Guess what! :) My first post on vegetable will be today. :) As for vegetables, I am not too keen to go fancy with them. I usually prepare using the shortest and easiest way. 

Why? This is because the longer you cook your vegetables, the nutrients and vitamins (that we were supposed to take in) will be gone. If that is gone, you are all left with fibers! I will want best of both worlds - vitamins and fibers!

So, here goes my first recipe. It is a very Asian dish. It usually accompanies Hainan chicken rice or Pho. 

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 2 minutes
Ipoh styled bean sprouts will be ready in 7 minutes

Ingredients for Ipoh styled bean sprouts:

1. 4 cups of bean sprouts
2. 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
3. 1 scallion
4. 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
5. 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
6. 1 L of hot water

How to get started?

1. Boil 1 L of hot water.
2. Wash the bean sprouts under cold water thoroughly and leave it aside in a big bowl.
3. Once the water is boiled, pour it into the bowl containing bean sprouts, leave it for 1 minute.
4. Once 1 minute is up, drain the bean sprouts and put them into a new plate/ bowl for serving.
5. Add sesame oil, soy sauce and pepper to the bean sprouts and mix them thoroughly.
6. Finally, add the chopped scallion on top of the ready mixed bean sprouts.

We are good to go! So yummy! 

Rice Vermicelli in Soup (Meehoon Soup)

As I was busy spring cleaning our home today, I decided to just cook something simple for hubs and myself for lunch. Personally, I love noodles a lot, basically any kind of noodles from yellow mee, udon, rice vermicelli or spaghetti! :D

Well, when I said simple to make and yet happy enough to enjoy my lunch? It must be a combination of 2 of my favorites right? Noodles in soup! :D:D

Alright, let me just share this short recipe, yet super delicious! You will like it! 

Preparation time: 35 minutes (included time for marination so it looked like it took a long time)
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Rice vermicelli soup will be ready in 45 minutes

Ingredients for the rice vermicelli in soup:

1. Rice vermicelli (as much as you need)
2. 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
3. 2 tablespoons of pork based soup paste/ chicken broth/ pork broth
4. 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
5. 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
6. 1.5 L of water
7. 1 cup of sliced into bite size chicken/ pork 
8. 1 scallion
9. Spinach

How to get started?

1. In a bowl, mix the sliced chicken/ pork with the pepper and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Leave it to marinate for about 20-30 minutes. 
2. Boil the 1.5 L of water. While it is boiling, add all the ingredients above except the meat, rice vermicelli, scallion and spinach. 
3. On another new pot, heat up a pot of water - this is to cook the rice vermicelli.
4. Then, add the marinated chicken/ pork into the boiling pot of soup and let it cook further for 5 minutes. 
5. Lastly, add in the spinach and allow it to cook for 2 minutes. 
6. Drain the rice vermicelli from the water, and place them into bowls for serving.
7. Add the soup to the top of the rice vermicelli. 
8. Lastly, decorate the top with some fried shallots, fried garlic and cut scallions. 

You are ready! Please try this!