Roast Chicken and Bok Choy
Roasting a chicken can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Mine is very simple and no fuss. I pat dry the skin, marinade a chicken with herbs and spices for a few hours, put a generous amount of salt and pepper before cooking in a pan, seal the skin side down first for 3-4 minutes and flip over for another 3-4 minutes. Take the bird out and rest aside while I cook root veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnip, etc in the same pan. I transfer them to a baking tray and to the centre rack of the preheated oven (180) for 30 minutes. If you choose to roast the whole chicken, you can add onions, preserved lemon and herbs like thyme inside of the cavity, which adds a beautiful flavour. It works for me every time – crispy skin, moist inside, well cooked vegetables on the side.
For the Bok Choy, I like my green veggies simply steamed with no added oil for nutrition and crunch. I clean it in the running water making sure there is no dirt left between the leaves. Cut a criss-cross in the stem and stand it up in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes. Then I stir the leaves in a hot water, squeeze to remove an excess water. Serve with a chilli sauce or soy sauce over it before serve. You can absolutely cook in a pan if you like.
Perfectly Cooked Egg and Meatballs on Couscous Salad
Daniel’s dinner tonight after Taekwondo. For the perfectly boiled egg, I place eggs in a pot of cold water, bring it up to boil and cook over medium heat for 6 minutes. Take off the heat and rinse with cold water before peeling off the shell. Beautiful runny creamy egg yolk – yum! For couscous salad, I put a cup of couscous in a bowl, pour two cups of boiling water with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Cover it up for about 10 minutes. Carefully fluff with a folk from the top and then add other ingredients. Either cooked veggies or fresh ones work all well with couscous.
Wild Rice with Kimchi and Eggplant
Sometimes I feel like having a simple Korean meal for lunch or dinner. A bowl of wild rice with some side dishes is a way to go. I might make a miso soup or some protein to go with it if I’m not too lazy. I dice eggplants and braise with a soy sauce, chilli, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and sesame seeds until soft – classic Korean flavour. Kimchi is a staple food for me, always keeping a jar in the fridge. I probably have a Korean food a couple of times a week.
Bean Casserole with Brie Cheese
A quick vegetarian dinner. Soak the dried beans overnight and cook in a boiling water for 15-20 minutes until cooked. Cook beans and chopped vegetables with passata sauce in a skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with brie cheese, bitter greens and toast.
Grilled Veggie Salad
Another vegetarian dish with a full of flavour. Grill chopped eggplant, zucchini, sweet potato, mushrooms and capsicum. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange them on a bed of white beans and green salad. Drizzle a tahini dressing all over and sprinkle hazelnuts before serve.
I was going on numerous fad diets when I was young. I mean like 10s-20s since I was a chubby girl and struggled with my body image. I had a low confidence, self-doubt, thinking about other people way too much but not myself inside. Fad diets seemed to work for only short time, then I usually put the weight back on. Then after about 25 years of age, I just couldn’t do dieting anymore. My body just didn’t like it. Since then I’ve been slowly incorporating healthier habits into my diet and exercises. You hear this over and over again, but what works for me is drinking plenty of water, having smaller meals every 3-4 hours, not eating until 100% full, having mostly a vegetarian diet and exercises either intentional or unintentional. It is a gradual lifestyle change, not a quick fix. You don’t realise how these fad diets and cleansing actually harm your body. Respect yourself and enjoy the healthy life x
