Monthly Archives: May 2016

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Stir Fry Paneer Masala

May 30, 2016 7:48 am , Leave a Comment ,
Stir Fry Paneer Masala

I first tasted this Memorable Dish at a summer picnic barbeque at a park with our friends. It’s a big group and we try to get together once or twice a year. But it’s insane because the group was huge to begin with. And now that almost all of us have children it’s even crazier. Mind you, not everyone can make it but it’s still a very large group to have hosted at one person’s house.

We all bring something to the barbeque to eat and share. Most of us bring hot dogs and hamburgers but when someone brings something different, I get very excited. My friend brought this yummy stir fry paneer dish. Our family loves Indian food so being a curious cook, I asked her what was in it. She told me this super easy recipe and I’ve been making it ever since. She calls the dish paneer tikka but being Chinese, I call it Stir Fry Paneer Masala because it deviates from the traditional paneer tikka.

Although my oldest son loves Indian food, he’s not crazy about paneer which he says is like tofu. My second son loves it because it’s like a cheesy tofu, and he just loves tofu. My toddler girl loves everything cheesy. So even though this recipe is a tad spicy, she devours it. Of course both my husband and I love this Memorable Dish. It’s always great to discover new easy dishes to make for a weeknight dinner that everybody in the family loves (minus one) 😉 .Stir Fry Paneer Masala

Stir Fry Paneer Masala

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Serving Size: 2-4

Ingredients

  • 1 400g package Paneer, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 tbsp & 1 tsp Tandoori Masala
  • 1 tbsp & 1 tsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 tsp Ketchup
  • 1/4 cup Water
  • 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Green or Red Pepper, 1 inch pieces
  • 1 small Onion, cut into large dice

Preparation

  1. Marinate paneer with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon tandoori masala for at least 1 hour.
  2. Heat wok or large frying pan with vegetable oil.
  3. Fry onions and green peppers until softened but still has a bit of crunch to it.
  4. Add paneer and stir.
  5. Add water and 1 teaspoon of each: tandoori masala, soy sauce, ketchup.
  6. Stir fry until the paneer is warmed through.
https://www.memorabledishes.com/stir-fry-paneer-masala/

Posted in: Main Course, Vegetables, Vegetarian , Tagged: , ,

Chocolate Chips, Toffee Bits and Walnut Cookies

May 24, 2016 7:55 am , Leave a Comment ,

Cookies! C is for cookie and it’s good enough for me… This song sung by Cookie Monster is in my head more than I would like because my toddler girl is obsessed with her Sesame Street songs. But the cookie monster at my house is not her—it’s my husband! He absolutely loves cookies and is constantly hounding me to make them. With the limited time I have writing a food blog post every week, taking care of the kids, working from home, plus cooking meals everyday for my family of five, I cannot possibly be baking cookies everyday! (Believe me, I’m no Martha Stewart   😉 .) However, I would like to create the illusion that I’m a good homemaker so when people come to visit, I greet them wearing a frilly apron serving freshly baked cookies.

That’s what happened when I went over to one of my friend’s house (minus the frilly apron). She would bake fresh cookies for me on the fly. She says she always has a mixed batch of cookie dough in the fridge. So when people come over she just scoops the dough and bakes a small batch of cookies just enough for the guests to eat. This way she always serves freshly baked cookies! How clever is that?

These cookies made it as a Memorable Dish because absolutely everyone in my family requests them. I’ve perfected this recipe by combining chocolate chips, toffee bits and walnuts. My mouth waters just thinking about them. I tried making these cookies with just coconut oil to be a little healthier but I found they’re just not quite the same. So I compromised by using half butter and half coconut oil and really love the result. Cookies without the buttery taste are just not cookies! I also use half white and half whole wheat flour.

