This is a simple recipe for an Asian inspired stir-fry wheatberries with eggs and Chinese sausage. Just by substituting rice for wheatberries you will have a healthy version of fried rice.

This is a very simple and fast recipe considering that you have cooked wheatberries. The recipe is similar to the Egg Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage…and it is great as a main dish since it contains veggies and protein.

Wheatberries are wheat, I mean the whole wheat kernel except the hull. I personally like to wash and soak the wheatberries before cooking, usually overnight. Wheatberries are chewy and packed with nutrients and dietary fiber, therefore much healthier than plain rice. So if you like wheatberry it is good to cook a big batch and use throughout the week in salad, soup or stir-fry.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup wheatberries
• 3 to 4 cups water
• Pinch salt
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 green onions finely chopped
• 3 Chinese sausages sliced
• 2 cups frozen vegetables, boiled and drained
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1 ½ tablespoons oil, preferably vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Wash and soak the wheatberries overnight.

Place the wheatberries into a medium pan and add 3 to 4 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover the pan. Simmer for approximately 30 to 35 minutes and check the texture of the grains. If the grains still hard cook until they reach a chewy texture.

Once the wheatberries reach the desire consistency, drain the berries and transfer to a bowl. At this point you can use the wheatberries by following the recipe or store in the refrigerator for later use.

In a wok heat the ½ tablespoon of oil and add both onions, until slightly brown. Add the sliced sausage and sauté for a couple of minutes. Remove from the wok and set aside.

In the same wok add remaining oil, and the cooked wheatberries under medium heat. Stir fry until the wheatberries are hot. Pour in the beaten egg and gently stir until all the wheat grains are covered with a thin layer of egg.

Add back the sausage mixture and the vegetables. Stir until the wheatberry mixture is well combined with the sausage and vegetables. Add Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot.

I hope you enjoy this simple and easy recipe using wheatberries. You might want to check here for more Asian Inspired Recipes.

Did you know that most of the vitamins from the wheatberries are derived from the bran? Wheatberries are a good source of magnesium, potassium, B vitamins and vitamin E.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is a super fun recipe to make when entertaining. It is an Asian inspired pull-apart bread where each piece is loaded with cheese and green onion.

I was amazed by the shape of this bread when I saw it here and wanted to make something similar, but of course with a twist…an Asian twist. This bread is great for party…not only has a very interesting look as well as easy to serve…you just need to twist and pull apart. Apparently the original recipe was based on kalács which according to Wikipedia is a Hungarian sweet bread similar to brioche.

The shape of the bread might be frightening at first, but in reality it is quite simple and fun to put together. You will need to split the dough into two equal parts and then shaping, filling, playing with scissors and twisting will take a part in the process.

I really can see myself coming up with all kind of fillings to use with this bread, an alternative for pull-apart bread such as cinnamon rolls, cheese and garlic, sun dried tomatoes and herbs, olive spread and the list goes on and on…

If you are into baking bread I hope you have a chance to try this, and of course, feel free to incorporate whatever your bud taste desire…make it sweet or savory…anyway, for this recipe I used my Zojirushi bread maker.

Ingredients:

Bread

Water roux

• 75 ml of water
• 15 g of bread flour

Dough

• 280 g bread flour
• 1½ tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons dry milk
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1½ teaspoon dry yeast
• 1 large egg and complete to 110 ml with water
• 25 g butter

Filling

• 2 teaspoons Aioli Garlic mustard (Trader Joe’s) or any mustard
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup freshly grated Gruyère Cheese, or any cheese of your preference

• Egg wash
• 1 egg yolk lightly beaten with ½ tablespoon water
• Sunflower seeds for garnish

Method:

Bread

Water roux

Mix flour and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring constantly until it reaches 65oC/149oF. The mix will turn to a paste and you can see the bottom of the pan.
Remove from heat, cover with a saran wrap film over the paste and leave until lukewarm.

Dough

Add the water roux and all the dough ingredients to the bread machine bucket according to the manufacture’s guideline.

I let the dough cycle run for 2 times, making sure that the dough reaches a thin membrane. The dough will be slightly sticky.

