Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Bak Kut Teh


A big pot of steaming bak kut teh.

How about cooking it e easy way?!
Yeah, you could buy those ready package bak kut teh herbs and spice mix off shelves @ any chinese supermarket (any brand of your liking)

Like this


Oor.. if you would like to cook it from scratch,
Here e unfolding of e recipe:

2.5 litres water
800g pork ribs

Heral ingredients
2 star aniseeds
3g dang-shen
200g garlic
3g cassia bark
30g yu-zhu
2 tbsps peppercorns

Seasoning
2 tsps salt
20g rock sugar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp pepper

Method
1. Blanch the pork ribs in hot water. Rinse well. Set aside.
2. Bring water to the boil. Put in heral ingredients. Simmer for 30mins. Add pork ribs and seasoning. Simmer for 45mins. Serve.

This another simple dish to cook, you just have to dump all e ingredients in a big pot and cover up lid and just leave it to simmer for about 1hrs+ and e last step season to taste of your liking. How difficult can this be?

You could served it as a 1 dish meal

or with any stir fried chinese veg.

or either salted mustard greens, its goes well with bak kut teh.


if you can't finish e big pot of bak kut, then turns its into a plate of bak kut mee.

enjoys =)


oh-ya and not forgetting a plate of chilli padi with dark soy sauce as dipping. slurp~

Fried Cai-Tou Guo aka Fried Carrot Cake


I was so damn happy!
Its taste so yummy then what i've expected. Yummio~

Cai tao guo for you???
I can cook it from scratch now. Yeah, baby!

Unfolding of e recipe:

Cake
350g white radish (shredded)
5 tbsps cooking oil
1/2 tbsp chopped garlic
3 tbsps chopped dried shrimps (optional)(in my case i opt it out)

Seasoning
600ml water
1tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp salt
pinch of pepper

Thickening glaze
500ml water
350g rice flour
25g caltrop starch

Method
1. Heat oil. Stir fry garlic and dried shrimps until fragrant. Add shredded white radish and stir fry. Add seasoning and stir well. Stir in thickening glaze when it boils. Cook until the sauce thickens. Then pour the mixture into 8 x 8 x 2-inch mould. Steam for 45mins.


White or black carrot cake for you?
Here both recipes

Fried radish cake ingredients (white)
200g white radish cake (cut into cubes)
1/2 tbsp chopped garlic
1tbsp preserved dried radish (rinsed)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tbsp fish sauce
belacan chilli paste
spring onion
chinese parsley (optional)

Method
1. Heat 2 tbsps of oil in a non-stick pan. Stir fry the chopped garlic and preserved dried radish till fragrant.
2. Add white radish cake and fish sauce. Stir fry for awhile. Add eggs and fry till both sides crispy. Sprinkle with spring onion. Serve with belacan chilli paste.
* add chinese parsley to enhance the flavour.



Fried Cai-tou guo ingredients (black)
200g white radish cake (cut into chucks)
1/2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp preserved dried radish (rinsed well)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tbsp hoi sin sauce
spring onion
*sweet dark soy sauce (personal i like my cai-tou guo to be very dark, so i add in sweet soy sauce to darker it)

Method
1. Heat 2 tbsps of oil in a non-stick pan. Stir fry the chopped garlic and preserved dried radish till fragrant.
2. Add white radish cake and fish sauce. Stir fry for awhile. Stir in eggs. Stir fry till fragrant. Turn off the heat. Add hoi sin sauce and stir well. Garnish with spring onion. Serve.
* add chinese parsley to enhance the flavour





Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Braised Pork Trotter


I used this recipe to cook my lor bak.

Super easy and yummy! and it's taste just so authentic. Similar to those that i could find it in hawker center. The only different is less oily. Yo~

This is a one hearty meat dish that could definitely complete your meal .

Unfolding of recipe:

1 pork trotter (cut into pieces) (for me i used pork loin instead of pork trotter, that why i called it lor bak)
5 slices young ginger
8 cloves garlic
1 star aniseed
1 tbsp shaoxing wine

Seasoning
1 litre water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps sesame oil
2 tsps light soy sauce
2 tsps sugar
1 tbsps dark soy sauce
1 tbsps oyster sauce
pinch of pepper

Method
1. Fry ginger and star aniseed with 2 tbsps of oil.
2. Add pork trotter. Stir fry for awhile. Add shaoxing wine. Stir in seasoning and garlic. Bring to the boil and turn to low heat. Simmer for 1 1/2 hrs. Serve.

