A girl who eats

As the end of the working month is approaching, we're going frugal today. I grab what I can find in the fridge and quickly wack everything together to make a dinner out of it. I have to say it doesn't taste too bad, though!

2 portions of any type of pasta (frusilli here) Black pitted olives in brine 3 plum tomatoes, chopped 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic 1 tbsp tomato puree  Parmesan cheese

1. Boil the pasta to al dente. Drain it and set it aside.

2. Heat up a saucepan and put a dash of olive oil, onion and garlic into the pan. When the onion is softened, stir in the tomatoes.

3. Put a tbsp of water if the pan is dried up. Drained the olives and then put it into the saucepan as well. Then, add the tomato puree into the pan, and also 1/2 cup of water and bring it to boil.

4. When the sauce is boiled, lower the heat and simmer it for 10 minutes. Add a pinch of herbs (in my case, some oregano and basil) and salt and pepper to taste.

This is my mom's favourite dish. Whenever we eat out in Hong Kong (which is VERY often!), she'll always order this. Among all the Chinese food available on the menu, this is a very light option - lots of flavours but not a lot of oil needed, just a lot of vegetables, and a bit of chicken - no wonder my mom can stay so slim even if we eat out all the time!

The portion below serves 2:

250g chicken leg or breast, de-boned and diced 4 celery stalks, sliced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 dash of rice wine (optional) For sauce: 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1/2 tbsp sugar 1/2 tbsp cornflour 4 tbsp water salt

Marinate the chicken with the following for 30 mins before cooking: 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp cornflour 1 tbsp white pepper 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 tbsp rice wine (optional) 1. Heat up a lightly greased pan, and put the celery into the pan. When you can smell the fragrant of the celery, add a dash of rice wine or water into the pan to help soften the celery.

2. Put the garlic into the pan, and then add the chicken. Stir occasionally to avoid the chicken getting too burnt.

3. When the chicken is cooked through, mixed the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl  well, and then pour it into the pan, until the sauce is thickened. Serve with boiled rice.

The mister HATES brocoli, so I always have to find ways to blend it into something so that he couldn't taste it. (It sounds like I'm feeding a kid, I know.) I was craving for mac n' cheese, so I thought it worths a try to chip some brocoli in as well?

500g brocoli 2 portions of frusilli 1/2 cup of grated cheddar 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (or any kind of hard cheese you fancy) 1 medium onion 200ml milk 1 tbsp butter 2 tbsp flour 2 cloves of garlic

1. Boil the brocoli in salt water, or in chicken stock, until desired softness. Drained it and then set it aside. Boil the pasta in another pan, and then drain it when ready.

2. Put the butter into the pan in low heat. When the butter is melted, put 1 tbsp flour into the pan and stir until it has combined with the butter. Add another tbsp of flour and stir until everything is combined well in the pan.

3. Add the milk bit by bit into the pan, stir it until the flour and butter lump has loosen up. Keep adding the milk and stirring until all the milk is in the pan and the sauce is lump-free.

4. Add the brocoli into the pan, and then turn the heat up to medium and wait for it to boil. Then, add all the grated cheese and then stir. Add salt and pepper to taste, and then stir the drained pasta into the pan. Serve when it's still hot.

I was starving after hitting the town with the girls one evening. When we got to my friend's flat, I thought I had to head back out again to look for a kebab shop, but she handed me a bowl of very delicious lentil curry with rice. It was soooooo yummy I couldn't stop thinking about it after, so I begged her to give me the recipe.

500g yellow lentils 1 medium onion, chopped 2 slices of ginger, finely sliced 2 cloves of garlic, chopped 3 tomatoes 2 tbsp chilli powder (or less if you don't like it spicy) 1 tbsp turmeric 1 tbsp ground cumin seeds 1 tbsp ground coriander seeds 1 vegetable stock cube Olive oil Salt 

1. Boil the lentil in vegetable stock for 30 minutes. Drain the lentil and keep the stock aside for later use.

2. Heat up a new pan with a bit of olive oil in medium heat and fry the onion until soft, and then put the ginger in. Add another dash of oil in the pan, and add all the spices in the pan. 3.  Add the garlic and tomatoes into the pan and slightly fry them, then add the lentils into the pan as well, and add the vegetable stock until the lentils are covered. Turn the fire to low heat and simmer for a further 20 minutes. Stir constantly to avoid it sticking to the bottom.

