Braised pork with rice and crunch salad + coconut bread

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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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Posted in: Baking, Dinner, Lunch, My recipes \ Tagged: ,

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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Posted in: Gluten Free, My recipes, Vegetarian \ Tagged:

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 🙁

Posted in: Lunch, My recipes, salads, Vegetarian

Sushi

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Sushi (well..a.k.a Kimbap in Korea) used to be a special meal for me when I grew up.
We had a picnic day in Spring and Autumn twice a year when I was at school. Sushi was a must dish that everyone brought in their lunch box and compared whose tastes and looks better. I liked that excitement the night before, waiting for a picnic day, sometimes sleepless night with a big smile on my little face. Mum used to get up really early and made noises in the kitchen to make my lunch box when I was still sleeping in bed. Then I wake up and walk to the kitchen. The kitchen bench is a full of colourful ingredients like a rainbow. Spinach, carrot, pickled radish, ham, cheese, eggs, some herbs, etc. My family ends up having mum’s sushi for breakfast, lunch and dinner that day. She made the prettiest sushi in the world and it, of course, tasted delicious! Ah..nostalgia..my childhood food 🙂

I know sushi has become a big trend of healthy take-away food. To me, though, western sushi has so much rice and no flavour compared to Korean sushi. And did I mention it is a bit pricy for a small roll of sushi >.<
I normally make one myself home because it is so easy and fun to make. If you haven’t done it before, it may look a little intimidating task but trust me on this! You just need to practice a couple of times until you get the hang of it. Always the first one is the ugliest, exactly like when you make pancakes. I used two cups of sushi rice and some vegetables to make two big rolls. A bit of chilli sauce to spice it up as well. I find it helps to have the sharpest knife you’ve got at home in runny water before you slice them up so that rice doesn’t stick to your knife and ruin your beautiful sushi. Writing this post…I think myself I really should call this Kimbap, not sushi!!!!

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Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, Vegetarian

Paté Platter for Dinner

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Having vegetables and fruits most of the time, I can feel quite exhausted and a lack of energy at times. The micro-nutrients from vegetarian diet are great though it is true that you get iron and vitamin B12 deficiency.
After my visit to my uncle who is a oriental medicine doctor back home, I had to find a list of foods that contains high iron to boost more energy in myself. I tried a pan-fried liver before but somehow the flavour got more intense after cooking, and it was hard to eat after a couple of mouthful. Pate, on the other hand, needs a little bit of preparation but I think it has better texture and flavour.

The liver is a storage for many important nutrients, a rich source of iron, vitamin B12 and vitamin A. It has a incredible nutritional benefits when compared with fruits, veggies and other meats. I guess having the organ meats helps the farmers and environment as well. People worry about a high cholesterol content in the liver, though it is a good cholesterol (you need it in your body unless you have hyperlipidemia!) and a small amount is okay. It is all about moderation after all.

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Problem with making pate, though, is most recipes suggest using so much butter or oil to make a smooth texture. Well I had to give up on that. There is no way I use that much butter in my food.So I used a couple of table spoons of coconut oil, hoping it helps to hold everything together. I also had the liver in milk for an hour before cooking to get rid of any bad smell. Then I boiled it with white wine, bay leaves, peppercorns and some other spices in a saucepan until it’s cooked through. Remove from the heat, cool down a bit, blend it all up, put it in a ramekin, and set in the fridge. Well…it turned out to be so crumbly without butter >.<
I might need to try again with some other substitutes to make a buttery texture next time.

Viola! I served with zucchini bread, red onion jam, home-made pickles and green salad.
Very satisfying dinner 🙂

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Posted in: Dinner, My recipes