Mom's Meat Sauce

Most people will probably think this is too sweet and it's sacrilege but it's a taste of childhood for my sibs and me. And man did we ever love our ketchup. This is definitely one way to have your kid have spaghetti and meat sauce if they love ketchup the way K does and the way my sis and I did as kids.

We used to have this as "sloppy joes" with buns, or with rice or with spaghetti (our fave way to eat it). I introduced this sauce to K last night and he had a healthy portion of it. Any way I can get him to have any meat, I'm happy. :)


Mom's Meat Sauce
(serves 4-5)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 10 3/4 oz (305g) can condensed tomato soup
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 - 1 Tbsp sugar
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat up a large pot (or in my mom's case, a wok) over medium high heat. When pot is hot, add beef and cook until no longer pink. Season with a pinch of salt.
2. Once meat is cooked, stir in tomato soup, 1/2 cup of ketchup and a 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. Mix well until sauce is hot and bubbly. Taste and season with more ketchup, sugar and/or salt, if needed.
3. Serve over spaghetti, rice or use as a "sloppy Joe" filling.

Tofu Kimchi Soup

I've been meaning to make this for so long, but Hubby doesn't like kimchi, so it didn't make sense to make it when he was home. Luckily we have friends visiting and he's been out with them lots so I got to make foods that I like to eat without having to make separate meals for him; and this was one of those meals. WAHAHAHAH! :D


Tofu Kimchi Soup
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 700g package smooth tofu, cut into bite size pieces, or sliced into 1/2" x 2" pieces
• 3 cups kimchi, with juices
• 3 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 3/4 lb fish tofu/pork belly/pork shoulder
• 3 cups water
• 2 green onion, cut into 2 inch long pieces
• 1 Tbsp gochujang
• 1 Tbsp sugar

Directions:

1. Heat up a large pot over medium high heat. Add kimchi, mushrooms, fish tofu/pork, water, gochujang and sugar. Mix well and bring to a boil. Boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
2. Add tofu and green onion. Lower heat to medium low and cook for another 10 minutes. 
3. Serve with rice and a fried egg (and other side dishes).

Three Cupish Chicken

I think it's too oily when you use equal parts of sesame oil to wine and soy sauce. Using half as much oil is enough, and still gives tons of flavour.

I can see why they would've had so much oil back in the day though. Oh it is so luxurious...but too fatty. :P

I had this the day after in a bowl with some of the sauce over everything. It was way yummy. Total comfort food. Once my basil plant gets enough basil, I'm going to totally make this again.


Three Cupish Chicken
(serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken drumsticks or thighs or a combination of both
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/2 cup yellow wine
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and separated
• 5 ginger slices
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 red chili pepper (optional)
• A handful of Thai basil leaves

Directions:

1. In a wok or clay pot, heat up sesame oil over medium high heat. When the sesame oil shimmers, add ginger, garlic and chili pepper (if using). Cook until fragrant.
2. Gently lay chicken in a single layer in the wok or clay pot, skin side down. Brown both sides.
3. Add sugar, soy sauce and wine. Mix well and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Turn the chicken every once in a while so that it will get dark on all the sides.
4. Turn off heat and toss in basil leaves. 
5. Serve with rice ad steamed veggies.

Saucy Sliced Beef with Peppers & Onions

I feel like this is from a Chinese restaurant, only it's not nearly as unhealthy as the ones you'd eat at Chinese restaurants. Or maybe it is! I don't know. I just know that I didn't use that much oil. Lol.

