Vegetarian Chinese Chow Mein

Vegetarian Chinese Chow Mein

4-6 servings

 Ingredients
400g chow mein noodles (egg noodles)
3 - 4 cups cabbage finely shredded
3-4 Pak Choi
3 carrots
3 scallions
1 cup soybeans
1 red pepper
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
3 tbsp peanut oil (or other cooking oil)
½  cup (4 tbsp) water
Chow Mein Sauce (recipe below)


Chow Mein Sauce
2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch
3 tbsp soy sauce (ordinary all purpose soy sauce or light soy sauce)
3 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (or sherry)
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
White pepper

Instructions
Chow Mein Sauce:
Mix together cornflour and soy sauce, than mix in remaining ingredients.

 Noodles:
Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions.

 Vegetables:
Boil the soybeans and set aside. Cut the vegetables in sticks about 4 cm length and about 2-3 mm thick.  Try to cut all the same size.

 Wok:
Heat oil in wok or large fry pan over high heat. Add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds until the garlic is golden brown and you can smell the garlic in the oil.  Remove garlic from wok.

 Add the cabbage and carrots to the wok/frying pan. Stir fry for 1 - 1½ minutes until the cabbage and carrots are just starting to wilt. Add the red pepper, scallions and last the Pak Choi. Stir in with the rest of the vegetables for about ½ minute. Add the Chow Mein Sauce.

 Add the vegetables to the noodles, toss and mix well. Sprinkle the sesame oil over and toss all again to mix well.

 In a Chow Mein you can really add the vegetables of your liking. I used what I had in my refrigerator. If you don´t want it vegetarian style you can add meat like beef or chicken or seafood like shrimps. Tofu and bean sprouts are commonly used in China. If you add meat you slice the meat in thin slices and stir fry by itself and set aside while you wok the vegetables.

 If you want to add meat, tofu or shrimps: Marinate the slices before stir frying.  Combine 2 teaspoons soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Add the slices of your choice and toss to completely coat. Set aside while you cook the noodles. Add some oil in a wok or frying pan and heat, stir in the meat, tofu or shrimps and toss around. Set aside until you prepared the rest of your ingredients. 

African Goatmeat Stew

African Goatmeat Stew
Serves 7-9, depending on size of portions and side dishes
Time: 2-4 hours
Mild and rich stew

Ingredients:
800 g goatmeat
3 large beefsteak tomatoes or 1 can of crushed tomatoes of good quality
2 carrots
2 red bell peppers
3 cups okra (chopped into bite-sized pieces)
2 aubergines
1 stock cube
3 cups water
3 cm cinnamon stick
1 red onion, sliced
1 yellow onion
1 spring onion
Olive oil for frying
3 tsp cumin
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or real garlic 3 cloves)
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon chili powder, but take more if you want strength
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
A touch of cayenne pepper
Salt, freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Cut the meat into small pieces.

Cut the onions, tomatoes, carrots, okra, peppers, aubergines into pieces. Put them in separate bowls when you cut them while you are preparing.

Pour enough oil in an iron pot to cover the bottom and heat. Add the sliced ​​onions and saute the onions slightly. Add the spices and stirfry everything together for about 30 seconds. Add the water and then mix the chopped vegetables.

Add the meat.

Cover and simmer slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add more water if needed during cooking time. The meat should be completely tender and easily loosen from the bones(if you have goat meat with bones in). When meat is tender the stew is ready.

When the stew is ready, taste with salt and black pepper and possibly more of the previous spices, according to taste.

This stew can be served with various side dishes. You can serve with plain rice or spicy rice. It can also be served with boiled cassava or in Ethiopia and Eritrea as a stew on Injera. My recipe for Injera can be found under the link below.

Injera

http://ohemmabjorg.blogspot.se/2015_09_01_archive.html

To serve with the stew, I have this time made my own African Spicy, Yellow Rice with a little inspiration from west, south and east Africa.

African Spicy Yellow Rice

Ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons cooking oil/butter
500 gr white rice
15 dl chicken stock or water
2 onions (yellow or spring onions)
1 red paprika (or as per taste)
2 carrots, cubed
1 cup of green beans or peas (I used soybeans this time since I had that)
2 Tablespoons honey (or brown sugar)
2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2-3 cloves of garlic 
2 teaspoon salt or more adjust to taste

Instructions:
Pour the water and chicken stock in a pan and add the rice. As the water boils turn down the heat a little and cover the pan with a lid. Let boil until the water is absorbed by the rice. Cooking time for the rice depends on what kind of rice you are using. Follow the cooking instructions for your rice. 

The rice I used required about 20 minutes cooking time. After ten minutes I added the carrots to cook along with the rice and after 15 minutes I added the soybeans which had been frozen.

While the rice, carrots and beans/peas are cooking heat a saucepan with oil/ butter. Then fry the onion, add the red pepper, and add all the spices and the honey/brown sugar. Stir and fry for about a minute.  Pull aside.

