Satay Beef Stir-fry with Bak Choy

Somehow, coke always goes so well with Malaysian food. Hence the coke cans! Besides, they tend to bring a good contrasting colour to my pic! Now this is something I made up. I used Top sirlion steak, slightly frozen so that I could easily slice the beef thinly. Then I marinated it with soya sauce, a little sugar and minced garlic.

Then I prepared the bak choy. Just washing each leaf and separating the leaves invidually. Then I prepared my satay sauce. You can buy this from and Asian grocer instant or a pre-mix. I used a pre-mix where I just added water anda brought it to a boil for a few minutes. Next I put my pan on high heat and added a little oil. When the oil was hot, I added the beef and fried it for about 30 secs before adding the bak choy. This takes a little skill with 2 cooking utensils to toss till the bak choy is wilted. Finally, I add the satay sauce. Once it is well mixed and the meat and veggies area well coated with the sauce, I quickly serve it hot with steamed Jasmine rice. Oh! I think this is my current favourite. So quick and easy. And clean up is that too! -end-

A platter of fun!

Its been so hot that I decided to do a play on little plates , tapas. The croissants were fresh from Zerelli's Mediterranean Market that I got that morning. The first tapas I had was marinated cherry tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and evoo. I added chopped fresh basil and red onion and topped it with lovely creamy goat cheese! Oh this combination is always a winner. The second tapas was garlic crimini mushrooms with butter and olive oil. This was lightly sauteed and served as is. We had this for lunch and it hit the spot nicely.

Sesamee Beef Stirfry

Simple, easy and tasty. In 30 minutes or less! Of course this is best served with freshly cooked Jasmine rice. So to start, get your rice started in your rice cooker or pot. Then, thinly slice a 10-12 oz of your steak choice. I used top sirloin but this would work well with a lower grade cut so long as you slice it across the grain. Marinade this in about 4-6 tbsp of soya sauce,1-2 tbsp of oyster sauce, 1 tbsp sesamee oil, 2 tbsp of roasted sesamee and 1 tbsp of sugar. Marinade well and lastly add 1-2 tsp of corn flour to the beef. Set this aside and wash a good portion of yau choy or bak choy. Cut the veg into 2 inch lenghts. Next heat your wok or non-stick pan to high with 2 tbsp canola/ corn or peanut oil. Add in 1 clove of minced garlic. When lightly golden, add marinated beef. Stirfry till meat is separated but not throughly cooked. Then add veggies and cook till just tender. Add a little water, stir till well mixed and then turn off heat. Serve hot with steamed rice. Its nice to toss a little more roasted sesamee on the beef before serving.

Chicken Alfredo

I've been craving something creamy and I instantly thought about Spaghetti Carbonara. But those of you who know how it is made would know it is full of fat! All that bacon and heavy cream, tasty as they are, I thought I'd better make something a little healthier.

Chicken Alfredo isn't too much better but I used half and half instead of heavy cream. Start with boiling water and cooking your pasta. As always, I sauteed a little bit of minced garlic in some evoo. Then I added left over roast chicken from the local deli and strips of back bacon. Then the half and half plus frozen peas. Let this simmer for a few minutes to reduce the sauce. Add some parmesan cheese to the sauce to thicken and add flavour. When your pasta is ready, drain well and add to the sauce and toss till coated with the sauce. Serve immediately with more parmesan cheese and or freshly ground black pepper. It helped curb the craving for now. Hopefully this will carry me till October since I only try to make Speghetti Carbonara for Reno Man's birthday. It is a favourite of his.

BBQ Chicken & Mixed Veg

Very simple but healthy lunch. This time I grilled the chicken we got from Costco and didn't burn it. I used, cauliflower, broccoli, red pepper, mushrooms, carrots for my stirfry with a healthy dolop of minced garlic and evoo(extra virgin olive oil). Yum. No seasoning necessary. So far I have posted our meals. I wonder what other home menus are out there. I would love to hear from anyone out there! BTW, anyone interested in attending EAT-VANCOUVER, the food festival with me?

Potstickers with Korean Rice Cakes

Here's another one of my fast meals. It was 2:30pm by the time I got home for art class. I was going to have just an instant cup noodle but because my hunny was home and also hadnt eaten, I decided to make up something quick. I used ...
10 frozen potstickers from Costco that I pan fried with a little canola oil just till the pastry is a little crisp. These potstickers are often a life saver when I am in a time crunch to get a meal on the table. I have used them is stirfries and soups. Quite versatile.Then I add
1-2 cloves of chopped garlic to the pan and
1/2 a bag of frozen Korean rice cakes (you may have to pre-boil these first depending on the brand you get). Stif fry for 2-3 mins then add
1/2 tbsp sambal
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tsp fish sauce. Stir till mixed well. Then add
1/4 cup water and
enough Bak Choy to compliment the dish. Stir till combined and cover with a lid to cook the vegetables. When vegetables are tender, this dish is ready to be served.