Let is rise for approximately 2 hours in a cover container or until it double its initial volume.

Filling

Mix all the ingredient in a small bowl, set aside.

Assembly

Punch down the dough and divide into two equal parts. Using a rolling pin, flat each dough and roll into an approximately into a 12 inch disc.

Place the first disc on to a baking tray lined with a silicone liner of parchment paper. Spread the filling onto the disc, leaving approximately ½ inch free of filling around the disc. Gently layer the second disc on top of the filling. Place a small round cap of approximately 1 ½ inch in diameter in the middle of the disc as a guide, press gently. Using the back of a knife or spatula trace the disc into four, cut with the scissors until the center cap. Then cut each quarter into two and finally each eighth into 3 equal sections.

Twist each section three times and press the gently against the silicone mat. Remove the cap. Cover the dough with plastic film until double its original size.

When almost ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F and wash the top with the egg wash and place the sunflower seeds in the center where the cap was.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until slightly golden brown on the top. Remove from the oven and let it cool on a wired rack.

Serve warm.

For more bread recipes, please check my Recipe Box.

 Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is an Asian inspired recipe for zucchini noddles by simply tossing the noddles with the already made ginger onion sauce. Great as a side dish.

This is a simple and healthy way to serve zucchini…and really taste delicious! Just add the Ginger Green Onion Sauce that I posted a while, which you can find the recipe here and it is ready…Again, this is so easy and simple that I am embarrassed to post it, but hey…I am doing it anyway!

Ingredients:

• Zucchini (as many as you want)
• Ginger green onion sauce to taste

Method:

In a medium pot place water and a pinch of salt and bring to boil.

Wash and trim both end of the zucchini. Using a mandolin slice zucchini lengthwise into long, and thin strands.

Separate the zucchini noodles. Add to the boiling water and cook the zucchini for about 1 minute.

Quickly transfer the zucchini strands to a colander. Place the zucchini noodles into a dish and add the ginger green onion sauce. Mix gently and serve hot or warm.

Enjoy using zucchini as noodle? Please check on this recipe, low carb Zucchini Pasta.

What is the difference between pasta and noodle? It seems that the term pasta is widely used for Italian-style noodles, while “noodle” includes a more general meaning for Asian products. The word “pasta” come from Italian pasta, which means paste or dough, and the word “noodle” comes from German “nudel”, which means pasta.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is an Asian inspired recipe for pumpkin sandwich bread loaded with chia seed. This bread is great for sandwich, French toast or simply toast.

Yes, I had made numerous variation of bread and rolls using chia seeds and the same with pumpkin, but this is the first one where I mixed pumpkin and chia seeds all in one dough…the pumpkin give its nice deep yellow color and it packed with the goodness of chia seeds.

The recipe is pretty simple, similar to the other bread recipes that I have been using…

I use the water roux or tangzhong method to accomplish the Asian bread texture, and adjusted the liquid content since the seed were soaked in water before being used in the dough. The texture of these sandwich bread are awesome, light, springy and cottony…not to mention that stay soft for many many days.

When baking sandwich bread, I love using my Pullman loaf pan, the sandwich loaf comes out perfectly square…just slice it to your thickness preference…

Oh! I will be on vacation as this post goes live…so please forgive me if I cannot make my weekly visit to you, I will be literally trying to do “nothing”, which seems kind close to impossible due to my personality…nevertheless, I will just try to relax and enjoy the environment…

Ingredients:

Water Roux or Tangzhong

• 40 g bread flour
• 200 g water

Main dough

• 8 teaspoons chia seed
• 1 cup water
• 300 g pumpkin puree
• 800 g bread flour
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons dry milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons dry yeast
• 50 g butter

Method:

Water roux or Tangzhong

In a small pan, mix all the ingredients of water roux, place in a low heat and stir constantly until the temperature reach 650C (150F), or if you do not have a thermometer, cook until ripples form. Set aside to cool by covering with a plastic film.

Dough

Soak the chia seed in the water for at least 15 minutes.

