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| Along with taste and aroma, color is one equally important
measurement of cooking. To present food in its natural luscious colors
not only preserves the most of its nutritional values but entices us by
appealing to our sense of sight. To cook with colors, the chef becomes
a painter, and the spatula her paintbrush, the ingredients her paint tubes.
She will mix and match, stir and swirl, to create her work of art, literally
good enough to eat.
The following offers simple meals of three or four dishes per set,
matching together dishes like colors on a canvas.
Menu 1
Miso Soup
Tomato and
Eggs Scrambled
Beef, Asparagus
and Tofu Stir-fry
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Miso Soup
2-tblsp miso paste
1 cup tofu cubes
1/4-cup chopped scallion
2 fresh shiitake mushroom, cut into pieces
4-cup water
Salt and pepper
Heat water and dissolve miso into water. Add tofu and shiitake mushroom,
simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Add scallions right before
serving. Serve warm. Make 4 one-cup servings.
Tomato and Eggs Scrambled
2 medium tomatoes cut into pieces
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 stems scallion, cut into pieces
2-tblsp cooking oil
Salt and pepper
Heat oil, braise scallion, add egg mixture, when egg solidified and
brown on one side, break it up and add tomatoes. Stir well, cover and simmer
for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Serve warm. Make 4 3/4 cup servings.
Beef, Asparagus and Tofu Stir-fry
4 oz beef, cut into strips
2 pieces pressed tofu, cut into strips
2 cups asparagus strips, cut at 45 degree angles
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-tblsp cooking wine
1-tblsp cornstarch
2-tblsp cooking oil
1-tblsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper
Marinate beef with 1 tblsp wine and cornstarch. Heat oil, stir in garlic
and beef, when meat starts to change color, stir in tofu and soy sauce,
and mix well. Add asparagus, cooking wine, salt and pepper, cover and simmer
for 3 minutes till asparagus is bright green and tender to bite.
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Menu 2
Stewed Cornish
Game Hen and Shiitake Mushroom Soup
Wilted Spinach
Leek, Beef
and Tofu Stir-fry
Salmon Baked
in Miso Crust
Stewed Cornish Game Hen and Shiitake Mushroom Soup
1 game hen
10 ears dry shiitake mushroom, soaked in water
8 cups water
2 slices ginger
1 teasp salt
Blench chicken in boiling water, promptly set aside. Boil 8 cups of
water with shiitake mushroom, ginger and salt. Add chicken and simmer for
20 minutes. Before serving, use fork to split chicken into large pieces.
Serve warm.
Wilted Spinach
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 cups spinach, cut into pieces
1 tblsp cooking oil
1 tblsp cooking wine
Salt and pepper
Heat oil, stir in garlic, add spinach and cooking wine, simmer for 1
minute till spinach starts to wilt. Add salt and pepper. Serve warm. Make
4 1/2 cup servings.
Leek, Beef and Tofu Stir-fry
6 oz beef, cut into strips
8 pieces pressed tofu, cut into strips
1 medium leek, cut into bite size
2-tblsp cooking oil
1 tblsp soy sauce
2-tblsp cooking wine
1 tblsp corm starch
Salt and pepper
Marinate beef with 1 teasp wine and cornstarch. Heat oil, add beef,
and stir until meat starts to change color, add tofu and soy sauce, and
blend well. Add leek and cooking wine, simmer for 3 minutes. Add salt and
pepper. Serve warm. Make 4 1/2 cup servings.
Salmon Baked in Miso Crust
8 oz fresh salmon steak
2-tblsp miso paste
Coat salmon generously with miso paste. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap
salmon in aluminum wrap, bake for 10 minutes. Open up the aluminum wrap
and resume baking to brown the miso crust, about 5 minutes. Serve warm.
Make 4 two oz servings.
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Menu 3
Tomato and
Egg-drop Soup
Asparagus Sautéed
with Shiitake Mushroom
Napa Cabbage
Braised with Dry-shrimps
Pan-fried Pork
Chops
Tomato and Egg-drop Soup
1 large tomato, cut into pieces
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 stem scallion, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 tblsp cooking oil
Salt and pepper
3 cups water
Heat oil, braise scallion, add water bring to boil. Add tomato, simmer
for 3 minutes, add egg mixture, and stir slightly till egg solidified.
Add salt and pepper. Serve warm. Make 4 one-cup servings.
