PAN SEARED SALMON WITH MANGO SALSA

COOKING WITH DANGER MAN

PAN SEARED SALMON WITH MANGO SALSA
This post is contributed by One Drop member – Johnathan Oh

Salmon is one of the most common fish that we would pay to eat in a restaurant or eatery. I have always liked Salmon due to its sweet and delicate flesh but only as sashimi as I do not like the texture of cooked salmon. But that was an “Ignorant-me” speaking because I never had a properly cooked salmon served in a restaurant before. Now, knowing that when salmon is properly cooked, it is so much more delicious and if I may say so (pardon my confidence), home-cooked salmon is so delicious that I’d pay much more for it as compared to those salmon served while dining out! The good news is, you can also do it and at a much lower cost! Although we do not have the luxury of buying wild caught salmon or having a huge variety of salmon, farmed Norwegian Salmon is the next best thing available in the market and the price can sometimes be as low as S$16.00 per Kg (That is if you buy the whole fish), otherwise you can get a fillet (to serve 2) between S$7.00 and S$11.00! Give this recipe a go! The tanginess and freshness from the salsa, the sweetness from the mango and the fragrance from the Dill pairs tremendously well with the Salmon and I am sure this item would be engrained in your loved one’s memories. The only down side? They may request for it again and again!

Ingredients:
2 – 3 Salmon (steak-cut or fillet)
1 whole mango (I personally preferred Thai Mango)
9 ripe Cherry or Roma tomatoes
1 Japanese cucumber
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Ground black pepper
Salt
Tabasco sauce (optional)
2 Tablespoon of Apple cider

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Essential Oil: Lemon, Celery seed and Dill.

How to use Essential Oil (EO) for cooking:
First and foremost, please check and ensure that the essential oils that you intend to use are safe for ingestion. I got mine from here, so I know that I could use them with a peace of mind.

I use Lemon PLUS Essential Oil for my Salsa and Dill PLUS Essential Oil for the pan seared Salmon. In order to use Essential Oil (EO) for this recipe, please adhere to the following:

  1. DO NOT use EO from unknown, unspecified and unverified sources (Can’t stress this enough)
  2. DO NOT drip the EO directly on your dish
  3. DO NOT use EO on direct heat to avoid destroying the benefits of the EO
This is how you SHOULD do when using the EO for cooking this recipe. Pour some cooking oil into a small bowl, then add in(dilute) the Essential Oil so that you can add the EO evenly to the dish. By the way, dripping the EO directly on the dish will not cause you to die from EO overdose BUT it will definitely destroy your dish. No one likes a full mouthful of EO.

Essential Oil mixture
For this dish, you will need to prepare the following:
  1. Add TWO drops of LEMON PLUS Essential Oil into a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon of EVOO into the same bowl. This Essential Oil mixture is to be added to the Salsa.
  2. Add ONE to TWO drops of DILL PLUS Essential Oil into a small bowl and add 2 teaspoon of EVOO into the same bowl. This Essential Oil mixture is to be added on top of the Spanish Mackerel while it is resting or before serving.
Direction (Salsa):
  1. To make the salsa, finely diced the onion and set aside.
  2. Wash and remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Quarter the tomatoes and set aside.
  3. Wash the cucumber. Quarter them length wise and remove the seeds. Halve each quarters and diced the cucumber.
  4. Peel and finely mince 1 clove of garlic.
  5. Add item 1, 2, 3 and 4 into a jar with the juice of 1/2 lemon, 2 Tablespoon of Apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, Essential Oil mixture (1) and a dash of Tabasco sauce (optional) for kick.
  6. Cover the jar and let the salsa season/ripen in the fridge (overnight if possible or for a minimum of 30 minutes).
Young Living plus essential oil
Salsa set into a jar for seasoning/ripening in the fridge.

