Sambal Goreng Tahu Tempe - Tofu & Soy Bean Cake in Chilli Paste

Another "keeping it real" post.
No food styling, no pretty utensils, no pretty food pictures.
This is how dinners are consumed in the haus of Mochachocolata-Rita.
Additionally, since the arrival of baby Marcus, dinner duration has been reduced from 15 minutes (!) to generally under 5 minutes (!!!)

(We know, we know...eating too fast is unhealthy T_T)

But don't underestimate this ugliness.
This is what I always call ugly delicious.
Extremely tasty and addictive. Those who avoid carb should kiss this dish goodbye, as it would be hard to limit ourselves to eat less rice. I ate triple portion of rice because of this dish!
Although this dish is vegetarian, you'll get enough protein from the tofu puffs and tempe.
Totally satisfying.
Burp~

Recipe
- 1 block of tempe, cut into chunks (1x1x3cm)
- 10 tofu puffs, halved (or 1 block of firm tofu cut into cubes)
- oil, salt and pepper
Simple chilli paste
- 1 tomato (optional)
- a handful of chillies (remove seeds and choose less hotter varieties if you don't want it too spicy)
- 2 garlic
- 4 shallot
- oil, salt, pepper, sugar, ground corriander

Lightly season and pan fry tempe cubes until they're a bit browned, set aside (you can totally skip this step to minimize the use of oil). Throw all the chilli paste ingredients into a food processor and pulse until everything's mixed well but it doesn't need to be fine and smooth. Heat up a bit of oil, add paste, add tofu and tempe chunks, season with salt, pepper, sugar and ground corriander, mix well, serve with lotssss of rice.

Burp~
...and reaching out for another bowl of rice yet again.
Excuse me.

Indonesian Tofu Pancake - Bakwan Tahu

Ohhh...I love having a helper!
My helper loves eating deep fried food and she doesn't mind doing all the deep frying. Oh yeah!
Hello, delicious crispy treats! She made this yesterday and she shared the recipe with me.

Recipe
- 1 pack of soft tofu, crushed
- flour
- corn flour
- 1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- salt, pepper, ground corriander, water, oil for frying
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 stalk of spring onion, chopped

Mix all ingredients to form a thin batter, add flour if it's too thin, add a bit of water if too thick. The batter should not be too thick (as in porridge), it should be thin, almost runny. Heat up some oil in frying pan, ladle batter and pan fry until golden brown, pressing it down to make it flat and crispy. Serve immediately. Ideally with some Indonesian Sambal ABC or your favorite hot sauce.

You'll also be seeing me snacking on Strepsils or Dequadin too as things could get pretty heaty ^_^'

PS. Do you like the "old" photo effect on this post?

Easy Vegetable Curry

Cook anything in coconut milk...and it'd probably taste fantastic.
That's what I think...or instead of coconut milk...heavy cream :D
Too bad SC doesn't always allow me to use coconut milk and heavy cream all the time. In fact, I have been banned to use coconut milk/cream for at least 6 months.

Last nite I violated the rule, and thank God for SC's super bad short term memory :D
He didn't remember the ban, or he pretended to forget, as he seemed to be enjoying this dish so much ;)

Recipe
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 cloves of shallot, sliced thinly
- 1 cm ginger, crushed
- 1 stalk of lemongrass, bruised
- curry paste of your choice
(you can skip all of the above spices and just use more curry paste of your choice ^_^)
- 2 tomatoes, cut into sections
- 1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite size chunks
- 1 cup of tofu puffs, cut into 2 sections
- 200ml box coconut milk
- olive oil, salt, pepper, fish sauce, a bit of hot water, crispy shallot, chopped coriander (I didn't have any, so I stuck some mint leaves)

Saute garlic, shallot, ginger and lemongrass in hot oil, add tomatoes and cauliflower chunks, add a bit of water, mix in curry paste, pour coconut milk, add tofu puffs, bring to boil, add seasonings, simmer until the cauliflower chunks are tender. Garnish with crispy shallot and serve with steamed rice.

