RongHua Ching

Save the Geese, roast Goose siu-ngoh 燒鵝

May 15, 2014RongHua ChingFoodbarbecued pork, Cantonese, Cantonese Cuisine, cha siu, documentary, Hong Kong, Hong Kong food, Hong Kong to the World, National Geographic Channel, RHTK, roast duck, roast goose, roast pork, roast suckling pig, siu mei, siu ngaap, siu ngoh, Siu ngoh fan, siu yuk, siu zyu, tourism, 叉燒, 燒味, 燒肉, 燒豬, 燒鴨, 燒鵝飯

DutchNews.nl – Some 500,000 geese need to be culled, headline of Dutchnews in The Netherlands, based on article posted in Dutch daily newspaper Trouw yesterday.

“Most of the geese will be gassed, as currently happens around Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, Trouw says. The paper bases its claims on interim reports from provincial government bodies which signed up to an agreement on combating the geese nuisance two years ago.”

What a shame to gas the Canadian and Nile geese which use to migrate and now remain in The Netherlands. I wonder whether it is contemplated to offer the Geese as a staple food next like chicken, turkey or game meat.

Within Cantonese Cuisine, Cantonese style roasting techniques are renowned as Siu Mei 燒味 literally meaning ‘roast flavored’ meats. The first four are classic types of roasting:

barbecued pork (cha siu叉燒)
roast goose (siu ngoh 燒鵝)
roast pork (siu yuk 燒肉)
roast suckling pig (siu zyu 燒豬)
roast duck (siu ngaap 燒鴨)

selection of siu mei roasts - warosu.org

Selection of ‘Siu Mei’ roasted meats
Photo credit source Warosu.org

Often alongside the roast meats, you will find these three dishes as well

White cut chicken (baak cit gai 白切雞) – marinated steamed chicken
Soy sauce chicken (si yao gai 豉油雞) – chicken cooked with soy sauce
Orange cuttlefish ( lou seoi mak jyu 鹵水墨魚) – marinated cuttlefish

Siu Mei Shop with all kinds of roasted meats. Photo source credit JIngWen Yu

Roast Goose Siu Ngoh 燒鵝

Roast Goose is popular in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province in southern China. If prepared correctly a true delicacy, Roast Goose 燒鵝 (siu ngoh in Cantonese) is one of the signature roast dishes with a crisp skin where the layer of fat has melted away during roasting process resulting in succulent meat. Roast Goose appears to share similarity to Peking Duck (specially bred BeiJing White Duck) but roast goose is bigger, cheaper as for flavoring it only has a spice rub in the cavity.

Whereas the technique for roasting BeiJing Duck is much more elaborate, way of serving differs as well. BeiJing Duck is brought to the dining table where the meat is sliced in as much of 100 thin flakes each covered with a piece of crispy skin attached. On the dining table a steam basket with pancakes, thinly cut scallion, cucumber and sweet bean sauce or hoisin sauce as accompaniments. The pancakes is spread lightly with plum sauce, sprigs of scallion than duck flakes with crispy skin rolled up and you take a bite to heaven.

The famous Cantonese style roast Goose as a whole chopped and served as a main dish with plum sauce or as well known rice dish known as Siu ngoh fan 燒鵝飯. Chopped pieces of Goose are topped on rice with KaiLan (Chinese broccoli, dark green stem vegetabes with or without tiny yellow flowerbuds) where the drippings of the goose is poured on top. You do not need to be a connoisseur to appreciate and enjoy this dish and agree upon the tender meat, a mouthful of bliss bursting with flavor.

siu ngo fan 燒鵝飯 Photo source credit Dianping.com

TV documentary Hong Kong to the World

A beautiful documentary series co-produced by RHTK and National Geographic Channel titled “Hong Kong to the World” showcases in one of the four one-hour episodes the secrets of roasting meats ‘Siu Mei’. In the program Siu Mei Kung Fu, episode 1, the famous Hong Kong movie star, Eric Tsang enters into the unfamiliar territory of a traditional roasting workshop. Starting from the most basic roasting techniques, secrets will be revealed and stories behind the delicious Hongkong-style roasts. Affinities to culinary kung fu with reference to hand-to-hand fighting skills as time-honored techniques, balancing yin and yang and involving god-like blade skills, are worthy to be considered “siu mei kung fu”!

