9th fia fia cooking--3-Cup Bottle Gourd(31/03/2012)

 <<<To Eat is To Be Healthy>>>   31/03/2012

TODAY SPECIAL: Sweet and Sour Bottle Gourd or
                              3-Cup Bottle Gourd  (10 Servings)

PLACE: Nanumea Maneapa                            PHOTOS by LADER

RECIPE 

Ingredient	Condiment
3 cloves of garlic	Soy sauce
Spring onion	Oyster oil
Ginger	A.Tomato sauce & vinegar B. Rice wine & sesame oil
Basil	Sugar
Chili	Corn flour
5 Chicken legs	Soybean oil
	Black pepper

        

        DIRECTION:

1.     Bone the chicken legs, and marinate it with garlic, soy sauce, black pepper, some sugar and corn flour for 20 minutes.

2.     Peel the bottle gourd and chop it into chunks.

3.     Deep-fry the bottle gourd chunks in hot oil (about 180 to 200 ° C temperature) for 5-10 minutes.

4.     Sift the oil of the bottle gourd and put it aside.

5.     Slice the garlic, ginger, and chili.

6.     Cut the spring onion into small pieces, wash and trim the basil.

7.     Make the sauce

A. Sweet and sour: mix 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce, some oyster oil and sugar.

B. Spicy and sweet: Mix 1 cup of soy sauce, 1 cup of rice wine, 1 cup of sesame oil, some oyster oil and sugar.)

8.     Quickly stir and fry the garlic, ginger, chili, spring onion (white part) and the chicken.

9.     Put the bottle gourd chucks into the wok, pour the sauce in, and stir-fry for a while.

10. Add the basil and spring onion (green part) into the wok, and quickly stir-fry before serving.

Benefits Of Bottle Gourd

            Not very familiar to the western world, bottle gourd is one of the favorite vegetables in Indian cuisine. Known by various names, the bottle gourd is yellowish-green in color and usually in the shape of a bottle. Bottle gourd is cultivated in the humid weather of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, tropical Africa and South America. Though the vegetable is quite bland and tasteless, it has many nutrition benefits. Read on further to know the nutritional value of bottle gourd, along with the health benefits of eating it.

 

Bottle Gourd is good for:

•       Bottle gourd is an excellent vegetable for hypertension patients.
•       It is a suitable vegetable for light, low-cal diets as well as for children, people with digestive problems, diabetics and convalescents.
•       High in water content, and easy to digest when cooked.
•       Be effective in treating constipation.
•       Be helpful in treating urinary disorders.
•       Bottle gourd is recommended by ayurvedic physicians for balancing the liver function.
•       Drinking a glass of bottle gourd juice once in the early morning helps in treating grey hair.
•       Mixing the juice with sesame oil for massaging the scalp every night, provides an effective medicine for insomnia.
•       A glass of bottle gourd juice, mixed with a little salt, helps in preventing excessive loss of sodium from the body. It quenches thirst, prevents fatigue and keeps one refreshed during summers.
•       Bottle gourd juice is also very useful for shedding extra calories and maintaining optimum health.

 

Rainy Tuvalu

   Rainy Tuvalu

Be trapped in Lan Gi Hotel, thanks to the heavy rain that I can face the sea with peacefulness.

Such beautiful raindrops slide down from the leaves.

The drops are dancing on the floor.

           

After the heavy raining, the court become the children's surfing paradise

                            

Nothing better than the wooden surfing board !

Even my nose is runny, I'm still surfing!

So Cool!! The surfing boys!