After reading this, SC will remember and I will not be allowed to use coconut milk again...maybe for another six months T_T

Mun Tahu with Sawi Putih - Tofu, Minced Meat & Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce with Chinese Cabbage

Another quick one-dish dinner for busy weekdays...and this time, no canned food, I promise...
...although maybe not for long. Hehehe~


I wanted to do the classic Chinese inspired Indonesian dish, mun tahu (stir fried tofu with minced meat), but I wanted to incorporate my veggie of the day into it, as of course, I am too damn lazy to create another veggie side dish.

Thanks so my sister's lunch habit of ordering mun tahu with stir fried chinese cabbage, I decided to add Chinese cabbage into the dish and call it a night.

So I did.


Recipe
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed, divided
- 1 medium head of Chinese cabbage, cut into 2 cm slices
- 0.5 lb minced meat (pork, beef or chicken)
- 2 pieces of soft tofu
- 1 pack (around 8-10) fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced (feel free to replace with other mushrooms)
- olive oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, fish sauce, corn starch, water

Saute a clove of garlic in hot olive oil, add Chinese cabbage, let cook, season with a bit of fish sauce, set aside. Saute the rest of garlic in olive oil, add sliced mushrooms, cooked until wilted, add minced pork, let cook, season with oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and black pepper. Thicken the mixture with corn starch dissolved in a bit of water, add the chinese cabbage, mix well, heat through, and serve.

Normally this dish is garnished with spring onion, but since I didn't have any, I just added crispy shallot.
Owh, you can finish a couple bowls of steamed rice with this.

Meat? Check! Veggie? Check! Extra tofu and mushrooms? Check!
Fresh? Check! Tasty? Check!
Go for it :)

Canned Food Convenience - Minced Pork in Bean Paste with Tofu Puffs & Veggie

It looks like we're still on the lazy-ass canned food "series" :p

I can't believe I haven't tried this little can of deliciousness before, minced pork in bean sauce!


It's, again, SC's recommendation...(it sounds like he grew up eating a lot of canned food :p)

He told me that normally it can be heated/steamed and eaten with rice as a dish, but of course, we wanted a more "balanced" meal, so he suggested to stir fry it with some vegetables (brilliant idea), and I added some tofu puffs and more fresh minced pork to make it more substantial ^_^


Recipe
(serve two)
- 0.5lb minced pork
- 1 can of minced pork in bean sauce
- around 8 pieces of tofu puffs, quartered
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 4 small heads of lettuce, washed, remove stem and ripped
- a dash of fish sauce, olive oil, hot water, white pepper

Saute garlic in a bit of olive oil, add lettuce, let cook until a bit wilted, add a bit of fish sauce, set aside. Pour the can of minced pork in bean sauce, add the fresh minced pork, add a bit of hot water for easier mixing, once the meat's cooked, add tofu puffs, let cook for a bit, add the lettuce back in, mix everything well, let everything get heated through, and serve with (a few bowls of) steamed rice ^_^

Quick and tasty all-in-one dish, perfect for weekdays.

Easy Tofu Puffs with Two Color Peppers in Oyster Sauce

Minimum ingredients, maximum flavors.

I am never the minimalist. When doing a "simple" stir fry, I probably dump in all the sauces I have in my kitchen into the dish...

Light soy? Yes!
Dark soy? OK, I needed some color...
Shaoxing wine? I love the fragrance!
Oyster sauce? What's not to love?
Kecap manis? Sure! I gotta remember my Indonesian heritage
Sambal ABC? Bring it on! Gotta have some heat!
Ketchup? What the heck, why not? Could always use a touch of tang...
Mayo? Damn! This jar is empty!

...something like that.

But this time, I don't know if it was the heat...or waking on the wrong side of the bed....or drank the wrong medicine...I didn't try to empty my fridge into the pan...

Tofu Puffs with Two Color Peppers in Oyster Sauce

Tofu puffs
They are my ultimate meat replacement. Whenever I needed a filling, satisfying side dish, and there should not be any more meat in the already super carnivorous menu, tofu puffs always came to my rescue. They are readily available here, super cheap (HK$5 for a HUGE bag from Yu Kee), could be served soft or crispy, wonderful things could be stuffed into them, and they absorb flavors like there's no tomorrow! Look out for these babies in your next trip to Asian grocery shops.


