O-ishi-i Kitchen: Healthy cooking

Healthy but Yummy Cake Salé

I brought this Cake Salé (savory cake) for a friends gathering, so I couldn't get good snap shots. But I hope these photos can convey how delicious it was!

It’s a healthy savory cake using olive oil. If you prefer, you may use gluten-free flour instead of regular cake flour. I just used vegetables and chick peas but you can add anything you want, if it’s eatable and suitable for savory cakes.

Here is a recipe:

== Cake Salé ==

For 1 loaf mold of 21x11x6cm

*** Ingredients:

Olive oil …….. 80g

Soy milk (unsweetened) …….. 150g

Eggs …….. 3

Honey …….. 1 Tablespoon

Pastry flour …….. 195g (shifted with baking powder)

Baking powder …….. 8g

Black pepper …….. as you like

Salt …….. 1/2 Teaspoon or taste the batter when it’s mixed & if you need more, add more for taste

Parmesan cheese (grated) …….. 90g

Miso (Japanese Soy bean paste) …….. 1 Teaspoon

Curry powder …….. 1/2 Teaspoon

Onion (small) …….. 1/2 (chopped finely)

Mushrooms …….. about 5 pieces, chopped in small dice

Dried tomatoes (in oil) …….. 5 small pieces remove oil and cut up in pieces

Fresh red chili (optional, NOT a spicy one) …….. 1, remove the seeds and thinly sliced

Chick peas (canned) …….. 1/2 cups (American size cup=250ml, so 125ml in measurement)

Fresh Parsley & Thyme …….. 1 branch each, finely minced

*** How to make:

1. In skillet, heat about 1/2 tablespoonful of olive oil and sauté all the prepared vegs except chick peas. Add a dash of pepper and a pinch of salt. Set aside and let it cool.

*** Preheat oven at 180C.

2. In a bowl, mix olive oil and soy milk. Then add eggs one at a time.

3. Mix Miso with honey and add into the bowl above. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

4. Incorporate flour with BP and all the spices.

5. Toss sautéed vegs, cheese, minced herbs and chick peas in batter and mix well.

6. Pour this batter into a prepared mold and bake at 180C in pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes or until done.

When it’s done, let it cool in the pan slightly and serve either warm or cool.

Cake Salé is great for branch, lunch or even dinner as an appetizer. It’s delightfully yummy! Enjoy!

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, by Rieko

Healthy cooking

Bento-style Dinner

Have you ever heard “Bento” before? Bento is a Japanese lunch box which is filled with something compact and easy to eat inside a box. Here, when I said “Bento style”, I referred to small cooked items as fillings of Bento. Something I can pick easily with chopsticks.

I made three items: Dashimaki Tamago (rolled egg omelet), Rolled Vegetables in Beef and Okura with Ume-boshi.

Dashimaki (rolled & seasoned) Tamago(eggs):

I put a scant of dried bonito base (diluted in water), Mirin(sweet Sake) and salt for taste. Mix eggs and the rest of ingredients well, heat a skillet and add grapeseed oil, then pour egg mixture spreading evenly. As soon as the eggs become a bit solid, start rolling the egg using chopsticks and shape like a cylinder. Inside this omelet needs to be a bit soft.

Place a plastic wrap on a counter where I put the omelet on. And then just wrap the omelet and roll to shape but I have to be careful so that I don’t burn my fingers. I used Maki-su (a tiny bamboo mat-like item to roll sushi inside) to shape the omelet in cylinder.

When it’s cool, just cut in desired thickness.

Rolled Vegetables in Beef:

On top of a paper-thin beef slices, I sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper, and place cooked vegetables on one end. After I just roll beef slices tightly like a mini cylinder.

Cook these in a skillet with heated oil. Season with soy sauce and ketchup. When they are slightly cooler, I cut them in half.

Okura and Ume-boshi (pickled salty plum):

Slice Okura, add finely chopped Ume-boshi, a little Men-tsuyu (Japanese noodle sauce for Udon) and dried bonito flakes.

Beside these, I cooked 3 different types of rice (brown, red and black) with cut tomato cubes, sautéed diced onions and chicken bouillon, a rosemary branch and water.

Usually, the Japanese rarely eat rice in this fashion. But for me, if it tastes good and healthy with loads of anthocyanin (type of flavonoids), then it’s even better than using processed white rice.

