For Lui Cha lovers!

I'm intrigued by this Hakka dish (originally vegetarian). A search on the net shows that I'm not the only one.. here, pls allow me to gather all Ho Po Lui Cha sites, blogs, recipes together so we Lui Cha lovers can unite... ha. ha. UNITY through FOOD!

EatingAsia
http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/2006/02/green_tea_soup_.html?cid=126752744#comment-126752744 (the story)

The WeekEnd Chef
http://www.theweekendchef.com.my/2005/08/22/hor-por-lui-cha/ (the recipe)

Across the causeway...
http://sg.88db.com/sg/Services/Post_Detail.page/food_entertainment/hawker_food/?PostID=206795 (where to eat it in Singapore)

Lei Cha on Wikipedia..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_cha (the whole story)

Also known as Thunder Tea Rice @SS2 shop
http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/2007/01/lui-cha-or-thunder-tea-rice-restoran.html

Kuali, The Star
http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=1022 (recipe)


Lui Cha is the food of the hillside monks.. must have 7 greens, eaten only in Aug/Sep
http://www.fh2o.kuchingkayak.com/2006/07/of-lui-cha-and-vegetarian-hillside.html

Btw, how do you eat it? What's the traditional way... I read somewhere that you pour the soup into the rice & veggie !! I prefer to eat them separately... lots of chewing required, though....ha ha. Also eaten with rice crispies (mai peng) instead of white rice.

My favourite is the one in the coffeeshop across the road from Spectrum Shopping Mall, Bandar Baru Ampang (opposite end to Hong Leong Bank).

If you love chocolate...

Have spent almost the whole day on the net, updating my various blogs & I found this post about chocolate for chocolate lovers. He is one of the Weekend Chef...

http://www.theweekendchef.com.my/2006/08/11/dark-temptations/

Eggless Fudgy Brownies - my way!

Contrary to popular perception, being a vegan does not limit my food choices, but opens up a whole new culinary experience & taste. Having to bake without eggs or butter requires one to be creative & slightly innovative!

I'm always into new food adventures! Sometime ago, I picked up a book published by the Vegan Society of Australia which inspired me to create my 'eggless' fudgy brownies. The book gave suggestions on how to substitute eggs with other ingredients - guess what they are! -- banana, icing sugar, cashew nuts, protein powder, etc.

So, I ventured to create my own version of the brownies shown in the book. Actually, I forgot to bring the book home -- so, 'necessity' being the mother of invention, I devised my own recipe based on logic, feel, look, taste & smell (will explain as I go along).

LOGIC - I started by blending a few minutes (pulsing - ie. push the on button only for a few seconds, off it, & repeat until you get the consistency you want):

100 gm dates (remember to check for seeds/pitts or you are going to break your blade!)
1 small (11cm) banana (peeled, of course!)
30 gm raw cashew nuts
3 tablespoons protein powder (whey & soya based)
50 gm icing sugar (its a mix of refined sugar & corn flour)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (Van Houten, is dark & good) dissolved in 1/2 cup of warm water

LOOK - It should come out slightly thick & gooey. Its okay if the cashews or dates are a bit coarse.

Heat up your oven to 180 degrees.

Pour mixture into a large bowl. Sift parts of 100 gm of self-raising flour and slowly fold in the mixture. Alternate with tablespoons of olive oil (total 5 tablespoons) and mix well.

FEEL - If the mixture feels heavy, slowly add a little boiled water & lightly stir. Do not over mix or your brownie will be too dense. It should be shiny & smooth & not too thick.

Line a long 8"x5" cake tin with baking paper slightly oiled. Spoon mixture into the tin. Lightly tap the pan on the table to remove large bubbles in the mixture. Top with pieces of dates & cashew halves.

SMELL - Bake for 20-30 mins. @20 mins or when the cashews look slightly browned, open the oven door & stick a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, stop the oven. If not, continue for another5 mins. You should also have a fragrant smell when it's cooked. Too strong a smell means the cocoa is burnt.

When cooked, remove and let it sit for 10 mins. Then remove to a wired rack until its cooled.

Why be a vegan?

Why, you may ask...

According to http://www.vegetarianvegan.com/

Most vegetarians claim that they became a vegetarian for one of three main reasons.

