Monday 4 April 2011

Vegetables

Malaysia produces a wide variety of vegetables, of about 50 species are grown commercially. The five most popular are Long beans, Chili, Cucumber, Chinese mustard and Lady`s finger. Although, Onion, Shallot, and Garlic are major vegetables normally consumed.

Long Beans
A long, thin Asian bean that can measure from one to three feet in length, but are best eaten when they are 12 to 20 inches long. It is a bean with a mild taste, similar to a Western string bean, that is grown in varieties identified by color as either light (pale) green or dark green beans.

Unlike the shorter string bean, this bean has a soft texture that is flexible and not as crisp or moist as the Western variety. The lighter green bean has a limp texture that is sweeter tasting than the darker variety when cooked. The lighter colored bean is often used for food dishes that can be quickly prepared and cooked. The dark green bean is more tender than the light green variety and is best used in dishes requiring a firmer texture to be retained for longer cooking times or slow cooking, such as recipes for stir-fried, braised foods or stews.

They are a good source of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus, and potassium.

Stir-fries Chinese long beans is the most preferred Veggie dish in the menu around Sarawak, its easy, nutritious and very tasty !!!

Stir-Fried Chinese Long Beans

 


Ingredients:

1 pound Chinese Long Beans, washed and trimmed to 3″ lengths
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Preparation:

Heat up your wok, add oil. When shimmering, add minced garlic. Fry just for a few seconds until fragrant. You want to make sure that you don’t wait too long before adding the garlic to the oil, otherwise the oil will be too hot and the garlic will burn.
Add your long beans, fry in wok for 30 seconds, tossing the garlicky oil all over the beans.
Add water, oyster sauce and soy sauce. Cover the wok. Let the beans steam for 5 minutes on medium heat. Check to see if beans are almost tender, but not too soft. If not, re-cover and steam an additional 1 minute. Uncover, let the rest of the liquid evaporate, about an additional minute.


Chili
Chili peppers have been a part of the human diet in the Americas since at least 7500 BC, Cultivated all across the world and used in both food and medicine.

Chili is the spicy fruit plants in the genus Capsicum, member of the nightshade family. Peppers are commonly broken down into three groupings pending on the color, size and intensity, namely: bell peppers, sweet peppers, and hot peppers. Most popular pepper varieties are seen as falling into one of these categories or as a cross between them.

Red chilis contain high amounts of Carotene (Provitamin A), vitamin B, vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, and iron.

The  famous spicy dipping sauce can be found in any house-hold or on any restaurant table in Malaysia.  

Spicy Malaysian Dipping Sauce.

 

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh cayenne chili peppers
1 ½ oz belacan
2 oz bird’s eye chilies – optional – use this only if the cayenne chili peppers are not spicy enough
Lime or lemon juice to taste

Preparation:

Cut off the top bit with the stem and slice lengthwise. Remove all the seeds if you want, however, some might prefer it with the seeds as it is spicier. Cut into 1 inch pieces to make blending easier.


Cucumber  
is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and "burpless". Within these varities, several different cultivars have emerged.

The cucumber is originally from India, but is now grown in most of the continents. Many different varieties are traded on the global market.

It is being used for different purpose as it can be eaten raw or cooked. With so many health benefits it becomes one of the most important parts of food diet as well as skin diet.


Cucumber can claim to be a water body as it has 90% water. It is known to be a cooling agent due to the water in it. Also contains high amount of Sugar, protein, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Zinc.

Cucumber Cocktail






















Ingredients:

1 lime
2 tbsp packed mint leaves, chopped, no stems
1 cucumber
1 tbsp raw sugar
1 oz. organic vodka (optional)
Sparkling wine (optional)

Preparation:

Thinly slice 1/2 lime and place in a cocktail shaker. Juice the rest and add juice to cocktail shaker. Add mint leaves. Slice 1/2 cucumber and add, then add sugar. Muddle ingredients. Add vodka. Place in refrigerator to steep 30 minutes or longer.
Cut remaining cucumber into super think rounds.
Shake and strain into a glass. Top with sparkling wine, garnish with a cucumber round, and serve.































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