One of our favorite destinations discovering Hong Kong to shop for food, electronics and sightseeing on our must see or to-do lists and that behavior hasn’t changed with every visit. Because Hong Kong city and islands still captivates with its spectacular scenery and many attractions. Over time we have introduced ourselves to street food and culinary delights, of which some establishments are famous for more than half a century. One of the restaurants is the legendary Goose restaurant Yung Kee – the fact that we try to visit on our returns makes us long distance regulars – a place to satisfy our roast goose gourmet craving. However over time we have found other locations in Hong Kong which serve roasted goose as good and even less expensive than Yung Kee.

Prepare a trip to Chinatown or Hong Kong, sample the dish(es) or try a recipe

Outside of Hong Kong, Guang Dong Province, in China towns in diaspora across the world you will find the roasted meats to sooth your craving, not often the roasted Goose but most likely the roasted duck version. The more reason to get my hands on a few birds of the large flock of geese which is to be culled soon, Schiphol Airport is not even that far away from my home. Will post separately a roast goose recipe shortly.

Note: If you are planning a trip to Hong Kong soon and are compiling a bucket list of places to visit, things to see, do click on all the highlighted links in this post for information and watch the mentioned documentary TV episode it’s worth to watch, read and experience it by yourself. Here’s another 25 reasons to go to Hong Kong by Condé Nast Traveller.

Citrus boost with Grapefruit, Orange, Carrot and Ginger

May 12, 2014RongHua ChingJuices & Smoothie'santi-inflammatory, antioxidants, beta-carotene, carrots, flavanoids, flavanones, Fruit juicer, fruit juicing machine, fruitjuice, ginger, Grapefruit, healthy, healthy drinks, minerals, orange, Philips HR1861, smoothie, vitamins

Busy lives with changeable weather and cold fronts hanging around the corner we need to make sure we get all the vitamins to ward off the sneezes and other fly symptoms. Need to go out to buy groceries and re-stock our fruit basket, with the sun rays shining into the kitchen, what better invitation do you need to make the following Citrus supercharger.

Citrus boost with Grapefruit, Orange, Carrot and Ginger Fruit Juice

Citrus booster; Grapefruit, Oranges, Carrot & Ginger

The Citrus boost mix consist of four ingredients, with the grapefruit and oranges it quadruples the amount of many minerals and vitamins, both juices provide a significant amount of three vitamins and flavonoids. Citrus fruits are the sole source of a group of flavonoids called flavanones that functions as antioxidants.
Carrots are another excellent source of vitamins and beta-carotene ( antioxidant) gives carrots their bright orange color and makes this drink sure look even more vibrant.
Ginger has many benefits, such as anti-inflammatory qualities relieving swelling and pain, it also eases headaches, sore throats, helps fighting against cold and flu symptoms. Besides nutritional value it adds a nice zing to the Fruit Juice and deepens the flavor, for beginners start with smaller amount to balance the taste result to your palate or liking.

Cleaning of fruits is a must, but with our Philips Fruit Juicer HR 1861 there is no need for cutting up in smaller pieces it all goes down the wide-mouth feeder. We have this model for several years now, I purchased the juicer while living in Singapore years back and it has been in use and moving with us. There is a beautiful new model HR1871/OO 800 watt out, which is more compact and technical an upgrade, but I am still content with the first HR1861 model performing without a glitch. It has not let me down ever, still doing its job centrifuging all the best of fruits and vegetables into fresh juice.

If you are interested you can purchase it online at Amazon.co.uk or Blokker in The Netherlands, stores and online. I’ve added the links for your convenience to check for more information. It’s a great addition in aiding a healthier lifestyle approach as well as finishing last fruits with or without vegetables in nutritional drinks made at home.

Oranges & Grapefruit, peel and remove as much pith from the fruit.

