Okay doke, time for Poke!

It’s true, we have been hit by the poke bug ever since our first bowl. Poke bowls are quickly winning the hearts and bellies of Singaporeans with its delicious chunks of marinated raw fish and a wide selection of fresh vegetables.

But what Jia and I really love about it is the fact that we can pick and choose our favourite ingredients to build our perfect poke bowl. We can eat it with brown rice or a salad base, replace raw fish with shrimp or pick vegetarian options such as tofu or tempeh. I can never decide what to put in my bowl and I always end up with one too many options.

Unlike me, Jia doesn’t take raw fish. So we thought we could skip the raw fish and look for alternatives to prove that a poke bowl can be versatile and easy to construct at home. We decided on shrimp and halloumi cheese to replace raw fish because well, we really love cheese and since we don’t cook shrimp often, we thought it will be a good time to challenge ourselves.

A close friend of ours got married recently and the bridesmaids were in charge of a small and cosy lunch reception. We planned the menu way in advance and that is when Jia and I jumped at the idea of concocting a light and refreshing alcoholic beverage for the celebration. Now, what is a celebration without some sparkly and fruity bubbly? 

This Sangria recipe that we created a few years ago is our absolute favourite. It is sweet and tasty, looks fun and is so easy to put together that we often make the Sangria to share with friends and family or to pack into festive gift hampers for our clients. This white Sangria gets a ton of rave reviews and always hits the right spot!

Sparkly Fruity Bubbly White Sangria
by Min+Jia
Serves 4 or 2 major Sangria fans

Ingredients:
1 bottle of good quality Chardonnay
​1 can of ginger ale
2 medium red apples, cored and sliced
8 large strawberries
1/2 lemon, deseeded
1/2 Tahitian lime, deseeded

Instructions:
Place apples, strawberries, lime and lemon into a clean pitcher or bottle.
Pour the bottle of Chardonnay into the pitcher of fruits.
Refrigerate and let the mixture sit for an hour.
After an hour, take out lime and lemon.
Let the rest of the mixture infuse for at least a day in the fridge to release the full fruity flavour.
Add ginger ale and a squeeze of fresh lemon to the Sangria right before serving.
Serve chilled, with or without ice.
Cheers! 

Popcorn is one of our ultimate happy snack and a general crowd-pleaser in most gatherings. In our opinion, the best popcorn is crunchy, fluffy, and most importantly, warm! Cold and hard popcorn makes us overwhelmingly sad, which is why we avoid movie theatre popcorn at all cost. Do you know that prepackaged popcorn and concession stands' popcorn tend to be deceptively unhealthy due to the processed flavouring? Sometimes, the butter you think you are eating is actually artificially flavoured! Sigh, what a depressing thought. 

On a brighter note, it is actually really simple to make your own popcorn at home. The best thing about making freshly-popped corn in the comfort of your home is the delicious fact that you can create the flavour of your dreams! We love experimenting with different ingredients to come up with unexpectedly awesome tasting popcorn. In this post, we will share with you three easy recipes that are packed with punchy flavours. Go to your nearest market, grab a bag of corn kernels and let's get popping! 

The Basic Fresh Popcorn Recipe
by Min+Jia
Serves 2

Ingredients:
75g popcorn kernels
A generous slab of unsalted butter
2 tablespoon coconut oil

Instructions:
Put oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Wait for the coconut oil to melt completely and the butter to warm up.
Throw a couple of kernels in to test the heat.
Once the kernels pop, throw in the rest of the kernels in an even layer and cover the saucepan with its lid. Remove from heat and count to 30 seconds. 
Return saucepan to heat and the kernels should begin to pop. Gently shake the saucepan to allow even distribution of heat. Once the popping sound subsides, remove the saucepan from heat. 

Paprika and Herb Popcorn
(image above)

Ingredients:
Fresh popcorn
A generous pinch of paprika
A generous pinch of a mixture of herbs - powdered or finely chopped. We recommend  parsley, chives, and tarragon. 

Instructions:
Toss freshly popped corn with all the above in a big bowl.
Serve immediately.

Dark Chocolate Popcorn With Sea Salt

Ingredients:
Fresh popcorn
Dark chocolate shavings
Sea Salt

Instructions:
Grate a generous amount of high-quality dark chocolate over freshly popped corn.
Toss and mix evenly. 
Sprinkle sea salt over the popcorn and serve immediately.

Garlic Butter Popcorn With Cracked Black Pepper

Ingredients:
Popcorn
4 garlic cloves - minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
A pinch of salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions:
Melt butter in a saucepan.
Add minced garlic and fry till fragrant.
Remove from heat and drizzle over popcorn. 
Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

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Would you be trying out any of these flavours? If you have any good popcorn recipes, please share them with us too! 

​With Love, Min+Jia.

Oh, salmon. How I love thee. 

I had been craving for salmon for the past few weeks but never got round to satisfying my craving. I am so used to being disappointed with the way salmon is handled in the cafes and restaurants in Singapore. More often than not, the salmon turns out totally overdone and tasteless. 

