Shakshuka

Weekend Brunch

- Shakshuka

Sautéed Pacific Saury in Butter

Monday Dinner

- Sautéed Pacific Saury in Butter

- Okara salad

- Chawanmushi (Steamed Savoury Egg Custard)

Hubby gets really excited when the dinner is fish even though there are bones to go through.  He is much better at eating a whole fish than I am.  I just sautéed gutted and salted pacific sauries in butter.  Very simple and tastes great.  You will need chopsticks for this.  I can't imagine eating a whole fish with a knife and fork.

For the sides, I made Okara salad by mixing Okara (soy pulp), tin tuna, onion, corn, red capsicum, celery, olives and seasoned with 4Tbsp mayo, 2Tbsp yoghurt, 1Tbsp wholegrain mustard, 1tsp soy sauce.  It is like a low-carb version of a potato salad, very similar texture and flavour and it is one of the few Okara dishes hubby likes.

Chawanmushi is a steamed savoury egg custard and a typical Japanese appetiser.  It has rich Dashi flavour and it is almost like a soup.  It was much easier to make than I always thought.  No doubt I will be making it more regularly.

Chawanmushi (Steamed Savoury Egg Custard) Recipe (Makes 2)

Ingredients

• 2 Eggs
• 1tsp Mentsuyu or soy sauce
• 300ml Dashi stock
• pinch of salt
• 2 dried Shiitake mushrooms, soaked in Dashi, sliced

Method

1. Whisk eggs in a bowl, add Mentsuyu, Dashi stock and salt, Mix well
2. Divide reconstituted and sliced Shiitake mushrooms into 2 small heat resistant cups
3. Pour egg mixture to the cups passing through a tea strainer
4. Steam for 10mins (reduce heat to simmer when water is boiling)

Tips

• Add a bite-size prawns, chicken or fish cake/ball
• No need for a steamer, just steam in a pot with 2-3cm hot water

Pulled Beef & Tofu Open Omelet

Thursday Dinner

- Pulled Beef and Tofu Open Omelet

There are reasons why I like pulled beef/pork and cook them regularly.  It is easy to make, just throw in a pressure cooker.  It is versatile, I can use leftover to create other dishes in the following days.   And it is low-carb, I know Hubby or I won't gain weight from this.  Pulled pork/beef matche my motto for cooking perfectly, that is why I cook them often.

I would call this dish "Tamagotoji" in Japanese but in English, i guess it would be an open omelet or a frittata.  Start by adding Tofu, eggplant and leftover pulled beef in a shallow casserole or a frypan.  Cook until the eggplant is soft with a lid on.  When the eggplant is cooked, add whisked eggs and put the lid back on.  Cook on low heat until the eggs are set to your liking.  Sprinkle spring onions if you have it.

Yes, it is the third consecutive days of pulled beef but I didn't feel that way.

Moroccan Meatball Tagine

Tuesday Dinner

- Moroccan Meatball Tagine

- Leftover Salad

Although I love claypots, I will never want to own a tagine because it takes up too much space in the kitchen.  I can still make exotic tagine dishes in a shallow casserole, Japanese claypots (Donabe) or even in a frypan as I did last night.

This dish is simply beef meatballs cooked in spiced tomato sauce with poached eggs and I loved the moist meatballs.  I used frozen meatballs from last week when I made scotch eggs.  The seasonings I used for tomato sauce were lemon zest, cinnamon, black olives, paprika, cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper.  

I prefer cooking beef meatballs in a sauce since it tends to be dry when cooked.  I added cooked chickpeas for extra protein as well as to thicken the sauce.  This dish would be great for weekend breakfast or brunch as well.  I suspect other proteins such as chorizo, sausages, bacon would go just as well.

Source:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1898649/moroccan-meatball-tagine-with-lemon-and-olives

Beef Scotch Eggs

Wednesday Dinner

- Scotch Eggs
- Tofu Salad

I made scotch eggs with minced beef and Okara.  Although the mince mixture was dry and some cracked, I liked the idea of the dish.  Full of protein, another mince recipe and can be eaten cold.  I will make it again, maybe with pork mince.  Seasoned beef mince with cumin, coriander, mint, smoked paprika.  It would be quicker if you made boiled eggs in advance.

Tofu Omelet

Weekend Brunch

- Tofu Omelet

I had leftover homemade Tofu in fridge this weekend which is unusual.  I usually finish eating my homemade Tofu before Friday.  

I know some people think soy products are dangerous and avoid completely.  I hear even some Japanese people avoid "unfermented" soy products.  I haven't read enough to give up on Tofu yet but will look into it.  

I made weekend omelet by mixing homemade Tofu, eggs, milk, salt and pepper, fish powder, ham, finely chopped broccoli and mushrooms.

I love crunchy broccoli in omelet.  It was nice but would have been better with fresh tomato and olives as well. 

Pulled Beef and Tofu Open Omelet

Tuesday Dinner

- Pulled Beef and Tofu Open Omelet

- Zucchini Salad with Pesto

- Japanese-style Chicken Liver with Crackers

What to do with leftover pulled beef?  I usually cook with Tofu to stretch it.   I can make 3-4 servings with just 1-2 servings of meat.  I made super easy open omelet this time.  I had zucchini salad in fridge so I didn't even use a knife last night.  Dinner in 15mins! That's the stuff I like.  For zucchini salad, I just mixed sliced zucchini with pesto and lemon juice.

Open Omelet with Pulled Beef and Tofu Recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 1~2 servings of leftover pulled beef or any other protein
• 300g Tofu
• 4 eggs
• Soy sauce to taste

Method

1. Heat leftover pulled beef and tofu (scoop large pieces using a spoon) in a fry pan
2. Once bubbling, add beaten eggs then put the lid on
3. Reduce heat and cook till the eggs are set
4. Add a dash of soy sauce or other condiments to taste

Japanese-style Chicken Liver Recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 250g Chicken liver
• 2Tbsp Soy sauce
• 10g Ginger
• 5g Honey
• 1 small onion, sliced

Method

1. Cut liver into bite-size pieces. Remove white fat.
2. Rinse liver pieces under running water until the water comes out clean
3. Boil liver pieces for 1min
4. Rinse with cold water
5. Heat soy sauce, ginger and honey in a small pan
6. Add prepared liver pieces and place onions on top
7. Cook covered until all the liquid in the pan is reduced