Around The World On Your Plate

Ingredients: 4 cups cooked rice 3 scallions sliced, (whites and greens separated) 1 tablespoon minced ginger and garlic 1-2 tablespoons of oil 1 cup shredded cabbage 1 carrot chopped 1 cup mushroom sliced 1/2 cup green peas 1/2 cup green beans salt to taste Sauce: 1 tablespoon chilli sauce 1/2 teaspoon vinegar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup Method: Mix all the sauce and set aside. Heat oil in a pan and saute scallions white along with ginger and garlic for a minute.  Next add all the vegetables one by one and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add salt to help cook the vegetables.  Do not over cook the vegetables. Next add rice and all the sauces and mix everything well. Adjust salt to taste and garnish with scallions green and serve hot with your favourite sauce.

Serves 4 Total time: 10 minutes Ingredients: 3 cups cooked rice 2 scallions chopped (white and greens separated) 2 cloves of garlic minced 1 tablespoon of oil 1-1/2 cup mixed vegetables of your choice like  cabbage, carrots, peas 1/4 cup shiitake mushroom chopped fine 1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder 1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce salt to taste Method: Heat oil in a pan and saute scallions (white) and garlic for a minute. Next add rice.  I am using left over rice for this recipe.  Break down the rice and fry for a minute or two.  Add soy sauce and mix well. Once the rice is nicely coated with soy sauce, add the chopped vegetables and mix everything well.  Add the 5 spice powder along with shiitake mushrooms and stir fry for a minute. Adjust salt to taste.  Garnish with scallions (green) and serve hot.

This recipe makes about 10-12 buns depending on the size Ingredients: 2 cups plus more for dusting of all purpose flour 1 cup warm water  1 tablespoon of yeast 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon of sugar 1-2 teaspoon of oil for greasing 1 cup of red bean paste or as per your taste Method: To 1 cup warm water add yeast and sugar and set aside to activate.  (about 10 minutes) In a mixing bowl, mix all purpose flour and salt. Add the yeast water mixture to the flour and knead a soft dough, add more flour as you knead.  The result should be a soft smooth dough. Grease it with oil and set aside in a warm spot covered for it to rise, (about 1 hour). After an hour, generously dust your work surface with flour and punch down your dough and knead again for a minute.  Divide the dough into equal portions and shape them into roundels. Roll each into a 5 inch disc, making sure the edge is thinner than the center.  ...

Ingredients: 1 cup red beans 1/3 cup sugar or to taste 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste Water as needed Method: Wash and soak red beans in water overnight. After trying various methods of cooking the beans, I feel the fastest and easy way is to pressure cook.  However, if you do not have a pressure cooker, you can directly cook it in a high-side pot for about an hour or so, constantly monitoring it and adding water as required. Once the beans are soft and well cooked, drain the water and add sugar and salt.  You can adjust the amount of sugar and salt according to your taste. Once everything is well incorporated, use a food processor or a blender to make a paste of this. Once the paste is ready, transfer it back to a pan and cook on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes or until the sugar is well dissolved and the paste has thickened.  Turn off the heat and transfer it to a bowl and let it cool before using it.

Serves: 2 Total time:  12 minutes Ingredients: 2 cups left over rice 2 scallions chopped (white and green separated) 1/4 cup red onion chopped 2 garlic cloves minced 1/2 cup shiitake mushroom chopped 1 cup red and green bell pepper diced 3 tablespoon of oil (divided) Salt to taste Black and white pepper to taste Sauce: 1 tablespoon broad bean chili sauce (Doubanjiang) 2 tablespoon light soy sauce 1 teaspoon vinegar Method: Heat 1-1/2 tablespoon of  oil   in a pan and saute scallions (white) along with onion and garlic. Next add rice and break it down well and stir fry it for a minute. Add soy sauce and vinegar and mix well. Take the rice out in a separate bowl and heat the remaining oil. Saute all the vegetables and mushroom well.  Add the broad bean chili sauce and mix well. Do not over cook the vegetables. Mix rice and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with scallions (greens) and serve hot. ...

