Chinese Stir-fry Beef Noodles (Beef Horfun) 干炒河粉

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1. 400g rice noodles or brown rice noodles of 100g portion each.

2. 2 eggs

3. 200g beef sliced thin

4. 1/2 onion sliced thin

5. 4 garlic cloved minced

6. 50g or a handful of pak choi (optional)

7. 50g or a handful of beans sprouts

8. 50g or a handful of broccoli

9. 1 TBS light soy sauce

10. 1 TBS dark soy sauce

11. 2 TBS cooking oil

12. 1 TBS olive oil

12. A handful of chopped spring onions for garnish

Marinade for beef:

1. 1 tsp soy sauce

2. 1 tsp Chinese rice wine

3. 1 tsp corn starch

4. 1 tsp water

5. 1 tsp Chinese sesame oil

Directions:

1. Slice the beef into bite size against the grain. 

2. Mix with light soy sauce, rice wine, cornstarch, water and sesame oil and set aside in the fridge for 15-30 mins while you prepare the other ingredients.

3. Heat wok with 1 tablespoon of oil, add eggs and don't touch it for 30 seconds. Then scramble them lightly until fried and cooked. Dish out and set aside.

4. Heat wok with 1 tablespoon of oil again, add beef and don't touch it for 30 seconds. Then stir them until they are lightly cooked and pale. Dish out and set aside.

5. Bring a small pot of 1 liter of water to boil, add1-2 portions of 100g rice noodles at a time. Cook for 1 minute and then another minute off the stove with the lid on.

6. Drain and rinse in cold water until the water is clear. Set aside. If you are not using it immediately, coat it with some olive oil and a teaspoon of soy sauce.

7. Heat wok, add garlic and fry until fragrant.

8. Add rice noodles and dark soy sauce and give it a quick stir until well coated and a bit char, if possible, but don't overcook the rice noodles.

9. Add vegetables and half of the onions and give it a quick stir 30seconds or so.

10. Dish out, garnish with the remaining onions and spring onions. Serve :-)

Additional Information:

This is C's and J's favorite dish at the Chinese Restaurant near our home. So I tried to make it :-) All eaten up by J.

References:

https://redhousespice.com/beef-chow-fun/

https://maxtex.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/13_Brown-Rice-VS-Wheat-Flour.pdf

https://wildgrain.com/blogs/news/bread-vs-pasta-vs-rice-vs-potatoes

https://www.onlymyhealth.com/is-white-rice-better-than-wheat-roti-for-you-1687869154

https://foodstruct.com/compare/rice-vs-wheat

Marinade beef with 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp rice wine, 1 tsp corn starch and 1 tsp Chinese sesame oil.

Prepare the ingredients as shown above 50g of pak choi, 50g of broccoli, 50g of beans sprouts, a handful of chopped spring onion and half a onion sliced, 2 eggs fried and 150g of beef fried.

Fry your beef with 1 TBS of cooking oil until they looked

pale.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil, add garlic and fry until fragrant. Add 1/2 portion of ice noodles and stir lightly a couple of time. Add dark soy sauce and give it a quick stir. Done :-) Then add the pak choi, broccoli, bean sprouts, 1/2 of the sliced onion and give it a quick stir.

Add a bit more dark soy sauce and give it a quick stir.

Done :-)

Sprinkle some of the sliced onion and spring onions.

Broccoli Salad with Honey

Ingredients:

1. 1 head of broccoli sliced into florets
2. 1/2 red onion sliced
3. A handful of chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds
4. 1 TBS raisins
5. 2 TBS creme fraiche 18% fat
6. 1 tsp honey
7. 1 TBS lemon juice (optional)
8. Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir and mix well. Taste and adjust with more creme fraiche as desired.

2. Best to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.

Additional Information:

We love the broccoli salad from Den Sunde Køkken restaurant and takeaway. It is so simple to make, with very simple dressing, basically broccoli and two other ingredients - creme fraiche and honey. It is very healthy too.

