Baked Chicken with Daikon Salad

Tuesday Dinner

- Baked Drumsticks
- Daikon Salad

Lamb Heart Skewers and Zucchini Boats

Thursday Dinner

- Lamb Heart Skewers
- Zucchini Boats
- Chinese Cabbage Salad

Have you ever had lamb heart?  It's not as gross as you think.  It is definitely less smelly than other organs such as kidney or liver.  It has very little fat and the texture is chewy when cooked.  For the prep, I rinsed the heart and removed the visible white fat, cut into a bite size pieces then soaked in water for about 5mins.  You can soak in water overnight if you want.  Drained well and marinated with two different flavours, one with Harissa and the other with salt, garlic powder and sesame oil.  Thread onto skewers and cook on a grill pan.

I always cook skewers on a sheet of aluminium foil for a easy cleaning.  It's worth it even if you don't believe in the disposable, non-biodegradable stuff.  No one likes scrubbing a hot and heavy cast iron griddle that doesn't fit in a sink for hours.

For the side dish, I made zucchini boats with a tin tuna.  This might be the ultimate entree for a dinner party because it is easy, you can prep in advance and when the time comes, all you need is to put them in the oven.  I used onion, carrot, red capsicum, 90g tuna for the filling but can be substituted with shredded chicken, pulled pork/beef or minced meat with any other veggies you have in hand.  This can also be stuffed in tomatoes, capsicums or mushrooms.   Just top with cheese and cook in the oven for 10mins.  I used bocconcini this time.

The salad is made with Chinese cabbage, crumbled Tofu, Nori seaweed, dried bonito flakes and Shiso Dressing.

Lemon Ginger Chicken

Monday Dinner

- Lemon Ginger Chicken Drumsticks

- Pumpkin and Green Beans

- Egg Salad

Do you like ginger? and where do you keep your ginger?  I love ginger very much and I keep grated ginger in a flat ziplock bag in freezer at all times.  The grating process is done in Vitamix.  My mum keeps ginger in Japanese spirits (Sho-chu).  I would never waste Sho-chu for that.

I am still not excited about eating meat but I had drumsticks in the fridge that needed to be eaten so marinated with lemon zest, grated ginger, lemon juice, salt and pepper then grilled in the 180˚C oven for 30mins.  Whenever I can, I try to cook something else on the bottom rack while the oven is on.

Roast veggies or nuts, bake bread, cookies, cakes or granola are all great use of the oven heat.  Yesterday, I roasted pumpkin, apple and green beans.  Simply roasted apple pieces turned out to be a wonderfully sweet and tart apple jam.  I love having this simple apple sauce with yoghurt in the morning.  No added sweetener is the way I like it.

Salmon Cakes with Creamy Dill Sauce

Thursday Dinner

- Salmon Cakes

- Steamed Green Beans

- Tofu Salad with Sesame Dressing

Seafood dinner for two days in a row!  I still don't feel like eating meat so made salmon fish cakes last night.  I drained 400g tin salmon and mixed with finely chopped (in Vitamix) onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms.  Seasoned with Miso, dijon mustard, dill, lemon zest, salt and pepper.  Shaped into round cakes then baked in 180˚C oven for 20-30mins.  Added green beans in the last 5mins.  

I always loved vegetables even when I was a little kid.  I think veggies have amazing flavours as it is.  All you need is a bit of love and care and to remember not to overcook it.  The green beans were so sweet and crunchy and juicy.  They would be a great snack and with dips.

For creamy dill sauce, I mixed sour cream, lemon juice, chopped capers and gherkin, dill, salt and pepper.  Salmon cakes were well seasoned so didn't really need the sauce tough.

Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken

Sunday Dinner

- Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken

- Lettuce Cups with Smoked Salmon Dip

- Carrot salad

- Braised Kale with Deep-Fried Tofu

Marinated drumsticks with whole-grain mustard, honey, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Cooked in 180˚C oven for 30~40mins.

I made a smoked salmon dip in Vitamix by blending 200g smoked salmon, 120g sour cream, 70g onion, 1tsp dijon mustard, 1Tbsp white wine vinegar, 1Tbsp caper and pepper.  Blend on low speed to leave some chunks.  Freeze leftover.  This dip would be a great entree for guests with veggie sticks or biscuits.  Husband loved it.

Carrot salad is something I make when I don't have any other salad vegetables.  I usually julienne them using a slicer but I will try grating next time.  It might be easier to eat.  Seasoned with salt, pepper, white wine vinegar, and cumin.  Added small amount of raisins and walnuts.

BBQ Pork Ribs

Wednesday Dinner

- BBQ Pork Ribs

- Corn &Tomato Salad

- Turnip & Carrot Slaw

- Tofu with Chunky Chilli Oil

On my weekly grocery shopping, I asked for 500g of pork ribs at a butcher and this is what I got.  I wasn't paying attention and was surprised to find 800g of it when I got home.

I was going to marinate with American style sticky BBQ sauce and freeze it for camping next week but since the cut wasn't what I wanted, I decided to cook for dinner this week.

I made BBQ sauce by blending onion, oyster sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, pineapple juice in Vitamix.  It was bit watery since I didn't have tomato sauce but tasted okay.  Cooked marinated pork ribs in 180˚C oven for 40mins.  Pork is ready when internal temperature reaches 70˚C.

