Teczcape-An Escape to Food

It's back to grain bowls, veggie bowls, protein bowls whatever you call it, once again

Almost like this Broccoli, Green Beans Noodle Salad without gluten-free high-protein noodles, this Broccoli, Green Beans Chicken Breast Protein Bowl is made from leftover rotisserie chicken which to-date is still my family's best wallet-friendly time-saving meal-prep that I am going to repeat for as long as my website is kept alive. Besides, rotisserie chicken is very versatile Broccoli Cauliflower Chicken Quinoa Bowl, 20-minute Chicken Salad, Chicken Salad Sandwich/Wrap, Chicken Collard Wraps.

Do you currently own an electric food steamer? Food steamers is one of my most-often utilized small kitchen appliance in the kitchen.

A turkey lunch or dinner plate with all things "Thanksgiving" - turkey, green beans, Brussel sprouts, pomegranate, persimmon, sweet potato. These ingredients are all in-season during the month of November.


Honestly not much effort (oh, isn't that all we want ? ) putting together this meal plate, so that we can all enjoy delicious food without breaking any sweat. Besides ready-cooked turkey breast that was store-bought, the vegetables and sweet potatoes were prepared and cooked at home - veggies steamed, and sweet potatoes roasted.

Tempeh with Green Beans is a must-order side-dish whenever I visit Muslim/Halal food stalls. With other side-dishes e.g. curry vegetables, begedil, sambal kangkong - they pair so well with rice.


Following this fry/stir-fry method, I am trying the oven-method today to prepare this meatless protein entree, that can be best enjoyed with salad or veggie bowls e.g. Tempeh Veggie Bowl.

The major difference between this Cabbage, Woodear Mushrooms Salad and the regular raw veggie salad is: these finely julienned/thinly sliced vegetables (including the mushrooms) are blanched to cook - vegetables become warm, tender and infuses deeper with sesame oil-based dressing.

During the cold winter months, we still have our vegetables but MAKE IT BETTER.

YESsss! Spice them up!

Vegetables curries like this Roasted Vegetables Spiced Curry or Sayur Lodeh-style Vegetable Curry are exceptionally satisfying during this time of the year as the spices warm us up from the inside (our belly!) to the outside.


This is an easy one-pot recipe for a comforting mildly-spiced vegetable curry.

Mango means summer, summer means mango.

Mango puts up a summer theme today and brings in sweetness to complement this savory veggie chicken salad bowl made from broccoli, green beans and chicken. Try any of these veggie chicken combinations e.g. Broccoli Cabbage Chicken Salad or Broccoli Chicken with Corn and Sweet Potatoes , add juicy sweet mangoes to it and you got a fresh summery salad.

This assorted vegetables pasta/noodle salad bowl is a great summer option when you want something light yet able to fill in protein, the meatless way. When I use protein-based pasta/noodles (e.g. Explore Cuisine Bean Pasta), I prefer to make the entire dish vegetarian - allowing the plant-based protein to take center-stage.

Today, this Greens and Bean-Pasta Noodle Salad Bowl, is made with greens variety- broccoli, green beans and leafy kale. The vegetables are totally interchangeable, depending on what you have, so feel free to get creative.

Vegetarian option

Other vegetarian meatless recipes made with Explore Cuisine Bean Pasta:
Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine Veggie Salad Bowl
Gluten-Free Bean Pasta with (more) Beans and Veggies
Bean Pasta with Vegetarian Tofu Curry

With more antioxidants and protein than other beans, black soybean (the black variety of soybeans) is powerhouse plant-based protein, great for making nutritionally balanced vegetarian veggie bowl-meals or grain bowl-meals.

Saratoga Farmers Market right by West Valley College has one of the freshest variety of produce including seafood. Ever since I chanced upon this seafood stall in the market, bought (and tried) the Alaskan wild salmon, I never want to buy salmon belly or salmon collar from the Japanese supermarkets anymore. Usually I go for the belly and collar because these cuts of the salmon are hard to find in the regular stores such as Whole Foods Market, or Sprouts Farmers Market.

This healthy bowl-meal is nutritious and well-balanced with steamed veggies - mix of broccoli, zucchini, yellow and green beans, roasted purple potatoes and roasted (farmer's market!) salmon.

Veggie Bowl with Roasted Purple Potatoes and Roasted Salmon Collar

All else remains the same in building veggie and grain bowl-meals - start with a base of veggies (keep it plenty. use a variety), switch around the protein options (meat or meatless), and opt for whole grains or complex carbs.

