Almond Jelly and Mix Fruit

Nothing is better than a chilled fruit salad after a heavy meal or as a snack on a very hot day. This is the first and only Chinese-style dessert I make at home. This is very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 14 g agar agar
• 8 cups water
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 1 tsp almond essence
• 1 can of fruit cocktail
• 1 kiwi, diced
• 1 apple, diced

Steps:

1. Wash, soak and drain the agar agar.
2. In a saucepan add water, sugar and agar agar and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until all the ingredients are dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the stove.
3. Stir in the milk and almond essence.
4. Filter the liquid through a sieve then leave to set.
5. Once the almond jelly has solidified, slice it into diamond shapes.
6. Place pieces into a bowl and pour the fruit cocktail on top.
7. 
   

   Add fresh kiwi and apple pieces. Stir well and serve chilled.

You can replace apple and kiwi with any seasonal fruit. Try it in in July with lychees and pineapple! It makes a delicious sweet combo.

For a tastier summer dessert try lychees and orange with a dash of cointreau (orange-flavoured liqueur) and a freshly squeezed lime juice. Yummy!

About my menus

The quantity of ingredients used in my recipes is usually for 3-4 persons.

Each dinner-menu consists of 3 courses: 1 soup  + 1 main dish + 1 vegetable

For health reason (my husband's cholesterol level is marginally high) I avoid dairy products and eggs and only use olive oil.

I never use artificial broth. If a recipe needs broth (chicken or beef) and I have no time to make my own, I replace it with water.

I try to use as much as possible fresh vegetables instead of tin/can ones. However, sometimes for practical reasons (to gain time) I would buy pulses (kidney beans, butter beans, garbanzo, etc) in can.

Soups:

Amount of water required: 6 rice bowls (see photo below) which makes about 4-5 serving bowls.

I recommend scalding meat in boiled water for a few minutes (to remove grease) before preparing the soup.

Rice bowl (250 ml)

Main dishes:

We have a vegeterain main dish at least twice a week and a vegetarian meal once a week.

Vegetables:

I order organic vegetables from Hong Chi Homestead (a Social Enterprise which is run by Hong Chi Association) and I also buy from wet markets and supermarkets. I prefer to buy seasonal vegetables rather than those which are not in season. Our vegetables are either parboiled and pan-fried or stir-fried (in a wok - Chinese style) with ginger and garlic.

Steamed-Rice:

I alternate brown rice and white rice. I add 1 whole clove of garlic in the rice cooker to give flavour.

Fruit / Desserts: It is said and I believe it that fruit are best eaten between meals (or at least 1 hour before).   We usually don't have cakes/dessert in the evening (unless special occasion).

  

Bread:

I make my own bread. Clik here for recipe.