Zucchini Stuffed with Pork and Century Egg

Zucchini Stuffed with Pork and Century Egg

Ingredients:

2 large zucchinis
200g ground pork
1 century egg
bunch of cilantro
1 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tsp corn starch
salt
pepper
oil

 

Method:

Slice zucchinis into 2 cm thickness. Hollow centre with a small knife. Dice century egg and cilantro into small pieces. Mix with ground pork, oyster sauce, corn starch, salt and pepper. Fill centre of zucchini slices with mixture. Heat a pan with vegetable oil over medium heat. Carefully brown and cook zucchini on each side for 5 minutes.

Wintermelon Soup

Probably the best soup I've ever made. It is delicate yet flavourful at the same time.

Wintermelon Soup

Ingredients:

1 medium wintermelon

1 fresh coconut

200g smoked duck breast

500 ml chicken stock

1.5 litres water

Method:

Cut across top and bottom of wintermelon and peel off skin using a vegetable peeler. Crack open coconut, collect juice and scrap out the meat. Slice duck breast into 0.5cm thickness. In a large pot, bring water, stock and coconut juice to boil. Carefully add in wintermelon and half of duck breast. Simmer for 1 hour. Add coconut meat and remainder of duck breast into the inside of wintermelon and simmer for another 30 mins. Enjoy!

Grilled Bamboo Clams With Lime and Garlic Infusion

Found some bamboo clams in the supermarket and thought they'd be perfect with lime and garlic. I've also included instructions on how to make a lime and garlic infused olive oil in 30 mins.

Grilled Bamboo Clams with Lime & Garlic Infusion

Ingredients:

Bamboo Clams
Lime and Garlic oil *see below for recipe
Salt

 

Method:

Wash and clean bamboo clams. Arrange them on a baking tray and drizzle infused oil. Sprinkle salt over clams. Grill over high heat for 15 minutes. Before serving, drizzle more oil over clams.

Lime and Garlic Oil

 

Ingredients:

8 small limes

1 whole garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

Method:

Cut limes into half. Squeeze out juice and remove seeds. Peel garlic and crush them gently with the side of a knife. Combine ingredients in an oven safe bowl. Leave bowl in oven at 80 degrees C for at least 30 minutes.

Longevity Peach Onigiri

It's a Chinese tradition to serve longevity peach buns during birthdays and so I made a rice version with a hidden surprise.

Ingredients (makes 8):

8 cups of cooked sushi rice
8 large scallops
8 edible leaves (any kind)
Red food colouring
Pinch of salt
Oil

Method:

Allow cooked rice to cool till it is not too hot for handling. Pan-sear scallops until cooked with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt. Leave to cool on kitchen towel. Flatten half a cup of rice on left palm and place a scallop in the middle. Grab half a cup of rice on your right palm and press hands together firmly. Roll and form into peace shape. Brush colouring to the top and serve on a piece of leave

Mum's Birthday Dinner

 It's mum's birthday and since we've already eaten out two days ago, I decided to make something special. The entire meal took a while to prepare but was definitely worth the effort.

Recipes to follow.

Chinese Winter Solstice (Dong Zhi)

 Dong Zhi is a traditional Chinese end of year festival where the family gathers for heart warming winter food. I love festivals because it means I get to spend a whole day in the kitchen! Some ingredients traditionally used in our family includes arrowroot bulb, dried mushrooms, spinach and pig stomach. The must-have dish is of course sweet dumpling soup. This year, I contributed four dishes to the table.

Sweet Soy Arrowroot

Ingredients:

6 arrowroot bulbs

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup (or honey)

Oil

Method:

Wash arrowroot bulbs and peel off outer layer. Slice each bulb horizontally to four equal parts. Deep fry sliced bulbs in oil until golden brown. Remove from heat and drain oil.

In a bowl, mix soy sauce, mirin, sugar and golden syrup. Heat mixture in a wok and when thickened and slightly caramelised, add cooked bulbs and coat evenly. To serve, stack slices and drizzle with sauce.

Mum's Meatballs

This adapted recipe was passed down by the women in my family and I 'stole' it when I helped out in the kitchen when I was 10 haha. 

 

Ingredients (makes 20 bite size balls):

300 grams ground pork

1 large potato

1 medium white onion

4 cream crackers

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

pinch of pepper

olive oil

Method:

Peel potato and boil till almost soft. Cool and dice into small cubes. Dice white onions too. Using a food processor or mortar and pestle, crumble cream crackers into fine powder. In a large bowl, mix ground pork with everything and mix well. Divide mixture equally and form 20 balls.