As an accompaniment, I prepared Miso (fermented soy bean paste) soup with several vegetables.

They are all easy to make in a short time which require about less than 1 hour not including a cooking time for rice.

I try to make something healthy with lots of vegetables and natural fresh produces. Do you know the Japanese live much longer than those folks in the other advanced countries who tend to live longer than the rest of the world. But it doesn’t matter if you live longer or not, if you are invalid in bed. My mother is a good example. She’s well over 70 now but she doesn’t need to take any pills to lower her blood pressure or cholesterol. She is totally healthy and active for her age. In general, old-fashioned Japanese eat healthily with grains, vegetables, seaweeds and fruits and some protein from soy beans, some meats and fish. I assume a good balance in diet is important for maintaining well-being and youth-”full”-ness.

In Japan, there is a proverb which I believe derived from China in ancient time.

医食同源　(Ishoku-dougen)

a balanced diet leads to a healthy body; healthy food both prevents and cures sickness

In short, I want to keep whatever coming into my mouth, mostly they shall be GOOD.

2 comments

, by Rieko

Dessert

Roselle and Watermelon Jelly Dessert

2 comments

, by Rieko

Cooking

Japanese Ginger Pork

We went to TTDI Wet Market one day and bought tons of pork meats in different parts. In Malaysia, we can’t buy pork normally in many places; they are placed in segregated sections where Muslims wouldn’t touch them. Sometimes they are sold with alcohols because they are both forbidden by Muslims. Or in the case of TTDI Wet Market, pork vendors have shops in one section amidst a parking lot at the market.

So, our tiny freezer is filled with many forms of pork now, so today I decided to make an easy dinner with pork. The quickest is Ginger Pork, so I immediately made a marinated sauce and dumped pork belly slices.

*** Ginger Pork marinated sauce as follows:

2 tbs. of soy sauce

1 tbs. of Mirin (sweet Sake)

1 head of fresh ginger (finely grated)

This is for two portions, so if you need to cook more, you do calculation and make a sauce accordingly.

In this sauce, marinate pork slices for 20 minutes or so. And if you like, you can chop up some vegetables to stir-fry together with marinated pork. Today, I had some mushrooms and an onion, so I prepared them as pork was marinated.

When it’s ready, heat a frying pan or wok, pour about 1teaspoon of cooking oil, then first, I would cook the vegs for a couple of minutes. Take them out.

In the same skillet, if necessary, put more oil, and start cooking marinated meat. When cooked about 80% done, then add sautéed vegetables and if there is some marinated sauce left, you can add a little and cook until the meat is cooked completely.

It goes well with a bowl of rice. For the health purpose, I like to add brown rice or different grains with white rice. It tastes even better in my opinion, though it depends on one’s palate.

For side dishes, I made two things: stir-fried bean sprouts and Japanese-style mini potatoes.

By scrubbing new potatoes, the skin would come off easily. I left some skins on. I cooked these mini potatoes in boiling water with Mirin and a little brown sugar until inside was soft. Then I added some soy sauce and cooked further until the water was reduced almost none. Finally I dropped a slice of unsalted butter to give a shine to potatoes.

This is a treat to my husband who loves potatoes. Being a French chef for such a long time, he is always curious about food, so he can eat almost all Japanese food except sweet adzuki beans.

New potatoes are always luscious and tender. Even though I don't always pick potatoes as my favorite, I tend to pick these tiny new potatoes.

Also, I stir-fried chopped garlic with slices of red chili, followed by chopped Malaysian ferns (eatable) and fresh bean sprouts. I seasoned them with salt, pepper and Chinese bean paste.

Voila, done!

Day-to-day Japanese food eaten at home tend to be a bit brownish color because we use soy sauce extensively. Even a small amount turns everything to brown. But soy sauce gives wonders to meals, I think.

Itadaki-masu (Bon Appétit)!

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, by Rieko

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Healthy but Yummy Cake Salé

== Cake Salé ==

Bento-style Dinner

Roselle and Watermelon Jelly Dessert

Japanese Ginger Pork

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Healthy but Yummy Cake Salé

== Cake Salé ==

Bento-style Dinner

Roselle and Watermelon Jelly Dessert

Japanese Ginger Pork

About me

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