Japanese Assorted Stew (Oden) おでん

Previously, Bit Bit recorded the vegetarian oden version, and now Bit Bit will record the oden version with yummy fishcakes and bonito flakes.

The oden took about 1.5 hours to prepare and cook.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Oden:

• Oden is a very delicious dish, and the dashi and condiments are very important to flavour all the food in the oden well.
• For the dashi, Bit Bit wanted to add both kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes) right at the beginning, however since Bit Bit also had to prepare the vegetarian version, Bit Bit added the katsuobushi last, but it still tastes great and flavourful.
• From young, Bit Bit had always thought that chikuwa (fish surimi tube) is a local food product as it is commonly seen in yong tau foo, but after looking at the packaging which Pig bought from the wet market, Bit Bit realised that it had always been a japanese food product.
• Bit Bit likes to keep the leftover soup and add more ingredients in the next day, the soup will become more flavourful.
• Oden is low in calories and healthy, and also consists of both fibre and protein. Bit Bit loves it.
• In this dish, Bit Bit tries to replace as much of the ingredients that Bit Bit can find locally instead of buying the original japanese products.
• Bit Bit wanted to add a boiled egg in this dish, but forgot about the egg which was left aside.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Oden:

1. Kombu (Kelp) - 2 Rectangular Pieces (About 4 inches long when dried)
2. Bonito Flakes - 1 Handful
3. Water - About 700 to 800 ml
4. White Radish - 1/2 Medium Whole
5. Long Cabbage - 4 Leaves
6. Tau Pok (Deep-fried Tofu Puff) - 3 Pieces
7. Konnyaku (Yam Block) - 1/3 Block
8. Round Fried Fish Cake - 1 Piece
9. Chikuwa (Fish Surimi Tube) - 6 Pieces
10. Mirin - 3 to 4 Tbsp
11. Light Soy Sauce - 3 to 4 Tbsp

Method that Bit Bit used to cook Oden:

1. Pour the water and add in the kombu into a big pot, and bring to a boil. Afterwhich, simmer the dashi for 30 to 45 minutes.
2. Wash and remove the skin of the radish, and cut into 1 inch slices, and set aside.
3. Wash and cut the konnyaku into triangular shapes, and set aside.
4. Peel out the leaves of the cabbage one by one carefully, so as not to break them. Cut off most of the stem of the leaves.
5. Wash the leaves, fold the sides of the leaf towards the centre and roll it up from the bottom to the top. Use a toothpick to prevent the cabbage roll from falling apart. Repeat for the remaining leaves. Set aside the cabbage rolls.
6. Wash the stem of the leaves and cut them into small squares. These will be used to put into the tau pok bag.
7. Cut the top of the tau pok to form an opening for stuffing. As the interior of the tau pok does not normally have a hole like the aburaage, cut the middle of the tau pok to form an opening carefully. Repeat for the rest of the tau pok.
8. For the extra tops of the tau pok which were cut off, set them aside to be placed in the oden too.
9. Once all the ingredients are prepared, bring a pot of water to boil.
10. First, boil the radish slices for about 3 to 5 minutes.
11. Remove the radish slices and add them into the dashi pot to let them simmer in the dashi.
12. Second, boil the cabbage rolls for about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from boiling water and set aside.
13. Thirdly, boil the tau pok top and tau pok bag for about 3 to 4 minutes.
14. Remove the tau pok from the boiling water, and use a wet towel to dry the tau pok lightly.
15. For the tau pok top, set them aside. For the tau pok bag, open the bag and stuff in the cabbage stem dices. Use a toothpick to secure the opening of the bag, and set aside.
16. Lastly, boil the konnyaku for about 10 minutes to remove the fishy smell. As the boiling water was already used to boil the tau pok previously, and will be slightly oily, wash the boiled konnyaku in running water, before placing them into the dashi pot.
17. Cut the round fried fish cake into 4 pieces, and set aside.
18. Now, the ingredients - radish, konnyaku, tau pok slices, tau pok bags, cabbage rolls, chikuwa and fried fish cake are all prepared.
19. In the dashi pot that is still simmering, with radish and konnyaku in it, add mirin and light soy sauce, and mix well.
20. Taste the soup, if the flavour is not enough, add more mirin or light soy sauce accordingly.
21. Add in the cabbage rolls, tau pok slices, tau pok bags, chikuwa and fried fish cake.
22. Sprinkle the bonito flakes over the ingredients.
23. Cover the pot with a lid, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. The longer you simmer, the tastier the oden, Bit Bit prepared the oden 3 hours in advance before dinner, and when it is dinner time, the oden tastes very yummy.
24. Serve and eat!

