Weekend Herb Blogging - Seaweed Soup with Beancurd & Mushrooms

Last round of WHB before the Christmas break. This week's Weekend Herb Blogging#214 will be hosted by Haalo of Cook(almost)AnythingAtLeastOnce. The rules for taking part can be found here.


Mr Pancakes' ancestral roots traces way back to Henghua in Fujian Province in China. The ancient Chinese consider it a delicacy and is served to royalty or guests of honour. Seaweed is used widely in Henghua cuisine and it greatly enhances the taste of the dishes. Unknown to many, seaweed is neither an animal or a plant. It is actually a form of algae. The seaweed used here is the red seaweed or 紫菜 (literally purple vegetable in Chinese) as they are sold in their dried form and are dark purple-black in colour.


Seaweed contains many minerals, virtually all that can be found in the ocean.  They are also a good source of calcium, sodium and iodine.


The Seaweed with Beancurd dish here is the vegetarian version.  Seaweed, beancurd, mushrooms are the main players in this simple, soupy dish.


Seaweed Soup with Beancurd & Mushrooms

You will need: (serves 4)


3 pieces tofu (beancurd), cut into cubes.
50grams dried seaweed
3 slices of ginger
5 button / shitake mushrooms (diced)
some shredded carrot (1/2 carrot)
diced celery (1 stalk)
1L water
1 1/2 tablespoon cooking oil
pepper to taste

1.  Bring water to boil in a pot. In a separate pan, heat up cooking oil. Saute the ginger, diced mushrooms and shredded carrot. Put sauteed ingredients into the boiling pot of water.


2.  When water comes back to boil, add beancurd dices to soup. Add in diced celery and seaweed.  Bring soup back to a boil. Add pepper to taste and the dish is ready to be served.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Boiled Chinese Yellow Pear with Chinese Almond Dessert

Mr Pancakes is getting the hang of it and is excited every time WHB comes around. What a great way to share! This week's Weekend Herb Blogging#212 will be hosted by Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. WHB is a weekly food blog event that showcases information and recipes about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB is organized by Haalo of Cook(almost)AnythingAtLeastOnce. The rules for taking part can be found here.
For this week, Mr Pancakes would like to share a all-Asian cast: Boiled Chinese Pear with Chinese Almond Dessert.


The Chinese Yellow Pear is used here as the main ingredient.  A picture of the pear can be seen here, Mr Pancakes is ashamed that he forgot to take a picture of the fruits before cooking them.  The yellow Chinese pear has a thin yellow skin.  The white flesh is slightly grainy, as compared to the green pears. It is oblong, unlike the Asian (nashi) pear.  It is believed that the yellow chinese pear relieves cough and calm wheezing.


Another main part of this dessert the Chinese Almond (杏仁) or apricot seed.  There are two types of chinese almond, mainly those from the south (sweet taste) and the north (bitter taste).  The Chinese almond seeds from the north is believed to have similar properties to the yellow Chinese pear, they stop cough and 'moisten' the intestines. A mixture of north and south Chinese almond seeds are used here to balance the taste.

A sweet, 'cooling' dessert and apparently to relieve cough and irritation to the throat


Boiled Chinese Yellow Pear with Chinese Almond (炖雪梨)
This is a long time childhood dessert. All kids love sweet stuff! This is a healthy, nutritional dessert and it cleanse the palate nicely, especially after a heavy meal.

You will need: (serves 4)


2 yellow Chinese Pears
50 gram rock sugar
500ml water
8 Chinese red dates (optional)


1.  Peel the skins off the pears, core and cut into quarters.
2.  Bring water to boil in a pot.
3.  Put all ingredients into the pot and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
4. Serve hot or put into the fridge to chill and serve cold.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Black Beans Pork Rib Soup

Mr Pancakes is back for more Weekend Herb Blogging action. This week's Weekend Herb Blogging#212 will be hosted by Marillyn from Just Making Noise. WHB is a weekly food blog event that showcases information and recipes about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB is now organized by Haalo of Cook(almost)AnythingAtLeastOnce. The rules for taking part can be found here.


The feature for this week's entry is Black Beans.  They are small, about the size of a pea, oval and a sexy jet black.  Their flesh is cream in colour with a sweet and somewhat earthy taste with a soft texture.