Direction:
  1. De-scale any scale on the salmon skin and remove the bones. Cut the salmon into serving portion.
  2. Dry up the salmon with paper towels and season the salmon with black pepper and salt right before cooking.
  3. Heat up a pan to smoking point. Add 2 Tablespoon of EVOO and place the salmon, skin side down, into the pan.
  4. Sear for 3-5 minutes or until the skin is crisp, then turn the fish over, add in a clove of crushed garlic and 1 knob of butter then use a spoon to baste the oil over the fish constantly.
  5. Remove the pan from the heat after 3 – 6 minutes and let the fish rest in the pan. The residual heat will cook the fish through without over-cooking it.
  6. Spoon the Essential Oil mixture (2) onto the fish.
  7. Bring the salsa out of the fridge and spoon the salsa over the plate, then place the seared salmon on top of the salsa.
  8. Cut, score and remove the flesh of the mango onto the plate.
  9. Finish with a small spoon of salsa on top of the fish and drizzle with a dash of EVOO to serve.
     

The beautifully cooked salmon will flake nicely and as you can see from this photo, shows slight glister on the Salmon flesh. Over-cooked salmon will not only looked and taste dry, but will show egg-white like substance oozing out of the salmon.
If you like Johnathan’s articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please email Johnathan here. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here to join Johnathan and his team.

PEPPERMINT CHOC FONDUE


PEPPERMINT CHOC FONDUE

This post is contributed by One Drop member – Johnathan Oh

Cooking with Essential Oil

Chocolate and Peppermint has been a classic pairing for centuries so its a no brainer for coming up with this recipe when Young Living Singapore has released the Plus Peppermint Essential Oil to the public. I loved liquid chocolate but the problem is, I also have a sensitive throat that will bail on me whenever I eat “heaty” food especially one rich in Chocolate or melted butter. So with this recipe, the peppermint balanced out the heatiness from the chocolate and I have swap the melted butter with coconut cream and warm milk with milk. The end results is a delicious liquid chocolate that will not only not resulted in heatiness but also cut down on the fat level so that those calories counters can enjoy an indulgent and guiltless feast with this recipe!

Ingredients:
  • 250g semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 4 teaspoons of honey (or to preference)
  • 100ml Coconut cream
  • 150ml Soymilk
  • Peppermint Plus essential oil
Suggested Fruits/Food for dipping:
  • Strawberries
  • Banana
  • Cherries
  • Pineapples
  • Grapes
  • Apple
  • Pears
  • Blackberries
  • Blueberries
  • Bread stick
  • Crackers
How to use Essential Oil (EO) for cooking:
First and foremost, please check and ensure that the essential oils that you intend to use are safe for ingestion. I got mine from here, so I know that I could use them with a peace of mind.

I use Peppermint Essential Oil for this recipe. In order to use Essential Oil (EO) for this recipe, please adhere to the following:
  1. DO NOT use EO from unknown, unspecified and unverified sources (Can’t stress this enough)
  2. DO NOT drip the EO directly on your dish
  3. DO NOT use EO on direct heat to avoid destroying the benefits of the EO
This is how you SHOULD do when using the EO for cooking this recipe. Pour some cooking oil into a small bowl, then add in(dilute) the Essential Oil so that you can add the EO evenly to the dish. By the way, dripping the EO directly on the dish will not cause you to die from EO overdose BUT it will definitely destroy your dish. No one likes a full mouthful of EO.

Direction:
  1. Place the chocolate into a double boiler (bain marie) and cook until the chocolate soften to a smooth consistency.
  2. Add the Coconut cream and honey (sweetness to preference) into the chocolate and mix well.
  3. Add the soymilk slowly into the chocolate mixture while whisking to incorporate them together. Repeat till you reached the desired thickness.
  4. Stir 2 drops of Peppermint Plus EO directly into the mixture.
  5. Remove from the double boiler and pour the chocolate mixture into a fondue fountain or bowl and serve with your choice of cut fruits.
If you like Johnathan’s articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please email Johnathan here. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here to join Johnathan and his team.

EGG BENEDICT WITH HOMEMADE HOLLANDAISE SAUCE


COOKING WITH DANGER MAN

EGG BENEDICT WITH HOMEMADE HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
This post is contributed by One Drop member – Johnathan Oh

Egg Benedict. The decadent breakfast that you would pay good money to savour. No self-respecting cafe and opulent new age bistro would omit this item from their line of breakfast menu. So let me take you through how to make and assemble a delicious but good looking Egg Benny that will lift up your spirit while preparing it and impress your mate whom has woke up from bed to be greeted with this luxurious breakfast served with a cup of earl grey or latte.