Japanese Assorted Stew (Oden) おでん - Vegetarian

Bit Bit likes the fishcakes in yong tau foo a lot, and when Bit Bit came across this dish called oden, Bit Bit wanted to try it out. However, Bit Bit did not have the ingredients and after being able to find most of the ingredients, Bit Bit decided to make oden. As usual, Bit Bit needs to make a vegetarian version of Pig as well, so Bit Bit will record down the vegetarian version first.

The vegetarian oden took about 1.5 hours to prepare and cook.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Oden:

• Oden is a very delicious dish, and the dashi and condiments are very important to flavour all the food in the oden well.
• For a vegetarian version, one can use kombu (kelp) dashi or shiitake (chinese dried black mushroom) dashi. Bit Bit prefers the kombu dashi as one can also eat the kombu after cooking, and it tastes great. As there is no bonito flakes added to give the soup more flavour, add more kombu for a stronger taste.
• Since one main ingredient for oden is fish cake, which is not vegetarian, the vegetarian version will not have a sweet seafood taste, but it will have a flavourful kelp taste. Both Bit Bit and Pig likes it a lot.
• Bit Bit likes to keep the leftover soup and add more ingredients in the next day, the soup will become more flavourful.
• Oden is low in calories and healthy, and also consists of both fibre and protein. Bit Bit loves it.
• In this dish, Bit Bit tries to replace as much of the ingredients that Bit Bit can find locally instead of buying the original japanese products.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Oden:

1. Kombu (Kelp) - 2 Rectangular Pieces (About 4 inches long when dried)
2. Water - About 700 to 800 ml
3. White Radish - 1/2 Medium Whole
4. Long Cabbage - 4 Leaves
5. Tau Pok (Deep-fried Tofu Puff) - 3 Pieces
6. Konnyaku (Yam Block) - 1/3 Block
7. Mirin - 3 to 4 Tbsp
8. Light Soy Sauce - 3 to 4 Tbsp

Method that Bit Bit used to cook Oden:

1. Pour the water and add in the kombu into a big pot, and bring to a boil. Afterwhich, simmer the dashi for 30 to 45 minutes.
2. Wash and remove the skin of the radish, and cut into 1 inch slices, and set aside.
3. Wash and cut the konnyaku into triangular shapes, and set aside.
4. Peel out the leaves of the cabbage one by one carefully, so as not to break them. Cut off most of the stem of the leaves.
5. Wash the leaves, fold the sides of the leaf towards the centre and roll it up from the bottom to the top. Use a toothpick to prevent the cabbage roll from falling apart. Repeat for the remaining leaves. Set aside the cabbage rolls.
6. Wash the stem of the leaves and cut them into small squares. These will be used to put into the tau pok bag.
7. Cut the top of the tau pok to form an opening for stuffing. As the interior of the tau pok does not normally have a hole like the aburaage, cut the middle of the tau pok to form an opening carefully. Repeat for the rest of the tau pok.
8. For the extra tops of the tau pok which were cut off, set them aside to be placed in the oden too.
9. Once all the ingredients are prepared, bring a pot of water to boil.
10. First, boil the radish slices for about 3 to 5 minutes.
11. Remove the radish slices and add them into the dashi pot to let them simmer in the dashi.
12. Second, boil the cabbage rolls for about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from boiling water and set aside.
13. Thirdly, boil the tau pok top and tau pok bag for about 3 to 4 minutes.
14. Remove the tau pok from the boiling water, and use a wet towel to dry the tau pok lightly.
15. For the tau pok top, set them aside. For the tau pok bag, open the bag and stuff in the cabbage stem dices. Use a toothpick to secure the opening of the bag, and set aside.
16. Lastly, boil the konnyaku for about 10 minutes to remove the fishy smell. As the boiling water was already used to boil the tau pok previously, and will be slightly oily, wash the boiled konnyaku in running water, before placing them into the dashi pot.
17. Now, the ingredients - radish, konnyaku, tau pok slices, tau pok bags and cabbage rolls are all prepared.
18. In the dashi pot that is still simmering, with radish and konnyaku in it, add mirin and light soy sauce, and mix well.
19. Taste the soup, if the flavour is not enough, add more mirin or light soy sauce accordingly.
20. Add in the cabbage rolls, tau pok slices and tau pok bags.
21. Cover the pot with a lid, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. The longer you simmer, the tastier the oden, Bit Bit prepared the oden 3 hours in advance before dinner, and when it is dinner time, the oden tastes very yummy.
22. Serve and eat!

Flat Rice Noodle Soup (Kway Teow Soup) 粿条汤 - Vegetarian

Bit Bit was thinking of what to cook for Pig's dinner, and since there is only chee cheong fun left in the fridge, Bit Bit had to use chee cheong fun to prepare dinner. Then Bit Bit thought of kway teow soup, and since chee cheong fun is also a kind of rice noodle in the form of a roll, Bit Bit used chee cheong fun in replace of kway teow to make kway teow soup.

