Chinese Egg Fried Rice with Pancetta

Once again this is another very easy dish to make. Pancetta (pronounced Panchetta) is diced smoked pork. It can be found in most meat marts. For my Muslim readers, kindly use shrimps or prawns in place of Pancetta.

For this dish, we will need the following:

Rice (you can use basmati or regular rice)

Eggs

Pancetta

Canola/Vegetable oil

Chopped Green, yellow and red pepper

Green Peas

Chopped Onions

Diced garlic and ginger

Soy sauce

Oyster sauce

Curry

Lemon zest (optional)

Seasoning

Salt

Parboil the rice and set aside.

Break the eggs into a bowl. Add a few drops of soy sauce and 2 table spoonful of water and whisk.

Heat up your wok/frying pan and add 2 table spoonful of vegetable oil. Pour in your whisked eggs and scramble. Empty the contents of the wok/frying pan into a bowl and set aside. Place the wok/frying pan back on the flame. Add 3 table spoonful of vegetable oil. Allow to get very hot and add the chopped onions, diced garlic and lemon zest. Stir for a while and add the pancetta. Stir for about 5 minutes and add the chopped green, yellow and red pepper. Reduce the flame and stir. Add some curry and oyster sauce. Continue stirring. Add your parboiled rice and mix thoroughly. Add the fried eggs while mixing. Season and add salt if necessary (careful with the salt… remember, oyster and soy sauces both contain salt).

 

Are Eggs Good For You???

The debate on eggs has been going on since the 1960s, at least, and so far, nothing seems to have changed. One week, they're OK, and the next, they're not. So what is the truth? Are eggs good for you, or not?

The latest 'study' done by Dr. J. David Spence1 was an exercise done in futility. . The 'study' purports to find that eating egg yolks is as bad for your heart as smoking. Really? This prompted further investigations. Dr. J. David Spence is a professor of neurology at the Western University Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry in London, Ont. Neurology? Not Cardiology, or Nutrition? Dr. Spence has blamed cholesterol for almost all of society’s ills… There was not one Cardiologist in the whole study? Their whole paper showed that this was no scientific study at all. There were no Control Groups, no Double-Blind procedures, and no control over variables...nothing that would qualify it as any kind of a scientific study. This is not how science is done. All the good doctor did was have 1252 patients (all smokers) that already had serious plaque issues, fill out a questionnaire that asked them how many eggs they eat per week. That's it. All Dr. Spence's conclusions came from that, a half-baked survey that didn't have any form of control.

OK. Back to the real world. How can we find out if eggs are good for you?. To start with, we have to establish that we are talking about a normal, healthy individual. People with chronic health issues may have to have special diets, which may preclude the consumption of eggs. We're not going to address those, because that is a separate issue. We're talking about average people.

We can start by establishing the fact that eggs have been a normal part of the human diet long before we were even human, or there were birds we would recognize as chickens. We know from archeological evidence that Australopithecus, Homo Habilis, Neanderthals, and Cro-Magnons all were quite accomplished nest-robbers. At some point, someone figured out it would be easier to domesticate their favorite egg-birds, instead of going out and robbing them, and the egg and poultry industry was born. Saying eggs are bad for you is like saying that gazelles are bad for lions to eat, or bananas are bad for chimpanzees. So, now we can examine the popular attitudes, and put them in context:

Myth One: Eating just the whites is healthier than the whole egg.-False. Eggs whites contain little nutrition, mostly just a little protein. And the whites contain most of the sodium, so you're not really doing yourself any favors this way. The yolk contains a lot of nutrients you can't get anywhere else, such as the amino acid leucene, pure gold for body-builders because it triggers muscle growth, and fat-burning. It has been proven in countless studies that eating whole eggs results in significant weight-loss for people who are battling obesity. Egg yolks also contain choline, vital for healthy cell membranes, and brain-function.

Myth Two: Eggs are high in cholesterol.-Neither true nor false. Eggs do contain cholesterol, but not necessarily large amounts. And studies have shown that eating cholesterol does not make your cholesterol levels go up. High cholesterol is caused by a number of factors including genetic propensity, sedentary lifestyles, obesity, and more. The fact is that you need a certain amount of cholesterol for your body to function correctly. It is a normal part of the human diet.