The first reason, which most vegetarians claim, is that they have serious ethical problems with eating meat. Most disagree with how chickens are debeaked, forced to live in small cages, and are then slaughtered when they do not produce eggs fast enough.

Most vegetarians also disagree with the crowded and stressful environments that animals are forced into; and the hormone-laden daily feed used to make them grow faster and produce more.

People who become vegetarians for this purpose often draw ethical boundaries in different spots, depending on their indept personal beliefs. For instance, some staunch vegans will refuse to consume yeast, wear wool, or even eat certain vegetables, such as carrots, that require killing the plant to harvest.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, some vegetarians, sometimes referred to as pseudo-vegetarians, will actually eat fish and chicken on a regular basis.

The second reason vegetarians claim for not eating meat is that it conflicts with their dietary preferences. Some of these vegetarians simply do not like the texture and taste of meat, others do not eat it because it is high in cholesterol and often contains very high concentrations of hormones and preservatives.

The third and smallest group of vegetarians cite some environmental reasons for not consuming meat. They complain that the consumption of meat causes farmers to continually deforest the land to create grazing land for their cattle.

My say ?... check out http://crazeefit.blogspot.com/

http://vegetarian.bhanot.net/

Vegan vs Vegetarian

With all new interests comes new knowledge. I hope you, my readers will take the time to inform yourselves so that if you have a objection to this way of life, it is an informed opposition!

VEGETARIAN: Vegetarian is a blanket term used to describe a person who does not consume meat, poultry, fish, or seafood. This grouping includes vegans and the various sub- categories of vegetarian; however, it generally implies someone who has less dietary restrictions than a vegan.

SEMI-VEGETARIAN: The term semi-vegetarian is usually used to describe someone who is a vegetarian who consumes dairy products, eggs, chicken, and fish, but does not consume other animal flesh.

OVO-LACTO-VEGETARIAN: Ovo-lacto vegetarians are vegetarians who do not consume meat, poultry, fish, and seafood, but do consume eggs and milk. This is the largest group of vegetarians.

OVO-VEGETARIAN: Ovo-vegetarian is a term used to describe someone who would be a vegan if they did not consume eggs.

LACTO-VEGETARIAN: Lacto-vegetarian is a term used to describe someone who would be a vegan if they did not consume milk.

VEGAN: Vegan is the strictest sub-category of vegetarians. Vegans do not consume any animal products or by-products. Some go as far as not even consuming honey and yeast. Others do not wear any clothing made from animal products.

Ratatouille Spaghetti (my way.. :))

FOR VEGANS : You have a choice of veggie such as eggplant, lightly steamed pumpkin, boiled potatoes, corn kernels, peas.

1. Boil a large pot of water & cook a bunch of spaghetti until al dente (just cooked, still stiff to the bite), stirring occasionally. You can drain it out or turn off the fire & leave it to soak, if you prefer it softer. I find soaking is better for this recipe.

2. Cut one long purple eggplant (terung, aubergine) into 2cm rounds approx. with skin & put into a pot or wok. Drizzle with olive oil & let it coat & seep into the eggplant slices. Switch on the burner & lightly pan fry both sides until almost cooked. If you want spicy, add a few dried chillies & saute until dry or crispy.

FOR NON-VEGANS : Throw in some prawns or squid rounds at this point. Don't put too much seasoning or salt as seafood may will produce a salty gravy.

3. Add in 1 coarsely chopped red, large onion & fry till soft. Throw in 1 chopped tomato, 5 cm of thinly sliced celery and stir fry. Add a tablespoon of tomato paste/puree, if you have. If not, add more tomatoes! Sprinkle some sugar (whenever you have tomato - Chef Wan's tip).

If you want more flavour, sprinkle some mushroom seasoning powder (get it from vegetarian grocery shop). If you have an orange (especially the horribly sour ones), peel & chop into cubes and add in for a tangy flavour.

4. When cooked pour in the drained spaghetti and toss. For flavour, you can drizzle some light soya sauce (or Japanese shoyu - the citrus type is good) or sprinkle fine salt & lots of freshly ground pepper. Turn off the flame if it dries too quickly. Pour a little of the spaghetti water to make it moist & a bit sticky. Easier for the sauce/flavour to stick to the spaghetti (Tip from Jaimie Oliver, the Naked Chef) .

FOR NON-VEGANS : You can stir in a dollop of butter or dash of your favourite cheese.