Just remember to remove as much pith (white membrane covering citrus segments), especially of Grapefruits it taste of all citrus fruits very bitter, leaving even a little bit of sting on your tongue if you eat them right after only peeling the skin.

Home & Kitchen appliance Philips HR1861 Fruit Juicer

If you only mix Oranges, Grapefruits, mandarin or lemons you can easily just squeeze them but mixing it with carrots and ginger, which have a much harder consistency and impossible to squeeze by hand. A fruit juicer is a household appliance if you give it a good spot on your kitchen counter, visible next to fruit basket you will downsize on spoilage and increase intake of freshly made juices with health benefits. Especially when its easy to handle and to clean, give it a go and experiment with various fruit combination and become bolder with adding vegetables to the mix.

Freshly juiced, the jug yields 1.250 ml of Citrus Boost!

The family enjoyed this combination, tried, tested and approved 🙂 As another option next to good old Orange Juice as a change of flavor and vitamin charger. It sure does not hurt that it boost up your metabolism, wards off colds, helps with weight loss but above all “feeling good”!

Chamomile GouQi Zi Tea – MY CUP 茶馆

May 5, 2014RongHua ChingDrinks, Food, Words of tea leavesalleviation, boost, chamomile, Chinese wolfberries, extraction, flower tea, German chamomile, GoJi, herbal tea, immune system, invigorate, medicinal, purification, recuperate, rejuvenate, Roman Chamomile, tisane, true chamomile, wolfberry

As a child we grew up with all kinds of herbal infused stew concoctions as food, drinking medicinal herbal tea’s made of leaves, root and spices to invigorate and/or recuperate bodily functions and boost immune system. Lighter infusions such as tisane for alleviation or purification for cold, headache, stomach upset, bowel stimulation and other minor or chronic ailments. The later better known as Chinese detox teas are a popular medicinal category tisanes.

Chamomile GouQi Zi Tea

I just prepared Chamomile (Camomile) GouQi Tea, an infusion (of dried herbs, fruit blends) used as a beverage or for medicinal effects also known as Tisane. Today I am drinking it as to rejuvenate myself and enjoying its fragrance and beauty of flowers and berries in my cup.

Camomile with GouQi

Tisanes are infusions that don’t contain true tea leaves (Camellia Sinensis). They are made from flowers, berries, peels, seeds, leaves and roots of other plants. In the World of Tea all “true tea’s” leaves stem from the plant Camellia Sinensis.

We do call many herbal and fruit brews “tea’s”, a drink, remedy, or extract prepared by soaking tea leaves or herbs in liquid known as infusions or Tisane. The process of extracting certain active properties as with Tisanes are characterized or indicated by ingredients of plants parts, either the flower, leaves, flower, root, bark, seed and spices.

Very well known are Chamomile, Mint, Lavender and ginger infusions. These are single used plant parts, but often tisanes are made from multiple parts of the same plant or blends of several plant types and can be classified as medicinal.

While some tisanes have long histories of medicinal use, the well known infusions (e.g. Mint as refreshing and Lavender as a natural sleep aid) are popular consumed for enjoyment and relaxation. In Asia especially China, Chinese Traditional Medicine Tea’s are daily consumed as a part of lifestyle and for their medicinal effects and benefits since many recipes and/or blends are high in antioxidants and nutrients.

Camomile GouQi Zi Wellness Tea

Chamomile flower

There are two types of chamomile commonly used for teas, the “true” chamomile, or German chamomile, Matricaria recutita, which is most widely used and Roman chamomile, Chamaemelum nobile.

Chamomile medicinal benefits; boost the immune system, to help relaxing sleep aid, treatment for fevers, colds, stomach ailments, and as anti-septic an anti-inflammatory. As a child suffering bronchitis I was prescribed to use as a vapor it alleviates cold symptoms and asthma. Because of its medicinal properties and best known for its calming and soothing qualities, it is wonderful to sip just to ease away stress and discomfort.