I really liked this. It was hearty and yummy. Very homey feeling to it. My fave kind of food. ;)


Saucy Sliced Beef with Peppers & Onions
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb flank steak, cut into stir fry strips (see note)
• 2 medium bell peppers, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 green onion stalks, chopped into 1 inch long pieces and/or diced
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsps cornstarch, divided
• 1 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 slices of ginger
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix 1 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch with the beef. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.
2. Heat a wok over high heat. Add canola oil and wait for it to shimmer. Add beef and let it start browning for a minute. Once the beef can be moved easily without ripping any meat, toss in ginger and garlic. Stir for a few seconds until garlic gets fragrant. 
3. Stir in peppers, onions, Hoisin sauce, sugar and soy sauce. Cook for a few seconds while you make the slurry.
4. In a small bowl, make a slurry out of the water and remaining cornstarch. Pour into the wok and mix well.
5. Cover and let it cook until the peppers and onions are tender. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
6. Turn off heat. Mix in green onions and sesame oil.
7. Serve with rice and soup.

Note: Cut the steak along the grain into 2 inch wide slabs. Then position the flank so that the grain is perpendicular to you. Using a sharp knife, cut against the grain on a bias (45 degrees) into strips that you'd see in Chinese restaurant stir fries.

Lemony Garlic Shrimp

Uber simple and very lemony. It's good for when you make a rich starch or if you want to put it in a salad to add a warm component. Heck, or just have it as an appie or a snack! ;)


Lemony Garlic Shrimp
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb raw shrimp, deveined and shelled
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• Juice of 1/3 of a lemon
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, mix together garlic, shrimp, a pinch each of salt and pepper. Set aside for 5-10 minutes.
2. Heat up a skillet over medium high heat. Add butter and olive oil. When butter and olive oil is heated, add onion and cook until just softened. Push the onions to the sides and add shrimp to the middle empty part of the skillet in one single layer.
3. Once the shrimps start to curl, turn over to cook the other side for a few seconds until that side starts turning pink.
4. Stir in lemon juice. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if necessary.
5. Serve shrimp alone as an appetizer or over couscous, quinoa, pasta, in a salad, etc.

Sweet & Spicy Mango Chicken

I've had mango chicken before, but it tasted a little weird. I'm not sure how I feel about mangoes with chicken. But this one was pretty good. It's more sweet and spicy than mango-y though. Maybe I just needed to add more? I DID add a lot of other stuff :P


Sweet & Spicy Mango Chicken
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 1 mango, peeled, pitted and cut into 2 inch long strips
• 2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 4 slices ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 3 Tbsps Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp Sriracha
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 green onion, cut into 2 inch long strips
• 1 Tbsp canola oil

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine chicken with cornstarch and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Marinate for 10-15 minutes.
2. Heat up a wok over high heat. Add canola oil. It should start shimmering. Add chicken breast.
3. Once chicken starts turning opaque on one side, stir around. Add in ginger, garlic, peppers and onions. Toss around until the onions start to soften.
4. Stir in mango strips, ketchup, sugar, Sriracha and soy sauce until everything is well coated in sauce. At this time, if you want your dish to be really saucy, add about 1/4 cup of water.
5. Cover with a lid and cook until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender crisp.
6. Adjust seasonings if needed. Stir in green onions.
7. Serve with rice and soup.

Spicy Cucumber Salad

Cucumbers are awesome as a side in the summer when you're having some sort of Asian dinner with rice and some stir fries or whatever. It's refreshing and so good for you if you've had a lot of deep fried junk like how I normally do in the summers. :P


Spicy Cucumber Salad
(serves 2-4 as a side dish)

Ingredients:

• 1 English cucumber, diced
• 1/2 tsp garlic chili
• 2 Tbsps white vinegar
• 2 Tbsps soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Salt

Directions:

1. Place the cucumbers into a small mixing bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and let it sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, squeeze out as much of the cucumber juice as possible and return back to the bowl.
2. Add garlic chili, vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Toss until well coated.
3. Let the cucumbers marinate in the sauce for 15 minutes before serving.
4. Serve as a side with rice and another okazu, or alone.

Korean Braised Beef Ribs

Maangchi is totally awesome. I essentially used her recipe to braise these ribs. I used back ribs instead of the short ribs, so then I just braised it longer. It's a little sweet if you eat it on its own with just rice, so I'd definitely make some side dishes to go with it.