4. Serve with rice - I boiled my rice with a bay leaf, some cardamon pods and a pinch of salt, which could add some extra flavour to the meal.

I love spicy food, and I love Korean food. This is super easy to make, you just need to brace yourself with the chopping :)

1 carrot, sliced

1 cougette, sliced

1 egg

2 cloves of garlic, minced

50g bean sprouts

50g spinach

2 tbsp Gochujan

200g minced beef (optional)

100g kimchi

1 egg

Sesame oil

Soy sauce

1 cup of rice, boiled

1. Boiled the rice in a big pan.

2. Boiled a pan of water, add a pinch of salt and cooked the bean sprouts. Drain the water and season the bean sprout with a dash of soy sauce, a tsp of minced garlic and a  tsp of sesame oil and set aside.

3. Fry the carrot for a minute until it's softened. Season it with a dash of soy sauce, a tbp of minced garlic and a tsp of sesame oil and set aside.

4. Fry the cougette for 2 minutes, and then season it in the same way as the carrot and set aside.

5. Fry the spinach with a tsp of minced garlic and soy sauce until it's wilted, and then set aside.

6. Put all the seasoned vegetables and kimchi on top of the boiled rice in the pan. Place them nicely like they all have their own corner in the pan. Crack an egg on top of the vegetables, and switch on the hob again on low heat. Cook it for further 5 minutes until the egg is cooked and the rice at the bottom is crispy. Add fried sesame on top for garnish.

7. Add the gochujan and mix everything together. Serve immediately.

Right, so I've got quite a lot of risotto leftover from the night before. Risotto is not good for reheating in the microwave, because the gooey texture seems to have disappeared when it's leftover and any kind of reheating will just make it dry and...not delicious.

Inspired by the rice burger that I've had back home, I got my hands dirty to go on and create this risotto cake. The only extra ingredient needed is:

Grated mozzarella cheese.

It's crispy on the outside, and gooey in the middle. Highly recommend!

1. Make the hands wet first, so that the risotto would not stick to the palm as much. Scooped out a spoonful of risotto, and then flatten it on the palm. Put the mozzarella in the middle and then close it with another spoonful of rice, as if the cheese has become a filling. Repeat until all the left over is used up.

2. Lightly oil up a pan and heat it up. Put the risotto cakes into the pan until 1 side is brown. Add some pressure on the cakes to make sure it's cooked in the middle, too. Flip them over, and fry it for another 7-10 minutes, depends on how think the cake is.

I'm all for budget meals, and risotto seems to have a regular appearance on our dining table because, a) it's cheap to make, b) it's fail-proof, c) I can chuck anything that's about to go off into the risotto and it's still delicious.

1 cup of risotto

chicken stock/chicken stock cube

1 stalk of leek, sliced

100g spinach

50ml of white wine

Parmesan cheese

1. Heat up a pan of oil and fry the leek until it's softened. Add the risotto into the pan, stir it until the oil is covering all the risotto.

2. Heat up the chicken stock in a microwave, or mix the chicken stock cube with 200ml of boiling water if you're using the cube. Pour it into the pan together with the white wine, and bring it to boil.

3. As soon as the risotto is boiled, turn it to low heat and carry on simmering. Stir occasionally, and add in boiled water when the liquid in the pan is dried up. Repeat this until the risotto is cooked, which should be in a fluffy and gooey texture.

4. Stir the spinach into the pan, and then grate some parmesan cheese onto the risotto. Stir it again, and add salt and pepper to taste.

What can beat that on a cold winter weekday evening?

500g minced beef

1 carrot, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 gloves of garlic, minced

3 tomatos, chopped

1 tbsp of tomato puree

1 dash of worcester sauce

1 dash of Tobasco

50ml of red wine

1 beef stock cube

1 bay leaf

1 mixed herbs

Spaghetti enough for 2 people

Parmesan cheese

1. Heat up a pan with a bit of oil, and fry the onion, garlic, celery and carrot for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the minced beef into the pan as well, keep stirring until it's browned, and then add the tomato.

