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Chinese Sausage Fried Rice (Lop Cheung Chow Fan)

The Sunshine Inn Blog1 Comment

Chinese Sausage Fried Rice (Lop Cheung Chow Fan)

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Chinese food, especially fried rice, is often considered a comfort food. I have personally made fried rice in many variations, and yet could never quite get the flavour when you go to chinatown and get it there. This recipe came close. With a few modifications, this is what we came up with.

Ingredients


– 3 Chinese sausage (cook as recommended on package)
– 1 large white onion (chopped)
– 5 cups of cooked white rice (preferable cooled to room temperature)
– 3/4 tsp of salt
– 1/4 tsp of sugar
– 2 tbsp of hot water
– 1/2 tsp of sesame oil (essential)
– 2 tbsp of soy sauce
– 1/2 tsp of white pepper
– 3 tbsp of vegetable oil
– 3 eggs (beaten)
– 1 cup of frozen green peas (thawed to room temperature)
– 1 cup of bean sprouts
– 2 scallions (chopped)
– 1 tbsp of soy sauce

Directions

  1. Prepare your Chinese sausage, onion and rice.
  2. In a small bowl, add salt, sugar, water, sesame oil, 2 tbsp of soy sauce, white pepper, mix well and set aside.
  3. Heat your wok over medium heat and spread 1 tbsp of oil around the perimeter of your wok.
  4. Add the beaten eggs and scramble them in the wok, breaking them into small pieces with your spatula. Once cooked, transfer them to a bowl and set aside.
  5. Add Chinese sausage and fry for 20 seconds.
  6. Add chopped onion and stir-fry for another 1-2 minutes until translucent.
  7. Add the remaining oil and add rice. Use your metal or wooden spatula to flatten out and break up any clumps. (I tend to do that before hand with wet hands). Keep moving it around to heat thoroughly and prevent sticking.
  8. Once the rice is warm, pour sauce mixture evenly over the rice. Mix rice in a scooping motion for 1-2 minutes.
  9. Add the cooked egg, frozen peas, bean sprouts and stir fry for 2 minutes.
  10. Add the scallions and another tbsp of soy sauce and mix well. Stir fry for another minute or so.
  11. Serve hot.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 455
  • Fat 24 g
  • Sugar 3 g
  • Carbohydrates 43 g
  • Protein 16 g
  • Fibre 2 g

As you see the recipe is quite simple. The fat content is a little high and a lot of it has to do with the Chinese sausage. If that is a concern, you can change it to cooked chicken or even pork. The sodium content is also high. As is, using regular soy sauce and Chinese sausage you are looking at 759 mg per serving. That’s up there. I used sodium reduced soy sauce. I personally found this recipe to lack soy sauce but I’m not a good judge. I even add some at the Chinese restaurant, so you be the expert with your plate. It’s easier to add some than take it away.

We serve it with a bowl of won ton soup and steamed veggies on the side. Makes for a complete balanced meal. You can serve it as a side dish with whatever other main course you are in the mood for. So, I hope you have fun and make this your own.

Taco Salad

The Sunshine Inn Blog2 Comments

Taco Salad

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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THIS IS NOT GOOD IF YOU ARE COUNTING CALORIES. This is a good salad, a little high in calories but hey once in a while, you have to say, ok, I will indulge. I started this recipe as this was something I had in a restaurant but their version was 1000 so I did all I could to reduce it. I have a few more tricks that I will mention in closing. So let’s get to it.

Ingredients

  • 1 package of Taco Seasoning Mix (Old El Paso)
  • 1 cup of cooked black beans (if you use canned, make sure to rinse)
  • 1 lb of extra lean ground beef
  • 45 grams or 1.5 ounces of Cheddar Cheese (reduced fat)
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 avocado
  • 3 corn on the cob
  • 1 cup of Salsa (Herdez Salsa)
  • 1 cup of Cilantro chopped
  • 2 cup of Spinach
  • 2 cup of Cooked white rice
  • 2 jalapeño chopped (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Put tortilla shells in mold and cook for 10-12 minutes
  3. In a boiling pot of water cook corn for 10-12 minutes.
  4. Once cooked, rinse with cold water to stop cooking and shuck.
  5. In a pan, brown the ground beef and make sure to loosen.
  6. Add Taco mix and cook using directions on package.
  7. Now is assembly, shell, put in rice at bottom, put black beans, taco mixture. Then top with corn, onion, jalapeño, avocado, cheese, cilantro, spinach and salsa.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 622 each
  • Fat 18.9 g
  • Sugar 2.6 g
  • Carbohydrates 82.8 g
  • Protein 31.7 g
  • Fibre 8.3 g

I started making this at home ironically because I had left over rice and thought of the salad we sometimes have at the mexican restaurant. Want to save time, everything can be prepared ahead of time. Just don’t cut your avocado until the last moment or you can use guacamole. If you want to save some calories, omit the rice at the bottom. I usually use my own salsa which is made to my taste and heat level. I’ve seen this recipe done with refried beans instead of black beans, and brown rice instead of white rice. The possibilities are endless, you can use fish, chicken, pork, completely vegetarian, beyond meat, anything. Let your imagine go, have fun and make it your own.

Sole Asparagus with Pesto Sauce

The Sunshine Inn Blog1 Comment

Sole Asparagus with Pesto Sauce

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Sole is a fish that most people like. It isn’t strong in taste. It is quick to prepare. Low calorie to boot. Here is a quick recipe that can dress up a plate like no other.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb of sole thinly sliced
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • 24 spears of aspargus
  • 2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 4 tbsp of lemon juice
  • 1 cup of white sauce (see link)
  • 1 tbsp of pesto paste or you can make a quick pesto with 1/2 cup of chopped basil, 4 minced garlic cloves and 1 tbsp of oil
  • 1 lemon cut into 8 slices

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Season sole to taste.
  3. Place lemon slices at bottom of baking sheet
  4. Divide sole into four
  5. Wrap 2 spears of asparagus into one serving of sole.
  6. Sprinkle with olive oil.
  7. Place remaining spears onto the pan.
  8. Put 1 tbsp of lemon juice over fish, per serving.
  9. Place in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes.
  10. In the meantime, prepare white sauce.
  11. Once the sauce has reached ideal thickness, add pesto paste. (if adding fresh ingredients like chopped basil and garlic and oil, add at start of preparing sauce)
  12. Once fish is cooked, plate and put 1/4 of the sauce over each serving. Adding extra asparagus to the sides.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 293
  • Fat 11.7 g
  • Sugar 7.8 g
  • Carbohydrates 13.6 g
  • Protein 29.5 g
  • Fibre 1.8 g

This is easy, quick and makes a nice plate. As you see I didn’t have enough asparagus spears so I prepared edamame beans. With the asparagus you have your veggie content and the fish your protein content, serve it with rice and or bread and you have your starch and a balanced meal. You can do this with any fish that you could wrap around the asparagus. A thinner fish like mahi mahi, or tilapia work great. If you want it spicy just add crushed chili peppers when preparing your white sauce. You can cut the recipe in half so you don’t have a bunch of extra sauce left over. Remember the most important thing, have fun and make it your own.