Hungry Note

Taco rice, originally from Okinawa which is located southern Japan.
As the name is, this is the mixture of Tacos and Rice.
This is filling you, satisfying you, also healthy for you! And also the ingredients are just so simple.
I lost almost 2 kg just replacing my lunch to "Taco rice" for a month, I call its "Taco rice diet".
This great dish saved my life when I was in college.
Poor, spent all the money for book and art equipment, but I always leave $10 in my hand.
A lettuce and tomato, and beef mince, a slice of cheese is enough to put a smile on my face.
Because that is all I need for get amazing "Taco rice" ready.

This recipe is actually my mum's.
She used Japanese curry block instead of spices to get a milder taste.
Before you cook this, you need to cook rice first!

 ingredients (serves 2)

140g Minced Beef (you can use Minced Chicken/Pork/Lamb whatever)
2 tbsp Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp Worcester Sauce
1/2 tbsp Curry Powder
3~4 Lettuce leaves
1 Tomato
2 Slices of Cheese(I used Havarti,  creamy one tastes better)
Corn Kernel
1/2 tbsp Oil

Cooked rice

1,  Heat the fry pan and add oil then put minced meat and fry until it get browned a bit.

2, Turn the heat down to low and add tomato sauce, worcester sauce, curry powder together.
Fry until its cooked through. I like it when i go crunchy.

3, Place rice on the dish and put (2) on top. Place cut lettuce, and sliced tomato, also teared cheese, finally sprinkle some corn kernel on top.

4, I normally put chilli sauce on top, you can use tomato sauce or mayonnaise whatever on top! Enjoy!

I really love muffins, especially with berries.
I just made up this recipe yesterday and the recipe seems succeeded so far.
Tangy, sweet raspberry tastes the best with creamy cream cheese in fluffy and moist dough.
Great for breakfast, for morning / afternoon tea.

ingredients (6 small muffins /  twice the amount if you want 12 SMALL or 6 BIG muffins)

190g Plain Flour
90g White Sugar
A pinch of Salt
2 tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 cup Milk
1/4 cup Yogurt
60g Unsalted Butter (Melted)
1 Egg (size 7)
4 drops of Vanilla Essence
1/2 cup Fresh or Frozen Raspberry
2 tbsp Raspberry Preserve or Jam
70g Cream Cheese (cut into dice)

1, Preheat the oven to 180 degree and Place paper muffin cups into the tin.  (texas muffin tin if you make 6 big one).

2, Shift Flour and Baking Powder together in the bowl and then mix Sugar and Salt.

3, In a jag, mix Milk, Yogurt, melted Butter, Egg, Vanilla Essence well.

4, Make a well in the centre of (2) and pour the (3) into the well. Fold the mixture gently using spatula, just be careful not to be over-mixed.

5, Divide the mixture into each muffin cups.
First fill about 1/3 level of cup with mixture, place 1/6 (or 1/12 if you makes 12 muffins) of Raspberry and diced Cream Cheese, also Raspberry Preserve or Jam inside then cover them with the mixture.
Don't over fill the muffin cup, fill about 3/4 level of cup with mixture.

6, Bake about 20 ~ 25 mins, or until its baked. (stick skewer in the middle of the muffin and if it comes out clean means its baked) And then cool them on the cake cooler.

I went to the boulangerie called "Beau Ciel" , which is located in Yotsukaido, Japan.
It took me about 10 minutes by driving from my parent's place.
The owner of the shop is REAL FRENCH(I mean it, REAL FRENCH!)and wow, all the pastry and bread, sweet are so tempting! Actually the location is kind of out-of-the-way in this city so it is surprising there is a loong queue of customer in the shop, in such a place!
I went there like 10AM but some of them are already sold out!

 

Mocha Cream Roll.
Chocolate dipped bread filled with mocha cream with almond flakes. ¥169? ¥189?

 

Kouign Amann.
Little salty, crunchy crust with soft texture inside.
This is famous, yet traditional sweet in France.
 ¥210(which is pretty expensive compared to other shop around?)

 

Rondo.
This is really tasty!
Different thing is they have two rondos, one is berried on top filled with whipped cream but this one caught my eyes.
This one has tropical fruit on top, filled with custard cream and whipped cream.
Their custard tastes very different from the one I have been tasted and I really really like it!!
¥189

 I might go for the savoury next time

 Love my coupé(Meaning of "Scored").
 Easily place cheese on top and put into oven makes great cheese toast for the morning!

 Bread making is something that I am not just doing for eat, required skill and knowledge of bread of course and artistic mind with creativity which link to my job.
I made this coupé(Meaning of "Scored"), Small individual size of french bread using "pain traditional" dough. I made my own leaven with raisin 2 weeks ago.

What I reckon is, they tastes way different from store-bought one.
What I recommend is, pile up some cheese on top and then toast them until gets a bit crunchy.
Grind good amount of black pepper, and enjoy!
Simple yet, makes your breakfast something amazing.