This dish took about 25 minutes to complete.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Kway Teow Soup:

• Chinese dried mushrooms, tomato and beansprouts gave a lot of flavour to soups, so be sure to add them in for a more flavourful soup.
• Chee cheong fun is more fragile than kway teow, so if using chee cheong fun in place of kway teow, do not cook them for too long else they will become small pieces. A good way is to cook the kway teow or chee cheong fun separately in a pot of boiling water and then put them into the soup.
• This is a light and tasty meal, which is suitable for people who do not have appetite.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Kway Teow Soup:

1. Chee Cheong Fun - 1.5 Pieces
2. Chinese Dried Black Mushrooms - 4 Pieces
3. Tomato - 1 Whole
4. Tau Kwa (Firm Beancurd) - 1 Piece
5. Beansprouts - 1 Cup
6. Light Soy Sauce - 2 Tbsp
7. Water - 2 Cups

Method that Bit Bit used to cook Kway Teow Soup:

1. Pour the water into a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Wash and cut the mushrooms into slices.
3. Add the sliced mushrooms into the boiling water.
4. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Wash and cut the tomato into 6 wedges, and set aside.
6. Cut the tau kwa into small rectangles and set aside.
7. Wash the beansprouts and set aside.
8. When the mushrooms have been simmered for 10 minutes, add in the tomato wedges and tau kwa into the soup, and simmer for 5 minutes.
9. Add in the beansprouts and simmer for another 5 minutes.
10. Bring another pot of water to boil and steam the chee cheong fun for 5 minutes.
11. Once chee cheong fun is ready, cut the chee cheong fun into 1 inch pieces.
12. Pour the soup into the serving bowl and add in the cut chee cheong fun.
13. Serve and eat!

Stir-Fried Spicy Brinjal (Eggplant) and Long Beans 辣炒茄子长豆

Pig normally likes to stir-fry brinjal with chilli padi and Bit Bit likes it. The mixed vegetable rice stall near Bit Bit's area also sells stir-fried brinjal with long beans and Bit Bit also likes it. So today, Bit Bit decided to make stir-fried spicy brinjal and long beans.

This dish took about 20 minutes to complete.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Stir-Fried Spicy Brinjal and Long Beans:

• Long beans need a longer time to be cooked, so while stir-frying vegetables, cook the long beans first.
• To check whether a brinjal is cooked, poke a chopsticks into its flesh and if it goes through easily, the brinjal is cooked.
• This dish is healthy and filled with fibre, and the chilli also stimulates one's metabolism.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Stir-Fried Spicy Brinjal and Long Beans:

1. Brinjal (Eggplant) - 6 Small Whole
2. Long Beans - 350gm (Around 12 to 15 Pieces)
3. Red Chilli Padi - 9 Pieces
4. Canola Oil - 1 Tbsp
5. Light Soy Sauce - 1.5 Tbsp
6. Salt - A Pinch
7. Water - 1/2 Cup

Method that Bit Bit used to cook Stir-Fried Spicy Brinjal and Long Beans:

1. Wash and cut the brinjal into thick slices, and set aside.
2. Wash and remove the head and tail of the long beans, cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces and set aside.
3. Wash and remove the head of the chilli padi, cut the chilli padi into two pieces each.
4. Use a chopstick to hit the chilli padi gently to remove the seeds, and set aside.
5. Heat up a pan and add oil.
6. Add in the long beans and red chilli padi. Stir fry for about 5 minutes.
7. Add in 1/4 cup of water and simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes.
8. Continue to stir fry and simmer till long beans are mostly cooked (does not taste raw anymore).
9. Add in the brinjal and 1/4 cup of water.
10. Stir fry for about 5 minutes and simmer till both long beans and brinjal are cooked.
11. Add in light soy sauce and salt, and mix well.
12. Stir fry for about 2 to 3 minutes.
13. Serve and eat!

Ketchup Tofu and Carrot Fried Rice 番茄豆腐红萝卜炒饭

One of Bit Bit's favourite condiment is tomato ketchup, so Bit Bit was thinking of making ketchup fried rice. However, Bit Bit wants to make it special, so Bit Bit decided to add carrots and tau kwa (firm beancurd) to the ketchup fried rice, and also to put the rice into the tau kwa like a box.