Be sure to check out the surface of the beans for any damage or fungal growth before washing them.  Some recipes call for black beans to be soaked before cooking, but this particular recipe that Mr Pancakes is sharing here eliminates this step as we prefer the beans to have a bit more crunch in them.


Black beans, like their 'beanie' friends, are a inexpensive source of protein with a very low fat content.  They are an excellent source of cholesterol lowering fiber and complex carbohydrates.  Also, they are a good source of folic acid.


Black Beans Pork Rib Soup
I simply love this soup.  It has a nutty flavour from the black beans and the sweetness from the ribs.  Lovely combination.  The black soup also adds a little mystique feeling to it.  Enjoy chewing up the black beans and washing it down with the soup.  Nothing beats a good home-made healthy soup!

You will need: (serves 3-4)

• ¾ bowl black beans
• 500g pork ribs
• 4 slices ginger
• Water


1.   Put a small pot of water to boil.  Scald the pork ribs in the boiling water and leave to cook for about 5 minutes.  This is to remove the foul taste of the meat.
2.   In a medium sized pot, fill up the pot with water to the halfway mark. Put to boil.
3.   Add in black beans and leave to cook on low heat for 30 minutes.
4.   Add in pork ribs and let simmer for 1 hour. (Add hot water, if necessary, to just cover the ribs and beans.)

Serve hot.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Lotus Rotus with Black Wood Fungi Stir Fry

The Pancakes are still on a high after last week's post on WHB#210. I am submitting this recipe for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging#211. This week event will be hosted by Lynne from Cafe LynnyLu. WHB is a weekly food blog event that showcases information and recipes about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB is now organized by Haalo ofCook(almost)AnythingAtLeastOnce. The rules for taking part can be found here. Take part and share! The more the merrier!


This week will be on this simple and yet nutritious recipe.


Lotus roots originate in Asia. It has a white, crisp flesh with a lacy texture and very mild flavour.  After cleaning the root of mud, peel and slice it.  Put the slices in a box and chill it in the refrigerator.  They will make a cool, refreshing snack.  The lotus slices can also be candied and serve as sweet treats.


This recipe that I am sharing here is a easy stir-fry, an appertiser from my Mum's recipe book for vegetarians.


Enjoy.


Lotus Rotus with Black Wood Fungi

You will need: (Serves 2-4)



• ½ lotus root (6-8 cm)
• 6 black wood fungus
• 2 slices ginger
• 1 cup water
• cooking oil
• 10 dried sze chuan pepper
• 1 red chilli

For the cold dressing
• ½ cup white / rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• salt
• ¼ cup water
• fish sauce (optional)


This is supposed to be a cold dish entrée but it can be tweaked to be served as a main dish too.  Highly nutritious and easy to prepare, this dish will go down well with the busy urbanites.

1.  Wash the lotus root and cut into thin slices.  Prepare the black wood fungi by removing the tough stem and wash under tap water.  Chop up the fungi to 3-5 cm wide.

2.  Cook sliced lotus and fungi in boiling water for 3-5minutes.  Remove once fungi are slightly softened but still crunchy to bite into.  Remove and leave aside to drain off excess water.

3.  Heat cooking oil and add in ginger slices.  Once ginger slices are browned, add in the cooked lotus slices and fungi.  Add 1 cup water and simmer under low heat for 10 minutes.

4.  Heat 1 teaspoon of oil on a skillet. Add sze chuan pepper to the hot oil under medium heat. After 10 mins, remove the peppers and keep the oil.

5. Add sliced chilli and sze chuan pepper oil before serving. (Boiled sliced carrots were used as garnish here.)

Variation: Cold Dressing

Dissolve sugar in water. Add vinegar for the tartness and sour taste. Add salt to taste. Adjust taste as desired. Mix well with drained lotus slices and fungi. Chill and serve cold.

Drizzle sze chuan pepper oil all over before serving.

Potato Peeling - Fast Forward

Super cool way to peel a potato. Keeps the nutrients because it was boiled with the skin intact and it saves time!

Weekend Herb Blogging - Avocado

I am submitting this recipe into this weeks Weekend Herb Blogging#210. This week event will be hosted by Winnie from Healthy Green Kitchen. WHB is a weekly food blog event that showcases information and recipes about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB is now organized by Haalo of Cook(almost)AnythingAtLeastOnce. It is such a informative ingredient blogging event, and the Pancakes decided to submit a first time entry and hope that this will be selected. *keeping fingers crossed.*


Anyway, let's begin.  Mr Pancakes had always been fascinated by the fruit avocado.  It's velvety taste and strange looking skin had intrigued Mr Pancakes since young. As it is expensive (SGD1.65 for a fruit), Mr Pancakes hardly has the chance to really taste it.... until he's 20.

