Category Archives: Dinner

Have you heard of Banh Mi sandwich before? I have, but never tried. The Banh Mi translates to bread of baguette in Vietnamese. It is a French-Vietnamese fusion food born during the French colonisation of Vietnam. It is a crisp baguette commonly filled with barbeque pork, pickled carrots, cucumbers, coriander, jalapeno and the occasional spread of pate with a drizzle of sriracha sauce. My version of Banh Mi is a deconstructed, gluten-free and vegan salad with a Korean Gochujang dressing. It is light, crisp, fresh, healthy and loaded with flavour. You wouldn’t miss the bread or meat. If you are on the go, you can use this salad as fillings for sandwich, wrap or spring rolls in your lunch box.
Ingredients

For the tempeh
100g plain tempeh
1 tsp coconut amino sauce or tamari
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic
a squeeze of lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp of coconut oil for frying

For other fillings
1/2 cup chopped lettuce leaves
1/2 cup sliced and pickled carrot
1/2 cup sliced cucumber
chopped spring onion
a bunch of coriander

For dressing
1 tsp thick Greek natural yogurt
1/2 tsp Gochujang paste
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Thinly slice tempeh and marinate in the sauce for 10 minutes. In the mean time, prepare vegetables and dressing. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan and add marinated tempeh. Cook for a couple of minutes each side. To assemble, put your salad veggies on a plate, top with the tempeh and a drizzle of the dressing.

Asparagus is loaded with good nutrition. It is a good source of fiber and protein, and essential for good digestion and immunity. It also contains a number of anti-inflammatory compounds, antioxidants for anti-aging, vitamin K for healthy blood clotting and bones, vitamin B for stable blood sugar level, vitamin A for better eye sight and potassium for kidney function. Glutathione in asparagus is a detoxifying compound that helps break down carcinogens and other harmful compounds like free radicals. It contains high levels of the amino acid asparagine, which is a natural diuretic and fantastic for fluid retention in some people.

Unfortunately, asparagus do loose nutrients as they cook, so there’s no doubt eating asparagus raw will give you the most benefits when it comes to nutritional value. It is important to know though which methods are the best to avoid substantial loss. If you choose to cook them, first of all, no overcooking your veggies! Best cooking method is steaming which preserves a lot of nutrition in them. Next is grilling al dente. It should be still firm. No boiling! unless you drink all that boiling water, too >.<

This recipe is using marinated raw mushrooms, but if you don’t like the taste of raw mushrooms, feel free to lightly grill them instead.

Ingredients

1 bunch of asparagus
300g button mushrooms
1 cauliflower floret
1 small bunch of flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp coconut amino sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sesame seeds
alfalfa sprouts for garnish

Grate cauliflower using a box grater to make a cauliflower rice. Wash and shave asparagus into thin strips. Wash and roughly chop parsley. Marinate thinly sliced mushrooms in coconut amino sauce, salt and pepper for 10-20 minutes. To assemble, gently toss marinated mushrooms, parsley and shaved asparagus, put over the bed of cauliflower rice. Garnish with alfalfa sprouts and sprinkle sesame seeds. Drizzle more amino sauce if you desire.

Rice noodle salad is something I make on emergency or out of the blue. I pretty much have all ingredients ready in my fridge and pantry. Although it is a relatively easy dish to make, the freshness from veggies and herbs plus a beautiful Asian dressing makes it so special and flavoursome.

Coriander is one of my favorite herbs in Asian dish. Did you know it actually belongs to a carrot family? It is rich in essential vitamins and minerals – Vitamin A, B, C, K, iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium. Your skin loves coriander because it reduces acne and provides protection from eczema, dryness and fungal infections. The rich aroma helps in the proper secretion of enzymes and digestive juices in the stomach, helping your digestion. Good news for women? it helps regulate proper menstrual cycles and reduces the associated pain during period. It also helps to regulate your blood sugar level, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Such a shame I tried to grow them in my garden a few times, but all failed! In fact, I didn’t have much luck with basil and parsley either. I don’t think they like me 🙁 Does anyone have some good tips with gardening?

Ingredients

1 cup of rice noodles
1 stalk of celery
1/2 cup of bean sprouts
1/2 cup of shredded cabbage
1/2 of grapefruit sliced
a bunch of coriander

For dressing
1 tsp of tamari
1 tsp of rice vinegar
1 tsp of chilli flakes
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the rice noodles in a boiling water for a few minutes until tender, drain, rinse under cold water and set aside. Finely shred cabbage, slice celery, desegment grapefruit and roughly chop coriander. Mix cooked noodles and prepared vegetables in a large bowl. Pour the half of the dressing into a bowl and gently toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle the rest of the dressing over the salad.