I Failed Bulgur Week :( + Ratatouille Recipe

What should’ve been a bulgur week only lasted 2 1/2 days because 1) my mum had finished the rest of the bulgur and beans I made on my 3rd day that was supposed to be my dinner and 2) my blood sugar level had dropped. So for the rest of the week I switched back to red rice (not brown) – a staple in my household – because I figured bulgur was too low in GI.

That, however, did not prevent me from eating healthy. 2 days ago I cooked one of my favourite vegetable dishes ever – Ratatouille – for dinner. There are different ways of cooking Ratatouille; some people prefer it stewed, others prefer it baked. I personally like mine stewed, just because it takes less time to cook and because I don’t have an oven at home (sad, I know). I like to serve my Ratatouille on a bed of couscous, but pasta or rice will do.

For breakfast this morning I reheated what was left of yesterday’s Ratatouille, added 2 teaspoons of chunky salsa (from a jar, hey there’s nothing wrong with that…) and sunflower kernels, and stirred in cooked gnocchi sardi.

Does this look appetising to you? It does to me 😀

Ratatouille

What you need:
Grapeseed oil
1 medium aubergine/eggplant, sliced or diced
1 medium zucchini, sliced or diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
Dried oregano
Dried thyme
2 dried bay leaves
Salt + pepper
1/2 cup water
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 big portobello mushroom, diced

Directions:
– Lightly fry aubergine and zucchini pieces in grapeseed oil for about 3 minutes, make sure the oil is hot before you put the vegetables in otherwise theywill suck up all the oil and be greasy! Remove from pan and set aside.
– Using the same pan, sautee onion and garlic until fragrant. Add a little bit more oil if needed. Then add in the diced tomato, mash with the back of a wooden spoon. Add herbs, an season with salt and pepper. Stir in water.
– Simmer until about 1/3 of the liquid has reduced, stir in aubergine, zucchini, mushroom and bell pepper. Simmer until the liquid has thickened.

Bulgur Week – Day 3: A Mexican Affair

Today I decided to go Mexican. As usual, I cooked 100 grams of bulgur wheat for lunch and dinner, and made the bulgur version of rice and beans. You can basically use any type of beans, but traditionally people use black beans, pinto beans, and/or kidney beans in Mexican cooking. I also made guacamole because my mum’s friend came over last weekend and brought a plastic bag full of avocadoes from his garden! And also because guacamole is one of my favourite condiments ever.

Guacamole and Bulgur ‘n Beans!

Bulgur ‘n Beans

What you need:
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 dried bay leaves
1 tomato, diced
salt + pepper
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup cooked kidney beans
1/2 cup cooked edamame
100 grams bulgur wheat, steamed
1/2 cup water

Directions:
– Sautee garlic and onion in grapeseed oil until fragrant. Add in cumin powder, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, and bay leaves. Stir until evenly mixed.
– Add in the tomato pieces, and mash them with the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
– Stir in bell pepper, kidney beans, edamame and steamed bulgur. Add water, keep stirring until all the water has been absorbed.

Chunky Guacamole

What you need:
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon -or- 1 medium lime
Salt + pepper
1 ripe avocado
1 tbsp light sour cream -or- plain unsweetened yoghurt
1 small spring onion, chopped
1 handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Directions:
– Mix lime/lemon juice, minced garlic, salt and pepper.
– Scoop out avocado flesh using a spoon and add into lime/lemon juice mixture. Mash the avocado lightly with a fork.
– Fold in sour cream/yoghurt, spring onion, and coriander.

Bulgur Week – Day 2: Bento Box Lunch

I love love LOVE teriyaki sauce. For lunch today I made steamed bulgur, pan-grilled mackerel teriyaki and stir fried beansprouts. I have to confess, I didn’t make the teriyaki sauce from scratch, I used Kikkoman Roasted Garlic Teriyaki Sauce instead. However, the last time I used Kikkoman teriyaki sauce was ages ago, so I had forgotten how salty it was! I cooked the beansprouts in the same griddle pan I used to grill the mackerel, added salt, and it turned out really salty. I should’ve added some palm sugar/sweet soya sauce when marinating the mackerel to cut a bit of the saltiness. Anyway, here’s the recipe:

Steamed bulgur, mackerel teriyaki and stir fried beansprouts.