I would like to say that if unexpected guests come to visit they will be lucky enough to get some freshly baked cookies. Technically, I should have a stash of frozen cookie balls waiting to be baked and served. But if my family knows cookie balls are in the freezer, they would pace around the freezer like a bunch of hungry wolves every night waiting for those cookies to be baked. I don’t think they would rest until all the cookie dough is gone. Soooo the unexpected guests might not be so lucky to taste this Memorable Treat afterall 😉 .Chocolate Chips, Toffee Bits and Walnut Cookies

Chocolate Chips, Toffee Bits and Walnut Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

48 Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup Coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 cup All-purpose Flour
  • 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 tsp Baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 cup Semi-sweet or Dark Chocolate Chips
  • 1 cup Toffee bits
  • 1 cup Chopped Walnuts

Preparation

  1. Heat oven to 375°F.
  2. In a large bowl, beat softened butter, coconut oil, brown sugar and granulated sugar until fluffy.
  3. Beat in eggs and vanilla until creamy.
  4. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt.
  5. Gradually blend the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  6. Stir in chocolate chips, toffee bits and chopped walnuts.
  7. Drop approximately 1 tablespoon of cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheet.
  8. Make sure you have enough space in between the cookie dough because it will spread.
  9. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown.

Notes

Note #1: If you’re planning ahead (and if you remember), take the butter out of the refrigerator the night before so that the butter is at room temperature when baking. For best results, eggs should be room temperature too.

Note #2: If you want to make a larger batch to freeze, scoop the dough out into little balls and place them onto a cookie tray. Freeze the dough balls until they are hard. Then put them into freezer bags. When you are ready to eat them, place them on the cookie tray to bake. If you bake them frozen, cook them a little longer. If you defrost them to room temperature, bake them like you would normally would.

https://www.memorabledishes.com/chocolate-chips-toffee-bits-and-walnut-cookies/

Posted in: Dessert, Snack , Tagged: , , , , ,

Alphabet Soup

May 16, 2016 7:36 am , Leave a Comment ,
Alphabet Soup

This Memorable Dish was requested by my second son because he was sick this past week. It was definitely a sick soup week for all. When one person in the family gets sick, at least two out of the five (but usually more) will also get sick. Luckily (or maybe unluckily) I never get sick, which means I am the one taking care of the sickies. Growing up Chinese, when we get sick, we eat congee such as my Century Egg and Pork Congee. We also avoid certain foods. For example, when we get a cough, we never eat oranges or drink cold drinks. We also make special drinks or soups to nourish ourselves when we’re sick. So on top of making the specially requested alphabet soup, I have also been making drinks and soups using Chinese herbs. But we’ll save special nourishing Chinese soups for another post. Now back to alphabet soup…

I love that the boys request certain foods depending on what mood they are in. They have equated soupy noodles as foods that they like to eat when they are sick. My second son requests special foods quite often. He has been requesting Spaghetti and Meatballs and macaroni and cheese and even offered to help me cook them because he loves these dishes so much. I love to get reminders on what to make from time to time. With busy weekdays, I often make my usual go-to dishes (some kind of meat/fish with rice and veggies). It’s nice to hear special requests because that means they enjoy the food I make for them 🙂 .

When I told the boys that I’m making Alphabet Soup, they all cheered. Sickies and non-sickies alike enjoy this Memorable Dish. Even though you could make this soup with any shaped pasta, using the alphabet pasta was extra special to them. They always ask for seconds for this simple and quick dish. I don’t know why I don’t make it more often because this dish really makes them so happy! Then again, if I make it often, it might not be so special afterall 😉 .Alphabet Soup

Alphabet Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Serving Size: 1

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of cooked alphabet pasta
  • 1/2 cup diced Ham (or whatever leftover meats you have on hand, I’m using turkey Kolbassa this time)
  • 1/2 cup frozen Corn (defrosted)
  • 2 cups Chicken Broth (Homemade or your favourite store-bought brand)
  • Splash of Vegetable Oil
  • Salt and White Pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. Prepare alphabet pasta according to package instructions.
  2. Drain pasta in colander, add vegetable oil and mix to prevent from sticking.
  3. Bring the chicken broth to a boil and add pasta, ham, and corn.
  4. Once the broth boils again, it’s ready to serve.
https://www.memorabledishes.com/alphabet-soup/