Recipe
- approximately 8 tofu puffs (halved, allowing the inner part to absorb flavors)
- red and yellow peppers, one of each, remove seeds and core, cut into bite sized chunks
- olive oil, oyster sauce, a bit of water

Saute peppers in hot olive oil, add tofu puffs, add oyster sauce, add a bit of water, mix well, cook through.
Serve as a side of meat dishes, or as one of your vegetarian dishes selection.

Remind me to buy a replacement for that empty jar of mayo...

*The Canned Food Convenience - A Choy, Mushrooms, Tofu Puffs & Fried Dace in Black Beans

Have you ever stopped cooking for too long...you...
- forgot how to tear lettuce leaves
- couldn't differentiate sugar from salt, garlic from ginger (aw!)
- couldn't locate the bottle of soy sauce
- mistook sweet soy for dark soy
- placed the bottle of olive oil by the rubbish bin (if not in the rubbish bin)
- and found that opening a tin of fish could be as difficult as constructing a space shuttle?

My Sous Chef missed the kitchen soooo much. It's been such a long time since SC did anything in the kitchen other than:
- doing the dishes/instant noodles (such an angel!)...or...
- annoying whoever's cooking (such as: attempting to tickle you when you were: holding a huge and sharp kitchen knife; or holding a huge wok full of hot oil on a flaming stove; or balancing a tray of hot muffins fresh from the oven - these impractical-devilish-jokes are extremely dangerous, please do NOT even think about trying any of them)

Finally, here's SC's signature dish:
A Choy (Taiwanese Lettuce), Mushrooms, & Tofu Puffs
featuring Fried Dace with Salted Black Bean

If you're looking for something quick and easy, guaranteed to taste fan-bloody-tastic, a fool-proof-no-brainer and quite a healthy dinner, then this is gotta be it.

Recipe
- half pound of Taiwanese lettuce (A choy), you can replace this by romaine lettuce or any other veggie of your choice, but we love the crunch of A choy
- a large can of fried dace in salted/fermented black beans (try to find this in Asian supermarkets near you)
- a handful of tofu puffs (I quartered them, so they appeared and felt like a lot more than they really were HAHA!)
- a handful of mushrooms (SC used fresh oyster mushrooms, straw or white mushrooms would work too)
- you do not even need oil, as there's plenty of oil in the can of fish
- totally optional: red chilli for the spicy kick

Pour the can of fish into a hot saute pan, just get enough oil, discard the excess oil. Add the mushrooms, add the veggie, add the tofu puffs, mix well, cook the veggie to your liking...

and SC, remember to retrieve the olive oil bottle from the rubbish bin ^_^

Back To Basic Beef, Tofu & Veggie Combo

Why do things have to be so complicated? It was me an my newly adventurous ass. While you could read all about the good things in my previous post, here are the challenges of a typical day:

IDEAL SITUATION
- 18:00 speeding off work, got to the nearest train station and boarded the train just right before the door closes, managed to get the last available seat on the train ^_^

- The train would speed off, just missing all the throwing-their-bodies-into-the-departing-train peak hour crowd and the peaceful absence of perverts trying to rub their hands on bootie/boobies

- Reached the market by 18:30, where all the freshest produce and handmade noodles I needed were still amazingly available, magically on sale! All the market dominatrix were either not there or smiling lovingly at me, giving me practical cooking tips and wonderful dinner ideas; vendors were wonderfully friendly, offering me bunches of fresh corriander and red chilli for free (oh my!)

- Reached my flat and the lift was on ground floor, eagerly awaiting me, got to my floor and my neighbor's dog for once would wag his tail in a friendly manner to welcome me back, instead of the normal agressive & violent barks (doesn't he sniff that I am totally a dog person? Or he was just too excited to see me?)

- The rice starts cooking at 18:45, no finger was wounded in the preparation of cooking, stove operated smoothly, no sauce was spilled, no pieces of finely chopped garlic fell and got stuck somewhere at the corner, I got the taste right at the first seasoning, all elements of the dishes arranged themselves beautifully on the plate, down to the last piece of garnish..