References:

https://highonlife.dk/broccolisalat.html

https://www.pinterest.dk/pin/780389441659413029/

https://www.valdemarsro.dk/broccolisalat/

https://madenimitliv.dk/2013/05/broccolisalat/

Chinese Brown Rice & Quinoa Minced Pork Porridge

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup brown rice
2. 1 cup quinoa
3. 2 litres water
4. 250 g minced pork marinaded with 2 TBS soy sauce and 2 TBS sesame oil
5. A handful of lettuce sliced thin
6. 1 stalk spring onions chopped for garnish
7. Salt & pepper to taste
8. Garlic oil (optional)
9. 1 egg (optional)

Directions:

1. In a pot, rinse brown rice and quinoa, add 2 litres of water and bring to boil.

2. Simmer under low heat (no. 2.5 on my stove) for one hour.

3. Add minced pork, stir and mix well and simmer for another hour or until it is cooked and reaches the consistency that you desire. If you wish it to be softer, cook longer.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Crack an egg into a serving bowl (optional).

6. Add porridge and garnish with spring onion, lettuce, garlic oil and serve.

Nutritional Value:

Brown rice as an excellent source of manganese, and a good source of selenium, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, and niacin (vitamin B3).

Quinoa is a highly nutritious food. Quinoa has been rated by the WHO as possessing protein of a quality similar to milk. It has been classified as a supercrop by the United Nations on account of its nutritional value and high protein content. Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. The protein quality and quantity in quinoa seed is often superior to those of more common cereal grains. Quinoa is especially well-endowed with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. Quinoa is higher in lysine than wheat. Quinoa grain has a lower sodium content and is higher in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley, or corn. Because quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus, this "grain" may be especially valuable for persons with migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis.

Quinoa is a very good source of manganese and a good source of copper, two minerals that serve as cofactors for the superoxide dismutase enzyme. Superoxide dismutase is an antioxidant that helps to protect the mitochondria from oxidative damage created during energy production as well as guard other cells, such as red blood cells, from injury caused by free radicals.

Quinoa also contains vitamins B6, Niacin and Thiamin. Quinoa is lower in carbohydrates than most other grains, but an excellent source of complex carbohydrates and cooks in about half the time of regular rice. Quinoa is low in fat.

Additional Information:

This porridge tastes great, and at the same time is healthier and more nutritious version, but is equally delicious as traditional Chinese minced pork porridge.

Our Little FECS having a bowl of warm brown rice & quinoa porridge after returning home from his Scouts camp.

Quick Oven-Roasted Salmon

 Inspired from homemate.dk

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

1. 4 slices of salmon

2. A handful of mushrooms

3. A handful of broccoli florets

4. A handful of split peas soaked overnight (optional)

5. A few stigs of rosemary (optional)

6. 1 carrot sliced

7. 1 apple sliced

8. 4 cloves of garlic unpeeled

9. 1 onion quartered or a handful of shallots

10. 1 TBS olive oil

11. A bit of cream (piskefløde)

12. Salt & pepper to taste

13. A handful of dild for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper.

2. Roast in a pre-warmed oven for 15 mins at 220 degree celsius.

3. Garnish with dild and serve :-)

This is the split peas I bought from Meny supermarket

Honey Soya Broccoli

Inspired by https://www.buzzfeed.com/robertbroadfoot/heres-four-healthy-ways-to-make-a-salmon-dinner-tonight?utm_term=.khnVnVLr9b#.jejPZP1apz

Serves 4

Preparation & cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

1. 250g broccoli florets

2. 2 slices of ginger minced
3. 2 cloves garlic minced
4. 2 TBS soya sauce
5. 1 TBS honey
6. Olive oil
7. Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Mix garlic, ginger, soya sauce (2 TBS), honey (1 TBS) and pepper to make the sauce and pour on top of the broccoli.
2. Sprinkle olive oil.
4. Sprinkle salt.
5. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes at 200 degree celsius.

Video Demonstration:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/robertbroadfoot/heres-four-healthy-ways-to-make-a-salmon-dinner-tonight?utm_term=.khnVnVLr9b#.jejPZP1apz

Additional Information:
Tried this today and Our Little FECS loved it (8Y1M), especially the broccoli with the honey soya sauce. Will make the broccoli separately as a dish next time.