Korean Braised Beef Ribs
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lbs beef back ribs, cut into 2 inch pieces (similar to giant pork spare ribs)
• 2 Bosc pears, peeled & chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 garlic cloves
• 1 inch knob of ginger
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. Fill a dutch oven or a large pot with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and blanch ribs for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the ribs. Wipe down the dutch oven and add ribs. Set aside.
2. In a food processor, add pear, onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, water and brown sugar and puree. Pour over ribs. Mix well and bring to a low boil. Cover the pot with a lid, but not completely; leave the lid ajar to let the steam out. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Uncover completely and turn heat up to medium high. Cook until almost all of the liquid is gone and the ribs are shiny, stirring  more often to prevent burning.
4. Turn off heat. Stir in sesame oil. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
5. Serve with kimchi, rice and other side dishes.

Bean Sprout Salad

This is so simple yet it's so yummy to eat as a side with rice and some sort of protein (stir fry, stew, anything Asian, etc.).

K actually likes to eat it on its own. He uses his fingers to pick up everything. He's going through a phase where he likes to use his hands instead of a fork or spoon. OH WELL. Hopefully it'll end soon :P


Bean Sprout Salad
(serves 4-6 as a small side)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bean sprouts, rinsed
• 1 English cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
• 1 green onion, finely diced
• 2 tsps sesame oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, toss cucumbers with a pinch of salt. Set aside for 5 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch bean sprouts. Rinse under cold water and squeeze out as much water as possible. 
3. Add bean sprouts to cucumbers. Mix in green onion, sesame oil and garlic. Taste and add more salt if needed.
4. (Optional) top with sesame seeds. 
5. Serve with rice and some sort of Asian okazu or alone.

Fish Tofu & Veggies Stir Fry

There's nothing quite like a simple stir fry to stretch your protein. In this case, it's a half pound of fish tofu. Okay, fine. So fish tofu doesn't really have that much protein, but still. It's protein-ish? Meh, you can always just sub the fish tofu with any protein. Chicken or pork slices are always my go to (marinated with soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch and oil). It's what I grew up with...but I think fish slices would go nicely too. Just gotta brown them, take them out and then add them back in at the end so that it's not overcooked.

To make this totally vegetarian, just add some marinated firm tofu and you're good to go. :D


Fish Tofu & Veggies Stir Fry
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup toasted/roast cashews
• 1/2 - 1 lb fish tofu, sliced (or 1 marinated chicken breast, sliced/1 package marinated tofu, cubed/ 1/2 - 1 lb marinated pork tenderloin, sliced; etc.)
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
• 3 celery ribs, thinly sliced
• 3-5 slices ginger
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 green onion, cut into 2 inch long pieces, white parts separated from green parts
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp canola oil

Directions:

1. Heat up a wok over high heat. If your cashews aren't roasted, toast them in the dry wok and then set aside in a clean bowl.
2. Add oil and let it heat up until the oil shimmers. Add in ginger, garlic and white parts of the green onion. Cook until fragrant.
3. Add protein and cook until lightly browned.
4. Toss in onions, carrots, celery, salt, sugar and soy sauce. Mix well. Cover and cook until protein is cooked through and veggies are tender crisp.
5. Stir in green parts of the green onion. Transfer everything onto a serving dish. Top with toasted/roast cashews.
6. Serve with rice and soup.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

I don't know what's more toddler friendly than sweet and sour chicken. Honestly. It's sweet, it's tangy and it's saucy. God, I love this stuff. K just goes for the pineapples. He'll eat a couple of peppers, but then spit them out cuz he likes the pineapples more. It's almost impossible to get him to eat anything other than the pineapples if he feeds himself. Can't blame him. They are pretty darn sweet. Fresh all the way!