See it for yourself, isn't this recipe so simple.
Not to mentioned with e add bonus... delicious.

Served it together with small chilli padi, oooh one word "BEST!"


cooked it with just meat, or throw in tou fu and hard boiled eggs.




You could also throw in 1 cinnamon stick to enhance e favour.

Crispy Noodles with Seafood


This is one of e first few dishes that i've try out.
and... with my 1st attempt, i managed to wow darling with it. =)

I've classified this dish as a simple and easy recipe.

Unfolding of e recipe:

1 piece egg noodles
1/2 tbsp chopped garlic
5 prawns
5 slices fish fillet
50g sotong (sliced)
1 tbsp black mushrooms (shredded)
1 tbsp carrot (sliced)
Cai-xin (cut into sections)
1 egg

Sauce
500ml stock
pinch of pepper
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1/4 tsp salt

Thickening Glaze
3 tbsps cornflour
4 tbsps water
*mix well

Method
1. Deep fry e egg noodles in warm oil till golden brown and crispy. Drain and arrange on a plate.
2. Fry chopped garlic in 1 tbsp of oil until fragrant. Add the sauce. Bring to the boil. Put in the mushrooms, carrot, prawns, fish fillet, sotong and cai-xin.
3. Bring to the boil again. Add thickening glaze. Stir well. Add egg and stir well. Then pour over a bed of crispy noodles on a plate. Serve.

*oh-ya pls ignore e plate of sweet 'n' sour meat ball. =P

Ophe's Wonton Recipe


Ophe passed me some of her wrapped wonton that she'd made and it was so yummy. So i gotta this recipe from her.

Unfolding of Ophe's wonton recipe:

Ingredients

250g Prawns
4 Dried Chinese Mushrooms
250g Minced Pork
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons finely slice water chestnuts
1 X 250g (8oz) packet wanton wrappers

Method
1. Peel, devein and finely chop the prawns
2. Cover the mushrooms with hot water and soak them for 20mins, drain and squeeze to remove excess liquid, remove stems and chopped the caps finely
3. Thoroughly combine the prawn meat, mushrooms, pork, salt, soy sauce and sesame oil, spring onion, ginger, and water chestnuts
4. Work with one wanton at a time, keeping the remainder covered with a clean, damp tea towel to stop them from drying out
5. Moisten the edges with, fold it into half diagonally and bring the 2 points together
6. Place the won tons on a dusted plate with flour to prevent sticking

Note: Wanton can be prepared 1day ahead , stored and covered in the refrigerator. Wrap any leftover sheets in clingwrap and freeze.

Cook it in soup or deep fried

served it as soup wonton mee or as fried wonton mee

Stewed Noodles in Hokkien Style


This is also one recipe found in this wonderful Singapore Hawker Food recipebook.

This dish is my dad favourite.
Back in Singapore, he loves to tabao this mee as supper.
And now that i can cooked this dish. I'm so happy.
Shall cooked this mee to impress them when i'm back.

Unfolding of recipe:

(A)
500g yellow noodles
1/2 tbsp chopped garlic

(B)
some cai-xin
5 slices lean pork
5 slices fish meat
5 prawns
5 slices sotong

(C)
1 egg (beaten)
Sauce
500ml stock
2 tsps light soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1tbsp dark soy sauce
some sesame oil
pinch of pepper

Thickening Glaze
3 tbsps tapioca flour
4 tbsps water
*mix well

Method
1. Fry chopped garlic in 1 tbsp of oil till fragrant. Add the sauce, (B) ingredients and yellow noodles. Cover the lid. Simmer for 5mins.

2. Put on beaten egg, thickening glaze and a little bit sesame oil. Stir well. Serve.

* Dusting e fish fillet with tapioca flour and then rinsing with water helps remove the fishy smell and makes the fish less likely to break in the cooking process.



served it with preserved green chilli from Jess =)

Char Siew aka BBQ Pork



I love this Singapore Hawker Food recipebook that i'd brought over.

Thank goodness to this wonderful recipebook that have eased most of my cravings for local s'pore food.

Charsiew is one of them. aka BBQ pork.

Unfolding of recipe from this recipebook:

450g pork belly (cut into long strips) (for me i used porkloin, less fatty)
150 ml water (this step is optional, if you oven boiled e pork…just skip this)
1tbsp light soy sauce
½ tbsp sesame oil
red food colouring
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
4 tbsps sugar
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp char siew sauce
½ tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp dark soy sauce
½ tbsp cooking oil

Recipebook method:

1. Marinate meat with all ingredients and leave it for 3 to 4 hrs (or overnight)

2. Put all e ingredients into pot. Cook over medium heat and bring to e boil. Turn to medium-low heat after boiling. Stew till e meat is slightly burnt.

