Quinoa, Tofu, Wakame Seaweed in egg drop broth

Quinoa, tofu, wakame seaweed & coriander in egg drop broth 

Quinoa and tofu in broth that is just perfect for breakfast ...

Breakfast on the weekend doesn't always have to involve a greasy fry-up.  Sometimes, you simply want a cooked breakfast that is simultaneously hot, tasty, nutritious and doesn't involve three thousand calories.  I miss living in Hong Kong when a steaming bowl of rice congee was just a hop, skip and elevator ride down to the main street level away.  Which is why I am loving this recipe for quinoa in an egg drop broth filled with tofu, wakame seaweed and fresh coriander and spring onions.  It's a nutritious way to start the day and is surprisingly satisfying.

Chicken, Sweet Potato & Mixed Vegetable Lettuce wraps ("Sang Choy Bau")

Chicken Sang Choy Bau with Sweet Potato

HEALTHY SANG CHOY BAU with chicken and sweet potato...
Sang Choy Bau is a Chinese classic commonly served as a starter all around Australia, where I grew up.  It literally translates to "lettuce wrap" and in its traditional form, is simply a lettuce cup filled with minced pork and vegetables.  These days, you will find many variations of the original recipe, from minced beef or chicken to duck or even quail meat.

In creating this recipe, I was keen to fill my Sang Choy Bau with lots of different coloured vegetables, rather than simply with meat.  So, this healthy recipe brings together lean chicken breast and everyday vegetables like carrots, celery and peppers with soy and oyster sauce to create a quick and tasty modern twist to a Chinese classic.

Apple, Carrot & Chinese Cabbage Salad with Vietnamese dressing

Apple, Carrot & Chinese Cabbage salad

Fall in love with this Asian-inspired apple carrot salad recipe infused with coriander and limes

To celebrate National Apple Day this month, this salad recipe uses British apples as it's central ingredient.  I have chosen Jazz apples as they are tangy and crunchy.  To balance out the sweetness, carrots and Chinese cabbage, a crisp mild tasting, pale leaved cabbage (also known as Wombok), are added to it.

The dressing is inspired by the Vietnamese dipping sauce, Nước chấm, which combines the flavours of fish sauce, limes, vinegar and sugar with garlic and chilli.  A crunchy topping of fried shallots, is thrown over the salad, just before serving.

Harvest for August: Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Coriander and Chillies

During the height of summer in August, we were finally able to harvest cucumbers, tomatoes, chillies and coriander all at the same time, reaching our goal of a Thai beef salad made from home grown vegetables.  (If you are feeling peckish, you can also check out our Thai Beef Salad recipe here.)

Coriander Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Pasta

This year, we grew quite a lot of coriander which mostly ended up in South East Asian dishes.  However, one of the tastiest meals that came out of the coriander was when it was combined with peanuts and sun dried tomatoes to make this nutty pesto sauce.

Thai Beef Salad - An Explosion of Flavours!

Now that our tomatoes are ripening and the cucumber plants are producing lots of crisp juicy fruit, its time for one of my favourite South East Asian salads - the Thai Beef Salad.  The combination of the fish sauce and lime makes the cucumber come alive, and with each mouthful comes an explosion of flavours from the sun sweetened tomatoes laced with the tang of coriander, set against a backdrop of tender strips of beef that almost dissolve in your mouth.   

Grow crazy Coriander and add zest to your food!

There is something about the citrusy aromatic flavour of Coriander (Cilantro or 芫茜) that captures the essence of South East Asian cuisine.  Tom Yum soup, Thai green curry and Thai style fried noodles are just some of the dishes that simply do not taste right without a generous amount of chopped up coriander added into them right at the end.

And it is because dishes like these frequent our dinner menu so often, that when I started gardening a few months ago, one of my top priorities was to grow Coriander and lots of it.  Too often had I brought home bunches of it from the market, and within a day or two, the leaves would have turned into a black slime.  I had even tried the "Living Coriander" pot plants found at the supermarket but these had such thin stems and tiny little leaves that they would completely disappear without a trace into my Tom Yum soup, much like a prawn cracker dissolves to nothing on the edge of your tongue.