Sweet & Sour Chicken
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2-2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 inch knob of ginger, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsps cornstarch, divided
• 1/4 cup soy sauce, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 4 tsps sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 green onion stalk, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 tsps canola oil, divided

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of canola oil. Toss in chicken and marinate for 10-15 minutes.
2. Heat up the wok over high heat. Add remaining canola oil. Once the oil shimmers, add chicken to cook in one layer. Once one side is browned, turn the chicken slices over to start cooking on the other side while you add ginger, garlic and onions. Stir the mixture and let it cook while you put the slurry together.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve the remaining cornstarch in water, remaining soy sauce, and vinegar. Add to the mixture in the wok.
4. Toss in bell peppers and pineapples. Add ketchup and the remaining sugar. Mix well. Cover and let it cook for a few minutes until the peppers are tender crisp and the chicken is cooked through.
5. Taste and add more ketchup if needed. Toss in green onion.
6. Serve with white rice and soup.

Stir Fry Eggplant with Minced Meat

So I love eggplant when it's stir fried or deep fried. I just love it. Hubby can't stand it so I almost never have it unless we're out at a restaurant. This is probably only the second time I've bought eggplant to cook at home. I'm so glad I did. This was so yummy.

I made it spicy just cuz I'm just in love with this garlic chili that I bought on a whim from the grocery store a while back. If I don't have any chilies at home, I just use this. It's crazy spicy and SO GOOD. Probably cuz we love garlic so much in our household...I dare say that it's better than Sriracha for stir fries and that sort of thing. Anything that requires a dipping sauce or something like that, Sriracha is still king. ;)

Honestly, you can turn this into a vegetarian dish if you don't add the meat. It doesn't really matter whether you do it or not. I just don't like making too many different dishes at night (read: lazy) so I add the meat to ensure I get some protein. :P


Stir Fry Eggplant with Minced Meat
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium Chinese eggplant (about 8-10 inches in length), cut in half lengthwise and then 1/2 inch half moons or into 2 inch long strips
• 1/4 lb lean ground pork
• 3 Tbsps soy sauce, divided
• 3 tsps canola oil, divided
• 2 tsps cornstarch, divided
• 1 tsp sugar, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 inch knob of ginger, cut into slivers
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp garlic chili
• 1 green onion, finely diced

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, marinate the pork with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of canola oil, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar for about 15 minutes.
2. Heat up remaining oil in a wok over medium high heat. Swirl it around so that all the sides are coated with a thin later of oil. Add marinated pork and cook until browned. Add in eggplant, garlic, ginger and cook until eggplant starts softening.
3. Stir in oyster sauce, remaining sugar, remaining soy sauce and garlic chili. Toss until well coated.
4. In a small bowl or cup, make a slurry out of the remaining cornstarch and water. Add to the wok and toss. Cover the wok and cook until eggplant is fully cooked.
5. Turn off the heat and toss in green onions.
6. Serve with rice.

Garlicky Celery

You know how if you go to Korean restaurants and order certain dishes, there'll be little side dishes to go with the meal? Apparently if you order some set meals from Taiwanese restaurants, you can sometimes get these small side dishes too.

One day I got this cold garlicky celery side dish with my beef curry and rice meal. It was very cool so I decided to so it at home. It's crazy easy and an easy way to add more veggies to a meal. I dare say that it's even an easy way to use up any uncooked Chinese veggies (aka choy) leftover. Although I'd probably cut up any choy into bite size pieces so I can just have it as a snack. :D

Garlicky Celery
(serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

• 4 celery stalks, sliced into 1/8 of an inch thick pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp canola oil
• Salt, to taste
• Water (optional)

Directions:

1. In a medium nonstick pan, heat up oil over medium high heat. Add in celery and cook for about a minute or until the celery starts softening a bit.
2. Add in garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant and celery is tender crisp. Season with salt. Add a tablespoon of water if needed to prevent celery from browning.
3. Serve hot as a side or chill in the fridge for an hour or so and serve cold as a side.

Smoked Sausage & Peppers

I really love smoked sausages. Probably cuz I love hot dogs...but I didn't feel like heating it up with some jar pasta sauce with pasta.