My method
1. Follow as step 1
2. Now instead of using a pot, pop e marinated pork into e oven and broil it over high temperature. Check for burning. Cooking time approx. 40mins depending on e temperature of your broiler.




used it to fried bee hoon

or

topped it off on mee poh or mee kia as charsiew mee.

Pandan Chicken Rice.


Gotta this recipe from my Healthy Temptations cookbook.
I love this recipe is so simple and it's taste just so authentic.
The below recipe serves 4-6, as we are a small family of 2pax. i reduced e portions to half e serving for 2.
Unfolding of e recipe:
Ingredients
1 hen (approx. 2kg) (for me 1kg of whole thighs or just drums)
3 thumb-size ginger (skin peeled)
6 cloves of garlic (smashed with skin)
6 small red onions (peeled and slightly smashed)
2 pandan leaves (washed and knotted)
1 teaspoon of salt or sea salt
1 chilled cucumber (peeled and sliced)
15 pieces of ice cubes
Marinating oil
3 teaspoon, light soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil
Method
Rinse and dry hen, Rub salt over the hen and cavity. Set aside for half hour. In the cavity, stuff garlic, ginger, small red onions and pandan leaves. (for me since i'm using thighs and drums i stuff e ingredients under e skin). Boil sufficient water to immerse the whole hen in a big pot. Cover the pot and simmer for 15mins on low heat. Turn off the heat and allow to simmer for another 15mins. Prepare a separate pot with ice cubes and enough water to immerse the whole hen. Dip the hen in and out of the cold water 10times. Rub the oil onto the whole hen and hang dry. Remove all ingredients from cavity and allow hen to set for half hour before cutting. Serve with pandan chicken rice, chilled cucumber and chilli.
Ingredients for rice (for serving of 2pax, all portions reduce by half)
4 cups rice
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoon olive oil
5 cloves of garlics (peeled and finely chopped)
1 sliced ginger
5 small red onions (peeled and finely chopped)
5 pandan leaves blended with 1/2 cup water. Drained. (i skipped this part and add e whole pandan leaves in)
1 teaspoon salt
Method
Heat olive oil and stir fry garlic, red onions and ginger till fragrant. Add rice and stir for 1min. Put all ingredients into rice cooker, add pandan juice and chicken stock to cook.
Ingredients for chilli sauce (this is good!)
30 chillies (small)
8 cloves of garlic (skinned)
4 stalks of lemongrass (6cm from end to stalk)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 green lime (juiced)
1/2 cup boiling hot chicken stock
Method
Blend chilli, garlic, lemongrass and salt. Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Squeeze lime juice for taste.
Nutrition value
Selenium, niacinamide, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B1,C, iron, zinc.
served with your choice of rice or white porridge

Easy Simple Microwave Chicken Claypot Rice


Looking for simple home-cooked food? This microwave chicken claypot rice is a sure hit that you won't wana to miss! I was amazed by how simple this dish can be and on e other hand it's taste good.
I've always thought that claypot rice is a hassle dish to cook but not until you give this microwave claypot rice a try!

Gotta e recipe from this author my little cyberspot.

The unfolding of recipe:

Ingredient

3 chicken thighs (with bone)(for me without bone), chopped into 10-12 small pieces
2 "lapcheong" a.k.a. chinese barbecued sausage
Handful of chinese mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
1 tb sesame oil
2 tb chinese wine
2 tb dark soya sauce
1 tb light soya sauce
Handful of lettuce, shredded into long strips (i skipped this and sometime i throw in chinese veg. caixin)
1 cup of rice & 1.5 cups of water*
1. Marinate chicken thigh meat with the sesame oil, chinese wine and soya sauces. Put in fridge while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
2. Remove stems from mushrooms & slice in half.
3. Slice "lapcheong" into thick slices.
4. Boil the rice in rice cooker. After 15 minutes **, open rice cooker & add chicken thigh meat. Be sure to flick off excess marinade before putting meat in. *** Then, add the "lapcheong" and mushrooms on top. Close the rice cooker and allow the cooker to finish cooking the rice, approximately another 5 minutes.
5. Open the rice cooker & be enthralled by the amazing smell. Stir up the rice & all the ingredients and serve immediately on a bed of shredded lettuce. (This recipe serves two)