Myth Three: Eggs will make you fat.-False. One egg has just 70 calories. And these calories are beautifully balanced, with 6 grams of protein, and 5 grams of unsaturated fat (the kind your body is supposed to have). 5 grams isn't much for something with that much nutrition, and only 70 calories. And the protein in eggs causes a release of glucogen, a hormone that makes your body burn it's own fat stores. From a nutritional standpoint, eggs are a powerhouse. Let's compare this to another stand-by diet.....well, something that resembles food...rice cakes. Two rice cakes also have just 70 calories, but no protein or fat. What they do have is 14 grams of fat-cell cramming, high glycemic carbohydrates. You tell me...which one do you think does more good for your body?

Myth Four: Raw eggs have more nutrients.-False. First off, raw eggs are just nasty. Why would anyone want to eat them this way? Eggs cook at such a low temperature that no nutrients are damaged, at all. In fact, two of them; lutein, and zeaxanthan, are actually enhanced by cooking. On the bad side, raw eggs contain advin, an organic compound that blocks absorption of the vital nutrient biotin. Cooking renders advin chemically inert. Also, raw eggs greatly increase your chances of salmonella poisoning. Even mild cooking makes eggs perfectly safe. If you have ever seen anyone with salmonella poisoning (or had it yourself), you'll realize real quick that it isn't a lot of fun. Why in the world would anyone want to risk that when it is unnecessary, and so easy to prevent?

Myth Five: Fresh farm eggs from a local farm are better for you than store-bought eggs.-False. I enjoy getting my eggs from my local poultry farm, mostly because we socialize a lot in the process. But the eggs from the local farmer are most likely the same eggs you are buying in the store. All eggs come from farms, and chickens. And for the most part, they are all raised the same way

 

Coconut Rice served with Assorted Meat Sauce and Sautéed Vegetable Relish

Quite a number of people tend to run away from making Coconut rice because of the stress that comes with breaking the coconut and separating the shell from the coconut meat.  Then there is also the trouble that comes with grating the coconut.

For those with food processors, you can easily grind the coconut, extract the paste and strain the coconut milk using a sieve.

Those without food processors can just give the coconut to your local pepper grinder in the market. They will de-shell and grind the coconuts for you.

For this dish, I will be using the following ingredients:

Coconuts

A cup of rice

Fresh diced pepper

Chopped onion

One table spoon of Canola/Vegetable oil

Seasoning and Salt

For my assorted meat sauce, I will be using:

Fresh tomatoes

Assorted meat

Partly ripe fresh pepper (the green ones)

Tatahse

Onions

Red Oil

Cray fish

Locust beans

Smoked fish

Curry

Seasoning and salt

 

For my vegetable relish I will be using:

Cabbage

One table spoon of vegetable oil

Green beans

Tomatoes

Yellow pepper

Ginger

Onions

Carrots

Black pepper

Seasoning

You can just play around with your favorite veggies.

Firstly, use a sieve and strain the coconut milk from the coconut paste into a pot. Do not use too much water for this process as you need the coconut milk as creamy as possible. Then add your washed rice. Place the pot on your burner and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts boiling, add one (1) table spoonful of vegetable oil and reduce the flame. Allow the rice to cook through. As soon as you notice the rice is almost cooked and the liquid in the pot disappearing, add the diced pepper and chopped onions. Spread on top of the rice (please do not stir). Place the lid on the pot and allow the rice to cook for about 3-5mins. Then add your seasoning and salt. At this point, mix everything together thoroughly. Allow to cook for another 3minutes then put out the flame.

For the assorted meat sauce, roughly blend your tomatoes, tatashe and partly ripe pepper.  Cook your assorted meat till they are really soft. Heat up some red oil in a sauce pan then add your chopped onions. Stir for about 20secs then add the roughly blended mixture. Allow the mixture to fry then add your ground crayfish. At this point, you want to keep stirring to prevent your sauce from burning. Then add your locust beans followed by some curry and stir. Add the smoked fish, assorted meat and a little stock from the boiled meat.  Add Seasoning and salt and put out the flame.

For your sautéed vegetable relish, stir fry diced ginger, throw in your green beans and stir. Add your yellow and green pepper and continue stirring. Add your cabbage and some black pepper. Stir and then serve.

 

 

What Strange Animal(s) Have you Eaten?

Most of us at some point in our lives have eaten the strangest of things; from bush-meat (considered as rodents by Westerners) to monkey meat, Alligator meat …. I tell you, the list is endless.