I actually wanted to have some rice. I haven't really had white rice with a side dish for a while and I was totally going through withdrawal. That being said, I just made this quick sausage and peppers to go with my rice. I could've just had canned fried dace with black bean sauce (drool) or pan fried spam (more drool) but Hubby doesn't like either one, so I had to make real food. (K already had steamed egg to go with his rice, so I didn't really have to worry about him.)


Smoked Sausage & Peppers
(serves 3)

Ingredients:

• 3 links smoked Italian sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 bell peppers, any colour, cut into strips
• 1 medium onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat up a large skillet with the extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat. Toss in smoked sausages and cook until the edges start to brown.
2. Add in onions, peppers and garlic. Cook until sausages are browned, onions and peppers are fork tender, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Serve over rice or with plain pasta coated with extra virgin olive oil.

Yellow Chicken Curry

OMG. Whatever you do, don't forget the onions like I did. K was distracting me as usual when cooking. But this time I actually forgot something. Sigh. Oh well. It was still alright but DEFINITELY needed the onions to give it that depth of flavour. Now I know how those Chopped contestants feel when they forget an ingredient. :(

This may seem a bit unorthodox. But Hubby dislikes eating saucy chicken with bones. Therefore, to keep the flavour of bone in chicken but not have bones on the chicken (and not have to debone saucy chicken after it's been cooked cuz I really don't like that), I just brown the chicken bones with the chicken. Then I remove the chicken so that it doesn't get tough. Weird, but it works!


Yellow Chicken Curry
(serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 6 skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces after bone have been removed (reserve bones)
• 2 medium potatoes, chopped into 3/4 inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 Tbsps curry powder, divided
• 2 Tbsps canola oil, divided
• 2 Tbsps soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 red chili pepper, diced
• 1 inch knob of ginger, sliced
• 3 whole garlic cloves, smashed
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• Water
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of curry powder, 1 tablespoon of oil, soy sauce, cornstarch and sugar with chicken thigh. Marinate for 30 minutes.
2. In a wok over high heat, heat up remaining oil. Once it's smoking, add ginger and garlic. Cook until fragrant. Add in in chicken thigh bones and chicken. Cook the meat until browned and then transfer chicken pieces to a bowl.
3. Add in onion, potatoes, remaining curry powder and red chili pepper. Cook until potatoes ave just starting to cook on the outside, stirring occasionally. You should see the outside 2mm coloured differently than the rest of the potatoes (about 3 minutes).
4. Transfer chicken back into the wok. Pour in just enough water to cover everything. Make sure the potatoes are covered. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender and chicken is cooked through.
5. Mix in evaporated milk and heat throughout. Do not let boil. Season with salt to taste.
6. Discard bones and serve with rice.

Tomato Fish Stew

Never would I have thought to make a fish stew. I was actually going to make a chowder with all this snapper that I got from Costco. But then I saw "stew" and thought "oh why not?"

I gotta say...this isn't bad. It tastes especially yummy over Brown Rice and Beans. I had it the next day for lunch and it wasn't fishy either. SCORE! :D


Tomato Fish Stew
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 6 snapper filet, quartered into strips (about 2 lbs)
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 tsp dried thyme (or 1 spring of fresh thyme)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 inch knob of ginger, minced
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbsps virgin olive oil, divided

Directions:

1. Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat in a large sauce pan. Season the fish strips with salt and pepper. Pan fry the strips until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate.
2. Heat up remaining olive oil in the pan. Toss in onions, tomatoes, thyme, garlic, ginger and fish sauce. Cook until onions and tomatoes have softened. Add in water. Return fish to the pan. Cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.
3. Serve over Brown Rice and Beans (or just rice).

Stir Fried Snow Pea Leaves with Prawns

This is really just another variation of my Garlic Stir Fried Snow Pea Leaves. I had some and needed a very quick lunch. K really liked the prawns but I had to shovel it down quickly so he wouldn't be able to eat much. Not that I'm trying to starve my kid, but he's pretty sensitive to shellfish, so it's just best if he doesn't have too much of it.


