Put the pre-fried you tiao on a paper kitchen towel, and put into a toaster to toast at low heat (watch that it don’t burn it).  The heat make the you tiao release the oil and in turn absorbed by the paper kitchen towel.

This a very simple dish, when you want to get something out easily without messing out your kitchen.  This can be use as side dish for your western steak main course.

Ingredients (adjust the amount to your liking)

1. ½  broccoli
2. ¼ cauliflower
3. 1 carrot
4. ½  teaspoon salt
5. ½ teaspoon sugar
6. 1 tablespoon oil (I prefer olive oil, healthier)

Method

1. Wash broccoli and cauliflower and cut into smaller pieces
2. Peel carrot and cut into slices.
3. Rinse the inside of a cooking pot (with thick bottom, to spread out the heat better) with water to wet the inside. First put in cauliflower and then carrot and then broccoli (in this order as cauliflower need more heat to cook compare to broccoli)
4. Cover with a fitting lid, and put on stove with very very low flame.  (we do not want to burn the vegetables, but using the water content to create steam and slowly cook the vegetables)
5. Do not open while cooking, steam will start emerging after about 10 mins, and leave it to cook for another 3 mins after the steam emerge.   (or 5 mins if you like it softer)
6. Open lid, drip in the oil and sprinkle the salt and sugar, stir well and serve.

Ingredients (Serve 4-5)

1. 1 ½ cup brown Rice (red or brown, or you may use white rice)
2. 2 litres Water
3. 100 grams silverfish
4. 300 grams Pork ribs
5. 150-200 grams raw peanut
6. 8 red dates
7. 1 tablespoon wolf berry (枸纪子) - optional
8. 3-4 sticks of dry huai san (淮山) - optional
9. Salt to taste.

Method

1. Put peanut in a bowl and pour hot boiling water over it and soak for 30 mins. Drain dry.
2. Rinsed rice, and the rest of the ingredients (except salt).
3. Put rice, peanut, pork ribs, silver fish, red dates, wolf berry, huai san into pot with water to boil.
4. Once boil, simmer in very low heat for 2-3 hours.
5. Add salt to taste.

You may use slow cooker and cook it over night and have porridge for breakfast the next morning.

This is probably not the original Swiss way (not sure how to cook it), but this way works.  Good for snack, or with some sausage as a meal.

Ingredients

1. 2-3 large potato
2. 2 tablespoon cooking oil (or butter)
3. ½ teaspoon salt
4. dash of pepper

Method

1. Peel potato, and cut them into thin strips 1-3 mm, or grate it. Wash to get rid of some starch and drain dry. Mix in the salt and pepper.
2. Heat up a flat frying pan (non stick better), put in cooking oil, and add in the potato strips.  Flatten it into a pan cake.
3. Cover with lid and cook with low heat for 10 mins (to cook the potato)
4. Open cover and up the heat to medium and fry till golden crust is form at the bottom.
5. Optional, you can also brown the other side by flipping it over, which is a bit challenging.
6. Serve on plate with the crust side up.
7. Serve with ketchup.

Sorry, the picture shows a little burn, not intended.

Ingredients (serve 2 bowls)

1. 2 tablespoon Miso paste
2. 2 bowls water
3. 1/2 tube or block of soft bean curd
4. 2 sticks of dried wakame (japanese seaweed)

Method

1. Soak wakame till soft. Rinse briefly to remove any sand or dust. (Very fast)
2. Cut bean curd into small cubes (1/2 cm)
3. Boil 2 bowls of water, add in bean curd and wakame to light boil and simmer for 5-10 mins.
4. Put in Miso paste and off fire and keep it cover for 10 mins.
5. Open and stir, serve hot.

Note: Some Miso paste is indicated as Dashi paste (I’m not very good at Japanese, but it is written as だし (dashi) and not みそ (miso).  Dashi paste are miso paste where other ingredients, usually Konbu (kelp) or fish, added to make the soup tastier.  It’s ok to use plain miso or dashi, although dashi is tastier.

Suitable for vegetarian if vegetarian dashi is used.

Nutritious for toddlers too, since miso is pack with nutrients, but I was told not to boil it.