5. Serve on a bed of yau mak (baby romaine or any salad leaves). Top with coarsely chopped coriander leaves.

Vegetarian Food Pyramid

Vegetarian Food Pyramid

* Fats, oils, sugar & salt : Use sparingly. Use fats or oils low in saturated, or hydrogenated fat, or Trans-fats.

* Milk, Yogurt Cheese : 2-3 servings daily
- 1 cup milk;- 1 cup/8 ounces yogurt;- 1.5 ounces natural cheese;- 2 ounces processed cheese.-

*Dry Beans, Nuts, Seeds, Eggs and Meat Substitutes : 2-3 servings daily
- soy milk 1 cup;- cooked dry beans or peas, 1/2 cup;- 1 egg or 2 egg whites;- nuts/seeds 2 Tbsp;- tofu or tempeh - 1/4 cup;- peanut butter - 2 Tbsp.

*Vegetables : 3-5 servings daily
- 1/2 cup cooked/raw vegetables;- 1 cup leafy raw vegetables;- 1/2 cup cooked peas/beans/legumes;- 3/4 cup vegetable juice.

*Fruits : 2-4 servings daily
- 1 medium apple, banana, orange;- 1/2 grapefruit;- melon wedge;- 3/4 cup fruit juice;- 1/2 cup chopped fruit;- 1/4 cup dried fruit;

*Breads, grains : 6-11 servings daily
- 1 slice bread;- 1/2 hamburger bun or English muffin;- 1 small roll, muffin, or biscuit;- 5-6 small crackers;- 1/2 cup cooked cereal, rice, pasta, noodles;- 1 ounce ready-to-eat cereal.

CLIMATE CHANGE Initiatives

Trying to find the place...

RM5 Entrance Ticket (redeemable when making purchases)
Project A - Plant a tree


Project B - Earth Saving Diet

Project C - Recover Ozone Layer (eg. garbage enzyme)
Project D - Green a Desert

And..... Project E - Share a Movie (ie. Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth)

Shop at JustLife bazaar. Pay RM9.90 for a cloth bag to carry your purchases. Return the bag to any of JustLife's outlet and get a complete refund.
(GREAT IDEA !!)


Also available- healthy & delicious organic by various outlets. I had the tofu pouch from Green Meadows, RM5.00 for 2. They have home/office delivery service too! Gonna check it out.... its at SS2, PJ.

Pledging to be a Vegetarist (vegan activist)

I hardly ate vegetables (except cucumbers in the nasi lemak & preserved kiam chye) throughout my growing-up years, preferring to gorge on all parts of the chicken, lamb, beef, pork (even the brains which was considered a delicacy), wild boar, pigeon and even hare (rabbit)!

Eating has always been an adventure in my family. We would return from our trips across the border (ie. Singapore) with packets of frozen foodstuff & cans of exotic-sounding food and started opening it up to see what was inside. As Singapore is very cosmopolitan, we get all kinds of food.

I also ate all kinds of fish, abalones (when it was still affordable), top-shell, lobster, crabs, shellfish of all shapes & sizes, squid, sea cucumber, jelly fish and yes, shark's fin!

When I turned twenty one, I was working & eating out. I began to appreciate stir-fried veggie Chinese style, then progressed to the Malay ulam (raw vegetables from the villages) & salads from the buffet line. But meat has remained my main favourite.

Along the way, I have many times attempted to go vegan but meat addiction was strong & I lack the resolve. There was much mis-understanding about vegans, or vegetarians. To make matters more complicated, in Chinese vegetarian cooking, they do not use garlic or onion but have mock meat, colouring, taste enhancers & lots of oil to make it tasty & appetising!

When I began my fitness training two years ago, I made a resolve to not eat large animals, ie. beef & lamb (but I was still attached to pork) and I have so far been able to stick to it (except a few times when I did not realise the soup or gravy was beef-based until latter).

For the past month, I have cut out chicken & pork. But it was not easy, not because of my addiction to it, but difficulty in finding vegetarian food that's not laden with saturated oil! I alternated between Indian Brahmin vegetarian & Malay fish/seafood/ulam & Chinese vegetarian & home made salads. It was an up-hill struggle trying to find healthy vegetarian food.