Egg Benedict

Ingredients:
  • 2 egg yolk
  • Juice of 1/4 lemon
  • 30g melted butter
  • A teaspoon of EVOO
  • Tabasco sauce
  • Black pepper
  • Salt
  • Essential Oil: Basil PLUS
  • 1 poached Egg
  • 2 pieces of ham or smoked salmon
  • Rocket/Arugula or iceberg lettuce
  • 1 slice of Toast
  • Butter
How to use Essential Oil (EO) for cooking:
First and foremost, please check and ensure that the essential oils that you intend to use are safe for ingestion. I got mine from here, so I know that I could use them with a peace of mind.

I use Basil PLUS Essential Oil for this dish. In order to use the EO to cook, please try to adhere to the following:
  1. DO NOT use EO from unknown, unspecified and unverified sources (Can’t stress this enough)
  2. DO NOT drip the EO directly on your dish
  3. DO NOT use EO on direct heat to avoid destroying the benefits of the EO
This is how you SHOULD do when using the EO for cooking this recipe. Pour some EVOO into a small bowl, then mix (dilute) the Essential Oil into the EVOO so that you can add the EO evenly and safely to the dish. By the way, dripping the EO directly on the dish will not cause you to die from EO overdose BUT it will definitely destroy your dish.

For this dish, take ONE SWIPE of Basil Essential Oil with the back of your teaspoon and mix it with 1 teaspoon of EVOO in a bowl. Incorporate and whisk the mixture into the hollandaise sauce.
Direction:
  1. To make the hollandaise sauce, heat up a ban marie or simply place a glass bowl on top of a pot with boiling water. Add in the egg yolk and whisk.
  2. Melt the butter in a sauce pan under low heat (don’t boil it!). Add the butter into the egg yolk a little at a time while continually whisking the egg yolk.
  3. Add the Essential Oil mixture into the egg yolk mixture and continue to whisk till.
  4. Add the lemon juice into the mixture and a dash of Tabasco sauce for kick (optional). Remove the bowl from the pot.
  5. Season with salt for taste. The hollandaise sauce should not break or curdled, if it does, add a little lemon juice and whisk it again.
  6. Heat up a pot of water (twice the amount to cover the egg) and add a tablespoon of vinegar into the then bring to a boil.
  7. Break the egg into a bowl. Swirl the water in the pot and pour the egg into the water and let it poached for 2-3 minutes. The egg white should be set nicely and the yolk still transparent (not opaque).
  8. Now to assemble the Egg Benedict. Butter your toast, place it on a plate. Plate the iceberg lettuce or arugula on the toast.
  9. Place the ham/smoked salmon on top of the greens. Drain the poached egg and place it gently on top of the ham.
  10. Spoon the hollandaise sauce over the egg and finish off with a sprinkle of black pepper.


If you like Johnathan’s articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please email Johnathan here. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here to join Johnathan and his team.

PAN SEARED PORK CHOP WITH SWEET AND SOUR PEPPER


PAN SEARED PORK CHOP WITH SWEET AND SOUR PEPPER

This post is contributed by One Drop member – Johnathan Oh

Pork chop is one of those dishes that many loved when done properly but avoided preparing on their own because they will more than often end up with a tough and dry pork chop or an under cook one. With this recipe, I am attempting to show you that a perfectly cooked and juicy pork chop is very achievable. Once you have tried this, I do hope that it will change they way you feel about preparing a delicious pork chop in your own kitchen .

Happy cooking, eating and eating well

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 Pork chop
  • 2 cups of sliced red bell peppers
  • 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
  • 2 shallots finely chopped
  • Red wine
  • Apple cider
  • 1 1/2 cup of chicken/beef stock (I usually use Marmite)
  • Ground black pepper
  • Ground white pepper
  • Salt
  • Sugar
  • Butter
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
  • Essential Oil: Thyme and Basil PLUS.
How to use Essential Oil (EO) for cooking:

First and foremost, please check and ensure that the essential oils that you intend to use are safe for ingestion. I got mine from here, so I know that I could use them with a peace of mind.