This dish took about 30 minutes to finish cooking, including preparation of ingredients.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Ketchup Tofu and Carrot Fried Rice:

• Ketchup really goes well with rice, as it makes the rice sweet and tasty.
• Adding some firm tofu to the ketchup fried rice will give a soft texture while chewing on the rice, which makes it a very interesting combination.
• Bit Bit feels that children will like ketchup fried rice a lot due to the sweetness in the ketchup.
• Fried rice does not have to be oily and high in calories, just remember to add less oil and use a non-stick pan.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Ketchup Tofu and Carrot Fried Rice:

1. Uncooked Rice - 3/4 Cup
2. Water - 1.5 Cups
3. Ketchup - 3 Tbsp
4. Carrot - 1/3 Whole Large
5. Tau Kwa (Firm Beancurd) - 2 Pieces
6. Canola Oil - 2 Tbsp

Method that Bit Bit used to cook Ketchup Tofu and Carrot Fried Rice:

1. Wash and rinse the rice for about three times.
2. Pour the water and the washed rice into a pot and cook at medium low heat.
3. When most of the water has dried up, check whether the rice has soften. If the rice has soften, turn off the heat and cover with a lid, else add in some water and cook for a little while more.
4. Wash and remove the skin of the carrot, cut into small slices, and set aside.
5. Use a knife and cut out the interior block of the tau kwa. Slice the top of the interior block to be the 'tofu box's' cover.
6. Heat a pan and add 1 tbsp of oil.
7. Fry the exterior block of the tau kwa carefully to prevent the corners of the tau kwa from breaking. When the exterior block (tofu box) of the tau kwa has turned golden, remove from pan and set aside.
8. Fry the 'tofu box's' cover till golden and set aside.
9. For the leftover tau kwa, dice into small pieces.
10. Add in 1 tbsp of oil into the pan.
11. Add in the carrots and leftover diced tau kwa, and stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes.
12. Add in the cooked rice and ketchup, and mix well.
13. Stir-fry for about 2 to 3 minutes and turn off the heat.
14. Place the ketchup fried rice on the serving plate, leaving a small portion of ketchup fried rice to be put inside the 'tofu box'.
15. Place the 'tofu box' on top of the fried rice, scoop the small portion of ketchup fried rice and put them inside the 'tofu box'.
16. Cover the 'tofu box' with the 'tofu box's' cover.
17. Serve and eat!

Food Tasting : Nine Fortune Chinese Pineapple Cake 九福凤梨酥

Bit Bit went marketing with Pig yesterday and Pig found one of Pig's favourite dessert which is vegetarian, and it is pineapple cake (pineapple tart). It is not very cheap for 8 pieces of pineapple cake per packet, but it is quite rare to see vegetarian pineapple cake without egg, so Pig decided to buy it and Bit Bit decided to try it.

The vegetarian pineapple cake is mainly made of pineapple, wintermelon, maltose, sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oil, butter, milk powder and preservatives. As seen from the ingredients, one piece of pineapple cake is considered very high in calories at 111kcals. Bit Bit is horrified by the high amount of calories and decided that Bit Bit can only eat one piece maximum per day.

For the tastewise, the exterior crust of the pineapple is soft and yummy. The pineapple filling in the inside is a bright yellow colour, and is at an appropriate level of sweetness, though it does stick to the teeth slightly. The soft crust and sweet pineapple filling complement each other, and Bit Bit finds that it is quite nice for a vegetarian pineapple cake, considering no egg is added.

Considering the price for just 8 pieces of pineapple cake, Bit Bit finds it quite costly. However, Bit Bit feels that it can be bought occasionally and kept for some time since it is individully wrapped. It is also recommended for vegetarians who have been thinking of eating pineapple cakes.

A nice way to reward oneself once in a while when one is watching their weight.

Sautéed Carrot and Potato (Carrot and Potato Kinpira) にんじんとじゃがいものきんぴら

Bit Bit wants to make a japanese dish, but does not want to make anything that is hard to find in the ingredients, and so carrot and potato kinpira sounds like a good idea.

This dish took about 25 minutes.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Carrot and Potato Kinpira:

• The vegetables must be cooked till it browns, else it will be quite raw.
• Kinpira normally uses root vegetables instead of leafy vegetables.
• The potato kinpira tastes something like sweet french fries, Bit Bit likes them a lot.
• This is a simple dish which has easy to find ingredients and is very tasty.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Carrot and Potato Kinpira:

1. Carrot - 1 Large Whole
2. Potato - 2 Medium Whole
3. Mirin - 3 Tbsp
4. Light Soy Sauce - 1.5 Tbsp
5. Sesame Oil - 1 Tbsp

Method that Bit Bit used to cook Carrot and Potato Kinpira:

1. Wash and remove the skin of the carrot, cut into strips and set aside.
2. Wash and remove the skin of the potatoes, cut into strips and set aside.
3. Heat up a pan and add sesame oil.
4. Add in the carrot and toss around for about 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Add in the potato and toss around till both carrot and potato browns.
6. Add in mirin and light soy sauce, and toss around the vegetables, mixing them well.
7. Simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes.
8. Serve and eat!