A simple stir-fried dinner

Stir-fried baby bokchoy with fried tofu puffs.  That was dinner this evening.  (The photo is not mine but the one I made looked like that except that it had more greens.)

Saute garlic (2 cloves, minced) in 1 tbsp vegetable oil, add the fried tofu puffs (basically fried tokwa prepared in advanced), stir fry for one minute.  Increase heat and add two handfuls of baby bokchoy, agan stir for 1-2 minutes until the leaves are slightly wilted.  Add 1-2 tbsp of light soy sauce and a dash or two of sesame oil.  Mix well and serve over a bowl of fresh steamed rice.  (I've eaten so much rice when I was in Davao so I decided to skip the Asian staple this time.)

***

Tofu & Stif Fried Veggies with Fresh Ginger

This is how the previous dish would look like if I didn't mix it with rice and noodles. The tofu is supposed to be adobo but I just marinated it the night before so the flavor hasn't sipped into the bean curd yet. This was lunch last Tuesday.

And what should I make this rainy Thursday? Maybe a simple oatmeal soup will do.

Stir Fried Mixed Veggies with Fresh Ginger

The secret to this recipe is to add the grated fresh ginger just before serving.

Ingredients
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp carrots, julienned
A handful or two of mixed veggies (I used snow peas, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, fresh button and shitake mushrooms, baby corn, bokchoy)
A handful of fried tofu cubes
1 tsp chili garlic paste
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetarian mushroom sauce
1-2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp oil used in frying the tofu

In the oil, quickly fry the tomato, onion, garlic, chili-garlic paste and carrots until fragrant. Add the mixed vegetables and stir fry for a minute or two. Turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and return to heat. Stir fry for a minute. Add the freshly grated ginger, mix well and turn off heat. Serve with steamed organic red rice.

Because I already cooked the rice in advanced, it was already a bit cold so instead of reheating it, I mixed it with the stir fried veggies for a Mongolian-like treat.

The Xocolat brownie photo has to wait. M will send me her "Blondies" recipe so I'll use the Xocolat brownie photo to go with it. The brownie story will be unfolded soon. For the meantime, allow me to finish the rest of the brownies. ;-p

Try Cafe Xocolat's Taza de Xocolat for a really chocolatey treat. Get the small one if you still want to live... order the big one if you want to experience samadhi.

Mongolian Stir Fry

Dinner was just an hour ago. Late, yes... I taught a class until 8:15pm then had to wait for the MRT. Arrived home at about 9:15pm and started cooking right away. The rice was already cook so everything was easy.

1.5 cups steamed organic red rice
1 handful or two of chopped green & red cabbage and bean sprouts
sliced white onions and minced garlic
2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2-1 tsp chili sauce/oil

In a very hot nonstick wok, add some oil, 1-2 tbsp, then put the first 3 ingredients and stir fry for 3-4 minutes until everything is mixed together and the vegetables look cooked... add the rest of the ingredients... mixed well... turn off heat and serve immediately.

Yummy.

Dessert was Calea Chocolate cake courtesy of Chona... thanks Chons.

Off to bed now.

Tofu Stir Fry and Organic Red Rice

One thing that I actually love being home is that I can get organic rice and vegetables fairly easily. A bit pricey for an average Filipino but hey it's organic. Whatever that means. I'm not really that strict when it comes to my food. As long they don't breath through the nose and the gills, move and react to touch, I'm ok with it. :-p

The Lung Center Sunday market is only a jeepney away from where I live and if I try not to be lazy, it's actually a nice Sunday morning walk to the market.

I tried it once last January though it ever happened again as I've been sleeping late on Saturday nights and do my full practice Sunday morning.

This wasn't my lunch today. It's one of last month's meals. Now that I have a fridge, I should be cooking more often. The only problem now is that the kitchen is small and only one person can use it at a time. Anyway, we'll see.

I'm thinking of making tofu with 3 mushroom sauce for dinner later. If the tamas win, then it will be spaghetti and tomato sauce again. Very exciting, aye? At least I make fresh tomato sauce.

Now for tofu stir fry and steamed red rice.

2 small tofu squares (I get the one from SM or Landmark, 2 small squares for only 25php, about half a dollar), cut into strips and fry until golden brown. Set aside.