Wash, cut and place broccoli on an oven-proof dish

 The seasoning is done :-)

 Add the honey soya seasoning

 Drizzle some olive oil

 Sprinkle some salt

 Ready to place in oven :-)

 Bake for 10 mins

 

Now it's done :-)

Quick Oven-Baked Honey Soya Salmon

Inspired by https://www.buzzfeed.com/robertbroadfoot/heres-four-healthy-ways-to-make-a-salmon-dinner-tonight?utm_term=.khnVnVLr9b#.jejPZP1apz

Serves 4

Preparation & cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

1. 4 pieces of salmon

2. 250g broccoli florets

3. 2 slices of ginger minced
4. 2 cloves garlic minced
5. 2 TBS soya sauce
6. 1 TBS honey
7. Olive oil
8. Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Mix garlic, ginger, soya sauce (2 TBS), honey (1 TBS) and pepper to make the sauce and pour on top of the salmon.
2. Add broccoli on the side of the dish.
3. Sprinkle olive oil
4. Sprinkle salt on broccoli
5. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes at 200 degree celsius.

Video Demonstration:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/robertbroadfoot/heres-four-healthy-ways-to-make-a-salmon-dinner-tonight?utm_term=.khnVnVLr9b#.jejPZP1apz

Additional Information:
Tried this today and Our Little FECS loved it (8Y1M), especially the broccoli with the honey soya sauce. Will make the broccoli separately as a dish next time.

Baby Food of the Day: Fish (6M26D)

11 December 2016 (6M26D): I made millet porridge with fish (torsk) and broccoli, and added olive oil and flavoured with ginger. After a good day yesterday, today was not such a good day. Baby FECS didn't like fish at all. This was the fourth time I experimented with fish. Made me a little sad, as it is very healthy to eat fish, so I hope that she will grow up with a life-long habit to eat fish, but I haven't succeeded in cultivating the interest yet. Daddy FECS said that perhaps the fish wasn't fresh enough, and that maybe I should buy it totally fresh from the fish-man (I bought them from Netto). Wow, that will be a lot of work to shop at different places!!! But I think he could be right. Will try it next time.

It helped a little that I served it with her favorite tomato soup. In that way, I managed to feed a few spoonfuls, still much better than a week ago, when she absolutely refused to eat.

Day 3: Baby's First Food - The Brilliant Broccoli/花椰菜[huā yē cài]/

For babies from 5 months old

I chose broccoli as the third food to introduce to Baby C (5M6D) today 22 October 2016. It is more usual for moms to start with carrot or potato. But as carrot is sweet, I wanted to start with the less sweet stuff. I gave carrot as the first baby food to J, when he was a baby.

J has no problem eating broccoli, so I don't think it is so crucial the order of introduction. But then, although J eats broccoli, he is not totally that fond of it. So I am thinking that I would like to establish the liking for broccoli right from the start, before the sweeter food such as carrot, banana or apple.

Broccoli has a strong taste, so I am taking a risk whether Baby C would like it. I imagine that since it would be her first time tasting it, she would turn her head away and pull a long sour face. But it takes at least three tries, before a good habit is established, so I am prepared to bite my teeth.

I was excited to see her reaction. To my pleasant surprise, it wasn't so bad. I don't think she is so crazy about broccoli, but she was willing to eat it, although she seemed to prefer eating the spoon to broccoli. Here is a video of Baby C getting her first taste of broccoli :-)

I steamed the broccoli instead of boiling it. Steaming is a Chinese method, said to retain most of the nutrient, compared to cooking by boiling. However, if time is a constraint, boiling is perfectly fine. Actually, it takes the same time to boil and to steam, but steaming requires more equipment. Here is how I prepared the broccoli for Baby C.

Actually I would have preferred to give her kale or spinach, since these are the most nutrient packed vegetable, but because of the high nitrate in green leafy vegetables, which is not so suitable for young babies, I will wait with it.

Here is a picture of Baby C in her snowsuit today :-)

Broccoli, Carrot & Apple Juice

Serves 3 glasses

Ingredients:

1. 3 stalks of broccoli
2. 3 carrots peeled and cut
3. 3 apples cut
4. 3 kiwi peeled and cut
5. 100g baby spinach
6. 100g kale
7. 1 beetroot (optional)

Directions:

Just juice them in a juicer, pour into glass and serve :-)

Additional Information:

We saw this juice that uses broccoli at the juice store, and I was like, what broccoli, could it really taste good? My friend bought it and she said that the broccoli taste didn't overpower at all. So I tried it when I came home today. And it is true, we could not taste the broccoli at all :-)

I use the Hurom no. filter 1 to make juice instead of smoothie.