In Chinese Chamomile tea 洋甘菊茶 Yánggānjú chá, to make a cup of Chamomile tea it’s important to use water that is very hot but not boiling because boiling water can destroy the therapeutic properties of the Chamomile herb. For more info on organic Chinese Chamomile Tea read full text here.

Known side effects of chamomile: “Like any supplement or herbal product, talk to your doctor before adding chamomile supplements to your diet. Potential interactions include: aspirin, NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen, sedatives and any blood thinning medication (Coumadin, Plavix, Pradaxa, aspirin, Lovenox). Chamomile has the potential to interact with other supplements”.

Chinese GouQi Zi 枸杞子

GouQi Zi 枸杞子 also called GoJi or wolfberries, is hugely important and popular herb used throughout Chinese cuisine, yields a number of health benefits used in Chinese traditional medicine. The Chinese Wolfberry is one of the most antioxidant-rich fruits around and has anti-aging properties, for greater benefit it is often used in combination with other herbs. GouQi Zi – GoJi berries have an orange-reddish color, the dried berries have a similar shape and chewy texture as raisins with a slight sweet -sour note giving a mild tangy aftertaste.

Modern research confirms Gou Qi Zi’s jack-of-all-trades status by demonstrating positive effects on the immune and cardiovascular systems, including an anti-neoplastic effect against cancer cells. So every time they trot out a new ancient “superfood” from the jungles of some exotic land to squash into some overpriced mega-ultra-power-bomb-health-drink, inform yourself thoroughly before splashing out the cash. For home made remedies just add few berries to your infusion, soups or stews cheap and cheerful, as for inspiration search for Chinese herbal medicine recipes.

As for the benefits of medicinal health tonics, for Westerners who are not familiar with Chinese medicines in general I would strongly suggest to visit a TCM doctor first before starting to experiment on yourself as a guinea pig. Herbal medicines have health benefits and side effects, if not properly used or wrong administration of herbal medicine causing danger to health.

Especially marketeers popularizing GoJi drinks and teas have not your health but high turnover as their objective, caution is needed as in consuming large quantities and possible drug interactions. “Too much of a good thing, can make you sick, it is Balance that matters most”.

For first time buyers in Europe I would recommend to visit qualified TCM practice, Chinese herbal medicine shops or Chinese Supermarkets rather than local Health Food stores. Health food stores purchases the product based on promising marketing information without proper knowledge yet of medicinal properties and uses. You can read more about GouQi Zi medicinal qualities and other Chinese herbs in English here for information.

Pineapple Ginger Mix – Fruit Juice recipe

May 5, 2014RongHua ChingJuices & Smoothie'sapples, Avocado, boost, Chia seeds, cucumber, extraction, fruit, fruit juice, Fruit juicer, ginger, nutrients, nutritious, Philips HR1861, pineapple, vitamins

Our fruit basket is mostly filled with hand fruit bananas, apples, avocados, grapefruit, oranges and a fresh pineapple. Last week a few of them still a tad unripe so I paired the bananas, avocado and pineapple to speed up the ripening process. The more perishable fruits are kept in the fridge, such as a big punnet of strawberries, raspberries. Yesterday we had a blended strawberry, raspberry, banana and yogurt smoothie for brunch. For this morning Fruit Juice Boost I opted to use my Philips HR1861 Whole fruit juicer instead to extract higher yield keeping all fruits nutritional values without waste. I have written a separate post on Fruit Juicer pro’s & con’s, just click to read the full story.

Don’t know whether you need to have a reason to start squeezing and extracting juice, but full ripe fruits sure needs to have your immediate attention to harvest nature’s nutrients at its prime. So this morning Fruit Juice Mix included; whole pineapple, the last avocado, two apples, 3 stalks celery, and half a cucumber founds it way through the feeding tube, added a knob of fresh ginger lastly, to give a zing to the mix.