The avocado is also widely known as the alligator pear. It is grown from the fast growing Persea Americana tree. Avocados can contain as much as 20% fat (Haas variant), of which is largely monounsaturated, including oleic acid and linoleic acid.  They are also an excellent source of potassium, vitamins B and E. 


Gentle pressure should depress ripe avocados slightly.  Do not select over-ripe avocados as they have brown, mushy meat and taste weird.  Allow avocados to ripen (18 to 24°C) and they can be kept in refrigerators for up to a week, if it has not been sliced.  The skin darkens as the fruit ripens.  Avocados sell at a range of SGD 1.30 to SGD 2, depending on the season. Peak season is typically in December.  *DO NOT try to eat unripe avocados. They taste bitter and leave a horrid aftertaste in your mouth, tongue AND throat.

Avocados contain enzymes that encourage oxidation, thus they tend to brown when exposed to air.  Sprinkle with a little lemon juice or vinegar to slow the browning process.  


To prepare, use a stainless steel kitchen knife to cut the fruit lengthwise.  Gently twist the two halves in opposite directions. (It is like opening a bottle cap.)  The seed can be easily removed with a spoon.  Using the tip of the knife, go between the fruit and the skin, separating the flesh from the skin. Use a spoon to slide along the inside of the skin if the flesh is too soft to be cut.


Avocados can be consumed on their own, as shakes, in sandwiches and most popularly in the preparation of guacamole. And Mr Pancakes shares here his favourite milkshake of all time, The Avocado Shake.


You will need: (Serves 4)
2 ripe avocados
     300 ml cold milk (coconut milk[1], evaporated milk will do too.)
·    50 grams gula Melaka[2] (molasses or honey are adequate substitutes.)
·    2 tablespoons of hot water


1.    Grate and dissolve the gula Melaka in the hot water.  Leave aside to cool. (You can do this the night before. The syrup can be kept for several days when stored in a dry, clean air-tight jar.


2.       Remove skin and pit of avocados.  Blend with 200ml of milk.
3.       Add half of gula Melaka syrup. Continue to blend until smooth.  Top up with milk to achieve desired consistency.
4.       In a tall glass or martini glass, pour some gula Melaka syrup to form a thin layer.
5.       Top glass with blended avocado.
6.       Drizzle with remaining syrup and serve.

*This avocado milkshake tastes best when serve chilled.  Do NOT over-blend. Blending heats up your concoction.  Add ice-cubes if you desire, bearing in mind it will thin the drink as the ice melts.

[1] Coconut milk gives a very fragrant taste to the drink.  But do take note of the fat content.  Add evaporated milk for a creamier version.
[2] Commonly known as ‘Palm Sugar’, is made from sugary sap of cut flower buds.



Pairing:  Avocados generally go well with nuts as a snack.  Serve with citrus fruits like orange and kiwi to balance the oily content of the fruit.  Roasted chicken, bacon and ham taste great with avocado slices in sandwiches.  Herbs like lemon balm and basil lift the taste of avocados while milk chocolate and fine creamy cheese like Gruyere pair well with avocados as an after-dinner treat.

Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 3)

The Pancakes were watching Asian Food Channel the other day and saw one of the chefs making a cupcake with lemon curd and meringue on the top, which gave Mrs Pancakes the idea to do it.  This will save all the hassle of having to cut the cake into 3 layers, spreading curd in between and giving herself a hell of a headache.  To solve the meringue problem (being too spongy and moist in our humid weather), Mr Pancakes suggested Mrs Pancakes could make the hard meringue biscuits to top it off instead, and so Mrs Pancakes was "assigned" to try that for Mr K's birthday lunch.

Armed with the same recipe as Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 1), Mrs Pancakes did her own cupcake version of the lemon (meringue) cupcakes.  Due to time constraints, it ended up with no meringue, thus I shall call it lemon curd cupcake.  Instead of using a cake tin, this time around, Mrs Pancakes used muffin trays.  This was how it turned out:

A little too moist this time.  Will do better the next time (hopefully with meringue biscuits) =)