Bulgur Bento

What you need:

Bulgur
50 gr bulgur wheat, steamed until fluffy

Mackerel Teriyaki
1 mackerel steak

2 tbsp Kikkoman Roasted Garlic Teriyaki Sauce (Or 2 tbsp Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce + 1/2 tsp minced garlic)

1/2 tsp powdered palm sugar or Indonesian sweet soya sauce (Kecap/Ketjap Manis)

1/2 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp grapeseed oil

Stir Fried Beansprouts
1 tsp grapeseed oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup mung beansprouts
1 small spring onion
Few drops of sesame oil
Salt (just a tiny bit!) + pepper

Directions:

Mackerel teriyaki
– Mix teriyaki sauce, sugar/soya sauce, ginger and oil. Spread the mixture over the mackerel steak, and leave it to marinate overnight in the fridge.
– Using a griddle pan, grill the marinated mackerel steak 5 minutes on each side.

Stir Fried Beansprouts
In the same griddle pan used to cook the mackerel, sautee garlic in grapeseed oil until fragrant. Stir in beansprouts and spring onion, season with sesame oil, salt and pepper.

Bulgur Week – Day 1: Bulgur Biryani

Yesterday morning I made bulgur biryani for lunch AND dinner. I used a recipe my friend sent me, and modified it a bit. Instead of basmati rice, I used bulgur wheat. And since I’m avoiding meat and poultry for the entire week, I added kidney beans and edamame, as well as sunflower and pumpkin seeds and cashew nuts to make the dish more substantial. The recipe is given below:

Delicious bulgur biryani for lunch!

Easy Vegetarian Bulgur Biryani

What you need:

1 tbsp grapeseed/extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp butter (for flavour; optional)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder
3 tsp curry powder
3 cardamom pods
2 sticks cinnamon @5cm/2in in length
2 dried bay leaves
Pepper flakes (for extra heat; optional)
1 tbsp sunflower seeds, lightly toasted
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
A handful cashew nuts, lightly toasted
Salt + pepper
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cooked kidney beans
1/3 cup steamed edamame
100 grams bulgur, cook until fluffy
A handful raisins
Chopped fresh coriander leaves

Directions:

– Sautee garlic, ginger and onion in oil (and butter) until fragrant, add turmeric and curry powder. Stir in cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves. Mix well until golden brown and fragrant.
– Stir in sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashew and pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Add water and mix well.
– Add kidney beans, edamame and bulgur. Keep stirring until the water is absorbed. Stir in raisins. Garnish with coriander.

Healthy Eating: Bulgur Week

Since I started working, I haven’t been eating healthy. Although I didn’t gain weight, I feel so out of shape and unfit. So I started a week-long diet today; for the whole week I’m staying away from meat, poultry, grease, and any kind of carbs save from bulgur (and sugar, because I tend to get hypoglycemic so I still need sugar in my diet).

I didn’t know what bulgur was until I found out that a friend of mine has been consuming it regularly to stay in shape. According to Wikipedia, bulgur is “a cereal food made from the groats of several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. It is most common in European, Middle Eastern, and South Asian cuisine.”. After further research I found out that bulgur is actually better than brown rice; it’s lower in GI, yet higher in protein and fibre. And it keeps you full longer. It’s also a good thing that it’s available at the gourmet food shop not far from my house! 200 grams of coarse grind bulgur is sold at IDR 12,500 (approx. USD 1.3), which is quite expensive for most Indonesians. But in my defense, 200 grams yield 2 days worth of lunch and dinner. 1 portion of cooked bulgur is only about IDR 1,000 (USD 0.10) more expensive than 1 portion of white rice, so it’s really not *THAT* expensive.

Texture-wise, bulgur is similar to brown rice. But it has a distinctive nutty flavour that brown rice doesn’t have. You can basically cook bulgur as you would rice or pasta. To prepare bulgur, soak it in boiling water for a couple of hours, then steam it until it becomes fluffy.

I actually took a head start and made a bulgur salad for yesterday’s lunch. I cooked the bulgur wheat aglio olio style, and toss it with lightly dressed romaine lettuce and avocado. The recipe is given below:

Bulgur Aglio Olio Salad

What you need:

1/2 cup steamed bulgur
3 tbsp grapeseed/extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
Pepper flakes
Salt + black pepper
Dried/chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 tomato, de-seeded
1 medium size portobello mushroom
Romaine lettuce, as much as you want, tear to bite-sized pieces
1/4 avocado, cut into cubes
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:

– Sautee garlic in grapeseed/olive oil until it starts turning golden in colour, add the sunflower seeds. Stir until garlic turns golden brown, add pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir in bulgur, tomato, avocado and parsley. Turn off heat, and let cool.
– Dress the lettuce and avocado in olive oil and vinegar, and toss with sauteed bulgur.