Dinner for fatty hubby

Welcome back fatty!

Well, it's not like he's been away for that long. But I do kinda miss him when he's not around (^^).

Anyways, I still have lots of food to clear before our short holiday to Osaka. So I decided to make whatever's available and clear some space in the fridge and kitchen.

And this is what I came up with tonight ~ a weird combo of japanese, western and asian dishes for dinner. Here's my "cheat" dinner.

Japanese potato salad with boiled eggs (my version)

5 medium potatoes, boiled and mash or leave it cubed (according to own preference)

2 boiled eggs, mashed

Some carrot, minced or finely sliced (optional)

Some minced japanese cucumber, minced or finely sliced (optional)

Some sweet corn (from can, optional)

Salad cream to taste 

This is my cheat version of the japanese potato salad using salad cream. Just mix everything up and voila! you have japanese potato salad! I added boiled eggs because I like the thought of eggs in my salad like in caesar salad, and to make this salad creamier (not to mention higher in calories!). By the way, the salad cream and sweet corn's from the tuna pasta dinner.. yup, it's been sitting in the fridge and freezer that long!

Luncheon meat with yellow onions

Luncheon meat, diced
Yellow onions, sliced

A super easy dish. Just stir-fry eveything together till onions are soft and cooked. No need to add oil. Luncheon meat has lots of fat already!

Normally, you would not find luncheon meat in the house.. or instant noodles. Not that I don't enjoy them, but I'm trying REALLY hard not to eat so much processed meat, preservative and MSG-laced food. I think we get enough of those whenever we eat out as it is. So I avoid keeping them at home for fear of the "easy-way out" temptation. But these are really leftovers from my quiche bake a few days ago.. And luncheon meat with onions is really quite quite wonderful with rice! Luncheon meat is wonderful with anything, and on its own too.. sigh! STOP! I really can't have too much of it!

nicely balanced, sweet onions and salty luncheon meat

And my final piece de resistance ~ lightly boiled tomatoes (^^)

Well, this may not be the most balanced of meals. But I did what I could with the limited resources that I have in the kitchen. I wish I had some greens, but greens don't keep very well. And I was too lazy to go the the store to get some.. guess tomatoes will just have to do!

Does this look like breakfast with rice to you? I did say it was an "exotic" dinner, didn't I? (^^)

Cheat's dinner! Or breakfast, minus rice..

Korean cucumber salad (Oi namul)

Another all time favorite of everyone except baby pig and me.

oinamul

If you like garlic and korean side dishes, this is a refreshing, crisp and easy salad to make. Best served chilled.

japanese cucumber, garlic, sesame oil. gochugaru

This is a pungent dish, so beware. But it is also easy to make. You would most likely have all the ingredients at home already. Replace or omit gochugaru with other chili powder if you don't have it. This salad would still be as tasty without chili powder, toasted sesame seeds or spring onion. So don't worry about it. It's the garlic and good sesame oil that makes it special.

Oinamul (adapted from korean favorites)

4 japanese cucumbers, sliced into discs (choose long, thin ones)
1 1/2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp gochugaru chili powder
1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
1 spring onion, chopped (optional)

1. Combine cucumber and salt, and mix well. Set aside for 30 minutes. Then rinse in cold water and drain well. Squeeze out excess water from cucumber with your hands.

2. Combine all other ingredients together. Mix thoroughly into cucumbers. Cover in plastic wrap and chill cucumbers for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve with spring onion.

Easy, right? However today's attempt has kinda of failed, as I overdosed on salt and left the cucumber marinating in salt too long. As big pig puts it, it's more like a pickle than a salad (> <). Still my best guinea pig, big pig likes it. Fatty hubby too.

Salty, but edible.

No cook creamy tuna pasta

Finally! I have my salad cream and I'm all set.

Another super duper easy dinner. No cooking required. Just throw the tuna chunks, sweet corn and salad cream together. And we are done! Oops, the pasta..

I like salad cream. Add lots.. oops! I mean enough. The mixture should be on the creamy side. Add to pasta. Season with some chilli flakes.. and tuck in!

I really like the simplicity of this pasta. It's light and sweet (corns), with a hint of tang (salad cream). And it's really refreshing especially served chilled on a hot day. For a balanced meal, add some salad greens.

This pasta is so easy, no recipe needed. Once you've tasted it, you'll remember for life and can make this anywhere, anytime. I know, because my chubby big brother made it for me once long, long time ago and it's stuck since.

Make extra, it's that good! (^^)

It's plate-licking good!

Potatoes with butter and soy sauce

They say failure to plan is a sure way to fail. 

I say 'even with a plan, failure still comes my way!' My 'I'm invincible and surer-than-sure' attitude landed me in a mess today. What I was so sure was salad cream turned out to be mayonaise! (><) And with that no tuna pasta today.

What I did make, turned out to be something even better! Potatoes with butter and soy sauce from Makiko Itoh in just hungry. And it's so easy (^^)

Sorry, too lazy to re-type the recipe again. You should be able to read this or head over to just hungry.

As usual, I tweaked the recipe a bit by adding carrots to make it a more balanced meal. I also added meatballs (from IKEA) during the last 15 minutes of the bake because I was too lazy to cook them. 

Everything turned out beautifully!

The combination of butter with soy sauce is just heavenly. Ok, so I added way too much butter.. how do you measure 2 tablespoons of butter, anyways? I'll just have to remember to use less next time. 

Oh, yes, there will be a next time! And many many other next time.. This is a keeper!