Asparagus Sautéed with Shiitake Mushroom
4 ears fresh Shiitake mushroom, cut into strips
2 cups asparagus, cut at 45-degree angle into bit size strips
2 garlic cloves
1 tblsp cooking oil
2-tblsp cooking wine
Salt and pepper
Heat oil, add garlic, stir till fragrant. Add shiitake mushroom, stir
for 15 seconds. Add asparagus, cooking wine, salt and pepper, mix well,
cover and simmer for 2 minutes till asparagus is bright green and tender
to bite. Serve warm. Make 4 1/2 cup servings.
Napa Cabbage Braised with Dry Shrimps
2-tblsp dry shrimps, soaked in water
Half of a large Napa cabbage, cut into bite size pieces
1 stem scallion, cut into 2 inch pieces
2-tblsp cooking oil
2-tblsp cooking wine
1/4-cup water
1 teasp salt
Heat oil, add scallion and shrimp, stir till fragrant. Add cabbage,
salt, cooking wine and water, braise at low heat for 10 minutes till cabbage
is tender. Serve warm. Make 4 one-cup servings.
Pan-fried Pork Chops
4 pieces of thinly sliced pork chops
2-tblsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper
4-tblsp cooking oil
Use meat pounder to tenderize pork chop. Marinate with soy sauce for
20 minutes or more. Heat oil, use medium heat and pan-fry pork chop for
3 minutes on each side. Serve warm. Make 4 servings.
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Menu 4
Pan-fried Chinese
Sausages
Braised Cabbage
Sautéed
Mile Long Beans
Stir-fried
Beef, Bean sprouts and Onions
Pan-fried Chinese Sausages
6 links of Taiwanese style sweet sausages
1 tblsp cooking oil
Heat oil. Use medium heat and pan-fry sausage links for about 3 minutes
on one side, turn 3 or 4 times till links are brown all over. Serve warm.
Make 6 servings.
Braised Cabbage
4 cups cabbage, cut into bite size
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4-cup water
Save the juice from pan-frying sausages, add garlic to juice, heat for
15 seconds. Add water and cabbage, cover and braise at medium heat for
5 minutes. Cabbage should be tender but still crunchy to bite. Add salt
and pepper. Serve warm. Make 4 3/4 cup servings.
Sautéed Mile Long Beans
4 cups mile long beans cut into bite size
1/4-cup water
2 garlic cloves
1 tblsp cooking oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat oil, add garlic, stir till fragrant. Add water and mile long beans,
use medium heat and cover for about 3 minutes, beans should be bright in
color and tender to bite. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm. Make
4 3/4 cup servings.
Stir-fried Beef, Bean sprouts and Onions
6 oz beef, cut into strips
1 medium onion, cut into strips
2 cups bean spouts
2-tblsp cooking oil
1 tblsp soy sauce
2-tblsp cooking wine
1 tblsp cornstarch
Salt and pepper to taste
Marinate beef strips with 1 tblsp of cooking wine and cornstarch for
15 minutes. Heat 1 tblsp of oil; braise onion till tender to bite, set
aside. Heat remaining oil, stir-fry beef when meat starts to change color,
add soy sauce and blend well, set aside. Add about 2 tblsp of water to
pan, add bean sprout and cover pan for 2 minutes or till bean sprouts start
to wilt. Mix in beef and onion; add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Make 4 1/2 cup servings.
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Menu 5
Pea Shoot Tofu
Soup
Tomato and
Egg Scrambled
Braised Cabbages
Stir-fried
Pork, Picked Mustard Green and Asparagus
Pea Shoot Tofu Soup
2 cups pea shoots
1 cup tofu cubes
2 cups broth
1 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat broth and water, add tofu cubes, and simmer for 15 minutes. Bring
soup back to boil with high heat, add pea shoots, salt and water. Immediately
turn off heat. Pea shoots do not take long to cook. Serve warm. Make 4
one-cup servings.
Stir-fried Pork, Picked Mustard Green and Asparagus
6 oz pork, cut into strips
6 oz picked mustard green, cut into strips
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cups asparagus, cut into bite size
2-tblsp cooking oil
1 tblsp soy sauce
2-tblsp cooking wine
1 tblsp cornstarch
Salt and pepper to taste
Marinate pork strips with 1 tblsp cooking wine and cornstarch for 10
minutes. Heat cooking oil, cook garlic till fragrant. Add pork strips;
stir till meat starts to turn white. Add soy sauce and blend well. Add
picked mustard green and mix well. Add asparagus, remaining cooking wine
and salt and pepper, stir till vegetable bright green and tender to bite.
Serve warm. Make 4 1/2 cup servings.
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