In this concoction, we used 1 carrot each and 3 kiwi each for the three of us, thus fully covering the daily recommended intake for vitamin A and vitamin C - see link below:

We bought the Hurom Elite Juicer HF2 in stainless steel presentation. It is also available in Amazon:

http://amzn.to/1VjdNzM

Vitamin K: Just 4 Spears Broccoli (79g) A Day

Vitamin K

Do you know that just eating 4 spears of broccoli (79g) a day fully covers your daily vitamin K need (based on adult's need)?

Recommended daily intake: 120mg

• 2mcg (0-6 months old)
• 2.5mcg (7-12 months old)
• 30mcg (1-3 years old)
• 55mcg (4-8 years old)
• 60mcg (9-13 years old)
• 75mcg (14-18 years old)
• 90mcg for women (19 years & above)
• 120mcg for women (19 years & above)
• 90mcg for pregnant women
• 90mcg for breast-feeding women

Functions:

Helps blood clot. May play a role in treating osteoporosis and Alzheimer's and help protect against cancer and heart disease.

References:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2356/2

Tomato Bacon & Broccoli Pasta

Adapted from Just One Cookbook

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

1. 3 servings wholemeal organic spaghetti cooked according to packet instructions
2. 400g fresh pork belly sliced in strips
3. 4 oyster mushrooms sliced in strips
4. 10 broccoli florets blanched
5. 2 cloves garlic minced
6. 1 large onion minced
7. 1 can of organic tomatoes in juice
8. 1 TBS olive oil
9. 1 TBS Japanese mirin
10. 1 TBS canola cooking oil
11. Salt & pepper to taste
12. 1 bunch parsley chopped
13. Sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta separately according to package instructions.
2. Heat pan with Canola cooking oil, fry garlic until golden.
3. Add onion and fry until golden.
4. Add meat and fry until brown.
5. Add oyster mushrooms and fry until golden.
6. Add 1 salt and 1 TBS mirin, reduce heat to prevent burn, stir well.
7. Add canned tomatoes, salt and pepper, stir well.
8. Add pasta and mix well.
9. Add broccoli and mix well.
10. Add 1 TBS olive oil and stir well.
11. Sprinkle parsley and stir well.
12. Dish and serve with grated Parmesan cheese :-)

Additional Information:
Our Little FECS and Mr. FECS are requesting for pasta, so I am making pasta dishes this week. I normally don't like any tomato-based or meat sauce pasta. I used to make them using store-bought ready to use pasta sauce, and it just didn't taste good. They tasted boring, but after making this Japanese inspired recipe, I am persuaded. It tasted really good and fresh. I think the reason is because real tomatoes are used. The canned tomatoes tasted more real than bottled pasta sauce. I am falling in love with tomato-based pasta now :-)

After our first full cooking class with our Little FECS during the fall school holidays, I am more confident of cooking more with him. Today is my day off from work (I work half-time). So I fetched our Little FECS home early from school, and we made dinner together :-) I must say, he had done most of the preparation and cooking himself. I am just at the side supervising :-)

After reading the recent report from WHO about eating bacon and other processed meat increases the risk of cancer significantly, I use the fresh pork breast, which are used to make bacon, for this dish.

References:
http://www.justonecookbook.com/tomato-bacon-pasta/

Here is what you need. I forgot to show Parmesan cheese and onion.

You can buy pork belly from Netto for 69 DKK for 1.2 kg.

Peel garlic.

Chop garlic lengthwise.

Chop garlic breadth-wise.

Cut onion.

Slice oyster mushrooms in strips.

Cut pork breast in strips.

Now it's done :-)

Chop parsley.

Now it's done :-)

Heat canola cooking oil on pan.

Test that the pan is hot by dropping a garlic.

Add garlic.

Fry until golden.

Add onion and fry until golden.

Add meat.

Fry until brown.

Meanwhile, boil a pot with a lot of water to cook pasta. Add 1 pinch of salt into pot.

Add 1 TBS olive oil.

Add oyster mushrooms.

Add 1 tsp. of salt.

Add 1 TBS of Japanese mirin.

When water boils, add pasta and cook for 8 minutes.

Add canned tomatoes.

Add pepper.

Add a dash of tomato sauce and mix well.

When pasta is done after 8 minutes, drain and add to sauce.

Mix well.

 

Add 1 TBS olive oil and mix well.

Add parsley.

Mix well.

Blanch broccoli with hot boiling water. Drain immediately. Add to pasta.

Stir and mix well.

Dish out and serve with grated Parmesan cheese :-)