Cooking in Pajamas

3 c. Cooked rice* 2-3 tbsp Vegetable oil 2 Stalks of green onions, chopped 2-3 cloves Garlic, minced 4 Eggs 1 c. Carrots, grated 2 c. Mushrooms, cut small 1 tbsp Sesame oil 2-3 tbsp Soya sauce 1.5 c. Chicken, cut into small cubes 1 tbsp Teriyaki marinate sauce (or Soya sauce) 1/2 tbsp Vegetable oil 1 tsp Sugar 1/2 tsp Salt Pepper 1 tsp Sesame oil (optional) * Freshly cooked rice has too much moisture and it is too soggy to fry; therefore, it is best to use leftover rice. If you don't have leftover rice, you can cool freshly cooked rice to room temperature and then place the rice in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a minimum of 1 hour to reduce the moisture. ** You can use any vegetables you like. Frozen vegetable mix works well if you want to save some time (use 1 - 1.5 cup for this recipe). Thaw the vegetables to room temperature before frying. Marinade the chicken with teriyaki sauce, oil, sugar, salt and a little bit of ground pepper. Leave the chicken, covered, in the fridg...

3 c. Cooked rice* 2-3 tbsp Vegetable oil 1 Green onions, chopped 2-3 cloves Garlic, minced 3 Eggs 1/2 Fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks 3/4 c. Vegetables** 1 tbsp Sesame oil 2 tbsp Soya sauce 2 tsp Curry powder 1-2 tsp Thai curry paste * Freshly cooked rice has too much moisture and it is too soggy to fry; therefore, it is best to use leftover rice. If you don't have leftover rice, you can cool freshly cooked rice to room temperature and then place the rice in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a minimum of 1 hour to reduce the moisture. ** You can use any vegetables you like. I used frozen vegetable mix because it was the easiest thing to do and I thaw the vegetables to room temperature. Alternatively, you can chop up fresh vegetables into small pieces (eg. carrots, mushrooms, peppers, etc.), pre-cook them on the frying pan and drain the excess liquid. Drizzle 1 tbsp of oil to the rice and break up the rice into grains with a fork. Set aside. Stir together the soya sauce,...

1 c. Chinese white rice 6 c. Water 1/2 lb. Lean ground beef 1 Salted duck egg Salt & pepper to taste Lettuce, thinly sliced Sauce: 2 Green onion, chopped 3 tbsp Soya sauce (Kikkoman) 1/2 tsp Sesame oil Wash the rice several times with water. Drain out as much water as possible. Refridgerate for a few hours to let the water soak into the rice. It is easiest to pre-soak the rice overnight or in the morning, so that the rice will be ready to cook when you come home from work. In a large pot, boil the water and add the rice. Let it simmer for 30 min on medium heat. The rice should become very soft and fluffy and the liquid is slightly thickened. The consistency of the congee is typically similar to a Western style cream soup, but you can always add or reduce the water to make the congee to your desired consistency. I like my congee with medium consistency (not too watery but not too thick). While the rice is cooking, lightly marinade the ground beef with a little bit of salt or ...

1/2 - 1 c. Homemade spicy peanut sauce 1 c. Egg noodles 1 Carrot, medium size 2 Mushrooms, sliced 1/2 Cauliflower, cut small 1 Cooking onion, sliced 1 Green onion, sliced 1 tbsp Toasted sesame Slice carrots into thin strips using a peeler. Soften all vegetables on a large frying pan. Add water to vegetables to prevent sticking. Prepare the egg noodles as instructed on the package. Once the noodle are cooked, drain the hot water in a colander and rinse with ice cold water. Set aside. Drain the excess liquids from the cooked vegetables. Add peanut sauce to the vegetables and egg noodles. Mix well. Stir in the toasted sesame. Chill for 1 hour before serving. Garnish with toasted sesame and green onion. My comments: I had lots of peanut sauce leftover from the Vietnamese Spring Wrap and I remember once upon a time, I ate a cold noodle served with peanut sauce that I really liked. I couldn't remember exactly what was in the dish, so I sort of made up my own recipe and it turned out pre...

