Well, to continue where I have left off, I will be sharing a very nutritious soup recipe made from burdock root.  You may have seen burdock root at the grocer’s but never know it can actually be cooked into such a delicious soup.

But appearances are deceptive and beneath it, the goodness of burdock can be plentiful.  See this article if you are keen to find out more information about Burdock.

Ingredients (Serves about 4-5 adults)

• 1 Burdock root (about 30 cm long), peeled, washed and cut into small pieces
• 200 g boneless pork loin, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons wolfberries
• 8 dried honey red dates
• 6-8 cloves of garlic with skin intact
• 3 litres of water

Instructions:

Step 1:  First bring the water in the stockpot to a boil.

Step 2:  Place the pork loin pieces in a separate bowl.  When the water has boiled, scoop some water over to scald the pork loin.  This is an important step as scalding will remove the remaining traces of blood on the pork.  You will notice a layer of “scum” floating on the surface and will be glad that you have skimmed it off before putting these pork in the actual soup!  Yikes. 

Step 3:  Drain the pork pieces before transferring it back into the stockpot.  Put in the rest of the ingredients.  Aren’t the colors beautiful?

Step 4:  Bring the water to a boil again at high heat.  When it has boiled, lower to small heat and allow the soup to simmer for 2.5 hours.

Step 5:  After 2.5 hours, the soup should have turned a really nice flavorful reddish orange color and the water level should have dropped to about 2/3 of its original level.

Step 6: Add salt (about 1 teaspoon) and a dash of pepper to taste.  Mix well.  Turn off the heat.

Step 7:  Serve soup hot and ladle them straight into the lunch jar if you intend to bring them out to keep them as warm as possible.

How does this look?

For those who have not eaten burdock before, I would say it taste somewhat like potato, but less starchy.  In fact, the first time my mom cooked it, she tricked me into thinking that it was potato and I didn’t suspect a thing.  Haha.  So much so for my ignorance then!

This soup recipe can also be an all-in-one meal if you are not fussy.  Just bring some cooked rice to go along with it for a simple, yet satisfying lunch.

Well, I hope to make it up with this interesting recipe today.  It is really simple and there is no baking involved for these cakes!  No oven, no-preheating, only steaming required and I bet you should have all the ingredients already in your well-stocked kitchen.  LOL.

Ingredients (Makes about 20 small cupcakes):

• 4 eggs
• 160 g sugar
• 175 ml soda
• 200 g plain flour

Yes, that’s all the ingredients needed.  For soda, you can get ice-cream soda or 7-up.  If you wish to add a citrus taste, Fanta orange would be great.  I used Kickapoo, a local lime-flavored soda drink which taste somehow like Mountain Dew, for the fun of it.  Maybe next time I might try making them with sparkling Ribena for a grapey taste, or even Coca-Cola?  Haha.  As long as it is a sweet carbonated drink, I think it will still work the same.

Hey, doesn’t this sound fun already before we even start?  Get your kids to help in the measurements and blending.  I bet they will love it!

Instructions:

Step 1:   Crack all the eggs and put the sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Step 2:  If you are using a mixer, blend the mixture till it turns frothy and cream in color.  I used a whisk instead to beat the eggs and sugar manually.  It took me about 20 minutes.  Just a rough guide in case you do it by hand too.

Step 3:  Add your preferred soda to the mixture and mix well. Lastly, add in the flour bit by bit and mix well too.

Step 4:  Lay muffin paper cups on a muffin tray or in my case, I used individual muffin tins.  Fill the cup each to its brim with the mixture.

Step 5:  Heat up a steamer.  Place these cups to steam for about 6-7 minutes.

Step 6:  To check if the cup cakes are ready, prick one with a toothpick.  If the toothpick comes out not sticky, the cup cakes are cooked and ready to be eaten.

Step 7:  Place each cup cake aside to cool.  Repeat Step 3 again until mixture runs out.

Well, I hope this steamed cup cake recipe gives you another light meal idea of what you can pack for your kid’s lunch box.  Top it up with some cheese & ham or steamed vegetables for a balanced and healthy meal.

