My Recipe

Rice with Chicken and Chinese Vegetables in a Pot

Ingredients:

8 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup dried shredded black fungus
4 dried Chinese mushroom (1½” cap)
3 oz onion (thinly sliced)
2 slices + 2 tsp (minced) ginger
2 tsp shallot (minced)
2 stalks green onion (1” pieces)
1 fluid cup uncooked long-grain rice

Chicken Marinade:

2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp water
1 tsp cooking wine
1/8 tsp white ground pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil
3/4 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp oil

Mushroom Marinade:

1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cooking wine
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
3/4 tsp sesame oil

Rice Seasoning:

1½ cups water
1¼ tsp chicken broth mix
1/8 tsp salt

Seasoning:

1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
3 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cornstarch

Method:

1. Rinse and soak dried mushroom in cold water in a covered bowl for at least 1½ hour to overnight, depending on the thickness of the caps. Cut off stems and discard. Rinse caps between gills to remove dirt and grit. Squeeze out water. Cut each cap into thin slices. Add mushroom marinade and set aside for about 30 minutes.
2. Soak black fungus in hot water for about 30 minutes. Rinse and drain. Set aside.
3. Cut chicken into slices. Add chicken marinade and set aside for about 30 minutes.
4. Mix rice seasoning and seasoning in separate bowls.
5. Add rice to a ceramic pot together with rice seasoning and 2 slices of ginger. Cover and cook on medium heat until liquid comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off heat. With the lid still on, stand for 10 minutes.
6. After rice has cooked for 15 minutes on low, stir-fry chicken and vegetables as follows:
7. Heat wok and add 1 Tbsp oil. Stir-fry onion for 30 seconds. Add mushroom and fungus. Stir-fry for 30 seconds. Remove.
8. Rinse, dry, reheat wok and add 1½ Tbsp oil. Sauté half of the minced ginger and shallot until fragrant. Stir-fry half of the marinated chicken until no longer pink. Remove. Add another 1 Tbsp oil to wok. Sauté remaining minced ginger and shallot until fragrant. Stir-fry remaining chicken until no longer pink. Return previously cooked chicken to wok. Add 2 tsp wine and toss briefly. Return vegetables in Step 7 to wok. Add green onion and seasoning, toss until mixture reboils. Arrange on top of rice which has been standing for 10 minutes. Cover lid and stand for another 7 to 10 minutes. Mix well before serving.

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Nutrition value for 1/4 portion of recipe:

Calorie 378, Fat 14.1 g, Carbohydrate 46 g, Fibre 2 g, Sugar 3 g, Cholesterol 37 mg, Sodium 781 mg, Protein 18 g.

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• Black Mushroom
• Dried Black (Wood Ear) Fungus
• Light Soy Sauce and Dark Soy Sauce
• Pictures of selected ingredients used in my recipes
• See my other recipes

New Japanese Hybrid Snack

Ramen Donut

Hot and Spicy Dan Dan Noodle (without the broth) is the filling inside the fried bread.

The price is 210 Yen (about US$1.95) each.

Eating More Fruits and Vegetables Improves Mental Wellbeing

Fruit and vegetable consumption could be as good for your mental as your physical health, new research suggests.

The research, conducted by the University of Warwick’s Medical School using data from the Health Survey for England, and published by BMJ Open focused on mental wellbeing and found that high and low mental wellbeing were consistently associated with an individual’s fruit and vegetable consumption.

33.5% of respondents with high mental wellbeing ate five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day, compared with only 6.8% who ate less than one portion. Commenting on the findings Dr Saverio Stranges, the research paper’s lead author, said: “The data suggest that higher an individual’s fruit and vegetable intake the lower the chance of their having low mental wellbeing”.

31.4% of those with high mental wellbeing ate three-four portions and 28.4% ate one-two.

Other health-related behaviours were found to be associated with mental wellbeing, but along with smoking only fruit and vegetable consumption was consistently associated in both men and women. Alcohol intake and obesity were not associated with high mental wellbeing.

Commenting on the findings Dr Saverio Stranges, the research paper’s lead author, said: “Along with smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption was the health-related behaviour most consistently associated with both low and high mental wellbeing. These novel findings suggest that fruit and vegetable intake may play a potential role as a driver, not just of physical, but also of mental wellbeing in the general population”.

Low mental wellbeing is strongly linked to mental illness and mental health problems, but high mental wellbeing is more than the absence of symptoms or illness; it is a state in which people feel good and function well. Optimism, happiness, self-esteem, resilience and good relationships with others are all part of this state. Mental wellbeing is important not just to protect people from mental illness but because it protects people against common and serious physical diseases.

Discussing the implications of the research, co-author Professor Sarah Stewart-Brown says that: “Mental illness is hugely costly to both the individual and society, and mental wellbeing underpins many physical diseases, unhealthy lifestyles and social inequalities in health. It has become very important that we begin to research the factors that enable people to maintain a sense of wellbeing.

“Our findings add to the mounting evidence that fruit and vegetable intake could be one such factor and mean that people are likely to be able to enhance their mental wellbeing at the same time as preventing heart disease and cancer”.

Mental wellbeing was assessed using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), in which the top 15% of participants categorised as having High mental wellbeing, the bottom 15% Low and the middle 16-84% as Middle.

The research involved 14,000 participants in England aged 16 or over, with 56% of those being female and 44% male, as part of the Health Survey for England – which saw detailed information collected on mental and physical health, health related behaviours, demographics and socio-economic characteristics.

Source: University of Warwick

Heart-conscious Comfort Soup

Ingredients

2 tsp margarine
3 green onion, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (5 oz) clams
1 bottle clam juice
1 cup water
1 potato, peeled and diced
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled
1/2 lb baby scallops
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 can evaporated skim milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Melt margarine in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until tender.
2. Stir in juice from canned clam, bottled clam juice, water, potato and thyme. Bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Add clams, shrimp, scallops and corn. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until seafood is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in milk and heat through. Mix in parsley and season with pepper before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: Home Basics

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Today’s Comic

Condom-prepared Oshi Sushi

Condoms used to make oshi sushi with smoked salmon, avocado, vinegared rice and mayonnaise

The above image is from a Kindle cookbook on food preparation using condoms shown below.