Truthfully, I have decided never to judge people by the strange things they eat. I have eaten things people may find disgusting and gross but are rare delicacies from my neck of the woods.

Pork for instance is really cherished by the Chinese yet respectfully, due to their religious beliefs, Muslims do not go near pork meat.

Snakes I hear taste like chicken. Still looking for that courage to try it out. I pray I find it someday

There are certain tribes in Nigeria where a combination of dog meat and unripe plantain is considered a match made in heaven. At some point in my life, I thought eating dog meat was really gross. Incidentally, when I told my dog (meat) loving Calabar friends about my love for edible worms, I noticed they were just as grossed out as I was when I learnt about their love for dog meat.

At that point, it dawned on me that we all have some strange animal/creature we love which is considered alien to other tribes. I know in the North, they love fried grass hoppers and in some Western communities, they don’t joke with fried termites and Ijebu garri.

Growing up, I ate monkey meat, octopus, squids and tortoises (thank God I’m still breathing); they all tasted really nice. I’m done eating strange stuff as I do not think I am that brave to add anything new to my existing list.

In conclusion, I guess we all have one or two strange animals/creatures we have eaten in the past (or still eat) and at the end of the day, it all boils down to respect and tolerance for other people’s tradition and religious beliefs when it comes to food.

Prawns & Shredded Turkey Thai fried rice

This is one very easy dish to make and the ingredients are readily available in local markets and grocery stores.

For this dish, we are going to need the following ingredients:

Basmati rice (This can be found in most food super markets)

Prawns and Turkey (Found in most frozen food markets)

Vegetable/canola Oil

Oyster sauce

Cloves of Garlic

Ginger

Onions

Red pepper

Yellow pepper

Green pepper

Carrots

Fresh green peas

Curry

Seasoning

Salt

Truthfully, my number one rule to cooking is to always learn to improvise. Try never to get boxed up by the availability of cooking ingredients and learn to always play around with alternatives.

I am going to be serving this with some stir fried shredded beef.

First thing you would want to do is get everything ready before you start cooking because the whole process takes between 20 & 30mins.

So with a sharp knife, shred your turkey and keep it aside. Dice your garlic, ginger and carrots; Chop your onions, green pepper and yellow pepper. Also clean your prawns and keep that to aside.

In a pot, boil your basmati rice with the diced carrots and peas for about 10mins. I am boiling the carrots and peas with the rice because I do not like very hard vegetables in rice dishes. Basmati rice cook very fast and also, you want to watch the quantity of water you add when you boil the rice so your rice doesn’t get soggy. With a spoon, taste the rice; If it is slightly soft, put off the flame and drain the rice. Then spread on a tray so it doesn’t clog together.

In your Wok or frying pan, put in 3 table spoon full of vegetable oil and allow to get very hot. Then add your chopped onions, diced garlic and ginger then stir. Add the shredded turkey moving the frying pan/wok back and forth. At this stage, the frying pan/wok may flame up; do not panic…. It’s part of the “ëffizy” **wink**. Then add your prawns and reduce the flame of your burner to the minimum level and just stir. Add the red and yellow pepper, oyster sauce and curry and keep stirring.  Then add the green pepper and stir for about 20 seconds.

 

Then add you boiled basmati rice to the contents in the frying pan/wok (remember the burner should be on minimum level); Stir and add seasoning and salt (remember with salt you can always add but you cannot take away so be careful not to over salt). Serve with stir fried beef.

This dish will make a good Sunday treat for the family and is so easy to make.

Try it out and lets have your verdict.

Feel free to post all your questions and suggestions in the comment box below and I will get back.

Rice Dishes

Over the next couple of days, I will be writing about rice dishes and sharing quite a number of mouth-watering rice related recipes; From prawn and shredded turkey Thai fried rice to mouth-watering coconut rice, Chinese egg and bacon fried rice, jollof rice, sea food fried rice, ofada rice etc.

I will be taking you lovely folks on a ride from markets/grocery shops where you can find the ingredients needed to make these wonderful dishes to the comfort of my kitchen where I am going to share the secrets of making these sumptuous  and easy to make dishes, 5 star restaurant style.

Just remain glued to this space

Welcome!!!

Welcome to my food blog.

Keep watching this space as I aim to take you on a wonderful culinary ride.

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