Boiled Mackerel Fillets in Japanese Sauce

When it comes to mackerel, I love the way Japanese prepares them -- both cooked and raw! It brings out the unique flavor of the fish. By the way, this recipe taste even better if barbecued!

Part 1 - marinade:

4 fillets mackerel
1/4 cup (2 fl oz or 62.5 ml) soy sauce
1/4 cup (2 fl oz or 62.5 ml) mirin (Japanese sweet wine, which contains less than 1% alcohol)
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp ginger root, grated

Marinade for 2 hours or at least 20 mins.

Part 2 - cooking:
Preheat oven. Cook fish on the highest temperature (boil/grill position) for 5-8 mins. Serve!

Option: This marinade tastes good with sardines, too!

10-Grain Rice 十穀米: Nutrient packed! Great for breakfast! - part 2

Above, from left to right:
Top row - brown rice, millet, buckwheat, wheat.
Bottom row - spelt, black sticky rice, foxnut, lotus seeds.

Please note if you have food intolerance or allergy with any of the ingredients listed below, don't use it and use substitute if you can. For example, lentil, wild rice, red cargo rice. The goal here is to eat more of the unrefined grains.

Part 1 - the grains:
1. 糙米 brown rice, long grain; Naturreis Langkorn; riz long complet - this is the unmilled/unpolished/unrefined version of white rice.
2. 小米 millet; Hirse; millet
3. 小麥 buckwheat; Buchweizen; sarrasin
4. 蕎麥 wheat or spelt; Weizen oder Dinkel; blé ou épeautre
5. 燕麥 oats; Hafer; avoines
6. 麥片 oatmeal/rolled oats; Haferflocken; flocon d'avoine - preferably steel cut oats.
7. 黑糯米 black glutinous/sticky rice; Schwarzer Klebreis; noir riz glutineux - often sold in Asian supermarkets.
8. 芡實 foxnut; Fuchsnuesse; euryale ferox - often sold in Asian supermarkets.
9. 蓮子 lotus seeds/nuts; Lotusnuesse; graine de lotus - often sold in Asian supermarkets.
10. 紅薏仁 Job's Tears; Hiobsträne; Larme-de-Job. It's refined version is sold as "pearl barley" in Asian supermarkets. The unrefined version appears reddish brown in color.

Ingredient names listed here are first shown in traditional Chinese, then English, German and French. Hopefully this will be helpful when shopping.

Part 2 - cooking:
Take a equal amount of each ingredient, for example 2 tbsp each, and note how much they measure up to when together in a container like a glass. Let's say 1 cup. Rinse the grains really well until water runs clearer. At least 4 or 5 rinsing. Then add 1 cup of water, since there's 1 cup of grains. Then soak for 4 hrs. Then add 1 1/2 more cup of water and cook in a rice cooker.

Option: May cook in a cooking pot instead. First on medium high to high. When the water starts boiling, turn down to low. Keep lid on and cook on low for 45 mins to 1 hr. If you're still new at making this, pay attention in case the water boils over or drys out.

Part 3 - eating:
Once it's done and cooled. Store in a plastic food storage box and refrigerate. If you use 2 tbsp of each grain, then you'll have enough for several days for one person.

In the morning, I scoop out an ice cream ball size of this (more if you want). Heat it up in a sauce pan with a little water for a few mins. Eat it plain, with milk, soy milk, fruits, cold cuts or an egg. Be creative! I don't use sugar for this recipe, because less sugar is better for health.

10-Grain Rice: Nutrient packed! Great for breakfast! - part 1

The story:
My friend in Hong Kong told me about this Chinese recipe. It's said that a Shaolin monk, age 103 but looks 60ish and still goes about like a young man, claims the secret is having a bowl of 10-grain porridge everyday. There're also many stories about how it helped cancer patients to achieve great recoveries and improve skin condition.

I know this sounds magical, but the fact is that whole grains (unrefined/unpolished) do have a very high nutrient value. Therefore I think it's no wonders that it provides such great benefits. We are what we eat!

BBQ Vegetables: It's barbecue season! Let's BBQ! - part 4

Alright, how about some vegetables - a healthy balanced diet! No problem, here we go! This is another dish can be cooked on a grill or in an oven!

Part 1 - prepare vegetables:
1 zucchini, sliced
1 butternut squash, peeled and sliced, discard the wider section at the bottom
1 eggplant (aubergine), sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1 sweet yellow corn, cooked and sliced in thick sections

Part 2 - marinade:
100 ml (3.5 fl oz or 2/5 cup) balsamic vinegar
200 ml (7 fl oz or 4/5 cup) olive oil
1 tbsp thyme
salt & pepper

Mix the above ingredients (except oil) in a large mixing bowl, and put vegetables in it. Mix well, then mix in oil.

Note: Since it's unnecessary to prepare this ahead of time, it would be more time efficient to do this after the charcoal is lit.

Part 3 - cooking:
Barbecue!

Alternative: Preheat oven at the highest temperture. Then place vegetables on a baking pan with aluminum foil with the shinny side up. Bake for 10 mins and turn vegetables around. Bake for another 10 mins. Zucchini, onion and corn may need less baking time. When done, serve!

Option: I also like to brush some honey on the food at the end.

Adobo Chicken - a yummy Mexican BBQ dish: It's barbecue season! Let's BBQ! - part 3

In case you think chicken wings are a bit too fattening, here is one with chicken breasts!

Part 1 - marinade:

4 chicken breasts (2 pairs)
1 cup (250 ml or 8 fl oz) orange juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
0.5 tbsp white vinegar, just the simple plain vinegar that's clear in color.
0.5 tbsp achiote seeds
1 tsp basil
1 tsp cinnamon powder
0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
0.5 tsp black pepper
0.5 tsp salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Slice the thick area of the chicken breasts in half to make thinner pieces. Mix the above in a medium size bowl and then place the chicken breasts in it. Marinade for 2-6 hrs.

Part 2 - cooking:
Barbecue! Once done, slice into stripes and serve!

Thai Chicken Wings - one of my favorites! It's barbecue season! Let's BBQ! - part 2

My Thai friend whom I met in Frankfurt taught me this absolutely delicious dish! It can be cooked either on a grill or in an oven. Remember to marinade them 2 nights in advance!

Part 1 - marinade:

18 chicken wings
12 tbsp soy sauce
8 tbsp sugar
4 cloves garlic minced

Mix the last 3 items above in a large bowl and then place the wings in it. Arrange them to make sure all sides of the wings have the sauce on them. Place in refrigerator. After a day, turn them around so the wings have coverage on different sides. Leave in the refrigerator for another day.

Part 2 - cooking:
Barbecue!

Alternative: Preheat oven on the highest temperature (boil/grill position) for 10 mins. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil with the shinny side up and brush it with a thin layer of oil. After baking for 10 mins, turn temperature down to about 210°C and bake for another 10-15 mins. Serve!

Option: I like to brush some honey on the wings as they are being barbecued, or at the end if baked.

It's barbecue season! Let's BBQ! - part 1

We bought a BBQ grill last year but never had a chance to use it. Originally I thought we could use it in the balcony, which is very common in US. However it's rare in Belgium. Not wanting to offend any local customs, we ended up letting it sit in the balcony doing nothing.

Now the warm weather is back, so I'm looking for opportunities to use the grill. My friend who has a back yard garden is having a birthday party in a week, so I volunteered to prepare a few dishes.

What should I prepare, so I won't have to slave over the grill too long during the party, satisfy everyone, and not break my piggy bank?  Let's see...