- The food shots were all at the right angle, got the perfect shot before the fifth take, just as the rice cooker beeps signalling dinner is ready by 19:30

- Sous chef and I inhaled our dinner (yes we do, I personally think any food being chewed more than 3 times became tasteless hihik, not the healthiest thing in the world, I try my best to slow down) and finished dinner before 19:45

- We'd have time digesting dinner while watching Discovery Travel & Living Channel and they are showing Jamie at home (& it is NOT a rerun, yay!) before attending 21:00 body combat class...

- ...where I felt extra energetic: jumping, punching, kicking, kneeing, elbowing, ab crunching and push upping gloriously all the way through the end of the class, and the instructor praising me ever so publicly, endlessly telling me how well I've done..

- and I went home 10 lbs lighter and stayed that way as I didn't get tempted into eating the whole tub of Dreyer's chocolate cake ice cream kept in my freezer

HOW I WISHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

There's hope to achieve all of the above doing this
Back to Basics Dinner of Beef, Tofu and Veggie

Recipe
- half pound thinly sliced beef (the one normally used for sukiyaki)
- 2 cloves of garlic, 3 cloves of shallot, crushed
- 3 heads of small napa lettuce, sliced into chunks
- 2 tomatoes, each sliced into 8 parts
- 1 or 2 soft tofu, cut into big chunks
- salt, pepper, sugar, a little olive oil

Saute garlic and shallot, throw in all the veggie, add some water, bring to boil, add seasoning, before serving, add tofu and beef, serve with white rice or add noodles. Easy eh?...but in real life...things are different...

...IN REAL LIFE...

- 18:00 while trying to speed off work, that guy from that department just stopped by and went on and on and on unstoppably about...everything in general and nothing in particular while I kept staring at the clock, mumbling impolite answers

- Got to the nearest train station and just missed the train (!!!)

- The train would open and close its doors for more than 3 times in each station as the throwing-their-bodies-into-the-departing-train-peak-hour crowd tried desperately to board the train, and there were perverts drooling on bootie/boobies

- Reached the market late, where all the freshest produce I needed were either gone, or I was left with the seriously damaged yet overpriced ones! All the market dominatrix cut queues, tried to pay the HK$50 using 50cents coins and made rude comments about my choices. I somehow left only with HK$500 note and pissed the vendors into charging me HK$2 for a bunch of spring onions (oh no!)

- Reached my flat and the lift was on the highest floor, with no sign of going down soon, I got to my floor and my neighbor's dog barks with extra violence, his owner shot me a dirty look as if I've violated her

- By 19:00 I realised that the rice cooker's power wasn't plugged, no rice was gonna be cooked anytime soon.

- Due to my blond ambition to produce a complicated dinner, nails got cut, fingers got injured in the preparation, stove failed to turn on, hot water got spilled...into the pieces of finely chopped aromatics. Couldn't get the taste right even after adding seasoning for the 10th of time, all elements of the dishes look so disgustingly weird on the plate. Put up the wrong background color for the pic and it's too late to change, so I'd have to live with it

- Most shots were blurred and I could not find a nice angle, hot steam kept blowing into my camera lens, finally gave up trying to get a pretty shot, and I still need to wait for that late rice (@#$@#!$#@!!!!)

- Sous chef and I extra speedily inhaled our dinner but still finished dinner wayyy after 20:00

- Thus did NOT have enough time digesting dinner, the Discovery Travel & Living Channel was showing yet another boring rerun, we either had to cancel attending 21:00 body combat class, or still attending and

- ...I felt extra sluggish, kept yawning in class and was not up to jumps, my favorite instructor went on a super long holiday and got replaced by someone who utterly sucksssss and kept calling me lazy in front of everyone

- and I went home feeling none the lighter, needed to cheer myself up by polishing off that tube of ice cream T_T

So...yes, it is good to know when to get back to basics sometimes, I might still be able to make it to that class and prevent a major nervous break down^_^

Anything but Corny: Crispy Chicken with Corn & Tofu in Coconut Milk

I've tweaked Hong Kong's classic corn sauce (consists of corn kernels, eggs and corn starch) previously by adding garlic and cream. Now I wanna tweak it some more and South-East-Asian-ize it by adding coconut milk instead of cream, and fool myself into thinking that I am eating healthy food (despite the cholesterol from coconut milk) by adding pieces of tofu LOL! To top it off, while others garnish their beautiful dishes with chopped fresh corriander or parsley, and I've decided to garnish mine with pieces of crispy chicken! HAHA!