Pineapple Ginger Mix

When everything went through the feeding tube into the centrifugal compartment, the juice river promptly flowed into the jug container yielding 400-500 ml of juice including a bit of foam (the bulk remained behind the divider in the plastic container jug). Poured myself a large glass (250 ml) for breakfast and kept the rest in the refrigerator for later use. The recipe is in the box down below.

wpid-pineapple-ginger-fruit-juice.jpg.jpeg

Pineapple Ginger Mix – Fruit Juice

Later in the day I prepared a triple sandwich for lunch and had the remainder Pineapple Ginger Mix poured into 2 glasses (200ml) with ¼ – ½ teaspoon of Chia seeds. Give it a good stir and let it stand it will turn the juice in viscous (thickening) fruit drink.

Now I have some great Grapefruits and Oranges left in the bowl, see for another great Fruit Juice. Click here for another Vitamine C Supercharger recipe with Citrus Boost with Grapefruit, Orange, Carrot and Ginger.

Monday Mail

May 5, 2014RongHua ChingUncategorized#inquisitive #mind #shakespeare, affirmation, coffee, Coffee talk, collaborative, daily, e-mail, hashtags, mail, monday, networking, platforms, positive, reveries, snippet, social, social media

MondayMail

Finally behind my desk and working my way through electronic Monday mail, social media platforms updates and other reads. In general I like my first mails, articles to be positive affirmation with follow through’s; focused to create where I can give my best and support collaborative networking.

The opposite occurred over the weekend where I supposed to read for relaxation and entertainment, instead totally got annoyed over stupid newspaper front page news. For the umpteenth time the story information was taken out of context and bashed by even more ignorant comments on social media platform.

Normally I wouldn’t give it a second thought, but reading through the comments it suddenly hit me how terrible ignorant people are willingly “not caring”; self-serving egoistical based on a form of entitlement of knowledge as long as it serves and fits their purposes. I don’t want to recall or spill another word, however I did realize in hindsight that it is a slow build-up of annoyance as micro-aggression towards unethical written journalism and Sales Marketing campaigns.

The best selling ad campaigns are all about creating and selling illusions, whether its based on truth, half-truth or fiction all dangerously based on emotions and greed. To entice and seduce consumers buying products they actually do not need or dressing up trying to alter personalities in make believe. Marketing teams, developers and their clients being large enterprises and companies are ruthless when it comes to corrupting the good in worship for money and fame. Manipulations of facts, numbers, colors, emotions, buying of authoritative voices, photo-shopping people and objects everything goes, not a moments thought to preserve innocence. Even if their would be a slight inclination to preserve innocence, no heroes around to protect. A fleeting moment because mankind will try to earn big bucks on that too, corrupt to the core.

The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources and services and when powerful words and/or sources should be interred suddenly internet is holy, but it is a big trap of truth, non-truths and lies. Information carried by renowned authors and scammers galore, as in life you have to sieve and weed through the information to get through the right answer(s), often not correct but with leads to move your search further. Whether your searching on-line or in daily life, we need to have an inquisitive mind and a healthy dose of common sense.

Week in Hashtags, reveries of an inquisitive mind, a poem by Shakespeare for this #mondaymail

“How happy some o’er other some can be!….
Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind.
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
Nor hath Love’s mind of any judgment taste—
Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste.
And therefore is Love said to be a child,
Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.
As waggish boys in game themselves forswear,
So the boy Love is perjured everywhere.”

Battery corrosion in the house

April 30, 2014RongHua ChingGadgets & Accesoriesalkaline, alkaline batter, appliances, battery, battery corrosion, chemical, computer, corrosion, daily snippet, household, leaking batteries, peripherals, reaction, tools, toys

…sigh….. 🙁 Was wondering why my keyboard mouse was not performing often annoying me at best. Every morning before I grab my cup of hot liquid I start up my PC with logging ritual, again no keyboard mouse contact, tried changing the USB connection would help sometimes (why I don’t know) fed up I unlocked the cap at the bottom.

Wohaa…in for a little surprise! While it only has been a couple months since I replaced the batteries, the whole inner cap and right side where covered in a white powdery dust.

The white powder seen on a leaked battery is Potassium Hydroxide that is used as electrolyte in alkaline battery or zinc/zinc oxide.

