Teriyaki Meatballs & Rice Bowl

Teriyaki Meatballs and
Rice Bowl

Dinner tonight was truly amazing, even if I say so myself, which was evidenced by how clean GrandBoy#1's dishes were after he was done eating! Use your favourite meatball recipe or buy ready-made ones, either way works because the magic is in the teriyaki and hoisin dipping sauces.

A Kids' Favourite

The meatballs are cooked in and coated with teriyaki sauce and we used the hoisin dipping sauce for the vegetables and rice. An alternative would be to take a portion of a meatball, some vegetables and rice and roll all that in a lettuce leaf and then dip into the hoisin dipping sauce. I'm so thrilled to be able to offer the GrandBoys yet another dinner option!

Tilapia Maacher Tel Jhol - Tilapia in Mustard Oil Gravy

This is a delectable way of preparing fish when you're craving a tasty fish dish to have with hot, fragrant Basmati rice. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare on the stove top and is finger-licking good! To save time on the days I cook, when fish arrives home on marketing day, they are cut into serving size pieces, rubbed with salt and turmeric powder and stored in Ziploc bags, ready to slide into a skillet on demand.

The gravy is so simple to assemble that the resulting goodness at the end is a pleasurable surprise.  It's perfect for those busy days when the choice between going out to eat or enjoying a hot rice bowl with fish at home is a no-brainer! And it uses only 5 ingredients if spices are omitted.

Dilled Tilapia

Dilled Tilapia

The tilapia fillets that were defrosted today were too thin to withstand a gravy, so they were chopped into little cubes and quickly stir-fried with potatoes. Dried dill weed is not often used in my kitchen, but was a great substitute for cilantro which I did not have. This stir-fry was quick & easy to prepare and tasted quite awesome.

Butter Chicken Masala - Murgh Makhani

Today's chicken dish was fast and easy. One and a half pounds of boneless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces were browned and simmered in a ready-to-cook butter sauce by Taste of India. 

I'm amazed at the quality of the product. This Butter Chicken tasted better than anything I've tasted at Indian restaurants around here.

Oatmeal Pancakes

Oatmeal Pancakes

Craving something wholesome and delicious first thing in the morning generally leads me straight to a breakfast loaded with carbohydrates. Oatmeal or porridge, which I love, takes some time and effort to prepare, so here is a low-carb, gluten-free and delicious alternative, for diabetics in particular.

These delicious 5-ingredient oatmeal pancakes go from pantry to table in under 15 minutes and are a cinch to make. Using a package of instant oatmeal flavoured with maple syrup and brown sugar (the box stated 50% less sugar than the regular) eliminates the need to add sugar to the batter. Top the pancakes any which way - with more maple syrup or fruit compote and/or nuts. I simply sprinkled pumpkin pie spice over my pancakes and paired them with a couple of veggie sausage patties. 

Savoury Oatmeal Pancakes

I've made savoury oatmeal pancakes before and those were delicious too. 

Shrimp Laksa Noodle Bowl

Shrimp Laksa Noodle Soup

A new discovery at the Asian market produced the most fiery and delicious shrimp Laksa noodle bowl for lunch this afternoon. Curry Laksa is a Malaysian coconut curry soup with noodles which reminded me of the Burmese Oh Noh Khao Swe which is a coconut noodle soup made with chicken. I added shrimp to this Laksa. Another variation of this soup is my Laksa Soup with Minced Chicken.

Dollee Creamy Curry Laska Noodles

The package of noodles came with the noodle cake, along with 3 small packets containing laksa sauce, coconut powder and seasoning.

Product of Malaysia

It's a Malaysian product that was as easy to prepare as any Ramen noodle soup but ten times more flavourful. Laksa sauce is available in a bottle at the Asian market, so if this noodle packet is difficult to find, you could substitute your own ingredients to mimic this flavour. Here is a great step-by-step recipe.

In the Bowl

I added already peeled and deveined shrimp, chicken broth, julienned carrots, minced shallot, Thai red chili and diced tomatoes. A couple of hours after having a bowl of this soup, my ears are still burning pleasantly. Hubby said to warn you that even though it's delicious, it's fiery hot!

Ingredients: (serves 2)

1 pkg. Dollee Creamy Curry Laksa Noodles

12 large (31-40 count) shrimp, peeled & deveined

1 cup carrots, peeled & julienned

1 medium tomato, diced

1 shallot, minced

1 Tbsp sesame oil

4 cups chicken broth

1 Thai red chili, diced (optional)

Directions:

1. Marinate the shrimp in half the laksa sauce, shallots, sesame oil and tomatoes for 10 minutes.
2. Bring remaining ingredients to a boil and cook noodles until soft for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add shrimp to noodles, stir well and simmer for another 2 minutes until shrimp turn pink.
4. Divide between 2 soup bowls and serve immediately.

Singapore Vermicelli Noodles

Singapore Vermicelli Noodles

This is one of my favourite dishes to order in a Chinese restaurant. It's usually made with very thin rice noodles (Mei Fun) but I decided to use toasted, golden-brown vermicelli (Sevai/Semiya) instead.

Toasted Vermicelli

Toasted vermicelli is available at Indian markets and I like using the toasted variety to save having to toast it at home. The untoasted variety tends to turn to mush when cooked in water.

 The main ingredient in Singapore noodles is curry powder & I prefer S&B brand because it is high in taste, flavour and aroma, but low in spicy heat. To beat the overpowering raw taste of curry powder, it's a good idea to boil it in chicken broth or water and to soak the vermicelli in this liquid. That way, the taste of the curry powder permeates throughout the pasta.

This is a one-dish meal that can be made in under 15 minutes and is a great lunch idea.

Ingredients:

1 cup toasted vermicelli

8 oz. cooked shelled shrimp, shredded chicken or tofu for vegetarians

2 cups chicken/vegetable broth or water

1 heaping tsp. curry powder

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 large onion, sliced

1 + 1 green chilies, diced

multi-coloured sweet peppers, cut in half lengthwise and sliced

1 carrot, julienned

1 beefsteak tomato, diced
1 cup mung bean sprouts, tails removed

Directions:

1. Simmer curry powder in broth for 3 minutes and remove from heat.
2. Soak vermicelli in this liquid until water is absorbed doubles in volume. 
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and saute garlic and 1 green chili.
4. Add onions, peppers, carrots and tomatoes.
5. Toss with salt to taste and saute for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add vermicelli, along with soaking liquid, shrimp and adjust salt to taste.
7. Turn heat down to medium, stir, cover skillet and simmer until liquid evaporates and vermicelli is cooked.
8. Add bean sprouts and toss.
9. Garnish with remaining diced chilies and serve immediately.