Recipe
(serves 4)
- 3 boneless chicken thigh fillet, remove excess fat
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of shallot, finely chopped
- a bit of ginger, crushed
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 can of sweet corn cream style (I use del monte)
- 3-4 tbsp of coconut milk (can be replaced with cream/milk or omit it for a healthier version)
- 1 piece of tofu, diced
- salt, pepper, sugar
- olive oil, a bit of butter

Boil chicken with (optional) a clove of garlic, 2 cloves of shallot, a bit of ginger, until the meat is thoroughly cooked, drain, set aside to remove excess water. You can keep the stock for later use. Season chicken with salt pepper, sugar, in a hot pan, heat up a bit of oil with a bit of butter, and brown the chicken's skin, set aside on kitchen towel to remove excess oil, cut into bite sized chunks if you want. Remove excess oil from the pan, leave a bit to get the sauce going. Saute garlic, ginger, shallot, add corn, add tofu, add salt, pepper, sugar to adjust taste, add coconut milk, add beaten egg, stir about for a bit, turn the heat off, pour over chicken.

Healthier alternatives
- Skip browning chicken skin
- Use skinless boneless chicken breast fillet instead
- Just saute chicken meat before adding corn (pale & clammy chicken skin just doesn't do it for me, I'd choose skinless chicken meat for this option)
- Garnish with chopped fresh corriander (I was out of fresh corriander, sob sob)
- Skip coconut milk/cream/opt for low fat milk
- Skip eggs
- Skip chicken and add more tofu for a vegetarian option
- No, skipping a meal is not hot! Just don't!

Now...while you guys are enjoying your healthier alternatives, let me look at my "garnish" once again, up close and personal *grin*

You might also like my Golden Fish Nuggets with Creamy Corn Sauce

**Power Porridge

Reading my blog posts, these are the things about me you might've learnt so far:
- One heck of an unhealthy food fanatic
- Suffering from severe baking disabilities
- A short cut addict, an acutely lazy bum

Hmm, all of the above are correct. But remembering those hospital days:

(yep, that's me on hospital bed, and that's Andrew Zimmern on the celeb gossip magazine I was reading hehe)

....now I wanna be a good girl for a change (if only you got a dollar for every time I wrote this sentence on my blogpost...)

This power porridge is just so bursting out with good things, maybe it can cancel out all of the bad things I had hehe? (to myself: dream on, you fool!)

The recipe is from our executive consulting chef, which we've tweaked by adding tofu and black beans. Deliciousness & health guaranteed, failure is own's (my) stupidity hehe.

Ingredients
(serves four)
- half cup of rice
- rice to water ratio = 1 to 5 (or you can use chicken stock)
- 1 pc tofu, slice into big chunks
- 1 teaspoon of fermented black beans
- HK$10 minced pork (it means just a little, you can add more if you wish), marinate with a bit of soy sauce and sugar
- 1 egg
- spring onion, chopped
- salt, pepper, sugar

Boil rice with water/chicken stock until reduced to thin congee, add minced pork, tofu, fermented black beans, spring onion, salt, pepper, sugar, cook until you get the desired thickness, crack eggs into it, mix well. Serve with Chinese fried donut sticks aka yau jar gwai (you can omit this, or just go easy on it ^_^)

Bistik Trio

I've grown up eating bistik in Indonesia. The word came from Dutch biefstuk which means beef steak. The version we had at home is so different from regular beef steak. It is a mix of beef fillet and potatoes cooked in kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce), regular soy sauce, garlic, shallot, and grated nutmeg. Ofcourse, in Indo, we eat potatoes with rice.

