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.