The joy of cookbooks - there always is something about the line of cookbooks on the shelf that make me feel delighted just at the sight of them. No doubt almost everything and anything these days is always just a click away on the internet, but my selection of cookbooks is nonetheless my personal pride still. No, I don't use them that often, and I hardly do flip through them, not even half as much as the time I spent browsing through the endless food blogs all over the internet. But it always is a simple joy to be taking a book or two out every now and then, discover something new that you have not read or seen before - pretty much back to the old school ways to picking things up in the kitchen. Sometimes it can be a page, or occasionally it can simply be a particular line or a photo that miraculously gives you that little spark of inspiration to try something new or re-create something classical that you have long forgotten. And a good thing about cookbooks? They are yours to be kept indefinitely, to be adapted and improved, to be marked and left with some personal scribbles or notes that will stay despite time.
This Pan Fried Tofu with Dark Sweet Soy Sauce is one that came from one of those treasures of mine. Adapted from "the Steamy Kitchen Cookbook by Jaden Hair", this tofu dish always turns out so perfectly just as promised. Simple yet innovative, tasty and simply elegantly presented. Pan fried to perfect crisp and crunch drizzled on with a dark sweet soy sauce specially concocted, this is something extraordinary out of the very ordinary. The only fine-tune I did - I made it a little more spicier.
Korean food and I - they have got to be a love at first try kind of a relationship between us. I have had my heart rooted for them the very first time I had them, and banchan was one of the many others that had captured my heart there and then, what I shall possibly call the best part of a Korean meal now even. I love the concept of having them served in small portions, in an array of varieties enough to fill as good as half of a table for four, and how they are all meant for sharing. I love how each portion despite small never poses a problem because they are replenished as one gets polished off while you are left craving for more still. And I love how they are presented and served just slightly ahead of the main meals to whet your appetite beforehand. The fact that they are made to stay through the meal accompanying the main dishes means you get to savor many different flavors mixing in the mouth at the same time - the beauty of Korean cuisine in my opinion lol. With bits of banchan plus bits of plain rice and bits of whatever main courses you have got your eye and tummy on, the idea may sound and look complex on the whole, a little intimidating even but never too overwhelming. I'm not sure if these are how they are done traditionally, but I really am liking this idea more than alright so long as I can execute enough self control to not over indulge in the banchan line and left with little or no space for the main meals as it goes.
This seasoned soybean sprouts, is just one of the many many selections that I have come to simply adore. Crunchy, a little raw in taste with a tad of nutty flavor, to be liking it could be an acquired thingy for many but one that came rather easy to me. The very first homemade banchan of mine, this is one with genuine simplicity and taste that they make a delectable banchan just like many others and simply keep Korean mealtimes really interesting.
A hectic week pre and post Thanksgiving and we finally caught the festive flu. Made worse with our lack of sleep and constant nose blowing, they surely did wear us down challenging our immune system further. And with my appetite plunging low getting super fussy, there really was not much that my aching throat could tolerate and approve. This ABC soup has always been the only thing that I have never said no to in my life - my all-time comfort food it sure is. It had been this soup that I had happily had through all those times when I got under the weather growing up and especially when I was on those orders for soft diet post all the teeth extraction nightmares in life. Gentle on the stomach and needing negligible effort to chew, it is amazing how they can be so tasty and still packed with all the essentials to sustain the good and reverse the bad. Packed with carrots, tomatoes, onions and potatoes and a little extra protein, their health benefits derive from the antioxidants, minerals, dietary fiber and particularly the provitamin A, vitamin B and of course whatever amount of vitamin C that is left still after the long hours of simmering. A soup so aptly named!
There probably is not a golden rule as to how this should be made. There can be no limit to the types of ingredients to be included and how much of each to be used. This is the version that I have grown up getting to know and love, and so this is how it shall always be to me personally with carrots > potatoes > onions > tomatoes quantity-wise. As with all the other homemade soups, I always have the cooking started early in the day and leave them simmering gently away until dinner time. Tailor the amount of ingredients to how much soup you wish to make. Essentially it will be good as long as the composition remains the same as aforementioned. ABC soup is one of the few that I always make sure that I make more than enough for our main meals and a sip or two in between meals for a day or two and probably even three. And I better not forget mentioning that this is just the perfect fit to keep you hydrated as you battle through - nutritious and tasty, hearty and healthy.
Another weekend with not a particular craving in mind, just anything simple sounds and looks good enough to us as hubby and I are still coping with the overwhelming Thanksgiving dinner. Not keen on neither dining out nor getting myself busy in the kitchen as the weekend approaches its end, I resorted to what most students (despite me being a long gone one *blush*) turn to for an easy meal - instant noodles. My favorite version will be the Maggi mee goreng mamak (fried Maggi noodle à la mamak style) that I particularly loved having at mamak stalls in Malaysia. To catch sight of a packet of those curry flavored Maggi noodles is close to being impossible here where we live, but we have the Indomie instant noodle in abundance here instead. So different brand, different packaging, different taste but same cooking principles - they are basically the instant noodles stir fried using the noodles within the packet.
The Indomie instant noodles come in packages meant to be served as plain fried noodles - simply have them boiled and mixed with the seasonings and voilà - fried noodles delivered as instantly as promised. But while I am all leaning towards an easy night, I am still all in to make our dinner a proper wholesome meal still, or a rather balanced one at least. So with a little extra touch here and there, giving the final appearance a little color and extra flavor, you get a slightly more elaborated version of fried noodles that may leave your guests (in my case my hubby that is lol) not grasping even a trace of anything close to an instant quality after all.