Home-Made Leaven (about 4-5times of bread you can bake with)
80g Organic raisin(the one with NO-OIL COATING)
240ml Tap water

1, Prepare clean jar(preferably wide bottom with glass made one), Make sure the jar is dried.
Mix all the ingredient and leave for a week in warm place.

*It takes about 3days to be ready in summer time, 4~5days in spring/autumn time, a week to 10 days in winter time.

*Not to place under the sun.

*Shake once a day to let them breath.

If you want to try something different, nor a butter on toast or weetbix either
a pancake, but kick start your morning.
I heard a lot of kiwi kids doesn't eat breakfast properly and I know there is
a bunch of kids buying snack or pie with fizzy drink from the daily eating them
off in the car on their way to school.
This is unacceptable because I am raised by mother who says breakfast is most
important meal of the day.
She used to wake up 5am to prepare our breakfast also lunch.
I don't wake up 5am but I still do have a breakfast properly.
The hint is, breakfast recipe should be easy and full of nutrition, also yummy
that makes kids jump off from the bed as my mother said.

This is one of her recipe.
蚕餅(Dang Ping) is Taiwanese dish, mainly eaten as breakfast.
Sticky yet not too heavy dough is rolled up with egg, dipping them with little
spicy flavourful sauce.
Also you can roll up with Ham or sliced salami, even cheese together.
It is easy prepared, I can make whole thing in 20 mins.

I recommend you buying a square pan, which you can easy find in Japan or I
suppose DAISO in Auckland have one? or you can order us square pan.
I will sort out the price and can give you a quote.

ingredients(4 small rolls, 2 big rolls)
[Dough]
50g Plain flour
50g High grade flour
30g Corn Starch(Tapioca flour is also replaceable)
200ml Water
A good pinch of salt
1 Spring onion(sliced finely)

4 Egg

[Sauce]
1 tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tsp Honey
1 tbsp water

1, Mix the [Dough] ingredient in the bowl. And crack 4 eggs in the jar and mix
well, set aside.

2, Heat your pan, preferably small kind, to medium high.
Tip little bit of oil if your pan isn't a non-stick kind, if it is then no need
for oil. Pour about 80ml of [Dough] mixture into the pan or the amount could
make one thin single layer on your pan.

3, Flip when its just cook through, don't need it to be browned or coloured.
So same the other side. Set cooked [Dough] sheet aside, continue same process
until your [Dough] mixture finishes.

4, Make sure your pan is nice and clean, Tip little bit of oil on your pan.
Pour the egg mixture to make a thin single layer.
While the egg is slightly runny on top, stick one [Dough] sheet on top.
After awhile, Roll it up just like making a swiss roll.
*If you want make it with Ham or Salami, Cheese, place whatever you like
top of the [Dough] sheet and roll it up together.

5, When you roll it up, it should be stayed in one side of pan, and other side
is free. Pour the egg mixture into the free-side of pan, make a thin single
layer again. This makes egg mixture sticks to the roll.
When the egg mixture cook through, roll it up again.
Done, continue this process for another roll.

Bot Chien, very popular street snack among southern Viet Nam, Ho Chi Minh city.
In Cho Long, China town, this is eaten as breakfast.
Actually bot chien keep you longer than sandwich or pancake, it really does!
If you have any Asian grocers around, you will probably find The frozen bot chien dough but I would say, home made one is way tastier, and there is nothing so hard to make your own.
If you want to make our morning little bit into asian, then please try this.
It is way easier than making pancake, I insist.

ingredients(3 ~ 4 serving)
[RICE CAKE]
125g Glutinous Rice Flour
3tbsp Tapioca Flour
1/2tsp Sugar
1/4tsp Salt
145~160ml Water

3~4 Egg(sightly whisked)
2 Spring Onion(Finely sliced)

1, Mix all the [RICE CAKE] ingredients in the bowl and mix well. Consistency is almost like a paste but not too watery.
Prepare the tin or any "steam-able" container, make sure that fit to your steamer.
I recommend lightly oil the tin or container first and pour the [RICE CAKE] mixture in
Steam for 20 ~ 25 mins.
*Stick a skewer in the middle of cake and if nothing sticks, then its done!

2, Cool the cake completely. (I always leave it over-night)
When its cool, cut it into 4 x 2cm(5mm thickness) rectangle.

3, Heat your wok to medium-heat, then add 1.5 tbsp of oil.
Place cubed rice cake(2) in single layer on the wok. Make sure both side is nicely colored.

4, When the rice cake is nicely colored in both side, Add egg and spring onion.
Try to bring them together.
when it become flippable, flip and cook for 20sec then done.
You don't want to cook egg too much for this dish.

5, Pour sweet soysauce(*Kecap Manis) or even normal soy sauce is ok, I love it with the sweet chill sauce!