Mixed vegetables. A cup each of thinly-sliced cabbage, carrots, and bean sprouts.

A clove or 2 of garlic, minced.

1 medium white onion, about the size of a ping-pong ball or golf ball, sliced thinly.

Salt and pepper to taste.

3-4 tablespoons Stir fry Sauce (choose from vegetarian oyster sauce, dark/light soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, mushroom sauce - or a combination. Be creative. Key is to add little by little until you get the taste that suits you.)

Some chili garlic sauce or kick.

===

Only had one class this morning in Makati. Gela apprentices in my Tuesday morning class and when only YM teachers come for practice, I usually ask her to just do her practice. But today, Maritoni, a co-YM teacher, suggested that I practice instead and let Gela teach the class so we could already give her an assessment.

Honestly, it was music to my ear... hehehe. Who wouldn't want to practice instead?

Thus, today was an easy day. Full practice but went light on the vinyasas because I had a tooth extraction last Saturday.

I might go to UP later to watch the UP Pep Team Philippines practice their routine for the Asian Championships this weekend if I'm not mistaken. They'll be leaving for Japan on Thursday and today will be my last chance to see their routine before the competition.

I teach yoga to the UP Pep Squad regularly and man, some of them can do crazy stuffs with their body. I was originally planning on teaching them "Mysore" but with 60 cheerleaders attending the once-a-week class, I thought it would be best to just do led.

Always, I remind them that yoga is not gymnastics. Sure they can do headstand and handstand easily but is the breath calm? The mind quiet and focused? More than anything else, I wanted them to learn that yoga is about being present. In sports psychology, it's about being able to achieve the state of flow.

Oneness in the breath, body and mind.

Here's a photo of the team doing asanas on their dual-purpose puzzle mats.

2 mats attached together = yoga mat.

Several mats attached together in a line = tumbling mat

4 mats attached to form a square = stunting mats

All the mats attached forming a rectangle = safety mat

Good luck UP Pep! Eat more veggies and make us proud!

Barbequed Tempeh & Vegetable Stir Fry

A lovely weekend calls for a lovely meal. Woke up late, I think about 8:45am. Practiced until about 11:30 and got inspired to make a lovely stir fry. Ate 2 full bowls. ;-)

Ingredients for Vegetable Stir Fry
1 cup carrots sliced thinly
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup cabbage sliced thinly
1 cup red cabbage sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic sliced thinly
1/2 onion thinly sliced
about 1 tsp thinly sliced ginger
1/2 cup raw cashew nuts
1/2 tsp roasted white sesame seeds
1/2 tsp black sesame seeds
dash of Japanese chili-sesame powder
2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
oil

Ingredients for Barbequed Tempeh
about 250g tempeh, fried until a bit crunchy.
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1-2 tbsp Chinese char siu sauce

Serve over steamed rice.

Stir Fry Overload

Stir fries I've made since coming back from the Philippines.

Korean-inspired Stir Fry
(tofu, bean sprouts, red bell pepper, nori strips, chilli garlic sauce)

Mongolian Stir Fry
(tofu, bean sprouts, red bell pepper, hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, roasted sesame seeds, sesame oil)

Fried Tempeh with Hoisin Sauce & Kangkong with Cashew Nuts (Sweet Soy Sauce)

Fried Tempeh Cubes & Chinese White Cabbage (Pechay) with Vegetarian Oyster Sauce and Chili Garlic Sauce

Broccoli, Cabbage & Cashew Stir Fry

Had this for lunch today... a full plate!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 cups broccoli flowers
a handful of cashew nuts
2 cloves garlic, sliced into thin sticks
about 1 tsp ginger, sliced into thin sticks
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp roasted white sesame seeds
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Laziness can be an advantage sometimes at it makes you explore your creativity, hehehe... yeah, I'm making an excuse for nuking the vegetables before stir frying them. 4o seconds on high.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan, add the ginger and garlic slices and stir fry for about a minute then add the sesame seeds, and sesame oil... stir fry for another minute... add the vegetables and cashews, stir fry for another minute... add the vegetarian oyster sauce, salt and pepper to taste... and serve over steamed rice. Sattvic? NOT... omit the garlic if you like... but that's probably one thing I will take a long time to let go of, hehehe... cheers.

It's dessert time. I'm having some chocolate balls now.