You can also pack these as an afternoon snack for Hubby or make them for picnic meals.

Hope you like it! 

Actually, it is like a fruit salad too if you notice!

Ingredients of our Fruit Yu Sheng (Serves about 10-12 adults):

• 1/4 honeydew
• 1/4 rockmelon
• 2 chinese pears
• 8-10 strawberries
• 1 mango
• 1/4 pomelo (or 1 orange)

Ingredients for sauce marinade and garnishing:

• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons lemon sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• A pack of Chinese shrimp crackers (or 1 cup of plain cornflakes)
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, preferably toasted
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped finely

Preparations:

Step 1:  Peel and cut the fruits into thin strips about 3 inches long.  For pomelo (or orange), peel and divide them into smaller sacs.  Place each type of shredded fruit on a round shallow plate side by side to make a nice colorful platter.

Step 2:  Sprinkle the crackers, chopped peanuts and toasted sesame seeds on the fruits.

Step 3:  Mix lemon sauce, lemon juice and honey in a small bowl.  Taste.  If you like it sweeter, add more honey.

Step 4:  Drizzle this sauce marinade from Step 3 evenly over the platter.  This is how it should look (or close enough).

Before eating, just toss the ingredients evenly.

Basically this Yu Sheng recipe is made up of fruits, so you can add any type of fruits to the list, but I will advise choosing fruits that are not too soft yet sweet to make the dish taste better.

I hope you like it!

Well, I realized I have been MIA-ed (missing in action, LOL) for a couple of days, sorry!

For the last three days, we were often not at home, thus I could not find the time to write, although I have a few recipes waiting to be shared on this blog.

I have also been thinking lately about my directions for this blog in 2009.  Would you like to hear them?  Well, I hope this blog will continue to grow in content.  I hope this blog can become a good source of reference to my readers who are on the lookout for more lunchbox recipe ideas to cook for their loved ones.  I would also like to achieve my target of writing a post every alternate day.  I also hope that this blog can reach an Alexa rank below one million and probably get some page rank love from Google by summer time.  Hmm.  Do you think it is possible?

Well, the most recent milestone I have taken for this blog is to join Foodbuzz.  See that badge on the top right corner of this blog?  This is in recognition that easylunchboxrecipes.com has been accepted as a Foodbuzz featured publisher!  I have heard great things about Foodbuzz from other foodie bloggers and I am excited at the thought of making more foodie friends there.  Connecting with others of the same interest can also widen my pool of ideas and provide me with more inspiration in the dishes I continue to whip up for this blog.

The second milestone is the opening of my Lunch Box Store.  See the “Lunch Box Store” tab at the very top of the blog, beside the “Home” and “About” tab?  This is where I showcase the most popular lunch box merchandise, be it bento boxes, lunch jars, thermos jars, lunch bags and everything else related to lunch boxes.

Personally, I favour Japanese brands for their lunch boxes, so if you are looking for a good thermos food jar, I do highly recommend the Zojirushi Stainless Steel ones.  These are really worth every cent that you pay.

Alright, I will be back with the next recipe “Stir-Fried Black Pepper Udon Noodles” very soon.  This recipe got a big thumbs up from everyone who tried it, so do stay with me if you are keen to cook some udon!

Although wasabi is green and looks nothing like a chilli pepper, but don’t underestimate it.  It is fiery enough to clear a blocked nose and I am not exaggerating.  Haha.

This dish, which I learnt from a local chef, will surprise you with a pleasant tinge of spicy wasabi.  There are two parts to this recipe, one for the wasabi mayonnaise and the other for the prawns.

Ingredients (to make a small tub of about 200 g of wasabi mayonnaise):

• 200 g mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 teaspoons wasabi

To make wasabi mayonnaise:

Step 1:  Scoop about 200 g of mayonnaise into a mixing bowl.  Add in the evaporated milk.  Blend with a whisk.

Step 2:  Add in the lemon juice and wasabi.  Mix well.  If you like it spicier, you can add in more wasabi.  Cover and store in the fridge.

I used tubed wasabi and my wasabi mayonnaise turned out not looking very green, but it tasted quite spicy already.  I will try powdered wasabi next time and see if it looks greener.