An accidental turn at the Taman Tun (Jln Burhanuddin Helmi) junction one day took my gym friend & I to an organic health food restaurant cum grocer called Eco Green for breakfast. And at the counter, I picked up the Climate Change initiative, an event organised by Justlife organic food shop at Stadium Putra in Bukit Jalil on Aug 9 & 10.

And this is where I learned the benefits & more importantly the DIRE EFFECTS of meat eating to the environment! I was never a fan of organic food. And as usual, with ignorance one usually makes wrong evaluations. Before we putdown a movement as pure sensationalism or commercialism, we should find out more information about it...

Red Banana Muffins (no refined sugar added)

At last, after experimenting with different combinations of ingredients & in different amounts(sometimes edible, sometimes good enough only as paperweight, ha ha...), I finally found a combination I like. Hope you like it too and try it out!

The aim of my 'experiment' was to make muffins with NO refined sugar or artificial flavour added. The sweetness & flavour would have to come from natural sources. I chose to use the red (Jamaican) bananas as it has a strong, distinct taste and suitable for cooking.

Sweetness comes from the ripe banana and lots of raisins. I was surprised to find that many teenagers don't like black raisins. They say that it reminds them of cockcroach droppings! So, I would suggest using golden raisins (not so sweet, though) or other dried fruits. However, I suspect tropical dried fruits like mango, pineapple, Chinese plums, guava, winter melon, etc. are all candied (ie. processed/coated/dried with sugar & other artificial additives & colouring). So, choose wisely!

If you don't have bananas, you could substitute with peeled, chopped yellow apples (NZ Golden Delicious).

This time, I used chapatti (atta) flour instead of imported wholemeal flour because it's easier to find at supermarkets, finer texture and more economical, mixed with an equal portion of plain white flour. For added fiber & nutrition, I added organic hulled millet & organic omega mix (raw sunflower kernels, pumpkin seeds, flax seed & sesame seed) from the health stores.

RED BANANA MUFFINS
1 cup plain flour
1 cup chapatti (atta/wholemeal) flour
2 tablespoon millet
2 tablespoon Omega mix (raw seeds)
1 teaspoon double action baking soda
100gm raisins (black or golden)

Mix the above dry ingredients in a large bowl by hand. Switch on the oven.

50g butter or equivalent dairy spread
2 small eggs lightly beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large red ripe banana, mashed with a fork
some plain boiled water

If your butter is cold, place it into the flour mixture & use a large spoon to cut it into smaller pieces and mash it while combining with the flour. It will be easier if the butter is soft. That's why, whenever I decide to do baking, the first thing I take out of the fridge is the butter & eggs (to leave at room temperature). Then only would I start looking for suitable recipes & assemble my tools & ingredients.

When the mixture is evenly combined, add the eggs a little at a time, constantly stirring & blending. Add the mashed bananas next and olive oil. Mix until you get the right consistency.

What type of consistency? Not too hard but not too watery. Scoop a large tablespoon and tilt the spoon. If it glides slowly down, its ok!. If it drips down too easily (too much banana or egg), add a little flour or millet/seeds. If it still sticks to the spoon and look lumpy, add some milk or water bit by bit. Mix evenly using the 'folding' method, ie. Stir the mixture with your spoon in a wide circle (either clockwise/anti-clockwise) twisting the spoon slightly to turn over the mixture. When you reach the start of your circle, draw down your spoon horizontally and repeat the who action until it's blended well. You could also imagine making a large figure '8' in the mixture. But don't over mix or else you will deflate your muffin!

Sccop a table spoon of the mixture into paper cups. Use plain white /unbleached ones, not the fancy coloured or golds/silver on the outside & white inside. Sometime ago, I did that and the colour leached into the muffin (eek!) and gold/silver turned an odd shade!

It should fill only half or 3/4 of the cup. Top each muffin with a sprinkle of seeds and bake in a heated oven for 25-30 mins of until the top is slightly brown & seeds are lightly toasted (must switch on the oven earlier so that it is the correct temperature, before you put in the muffin)

Makes 12. Needs one large bowl, one spoon, one 6-pc muffin tray, one cup for measurement.

Have fun trying it!
Do let me know your variations to my recipe, if any!

Any healthy recipes to share??

Vuelve La Vida - "Back to Life" recipe

Venezuelan Week is in Malaysia (3rd time)!

