Braised pork with rice and crunch salad + coconut bread

Lunch

I’m not a big fan of eating meat (pork here) though I try to incorporate a variety of protein in my cooking for Daniel.
I cooked braised pork shoulder in Asian barbeque sauce. It just fell apart when I tried to pick it up with tongs after being cooked in the oven for about 3 hours. You know that is a good sign as well as a nice smell around the house 🙂
For the salad, I mixed grated carrots, beetroot, red cabbage, bean sprouts, coriander and parsley.
So crunchy and refreshing – goes well with hearty meat dish like that.

Pork is considered as quite fatty meat, though depending on what cut you buy and how you cook, you can eat them healthy.
Pork is high in vital nutrients such as phosphorus, selenium, zinc, potassium and copper. Vitamin B1 found in pork helps the growth and repair of muscles and nerve tissue. Riboflavin for skin health, vitamin B6 for metabolism, iron for energy, zinc for immune system, protein for building muscles. So if you choose unprocessed lean cuts and trim most visible fat, it is good for overall health.

I also baked a coconut bread which turned out to be so moist inside and crusty outside. I’ve become a huge fan of coconut after studying nutrient.
Well..I was scared of having any fats in my diet. I used to have everything non-fat or diet products just because “fat” sounded so bad and fattening to me.
It turned out I was totally wrong. You need GOOD fats, not BAD fats in your diet. Coconut is one of the good ones. Yes, it has a high saturated fat content (about 92% of the fatty acids). But you need good quality saturated fatty acids for the health of your bones, protecting your liver and heart.

Coconut stabilises your blood sugar, lowers cholesterol, hydrates you. Also lauric acid found in coconut oil has strong antifungal and antimicrobial properties.
It is extremely stable in heat, which means, unlike other types of oils, it doesn’t get oxidation and release free-radicals (causing cancer) while cooking. On top of all that, it can be used for pretty much everything e.g. cooking, baking, moisturiser for your skin and hair, etc. So I always keep a jar of coconut oil next to my stove for cooking and also under the basin to use on my skin after shower.
It smells amazing when you bake with coconut flour or flakes. It tastes good and fills you up because of its high fat content and dietary fibre.
So try to use more coconut products – coconut water, coconut oil, coconut flour, coconut flakes, coconut butter, coconut cream, never ending…….

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Kimchi

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My darling Kimchi..

This is two jars of red and white Kimchi that I made a few weeks ago. Good to go now after a right amount of fermentation.
Kimchi is a Korean traditional side dish and one of the world’s healthiest foods.
Why it is good for you? It has high dietary fibre, but low calories. It is fully loaded with vitamin A, B and C, calcium and iron.

Most importantly, lactobacilli is found in Kimchi, that is healthy bacteria crucial for your gut health.
It helps with digestion, prevent yeast infection and fight against the growth of cancer.
It is made of cabbage mixed with garlic, chilly, ginger, onion, fish sauce and pepper.
Different types of Kimchi are made at different times of the year in Korea. Koreans consume so much of Kimchi everyday in every meal.

Myself? I didn’t eat this goodie for years when I moved to Australia.
I helped my grandma and aunty to make Kimchi in Korea, but honestly didn’t know all the ingredients and recipes. I was kind of scared of making them >.<
Then after a few attempts and failure, I can now make a okay Kimchi by myself. Yay! Definitely no where close to my aunties proper one, but it tastes fine by me:)

You need to wash chinese cabbage throughly and get rid of outer leaves. Cut them in halves and put lots of good quality salt between the leaves. Leave it for 30 mins up to one hour until the cabbage gets tender.
While you are waiting for this happen, you can make a paste that will go between the leaves, that consists of half cup of coarse chilli powder (not for white Kimchi), one table spoon of minced garlic, minced ginger, fish sauce, chilli paste and grated onion. Mix all together until you get a paste consistency and season with salt and pepper. You can add other vegetables here, like carrots, spring onions, chives, etc.
Rinse the cabbage and then mix with the paste really well. Put it in a sterilised jar and store in fridge for a couple of days before serving.

Seriously once you make one, you will realise it is not that hard and it is so versatile to use for other dishes. You can have it with rice, noodles, meats or even with salads.
I find myself I don’t get much digestion problems in Korea as long as I stick to Korean traditional diet since it is mainly rice, vegetables, fermented foods and some meat and fish.
It is so nice to see other food bloggers who try to make Kimchi at home and put recipes up. I should promote more Korean food myself because it is so good for your health.
Eat more Kimchi and your gut will be smiling 🙂

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Switzerland

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Sweiss is one of my favorite countries to visit in Europe. It is a small country though has so many different colours since it is surrounded by 6 different countries.
You can experience Germany, France and Italy all in one. It also doesn’t require too much traveling time from one city to the other unlike other countries in Europe, e.g. Greece or Spain.