Leaking batteries

The composition of an Alkaline Battery is Manganese Dioxide, Zinc, Potassium Hydroxide – KOH – (35%), Graphite. When batteries are left unused for a long time or are damaged there is the possibility of a leakage visible as a white powder in correspondence of the battery’s electrode that is caused by the alkaline battery corrosion. Read the full article “How to clean Alkaline Battery corrosion“.

For the chemists among us, they know exactly what this chemical reaction means, for the ignorant like me, be cautious. Leaking batteries can be harmful to touch with bare hands, especially with large batteries wear gloves and dispose of immediately in designated battery waste containers but NOT in your regular waste disposal or garbage cans. Clean your hands afterwards the stuff can be harmful to our skin.

Battery corrosion in the house

In our urban world, every household uses some sort of battery operated appliances from household, computer peripherals, toys, electronics etc, we often think that all goes well but corrosion appears more often than we count them and we forget to check on a regular basis on their lifetime span. When we do it usually means it either has stopped working or has even corrupted the appliance or tool rendering it complete inoperable or damaged in worse case scenario.

Looking at alkaline battery corrosion mess; the keyboard mouse is daily in use, far from being a discarded item so it must have been a faulty battery at the very beginning. Really thought for a moment I had to buy new hardware, luckily the inner compartment of the mouse could easily be brushed off. For stubborn stains/deposit apparently, you can use water and vinegar and let it dry completely before using again. Apart from the water I even read an on-line response that even a can of Coke and an old toothbrush would do the trick with engine batteries. Gives another meaning to Coco Cola 2011 advertising slogan “Live begins here” 🙂

Rose Smokey Eyes by Kirei Makeup

April 28, 2014RongHua ChingBeauty and HealthBeauty, eye, eye make-up, eyes, make-up, Naked Palette, Naked Palette III., rose, rose smokey eyes, smokey, tutorial, UD Naked 3, Urban Decay

Last month I was browsing for specific graphics, when suddenly an unrelated thumbnail popped out while I was flashing through several overview pages. Since I was searching for social media the eye make-up was entirely unrelated but it must have been the colours in the grid which caught my eye, I browsed back to have a peek at this thumbnail.

That’s how I got in contact with Jilly, makeup artist of Kirei Makeup, Indonesian by origin, lived in Toronto and currently residing in Jamaica. It sounds like a great cocktail, one of my other weaknesses, I like to mix and Jilly understands blending magic as no other. Since beauty post is long overdue, I am introducing Jilly by what better way sharing her tutorial even better she is following up with a special guest post for Asianfoodtrail after she returns from her latest travel trip.

Rose Smokey Eyes with Urban Decay III Palette by Kirei Makeup

Read full tutorial post by clicking on the provided links above, visit her website to view her other tutorials.

Kirei Makeup, Rose smokey UD Naked 3 palette

All photo credits: Kirei Makeup

How-to:

1. I prepped my eyelids using Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin.

2. I applied Burnout on the inner third of my eyelid using the flat-end of the brush.

(I wiped away excess shadow on the brush on a clean towel before step 3)

3. Using the same brush, I applied Liar on the middle of the eyelid.

(I wiped away excess shadow on the brush on a clean towel before step 4 )

4. Again, using the same brush, I applied Mugshot on the outer third of my eyelid.

5. Using the blending-end of the brush, I blended the edge of the eyeshadow.

6. I applied Blackheart using a small crease brush on the outer V.

7. After wiping excess eyeshadow from the crease brush I used on step 6, I dragged Blackheart on to my crease, and blended it out.

: Kirei Makeup

: Rose Smokey Eyes with Kirei Makeup

8. Using a fluffy brush, I applied Limit right at the edge where Blackheart meets with my skin. This helps to blend out Blackheart, and make a nice transition to my skin.

9. I lined my waterline and tightline using L’oreal Voluminous Smoldering eyeliner. On the lower lid, I applied Mugshot using an angled eyeliner brush, then Blackheart very close to the roots of the lower lashes.