Organised by the Venezuelan Embassy, it encompasses culture, dance, rituals & FOOD!

Ah! - if you want to try authentic Venezuelan cuisine, check out the Eastin Hotel where Chef Edgar Leal (celebrity chef from Cacao Restaurant, South Florida) & wife Mariana (pastries chef) will whip up sumptuous dishes during the promotion week.

They were on the Breakfast Show @NTV 7 (Malaysian local terrestrial channel) to share a popular appetiser (sold around the beaches) aptly called:


Back to Life - Vuelve LaVida (hope I got the spelling right)!
http://www.ntv7.com.my/Shows/Episodes.aspx?MasterID=4&ShowID=2&MenuID=2&TemplateID=1&SubMenuID=1&VideoID=9757&EpID=9068#anchorVid

Boil the seafood for 2 min in salted water:
100g Shrimps
100g Mussel
100g Scallop
100g Squid /calamari

Drain the seafood & mix in a bowl together with:
a few stalks of Cilantro - chopped
1 big onion - julienne
1 big red pepper - julienne (cut into thin strips)
2 tbsp scallion/spring onion - chopped
4 cloves garlic - minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
5g black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 cup White vinegar
1 tbsp Worchester sauce
Pinch of salt
Water

Rest the mix in the fridge for 1 day to let the flavours blend.

Serve in cocktail glasses to bring you back to life!!

More about the Venezuelan Week - http://crazeepatches.blogspot.com/

Oranges.. & art

Great way to use orange & pomelo peel?

Wanna see more? http://crazeepatches.blogspot.com/

Red, red, red.... beyond the ordinary!

Ever tried --- Red Bananas ? Also known as Jamaican bananas. I showed many of my friends and everyone thought the inside would be red too! Great for baking & cooking, but I just love to eat it as is, slightly unripe.. Made some banana wholemeal muffins.

Sorry-lah... inside is just like an ordinary banana.

Some banana trivia :

• Did you know that bananas can be peeled & frozen in a plastic bag up to 6 mths!
• Bananas don't grow on trees... check out this site for more info....
  http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Fruits/RedBanana.html
  http://www.dole.eu/Products/FreshFruit/RedBananas/tabid/103/Default.aspx
  

Nutrition : 1 medium banana = 126 g = 110 calories - Low Fat, Sodium-free, Source of fiber and potassium, Source of vitamin C & B6, Cholesterol-free.

What about red oranges ? These are called Blood Oranges, pigmented orange or Moro orange, from the California. The juice is purplish red.. but not very sweet..

Nutrition : 1 medium orange = 154 g = 80 calories

http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Fruits/BloodOrange.html

Next is Red Pears! This is a bit more common. Juicy!

And what about this Red Man ?
Guess what -- it is a knife stand for your collection of knives. Perfect gift for someone who has just been dumped by their ex!!

OR .. Maybe you can send this to someone you HATE! ha..ha.. only joking because you won't be laughing if he turns up dead the next day and YOU WILL be the first suspect!!

Nasi Briyani.. a Malaysian favourite lunch/dinner fare

Nasi Briyani is made from Basmathi (long-grain) rice and a lot of Indian spices, onion and ghee. There are many versions but it is either cooked together with large chicken parts eg. Briyani Gam from Johor; or the savoury rice is cooked separately and served with chicken curry or fried chicken. The dish can be very rich & calorie-laden due to the high content of fat (ghee). To balance the richness of this dish, it is normally served with cucumber-pineapple-onion-green chilli-lime juice salad (Kachumbar) or vegetable acar (pickled cucumber-carrot-onion cooked in chilli paste).

Sam Cheong, a food writer from the Star (local newspaper) was introduced to 'the best briyani in Kuala Lumpur' recently. For the record, here's the extract of the story..

"He (the foodie) emailed me a couple of times, insisting that the best nasi briyani in the city could be found at (Lorong Bandar 13) and wanted to meet up to discuss more about food.


... Lorong Bandar 13 is located off Lebuh Pasar Besar. This is the heart of Kuala Lumpur's financial district and the most distinguishable institutions that you will find here are the moneychangers.

And, it will not be difficult to locate the nasi briyani stalls because they are located off Lebuh Pudu. The first thing you will notice is a fruit stall and then you will quickly recognise the makan places that are neatly lined up in a row.