Posted in: Main Course, Noodles, Pasta, Soup, Vegetables , Tagged: , , ,

How I Got My Love of Cooking – My Mom

May 8, 2016 10:46 am , Leave a Comment ,

My mom is a great cook and I have to thank her for passing her love of cooking to me. She always let me help her in the kitchen – washing vegetables, rice and cutting small things. She never told me to get out of her way when she was trying to cook. Nor did she pressure me to learn to cook because I was a girl and needed to learn that sort of thing. She just let me observe and absorb. Although she wasn’t too crazy about my non-stop questioning, she never made me leave the kitchen. I was always a very curious child asking question after question. There is actually a Cantonese phrase for that which roughly translates to “breaking a sand bin with non-stop questions”. I know it sounds a bit weird in English, it makes more sense in Cantonese and it even has a ring to it.

I remember learning to cook by watching my mom, asking questions and her letting me help. I learned how to gut a fish and clean squids at quite a young age. Even today, one of my favourite things to do is cleaning squids. Yes I know it sounds gross but it’s somehow very therapeutic to me.

I am lucky to have a mother who is very adventurous in the food realm. She often experiments with different things she’s seen or read. I have to say because of my mom’s love and adventure for food, my brothers and I love to eat and are always in search of new culinary delights! I think my kiddies already possess a bit of food obsession like my brothers and I. Practically every day the boys ask, “What are we eating for dinner?” My baby girl makes “ummm” noises when she eats something she likes and actually requests specific foods. I am hoping to pass on the love of food to my children the same way my mom passed it on to me 🙂 .How I Got My Love of Cooking - My Mom

Posted in: Uncategorized , Tagged: , ,

Greek Potatoes

May 2, 2016 8:22 am , 1 Comment ,
Greek Potatoes

This past Sunday was Greek Orthodox Easter and it’s the perfect time to pay tribute to this Memorable Dish. Growing up in an Asian household, our staple carb is obviously rice. We ALWAYS have rice for dinner at my parents’ house. Noodles are reserved for lunches and possibly breakfast. So eating bread or potatoes as a carb just doesn’t feel right. However, I absolutely love these Greek Potatoes!

I am always afraid to replicate simple traditional recipes with a few ingredients. Even though this Memorable Dish is simple, it’s the magic touch of experience and love that goes into the dish that could make or break it. Like making pasta, even though it’s only semolina flour, egg, salt and water, you need lots of experience to turn those ingredients into delicious pasta with the right chewiness and taste.

I got this recipe from my husband’s aunt. We went over to their house and when she served these potatoes I couldn’t believe how great they tasted. Such a simple dish but so flavourful! I hope I replicate it as it’s intended to be. But I find it not quite the same as when we had it at my husband’s aunt’s place. It must’ve been the magic touch I was talking about 😉 .

Greek Potatoes

Greek Potatoes

Greek Potatoes

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 10 medium Potatoes, peeled, cut into quarters lengthwise
  • 1 Onion, finely diced
  • 1 Red or Green Pepper, finely diced
  • 2 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 1 Lemon, squeezed juice
  • 1/4 cup Olive Oil
  • 2 tsp Oregano
  • 2 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients well with the potatoes.
  3. Place the seasoned potatoes in a large roasting dish.
  4. Bake covered with foil for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender. Leave in oven for 15 minutes.

Notes

Note #1: You can also use 1/4 cup of store bought bottled lemon juice.

Note #2: The original recipe uses 1 tbsp of oregano. I find it a bit too strong for our family’s liking. So adjust accordingly.

https://www.memorabledishes.com/greek-potatoes/

Posted in: Vegetables , Tagged: , ,
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