And also, I used only a few tablespoons from this tub of wasabi mayonnaise to coat the prawns in the recipe below.  So if you are the type who just like to make enough for this meal, you can modify the recipe above to make a smaller portion.

As for me, I kept the excess wasabi mayonnaise in the fridge for another week where I also used them as a dip for finger food like nuggets and also as dressing for my salad or coleslaw.

Ingredients (Serves 4 adults):

• 15-20 tiger prawns (medium to large size)
• Cornflour (100 to 200 g or enough to coat the prawns)
• Cooking oil (enough for deep-frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1:  De-shell and de-vein all the prawns.  If they are frozen, allow them to thaw before processing.

Step 2:  Wash and pat dry the prawns with a kitchen paper towel.

Step 3:  Pour some cornflour onto a flat plate.  Place prawns, one at a time, on the cornflour and coat them evenly.

Step 4:  Heat up the cooking oil.  Deep-fry all the prawns.

Step 5:  After they are cooked, set them aside on a plate with a kitchen paper towel to absorb excess oil.  These were how they looked just before I coated them.

Step 6:  Add a few tablespoons of wasabi mayonnaise to a bowl.  Coat each prawn on both sides evenly.  Serve.

Hubby had this for his dinner, together with sambal ladies’ finger and rice.

If you dare to eat wasabi, you should try this!

I will be posting another Japanese recipe “Tempura Don” next!  Do stay around…

This baked fish fillet recipe is suitable for any type of white fish, although I would prefer boneless ones like these sutchi fillet that I have used.  Dory fish fillet is a great choice as well.

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1:  Marinate fish fillet with salt and ground white pepper.  Set it aside for half an hour before cooking.

Step 2:  Place fish fillet in an oven-proof dish lined with aluminium foil.

Step 3:  Drizzle lemon juice and olive oil over fish fillet.

Step 4:  Spread minced garlic on the surface.  Sprinkle mixed herbs and black pepper evenly over fish fillet.

Step 5:  Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius or 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 6:  Bake the fish for about 15 minutes or until the minced garlic turns brown.  Check if the fish is cooked with a fork.  If it flakes easily, it is ready.

Note:  Do pay attention while the fish is being baked as the baking time may differ slightly for your oven.  The thickness of the fish will also determine how long it takes to be cooked.

This recipe is simple, healthy, tasty and easy to make.  Boneless fish fillets are a good choice if you are preparing for your kid’s lunch box too.

Initially, I created categories according to cuisine types, like asian, french, korean, etc, for my first Wordpress theme.  But after settling for this theme, I don’t think it will fit nicely in the category tab I have at my header if I were to expand my ever-growing list of cuisines in the long run.

Thus, I have now classified them according to meal types.  I hope to explain a bit more in this post on what they will usually include so that you will find it easier to navigate.

Light Meals:  Most probably I will include recipes for meals like sandwiches, bread, toasts, crepes, pancakes, pitas, muffins, etc.  Anything that looks light enough.

All-In-One Meals:  The recipes I will add here will be those like fried rice, fried noodles, spaghetti, etc.  These are mainly cooked with their ingredients together and served all on the same dish.  So if you are a lazy cook, I will recommend you checking out this category more often.  Haha.

Main Course:  This category will feature recipes of different cuisines that can be taken as a single main course.  These dishes are usually served on their own with another staple, like rice.

Soup:  This is for all soup recipes, from Chinese double boiled soups, to creamy tomato soups.  Somtimes, these soups can also serve as all-in-one dishes, where all you need is just bread or rice to go along with it.

Food Containers:  Every now and then, I may share about different food containers you can use for your lunch box.  There may also be interesting product showcases from time to time.

Chit Chat:  This is where I talk about anything under the sun.  Basically a place to rant and chit-chat with you!

These are the categories I will be adding at the moment.  I am trying to keep them at a maximum of eight so that my header will not look so cluttered.

I hope this change makes it easier for you to read my blog.  If you have problems finding anything, just let me know and I will work on your feedback if possible.

Thank you.  Feel free to subscribe to my feeds for easy updates!