Serves: 2 Total time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 1-1/2 cup cubed tofu (about 10 oz) 1 cup bell pepper sliced 1/2 inch ginger minced 2 cloves of garlic minced 2 scallions sliced (white and greens separated) 1 teaspoon sugar 2-3 tablespoon oil Salt to taste Sauce: 1 tablespoon light soy sauce 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce 1 teaspoon vinegar Method: Heat oil in a pan and sauté scallions (white) along with ginger and garlic.  After about a minute or so, add bell pepper and sauté for a minute. Next add the tofu and reduce the temperature to medium.  Stir occasionally and gently so that tofu does not stick to the pan. After about 4 minutes, drain excess oil and add all the sauce and mix well. Adjust salt to taste. Garnish with scallions (greens).  You can even garnish with some toasted cashew nuts and serve hot. Notes: Use firm tofu only for this recipe as soft tofu will be easily crushed while sauteing in the pan. D...

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon of oil 1 teaspoon of garlic minced 2 scallions chopped Handful of enoki mushrooms cleaned and washed (roots cut off) 1 cup cubed firm tofu 3 cups vegetable stock 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce Salt and pepper to taste A small portion of rice noodles (approximately 50 grams) Method: Heat oil in a pan and saute garlic for a minute. Next add the scallions (white) and saute well. Now add the enoki mushrooms that has been cleaned and washed. Pour in the vegetable broth and add tofu.  Next add soy sauce and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Bring it to a boil and turn off the heat, add the rice noodles. Garnish with scallions (green) and serve immediately.

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon oil 1-2 green onions sliced (whites and greens separated) 2 cloves of garlic crushed 2 cups of chopped vegetables of your choice like cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, broccoli, cauliflower etc. 1/2 cup of green peas and corn 2 tablespoon of soy sauce  Salt to taste Black pepper to taste White pepper to taste 2-3 cups of rice Method: Heat oil on medium high and saute green onion (whites) and garlic, next add in all the vegetables one by one and saute them. Do not over cook the vegetables.  Next add soy sauce and mix well. Add rice and mix well and adjust  salt and pepper. Garnish with green onions and serve hot with your favorite serving sauce. Notes: * Left over rice works excellent with this recipe. * If you like, you can add some scrambled eggs as well. * If you like this to be spicy, you can add some sriracha or hot sauce, although the authentic fried rice does not contain any hot sauce.

Ingredients: Ingredients: 2 spring onion sliced (whites and greens separated) 1 medium bell pepper diced 1/4 cup green peas (fresh or frozen) 1 medium carrot sliced 1/2 cup pineapple chunks (either fresh or canned) (see  notes below) Salt to taste White pepper and black pepper to taste 1 tablespoon oil 2 cups rice cooked (see notes) 1 tablespoon soy sauce Method: Heat oil and saute some green onions (white), next add in the bell pepper and green peas, along with some carrots. Once the vegetables are soft, add the pineapple chunks and saute. Next add the cooked rice and soy sauce and mix well.  Season well with salt and pepper.  Garnish with scallions (greens) and serve hot. Notes: For this recipe, I used canned pineapple and after removing the chunks, I reserved some of the water to use in cooking the rice. This recipe works well with using left over rice too, just make sure to add at least a quart...

Ingredients: 1 teaspoon ( or to taste)  Chinese 5 spice powder  1 teaspoon garlic (crushed) 1-1/2 cup mix vegetables (snow peas, carrots, green peas, beans, broccoli, bell pepper) etc 2 cups cooked noodles (4 ounce) 2 spring onion chopped with whites and greens separated 1 tablespoon oil 1 tablespoon soy sauce Salt and pepper to taste Method: Heat oil in a pan and saute some garlic until slightly brown. Next add spring onion whites and saute well. After that add in all the vegetables of your choice, I am using 1-1/2 cup of frozen vegetables. Stir fry until almost cooked and add soy sauce and  five spice powder and mix well.  Add in the cooked noodles and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with spring onion greens and serve hot. Note: Five spice powder is a combination of 5 spices in equal proportions that is star anise, cloves, Szechwan pepper, and cinnamon. If you are not used to spices, use about 1...

