[Recipe] Meal-for-1 : Cold Beef Salad

Do you make resolutions when it's the new year? Do you seriously keep them? I don't, for sure. Because it's tough! I would rather make small changes to improve my life on a daily basis whenever possible. And one of those, right now, is to be more conscientious with what I eat.

During a family vacation in Sydney last year, I have had several beef salad lunches which were tangy and delicious! So I have been preparing my version of cold beef salad for my solo lunches at home of late. This is also a very ideal healthy lunch you can prepare in advance from home to bring to office and good for anemic people (like me) who needs a good dosage of iron in our diet.

Preparation time : 15 minutes  |  Cooking time : 5 minutes  |  Yields : 1 portion

Ingredients for beef marinade :

- About 160gm beef chuck tender, sliced thinly (Or get the pre-packed sliced beef at the supermarket)
- 1 tbsp Red wine vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp BBQ sauce (optional - you can replace this with worchestire sauce)
- 1 tsp sugar
- black pepper to taste

Salad :
- 1 portion ready mixed salad with cherry tomatoes and (optional) onion slices

Salad dressing :
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
-  1 tsp honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

(I personally like tangy flavored dressing. Please adjust and test-taste the portion of the vinegar to your preference)

Method :
- Marinade the beef with the all the above. Leave it in fridge for about an hour or two.
- Prepare the dressing beforehand by mixing the above dressing ingredients well. 
-  Heat pan and sear the beef on both sides for about 1 minute on each side. No need for additional oil.
-  You can choose to chill the beef to have the salad later or serve it warm on top of salad, together with dressing.
- Enjoy!

Till the next post, have a wonderful day!

Absolutely Me,

Meal For 1 - One Pot Pasta In Coconut Cream Tom Yum Sauce

I've heard of the one pot pasta dish from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe, who has been raving about it for the longest time now. As I didn't know really, what to expect from the outcome of my cooking this, I was hesitant to try it for our family dinner. But since I am experimenting with cooking to feed myself lunch, I decided to try out this method of cooking pasta. Afterall, I'm answerable for my own cooking and if I fail at it, no one needs to know... right?

Though, let me tell you, after trying out this way of cooking pasta, it seems really quite fool proof. All you need to do is keep an eye and stir it every now and then so that it doesn't burn. If the pasta seems uncooked by the time the stock is almost absorbed, just add a little more water or stock. If it tastes diluted, just add a bit more salt... that's about all to it.

So, I had a packet of baby spinach sitting in my fridge and decided to incorporate them into my pasta. I did think it was strange to add spinach in my pasta, but a google search showed many many creamy pasta dishes that looks so good with spinach. So this should work perfectly with my coconut cream based tom yum pasta dish. And I've added a pan fried grouper fillet to top off my pasta, seasoned with salt and black pepper. You can top this with grilled chicken or other seafood too! (I realized that being older, I have this thing for eating fish! hmmm)

Preparation time (for pasta only) : 5 minutes  Cooking time : 10 minutes  Portion : 1

Ingredients :
- one portion of pasta (any kind you like). I used spaghetti.
- A handful of baby spinach
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp tom yum koong premix (add more if you like it spicier with stronger flavor)
- 3 tbsp of coconut cream (or substitute with cooking cream)
- 1 cup water

(Please feel free to personalize this dish with other ingredients like tomatoes, mushrooms, seafood etc)

Method :
- Heat up about a tbsp of oil with medium heat, put in the garlic and fry till fragrant.
- Add in the tom yum paste, coconut milk and water. Mix well and let it simmer for a bit.
- Put in the pasta and spinach.

- Reduce the heat a little, cover the pot/pan for about 10 minutes and let it cook till al dente. Stirring at intervals.
- If the sauce looks like it's almost absorbed and the pasta hasn't cooked through, add some water.

How it looked in my pan, just about 3 minutes before it was ready to be served.

- if necessary, add some salt to taste.
- serve hot and enjoy!


Till the next post, have a wonderful day!

Meal For 1 - Pan Toasted Bread with Sardines

 

If you like roti john, you would probably appreciate this very easy pan toasted bread with sardines that I make every now and then for my lunch alone moments at home. This can also make a very delicious breakfast or afternoon snack. Best of all, you can also replace sardines with other meat fillings, like minced meat and I think, corned beef will be great too!

Preparation time : 5 minutes  Cooking time : 5-8 minutes  Serving : 1

Ingredients :
- 2 pieces of sandwich bread, which I cut into long rectangular pieces (or use french loaf)
- 1 piece of sardine from can, in tomato sauce base
- 1 small onion, chopped or thinly sliced
- 1 egg
- spring onions (optional)
- butter (optional)
- pepper to taste

Method :
- take out the centre bone from the sardine, and mash the sardine in a bowl. You could take a spoonful of the tomato sauce from the can for added taste, which was what I did.
- add in the onions, egg and spring onions. Give it a good mix.
- Heat up your frying pan and add enough oil to pan fry your portion.
- Butter 2 sides of the bread (this gives the bread a little crisp on the other side), before dipping one side of the bread into the mixture.
- Place it face down on your pan. Press it down with your spatula.
- When brown, flip it over to the other side to toast. This step takes less than a minute.
- Remove and drain on paper towel. Repeat till your bread portion is done.
- Enjoy!


Till the next post, have a wonderful day!

Meal For 1 - Vegetarian Tom Yum Pasta

Lately I've been cooking a lot more of my lunches at home, especially when I have jewelry work to catch up on and can't meet my mum for lunch. The children hardly come home from school till after 3pm and so there's only one tummy to fill. Yes, mine!

I've decided that I would like to experiment with cooking (food that my family may not like to eat) since there's only myself to feed. And at the same time, making it as fuss free as possible so that I need not spend more than 20 minutes to prepare my lunch. Ley cheh (inconvenient) to cook for one, you say? Well, I think it's more ley cheh to get changed, blow my hair, put on some light make up, make sure the windows are closed, doggy's water is filled and head out to a nearby mall for lunch of which I'll get fried in the hot sun.

I plan to make this "Meal For 1" a series on the blog and I'm excited to share with you a quick fix fusion meal - al dente vegetarian tom yum pasta.

What you need :

- one portion sphaghetti (not in pic)
- 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
- a handful of golden enoki mushrooms (or any other kinds of mushrooms)
- 1 tomato, sliced into wedges
- a handful of coriander
- half a tablespoon of tom yum koong pre mix (you can use your preferred brand for this)
- 1 tablespoon of coconut cream (or you can substitute with cooking cream)
- 1/2 rice bowl of water

(Many of the ingredients above were pre-existing in my fridge so what better way to make use of them in my lunch before they expire!)

Method :

Cook the pasta in your usual way about 5 minutes before hand so that by the time the sauce is ready, lunch  will also be ready!

1) The garlic were lightly fried and set aside. I like mine to be added as a topping on the pasta which gives it some texture when I bite into it. Or you can just fry it together with the tom yum paste to cut down cooking time.

2) Using the same pan with leftover oil from frying garlic, add and stir fry the paste till fragrant. Followed by vegetables, coconut cream and water. Let it simmer for about half a minute.

3) Now that the sauce is ready, your pasta should be almost ready to be tossed together with the tom yum sauce.

4) Toss it well in the pan till the sauce is fully absorbed into the pasta.

5) Serve and enjoy!


Till the next post, have a wonderful day!