While complaining to Min last week, she convinced me that we could create a recipe from scratch. So, off we went to the supermarket, got our groceries, and began cooking. Amazingly enough, the salmon turned out really flavourful and juicy! Thus, we just had to recreate it for this blog. Miso and salmon goes together like lamb chops with mint sauce. Just awesomely well. 

This recipe is really easy to follow and fast to complete. You will be enjoying your juicy poached salmon in no time! 

Miso-Poached Salmon with Garlic Mushroom Sauce
Recipe by Min+Jia
Serves 2
Prep time: 7 mins | Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 salmon fillets, bones removed
12 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
4 garlic cloves, roughly minced
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
0.5 tablespoon of light reduced salt soy sauce
2 tablespoons of mirin
2 tablespoons of miso paste
2.5 cups water
2 tablespoons cornflour (optional)

Garnish:
A sprinkle of ebiko roe
A sprinkle of sesame seeds
Black pepper to taste

Instructions:
Sprinkle the salmon fillets with a little bit of salt and set the fillets aside. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Once the olive oil is hot, add garlic to pan and sauté. Once the garlic starts to brown, toss the sliced shiitake mushrooms into the pan and sauté along with the soy sauce and mirin.

In a separate bowl, combine water, miso paste, and grated ginger. 

When the mushrooms have softened to a nice degree, add in the water-miso-ginger mixture and bring the liquid to simmer in medium heat.

Upon the simmering of the broth, carefully place salmon fillets skin-side down in the pan. Cover. Cook for 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of your salmon fillet and how cooked you like your salmon to be. We cooked ours for 8 minutes. 

Gingerly remove the salmon fillets from the pan and set aside. Turn heat to medium-high to reduce broth into a sauce. Mix cornflour with water to hasten the reduction process, if need be. Remove pan from heat once you get the sauce to your desired thickness. 

Pour garlic mushroom sauce over salmon. Serve the dish with a sprinkle of ebiko roe, sesame seeds, and black pepper to taste. 

The salmon goes fabulously with a Japanese-inspired meal; eat it with rice, miso soup, and some healthy side dishes for a well-balanced and satisfying meal! 

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Oh my word, what a Wednesday, folks. This afternoon, Jia and I watched the live coverage of the USA Elections while savouring a hearty and tasty bowl of instant noodles. Nothing can beat the gratification of devouring a hot bowl of instant noodles goodness on a relatively cool day. Perhaps it is the MSG-flavoured soup stock or the fact that we are true-blue Asians, we just can't hide our love for instant noodles.

Some days, I wake up craving for Korean kimchi instant noodles, while some days I find myself craving for spicy coconut broth noodles. There are far too many flavours, brands and varieties of instant noodles out there in the world for me to name my favourite one. There isn't a bowl like the other and there surely isn't a default recipe available. While some like to keep their noodles simple and plain, I usually put together a bowl of instant noodles with whatever fresh/frozen ingredients I have in my fridge. It's really up to you to get creative!

Min+Jia's Lazy and Rainy Day Instant Noodles
Recipe inspired by our mothers
Serves 1
Prep time: 5 mins | Cooking Time: 10 - 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 packet of instant noodles, choose your favourite flavour!
A handful of enoki mushrooms, cut into half
3 Napa cabbage leaves Napa, cut into bite-size
3 sticks frozen crab stick, cut into 3 parts or keep it whole
3 frozen crab roe fishballs
1 egg
1 slice of cheese (optional)
2.5 cups water

Garnish:
2 stalks spring onion, cut into 3cm strips
A sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds
A sprinkle of seaweed flakes
A drizzle of sesame oil

Instructions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add napa cabbage. If you prefer softer cabbage, boil for approximately 7-10 minutes before adding the frozen crab-roe fishballs. When the fishballs have soften, add in noodles. Use a pair of chopsticks to loosen up the noodles, and proceed to add in the flavoured stock packet. If you prefer an intense flavoured soup, add in a full packet, otherwise, half or three quarters of a pack will do just fine!

As the noodles come to a boil, add in enoki mushrooms and crab sticks. Just before you are done, crack an egg into the soup or add a sliced cheese on the top. Turn off the fire, pop the lid on and prepare your garnish. Serve noodles with a sprinkle of spring onion, seaweed flakes, toasted sesame seeds and a drizzle of sesame oil. I would also recommend garnishing your noodles with fried shallots, coriander leaves or garlic chips! 

​Eat immediately or your noodles will get soggy!

Jia's definition of a good bowl of Kimchi ramen includes a mixture of fresh and frozen ingredients as well as a slice of cheese to flavour and thicken the broth. For myself, no bowl of instant noodles is ever complete without the addition of an egg.

Isn't it amazing how you can easily turn a plain and simple packet of instant noodles into a hearty and tasty meal under 30minutes? All it takes is some creativity and packets of instant noodles, and your meal is served! To make evening dinners more special, boil some instant noodles then bake it with a delicious meat sauce topped with tons of grated cheese, or simply crush some uncooked noodles and add it to a chicken stock for a quick and tasty chicken soup.

So many recipes and only one stomach to take it all in. 

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How do you like your instant noodles? What's the craziest instant noodles recipe you have ever cooked? Share them all with me!

xMin