Today, the protein feature is Roasted/Grilled Salmon Collar which is great source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids and collagen. Personally, the collar is my favorite cut of fresh wild salmon, just the right amount of flesh and fats ratio. It is not as "meaty"as the fillet, and so rich in flavor (when there's fat and bones, there is flavor!). It's not easy to fail in roasting salmon collars (the fat protects it!) and be guaranteed with delicate, moist tender flesh every time.

Japanese dried radish is mild-flavored and relatively sweet than saltish compared to its Chinese counterpart preserved turnips/radish (菜圃 Cai-Pu). Mildly-sweet coming from the concentrated sugars in daikon when it is being dried, this dried radish can be used in egg omelettes and stir-fry vegetables.


I recalled a wok-fried green beans dish served in a vegetarian restaurant that does a vegetarian version of wok-fried/stir-fried green beans (干煸四季豆) with dried radish. This meatless dish is a delicious copy of the real deal typically briskly wok-fried with ground meat in high heat and hot oil.

To have it home-cooked, what is a less-grease, fuss-free way to achieve restaurant-style light char on the streaky green beans yet retaining the moist succulence of the green beans?

Ever thought of a soupy grain bowl?

This wacky idea came to me during winter - anything I could do for a bowl of piping hot food, I will; yet staying true to the routine (of salad grain bowls). I make warm salad grain bowls quite regularly but there are still times especially when the temperature hit the low 40Fs; when warm food does not suffice and hot food is desperately desired.

Under normal circumstances, the leftover rice and rotisserie chicken would be re-heated and served with steamed vegetables to prepare grain bowls such as Asparagus Chicken Quinoa Bowl or Broccoli, Cauliflower Chicken Quinoa Bowls.


But, what if Chicken Rice Soup can be prepared instantly, in less than 10 mins? What next?

Beans on beans, pulses or more pulses. What do you say? Plant-protein power! Made from organic edamame and mung bean, Explore Cuisine's gluten-free fettuccine* carries the leftover bean "sauce" very well and makes a nice warm veggie pasta lunch on a cool breezy day. Alternatively, make a quick chickpea salad, toss it with pasta and save this pasta salad or Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine Veggie Salad Bowl for the hot summer days.


This bean fettuccine* on its own tastes very flavorful, warm or at room temperature (cooked and allowed to cool a few minutes). Personally, I enjoy the natural bean flavor of this pasta as it shines through without any sauce, just like this Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine Veggie Salad Bowl.

With salad and grain bowls incorporated into our family meals, there are endless possibilities to switch up the vegetables, grains and proteins.

For choice of meat proteins in our family, it is usually (almost surely) chicken e.g. Steamed Vegetables with Quinoa and Rotisserie Chicken Bowl , Asparagus and Cauliflower with Quinoa and Chicken; and for seafood-based protein, it can be either fish or shrimps e.g. Avocado, Radish, Mixed Veggies and Shrimp Bowl. Other times, it might be as basic as - one egg, like in this Mixed Veggies, Mushrooms and Egg Salad.


Of course, there are also meatless protein options e.g. tofu, tempeh. As my homemade protocol, a meal-salad bowl is made up (at least 50% of the bowl) with mostly vegetables - salad greens always on the bottom, then built up with hardier vegetables (can be steamed or raw) such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, green cabbage, red cabbage, zucchini and red onions. Based on the seasons, I also like to add fruits e.g. nectarines and berries during summer, apples during the autumn months; kiwi and oranges in winter.

As much as I want to capture drool-worthy moments with my camera (or should I say, cellphone?), making/cooking healthy nutritious flavorsome meals with the simplest cooking method (e.g. steaming, roasting) has taken its priority in the past months.


With bountiful autumn harvest of squash in the grocery stores right now, pick any variety, roast it and use it for a warm salad like this one I am featuring today.

Salad-bowl meal is becoming standard lunch routine at least twice a week in my family. Not only it is healthy and nutritious, it is also a balanced meal if you build it correctly. This is also a great way to incorporate the day's veggie and fiber intake.

The more often I make salad-bowl meals e.g. Chicken, Veggies and Potatoes with Turmeric Dressing, Mixed Green Salad and Egg with Avocado Dressing, the easier it gets.

This is typically how I create my salad-bowl meals with an emphasis on vegetables, packed along with lean proteins, fiber-packed grains and good fats.


Vegetables - Target a variety by using colors e.g. red (bell peppers, beets), orange(carrots), yellow (corn), green(broccoli, green beans, zucchini), purple (cabbage) etc.

