Baby spinach with tofu soup

This is another one of my quickie soup which is very popular with children. It is not oily and is suitable for people on diet.

Baby spinach is regular spinach that is harvested earlier, which makes the leaves small and more tender than mature spinach. It is similar to our local bayam but the leaves are slightly thicker. Baby spinach is extremely versatile and is mainly used in salads. This is the spinach that Popeye eats to be strong. Spinach is low in calories and fat-free, yet loaded with nutrients such as iron, calcium, vitamins A, C and K, folate and magnesium.

Ingredients

I normally buy baby spinach in packets

1 packet of baby spinach

1 packet soft tofu

1 chicken stock cube

Cut the tofu into bite size pieces

Put the spinach into the prepared stock

Add the tofu

Season with salt and pepper

Simmer for 5 minutes and it is ready

Fried boneless chicken whole legs

This can be served western style with salad or cooked vegetables like mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli, cauliflower. Alternatively, you can use it as a side dish with your Chinese meals.

Ingredients

1 de-boned chicken whole leg per person if cooking as a meal on its own

2 de-boned chicken whole legs if cooking as a side dish

Marinade

½ tsp sugar

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

Salt and pepper   

½ tsp sesame oil

Combine chicken leg with the marinade and leave for 30 minutes

Heat some oil in the fry pan and place the chicken skin side down

Turn the chicken over when the skin is nicely browned

When the chicken is cooked, transfer to a plate

Cover and leave for 10 minutes so that the juices can be reabsorbed into the meat

Serve with salad if having it western style

Transfer to a cutting board if using it as a side dish

Cut into bite size pieces

Transfer the cut pieces to a plate and serve

If you don’t want to have oil all over the kitchen, then use the air fryer to cook the chicken.

Set the cooking time to 22 minutes and let it warm up for 2 minutes.

The food will not stick to the basket if it is hot.

Brush the skin with some olive oil

Put the chicken skin side down into the air fryer basket and start cooking

After 10 minutes turn the chicken over and continue cooking until done

When the chicken is cooked, transfer to a plate and let it sit for 10 minutes

Chinese style omelettes

An omelette is made from beaten eggs fried with butter or oil in a frying pan. Ready in seconds, an omelette can be made with almost anything. Basically you whisk some eggs together, cook them in a non-stick pan with a little oil, add the filling of your choice and then fold it and serve (western style) with salad or cooked vegetables. I like to cook it as a side dish for our meals.

  

Ingredients for Plain omelette

2 eggs

A knob of butter

Crack the eggs into a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Put in a little milk so that the omelette can be fluffy. Beat slightly with a fork.

Heat up a small frying pan on low heat. Add a small knob of butter.

When the butter has melted and is bubbling, add the eggs and move the pan around to spread them out evenly.

When the bottom is brown, fold it over and slide onto the plate.

We normally have this type of omelette for breakfast

Tuna omelette

With this method, you put the desired filling into the eggs before frying

Ingredients

1 can of tuna in mineral water

4 eggs

Open the can of tuna and throw away the water

Add the tuna to the egg.

Season with a little salt and pepper and mix thoroughly

Put a little oil in the wok
Pour in the mixture and spread it out until it looks like a pancake

When the bottom is brown, turn it over to brown the other side

Break it up into bite size pieces 

Transfer to a serving platter

Onion omelette

With this method, you cook the desired filling first and then add the beaten eggs

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 medium sized yellow onion (this onion is sweeter)

1 small Bombay onion (this is a little spicy)

Slice the onions

Beat up the eggs and set aside

Heat up the oil and put in the onions

Season with a little salt and pepper and mix thoroughly

Stir until the onions are soft and translucent

Pour the eggs onto the onions and tip it around to cover the onions

When the bottom is brown turn the omelette over to cook the other side

Break it up into bite size pieces

Transfer to a serving platter

Eggs

Many people believe that eating eggs may be bad for your health. For years it was recommended that people with high cholesterol levels avoid eggs especially the yolk. But it turns out the cholesterol content for which they have been blamed is much lower than it was 10 years ago. This reduction is due to the changes in chicken feed since the BSE crisis in the 1990s. Some brands of egg now contain omega-3 fatty acids, depending on what the chickens have been fed. British research shows that a medium egg contains about 100 mg of cholesterol, a third of the 300 mg recommended daily limit.

Here are some excellent reasons to justify why eating eggs can make you healthier, brainier, leaner and stronger. Eggs are a very good source of inexpensive, high quality protein. More than half the protein of an egg is found in the egg white. The whites are rich sources of selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12 and minerals such as zinc, iron and copper. However, the majority of an egg’s nutrient package is found in the yolk. They are the source of cholesterol, fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and lecithin - the compound that enables emulsification in recipes such as hollandaise or mayonnaise.

Eggs are a common food allergen; particularly among young children therefore it is best not to give eggs to children below one year of age. Delay introduction of eggs until age 2 if there is a family history of allergies or asthma.

A fresh egg will sink in water, a stale one will float but it is perfectly safe to use.

The fresher the egg, the more difficult it is to peel after hard cooking therefore don’t use very fresh eggs if you need to use hard boiled eggs in your recipes or for celebration purposes.

Eggs are perishable just like raw meat, poultry, and fish. Unbroken, clean, fresh shell eggs may contain Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) bacteria that can cause food borne illness. While the number of eggs affected is quite small, there have been cases of food borne illness in the last few years. Young children, older adults, pregnant women (the risk is to the unborn child), and people with a weakened immune system are particularly vulnerable to Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) infections. Bacteria can be on the outside of a shell egg. This is because the egg exits the hen's body through the same passageway as faeces. It is also possible for Salmonella Enteritidis to enter the eggs through the pores of the shells after they are laid. This is why the processing plant washes and sanitizes the eggs before packing them.

However, I have seen small traces of faeces stuck on the shells of some eggs. That is why I always wash the eggs before I put them in the fridge.

Soak the eggs in cold water for 5 minutes

Use a brush and gently scrub the shell

Rinse and put into a colander

Let the eggs dry before putting them in the fridge