Leave it to cool in fridge for 30 minutes to help firm up. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (400 degrees F). Heat oil in skillet and gently add in meatballs. Over medium heat, cook evenly for 8 minutes or until skin is crisp. Transfer meatballs to an oven safe plate and cook in oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool slightly before serving.

Baked Onion Cup

 

Ingredients:

1 large white onion
3 prawns (de-shelled)
1 egg
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp fish sauce
1 tbs water
pepper
parsley for garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C (428 degrees F). Peel off outer skin of onion. Slice the bottom so onion can stand upright but be careful not to cut off too much. Slice top off onion and scrape carefully until you get a bowl.

Beat egg in a bowl but do not let it foam. In a separate bowl, combine soy sauce, fish sauce, pepper and water. Mix well and combine with egg. Stuff prawns into onion and pour in egg mixture. If onion is leaking, plug the bottom with a simple dough. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.Garnish with parsley before serving.

Plum and Mango Wantons

A simple sweet twist to the regular wanton recipe and a healthier tea-time replacement.

Ingredients:

Fresh plums (halved and pitted)
Mango
Wonton skin
Vegetable oil

Method:.

 Dice mango into bits. Fill inside of plum with a little mango and place flat side down on the middle of wanton skin. Wrap it up and deep fry in oil until golden brown.

Adzuki Bean and Oatmeal Cookies

A classic cookie recipe with an oriental twist. This recipe produces chewy cookies that are not too sweet, but still packing with flavours and textures thanks to the black sugar, orange zest and adzuki beans.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup adzuki beans
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups instant oats
1 cup pre-softened butter
1 cup black sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbs vanilla essence
Zest of 1 orange

Method:

Soak adzuki beans overnight. Rinse, and boil for 1 hour or until soft but still firm. Drain and leave to cool.

 In a mixing bowl, add butter, orange zest, sugar and salt. Use a mixer and cream till soft. Crack in eggs and vanilla essence and mix well.  In a separate bowl, sift flour and mix well with oats and baking soda. Slowly add to butter mixture and mix till dough becomes slightly stiff. Add adzuki beans and gently fold through. Using a rubber spatula, transfer to a clean bowl and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C (375 degrees F). Dough becomes manageable when cold and scoop into 2 inches diameter balls. Slightly flatten them and arrange on a baking tray. Make sure there's ample room between each dough.

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until cookie is crisp on the outside but slightly soft inside. Rest in tray for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. 

Charly T's Roast Chicken

Had dinner at Charly T's today and finally got a chance to try their roast chicken. I must say serving roast chicken in a restaurant is probably a safe bet as there is no way you can go wrong with it. As long as the chicken is fully cooked, no one's gonna complain. However, you can make your chicken stand out against a flock by throwing in a few little extras, like the many different sauces and sides you can choose at Charly T's. I chose the Chermoula and Kampong Amber sauce and found them to be rather impressive and chockful of flavour.

The corn salad I had as my side was a little let down. It was drowning in cinnamon which was a little off when everything else was savoury. Chips were crisp and tasty and served in a rather big portion.

 The mood of the restaurant was nice and tastefully decorated but they can certainly improve on the service. You'd have to order and pay at the counter so if you get stuck behind someone indecisive, it wouldn't be a great start. I've been here thrice, and three times, the waiter forgot either my sugar syrup or straw for the iced tea.

Steamed Otah Buns

I found 3 packs of otah paste in the freezer and it became the perfect excuse to make some steamed buns. Otah is a pâté-like spicy fish cake that is usually eaten as a snack in South-East Asia.

You can find otah bread buns at the bakery but I've always found them rather dry and boring. I thought it would perfect to match the otah with minced chicken and mushrooms for a really juicy and yummy filling. To offset the fishiness, I've also added cilantro to it. The result was fantastic! It's the yummiest steamed buns I've ever had.

Steamed Otah Buns

Ingredients (makes 8 buns) :

Dough:

250 grams plain flour

140 ml mushroom water *see below

25 grams sugar

1.5 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbs sesame oil

pinch of salt

Filling:

1 packet of otah paste

200 grams minced chicken

3 dried shiitake mushrooms

a bunch of cilantro 

Directions:

Bring 200 mls of water to a boil and add in the dried shiitake mushrooms. Simmer gently at low heat until mushrooms turn soft. Remove mushrooms and squeeze to dehydrate it slightly. Measure out 140 ml of the stock and leave to cool.

Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Mix well with fingers. Pour in the sesame oil and cooled mushroom water. Mix well and knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes until dough is smooth. Transfer dough to a bowl, cover, and let it rise for 1 hour. 