There are at least a dozen food stalls in this narrow lane that leads to Central Market. I found it amazing that three nasi briyani stalls were squeezed into one location...."

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/6/19/central/21400287&sec=central

Foods from Kelantan

Its late, and I'm tired, but I just got to post this link. It shows all the wonderful food found in Kelantan. It was posted by a retiree who's blog is meant to record the uniqueness of Kelantan and the everchanging landscape of Kota Bharu, its capital for the benefit of his children & his children's children and beyond.

Through his pictures & narration, we get a clearer picture of life in Kelantan, the "Cradle of Malay Crafts". Sadly, to many of us in the western side of Malaysia, the East Coast is quite foreign. I hope to one day, in the near future, visit this unique place!

Enjoy! and be Informed!
http://mohdzawi.blogspot.com/2008/01/foods-of-kelantan-part-1.html

Fish Feel Pain too!

When I was much younger, a group of us went to the jetty to fish. It was my first time. We didn't use any bait (because we, girls were squimish about worms, ee!). We didn't have to. The fishes (especially the little young ones) were gullible enough. All we needed to do was lower the fishing line with a fish hook attached. The young fishes were very inquisitive and would crowd around the hook. All we had to do was wait for one of them to open their mouth and we would jerk the hook up and very often we would hook on to their upper lip and pull this little innocent creature up. They would be jumping (in PAIN ...) and we would be jumping with JOY at our achievement!! A five-footer human, catching a 3-inch fish -- such an accomplishment!!

I tell this story in shame. My only defense is "we were young", "we were having fun", "we didn't know any better"...

DO fishes feel pain? Read ...

http://www.fishinghurts.com/f-salmon.asp?c=1511&gclid=CMfm4uDjoJMCFQM2egodOnR6rA

Japanese Udon (on a budget)

JAPANESE HOME-COOKING - simple & healthier & artistic - a feast for the taste buds & eyes. As I always say, REAL eating should be an experience of all the senses (even if its just lunch in front of the TV!). --- Mindful eating (let's leave this for a latter post)

I am very much inspired by the book-Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat-Delicious slimming and anti-ageing secrets (Naomi Moriyama). It has easy to follow economical recipes, strategies, arguments for Japanese home cooking as opposed to Western-style eating.

Japanese cooking ingredients can be pricey. Just take a glance at the various soy-sauces for sushi, gyoza, soba, udon & shabu-shabu. It's usually above RM10. And what if you use it once only - the rest will be in your pantry until the expiry date! If you look at the ingredients that make up the sauce, they are almost the same, in varying amounts - salt, sugar, soya sauce, mirin & bonito. Noodles are also costly - buckwheat soba, cha soba (even more).. Luckily, demand for Japanese noodles in Malaysia is sustainable, so there is now a factory in JB that produces udon, tofu & fresh soba..etc.

I was at the Jaya Grocer @Jaya33 yesterday and picked up a small packet of fresh udon for RM1.90. So for today's lunch, I cooked up my version of :

UDON in SOUP
1 small pkt fresh udon
3 stalks baby choy sum/sawi (mustard leaves)
1 egg
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
a sprinkle of chilli flakes (from Domino's pizza)

For soup:
3 tablespoon light soy sauce (less salty, the better)
1 tablespoon mirin or Chinese cooking wine (ShaoXing)
1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/2 pkt (3gm pkt) Bonito fish flakes (from Isetan, KLCC)

In a small pot, boil some water. Add udon & cook for a few minutes. Turn off the heat. Use a tong to transfer the noodles on to a soup plate. Turn on the heat again & blanch choy sum. Pour away the water(drain) and arrange vegetables beside the udon.

Use the same pot to simmer the soup ingredients. Adjust to taste. Pour onto the udon. Wash the pot & wipe it dry. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil (not too hot). Add some chopped garlic & fry till slightly brown. Break an egg over it. Keep low heat. Gently break the yolk. Turn over. Cook until egg is just done. Don't over cook. Spoon onto the udon. Sprinkle chilli flakes & remaining packet of bonito flakes.

Easy washing up: 1 pot, 1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, 1 pair of tongs, 1 soup plate.