3. Boil 100ml hot water and mix it with the beef stock cube. Pout it into the saucepan together with the red wine. Add the bay leaf into the pan, bring it to boil, and the let it simmer.

4. Boil another pan of hot water with a pinch of salt and a dash of oil and boil the pasta until it's al dente. Drain the pasta, but do not throw away the starchy water.

5. Check the meat sauce, and if the liquid has dried up, add a bit of the water from the drained pasta into the pan to get it to your desired consistency. Add a pinch of mixed herbs, the tbsp of tomato puree, a little dash of worcester sauce, a bit of Tobasco. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The mister is a Georgian, and this bread is something that he's been talking about since I met him back in uni days. He grew up on lobiani (red kidney beans flatbread), but he couldn't really find anywhere in here that serves this in a generous portion.

So, as a loving (!) girlfriend, I decided to have a go at it!

3 tins of red kidney beans in brine

1/2 red onion

500g plain flour

150ml warm water

1 1/2 tbsp dry yeast

Parsley, chopped

Dry chilli flakes

Oil

Salt

Pepper

Butter

Dough

1. Add a pinch of salt and the dry yeast into 50ml of luke warm water, set aside for 10 minutes until you see the bubbles come up.

2. Add the flour into the water and yeast mixture. Add another tbsp of salt and mix everything together in a big mixing bowl.

3. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes and then put it back to the mixing bowl. Cover the dough with a thin layer of oil and then cover the mixing bowl with cling film. Then, put it somewhere warm, let the yeast to do the hard work for an hour and I'll get crack on with the filling.

Filling

4. Cut the red onion into big chunks, put them in a little pan of cooking oil (about 25ml), and fry them until you can smell the aroma of the cooked onion. This oil is for loosing up the red kidney beans in the next step.

5. Drain the red kidney beans, and make them into mash. Add the oil from the pan of cooked onion and keep mashing it up until a smooth kidney beans mash is formed. Add salt and pepper, chilli flakes and chopped parsley to your taste and set aside.

Dough + Filling

6. Divide the kidney beans mash into 8 portions. When the dough has grown twice as big, take it out from the mixing bowl and divide them into 8 portions as well. The portion of kidney beans and the dough should be 1:1.

7. Thin the dough until big enough to wrap up the kidney beans mash in the middle like a big parcel. Use the dough roller to roll over the dough-parcel until it looks like a big flat circle. Open a little whole in the middle so that the steam can come out when it's heat up.

8. Heat up a cast iron pan. Put the bread into the pan, fry it for about 5 minutes until 1 side is cooked. Flip it over for another side to be cooked, which will take about 5 minutes as well.

9. When it's cooked, spread butter over the bread on both sides and serve immediately.

It's such a homely breakfast, I'm sure you must have had it at some point in your life?

Whisk some eggs, season it with salt and pepper, and then soak the bread in it. Fry it on high heat, and that's it! Easy peasy.

The mister has got a bit too excited with grocery shopping when his friend came over the other day and bought 6 big chunks of salmon. We ate 3 when I cooked the grilled salmon with green pesto pasta, so I'm left with another 3 to use up before it's too late...

When I was living by myself, I lived on fried rice. Apart from the obvious fact that I'm Chinese, it's easy, filling and comforting, and I could even eat it straight out of the pan to save me some washing up! Anyways I went a bit too far away and here's the ingredients for the fried rice:

2 bowls of leftover rice

3 chunks of palm size salmon fillet

handfuls of desired vegetables (frozen peas work well)

1. Season the salmon with salt and pepper, and fry it on high heat to until it's crispy. Remove the salmon from the pan (or wok) when it's well done.

2. Keep the grease from the salmon in the pan, and then fry the rice with it. When the rice is loosen up, drop the frozen vegetables to the pan and stir fry it with the rice together.

3. When the vegetables are cooked, stir the salmon back in and break it up into small pieces.

4. Season it with soy sauce, and some fried sesame for garnish.

I wish I could make this!