My version accomodates the busy and the lazy as usual. Mixing the beef with lots of tomatoes and tofu as veggie substitute (Bistik Trio of Beef, Tomato & Tofu Puff), so I didn't have to cook the veggie separately. It saved me a LOT of time, which was productively used to watch more TV (enjoyed The Heartbreak Kid yesterday night) and grow myself on my sofa. lol

Ingredients
- HK$25 beef for stir frying
- HK$3 tofu puff
- HK$2.50 tomatoes
- finely chopped garlic, thinly sliced shallot (shallot vs garlic ratio = 2 to 1)
- kecap manis (Indo sweet soy sauce, I can't live without this) & regular soy sauce (kecap manis vs regular soy sauce ratio = 2 to 1)
- chopped chilli (remove seeds)
- a little corn starch + water
- olive oil

Marinate beef in kecap manis, regular soy sauce, a bit of corn starch while prepping the other ingredients. Saute beef with a bit of shallot and garlic, set aside. Saute shallot, garlic, chilli, add tomatoes, tofu puff, add kecap manis, regular soy, add beef, heat up everything. Serve with steamed rice.

I didn't manage to get my lazy bum to the store to get nutmeg powder, so my version had to go without. Still tasty though :)

...and...I am submitting my Satay Beef Ramen for Presto Pasta Nights. Enjoy!

Check it out & join the fun!

Crispy Stuffed Beancurd Puffs with Indonesian Peanut Sauce

I've been missing Indonesian Batagor (fried fishcakes stuffed into tofu/potatoes/etc, drizzled with peanut sauce) more than I've missed shopping (this is amazing for the former Ms. Shopaholic). Due to below challenges, I had to dramatically tweaked the batagors, to be an entirely different, unrecognizable ones.

The Challenges
(aka Lame Excuses)
- I got off work at 6 pm, even if I ran to the market, the earlier I could get there for is by 6:30
- By 6:30, the tofu suitable for batagors was ofcourse gone, I could only get beancurd puffs
- It takes time to stuff the fillings into different pouches (e.g. potatoes, chillies, bitter melon), and it would be pricey, so I opted to go solo (just beancurd puffs)
- I have hungry "diners" waiting, so I can't take too long to make the batagor fishcake filling/peanut sauce from scratch (okok. The real thing is I DON'T know how to make those from scratch la...if I were to, I'd have to refer to (i.e copy) from online recipes and THAT would take more time..HAHA)
- Tempted to buy pret-a-manger fishcake filling, but fancied something meaty, so went for minced pork instead

Those are some of my "challenges" which yielded these fake batagors. You'll find more and more as you scroll down (good luck!)

Ingredients
The pouch
- HK$6 beancurd puffs
The filling
- HK$10 minced pork, select partially fatty one for smooth buttery feel (can be replaced by other minced meat of your choice: beef, chicken, fish)
- 1 chilli (remove seeds, finely chopped), 1 tiny bulb or garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 egg (it glues everything together & gives nice golden color)
- corriander
- 4 tbsp corn flour (I love them a bit sticky)
- salt, pepper, sugar, oyster sauce
The peanut sauce
- if available Sambel Pecel/Satay Sauce (you can try substituting this with crunchy peanut butter)
- Hot water to dissolve
- Corriander
- Salt

Pour all filling ingredients into a bowl, mix well. Normally I don't post "behind the scene-raw material" pictures, as I know "raw fatty minced pork" is not exactly photogenic. Yikes!


Cut an opening beancurd puffs across the middle, scoop out the inside if there's no space for the filling (some are already hollow). Stuff the beancurd puffs with fillings. The stuffed puffs won't be thoroughly cooked if they are just pan fried. So, I nuked them in microwave for 6 minutes, then pan fried them until golden brown.

Healthier options: once nuked, the puffs are pretty much done, you can skip the pan frying. You can also steam the puffs until thoroughly cooked. Those alternatives will give you soft & fluffy beancurd puffs instead of crispy.

Dissolve the sambal pecel/satay sauce in a bit of hot water, sprinkle corriander all over, add salt if needed, drizzle sauce all over the stuffed puffs, or dip the puffs into sauce when served as finger food in parties.

