Japanese Teriyaki Chicken with Ramen

Friday lunch is sushi lunch. Well, Friday is paperwork day for me, so nothing is more comforting than a packet of 8 pieces of salmon and tuna sushi. Call me boring but when you are buried in a pile of paperwork, having something that you know it is healthy, and delicious just ease the pain of writing notes and reports.

While paying for my sushi one Friday, it hit me.... right that corner of that sushi shop is a heated little place when they put out bento boxes. Teriyaki chicken rice, teriyaki chicken with noodles..etc.  That is when I realized that it can't be that hard to replicate that at home right?

Armed with Teriyaki sauce (The good stuff from Oriental supermarkets from Japan, not the kind titled "Woolworths brand".  Anyhow, marinating the chicken with the sauce turned out to be a sticky delight. And the noodles? Generous serving of shredded cabbage and carrots stir fry with ramen is simple but delish.

We can't forget a serving of a fried egg can we? Egg yolk oozing to our noodles-mixing it and then taking a bite means the simple pleasures in life are best enjoyed....at home.


 oh oh and before I forget...

Petrina gave me this awesome Sugar Doll Award in Jan! And it's already mid way through Feb! Thanks babe! Amazing friendship that was formed from the Malaysia Bridal Forum. Petrina has this amazing collection of shoes that I stood in awe looking at her cabinet when I visited her and her hubby!

10 things about myself:

1)  We have shelves of motivational books and I read every single one of them. Self reflection and growth is vital to moving forward in life and relationships. There is no such thing as "the same" as not doing anything (as in personal development) to me means going backwards not forward in life.

2) I believe in  being strength focused instead of focusing on the weaknesses.

3) But the irony thing is that I can be critical of myself and close ones (esp the hubby).

4)  A weakness for french chocolates... (need I say more?)

5) I love home furnishing. I invest heavily on home and food magazines and like cutting them out to make a file of "my dream home".

6) Did I mention I like good quality linen? I think I got this from my mum whom I used to consider "boring" as she was excited shopping about sheets! Too late, now I think it is fun!. (I can see mum going "I told u so")

7)  I am my grandmother's girl. I adore her and would do anything for her.

8)  Grapes and mangoes are my favorite summer fruits!

9) One of my dream is to be able to look after my family full time while experimenting in the home kitchen.

10) I like variety in food. I can have rice one day, cafe food the other and vegetarian next. 

Japanese Teriyaki Chicken with Ramen (serves 4)

250 grams ramen noodles (cooked in boiling water)
half cabbage shredded
2 carrots peeled and shredded
1 red onion sliced
garlic
 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
2-3 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce
2-3 tablespoons of soya 
2-3 tsp of white pepper.
sesame oil 

2 chicken breasts sliced horizontally.
marinate in garlic and teriyaki sauce and mirin for around 20 mins.

4 eggs.

Heat fry pan up. Saute garlic and onion till soft. Add in cabbage and carrots and fry till nearly cooked. Toss in noodles and all sauces. Cook till done. Taste test. Adjust accordingly.

Meanwhile, heat grill pan up to very hot. Grill chicken breast both side around 3 minutes till done. Set aside to cook slightly and sliced.

Fry egg on another pan. Serve warm. 

Sharing this with friends at Presto Pasta founded by Ruth Daniels. This week, it is hosted by Italian Mama Chef! (What a cool name!)

Healthy Spicy Chicken Soup-with heaps of veges! + Kreative Blogger Award

I try to do the "balancing game"- The have a heavy lunch and light dinner. Or have a slice of cake for lunch sort of deal. This soup was made when hubby and I had a big lunch and decided on something warm and hearty for dinner instead. Did I mention this is also another way to use up your left over veges?

I am always on a lookout for bargains and cannot resist it when roast chicken goes on sale towards the end of the day. I think it costs around AU$8 for an extra large roast chicken. The chicken meat is then shredded and freeze for future use (or current use). For instance my spicy chicken enchiladas, Stir fry noodles and Feta, Chicken and Spinach Pasta are all inspired by a roasted chook. I am also impressed by a recent post by Amy from Very Culinary who posted two other posts on Roast Chicken-2 Ways. Looks like great minds think alike!


Healthy Spicy Chicken Soup
100 grams of shredded chicken meat
1 tsp of garlic
1 chilli chopped with seeds in for ours
2 carrot sliced
1 cup of chopped button mushrooms
1 big red capsicum
3-4 stalks of celery diced
2-3 cups of chicken stock
1 tsp of chili powder or flakes for the extra kick!

Heat 1 tsp of oil and fry garlic and chilli. Add all veges and stock till it boils. Add chicken. Taste test and add salt/pepper as needed. We wanted the extra punch so we added in 1 tsp of chili powder. Serve with toasted bread.

Thank You Baking Cottage for sending me this award! How pretty this is!

The Kreativ Blogger Award comes with some rules:

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

Just like baking cottage- I have previously posted things about myself so I'm going to "follow her footsteps" and post 7 cooking/baking disasters!

1) My cracking cheesecakes- I do not have a light in my oven so after around 1 hr, I would hv to open the door to check if it is done.. which of course leads to it being cracked.. :( Chocolate is the best way to cover it up I learned.

2) Cupcake frosting- argh, need I say more? My frosting just wouldnt set and then I had difficulty pipping it too.

3) My Tasteless char siew bao dough which my grandmother said the filling was nicer (because she made the filling!)

4) I recently made a chorizo pilaf and used a wrong size baking pan hence the rice turned out mushy on the bottom and uncooked on the top of the pan!

5) The classic-added salt instead of sugar to some of my stir fry dishes!

6) My bits and pieces of Thosai pancake- I am still trying to learn how to flick one properly!

7) This one is one that hubby will remember. My first attempt in cookies resulted in tasteless cardboardish rock cakes.. my poor housemates actually ate them just to encourage me to do better!!!

My nominations are:

Amy from Very Culinary- Love her style and more importantly her dishes!

Skinny mum- for her dedication to her kids

Noobcook- Her photos are amazing and I love how all her dishes are so healthy.

Mochachocolata-Rita- Her sense of humour with heaps of Indonesian/HK food posts is mouth watering.

BeachLover Kitchen- I have been following her blog for ages. I love it when bloggers started slow and then you slowly see the progress one makes on dishes/recipes. Everyone can do it!

Singairishgirl- check out all her bento meals. I'm so envious of her little girl!

Teczcape Tiger Fish- I love the way she uses seasonal produce and how she manages to cook across continents.

xoxo
d