Watch the rice until it is completely cooked - about 18- 20 minutes. As the rice cooks you may add more stock if needed.

When the rice is cooked, add the fried up onions and spices and stir into the rice. The rice will now turn into a beautiful yellow color. 

American Peanut butter cups

American Peanut butter cups

Ingredients for 24 pieces peanut butter cups

400g dark chocolate

1 dl peanut butter

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 dl powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Set out 24 pieces of very small muffin cases (those you would use to make Christmas candy or something.

2. Melt half the chocolate and spread in the molds. It should be about a teaspoon per form to cover the bottom.

3. When you spread the chocolate you can hit the plate on the table so that the chocolate evenly cover the bottom. Place in the freezer a few minutes to solidify. 

4. Whisk peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar. Distribute in every muffin form on top of the chocolate and flatten as evenly as possible. 

5. Melt the rest of the chocolate and spread in forms on top of the peanut butter and even out fine.

6. Let cool in the fridge, then just enjoy.

Store them in the refrigerator in an airtight jar or container.

Strawberry jam

Strawberry jam

1 kg strawberries

5 dl sugar

Cooking

Clean and rinse the strawberries. Remove the flower brackets. Cut into rough pieces. Mix with the sugar in a saucepan. Heat, stirring, mashing together the strawberries and cook for 10 minutes. Dilute possibly with a few tablespoons of water if strawberry jam boil dry and burn.

Pour the strawberry jam on well cleaned and heated jars. One tip is to heat the jars five minutes at 100 degrees in the oven. Put on the lid. Freeze and take out and thaw in the fridge as you want to use the jam. Stored in the fridge the jam will be good for 1-2 weeks. 

Applesauce

Applesauce

1 kg apples

1/2 cup water

6 dl sugar

Use well-ripened but not overripe apples to puree. Peel and core the apples. It is important that any injured parties and insects are removed. Add the finished apple wedges in cold water so that they don´t darken. Boil on low heat. Stir now and then. Feel with a toothpick if the apples are soft. Stir in the sugar and bring to the boil again.

Mix the apple wedges to puree with a food processor. Fill the bowl half and mix in a couple of rounds so that the applesauce doesn´t run over.

If you don´t have a mixer. Pour the boiled apple wedges into a sift and press them through the sift using a ladle or something to press the apples until all has gone through the sift.

Pour into freezer boxes or jars in suitable sizes. Let cool and then close the cover. This way you it can be kept for 1 year. And you can take out and let thaw in the refridgerator as you want to use it. In the fridge it can be kept 1-2 weeks.

You can use less sugar or no sugar at all, depending on your preference. 

Muffins with fruits or berries

Muffins with fruits or berries

It is autumn and time to pick fruits and berries. There are so many variations to make desserts, cakes or pie´s with fruits and berries. Here I have a muffin recipe that you can make with any fruit or berries you like inside. This time I chose apples since I have appletrees just outside my apartment. I can just go and pick some when I like. But it could have been blueberries from the forest or anything of my liking.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 dl granulated sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoon vanilla

3 dl flour

50 g butter, melted

1 ½ dl milk

Filling

about 100 g of fruitbites or berries

Instructions

1Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius 

2Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy in a bowl. Mix together the dry ingredients and add them together with butter and milk. Mix everything together until smooth.

3Set the muffin molds on a baking tray or in a muffin pan. Fill the molds to ¾.

4Add 2-3 teaspoons of fruits or berries in each muffin.

5Bake the muffins in the oven for about 20 minutes. Let them cool.

If you like sprinkle with icing sugar before serving or serve with vanilla custard, Delicious!

Cheese Soufflé

Cheese Soufflé

Ingredients

2 tbsp plain flour

2½ dl milk

4 egg yolks

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of grated nutmeg

½ tsp cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons cornstarch

200g grated cheese

5 egg whites

3 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 225 ° Celsius. Whisk the flour in half of the milk in a saucepan. Add the remaining milk and bring to the boil while whisking. Let cool slightly. Whisk in the egg yolks, salt, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, cornstarch and cheese. Beat the eggwhites stiff and fold them into the batter. Grease serving molds carefully. Pour the batter into the mold. Bake in the bottom of the oven for 15-20 min.

Serving suggestions: Serve with a salad.


This is a really RETRO DISH! It is considered to be a 70´s dish. Well I believe it must be true since I have never had it or seen it since 1979/80 and I was 16 and went to Sunnfjord Folkehögskole in Förde in Norway. There was a dish we used to get in the dining hall which I loved: Ostsufflé (Cheese Soufflé). Somehow I had the mindset it was hard to make, that it would not be easy to get it fluffy and rise and I have not attempted to make it more than once after as I can recall. Here in Sweden I have never eaten it for 30 years. So this weekend I was looking at my empty fridge and cupboards wondering what I could make with what I had there. So I found I had ingredients to make this dish that I often have been craving. And you know it turned out so good! It is also not hard to succeed with at all! Just make sure you beat the egg whites stiff and use well-greased molds, than it is easy to succeed with soufflé.