In the mixer bucket, add the water roux, and all the other ingredients, except for the butter.
Turn the mixer on the stir mode and increase to speed 2 until forms soft dough. The dough will be very sticky initially, and less sticky as the gluten forms.

Add the butter in and let it knead until the butter incorporates to the dough. Make sure that the dough is soft and elastic. I used speed 2 for approximately 30 minutes.

Remove the dough and place in a bowl by covering with a plastic film.

Let dough proof in a warm place until the dough tripled to its original size.

Knock back the dough and split into approximately 8 little balls and let it rest for 5 minutes on the counter.

Flatten the ball making sure that the air is removed and fold into thirds, then roll it like a Swiss roll.

Place the Swiss rolls into the Pullman (4 each) pan and let it rise until almost 90% to reach the rim of the pan. Cover the pan and bake in a preheated oven of 350F for approximately 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and flip the bread into a wire rack to cool. Slice according to your like.

Store the bread in an airtight container.

I hope you enjoy this Asian Inspired bread recipe with chia seeds, for more, please check Chia Seed Dinner Roll recipe.

Did you know that chia seeds not only contain omega-3 fatty acid but it is a good source of fiber and minerals?
In case you are wondering…yes, these are the same seeds that were very popular as “chia pets”, which sprouted chia seeds were used to produce the terracotta figures.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

If you like soft and slightly chewy mochi you must try this recipe.  It is so much fun and colorful. great for dessert or just as a snack.

Mochi? I love mochi! Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made with glutinous rice flour…the texture is soft and chewy, I mean chewy…mochi can be made sweet or savory and can be mold into various shape. The same glutinous rice flour is used throughout Asian cuisine.

I made these rolls for a potluck party, and it was well accepted, so if you care for mochi you will enjoy this simple and easy recipe and the fun part is that you can color with whatever color you feel in the mood for, especially for making party or holidays theme…they sure make a great snack. Oh! In case you care, these are gluten free…

These rolls stay soft and fresh for a couple of days if kept in an airtight container at room temperature. I learned coloring the rolls from here.

Ingredients:

• 100 g glutinous flour
• 15 g tapioca flour (omit for softer texture)
• 70 g sugar
• 160 g coconut milk

• 2 teaspoons rose water
• 3 drops red food coloring (or green, or blue, or purple, or orange, or black…)
• Unsweetened coconut flakes

Method:

Grease a 8 x 8 inch tray with vegetable oil such as canola or corn oil, set aside.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the coconut milk and stir well until all combined.

Pour the batter on the prepared greased tray, make sure that the batter is spread evenly. Steam for 12 to 15 minutes.

In the meantime mix the 2 teaspoons of rosewater with the red food coloring.

Remove mochi from the steamer and brush with the red coloring. Let the mocha sit for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

With the help of a spatula or a knife release all the side of the mochi from the tray. Roll the mocha into a cylinder and gently remove from the tray, by placing on a flat plate. Let it cool.

Gently roll the mochi roll on a plate with coconut flakes and coat it evenly.

Cut the roll into approximately ½ inch.

If you enjoy this recipe using glutinous flour, you might want to check on a savory version…Mochi Cheese Balls (Brazilian Pão de Queijo) recipe.

Did you know that glutinous rice is known as a sticky rice? The word “glutinous” comes from the Latin “glue-like” due to its stickiness. Like all the rice, glutinous rice does not contain gluten.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is a very simple and versatile recipe for Asian inspired fried rice.  Instead of sausage you can use bacon, ham or just egg. It is tasty and great as a side dish.

I love rice dish, and this one is so easy and simple to make, particularly if you have leftover rice. I added some Chinese sausage to this rice, but you can add chicken, pork, shrimp or even bacon…whatever your palate calls for. The nice about this stir fried rice is that the rice grains are covered with a thin layer of egg…yum!

This is sure a very simple dish to put together especially during this holiday season, where life seems busier than usual with parties, baking and lots of shopping…so get your ingredients ready and make sure that you make extra for your next day lunch…simply delicious!