Stir Fried Snow Pea Leaves with Prawns
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb snow pea leaves, rinsed
• 1/2 lb medium prawns, shelled & deveined
• 1 red hot chili, finely diced
• 2-4 ginger slices
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsps canola oil
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat a wok over high heat until smoking hot. Add canola oil. Once the oil is shimmering, quickly drop in the ginger slices, garlic & chili. Cook until fragrant.
2. Toss in prawns and cook until just starting to turn opaque.
3. Add in the snow pea leaves, turning over as you add more. Keep turning and mixing until about 2/3 of the leaves are all wilted. Season with salt. Cover with lid and cook for 3-4 minutes or until all the leaves have wilted. 
4. Serve with rice (and a protein side dish if you need more protein).

Garlic Stir Fried Snow Pea Leaves

This is one of my favourite veggie dishes to order when in Chinese restaurants. It's stupid easy to make but tastes really good. Hubby typically will eat all the garlic so I don't bother mincing it up. There's no point! the only "bad" thing is that you kinda need to use a lot of oil. Or at least a lot more than you'd normally use. But who cares...it's not like I have this very often. ;)

These leaves are like spinach in that they will take up so much space when raw, but if you cook them, they'll wilt so much. So make sure you're cooking enough!


Garlic Stir Fried Snow Pea Leaves
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb snow pea leaves, rinsed
• 2-4 ginger slices
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 2 Tbsps canola oil
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat a wok over high heat until smoking hot. Add canola oil. Once the oil is shimmering, quickly drop in the ginger slices and garlic cloves. Cook until fragrant.
2. Add in the snow pea leaves, turning over as you add more. Keep turning and mixing until about 2/3 of the leaves are all wilted. Season with salt. Cover with lid and cook for 3-4 minutes or until all the leaves have wilted. 
3. Serve with rice and a protein side dish.

Chicken Teriyaki

Isn't this chicken breast just GORGEOUS? Lol. I think it's pretty anyway. :)

I love chicken teriyaki. I prefer it with chicken thighs but I'll usually make it with chicken breasts, simply because I don't like deboning a huge package of chicken thighs. Lazy? Hells yes. :P

But you know what? I can always claim that the best is healthier. So there. >:)

Traditionally you'd use mirin but I almost never have mirin at home, so I just use my yellow wine. It works just as well. I just have to add more sugar. That being said, if you have mirin, don't use as much sugar!

The sauce is pretty standard so you can use it to make tofu teriyaki, salmon teriyaki, beef teriyaki, etc. I just like to add veggies to it cuz they soak up all the sauce and impart some flavour to the sauce itself. ;)


Chicken Teriyaki
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts (with skin!)
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup yellow wine/dry sherry/mirin
• 3 Tbsps sugar (use less if using mirin), more to taste
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbsps canola oil

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat up canola oil. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. 
2. Put chicken in the pan skin side down. When the skin has a nice golden colour (about 7 minutes), turn it over. Lower the heat to low and cook until the juices run clear. Transfer chicken breasts to a plate to rest. Set aside.
3. Toss onions and bell peppers into the pan. Cook until onions start to soften. Stir in soy sauce, wine/mirin and sugar, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom. Add more sugar if necessary and cook until sauce is bubbly and thickened.
4. Spoon onions and peppers onto a plate, top with the chicken breasts and drizzle sauce over chicken. Serve with rice and miso soup (or another clear broth/consomme).

Yellow Wine Chicken

I made "all" this yellow wine over the summer and still haven't used it for anything more than marinades and sauces. I've been meaning to make Yellow Wine Chicken, and so I finally did. I normally don't like it at all, but I liked this one. Probably because it wasn't so strong that it could kill someone and wasn't so weak that it makes you wonder where the wine went. :P

The broth is very good for you, so don't waste it!


Yellow Wine Chicken
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken legs, thigh and drumstick separated
• 1 inch knob ginger, sliced
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups yellow wine

Directions:

1. Place everything in a medium pot and bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer covered for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
2. Serve alone or with rice.