Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Savoury Oatmeal

Last week I was down with a terrible cold and I could barely think of food much less rustle up the energy to cook anything...but starving was not an option and I still needed some nutrients and vitamins to fight off the nasty virus. So I turned to something that funny enough has created a lot of buzz....savoury oats?

Most of you I'm sure are used to having your oats with berries, honey, nuts and everything sweet and breakfasty...I was the same. Then I started trying to incorporate more oatmeal into my diet for all the wonderful health benefits...cholesterol reduction...lowers risk of heart disease...high fiber...and the list can just keep going on.

I was so gung-ho about adding it to my diet that I went full force with a bowl of oatmeal with raisins, nuts, and honey almost everyday. And while it was lovely for the first day or two...I eventually got tired of the same flavours. Add on the fact that I don't have much of a sweet tooth (give me a bowl of salty fries or chips over a chocolate bar anyday!)...and I guess you can see where I'm going with this...

I needed my oatmeal to be salty and while I had never heard of anyone eating their oatmeal with anything other than sweet ingredients I decided to venture out and try it. The first time I was quite conservative and I grated a bit of white cheddar cheese into my hot bowl of oatmeal...stirred it all in...took a bite...and then immediately wondered to my self why I have never done this before! It was delicious!! Cheesy goodness with a nice salty edge...It was lovely and so the next day I got even more adventurous and decided to make it really Asian...I drizzled in some soy sauce, chilli sesame oil, minced ginger and I stirred in spinach and sauteed mushrooms...took a bite...and gosh if I thought the cheese oatmeal was good...then this was orgasmic!! It was almost exactly like a bubur(congee/rice porridge) but less starchy and so much easier to pull together. It was love at first sight I tell you...not quite the same love Garlic and I shared...but it was still love. I brought a bowl of different savoury oatmeal variations for lunch everyday that week and never got tired of it...and to tell you the truth...I might have trouble going back to a sweet breakfasty oatmeal!

You can play around with many variations on this...cheese and dried chilli flakes...make it like a bubur ayam (chicken porridge) by stirring in cooked chicken, soy sauce, fried shallots and chopped scallions...maybe even something with spices...or curry powder...this little bowl holds endless possibilities. You can even cut down on cooking time by using instant oatmeal...that's what I do when I didn't have the energy to cook!

This lovely bowl was my dinner last night after yoga...

All I did was pour boiling water on my instant oats...drizzled in soy and sesame oil...toss in some steamed broccoli...sprinkled with pepper...and voila! A healthy nutritious dinner ready in less than 10mins.

10 comments:

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

I remember you talking about your savoury oatmeal and was hoping you'd put up a recipe! :)

Arwen from Hoglet K said...

Thanks for telling us about the savoury porridge - I was so curious when you mentioned it. It's funny how you often serve rice sweet or savoury, but I've never heard of savoury oats before. It sounds like a wonderfully quick and easy meal for late nights.

Anonymous said...

I prefer sweet oats, but savory is so good once in a while, esp with a runny egg on top!
my parents have oatmeal now every morning (influenced by moi) but with kimchi!

Unknown said...

hi babe! maybe i should try eating my oats instead of putting it on my face :p
thanks for sharing. xo

Adventure Rachel said...

Scottish people cook their oats with salt and water (as opposed to south of the border where it's milk and sugar).

Chefspiration said...

Lorraine - I hadn't considered putting up a recipe for it as it seemed so easy to do...but my post on what I eat when sick sparked some interest so I decided to :)

Arwen - That's true...I hadn't heard of anyone eating their oatmeal with savoury ingredients before...but upon doing some research online I've found that some ppl actually do!

BurpandSlurp - Ohh runny egg on top! I haven't thought of doing that yet...and oatmeal with kimchi would certainly be interesting...I love kimchi!

Nilam - hehe...it does the body good inside and out ;)

Rachel - Ohh that's very interesting to know! I had always cooked it with milk and sugar and that's how my mom did it too...guess it's a cultural thing. But I can't go back to sweet oatmeal!

Rebecca Saw said...

really? i alws tot it would taste weird! wel.takin ur word for it! since i eat oats everyday..
me gonna start w cheese..

Chefspiration said...

TheNomadGourmand - Do try it...I was skeptical at first...but I now I can't go back...hehe...make sure you grate in a nice cheese...don't throw in kraft slices...I don't think that would be as good...

Rebecca Saw said...

lol! thats exactly wht i was gonna do!

Anita said...

Hehehe, savoury oatmeal - sounds like a good change! I often find oatmeals a bit too plain.