I was craving for a hearty meaty meal this evening, so I went to Sainsbury's and pick up a roast chicken for £5. This £5 saves me the effort of 2 hours of gas usage, I guess I can't complain! It also lasts for a couple of days for me and the man as well.

Since I didn't really roast the chicken by myself, I have a bit more time to concentrate on making a nice sauce to go with it, and also on roasting the potatoes. For the sauce, that's what I've used:

200ml white wine (I have no clue if it's fruity or dry...white wine is white wine for a non-drinker like me!)

1/2 onion, diced

200ml chicken stock

1 clove of garlic

1 pinch of thyme

2 tsp of sour cream

salt and pepper

1. Wash the potatoes and boil them in water until they're softened. It takes about 10-15 minutes for the small charlotte potatoes that I have, but it make take shorter/longer for yours if you've got a different kind/size of potatoes.

3. Once the potatoes are soften, drain the pan, leave the potatoes in the pan. Add some olive oil, salt and thyme into the pan and then put the lid on. Shake the pan hard to fluff up the potatoes.

4. Since the chicken is bought from Sainsbury's a couple of hours ago, I put the potatoes into a roasting tin, with the chicken on top to reheat it for about 30 mins. Now it's time for the sauce.

5. Fry the onion and garlic with low heat. When the onion is soften, I added the white wine and chicken stock into the pan. Bring it to boil.

6. Turn the hob to low heat once the sauce is boiled. Then, add the sour cream and simmer it until the sauce is thickened.

Remember the steak in red wine sauce I had the other day? I got another slice of steak like that from the same pack that I need to use, so I decided to look into the cupboard and see what I can find: black beans sauce, flat rice noodles and peppers...so obviously stir-frying them all together will make another quick dinner:) 100g beef, sliced 1 packet of flat rice noodles / udon 1 red/yellow/green pepper, sliced 1/2 onion 1/2 packet of black beans sauce 1 dash of soy sauce (if needed) 1. Marinate the beef with soy sauce, granulated sugar, sesame oil, oil, a dash of water and cornflour for about 10-15 minutes. (I personally think it would be fine to skip this step, but that's what my grandma would do whenever she cooked any meat to give it more flavour.)

2. Boil a pan of water, and then put the noodles into the water to loosen it up. Drain it when you can separate the noodles.

3. Heat up some oil in the pan on medium heat and them fry the onion until you can smell it. Then, put in the pepper and stir fry it for a few minutes.

4. Put in the marinated beef, stir fry it until it's slightly browned, and then add the noodles into the pan.

5. Add the black beans sauce into the pan and then stir it in the pan, until everything is evenly covered by the sauce.

6. Garnish it with roasted sesame to serve.

After a long day at work, no matter how much I'd like to have a big feast, the last thing I want to is to spend hours in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up. I just want something quick and easy. I realise I've got a packet of frankfurters to use up before it expires, so I recreate what my uncle used to cook for me when he's looking after me by himself - a very typical Oriental fast food! 2 eggs, beaten 4 frankfurters, sliced 2 spring onions, sliced 1 big bowl of boiled rice left over 1 dash of soy sauce 1. Put some oil in the pan and heat it up. Fry the egg when the oil is hot, and then put it aside.

2. Fry the sliced frankfurters. When they started to soften, pour the boiled rice into the pan.

3. Keep frying and stirring until the rice is not clustered anymore. When it's evenly cooked, put some soy sauce to your taste and keep stirring.

Ok, I cheated - I did not really make them all from scratch by myself.

The mister was reminiscing piroshki - a kind of dumpling from Russia that is filled with potato. He said he used to have, and loved piroshki and also pierogi, which is a dumpling that is filled with either cheese, mushroom or meat. I walked pass a Polish shop on the high street and saw them in the fridge, so I decided to bought them to treat him :)

The pierogi that I bought has cheese filling and meat filling. It was my first time to have them, so I was a little excited about the meal when I was boiling them. It only took me 10 minutes to cook (what a treat for me after a long day at work...), and I was told to serve them with black pepper and sour cream.