10. Then, I created a winged eyeliner on the upper lash line using L’oreal Super Liner Ultra Sharp Tip.

11. I curled my lashes and applied Buxom Lash mascara on both top and bottom lashes.

12. For extra drama, I added false lashes for extra length and volume. These falsies were samples from my friend, which is currently in production.

13. I filled my brows using a mix of Anastasia Brow Wiz in Ash Blonde and Brunette.

14. I applied Giorgio Armani Maestro foundation on my face, blending it using my fingers.

15. On my cheeks, I applied Revlon Cream Blush in Charmed Enchantment using a foundation brush.

16. Then, I applied MAC cream base in Pearl on top of my cheekbones, bridge of my nose, and cupid’s bow using my finger.

17. I applied MAC Please Me lipstick on my lips using a lip brush. Then, I added a little bit of L’occitane lip balm just to keep my lips moist since it’s so cold here in Canada!!!

18. My hair was set using a velcro rollers set and 1.5 in Chi curling iron.

If you like this tutorial by Kirei Makeup, give a thumbsup on Asianfoodtrail Facebook Page for Kirei’s Makeup upcoming tutorial and send Jilly a tweet @Kireimakeup!

The Soft Rose Smokey Eyes tutorial and photo looks was picked up and featured in the Urban Decay e-mail newsletter as well, try this look now.

YangMei Green smoothie with Avocado, yoghurt, chia seeds and yangmei syrup

April 24, 2014RongHua ChingJuices & Smoothie'sbreakfast, chia seed, energizer, good morning, green, on-the-go, smoothie, yangmei juice, yumberry juice

Good morning! Made this YangMei Green smoothie in advance, last night while cooking dinner. Preparing ahead makes it easier in the morning while you are in a hurry without missing a healthy breakfast on-the-go. To put super food “Chia seeds” in to action with more healthy recipes, I’m sharing another super booster with Avocado, greek yoghurt, chia seeds and home-made 杨梅 yángméi syrup.

YangMei Green Smoothie scroll down in the recipe box. (more…)

Train track, between Leiden – Amsterdam

April 23, 2014RongHua ChingCulture, TravelAmsterdam, canals, city-trip, commuting, Dutch scenery, housebarge, houseboats, Keukenhof, Leiden, river, spring, The Netherlands, touristic, train, train track, tulip, tulip bulb fields, waterways

It never is boring to travel by train especially when you can watch daily vibrant colors passing, during Spring time next to the train track between Leiden and Amsterdam in The Netherlands. While not a daily commuter, there hasn’t been a year gone by that I or many others will take a snapshot and forward it using their smartphone to share or post on a social media platform.

Of course, nothing changes since these bulb fields are there like forever, however upon seeing these colorful flowers starting to bloom everybody knows Spring has begun. It also signifies that Keukenhof has opened its doors for the public attracting busloads of tourists, the Garden of Europe, its fields lying along the train track. This train track scenery shows touristic Holland in a nutshell with the bulb fields, pasture, windmills and waterways.

The photos were taken on the train while travelling back home from Amsterdam to Leiden, you can scroll down or watch the featured photos in the slider here above in the gallery. One of the images shows a common dwelling Dutch houseboats or barge often to be seen along many rivers and canals. Many tourists or adventurers looking at these vessels can not help themselves but just wonder, just if or how’s “living on a Dutch barge” will be.

Why not undertake something adventurous and different by planning your next city trip, rent a Dutch private houseboat in Amsterdam. You don’t need to take a leap but satisfy your curiosity and search for possibilities click on the previous link and here to find out more and who knows where you might end up next.

Train track View

Tulip flowers bulb fields

Dutch houseboat or barges along the many rivers and canals in The Netherlands

White flower bulbs galore

flower bulb fields red and yellow

water ways between flower bulb fields.jpg

Many waterways between the flower bulb fields

Vibrant yellow flower landscape

Rapidly changing from one colour moving on to the next field

Tulip field cultivation with new bulbs.jpg

Preparing a new field to sow with a new tulip colour

Train view between the tulip bulb fields.jpg

A view between the fields with small communities

Train track view with water, land, houses and windmills.jpg

Passing by Dutch waters, land, houses and windmills

Variously changing landscape of fields and housing jpg

Train track rotational sight of fields and more fields

country view peek along the train track.jpg

a quick country view peek

Keukenhof 2014 has reached a new record with a total of 1 million visitors and a new tulip named “Cathay” was baptized by Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese president Xi Jinping before Xi takes part in the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague. Overnight the Cathay Tulip bulbs demand soared for delivery with new export orders to China. China now boasts its own flower park modelled after Keukenhof, for the Dutch flower industry a booming export business.