P.S. You would have noticed that the parts of a Japanese dish are cooked separately, then assembled decoratively in a bowl or plate. This, I believe is the philosophy of Japanese cooking (which may be applied to all forms of cooking). Every ingredient has its importance, has its role to play. By spending time to blanch, fry, boil each ingredient separately, one can reflect on LIFE with its various 'tastes' (happy, sweet, bitter, salty...). We all have to go through it but in the end it comes together to make a delicious 'meal' - a life well lived, well spent! Do not forget the spices, the condiments of life - just a dash of fun, a dash of adventure, a handful of experience, a bunch of optimism & enthutiasm; and a tinge of sadness, to remind us how precious life is!! Be MINDFUL of what you do in life, choose wisely each day, each action you take, each word you speak ... Do not be tempted to throw all the ingredients into the soup and hope for the best!

Sakae Salad

Sakae Sushi is a chain of Japanese restaurants in Klang Valley. Its philosophy, as stated in its menu - to provide good and economical food to its patrons. According to its story, the couple who founded the restaurant are fond of Japanese food but because of its usually high price, his wife used to do mental sums, adding up the bill and had to think carefully not to order beyond her budget. This, of course took much of the enjoyment out of the dining experience.

But don't be mistaken, cheap doesn't mean styrofoam plates and plastic chairs. The restaurant that I visited recently is in Subang Parade (G27A, Grd flr) was trendy and high-tech, with computer monitors and mouse at each table for placing your orders. The waitress that attended to me was young but very efficient and energetic.

Always looking for healthy food choices, I ordered the chawan mushi (steamed egg @ Rm1.90) , sushi (@RM 3.90 per plate) and Sakae Salad (RM8.90).

The Sakae Salad is somewhat like our Chinese Yee Sang. It came with delectable portions of jellyfish, seaweed, finely shredded cabbage and some crispy bits and crunchy bits, topped with 3 rolls of salmon in the center. And served in a beautiful ceramic black speckled bowl. Only the thick lemon sauce is a bit rich. I made the mistake of pouring half of it into the salad before mixing it. The jellyfish was already saucy and only needed a bit of the lemon sauce.

Egg toast cups

Tired of the usual breakfast of eggs on toast? Try this : Trim crust off a slice of wholemeal bread. Butter on the under-side and press it into a muffin pan or small metal bowl. Spoon some cooked spinach and chopped ham onto the bread. Then break a a small egg into it. Sprinkle a bit of chopped onions, ground black pepper and soy sauce and bake in 180 degrees for 20 mins.

Waste not, want not!

A recent article in the papers alerted us to the VERY possible shortage of food in the world -- translating to higher food prices!

Strangely, one of the reasons being the increasing use of 'bio-fuel' as the alternative to petroleum as fuel to run cars, which by itself should be a GOOD THING (to quote Martha Stewart) -- you know, ... more eco-friendly, less dependency on petroleum.. thus reducing world's demand on the limited (less wars, less invasion...) oil resource. But production of 'bio-fuel', an potentially lucrative industry is depriving the world of its much needed food source (oil palm, corn), thus jacking up the price of these staple foods. Many poorer countries may not be able to afford it, unable to feed their population.

IRONICALLY, when one part of the world is worried about food shortage, we (I, specifically, Malaysians, in general) have been worried about over-consumption of food! (getting FAT, OBESE) ... Buffet lines, open houses, wedding dinners, 24-hour eateries, Ramadan (fasting month) spread....

And talking about buffets & hotel dinners : WHAT HAPPENS to un-finished food..?? I ask this every year to the hotel sales reps when organising our company dinner? Can we 'ta-pau' (pack & take home) the leftovers? NO! "We have to throw them away... company policy.. health guidelines...", they say. Anyone who has attended a wedding dinner can attest to the huge amount of food served (it is expected - any less will get complains from the guests) and groom who pays for it will attest to the huge $ tag!!

Although, in all fairness, smaller restaurants will usually arrange for extra food to packed & distributed to guests.

THEN, there are people who simply don't eat leftovers!! Not even if it's the previous meal. They simply throw the un-eaten food after every meal!

AND, what about those picky people who 'play' with their food or just 'dig a hole' in their lunch (eat a bit) and leave the rest on the plate because just because it is not to their liking or it has turned cold.

AND.. those who just cannot refuse FREE (or free-flowing like in a buffet) food... they must pile their plate with everything their 'eye' desires and then abandon it once they are full... Just because they paid for it, they must take as much as possible...