I use Thyme and Basil PLUS Essential Oil for this dish. In order to use the EO to cook, please try to adhere to the following:
  1. DO NOT use EO from unknown, unspecified and unverified sources (Can’t stress this enough)
  2. DO NOT drip the EO directly on your dish
  3. DO NOT use EO on direct heat to avoid destroying the benefits of the EO
This is how you SHOULD do when using the EO for cooking this recipe. Pour some EVOO into a small bowl, then mix (dilute) the Essential Oil into the EVOO so that you can add the EO evenly and safely to the dish. By the way, dripping the EO directly on the dish will not cause you to die from EO overdose BUT it will definitely destroy your dish.

For this dish, mix ONE drop of Thyme PLUS Essential Oil with 1 Tablespoon of EVOO in a bowl. Reserve one teaspoon of the mixture for each piece of pork chop you are preparing. When you have remove the pork chop from the oven, spoon the mixture over the pork chop and let the pork chop rest for another 5-10 minutes.

Once you are done spooning the mixture over the pork chop, use the same bowl with the remaining oil and add ONE drop of Basil PLUS Essential Oil and 1 Tablespoon of EVOO. Mix well and incorporate them into the sauce.
 
Direction:

  1. Wash and pat dry the pork chop.
    TIPS: If the pork is still wet, it will not brown well in the pan. So pat it as dry as possible.
  2. Season and coat the pork chop well with ground black pepper, ground white pepper and salt.
  3. Pre-heat the oven to 190C (degree Celsius or 375 Fahrenheit).
  4. Heat up a pan till smoking. Add EVOO and the pork chop to sear for 3 minutes or until golden brown.
  5. Turn to sear the other side of the pork chop and add the garlic and 2 knobs of butter into the pan. Baste the pork chop with the oil for another 3 minutes or until the other side has browned nicely.
  6. Remove the pork chop and place it into the oven to bake for 3 minutes. Switch off the oven and let the pork chop rest in the oven.
  7. Using the same searing pan, remove the garlic, add the chopped shallots into the pan for caramelising. Add 1/2 teaspoon of raw sugar to the shallots and season with black pepper and salt.
  8. Add 3 Tablespoon of red wine into the pan to de-glaze the pan. Tilt the pan a little to burn out the alcohol.
  9. Add the bell peppers and 4 Tablespoon of apple cider into the pan, stir and let it cook for 3 minutes.
  10. Add the chicken/beef stock into the pan. Bring to boil and lower the heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
  11. Bring the pork chop out of the oven and place them on a plate.
  12. Add the roast juice (if any) and a knob of butter into the sauce pan and mix them in.
  13. Serve the pork chop with some carbo (I choose millet cooked with bacon and tomato puree but you can choose mashed potatoes, roasted vegetable, roasted pineapple etc.) or simple serve it as is with the delicious sweet and sour pepper sauce.
In order to cook meat or protein perfectly, I usually employs the searing and baking option. The searing cooked the external of the meat so that it acted like a seal to keep all the juices of the meat within the uncooked part of the meat. This is followed by the baking which cooks the inside of the meat (uncooked part). So, you may ask, since the external is already browned, wouldn’t the baking cause the exterior to char? Yes and No. If you bake continually at high temperature, yes, the exterior will char. So how do you overcome this? The answer is, you cook with the residual heat or you cook with very low heat for a very long time. I usually do not encourage the latter. Why? Because 1) electricity bill is not exactly cheap; and 2) the former option works like a charm.

For this pork chop recipe, I employ a 3:3:3 option i.e. 3 minutes searing on one side, 3 minutes searing on the other side, 3 minutes baking in the oven. When you open the oven, you will lose some heat in the oven so by baking the pork chop for 3 minutes, it allows for the oven to go back up to the desired temperature of 190C (degree Celsius or 375 Fahrenheit), bake the port chop for a short while and let the residual heat penetrate the meat as the oven is cooling down. This method will ensure that the pork chop is not only cooked perfectly, but retains an absolutely juicy texture. Oh by the way, DO NOT tenderize the pork chop. You do not need to.
If you like Johnathan’s articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please email Johnathan here. If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here to join Johnathan and his team.

