Friday 30 October 2015

How To Combine 3 Simple Ingredients To Make an Easy Peasy Yet Super Healthy and Nutritious Dessert or Tong Sui 糖水

Sweet potatoes flesh are not always in orange colour.  You can find spectacular purple-flesh potato, which is also known as Okinawan potatoes. Like orange sweet potatoes, purple sweet potatoes are low in carbohydrates and fat.  They are an excellent source of fiber and vitamin A, which boost our immunity and help preserve our eyesight. They are also rich in complex carbohydrates and fibre.
Purple Sweet Potatoes are found to improve blood sugar regulation. Eating purple sweet potatoes also help lower blood pressure. But what makes them truly stand apart from their orange counterparts is the fact that purple sweet potatoes have high contents of anthocyanin which may have anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, anthocyanins have been epidemiologically associated with a reduced cancer risk and cardiovascular disease.

Sweet potatoes can be steamed or boiled, or in anyway you like.  I usually use orange or purple sweet potatoes for breads, buns, desserts or just steamed it. They are delicious!!
Red Beans is one of the richest foods in antioxidants. It provides half your daily requirement of fiber, source of iron and thiamine (vitamin B1) which stimulates attention and memory.
Ginger is known for its medicinal properties. Modern scientific research has revealed that ginger possesses numerous therapeutic properties including antioxidant effects, an ability to inhibit the formation of inflammatory compounds, and direct anti-inflammatory effects.
Just combine the above 3 ingredients into a delectable and nutritious dessert for your breakfast. I cooked this dessert in a slow cooker. Just switch it on to Auto before you go to bed. The next morning, you will have hot dessert for breakfast!

So, starting your day with a bowl of this simple 3-superfood dessert will definitely cheer you up and get you through the day!! Something different for your family instead of the usual Milo, milk, bread,cake, etc, right?
Sweet Purple Potatoes Dessert with Red Beans and Taiwan Ginger Cube (姜母茶)
Ingredients : 
(Please take note that, the measurement for this simple dessert is quite flexible.  You may adjust it to your taste)
- 2 medium sized purple sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
- 1/2 cup of red beans (washed)
- 1 cube of Taiwan Brown Sugar Ginger Cube
- 1500ml water 
- 8 tbsp brown sugar
- few blades of pandan leaves (washed and knotted)
Method :
1)  Put everything into the slow cooker except the pandan leaves.
2)  Turn it to Auto before you go to bed. (If you want to have it for breakfast.  Otherwise, you may prepare it anytime you like).
3)  Alternatively, you can cook it over the gas stove.
4)  Add the pandan leaves few minutes before serving.
That day, I had it with a slice of radish cake. In case you are interested, do kiv for this radish cake recipe....
Other similar recipes you might be interested :
Have a great weekend and cheers!


Sorry to inform that for the time being, I have disabled comment box as I won't be able to return visit to my fellow bloggers who are kind enough to drop me a line or two. The comment box will be enabled when I am not so tied up with my work schedule. However, you may contact me by leaving your message or comment at SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL AND HEALTHY LIVING FACEBOOK. My sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused. Thanks for visiting my blog and have a nice day :)

Friday 23 October 2015

Simple Braised Tofu with Minced Meat and what better way to serve it with plain rice congee during this hazy conditions than eating out

First of all, my sincere apologies for MIA for quite a while.  Well, finally I am able to squeeze some time for my readers and followers who have been actively visiting my cyber home even though there isn't any new updates from me.  Of course from the live traffic feed I am able to see new and existing viewers still keep coming in.  I am touched!!!!  My sincere gratitude for all your generous support.
Well, with the current hazy conditions which hit Singapore and Malaysia, most of us have not been feeling well and even our appetite are affected too.  In fact most of the time, I have been cooking savory or plain rice congee for lunch or dinner for my family.  In case you are interested, you may click at this link for more congee recipes rice congee/porridge.
As I was scratching my head what to cook the other day, I realised that I had a medium sized of pork belly in my freezer and 5 pieces of hard tofu.  Aha... why not cook a simple dish to go with plain rice congee?  So, here's this simple yet appetizing recipe.

Ingredients :
- 1 strip of pork belly (blanched and cut into small pieces or minced)
- 5 pcs hard tofu (cut into eight, slightly fried until golden brown)
- 1/2 tbsp fermented soy bean paste/tau cheong
- 1 bulb of garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 Bombay onion (finely chopped)
- water (enough for braising)

Seasonings : (to taste)
- a dash of salt
- a dash of pepper
- a dash of mixed spice
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 3 tbsp caramel sauce (reduce the amount if you don't like your dish to be in dark colour)
- 1 tsp sugar

Method :
1) Heat some oil in a wok and pan fry the tofu until slightly brown.

2) Set the tofu aside.

3) With the remaining oil, add pork belly and stir fry for a while.

4) Then add garlic, onion, and fermented soy bean paste and continue stir fry until aromatic.

5) Add in fried tofu and seasoning. Stir and mix well.

6) Finally add enough water and cover.

7) Let it boil over high heat for about 5 minutes. Then, lower the heat and let it simmer until the gravy is thickened.

8) It takes about 30 to 45 minutes depending on the fire and pot/wok used. Add water if you want more gravy.

9) Dish up and serve with plain porridge or steamed rice.

Another similar dish you might be interested.
Have a great weekend ahead and cheers!


Sorry to inform that for the time being, I have disabled comment box as I won't be able to return visit to my fellow bloggers who are kind enough to drop me a line or two. The comment box will be enabled when I am not so tied up with my work schedule. However, you may contact me by leaving your message or comment at SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL AND HEALTHY LIVING FACEBOOK. My sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused. Thanks for visiting my blog and have a nice day :)