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J’aime boir the cafe noir! I find coffees in Switzerland never failed me even when I had this little black coffee on the river cruise. I didn’t expect much from it though a nice coffee with a petite chocolate for a couple of euros is not too bad at all.
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We had a lunch at this fondue house which has got popular for Koreans since it was on reality TV show.
Food was average though I liked that kind of old style restaurant where waiters are friendly and is full of old furniture.
A bad habit I had while traveling was having a snack or sweets on the bus. I justify myself it is okay to try local snacks and reach towards a bag of chips.
I made a good choice though of course like yogurt and cheese (I have to admit they have pretty amazing dairy products!!).
That apple chips were so yummy, just dehydrated green apples pretty much. Munching on them pretty much everyday lol

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You never get sick of looking outside while being on the bus. Greens after greens..mountains after mountains.. Il est beaucoup belle!I wish I learned more of German, French and Italian just for a basic conversation when buying, ordering and getting around.
I felt quite rude speaking English to them and not trying their language. They were still friendly enough though you can understand why a tourism is so big in Switzerland.

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Beautiful Swiss Alps.. breathtaking scenery.. crisp unpolluted fresh air.. stillness.. quietness..

We only had a short walk about an hour in the mountains, but I made a promise to myself that I will definitely go back.I would love to try those hang gliding and hiking Alps. Well I will have to get over my fear of height first >.<
My mum also enjoyed Switzerland, first time for her and second for me. Living in a busy city in Korea, working long hours, looking after other people, etc.
She definitely deserves a good break and needs to get away from that life. I’m so fortunate I can go back home to see her and travel with her as well.
Nothing more valuable than that! You realise how important your family is when you live far far away from them. I’m looking forward to our next trip already:)

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Beetroot salad

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Beetroot is one of the yummy vegetables that I tried for the first time in Australia. I think you can find them in the markets in Korea nowadays though it is unusual vegetables still.
I only tried canned pickled beetroot for the first time >.< well..I didn’t know much about it anyway.
It was nice though texture was mushy, very sweet and sour, thanks to canned food, full of preservatives.
Then I recently started using beetroot more in my cooking since I discovered all the good things about this amazing little friend.
Beetroot is rich in calcium, iron, vitamin A and C, a good source of fiber, manganese and potassium.
The rich purplish red colour is betacyanin, a strong antioxidant and anti-cancer agent.
It helps to beat high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, anaemia, fatigue and constipation.
Sounds good to me:)

You can eat raw like me by grating and putting in salads or make home-made pickles (don’t buy canned pickles! please) or roast in the oven with a drizzle of balsamic.
Since it is scorching 38 degrees here today, I didn’t even go close to the oven or stove today.
Cold salad is a way to go!
For this awesome red salad, I mixed orzo, carrots, beetroot, celery, zucchini and mint leaves.
Season with good quality herb salt and pepper.
Drizzle olive oil and lemon vinegar. Sprinkle sunflower seeds and sliced dried figs.
I made this to take to my friend’s son’s birthday picnic party tomorrow. Hopefully everyone enjoys it!
My mum sent me a couple of photos of snowing in Korea. It is a festive season soon, Christmas..New year..
I miss Winter Christmas..wearing a thick coat, scarf, beanie and gloves..walking around streets full of beautiful lights and Christmas trees..having hearty warm winter foods..
That’s how Christmas should be to me, not in 40 degrees heat 🙁

Budapest, Hungary

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When I arrived in Budapest, it was already late afternoon. We had a pub dinner near the Budapest parliament, which lightened up when it got dark. Such an amazing neo-gothic architecture that makes you feel so small in front. We took a river cruise to have a look at a beautiful night view of Budapest. Parliament building, chain bridge, castle hill, etc.

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We also went to Heroes square which is located at the end of Andrassy Avenue. The monument was erected to commemorate the 1000 year old history of the Magyars.
After a couple of wines on the river cruise, I was so ready for bed since I was still jet-lagged (well..I don’t think I never got out of it until I left Europe…I’m so bad with time difference!)

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I was not a big fan of local foods in Europe. From my experience, they seem to have quite heavy salty foods with lots of meats and potatoes.
Best meal of the day for me was a hotel breakfast unfortunately. Fresh fruits, vegetables and some protein! A couple of plates lasted me almost all day 🙂

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Fishermen’s Bastion.. Apparently there was a fish market nearby in medieval times, and this bastion was built to commemorate the fishermen who protected this part of the city.
There is a lookout at the top. The view from there in the morning was quite different to the night before. Then we took a walk through the Castle hill that has old citizen houses and narrow streets. The best aspect of the building that I was very fascinated by was the intricate design on the balustrading. This design was on many monuments when we were exploring the place. This is also something that I was very fascinated by and was a design that I would apply for my home.

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Beautiful Autumn colour trees covering up the hill. It was only late September though Autumn here seemed a bit early. My favorite season of the year!
You can find a lot of ittle souvenir shops had paprika (chillies) hung up to dry in the sun. Apparently a person who discovered vitamins in this chillies won the Novel prize.
After a only short walk we arrived in the Royal Palace, which was build in the 13th century after the Mongolian invasion. It’s used as the national gallery and history museum now.

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Last meal in Budapest was pork, potatoes and rice (where is my greens?), then we headed to Wien, Austria.
It was a short stay in Hungary and definitely didn’t have enough time to get around the city and park area. I would love to go back there and stay a little longer next time to go to the parks, museums and local bistros and brasseries, too.
So many things to do in so little time in Europe:)

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