Ingredients: 1 teaspoon minced ginger and garlic 1 medium onion sliced 1/4 cup green onion sliced (white and green separated) 1/2 medium bell pepper julienned 1 carrot julienned 1/2 cup green peas 1 teaspoon vegetarian oyster sauce 1 teaspoon soy sauce 2 teaspoon Sriracha or hot sauce Salt and pepper to taste 2 cups cooked noodles 2 tablespoons oil Method: Cook 2 cups of noodles per packet instructions and set aside. Drizzle a few drops of oil to stop them from sticking. Start by heating oil in a pan on medium high and adding ginger and garlic.  Now add the sliced onion and green onion and saute.  Next add the bell pepper, julienned carrot and peas and saute well. Next add all the sauces and mix well.  The amount of hot sauce can vary per your taste.  Adding oyster sauce is optional. Now add the cooked noodles and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with green onion and serve hot...

Ingredients: 8 ounce of mushroom halved 2 bell pepper cubed 2 onion sliced 1 inch ginger julienned 4 cloves of garlic minced 3-4 tablespoons of oil 2 green chilies slit or to taste 1/2 cup spring onion sliced (greens and white separate) 2 tablespoons of soy sauce 1 tablespoon of vegetarian oyster sauce (optional) salt and pepper to taste 1 teaspoon lightly toasted sesame seeds (optional) Method: Heat oil in a pan on medium.  Add green onion (white) and onion and saute for a minute. Next add slit green chilies, ginger and garlic and saute. Now add cubed bell pepper and saute well.  Season with some salt to help cook the vegetables. Next, add the mushrooms and mix well. Now its time to add soy sauce and you can also add some vegetarian oyster sauce along with salt and pepper. Cook until the mushroom is reduced to half and no moisture remains in the pan. Garnish with green onion and toasted sesame seeds ...

Ingredients: 2 tablespoon of garlic chili sauce 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce 2 tablespoon of oil 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste 1  maggi magic cube (optional) salt and pepper to taste 2 cups cooked noodles 1/2 cup sliced celery 1/2 cup sliced zucchini 1/2 cup sliced carrots 1/2 cup sliced green onion (white and green separated) Some cauliflower and broccoli cut into bite size pieces Method: Cook the noodles according to package instructions, drain and rinse under cold water and set aside. Heat oil in a skillet and add ginger garlic paste and sauté it.  Next add the white part of the green onion and celery and sauté it well. Now one by one add in the rest of the vegetables and sprinkle some salt and cook them. Once the vegetables are completely cooked through, add all the sauces one by one and mix them well.  Season with salt and pepper.  Garnish with green onion and serve hot.

Ingredients: For the bun: 1 tablespoon active dry yeast. 1 teaspoon sugar. 2 cups all purpose flour (extra for dusting) 1 cup water. For the filling: 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste A combination of vegetables can be used like bell pepper, green peas, broccoli, mushroom, cabbage. Scrambled tofu and finely chopped cooked rice noodles also can be added. 1 teaspoon of soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste 1/2 teaspoon of pepper or to taste 1 teaspoon oil Method: For the bun: To one cup of warm water, add sugar and yeast and set aside until it gets foamy (about 5 minutes) In a separate bowl sift in flour and salt.  Make a well in the center and add the above yeast water mixture and knead a soft dough.  Make sure the dough is not too hard, add water/flour accordingly to make it easy to work with. In a well greased bowl, put the dough to rest and double in a warm place in your kitchen, covering it with a cling wrap or a kitchen towel for an hour. F...