Saturday, August 22, 2009

Cheesy Cauliflower
Serves: 2-3

What You Need:
1 bunch of cauliflower
50g baby spinach leaf
1 Carrot (cut into strips)

Cheese sauce:
50g unsalted butter
600ml cream (or milk)
50g plain flour
100g Parmesan cheese
100g sharp cheddar cheese
Salt & pepper

Preparation:
Cut cauliflower into bite size chunks and boil them together with carrots till cooked to your liking. Remove from heat and immerse them in cold water to stop the cooking process.
Drain water and put vegetable into dish, top with baby spinach.

To cook Cheese sauce:
Heat pan with milk and butter on low heat. *Do NOT boil*
When steam start to rise, whisk in flour slowly making sure there are no lumps.
Turn heat lower and continue whisking till sauce thickens and become smooth.
Remove from heat and whisk in cheese, salt and pepper. Continue whisking till it's a smooth and creamy sauce.
Drizzle over vegetables and sprinkle more pepper

Labels: Greens, Side Dishes

Monday, August 17, 2009

Bitter Gourd with Black Beans
Serves: 2

What You Need:
Half a Bitter gourd
1 tsp preserved black bean (bottled or dried kind is fine)
1 clove garlic minced
6 shrimps (shelled)
1 tbsp chinese cooking wine
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Slice bitter gourd length wise and remove the seeds and white fluffy parts
Wash and slice into 3cm length pieces

Heat oil in wok/pan, fry garlic and black bean (be careful they burnt very easily) till fragrant and add bitter gourd in.
Stir fry for 1 min, add half cup of water and let it boil.
Add prawns, cooking wine, salt and pepper and continue cooking till most of the water has evaporated.
Serve immediately.

Tip: To remove the bitterness, rub a generous amount of salt into the sliced bitter gourd and let it rest for 5 mins, soak in water for another min and drain off.

Labels: Greens, Side Dishes

Lemon Herb Fish Bites
Serves: 2-3

What You Need:
1 large boneless fish filet
Salt and pepper

Dry Rub Coating:
1 tbsp Lemon & Herb seasoning (bottled)
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 tbsp corn flour

Preparation:
Slice fish into bite size, marinate with salt and pepper
Heat enough oil to semi deep fry fish
Mix the dry rub coating ingredients together and dip a few pieces of fish in to coat.
Press the dry rub into the fish and shake off excess before putting into oil.
Fry the fish in batches to ensure oil remains hot enough.

Serve with lemon slices and tartar sauce.

Note: You may replace the lemon and herb seasoning with 'Lemon & Pepper", "Mixed herbs", "Paprika" up to you.

Labels: Finger Food and Appetisers, Fish and Seafood, Side Dishes

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Black Sauce Chicken with Mushrooms
Serves: approx 10 - 15












What You Need:
1 kg of chicken wings or 1 Large whole chicken
20 pcs of dried black mushrooms (and/or canned button mushrooms)
8 cloves of garlic (skin off)
1 inch ginger sliced

Marinate:
1 tbsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (optional)
1 tbsp Light soy sauce
1 tbsp corn flour
Pepper

Sauce (Mix & Put aside):
1 tbsp Sesame oil
2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (optional)
½ tbsp Light soy sauce
1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tbsp Sugar
½ tsp Salt
Half a rice bowl of water
Pepper

Thickener:
1 tbsp corn flour + 3 tbsp water

Preparation:
Wash chicken and chop into smaller portions. For wing, separate drumlet from wing.
Marinate chicken with the marinate ingredients indicated above.

Soak mushrooms in hot water for 10 mins, wash and remove stems.

Heat 6 tbsp of oil in wok at med heat. When heated, fry ginger slices for 2 mins, making sure they do not stick together. Add in garlic cloves and continue frying for another 1 mins.
Add mushrooms and stir fry until fragrant.
Add chicken in and fry till chicken changes color and firms up.
Pour in Sauce mixture with enough water to cover about ¾ level of chicken. Mix well

Cover wok and stew over low heat for 1 hour, stirring every 15 mins. Adding water when needed. Taste and add salt, sugar or water as needed.

When chicken is almost done, there will be a thick layer of oil floating and you may scoop and throw that away.

Just before serving, mix corn flour with water before adding into the wok and stir as you pour mixture in. Let it boil and serve with rice.

Tip: Place 1 or 2 clay/porcelain chinese soup spoon into the wok when stewing as this hasten the tendering process of the meat.

Labels: Chicken, Side Dishes

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Steamed/Fried Wantons (Pork Dumplings)
Serves: Makes approx 30 - 40

I like making these for parties as they are good finger food (fried versions) or for a light soup dish for dinner. For soups, just boil a pot of chicken broth and dump the cooked wantons in with some Cai Xin.

What You Need:
200g minced pork
6 medium sized prawns
3 Chinese mushrooms (dried)
1 stalk spring onion (optional)
2 chestnuts (optional)
1 pack of square shaped wanton skins – see Note*

½ tbsp sesame oil
½ tbsp Chinese cooking wine (optional)
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
Salt & Pepper

Oil to cook

Preparation:
Soak mushrooms in hot water for 10 mins, wash and remove stems. Slice them thinly. Shell and minced prawns coarsely
Cut of roots off spring onion, slice thinly
Skin chestnuts and dice into tiny cubes
Mix above all ingredients together – including condiments

Scoop a full tsp of filing onto the centre of each wanton skin. Seal the wantons using a bit of water around the edges.

Steam version:
I scrunch the wanton skin edges together
Boil a pot of water, add a tsp of cooking oil
When water boiled, add wantons in slowly one by one so that they dun stick together. Let if cook for 3 mins, give a light stir to ensure they do not stick to pot of to each other.
Cook for another 3 mins of until all wantons float
Drain and scoop onto plate

Fried version:
I fold them into triangles
Heat oil in pot/wok.
Fry wantons for 3 min or until golden.

Storage:
Should you like to make more and keep, line wantons in a ait tight container, after one layer, lay a cling foil sheet over and lay next layer of wantons and repeat. Cover and put in freezer for up to a week.

Notes: There are 2 kinds of dumpling skins. White ones are for the Jiao zi, while for this recipe go for the yellow-colour ones.

Labels: Finger Food and Appetisers, Pork, Side Dishes

Friday, June 26, 2009

Black + White Steamed Tofu
Serves: 3 – 5

Steam tofu is easy to make and can be topped with a lot of other ingredients. You may use the plain tofu or those egg tofu. Tube or tub kinds are also fine.

What You Need:
2 Tubes of Tofu (or 1 Tub)1 century egg
100g minced pork
4-5 med-sized prawns
4 slices of ginger

[A]
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
½ tbsp Sesame oil
Pepper

[B]
2 tsp soy sauce
½ tbsp sesame oil
5 tbsp of water

Optional:1 tsp chili oil

Preparation:
Wash tofu carefully and slice them into equal portions. Approx 5-6 pcs per tube
Lay the tofu coins on a deep dish plate

Wash mince pork with water in a bowl. The blood and fats will float, making it easy to drain off. Squeeze off excess water.
Shell prawns and mince
Mix prawns, pork and ingredient s[A]
Scoop small lumps of pork mixture on each tofu coin

Chop century eggs into large chunks and arrange them randomly around the tofu and pork.
Place ginger on top, drizzle ingredients [B] evenly.

Steam for 15 mins. Drizzle chili oil (optional) Serve immediately.

Labels: Egg, Pork, Side Dishes, Tofu