5 DIYS FROM THE PREMIUM STARTER KIT


5 DIYS FROM THE PREMIUM STARTER KIT

This post is contributed by One Drop member – Sonia Xu Qi Ting.

5 DIYs using Premium Starter Kit Essential Oils

If you have been wondering what other ways you can use the essential oils in your premium starter kit other than diffusing and applying topically. Keep reading, this is the article for you. You may be surprised that how much money you can save by just D-I-Y-ing.

LAVENDER PILLOW MIST

Spray this onto your pillow before you hit the bed – Lavender is one of the most trusted essential oil that supports restful sleep.

What you’ll need:
  • Lavender essential oil – 10 drops
  • Unscented Witch Hazel – 1 teaspoon
  • Distilled water
  • Tinted glass spray bottle (60ml)
What to do:
  • Add Lavender essential oil, 1 teaspoon of unscented witch hazel into the spray bottle and fill up with distilled water. Shake before each use. You may wish to spray inside of the pillowcases if your sheets/pillowcases are light colors, as the oil in the mist may stain.
BYE BYE ANTS SPRAY

If you noticed there’s trail of ants marching in your kitchen, this is the secret recipe for you. Bonuses – toxic free and smell great!

What you’ll need:

  • Peppermint essential oil – 10 drops
  • Lemon essential oil – 8 drops
  • Unscented Witch Hazel – 1 teaspoon
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Distilled water
  • Tinted glass spray bottle (60ml)
What to do:

  • Add essential oils and unscented witch hazel into the spray bottle. Fill up the rest of the bottle with an equivalent portion of distilled water and rubbing alcohol. Shake before each use and spray on the ant trails you find. Repeat this daily till the ants are gone.
(Note: Turn away your face if you are spraying this mist onto areas that are above your eye level, so as to avoid the mist from getting into your eyes. Don’t make this noob mistake like me, and trust me you will get very teary eyes – Tested and proven!)

FUNKY SMELL BUSTER

This is THE effective toxic-free smell buster that works every time! I have tried this for poop-nami accidents that happened in baby’s room/car, food smell that lingers in all your rooms after cooking because you have an open concept kitchen, smelly shoes and freshening up your post-bombing session in the toilet – It works every time.

What you’ll need:
  • Peppermint essential oil – 15 drops
  • Unscented Witch Hazel – 1 teaspoon
  • Distilled water
  • Tinted glass spray bottle (60ml)
What to do:
  • Add Purification essential oil, 1 teaspoon of unscented witch hazel into the spray bottle and fill up with distilled water. Shake before each use.
RELAXING EPSOM SALT FOOK SOAK

Need some extra help to relax your tired feet after a long day of standing or workout? This recipe works well for my family.

What you’ll need:
  • Lavender essential oil – 10 drops
  • Peppermint essential oil – 8 drops
  • Epsom Salt
  • Glass container
What to do:
  • Add Epsom salt into glass container (do not fill up to the brim as you need some space in the bottle to shake things up later), followed by the essential oils, close the lid and shake container to give it a good mix.
How to use:
  • Scope 2 tablespoon of essential oil infused Epsom salt into a tub of warm water (water level to be at your ankle), soak your tired feet into the mixture for 10 minutes.
FOAMING HAND SOAP

What you’ll need:
  • Lavender/Thieves essential oil – 20 drops
  • Unscented Liquid Castille Soap – 4 tablespoon
  • Distilled water
  • Foaming Soap Dispenser Bottle (250ml)
What to do:
  • Add distilled water into the bottle till about 75% full, followed by essential oil and unscented liquid castile soap, top up distilled water as needed (Leave about 1.5cm space from the brim). Tighten the foaming pump and give it a good shake to mix up the soap solution. (This sequence produces the least foam/mess when you tighten the foaming pump).
Last but not least, remember re-use the bottles after you are done, they just need a good wash.

We only have ONE planet – Earth.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
If you like Qi Ting’s articles and would like to purchase the Young Living oils or have further clarifications, please connect with Qi Ting via her Facebook page – My Aroma Diary. 

If you are ready to sign up as member to purchase, you can click here. I would love to support you in using the oils for yourself and your loved ones.


 
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