Egg Fu Yung (Chinese-Indonesian Omelette) with a Sesame-Ginger Sauce

A delicious, quick and easy dish, popular in America and the UK - 'gravy' optional!

Although not itself authentically Chinese, Egg Fu Yung (also known as Egg Foo Young, Egg Fo Yong etc.) is a Chinese-American dish which is derived from an authentic dish from Shanghai, known as Fu Yung Egg Slices, made with beaten egg whites and ham slices, or minced chicken if you go further north. You can add your choice of various vegetables, as well as various types of seafood or meat if you like too (see notes below for ideas).

         

In this version, I've simply added bean sprouts, straw mushrooms and spring onions (scallions) to keep it simple and quick, but use up whatever you fancy!

In the UK, it is not usually served with a sauce as such, but in America, they frequently serve it with 'gravy'. Whilst I had a little difficulty with the notion of serving a Chinese-style omelette with gravy, I do try to be open-minded where food is concerned, so in a nod to a transatlantic friend of mine, I did make a sauce based on a light chicken stock - which I'm afraid I then just couldn't help flavouring with soy, ginger, oyster sauce and toasted sesame oil. I will put my hand up, and confess that I actually rather enjoyed it, and it gave the dish quite a pleasant new dimension - so thank you, Audra, I'm glad I gave it a whirl! ;)

Obviously, the sauce (or gravy!) is entirely optional, but you might just surprise yourself and like it too!

245 calories per portion for the Egg Fu Yung, serves two as a light lunch, or a meal with other/side dishes.

Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls - Gluten Free

Not only is this recipe gluten free, it's also a healthier version of crispy spring rolls, which doesn't involve deep-frying (and it's easy to make, too!) - what's not to love?

Spring rolls are often a guilty pleasure for many of us - or worse still, a greasy disappointment, heavy on the stodge, seeping out oil with every bite, and low on flavour - worse still if you buy the supermarket efforts. And if you're eating gluten free, even worse - you probably can't get hold of any!

        

However, salvation is here - a fresh and crispy tasty vegetable filling (and you can use this as a spring board, and add cooked prawns, shredded chicken or duck, char siu pork [watch out for gluten - my recipe to make your own is here] or whatever else you fancy to it - see the Notes for further suggestions!), with rice wrappers, quickly baked with a mere brushing of oil and egg, until crispy on the outside and hot and juicy on the inside! With a whole variety of very simple dips to serve them with (see here for five very simple Chinese dips you can whip up in under 5 minutes, as in the photo, that compliment them beautifully!), you can't go wrong, and they're very easy to make - no pre-cooking necessary for the filling!

Easily doubled for a crowd, and not at all difficult to make (the photo above is of rolls made by my children, aged 9 and 11 at the time - as in the photo on the left!) - tasty, crispy, gluten free spring rolls at a fraction of the calories you’d get in those from a restaurant or shop!

Makes 20 small spring rolls, 35 calories per roll, 172 calories for 5 rolls. I don't recommend making fewer, larger rolls, as you're more likely to get 'soggy bottoms' or splits in the rolls. You can shallow or deep fry the rolls if you prefer, instead of oven cooking - but obviously they will be considerably more calorific! If you don't need to go gluten free, you can make my Skinny Spring Rolls with filo pastry instead, another low calorie healthy option.

Simple Green Smoothie

Green smoothies are everywhere...

And there's really nothing to making one. The only reason I've blogged this, is because I was curious as to how many calories were in a serving, which meant I had to weigh what I used (rather than just bunging handfuls into the blender) then calculate the calories of each ingredient - so I might as well write it down while I'm at it! You don't need a recipe, you can just use your imagination, or have a look here or on Google for some great green smoothie ideas. And remember - if you're using them as a vehicle to get fruit and vegetables into your kids, you need to give them an appealing name - maybe something to do with Kermit, or the Incredible Hulk etc. depending on their age and preferences! (Or just tell them it's yours and they can't have any...)

This one is nice and mild and refreshing, so a great introduction if you haven't had one before (or you're trying to get someone else to try one).

Serves two (easily doubled), 125 calories per serving [calories in square brackets].

Unusual Ingredients - Chayote / Mirliton / Choko

Ever seen a strange-looking vegetable for sale, and wondered what it tastes like and what you do with it?

For example, one of these funny-looking fellows?

It's known by many different names, probably chayote if you find one in the UK, chayote squash, mirliton or vegetable pear in the USA, and christophene in France... as well as various other names throughout the world, including cho-cho, choku, labu siam. It's probably a bit of a mystery to a lot of people in the UK, which is the best reason for providing a recipe to use it in!

Cauliflower Cheese with Roasted Cauliflower and a Parmesan Crust

When it's good, it's very, very good...

If you're passionate about cauliflower, you'll find that tossing it in oil then roasting it intensifies and transforms the taste, giving a deep, nutty,  flavour. You could eat it on it's own like this, with a sprinkling of sea salt, or use it in other dishes, such as this cauliflower cheese dish. I think it's perfect for cauliflower cheese, because it means you avoid two heinous crimes against said dish, being either a watery sauce leaching out from soggy cauliflower (from the juices leaking out) or a stodgy lump you can pick up on your fork, from the dish cooking too long and all liquids evaporating. Yes, you know what I'm talking about! (Don't mention this to Grandma).

I have given you two versions, naughty and nice - one for the sinful amongst you, made with a traditional Béchamel and plenty of cheese, the other equally tasty, but with a lighter gluten-free version of a Béchamel sauce, both topped with a Parmesan cheese crumb. How much, if any, of the Parmesan crumb you choose to sprinkle on is up to you - you may just decide you prefer to have grated cheese on top. Or nothing extra. What you will get, though, is delicious cauliflower in a silky sauce. If you want to make it a little more punchy, add a spoonful of Dijon or English mustard to the sauce, and if you haven't got time to infuse the milk with the onion, you could cheat and add a little onion powder / granules instead.