Ingredients:

• Approximately 2 cups of cooked rice, preferably long grain
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 green onions finely chopped
• 3 links Chinese sausages sliced
• 2 cups frozen vegetables, boiled and drained
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1 ½ tablespoons oil, preferably vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a wok heat the ½ tablespoon of oil and add both onions, until slightly brown and add the soy sauce. Add the sliced sausage and sauté for a couple of minutes. Remove from the wok and set aside.

In the same wok add remaining oil, and the rice under medium heat. Make sure that all the grains are well separated. Stir fry until the rice is hot. Stir in the beaten egg and gently stir until all the rice grains are covered with a thin layer of egg.

Add back the sausage mixture and the vegetables. Stir until the rice mixture is well combined with the sausage and vegetables. Add Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot.

If you enjoy this simple egg fried rice dish, you might want to check on Kimchi Fried Rice recipe.

Did you know that Chinese sausage are slightly sweeter than your usual sausage? They are cured and dried, therefore these sausage can last longer. The ingredients for the Chinese sausage can vary, from chicken, pork, liver, duck, glutinous rice…you name it…or the combination of many ingredients.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is a typical and traditional dish from the Japanese cuisine. It is like a stew with all kind of fish cake, daikon, kombu (dry seeweed) in a a kombu and dry fish broth.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with your loved ones…I made it back from Chicago and survived the freezing temperature just a few days in Chicago made me realize how good I have it here in California…

This week I am sharing with you something very different…a traditional Japanese hot pot dish…Yes, you might be asking, how and why I made this very traditional Japanese dish…first of all it is delicious, especially when it is cold out there, and second, believe it or not, my parents, mainly my dad grew up when Taiwan was occupied by Japan, therefore both my parents read and speak Japanese…no need to mention that Japanese food was very common when I was growing up, even after we moved to Brazil.

My mom is a great cook, and many of the dishes that I treasured I learned from her…she can make anything taste good…in spite of her age, she is always looking and sharing new recipes with us. Anyway, to make the very long story short…which I did not…I learned this dish from my mom.

Oden is a traditional Japanese dish and it is based on the broth made with fish (mainly bonito) and kombu (seaweed). All the other ingredients are cooked in this light broth and you can add almost whatever you want. I just picked a few ingredients from the local Japanese store and made this very tasty dish. The trick is to cook ingredients by adding them according to their cooking time, so at the end you have all the ingredients with the right texture, not over cooked or underdone.

Ingredients:

Dashi soup for the oden

• 2 liters water
• Dried bonito fish
• Kombu (about 15 inches)
• 50 ml of sake
• ⅓ cup soy sauce
• 1½ tablespoons sugar

Oden ingredients of your choice

• 2 daikon radish, peeled and cut into approximately 1 ½ inch
• Tied konnyaku
• Plate of various fish paste stick and patties

Method:

Clean the kombu, by rinsing quickly and cut into small strip and tie a knot

Boil water in a large pot, add the dried bonito and kombu to extract the flavor. Strain the dashi soup with a clean cloth.

Add the daikon radish in the dashi soup base and cook until slightly soft. In the meantime, prepare the konnyaku by slicing and making a slit in the middle. Insert on end through the slit. Set aside.

In another big pot, boil water and quickly blanch all the ingredients before adding to the main pot. Once all the ingredients are place into the main pot, cover and let it simmer for one hour.

Serve hot and if desired, dip them in hot mustard.

If you enjoy this Japanese inspired recipe, you want to take a look at the Asian Inspired Recipes from Color Your Recipes.

Did you know that similar dishes like Oden are made in Taiwan and South Korea? This dishes are very commonly sold in small carts as a street food. In Taiwan, oden version is offered in convenience store as well.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This light and fluffy buns made with pumpkin puree are great at anytime, especially during fall season. This is an Asian inspired recipe using tangzhong method, therefore the buns stay fresh and moist for days.

Yes, I kind of feel guilty not posting anything with pumpkin…not that I have not made anything with it…I actually made lots and lots of bread using pumpkin. I even made my first soufflé with butternut squash, which I will share with you some other time.

These pumpkin dinner rolls or if you wish you can make into a pull-apart loaf are very pretty and tasty. I again used the water roux method or tangzhong as known by many bakers…the recipe is very simple and the texture of these are so light, fluffy and very cottony.