While dough is rising, start to prepare the filling. Dice mushrooms and cilantro. Mix together with otah paste and minced chicken. 

Divide mixture into 8 equal portions and round into balls. 

Knead dough a few times and divide into 8 equal portions. Leave it to rise for another 15 minutes.

Flatten dough and roll into 5 inch diameter circle. Place filling into centre of dough and pleat into a bun shape.

 Ensure there is plenty of space between the buns while steaming as they will further double in size. Steam for 15 minutes. 

 Enjoy immediately or freeze remainder for later. Buns are brown because of the mushroom water.

Pumpkin and Screw Pine Dinner Infusions

Today's dinner menu theme is infusion. Part of the fun and pleasure in cooking is to experiment moving flavours from one ingredient to another.I used pandanus (screw pine), coconut milk and bacon as my key infusions.

The entire meal took 2 hours to prepare and here's the instructions:

Pandan Wrapped Chicken

4 whole boneless chicken leg
16 pandan leaves
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce
1 heaped tablespoon sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
pinch of pepper and salt 

Clean chicken and remove skin and fats. Cut each leg into 4 equal sizes. Marinate chicken with fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, salt and pepper for at least 1 hour.

 

Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F. Thoroughly clean pandan leaves and cut off the harder end leaving about 12 inches of green top. Wrap chicken individually and secure with a toothpick.

 

Arrange on a wire rack and cook in oven for 30 mins or until exposed meat turns golden brown. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Steamed Pumpkin and Bacon Cream

1 medium pumpkin

200ml cream

4 egg yolks

1 medium white onion

3 strips of streaky bacon

water

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Carve pumpkin and scrap the inside until you get a bowl. Discard seeds. Bring water to a boil in a pot and

add the pumpkin in. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes or until pumpkin is soft. Pour into a colander , drain and leave it to cool. Chop onions and bacon into bits. Brown bacon and caramelize onion in a hot pan with olive oil. Separate bacon and onion from oil and put them aside. 

Add cream and pumpkin mash into a blender and blend till smooth. Add in egg yolks, salt and pepper. Pulse until smooth. Stir in bacon and onion and pour into pumpkin bowl. Steam for 20 mins. Carefully remove from steamer (the bowl can be a little soft) and drizzle bacon oil before serving. I saved half of the oil and used it to quick stir fry cauliflower for a quick and tasty vegetable side.

Coconut Rice

Long grained rice

Coconut milk

A bunch of pandan leaves

Water

Thoroughly wash rice. Combine 1 part rice with 1 part water and 1 part coconut milk. Throw in a knot of pandan leaves and cook as per your rice cooker's instruction.

Herbal Chicken & Prawn Soup

Nothing better than a nice bowl of herbal soup when feeling under the weather. My earliest foray into herbal medicine was probably learning the ingredients used to make soup. There's always a soup for any ailment for a Cantonese and I am happy to keep this tradition alive in the kitchen.

Today's concoction is uplifting, adaptogenic and boosts immunity. You can use any meat with this recipe but I simply cannot resist the taste of herbal prawns.

Ingredients (for 4-6 persons) :

1.5 litres water
500 grams chicken (or any meat with bone on)
10 medium to large prawns
5 grams Scented Solomon Seal (Yu Zhu)
5 grams Dang Shen
4 grams Panax Ginseng Root
4 grams Chinese Angelica (Dang Gui)
4 grams Wolfberry
A couple Red Dates
3 grams Chinese Licorice Root
Dash of cognac
Salt to taste
Coriander for garnishing

Method:

Clean and wash herbs and chicken. Scald chicken in boiling water for 5 seconds to remove grime and drain. Fill pot with 1.5 litres of water and bring to a boil. Put chicken and herbs in and simmer over low heat for 60 mins. While simmering, wash and trim sharp protrusions off the prawns. Put the prawns and cognac into the soup and cook for 3-5 mins depending on size of prawns. Turn off fire and add salt to taste. Serve hot in a bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

Chestnut Bread

With Christmas round the corner, I've been craving for chestnuts and the smell of them roasting on an open fire. Unfortunately, the only fire I can light here is a gas stove and so to feed my cravings, I've decided to devour them in as many ways as possible.

This is a simple recipe using bread flour, chestnuts, instant yeast, milk, water, butter, sugar and salt. Simply mix and knead, let it rise for an hour, knead again, rest for another hour and bake it for 35 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. I rehydrated dried chestnuts for this recipe for a few reasons. Since they come with the shell removed, it saves a lot of time, and the dried form has a smoky and nuttier taste, which is the next best thing to fire-roasted chestnuts.