Proteins - Egg is typically my first choice as it is the easiest complete protein to prepare. Add legumes/beans, tofu/tempeh, or your choice of lean protein (e.g. chicken breast, wild salmon, sardines)

Grains /complex carbohydrates - Quinoa, millet, potatoes,sweet potatoes, brown rice, wheat pasta, legumes/beans, lentils

Good Fats - extra-virgin olive oil which typically manifests as the salad dressing; avocado which can also be salad dressing or stand-alone as an element to the salad bowl. Lean protein such as salmon or sardines is also a form of good (omega-3) fats.

French green beans with garlic is simply delicious and fragrant, and it has become a standard way to cook French green beans (Haricot Verts) in my kitchen.


Rules can sometimes be broken or flexed to seek something better. Why not try spicing it up with chili? Not as if it is something new. Would sambal chili be appropriate? Not just appropriate but good is this spicy garlic French green beans.

Do you ever use frozen whole French green beans? I tried, after reading Epicurious.com - 11 Trader Joe's Products We Can't Live Without and thought that the frozen Haricot Verts is indeed a good find (after trying Trader Joes frozen artichoke hearts). Not only they are great value for money, vegetables when frozen right (e.g. frozen at source when fresh, flash-freezing locks the vegetables in a relatively nutrient-rich state) also retains nutrients better. Frozen vegetables also cuts prep. time as you now do not need to rinse and cut/chop the vegetables. Experts now say that flash freezing retains more nutrients than store-bought

What frozen vegetables do you keep in your freezer?

Tempeh is one ingredient that I have only cooked twice in the span of almost ten years! I should use it more often as it packs a punch of benefits as a source of vegetarian protein, even better with higher protein and fiber than tofu. Similar to tofu, tempeh is a soy product; however the main difference lies in the fact that tempeh is cultured and fermented while tofu is not.

The nutty taste, firm and chewy texture and nutritional benefits of tempeh is rather unique on its own.


Tempeh with long beans/green beans also brings back my childhood memories as a must-order item at the Malay-rice stall in the school canteen. With feelings and memories of this childhood dish, I decided to give it a shot again, probably working on the sauce/gravy that pulls the tempeh and green beans together.

Remember this Sausage and Chard Saute? You can serve them as a side-dish with rice, or toss with pasta to make a one-dish pasta meal. But hey, did we miss out breakfast?

A similar dish can also be made into an egg scramble, bulking up with green beans and shrimps, a perfect way to bump up some proteins for breakfast.


It may look like a lot of sausages (photo above) but it is not.

Usually I fry up just one sausage to render out some fat. Then use half for a scramble like this and the other half to saute with greens. The sausage is to flavor the dish and not to function as the main protein.

Oh did you just hear ONE sausage? Yes, one sausage and I even have to have a divided use on that! The advantage of buying from a store like Sprouts Farmers Market which stocks up on fresh hand-made sausages (without nitrates, without MSG) is that you can buy it by the bulk and in my case, just one. And may I add - buy one, no questions asked.

What makes a Nasi Lemak your Nasi Lemak? What makes it work for you?


Some say it is the coconut rice. Fail the coconut rice and fail Nasi Lemak. Or is it the sambal chili? Oh yes, it is the sambal chili! Imagine Nasi Lemak without chili? A deal-breaker for me.


What makes Nasi Lemak? It is the ikan bilis and peanuts!


It is the cucumber! It is the egg! and for the egg - will it be hard-boiled? fried egg? sunny-side up?

I have been using more and more onions in my everyday cooking. From 2-3 medium-size onions for every week's grocery shopping, to 4-6 onions. With an average of half or more onion used in any single dish, the onions in my pantry can be used up really fast!

Onions contain flavonoids such as quercetin and anthocyanins, with anti-inflammatory benefits. Not only onions offer a range of health benefits, they easily flavor a simple stir-fry of carrots and green (French) beans so well!


This easy Stir-Fry Carrots & French Beans 清炒胡萝卜 is inspired by Little Corner of Mine's Easy Stir-Fried Carrots. I never thought of using carrots as the main ingredient in a side dish. This is indeed budget-friendly, nutritious and tasty!


To scale up to a one-dish, add more greens such as kale and add more bulk by adding green beans. Then add noodles and out comes a one-dish stir-fry noodles!

Sharing with Hearth and Soul.

Other French Beans recipes:
Garlic Haricot Verts
French Beans,Woodear Mushrooms and Ginger Stir-Fry
Garlic French Beans with Toasted Sesame Seeds
French Beans Egg Fritters

Tag: vegetarian noodles, stir fry carrots