8th fia fia cooking--the Bottle Gourd Pancake (2012/03/23)

8th Fia Fia Cooking in Vaiaku Maneapa

 <To Eat is To Be Healthy>  

TODAY SPECIAL: Bottle Gourd Pancake  (5 Servings)

  

       RECIPE 

Ingredient	Condiment
500g Bottle gourd	Salt
200g carrot	Black pepper
Spring onion	Soy sauce
2 bowls of flour	Oyster oil
2 cloves of garlic	Tomato sauce
2 bowls of water	Vinegar
½ bowl of corn flour or cassava powder	Sugar
1 egg
Chili

photo by Jancsi

        DIRECTION:

1.     Peel and grate the bottle gourd and the carrot.

2.     Wash some spring onions, and shred them.

3.     Add some salt into the shredded bottle gourd and carrot to marinate for 10 minutes.

4.     Squeeze the shredded bottle gourd and carrot.

5.     Sift the plain flour.

6.     Mix 2 bowls of flour, ½ bowl of cassava powder, 1 egg, and 2 bowls of cool water, blend all the ingredients until becoming to the paste.

7.     Peel the garlic and chop them finely.

8.     Quickly stir-fry the garlic and the shredded bottle gourd and carrot, and put some salt, oyster oil, soy sauce, and black pepper to taste.

9.     Put all the ingredients into the paste and mix them well.

10. Pour the paste in the pan, fry it over low heat until the both sides become golden brown.

11. Make the dip:

a.     Mix some ground garlic, soy sauce, chili, few drops of sesame oil.

b.     Tomato sauce. （You can also add some chili, sugar, vinegar, and put some dissolved corn flour to boil to make it sticky.）

photo by Jancsi

photo by Tracy

photo by Tracy

Why the Bottle Gourd is Good For You?

• Bottle gourd is an excellent vegetable for hypertension patients.
• It is a suitable vegetable for light, low-cal diets as well as for children, people with digestive problems, diabetics and convalescents.
• High in water content, calabash gourd is cooling, calming, diuretic and easy to digest.
• The vegetable is very effective in treating constipation and other digestive disorders.
• It helps in treating urinary disorders.
• Drinking a glass of bottle gourd juice once in the early morning helps in treating grey hair.
• Mixing the juice with sesame oil provides an effective medicine for insomnia. Massage the scalp with this preparation every night.
• Bottle gourd juice is very helpful in treating epilepsy, stomach acidity, indigestion, ulcers and other nervous diseases.
• A glass of bottle gourd juice, mixed with a little salt, helps in preventing excessive loss of sodium from the body. It quenches thirst, prevents fatigue and keeps one refreshed during summers.
• Bottle gourd juice is also very useful for shedding extra calories and maintaining optimum health.

7th World Water Day--3 Simple Veggie Dishes & Water C (2012/03/22)

         World Water Day--the Cooking  Work Shop & Competition     

                                                                                                              Photos by Jancsi

          TODAY SPECIAL 1: Stir-Fry Water Spinach (20 Servings)

          RECIPE

Ingredient	Condiment
Water spinach	4-6 teaspoons of salt
6 cloves of garlic	Sugar
2 chili	Soybean oil
	Vinegar or lemon juice

           

            

          

           DIRECTION:

1.     Wash and trim the water spinach.

2.     Slice the garlic and chili.

3.     Pour some oil and quickly stir-fry the garlic and chili.

4.     Put the water spinach into the frying pan, and add some water if necessary.

TIPS: add some drops of vinegar or lemon juice to keep the water spinach green.  

5.     Add some salt and sugar to taste and be ready to serve.

   TODAY SPECIAL 2: Colorful Soup (20 Servings)

           RECIPE:

Ingredient	Condiment
Chinese cabbage	4-6 teaspoons of salt
3 cloves of garlic	Sugar
3 spring onions	Black pepper
Tomato
6 eggs
2 L water

The Cooking Workshop will be canceled for following three weeks

My Dear Friends,

I'm sorry I have to go back to Taiwan to attend my grandmother's funeral.

I will leave at 28/02/2012, and come back at 15/03/2012.

During the period, the cooking workshop have to canceled for three times.

I apologize for the cancelation.

Hope See You Soon.

Manuia te aso,

Tracy

I can't take my eyes off you..

It's the way I look at you...