I rely on my little Zojirushi bread machine to do all the kneading and them baked the rolls on a 8 inch round pan and the pull-apart bread was baked in mini loaf pans.

Ingredients:

Water Roux or Tangzhong

• 15 g bread flour
• 75 g water

Main dough

• 130 g pumpkin puree
• 300 g bread flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons dry milk
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 2 tablespoon butter

Garnish for:

Dinner Rolls:

• Pumpkin seeds for garnish

Pull-Apart:

• 1 ½ tablespoons butter (melted)
• Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Egg Wash ( 1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk)

Method:

Water roux

In a small pan, mix all the ingredients of water roux, place in a low heat and stir constantly until the temperature reach 65oC (150F), or if you do not have a thermometer, cook until ripples form. Set aside to cool by covering with a plastic film.

Dough

In the bread machine bucket, add the water roux, and all the other ingredients, except for the butter.

Turn the machine to knead mode until it forms soft dough, slightly sticky. Add more water of flour as needed since the content of water will vary between different pumpkin puree. Add the butter and let it knead until the butter incorporates to the dough.

Remove the dough and place in a bowl by covering with a plastic film.

Let both dough proof until the dough double to its original size.

For the Dinner Rolls

Knock back the dough and split into 20 to 22 little balls.

Place the little balls into the round pan, cover and let it rise until double of its original size.

Gently brush with egg wash. Garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Bake in a preheated oven of 350F for approximately 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let the bread cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or store the bread in an airtight container.

For the Pull-Apart

Knock back the dough and split into 3 balls. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes (covered).

With a roller pin, open the dough into approximately 9 x 7 inch rectangle.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, generously.

Cut into four strips and again into smaller squares or rectangles.

Pile them together and place into a mini loaf pan. Proceed the same way with the remaining 2 portion.

Cover and let it rise until double of its original size.

Gently brush with egg wash.

Bake in a preheated oven of 350F for approximately 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let the bread cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or store the bread in an airtight container.

If you enjoy this simple pumpkin dinner rolls you might want to check on the Pumpkin Chia Seed Sandwich Bread or Sesame Swirl Pumpkin Bread recipes.

Oh! I almost forgot…I will be out of town for a meeting in Chicago (so cold!) and will be back with new recipes after Thanksgiving…

Did you know that pumpkin is loaded of dietary fiber and anti-oxidants such as beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body? Moreover, pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of dietary fiber as well as mono unsaturated fat, which are good for the heart.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is a pretty classic and traditional recipe for French toast…so what’s special? Well, I used the yolk custard bread…which is soft, fluffy and rich. Great for breakfast or brunch!

When living in Brazil, we would use a kind of bread similar to baguette to make “rabanada”, and I got very intrigued after moving to US and discovered the similarity between “rabanada” and French toast, mainly because the shape was totally different, round versus square. Moreover, we would dust the “rabanada” with cinnamon and sugar and it was mostly served during Christmastime for breakfast.

I do not make often French toast, after being in a baking frenzy mood lately I decided to use the Egg Yolk Custard Bread to make this simple and easy French toast, especially that I have a whole loaf of bread and I am already itching to bake more. This is a very simple recipe…although I still have to see a “difficult” recipe for French toast…yes, it came out very creamy, rich and it is such a treat for breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 2 thick slices of yolk custard bread (brioche, baguette, challah or white bread)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter

• Fresh blueberries
• Whipped cream or maple syrup
• Or whatever you want on your French toast

Method:

In a deep pie plate whisk together cinnamon, egg, nutmeg, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and heavy cream.

Dip the bread in the egg mixture by coating both sides.

In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Fry the bread slices until golden brown, then flip to cook the other side.

Serve with fresh whipped cream, blueberries and/or syrup.

If you enjoy this simple recipe for French toast you might want to try Waffle Iron Churros recipes.

Did you know that in France and some other countries, French toast is called “pain perdu”? Pain perdu means “lost bread”, by dipping the bread in an egg mixture it is a way to recover the stale bread.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!