Silken tofu Smoothie with strawberries & banana

April 22, 2014RongHua ChingJuices & Smoothie'sbanana, calcium, consistency, energizer, high iron, kinugoshi tōfu, low-calorie, lowGI, magnesium, nen dou fu, nutrients, power booster, protein, proteins, silken tofu, smoothie, soft dou-fu, soy yoghurt, strawberries, sundubu, 嫩豆腐, 純豆腐, 絹漉し豆腐, 순두부

Energizing boost to start your workday, pre- or after workout, full of nutrients and proteins. Fresh fruits and Silken Tofu makes this a wonderful breakfast, a powerbooster and great muscle energizer after a fitness workout.

Tofu has a low calorie count, relatively large amounts of protein, and little fat. It is high in iron and depending on the coagulant used in manufacturing, may also be high in calcium or magnesium. The perfect low-fat, low-cholesterol fresh ingredient suitable for everyone in any diet.

Silken Tofu in Smoothie’s
Using tender soft-tofu has become one of my regular ingredients in my own smoothie concoctions, I prepare this for breakfast or more often after a gym workout. After having read many advices and recommendation for protein powder based shakes I thought why not use fresh soybean milk or silken tofu instead, combined with seasonal fresh fruits or frozen berries. For a sugar sweetener variation I use honey, Torani almond syrup or non-caloric substitute Stevia, you will find the preparation in the recipe box here under. If you can not find the silken tofu or unavailable in your local toko or Chinese supermarket, you can substitute silken tofu with soy yoghurt but not with blocks of dou fu (beancurds). Although both derived from soybean it has different textures.

: Silken tofu tube

: Fresh fruits or frozen berries mix

: Sweetener substitute

Silken tofu information

Soft or silken tofu is named 嫩豆腐 nen dou fu in Chinese, “soft or “smooth tofu”; 絹漉し豆腐, kinugoshi tōfu in Japanese and “silk-filtered tofu”; 순두부, 純豆腐, sundubu in Korean. More recipes will follow soon from mentioned cuisines as well as healthy recipes starting with the powerboost Strawberry-Tofu smoothie. Soft tofu, a custard like appearance has a soft and very light consistency than regular tofu. In terms of firmness the very opposite of regular tofu, silken tofu crumbles immediately. Therefore an ideal ingredient for use in protein smoothies, vegetarian dishes as in dips, baking or sauce thickening agent.

: Add ingredients in blender

: Blend together 45sec -1min (if adding ice-cubes)

Both silken and regular tofu can be found in soft, medium, firm and extra firm packaging. Dou fu also known as bean curd is derived from soy beans and a staple food in many east-Asian and south-east Asian cuisines, but they are processed slightly differently, and are not interchangeable in a recipe. Dou fu has a subtle flavour and is used in sweet and savoury dishes adaptable to almost all cooking techniques and appeals to vegan and non-vegan whether it is raw or cooked.

Note: A personal preference, I listed ice-cubes optional because all ingredients were taken straight from the refrigerator and cooled between 5°- 7°C. It’s a well known fact that blood vessels widen and narrow due to body temperature conditions. After a workout, headaches and belly cramps do not need “ice-cold”.

Over the years I have collected quite a few cooking books, several focusing on 豆腐 dou-fu, my latest purchase is a very informative and comprehensive guide titled ‘Asian Tofu‘; Discover the Best, Make Your Own, and Cook it at Home by Andrea Nguyen in English. Describing techniques for DIY home-cook in making home made dou fu or just cooking one of the featured 75 recipes.