Have I given you guys enough lame excuses? Expect more in future postings LOL

*Lazily Healthy: Tasty Steamed Tofu

If you always say:
- I am constantly on the go, move, move, move!
- I have NO time
- I am too busy
- I am juggling being a company executive/career woman, a mom/cruel or loving stepmom, a wife/girlfriend/mistress/lover, a bitch, an angel, etc etc
- I have too much on my plate and they aren't edible
then you are probably really busy.
For me, I am just LAZY.

As I mentioned in previous posting 5 Facts about me, I am fond of short cuts, and I am constantly, desperately seeking fast and easy recipes. This recipe from a friend's dad, is perfect for busy ladies (or lazy bitches like me. HAHA)

Doing this recipe is better than:
1. Getting a lover to cook for you
As you might need to flirt outrageously, wine & dine the girl or bullshit & seduce the guy, which takes time, and loads of effort
2. Dining out
Imagine having to dress up/dress down/looking "effortlessly" gorgeous and the nightmare of deciding where to eat (ate there yesterday, sushi the day before, wonton the day before, etc), then what to order, then contemplating whether to order dessert, etc
3. Ordering take out
I get exhausted browsing the 1000001 items on the take away menu, dialing the right number (and trying NOT to get the "massage parlor" or "mental health clinic" all the time), arguing with the delivery person (I SAID, I ordered meal #198789 and NOT #189789, you @#$@#%@#$#@!!!), and buying something hello kitty clad and useless from 7-11 (convenience store) just to break my HK$500 note

OK. I know, I know, as enticingly easy as it sounds, the words Steamed & Tofu appalled me to the core and had me trembling with fear/disgust/skepticism too, the first time I heard them. But I kid you not, the word Tasty I later slapped on was not to trick you into eating bland food while I am MUHAHAHA-ing at the background. As mischievous as I am, deep down, there's mr.integrity constantly yelling at me to stop tricking people (you win, dammit) lol.


Ingredients
- Fermented black beans
- Finely chopped garlic, spring onion, chilli
- Olive oil
- Fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar
- Tofu

Cut tofu into big chunks, lay them on a plate (1 layer), mix everything else, except spring onion in a small bowl, spread onto tofu pieces, steam for 5 minutes, sprinkle spring onion on the 4th minute or after steaming. Serve with steamed rice.

No fuss, no muss. No flirting and/or yelling necessary.

*Mama's Classic: Cilantro Minced Beef with Tofu & Green Peas

I remember my happy childhood. Every time I was (pretending to be) sick, which happened almost EVERY Monday morning, my trusting mama always let me stay in bed and wrote a sick-leave letter to my teacher. My report card that year showed a high record of 13 sick days, all conveniently fell on Monday. HAHAHA. Until now, I haven't told my mum that those were fake sicknesses (ranging from stomach ache to fever). I guess some things are better left unsaid, I plan to forever be mama's angelic little good girl. HOHOHO.

Ehm, my mama would (get our helper to) prepare a Mun Tahu dish. Back home, it consists of tofu, minced pork, garlic, spring onion and soy sauce. Mixed with warm steamed rice, it is just sooo comforting, like a warm blanket on cold winter days, even for the healthy (lazy).

In Hong Kong, I found from my friends that their mamas made this dish too. This is Hong Kong version of mun tahu, the pork was changed to beef, and it is just as yummy and comforting, plus, it is easy enough to prepare, perfect for busy (lazy) life style.

Ingredients
- 2-3 pieces of tofu (cut into 4 parts per piece)
- Minced beef
- chopped garlic, chopped cilantro, crushed ginger
- a handful of green peas (we used frozen ones)
- oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, pepper
- a little corn starch
- olive oil

Marinate minced beef in some soy sauce, pepper, oyster sauce, corn starch, for about 15-30 mins. Saute minced beef until almost done, set aside. Saute chopped garlic and crushed ginger until fragrant, add peas, beef, tofu, add sauce when needed, sprinkle chopped cilantro at the end, mix around a little. Serve with warm steamed rice...

and for the record, now I don't take sick leave every Monday, OK? (I just changed it to every Fridays...HR, I AM KIDDING)