Tuna in a Bread Bowl

There are days when I just crave for sandwiches as dinner but sometimes I get bored of tuna spread on a slice of bread. My right brain took control of me and inspired the creation of tuna in a bread bowl. It's simply made of a wholemeal bread-roll with a third of its top being sliced off and a small well was dug in the middle of the bread bowl. Then, the edges of the bread bowl were pressed and the well is filled with tuna spread (any canned tuna). That's all for an easy dinner with a twist ;) I've also added some greens such as cucumber and coriander on the side for a balanced diet (actually, also as decorative items).

Nique's: Seafood Pasta

Yesterday, Nique was in the mood to cook dinner for the family! (how lovely). He decided to make seafood pasta (one of my favorites) with lots of fresh succulent prawns, juicy barramundi chunks, and some crabstick. The lightly browned garlic, chilli oil, coriander and lime juice gave the pasta dish a rich flavor with a hint of spiciness. It was a simple yet delicious meal which I can never have enough of it.

Spicy Chicken Sausage with Garlic Shoots and Mushrooms

This cooking experiment was inspired by an episode from Poh's Kitchen. A celebrity chef with rising fame, Poh is a talented Malaysian-born Australian artist, actress, celebrity chef and runner-up in MasterChef Australia.

Instead of lamb, cucumber and tomato salsa, I used chicken, shitake mushroom and garlic shoots. The chicken breast meat and the mushroom were coarsely grounded (as long as it's fine enough to be shaped but not too fine) and seasoned with salt, chilli powder and black pepper. Next shaped it into the shape of a ring or doughnut, with a hollow section in the middle. Leave it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to firm up the shape.

In the mean time, heat up a lightly greased pan and stir-fry the garlic shoots (which has been chopped up) with sliced shitake mushroom. Add a pinch of salt just before dishing it out and leave aside. Next, pan-fry the chicken ring on low to medium heat until it is cooked and golden brown. Then break an egg inside the hole of the ring and continue to let it cook (depending on how you like the egg to be done). Serve the meat on a plate and garnish it with garlic shoots and mushroom. Voila! a meal is served.

This could be a meal any time of the day, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. I like it for brunch on weekends with a slice of toasted bread and a cup of hazelnut coffee! 

Big Breakfast

Last weekend, I made myself a special "big breakfast" without bacon, ham or sausage.  It has two slices of toasted bread, baked beans, sauteed mushroom, stir-fry French beans and what was supposedly to  be poached eggs but turned out to be hard-boiled egg. I need more practise and precision to time my poaching to perfection.

It was a filling breakfast and I think it's healthy too!
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Nique's Signature Dish

I miss eating Nique's hokkien mee, especially those huge and fresh succulent banana prawns - yum! The spice, aroma and taste are simply delicious! It may be time consuming to prepare the dish but the effort well worth it! I'm so proud of you Nique! Hope you will cook more often in the future ;)

Pasta with Basil Pesto

My maiden attempt in making pesto with only a bunch of basil leaves, oil and lots of sautéed garlic as ingredients. Just put all the ingredients into the blender until it forms to paste-like texture. Then, I heat up the the pan which has been lightly greased and stir-fry marinated chicken slice. Once the chicken is cooked, stir-in the pesto and let it simmer. After that, transfer the boiled pasta into the pan and mix well with the pesto. Dish out into a plate and sprinkle some chilli flakes for a little bit of spice and it is ready to serve! 

Given that I hardly have time to cook during the weekdays, this dish is simply easy and satisfactory. 

Pan-fried Salmon & Baked Beans

I love fish and it's my favourite source of protein over meat/poultry. Of all types of fish, salmon is probably my preferred choice because of its nutritious value. Unfortunately, fresh salmon is expensive and hard to find here. Thus, it's less affordable compared to other types of fish. Recently, I was lucky to come across fresh Norwegian salmon  at a local store during my grocery shopping. Without any hesitant, I bought a piece and happily thinking about dinner time. However, after all the walking and shopping, I came home feeling drop dead tired and wasn't quite motivated to do any more cooking. What do I with the salmon?

Just simply seasoned it with some lemon pepper salt, heat some oil and pan fried it until it's cooked and the oil oozes out from the corners. I made sure that the skin is really crispy too! After that, I used the same pan which was already greased with salmon oil (so flavourful!) to stir fry chopped garlic and celery. Then, pop opened a can of baked beans, stir-in the pan and get it heated a while. Voila! dinner is ready to serve! plucked some basil leaves (yes, I have a pot of fresh basils, still growing well) and garnish the dish with tinge of green. Very happy to get it all done under 30 minutes!