Japanese Beef Donburi (Japanese Beef Rice Bowl)

This is 1 dish that Kimi and I enjoy. I normally make this when hb is not around as he is not a big fan of beef. And I am determined that Kimi do not end up like him. I hope Kimi will be more adventurous like me. :)

We love this sweet, fragrant beef dish with rice. And it is so easy to make. Chop, fry and dump in pot. For others, it may jus be chop, fry and chomp! Hee hee! :)

Sorry, I forgot to pick out the carrots for this shot - think it was too soft and most were at the bottom of the pot!

Marinade

• 1/2 tsp freshly minced garlic
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp of mirin
• 2 tbsp of Daiso Soba Sauce
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tsp corn flour

Ingredients

• 200-250g beef fillet or cuts suitable for stir/pan-fry
• 1/4 yellow/golden onion thinly sliced
• 6 baby corns diced
• 4 white button mushroon sliced
• 1/2 small carrot julienne

Method

1. Slice beef at 45 degree angle into smaller pcs against the grain and marinate for at least 10mins (3omin preferable) using marinade above.
2. Heat a little oil in pan/pot and saute onions till soft.
3. Throw in corn, carrot and mushroom and fry till fragrant.
4. Add beef and stir till just cooked.
5. Add broth or water, stirring lightly till it brings to a boil.
6. Taste to test level of saltiness then add additional seasoning of 2 tbsp mirin, dash of pepper, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp of Stock Base Sauce and 1/2 tsp of Maggi No MSG Chicken granules.
7. Season till desired taste.
8. Place in thermal cook for at least an hour or when ready to eat.
9. Serve with fluffy white rice!

Notes

• I make my Donburi more 'soupy' so I have additional yummy sauce for the rice! You can add less water if you want a 'drier' dish. If you add less water, omit/reduce the additional seasoning in Step 6. Taste to determine.
• If serving just for adults and you want a quick stir-fry and beef that is slightly under-cooked, stop at Step 4. Just do a quick fry and add a little water if not enough gravy and serve immediately.
• As most of my food are made for the family (Kimi included), I'd prefer to err on the safe side and more often than not make the food slightly overcooked. I'd rather be safe than sorry especially when feeding young children.
• You can substitute/add in other vegetable base ingredients. Another wonderful vegetable to add in is Orange/Yellow capsicum. It makes the dish even more sweet and tasty. But there weren't any nice ones these few days.

Quick Noodle/Pasta Soup & An Afternoon Of Fun!

Quick cook veggie soup meal

We had such a enjoyable afternoon today after church at Serene's new place. We loved it and Kimi loves Estelle's new bed. He said it is HIS STAGE!!! :)

We mummies had such a good time chatting and just enjoying the breeze in our faces! Thanks Serene for your hospitality!

Again, I forgot my camera so these pix are courtesy of Corinna. Tks Corinna! :)

As Kimi did not have his nap, he needed to sleep early, preferably by 7pm. I thought I could settle his dinner by giving him nuggets that he can eat in the car and once home I can shower and put him to bed.

But, he insisted he wanted to have his noodle soup with his animal pasta. Well, since Kimi seldom requests for food, I obliged although I was a little tired. So, here's a real healthy quickie if you only have 10 to 15mins to spare!

Ingredients

• Swanson's Chicken Broth diluted with water (or home-made broth)
• 1/3 section corn
• 2 leaves of Long Chinese Cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 large thumb of carrots diced small
• 3 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 stalk celery thinly sliced (optional)
• 2 slices onion (optional)
• 1 cilantro root (cleaned, optional)
• Dash of pepper and sesame oil
• Handful of pasta/noodles/macaroni

Optional Ingredients

• Mushroooms
• Tofu
• Egg
• Minced pork balls
• Potatoes (can omit pasta/noodles)
• Edamame beans
• Etc, or whatever you have in you fridge! :)

Method

1. Bring diluted chix broth to boil.
2. Add onions and corn.
3. Once boiling, add all other ingredients and let it boil.
4. Simmer for 10-15mins. Add pepper and sesame oil.
5. In the mean time, boil/prep pasta/noodles/macaroni on another stove.
6. Rinse boiled pasta/noodles/macaroni and rinse with cold water.
7. Place in bowl, shave corn and add veg soup over.
8. Serve and ENJOY!!!

Notes

• For rushed meals, I always slice, chop or diced all the veg small so that it will cook and soften quickly.
• These days I hardly boil broth and freeze them like I used to when Kimi was a baby. I just buy these Swanson's pack and used them diluted. It is so much easier.
• I like adding tomatoes as it gives a sweet n sour taste that is really appetising after a long day!

Playing by the fish pond

My suave little one!

Miso Udon Soup with Chicken

Now that Kimi attends school, I need to prepare easy, 1 pot-meals for him in the morning before sending him to school so that when we come home, he has lunch ready.

Frankly, 2 hours is such a rush! It is really not even 2 hours considering the drive, settling Kimi in school, etc.

Hence, I'm always on the look for easy cook (max 20min prep time in kitchen), thermal pot meals. This is 1 recipe I came up with which Kimi loves and we have this at least once a week. For the moment, I more often than ever, guiltily, repeat lunch meals.

I like how the addition of chicken drumstick and vegetables make the soup thick and tasty! I recently found another kind of noodles which is something like a soba that is made from 5 grains and is greyish brown in colour. This is definitely more heathly and Kimi loves this noodle. I got mine from Sheng Siong Supermarket. Like udon, it comes in a bag of 3 individual packs. Will update with pix the next time!

Ingredients (for 2 person)

• 2 chicken drumstick skinless (small)
• 1 corn cut into sections
• 1-2 pcs of Wawa vegetable OR some Long Chinese Cabbage
• 1/3 cube of Maggi No MSG Chicken Cube
• 2-3 tbsp of Miso
• 1-2 pack of Udon noodles or any other desired noodles

Optional ingredients

• Mushrooms
• Tau pok
• Egg tofu
• Etc, the list in endless .... :)

Method

1. Bring water ( 1-1.2litres) to boil and add chix cube
2. Use the hot water boiling in the pot to soak miso and stir well before adding back to pot
3. Add corn and chicken
4. Let it boil for 10-15mins and add cabbage and continue to boil for another 5-10mins
5. Taste soup and add more miso if not tasty enough (pls go easy, use a little blob each time)
6. Transfer to thermal pot and add pre-sliced tofu on top of soup
7. Place udon with warm water in upper layer and cover up
8. Serve after 2-3 hours or more. Remember to rinse udon in cold water to remove starch before serving.
9. Shave corn and remove the soft tender meat from the chicken drumstick and serve.
10. ENJOY!!

Notes

• Pls taste/test your miso before use as different miso have different degree of saltiness. I personally like the plastic bag pack I bought from NTUC that has a 'little monk' cartoon on it at a corner.
• If using mushroom or taupok, can add in together with corn and chicken.
• When ready to eat and you have used the egg tofu, pls remember to use a ladle to slowly scoop up the tofu and place it in another plate before you dig into the soup so that the tofu retains its shape
• If you don't like noodles of any sort, this goes well with rice too!