The fatty parts were chewy so this cut maybe better to be braised in a pressure cooker.

Tandoori Chicken

Monday Dinner

- Tandoori Chicken

- Salad

I don't usually buy chicken wings since it is bony with not much meat and bit awkward to eat but supermarket didn't have drumsticks so this is what we eat this week.

Marinate the wings with yoghurt, garam masala, cayenne pepper, turmeric, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, lemon juice, salt and pepper for up to 24hrs.  Cook in the 180˚C oven for 30~45mins.

Grill cauliflower and carrot with the wings and make a salad then dinner is ready.

Throw them in the oven recipes are my favourite!

Homemade Shiso Dressing

Thursday Dinner

- Leftover Pulled Pork

- Tofu Marinated with Red Sauce

- Salad with Shiso Dressing

Shiso (Perilla) is definitely in Top 3 favourite herbs of mine.  Green Shiso is very common in Japanese cooking so I always thought it was a Japanese herb but I have heard Vietnamese use it too.  Thanks to Asian farmers in Sydney, I can buy red Shiso at my local market!

I always missed Shiso ever since I moved to Australia because of its distinct flavour which cannot to be substituted by anything else.  It is difficult to describe the flavour of Shiso for me since I only know it as Shiso but I guess it is somewhat citrusy and herby.  Definitely neither cinnamon nor coriander.  Most likely nothing you have tasted before if you haven't already.

I made a dressing using red Shiso leaves.  I didn't write it down the recipe but I used 20g red Shiso leaves, 70g onion, 70g apple, 1 package of dried bonito flakes(5g), soy sauce and vinegar.  I like to make Shiso dressing without any oil.  The dressing was really thick but dressed lettuce beautifully and I liked that way.  Husband liked it, too.  I will definitely make it again.

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.

Chinese Style Pulled Pork

Tuesday Dinner

- Chinese Style Pulled Pork

- Lettuce Salad

- Sauerkraut

Pulled pork is the latest addition to my "go-to" recipes.  It is quick, easy and versatile.  It will take any flavours and this time, I made it Chinese style.

I don't have a recipe because I just used the broth in freezer from the last time I made Chinese style braised pork.  I usually use soy sauce, white wine, ginger, celery leaf, spring onion (green parts), onion, star anise for Chinese style pork.

Just throw 1kg of pork shoulder and flavour of your choice + enough liquid (e.g. water) to cover at least half of the meat and cook for 30mins after pressurised.  Reduce heat to low after completely pressurised.

Once depressurised naturally, remove the meat and shred using 2 forks.  Reduce the liquid in the pressure cooker and pour over the shredded meat.  I cooked Shimeji(pearl) mushrooms and eggplant in the liquid while being reduced.

Served with lettuce, tomatoes, carrot and sauerkraut.  Since the pork isn't too salty, it goes well with sauerkraut.  Wrap it with lettuce or have it as salad, whatever you desire.

Negi-shio Chicken Drumsticks

Wednesday Dinner

- Negi-shio Chicken Drumsticks

- Tofu Salad

Chicken drumsticks are staple at my house.  It is cheap, versatile and juicier and tastes much better than more expensive breast.

I usually buy 2kg and cook half of it straight away and marinate and freeze the other half.  It is another "go-to" meal when I don't wanna cook or don't have time (which are most of the time).  Just throw in the 200˚C oven for 20~40mins depending on the size of your drumsticks.

Negi-shio is a Japanese sauce made with spring onion, salt, garlic and sesame oil (recipe below).  It will go with any protein but commonly matched with chicken, ox tongue or pork.

Since the sauce was chunky, I stuffed negi-shio sauce in between the skin and the flesh of drumsticks and this made the chicken really moist and flavourful.  It really worked well and I will be doing the same for any marinade for drumsticks from now on.


Negi-shio Sauce Recipe

2 Spring onions (white and green parts), finely chopped
1 Garlic, grated
1tsp Salt
1Tbsp Sesame oil
Juice of 1 Lemon
1Tbsp White sesame seed, toasted
a pinch of Pepper

Tofu Salad with Tahini Dressing

Wednesday Dinner

- Tofu Salad
- BBQ

I made Tofu salad to take to a BBQ last night.  The salad is made with leafy green salad mix, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, shredded carrot and Tofu.  Tofu and sesame seeds go well together so I made Tahini dressing by whisking together tahini, Mentsuyu, honey and vinegar.

Mentsuyu is a soy sauce based condiment with tons of umami and this flavour is what makes Japanese food.  It is very common in home cooking and can be used for a noodle soup base, a dipping sauce for tempura, braising fish, meat or veggies, salad dressings etc.  You can find Mentsuyu at any asian grocers or supermarket but I make it because it is so easy to make and tastes better.

Mentsuyu (Makes 650ml)

Ingredients

• 40g Dried Bonito flakes
• 15g Dried Shiitake mushrooms, torn to small pieces by hand
• 10cm square piece Kombu seaweed, torn to small pieces by hand
• 472g Soy sauce
• 400g White wine

Method

1. Add all the ingredients in a pot and stir 
2. Cover and leave for 12~24hrs
3. Simmer until the alcohol is burnt off for about 5mins
4. Strain with a mesh strainer
5. Strain again with a fine mesh tea strainer (optional)
6. Pour through a funnel into a sterilised bottle
7. Store in fridge