3/4 c. Homemade teriyaki marinade 1 c. Egg noodles 2 Mushrooms, sliced 1/2 Cauliflower, cut small 1 Cooking onion, sliced 1 Green onion, sliced 1 Red hot chilli pepper, small, minced 1 tbsp Toasted sesame 1 Grilled chicken breast, skinless and boneless, sliced [Vegetarian option: Omit the chicken or replace it with firm tofu.]1 Carrot, medium size Cook the chicken breast on a BBQ (or frying pan), sliced and set aside. [Firm tofu can be pan fried with a little bit of olive oil and teriyaki marinade.] Slice carrots into thin strips using a peeler. Soften all vegetables, except for the green onion, on a large frying pan. Add water to vegetables to prevent sticking. Cook the egg noodles as instructed on the package. Add the noodles, chicken (or tofu), green onion and toasted sesame to the vegetables and stir-fry for a few minutes. Pour in the teriyaki marinade, stir well and cook for 5 minute. Garnish with toasted sesame and green onion. My comments: My husband loved these teriyaki noodles...

Teriyaki marinade 1 lb. Striploin steak, sliced thin and long 2 Carrots, medium size, julienned 1/2 English cucumber, julienned Vermicelli noodles, cooked, drained Rice paper wrap Spicy peanut sauce Marinade the steaks overnight with the teriyaki marinade. Fry the steaks on a pan and set aside. Soak the rice paper in warm water until it begins to soften (approximately 15 seconds). Place the rice paper on a flat surface and place the meat, carrots, cucumbers and vermicelli noodle on the wrap. Carefully fold up the two sides and then roll to wrap, as tightly as possible without tearing the rice paper. Serve with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce (or Teriyaki Dipping Sauce ). My comments: This Vietnamese rice wrap turned out pretty well. Both my hubby and I enjoyed it very much. I got this recipe from Mrbunsrocks * and I have made several modifications to suit our tastes. My Spicy Peanut Sauce (a slightly modified version of Mrbunsrocks's recipe) was super tastey...definitely a must try....

1/2 c. Natural chuncky peanut butter 1/2 c. Hot water 2 tbsp Soya sauce 3 tsp Honey 1/2 tsp Chopped garlic from a bottle 1 Small chilli pepper, chopped Sesame oil In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter and hot water. Stir until smooth. Add the soya sauce, honey, garlic and chilli pepper. Drizzle a little bit of sesame oil before serving. My comment: I got this recipe from Mrbunsrocks whose blog I stalk on a daily basis. Her recipes (and photos) always look absolutely amazing and I have always wanted to try them out. Finally, I found something that I've always wanted to make and looks easy to do: Spring Rolls. I was particularly interested in this recipe because I like to order this when I go to a Vietnamese restaurant. My hubby can't eat the fish sauce that comes with these rice wraps but he found the wraps a bit bland on its own. So I thought if I can make this at home, I can make a sauce my hubby can eat! I have adapted her recipe and made my own Vietnamese spring rolls...

1/2 c. Soya sauce ( Kikkoman ) 2 tsp Sesame oil 2 tbsp Honey 1 tbsp Brown sugar 2 tbsp Ginger, peeled, minced 1/2 c. Green onion, chopped 2 tsp Garlic, minced 2 tsp sesame seed, toasted Juice from 1 large orange Combine all the ingredients. Refridgerate for overnight. 1 tbsp Cornstarch 1/2 c. Cold water In a small sauce pan, slowly bring the sauce to a boil. Mix the cornstarch and water. As the teriyaki sauce begins to thicken, stir to mix the cornstarch quickly and slowly pour into the teriyaki sauce, stirring constantly. Only add enough cornstarch to achieve desired consistency in the teriyaki sauce. My comments: I wanted to make teriyaki steak and I thought it'd be nice to make our own teriyaki marinade. So I looked up a few teriyaki sauce recipe online and found this one from the Food Network . I made a few adjustments to the recipe since I did not have everything it required in my kitchen. I marinaded the steaks overnight and it was really good!! I put the steak strips in my r...

[Vegetarian version: Omit the chicken or replace it with chickpeas.] 1 c. Brown rice 1 3/4 c. Water 3-4 pc. Chicken thighs, deboned and cut small 1/2 Red onion, chopped small 1 tbsp Curry powder 1/4 c. Olive oil 1 tsp Cumin 1 tsp Paprika 1 tsp chilli powder 1/2 tbsp Sesame oil 1 Apple 2 tbsp Honey 1 stalk Celery Fresh Cilantro (3-4 sprigs) Dried cranberries Salt Chopped walnuts or pecan (optional) Wash the rice a few times with water and drain as much as possible. Put the rice and water in a pot and add water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 40 min. Turn off the heat and keep cover for at least 10 min. Fluff the rice with a fork. In a frying pan, cook the chicken with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add a little bit of salt while cooking. Set cooked chicken aside. In a small pot, combine the olive oil, curry powder, cumin, paprika, chilli powder and sesame oil. Mix well and let the oil simmer for 1 minute. Add the chopped onion and cook until they are translucent. Add honey to the ...